Finally, she pulled her mouth away from Rave’s. Keeping her legs around his waist, she locked her hands behind his neck and leaned back so she could look at him.

  “Whew. I could do this all day. But….”

  “But we came out here for you to practice your magic,” Rave said, finishing Leesa’s thought.

  “Yeah,” she agreed. “It is kind of important. Not that kissing you isn’t important,” she added quickly.

  Rave nodded solemnly. “I understand completely. Magic is important.” His serious expression turned into a grin. “I was getting a little tired of kissing you, anyhow.”

  Leesa punched him playfully on the shoulder. “You were not! You like it just as much as I do.”

  Rave’s grin widened. “Maybe I do. And maybe I….”

  Leesa put her hand over Rave’s mouth, cutting him off. “You’d better not finish that sentence if you know what’s good for you, mister.” Her smile showed she was not at all annoyed. She unwrapped her legs from around Rave’s waist, and he lowered her to the ground.

  Rave returned to his perch on the log so Leesa could resume her practicing. She knew what spell she wanted to work on most. It was one that could be critically important in the future, but one she had never yet performed successfully. There were a few things she needed to do before trying again.

  She turned toward the stream and fastened her gaze upon a small brown boulder the size of a bowling ball. Using her telekinesis, she lifted the rock from the water and floated it across the clearing. She let it land softly a few feet in front of her.

  Next, she looked down at a scraggly weed poking up from the ground near where the rock had settled.

  Blitha egras sumuss, she thought, chanting the plant growth spell inside her head as she pictured the weed growing taller and sprouting new leaves. The plant began to grow. In less than ten seconds, it had nearly tripled in height and bore twice as many slender leaves.

  Leesa was unimpressed with her success. This was one of the very first spells Dominic had taught her and one she had performed many times. Still, it was a good warm-up for what was to come next.

  She took a couple of deep breaths to help center herself and then stared down at the rock.

  “Blitha morun sumuss,” she chanted aloud while trying to visualize the stone becoming twice as large.

  Nothing happened—which was exactly what had occurred every other time she tried this spell. She forced down her disappointment. Negative thoughts only got in the way, Dominic had drilled into her.

  She didn’t need to look inside her book of magic to know she was using the proper incantation—she had read the section at least a dozen times. The middle word in the spell determined whether the magic would make a living thing like a plant or flower grow or cause an inanimate object like a rock to become larger. She had no trouble doing the former, but so far had been unable to make even a start at the latter. She was certain Dominic would have been able to tell her why, but Dominic was not here. She needed to figure this one out on her own. But where to start?

  A flutter of wings above her drew her attention. She looked up, smiling when she saw a large brown and white owl descending gracefully to the ground. As soon as it landed, a bright silver flash engulfed the bird. A moment later, Jenna stood where the owl had been.

  7. A SACK OF WHEAT

  JENNA SMILED AT LEESA. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

  Leesa moved forward and gave Jenna a hug.

  “Nothing successful,” she said, allowing a bit of frustration to leak out in her voice. “It’s good to see you, Jenna.”

  “I was flying nearby and sensed your magic, so I thought I’d drop by to see if I could be of any help.” Jenna turned to Rave and nodded. “Hi, Rave.”

  “Hello, Jenna. It’s nice to see you again.”

  It definitely was nice to see her, Leesa thought. She was always glad to have Jenna around when she practiced. With Dominic gone, the witch was the closest thing she had to a magical mentor. Even though wizard and witch magic were very different, some general tenets of magic held for both. Leesa hoped Jenna might have some ideas about why she was struggling with this growth spell thing.

  “Your timing is actually very good,” Leesa said to Jenna.

  Jenna glanced toward the boulder in the center of the stream.

  “I see by the fresh holes that you’ve been blasting away at that thing.” She looked down at the smaller rock in front of Leesa, which was still wet at the bottom, telling her it had recently been brought there from the brook. “What are you trying to do with this one?”

  Leesa sighed. “I’m trying to make it grow. And I’m not having any luck.”

  Jenna smiled. “Why not just get a bigger one from the stream? There are plenty of them there.”

  Leesa couldn’t help smiling back. “I think you’re missing the point, Jenna. I don’t need a bigger rock—I need to learn how to make this one bigger. I’m trying to learn how to make non-living things grow larger.” She nudged the leafy weed she had made bloom just a few moments before with her toe. “This was a scraggly little thing a little while ago. I’m good with plants, but nothing else.”

  Jenna thought for a few seconds. “You’re certain you are using the correct spell?”

  “Absolutely. My magic book is quite clear.”

  “Could you be mispronouncing the spell then?”

  Leesa shook her head. “I doubt it. Only one word is different from the plant spell—‘morun.’ It’s a pretty simple word. I’ve pronounced it every way I can think of.”

  Jenna stroked her chin. It reminded Leesa of the way Dominic used to stroke his short beard when he was thinking.

  “Well, it must be something else then,” Jenna said. “What did Dominic tell you was the most important thing when trying to use a spell?”

  Leesa thought for a moment. Dominic had taught her so many things.

  “To visualize as clearly as I can exactly what I want to make happen,” she replied finally. “I’m trying to do that, but it’s not working.”

