Flash Friday #84: Surviving Elsewhere, Part 32 -- Magic 2

 

(Link to Part 31)

Davis stared, his face pale. "I'm sorry."

As though he had failed. He went to his knees, his hand still on the shield, but the faint flicker of magic no longer held the walls at bay and they began to move towards us with the grinding sound of rock against rock. I had to turn sideways and Lord Snow shoved up against me.

Davis finally dropped his hands and the last bit of the shield began to flare and disappear.

Three things happened.

First I got very, very scared.

Second, I got extremely angry.

And then I shouted.

"No! Get back!"

Lights exploded everywhere around me in a whirl of magic. Buildings retreated so quickly that one of them wavered and toppled on it's back, hitting the building behind it. I had the inane fear I was about to start a building-domino effect and watch lines of buildings go down around me.

I hadn't put power into the shield. I had simply ordered the buildings away and they had leapt away from us, going farther than they had been when this insanity started.

"Well, that was impressive," Lord Snow said.

I sat down on the ground by Davis. He gasped and looked around as though he didn't believe this any more than I had.

"What?" he said, and shook his head. "How?"

"Emotions," I whispered. My head was going to explode and I hoped my show had scared enemies away because right now I could barely think. "Emotions. All my life, hid my emotions. But needed them for this."

"Emotions," he said with a nod. I wasn't certain how much of the conversation he was following since his eyes kept closing and I thought he was going to pass out.

Lord Snow came over and settled down, leaning against Davis's back to keep him from falling over. I nodded my thanks.

"We'll rest for a bit," Lord Snow said. He scanned the area, his eyes narrowing at even the whisper of the breeze. "I believe there is no one around and after that display, hey aren't likely to come close very soon. You need to rest, Mark. What you just did would have been hard for a full fae. How are you feeling?"

"Hollow," I said. I moved so I could lean against the big cat. I hadn't realized I was cold until I felt the warmth radiating from his fur. "But -- we should go? This is dangerous. We need to find Maggie and Edmond."

"They're more likely to find us if we are here. Rest. I can't carry both of you anyway."

I started to protest that I could walk, but then realized it wasn't true.

"Why is all of this happening?" I finally whispered. I wasn't certain either of them could answer.

"Because you are clearly something special," Lord Snow said. He paused for a moment and I turned to see him eying me, looking contemplative in the way only cats can. "And that means you are a threat to what someone is doing, either here or on the other side."

"That doesn't mean that I'm on the right side," I said. "I don't know. Maybe my father made me as a weapon --"

"No," Lord Snow said.

"No," Davis echoed, a little more coherent now. He even lifted his head and focused on me, though he looked deathly pale still. "Actions."

"I don't understand," I said.

"He means that this is the fae world. Here magic, and the actions the magic produces, are the results of emotions. If those emotions were pure, then no one would be trying to kill you."

I shook my head. Life didn't work that way. If people thought they had a good reason to deal with someone --

But that was part of the human world and I already knew things didn't work the same here. I just couldn't quite get my mind to catch hold of the big difference. I had understood it for a moment when I made the buildings back off, but to me emotions were ephemeral and dangerous. I needed logic. I needed --

Something swept over head and I felt a welling of fear. Magic came to my fingers, and that startled me, which was good. Maggie and Edmond swept down into the open area and landed a few feet away. She rushed to us and knelt, her wings still fluttering as she reached to grab me in a hug. I could feel the dampness of tears on her cheek and felt the panicked beating of her heart as she held me.

"I went all the way to the council," she said and hiccuped, trying to get control. "They were worried about you, about the trouble you brought. I told them it wasn't fair to let the enemy kill you without stepping in, finding out what was going on. I feared -- feared we would be too late, though. I had nearly convinced them when -- when we felt your magic, Mark. I knew you were safe then, at least for the moment. But. . . ."

"But now they've felt his magic and they're even more worried," Edmond said with a sound of disgust. "They took off running again. We came to make sure you were all right. And we brought food, right Maggie?"

She gave a laugh and reached into the pouch she carried and handed me a sandwich. She gave another to Davis who nodded and then gave what looked like fish to Lord Snow and Edmond. Obviously the bag was bigger than it looked on the outside.

"What do we do now?" Davis asked.

"I'm going to take Mark on and see if we can't catch up with the Council," she said. I figured I didn't have any say. "I don't know if that's any safer than what's been happening, though."

"No where is safe," I said. I stood first. I felt as though something was closing in on us. "We better go."

The breeze had picked up again.

To Be Continued. . . . 

