“A totem? What kind of totem?”
“That’s up to you,” Rey said. “It will take shape according to how you view objects of power.” Rey looked at the keepsaker. “In this case, small objects of power.”
“So it could be anything?”
“It’s usually something from your memory, and wearable,” Rey answered. “Something that made an impression on you and remains with you, even to this day.”
“That could be anything,” I said. “Especially after meeting Monty.”
“It could be, but it won’t be.”
“Good thing that’s not cryptic at all,” I said with a glare.“That’s all well and good, but why am I going through this?”
“Wow, that’s a whole other subject we really can’t get into right now.”
“Are you going to tell me we don’t have time?”
“Yes and no,” Rey said, with a crooked smile. “I can’t tell you, but I can help you open this”—he pointed to the keepsaker—“and that will set you on the path to answers. Fair enough?”
I nodded.
“Fair enough,” I said. “How do I open it?”
“First things first. TESTs have a limited amount of uses,” Rey said. “It depends on your current level of power, and how far off alignment your signature is currently operating.”
“That, I kind of understand.”
“Okay, good,” Rey said. “The next part is not so fun…the initial adjustment period kind of hurts. The greater the amount of uses, the greater the pain. There’s always a cost.”
“Hurts how?”
“Try opening the box.”
“I tried this a few times before. I got nothing, except nearly spraining my wrists.”
“Try opening it the same way you created the sphere of power a little while ago,” Rey coaxed. “Focus the energy with your mind and into the box.”
I tried to focus energy into the keepsaker, picturing energy flowing from me into the palm of my hand…nothing.
“It’s not working.”
“I think I see the problem,” Rey said with a nod. “You’re not a mage.”
“Oh, is that all?” I said, frustrated. “I could’ve saved you all this trouble.”
“No, no, no,” Rey said, raising a hand. “Hear me out. Mages are foci for the energy they manipulate, which is why they don’t use wands or staves or other methods of focus. The mage is the focus. With me so far?”
“Yes,” I said, remembering when Monty had to use a focus during his shift. “I follow you.”
“Good,” Rey continued. “Since you aren’t a mage, you can’t think of yourself as the focus—you have to go beyond. This is both easier and harder. You can be both weaker and stronger over time.”
“Beyond, how?”
“Instead of viewing yourself as the source of energy—which mages do with their will, by spooling energy into their bodies and then tapping into it—you have to invert that thought process. The source of energy is all around you; all you’re doing is aligning to the flow and channeling it, not storing it in your body.”
“Easier and harder…? More on the harder side, I think,” I said. “Are you sure you didn’t study with Professor Ziller?”
“I’ll tell you a secret,” Rey said, looking back at where Sid stood. “Ziller was one of the few mages to ever make it through the Lead Designer novice program.”
“Novice…program? Professor Ziller?”
“Yes, Sid even invited him to take the intermediate level in a few centuries, when he matured more.”
“That is staggeringly mind-blowing on levels I can’t even voice.”
“I know,” Rey said. “Ready to try again?”
“The whole energy concept is throwing me off.”
“Think of it like the ocean,” Rey said. “A mage is a container and can carry the water with him wherever he goes. You, not being a mage, have to stay in the water and splash it where you want it to go. Is that easier to grasp?”
“Somewhat,” I said. “I need to tap into the energy all around me and then direct it?”
“You’ve done it a few times already,” Rey said. “Much to our surprise. Now you have to be intentional, not reactive. Precise, not scattershot.”
I let my senses expand and felt the energy around me. I nudged the energy to the keepsaker in my hand, and felt it wrap itself around the box. I felt it shift in my hand and open slightly.
“There you go,” Rey said with a nod of approval. “Remember what I said about the cost? When you put on the TEST, you won’t be able to remove it until it’s exhausted, or…”
He paused.
“Or?”
“Or you’re killed. Which for you would be quite difficult, considering your curse.”
“How bad is it?”
“Try to recall the worst pain you’ve ever felt,” he said. “Got it?”
“Yes,” I said, recalling some of my most agonizing moments. “That bad?”
“That’s where you begin,” Rey said with a nod. “Make sure you’re safe before you put it on. It can take you out of play for a bit.”
“I opened it,” I said, looking down at the keepsaker. “Does this mean the box is open out there?”
“Out where?” Rey asked. “This isn’t a dream. This is the same effect as you pressing your mark and briefly stepping out of time. This is still you…the corporeal you. Only this time, I pulled you out of the timestream.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“It’s what Sid does,” Rey said. “I’m just on loan at his request. TRIO usually takes a more…surgical approach to temporal entanglements.”
“A surgical approach? Like?”
“If we find an abrupt deviation in a timestream, we cap it, and move to a parallel stream with relocations.”
“Why does that sound devastatingly painful and lethal?”
“Because it is,” Rey said, his expression grim. “We don’t waste time.”
“You think he’s wasting time?”
“With you? No,” Rey said. “But we don’t really understand Lead Designers, anyway. We basically stay out of their way and do as they request.”
“How strong is he?” I asked as we headed back to where Sid stood. “Is he stronger than an Arch Mage?”
“Lead Designers like him, because of their exposure to the timestreams, eventually become embodiments of Time…capital T,” Rey said. “What do you think?”
“Much, much stronger than any Arch
