“I don’t know how!” Cheyenne’s hands flew up in front of her face in frustration. An orb of black energy burst from between them and headed for the pen in her professor’s hand.
The fingers of Mattie’s other hand twitched in a small, hidden gesture, and the halfling’s magic orb froze a hair’s breadth away from the pen. The professor smiled at the magic hissing and crackling in a churning mass in front of her, then she flicked her gaze toward Cheyenne and stared at the half-drow with narrowed eyes. “I think you do.”
Cheyenne released a breath through her clenched teeth. Her nostrils flared. “When I’m pissed off, yeah.”
“Good.” The pen dropped from Mattie’s hand and clattered to the desk. Her empty hand moved beneath the sparking black magic like she meant to grab it. Then her other hand, finger still twisted in command, passed over the top of the static orb. Her lips moved almost imperceptibly. Anyone else in the room wouldn’t have heard a thing, or maybe the barest whisper, yet Cheyenne’s drow hearing caught the entire spell.
Great. Sounds like magic has its own language too.
Mattie pressed her hands around her student’s unintended attack, and the black energy shrank between her palms. The purple sparks flaring inside grew brighter and more violent as the churning mass reduced in size until with a sharp pop, it disappeared. Mattie clenched her bottom hand into a fist and straightened behind her desk. “You know what you can do and how, Cheyenne. Looks like we need to work on the when and the why.”
When the professor flung her hand toward the half-drow, something dark flew, glinting under the light. Cheyenne moved without thinking and caught whatever it was.
Mattie grinned.
Still fighting against the tingling heat in her back and shoulders, Cheyenne forced herself to open her hand and look down at the metallic diamond shape in her palm, its four points elongated and thinned out to look like a star. “What is this?”
“Call it a souvenir.” Professor Bergmann nodded and stepped out from behind her desk. “And maybe a reminder not to attack your mentor when things get a little heated.”
“Time to drop the games, huh?” Cheyenne pocketed the four-pointed star, then folded her arms and tipped her head back to eye her professor. “You knew that would happen.”
“Perhaps. Just so you know, I rarely enjoy getting under someone’s skin on the off-chance they might cast a spell with really nasty side effects.”
“Sure, you don’t.”
“You almost blew my hand off. Granted, I was being an asshole on purpose.” Mattie pointed at the halfling. “Is that a smile?”
Cheyenne pretended to be a lot more interested in the degrees and plaques on the walls. “No.”
“Okay.” Rubbing her hands together, Mattie scanned her student and nodded. “Now we know what we’re working with.”
When Cheyenne realized why the other woman was looking at her like she was a plastic ball filled with catnip, she jerked her head down to see the dark gray-purple flesh of her drow heritage peeking out from the ends of her black sleeves. “Shit.”
Both hands flew to her hair, and she spun away from the professor so she wouldn’t have to look at the woman and feel for the points of her ears at the same time. She pulled her hair, which had now gone from High-Voltage-Raven-black to drow-bone-white, trying to cover the thing people saw first.
“I think we’re past the point of you trying to hide that from me.” Mattie chuckled and stepped toward her student. “You can stop.”
Cheyenne pressed both palms against her head and turned back around. “It’s everywhere, isn’t it?”
Her professor licked her lips, smiling, and gazed at the transformed halfling in front of her. “You look like a drow, all right. It’s a shame you hide that on this side. We all do, but you?” Mattie clicked her tongue, shook her head, and crossed her office again. “This is how we’re gonna start.”
“We’re gonna start.” Cheyenne dropped her hands from her head and glanced at their dark color again. “This goes away after a few minutes.”
“Well, find your angry place.”
“I just gotta let myself cool off— Wait, what?” Cheyenne blinked, opened her mouth, then shut it again. My angry place?
“Don’t cool off,” Mattie added. “I’m assuming you can feel it when you’re about to transform, right?”
With a snort, Cheyenne rolled her shoulders. “Like being set on fire. So, yeah. Kinda hard not to feel.”
“Hmm. Excellent. Stay in that place.”
“That’s not a good idea.”
Mattie wagged a finger at her student and circled her office, taking in every angle of the drow-presenting halfling. “It’s the best idea I’ve had all day. Before you can master keeping your drow blood down, you need to know how to ‘get it up,’ so to speak.” The woman chuckled and shrugged.
“Seriously?”
“It’s an accurate metaphor.”
“Not really.” Cheyenne stared at the ceiling, feeling the professor’s eyes on her as the other woman completed her circle of study.
Mattie stopped in front of the halfling and cocked her head. “I’m trying. Help me out a little. Oh, look at that!”
“What?” Another glance at her hands made Cheyenne reach up to feel the rounding points of her ears. She shook her head. “I told you, it goes away after a few minutes.”
“Okay. Bring it back.” Mattie’s eyes glinted. “Would it help if I slapped you?”
“It wouldn’t help you.”
“Maybe not. We’ll save that method for later. Right now, it’s time to work on making yourself angry.”
Cheyenne eyed her professor.
She’s insane. Maybe that’s what I need. “My angry place.”
“Your drow place. Or at least much closer to it. Go ahead. I’ll wait.” Once Mattie had taken a few steps back and folded her arms, the office fell silent.
“This is what fish in an aquarium feel like.” Cheyenne shook her head. “I wonder if they can get pissed on demand too.”
“You’re searching for the source of what drives your magic. Let’s start with… Oh. Don’t think
