The Errant Prince (11 page)

"Stage one," Tamsen said. He kept his eyes on the block, not wanting to screw up the spell with an audience—and no barrier to keep the splinters from hitting them. He started the shift, picturing where he wanted the block to go. The light of the spell abruptly disappeared. "Two." It only took the block a few seconds to transfer, and the whirlwind of light reappeared at the spot Tamsen had selected. Tamsen pulled the pieces back together and released the spell, leaving the block on the other side of the area. "Three."

Myron gave him a skeptical look. "All right, but
how
did you do that?"

Tamsen paused, a thought belatedly occurring to him. "Have you ever tapped into the kingdom's power lines?"

"No," Myron said, his mouth twisting sideways. "Missed that lesson, and none of my other spells needed it."

"Shifting uses them. There's no way around that," Tamsen said, angry all over again that Myron had been robbed of his chance to learn magic. "So first step is teaching you to find and tap them."

"My book didn't say anything about that," Myron said. He wrinkled his nose, confused, not doubting. "How do they work for the spell?"

"The second stage," Tamsen said. He sat on the ground, heedless of his clothing. Myron joined him, settling cross-legged across from Tamsen. "The actual shifting moves along the power lines. Stage one, you deconstruct the item to basic energy. That energy is transferred along the power lines—which are pretty much anywhere magic has ever been cast—and then the item is reconstructed from energy at the end."

"Ah," Myron said. He looked uncertain. "Are you sure this isn't too advanced? I don't know anything about power lines except that they exist."

"If you can learn to create complex constructs, you can learn to shift," Tamsen said. "It's only more dangerous since you're doing it to yourself."

"All right," Myron said, though he didn't look particularly convinced.

"You're just trying to get out of our bet," Tamsen said. He clucked like a chicken, repeating Myron's earlier taunt, though he sounded more like a squashed chicken than a real one.

Myron laughed, nudging Tamsen's knee with his foot. "I wouldn't dream of it. How do I find the power lines, then?"

"That's easy," Tamsen said. He swatted Myron's foot, pleased that his attempt at teasing Myron had worked. "You've probably done it and not realized."

"Really?" Myron asked, his skepticism back.

"Yes, really," Tamsen said. "Release some of your energy, like you're ending a spell. Don't reabsorb it."

Myron's magic flared to life, sharp and bright for a single moment before the energy dissipated into the power lines around them. Myron frowned, repeating the action with a little more energy. "Oh. Huh," he said. Tamsen snickered, earning a dirty look from Myron. "Not a word."

"I said nothing," Tamsen said, holding up his hands. Before Myron could reply, he continued. "To tap in, you hold onto the energy before it joins the power lines. Let some go, but hold some back before it gets absorbed to link into the line."

Myron did as he was told, fumbling a few times before he managed it. He held the connection and looked up at Tamsen questioningly.

"You can let it go," Tamsen said. 

"All right, so what's next?" Myron asked, letting go of his hold on the power lines.

"Deconstructing," Tamsen said promptly. "Most of the shift is intuitive once you get the object into the power stream. Particularly when you're shifting yourself—you only have so much control over magic when you're deconstructed."

Myron made a face, not looking thrilled by that. Tamsen hadn't been either; he'd thrown up out of sheer nerves the first few times he'd shifted himself. He could do it without much worry these days, but he still generally preferred not to think too hard about the mechanics of it. Focusing on the charred wooden block, he shifted it over to where they sat, putting it a few feet away.

"Show off," Myron said, but he grinned, taking any sting out of the words.

Tamsen rolled his eyes. "How are your barrier spells?"

"Abysmal," Myron said, though he didn't sound too upset about it. "Usually full of holes."

Tamsen made a note to help Myron fix that later. He concentrated, putting together a quick, physical barrier spell between them and the wooden block. Splintering was
messy
. Typically the student cast the barrier—it was a test of their ability to hold multiple spells at once. Myron wasn't a typical student, however, and Tamsen didn't want a chunk of wood to the face.

"Deconstructing is a little complicated." Tamsen paused, wondering how best to explain it. "You wrap the object in your energy and then pull the object into it."

Myron stared at him. "What?"

