The Magic Wakes (25 page)

His laughter sounded low and soft in her ear.
I promise I was not eaves dropping. I won’t take advantage of your trust, no matter how tempting it might be.

Good. I don’t want to worry about what you might find in there while I’m trying to save the world.
Talia spun around in his arms, winked at him, and then ducked out of his hold. She needed to run.

She called to him over her shoulder, “Let’s get to work.”

“Now, tell me what you know about your magic,” Jaron asked Talia.

She glanced at Landry and saw his eyebrows rise. “Um, I don’t know that I’ve ever thought about it much. It’s just there when I need it.”

“All right, how do you use it and how do you feel afterward?”

“When I talk with the trees it just happens. I can’t even remember the first time I did it. Their voices are just inside me, not even my head really, but in all of me.”

“Do you feel tired afterward, or get headaches?”

“No, I usually feel stronger, lighter, if that makes any sense.”

“Interesting. What other ways has your magic manifested?” Jaron rested his arms on his chair, but pressed his fingers together in front of him.

Talia looked at Landry again and he nodded once. Jaron leaned forward and peered at her as if trying to see deep into her soul. The pale blue of his eyes flickered with an inky darkness before clearing again. A shiver ran through Talia, but this man was the only chance she had to learn about magic.

“I can glean energy from nature, but mostly I pull from the sunsrise. And I have dreams.”

Jaron inhaled slowly and held it before exhaling, cocking his head to the side. “The suns renew your energy, but what about the dreams?”

“The dreams leave me weak and empty inside. Most of the time there are physical consequences. Burns, blisters, broken bones. It depends on what happens to me in the dream.”

Jaron’s lips slowly turned upward until laughter spilled out. The low sound echoed around the room as he relaxed into the chair.

Landry stood and glared at Jaron. “Why is that funny? You said you were going to teach us how to defeat the Dragumon. You’re wasting our time.”

Jaron waved Landry back to his seat. “Sit and let me explain.”

Landry sat, but the scowl stayed on his face. Talia touched his arm and he released the tension in his shoulders.

“We’re on a time line here,” Talia spoke evenly.

“Yes, more than you know. I’ve spent time researching your planet’s history, and I never hoped to be this lucky.” He chuckled again.

“What does luck and history have to do with my magic?” Talia growled at him.

“Everything.” Jaron smirked and looked up at the ceiling.

Talia rolled her eyes and pushed away from the table.

Jaron talked as she ordered lemon water from his metabolizer. “I believe Talia and her abilities are a special case. An exception to the rules so to speak. It is rare, but there is a precedent set throughout your magical archives.”

“I’d love to see these archives sometime, but back up. We don’t know what the rules are.” Landry leaned forward.

“The rules are simple. Some people have the potential to work magic others do not. On my planet we isolated the genetic code responsible, but we were never able to replicate it.”

Genetics were not Talia’s strong point, but the idea of a magic gene interested her. “Do you think it’s the same gene here?”

“There’s no way to know without testing, but I find your theory on the period of birth fascinating. It will be interesting to see how many of the people on your list have the gift.” Jaron leaned back in his chair. “Anyway, the second rule you need to know is that magic is simply the movement of energy.”

He paused again to let that sink in. “All the rules you associate with energy apply. When you call it to you for shaping, you pull it away from somewhere or something.”

“So, every time I drank the sunsrise, I drained life from something else?” A sinking feeling settled in her shoulders.

“Yes, and no. As I said before, I believe you are a rare case. We will get to you in a minute. Every wizard, excuse me, mage, as your planet called them, has talent or aptitude in specific areas. This simply refers to the elements you pull from by instinct.”

“And what are these elements? You didn’t tell us last night only that I was rooted in the earth and Landry was a transferor.” Talia asked.

“I keep forgetting you have no knowledge at all. It’s surprising how strong your talent is with so little training. There are five elements: Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Spirit. You may exhibit potential in all, one, or any combination of the five.”

“And where did you decide we fall?” Landry asked with a lift of his brows.

“Talia showed high aptitude in Earth and Fire. Earth gives you strength and stability, but the unpredictable power of Fire also rages through your veins. It’s a great combination once you learn to control it. Unfortunately, you will always battle the contradictory urges. The dreams are a result of Spirit.”

“And me?” Landry continued to ask the questions.

“Straight Spirit. You channel other
people
instead of pulling from the other elements. In some ways, this is the best gift because you don’t suffer the effects of pulling the energy to you. The host mage does.”

Landry scowled again. “That doesn’t seem right.”

Jaron shrugged and his eyes flashed black. “There will be a time when you need the strength of many elements. You’ll be glad you can borrow from the strongest mages and use them all at once. And you will do it.”

“Maybe not.” Landry shrugged and looked away.

“Trust me you will. I would have to save my wife.”

The silence grew heavy and uncomfortable before Jaron cleared his throat and continued.

“With practice, you will learn to enter other minds without the physical contact you need now. I can teach you a chant to strengthen the connection and allow you to control another from inside their own thoughts.”

“Again, why would I want to do that?” Landry crossed his arms over his chest and one side of his mouth curled up, wrinkling his nose.

“There are lots of reasons, but your survival and the knowledge of how to prevent another from controlling you should be enough reason to learn.”

Landry relaxed, his face smoothing once more.

When the men fell silent, Talia returned them to the original topic. “Jaron, why do you think I’m a special case?”

