“Er… At the beginning?”
He consulted the ceiling like it held the answers to life’s great mysteries. With patience he dredged up from the gods knew where, he said, “The magic manifests through the link in different ways for everyone. I’m able to manipulate it into various forms through years of practice, but my favored form is lightning. You’re able to use it to summon darkness as well. There may be more you can do with it, depending on how well you hone the skill. Still following?”
“Yes. I used it in the cave network during the first Trial to help me see. What else can I use it for?”
“Anything, really, within the parameters of the power since it’s only a grain, and you wouldn’t be able to handle much more as a mortal. It can be used in combat as a strengthening tool or, in terms of the Rite, to diffuse power. It’s just a matter of intention, instruction and focus. Each interaction you’ve had with it so far has been through your instruction. Whether consciously or subconsciously, you’ve been manipulating it to do what you want.”
“So, if I intended to use it to knock you to the ground, I could do that?”
“If you happened to catch me off guard, which wouldn’t happen, then sure.”
“Hm. Interesting. Show me how.”
He ran me through a few breathing exercises, meditative methods to declutter my mind and focus internally. I brushedagainst the link, pulling on it until something unspooled inside of me.
Show yourself, I commanded.
A deep, velvety voice that belonged neither to Kilian nor I whispered in the back of my mind. It was the same one I had heard when training on a wintry mountain with Septimus. A voice I had mistaken as Kilian’s in the tunnel network during the first Trial. I was now certain it was an entity of its own.
With pleasure. What shall we destroy first, wicked?
I tore my eyes open to find the manifestation of power, a sphere of darkness floating between us. Whatever this shadowy orb was, it wasdefinitelytalking to me. Or maybe the Trials had broken my mind, and I had gone crazy a long time ago.
I stared at it, hardly daring to breathe as it undulated lazily, its edges hazy.
I grow weary of your indecision, it drawled.There are enemies in the north. We must act swiftly. Let me loose, set me free, allow me to feast.
My eyes widened.
“You’re doing great, Lirah,” Kilian said, clearly oblivious to the demonic voice that only I could hear.
“What do I do?” I hissed.
“Direct it. Guide it. It will listen to instruction.”
I could feel the power pulsing from it, convinced it would obey no one, much less me. It terrified me. Half of my fear stemmed from the actual power that just casually lurked inside me, the remainder from being branded psychotic if anyone knew it conversed with me.
“You can do it,” Kilian encouraged. “I’m right here. It’ll be okay.”
Hesitantly, I willed the sphere to move, my gaze flicking across the space. To my surprise, it did. It occupied the area on the right of Kilian, swirling in an amorphous wave before I sent it to the center once more.
Shall you have me perform party tricks for the rest of the day?it mused.How insulting.
“Let’s try it with the current,” Kilian said. “I’m going to send a shock through you. You’ll need to instruct the magic to smother it.”
The darkness made a noise which sounded an awful lot like a yawn. Was itbored?
Yes, it answered.I desire a far more substantial meal than electricity. Blood and bones will suffice.
A tingle buzzed along my fingertips, running down the length of my palm and the darkness vanished in a wink. It was barely a thought, more an acknowledgement of the current zipping through me. But then it was gone – disappearing with the shadows.
“Did I do it?” I breathed, relieved the disembodied voice had quietened.
My mind was relaxed, the calm of a still sea.
Kilian gave me an impressed look. “Yeah. You did it.”
I scraped my nails along my palms, staring down at them in wonder. “Let’s try it again.”