need less preparation time, less potion and even less of the spoken chant. Soon she’d be able to move into the grayness with only a mental word.
She turned in place to survey the area and saw the dark smudge of Rothly’s spot. Something in the grayness fluttered. Tensing her throat and entire mouth against more useless tears, she got on with her task.
The sheeting flames of elemental energies hovered brightly near the house, as if they’d stayed after being summoned for so many years and waited to be gathered and used once again. Jenni smiled and let the feel of them imbue her.
Then she raised her hands and called her magic, matching the texture and the beat and the density and taste of it to each near element—humid air with a touch of salt and forest and hill breezes; rich hillsides with veins of soil and rock; crackling fire of the hearth, of controlled burns, of holiday bonfires; mist and molecules of water in the air, from the sea and streams and ponds.
Like called to like.
By “pulling” on the elemental energies she drew the amount she needed. It was the work of a moment to gather enough water and earth to balance the energies of the area, and she spread that equalized magic as far as she could reach.
And in practicing her craft, for a few precious minutes, peace came.
When the strain of being in the interdimension wore on her, she shuffled back into evening gloaming and rain splashing against the windows.
A shadow moved…Aric pushing away from the doorjamb where he’d leaned. “Done?” He held her bag.
“Yes.” She let out a shaky breath. One session down, two more and she would feel competent to rescue Rothly. “I’m completely done here.”
Aric nodded. “Good.” He repeated his earlier words. “It’s a sad place.”
She picked up the mug, emptied the liquid in the sink in the corner of the room, rinsed it out and put it on a shelf.
A harder splat came against the conservatory windows and she glanced over to see the wetly gleaming teeth of a shadleech.
She stumbled back into Aric. He steadied her.
Then another hit came. Faster and faster like a hailstorm in the mountains, but…squishy. The things weren’t hurt. Harder to hurt since they were more magical than physical. Magic enough to enter the interdimension.
Aric cursed under his breath. “They’ve found us.”
Jenni swallowed. “Guess so.”
His hold on her tightened briefly. “We must go outside to enter a tree and the greenspace.”
The thought of that made the back of her throat slime with chill fear. “Yes,” she said, her lips numbed. She struggled with her pack until he helped, then she picked up her tapestry bag.
“The sycamore, to the east, is closest and it’s big.” He hesitated. “I’ll make it right with the dryad later.”
Jenni winced. “You’re not on good terms with her.”
“Not anymore.”
Jenni decided she didn’t want to discuss the topic.
“We’ll have to run.” From one of the magical pockets in his coat, he pulled out a large silver dagger that flamed around the edges. “They react negatively to fire.”
“I can burn ’em up if they attach themselves to us.”
“Good,” he said.
Quick inhale through nostrils, puff through mouth. “You have the docs?” she asked.
“I transferred all the files I could find to both our palm devices.”
The thumping on the glass came faster, harder. “The house shields—”
“Are holding fine, as well as anything against shadleeches. If the filthy things are Kondrian’s, they’ll leave when we do.” His jaw flexed. “They seem directed, not random.”
The thuds of shadleeches against the glass roof and windows were almost mathematical in their precision—squadrons of the things. Aric gripped her elbow and his fingers went white-knuckled on his weapon. “Ready?”
He didn’t look at her. Foolish that she’d wanted him to, to reassure her that they were in this together. But they hadn’t been together for a long
She turned in place to survey the area and saw the dark smudge of Rothly’s spot. Something in the grayness fluttered. Tensing her throat and entire mouth against more useless tears, she got on with her task.
The sheeting flames of elemental energies hovered brightly near the house, as if they’d stayed after being summoned for so many years and waited to be gathered and used once again. Jenni smiled and let the feel of them imbue her.
Then she raised her hands and called her magic, matching the texture and the beat and the density and taste of it to each near element—humid air with a touch of salt and forest and hill breezes; rich hillsides with veins of soil and rock; crackling fire of the hearth, of controlled burns, of holiday bonfires; mist and molecules of water in the air, from the sea and streams and ponds.
Like called to like.
By “pulling” on the elemental energies she drew the amount she needed. It was the work of a moment to gather enough water and earth to balance the energies of the area, and she spread that equalized magic as far as she could reach.
And in practicing her craft, for a few precious minutes, peace came.
When the strain of being in the interdimension wore on her, she shuffled back into evening gloaming and rain splashing against the windows.
A shadow moved…Aric pushing away from the doorjamb where he’d leaned. “Done?” He held her bag.
“Yes.” She let out a shaky breath. One session down, two more and she would feel competent to rescue Rothly. “I’m completely done here.”
Aric nodded. “Good.” He repeated his earlier words. “It’s a sad place.”
She picked up the mug, emptied the liquid in the sink in the corner of the room, rinsed it out and put it on a shelf.
A harder splat came against the conservatory windows and she glanced over to see the wetly gleaming teeth of a shadleech.
She stumbled back into Aric. He steadied her.
Then another hit came. Faster and faster like a hailstorm in the mountains, but…squishy. The things weren’t hurt. Harder to hurt since they were more magical than physical. Magic enough to enter the interdimension.
Aric cursed under his breath. “They’ve found us.”
Jenni swallowed. “Guess so.”
His hold on her tightened briefly. “We must go outside to enter a tree and the greenspace.”
The thought of that made the back of her throat slime with chill fear. “Yes,” she said, her lips numbed. She struggled with her pack until he helped, then she picked up her tapestry bag.
“The sycamore, to the east, is closest and it’s big.” He hesitated. “I’ll make it right with the dryad later.”
Jenni winced. “You’re not on good terms with her.”
“Not anymore.”
Jenni decided she didn’t want to discuss the topic.
“We’ll have to run.” From one of the magical pockets in his coat, he pulled out a large silver dagger that flamed around the edges. “They react negatively to fire.”
“I can burn ’em up if they attach themselves to us.”
“Good,” he said.
Quick inhale through nostrils, puff through mouth. “You have the docs?” she asked.
“I transferred all the files I could find to both our palm devices.”
The thumping on the glass came faster, harder. “The house shields—”
“Are holding fine, as well as anything against shadleeches. If the filthy things are Kondrian’s, they’ll leave when we do.” His jaw flexed. “They seem directed, not random.”
The thuds of shadleeches against the glass roof and windows were almost mathematical in their precision—squadrons of the things. Aric gripped her elbow and his fingers went white-knuckled on his weapon. “Ready?”
He didn’t look at her. Foolish that she’d wanted him to, to reassure her that they were in this together. But they hadn’t been together for a long
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