So for his grandfather to break that tradition... it was wrong. As much as he liked and respected the Elder Mage, Izban was not going to be an accomplice to him endangering their society's structure. If one of them somehow managed to become immortal, others would want to follow. There'd be fights, jealousy, maybe even deaths. No, he wasn't going to have any part in that.
He crumpled the list in his fist. If his grandfather wanted to do this, he was going to have to do it without his oldest grandson.
"Wait," he suddenly said and Amber stopped, looking at him expectantly. He was grateful that she had left him to his thoughts. Not many girls he knew would have done that.
"This ruby must be pretty rare, right?"
She shrugged. "I've never heard of any like it, but I'm not an expert in incubus-infused gem stones."
She winked and he had to smile. It was good to have her here with him. Maybe they could stay in touch after he left the school. Maybe she could go along on one of his meteorology expeditions...
"So if this one was to mysteriously disappear..."
"Then he'd have a hard time finding another. I like the way you think." She grinned at him and something near his stomach contracted. Maybe a bit below his belly. Like, between his legs. Nobody had ever had that effect on him, at least not after so short a time. They'd met maybe twelve hours ago and already he was thinking how he would like to spend more time with her, a lot more time.
He cleared his throat, trying to distract himself from her alluring smile.
"Same goes for that book about those horses, it looked so old that I doubt there are many copies lying around."
He unfolded the crumpled piece of paper he was still holding in his fist. There were a few rips in it, but the list was still legible. He showed it to Amber and she pointed at the final item.
"A hair of an Arran giant - weren't they supposed to be bald?"
"I've never even heard of them," Izban admitted. "Arran like the island?"
"Yes, there are giants' graves there and they even found a few remains nearby. Of course the humans believed it was a hoax, but the bones were taken to a lab in Edinburgh where one of my distant relatives works."
"There are beithirs who work among humans?" Izban asked in surprise.
"It's a supernatural lab, but yes, not all of us are as reclusive as my family. It takes a lot of effort to blend in when you have a tail."
"So you're saying that there is no Arran Giant hair because they were bald? Then why is it on this list?"
Amber shrugged. "All I know is that they think they were bald, but they only found skeletons, so maybe they did have hair and we just don't know it? Anyway, I have no idea where that hair would be kept. Pretty sure it's not in this school."
"Well, that makes it easier for me not having to hide it. And this ruby... we could always destroy it. It's not like anyone would be able to find out what we did with it anyway."
She frowned. "How do you want to destroy it? It looks pretty solid to me."
He had an idea, but he wasn't sure if she'd be up for it. During their pretend lesson earlier that day, he'd felt her power, but it looked like she had no idea about it. He was going to have to be careful, he didn't want to make her feel inadequate or stupid. Because that was something she definitely wasn't. Untrained, yes. Stupid, not at all.
"I think lightning might destroy it," he said in as neutral a voice as possible. "With enough energy pressed into the ruby, it might shatter."
"And where are we going to get lightning from? Are you going to ask Thor to come down from Asgard?"
Thunder rolled over the school and they both jumped, bumping into each other. They stepped back, avoiding each other's eyes. Izban could still feel his skin tingle where she'd touched him. He was almost hoping for another bout of thunder to make her do the same thing.
They'd reached the main entrance hall. It was empty; everyone was in bed.
"I'm a meteorologist, did you forget? I knew it was going to storm tonight. Now we just need to find a way to conduct lightning into the stone."
"Is that something you can do?" she asked, still not aware of what he was getting at.
He took a deep breath. "No, but I believe you may be able to.”
7
"No." She shook her head profusely, her hair whipping against her cheeks as she did. She could feel the power of the storm brewing above them, but she knew as well as anyone that she wouldn't be able to harness it.
She wasn't old enough.
She wasn't powerful enough.
She just wasn't enough.
"I think you can," Izban tried to assure her.
"I've never been able to control lightning, I don't know why you think I'll suddenly be able to do it now."
"Will power is a powerful thing," he pointed out, just annoying her rather than anything else. How would he know anyway. He wasn't a beithir. He just had mage powers. And while she didn't know how they worked exactly, she doubted they’d be the same. Especially because they seemed to be teachable, whereas beithir powers were just innate at birth. It was only once they'd manifested in the beithir's twenties that they were able to actually learn how to harness them properly.
And only ever from another beithir too. She'd always imagined it'd be her mother who taught her.
"I can't do it."
"Please, try. We haven't lost anything if you can't do it. And if you can, well we're further ahead than we were before."
She studied him intently. He seemed to be being earnest, but it was hard to tell. She really didn't know him that well. Or at least, not as well as she should to be making these kind of assumptions.
"Fine, I can try. But I'm not promising anything."
"Good. What do you need?"
"How should I know? It may have escaped your notice, but I've not done anything like this before," she bit out.
"Sorry, I forgot for a moment. You said you lived in the mountains, right?"
"Yes..." She drew out the word, wondering where he was going with this.
"We could go up the one behind the school?"
