The Magickers (23 page)

Rich's hand shot up again. Eleanora looked at him again.

“Can they make you do things? Like, you know, have strange cravings?”

“Like chocolate, for example?”

Jason grinned as the girls all giggled. Rich squirmed. “Not like that, but—”

“Like what?”

“I don't know, but . . . what's to keep us from disappearing like Bailey did?”

“Common sense, I hope. We'll have Miss Landau in hand very shortly. In the meantime, nothing should go amiss.”

Trent muttered out of the side of his mouth. “Little late for that. We've already got a miss missing.”

Jason bit the inside of his mouth to keep from snorting and drowning out Eleanora's talk.

“My suggestion is that you copy down all the strange things you're worried about and make an appointment to meet with me in my office later.”

Rich paled and shut his mouth tightly. He squirmed as if he wished to say more. Eleanora watched him silently with one eyebrow arched. Evidently deciding not to take the dare, he kept quiet.

“Now, then.” She smiled brightly. “Today we're going to learn one of the fundamental benefits of having a crystal, one of its nicest functions.” She held hers up, smiled, spoke a word, and a soft golden light flared out, visible even in the sunlit day.

Ting leaned forward on her elbows. “Wow,” she said softly.

“You wouldn't be afraid of the dark,” Jennifer said to her. She patted Ting's shoulder.

“How do you
do
that?” Trent breathed at Jason's shoulder. He had his crystal out, but his gaze was fixed intently on Eleanora, and he was rolling his stone through his fingers without noticing it.

The light spilled through the Magicker's fingers like a waterfall of gold, cool to the touch, Jason guessed, but glowing as warm as firelight. He looked at his crystal, wondering how she did it.

“Focus,” Eleanora said. She moved her hand over her crystal, and the light went out. “Focus into your crystal, find the plane you feel most comfortable on . . . the facet you can see easiest and you can handle . . . and I want you to build a flame there. Think it, imagine it.” She passed along the tables as Jason got his out and palmed it. “That's it, Jason.” She raised her voice. “Hold your crystal to Focus on it. It's bonded to you and attuned to you. Setting it on a table or desk and looking at it will not activate it.”

There was a stir all around as the others got out their crystals, digging into pockets everywhere. Henry dropped his with a dismayed squeak, bent over to pick it up, let out a howl when Stefan gave him a wedgie, danced around a bit getting his underwear unknotted, and dropped his crystal a second time. Finally, he stood somewhat quietly, round face very red, hair sticking up all over, and eyes blinking behind the round lenses of his spectacles. He cupped his crystal fiercely, moving to put Danno and Jon between him and the rest of the class.

Ting and Jennifer bumped shoulders, trying hard not to giggle, as they held their crystals, hands wiggling as they suppressed their laughter with a muffled snort. Ting's rock crystal held a pleasant pink tinge to it. Jason could not help but notice the two girls, their noses wrinkling in concentration as they stared. Jennifer's blonde hair swung forward, like a fine golden curtain, covering part of her face as she ducked her chin and looked down at her hand.

A pang went through him for the missing Bailey. Trent's comment aside, he fretted over the fact that the Magickers seemed to have no idea what had happened except that they seemed somewhat unconcerned in front of everyone but sounded worried when they thought they were unobserved. Crystals and
poofing
Magickers did not seem to be entirely unexpected though. Wishing he knew what they did, he stared down into his crystal and tried to keep to the subject at hand. Or, in his hand, as it was. Having an object that could light up like a flashlight, with no batteries needed, would be great, he had to admit.

The cool depths of his crystal seemed an unlikely place to hold fire or light, though. He tried to project a spark onto its surface, only to lose the glint over and over. Like a snowflake melting, it would fade before he could build it into a larger glow, even as he frowned and stared until he could feel a dull, throbbing headache pain between his brows. Pressure descended till he felt like he had an elephant standing on his head.

