The Consumption of Magic (Tales From Verania 3)

They weren’t alone in this.

I took my place on Morgan’s other side, putting my hand on his shoulder, mirroring Randall. I swallowed thickly at the thrum of energy under my fingers. It was distinctly Morgan, with bright flashes of Randall running through it, but it was different. Bigger, somehow. And it felt far, far older than Morgan’s magic ever had.

They both looked over at me in surprise.

I grinned at them and shrugged. “I wanted to be one of the cool kids, I guess. It’s not every day that Randall gets all touchy-feely. Of course I’m gonna get in on this shit. Oh, and by the way, Randall, I’m giving you so much crap for this later. And maybe even a hug, if I think you won’t make my insides go on my outside.”

“No promises,” Randall warned.

“Good!” I said cheerfully. “Now that that’s squared away, what say we kill this motherfucking fire bullshit and then go kick some ass?”

“Sam—”

I shook my head at Morgan. “It’s not just you two anymore. Not with this. Not with him.”

They both looked shocked.

I was rather pleased with myself for that. “Just… we’ll figure it out, okay? But later. Let’s get rid of this thing before it gets out of control. You know Mama would murder us if her office went up in flames. And in case you hadn’t noticed, there’s at least a dozen of those little bombs shoved in the shelves over there.”

“That motherfucker,” Mama growled. “Sam, part of your magic had better be bringing things back to life, because I am going to murder him.”

And that—

My skin started to buzz—

Everything stuttered a little bit after that, didn’t it?

Because I could do that. If I wanted to. If I thought hard enough.

Couldn’t I?

Randall looked at me sharply as I took in a—

(The colors whirled around me, a spinning corona of light that pooled between my cupped hands, so bright I almost had to look away. It began to cascade downward, like a waterfall, the drops of light spreading along the ground, pulsating slowly. The forest faded around me. The sky above darkened. Everything else faded away.

I thought, It isn’t fair.

And then something hooked itself into my head and heart and pul

led.

The air sizzled around me.

The lights grew brighter, and I had to—

There was a flutter of wings against my palm, the barest of touches as the bird came back to life.

I took in a—)

(And there I was, standing in the throne room, my beloved on a stone slab, eyes closed, skin pale, and he was young, and I closed my eyes and opened them and then he was old, and it didn’t matter, because I would lose him, one way or another. The star dragon had told me there would be loss, Vadoma had shown me the same, and either Ryan would fall at the hands of an enemy or he would be pulled away by the hands of Death when he was old and gray, and I would be stuck here, young and almost immortal, watching almost everyone I loved dying around me while I survived.

I thought, It isn’t fair.

It isn’t fair.

It isn’t fair.

But it wouldn’t have to stay that way, would it? Because I had brought the bird back. I’d brought it back, and all it’d taken was the life of the earth around me, the trees and the grass. They’d been blackened, but it’d been a small price to pay for a life, and it would take more, sure, it would probably take a lot more, but it’d be worth it. Even if I blackened the whole of Verania, it’d be worth it because he would be at my side. No matter how many times he passed through the veil, I could call him back again and again and again.