Tamsen laughed ruefully. He rubbed his forehead, trying to come up with something that Myron would understand better. "When you make your constructs—" Tamsen was never going to be able to say that without turning red, he knew it, "—you push your energy into the base to give it shape and animation. This is the opposite. You take the object into your energy to take away its shape."

A grin flickered across Myron's face, and he nodded. He turned to study the block thoughtfully. Tamsen didn't rush him, feeling it when Myron reached out with his magic. He did as Tamsen had instructed, wrapping the block in his energy. Then he pulled—too hard, and the block splintered, exploding into dozens of tiny chunks. They bounced harmlessly off Tamsen's shield, littering the ground.

"And that is why I never did this on my own," Myron said. He grinned at Tamsen, apparently not upset about the failure. "So that's one. What did I do wrong?"

"You pulled too hard," Tamsen said, returning Myron's smile. "But you got the action right. That's good."

"How do I not pull too hard?" Myron asked, smirking. Tamsen's face went hot again, and he really needed to watch how he phrased things.

"It depends on the object. Here." Tamsen pointed to the shelf of props. "Top row, the block on the far left. Watch and feel it out."

Myron snickered, and Tamsen gave him a half-hearted scowl. Reaching out with his magic, he wrapped it around the block, pausing when the moment came to deconstruct the block.

"I'll deconstruct it slowly," Tamsen said. He did so, pulling the block in slowly and stopping again once it was completely transferred to energy. "Did you follow?"

"I think so," Myron said, his gaze focused unerringly on the block.

Tamsen completed the shift, depositing the block on the ground where the previous one had rested. "All right, give it another try."

Myron splintered that block as well, though not as spectacularly as the first. He managed the deconstruction on his third try, and then splintered that block and another trying to transfer them to the power lines. After the fourth splinter, Tamsen drew the session to a stop.

"That's all we'll do today," Tamsen said. He collected the splintered blocks that littered the practice area with a simple gather spell, depositing them in the wastebasket. "Shifts take a lot of energy, so only a few a day. Or one, if you're going a fair distance."

"Like between Hearth Forest and Rishaw?" Myron suggested. He didn't protest the restriction, but then, he wasn't a stupid first-year wizard student.

"That takes more than a day to recover from," Tamsen admitted. He probably shouldn't have been casting anything, even small shifts or barriers, not if he wanted the ability to shift home on the off chance something else went wrong.

"So you'll be here at least a few days," Myron interpreted. He stood, holding out a hand to help Tamsen to his feet.

"At least," Tamsen confirmed. He took Myron's hand, unsurprised when Myron was able to pull him easily to his feet.

"Good," Myron said, sounding like he meant it. And wasn't that strange, having someone who wanted him to stick around without any ulterior motives? Even Stirling had political reasons for wanting him around. Myron grinned at him, his grip on Tamsen's hand lingering. "That means you won't disappear before you finish teaching me to shift."

Tamsen snorted, biting back a retort about priorities. Though if Myron did master shifting before Tamsen left, he could easily return to Tamsen's cottage. Was that why Myron was so interested in the spell?

"Can I interest you in joining me for lunch?" Myron asked, brushing at the dirt on his breeches. "I know a couple of places in the palace where we can hide out for a few hours."

"No," Tamsen said, regretting having to say so. He couldn't skip out on Stirling and Reina, not after he'd been gone for seven years. Myron's face fell, though he quickly covered it with a forced smile that made Tamsen want to hit himself. He corrected, "I mean, yes, I'm interested, but I promised Stirling lunch. I can't skip out on him."

"Ah, well," Myron said, his smile softening into something genuine. "I'll just have to suffer on my own, then."

"I don't have any plans for dinner," Tamsen said. "At least, no plans that I know of. Stirling may have arranged something."

"How about you let me know," Myron said. He glanced up, his expression turning curious. "Do people often watch training sessions they're not involved in?"

"Occasionally, but it's not really proper etiquette," Tamsen said. He turned, following Myron's gaze to the young servant who was conspicuously trying to be inconspicuous, watching them from the shadow of a support beam. A servant of the King's Wizards, by the tunic. Tamsen scowled, making a note to yell at Stirling about being followed. He didn't care if it was Stirling or Hartley behind it; he wasn't a child and he didn't appreciate it.

