“Yes, sir,” Ari said.
“Good. I think it’s time to have a talk with the Cartel’s Master Gardener.” He listed a number of questions they’d need to ask. “Think you can handle it?”
“Is sand the most horrid stuff in the world?” Janco asked.
Ari swatted his partner on the shoulder. “He means yes. We can. What’s our timeline?”
“Be back here in nine days.”
“Got it.”
“Am I going with them?” Teegan asked.
“No.” Valek glanced at Yelena. “You’re going to work with me.”
* * *
The next day, Ari and Janco set off for their mission. Valek and Teegan rode Onyx and Kiki through the woods north of Longleaf while Yelena remained in town. The scent of pine increased as the air warmed. Birds darted between limbs, cutting through the shafts of sunlight that speared the tree canopy.
When Teegan thought they were far enough away from the magicians at the garrison, they stopped and dismounted.
“What can you do?” Teegan asked.
“I can heal and communicate with other magicians.” He described what had happened with the soldiers.
“Not a flameout,” Teegan said. “You would have been unconscious for longer than a few minutes. Remember when you healed Leif? You were asleep for days afterward.”
True. “Then what was that?”
“You probably overloaded their minds, and they passed out. If you’d knocked them down, they would have been conscious. But we’ll soon discover the extent of your abilities. What do you want to start with first?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“All right.” The boy searched the ground and picked up a thin branch. “Let’s see if you can start a fire.” He held it up. “Concentrate and direct your magic at this. Think heat and fire. I have to get a little angry at it for it to work for me.” Teegan furrowed his brow. Flames erupted on the end of the stick. He extinguished it. “Your turn.”
Valek dropped his mental shields. Gathering a thread of power, he aimed it at the branch as Teegan instructed. Nothing happened.
“Try again. It took me a couple times. Think of Bruns. That might help to inflame you.” Teegan chuckled.
Fueling his magic with rage, he hurled the power. Nothing. Not even a wisp of smoke. A third, fourth and fifth effort had the same results.
“That’s a no for fire. Let’s see if you can move the branch. Using magic is all the same, really. It’s an invisible force that you can manipulate... Well, that’s how I imagine it, anyway. To move an object, I picture the magic in the shape of a hand and reach out and—” the stick flew from Valek’s fingers to Teegan’s “—take what I want.” He grinned. “Your turn.”
Valek envisioned a hand, a spoon, shovel, pitchfork and a strong wind, all to no avail. The branch stayed put, but a wave of weakness crashed into him. He leaned against a tree to keep from falling over.
“And that’s a no for moving objects.” Teegan dug into his pocket, withdrew a small paper bag and tipped a piece of hard candy onto his palm. “Here, this will help.”
The sweet taste of strawberries filled Valek’s mouth as he sucked on it. After a few minutes, he felt better.
“Okay. Let’s see if you can influence me.” He gave Valek a cocky grin. “I’ll let my defenses down. It’s similar to reading a person’s thoughts, except you’re taking over, giving the orders, and they have to follow them. Just don’t have me jumping around like an idiot.”
Connecting with Teegan’s mind was almost second nature for Valek—a scary prospect. The boy’s curiosity dominated.
You’re sending too much magic, Teegan thought. Use the same touch as if you were sneaking into someone’s room to assassinate him.
Valek adjusted the flow.
Better. Now, let’s see what you’ve got, Teegan challenged.
One thing Valek excelled at was giving orders. Sit down.
The boy plopped onto his butt, surprising them both.
Keep going, Teegan encouraged him.
Hands up.
Stand.
Come here.
Teegan obeyed each command.
Now I’m going to resist. Let’s see how strong you are.
Jump around like an idiot.
The boy grinned but didn’t move.
Valek increased the pressure, but Teegan’s feet stayed on the ground. Valek ramped it up a bit more. Still no response, but the boy’s cheeky demeanor disappeared as he concentrated on countering the order. With a final burst of energy, Valek threw everything he had at Teegan. Nothing.
Sagging with exhaustion, Valek sank to the ground.
Teegan breathed in deep, wiping sweat from his brow. “That was impressive. Not master-level strength, but I doubt there are many magicians who could withstand that.” He pulled a water skin off Onyx’s saddle, gulped down a few mouthfuls and handed it to Valek.
