Everly squealed and launched into the romance novelist and some story about a radio host and cellphones. The same yearning I’d felt for my magic to be real filled her voice. I found myself hanging on herevery word like the love-struck man I was supposed to be pretending to be.
“Welcome to your stamina evaluation. Let’s see if any of you are worthy of the task at hand.” A high, nasally voice pulled my attention away from Everly.
I reached out and squeezed her hand. “Later, I promise.”
“I’d like that.” Everly squeezed my hand back.
Hero actually growled this time and jutted his chin toward our hands. Instead of releasing his sister, I wiggled closer, putting my arm around her waist. My head was perfectly lined up with the tall beauty’s round breasts, and I met Hero’s gaze, burning with murder, and ‘accidentally’ brushed up against the side of one.
I turned my attention to the front before I could see if he was going to murder me or not. But as his sister wiggled closer, physically shielding me, my worries died. I could feel her laughter threatening both our self-control.
The tight male voice continued. “I am Professor Holiday. You will refer to me as such.”
With my short stature surrounded by all these tall people, I couldn’t see who was talking, so I kept my eyes on the ground and listened.
“Stamina,” Professor Holiday continued, “is something you’ll all take for granted now, but it will improve with time. These are the muscles of the mind: fortitude and sheer will. Power is crucial, yes. But without the strength to wield it, to rise when you fall, to push for every last drop... it’s worthless.”
A stick thumped the ground. A breeze kicked up, bringing with it the scent of roses. I touched my cheek, expecting to feel slime, but there was none. I shuddered.
“Today’s placement is simple.” Professor Holiday began coughing, the dry, raspy hacks so harsh they almost made my chest ache. Whenthe fit subsided, his voice was raspier. “Each of you will take a pebble from this basket. Pick your position, standing or sitting; it doesn’t matter. Your task is to float the pebble at chest height until either it or you fall.”
I chewed on my thumbnail. This was a placement test. If I couldn’t float the pebble, could they still place me?
Everly bounced and gave me a big hug. “You’ll do great!”
The minute she released me, Hero slid between us and herded her in the opposite direction. I pointed at both of them and nodded suggestively. Her twin’s gaze burned as if he could smite me with it. He spit. The thick wad landed inches from my hiking boots. I slipped my hands into my pockets, and a bit of guilt crept into my stomach.
Everly’s giggle erased it, and I beamed at her until she disappeared behind more tall people. At least my new friend wouldn’t see my failure. Stepping away from Hero’s spitty ire, I sat on the dirt.
A shadow fell over me.
“Too good to grab your own pebble?” Professor Holiday asked sharply.
I jerked in surprise and looked up. The professor’s long face scowled down at me, and I had to slap my hand across my mouth to keep from screaming. Skeletal and thin, his sunken cheeks merged with dark bags beneath eyes that burned with a fiery pink. His bald head was devoid of hair, and long black-painted nails curled around a gnarled staff. A slight breeze tugged at the layers of white wizard robes, belted tightly around his small waist.
I leaned away from him, remembering the warnings. “I just—”
“Don’t mistake the Architect’s favoritism for anything beyond your entry.” He moved his balled fist forward, and I ducked, ready to be hit. But nothing happened.
“Dragons are mythological beasts, make-believe,” he rasped, his tight voice wheezing. I realized he was laughing. “True power is what you can take.”
I looked up. An uneasy shiver ran down my back.He released his fingers, and a small, clear pebble caught the light as it fell inches from his robes. I let it hit the ground rather than accidentally touch the skeletal man, thank you, Everly.
“Smart man.” He leaned on his staff and stepped away from me, surprisingly fast for how stiffly he walked.
I forced air into my lungs and whispered. “None of this is real.”
My heart pinched. When I was happy, I wanted it to be… so much that I was getting lost in the moments.
Reaching forward, I picked up the smooth rock and cleaned off the bits of dirt.
Technology didn’t only change the world; it disconnected us from it. Families fractured, communities formed around fear and hate, while the threads tying us to the earth’s own energy diminished. When the tremors came, many believed it was God restoring the balance. Others assumed it was evolution once again changing mankind. Either way, magic was born.
According to Rowan’s book, magic was control in motion: concentration, precise limits, focus, and will. I needed all of them to make ripples in the water, also known as using magic.
Maybe I didn’t feel magic because I didn’t concentrate hard enough.
I started counting from zero, waiting to feel focused, whatever that meant. Halfway through an argument with myself about whether I was focused, I realized I wasn’t.
