She climbed into the driver’s side of the SUV. Dominic got in beside her and Cali took a seat in the back, behind Leesa. When they were all buckled in, Leesa started up the car and pulled out of the lot.
The morning rush hour had already ended, so traffic was light getting out of Middletown. They followed the river south for almost ten miles before turning west onto a two-lane highway lined by thick woods on either side. Out here, they pretty much had the road to themselves, with only an occasional car passing them in the opposite direction.
“Slow down just a bit,” Dominic said.
“How come?” Leesa asked. “I’m not speeding. I’m barely going the limit.”
“I know,” Dominic replied. “Humor me.”
Leesa eased up on the gas pedal. The SUV slowed to about thirty-five miles per hour, about ten below the posted limit.
“Now take your hands off the wheel,” Dominic instructed. “Steer with your mind.”
Leesa turned and looked at the wizard. “Huh?”
“Guide the car with your mind,” Dominic repeated. “Visualize the car staying on the road.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. It’s just another way of using your telekinesis. Let’s see how you do.”
Cali leaned forward in the back, eager to watch this new trick.
“Go, ahead, Lees. You can do it.”
Leesa wasn’t sure whether she was supposed to move the steering wheel with her mind or to move the entire vehicle. She supposed that each would produce the same result, but decided that concentrating on the wheel would be the easier choice. She carefully lifted her hands off the wheel, keeping them in place an inch above the wheel just in case.
The car immediately began to drift to the right, the result of the pitch built into the road’s surface to let rainwater drain off. Leesa pictured the steering wheel spinning slightly to the left, correcting for the drift. The SUV edged back into its lane and remained there.
A yellow sign flashed by, its bent black arrow warning of a curve to the left ahead. Leesa eased her foot off the gas to slow the vehicle and concentrated her thoughts on the wheel. Watching the wheel and the road at the same time wasn’t easy, she was discovering. The car began to turn as it entered the bend, but not as quickly as the road curved. The vehicle began heading toward the shoulder, forcing Leesa to grab the wheel to regain control.
“Sorry,” she said once the car was safely back in its lane. “I didn’t want to take a chance of running us off the road.”
“A good choice,” Dominic said, smiling. “Better safe than sorry. You did well for your first attempt.”
“You did, for sure,” Cali added. “I can’t believe you were controlling this whole thing with just your brain.”
‘“Controlling’ may be a bit of an exaggeration,” Leesa said self-deprecatingly. “But I did manage to keep us on the road for a little bit, I guess.”
“You sure did,” Cali agreed. “It was way cool to watch.”
“Try again,” Dominic said, ever the teacher. “Don’t give up on yourself so quickly this time. Have confidence in your powers.”
“I’ll try,” Leesa replied.
“Try?” Cali said. She lowered the tone of her voice. “Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”
Leesa chuckled at the Star Wars quote. In a way, she guessed her magic was a bit like tapping into the Force. She lifted her hands from the wheel once more.
The car edged a little bit from side to side, but Leesa was not concerned. Even when driving normally, tiny corrections with the wheel were always necessary. The only difference now was that she was making the adjustments with her mind. As Cali had said, that was way cool.
A second yellow sign warned of another approaching curve, this one to the right. Once again, Leesa let up on the gas. She concentrated hard on turning the steering wheel proportionately to the bend in the road. The SUV glided around the curve as smoothly as if she had been driving normally. She smiled proudly.
“Well done,” Dominic said when they were back on the straightaway. “Well done indeed.”
“That was awesome,” Cali said from the back. “Totally awesome. I knew you could do it. Just call me Yoda.”
“Okay, Yoda,” Leesa said, grinning. “Thanks for the encouragement.”
Cali deepened the tone of her voice again. “Encourage you, I will,” she replied.
Leesa laughed.
“I think that is enough hands-free driving for today,” Dominic said. “Besides, we are almost there. Pull over by that stone wall up ahead.”
