by J E Mueller
“Okay.” I took a deep breath and accepted the hand up. “How do I get back to… being normal?”
“The best way is to tug on your cord a bit and reconnect,” Danny supplied as he walked me over to my body. “But that takes practice so we’re just going to shove you back.”
“What?” I asked, stopping in front of my body.
“Close your eyes, try and think of warmth, what you normally feel like, and in a moment you’ll be reconnected,” Danny supplied.
I glanced at Lliam. “Is this going to be very unpleasant?”
“Not terribly. You’ll feel a sharp pull of gravity that is really annoying, maybe disorientating, but it’s not bad. Oh, and you’ll be able to feel normal temperatures again.” Danny sounded happy about the last part.
I had adjusted to the cold that had surrounded me at first, but I admitted I couldn’t feel anything right now. The wind was blowing gently according to the leaves, but it didn’t seem to touch me at all.
“Okay, then.” I closed my eyes and tried to do as he instructed. It was weird trying to remember how I normally feel, but with what felt exactly like a shove I could feel the wind against my face, and for a moment my limbs felt like rocks. I tried getting up but everything swayed. After a few seconds things seemed to adjust back to normal. Finally getting up, I noticed Danny was already back to normal and waiting. I wondered how many times he had done this.
“Shall we get some rest, then?” Danny offered his arm.
“I think I need a stiff drink after this night,” I replied, taking his arm.
He laughed. “Oh yeah. This night was a bit nuts. But things are back as they should be. Well, closer. We’ll have a lot to go over tomorrow. First, rest.”
With that, we walked back in silence.
As we reached the building, Danny removed his arm from mine. He looked tired, but not upset.
“If you find yourself in trouble again, Lliam can get me easily. Try calling for him. I’ll show you a great trick for that in the morning.”
I nodded and yawned my reply, “Okay, sounds good.”
We turned to see the door of the building opening and Lydia rushing out. Mutual surprise was on all of our faces.
“What’s going on?” Lydia demanded, then her face softened as she took in our disheveled appearances.
“I don’t even know,” I replied, walking up to her, “but it’s one hell of a story.” I glanced back over to Danny. “Tomorrow, then.”
With a nod, he left.
Lydia looked from me to his retreating form. “So, what happened?”
“Almost lost a fight to restless spirits. It was pretty ridiculous. They shouldn’t have this power…” I replied as I dived into the story.
By the end of it we were curled up in bed together.
“I don’t even know what to do. This is all so out of hand, and yet I need to deal with it. I need answers that come with learning, and the learning is coming with terrible consequences.” I groaned loudly. “I didn’t expect any of this to be this complicated.”
Lydia held onto me, snuggling against me. Her words were nearly muffled, “Well, demons are involved so ‘course it’s complicated. Don’t worry, I can help kick their butts.”
“I know you can, and you will,” I replied tiredly. “Wish I had put more effort into this sooner, I could have learned so much before all of this.”
“You’d be dead.” Lydia yawned. “You’re learning now because now is the right time. It sucks, but if anyone can learn things quickly and without fail it’s you.” The last part was more yawn than word.
“Maybe. Guess we’ll see.” I sighed.
“Mhm…” Lydia sleepily replied.
I wanted to talk more, my mind filled with worries about what tonight had shown me, but for a change my body demanded sleep and I couldn’t continue to stay awake.
16
The sun woke me up too soon. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but I was still exhausted. Lydia was already getting up and ready to go.
“What’s the rush?” I yawned.
“Breakfast, praying, training,” she replied simply. “I’ve no idea what your plans are for the day, but I know I’m not needed.” She gave me a sad smile. “But, I do know I will be needed eventually. Demons have us trapped in this sanctuary and I will get us out of here and wherever we need to go next. I’ll be ready.” Lydia gave a determined nod and finished lacing her boots.
