by Narro, B. T.
Penny glared at Effie, clearly speaking about her more than anyone. “The Slugari know even less than we do about what we’re capable of with so much BE. So we must take responsibility. You’re going to start by learning a few words while I speak with the Slugari. No one leaves this room until everyone has memorized these words.”
She extended her hand to Steffen, who replaced her in front of the class. Effie felt slightly uncomfortable with him in charge of her group. Was he even prepared for this?
Surprisingly, his face was calm, collected. “Bastial Energy in Slugaren is one word: Bahsh.”
He waited for everyone to repeat it.
“If they’re giving you too much Bahsh, then tell them to stop, which is aishihallio.”
He gestured for them to say it. They uttered a jumble of syllables. It sounded like only a few people were saying the same word.
Steffen scratched his cheek. “Aishihallio,” he said again.
Effie tried to repeat what she’d heard. It came together with the other mages somewhat better the second time, but they weren’t nearly as unified as with Bahsh.
“Is there another word for stop that’s easier to say?” Effie asked.
“Unfortunately, no.”
She found that hard to believe. “What about halt or cease?”
“They don’t have those exact words, and what they do have isn’t easier. Aishihallio.” He held out his hand for them to repeat it.
It sounded good the third time, but Effie was nowhere near confident she could remember it.
“To tell them you want more, say hallio. It’s the same as the ending to aishihallio.” He gestured, and they repeated it.
“That’s confusing,” Effie complained. “It’s going to be hard to remember which one is which.”
“It might help to know that aishi is a common word in Slugaren. It means almost the same thing as no. Instead of two separate words, they usually just put aishi in front of a word to get its opposite meaning. If you can remember this, then you shouldn’t ever get confused.”
Effie was embarrassingly bad when it came to memorization. She bit her lip as she repeated in her mind, aishihallio means stop. Aishihallio means stop.
Steffen had them repeat Bahsh, aishihallio, and hallio until everyone seemed to have it. But Effie knew that didn’t mean she’d learned it for good. She continued to repeat aishihallio as they left the classroom and walked to the training grounds outside.
There wasn’t a lot of space for all the Slugari and the entire mage group. This worried Effie even more. Penny stood in front of the charred training dummies with a Slugari beside her. When Effie found grins on the little creatures’ round faces, her nervousness dissolved. They were so cute, she wanted to squeeze them.
The two teeth of the Slugari were especially large, making their resting mouth slightly agape. Their beady eyes stretched and seemed to reflect excitement as they smiled. Their antennae were pointed forward while the flowerlike nose between their antennae slowly drifted back and forth.
Their torsos were plump. Even in the shade from the blackened walls around the training area, their emerald green flesh still had a shine. Their small rounded tail didn’t wag like a dog. The only time Effie saw the tail move was to propel the Slugari forward, slithering behind them like a snake while the rest of their body rippled.
“This Slugari is female,” Penny announced. “And her name is…” Penny leaned down to the shy creature. “Can you say it for everyone? It’s difficult for me.”
“Khy,” the Slugari said in a meek voice. Her name had a sound that wasn’t part of any pronunciation in common tongue. To Effie, it sounded like someone clearing her throat, with only a faint trace of a hard “Kai” sound.
“Hello again.” Steffen waved. “I didn’t recognize you at first.”
“Hello, Steffen. We’re happy to be here.” The Slugari spoke common tongue very well.
Penny asked, “Do you mind if I call you Kai?” She said the Slugari’s name without the sound of air rushing through her throat.
“That’s fine,” Khy said.
“Kai will be translating my announcements to her fellow Slugari. Steffen will help later when all of you are working with the Slugari individually.”
Khy translated as Penny spoke. Effie ran her eyes over the clump of fifty Slugari, wondering which one would be feeding her Bastial Energy. They didn’t seem to mind huddling together, possibly even liked it, as there was hardly any space between them.
“Everyone please create a line facing me,” Penny said.
As Effie and the others got into place, the Slugari filed into a line as well. But Effie never heard Khy tell them to.
Penny noticed it as well. “How did they know to do that?” she asked.
“We can communicate simple ideas through our antenna.” Khy pointed a claw above her head.
Psyche? Effie wondered.
“Can you tell the Slugari to choose a Human to work with?” Penny asked.
This time, Khy spoke Slugaren so the others knew what to do. Effie quickly found which Slugari had chosen her, as its eyes didn’t leave her face while it jiggled over to her.
“Hello,” it said when it was close, its gray eyes wide with palpable friendliness.
“You speak common tongue?”
“I try learn.”
Some is better than none, Effie thought. She could hear the other mages attempting to introduce themselves.
“My name is Effie.” She put her hand on her chest.
“My name is Hayleokaylem.”
Bastial hell! Effie held her smile as best she could. “That’s a long name,” she said. “Can I call you something shorter, like Hayleo or just Leo?”
The Slugari continued to smile. In an extremely polite tone, it said, “No.”
“Oh.” Effie was shocked. Then it occurred to her that the Slugari probably meant yes but got its words confused.
