Blaze of Magic

by J. A. Culican

  But when that energy reached her head... Whoa... A euphoric feeling struck her so suddenly that she almost fell over. The feeling faded quickly but didn't entirely vanish. It was the best she had ever felt, she had no doubt in her mind.

  I feel it, too, little fae. Your energy is passing into me, as well. By Creation, I've never felt anything like it.

  Neither had she. Part of her wanted only to keep feeling that now-gentle sense of perfect contentedness, of being at one with the dragon, mindless of all the problems in the world. Another part of her was terrified the feeling could pass away.

  Her tongue felt thick in her mouth as she formed individual words, saying, "That's incredible. But I thought we were here to fly. So, get going, mister!"

  She watched the dragon with eager anticipation, waiting for the light show that would come when he flapped his mighty wings. Nor was she disappointed; he leapt into the air and thrust his wings downward, and she barely noticed the lurching sensation in her stomach, so mesmerized was she by the brilliant light show playing out before her as Jaekob's neurological impulses spread through his body. It was amazing how many different muscles were involved with each flap of his wings, not merely the ones attached to the wings themselves but those throughout his entire body were involved to one degree or another.

  In her mind, Jaekob's voice echoed, seeming somehow sweeter and more intimate, as though it belonged to him and her both. No, it was more like they both had the same thought at the same time. The old tales say that after this, when we are airborne, we'll be able to see through each other's eyes, hear what we each hear, feel what we each feel—if we will it, and the other doesn't resist. Focus on my eyes, hone in on the impulses traveling to and from them. Make them your own, bring them through our connection into yourself. That's how it's supposed to work, anyway. I'll do the same.

  From his tone and the flavor of his thoughts, Jaekob seemed to feel the same awe at this that she did.

  As they rose up through the air, the first thing she noticed as she focused on his electrical impulses wasn't his eyes, but the field he was casting around them both. It kept the wind still, but she could see from the pattern that it also made them invisible to those on the ground below. How she knew that was what it did, she couldn't have said. It was some byproduct of this new bonding.

  Her heart raced as she followed the intricate, shifting patterns of his projected field, adjusting itself automatically to address the people on the ground; if anyone looked up, the field strengthened on that side. It was a gorgeous light show hypnotically playing itself out before her eyes.

  Focus, little fae. I don't think I'll be able to see through your eyes until you can see through mine, as well, and I'm looking forward to that.

  Of course. She looked forward to that, as well. She shook her head to clear the after-image of the fireworks going off all around them and looked at the space ahead of the brightly glowing mass in his head. She followed an impulse as it approached his eyes. There was a whooshing sensation, dizzying, and she felt herself drawn down into his neural network. She was that impulse heading toward his eyes. She was struck by the strong sense of vertigo as the impulses traveled to both eyes, making her see double. And then, there was a circle of light in the distance, which rushed toward her faster than anything she'd ever seen.

  She threw her arms up to protect herself as it smashed into them—or was it just her?—but she needn't have bothered. She was in no danger. It wasn't a wall or a ball of fire or anything dangerous. With soaring spirits, she realized she was now seeing through the dragon's eyes. As the view clarified, she gasped, forgetting every other thought.

  What she saw was incredible. Normally, only what she looked at directly was clear while everything else was blurry, becoming increasingly unfocused as it reached the edges of her view. The dragon's sight, however, was completely different.

  Her entire field of vision was now clear, everything in focus. And not just in focus, but the clarity was so vivid that it was surreal. She thought back to the time she had watched one of the humans' Blu-ray discs in secret, hidden from the foreman in her village. That hyper-detailed view on a huge television paled in comparison to a dragon's vision, though. Every outline was exaggerated, every detail etched with crystal clarity from the center of his view to the edges of his periphery, and she could take it all in at once.

  She wondered whether a dragon's eyes were multi-faceted, like an insect's. Instantly, she knew the answer. They were not. It had something to do with the very magic that made dragons possible in the first place, or rather, made all the Pures possible.