She nodded. That was a reasonable suggestion, and she was a little bit miffed she hadn't come up with it herself. It was kind of obvious now she was thinking about it.
"Okay."
"Do you know how to get there?" he asked after a moment's silence. She let out the laugh that was building within her.
"Of course I know. I haven't spent years at this school and not explored everywhere I can."
"When you weren't supposed to be, no doubt."
"Nope, none at all. There's the thing with being a giant poisonous reptile. Other than the odd bully, most people tend to leave you to your own business."
"Just how poisonous are you?" His brow furrowed as he studied her, and she smiled at him sweetly.
"You don't want to find out."
"Meaning you don't know." He smirked at her, and she had to admit being amused he'd worked it out so quickly.
"Not really, no, and I'm not in a hurry to find out. But fully mature beithir poison can kill most things. I'm not far off from that point, so I'd advise against getting in the way of my teeth."
He laughed, the sound deep and throaty, travelling through Amber far more than she expected, or was comfortable with. These weren't reactions she was used to or expecting. And she wasn't completely sure how best to deal with them.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Good." They stood in slightly awkward silence for a moment. Probably partly due to the fact Amber's mind had wandered off to situations where him being in the way of her teeth might not be so bad. Her human teeth anyway...
She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the images. Now wasn't the time.
"Shall we get going?" she asked him after clearing her throat.
Izban jumped slightly, as if being drawn out of his own thoughts too. "Yes, let's. How long will it take to get there?"
"It depends. How averse are you to flying?" An idea was forming in her head, and
she was eager to try it out. She might not have ever had anyone on her back before, but it sounded like a great challenge to fly so they could stay there. She just hoped Izban was strong enough to hold on.
"I don't know a spell for that, sorry."
"I wasn't talking about a spell," she responded, a wicked grin twisting at her lips.
She performed a quick half shift, before ridding herself of the clothing she'd put back on after leaving Bea. Then, she performed one of the quickest full shifts of her life. Probably because it was happening so closely to her previous one. She didn't think she'd ever shifted twice in one day before. Not since she was a child anyway.
She stretched her neck from side to side, before lowering her head to lay next to Izban.
An uneasy look graced his face, but she didn't really blame him. Not many people would be comfortable if a giant reptile presented them with its neck.
"Are you sure, Amber?"
Oh, she liked how he said her name. And how he was actually checking that it was okay. In fact, she liked that a lot. It said something about him.
She nodded her large head up and down. He sighed, stepping towards her. Maybe his question was more to do with his own fears than wanting to make sure she was comfortable.
Well, no matter the reason, it was a good thing.
Carefully, and a little reluctantly, she felt Izban climb onto her neck, swinging his left leg over so he was straddling her. It felt odd to have someone sat there, but not as unpleasant or intrusive as she expected. He gripped onto the mane of scales that travelled down her back, and she chuckled inwardly. That was a use for them that she'd never thought of before. It'd help his grip though.
Amber gave him a few moments to get comfortable, before using the lower part of her body, including her tail stub, to propel herself off the ground and into the air.
Izban let out an involuntary scream, and she laughed to herself again. If she was feeling particularly mean, then she'd have done some aerobatic tricks while she was flying, but she didn't think he'd appreciate those. Plus, she'd feel more than a little guilty if she dropped him.
There'd be a lot of questions too. Questions she wasn't sure she really wanted to answer.
Her family would likely be horrified she'd let someone ride on her anyway. Never mind the fact there'd be a dead body to deal with.
Izban's screams of surprise soon turned into shouts of enjoyment as the wind rushed past them. If she'd been human, she'd have smiled. There certainly was something about the rush and anticipation of a storm. She was glad he could feel it too.
Non-magical people might wonder why someone who was basically a snake without wings could fly. Well... magic. She didn't quite know how it worked, but she'd never crashed so that was all that counted. And it seemed like she could even carry a passenger without much trouble.
Izban was really enjoying himself. His thighs gripped her body tightly, but his arms were in the air, embracing the wind that was surrounding them. Sometimes she felt as if the elements wanted to play with her when she was flying. Especially during storms when the wind would push her from side to side, but never hurting her. It was a beautiful feeling that she got far too seldom. She wished she was back living in the highlands with her family, with no humans around who could spot her. Here at the college, she rarely went out to fly; they were too close to populous areas. And the winds here just weren't the same as the gales over the mountains.
Thunder rolled close by and Izban fell silent for a moment. Was he afraid? But he cheered again and she knew he was fine. Lightning flashed in the distance and she was tempted to fly closer, but that wouldn't be safe. Everybody knew lightning was dangerous, even if her heart didn't believe it.
The top of the mountain came closer and she began her decent, slithering downwards, trying to be gentle. When she was alone, she did some daring manoeuvres, but not with Izban on her back. Maybe for their next flight.
She sighed when she landed on the wet grass that covered the mountain top. She already missed the feeling of weightlessness, but she had a job to do. She shifted into her human, but scaled, form as soon as Izban had slid off her back.
