Fearless (The Blue Fire Saga) (30 page)

“No, none.
I’m not trying t
o summon any, and none have popped up
on their own. Which is just fine with me, believe me.”

Suddenly, Rave stopped walking, halting so abruptly that Leesa
’s momentum carried
her
another
two steps before she was able to stop
. S
he almost tripped on her bad leg in the process. She
caught her balance and
hurried back to him.

“What’s wrong?”

Rave didn’t answer. His eyes were fixed on
Dral
and Bain, who were striding rapidly toward them.

“Do you feel it, too?” Rave asked his friends.

“Yes,”
Dral
replied. Leesa had never heard him sound so uncertain.

“Feel what?” she asked worriedly.
Her head swiveled from side to sid
e, looking for anything unusual, but s
he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

“Something has happened to my fire,” Rave said.

“Ours, too,” Bain added.

“What do you mean, something has happened to it?”
Leesa immediately thought about
Rammugul
, and the story Balin had recounted about the female volkaane who lost her fire
forever
after using the ancient technique.

“I’m not sure,” Rave said. “I’ve neve
r felt anything like it
.”

Leesa grabbed Rave’s hand. It was nowhere near as warm as she was used to feeling.

“It’s not from practicing
Rammugul
, is it?” she asked, voicing her worst fears.

“No, it’s not that.
Dral
and Bain have not tried
Rammugul
, but they feel the change, too.”

“All three of you have lost your fire? How is that possible?”

“Not lost,” Rave said. “I can still feel it inside me. But it’s diminished somehow.”

He stared down at the fingertips of his free hand, his face tight with concentration.
Leesa prayed she would soon see the familiar blue flames flickering from his fingertips, but nothing happened.

“I can’
t call
up
my fire,” Rave told her
. “
It’s too weak.”

Leesa saw
Dral
and Bain
lo
oking down at
their own
hands. Apparently, n
either could
produce any fire, either.

“
What could
be causing this?
” Leesa asked.

Rave shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve neve
r heard of
anything like it
. We need to get back home. Perhaps Balin or one of the other elders will know
what
i
s happening
.”

“I hope so,” Leesa said.
Now that she w
asn’t walking, she
was beginning to grow cold. She slipped her windbreaker back on.

“We’ll w
alk you back to the dorm
before we leave,” Rave said.

Leesa
star
ed at Rave in disbelief.

“Walk me home? Are you crazy?
I’m not staying here, worrying about what’s happening with you. It’s not like you can c
all me up and give me progress reports
.
”
Her expression became very determined.
“I’m going with you.”

Rave had seen that look on Leesa’s face before and knew better than to argue.

“Okay,” he said. “But I can’t promise I’ll be able to bring you back here.”

Leesa was not about to let that deter her.

“If I have to, I can call my mom or
my
brother for a ride,” she said. “Do you still have your
volkaane
strength and speed
? Or are those weakened, too?”

In answer, Rave scooped her up into his arms, as easily as ever.

“Those are physiological,” he said, “not magical, like our fire.
” He put Leesa down. “
It seems only our magic is affected.”

A
sudden
,
very
disturbing
thought reared up in Leesa’s head.

“Come closer, all of you.” She held her hand palm upward in front of her stomach.
“
Hide my hand,
”
she told them
as the three volkaanes clustered close in front of her.

She looked around
, checking
to make sure no passersby were near enough to see, and then focused her concentration on her hand. “
Illuminati
verdus
,” she said.

Only the merest dot
of l
ight—scarcely the size of a pea
—appeared above her palm. The glow was so faint it was barely vis
ible in the daylight. Leesa star
ed at the meager light in dismay. She had gotten pretty good at this spell, but it was hardly working now.

“
Illuminati
verdus
,”
she repeated more forcefully, as if that might
somehow
strengthen the spell.

T
here was no change in the light.
What the heck was going on here
, she wondered
?
First the volkaane magic, and now hers.
Her heart sank
further
as the dim light winked out. This was definitely not the time for her magic to quit on her. She was supposed to be doubling her practice.
But what good would more practice
do if her magic was barely working?
She prayed
that
the black waziri were not somehow behind this.
She wondered if black magic could somehow be used to nullify other kinds of magic.

She looked up at Rave, her eyes filled with apprehension.

“It’s not just your magic,” she said
softly
. “Mine has been weakened, too.”

23
.
RUMBLINGS

T
he ride in Rave’s arms was much different this time. The speed was still thrilling and t
he strength in his arms kept Leesa
feeling
loved and secure. What was missing was his heat. W
ithout his amazing warmth
,
she
was forced to keep her face buried against his chest
and her hands balled up in the sleeves of her windbreaker
for protection against the cold air that whipped against her
skin
.
Despite the cold
, she couldn’t think of any other way she’d rather travel, especially with
the feel of
his heart beating strongly against he
r cheek, giving her a feeling of reassurance she sorely needed right now. She pressed her face more tightly
against his breast.

S
he was less disappointed than usual when he finall
y put her down on the path
outside
Balin’s
cabin.
For the first time, the ride had felt just long enough, rather than way too short. She didn’t like the feeling at all. She hoped they got to the bottom of all this quickly.

The door
to
Balin’s
cabin
was open, as if the old volkaane was expecting them.
Or expecting someone, at least.
Rave took her hand and ushered her inside.
Dral
and Bain followed them in.

The fire in the fireplace seemed to be burning hotter
than usual. Leesa wondered if that
was just her imagination, conjured up by the lack of Rave’s heat
,
which she usually carried in here with her.

Balin
was clearly pleased to see them
, though a flicker of surprise crossed his face when his eyes met Leesa’s.
He obvious
ly had not been expecting her. Nonetheless, h
e opened his arms
wide
in greeting
.

S
he moved into his welcoming embrace. His heat, never as warm as Rave’s
to begin with
, was even lower now. Hugging him did not feel much differe
nt than hugging her Uncle Roger, except that Balin was much slimmer.

“I’ve been expecting these three,” Balin
said,
“
but
I’m su
rprised to see you here
, given the circumstances. You are always welcome, of course.”

“She refused to stay behind,” Rave said.
“I know better than to argue when she sets her mind.”
His smile assured Leesa
that
he was not upset.

Balin looked at the three young volkaanes.
His expression had turned grave.

“
Y
our presence here
tells me you
have all
probably
felt
t
he
diminishing
of your fire
. I was hoping it would not be so, that perhaps distance would keep you safe.
”
He sighed. “Perhaps you were not far enough away.”