“I’ve no doubt you will do wonderfully,” I replied, hoping this extra training would be enough. I had no idea what we needed to do to succeed at leaving here, but we were a ways away from that plan. Pushing the doubt aside, I decided to get up and get ready as well.
After breakfast, I realized I didn’t know where to meet or even find Danny. I decided to take a chance and headed to the same shrine room we were in the day before. She wasn’t in there, nor did I pass anyone in the hall on my way in. However, Lliam was.
“Any thoughts on how to find Danny?” I asked.
Lliam shrugged. “I can find her, it’ll be just a moment.”
I looked at him confused, about ready to either ask him who he meant or correct him on his pronouns when he disappeared. I cursed the spot where he had been before closing the door behind myself and heading over to the shrine. It was beautiful. I had no idea how it could be created to do such things. It was infused with a special kind of magic. It made me think of my Aunt Juni and her runes. I had forgotten they were in my pocket and wondered if they would work on spirits.
I’d test the theory another time. Instead, I rested my hand on the shrine and watched it glow purple. The color was deep and wonderful - one of my favorites for sure. It was still weird to think I had somehow become a special exception to the red, green, orange rule. One of the few. It wasn’t exciting or even bothersome. Just a fact that meant very little to me as I tried to retain all the new information being thrown at me.
Of course, I was known for my speed. Not just my swiftness of movement but my ability to learn things quickly. This shouldn’t take much time for me to understand, but then what? Would I really be able to turn this mess around, fix the gates, and stop the demons from getting all the souls? Marella made it sound like they all knew about the balance and that just us mortals did not. So, why would they disrupt it? Could I even fix things and really begin practicing this new craft? Maybe a world without magic and demons would make things easier. I removed my hand from the shrine. Magic was a strange thing. Rewarding some, hurting others.
I thought about what Marella said about the worlds without magic and with limited magic. Were they better off? It was a lot to ponder but just then Danny walked in with Lliam floating by his side.
“Sorry to keep you.” He yawned. I spotted a half eaten muffin in his hand. “Hope you got some rest.”
“Not nearly enough.” I echoed his yawn. I tried to shake off the drowsiness. “Hopefully you had no more trouble last night.”
“None. Most know better than to mess with me. Sadly you are new to them, and an easy target.” Danny pulled something out of his cloak pocket and handed it to me.
It was flat, round and smooth. I stared at the gray disc for a moment before looking up at him. It wasn’t an interesting object at all. “What is it?”
“It’s a training tool I found while rooting through Mist’s old supplies,” he replied, pulling a dagger from his pocket. It glowed with the same magic mine did. “And this might just be the last one of its kind. Minus yours, of course. Sadly this one is dull.” Danny turned it over slowly. “It needs to be reinfused, but all the people with that talent are dead.” With a sigh he pocketed it again. “Anyway, shall we begin?”
“Okay, what are we starting with? How do we start?” I asked. Excitement wasn’t the right word for how I felt, but a tingle of ‘finally’ passed through me. I was ready to actively do something with this magic.
Lliam cleared his throat. I had forgotten he was lingering by the door. “Aren’t you forgetting an important f
act?”
Danny rolled his eyes and motioned for me to have a seat. When I did he sat next to me. “So, the spirit realm is a bit of an odd place. It has no time for masks or normal magics. It’s a place for the dead to go while they await their turn at the gate. Where they can go to rest, heal, and figure out if there is anything left for them to fulfill before leaving this plane and starting their next journey.”
“Get to the point,” Lliam called from his place at the door.
Again, Danny rolled his eyes at Lliam. “The point is that you may not look the way you do now.” He directed his full attention to me. “You may look how you did when you first received this magic, or how you mentally identify, since that is how your soul sees itself.”
“And?” Lliam pressed on.
I rolled my eyes at Lliam this time. His interruptions seemed useless. “So, instead of letting you do this at your own pace Lliam wants everything solved in a day so he can cross.”
“Exactly!” Danny laughed happily for a moment before turning serious. “So, I don’t look the same. That’s not uncommon, but my appearance does surprise people.”
