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“What about magick folk?” I ran my hand through my stars again, smiling as they burned brighter for me.
“Magick folk embody elements of the planet we live on. Most of us tend to associate strongly with one specific element. Conrad’s power, for example, is heavily based on water, mine is connected very closely to the earth. Fire mages are rare, and there are also magic folk, that can easily control the wind and the weather.”
“So, what you’re saying is that because my power affiliates itself with the universe, in theory, I should have access to all elements, and maybe even more?” I wasn’t sure if I was excited or terrified at the thought. Meredith smiled.
“My father was right,” She mused, “You do catch on quickly. Once you know what you are doing Raven, there is almost no limit to the things you can accomplish. That is why it is important that you always remember who you are and where you came from. You can tip the scale in the war that is surely brewing both here and beyond The Veil. You must stay true to your principles and ensure that you have a very strong moral compass to drive your choices.”
“That sounds like a lot of responsibility,” I grumbled. Meredith smiled, but there was no joy in it.
“Yes. It does.” She said softly, almost apologetically. Resolve built again and I flexed my aura. I watched, dazzled as it bent easily to my will, as if I should have been able to do this my whole life. I looked up, locking eyes with Meredith.
“Well then.” I said. “We had better get to work.”
17
Work we did. Over the next couple of days, Conrad woke me up banging on my bedroom door.
I dutifully went to the Abbey house each day and practiced the exercises they had provided for me. The first lesson was learning how to keep my aura from touching humans. The trick was to force myself to believe that human auras and my own were akin to oil and water. Two things that just didn’t mix. Over time, my energy avoided human contact as if it were second nature.
We practiced this by walking through Yonge and Dundas square at lunch time. By the end of the practical, I was being jostled around by the crowd as if I were just a normal person. For the first time in my life, people didn’t trip over themselves to get away from me. I had slept more soundly that night than I ever had before.
The next lesson consisted of crossing into the minds of others and picking through their thoughts. This lesson doubled as a defense class, where I alternately learned how to throw up barriers and prevent someone else from reading my thoughts. In my opinion, this class hadn’t come quickly enough. I went home with Conrad that day feeling more at ease than I had in weeks. It was nice to be able to have a thought that I knew no one else could hear. Something I had taken for granted my entire life.
I was so caught up in learning how to control this whole new part of me that I forgot about being suspended and my pending expulsion. I forgot about Mrs. Serafini’s death. The fist seemed to have permanently unclenched from my heart and I was almost happy.
One afternoon, I was sitting at Meredith’s scrubbed wooden table, slurping chicken noodle soup and trying to make a flower grow out of a pot when Mr. Abbey came home. The lesson of the day had been drawing power and talent from another person. Meredith had volunteered to be the guinea pig. I didn’t look up at Mr. Abbey as he came in. I was too engrossed in my project. I had opened a tiny black hole in my portable universe. Carefully I drew a thin line of power from Meredith, using it to urge the potted seed to crack and grow. I almost jumped out of my chair and cheered as the first green shoots started to break free from the soil.
My premature celebration weakened my control and the black hole in my aura became unstable. It stretched and grew, sucking more and more of Meredith’s aura up until she cried out in pain. The flower in the pot shot toward the ceiling, and its roots began to spread at an alarming rate. The pot shattered and soil spilled over the table. The roots knocked over my chicken soup and I cried out as the hot liquid burned through my jeans. Panicking now and worried about what I was doing to Meredith, I tried to cut off the connection. It didn’t work, and more and more of Meredith’s power continued to be drawn into me. I felt almost drunk on it, until Mr. Abbey intervened and severed the link with a few choice words.
Meredith had nearly slid right out of her chair. I, on the other hand, was impregnated with her power. I needed to let some of it out. Now .
Mr. Abbey rushed me outside and I fell to my knees, pressing my hands into the cold ground. The energy spilled out of me and suddenly the backyard sprung to life. Green shoots of grass erupted around me. The cherry blossom tree in the corner bloomed spontaneously. The browned plot of herbs erupted and flowed out of its garden walls. I could feel the roots expanding beneath me. I was extremely aware of every living thing that crawled and the intricate balance that allowed the world to spin. Everything had a purpose, everything had a job to do. If one tiny piece of the puzzle failed, the entire world could crumble because of it.
Finally spent, I fell onto my side, gasping. I could vaguely hear Conrad rush out the back door and Mr. Abbey saying my name. Everything sounded like I was hearing it from underwater. The galaxies that constantly spun around me were out of orbit. Dust-sized planets crash into each other and exploded. Several of my stars went supernova and I shuddered with each miniature eruption.
I don’t know how long I lay on the cold, green earth; nursing my billions of solar systems back to health. Mr. Abbey and Conrad stayed with me the whole time and I suddenly remembered Meredith.
“Is she okay?” I croaked. Mr. Abbey looked relieved that I finally seemed able to use my words.
“She will be fine. There is always a risk when training a novice. Meredith is strong and we have ways of healing her.”
“I’m so sorry.” I murmured dumbly, trying to sit up. Conrad rushed to help me and a couple more planets collided at the sudden movement. My head was throbbing.
“Noh gyal.” Conrad said softly, helping me to my feet. “Don’t be sorry. It happens to the best of us.” Then he smiled at me mischievously. “When mi was five, mi almost set a tsunami on Jamaica.”
“No you didn’t.” I tried to laugh. “That’s crazy.” Conrad put the hand he wasn’t using to support me over his heart.
“If mi lying, mi dying.” He chuckled. “Mi granny had to come out and stop it. She did pretty impressed though.” He winked at me.
18
We came inside and Meredith was no longer in the kitchen. She was curled up on the couch in the den. Holding an ice pack to her head, she was sipping something that looked hot and smelled sweet. I brushed Conrad off and rushed over to her.
“Meredith I’m so sorry!” I exclaimed, dropping to my knees next to the couch. She looked at me and smiled. Up close her complexion was so pale it was almost grey. I kicked myself for being so careless. “I could have killed you.” I breathed, worry overwhelming me. If Mr. Abbey hadn’t stepped in, I was convinced I would have drained her dry.
“Raven, it happens. You will get the hang of it.” She reassured me warmly. Mr. Abbey chuckled in the doorway.
“Luckily you didn’t attempt that little experiment with Conrad. I feel like the house would have flooded and our neighbors would have been out of water for weeks.” He commented comically.