Looking away, Jason rubbed his eyes. Across from him, Ting's crystal hummed in a rosy glow, her face rapt as she stared at it. Jennifer's pale rock also glowed, with a strong, silvery light that rayed brightly across her hand. Ting's almond eyes widened slightly. “It's . . . getting warm . . .” she said, alarmed. Her hand jerked as though she might toss it, but before she could, a ker-RACK! split the air, and her crystal shattered into pieces. She let out a startled squeak.

Jennifer immediately grabbed her wrist. “Oh, Ting!” she said in dismay. “Your crystal.”

Eleanora hurried over, saying, “Don't worry, these things happen. We can find you another—” and she stopped, staring at the pieces in Ting's hand. “Well,” she said finally. “I've seen that before but not often.” She stirred through the fragments with a gentle fingertip. “Usually they darken, and go lifeless. However, yours, Ting, still hold the light.” She smiled. “Keep them, they might be useful someday. In the meantime, we've got to get you a replacement! Jennifer, why don't you snuff your lantern and take her to Master Rainwater's office in the Gathering Hall, and he'll pick out another.” She looked around. “Is anyone else having success in getting their lantern focused? Don't be discouraged. It takes time.”

Jon held his palm up, where his green citrine cast an eerie light green light over the table. She nodded at him, unsurprised.

Jason rubbed his nose, hard, where an itch seemed to be succeeding far more than his concentration on his crystal. He scrubbed it again, to keep the itch from coming back, and stared down at his crystal. A little twinkle flared and flickered about, almost like a fairy light. Like a small spark in a heavy wind, it threatened to go out. He cupped his hands about the crystal, sheltering it, willing it to just
be. Stay . . . stay!

Danno, at his back, let out a startled exclamation, “Madre de Dios!” and Henry Squibb gave an excited yelp.

Jason whirled around just in time to see Henry's crystal flare like a nova with light and then shoot into skyrocketing flames! He leaped onto one foot, howling, then dropped his crystal into the dust. The light immediately went out but it took all three of them—Jon, Danno, and Henry—to kick dust over the flames and put the crystal out.

Eleanora stood in puzzlement a moment, her face white. “Now that,” she said, “is something I've never seen.” She went to Henry and took his hands. “Are you burned?”

“I . . . I . . . don't think so.” Henry shook all over, then straightened. “Well, maybe a little.”

She nodded, looking over his reddened palm. “Not badly, but I still think you should see Dr. Patel. Off with you . . .” She paused as Henry trotted off a few steps. “Henry.”

“Yes'm?” He turned around, blinking owlishly through his glasses.

“Your crystal, Henry.”

He took a deep breath and came back to a dirty lump. “What if it . . . what if it . . . ?”

“You are its master, Henry, not the other way around.”

He nodded, and picked it up, dusting it off. Not a singe on it. With a half-smile of relief, he pocketed it, then turned again to trot down to Dr. Patel's quarters.

She let them Focus for another ten or fifteen minutes before holding her hands up, saying, “I think that's enough for today, class. You may have some headaches and crossed eyes from the concentration, that's normal. A nice walk in the brisk air should take care of that! Good work, everyone.”

Nobody else had gotten his or her crystal firmly glowing yet, although Jason felt he was very close. Eleanora paused by the end of their table. “How did you do, Trent?”

He shrugged. “Not very well. I mean, it got clearer on me, more transparent, but that's about it.”

“Interesting. Actually, with that stone, it's quite a bit. It's . . .” she paused. “It's stubborn.”

“Good! 'Cause I am, too.”

She nodded, and then her gaze fell on Jason. “Jason, you look unhappy.”

“It just kept slipping away.” He flexed his hands, surprisingly tense and tight after cradling his crystal.

“It'll come. It shouldn't be easy, making cold fire, don't you think?” She smiled slightly, then glided past to the next group of students.

“Nothing,” whispered Trent in Jason's ear as they hurried for break and to make it to FireAnne's herbal class, “is easy about this.”

Jason nodded, matching strides with Trent's lope. The only great thing about the afternoon was knowing that Bailey, at least, hadn't disappeared in an eruption of flame!

At dinnertime, Ting came late, and slid into line between Jason and Trent, a worried look on her face.

“What's wrong?” Jason said softly.

