Fearless (The Blue Fire Saga)

by Scott Prussing

  “What does your wizard say about all this?” Jenna asked. “Is it affecting his magic, too?”

  “His name is Dominic”—Leesa saw no reason not to tell Jenna his name—“and he doesn’t know about it. He did say that fell powers were stirring beneath the earth not too far from here, but that was a week or so ago, long before this started. I think it must be related, but I haven’t been able to ask him. Like I said, he’s gone away for a bit.”

  “Have you no way to contact him?”

  Leesa shook her head. “He doesn’t own a phone. If he needs to call me, he borrows one or uses a pay phone.”

  “I meant a magic way,” Jenna said. “I’d have thought he would have given you one.” She shrugged. “But with your magic so weakened, it probably wouldn’t have worked anyhow.”

  Leesa thought about the invisible ring on her finger. As long as she wore it, Dominic would be able to find her. She wondered if there was some way she could use it to contact him. If there was, he hadn’t told her about it, which was probably just as well. She didn’t see what he would be able to do about the situation, and there was always the chance that contacting him in a magical manner might draw the black waziri to him.

  “No, it probably wouldn’t have,” she agreed. “Rave—my volkaane friend—is pretty sure the situation is temporary, anyhow. We’ll just have to wait it out.” She saw no need to explain about the whole volkaane clan and the vague information they had found in their archives.

  “Well, I’m glad to learn this problem is not specific to me, at least,” Jenna said. She laid her hand on Leesa’s forearm. “And I’m glad to meet another woman with magic, too.”

  Leesa placed her hand atop Jenna’s. “I’m very happy to have met you, too.”

  29. EXPERIMENTING

  Leesa lifted her hand from Jenna’s and crossed to her dresser, where she grabbed her cell phone.

  “Do you want to trade numbers?” she asked. “So we can stay in touch?”

  Jenna’s expression turned wistful. “I wish I could, but I don’t have a phone.”

  Leesa almost couldn’t believe her ears. First Rave, then Dominic, and now Jenna. How was it that so many people she met didn’t have a phone? The answer was obvious—because they weren’t people, of course. They were a volkaane, a wizard and a witch. Still, it would be nice if at least someone else with magic had a freaking phone. After all, she owned one, and she had magic. She put her cell back down onto her dresser.

  “Really? Why not?”

  Jenna shrugged. “A couple of reasons, I suppose. I’ve always kind of kept to myself, so I’ve never really had the need for one. I live in a pretty isolated old house. It’s never been wired for phone or cable—or electricity, for that matter.”

  Leesa immediately thought of the volkaane village. It sounded like Jenna’s home would fit right in there.

  “What about a cell?” Leesa asked. “No wiring needed. Lots of people don’t have land lines anymore—they just use their cell everywhere.”

  Jenna shook her head. “A cell phone would interfere with my magic. With my shape-shifting, anyhow.”

  Leesa had not expected that answer. “Really? How come?”

  “Nothing mechanical—like a watch or a phone—can make the transformation, so they block it from being completed. I think it’s because there’s nothing analogous to them in the animal world. Clothes are okay, because clothes are not too different from feathers or fur. But not much else works.”

  “Fur?” Leesa asked, surprised. She hadn’t thought about what other shapes Jenna might be able to shift into. “What other animals can you turn into?”

  Jenna shrugged. “I’m not sure. Many, I guess, though I’ve tried less than a dozen. There are only a few restrictions. For instance, I can’t change into anything larger than myself, so things like horses or bears are out. Also, it must have four limbs, or something akin to limbs, like wings. So no spiders or anything, which is too bad, because I think it would be fun to spin a web. And it must have lungs, so no fish, even if they have four fins.”

  “Wow, that’s amazing,” Leesa said. “To be able to become so many different things. What are some of your other faves—besides the owl, I mean?”

  Jenna thought for a moment and then smiled. “When it gets really hot, I like to become an otter and swim in a stream near my house. It’s so fun and refreshing.”

