The Lightning-Struck Heart

by TJ Klune

  The problem is those laws didn’t seem to apply to me, and I hadn’t yet found my ceiling.

  Which is why I needed a cornerstone.

  A cornerstone is the first stone set in the construction of a foundation. All other stones are set based upon the placement of the cornerstone. It determines the position of a structure.

  Magic is the same. It needs a set foundation in order to properly grow. It was possible I didn’t know my ceiling because I didn’t know where my foundation began. I could use Morgan or Gary or Tiggy. My parents. And I did. But it was getting harder and harder to use them the older I got.

  Hence the matchmaking.

  “It’ll be worse,” Morgan had told me once. “When you feel threatened. Or when those you care about are threatened. It’ll be harder to control.”

  The Darks were threatening me. That was fine. I was used to being threatened. I could deal with it.

  But they had also threatened Ryan. And that was not okay.

  Oh, and Todd. They had threatened Todd too.

  That was important.

  Still.

  I stepped forward, and Ryan said, “Sam.”

  People moved then. They must have seen something on my face because they just scattered out of the way, shoving their chairs out, scrambling until there was no one between us and the Darks.

  I said, “You can leave now. Or I’ll make you leave. Your choice. To be honest, though, you won’t like it if I’m the one to make you leave.” I could see the green clearly now. And the gold.

  Squat Wizard laughed. “Says the apprentice.”

  The other Darks smirked behind him.

  Ryan came up to stand beside me. He pulled his shield from off his back and took a fighting stance next to me, eyes narrowed.

  Something settled somewhere in my head, locking into place. My shoulders eased and my magic felt tighter. More focused. More in control.

  Through the haze of green and gold, I thought, Oh no.

  But the thought was lost as I pulled the green and gold to me. They were the top colors, the earth magic. Other colors shifted in and out (reds and blues and purples and indigos).

  The Darks moved. They muttered to themselves and magic began to build.

  They were broadcasting. Every single move. Like I wouldn’t know.

  There were people here, I reminded myself. Innocent people.

  And Ryan. Ryan was at my side, and nothing could happen to him.

  Which is why when the Dark on the right launched a blue fireball at me, I held my hand out in front of me and pulled it in. It hovered in the air, inches from my palm. It would have been so easy to fire it back at them tenfold, igniting their hair and clothes and skin. But others would get hurt. Others would suffer.

  So I pulled it into myself.

  It felt odd, another’s magic mixing with my own. But mine consumed it, making it a part of me. There was a bright flare in the green and gold and then it settled.

  The fireball was gone.

  I lowered my hand.

  And the Dark wizards just stared.

  “Um,” Squat Wizard said. “What?”

  I closed my eyes. I tilted my head to the side, stretching the muscles, popping my neck. Took a deep breath. Let it out slowly.

  I opened my eyes.

  The Darks took a step back as one.

  “I gave you a chance,” I said. “You should have taken it.”

  I could have killed them easily. It was well within my right to do so. They had attacked us first and there would be no repercussions for such actions. I would be justified and no one would say a thing against me.

  My fingers tingled and I thought just how easy it would be. A couple of old words I’d never spoken aloud before, a flick of my wrist, and I knew their hearts would explode in their chests.

  But I was not that person. I was not a murderer.

  So I thought tae and dao and fie and raised my hands to conduct my symphony.

  There was green. So much green because the earth was green and the earth was all around us. I moved my hands down, then up. There was a crack of wood as columns of rock shot up through the floorboards, molding up and around each Dark before they could move. I curled my hands into fists. The rock covered their legs and arms and went up to their necks and I almost thought to just keep going or maybe collapse the rock in on itself and it’d be over, all over for them. But then Ryan was right there and I could hear him breathing, could feel his hand coming to my neck and squeezing just once so I stopped.

  The haze of green and gold faded.

  I closed my eyes.

  I took another breath.

  Let it out.

  Opened my eyes.

  Everyone was staring at me.

  “Huh,” I said. “I’ve never done that before.” I looked over at Ryan, who still had his hand on my neck. “Can you remind me to write this into the Grimoire when we get back? If Morgan doesn’t murder me first?”

