Mine to Spell (Mine #2) (14 page)

“
You must have tapped into your power. Your emotions sent you into survival mode.”

“
Survival mode?”

“
Instinct, if you will. Everyone has a natural sense of self-preservation. But it can only take you so far. Knowledge is key. And using barriers like we talked about, like women wearing gloves, play into that knowledge.”

“
So spells are affected not only by knowledge one has, but also by barriers?”

“
Yes. Distance also weakens them.”

“
What about the colors of spells? Do they mean anything?” I ask.

“
Yes and no.”

“
You’re a very clear teacher.”

He laughs. “Only because you didn’t let me finish.”

Good point.

“
There isn’t a straight answer,” he says. “Colors mean various things to different people.” He flicks out a spell of green tinted with yellow and swirled with blue. “This is nothing but a flash of magic colored by my emotions. What emotions do you think they are just from looking at it?”

Green, blue, and yellow, just like bruises. “Pain or sadness, yet that doesn’t seem to reflect your mood.”

“For me they mean happiness. Green grass, blue sky, yellow sun. A warm, sunny day spent with someone I care about.” He clears his throat and releases the color. “But it illustrates my point. We’re very different in our emotions, and how we perceive things. It changes what colors our magic is.”

Much cheerier thought. Does that mean my magic will always be darker than his?

He continues. “But it can change over time. Since your feelings aren’t always the same, you won’t always produce the same-colored spells. And likewise, you may find two people can cast spells which look almost exactly alike if they have similar views and feelings.”

“
If the color of spells comes from feelings, it makes sense they would change.” My own feelings have been ripped, yanked, and pulled into all sorts of new places lately. Perhaps they won’t always be dark?

“
Exactly. Also, since mood also affects it, the color can change or be tinted with another color even if the person’s perspective of the spell itself hasn’t changed.”

“
That’s why father's spells were always tinted with red when he was angry.”

“
Red is a very common color to pop up with anger, but it can change from person to person and day to day. My anger might be black this morning, but red tonight. Though it usually changes more over a longer period of time. Or I knew a lady who would have yellow tints to her spells when she was angry, even though that color usually comes up when people are happy. There are more possibilities than there are spell casters. How about an example?”

“
That’d be fantastic.”

“
Cast an image of whatever you like and I’ll duplicate it.”

The first thing that comes to mind is the necklace I’m wearing. It’s simple enough, casting light to look similar to it, though the light is just a transparent replication of the real thing. Perhaps with more practice it would get better. Lukas smiles at the sight before stepping closer to get a better look at it. After a moment, he duplicates my spell, with some subtle changes.

“What do you notice?” he asks.

“
Your spell has red tints, but you don’t seem angry. Why are they there?”

His gaze is so intense; I want to look away but can’t bring myself to break the connection.

“Do you really want to know?” His voice is husky. The red in his spell grows darker, deeper.

Oh my. “Perhaps I shouldn’t delve into your personal feelings just yet.” And I’m not sure I want to delve into mine either. This strange power coursing through me is unfamiliar, almost like magic, but the warmth carries something entirely different. And while it’s not entirely unwelcome, it’s not going to save my life during the tournament.

He gives one of his small, powerful smiles, and that power turns to hot water, making me want to melt onto the floor. “Not yet, then. Maybe you’d like to try casting a spell right now, and we can talk about the colors in it.”

I keep my breathing steady, despite how difficult it is. “Perhaps later. I’m famished. Don’t you think we should break for lunch? Otherwise, my spells will all be tainted with hungry emotions.”

“Well then,” he says, voice still husky, “we should eat and then continue practice. It’ll be easier on a full stomach anyway.”

Right now, it seems anything but easy. I nod, not trusting myself to speak. What is going on with me? Why am I reacting like this?

Without another word, I charge for the kitchen and quickly pull lunch together. We eat in silence. An awkward silence at first, but it shifts over time. He winks at me before tilting his head to the side and crossing his eyes. I laugh, and more of the strange tension dissipates. By the time we finish, I’m starting to feel more like myself again.

As we clean up, the strange tension tries to creep back in. I shove it away. I don’t want whatever it is interfering with my learning. It’s not the time for that old, fake Cynthia to come back. Though this feels much more real and intense than anything I ever tried to fake. All the same, it’s not time for games. I’ve got to learn this.

The hours flow smoothly, just like the new spells coming from me. It’s hard work that takes a lot of thought and concentration, but Lukas is a good teacher. He’s patient and kind and always has a smile lingering nearby, even when I struggle to make a spell work the first several times. What would my sisters think of him?

Finally, he says, “It’s late. Later than I thought. I should be going.”

I wish it wasn’t. His company has been too enjoyable for it to be time for him to leave. But it is late. The realization sends me yawning.

He laughs. “Yup. It’s definitely past time for me to go.”

Waking did come too early this morning. But… “Are we going to practice again tomorrow? At the same time?”

“
I think we should.”

It will be worth getting up early again. “Thank you for all your help today.”

“I'm happy to. Be sure and rest up tonight. You need to replenish your magic.”

“
It goes down?”

“
Just like you need to rest after running, you need to rest after using magic. It will regenerate itself, but time and rest helps.”

“
Will it grow more powerful over time then?”

“
No. What you have is all you ever will have, unless…”

“
Unless what?”

