by Terah Edun
“I can’t. Maree Amber was very clear that I’m not supposed to—”
“As the person in charge of your care and your instructor over the next three days...”
“Instructor?” Ciardis said.
“Maree instructed you to obey my wishes, did she not?” the woman said authoritatively.
“Yes, but—”
“My wishes include a thorough instruction on the use of stabilization tactics through my air magic.” She hesitated and added, “Of course, this is a subject I wouldn’t force. What do you say?”
At that moment they hit a particularly bad rut in the road and were thrown to the left side of the carriage. When she impacted the wall, Ciardis felt her sheathed knife jab her cruelly in her stomach and her head banged against the wall. Shifting back into her seat while cradling her abdomen, she didn’t hesitate.
“Let’s do it.”
“Very good.”
Ciardis didn’t have anything against using her magic, and Maree Amber’s commands had been quite explicit. If this woman wanted to make their ride more comfortable while teaching her something, she wasn’t going to say no.
“Has Maree taught you to look for another’s power?”
“Yes, through mage sight.”
Alexandra looked out of the window for moment. “This is how we’ll do it then: I will call upon the air to form a light stream underneath the carriage. The carriage will then move forward on the air. Then we will use your power to create a stabilized feed. This road will go on for another five hours using that technique. But I warn you: the air must be constant underneath the carriage or we will go tumbling. I’m going to teach you not just to enhance a gift, but to steady it, and allow it to run on a power base far below normal output. Because the task we’re doing is simple, we can redirect the wind’s natural predilection to follow the currents and push it to follow the carriage.”
Ciardis was a little hesitant. “Isn’t that going against the natural order?”
“It is,” Alexandra said, “but this will also get us to the forest at a rate five times as fast. You cannot use the pegasi to fly to the Ameles Forest or gate in by portalway. It must be by this road, and time is of the essence.”
Weighing the pros took less than a second. “Let’s start on that lesson then.”
“In order to stabilize anyone’s power feed, you first need to know how much power they’re capable of pulling in to a task. What can they give over a long amount of time to feed the stabilization link? How much is too much power to take? And what is too little?”
Ciardis nodded. “How will I know?”
“Stabilization feeds are uncomplicated but need a dedicated source. They are usually done with teams of mages, but for this output only one mage is needed. I can do it, and because you’re unversed in this I will put a limit on how much magic can be drawn from my core.”
“Like a reserve?”
“Sort of, but more like a withdrawal with no option to increase the flow. It will be more than enough to serve our needs. All right, watch me.” Ciardis turned her mage sight on Alexandra. Ciardis watched while Alexandra drew power from her core and set the power aside in a neat ball that became visible without mage sight. It glowed like a small sun in the confines of their carriage. Inside the golden sun was a much smaller silver core.
“That small silver core is the last of the magic in this withdrawal. Once reached it will either have to be replenished or we’ll be riding on dirt again. I set it to silver to give us warning.”
“Not bad,” Ciardis admitted.
“I’m glad you approve,” Alexandra said with a smile.
“Now for the stabilization feed. See how I’m drawing power from the core sitting beside me?”
Ciardis nodded as a thin but fluctuating stream of power began to flow from the core through the floor and out to the underside of the carriage.
“I’m sending it into the air below to form a wind pathway for us, but it’s not stable. The power flow is fluctuating and becoming too big or too small depending on the air flow. It is responding to magic’s natural tendency to be fluid. I can stabilize it myself. But having a second mage on hand will help. I don’t deplete my resources as much and you can learn how to control power flow.”
“Now, Ciardis, I want you to tap into the stream of power. Not into me or my core. Reach out with your magic. Concentrate.”
Ciardis had never done anything like that before. She reached and reached...but there was nothing to grab the stream with. She could see the stream, she knew where it was, but using her magic to manipulate it was another thing altogether. It felt like she was missing a key step in the process.
