When Falcon walked into the backyard, Julia was staring at a walnut-sized rock that was lying in the grass. She was focusing so hard that he almost expected lightning to shoot from her eyes. Hearing him approach, she started and whirled around suddenly.
He raised his hands. “Sorry.”
She sighed. “No, it’s fine.”
“What were you doing?”
She shrugged. “Seeing if I could do any of my spells without my hands.”
“Can you?”
Another sigh. “No.”
He nodded. “What about the new spells?”
“The frostbite is only touch, like the shock. But,” she added, smiling, “check this out.” She turned back toward the rock, took a deep breath, and focused. After a moment, she threw her hand out toward the stone, and a lightning bolt shot out from her palm. The rock shattered, and the grass around it singed.
Falcon grinned. “That’s seriously cool.”
“I know. The only problem is that it takes up a lot of mana.”
“Makes sense,” he told her. “It looks pretty powerful.” He put an arm around her when she moved to his side. “I think you’re a natural with magic.”
“Yeah?”
He kissed her. “Mm-hmm. I’ll remember to stay on your good side,” he teased. She elbowed him lightly in the ribs, and he chuckled. “Come on, we need to get inside before Tikki makes good on her promise to put an arrow in Cael’s face.”
She groaned. “They’re still not getting along?”
“No, and considering their views of each other, I don’t think I’ll be suggesting that match between them after all.”
“Good.” She sighed in relief. “It’s weird how she annoys him so much, though. Usually he’s so cool and calm.”
“I wouldn’t call it weird,” he said as they entered the house. “I’d call it hilarious.”
She shook her head, but smiled too.
In the dining room, everything was silent. Cael, looking as annoyed as he had when Falcon had left, sat at the head of the table near the back door. Lotus sat to his right, holding his hand and looking as happy as usual. Amiya sat next to her, looking serene. And Tikki, glaring―at no one in general at the moment―was on Badger’s shoulders; he stood against the far wall. The vaulted ceiling was very accommodating to their combined height of over ten feet. Jade was also not looking to be in a good mood, as he was being held and cheerfully petted by the large orc.
Julia laughed. “Badger, can you please put Jade down?”
He looked sad about it, but did as he was told, gently setting the cat on the floor. “Bye kitty,” he said in his deep, slow voice, and then stood back up. Tikki kept her balance easily, staying on his shoulders.
Jade darted from the room, causing Julia to laugh again. “He’s scared of Badger,” she whispered to Falcon.
He laughed, too. “Of all the people to be afraid of…”
She nodded as they sat across from Lotus and Amiya. “So, what’s on the agenda, boss?” Julia said teasingly to Cael, attempting to lighten his mood.
“I want to find out what everyone is capable of,” Cael answered. “It will help us strategize as we become aware of what we are up against. Do you want to start?”
“Lotus can.”
Julia never went first―Falcon knew that from the company meetings at Fletcher and Dunn. He had always hated those meetings. At least this one had a real purpose, one that didn’t include boring everyone to sleep with information they either already knew, or could have just been sent in a short e-mail.
Lotus had started naming off her spells when Julia put her hand in the air. Cael raised a brow at her, and Lotus drifted into silence. “Should I take notes?” Julia asked.
Falcon laughed before he could stop himself.
She turned to glare at him. “Why is that funny?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Sorry.”
“Notes?” Cael repeated.
“Yeah, write stuff down to remember it later.”
“I understand what notes are, but there will be no time to read them when we are fighting,” he pointed out.
She deflated. “Oh… right.”
Falcon put his hand on her leg, meaning to comfort her, but she pinched him. “You said it,” he whispered as Lotus continued her list of spells.
“You laughed,” Julia hissed back.
“Only because you’re cute,” he said, unable to help smiling even as she glared.
“Are you done?” Surprisingly, it was Lotus who said it, a slight edge in her voice.
They nodded. “Sorry.”
“Thanks, that’s annoying,” she replied calmly, then continued.
All of her spells were cast by a note or melody that was sung or played. She had some like the gold dust and the sound burst, but most had to do with inspiring things in people―bravery, fear, cunning, or despair. Other spells affected people more physically, like her sleep song. She also had a spell to charm people, which was overkill, in Falcon’s opinion.
All Amiya had was a healing spell, but it was a useful backup and she was set on coming anyway.
When Tikki was asked what her abilities were, she answered simply, “Tikki kick ass.”
Falcon and Julia laughed. “Seriously, she does.” Falcon told Cael.
“She’s also amazing at acrobatics,” Julia added. “I don’t think anyone could catch her, either.”
