Surviving Magic (The Legacy of Androva Book 6)

by Alex C Vick

  My temper rose. I tried to force the negative feelings back into her head, but she blocked me. Completely. As easily as blinking.

  “It’s your fault,” I snapped.

  “Oh, I control your emotions now, do I? I didn’t realise I was so powerful.”

  I gritted my teeth.

  Actually, she is pretty powerful. Nico was not able to block me this way.

  “That’s not what I meant,” I said.

  “No? Perhaps you could be more specific. This is a Communication Spell, after all.”

  “I know. It’s my Communication Spell,” I retorted.

  “Shame you’re not better at using it, then!”

  She has a point . For a second, I was so annoyed that I tried to pull my hand away.

  Stepping closer, she touched her nose to mine.

  “You have nothing whatsoever to be jealous about,” she said.

  I tried to calm down. I couldn’t pick up on her emotions, but she sounded sincere.

  “I’m sorry.”

  Maybe I’m being stupid.

  “Yes, a little bit,” she agreed.

  “OK, stop,” I said, infuriated again. “You’re too good at this. I need to have my thoughts to myself for a minute.”

  I let go of her hand.

  Of course, my mind then went blank. Typical!

  She waited, looking at me with a calm expression.

  Slightly self-consciously, I took her hand again.

  “Better now?” she asked.

  “Not really.”

  “Galen, don’t you know there are layers to this spell? You can use them separately. While you were gone, I experimented.”

  “Show me.”

  There was a pause. All of her thoughts and emotions remained hidden, but the expression on her face was clear enough.

  “Please, show me,” I amended.

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “Why are you being such an idiot over this?”

  I looked down at the floor. Yes, Galen, excellent question, why are you being such an idiot? Oh, for the love of Androva, shut up. Please shut up. She can hear all of your thoughts.

  I raised my head and saw she was trying not to laugh. I smiled reluctantly.

  I knew the answer to the question, anyway.

  “I don’t want you to be disappointed. OK? I was jealous because I’m afraid one day you’ll realise you can do better than me.

  “And you running rings around me with my own spell kind of proves my point, doesn’t it?”

  I stared at her, feeling miserable.

  All of a sudden, her mind opened up to me again, and it was like the sun had come out.

  “There is no one better for me than you. Not now, and not two thousand years in the future either.”

  She kissed me. I closed my eyes on the small rented room, and kissed her back. It’s hard to describe how fast I lost myself in her. The Finality Spell has nothing on this. With an effort of will that would have impressed even the Roman gods, I lifted my head.

  Her dark eyes were glittering. They look beautiful.

  “So do yours,” she whispered. Then she showed me what I looked like from her viewpoint. My eyes were almost silver. I look dangerous.

  Cursing the Androvan rules, I stepped backwards. It didn’t matter that we were already married. We weren’t eighteen years old yet. We could do no more than kiss.

  “We’re on Terra, not Androva,” she reminded me. “No one will know.”

  “I’ll know,” I said stubbornly.

  “Fine,” she said, and sighed. “Then you’d better carry on with the story.”

  Story? What story?

  I tried to get my scattered thoughts back under control.

  “Yes,” she said patiently. “The story of what happened to you during the last two days. Unless you want that lesson on deconstructing the Communication Spell first?”

  I chose the lesson. There’s no need for me to continue embarrassing myself by sharing my every stupid thought.

  “They’re not stupid,” she reassured me. “I like hearing them.”

  “Yeah, but you’re not sharing yours anymore, are you? Not the embarrassing ones, anyway.”

  “You might have a point.”

  Then she grinned. “Star boy.”

  I laughed.

  It was easier to learn than I’d expected. Once I knew which layer was which, I could project them or not according to my own choice.

  If only I’d known . Then Nico would never have been able to see my memories of Claudia. They simply wouldn’t have been part of the spell in the first place.

  It meant we could have an ordinary, if silent, conversation. There were no emotions or memories to get in the way, which was a lot better for everyday stuff.

  We went to get something to eat and drink before I finished telling her about Jax and Shannon. Terran food was going to take a lot of getting used to. Thank Androva for Manipulation Spells.

  After we’d eaten, we went for a walk, keeping to the shadows and holding hands so I could continue the story. I wanted to return to the back street where I had opened the portal that morning, to check if it was now closed.

  I did not enjoy repeating what I had learned about Angelus. My earlier decision to concentrate only on reversing the Spell of Removal for Shannon had not lasted very long.

  Claudia looked at me silently for a moment.

  “Angelus is a Roman name,” she said.

  “I don’t want to talk about it now,” I said. “I know what you’re thinking, because I’m thinking it too. I have an obligation to warn them. But not yet, Claudia. Not yet.”

  When I got to the part about the Signature Symbol, Claudia asked to see it. The smooth stone was warm from being in my pocket. She turned it over in her free hand, running her thumb across the swirl of the G.

  “What are you going to do with it?”

  “I don’t know. Bury it, I suppose. Near the other spell that I have no idea how to create yet. I can’t decide if I should use a Protection Spell on it or not.”

