“That’s amazing,” I said. “For someone who’s only just acquired Mana, you’re picking this up really quickly.”
Amelia opened her eyes and looked at me again. “You’re a great teacher.”
I chuckled. “Now, let’s see what you can cast.”
Amelia’s hand started to turn blue. She gasped.
“It’s ok,” I said. “Can you feel any cold? It shouldn’t be able to hurt you.”
“You’re right,” she said, surprise in her voice. “I can feel the cold, but it doesn’t hurt. Is that what it’s like when you cast fire? Do you feel a heat sensation?”
“Yes, I can feel the heat, but it doesn’t burn me. Now, send in some more Mana, see what you can cast.”
“It feels like I’m draining my Mana empty, like water from a jug,” Amelia said.
“You might feel a bit lightheaded if you use it all, but the feeling doesn’t last.” I said. “I suspect it’s normal for it to get low. You obviously don’t have much available just yet. Mine has increased from fighting with it a few times.”
She nodded, thinking as she channeled her Mana. “Yes, that’s how I think it works. Feeling it in practice is so different from just knowing about it in theory.”
Amelia’s hand continued to turn blue, and ice started to accumulate on her palm. The ice continued to grow and lengthen until it grew into a long, thin projectile, with a wickedly cruel, sharp point.
“It’s a spear,” I said. “See if you can throw it.”
Amelia drew back her arm and hurled the spear into the darkness. It crashed against the boulders. It was obvious that she had done some spear-throwing before, just from her technique.
I summoned a ball of fire in my hand to illuminate the area as we walked over to look. A broad patch of ice had spread against the rock face.
“Wow, Amelia. You could probably freeze a whole pack of monsters with this, if you hit them right.”
Amelia said nothing but stared in awe at the snowflake pattern splayed out over the rock face.
“Congratulations,” I said. “You just cast your first spell.”
Amelia turned to look at me. The firelight glinted against tears in her eyes. “You have fulfilled a dream I never dared to hope for.”
She walked slowly over to me and looked me fully in the face dropping her arms to her sides. When she reached me, she looked me right in the eye.
Suddenly, with a convulsive movement, she flung her arms around me. I didn’t hesitate. I reached up to put my arms about her and embrace her.
“Thank you, William,” she said into my shoulder.
“My pleasure, Amelia,” I replied.
Chapter Five
It was time to get back to the wagons. They were pretty close now. Amelia and I were both hungry; we had delayed our journey back to the road and spent time tattooing. Now we were both keen to get on the move.
“It’s dark away from the fire,” said Amelia, looking up at the sky.
“Yes, but there’s a good moon. Come on, it’s not far. Your eyes will adjust. Anyway, there might be more monsters about. We don’t want to attract too much attention if we can avoid it.”
We carefully extinguished our fire by piling loose earth over the embers, then we gathered up our few belongings and headed out, taking a bearing from the position of the north star.
When we got out of the hollow where we had sat and done our tattooing, we found that the land sloped steadily downward. The bright moon hung low in the sky, casting inky shadows across the swaying grasses. Amelia and I moved silently through the forest toward the road, and I noticed that she stuck close to me, glancing nervously around at the shadows. Less than half an hour had passed when we found ourselves looking down on the dark shapes of the slavers’ wagons by the side of the broad road.
“No sign of anything having been disturbed,” I said quietly to Amelia. “Let’s go down.”
There was no sign of the oxen which had drawn the carts. A quick examination of the dangling harnesses showed that the animals had kicked their way out of their reins and wandered off into the woods on the other side of the path.
“Probably long gone now,” I said. “Good luck to them, I guess.”
The slavers had moved the wagons to the side of the road before heading into the woods after us. In one, the body of Boris still lay face down in a pool of congealed blood. I wanted nothing more to do with him, but I grabbed Amelia’s white fur cloak from the seat where Boris had been using it as a cushion.
Amelia had raided the other wagon.
“My cloak!” she said, reaching out to take it from me. “Thank you!”
She was clutching a rough canvas sack, but she put it down as she snugged the cloak round herself. “I put everything that might be of use into that sack,” she said. “Some food, a bottle of wine, some water skins, some simple tools and a few gold coins. There was a fire-lighting kit, too, and I grabbed it even though I guess we don’t need it. It’ll also be useful for carrying my spellbook. You want to have a look in the wagon for yourself?”
“I trust you to have found everything of use,” I said, smiling. I glanced around. “Let’s go back under the cover of the trees. I don’t want to sit beside the road and eat; it doesn’t feel safe. If people came along and found us sitting beside a wagon with the body of a dead slaver lying in it, they might have awkward questions to ask. Come on, I’ll take the sack.”
The canvas sack Amelia had filled felt promisingly heavy as I slung it over my shoulder. Wrapped in her white fur cloak, Amelia followed me back under the shade of the trees. We walked away from the road for a few minutes, then I heard something.
“Running water!” I said. “There must be a stream nearby.”
Ten minutes
