“You’re late,” my granduncle said when I finally arrived, huffing and puffing. “Today we are going to try something different.”
I hoped I would finally learn some real magic. All I had learned so far was to stare at a candle without blinking.
He offered me a comfortable chair opposite him. “Now close your eyes and push away stray thoughts. Make your mind blank.”
I did as I was told. The concentration lessons had helped; I was getting much better at it.
“Concentrate inside yourself. There is a power within you that lies dormant. It needs to be controlled, and you can only do that if you identify it. You must separate your mage powers from the fae part. Your mage magic is like a ball of blue-tinged white light that resides within you.”
I tried to do what he said, but there was nothing: no white light, not even a flicker. I tried again. Still nothing. My concentration broke, and my thoughts whirled around in my head like a runaway carousel.
“Maybe I should take off the amulet?”
Uncle Gabriel frowned. “No. I would prefer you to do this with your amulet on. Your powers are not bound, they are only diminished in intensity and kept in control. Later, when you know how to summon it at will, then you may take off the amulet. Let’s try it again, shall we?”
I nodded.
He made me try it again, and again, and again, but there was still no sign of any magic. I was getting frustrated; nothing was happening.
“Don’t have any doubts.” Uncle Gabriel seemed to read my mind. “You have to believe you can do this. You do have the power within you. Your heritage is one of the greatest in magical history. You have the gift. I’m quite sure of that.”
I tried again. Stray thoughts still buzzed in my mind, and I tried to brush them away like bothersome flies. What if it took years to learn magic?
I finally managed to push away the doubts and concentrated hard inside myself, where Uncle Gabriel had said the source of my power lay dormant, waiting.
I looked inside, quiet in the darkness, silent.
Then, suddenly, there it was. I could see it in my mind’s eye, a tiny, blue-white light; it was small, but it was there, and it was steadily growing brighter. I could feel a tingling in my body, as if the light were coursing through my veins. I could feel the power moving within me, and the pressure started increasing in my chest. But as I concentrated on the light, the pressure ebbed, and the magic flowed through my veins. I felt strong, full of energy, full of hope, as if anything were possible.
I opened my eyes, and a small ball of light flickered in my hand for a moment, then fizzled out. It was but an instant, a glimpse, a touch. But it was real; it was there.
“Very good,” said Uncle Gabriel, smiling broadly. “Very good, Aurora!”
“What was that?” was all I could say. I was shocked and elated at the same time. I had definitely done something, and this time it was without removing my amulet.
“That was mage light. You need to concentrate on practicing to make it glow brightly and steadily in your palm. But remember”—he pointed a finger at me—“our powers are not limitless. When you use your power, skill, or gift—whatever you want to call it—you deplete your power source, and it takes a while to rejuvenate itself. That is why you must remember to be very careful. If you try to do something that will take more power than you can generate, your body will not be able to handle the pressure and you could die.”
My eyes widened in dismay. “Die! You can’t be serious.”
“I am very serious, and you should be too. The power that you have is not something to be used for mere play and tricks or mundane things that you are too lazy to do the hard way.”
I hung on his every word. I didn’t want to make a silly mistake and kill myself just because I didn’t know what I was doing.
“I want you to practice being in touch with the power source within yourself. Then, tomorrow, we can begin using it. I think we will start with shielding. Learning to defend yourself is now your first priority.”
I grinned at my granduncle. Finally, I would learn to use magic!
The next day Uncle Gabriel had a new lesson plan. Learning shielding was not as difficult as I imagined it would be, but it was definitely not pleasant.
“We will start with small, nonmagical attacks first,” said Uncle Gabriel. “It’s far easier to shield yourself from anything nonmagical than it is to shield yourself against a magical strike. Remember, a shield can only protect you from magical strikes and flying weapons, like arrows, but it will not protect you from a person.” He paused. “For instance, if someone approached to hit you or strike you with a sword, a magical shield would not help. You also have to learn to defend yourself the ordinary way.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. I was tall at sixteen, but I was thin and not very good in a fight. I considered learning how to use a bow and arrow. It sounded more me than whirling around with a huge sword that I probably couldn’t even pick up. “What’s a magical strike? Is that what you call the bolts of light mages shoot from their hands?”
Uncle Gabriel nodded. “Yes. You will learn how to perform magical strikes soon enough. But first you must get used to putting up a shield. It should come as second nature to you.” Before he finished talking, he started throwing nuts at me, one at a time.
“Hey!” I said as the nuts bounced off my head, my chin, my cheeks. I put up my arms to shield my face.
He smiled. “Getting angry won’t solve your problem,