  Leesa remembered how much fun she used to have watching the otters play on her rare visits to the San Diego Zoo. She could see how enjoyable it would be to be one.

  “That’s so cool,” she said, beginning to feel a little jealous. She was struck by a sudden thought. “What about the tail? You said the animal has to have four limbs. Shouldn’t tails count as a fifth?”

  Jenna sat down on her chair. “Apparently not. I think it’s because we have vestigial tails at the end of our spine.”

  Leesa remembered that now from her high school anatomy class. “Oh, yeah. That’s right.”

  “There’s one other restriction to consider, too,” Jenna said, “though it’s not a magical one. I don’t want to change into anything that could easily become prey. If I changed into an insect, for example, and some bird found me, my magic would not protect me. If my new form dies, I die as well.”

  Leesa hadn’t thought of that. “I guess that does limit your choices a bit,” she said, smiling. “Still, it’s way cool.”

  Jenna returned Leesa’s smile. “Yeah, it can be pretty fun.”

  “So, what else can witches do?” Leesa asked. She sat back down on her bed.

  “Well, we have lots of spells, just like wizards. I can cause plants to grow, same as you, and I can create some light, though it’s a bit different than yours. I can sometimes get people do things, though not something that would be entirely against their will. It’s sort of like hypnosis in that respect, only more powerful. If I’m familiar enough with a person’s vibrations, they don’t even have to be present. Not too long ago, I even got a vampire to do something, from a distance, of course.” Jenna smiled at the memory. “I think he’s happy enough with the result, but still, I’m hoping he never learns of my role in it.”

  “A vampire? Really?” Leesa’s mind flashed to Stefan’s eyes, which alternated between black mirrors and bottomless pools. “I can’t imagine my magic influencing a vampire to do anything. Maybe I shouldn’t have let you into my room,” she added, only half-jokingly.

  Jenna leaned forward and put her fingers on Leesa’s arm again.

  “Oh, no…I would never do that with you, I promise. Think of me as good witch, not a bad witch.”

  “I’m glad to hear that. Sort of like Glenda, in the Wizard of Oz, huh?”

  Jenna looked confused.

  “Don’t tell me you’ve never seen the Wizard of Oz,” Leesa said, disbelievingly. “It’s on television like all the time.”

  “Oh. I don’t watch television. No electricity, remember? But I take it this Glenda is a nice witch?”

  “Very nice. She floats around in a big bubble. I don’t suppose you do that, do you?”

  Jenna smiled again. “No, I’m afraid not. Nor do I fly on a broomstick, in case you were wondering.”

  It was Leesa’s turn to smile. “No, I wasn’t thinking that, I promise.”

  Jenna looked down at her hand, which still rested on Leesa’s arm.

  “I would like to try something,” she said. “If you are willing.”

  “What is it?” Leesa asked cautiously.

  “Don’t worry. It’s more something you’ll do. I want you to try your light spell again, only with me touching you this time, like I am right now.”

  Leesa looked down at Jenna’s hand on her arm. “Why?”

  “To see if my magic might augment yours just a bit.”

  “Really? Do you think it could?”

  “I’m not sure. But I think it’s possible. All magic is energy. Our magics are different, but maybe not so different that there might not be some effect.”

 
Leesa liked the thought of something enhancing her magic, especially right now, with it so diminished.

  “Let’s try it, then. Do you need to do anything special?”

  Jenna shook her head. “No, just to concentrate.” She pushed her fingers a little more firmly against Leesa’s forearm. “Go ahead.”

  Leesa drew in a deep breath while she mentally repeated her trigger word. She held out her palm.

  “Illuminati verdus,” she said.

  To her surprise and delight, the glowing orb that appeared above her hand was more than twice as large as it had been previously, more like a golf ball than a marble. It was several degrees brighter, too. While it still paled in comparison to what she had been able to just a few days ago, it was a definite improvement over her last few attempts. It lasted longer, too.

  “I’d say that was better,” Jenna said when the light disappeared. “Wouldn’t you?” She lifted her hand away from Leesa’s arm.

