A Slave to Magic (17 page)

“Bravo!” Seela shouted, leaping in the air.

Nera jumped to her feet cheering as well. As she
moved toward the tree, Kwil reappeared, his face beaming.

“I actually did it!” he said. He couldn’t believe the
magic had worked. Without an incantation or finger movements, he had succeeded
in casting his most difficult spell to date. He looked over at Seela, gratitude
in his eyes. This was her doing. Her presence and guidance had made this
possible.

“Well done,” she said. Clearing her throat, she
added, “We must celebrate our victories, but we must not dwell there. Now keep
practicing.”

Kwil resumed his practice, blending in with
leaves, trees, and bare earth. Each attempt seemed more difficult, and he felt
himself draining of magic more quickly than before. After two hours, he was completely
spent and collapsed on the forest floor.

Seela took sympathy on him and lent him some magic
through the touch of her paw. “That will get you home, at least,” she said,
chuckling.

Exhausted but undaunted, Kwil climbed to his feet.
He approached Nera, who had fallen asleep at the base of one of the painted
trees, and shook her gently. “Time to go,” he said.

“Yes, yes,” Seela said. “Rest up, freshen up, and
be ready to meet a friend of mine tonight.” She trotted off toward the cabin,
her tail held high.

W
ith sunset looming,
Seela set about preparing dinner for her guest, who had yet to arrive. There
was much to be done, but with the help of magic and a house full of enchanted
items, the work would be much easier.

“Do you need any help?” Kwil asked, eager to lend
a second pair of hands to the task. He had napped away the afternoon, and his
magic was restored and ready for use.

“Certainly,” Seela replied. This would be a good
opportunity for him to continue his practice.

“I’ll help too,” Nera offered, stepping inside the
kitchen.

“That won’t be necessary,” Seela stated. “But you
can play us some music while we work.”

Happy to oblige, Nera ran upstairs to fetch her
lute. Returning moments later, she plopped down in a chair at the table and
strummed in time with Seela’s magic.

With a wave of her paw and a flash of gold, Seela
kneaded the dough for two loaves of bread and set them aside to rise. “Speed
that up for me, apprentice,” she said, turning her attention to the vegetables.

Kwil stared at the bread, knowing that heat would
decrease its rising time. But too much heat too soon would kill the yeast, and
they’d end up with a hardened mess.
There must be a trick to this,
he
thought. Glancing over at Seela, he marveled at her abilities. She used no
knife, instead turning to magic to peel and slice potatoes and carrots. Kwil
had no idea how to perform such a spell. He could make them fly through the air
at his command, but he couldn’t manipulate them as his mistress could.

After staring blankly at the bread, an idea
occurred to him. He could concentrate on only the bits of yeast, adding his
magic to them. Bending them to his will, he would have the bread to the correct
size in no time. Spreading his hands over the loaves, he reminded himself not
to move his fingers. His lips moved slightly as he mouthed an incantation, but
no sound could be heard. Old habits were hard to break, but he was making every
effort to conform to Seela’s wishes. Concentrating on the bread, he held his
breath as it rose to double its size in a matter of seconds.

Lifting the pans, Kwil scanned the kitchen for the
oven. To his surprise, he found none. “Where’s the oven?” he asked, surprised
that he had not noticed earlier.

“I don’t need one,” Seela replied, a mischievous
smile on her lips. “I have a fire apprentice.” She swatted him once on the arm
as she passed by, her thoughts moving on to the venison roast.

Kwil sat the pans back on the table and took in a
deep breath. Moving his hands in a circular pattern, he summoned the heat
within himself.

“Uh-uh,” Seela said, wagging a paw at him. “That’s
not the way I taught you.”

The stare of his mistress’s golden eyes
embarrassed him. “Right,” he said, placing his arms down at his side. Closing
his eyes, he visualized the bread in his mind, all the while conjuring heat
within himself. He imagined the bread cooking through, the crust browning to
perfection. Drinking in the scent of fresh bread, he could not resist opening
his eyes. Before him were two browned loaves.

“Well done,” Seela said with an approving nod.
“Now cook the roast.”

Taking the pot from his mistress, he said, “You
know, I never saw myself as much of a cook.”

“It’s much easier with magic,” Seela replied. “If
it doesn’t taste right, you can simply change it. Failing that, you can change
your dinner guests’ opinions of the food.” She laughed softly to herself and
returned to her work.