  Jenna nodded. “I think I might know why.” She squatted down and gently fingered one of the leaves on the weed Leesa had made grow. “Even though you’ve never actually seen a plant grow—it happens much too slowly—you instinctively know that they do grow, and you’ve seen them in all stages of their growth. So your visualization is positive and accurate, on both a conscious and unconscious level.” She straightened up. “The same can’t be said of a rock. You know for a fact that rocks like this DON’T grow. I think something in your subconscious is messing up your visualization.”

  Leesa thought about the witch’s words. They made sense. Unfortunately, they were also somewhat disheartening.

  “So what do I do about it? It’s pretty tough to control my subconscious.”

  Jenna smiled. “Yes, it is. But I think I may have an idea.” She bent down and cupped her hands over the front of the rock. “Watch closely. Keep your eyes on the rock, not on my hands.”

  Jenna closed her eyes and began making a series of movements with her hands and fingers over the stone. Leesa kept her eyes fastened on the rock, not letting herself get distracted by Jenna’s gestures. Rave got up off the log and moved closer, wanting a better view of whatever was about to happen.

  Slowly, the rock began to grow. At first, Leesa wasn’t sure she was actually seeing what she thought she was seeing, but soon there was no doubt. The stone became fifty percent bigger and continued to grow. When it was twice as large as it had been, Jenna stopped moving her hands and opened her eyes. She stood up.

  “I don’t believe it!” Leesa exclaimed. “You made it grow. I didn’t know witches had this same power.”

  “Well, not exactly,” Jenna said. “Go ahead, touch it.”

  Leesa bent down and tried to lay her hand upon the top of the rock. To her surprise, her palm passed right through the stone. As soon as it did, the rock reverted to its former size. Leesa looked up at Jenna, a perplexed look on her face.

  “I don’t understand. What happened?”

  “I don’t have the power to make rocks grow,” Jenna explained. “That’s not a witch power. But we’re very good with illusions. I simply made the rock appear to grow. When your hand discovered the rock was not really what it seemed, the illusion fell apart.”

  Leesa straightened up. “I think I understand. But how does this help me? I don’t want to learn how to make illusions. I need to figure out how to make the darn thing grow for real.”

  Jenna’s lips curved into a patient smile. “Think about what we were discussing before I created the illusion.”

  Leesa thought back. They had been talking about her subconscious getting in the way, about how she instinctively knew rocks did not grow. She frowned—there had to be more to it than that. She looked at Jenna, who was watching her silently.

  “You said my subconscious was probably messing me up,” Leesa said. “How is your illusion supposed to help that?”

  “Think about it,” Jenna replied. “What problem was your subconscious causing?”

  “We thought it might be keeping me from properly visualizing what I wanted,” Leesa said. Suddenly, her face brightened. She had it—she hoped.

  “You showed me the illusion of the stone growing so that I could visualize it,” she said. “My conscious mind and my subconscious have now seen a rock grow, even if it was only an illusion. Maybe I can visualize it better now!”

  Jenna nodded. “Exactly. But don’t get too excited now; don’t get your hopes up too high. It’s still going to be a difficult task, but I think you will eventually get it.”

  Leesa couldn’t wait to try. Using the same rock she had just seen appear to grow would certainly be the best place to start. If she didn’t manage to do it successfully today, she’d just keep trying. And she would keep trying with this same blasted rock.

  She looked at Rave. “If this doesn’t work today, I hope you’re ready to cart this rock around with us until I succeed,” she said, smiling.

  Rave grinned. “Of course, my dear. If it made you happy, I’d carry that big boulder in the center of the stream home.”

  Leesa rose up onto her toes and kissed Rave on the cheek. She looked at Jenna.

  “It’s very handy to have such a big strong husband,” she said. “Now back up, you two. I want to give this a try.”

  Rave and Jenna moved a few steps back. Leesa focused her concentration on the rock, visualizing it growing the way she had just seen.

  “Blitha morun sumuss,” she intoned. “Blitha morun sumuss.”

  Nothing happened. The stone remained unchanged.

  Leesa tried to force down her disappointment. Failure thoughts only made magic more difficult, Dominic had pounded into her again and again. Jenna had told her not to expect immediate success, and the witch had been right.

  Leesa looked up at Jenna and Rave. “Don’t worry. I’m not giving up. I’ll lick this spell eventually.”

  Rave smiled. “I have no doubt that you will.”

  For the next hour, Leesa continued trying to make the rock grow. She interspersed her attempts with performing other spells she had already mastered, to give herself plenty of positive feelings. Finally, though, she had to concede that “eventually” was going to happen on some other day.

  She looked up from the stubborn rock. “I think that’s enough for today. I’m running out of energy—I think any further effort’s only going to be counterproductive.”

  “That’s probably wise,” Jenna agreed. “Too much is usually exactly that—too much.”

  “Thanks for your help. I think it’s going to make the difference eventually. Just not today, unfortunately.”

  Jenna smiled. “I’m sure it will.” She edged a couple of steps away from Rave. “I guess I’ll be on my way, then. Goodbye to both of you, for now, anyway.”