“Here,” said Alexandra as she reached for Ciardis’s hand. She noticed momentarily that her hands were as cold as ice, but she focused on Alexandra’s instructions instead.
“Feel the pulse of my magic throbbing through my hands. Yes, like that. Now look through your mage sight and follow the path. The magic is flowing directly from my core—it pulses with the beat of my heart. Do you feel the withdrawal core beating with same intensity?”
“Yes.”
“Good, reach for it.”
Ciardis felt for it, but there was a barrier around the core. She couldn’t touch it.
“Keep going. If you can’t touch the core, see if you can hook into the stream.”
“Got it.”
“Keep hold and relax. Now you can feel the thrum of the power going through the stream. It’s pulsing erratically, with bits of magic large and small flowing through it. I want you to smooth it out, restrain it from taking too much magic at one time. Stabilize it.”
Ciardis blew her breath out slowly. The stream felt slippery, like a live snake in her grasp. She was beginning to sweat in the confines of the carriage and her curls felt heavy.
“Can you open a window?”
Alexandra opened the window and watched Ciardis while she sought out the coiled knots of too much magic flowing through the thread and the empty pockets of too little magic flowing out. Alexandra had put a barrier over her withdrawal core to make sure the girl couldn’t access or tamper with it. What Ciardis would deal with was the stream. She needed to learn to control her power, and, in doing so, learn to control her use of another’s.
Slowly, little by little, she used her magic like a rolling pin. Ciardis evened out the bumps and pockets in the stream, redistributing the flow of magic inside. When that was done, she said to Alexandra quietly, “Now how do I make it stay like this?”
“Think of your magic hold as a bottleneck; as long as you have a grip on the stream of power flowing into the underside of the carriage, you can control how much magic is released. Do you feel the magic flowing inside the stream?”
“Yes.”
“Keep monitoring it. Smoothing it out consistently. Restrain it when necessary. Soon it will become second nature and you won’t have to focus on it continuously.”
Ciardis didn’t take her eyes off the stream. Smoothing the flow took some finesse at first, but now it was mostly monitoring and hitting occasionally abnormalities when she saw it. After fifteen minutes, she sat back with a tired sigh. Her eyes still took in the stream, but she knew that the stream was flowing regularly.
“The trick,” Alexandra said, “is not to fall asleep while monitoring.”
Ciardis laughed. “Right.”
Then she noticed how smooth the carriage ride had become. With surprise, she looked out the window. They were floating a few inches above the ground and speeding along. This was so much faster. Comfortably monitoring the stream’s flow with just her magic, she watched the scenery go by. Now that the road was smooth, the carriage had picked up speed. They had long ago passed outside even the large towns on the outskirts of the city of Sandrin. The hamlets they passed through now reminded her of Vaneis.
The huts were square, some with multiple levels, but they were generally small in stature and made of brick with thatched roofs. They spoke of homely inhabitan
ts and farming communities. She saw men and women in the fields off in the distance, digging and irrigating their land.
Occasionally they would drive over a river and the carriage would move up and down as if on a sharp hillside. “The air outside had to be compressed and pushed upward,” Alexandra explained, “while moving over rushing water.” But for the most part it was just the road, the trees, and nature for hours.
“Will we be reaching Ameles sooner?” Ciardis questioned.
Alexandra nodded. “By the end of the day you shall see the forest rise above you.”
Chapter 20
They continued along the road. Villages only popping up sporadically, as the carriage cast its shadow on open fields in the noonday sun. Ciardis shook herself out of her stupor as the day grew closer to dusk. Alexandra was watching the scenery go by.
The carriage stopped at dusk. “I go no farther,” said the driver.
Alexandra got up and exited the carriage. Ciardis, still reeling from using her power over such an extended period of time, was slow to follow her.
The driver unloaded their two knapsacks and a very large trunk.
With a crack of his whip, he turned the carriage around and was off in a storm of dust.
“How will he get back without us?” Ciardis questioned.