Serenaded by Nera’s song, the dinner preparations
seemed to fly by. Eventually, the variety of scents became too much for the
musician to bear. “I hope your friend arrives soon,” she said. “I’m starving,
and smelling all this is torture.”

Kwil considered slicing a piece of bread for her
but thought better of it. Seela wanted everything to be perfect for her friend.
Instead, he tossed Nera an apple.

“Finish setting the table!” Seela shouted. “She’s
here!”

Kwil rushed to make sure all the plates and
silverware were out, and Nera wiggled the cork free from a bottle of wine.
Seela went to the door to greet her guest.

“Welcome!” she called out the door. As the woman
stepped inside, she introduced her guests to one another. “This is Kwil and
Nera,” she said, indicating each of them in turn. “I’d like you both to meet
Aqualia.”

Before them stood a captivating woman, her skin
deeply tanned by the sun. Her pale eyes and sea foam green hair that cascaded
down her back gave her a striking appearance. Kwil could hardly take his eyes
off her. In all his days, he could not remember encountering anyone so
breathtaking.

As Aqualia passed by to take her seat, Kwil
continued to stare. Seela flashed a cutting glance his direction, demanding
that he get his eyes back in his head. As if coming out of a daze, he obeyed,
blinking to remove the image.

“It’s lovely to meet you,” Nera said, still
clutching her lute.

“You’re a musician?” Aqualia asked.

“I am,” Nera responded proudly.

“Then you must play for us after dinner,” Aqualia
said. “I’d love to hear your music.”

“My friend here is a Siren,” Seela informed the
others. “She has the most beautiful voice you’ve ever heard.”

Nera’s mouth hung open a moment. She could already
hear the music from Aqualia’s lips, and she was intrigued. “Will you sing for
us?” she asked.

“Certainly,” the Siren promised.

“If I can persuade her to stay awhile, I intend to
ask her if she’s willing to assist you in your voice training.” Seela looked
expectantly at her friend.

“I’d be delighted to help this young lady unlock
her talents,” Aqualia said, her face lighting up.

“It’s settled then,” Seela said. “I’ve already
prepared a room for you.”

“Lovely,” the Siren replied. “I’ll be able to stay
only a few days, but I’m looking forward to it.”

“Shall we eat?” Seela asked, gesturing a paw at
the table. All the foods they had prepared were laid out before them, their
aromas enticing the group to dine.

Kwil poured wine for everyone, lingering a bit
longer at Aqualia’s glass. There was something mystical and intriguing about
her, and he could sense an unseen magic. Feeling it would be impolite to ask,
he remained silent, trying to solve the mystery on his own. He had never read
about Sirens, and now he regretted it. At first light, he would search Seela’s
library for the information he craved.

Aqualia charmed the others with talk of her
homeland—a tiny island on the sea, inhabited by her and her sisters, where
every day was sunny and sweet. Of course that wasn’t truly the case, but
Aqualia would not mention dark days or stormy seas. This was a night to make
merry, and she had no desire to darken the mood.

“I would love to see your island one day,” Nera
said, leaning her head on her hand. “It sounds amazing.”

“Then you should visit,” Aqualia replied. “Once
your duties here permit it.”

“She has no duties,” Seela remarked. “She’s free
to come and go as she likes. Only Kwil is bound to me. Unless, of course, he
chooses to end his apprenticeship.”

Kwil found himself tongue-tied by the suggestion
and crammed a piece of bread in his mouth to avoid a reply. The twinkle in his
mistress’s eye suggested she was only kidding. Both she and Kwil knew that he
would never choose to abandon his studies.

“Tell us how the two of you met,” Nera begged. “It
must be a fascinating encounter.

“Do I tell it or you?” Aqualia asked, facing
Seela.

“You start, I’ll finish,” Seela replied.

“Well, I had hoped to keep the conversation
light....” Aqualia paused for a moment. “Well, let’s just say I wasn’t having a
very good day. I was swimming alongside a ship, and the men were admiring me as
usual. Then out of nowhere, there was an explosion. Splintered wood flew everywhere,
a few pieces striking me as I tried to get out of the way. I was bleeding
heavily and in a lot of pain.”

“What caused the explosion?” Kwil asked.

“I have no idea,” she replied, shaking her head.
“The ship must have been hauling dangerous cargo, but I never saw it, and
nothing remained of it afterward.”