“The records mentioned several mages throughout Sendek’s history with gifts similar to yours. It was clear that these gifts are rare, or at least the combination is rare. When you pull renewing energy from the trees you are not stealing from them. It is freely given and so returns to them after moving through you.” He paused to stare at her. “You break the rules.”

“Why is that?”

“I think . . .” Jaron never finished because alarms started blaring all over the ship at the same time Landry’s com beeped.

“Looks like the first of the mage candidates are here.” Landry stood and headed for the door.

I guess I’ll have to get my answers later.
Talia followed the men out the door. Her stomach flip-flopped. Would any of these people be like her? How many mages would they need to unbind the Dragumon? The questions kept piling up, but all she could do was take a deep breath and hope for the best.

A makeshift tent city went up in the forest. Royalist soldiers kept everyone contained and brought in metabolizers to feed the camp. Hundreds of people had walked in from Bryllton by thirteen rising. Jaron gave the go ahead, and Landry called everyone to gather. He explained the situation, managing to sound believable. No one questioned him openly, but a few people slipped away into the trees. Landry feared it was too risky to let them leave, but Jaron preferred to work with those who hoped they were special.

They tested those who thought they had magical abilities first. Jaron stood with the boxes and candle set up on a small table in a clearing. He placed his hand on each person’s forehead, searching for obvious signs. If they showed promise he tested them with the objects, if not he sent them home.

He placed them in groups so each style could learn the basics with others similar to them. Some had the gift of speaking with animals or birds, and one or two others could converse with the trees like Talia. There were healers, illusionist/shape shifters, mind benders, those who could focus the weather, and others with the ability to transfer and magnify gifts the same as Landry.

Excitement filled the camp as people discovered they were needed to save Sendek from the invaders. There was hope in the air. Laughter mingled with the murmuring of voices.

Talia’s eyes swept over the mass of people. The people she had searched for all her adult life. Here they were, scattered through the trees in ever growing numbers. Why did her knees feel weak? At one time, the hope of their existence gave her strength, but now that they were real, she was lost among them.

Landry found her leaning against a tree watching everyone go about their business. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He didn’t look phased by the situation at all. Of course, he had more experience with large groups of people than she did, but the whole magic thing didn’t seem to bother him either.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“You don’t seem as excited as I thought you would be. You were right. Jaron thinks we’ll have enough people to perform the spell successfully by the end of the night.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Talia?” Landry picked up on her emotional vibe. His eyes widened a moment and then crinkled with the smile that lit his face. “Feeling insignificant? I thought this was what you hoped for, the reason you started your list.”

His teasing made her blush. He was right. Talia stood up but let her hair fall to cover her face while she cleared her throat.

She stared at the ground and watched his shoes come into view. Landry brushed her hair away and squeezed her shoulder. Her gaze moved up his legs to his waist and then his shoulders, but stopped at his chin. The hand that he had rested on her shoulder cupped her face and lifted her chin until their eyes met.

“No one else has exhibited your unique combination. You’re also the only violet-eyed mage here. No one else has reported dreaming about this invasion, no one. That’s significant, and we all know it.” He nodded at the mages behind him.

“What good is a dream? It’s worthless. I think I’m just tired of standing around talking. I need to do something. People are dying as the Dragumon branch out.” She struggled to maintain eye contact as the frustration resurfaced.

“Well, you’re in luck. Jaron wants to see us at the ship. Come on.”

He released her and walked away, leaving the noisy crowd behind. Landry walked silently, giving Talia the space she needed.

“Thanks.”

“For what?” A smile teased the corner of his lips.

“You know what. Stroking my ego back there. It’s all your fault anyway.”

“And how is that?”

“I managed to block out my emotions fairly well until I met you.”

“Well, in that case I should let you know that I’m offended. Your self-esteem didn’t suffer when you learned I had magical talents.”

“There was only one of you, and it was a relief. Now there are thousands and I feel like the world has flipped upside down. I miss my scientific method.”

“It’ll work itself out; we just have to find a new balance. If Jaron is right, we need to shake things up a bit to defeat the Dragumon.”

“We’re lucky they haven’t come for us yet.” Talia paused to place her palm on a tree trunk. It showed her images of the Dragumon walking toward the camp and then away before getting close. The protective spells Jaron set up were working. For now.

“I wish he would teach us the shielding spell.”

Landry slowed down so Talia could catch up, “That would come in handy. I wish he would just teach us the unbinding spell. We can learn about our natural talents afterward.”

“I think his point is we need to know who we are, how we feel and focus the magical energies through our minds and bodies. It’s different for everyone. When we understand ourselves, we will be able to work together to unbind the Dragumon.”

“It sounds so logical coming from your lips.” He reached out to take her hand.

“That’s funny because I don’t know how this is going to work. I feel like Jaron is hiding something from us. We’re supposed to gather some items, stand together, and chant some words and the Dragumon will cease to exist? It’s a fairy tale, and all I know is science.” She sounded pouty again. Landry stopped, placed his hands on her shoulders, and looked her in the eye.

“The Royalist were armed with the best weapons we have, and they didn’t get the chance to fire them. Our scientific technology is not strong enough. Jaron’s was far more advanced than ours, and his world fell to the Dragumon.” Landry released Talia. “I find it funny you have a harder time with this than me. You’ve always been a magical being.”