Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy (38 page)

"Lux
!
"

The five white pillar candles in front of Cass all lit, the flames reaching a foot high before going down to their normal height. She smiled. No one had been able to conjure fire and not have something burn down in years. She had been experimenting more and more with her powers every day. She had done as Raine had said and met him the next day to return the book to the secured section. The shelf was still unspelled, which meant no one had been there to check it, and no one would know they had taken the book. She put it back but stopped before putting the spells back onto the shelf. Her hand tingled with the nearness of the books. These volumes contained spells that could help her—and help others. Maybe she could just borrow them. Take one at a time and replace it the next night, she thought. No one would know. She looked over at Raine and said as much to him.

He sighed. "It's dangerous."

"I know. But I'll hide them."

He shook his head. "I'll hide them. We'll work in my room. That way nothing can be traced to you."

She smiled at him and grabbed the first book she could. It had been on conjuring, and she hadn't returned it yet. She met with Raine every night in his room and worked on something, anything. Conjuring, she learned, was the first thing any Magic User could do. It also had more to do with harnessing
the elements rather than just bringing them forward. Everything had magic, even the air people breathed. So in order to make something set on fire, like the candles, Cass had to connect to the nearest fire source's magic. If she didn't speak to it correctly or disrespected it in any way, the element would rebel and push back. All of this caused Cass to see the world in a new light. It wasn't just the sun; it was a magical being that was tied to fire. It wasn't just a story; it was filled with magical wind and water. It all made her so excited.

Raine became even more of the big brother she'd never had. He encouraged her, even though it was so wrong. He even worked with her, their life forces combining to make the conjuring and spells stronger. Cass had seen real magic, and she never could turn away from it again.

She started skipping lunches with the family, more out of fear than anything else. Her mother seemed to know everything in the palace, and Cass was scared she would be able to see the magic she had been using. Plus the fact that the book of healing spells was right there in the library, in the secured section that her mother maintained, scared her. She started to question everything her mother did. Helen, of course, was concerned, but Cass told her not to worry and that she'd just had enough family time for a while.

She was surprised when Syney approached her for magic lessons. Did someone know? She brushed off her building paranoia and told Syney that the best people to ask for help with magic would be the teachers in the school. Syney seemed a little taken aback by her answer, but Cass didn't care. What she was doing with the advanced magic was her secret, and she wasn't ready to share it with anyone besides Raine just yet.

The whole idea of life forces interested Cass the most. She sensed that Raine knew much more about it than he had told her, but she was scared to broach the topic with him. He had changed since the night she had healed Syney. He was even more attentive and protective of Cass, always around. She knew that since the attack her mother had upped security, having all Protectors around their charges for the whole day, but it was more than that to her. Raine seemed to have settled down, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, but at the same time he seemed on edge whenever other people were around.

"So, when we do a spell together, you said that I'm borrowing your life force, right?" she asked one night after they successfully had changed a glass of water into a white lily.

He looked at her hesitantly, as if he knew this was coming. "Yes."

"How do you... I mean... You get it back, though, right?"

Raine nodded. "When you say a spell, you use your life force to make it happen. When the spell is over, your life force returns to your body. So when I help you, your life force pulls mine into the spell and then gives it back."

"But what if it didn't?"

"Didn't what?"

"What if I just took your life force? What would happen?"

Raine stared at her, his face turning dark. "Then you would absorb it, and I would die. You cannot do that, Cass. Ever. Using magic to hurt people is dangerous."

"How?"

He sighed. "Using magic to help people or do simple things adds to you. It gives you experiences, and it also pulls a part of each spell into you." He picked up the flower. "Part of this is now in you. With concentration you should be able to do that spell again without the words or any other materials. But when you start doing spells against people—like curses or spells meant to hurt—then part of that dark magic gets into you. If it builds to a point, if you keep doing that type of magic, then your life force gets corrupted as well."

Cass swallowed. "Got it. Dark magic is bad."

He nodded. "Some spells and curses were outlawed for good reasons."

She reached out and grabbed his hands. "I need to know." She paused. "How do you know all of this?"

"That's my secret to keep. Just know that nothing I'm doing is meant to hurt you," he said quietly, squeezing her hands.

"I know you wouldn't hurt me."

"Good. Just promise me that no matter what happens, you'll look out for yourself first and foremost."

"What could happen?"

Raine shook his head and let go of her hands. "Just a precaution. What else do you want to work on?"

Cass sighed. He was getting more and more cryptic; it was annoying. "I'm going to go to bed actually. Enough life forces for the night."

Raine escorted her back to her room. When she got into bed, she looked over at her nightstand. There was a glass of water there. She gave it another look then closed her eyes. She filled her mind with images of lilies. She imagined their silky touch and perfumed smell. When she opened her eyes, the glass of water was gone, replaced by a white lily. She smiled as the most amazing feeling coursed through her body.

