46. Hailon
Chapter 46
Hailon
G reta very nearly bowled me over when we walked into Vassago’s classroom a bit later.
“I found something! In your letter. I knew something about it seemed off.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Watch.” She waved the parchment over the flame of a candle, and different ink markings appeared under the letter, like they were somehow between the layers of the parchment.
“What does it say?”
“I think you should sit.”
That made me a little nervous, but Seir took me over to the sofa, sitting so close beside me I was almost in his lap.
“I don’t know exactly what will happen if I speak it all out loud.” Greta frowned. “But this says ‘To open your mind,’ and I’m afraid that’s exactly what it’s going to do. Except I don’t know what that means.”
“Go ahead,” I encouraged. “Please, if it helps me control my powers, I want that.” Seir squeezed my hand and everyone in the room settled down. I was quickly realizing they all moved as a unit when they were here. I didn’t mind it like I thought I would.
Greta listed off three words, watching my face with each one. Seir, too, was staring.
“Keep going.” I felt a pressure behind my left eye, like had happened with my right when I got angry with Sal.
“Your other eye is shifting now, too, Moonflower. It’s very strange to see.”
With every new word, the pressure increased. Frustration rose in my blood, too, and anger. Rage at Sal, that she’d never sought out answers for me, that she’d held onto the letter all these years without being able to read it. That she’d blamed me, instead of trying to find another way. That I’d had tools, a letter from my parents, possibly help to understand myself, but she’d never shared it.
“Now both at the same time. Are you alright?” Seir’s tone was stressed.
“Fine. I can’t feel it.”
By the time Greta got to the seventh word, I felt like my skull was too full, like the light was painfully bright.
“Two more,” she said, tone apologetic.
“I’m okay.”
Seir’s chest rumbled with a concerned growl, and I felt the presence of the others around me.
When Greta said the final word, everything disappeared. My head felt fine again, but I was in that strange nowhere place I went when I was deep in a healing trance.
I could see my healing magic, the cup now a well. The well was deep and wide, only a tiny percentage full. I knew there was more than enough in it to heal Seir again or do a day’s worth of work like I had in Olinbourg, without it running out.
My fingers moved, slowly, lifting the necklace away from my chest. The well shrank to a cup again. I truly understood then what Ophelia meant about it being an amplifier. Faint trickles of magic started to flow in. Yellowish orange, blue. Green and gold. I dropped the necklace, realizing I was filling the well from the people around me. Seir, Greta, Calla, and Rylan if I had to guess. The colors disappeared once the stone was settled against my skin.
I wanted to keep that terrible power locked down, to not siphon by accident. I focused on that, visualizing a metal plate over the top of the well. Then I lifted the necklace again. No colors appeared. I mentally cheered, gaining confidence in this new awareness.
Lingering in the nowhere space, I practiced balancing the magic against the need, trying to gain a full understanding as the noise around me increased.
Slowly I came back to myself, Seir’s grip on my hand intense as my eyes fluttered open. I frowned, blinking against the bright room.
“There you are.” Seir visibly sagged and pressed his forehead to mine before giving me a quick, gentle kiss. “That was terrifying, beloved. Don’t do that again.”
“Now you know how I felt when you passed out in the ruins.” I looked over at Greta, the letter gripped tightly between her hands. “I’m fine. I promise. That did exactly what it was supposed to do. Thank you.”
Seir relaxed his grip, and everyone else seemed to take a breath. “Your mind is open? Your eyes are back to normal now.”
“Very. I can feel both powers, not just my healing ability.”
“Oh good! You’re okay?” Greta was clearly very concerned that she’d broken me.
“Fine, I promise. Would you mind keeping that somewhere safe for me? Just in case.”
“Of course.” She nodded in relief and scurried over to her worktable after giving me a brief one-armed hug.
The pressure in my head was gone, but I could feel a new presence around me. I realized it was magic. All magic. From the ambient magic in the earth to the specific types in the people in the room with me. To my relief, I also had the ability to tell my power no, don’t take that . It was a strange new subconscious negotiation with everything around me that I’d need time to adjust to.
“Can I take the necklace?” Rylan asked. I braced but removed it. Necklace held by the chain in one hand, he summoned his electricity in the other. Relief washed over me. “Well done.” He shifted his weight, rubbing his chin with a thoughtful finger. “I’ve been thinking about your hair, as well, Hailon. I agree with Ophelia’s theory, that it was the mate bond waking up.” He gestured with his hands. “New magic in the mix inside you. Seir, did you happen to be exposed to her blood during the summons?”
Seir nodded. “Yes. Her original offering and then a bit more when I came back after the circle was broken.”
Rylan nodded slowly. “I think perhaps that’s the catalyst. It helped you acclimate to her nulling a little bit and pushed the mate bond along. Started to mix the magic between you. Hailon’s hair just happened to become the outward evidence of those changes.”
I sat there several long moments, staring off into space as I puzzled through that new theory, and what had happened.
“What are you thinking about?” Seir asked.
“When I got angry at Sal, something changed.”
“Yes, and it made your eye start shifting.”
“I think that was a new side of the healing power. I think that’s why she looked older after I grabbed her when I was mad.”
“Like anti-healing?” Calla asked. “You were taking her health?”
“Yes, like that.”
“That’s another way to nullify,” Rylan nodded.
“I don’t want to use it that way.” I frowned. “I don’t want to feed off of your magic, or the town.”
“You won’t.” Seir’s confidence was far more than I could ever muster. “You won’t, Hailon. You can control it.”