“Something very strange,” she whispered back. “Our thief left a note. Or, at least, I think he did.”

“What?”

“Cookie crumbs. I stumbled over them, but . . . but I'd swear they spelled out ‘Help me'.”

Trent coughed. “A thief who asks for help?”

She nodded. “I know it sounds weird.”

“Why not a pen and ink?”

Ting shrugged. “I don't know. I don't even know if . . . if the crumbs really spelled anything out. It just looked like it to me.”

“Can you show us after dinner?”

With a faint blush, Ting shook her head. “Gone. Something ate them. It was while you guys were at canoeing, and I came to get you, but you were out on the lake. By the time I got back to Kittencurl, everything was gone.”

Jason let out a sigh of regret.

Trent shuffled ahead in line and waited till they caught up before remarking. “There are people like that, you know. People who can't keep from stealing. Maybe it's someone like that.”

“And that's why they asked for help?” Ting looked at him, doubt in her almond eyes.

“Won't know till we catch him, will we? But it's something to think about.”

“Well . . . I set the trap again. I added a few more tin cans. We ought to catch
something,
” Ting vowed. “Only I'd rather you guys were there when it happened.”

“What about Jennifer?”

“She's got another counselor meeting tonight.” Ting looked around then ducked her head, her voice getting even more quiet. “I took a look at her notes. She's getting advanced Magick training in those sessions, too.”

“Oh, really?”

“That's what it looked like.”

Trent looked almost as interested as Jason felt. The corner of his mouth went up. “I'll ask Henry about Jonnard. Squibb couldn't keep a secret if his life depended on it.” As Jason and Ting laughed, Trent found himself at the head of the serving line and boldly went to pile up food on his plate.

Ting shook her head. “I don't know how he does it,” she murmured to Jason. “He eats so much!”

“He's got one of those bodies that burns it up. He doesn't even lie still at night,” he told her.

She nodded before stepping forward herself to get plate, utensils, and napkins.

Jason got some carrot and raisin salad and regular green salad before stopping in line and looking at a great tray of Mulligatawny. It looked like nothing he'd ever seen before, its aroma intriguing and spicy. He stared at the dinner selection in fascination while, ahead of him, Ting swerved past it to get some spaghetti which looked ordinary compared to the fragrant dish. Trent beckoned to him.

“Get some rice and spoon that over. It's like a . . . a spicy stew. Try some!”

Jason hesitated again. Then, he took Trent's advice, and added bread and fruit as well as dessert (no gelatin of any kind, thank you!) in case the Mulligatawny was awful. Once spooned over the rice, he could see chunks of meat and onion and some other vegetables in a rich, golden brown broth more clearly. It smelled intriguing. Behind him, he could hear equal discussions of fascination over the dish, including Rich who said, “God! She's trying to kill me.”

Stefan snickered. “Then you don't hafta eat it, do you? Just get the chicken noodle soup or something. Jeez, what a wuss. Looks good to me.”

“Stef, anything looks good to you. If it doesn't gobble you down first, you gobble it down.” Rich grumbled another word or two before Jason left the crowd behind as he headed to their table.

Jennifer was just finishing and standing up. She leaned over to give Ting a half hug. “I've got sessions tonight, don't forget!”

“I know.”

“Want me to send someone over to keep you company?” Jennifer asked, her well-glossed lips turned up in a hesitant smile.

“I'll just read for a while. I'm kind of tired, actually.”

“Okay. I'll try to come in quietly, in case you fall asleep.” Jennifer allowed herself to smile then, and was gone with a toss of her blonde head. Trent watched her leave before digging into his dinner.

“Interesting,” was all he said.

Jason knew better. He knew what kinds of wheels were turning when Trent said something like that. “What is?”

“She's wearing her crystal like a pendant, around her neck. Didn't you see?”

Jason shook his head, but he felt a touch of envy for a moment. As Ting had noted, advanced lessons. Not that he wanted to wear his stone in a girlish necklace about his neck, but . . . what was she learning that they hadn't had a chance to yet? What wonders of Magick?