Chapter 37 Declan
The weeks that followed crawled as my mother piled books in my lap and spent hours forcing me to find my Light without actually touching it or doing anything useful.
I was used to being active and roaming the wilderness all day.
Sitting at a table, reading or focusing inward, was making me stir crazy.
The day Kelsa showed me how to communicate through the Well may have been the first time I enjoyed learning magic.
She was only able to See, a bit like Larinda’s window peering out at the island, but on a grander scale.
It was only with a bit of trial that I found my magic allowed for more . . . much more.
That first night in Ayden’s dream renewed my spirit in ways I could never have imagined. My only hope was that he knew it was real, not some errant dream. I told my mother about visiting his sleeping mind, leaving out the juicy bits, asking what she thought he might remember when he woke.
She had no clue.
Still, knowing I had a way to be with him, to touch him, while stranded on that island, gave me comfort beyond measure. Knowing how badly he wanted me, how much he loved me— dare I say that word—filled my heart with incredible joy.
órla continued to surprise me, growing and spending much of her time flying throughout the surrounding peaks. She had transformed from a relative hatchling to the human equivalent of a teenager in only a few weeks.
I sat in the stone circle, legs crossed and eyes closed. I could summon and dismiss my Light now. I was about to release my concentration when Kelsa’s voice whispered in my mind.
“Reach your hand into your Light. Touch it, but do nothing. Think nothing.”
A thrill ran through me.
In my mind’s eye, my hand reached toward the blinding ball and pierced its outer shell. Warmth slithered throughout my body, but it was more than warmth. It was a pulsing heat that flared each time my heart beat.
“It is connected,” I heard in my mind. “You are magic, Declan. It is part of you, not something distant that you touch. Feel it course through your veins, pulsing in time with your heart. Breathe it in. Infuse it with your thoughts and desires. Become one with the Light of your magic.”
I had no idea how to do any of that—or what most of it even meant. How do you become one with a ball of glowing flame?
I took a mental step forward and allowed the glow to surround my body.
Breathing deeply, I was amazed when I inhaled the feeling of power, not just its white plumes. The tiny hairs on my arms and neck snapped to attention, and an army of ants marched across my skin as intoxicating, majestic power filled me.
My senses expanded beyond human limits. With my eyes closed, I could hear the wind whipping across the neighboring peak.
I heard the flapping of órla’s tiny wings and knew instinctively where she was, leagues away.
My mind raced, and I heard the owl’s thoughts and felt her joy as she caught a gust and was buffeted higher.
I opened my eyes and my head swam.
I no longer saw through my own eyes; rather, I soared over trees and snow-covered boulders. órla laughed in my mind, and her exhilaration filled me. She knew I was there in her thoughts—one with her—and she rejoiced at our union.
As I watched in awe, a voice echoed in the distance. I thought it was someone on the mountain below before realizing my mother was calling out beside me.
“Declan, come back to me. Release the Light now,” she commanded.
I struggled to step back as magic’s grip resisted. I closed my eyes and released órla’s sight, focusing on my ball of white flame. A sense of emptiness flooded through me as I stepped out of its aura, and the last of the fiery breath fled my mouth and nose.
I blinked a few times and rubbed my eyes.
“Easy. Stay on the ground for a minute.”
I scooted to lean against the central pillar. “Spirits, it feels like I just fell off a mountain rather than flew over one.”
She smiled. “I would say it gets easier, but it doesn’t. You get used to it, and I can teach you how to recover more quickly, but magic always exacts a toll for its use.”
I looked up with bleary eyes. “I’ve never seen Gifted react like this.”
“Magic works differently for them because they are only accessing a tiny portion of what’s possible. When we altered magic’s flow, we also limited the toll it would take. For those with only one or two talents, they might feel winded or hungry after using their Gift, but that is about it.
“You and I access the Well itself each time we touch our Light. It’s like others are walking in a light rain, but you and I wrap our arms around a tornado.”
“I guess that makes sense. My head sure feels like I went through a storm.” I rubbed my temples. “But while I was in the center of that storm, it was the most incredible thing I’ve ever experienced. The raw power and . . . I don’t know . . . passion? It still makes my skin crawl.”
She turned and retrieved the pitcher of wine and a glass from the table. “Drink this. It’ll help restore your strength.”