999 Words

Find more of the Forward Motion Flash Friday Group here:

http://www.fmwriters.com/flash.html

And don't miss out on

http://fridayflash.org

for more fantastic quick reads

Flash Friday #83: Surviving Elsewhere, Part 31 -- Magic

(Link to Part 30)

I never knew my father.

That's probably an odd thing for me to have thought in the moment when chaos rushed through me, but I realized that if I had known my father, or at least known about him, I might have been better prepared for the idea of having the power to do magic. At least having grown up near Elsewhere, I didn't deny magic existed like I'd heard they did in some places of the world.

But . . .

The first feel was agony that started in my head and rushed through the rest of my body.

Everything inside my head moved and changed as Davis did his best to give me a crash course in the powers we needed to survive. He found parts of me I didn't know existed. I could feel the magic when he touched it, but that proved to be almost a disaster in itself. Once I knew that power existed I couldn't turn away from it and I had no idea how to control --

Davis fought down my panic and held it in place by pure force. Then he laid out some of the very basic rules, which all had to do with feel and not anything I could put into words. I let him lead me through what he could, but it became obvious that my magic wasn't something he understood.

I was different.

That thought set another round of panic going. I felt everything I knew and remembered being swept up into a maelstrom of magic, twisted and turned to make even the simple memories transform into something I couldn't understand, as though they belonged to someone else.

I was lost. I didn't know what I was. I didn't know who I was. I could no longer even feel Davis's hold on me. Being lost in my own head proved to be more terrifying than anything that had been thrown at me since I came to Elsewhere. I could fight the outside world. I could see my way from place to place, even if the damned buildings moved. But here, in my head --

"Mark!"

I heard the sound of the voice, knew someone called me, but I cowered away. Nothing good had happened. Who was I? I couldn't even name myself now, or touch on a past as a human. It had all been a lie. I couldn't go home. I couldn't survive here.

Better to let go.

"Mark! Need help!"

Not my problem. Not my place.

I would die here if I didn't help.

No matter. I was lost. Better dead then lost here in this place of colors and black and sounds --

"Mark!"

I had never asked for this. I never --

"Mark, please -- Maggie --"

I finally let the voice touch me. Maggie's name had done it because I didn't want my cousin to think this was her fault. Maybe stupid, but it draw me finally out of the darkness. I didn't like the magic. I wanted it to go away and for me to be myself again --

"Easy," Davis said. I could clearly hear his words, but I still couldn't see the world around us. "Easy. I'm sorry. That was stronger than I expected. You are . . . Different, Mark. That's not bad. We need different now."

"I --" I began, but I wasn't sure how to speak now. Or what to say. I couldn't verbalize what was inside me.

"Let me show you. Be calm. Relax."

It wasn't that easy, especially when I was aware of a building brushing against me. Just the same, if I wanted to help, I had to trust Davis. So I carefully sat down in the corner of my brain, metaphorically speaking, and prepared for the lesson. I'd always been good in school.

Davis said very little now. He sorted out threads in my mind, pulling the colors of magic up where I could see and touch them. They were clearly linked to emotions, ranging from red anger to blue sorrow and white fear. Red and white were the strongest powers I had right now.

But there was another power. He pulled the strand out; pure silver that glowed more brightly than the others. I could tell he was as curious about it as I was. I felt strength from that thread. I felt peace and power -- and it gave me back a piece of myself.

I hadn't changed. I had always been what I was now. I had only been given a chance to touch something more inside me.

I let Davis lead me through everything, holding back my fears. I forced myself to accept what I still didn't understand. I could see the magic. I had no idea what to do with it.

I would have to learn quickly. Davis, suddenly, was very worried.

"Can't hold," he said, aloud. "Need --"

Needed me to help hold the walls back. I had lost track of the real problem, but Davis suddenly pulled free of my mind and I blinked to find that Maggie's magical wall of protection had been squeezed closer, until there was no more than a few feet of space around us. Davis still had his hand against the wall and I could see the sparkle of magic there, but elsewhere the magical wall showed the dark lines of fissures, as though it would crack and disintegrate at any moment. I needed to help.

And I still had no idea how to do so.

"Mark," Davis whispered. His face had gone pale and his arm shook.

I lifted my hand and laid it against the magical wall. I could feel the warmth of it, and the beat of the magic. The beat slowed even while I felt and I knew it was going to die at any moment.

I wished it to be stronger. I put all my focus into feeling the magic within and adding it to the wall.

And nothing happened.

To Be Continued. . . 

