Page 33 of Aubade Rising
Frowning a little now, a single strand separates and floats through the air, as if pulled by an invisible needle. It reaches towards me and I let it rest on my open palm, sizzling where it touches. It doesn’t hurt but my magic takes over my conscious thoughts with an instinct to draw the power inside me. As it disappears under my skin, the connection drops. Eskar looks at me in alarm and the ball of power dissipates back into his hands.
“How did you do that?” He’s stricken, face chalky, eyes wide inpanic.
“I’m not sure,” I answer and I feel different: my magic dances and writhes in my chest. There! I can see it! A single thread slithering across the surface of my usual sphere, different from the rest. “I think I just absorbed some of your magic.” From the look on his face, that’s not what he intended.
“But how?” The crease between his eyebrows deepens. “I was just trying to show you how to separate your magic.”
I take a moment to examine the new magic within me. Given what he’s told me, I can feel the new thread of magic has become fuzzy on the edges, trying but failing to blend with the rest of my magic, like oil and water.
“Honestly, I have no idea. It was instinctive. As if my magic summoned it.” My stomach rolls at the strange sensation and I suck air in through my nose to counter the rising nausea.
He pauses, the fragile trust we’d established on the ferry ride fracturing. “Well, what do we do now?”
“I don’t know. I was going to try and send it back. But since I don’t know how to control my magic like you do then maybe I’ll just hurl it all at your head and hope for the best.” It’s petty, I know, but I pride myself on my intellect, my knowledge of the world and this has floored me. How have I stolen his magic? Yet it happened so naturally.
He rolls his sleeves up to his forearms and braces his hands on his knees. “If it’ll make you feel better to try and incinerate me magically then let me have it.” His teasing fails to cover his unease and I don’t know how to take it. “Come on, I dare you.”
This is a ridiculously stupid idea. I could hurt him. And I don’t know how I feel about showing him my magic either.
“Don’t you want to see what happens?” His overconfidence is needling me just in the right place. I glance at the sky through the window; there’s just enough evening light left that I’ll be able to recharge if needed. Inhaling deeply, I draw my magic to thesurface. This time I can see how to shape it, to mould it to my will.
It goes gladly, as if the strand I took from him is pulling back towards its original owner, taking the rest with it and leaving me with a familiar void in my chest.
He opens his hands to catch the ball of light and hisses when it touches him. Red welts appear on his palms as if he’s placed his hand on a hot stove. I rush forwards, cradling his hands in mine, examining the damage before I pull him to the sink and run cool water. His shoulders sag in relief as the water splashes over them and I shudder.
The water dances across the back of my hand where I’m still holding Eskar’s. It hums and I flinch. The void in my chest feels a little smaller. A little less empty. There’s a single thread of magic inside my chest, but it’s not mine. It’s a strand of Mordros magic.
The last rays of sunlight flicker across the city rooftops and in through the high windows. My hands reach out towards the fading light and I draw it to me as darkness falls. I did it! I started to master the Gallos, but at what cost?
“There’s still a piece of your magic linked with mine,” I whisper, as the redness on Eskar’s hands fades. The magic from him is deep in my chest, hiding behind my own.
“I can feel its loss – a part of me is missing.” He rubs his chest as if it aches and his face is twisted tight, tension drawing his eyebrows together.
“What have I done?” Shame flushes my face red as I stare down at my hands, turning them over, looking for a clue. “I’ll return it as soon as I work out how. I’ll need to keeping working on the Gallos first because it’s pretty tightly woven in there. I can’t separate it.” My magic is shielding it, becoming intangible and slipping away when I try to extract the rogue strand. I grunt with frustration as he points out it normally takes a few weeks to fully master the concept.
“A few weeks? I’m supposed to live with this piece of magic inside me like a parasite for a few weeks?” I’ve never hyperventilated before but I expect this is what it feels like.
“I’ve got to live with it missing. I’d say that’s arguably harder.”
“Well, what do we do now?”
“You practise weaving your magic into separate strands. You work on mastering the Gallos quicker than any Mordros has ever done. And you do not leave this apartment.” He peers out of the window. “I’m going to get us supplies so we can leave this city before we cause another disaster.” He’s rattled, really rattled.
Chapter 32
The sun rises and I wake alone. I avoided sleep for as long as I could, wanting to understand Eskar’s magic. It is tricky and uncooperative, not unlike its owner. I’ve tried using it, thinking I could wield it and it would dissipate on its own but every time I attempted to call it forward, my magic intruded and surfaced instead, protective of this new strand. That being said, practise has paid off for my magic: I am improving at visualising my magic now that I can feel the differences between Eskar’s and my own. The Gallos feels within my reach.
My bag has been packed and repacked and my stomach is deafeningly loud by the time Eskar returns. I’ve seen him in a grim mood before but that pales in comparison to the thundercloud he’s under now. As he makes his breakfast, every drawer, door and cupboard is slammed.
“Everything okay?” I stand in the doorway, unsure how to manage his mood at such close proximity.
“Nope. Thanks to your little stunt yesterday, I’ve had to change our plans. I can’t recover that last bit of magic: it’s missing. Completely gone. I was going to propose we sneak up to the aqueducts and travel that way to Tanwen, but I’m not risking ferrying you when my magic isn’t at full capacity.” He softens and turns to me, “It’s another boat trip I’m afraid.”
I couldn’t give a damn about another boat trip. I’m processing the incredible thing I achieved with my magic yesterday. My mind spins with the possibilities. Not being limited to one type of magic, channelling or wielding. What if this removes constraints on capacity too? What if this is the real answer to giving Aubades equal opportunities in Trevesiga?
Eskar must see the thoughts tumbling through my head, my excitement building. “Don’t go there, Sage, it’s too dangerous. It doesn’t matter who your connections are or what you are. People… the Mordros, will kill you for this discovery without a doubt. It’s incendiary.” His hands land on my shoulders, forcing me to acknowledge him. “The best thing you can do now is act like nothing happened. We don’t discuss this outside my apartment. We continue as planned and as soon as we’re back in Pentargon, in the safety of your laboratory, we’ll explore it more.”
He holds me firmly in place until he’s sure I’ll stay quiet. It kills me not to ask more questions. But he’s right; not here, not now.
