Rising From the Ashes: The Chronicles of Caymin by Caren J. Werlinger Page A

And always would be.
    Beanna flew down and perched on her shoulder.
    “Caymin, is it?”
    “How did you know?” Caymin released the charm and the stream gurgled on its way. She got to her feet.
    “The whole forest heard.” The crow tilted her head, looking at Caymin with her bright eye. “How did you find your name?”
    “Enat guided me on a spiritwalk. I saw my village the night the badgers saved me, and then I saw my mother holding me. She called me by name.”
    Beanna’s head bobbed up and down. “Powerful.”
    Caymin thought about this. “It was powerful. A powerful memory.”
    “No. I meant you.”
    Caymin stopped so suddenly that Beanna had to flap her wings to keep her balance. “I do not understand.”
    “There is strong magic in this forest,” Beanna said. “Small things like the magic you have been learning, these do not affect the forest. But the night you claimed your name, all heard it. All felt it.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “I do not know, Caymin who was Ash. But it means something.”
    Beanna pushed off from Caymin’s shoulder, cawing as she flew away.
    When Caymin got back to the cottage, Enat was waiting for her. “Is it time?”
    Caymin nodded. “It is.”
    Enat held out a bowl of porridge. “Eat first. Would you like for me to go with you? To help you tell them?”
    Caymin ate a couple of bites. “No. I am ready to tell them.”
    “Very well. I’ll see you this evening.”
    When Caymin got to the village, she found the others gathered with Neela and Ivar in the meetinghouse.
    “Welcome back, Caymin,” Neela said with a nod.
    “Sit here.” Cíana slid over on the bench to make room.
    Caymin sat and could feel the curious glances of the others as Ivar continued talking about how to create a summoning spell.
    “It’s similar to levitating something,” he was saying. “But it takes more concentration to draw something to you. Of course, the greater the distance and the larger the object, the greater the strength it takes, so take care before you think about using this spell. Once you summon something, the spell will hold until the object comes to you, and if you deplete your energy in doing so, you will either have to draw from another source, or it will kill you.”
    He called Daina forward to try summoning a scroll from the far end of the room. They watched as she frowned, muttering the words. For long heartbeats, nothing happened, but then the scroll slid off the shelf and moved through the air to her waiting hand. Daina looked around proudly as the others gasped and cheered. Diarmit tried next, screwing up his face as he tried.
    “He looks like he’s laying an egg,” Gai whispered from Cíana’s other side.
    Cíana elbowed him, trying not to laugh.
    All Diarmit succeeded in doing was getting the scroll to flop over.
    “Enough.” Ivar stepped forward. “You’ll try again another time.” He pointed. “Gai.”
    Gai strode forward and, almost lazily, murmured the incantation, holding out his hand. The scroll immediately flew to him. He handed it to Ivar and sat back down. Cíana had to murmur the incantation three times before the scroll came to her. Caymin sat until, at last, Neela pointed to her.
    She got up. Though she had quickly learned to control the elements with things like the calming charm she’d used on the stream, she had never been able to get anything to levitate before and was not looking forward to failing at this task with everyone watching. Concentrating, she whispered the words of the spell. For a moment, nothing happened, as she’d expected, but then, she felt a curious tingle of energy leaving her. The scroll flew so quickly through the air that she was unprepared for it. It hit her in the chest and knocked her backward.
    The others burst out laughing as Neela stepped forward and pulled her to her feet.
    “Well, that’s one way of doing it,” she said as she brushed Caymin’s backside off.
    Dazed, Caymin sat back down. Like at the stream,