995 Words

Find more of the Forward Motion Flash Friday Group here:

http://www.fmwriters.com/flash.html

And don't miss out on

http://fridayflash.org

for more fantastic quick reads

Flash Friday #82: Surviving Elsewhere, Part 30 -- Lesson 2

 

(Link to Part 29)

This had been a pleasant place to walk a few moments before, the street filled with curious, old-fashioned buildings. Now they began to change shape, to move -- and to grow. Buildings, when they move, make a grating sound; rock against rock, that sounds so wrong you can't help but react. I could even see little mushroom creatures running for cover.

The area behind us was already closed off.

"Windows!" Davis shouted, sprinting towards a building, but before he could even reach the wall, the windows disappeared beneath a covering of brick.

I turned and saw the same happening to all the other buildings. We had crowded together into the very center now, and they came closer and closer on all sides as they grew taller.

"Maggie, fly out of here," I said.

She looked at me, her wings fluttering slightly against her back.

She shook her head and instead stamped the staff she carried once on the ground. Everything shook around us, and I'm not sure it was better for it. However, it did mean she had some power

"Stop!" she shouted in a voice that I thought should have stopped the world from moving. Power leapt from her and spread out in all directions, forming a new wall around us. This one glowed with power and sparkled with magic, but even so, it looked insubstantial and she was panting as though she'd run a marathon. "Can -- can hold for a while. Need to think how to get out of this."

He nodded, grim-faced even with this little reprieve. Edmond and Lord Snow were both prowling in circles, making cat noises. I kept quiet. I had nothing to offer to this conversation.

We could still hear the grinding of stone beyond the wall of magic. Maggie's defense only rose a few feet taller than us, and I realized the buildings had grown by a couple floors and were starting to lean inward above us. Would they fall and crush us? Or just wait for Maggie's magic to die off and complete the work?

"Yeah, we see," Davis said as he put a hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention from the scene above. "They're not reasoning beings, these houses. Someone is moving them, but that doesn't help us much."

"Maggie needs to go before she can't fly out," I said. Maggie shook her head. But Davis gave a nod, which didn't surprise me.

"He's right. I can hold your magic for a while. You are the only one who can get out and find us help, Maggie."

"I can't -- I can't just leave you --"

"Go," I said softly and put a hand on her arm. "You're the only hope we have."

I didn't really believe those words, but if it helped to get her out of here, I'd say anything at all.

"I can take one of you -- get the next -- carry you --"

"You're wings won't handle the weight, not straight up like this," Davis said. "For the love of the gods, go now before it's too late!"

"Take Edmond," I said, which got a startled meow out of the cat. "He's light. Get him out."

She bent and swept him up in her arms, holding him tight. Edmond looked at me, eyes blinking. I nodded. He understood that I didn't expect to see either of them again.

Then Edmond did something odd. He stared off into nothing for a moment and I realized he was having another vision. I hoped it helped. However, whatever he saw didn't seem to be an immediate answer to our problems.

"Teach him, Davis," Edmond said.

Maggie unfurled her wings, looked back at us one more time, and then gave another stamp of the staff on the ground. It reinforced the walls, but also seemed to give her an extra little push. They went upwards, the wings beating hard as she tried to gain height. I didn't think she would make it.

"I don't have much in power," Lord Snow said softly. "But I think this might help."

He lifted his head and blew upwards; a cold hard wind brushed against me and swept up, caught Maggie's wings, and lifted her and Edmond up over the top of the buildings. They disappeared.

Good.

I looked back at Davis. Maggie's protection was already starting to weaken.I knew Maggie wouldn't find help anywhere near because we'd found very little help so far. Davis frowned, looked at the magic and up at the buildings, and then back at me.

"Time for a magic lesson," he said.

I was going to protest, but did we have anything better to do? No. And maybe I could help a little.

"We are going to do something dangerous and darking, my friend," he said. He had put both his hands together, palm against palm. "Normally, someone coming into power would be taken to a quiet place and given months, if not years, of training before they were allowed to do more than rudimentary magic. I'm going to do something different. I'm going to implant knowledge of magic in you so that you can help me hold these walls in place."

"Good," I said. The buildings were leaning so closer over the top of us that I could barely see the sky now."

"This is dangerous."

"I figured that part," I said. "But we don't have a lot of choice and no time."

He nodded. "Stand very still."

He bowed over his hands, his long hair falling across his face, so he looked like a surfer dude meditating. I waited, trying not to fidget while the buildings kept creeping closer. Lord Snow at beside us, his head bowed as well. I thought he might be meditating, too.

Davis looked up, gave one nod and then reached out and put both his hands on the sides of my head, just above me ears.

I didn't even have time to take a deep breath before everything went crazy.

To Be Continued. . . 

