AllFreeNovel
Share Us
PIPER
The flute is right where I left it, buried in a hole that, now that I’m digging it up, seems much too shallow considering what I was hoping to hide.
My fists close around the flute, its white oak shaft as cool as metal to the touch, as smooth as calfskin against my fingertips.
Deep inside me, my Gift hums with delight, static prickling at my skin as I pull the flute from the dirt.
Blaise raises a brow, her arms crossed. “That’s not a very deep hole.”
I let out an exasperated groan, more at my past self than her. This part of the wood is mostly abandoned, but Blaise is right. It could have easily not been here when we arrived.
The full moon shines overhead, and I can’t help but notice that Blaise keeps her gaze fixated either on me, the flute, or the ground.
A chill snakes through the air.
“How do you know it works? How do you know it’ll amplify your powers, I mean?” Blaise asks.
I gesture with my head to the crater in the ground beyond her. She teeters at its edge, craning her neck as she peers down.
“Because that used to be a pond,” I say.
“Used to be?”
“Until I summoned the water and drowned a forest faerie in it.”
“Like, midair?”
I nod, and Blaise lets out a noncommittal humph of consideration.
I tap my fingers against the instrument, tracing the vines etched into its side. Inside me, my Gift bounces with excitement.
I’ve been paying more attention to my Gift lately, noting its mood more often than I usually do. I’ve always had a feeling it was sentient, but ever since learning that Queen Asha’s Gift speaks to her, I can’t help but wonder if my Gift is capable of the same and simply chooses not to.
What do you think? Think this will work? Think we can summon a legion of Others and march them back through the Rip?
My Gift buzzes, vibrating my ribcage, but I can’t tell if it’s shaking its head yes or no.
Can you use words?
Another buzz, though this time it’s lower, deeper than the first.
Can you use a high note for yes and a low note for no? I ask it, feeling utterly ridiculous.
But a note, so high I feel the need to cover my ears, reverberates through me.
A resounding yes.
Okay, well, maybe you don’t have to go so high, I think, though I’m pleased. My Gift is still buzzing, and this might be naïve of me, but it seems it’s eager to communicate with me. Part of me has been nervous I might be infested with a magic more akin to Blaise’s parasite. But no, that fear is silly. There’s nothing hostile about the Gift inside me.
Can you speak with words?
A buzz, not low and not high.
Okay, so obviously that isn’t the right question.
Was there a time when you used to speak?
A high note, like the smallest chime on a bell.
