The Errant Prince by Sasha L. Miller Page B

transferred along the power lines—which are pretty much anywhere magic has ever been cast—and then the item is reconstructed from energy at the end."
    "Ah," Myron said. He looked uncertain. "Are you sure this isn't too advanced? I don't know anything about power lines except that they exist."
    "If you can learn to create complex constructs, you can learn to shift," Tamsen said. "It's only more dangerous since you're doing it to yourself."
    "All right," Myron said, though he didn't look particularly convinced.
    "You're just trying to get out of our bet," Tamsen said. He clucked like a chicken, repeating Myron's earlier taunt, though he sounded more like a squashed chicken than a real one.
    Myron laughed, nudging Tamsen's knee with his foot. "I wouldn't dream of it. How do I find the power lines, then?"
    "That's easy," Tamsen said. He swatted Myron's foot, pleased that his attempt at teasing Myron had worked. "You've probably done it and not realized."
    "Really?" Myron asked, his skepticism back.
    "Yes, really," Tamsen said. "Release some of your energy, like you're ending a spell. Don't reabsorb it."
    Myron's magic flared to life, sharp and bright for a single moment before the energy dissipated into the power lines around them. Myron frowned, repeating the action with a little more energy. "Oh. Huh," he said. Tamsen snickered, earning a dirty look from Myron. "Not a word."
    "I said nothing," Tamsen said, holding up his hands. Before Myron could reply, he continued. "To tap in, you hold onto the energy before it joins the power lines. Let some go, but hold some back before it gets absorbed to link into the line."
    Myron did as he was told, fumbling a few times before he managed it. He held the connection and looked up at Tamsen questioningly.
    "You can let it go," Tamsen said. 
    "All right, so what's next?" Myron asked, letting go of his hold on the power lines.
    "Deconstructing," Tamsen said promptly. "Most of the shift is intuitive once you get the object into the power stream. Particularly when you're shifting yourself—you only have so much control over magic when you're deconstructed."
    Myron made a face, not looking thrilled by that. Tamsen hadn't been either; he'd thrown up out of sheer nerves the first few times he'd shifted himself. He could do it without much worry these days, but he still generally preferred not to think too hard about the mechanics of it. Focusing on the charred wooden block, he shifted it over to where they sat, putting it a few feet away.
    "Show off," Myron said, but he grinned, taking any sting out of the words.
    Tamsen rolled his eyes. "How are your barrier spells?"
    "Abysmal," Myron said, though he didn't sound too upset about it. "Usually full of holes."
    Tamsen made a note to help Myron fix that later. He concentrated, putting together a quick, physical barrier spell between them and the wooden block. Splintering was messy . Typically the student cast the barrier—it was a test of their ability to hold multiple spells at once. Myron wasn't a typical student, however, and Tamsen didn't want a chunk of wood to the face.
    "Deconstructing is a little complicated." Tamsen paused, wondering how best to explain it. "You wrap the object in your energy and then pull the object into it."
    Myron stared at him. "What?"
    Tamsen laughed ruefully. He rubbed his forehead, trying to come up with something that Myron would understand better. "When you make your constructs—" Tamsen was never going to be able to say that without turning red, he knew it, "—you push your energy into the base to give it shape and animation. This is the opposite. You take the object into your energy to take away its shape."
    A grin flickered across Myron's face, and he nodded. He turned to study the block thoughtfully. Tamsen didn't rush him, feeling it when Myron reached out with his magic. He did as Tamsen had instructed, wrapping the block in his energy. Then he pulled—too hard, and the block splintered, exploding