  “The other spell, that’s a problem, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. I don’t even know where to begin.”

  “I know where.”

  She stopped walking, turning to face me. There was a shift in the spell, and she sent me a memory. An older woman was placing something around Claudia’s neck.

  Snow was falling, and the surrounding landscape was bare and frozen. The woman was wearing some kind of fur over her shoulders. There was a cold wind bringing tears to Claudia’s eyes, but all I could feel was her excitement at the necklace.

  She brought up a hand to touch it, and I blinked. Like a Sygnus, but not. Like living magic, but not. Like a spell. Like something.

  “I want it back,” said Claudia, ending the memory. She started walking again.

  “That symbol was part of my family’s magic, and the Roman soldiers threw it into the mud when they took me. I thought I’d never have it again.”

  “But what can I do?” I asked, feeling nervous. Replacing one impossible spell with another was not exactly progress.

  “Remember when we first met,” she said.

  I thought of the night in the garden and our first kiss. It had been brilliant.

  “No,” she said, laughing. “I can guess what you’re thinking, but that’s not it.

  “I mean the very first time, when I sensed someone was there. It was the symbol you carry inside of you, I recognise it. A seven-pointed star. Different, but the same.”

  “Like you knew where my Sygnus was,” I added. “Even though it was hidden. I don’t think we’ve talked about it properly since the Communication Spell.”

  “If I draw my symbol for you, can you make it into a Sygnus for me?”

  I hesitated.

  “I don’t know. Only the Council have access to those spells.”

  “But you could try.”

  “Yes.”

  We had reached the portal. It was shimmering against a dilapidated wall
, hard to see unless you knew what to look for. I was so tempted to walk through it to find out what was happening in Pompeii. Perhaps I can save someone else…

  As we watched, it closed. I winced, trying not to think about what must be happening on the other side.

  “Let’s go,” said Claudia.

  “OK,” I agreed. “It’s too hot to stay outside anyway.”

  “No, I mean let’s go. Leave Roma altogether. There’s no reason for us to stay here now. You have the other coordinates, and this seems like a safe enough place to open a portal.”

  “Really? Leave, just like that?”

  “Why not?”

  She was right. We’d be a lot safer if we went somewhere Nico wasn’t visiting on a daily basis.

  “The coordinates Jax and Shannon gave me are still in the Roman Empire, though,” I warned her, preparing the portal symbols. It was tricky with only one hand.

  She made a face.

  “Great. No chance of escaping the shadow of the Roman eagle yet then.”

  “Unfortunately not. It’s somewhere the Romans call Britannia. They invaded it for the third time about twenty-five years ago, according to Shannon.”

  “I know it,” she replied, sounding sad. “Britannia is an island. Near to Gaul, but separate. My people and Britannia’s are very similar.”

  “I’m sorry about your family,” I said, pausing in my symbol creation.

  “Me too,” she replied, her voice in my head so quiet I could hardly hear it. Then, with a visible effort, she smiled again.

  “I hear that some Britons are still fighting the advance of Roma, just like my tribe did. When I was little, my father told me of a warrior Briton called Boudicca. She defeated Roma in several battles.

  “I will enjoy going to the land where Boudicca came from. And”—her smile became mischievous—“you’ll like being among my people. They wear trousers.”

  “Thank Androva! The return of my dignity awaits. Let me get this portal open.”

  I let go of her hand to finish the sequence. I was using the older, less stable method, so the portal would close on its own.

  There was no need to keep it open for Jax and Shannon this time. My Sygnus started to spin, and a new magical doorway rose up against the wall.

  “Incantamentum Indespectus,” I said, projecting my force field. Anonymity Spell.

  Claudia stepped closer so my spell would cover her too.

  “Salve Britannia,” I said, walking through.

  Two seconds later, I was wishing I had those trousers already.

  “Frigus,” I said, unnecessarily. Cold.

  That was an understatement. The wind was actually stinging my skin. If this is Britannia’s idea of summer, no wonder the Britons are tough.

  We were standing at the edge of a wood, and there was a single road some distance away. The green landscape was very peaceful compared to the crowded, noisy streets of Roma.

  Even the blue of the sky was softer, threaded with grey and white clouds behind which the sun was concealed completely.

  I turned in a circle, making sure there was no one around before I dropped the Anonymity Spell. I took Claudia’s hand, noticing that she was already shivering in her thin dress.

  “We need to find some…”

  “What?” she asked as my silent words trailed off.

  “…Clothes…” I added distractedly, taking a step into the woods.

  The living magic was drawing me in. It was mixed together with something else, murmuring against the edges of my force field like a voice I couldn’t quite hear.

  “What is that?” I wondered aloud.

  Claudia followed me silently, keeping hold of my hand.

  We reached a clearing. The air in front of us shifted slightly with some kind of spell, and Claudia gasped. She began to shake, and not with cold this time.

  “What’s the matter?”

  I could feel the magical energy too, but it wasn’t affecting me in the same way. I didn’t know what it was, only that it was there.

  I was curious. Encountering new magic was one of my favourite things.

