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“I’m sure that could be arranged.” He said, his voice soft. I almost sobbed with relief. I met his gaze, letting him see how much it meant to me, to see my father again.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
He nodded. “Of course.”
Conrad came down the stairs, his face as grim as ever. “She say she ready, but mi want tuh give her some more time tuh sleep before wi go. She is so tired.” Mr. Abbey nodded.
“I reached out to the Sorcerer General after we met yesterday, and she has agreed to meet with us on an expedited schedule, but her only opening is midnight, our time. So, Patricia can take the day to rest and prepare.” Conrad nodded gratefully.
“It sounds like we have some time then.” Amon commented, “Maybe we should take this opportunity to train, Raven.” I wasn’t sure I would be able to focus on training. All I could think about was Jeremy, and the look he had on his face as I crossed The Veil in Amon’s arms. Leaving him behind to deal with Clair’s death alone.
‘Train with me. I will teach you how to place a trace on him, so you can check in whenever you like.’ He whispered across my mind. I looked at him, my eyes still shining with tears, and nodded.
‘I would like that,’ I responded, and he gave me a curt nod in return.
“Let’s go outside then,” he said out loud, and slipped out the sliding glass door to the back yard. I got up from the table and trailed him out into the summer heat.
I was uncomfortable in the black sweater I had chosen that morning. It was summer in Toronto, and it hadn't occurred to me that the climate would be so different than the cool northern temperatures that swept through the Court of Pride. Amon immediately noticed my discomfort.
“Let’s start with learning to control the environment around you.” He said. “It is one of the easier things to learn.”
I remembered how he had sheltered me from the wind on our walk to The Eye and nodded. That did seem like it would be a useful skill to have.
“Close your eyes.” He said, and I did as I was told. “Connect with your environment the same way I taught you to do when I asked you to fly.”
I found the delicate line where my midnight aura met the fabric of the universe that surrounded me. The atoms that made up the matter on this side of The Veil felt slightly different than they had in the Court of Pride, but they still responded to me—dancing and twisting between the stars and planets that spun merrily through my aura.
“This state that you’re in right now, is the foundation of most daemon magick. Practice connecting like this as often as you can, until it becomes second nature. You should be able to find this place, as easily as you breathe.”
I nodded. I remembered first learning how to see my own aura, in this same backyard. Meredith had said I needed to find this state of mind as well, but the magick folk had a word for it. They called it Eriene.
I felt him slide closer to me, his aura brushing against mine. With my mind’s eye I could see the edges of his energy as it caressed me. If my aura was the universe, his was a nebula. Glowing green, gold and violet clouds made of stardust spread through my galaxies, leaving sparks of star fire in their wake.
‘Let me know when you’re close,’ He breathed across my mind, and my core tightened.
“I’m there,” I whispered out loud. With my eyes closed, I could feel his proximity, and my scalp tingled as he brushed my hair behind my ear again. It seemed to be becoming a habit of his.
“Focus on the heat. Not just the feeling of heat, but on a physical level, what heat is.” As soon as he said it, I understood. Heat was a product of energy. It was the result of energy transferring from one source to another. In this case, the sun to me. I was a daemon. If energy was an orchestra, I was the conductor.
It was instinctual. I wrapped my power around the transfer of energy and pulled it back, slowing it down until the heat lowered around me to a comfortable temperature. I opened my eyes lazily, to find Amon watching me from inches away. I smiled at him, my body still humming in the calming state of Eriene.
“You listen so well,” he purred as he watched our auras mingle. My blood thrilled at the praise.
“I have a good teacher,” I whispered back, and the corner of his mouth tilted up in a smile.
“Now, put your focus on the tip of your finger.” He took my hand gently and held it between us, rubbing his thumb over the pad of my index finger. I closed my eyes and did what he said, focusing on the atoms that knit together to form my flesh.
“Put a tiny piece of your aura here. Then place it on me. Where you place it does not matter. You must instruct it to stay with me, and to respond to you whenever you call to it.”
I did what he said, tying a tiny knot in my aura and allowing it to separate from the rest. When I had it lined up and ready on my fingertip, I memorized the feel of it, before lifting my hand and stroking the side of his perfect face. He closed his eyes at my touch, and I lost myself in the feeling of that tiny knot, that small piece of aura, as it knit itself into Amon's cheek.
When I pulled my hand away, I could still feel it there, and I knew that it would call to me, no matter where he went. He opened his eyes, a broad smile lighting up his face.
“You amaze me, Raven.”
I shivered. No one had ever told me that I amazed them before.
“It’s nothing,” I said, blushing and stepping away. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back into him, forcing me to meet his gaze.