“How did you manage to get to safety?” Nera asked,
her brow wrinkled in concern.

“I managed to pull myself onto a tiny islet,
despite the searing pain in my back. I had a rather large gash, not to mention
dozens of scrapes and bruises. I laid there all night, drifting in and out of
consciousness. When I saw a small black figure coming toward me, I thought I
was hallucinating.”

“Couldn’t you use magic to summon help?” Nera
asked. “Sirens have magic in their voices, don’t they?”

“We do indeed,” she replied. “But I hadn’t the
strength, and my voice wouldn’t carry across the waves.”

Ready to tell her part of the story, Seela cleared
her throat. “First, you need to understand why I was in the area. This was
shortly after I had completed my mastery of earth magic, and I was starting my
study of water. I found myself distracted far too often and decided to take a
break, and at the same time, find some inspiration. So I traveled to the ocean
to see what it was all about.”

“Was it the most beautiful place you’ve seen?” Nera
asked. “I’d love to see it myself.”

“It was a lovely place to visit, yes,” Seela
replied. “But I much prefer the forest as my home.”

“Tell them how you found me,” Aqualia encouraged
her.

“I was prowling about the ocean and stumbled
across her on that little island.”

“She was walking on the water’s surface,” Aqualia
added. “I’ve lived my whole life on the sea and never seen anything like it. I
thought I’d lost my mind.”

“Well, I was partially sinking if truth be told,”
Seela stated. “She was far from shore, and I’d used quite a bit of magic to
reach her. I was as surprised as she was that there was another soul upon the
islet.”

“What happened next?” Nera asked.

“I passed out,” Aqualia replied, her voice full of
humor.

“I used some magic to help her recover and
remained at her side until she was fully healed,” Seela said. “We passed the
time talking and sharing stories until she was well enough to return home.”
Proudly, she added, “We’ve been friends ever since.”

“Seela is a fascinating friend to have,” Aqualia
said, smiling.

“Aqualia’s entire people are fascinating,” Seela
replied. “I was honored to be allowed as a guest in her waters. Her parents
threw a banquet in my honor for helping their daughter.” Shaking her head, she
said, “My own family would never be so kind. They’d probably throw a party for
someone bringing my dead carcass and placing it before them.”

“Tell me about your family,” Kwil implored her.

“There isn’t much to tell, really,” Seela replied.
“My parents are deceased, and my only nearby relative is an uncle, who is also
a master wizard. He owns the manor that was rightly mine by birth, but my being
outcast meant that I would inherit nothing.” There was a slight hint of
bitterness in her tone, but a sigh of acceptance suggested she was over the
disappointment.

“That isn’t right,” Nera commented.

“What’s done is done,” Seela replied, “and I have
no desire to own the manor or live among those who would revile me. Still, I
would like to have the medallion my mother wore. I played with it often as a
child. She let me paw it while she would sing to me. My mother held great love
for me, despite everyone else telling her I was a creature of evil. It pained
her that I was sent away, but she had no power to stop it. She was a virtual
prisoner to my father.”

Nera nodded her understanding. She could easily
relate to the way Seela’s mother had been treated. It was all too common in
Gatan society. “We have more in common than I realized,” she said.

Kwil seemed lost in thought, as visions of his
mother singing flooded his mind. Picturing Seela as a child in her mother’s
arms, he nearly wept at the sorrow of the two being forced to part. Silently,
he vowed to retrieve this medallion for her. It was the least he could do for
his mistress.

After dinner, Nera played her lute while Aqualia
sang, her voice penetrating the souls of the listeners.

Walk with me upon the sand,

swim beside me ’neath the waves.

To the waters of eternity,

sleeping ever in our graves.

Hand in hand we drift to sleep,

our hearts entwined as one.

To the ever after

’neath the setting sun.

Enthralled by her voice, Kwil could barely move.
He had fallen entirely under her spell, unable to resist her song. Nera gave
him a knowing smile and patted his shoulder as she put her lute away.

“You have quite a talent for the lute,” Aqualia
said.

“Thank you,” Nera replied. “Your voice is
incredible.”

“It is a gift,” Aqualia said modestly.

With a yawn, Seela announced it was time for bed,
and they made their way upstairs, each retiring to his or her own room. The
Siren’s song still echoing in their minds, they drifted off to sleep, images of
the sea haunting their dreams.