  “It’s a type of curse,” she said, “used before going into battle, when there is no hope. I’ve only encountered one other, made by my father before he faced the Roman army for the last time.”

  She backed away, giving me no choice but to follow her.

  “It is always anchored somewhere like this, near trees or water. It is considered by some to be the ultimate Protection Spell. Whatever is done to you, you give back threefold.”

  “So you fight better,” I nodded. “Makes sense.”

  “No, you don’t understand. The curse is not just on your enemy. It is on you as well.”

  Her face was white.

  “Whatever evil you face, it is your fate to become three times as evil in return. If you survive, the price of victory is a terrible one.”

  She shook her head.

  “My mother refused to use it. My father died anyway, because the might of the force against us was too great.

  “However, if he had survived he would have been changed forever.”

  “But he would have been alive,” I pointed out. “Worth it, surely.”

  She pressed her lips together.

  “That is a matter of opinion.”

  “Is it actually dangerous?” I asked. “As we are not planning to go into battle?”

  I really wanted to get closer to it. The Researcher in me was fascinated.

  Reluctantly, she admitted it was not dangerous unless the Adoption Spell was triggered.

  “So why are you acting so freaked out?” I asked.

  “No one makes such a curse lightly. And this particular one is very powerful. Even you felt it, and you’re not one of us.

  “It scares me. How desperate must the magician have been who created this? And what became of them?”

  I wrapped my free arm around her and held her close until she relaxed against me.

  “We can leave. I don’t know how to create the spell for Shannon yet anyway,” I said. “Let’s find the nearest settlement and use my last gold coins to get some clothes, food, and a bed for the night.”

  We were walking along the road, towards some buildings in the distance, when I had an idea.

  “An Adoption Spell, you said. In the curse. Do you know how it works?”

  I felt her alarm.

  “There’s a reason why I’m asking, I promise,” I reassured her. “And it’s not because I want to activate the curse.”

  “It is like your Sygnus ceremony—it is blood magic. Just a few drops, mixed with the force field, and the spell is triggered.”

  I gave a slow smile. It was as I had thought.

  “That might be very useful. If we can figure out the layers, like you did with the Communication Spell… All we need to do is copy the right one.”

  She caught my excitement.

  “Can you do that? Just copy magic?”

  “Yes. I’m nothing if not a fast learner.”

  She squeezed my hand more tightly. “And then I’ll have my own Sygnus?”

  I nodded. “Then you’ll have your own Sygnus.”

  Chapter 22 - Creating A Terran Sygnus

  The closer we got to the buildings, the busier the road became. There appeared to be a large town ahead, and I was relieved to see it. The sky was turning dark as evening approached, and that icy wind showed no sign of abating.

  Plus, my stupid sandals weren’t designed for anything more strenuous than wandering about Pompeii. I would be barefoot on the stones if I had to walk much further.

  We passed a number of Roman soldiers, but there was a variety of other people using the road. Some on foot, some on horseback. Although Britannia was a Roman province, most people did not look Roman.

  The Britons were intriguing. Their clothes were made from sturdy patterned material, not like the silks I’d seen in Pompeii. They wore cloaks fastened with elaborate pins. There was other jewelry too, and long ha
ir, even for the men.

  When I saw someone with their skin painted blue, I think my mouth might have fallen open. Claudia tugged on my hand and told me to stop staring.

  “It’s no different to the Romans painting their faces white,” she said. “Blue just happens to be their colour of choice.”

  “Hmm. Perhaps it makes sense,” I said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s so cold that my face might be slightly blue already.”

  The town was called Verulamium. It was obviously new, as building work was still going on. Luckily for us, there was a Forum, and we were able to find a few traders still doing business.

  I changed my gold coins into silver denarii. We acquired warm clothes, and shoes, and found somewhere to stay. It had been a very long day.

  I created an Illumination Spell for our small dark room. I was going to make it red and silver, then felt an unexpected pang of homesickness. I turned to Claudia.

  “Vestri ventus color. Quid est?”

  Your favourite colour. What is it?

  “Caeruleus.”

  Blue.

  I made the spell in the shape of a delicate bird with a long tail, sitting on the table in the corner. As the tail feathers opened up behind the bird, the light shone outwards.

  Claudia stared. I knew it was Androvan magic, but I figured we were alone now. And I was fed up with only using simple Terran spells.

  I improved the Manipulation Spells the trader had used on my clothes, until the material was softer, the colours darker, and the fit much better. I could hardly wait to turn the soft brown shoes into black boots.

  Finally I was warm, and feeling like myself again. The bed might have been small with a lumpy mattress, but I collapsed onto it gladly, with a groan of tiredness. Any spells to make it more comfortable would have to wait.

  Claudia’s foot was pushing at my knee.

  “Galen…”

  I opened one eye.

  She gestured to her own clothes and gave me an expectant look.

  “Es certus?” Really?

  Knowing the answer before she gave it, I pushed myself upright. I suppose I can’t expect her to wait until the morning if I’m not prepared to.

  I made both her dress and her cloak blue, in contrasting shades. She smiled. I took the broach from the cloak and asked her to show me her symbol again.