Cael nodded. “Are you a ranger?” he asked her, though he seemed to doubt it, given her obvious impatience. He was calmer toward her now, and Falcon guessed that Lotus was behind it. She was humming softly, and he wondered if she was using a calming spell. Even Tikki seemed a bit cooler than she had been earlier.
“Tikki gnome,” she told him.
“Do you speak to nature at all? Plants? Animals?” Cael asked.
She gave him an odd look. “Tikki speak to people. Things that talk,” she told him like he was stupid. “Tikki use bow and dagger to kill things Tikki not like.”
It could have been taken as a threat, but Cael said nothing of it. “How long have you been fighting?”
“Tikki always fight,” she said, puffing up her chest proudly.
“Self-taught?” Cael guessed.
“Yes.”
“Is that good?” Julia asked.
“Depends on who and what you are,” he answered. “For a savage like her, it is better to be self-taught.”
Both Julia and Falcon glanced at Tikki, worrying that she would take offense to being called a savage, but she seemed pleased with the label.
Cael turned his attention to Falcon, and then to Julia. Though he already knew what they were capable of, he wanted every person in their group to be familiar with everyone else's abilities. Finally, Cael listed his, then told them that they would leave the following morning, before first light. They would keep to the forest as they headed north to Port Vallyn; then, from there, they would take a boat to the volcano island.
After the meeting, everyone headed to the backyard to practice for a while―except for Amiya, whose practice was to pray, which she returned to the basement for.
“Julia,” Tikki said when they were outside. “Watch Badger. Tikki be back.”
Julia nodded, smiling at the show of trust.
“No fire magic,” Tikki instructed.
Julia blushed and nodded again.
Tikki stood and flipped down to the ground. She gave Badger a stern look. “Stay. Tikki mean it,” she told him. She ran across the yard, jumped onto the fence, then climbed up to a rooftop, then leapt on to another. She was off to check out a new kind of jungle.
Lotus walked up and held out a hand to the orc. “Will you come sit with me?” she asked him. He took her delicate hand, which was tiny in his own, and she led the way to the side of the yard. “Cael, make a flower bigger, please,” she said, and a tiny buttercup at her feet grew until it was at least a foot tall.
Badger looked thrilled and sat down next to it. He touched the petals gently, enchanted by it, as Lotus began singing softly to him.
“Julia,” Cael called.
She sighed, but went without a fuss this time. “I’m sorry, but I’m still really worried about using magic. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Lotus, cast your shield on me,” Cael told her.
Lotus jumped up and sprinted over. She touched him for a few seconds while humming, and his entire body was covered with a sheet of translucent gold, which then quickly disappeared. She hurried back to the orc, who was already missing her.
“There,” Cael said, turning back to Julia. “Now if you can hit me, the shield will take the impact.” He smiled at her. “Better?”
“Yes. Thank you,” Julia said.
“Remember to use your shield too, Jules,” Falcon reminded her.
“Oh, right.”
Falcon sat in the grass near Lotus and Badger and watched the fight. Julia was holding her dagger in her right hand, forcing herself to cast with her left like Cael had instructed.
“Ready?” Lotus asked him a few minutes later.
He raised a brow at her. Badger was sleeping in the grass with the huge buttercup in his hand. “I thought you couldn’t do a sleep spell without sending everyone to la-la land.”
She shook her head. “He was very tired already―he’s been so upset by all the new surroundings that he hasn’t gotten any sleep. He just needed to be soothed.” She stood, grabbed Falcon's hand, and tugged, trying to get him to his feet. “Come on.” She grinned. “Try to kick my butt.”
He stood and laughed. “Okay. But how do I avoid your gold dust spell?”
She giggled. “Incredibly easily. Just close your eyes when you know it’s coming. I sing out a short vibrato tune before it hits. Once it’s on you―you can tell because it kind of tingles―you can open your eyes. It doesn’t hurt, it’s just meant to temporarily blind.”
“Why doesn’t everyone just close their eyes, then?”
“Because they don’t think of it,” she answered simply. “Also, a good reason for being beautiful when you’re a bard is to make people not want to close their eyes.”
He smiled at her. “Probably doesn’t help that you daze most men when they first see you, too.”
She smiled back. “Well, there’s that.”
“And how about the sound burst one?”
“As soon as you hear me sing out the note―you can tell it's that one because it's the only high-pitched one―duck or move out of the way; it’s targeted.”
“Okay, cool.”
She pulled him further away from Badger. “Now come fight me.”
He couldn’t help chuckling―she was like an exuberant little girl saying come ride bikes. She was incredibly endearing, and he wondered if anyone was ever able to tell her no.