  Jaekob's thought rang clear in her mind. This is incredible. You really see like this? It's amazing. Only what you look at is clear, and it's so easy to focus on anything I want. It's like magic.

  "No, not magic. This is how most creatures see things, even Pures. What's really incredible is how you see things. The whole world is right there in front of you, clear as day. I'm awestruck. No wonder you see the smallest field mouse scurrying across the ground a thousand yards below. I see it, too, and everything around it. It's almost like I can sense where it will go next."

  That's the way we hunt. Both for food and in war. Some part of our subconscious processes their little muscle movements so we can see what they will do next. It makes it easy to avoid zigging when our prey is zagging.

  "Makes sense." Bells was too distracted by the vista that spanned out before her. Then, she slowly became aware of a pressure on her back, a comforting warmth. Whatever it was, she paid it no mind. It belonged there, almost like it was a part of her. In fact, if it wasn't there, she realized, it would be like missing an arm. She would feel its absence.

  Amusement washed over her, a gentle wave of Jaekob's emotions, sensed with vivid clarity.

  "What's so funny?” she asked. “Are you laughing at me?" She was grinning, too, almost as though his amusement was actually hers.

  Of course not. I'm just thoroughly enjoying this experience with you. That warmth you feel on your back? That's you. You're feeling what I feel. I don't think the old tales of dragons and their riders do the experience justice. I don't just see what you see or feel what you feel, but I feel like... like you're a part of me. No, like you are me, and I'm you. But I'm also still me. I can't explain it any better than that.

  "You explain it better than I could."

  She felt closer to Jaekob than she had ever felt to anyone. He was inside her, filling her, completing her. Surely no one had ever had the depths of emotion she felt for Jaekob at that moment. She was even more surprised when she realized that feeling wasn't connected to her new bond with him, but had been there for a long time. Maybe since the first time she met him, even. The Rider bond they shared only amplified what was already there. With a start, she sensed an echo of that feeling from somewhere close by. From Jaekob. Her emotion and his joined together and created a harmony that was greater than just the sum total of how strongly they each cared for one another.

  Her heart skipped a beat when it occurred to her that there was a word for what she was feeling. She loved him—and the way their feelings harmonized could only mean one thing... Her spirit, leaping for joy, flew higher than any dragon ever could.

  And then, a burning horror when she remembered that he could now read her thoughts. From then on, she knew, nothing would be private between them. And if she were honest with herself, she craved that bond, despite a nagging sense of being utterly vulnerable. It was more than embarrassing, being so much an open book to someone else, but it was also exhilarating.

  She hoped they never had to stop flying. Ever. They must eventually stop, and their problems hadn't gone away just because they had shared this moment of unity, this feeling of being at one with the universe and with herself, and the knowledge of this was almost crushing. Up there in the air, the universe was a round hole and she was a round peg. She fit into all things perfectly, just the way she was. Down there, she was rarely certain of anything at all, and even more
rarely fit in so perfectly.

  As the sun struck the horizon's edge, preparing to give up its final rays before sliding from view, Bells and Jaekob landed. She was content to sit on his back, experiencing each moment as its own unique bliss, and his thoughts were clear: he didn't want this to end, either.

  Many moments later, they both decided that it was time to head back to what the rest of the world called "reality." What fools, he thought. Or she thought. She wasn't sure who had which thought anymore, but it didn't really matter; they were together at that moment, and she belonged there more than she had ever belonged anywhere.

  Or did he belong under her more than he belonged anywhere? Again, it didn't matter. Their minds and wills were virtually as one. With a mutual sigh, the Dragon and Rider single being decided to separate, and Bells the individual slid from his back to the ground in one smooth motion. He was Jaekob again before she landed.

  She turned to look at him, but her smile was poignant. There was a hole in her where her dragon once had been. She was no longer complete, and she felt his sense of loss as keenly as she did her own.

