rock.
When she was done, she turned to Rave for confirmation, since she couldn’t see the energy herself. Doing so was quicker than walking to the stone, and would be less disappointing if she had failed.
“Did I do it? Could you see them? Did they hit the rock?”
Rave nodded from his perch on the fallen log. “Yes, you did it. They were tiny and faintly yellow—twenty of them, at least. Every one of them hit the rock.”
Leesa smiled, ready now for the most important question. “Did they make any holes?”
Rave tried to keep his expression blank. “It’s pretty hard to see from way over here. Why don’t you go check? You’re not getting lazy on me, are you?”
Leesa’s smile widened. She knew Rave wouldn’t tease her like this if she had failed. She hurried over to the boulder.
More than a dozen tiny holes marked the otherwise smooth surface, as if the rock had been struck by a blast of miniature buckshot. Leesa ran her fingers over the holes—they were so small she couldn’t even tell how deep they were.
She turned to Rave. “Speaking of lazy, get your butt over here. I need those volkaane eyes to tell me how deep these holes are.”
Rave hopped off the log and crossed over to the edge of stream. He studied the boulder for a moment, then turned to Leesa and held his thumb and index finger so close together they were almost touching.
“They’re not very deep,” he said. “Only about this far in.”
Leesa pushed away any feelings of disappointment. Her goal had been to blast some holes into the rock, and that’s exactly what she had just done. It didn’t really matter how shallow they were. As with all her other magic, she knew this trick would get stronger with practice.
“I’m going to try again, from a little closer this time.” A determined look washed over her face. “By the time I’m done with this rock, it just might crumble apart from all the holes I’m going to drill in it.”
Rave smiled. “That’s the wizard I know and love.” He moved back a few steps but remained standing behind Leesa.
Leesa focused on the rock again, sending more invisible blasts at it. When she was finished, Rave began to step forward to check the stone again, but Leesa stopped him by grabbing his forearm.
“Don’t bother. I know I hit it. I don’t even want to know how deep right now, because I’m about to do it again.”
Rave began to back up, but then stopped. His gaze dropped to the front of Leesa’s sweatshirt.
“Ummm…maybe you shouldn’t do it again just yet.”
Leesa followed Rave’s eyes downward. Faint green spirals emanated from her stomach, piercing the material of her sweatshirt seemingly without problem.
“It’s brighter this time, isn’t it?” she asked. “I don’t think I could have seen it in the daylight last time.”
“Yeah. Several fold brighter, at least,” Rave agreed.
While they watched, the spirals disappeared. In their place, glowing green streaks arced out ten or twelve inches from Leesa’s body. They reminded Leesa of roman candles she had seen set off on the Fourth of July, though they were not nearly as profuse or as bright.
Rave carefully eased his hand out in front of the curving tubes of light. Once again, he could feel no motion from them.
“They feel a lot like the first ones,” he reported. “Maybe not quite as cool.”
“Not quite as cool” to Rave meant the light was warmer, Leesa knew. She held her hand out next to his. The arcing streaks stopped when they hit her palm. They were warmer than she remembered, but there was no feeling of power behind them. It felt the same as shining a flashlight on her skin—the beam stopped with no sense of forward motion to it. She wondered if the glow was simply illumination of some kind, similar to her illumination spell. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it, that there was something she wasn’t capable of sensing or understanding yet.
“It’s definitely warmer,” she
When she was done, she turned to Rave for confirmation, since she couldn’t see the energy herself. Doing so was quicker than walking to the stone, and would be less disappointing if she had failed.
“Did I do it? Could you see them? Did they hit the rock?”
Rave nodded from his perch on the fallen log. “Yes, you did it. They were tiny and faintly yellow—twenty of them, at least. Every one of them hit the rock.”
Leesa smiled, ready now for the most important question. “Did they make any holes?”
Rave tried to keep his expression blank. “It’s pretty hard to see from way over here. Why don’t you go check? You’re not getting lazy on me, are you?”
Leesa’s smile widened. She knew Rave wouldn’t tease her like this if she had failed. She hurried over to the boulder.
More than a dozen tiny holes marked the otherwise smooth surface, as if the rock had been struck by a blast of miniature buckshot. Leesa ran her fingers over the holes—they were so small she couldn’t even tell how deep they were.
She turned to Rave. “Speaking of lazy, get your butt over here. I need those volkaane eyes to tell me how deep these holes are.”
Rave hopped off the log and crossed over to the edge of stream. He studied the boulder for a moment, then turned to Leesa and held his thumb and index finger so close together they were almost touching.
“They’re not very deep,” he said. “Only about this far in.”
Leesa pushed away any feelings of disappointment. Her goal had been to blast some holes into the rock, and that’s exactly what she had just done. It didn’t really matter how shallow they were. As with all her other magic, she knew this trick would get stronger with practice.
“I’m going to try again, from a little closer this time.” A determined look washed over her face. “By the time I’m done with this rock, it just might crumble apart from all the holes I’m going to drill in it.”
Rave smiled. “That’s the wizard I know and love.” He moved back a few steps but remained standing behind Leesa.
Leesa focused on the rock again, sending more invisible blasts at it. When she was finished, Rave began to step forward to check the stone again, but Leesa stopped him by grabbing his forearm.
“Don’t bother. I know I hit it. I don’t even want to know how deep right now, because I’m about to do it again.”
Rave began to back up, but then stopped. His gaze dropped to the front of Leesa’s sweatshirt.
“Ummm…maybe you shouldn’t do it again just yet.”
Leesa followed Rave’s eyes downward. Faint green spirals emanated from her stomach, piercing the material of her sweatshirt seemingly without problem.
“It’s brighter this time, isn’t it?” she asked. “I don’t think I could have seen it in the daylight last time.”
“Yeah. Several fold brighter, at least,” Rave agreed.
While they watched, the spirals disappeared. In their place, glowing green streaks arced out ten or twelve inches from Leesa’s body. They reminded Leesa of roman candles she had seen set off on the Fourth of July, though they were not nearly as profuse or as bright.
Rave carefully eased his hand out in front of the curving tubes of light. Once again, he could feel no motion from them.
“They feel a lot like the first ones,” he reported. “Maybe not quite as cool.”
“Not quite as cool” to Rave meant the light was warmer, Leesa knew. She held her hand out next to his. The arcing streaks stopped when they hit her palm. They were warmer than she remembered, but there was no feeling of power behind them. It felt the same as shining a flashlight on her skin—the beam stopped with no sense of forward motion to it. She wondered if the glow was simply illumination of some kind, similar to her illumination spell. She couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it, that there was something she wasn’t capable of sensing or understanding yet.
“It’s definitely warmer,” she
Similar Books
