Chapter 40 Declan #2
You should then be able to release the mental image and communicate with the spirit. To release the spirit, simply release your Light.”
“Sounds easy enough. What’s the catch?”
“We do not know if you have this ability. I do not, and would not be able to sense a spirit even if you summoned one. You will have to practice on your own, and I will not be able to tell if you struggle because you are doing something wrong or because you simply do not possess this ability.
“For today, practice drawing a summoning circle. It is a simple pattern, but it must be very precise. If you get even the slightest angle off, your summoning will not work. Worse, if you fail to close your circles, the spirit will escape.”
Kelsa handed me the stick she’d been using, and I spent the next hour drawing and erasing the summoning circle.
I was surprised how difficult the simple lines were to draw, but twenty attempts cemented it in my mind.
As we strode back into the cavern, breaking for lunch, I found myself checking for spirits around every corner and resisting a perpetual shiver with each dancing shadow.
When I next stepped back onto the ledge, Kelsa sat at the table with two glasses of wine filled to the brim in front of her. I walked over and sat, intrigued by an afternoon of exercises and wine.
She chuckled. “Yes, you get to drink the wine. Down them both—and don’t sip this time. We need you fully loaded.”
“Yes, ma’am!” I grabbed the first cup and lifted it to my lips, careful not to let a drop spill. “How does this stuff never get old? I mean, it tastes better every time.”
“Actually, that’s an interesting observation. The magic in the wine senses what you like, what pleases and comforts you, then adapts to your changing interest or taste.” She smiled as I downed the second glass. “Remind me never to get into a drinking contest with you.”
“You wanted your boy to have skills, right?” I winked. “Picked that one up with the Rangers.”
“Handling wine like a champ . . . just what every mother wants in her son.” She snorted.
órla flapped onto the table. “All right, you two. What does Declan getting drunk in the middle of the day have to do with Mental magic? Other than the fact I’m going mental just thinking about it?”
Kelsa snorted again and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. When órla tottered over to a glass and dunked her head in for a drink, I lost any semblance of composure and snorted along with my mother.
“Snorting must be a family trait. Any other weird noises I should know about?” I heard órla chirp in my mind.
Kelsa finally cleared her throat. “So, we’re working on Mental magic this afternoon. There are more abilities in this pillar than any other, but each is specialized, which makes it nearly impossible to possess more than two—even for someone like you.
“Let’s start with the ones I’m fairly certain we can rule out. Heightened Senses allows the user significantly improved hearing, sight, or smell. If you had this one, we’d know it already because it manifests at a very early age.
Empathy is similar in that it usually manifests by the age of three or four.”
She paused to pour herself a drink and take a sip.
“Atikus is the best example of Enhanced Memory I have ever known. He may actually have perfect recall. If you had this ability, you would have only needed to try the summoning circle once. I have been watching for signs of this ability since you arrived and am confident it is not in your tool kit.”
I drawled in a provincial accent, “You callin’ me slow, Ma? Thanks a lot.”
She closed her eyes, then continued. “That brings us to Enhanced Charisma. Spirits help me, I think you’ve overdosed on this one. Atikus reported signs of this one when you were very little, charming everyone in the guild with a wicked smile.
He couldn’t sense your magic at that age but believed it would grow into a powerful Gift.”
“It had to be his smile,” órla blurted. “It couldn’t have been his hair. That’s a bird’s nest—and I’m a bird. I would know!”
“Hey, Ayden loves my wavy locks.” I flicked my hair off my shoulder and turned dramatically away from órla.
“I believe that’s a ‘yes’ for Charisma Overkill,” órla peeped.
“Back to me, please.” Kelsa grinned at the never-ending banter.
“Enhanced Charisma is a passive ability. That means it’s not something you turn on or off with your Light. It is either present, or it is not, like Atikus’s memory. I am afraid there’s nothing we can do about your painful likability, son.”
“If it’s my burden, I will bear it.” I placed a hand over my heart and bowed my head in mock solemnity.
Kelsa snorted again. “That leaves us with Telepathy and Illusion. Telepathy is one of the easiest abilities to master, but Illusion ranks up there with Healing as one of the hardest.
“We will start with Telepathy. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you should be able to speak into someone’s mind without much effort, similar to how you speak with your voice. Are you ready?”
I nodded.