  “Ha! For sure. Can we do it again? I have another spell I want to try.”

  Jenna chuckled. “Sure. Go right ahead.” She rested her hand on Leesa’s shoulder this time.

  “This next one is pretty new to me,” Leesa explained. “Even before my magic grew weak, I wasn’t very good at it. Since yesterday, I haven’t been able to do it at all. That’s why I want to try it now. It’s a baby version of the beams you saw the wizards shooting.”

  Leesa did not expect too much from the attempt, but just to be safe, she pointed her palm toward the non-combustible front of her mini-fridge. She concentrated hard on seeing the yellow beam extend from her hand.

  “Magnus irrundi,” she said. “Magnus irrundi.”

  She was thrilled to see a pale yellow beam extend almost two inches out from her palm, about as far as her first successful attempt a week or so ago. When the beam disappeared, she pressed her hand to her forehead and found it was slightly warm. She smiled.

  “I take it from your smile that was a success?” Jenna asked.

  “Oh, yes. Definitely. Any beam at all is better than what I’ve been able to do the last two days. And it was warm, too. When I get good at it, I’ll be able to burn things with it.”

  “I’m glad to be of some help, then,” Jenna said.

  “Can you stay a bit longer?” Leesa asked. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you why just yet, but I really need to practice my magic, and I think I’ll do much better if you’ll stay and help me.”

  “Cautious again, I see.” Jenna smiled. “Like I said, cautious is good. I think I can probably guess why you need to practice so badly, but you can tell me in your own time. Meanwhile, I’m happy to help.”

  For the next two hours, Leesa practiced her magic, always with Jenna’s hand touching her. It wasn’t the same as before her magic weakened, but it was definitely better. And better was good, because she had no idea when being able to control her magic might be of crucial importance. She was willing to bet though, that it would be sooner rather than later.

  Finally, Jenna left, but not before promising to come back in a few days to work with Leesa some more.

  30. A NIGHT OUT

  For the rest of the week, Leesa concentrated on two things: school and her magic. She wasn’t certain how important her schoolwork really was in the overall scheme of things, even with midterms drawing steadily nearer, but she was a college kid, and college kids went to classes and did homework—at least most of them did. Besides, school kept her distracted from other things, like missing Rave terribly and wondering where Dominic was and how he was doing. So she dutifully attended all her classes and kept up to date on her homework.

  Practicing her magic was difficult and frustrating, but she hung in there and did her best. Dominic had stressed the need for her to increase her practice so that was what she was doing. With her magic weakened, everything took more effort than it used to, and by the end of her daily two-hour practice sessions she was usually drained, mentally and physically. Even if she’d wanted to practice longer, she didn’t think she could manage much more than she was already doing. She hoped this would all turn out to be like exercising with ankle weights on—when you finally removed the weights, everything seemed so much easier. She hoped the same would hold true with her magic, that when it finally returned to its normal strength, all her hard work would pay off with extra progress and ability.

  True to her word, Jenna had come by on Wednesday evening and lent her strength to Leesa while she practiced. Jenna’s timing was perfect, coming after two nights of very difficult practice without much to show for it. With Jenna’s magical energy magnifying Leesa’s, Leesa was able see to more success, meager though it was. It was far and away her best practice session of the week.

  Jenna had continued to be a bit quiet and reserved, sharing only a few more minor details about herself and her life, but Leesa was fine with that. Jenna was more than four hundred years old and had been a loner almost all of that time. Old habits were difficult to break, as Leesa knew as well as anyone. Besides, Leesa was also reserved and cautious by nature and was keeping secrets of her own from Jenna and others. Still, the two women shared a bond of magic and were slowly forging a deeper and more trusting friendship.

  The enthusiasm generated by Jenna’s help carried over into Thursday evening’s solo practice as well, even if the success of their dual magic did not. Leesa kept reminding herself that it was the process, not the results, that mattered most right now. The important thing was to keep on working, trusting that the effort would eventually be worth it.