  "I wish—"

  "—that we could have ridden forever," Jaekob finished her thought. "I don't want to—"

  "Neither do I."

  At the same time, they both said, "—but we have duties to meet."

  "Ew," Bells said, "that's gross. Stop that." She smiled at the same time he did. How long would the lingering connection last, she wondered? Hopefully, forever.

  "It's not forever. Not this strongly, at least, but we will always be connected, even at a subconscious level. We'll always be more complete than any other being in the world when we're together, and missing part of our souls when we're apart. But this feeling that I can't function without touching you somehow... That will pass. Mostly."

  Abruptly, she felt an absence in her mind, and while she still caught many of his racing thoughts, they were once again the thoughts of someone outside herself, not as though they were her own.

  She stifled a cry and lunged into his arms, wrapping hers around him and burying her face in his chest as she fought back tears. His warmth as he wrapped his thick arms around her was comforting.

  She pulled away. Those thoughts they'd shared while they flew together, the intensity of love and the completeness it gave her soul... Were those really his, or merely her thoughts flowing through him? For that matter, did he love her at all? Or did he love her and she had only experienced it because of the bond?

  She was so confused. Jaekob's thoughts boiled too fast for her to "hear," and they felt as disturbed as hers.

  He followed her as she withdrew, embracing her again. "Not yet, don't go. They aren't only your thoughts, Bells. The feelings I experienced with you could only exist if we both already felt the same thing."

  "Are you certain?" she asked, though she already knew he was. It gave her tremendous comfort. Whether they could ever do anything about it was an entirely different matter. In the air, the difficulties they would face if they sought to handfast seemed insignificant in the face of what they shared. Standing on the cold, hard ground now, however, those hurdles once again seemed impossible to overcome.

  "Thank you, Jaekob. I've never known what it was to belong somewhere, and you gave me that."

  He smiled at her, but his expression was worried. "Of course. No one forced me to do it, and a prince never 'belongs' anywhere but on the throne, standing alone even among a crowd. Everyone is alone, in the end, but a king more so. Thanks to you, I'll never truly be alone, though. Thank you for riding me."

  Bells smirked as an image crossed her mind that was very different than what he'd meant by those words. He laughed out loud, too, catching her amusement. His added to her own and before long, they both fed on each other's feelings and amusement to the point where they laughed hard enough for tears to stream down her cheeks, and she wasn't the only one.

  When the laughter died down, though, she grew somber. They decided at the same moment that it was time to return, and they both took a step with their left feet as they began the trek back to the car.

  They didn't stop talking excitedly together until they reached the Wards, and yet they had ridden in utter silence as far as any onlooker could have heard.

  Bells sat bolt upright, her blankets sliding off her camisole, and shouted, "The docks!" She had a moment of confusion before realizing she was in her bedroom. The carnage at the docks had only been a dream.

  Except it wasn't, she realized as she shed her sleepy confusion. It was real, and it was coming—she felt it in her bones. She climbed out of bed and peeled off her sweaty camisole, and hastily put on street clothes before sliding her sword into the sheath attached to a belt around her waist. She had to go.

  Go, go, go, the urgency screamed in her mind now that she was awake. With a flick of her wrist, she destroyed the locking glyph on her door rather than taking the time to undo it properly. She would create a new one when she got back, but there was no time right now. She opened the door far enough to slide out, closed it behind her as quietly as she could, then walked softly down the hallway with her boots in her hand, intending to put them on outside where she wouldn't wake anyone up by clomping across the ornate wooden floors in Mikah's manor.

  She reached her window in the hallway along the east wall. Hawking had infused her personal glyph into the house's defensive ones to allow her to enter and exit without tripping alarms. She slid the window open and took a quick look around, but didn't see anyone inside or out. She sent out her senses far enough to make sure there was no one nearby. The residents were all in their rooms and the guards were in the foyer. Satisfied that the coast was clear, she slipped out of the house and headed north toward the docks district. It was dark, which made it easy to throw on her shadow abilities.