"Can I escort you to your lunch date?" Myron asked, distracting Tamsen from the spy.

"It would be a great joy to have your company," Tamsen said. He gave Myron a bow, pulling out his long-unused court manners because he was sure it would amuse Myron.

Myron laughed, offering Tamsen his arm. "So you do have manners in there somewhere."

"Somewhere," Tamsen said dryly, threading his arm through Myron's. If the spy was Hartley's, Tamsen hoped he choked on the report that Tamsen was getting cozy with someone else. If it was Stirling's doing… Well, it was none of Stirling's business who Tamsen associated with.

Myron led Tamsen from the wizards' practice yards, pausing to return the door charm. They headed toward the wizard wing, and Tamsen had to resist the urge to keep checking behind them to see if the servant was following them.

"I won't be able to work on the shift spell tomorrow, by the way," Myron said, letting go of Tamsen's arm to open the door to the wizards' wing. "I'll be in the city most of the day."

"Oh?" Tamsen asked, curious. Myron was on leave, so it wasn't an official reason. He certainly wouldn't be visiting his parents.

"My sister requires that I visit every time I come back from anything that takes me out of town," Myron said, wrinkling his nose. "According to her, I can't be trusted to let her know I've returned in one piece. She makes me visit so she can see for herself."

"Make a habit of injuring yourself?" Tamsen asked. He hadn't noticed any scars or other signs of major injury when he'd walked in on Myron mostly naked at the cottage, but he hadn't exactly been looking for that.

"It was one time, and the palace physicians handled it fine," Myron said. He opened the door to the courtyard, giving Tamsen a smile. "Shaylin is a physician herself, much to our parents' displeasure."

Tamsen snorted, amused. "Do you have any other siblings?" He couldn't remember much about the Vere family past knowing that Adalynn and Garrett Vere had had children.

"A brother, Alinor, but he and I aren't close," Myron said, shrugging. "He's closer to my parents than Shaylin and I are, so I don't see him often."

"Any nieces or nephews?" Tamsen asked. He'd assumed Myron was estranged from his entire family, which seemed silly in retrospect. "I apparently have six now."

Myron laughed, shaking his head. "No, not yet. Shaylin refuses to have children, and Alinor isn't married yet." Myron paused as they reached the royal wing. "Where are you meeting your brother for lunch?"

Tamsen stopped next to Myron. "I don't know, actually. Stirling said he was going to send a note, but I never got it."

Myron flashed him a grin. "Shall I escort you to his office, then?"

"That's fine," Tamsen said in agreement. He gave a young, finely dressed woman a dark look when she slowed her steps to gawk at him as she headed into the royal wing. Myron looked like he wanted to laugh, but he only stepped forward to open the door for her. Tamsen waited a beat, and then followed her inside.

Thankfully, she disappeared down a side corridor before Tamsen had to say anything about her staring problem. The rest of the walk to Stirling's office passed too quickly for Tamsen's taste. Myron promised to meet him the morning after he returned from the city, and Tamsen reluctantly bid him farewell before heading into Stirling's offices to find him.

*~*~*

Tamsen ducked behind a tree, though he was pretty sure he'd been spotted. Sure enough, a small, curly-haired child tumbled around the tree trunk, giggling as she smacked Tamsen's knee.

"Caught you!" Illiana crowed, beaming up at him.

"Drat," Tamsen said. "Foiled."

Illiana stared up at him, confusion wrinkling her small face. "What's foiled?"

"Spoiled, ruined," Tamsen said. He leaned down, scooping her off the ground before she could work that out. "Hah. Now I've got you."

Illiana smacked his shoulder, her little hand causing little harm. "Got
you
."

"Nope, I've got you," Tamsen said, jostling her. That earned him another smack.

"I got
you
. Put me down," Illiana whined, wiggling in his grip.

"No, I've got you forever," Tamsen said. He paused thoughtfully. "We're at an impasse."

"Nooo," Illiana said, speaking as though she doubted Tamsen's sanity. "We're in the garden. We don't have an impasse here."

"No? Ah, well, how about a deal, then?" Tamsen asked, smothering a smile. How did Reina make holding a small child look so easy? Illiana was
heavy
.

"What do I get?" Illiana asked eagerly.