  Ryan said in a hoarse voice, “Ungh. Yeah. Yeah. I can do that.” His pupils looked dilated. He squeezed my neck again before pulling his hand away.

  I beamed at him. “Thanks.”

  He said “Ungh” again.

  Squat Wizard said, “My gods. How did you do that?”

  I shrugged. “I’m a wizard.” Ha, and Gary wasn’t even there to correct me. He was going to flip when I told him about this.

  The Darks all gaped at me.

  “Oh,” I said with a wince, “and can you totally just keep this a secret? Like, from everyone? That would be so cool of you. I’d owe you one.” I glanced around the room, trying to look each person in the eye so they could see how sincere I was.

  They all just nodded.

  I felt relieved.

  It was going to be fine.

  IT WAS not fine.

  The next day, there were headlines being called out on the streets in the City of Lockes.

  “THE APPRENTICE TO THE KING’S WIZARD SINGLE-HANDEDLY TOOK DOWN AN ARMY OF DARKS WITH THE POWER OF HIS MIND ALONE! WITNESSES SAY HIS EYES GLOWED WITH AN UNHOLY AND SOMEWHAT FLATTERING LIGHT! FIRST DATE WITH THE GOLDWAITHE MOGUL’S SON CONSIDERED TO BE A ROUSING SUCCESS! IMPENDING WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT EXPECTED! READ IT HERE FIRST!”

  Fuck.

  CHAPTER 7

  This Garden Made of You and I

  “I CAN so totally explain,” I said when Morgan threw one of the newspapers at me the next morning. I was in the lab jotting down the Rock Column Thing (pending a new and much more awesome name) I’d done the night before into my Grimoire. I thought I’d gotten the basics behind it, but it would take time to go more in depth, and I’d only been at it an hour or so.

  “Can you?” Morgan said lightly. But I was not fooled. He was pissed.

  I looked down at the paper, the City of Lockes Gazette. They’d totally chosen to use a photo from when I was going through my awkward phase at sixteen when my face hadn’t quite decided if it wanted to be somewhat handsome or a complete train wreck. I wrinkled my nose. “That’s so not flattering. Gods, they did that on purpose.”

  “Undoubtedly,” Morgan said.

  I scanned through the article. “…filled out his outfit quite nicely… Well that’s super, I suppose. …accompanied by the dashing and immaculate Knight Commander Ryan Foxheart as his chaperone… What a bunch of kiss-asses. Dashing and immaculate? I am so going to make fun of him to his face for this. …on a date with Duke Todd Goldwaithe of the Goldwaithe Hotel conglomerate…. Not one mention about his ears? Travesty. …attacked out of nowhere by forty Dark wizards…. That’s just not true at all. Whatever happened to journalistic integrity? Excessive liberties, I must say. …took down the Dark army with a wave of his hand…. I suppose it was a wave. Little more complex than that. Way to marginalize. …while the Knight Commander looked on in beautiful astonishment…. What does that even mean? Did an editor even go through this? Come on. …they appeared intimate and comfortable as they stood side by side against the rising tide of Dark wizards. Could there be
something there? This reporter won’t even begin to speculate, but yes. There probably is…. Oh boy. So, ha-ha, fun fact: I might have something to tell you in just a moment. Consider that a teaser, but you totally can’t get mad because it’s not my fault. …Earl Terrance Goldwaithe released a statement, saying damage is minimal and that he is pleased that his future son-in-law was able to defend the restaurant and his son…. Well that was nice of him. I will offer to cover the damages, of course, it’s the least I can do—and his future what-in-law?”

  I might have screeched the last part as I continued reading.

  “Earl Goldwaithe told this reporter, ‘Just how lucky is my son? I will never have to worry about his safety again. His husband-to-be can obviously handle anything thrown his way. I’m pretty sure little Todd will be in excellent hands, if you know what I mean.’”

  Yeah, definitely screeching.

  I looked back up at Morgan with panicked eyes.