  Her senses didn't reveal anyone nearby, but fae sense projection carried farther when focused rather than scattered all around. She didn't plan on keeping her senses extended the entire time. It would distract her and prevent her from staying alert and focusing on the problem ahead.

  Bells crept to the end of the block. Most of the docks were inside the area her senses could detect, and it didn't look good. She cut out the faint sounds of weapons clashing and screaming, and the louder sounds of occasional gunfire. Either there were humans there, too, or some of the Pures had stooped to using guns. It wasn't unheard of, just frowned upon. She took a deep breath and—

  A new shadow joined her own, bigger than her. She yelped and spun around, drawing her sword by reflex. Then, she froze. "Jaekob? What are you doing here?" At least one thing was going right. Memories of the day before came back.

  His expression was grim. "I saw you sneak out of the mano and decided to follow you. Tell me, why are you heading toward the docks district? Why are you going back to where this all began?"

  She was caught. She thought about lying but the truth was obvious, or at least it was clear where she was headed. Anyway, she wasn't really sure she wanted to lie to him. Not anymore, not after what they'd shared together. His company would be more than nice, even with the Sword of Fire protecting her. "I woke as if from a bad dream, but I was convinced it was no dream. There’s something going on at the docks, something going wrong. I felt an overwhelming need to go help. But I didn't want to wake anyone up in case it really had been just a dream."

  He looked at her askance. "Something wrong at the docks? I think we would've heard from the Guardians if that were true. Still, you were convinced enough to sneak out in the middle of the night, so maybe there's something to it. I'm a little more open to unexplained things since I met you," he said, and gave her a brief smile.

  Relief flooded through her. He believed her, or at least that she believed it. She said, "I've been focusing my hearing as far ahead as I could get it. I'm just catching glimpses of the outside edge now, and there does seem to be something going on. I hear what definitely sounds like a fight. A big one."

  "So you're headed there anyway? Inst
ead of just going to get some Guardians to handle it? You risk yourself, going alone, even with the sword."

  For an instant, she furrowed her brow and felt a flash of frustration, but it passed quickly. He wasn't wrong. "I'm going there, but I feel like I have to. It's my duty now, and—"

  "No, it's not," Jaekob said, interrupting. "You're not responsible for everything that happens in the city, you know."

  She smiled up at him and felt a bit mischievous. "That's right. It's not my job, it's yours. I guess that means you should come with me, right?" She rose up onto the balls of her feet, bouncing.

  Jaekob paused for a moment and then let out a burst of breath. "Fine. You're right." He smiled wanly at her. "I guess you really can't just go back to bed after something like that, especially when it turns out you were right. And you are also right about it being my responsibility, not yours. Somehow, though, I don't think you'd agree to go back home and just let me handle it. Would you?"

  Bells almost laughed at his expression and the half-pleading in his voice. He was worried about her, which was probably what she liked most about it. Still, she had the Sword of Fire, and she had a responsibility to use it to help others. "No, you were right the first time. I'm not going to go back home, and I'm not going to just let you handle it. Why don't you come along with me? I could always use a good sidekick."

  Jaekob laughed and they headed toward the docks side-by-side. But from what her senses were telling her, she wouldn't be laughing when she got there, and neither would Jaekob.

  Bells tried hard not to frown, irritated that it took ten minutes to get to the docks. As slow and cautious as she had been, Jaekob had been even worse. He insisted on stopping and looking around, listening. It was too bad he hadn't listened to her when she told him she could see and hear the things around them better than he could, at least here on the ground.

  In the end, she hadn't snapped at him because his aura was screaming "concern," and she actually liked the fact that the man she was in love with—when she admitted that to herself, at least—was at least as concerned about her as he was about his kingdom. It was flattering, especially since no one outside of her family had ever cared about her much. It was far more than any simple farm-girl fae had any right to expect.