“Ugh!” She pulled back and balled her hands into fists. “Maybe I’m just shit at magic.”
“Is that what you believe?”
“I don’t want to think that way.”
She shrugged. “Then, don’t.”
Hollyn stared.Oh! Okay! Thanks for that! I won’t! It’s just that easy.What did she think Hollyn was doing? Purposely not channeling her magic so that she wouldn’t have to face her father?
Wait!Was she?
“Just give me some kind of clue, some kind of hint, for how in the hell I tap into my magic. I thought this medallion…talisman…thingy was supposed to make things happen.”
Yumia hummed low in her throat, a tune that sounded familiar but Hollyn couldn’t place. As she let the tune grow louder, Yumia’s hands began to glow. Hollyn felt the magic building once more and braced herself for a ride toward the wall, but it never came. Instead, Yumia steadied her tune and everything around them stilled. It felt like a tight bubble surrounded them, making Hollyn feel safe and confused at the same time. The only sound was Yumia’s humming, echoing around the bubble.
Yumia paused and looked pointedly at Hollyn. “Where does your song come from?”
“My…voice?”
“Does it? Or does it come from somewhere deeper?”
“I suppose I pull it from deep inside me.”
“And who taught you to sing?”
“My mother taught me to sing.” Her image flashed before Hollyn in an instant, beautiful and sad green eyes, heart-shaped face, honey-blonde hair.
“Your magic is tied to her song. When you pull it from deep inside, don’t just sing it, feel it. Feel her love surrounding you, like you feel right now.”
“I…I don’t know how to do that.”
Yumia smiled widely. “Well, I didn’t create the protection around us, you did. I just hummed the song your mother used to sing you. Your magic came alive instantly.”
The bubble around them instantly popped, but Hollyn didn’t move an inch, not even daring to breathe as she listened to Yumia’s tune once more in her head. She knew it as well as she knew she had breath in her lungs.
Could it be that easy?
She took a deep breath and began to sing the song aloud, feeling each note. She raised her hands once more, palms up, resting just below Yumia’s. As she sang, moisture began to build between them, and an electric charge began to fill the air once more. Hollyn could feel her hands growing lighter yet fuller, like they contained all the liquid of the ocean. With a build toward the crescendo of the song, she began to pull the tune from deep inside. It rose like a tsunami climbing higher into the air, growing closer to the shallow shelf of land, ready to surface and destroy everything in its path. Hollyn could feel the strength of her magic. She could feel the strength of her mother’s love.
As the power released, a stream of water splashed over Yumia, causing her to back up a few steps.
She wiped the water out of her eyes and shouted, “That’s it!”
Hollyn lowered her hands, devastated. “That’s it? I’ll never be able to face my father with that. He’ll laugh in my face. How do I even use this thing around me neck?”
Yumia rested her hands on her hips and stared at Hollyn. “You’ll know when the time is right to use the magic in the talisman. Besides, you’ve only begun to tap into your magic, darling. By the time I finish with you, your father won’t stand a chance.” She shrugged. “And I know all his weaknesses.”
“How?”
“Because I’m the one who trained him.”
6
“How do you keep all of this hidden from the land dwellers?”
Kai stared in awe at the numerous spires reaching into the dark blue of the ocean. All around, light glowed like neon signs surrounding each building of the city. The lights reminded him of the creatures of the deep who used bioluminescence to attract other animals and to communicate.
“We have a stealth system that keeps us well out of sight.”
