Page 72 of To Crave Madly
It was my turn to smile weakly. Yeah, he liked me so much he forgot to mention he was unavailable. This conversation was venturing into an uncomfortable topic for both of us, so I did us both a favour and quickly changed the subject.
“So, what happens at the initiation thing?”
Elissa raised an eyebrow at me, and I could see the corner of her mouth twitching. “Smooth change of subject there, Lori.”
“Thanks. It’s one of the skills I’m actually quite good at.”
She snorted. At least we were moving back towards a friendly acquaintance. It definitely made for a better working atmosphere.
“Well, the initiation usually takes place at one of the gatherings throughout the year. The Yule Gathering is the biggest of them all because it’s mixed with witches. The other gatherings are either for magesorwitches only, but the purpose of the Yule Gathering is to give thanks for the year we have had and to ask for blessings in the year ahead. There’s food and dancing and it’s always political. Alliances are formed and broken, and the seeds are sown for the makings of the following year. If it’s a good Yule Gathering, it will be a good year.”
“Okay, but how will I fit into all this?” This event sounded massive and Elissa was proposing to put me in as the centre of attention. No pressure.
“You will be presented to the guild as its newest initiate. As an initiate, you will be asked to perform the neophyte incantations, which are a simple set of spells depending on your chosen element.”
“What do you mean, chosen element?”
Elissa shuffled her position on the mat and crossed her legs. I had the distinct impression that this was about to turn into a history lesson. I’d better get comfy…
“All magic for mages comes from the earth. We can manipulate elements and some types of mage can manipulate life and even death.”
Whoa. That sounded intense. I hoped I didn’t have death magic, but knowing my luck it was probably that one. What with being a reaper and all.
“Fenris told me he’s an elemental mage and can control the four elements. What are you?”
She grinned wildly. “I’m a Summoner. I can manipulate the four elements a little, but my strength lies in summoning creatures and beasts. I can even summon the dead. You’ll find you have an affinity for one type of magic, but you might be able to dabble in other branches.”
My opinion of Elissa changed completely. She did not look like someone who brought people back from the dead. She looked way too nice for that kind of thing.
“Other branches?” God, how much was there to learn?
She held her hand up and started ticking her words off as she spoke. “Illusions, abjuration, enchantment, evocation plus a whole host of other things. Andthenyou have a very rare branch of mages.” She paused and I found myself hanging onto her words with bated breath. “Shadow mages.”
A sense of foreboding trickled down my spine at those two words. Something felt familiar about the term shadow mage, but I couldn’t think why. I’d never heard of it before, so why would it feel familiar? Unless…
“Elissa, how would someone know they’re a shadow mage?”
She let out a little laugh. “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. We haven’t had one for centuries. They’re super rare.”
I gulped. “Yeah, Sin Reaper’s are super rare yet here I am…”
Her smile faltered. “Um… well… A shadow mage is born with dark magic. They can manipulate the shadows to do anything, hide something, form solid objects, take a person from one place to another—”
“Like shadow jumping?” My mind went back to when Torsten had returned me from Hell. I’d hated that trip, so maybe I wasn’t a shadow mage after all.
“Not quite. Shadow mages can only move in shadows they can see. Your Shadow Fiend can generate his own shadows and dissipate into them.”
I swallowed. My stomach was churning, and I felt a strange tingling sensation in my fingers. My heart raced and I could feel sweat appearing on my brow.
“And how do I know if I’m one?”
“You could try shadow blending?” She craned her neck around the room before jumping to her feet. “Come on. Let’s give this a go.”
I followed her over to the far side of the room where the overhead lights cast shadows along the floor. My mouth was suddenly dry as I stared at the shadow. It was so unassuming. Oblong and dense. I could feel it calling to me, telling me to step into its dark embrace.
So I did.
The moment my body submerged into the shadow completely, a buzzing filled my ears and my skin hummed. I’d felt this before. This must be what my magic felt like to me. I let the feeling swim over me until my body felt like one giant electric storm. Then I looked at my hand and imagined it cloaked in the same shadow I was standing in. Right before my eyes, my hand started to disappear.