Leesa put her hands back on the wheel and guided the car to a stop on the shoulder near one of the remnants of crumbled stone wall that were so common in this part of Connecticut. This one snaked back into the trees, a reminder that this whole area had been farmland once long ago. Just like the wall, Leesa knew they were about to head back into the woods, to practice some more magic.
33. SPREADING THE WEALTH
AS USUAL, THEY HIKED almost a half mile into the state forest, picking their way among the trees to lessen the chance anyone would stumble across them while Leesa performed her magic. This morning, they found an especially pretty place where a winding stream cut through the woods, allowing a ribbon of bright sunlight to shine down through the otherwise thick foliage. Motes of dust floated in the sunlight like magical fairy dust, while the gurgling water created a peaceful soundtrack for the scene. Leesa was glad when Dominic said they would stop here.
“This is beautiful,” she said as she walked closer to the water. “It’s like something out of a nature video.”
“It’s magical,” Cali agreed. “The perfect place for you to practice.”
Dominic had obviously decided that driving with her mind was enough of a warm-up for Leesa, because he got right to her lessons. He pointed to a large rock in the middle of the stream.
“Blast that rock,” he said.
Leesa lifted her right arm and pointed her palm toward the rock. It was about ten feet away—the maximum distance she had ever been able to shoot her beam without Dominic’s help.
“Magnus irrundi,” she chanted.
A yellow bolt of energy shot soundlessly from her hand and struck the rock. Pleased with her aim, she let the beam linger on the rock for five seconds before shutting it off. A faint black circle marked where the magic had struck. The rock was otherwise undamaged.
“Not too bad,” Dominic said, “but we need your beam to be stronger. You must be able to do damage at this distance.” He wrapped his fingers around Leesa’s left forearm. “Do it again,” he ordered. “Try to bore a hole into the stone.”
Leesa did as the wizard instructed. The beam that shot from her hand was noticeably brighter this time, thanks to the infusion of Dominic’s magic. She kept it focused on the rock for the same five seconds, picturing it drilling into the stone. A low hiss emerged from the rock, barely audible above the bubbling water.
When she ended her spell, a shallow hole was visible in the rock. She smiled, pleased with herself. She wished she could do it without Dominic’s assistance, though.
“Again,” the wizard said. “Picture a narrower bolt, no more than an inch in diameter. The same amount of magic will carry much more force when concentrated like that.”
Leesa raised her palm again, visualizing a much thinner beam. The hiss of magical energy striking the rock was noticeably louder this time. The resulting hole was smaller, but deep enough that she could not see the bottom of it from where she stood. Her beam had cut at least three inches into the rock.
Dominic let go of her arm. “Again,” he said. “Without my help this time, now that you have seen what your magic can do.”
Leesa repeated her spell. The energy bolt was a bit dimmer now, but still focused in a tight beam. The resulting hole in the rock was not quite as deep, but it was still a major improvement over her first attempt.
When she turned away from the stream, she found Rave standing behind her. She hadn’t heard hi
m approach, but that was no surprise.
He kissed her forehead. “Having fun?”
Leesa put her fingers to the spot Rave had just kissed. Her skin was still warm from his touch.
“I am now,” she said, smiling.
“Let’s try it again,” Dominic said, taking Leesa’s arm once again. “Use the segmented beam we practiced a couple of days ago. Move it a few inches each time. See if you can bore five or six small holes in the rock.”
Leesa took a moment before she raised her hand, picturing exactly what she wanted to do. When she was ready, she opened and closed her fist rapidly, firing half a dozen short beams one after the other. Each bolt was just a foot or two in length and struck the boulder a few inches from each other. Reinforced by Dominic’s magic, each one burned a hole into the stone.
“That’s awesome,” Cali said, moving right to the edge of the stream for a closer look. “They look like they’re all a couple of inches deep.”
Dominic released Leesa’s arm. “On your own now,” he instructed.