It was cold and wet, but the drizzling rain pearled off her scales. She was made for this weather. The mage next to her, not so much. His blue hair was wet on his scalp, missing its usual spring and volume. His clothes were soaked, but with a swish of his hands, he had them dry again. But it wouldn't last long; the rain seemed to increase. So did the thunder and lightning. The centre of the storm was about to pass over them.
"Do you have the ruby?" she asked and he pulled it out of his pocket. It was a beautiful stone, really, perfectly polished and smooth. "Do you really want to destroy it?"
He stroked the ruby with a finger. "My precioussssss," he growled and she laughed. A geeky mage? Why yes, please.
"And yes, let's destroy it," he said when they'd both stop laughing, now serious again. "If we lay it on this rock here and stand back, do you think you can direct a bolt of lightning onto it?"
She huffed. "That sounds a little too much like something I'd have to have practiced several times to get it right. I don't want you to be the one who gets hit by lightning, nor me. No, it's probably best if we leave the mountain and fly close by. My magic is strongest when I'm shifted anyway."
"You can do magic when you're a snake... ehm... beithir?" he asked in bewilderment.
"Yes, you should try it," she quipped and took the ruby from his hand, studying it closely. The stone Izban had mentioned was a large boulder right next to them with a smooth top that seemed an ideal place to lay the gemstone. If the rain didn't get any heavier, she'd be able to spot the boulder from afar without being too close to the lightning she was supposed to conjure. Not that she knew how to do that. But it was time to find out if she could learn.
"Let's do this. I'll shift and you get back on. I may have to put you down somewhere though if I need to climb higher. It's not safe in the clouds for someone who isn't a natural lightning rod."
He nodded and without waiting for him to say anything further, she shifted. She hadn't changed shapes this often in one day for a long time. Maybe she should do it more often; it was freeing to leave one shape behind and take on another.
Izban climbed onto her back, already knowing how best to keep a good hold on her. She had to admit, they were quite the team. She pushed herself into the air, squealing inside as they left the mucky ground behind. That was one disadvantage of beithirs, they didn't have any vocal chords, so she couldn't even laugh or cheer while she was flying. But in her head, she laughed wildly at the exhilarating feeling of flying through the storm.
When she was at a safe distance from the mountain top, she stopped in mid-air, turning around until she could see the stone their ruby was lying on. Rain was pouring down and dripping over her eyes, but she was made to be waterproof, so it didn't bother her too much.
Now came the tricky part. She could feel the electricity sizzling in the clouds above her, but how was she going to get it to form into lightning and then hit the exact spot she wanted it to?
She tried reaching out with all her senses, like they had taught her at school. She knew there was magic all around her, she just didn't know how to access it. Somehow, she'd always known that her magic wasn't about creating things - that's why she'd never be able to create a storm - but about manipulating existing elements to do her bidding. Like these clouds bristling with energy, just waiting to be released. They were so close, all she had to do was give them a slight push and...
Lightning tore through the air, crashing into the ground faster than she could see. But it was the wrong bit of ground. Another hilltop, to be precise, and not the one the ruby was on.
Mmhm. She knew that lightning couldn't hurt her - she'd learned that as a child - so theoretically she could get closer... but not with Izban on her back. It was going to be more boring without him, but it couldn't be helped.
She flew to the ground, not where they'd started, but t
he closest and safest bit she could find. Not high enough to be a target for lightning to strike, not low enough to take forever to get to.
He slid off her back. "Good luck," he whispered, gently stroking her scales.
She savoured the feeling for a moment, then flew off, high into the nearest cloud.
The storm was picking up, and beginning to get dangerous. For other people at least. She was glad she'd set Izban down. There was a chance he'd be able to perform some kind of protection spell, but she didn't really want to risk it. Not if she wanted to try and get him to watch a film with her after this. Or maybe the latest TV show with dragons and wars. It'd be better if there were beithirs in it, but apparently too many people had forgotten they'd even existed in mythology for anyone to put them in anything.
Her scales tingled, and she knew another bolt of lightning was about to strike close to her. Maybe she could harness this one. It crackled around her, and she was sure there were little bolts of electricity dancing over her scales and lighting her up. It must look beautiful from where Izban was standing. She'd once seen her cousin do this, and she'd not been able to do anything but stare.
Feeling the power, she tried to drag it into her. This was how it was supposed to work. Yet, it didn't work.
She tried again, imagining the process in as much detail as she could, and slowly, it began to work. A ball of electricity began to build inside her, feeding off the lightning surrounding her. By now, she was likely lighting up the sky. Humans would just put it down to a weird natural phenomenon, much like they did with the Northern Lights. They were woefully blind to the supernatural world around them.
She dipped lower in the sky, dragging the lightning with her and trying her best not to let it go. She'd only have one shot at this. If she got it wrong, then she wasn't too sure she'd be able to draw enough lightning into her again. Or if the storm had enough to give. Scotland was notoriously fickle in its weather patterns. Amber couldn't rely on it.
Through the Storms_A Seven Wardens Spin-Off Page 5