It clicked, but I didn’t press. “That’s okay. How you see yourself is valid. You can’t change your soul.”
“Thank you for understanding. I didn’t think it needed to be made a bigger deal than it was.” Danny glared at Lliam. “How I see myself and how I live are different due to society. At any rate…” He motioned to the disc. “That will help you separate yourself and let you dive into the spirit realm with ease. It’s portable so you can take it with you while you learn.”
“Hopefully I won’t need it long.” I smiled. “How does it work?”
“Actually, it’s very simple. Close your eyes and see if you can feel the magic within it,” Danny replied.
I did. It was very subtle. So much so that I might not have noticed without it being pointed out. I could feel it resting there. The magic felt cool and was easy to call to me without trying, and as soon as it reached me I felt the cold latch on, pull me close, and refuse to part with me. In that exact moment I felt myself being pulled from my body. Once more I was a crumpled heap, but at least this time I was on a pew instead of crashing to the hard ground.
Danny glanced at me. “I’ll take that as a yes, you can feel it.” He laughed. “Okay, so we can skip the next step.” I watched him lean back and close his eyes. In a moment he was next to me, this time as a spirit. “So, now we’re still on the mortal plane, and this is where things actually get tricky.”
“Things weren’t tricky before?” I stared at him in disbelief.
“Oh, not at all. Once you know the feeling, the strange bit of magic connecting you to your soul you can switch back and forth with ease. Getting to the spirit realm itself on your own is an entirely different matter.” Danny chuckled.
“Oh, joy is mine,” I sighed, trying to shake off the annoyance of the many layers to this learning. “What’s next, then?” I was determined to get there today.
Danny considered it for a moment. “Well, there are two ways. One is to accompany a spirit, but Lliam’s a jerk.”
“Hey,” Lliam called over. “I’ve been very helpful.”
“True. You’ve been a very helpful jerk,” Danny corrected.
“Much better.” Lliam nodded.
“So, what’s the other way?” I asked curiously. Their arguing was amusing, but I didn’t feel like we had time for joking.
Danny started to pace. “Well, the other way involves opening a portal yourself. It’s not impossible but does take concentration and a lot of effort. Hitching a ride is always easiest even when you know what you’re doing.” Danny motioned vaguely for a moment. He seemed like he was at a loss for words and I remembered he wasn’t normally stuck with training others on this topic.
“Is it anything like the Blessed portals? They have to find the right spot where they can open one. Usually a weakness that is reeking with corruption and anger. It’s easy to spot and makes any normal person nearby want to avoid it instinctively. Opening it is much more tricky. They need to part the magics that hold the realms apart and there are only a few moments it’ll stay open. The magic wants to stay shut and fight that weakness,” I explained.
“Exactly.” Danny breathed a sigh of relief. “But this can be opened just about anywhere. That feeling you had connecting and fully becoming just your spirit is what you’ll be looking for. It’s cold, and if you concentrate enough you can see the silver blue sparkle of the magic…”
Guiding spirits to the afterlife was Danny’s job. He knew this part well, but doing and showing were two different things. I watched as he motioned to a spot between us. “The magic to create a portal is within any spirit's ability. It only goes to the spirit realm. From there you can go anywhere.”
“Anywhere?” I asked, not sure if he really meant that.
“Yes. It makes travel so much easier.” Danny nodded, but then stopped. “Okay, almost anywhere. Safe areas like this you can’t just teleport into unless you started here. It’s annoying. So, being in here I can go anywhere within here no problem. I don’t even know how the safe areas know the difference.” He thought for a moment. “Oh, wait, duh.” Danny laughed at himself. “My body is still here. Of course it can tell that I am here, even if it’s two forms. That makes sense.”
I nodded, taking in what he was saying. “Okay, that makes sense… But how does one make a portal? You’re not making it sound hard.”