Noelle

Syney had started to get distant. She and Noelle only spent time together at meals or when they were training with the Guards, and even that Noelle had to invite herself to. The training was actually fun, but Syney was taking it far more seriously than she was. When they started going over fighting techniques, Noelle did her best to keep up and even landed a few good kicks and punches on Hunter or Reed. But Syney would wail on Leaf, even though she never really caught him unawares. That guy was always aware of everything. Well, unless Princess Helen dropped in. The first time she came in, Syney gave him a pretty good bruise on his cheek for a week. Noelle didn't blame Leaf. Everyone had someone who got under their skin. For her it was Gabe. He showed up most days, sitting on the sidelines, always eating something. He shouted encouragements to Syney while sending Noelle his smile and staring at her as if he were undressing her. She had, of course, undressed him several times in her mind, but at least she blushed when she did. He just seemed to get smugger, if that was possible.

After a few weeks, they started to have sparring matches between the two of them while the others watched; then they received some pointers when they were done. Noelle knew anyone she fought with was purposely holding back, and she was grateful. She didn't really want her butt kicked in front of everyone. They held back for Syney as well. That was what they did for about twenty seconds before she started attacking and they picked up the speed of their blocks.
Syney mostly fought with Leaf, who kept up a good pace for her as she attacked and then blocked her shots. They always ended in a draw, but each fight seemed to add to Syney's sour mood.

Noelle was really starting to worry about Syney. She even went as far as to ask Hunter if he thought there was something even more wrong with her than what they already knew. He just shrugged and said she had stopped talking to him, so her guess was just as good as his. The only person Syney seemed to be talking to more was Gabe. Noelle didn't know whether or not this was a good thing. The two always had their heads close as they talked at dinner, or they'd hide in Syney's room for hours. Noelle was pretty sure it was just harmless talking, but you never knew with Gabe.

Certain people always made Syney's mood worse, Fern being the number-one aggressor. So when Fern came charging in—because that was just how she walked—to one of their training sessions, Noelle got a little concerned. And when Syney volunteered to spar with Fern, Noelle nearly ran for the master alarm. Everyone else seemed really calm about it, except Hunter of course, who seemed much more tense.

The fight started just as all of Syney's fights did. Fern was holding back as she gave a few punches, and then Syney let her have it. She started with a few hand punches: upper cut, low punch, heel hit. Fern blocked them all smoothly. It wasn't until Syney gave another uppercut and went straight into a round kick that the fight got interesting. Fern easily blocked the punch but wasn't ready for the kick, and Syney got her right in the gut. Fern shot backwards but caught herself before she lost her balance completely. Fern looked over at Syney, who gave her a smile, her hands and feet still at first position. Noelle wasn't sure what would happen next, but what did surprised her. Royal Guards were trained to fight in combat and kill with their bare hands if necessary. But their number-one rule was to protect Magic Users at all costs. Even if they weren't chosen as Protectors, they still had that one directive. After Syney landed the kick, Fern no longer held back. She was going way too fast; there was no way Syney could block any of it. Everyone standing with Noelle seemed to be transfixed on the scene; none of them moved a muscle. It was Hunter who finally ran over and pulled Fern back. Syney was on the ground, blood on her face, a nasty purple bruise already forming on her cheek.

"What are you doing?" Hunter spat at Fern, pushing her away from everyone.

Noelle didn't hear her answer. She ran over and knelt next to Syney.

Syney laughed and spat out some blood from her mouth. "You'd think I stole her boyfriend," she said with a laugh.

"That's...this isn't funny. You're hurt," Noelle said. She motioned for Reed to bring over a towel. She held it to Syney's nose, but Syney grabbed it from her.

"I'm fine." She stood up, limping slightly.

"I'll take you to the infirmary," Noelle said. It wasn't really an offer; it was more of an order, but she couldn't give Syney an order.

"I said I'm fine!" Syney yelled and limped toward the door.

Noelle watched her go, not knowing what to do. She started to follow her, but Gabe blocked her path.

"I got it," he said smoothly.

Noelle glared at him. "You seem to get a lot lately with her."

"She's a friend in need."

"And you have what she needs, right?" Noelle got within inches of him. "She's in pain and needs help—mental and physical help. Whatever you're doing obviously isn't working!"

He stared at her for a moment. "I've got this." He turned and headed out of the room.

Noelle didn't like what was going on. But she wasn't sure there was anything she could do about it. She looked at Hunter, who was still talking firmly to Fern. He was probably the only person who could get through to Syney, but Noelle didn't think that was going to happen. She sighed and headed off to her room. All of the rooms for the handmaidens and valets were a few floors below the royals' rooms but above the Guards' rooms. There were several handmaidens in a big group talking in the hall. Noelle smiled at them and greeted them all with a hello. She didn't regret spending so much time with Syney, but she did miss all of them.

They talked about what had been going on in the palace since the attack. Everyone was on edge, but things were getting back to normal as time passed. Lori, Princess Glea's handmaiden, told her about a trip out to the Great Lake the next day. A handful of royals were making the trip for lunch. Noelle didn't know if that was the best thing to do, but it would help with the morale of the Village. She wondered whether it would help with Syney's mood as well. She was always complaining about wanting to leave the palace. Maybe this was something that might make her happy.

She mentioned it to Hunter at dinner, since Syney didn't come down. He looked skeptical but agreed that it might help Syney's growing sourness. They both presented the idea to Syney, who shrugged and gave an "I don't care." Noelle sighed. At least it hadn't been a "no."

Mellisandrianna