“Thanks.” The cold water soothed his throat.
“Most magicians have one skill that dominates and maybe a couple others, but those aren’t as strong. Like Aunt Yelena has...had...the Soulfinding thing. If she told me to jump, I couldn’t resist her. Not even Master Bain can. And then she can heal...in a strange way, but it works. But that’s it. I’m guessing your major thing is going to be influencing others, but we’ll see.” Teegan studied Valek. “I think that’s enough for today. We can try again tomorrow.”
“I just need a few more minutes, and I’ll be ready for more.”
“Oh, no. I’ve strict orders.”
Ah. He had Yelena to thank for that. But she was right to limit their session, because by the time they returned to the tailor shop, it took every bit of his energy just to climb the stairs and collapse onto the bed.
The next morning, Yelena wouldn’t let him work with Teegan. He had to promise to eat a hearty breakfast, or she would have refused to let him get out of bed. Not that he minded a day in bed as long as Yelena joined him, but her stubborn gaze froze all his desire.
“You’re whiter than the Citadel’s walls,” she said in that tone. “You’re rushing your recovery and will wind up having a relapse if you’re not careful.”
He pouted until she agreed to at least snuggle with him. A small but crucial victory—he always slept better with her in his arms.
Finally allowed to do more experiments, Valek and Teegan traveled to the clearing the next day. They worked for a few hours but were unable to discover any more of Valek’s talents.
“Try calling the wind,” Teegan said. “You might be half Stormdancer, like Zee and Zo.”
An interesting thought. Valek reached for the...air. Unlike with living creatures, he couldn’t make a connection. Water, too, proved to be unresponsive.
“What about null shields?” he asked.
Valek stilled. “What about them?”
Most of Valek’s friends would have recognized the warning tone, but Teegan failed to heed it. “You obviously created one when you became immune to magic. I can teach you how—”
“No.” Just the thought of them turned Valek’s blood to ice.
“But it could—”
“We have plenty of other people who can create them.” Valek stared at the boy. The subject was closed.
Teegan, however, refused to drop it. “We do. To me, magical abilities are like weapons. The more talents you have, the bigger your arsenal.” He gestured at Valek. “As an assassin, you have quite the variety of weapons at your disposal. But I’m sure you wouldn’t refuse to add another just in case you need it.”
Boy genius indeed.
“What if I end up...stabbing myself?” And grafting the blasted thing onto his soul again.
“You won’t. You have control of your magic now.” Sensing a change in Valek’s opinion, Teegan continued, “I’ll link with you to ensure you don’t.”
“You’re going to make a heck of a Master Magician,” Valek said.
Teegan’s face lit up at the compliment. “Does that mean you’ll try?”
“Yes, but I’m not happy about it.”
“An understatement,” Teegan muttered. “All right.” He explained how to build the shield.
The steps reminded Valek of the fishing nets he’d helped repair on the coast of MD-1. First he wove a web of magic threads coated with...oil was the only way he could describe it. The oil repelled magic. Then he tightened the strands until they formed a sheet, which could be shaped into anything. Valek’s napkin-folding skills transferred over to creating shields. By the end of the afternoon, Valek had it down and even managed to impress the boy genius.
“That’s all for today, or Aunt Yelena is gonna kill me.”
An exaggeration, but Yelena did insist Valek take another day off, which became a pattern—one day of rest, followed by a work day.
On the sixth day, Teegan said, “I think we’ve explored all the magic talents that I know. We could test the extent of your skills with mental communication. You might be a Story Weaver.”
Doubtful. “Will that help me when I’m fighting Owen?”
“Not unless you want to heal his mental anguish.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll be causing him anguish.” And pain and death. His fingers twitched at the thought. “We can determine that later.” Valek mulled over his plans for stopping the Cartel. “Let’s see if the two of us can reach Bain from here.”
“All right.” Teegan grasped his hand.
The boy’s power surged northwest, seeking Bain. His ability to bypass all the other people along the route impressed Valek. He would have skimmed their thoughts, looking for the master magician.
Reading his thoughts, Teegan said, “Master Bain and I have linked before. It’s super easy to find someone once you’ve done that. It’s like spotting a yellow dandelion in a grassy field.”