For the next twenty minutes, Leesa practiced blasting her magic beam in narrow, tightly controlled blasts. By the end, she had gotten pretty good, but she was beginning to feel a bit drained. The rock looked like someone had attacked it with a pneumatic drill.
“Take a break,” Dominic said. He sat down on the ground with his back against a thick tree and let his eyelids fall half-closed in thought.
Leesa didn’t know whether the wizard had read her mind or had simply sensed the depletion of her magical energy, but she was glad for the rest. She and Rave found a fallen log where they could sit beside each other, while Cali took off her shoes and waded out into the stream to the rock Leesa had used for target practice. Standing knee deep in the cool water, she poked her finger into each of the holes. In some, her finger went only in halfway; in others it disappeared completely.
“Pretty good shooting,” she called to Leesa with her finger pushed into one of the deeper holes. “I can’t even feel the bottom of this one.”
Leesa watched as Cali hoisted herself up to sit atop the boulder, where she happily kicked her dangling feet in the water like a little kid. If Leesa hadn’t been perfectly happy sitting next to Rave holding his hand, she might have joined Cali out in the stream.
After ten or fifteen minutes, Dominic stood up.
“Are you ready to get back to work?” he asked.
“Sure.” Leesa hopped down off the log. Rave remained where he was, watching.
Dominic crossed to the edge of the stream. Leesa followed him.
“Come on out of there,” Dominic said to Cali.
Cali kicked her feet a few last times before slipping down off the rock and wading back out of the water. When she began to move back a few steps to get out of the way, Dominic took her by the upper arm and halted her.
“Stay here and watch closely,” he said.
Cali stopped and turned around, wondering what was going to happen that Dominic felt the need to tell her to watch closely. She loved magic—anytime Leesa used it she watched with keen interest. She didn’t need to be told.
“I want you to use your energy beam again,” Dominic said to Leesa. “Do not worry about breaking it into segments—a single, solid beam will do.”
Leesa wondered why Dominic was having her go backward in her training. For battling zombies, the short, quick beams would be much more effective. She supposed the wizard had his reasons, though, so she didn’t ask him why.
“What do you want me to hit?” she asked instead.
“The same rock as before. This time, be more precise with your aim. Do you see the hole near the very top, the one more or less by itself?
Leesa gazed out at the rock. There was one hole separated a bit from the others.
“Yeah, I see it.”
“I want you to hit the rock right next to that hole. Make the edges of the two holes touch, but just barely.”
Leesa stared out at her target. Hitting the rock was one thing, but hitting it exactly where Dominic said seemed near impossible.
“You are thinking how difficult that will be, are you not?” Dominic asked.
Leesa wondered if the wizard was making a guess or if he was reading something in her expression. It didn’t really matter, since he was right, as usual.
“Yeah, I am. That’s a pretty small target.”
“Can you see the spot?” Dominic asked.
“Yeah, I can. But seeing it isn’t the same as hitting it.”
“Are you certain of that?” The wizard had a twinkle in his eyes. “How do you aim your beam?”
Leesa thought for a moment. She aimed by pointing her palm toward her intended target, of course, but it wasn’t like aiming the barrel of a gun. Suddenly, she knew what Dominic was getting at. She aimed with her eyes, visualizing the beam striking her target. And if she was indeed using her eyes to aim, she could focus on as small a spot as she wanted. She remembered striking the zombies smack in the middle of their foreheads.
She smiled at the realization.
“I see by your smile that you are beginning to understand,” Dominic said.
“Yes. I aim with my eyes, by visualizing.”
“Exactly. And what does that mean?”
“It means I can hit as small a target as I want.”
“As long as you keep your arm reasonably steady, that is precisely what it means. Now go ahead and show me.”
Leesa drew a deep breath and cleared her mind. She fixed her sight on a spot right next to the designated hole.
“Magnus irrundi,” she said softly.