“
Unless you take someone else’s magic.” I don’t know if I like the sound of that. He asks, “Do you remember the sacrifice at the tournament?”

I remember that. And how Edward tried to steal blood. My magic. The memory is still ripe with fear. I give a wary nod.

“That’s how you gain more. You take someone else’s blood, their magic. The more you take, the more you gain. Their magic becomes a part of the person who took it, so their overall power increases.”

Serena mentioned that it worked like this, but I only worried about it in terms of owners. I almost hate to ask, “Does the Grand Chancellor usually do sacrifices at the tournament?

“Not usually.” The reply eases the tugging at the back of my mind until he adds, “Always. And he is always the one to do a sacrifice at their council meetings, too.”

The thought makes me want to smack the Grand Chancellor with a hex. “How can Zade sit through that?”

“I don’t know.”

A creak sounds somewhere close. Strange house noises. I don’t know how long it will take me to get used to them.

“Did you hear that?” Lukas says.

A chill runs through me. “I did, but I thought it was just the house. I’m not accustomed to it.”

He stands there, head cocked to the side. I keep quiet as he listens, and I listen, too. I strain for any sound that would explain the chill in me. But there’s nothing. Perhaps it was just the house. It takes a few moments longer, but he seems to come to the same conclusion I do. His face relaxes.

He says, “I really shoul—”

The window shatters, an amber light breaking through it. Glass flies through the room, slicing my body. I spin away from the onslaught. Lukas grabs my arm and hurtles me down the hall in front of him. Without further prompting, I run for the front door. What is happening? Who is attacking us? I rush out the door, Lukas close behind. Flashes of amber, violet, and magenta chase after us, lighting the dark of night.

Chapter Thirteen

I’m running, pushing myself as fast as I can to get away until suddenly I realize Lukas isn’t behind me. I stop and see him waiting just outside the house. I skitter back to him. “What are you doing?”

“
Go,” he calls out, a vivid jade light flashing from his hand toward the house.

“
And leave you here alone? We’re staying together.”

“
But they could—”

“
I’m not leaving you.”

He growls, but the corners of his mouth are slightly turned upward seeming to indicate that as much as he's miffed with me, he's grateful I'm loyal. “Come on.”

After shooting another jade spell, this one leaving a faint wall in the street, he leads me to a nearby house. We hunker behind it, hiding from direct sight of the still-open door. “I’m going to try to find out who’s attacking. As soon as I do, or if they discover where we are before that, we run that way.” He points down another dark alley. “Got it?”

I nod. Running is easy; it’s when you're caught that’s difficult.

“Better. They’re coming at us hard.”

He peeks around the corner. I stare at him, jealous of his being able to see everything taking place. Except, there’s no reason I can’t as well. He never said I couldn’t. I brush close to him, just so we can stay in the shadows, his warmth seeping into me, and peek around the corner. I dig my feet into the pebble-covered ground with a crunch, ready to run.

A moment later, fuchsia lights soar from the house. They follow our path straight down the porch and front lane until they hit the street, smashing into Lukas’s spell with a splat. The attacking spell slams against the green shield a few times, whittling away a little more pink each time until it’s gone.

Though they won’t know exactly where we’re located, the tension coiled in my muscles keeps me ready to run or react at any moment.

A warlock exits the house, hooded and cloaked in black, just like those who attacked Zade at the ball. Blast! Why one of them? Another warlock follows him out, hooded as well, but something about the shape of his build is familiar. I grip Lukas’s arm.

After the two warlocks converse, the first casts a few spells, greens and blues and pinks, but nothing moves toward us. I bend my knees slightly, ready to run the moment that changes. But it doesn’t. Instead, he returns inside, the spells flashing after him.

“What’s he doing? Why didn’t he look for us?”

Lukas scoffs. “Magic makes things too easy. Why hunt for something when you can make a spell do it for you?”

“But your spell stopped him. He couldn’t find us.”

“
Maybe.” He’s watching the lights flashing inside the house, eyes tight. “Maybe not. We’re not going to find out any more than we already have. Let’s go.”

I glance back at the house. “That would be—” An orange-red spell zips out of the house, hurling straight for us.

Chapter Fourteen

Lukas shoves me to the ground. My hands catch my fall, jagged pain screaming up my wrists, scraping my palms against the dirt and rocks. I bite my lip to keep from calling out and turn just in time to see Lukas cast another jade spell, stopping the light. Stopping it only paces from us. But the orange spell hovers right outside his wall, not bounding itself to pieces like the others, the glowing light a beacon to us.

“Run,” he says.

As I stand, I tell him, “Not without you.”

“Tracking spell. It’s hunting you down.”

“
If it’s tracking me, running away won’t do any good.”

He grunts.

“Tell me how to help.” Behind the jade and orange spells, someone exits the house. “Now.”

His eyes close, face tightening as the orange spell presses closer to his. “Disguise yourself. Focus your magic. Picture someone else you know well, anyone else. Wrap that person around yourself with your magic.”

Do it now is implied so forcefully, I jolt into action. I close my eyes and picture the first person that comes to mind. Bethany. I concentrate until her image appears as full and real as I can. Lukas grunts. The warlock has to be getting closer. I wrap the image of Bethany around me and let my magic flow to it.

“
Perfect,” Lukas says, his voice no longer strained.