He lifted his hand. “By using your magic to cut through the magic of the normal realm.” With a wave of his hand a portal opened. Inside I could see it was all the same light blue, almost silver and then it was gone.
“That didn’t look hard,” I stated.
Danny smirked. “It’s very tiring and takes a lot of practice to master.”
I could feel my magic just at my fingertips. I tried finding what he meant by the magic of the normal realm but found nothing. “I don’t sense any other magic.”
Danny motioned around the room. “It is everywhere. Try walking around for a bit. See if it’s any easier.It’s easier to notice in some places than in others.” His smile was encouraging.
I couldn’t seem to get my legs to do exactly what I wanted at first. When floating felt more normal, I tried to sense any magic other than the spirit magic that was filling the room. The only thing that felt different was the shrine.
“I’ve got nothing. The shrine is the only thing that feels out of place, but I’m sure that’s not the ticket to learning this.” I huffed as I sat down away from my body. It was too weird to look at.
Danny sat beside me. “It feels weird because it can be used to connect you to your spirit form and the spirit realm. Want to visit anyway? You can keep working on this at any time.”
“I’m sure I can figure this out,” I grumbled.
Danny nodded. “Well, why not take things back a notch? Let’s work on the first step again, maybe without the disc. That way you will feel the normal magic again. Maybe it’ll help you make the connection.”
“That does sound like a good plan,” I agreed and walked back over to my body. It was still creepy to see myself just lying there. “So, how do I do this part?”
“Can you feel a connection between your soul and body?” Danny asked.
I closed my eyes and tried to find it. Nothing. “No.”
“Good,” Danny replied happily.
I looked at him, confused. “How is that good?”
“Because if you can’t spot it that means the connection is still very strong. The weaker it is the harder it is to return to your body,” Danny replied, putting it into perspective.
“I guess I am grateful for that.” I nodded, closed my eyes, and tried again. Instead of searching for a connection I decided to feel my own layers of magic. I couldn’t quite describe what I felt. The power easily streaming from my core to my fingertips was strong, and icy. A river of power moving below a thin sheet of ice. It was exhilarating. I t
ried calling it all to my hands and found a part would not budge.
Mentally I turned my attention toward that strand and felt it lead a small ways away from me. Gripping that chain I felt it lead to warmth. Excited, I pulled myself toward it and found myself taking in a deep breath of fresh air. I was finally back in my body.
“I did it!” My voice was higher pitched than I expected, the excitement showing in both my voice and features. It felt good to feel my cheeks flush.
A moment later Danny joined me. “Excellent.”
“Yes!” I cheered, getting up. For a moment I rocked but caught my balance. At the same time, I felt my stomach rumble.
Danny laughed. “Maybe we should have lunch first and then get back into it? It does take more energy than you realize.”
I handed him back the disc. “Agreed.”
17
“Let’s go elsewhere for practice,” Danny suggested as we left the dining hall.
“Where did you have in mind?” I asked curiously.
“When Mist actively taught people, she had a specific set of rooms,” Danny replied, leading the way. “Well, two rooms. They’ve been taken over since by Allium, her cousin, but her cousin knows about us and it’ll be a safe area to just leave our bodies. Allium herself practices air magic. Nothing too exciting, but she’s known for welcoming those with odd gifts to study, bounce ideas around, and to provide a good place to escape to.”
“Interesting. I suppose this would be a better place to find people more open to spirits.” I nodded happily.
“Not by much. It’s still seen as weird.” Danny shrugged. “It’s less problematic though for sure. Several consider it to be on the same level as curse magic. Not going to try and correct them. There’s too much tragedy involved and honestly, most people don’t want to understand.”
That did make sense. I guess acceptance just wasn’t in the water for me. So, I followed along silently, thinking about all the things Danny had said. We had just reached the building on the outskirts, barely within the safe range, when I stopped. My mind was elsewhere. All the offhand comments made earlier by Lliam and learning about souls suddenly seemed to fit together.