  A silver flash enveloped her body. When it ended, her owl form soared slowly up into the sky, circling once in a sort of farewell gesture before flying away to the east over the treetops.

  Rave bent down and scooped up the heavy stone, holding it easily in his left hand. Leesa suddenly realized that with one of Rave’s hands occupied with the rock, he wasn’t going to be able to cradle her in his arms the way he usually did when he carried her. She wondered how he planned on doing carrying them both. She wished he had a pack on his back to hold the stone. Then he would still have both arms free for her. She wasn’t about to leave the rock behind, though. This was the one she had seen “grow,” so this was the one she was going to continue practicing on.

  “How are you planning on carrying me now?” she asked.

  Rave smiled and held out his free hand in a sort of half circle. “Over my shoulder?” he suggested.

  Leesa didn’t like the picture that engendered. “No way,” she said adamantly. “You are not carrying me like a sack of wheat.”

  Rave shrugged. “I’m open to suggestions. If YOU held the stone I could carry you like usual. But it’s pretty heavy.”

  It was heavy, Leesa knew—too heavy for her to carry for any extended length of time. But she was a wizard. She didn’t have to physically carry it, at least not until they got much closer to the volkaane village, where she couldn’t risk employing her magic.

  Using her telekinesis, she plucked the rock from Rave’s grasp and floated it across to her. She grabbed it in both hands. It was awfully heavy, but she had another answer for that. She uttered her levitation spell. As she rose up off the ground, the rock became as weightless as she was.

  Rave grinned when he realized what Leesa had done.

  “Don’t just stand there gawking, handsome,” Leesa said. “Grab me before I float away.”

  Rave wrapped his arms around her and drew her to his chest. Leesa only needed one hand to hold the stone, so she circled her free arm around behind his neck.

  “Much better,” she said, leaning her check contentedly against his chest. “Now let’s go home.”

  8. BREAKTHROUGH!

  SEVERAL WEEKS PASSED. The child inside Leesa continued to grow. Now when she focused her concentration inward, she could clearly sense the boy’s aura. The energy pulsed in a light, almost yellowish green hue, telling her for certain now that he would possess at least some of Rave’s volkaane magic as well as her own. The yellow tinge to the color made her think the waziri magic was probably the stronger of the two, but only time would tell. How the two magics would interact was an even bigger mystery.

  She had not yet visited a doctor—in fact, she wasn’t sure if she ever would. She had no idea what kind of readings the magical child in her belly might trigger during any physical exam, but she was pretty sure they would not be normal. And anything abnormal would cause the medical people to worry, which would probably result in more tests and still more abnormal readings. It could be a vicious cycle with no real end unless she admitted to the magic, which she was not about to do. She knew from her bond with her unborn son that he was perfectly healthy—as long as he stayed that way, she saw no need for any care or tests that would cause more questions than answers. Volkaane females had been delivering babies for ages without any medical care; she was confident she could do the same. As long as Rave was beside her holding her hand, she felt like she could do anything.

  She continued to practice her magic every day. Today, she and Rave had journeyed into the forest to the east of the volkaane settlement, to a small hilltop clearing that provided cover yet still let them enjoy the warmth of the autumn sun. As usual, Leesa had levitated herself and the stone, allowing Rave’s arms to remain free to carry her. All that practice had the added benefit of helping her to get really good at the levitation spell.

  Once a week or so, usually on the weekend, Cali joined them so she could continue to work on using the energy beam magic. Today was going to be one of those days. Cali was getting better and better at aiming and maintaining a beam, all the while increasing the distance from Leesa at which she could still draw on Leesa’s magic. Cali still needed to be near, but now could stand four or five feet away. Leesa was happy to see her friend’s progress—you never knew when having another sidekick with some magic might come in handy. It had certainly come in handy in the final battle against the Necromancer’s zombie hordes. In addition, Leesa had not given up on the idea of someday imparting her magic to Cali the way the waziri used to bestow their magic upon a chosen young boy. That day, if it ever happened, was probably still far in the future.

  Cali didn’t care about any of that. She thought it was cool to be performing magic of any kind, and the more she did it, the closer she felt to Leesa.

  Leesa had been warming up for a couple of minutes when Rave suddenly turned his head back down the hill.

  “Cali’s here,” he said.

  Leesa hadn’t heard a thing, but she knew that Rave’s volkaane ears must have picked up the double car horn blast that was Cali’s signal she had driven as close as she could.

  “Go ahead and get her,” Leesa said. “We don’t want her climbing all the way up here on her own.”

  Rave nodded, then spun away and raced down the wooded hillside.

  Cali was waiting for him with a big smile on her face.

  “I see my taxi has arrived,” she said.

  Rave returned her smile and bowed slightly. “At your service, ma’am.”

  Cali hopped up into his arms, and Rave began racing up the hillside. As the wind blew through her hair and Rave’s heat seeped into her body, it was easy for Cali to see why Leesa never grew tired of being carried like this. Cali thought it would probably even be worth giving up her car to travel like this every day.

  “Don’t tell Leesa,” she said, “but I like this part almost as much firing magical energy blasts.”

 

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