“Do you know what no means?”
“Yes.”
That confused Effie even more. If the Slugari thought no meant yes, then what was it saying? She scratched her head. Penny spoke before she could figure it out.
“You can tell if your Slugari is male or female by its tail. Males have shorter, more rounded tails.”
Effie found Leo to be male.
“Does everyone remember the three words Steffen taught them?” Penny asked.
“Yes,” nearly everyone replied. Effie was too distracted trying to figure out how to determine if she could use the name Leo or not.
“We’re going to begin with some BE,” Penny said. “Take the claw of your Slugari and ask for Bahsh. They know to start with just a little so your body can get used to it.”
Leo raised his arm. Effie took hold and felt his claws come around her hand. They weren’t that sharp, but Leo easily could cut her if he wanted to.
“Bahsh,” she requested.
Leo produced soothing heat, and her body soaked it in like a sponge.
“Concentrate on controlling it,” Penny said. Then she waited a moment before saying, “Raise your wand if you believe you could turn this BE into a fireball.”
Effie raised hers, figuring all the mages would do the same. But she was surprised when only five others did.
Penny had her hand locked with Khy’s claw. “It seems to work better when I actively pull BE into my body. The energy coming from Kai’s claws is just a boost then.”
Many mages began breathing deeply, focusing hard to pull in Bastial Energy. But Effie didn’t feel the same struggle. Her body absorbed it freely. It was more difficult for her to stop it. In fact, there wasn’t much more she could handle without needing to cast. Her body was becoming hot, itchy and full of energy.
She took her hand out of Leo’s grasp. Patting his head, she said, “Too much Bahsh for me right now.”
He seemed confused, reaching for her hand again.
When she moved it farther from him, he seemed to understand. He muttered something in Slugaren.
Many mages were asking questions. Penny took a break to send Khy and Steffen around to help the pairs communicate with each other.
“May I call you Leo?” Effie tried again. She’d forgotten his full name.
He just looked confused. She tried to think of what she could say, eventually deciding to wait for Khy to come over.
“Is my mate bothering you?” Khy ran her claws down Leo’s back.
“I didn’t know he was your mate.”
“His common tongue still needs a lot of work, but he’s much improved.”
“Can you ask if I can call him Leo?”
Khy spoke Slugaren, ending her sentence with, “Leo?”
“Leo is fine.”
“Thank you.”
Penny whistled to get their attention. “Let’s try again. This time, more BE. Afterward, those who feel they can manipulate it will get a chance to cast.”
Effie looked forward to casting, eager to see how big of a fireball she could create. She’d never made one taller than her, but she felt as if she could with Leo’s help.
Her Slugari partner gripped her tighter this time. She wondered if he didn’t like it when she let go. Maybe it was some form of insult? He started to push the energy through his claws.
She was amazed by how much Bastial Energy Leo could control effortlessly. It was only a breath before Effie felt the need to expel it.
What was the word for stop? Panic made her memory worse, and knowing this about herself made her panic even more.
She remembered Bahsh for Bastial Energy. But what was it for stop? Something like ashy…ashy hell.
“Ashy hello,” she tried.
Leo tilted his head, confused. “Hello?”
“Ashy hell!” Effie tried to pull back her hand, but Leo wouldn’t let go. She pulled harder, lifting half the Slugari’s body from the ground while focusing to keep the BE from being expelled.
Leo wrapped his other claw around her wrist and said something in Slugaren. She could feel her body on the verge of being burned from the inside from too much BE. She had to let it out.
“Penny!” she screamed desperately, barely able to speak without exploding.
Leo seemed to understand then, letting go. But it was too late. There was too much BE already within Effie. She knew the moment she tried to let it out slowly that it would erupt violently. It raced to escape with such force, she felt as if she could be ripped apart by trying to hold some of it back.
She had to cast, but Penny was in front of the training dummies. Students were all around her. She screamed to keep her focus, trying to ignore the urge to shoot a fireball into the air.
Just aim high at a wall. Hopefully the bricks can contain it.
Without another choice, she aimed and let out all the energy in a single burst.
Never had she seen a fireball so large. The walls surrounding them were ten feet tall, and her fireball struck one from its middle to its top. Some of the burning orange and red went over. She barely saw it happen, as the force of it made her fall backward.
The fireball splashed against the wall, bouncing back and raining down.
“SE!” Penny screamed. Effie already had the same idea. She, her instructor, and a few other mages snapped their wands to create a thin level of Sartious Energy, catching the fragmented fire. Effie did so from her back.
Once it was all out, Penny sprinted past Effie, out of the training grounds.
The fire went over the wall, Effie remembered. She ran after Penny.
Splotches of fire were scattered along the dirt outside. Luckily, no one was there. Penny kicked dirt on the flames until they were out. Everyone had joined them by then.
Penny glared at Effie with her arms folded. “Let me hear you say the word for stop.”
A word came to Effie, though it didn’t feel right. She said it nonetheless. “Seshala.”