996 Words

Find more of the Forward Motion Flash Friday Group here:

http://www.fmwriters.com/flash.html

And don't miss out on

http://fridayflash.org

for more fantastic quick reads

Flash Friday #81: Surviving Elsewhere, Part 29 -- A Lesson

(Link to Part 28)

A few days ago I was worried about passing my algebra final. Now I was listening to a lecture on magic for a whole new set of lessons, and I figured if I didn't pass this course, things were going to be bad.

"Cause and effect," Maggie said, drawing my attention back. "In the case of magic, at least here in Elsewhere, emotions fuel a lot of magic. Outside of Elsewhere, it takes far more than that to create a magical action. That's why there's not much of a spill over, even with the gate so close to human lands."

"Why does it work differently? I mean we're the same on both sides, right?"

"Mostly the same. You touch magic and you change, though. You know that already. You can't go back and be what you were."

"Yeah, I know." I tried not to sound panicked, but so far being something different here didn't seem to be working out very well for me. "I just don't feel any different."

"That is odd," she said, looking at me with her head tilted slightly. "I remember how I started to feel magic almost immediately. I think that's how it normally works for people who cross over. But maybe it's just that you've had to focus on so much else so far."

"Maybe," I agreed.

"Or maybe he's always had the feel of magic and didn't know it," Edmond said, walking up and rubbing against my leg. Why do cats always try to trip you? "Since he's half fae, it may be that he already had the feel and never knew it."

"Like I was always different from the others," I said, voicing a problem I had faced all my life. "I just thought it was because I was half Japanese."

"I don't know how to approach this," Maggie admitted. "I know how I've helped others who first came over, but you -- I think you're going to take special training, Mark. The best I can say right now is that you need to keep tight rein on your anger."

"And your fear," Lord Snow added. He came closer and did not rub against my legs. I would have gone down. "Fear is a very powerful emotion. If yours got out of hand right now, with no controls on your magic -- it could be very dangerous for everyone."

"You could be wrong, you know. Maybe I don't have any power."

Maggie stopped me with a hand on my arm. "What is your favorite color?" she asked.

"Yellow," I said. I had always loved the bright yellows of flowers, the color of the rising sun and warmth, and that made me think of the cherry tree in the yard, with bright pink flowers in spring. Thinking about it made me smile a little --

And a bubble appeared in front of me. I saw flowers inside and a bright sunrise --

"Oh yes, you're half fae," Maggie said and sounded shocked. "I thought you might win a sparkle of color, but this -- yeah, you have powers, Mark. And that's good. If you are a Protector, you are going to need those powers to help others."

The yellow bubble drifted away. I watched it for a moment and then looked back at my cousin again. "Where do I find help?"

"We'll ask at the Council," Maggie said and Davis nodded. "Once we get you sanctioned, it's going to be a lot easier."

"And they will sanction me without question?"

She sighed and started walking on again. We were heading towards the northeast, I thought. I hoped we weren't going to go back into the winter area again. I was still having trouble thinking about the dragon.

"I've been pretending it won't be a problem," she admitted. Davis gave a reluctant nod of his head. "But they've moved off into the forest, and that's prime fae area. It makes me think they're worried about something, too. I don't know if it's you. If Lord Ice is right, then there is something else out there."

"Sheriff Creston," I said and even glanced over my shoulder, afraid he would be there.

I needed to control that fear, I suddenly realized. I could worry about him tracking me, but the gut-wrenching fear had to stop. And I didn't know how. Could I think it away? Could I wish it away?

No Creston behind us, though. So I said nothing this time, but I had the feeling Maggie knew. She patted my arm but she also urged me on. We did have trouble, after all. Creston was only part of it.

What should I worry about when we get to Forest Street?" I asked, thinking it might be good to have some idea before the trouble struck this time.

"The biggest problem might be the trees themselves," she said.

Which reminded me that I'd already had a run in with one set of trees. How could I have forgotten that they could move and talk?

"There will probably be wolves, too," Edmond added and didn't sound happy. "Oh and dryads. If they're against us, we won't get very far."

"And the forest fae," Davis added.

"So pretty much everything," I said and tried not to slow down.

"Yes," Edmond said. He rubbed against my legs again. "Just like everywhere else we've been lately."

I couldn't disagree. I couldn't argue. There was nothing in my life that I controlled right now. So we walked along and I worried about what might strike next.

I hadn't expected the buildings to start moving. I don't know why, but I just hadn't.

To Be Continued. . . 

943 words

Find more of the Forward Motion Flash Friday Group here:

http://www.fmwriters.com/flash.html

And don't miss out on

http://fridayflash.org

for more fantastic quick reads