  So here she was on Friday afternoon, practicing her magic in her room once again. She was doing it during the daytime today because Cali had insisted they all go out and have some fun tonight, calling Leesa a “boring, sorry-assed excuse for a best friend” because of how busy she’d been all week. Cali had said it with a big smile, though, so Leesa knew she wasn’t really upset. But Cali had also refused to take no for an answer, so Leesa would be heading to The Joint tonight for open mic night with Cali, Andy, Caitlin and anyone else who might want to come along.

  For now, though, she wanted to get in a couple of hours of magic practice. She was concentrating on magic and spells she already knew, seeing no sense in building failure experiences by trying new things that almost certainly wouldn’t work in her weakened condition. While she practiced a little bit of everything she’d already done, she focused mostly on her telekinesis and her energy beam, since those two seemed the most likely to be useful in any upcoming battle with the black waziri.

  She could still move small things, especially rounded ones like a tennis ball or a pencil. But when you had already moved rocks and chairs, causing a ball to roll off a desk was hardly a cause for cheering. Still, she practiced diligently, determined to make Dominic proud of her when he finally returned.

  With a sigh, she bent and picked up two tennis balls and a pencil from the floor beneath her desk and got ready to move them again.

  At seven o’clock, Leesa headed down to Cali’s room, ready for their night out. She was looking forward to it. They’d been to The Joint once before on open mic night and had enjoyed themselves immensely. She wondered if Andy was planning on playing the piano again. Since the place was casual and she wasn’t looking to attract any attention anyway, Leesa was dressed simply in jeans and a long sleeved purple and white checkered shirt. Her hair was pulled behind her in a thick ponytail. She expected to take a bit of grief from Cali about her lack of “glitz,” but she didn’t care.

  Cali did not disappoint.

  “Whoa, look at the party girl,” Cali said when Leesa walked through the open doorway. “You shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble.”

  “Ha! I’m just going out to listen to some music,” Leesa replied, “not to get up on stage or to make people notice me. Besides,” she added, taking in Cali’s ensemble, which just might have been the wildest Leesa had ever seen on her friend, “it looks like you went to enough trouble for both of us.”

  Cali grinned. She had gat
hered a section of hair about an inch thick on either side of her head with scrunchies, letting the rest of her dark hair hang loose. She had dyed the gathered section on the right a bright orange, the one on the left an emerald green. The scrunchy holding the orange hair was green; the one gathering the green hair was orange. She had matched her hair to her outfit by wearing a green shirt, a very short black miniskirt, and knee high white cotton socks with three wide orange stripes at the top. Her fingernails continued the color scheme—the nails on her right had been painted orange, while those on her left hand were green. The final touch was a mismatched pair of canvas sneakers, one orange and one green.

  She did a quick pirouette for Leesa, using the back of her hands to fluff her two pigtails away from the side of her head as she spun.

  “Oh, this?” she said, grinning. “I just grabbed the first stuff I saw.”

  “That’s what it looks like,” Leesa teased, “except that somehow the colors all match.”

  Andy’s arrival interrupted their banter. He was wearing bleached jeans and an open brown suede jacket over a darker brown T-shirt that proclaimed “Thank God It’s Fry Day” in big gold letters. In between the Thank God It’s and the Fry Day was a picture of giant fried chicken leg, dripping grease. No wonder he and Cali got along so well, Leesa thought, not for the first time.

  “Hi, girls.” Andy crossed quickly to Cali and kissed her warmly on the lips. “You look awesome,” he said.

  “What about me?” Leesa asked when he broke the kiss.

  Andy looked at Leesa. “You? You’d look beautiful in a potato sack.” He smiled. “You look perfectly fine, Leesa, which I’m sure is exactly what you were going for.”

  Leesa smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “Yep. ‘Perfectly fine’ works for me.”

  “Hey, how about me?” Cali asked. “Would I look beautiful in a potato sack, too?”

  “Incredibly beautiful,” Andy said without missing a beat. “And sexy, too. Just like you look now.”