  His face was in his hands. He was moaning “My life, my life, my life.”

  “I’m not marrying Todd!” I shouted at him.

  Of course, that was the moment Gary, Tiggy, and my parents burst into the lab.

  Gary said, “Why did I have to hear about your engagement from the cook?”

  Tiggy said, “You still have flower or did Todd eat it?”

  Dad said, “Are you sure, Sam? That was just the first date. At least go on one more before you propose. I’m sure he’s nice, but he can’t be that nice.”

  Mom said, “Or fifty more. Or seventy. I feel really old today and that’s not a good feeling.”

  I hit my head against my desk repeatedly.

  “Sam,” Morgan said, pulling his face from his hands. “The Darks. Where are they? And why in the name of the gods did you not wake me the moment you stepped back into the castle?”

  “Well, see, that’s a funny story,” I said.

  “Is it?” he said. “Amuse me.”

  He didn’t sound like he was in the mood to be amused.

  “Okay. But, like, you need to listen to the whole thing first, before making judgments. And I know you, so I know your judgmental face. Yep. There it is. Right there. That face. Stop it.” He stopped. Sort of. “So, there I was, having a nice first date and did you know they have theme nights? And the theme was duck and blueberries. Or something. I don’t even know. But I’m allergic to those and then Ryan was going to force-feed me carbs, and Todd may have been under the impression that I was going to give him an accidental hand job, so when I spilled the water on him, he got all wet. And then Ryan had to be all, like, I’m a knight, you must listen to me and do what I say all the time everywhere ever, and I was, like, say whaaaaat? And then Todd got flustered because Ryan poked me with his sword, which is not dirty, by the way, and then four—and only four—Darks came in and they started to monologue! You know how I feel about that! But then they threatened Ryan with death and I was, like, bitch, please. You don’t know who you’re messing with. Oh, and they threatened Todd too. Can’t forget Todd! But they did know who they were messing with and they still decided to mess with us, and so I made rock rise from the ground and trap them completely and instead of bothering you because I know how cranky you get when you’re woken up, I had Pete come and take them to the dungeons, and they’re in the special cells that block their magic, so that’s good. And here we are now! All of us. Together. In the same room. This is nice. We should do this more often. So, good night!”

  I ran for the door.

  Morgan waved his hand.

  It closed and locked.

  “It’s ten in the morning,” he said.

  “Motherfucker,” I sighed.

  I turned back.

  They all stared at me.

  I waited.

  Then:

  “You gave him an accidental hand job?” Gary shrieked at me. “How did you do it accidentally?”

  “That was long story,” Tiggy said. “I don’t know what happened.”

  “I swear to the gods that only you find yourself in these situations,” Mom said, shaking her head. “Maybe I should have eaten more meat during the pregnancy. Did I fail you? Should I have eaten more yak?”

  “Why would they have theme duck and blueberry nights?” my father asked. “That just sounds ridiculous.”

  “It was,” I said. “Even the wine was blueberry.”

  We both made faces because he was allergic too.

  Morgan said nothing. Didn’t even have his judgmental face on.

  I looked at the others. “Can you guys give us a bit? There are things Morgan and I have to discuss.”

  They looked between the two of us, but eventually Mom herded them toward the door. The door opened and then shut behind them as soon as they’d gone through.

  It locked again.

  I gulped. “So, were you amused? You don’t look amused. You look—”

  “Sam.”

  I stopped talking.

  We were quiet, for a time.

  Then, “How long?”

  “What?”

  “How long did the spell take?”

  “From inception to completion?”

  He nodded once.

  I frowned. “Five seconds. Maybe as much as ten, though not more.”

  “And the words spoken?”

  I winced. “Ah, see. Um. I didn’t actually say the words. I might have just… thought them?”

  He went very still. “What words did you think?”

  “Um. Tae. Dao. And there was some fie. Yeah. Definitely some fie.”

  “Some fie,” he repeated.

  “Yes.”

  “Sam.”

  “Yes?”

  “There’s something else. That you haven’t said.”

  I groaned. “Gods, I hate how you can do that. It’s creepy.”