I guzzled the entire glass, realizing my mistake a moment too late. The wine sent a shock wave through my senses, and I dropped the glass.
“Easy now. You have residual magic flowing through you. Drinking this wine too quickly will make it react as though fighting an infection in your body.”
“Now you tell me.” I refilled the cup and sipped carefully. The clouds in my head began to part.
Kelsa chuckled, squeezed my arm, then returned with the pitcher to sit. órla floated down, circled the stones, and landed on the table.
“Declan! I felt you in my head. Wasn’t that incredible?” She scampered excitedly.
“It was . . . something. Next time, can you please leave my head on my shoulders when we’re done?” There was a smile in my voice as I turned in her direction. “Come here, little one. For some reason, I feel very inclined to scratch your head.”
“Spa time!” She darted from the table into my lap. “Ooh! I can feel the magic oozing through your fingers. That feels tingly. You’ve gotta get drunk on magic more often.”
Kelsa grinned and nodded. “That is your bond. Declan, what you just experienced expanded the link between you and órla. Magic now flows freely between the two of you. Tomorrow, I would like to experiment a little, see what you can do together.”
“Wait. You don’t know already?”
Her brows rose. “I know more about magic than anyone alive, with the possible exception of the Arch Mage or Atikus, but there hasn’t been another with your connection, your abilities, in over a thousand years. If you lived another thousand years,
you might never discover everything you can do with magic. This will be the adventure of many lifetimes.”
“Okay.” I thought a moment. “We know I can talk to animals, and they can talk back, and that I can See through órla’s eyes.”
“Your bond with órla is unique. It may not mean you can communicate with other wildlife. We will have to test that.”
She stood. “One step at a time, though. What you experienced today was the beginning of your understanding of magic and its power—and its limits as defined by the human body and mind. Tomorrow, we’ll start with the Elemental pillar.
That is the easiest to conceptualize and should give you plenty of practice touching and shaping your Light.”
She put a hand on my shoulder. “Declan, this is about to get a lot harder. I know you’ve been bored and anxious, but as that boredom ends, the risks will rise exponentially. When you were in the middle of your ‘storm,’ as you called it, I could sense the measure of your power,
how much magic is at your call. My own Light is a candle next to your sun.”
“You’re kidding, right? I mean, you’re the Keeper and one of the most powerful Mages alive.”
She took my hand and placed it on her chest. She focused, and a glow flared from beneath my palm.
“Look inside. See my Light,” she said.
I cocked my head, confused, then closed my eyes. I could see the flicker of flame. It was as bright as the one I’d seen within myself, but grew no larger than my palm as I approached. My own Light had far eclipsed my six-foot frame and had grown well beyond that as I watched it expand.
“Now do you see? Your potential is beyond anyone since Irina, or anyone for millennia before her.”
Kelsa’s voice echoed through my head. “That is why we must take care in your training. One mistake with such raw, untamed power could inflict immense destruction and pain—and not just on others, but on yourself as well.”
She released her Light, and I snapped back to myself.
“We should eat and get some rest. You can read more on the Elemental powers tonight if you cannot sleep. I promise, that book will knock you right out.” She chuckled and patted my arm again.
The next morning, I met Kelsa and órla outside by the stone circles. A light breakfast lay spread across the table.
After we finished the meal, Kelsa stood and took one of the bowls from the table, filled it with water, and set it on the stone circle’s center pillar. My eyes grew wide as her magic flared and a ball of water rose above the bowl and hovered in place.
She turned and smiled at my amazed expression. “Today is all about Elemental magic. I think you will enjoy this.”
“Finally, I get to do something with magic.” I hopped up from the table and raced to her side.
órla settled onto the table and began cleaning herself.
I watched the ball fall and splash into the bowl as Kelsa released her magic.
“You were raised reciting the four pillars: Elemental, Physical, Mental, and Natural. Within each lies many abilities that share commonality in their type but produce very different effects. I’m going to introduce you to calling and shaping your Light in each of the four pillars,
but there’s no way to know how many abilities within each you will master—or even be able to use at all. Having a basic understanding of how each area responds to your Light will allow you to identify and control additional abilities as they surface.”
I ran a hand through my hair. “So, you’re saying that abilities will just show up? I’ll just accidentally figure some of this out?”