“And if I can’t?” Ravenglen invaded my mind, all the ugly, the hatred.
“You will. You have the necklace and the dagger.”
“And us,” Calla said, dropping a quick squeeze on my shoulder as she walked by. “We’re not afraid of you, Hailon. We’ve seen far worse. Most of us have been far worse.”
There was not a single face in the room that disagreed with her. I found myself overwhelmed once again.
Vassago smiled at his sister-in-law and gave a polite little bow, a smile playing on his mouth. “Welcome to the family, Hailon.”
I spent the next several days traveling from d’Arcan to Ophelia’s hut and back again so I could be safely behind wards while Rylan and Imogen tinkered with my obsidian objects. Luckily, Ophelia seemed to enjoy our time together as much as I did.
Seir always traveled with me, though he didn’t stay, and for all the warnings about her, she was hardly scary. Besides, I was pretty sure Ophelia found Seir as amusing as the rest of us did and looked forward to his visits.
Since having my mind opened, I’d been able, though in varying degrees, to manage that side at will. Ophelia was dedicated in helping me hone that skill, and while exhausting, after a few days with her as an instructor, I was pretty confident in my newfound ability.
“Take my shifting power,” she ordered.
“What? We’ve never done specific things like that before, nor have we used you as a subject, Ophelia. I’m not sure?—”
“You’ll be fine. Take it. I never use it anymore anyway, what’s the worst that could happen?”
I could think of plenty of things, honestly, but I didn’t argue. I had been told that disobedience was the quickest way to get the ancient gargoyle to anger, so I did as she asked.
Going to the silent place in my mind, I directed it to pull that ability from her, but not to consume it. I’d realized as we practiced that I could be that specific with my powers, which was a pleasant surprise. I could borrow magic and hold it somewhere above the well instead of siphoning it directly into my healing well. I didn’t fully understand all the mechanics yet, but I felt like I was getting closer all the time.
“I’ve taken it,” I said.
She closed her eyes and tried to shift. “Good. Now give it back.” I requested her power be given back, and her lavender magic obliged.
Ophelia watched me, a playful smirk appearing as she grew half again her normal size, with the same greenish-gray stone skin Lovette had gotten in her other form.
“Nicely done, you,” she said after shifting back again. “Shall we celebrate with some tea?”
The woman adored her whiskey, that was for certain.
When Seir came that afternoon to retrieve me, he could tell that we were in a far better mood than we had been in at the beginning of our training.
“I think she’s ready, young man.” Ophelia raised her teacup to him, as he bit into a slice of her freshly baked bread drizzled with butter and honey.
“Truly?” he asked, and Ophelia nodded. It was like they’d had conversations about me, without me, and were giving me marks while ignoring that I was in the room. “Do you think she can?—”
“I’d almost guarantee it.”
“Excuse me?” I interrupted. “What are we talking about?”
“Portals.” Seir beamed.
“Take the necklace as backup, but I think her control is plenty good enough.”
“Portals?”
“Yes, Moonflower. I have something to show you.”
Ophelia sent us on our way with an open invitation to return and my gratitude. It felt a bit like a dismissal, but I understood that for a solitary creature, several days in a row of prolonged company visiting was likely far too much and cause for some hibernation.
When we got back to d’Arcan, the classroom was full to bursting, everyone I’d met present at once except Magnus. He’d been taking long shifts at the council building, investigating all the things Brookes had been doing.
“How did it go?” Calla asked.
“She had me steal her shifting ability and then give it back,” I reported, still a bit stunned that I’d done such a thing.
“She did?” Imogen asked, barking a laugh.
“Insisted.”
Lovette chuckled as well. “Then she was confident you’d be fine.”
Rylan came over, necklace dangling from his fingers. “I think you’ll find this much more comfortable.”
“Thank you.” I took off my ring and tested it out, the hum barely noticeable, but the well very easily accessed. “Yes, that’s much better, thank you.” I took it off again, handing it to Seir. He placed it in the little velvet-lined jewelry box I’d brought with me from Ravenglen.
“This too,” Imogen came forward, pride in her eyes as she presented me with a finely worked leather sheath. I removed the clasp to find my knife handle sticking out.
“I thought…” My words faded as I pulled the obsidian dagger out, not my little herb knife. She’d fitted my knife handle onto the obsidian blade, so I could have the best of both. It was perfectly balanced and felt as natural as breathing in my hand. “Oh, Imogen. Thank you, it’s perfect.”
She beamed. “You’re welcome.”
“Well, if we’re giving gifts, here are these as well.” Vassago gave Seir and I each a small scrying mirror. “Don’t?—”
“Break it. I know.” Seir bowed his head, a blush on his cheeks.
“Why does it feel like we’re leaving?” I asked, looking around the room.
“I told you, I have something to show you. We can come right back if it’s not to your liking.”
“Any time. Always,” Rylan said. “Your apartment will remain yours until you tell us otherwise.”
“But I think you will. Like it.” Seir was practically vibrating with excitement as he tugged me to my feet.
“Alright.”
I shared a quick goodbye with everyone, but it felt strange, leaving right that moment. They’d all done such kind things for me, but also seemed to understand and even encourage Seir to take me away. It dawned on me slowly that it was likely the same as with Ophelia, and they knew more than I did about what was happening.
Out on the campus grounds, Seir led me to a stone wall. He spoke a series of words, and a black door appeared. He took my hand.
“It’s going to feel strange, Moonflower, but hold on to me and you’ll be fine.”
“Okay. I trust you.”
He smiled, and then I was walking with him into the portal, completely unprepared for what was waiting for me on the other side.