  He waited.

  “Okay, so one of the Darks might have shot a blue fireball of doom at me and I might have absorbed it instead of deflecting it.”

  “You did what,” he said. No inflection at all. It was really admirable. I wondered if that level of dryness came with age or merely having dealt with me for close to a decade. Probably a combination of both.

  “Yeah. It was an ordeal.” I sighed the weary sigh of the put-upon.

  “And your body didn’t reject it?”

  I shook my head. “No. It felt strange at first, but then I felt it meld with my own magic and that was that.”

  He stared at me.

  I did my best not to fidget.

  My best was not good enough. I started to fidget.

  He said, “You could have been hurt.”

  “I know.”

  “You could have hurt others.”

  “I know. But I didn’t. I wouldn’t. I’m not that kind of person.” I felt heart-stung at what he was implying.

  “I know you’re not,” he snapped at me. “And I have never suggested otherwise. My gods, Sam. Do you have any idea what could have happened?”

  I laughed bitterly. “Yes, Morgan. I am well aware. You don’t think I know? You’ve drilled it into me enough. How easy it is to be consumed by magic. How easy it would be to let it take over. Especially me. And don’t think I don’t know it. Don’t think I didn’t feel it when they stood in front of me, threatening Ryan, saying they were going to kill him. Don’t think I didn’t want to kill them right then and there, that I didn’t just want to wipe them from the face of the world so they could never make threats like that again. I could have turned that fire back on them. I could have pulled the rock over their faces and let them suffocate. I could have broken their beating hearts from their chests. So don’t think I don’t know. Because I do. I know. But I made a choice and I stopped them from hurting anyone.”

  “And yourself and Todd,” Morgan said.

  “What?”

  “You said they threatened Ryan. Surely they threatened you and Todd too.”

  “Of course,” I said quickly. “Yes. Todd and I were threatened as well. Poor Todd. With his ears.
”

  “But it was just Ryan that made you act.”

  “What? No. Of course not.”

  “So let me get this straight,” he said. “They threatened you and Ryan.”

  “And Todd,” I said.

  “And Todd,” he agreed. “And then you absorbed another wizard’s magic and called upon the earth and encased them in stone.”

  “That’s about the gist of it.”

  “Is it.”

  “Yes.” I smiled at him.

  “You said something earlier.” His look was calculating.

  My smile faded. I hated calculating Morgan. “I said a lot of things earlier. It’s kind of my thing.”

  Morgan said, “So, ha-ha, fun fact: I might have something to tell you in just a moment. Consider that a teaser, but you totally can’t get mad because it’s not my fault.”

  “I really hate your photographic memory,” I said. “So, so much. And that voice you just used? If that was you trying to do an impression of me, I am insulted. I do not sound that high-pitched and whiny.”

  “I was trained as a master impressionist,” he said, completely serious.

  “Okay, so maybe I do sound that high-pitched and whiny. That’s disheartening.”

  “I am devastated for you,” he said. “So. You teased me. Give me the rest. I wait with bated breath.”

  “You can’t get mad,” I said.

  “Whenever you start stories like that, I usually end up mad.”

  “Crap.”

  “Sam.”

  There was no point trying to lie about it. Morgan would know. “I think Ryan might be my cornerstone.” I closed my eyes and waited for the yelling to commence.

  It never came.

  I gave it a minute, just to be sure.

  Nothing.

  I opened one eye. Then the other.

  Morgan just looked sad. “Oh, Sam,” he said quietly.

  That was worse than yelling. It was pity. And I hated pity. “I know, I know. It’s not… ideal. And it’s not… happening. I know. I know this. But you have to believe me when I say I didn’t know. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I was just there and he stood by my side and something just clicked in my head. And then when they threatened him, all I could think was how I would never let them do that. I would never let that happen. But it’s okay, because it’s not permanent. We’re not bound. I just need to keep my distance from him and find someone else. Todd is… nice. I’ll go on more dates with him. I’ll go on so many dates that you won’t even have to worry about it. You won’t even—”