She stood and motioned for me to follow her into the stone circles. “Touch and hold your Light, and think as though you were speaking to me. It will help if you look at me. You should eventually be able to do all of this without the visual cue.”
She walked to the outside of the second ring of stones and turned to face me.
I squared with her and began to concentrate, reaching for my Light.
The wine in my belly served as an amplifier, and my magic flared brightly before me.
I threw my hand into the pulsing flame and tried calling out to my mother.
“That wine sure makes my Light go crazy!”
“Those are the first words every mother hopes to hear from her baby boy,” Kelsa retorted.
I giggled like my ten-year-old self. “This is awesome. órla, can you hear this? I’m Telepathing.”
“Great. You’re talking in my head and making up words. I’ll never have a moment’s peace.” She leaped from the table, sailed by me, and pooped on my boot before soaring out over the neighboring treetops.
My concentration snapped, and my Light winked out as I stared down. I shook my head and drew moisture from the air to wash away the poop. “I’m going to pluck that little owl one of these days!”
“Heard that!” órla called from a league away.
“Telepathy is a yes.” Kelsa walked back to the stones’ center. “Now, this next one is going to be tough. I believe you have the ability to create illusions because it often accompanies Telepathy in those with multiple Gifts, but we will not know for sure until it works.”
“What makes Illusion so hard?”
“With most other skills, like manipulating water or air, you are pushing your Light out, or using it to shape an inanimate object. With Illusion, you reach into another person’s mind. You are not creating an image in your own mind and pushing it out into the world for others to see;
you are using your magic in their mind to alter what they think they are seeing.”
“Um, okay, that made my head hurt.”
“That is why I made you drink all that wine. You were right when you said it acts as an amplifier for your Light—at least when taken in large quantities. The stones are an even more powerful amplifier that we will definitely need throughout the rest of your lessons.
As challenging as Illusion may be, Healing is the most difficult of all skills. We will need all the help we can get with that one.”
“Great. Can’t wait,” I said sarcastically.
“Let me show you what a successful illusion looks like, and how it feels to the target.”
Kelsa closed her eyes, and the stones of the circles began to glow.
Nothing happened for a few seconds, then a white-and-brown dog appeared in front of an image of Keelan.
The dog spun in circles and barked up at him.
Keelan’s mouth moved, but there was no sound.
My eyes widened at how lifelike the image appeared.
I kneeled and reached out to pet the friendly beast, but my hand passed through the image.
I jumped up.
“Whoa. That was wild. It felt like my skin was going to tingle off my hand.”
“Now that’s interesting.” The dog vanished, and Kelsa’s eyes popped open. “That was my magic you felt. I have never heard of anyone being able to feel another’s magic like that.”
“I keep trying to tell you, he’s a weird one!” órla’s voice echoed in both of our minds.
I chuckled. “Just when you think we’re alone . . .”
“I don’t think you will ever be alone again, son.”
Kelsa’s eyes sparkled, and I felt the weight of her words settle comfortably in my mind.
“Back to Illusion. I know it looked like I was projecting the image of the dog onto the ground in front of you, but I was not. That was your mind thinking it saw a dog because I was casting the image into your thoughts.”
“Having someone inside my head isn’t very appealing. There could be a lot of ways to abuse that power. What if I wanted to block you from doing that?”
“That is a great question. A Mage with enough skill can Shield her mind. I suspect that is in your bag of tricks, too, but we need to make sure you have the power of Illusion before we try to tackle Shielding. Another challenge with Illusion is that each person’s mind is unique,
so your magic will have to be wielded in a slightly different manner each time you attempt it.”
“I’m starting to see why you said this one’s so tough. If every mind is different, and I’m trying to cast an illusion in a mind I’m not familiar with, it’ll be like learning the skill all over again. What a pain.”
“It is not quite that bad. Once you learn the basics, it gets easier, but you are right about always having to adapt to the target’s mind. If that person is a Mage, things get even more complicated, as they might try to Shield or use some kind of counter on you.
There are even Enchanted items that block mental intrusion.”
I turned to follow her as she walked away. “Enchanting? You haven’t said anything about that power yet.”
“I will. It is in the Physical family with Healing and a few others.” She picked up the wine glasses. “The sky’s darkening. Let’s get cleaned up, and you can help me make dinner. I will teach you the power of chopping vegetables.”