Many of the Slugari murmured, some uttering a high-pitched giggle.
“That’s not it,” Penny said, her glare worsening. “You could’ve killed someone.”
“I’m sorry.” Effie looked to the dirt, unable to meet her instructor’s eyes.
Penny let out a loud sigh. “I suppose it’s good you can cast such a fireball. But I don’t know what I’m going to do with you.”
It was incredibly uncomfortable with all the mages and Slugari silent, watching.
“Everyone but Effie, back to training,” Penny said. Then she pointed at Effie. “You’re going to be training with me during lunch.”
Khy was translating for the other Slugari. Effie wished she wouldn’t but said nothing of it, nodding subordinately to Penny.
“And what should I do while everyone else is training?”
“Watch, listen, and learn the damn Slugaren.” Penny started back toward the training grounds. Khy and Leo came up to Effie.
“How do you know that word?” Khy asked.
“What word?”
“The one you said.”
“Oh. I have no idea. Is it a real word?”
“Yes. A very bad word.”
Effie nearly fell over from shock. “What?”
“You must’ve heard it when you were in our colony,” Khy said.
Damn my memory, Effie thought. How could I remember that and not…then she realized she still couldn’t recall the word for stop. Bastial hell, where’s Steffen?
She located him, but she needed to know one more thing before going over.
“Can you ask Leo why he didn’t let go of me?”
Khy asked, and Leo flailed his arms at Effie. “I think want Bahsh,” he said, then transitioned into Slugaren.
“He was told you’d learned the word for stop and would say it when you wanted him to stop. So when he felt you tugging, he figured it was just some movement Humans did when they drew in Bastial Energy. He thought you wanted him to hold on at first. It wasn’t until you screamed that he realized you wanted him to let go.”
“Sorry,” Leo said, tapping her knee with his claw as he lowered his head.
“Slugari tap low on another’s body when apologizing. The lower, the worse we feel.”
Effie squatted to get low. “I am the one who should apologize. I put everyone in danger.” She tapped the very bottom of Leo’s stomach. It was gray, unlike the rest of him, and quite soft.
He giggled and pushed her hand away.
“Slugari are ticklish on our stomachs,” Khy informed her.
Chapter 27:
EFFIE
The only time Effie got to use her wand again that day was after a quick lunch with Penny, Khy, and Leo. Penny had food brought to them out on the training grounds, giving them more time to practice before the rest of the mages from her group returned from the dining hall.
She’d memorized the Slugaren by then, though she knew herself—she would have to practice again that night and the next morning. After that, she should have it.
It wasn’t easy focusing with a full stomach, especially knowing she had less than an hour before she was stuck watching everyone else again, bored. But it quickly became clear that Effie had no trouble reproducing the massive fireball she’d unleashed earlier.
She couldn’t stop smiling after Penny realized Effie could cast bigger fireballs than she could, even with both of them drawing Bastial Energy from their Slugari partners. Effie’s fireballs were too massive for the training dummies. There was little point in even aiming, for the explosion of fire reached two, sometimes three dummies after crashing into the wall behind the one that took the majority of the force.
Effie tired herself out rather quickly. It was difficult not to when she didn’t allow herself breaks for meditation.
Soon, she found out Leo was exhausted. He shook his claw at her and said, “I rest.” Only then did she realize they both were panting, the little Slugari’s fat stomach expanding and contracting with each breath.
She petted him, kneeling and moving her hand down his smooth back. “Good job,” she said.
&nb
sp; “What is?” He pointed his claw at her hand on his back.
Effie stopped. “Don’t you like that?”
“I…” He looked to where Khy was working with Penny and asked something in Slugaren.
“Don’t mind,” Khy told him.
“I don’t mind,” Leo said. “It’s strange. I don’t mind.”
“It’s strange, but you don’t mind?”
“Yes. But I don’t mind.”
Effie was ready for more fireballs then.
Minutes before everyone was due back, Penny stopped casting to watch Effie once more.
“Bastial hell,” Penny said. “I can’t imagine you being able to safely cast a fireball that size during battle. You’re going to hit some of our own.”
Extreme disappointment made Effie’s shoulders collapse. She waited for the inevitable—Penny telling her she should focus on training with smaller fireballs.
Then Penny surprised her by saying, “But if you could learn distance casting, I could put you with our archers. Would that be alright?”
“Yes.” Effie smiled in relief.
“Tomorrow, you and Leo will train with a few others on our wall, casting out onto the open land to the east. Meet at our classroom first, though.”
“Thank you. But does this mean I’m done casting for today?”
“Yes. You can put your wand back on your belt.”
Fortunately, Penny let Effie leave early after it was clear there would be no more discussion, just mages training with their Slugari. She took the rare opportunity to see if she could get a glimpse of how Reela and the other psychics trained.
Battle training for psychics was always last to begin and first to end. Reela had explained this was to give the psychics more time to practice on their own, as that was the main way any psychic could improve. This just made Effie even more curious about what the psychics did together. Reela had told her she was bored for most of her time spent with her classmates.