The yellow bolt shot from her hand, striking the rock precisely where she wanted it to. When she shut off the beam, a second hole had been drilled adjacent to the first.
“See how easy that was?” Cali said teasingly. “I don’t know what you were making such a big fuss about. That’s why it’s called magic.” She grinned.
“If it’s so easy,” Leesa replied with a smile, “let’s see you do it.”
“Ha! I wish. I’d give anything to be able to, just once.”
“Would you?” Dominic asked, a thoughtful expression creasing his face.
“You bet I would.”
Dominic studied Cali for a moment longer. “Go ahead and try it then.”
Leesa’s eyes darted back and forth between the wizard and Cali, wondering what was going on here. Rave slipped down off the log and came over and stood beside Leesa for a closer look. He had sensed the magic in Dominic the first time the wizard had knocked at Leesa’s dorm room door. As Leesa’s magic had strengthened, Rave could sense it in her as well. He didn’t detect any magic in Cali, though.
“Try what?” Cali asked, puzzled. “I don’t have any magic.”
“How do you know unless you try?”
Cali looked at the wizard like he had lost his mind.
“You have seen Leesa do it many times,” Dominic continued. “Give it a shot.”
Cali stared at Dominic, for once in her life at a loss for words. He looked and sounded perfectly serious. Was there really a possibility she could do it, she wondered?
“What the heck,” she said. She raised her arm.
“Clear your mind first,” Dominic instructed. “Then think of nothing except what you want to do.”
Cali had heard Leesa talk about the everywhere/nowhere thing, but wasn’t sure exactly how to go about accomplishing it. She tried to clear her mind as best she could, then raised her hand and pictured a yellow beam just like Leesa’s shooting out from her palm.
Nothing happened. Cali was disappointed, but not surprised.
“See. I told you. I don’t have any magic.”
She turned to walk away from the stream, but Dominic stopped her.
“Just a minute,” he said. He stepped back so he was no longer between Leesa and Cali. “Leesa, put your hand on Cali’s shoulder.”
Still wondering what was going on, Leesa edged over to Cali and did as Dominic instructed.
“Try it again, Cali,” Dominic said. “Believe you can do it this time.”
Cali lifted her arm and concentrated as hard as she could. A pale yellow beam shot from her palm, reaching about half way to the rock before it faded out and disappeared.
“Holy crap!” Cali exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement. “Did you see that? I freaking did it!”
“I saw it,” Leesa replied in amazement. She turned to Dominic. “What just happened?”
“It appears as if Cali has used magic,” Dominic said.
“How is that possible?” Leesa persisted.
“Yeah,” Cali echoed. “How is that possible?”
“It seems you are somehow connected to Leesa’s magic. Exactly how or why I cannot say for certain.”
“I don’t understand,” Leesa said. “Does magic do that? Just leak out and connect to someone?”
“Not in my experience, no. But we cannot deny what we have just witnessed.” Dominic stroked his beard. “I think there may be several factors at work here. The two of you have a very close bond, and Cali has been around many times when you used your magic, going all the way back to when you flung Edwina away from her with your telekinesis. Plus, you healed her scrape with your magic.” The wizard pursed his lips. “I think our friend Destiratu may be playing a role as well.”
“What does this mean?” Cali asked. “If I practice hard, will I be able to do magic like Leesa?”
Dominic shook his head. “I do not believe so. The energy beam is the purest and least complex of all magic. It is a simple release of magical energy. Other spells and powers are far more complex. I doubt that whatever transfer has occurred between you and Leesa would enable anything more than the beam.”
“Oh,” Cali said, the disappointment clear in her voice. After just a moment, her face brightened. “Will I be able to get better with the magical beam, though?”
“Almost assuredly, as long as you and Leesa are touching. Perhaps over time, close proximity will be enough.”
Leesa had been listening with only half an ear. Part of her mind was thinking about something else, something that might be very useful indeed.
Restless Page 17