“He’ll make it. It will take him a long time and he’ll have to stop in the local villages, though,” Alexandra said dispassionately.
Alexandra didn’t look like she was ready to move in the next few minutes. Ciardis glanced down at her knapsack resting in a pile with Alexandra’s own pack and decided to take her spyglass for a look around. They stood at the base of a small hill, and the road curved around it to disappear on the other side. Grabbing the metal instrument, she walked forward to see what she could see.
When she rounded the curve, dark forest stretched as far as the eye could see. The path ended at the curve of the hill. In between the hill and the forest stretched a flat, open plain. It was devoid of life. Empty of trees and plants, the land looked barren. Ciardis put the spyglass up to her eye. She focused on the woods before her.
Alexandra came up beside her.
She pointed to a spot in the middle of the trees. “There is our ride.”
Ciardis saw a rider emerge from the trees. One man rode in front with two saddled but riderless horses following behind him. She saw horses emerging from the depths of the trees, beautiful black horses with glossy manes and coats that shimmered like liquid midnight. Alexandra turned sharply and returned to their packages. After a few moments, Ciardis lowered the spyglass but continued to stare out at the barren landscape. What could cause such devastation? Particularly just feet from a forest that so obviously teemed with life?
As he got closer Ciardis was surprised to see that they were no ties between his horse and the two riderless ones. They followed on their own. Once he reached Ciardis and Alexandra, the man spoke to each of the horses in turn, but didn’t attempt to tie them up. The horses trotted over to the hillside and munched grass. Their tails, long and flowing, occasionally swished back and forth to beat off flies.
As he walked towards them Ciardis saw that his hair was closely cropped and black. His eyes were the darkest brown she had ever seen.
“Lord Mage Meres Kinsight, I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you,” said Alexandra, “but...”
The man cracked a sarcastic grin. “We’ve never been on good terms.”
He nodded to Ciardis in greeting.
“If there’s no need for delay,” he said in a leading tone.
Alexandra took his cue while replying, “There’s none. No other travelers are coming with us. I assume Lady Vana arrived with you?”
“She did. Let’s mount up then,” Meres said. “We’ll reach the campsite by dark. Terris and Vana are waiting for us there.”
They mounted up on the midnight horses and rode toward the trees. When they rode amid the forest, it was almost like being underwater. The tree canopy was so thick that sunlight barely reached the forest floor and it was already getting dark.
“Dismount,” said Meres as they reached a fjord. “We’ll walk across.” Water sloshed across her boots as she waded into the moving water while leading her horse by the reins. Smooth stones on the banks turned into thick mud, which grasped as their boots as they went across. The horses had an easier time of it. But the water was up to her hips by the time they reached the middle.
“Grab on to the horse’s mane, girl,” Meres Kinsight said. “Let him guide you.” Stumbling, Ciardis hurried to turn back and grasp the horse’s mane. With his weight pulling her forward, she made it across. Deep moss covered the bank in front of them as she reached shore. It squelched beneath her boots. She realized it wasn’t moss with her second step. It was too green and slimy.
Alexandra said, “Keep going, and don’t stop.” Her voice sounded different. High and melodic. Ciardis looked at her with a frown, but the horses were blocking Alexandra from view. Ciardis had a suspicion that Alexandra was performing magic. She could feel currents of air magic moving around her, but couldn’t tell what Alexandra was trying to accomplish.
Ciardis marveled at the trees they met on the other side of the river. Huge trunks the width of five men grasping hands arced upward into the night sky. She wanted to see what the forest looked like in the dawn, but for now she would enjoy the night forest. She crouched low momentarily to stare at a blooming flower, a deep red with glowing white tendrils rising from it. It was as if the plant were magic incarnate.
“That is a red moonflower,” said Alexandra. “As you can see, they bloom at night. They have hallucinogenic properties and also work as an anesthetic.”
Standing, Ciardis saw other flowers she wanted to touch and admire. But she did not. She heard the howls of night wolves roaming the forest. They were pack animals; where there was one, there was always more. She told Meres and Alexandra. They made no comment and continued forward.
After a few minutes they reached a clearing. It was filled with lush soft grass and tents had been pitched in the center. Strong, tall trees ringed the clearing like guardrails with very little space between the trunks except for one opening. As they walked through the entrance, Ciardis felt a tingle down her spine. As if the trees were recognizing her. She didn’t like it.
Moving forward they came to the campfire in the center of the ring. Terris and Lady Vana sat waiting for them in front of the fire with small gourds baking in the hot coals on the edge. While the three settled their horses and walked over to take a gourd, Lady Vana continued to speak to Terris in a low tone. The gourds were medium-sized, with the textured skin of branches woven into a bowl. Lifting the gourd to her lips, Ciardis took a sip, expecting water. Instead a rich soup filled with leeks, carrots, and juice met her lips.
She finished the soup in minutes, famished from their daylong journey over land.
“All right, is everybody finished?” questioned Alexandra. When everyone nodded, she said, “Good, let’s pack up for the night and—”
A scream tore through the silence of the night. A knife appeared in Alexandra’s hand in seconds. Ciardis sat frozen. She looked over at Meres and saw that he held a sword. Where had that come from?
A second scream echoed through the night, this time it was closer. Alexandra stood and began issuing orders.
“We can’t stay here,” she said firmly. “Grab only what you can carry and let’s go.”
“But—” protested Lady Vana.
“Now.”
The gaze she turned on all of them was that of a warrior. Ciardis didn’t miss the fact that Meres had already gathered his knapsack and stood close to the entrance with his sword out.
He began cursing and turned quickly to them. “Hurry. The packs are coming. Leave the horses.”
“Packs?” questioned Ciardis as she hurried to his side, Lady Vana and Terris beside her and Alexandra bringing up the rear.
“Vana, can you cast an orb? There’s no poi
nt in us running in the dark only to trip and fall into a sinkhole,” Alexandra said, her voice grim.
Without further words, the three adults created a light orb. Meres led in the front and Ciardis followed behind him with Vana in the middle, Terris behind her, and Alexandria last. As he carefully chose his path, Ciardis wondered what kind of pack it was that they were running from. Now didn’t seem the opportune time to ask.
As they maneuvered around giant tree trunks and hanging vines, the voices of animals chattering overheard ceased. Ciardis heard Meres curse again. Animals in the woods, especially small mammals like squirrels, chattered when they were frightened. Their silence indicated an even greater fear. The hunters were close enough to them that the animals were trying to hide.
“Ciardis and Terris to the center,” Vana said quickly. Alexandra, Meres, and Vana, who’d knocked an arrow in her bow, surrounded the two girls in a circle as they eyed the surrounding forest warily. Ciardis could feel her heart beating fast. It was throbbing in her ears as she strained to hear any sound of movement.
“What are they—”
Then the bushes around them erupted. A night wolf came barreling out of the forest, snarling and white teeth bared in the moonlight. It hit Meres—or, rather, it tried to. His sword gleamed as it arced through the air to slice into the night wolf’s chest. The wolf howled in pain and kept coming. Two others emerged from the trees and ranged around their small group, preparing to attack. Meres began to speak, not in the language of humans but in the language of beasts.
He was trying to reason with the wolves. It wasn’t working.
Vana edged forward. “Alexandra, take the one closest to you. I’ll take care of the other two.”
Vana gathered magic and shot the arrow in her bow. It split in two. Not when it hit its target, but before. The split arrow had reformed into two perfect arrows. One arrow angled left and the other angled right to target the two remaining night wolves. Ciardis was expecting the arrows to inflict a small wound on the large wolves. They were the size of horses, with heads as large as oxen’s heads. She didn’t think they’d go down easy. She was wrong.