Hallowed

I couldn’t sleep that night. I don’t know how any of the other could, but they did. Helen and Chris were the first to pass and were spooning on a fur bedroll at one side of the cave. Abby was curled up in the corner near me. She had been afraid to get near anybody all night. Ulrich fell asleep soon after them. He was leaned up against the wall on the opposite side of Helen and Chris. I didn’t know he was asleep for some time. He’d been motionless most of the night. He must have expelled a lot energy summoning up his teleporting lightning bolt. Cassie fell asleep on his lap when she realized he was going to move.

Only I remained awake. My body was twitchy. I’d been reading the leather bound spell book most of the time since I’d gotten it. I didn’t really understand what I was reading. There was so many spells in it. I couldn’t imagine remembering them all.

It wasn’t like I had to remember any weird incantations or symbols or anything like that. It was just remembering how they worked. To understand how the spell worked, I had to understand how the elements involved worked. Much to my surprise, magic was more science than anything else.

Wanting to try some of my spells out, I stood up started for the cave mouth. On my way passed the now dying flame, I snapped my fingers and watched as the fire grew anew in front me. The spells were definitely becoming easier as I understood more.

Outside was cold. It appeared to be fall here. Winter would’ve had blizzards worth of snow on the ground, but only a thin sheet of the falling ice was here now. I walked outside without any of the fur Ulrich and Cassie had gotten from the village. I hadn’t felt the cold since I got here. I mean, I knew it was cold. I could tell that much. It just didn’t bother me any. I was still as warm always. I’d be sure to ask Ulrich about that later.

Ulrich. Don’t even get me started on him. That guy had been distant but commanding ever since we got here. He kicked a Viking a clear fifty yards without hesitation and then slaughtered dozens trying to protect us. Protect me.

I didn’t want protection. I didn’t need it. And I was determined to prove that.

When I arrived once again to where Ulrich teleported us, I noticed that the blade he was using earlier was still impaled in the stone. A clean cut right into the rock. Experimenting, I pulled at the sword and found I couldn’t wedge it free. I examined the blade. Blood still coated the metal, frozen from the Norse winds. The strength Ulrich got from coming here was astounding to say the least. I wondered just how strong he was.

Walking to the edge of the plateau, I stared into the black water crashing with the high tide against the mountain side. That should do.

I stretched my arms out in front of me and focused. I breathed slow. Just as I did before with the fire. It should be the same concept. Listening, I heard the crash and fall of the waves. I heard nature at work, and I made it my own. I couldn’t see it from up here, but I felt the water rising at my command.

My body twitched suddenly. Energy drained from my veins rapidly. The water was still snaking up the cliff side slowly, but it wouldn’t keep. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t keep it.

I tried to keep it flowing towards, yet to no avail. Soon enough, the water crashed back into the black ocean, and I fell to my knees exhausted. I couldn’t even summon a bit of water up a cliff. How was I supposed to fight?

“Trouble sleeping?” I heard a voice speak softly behind me.

I turned startled and saw Abby standing there watching me, her shoulders covered by a cape of black fur. “How long have you been there?” I asked.

“Not long,” she admitted. “Are you alright?”

I shook my head. “No. I can’t control this magic. I can’t work my power like…”

“Ulrich,” Abby finished for me.

I didn’t say anything, but she knew she was right. “He even helped you control your power. The power wasn’t even his own, and he knew what to do,” I ranted on. I don’t where all this hate towards Ulrich was coming from, but I was questioning it.

“He didn’t help me control it. He just said to control it.”

“What?”

“Yeah. I was just as confused,” Abby joked. “He told me to focus. The power was mine, so make it mine. Nothing more.”

That actually made me feel better. Smirking, I turned back to the water and raised my hands in front of me. I focused. I breathed. And I told that ocean who was boss.

In a burst of cold mist, a curtain of water rose in front of me. It was mine. This power was mine. Twisting my body, I tested the limits of my skill and manipulated the water further. A vortex formed from the wave and blasted at the sword, only to stop when it reached it. I moved my fingers and watched the water coil around the blade and set against the metal. As a last test, I let out a heavy breath and willed the water to freeze around the sword, leaving only the hilt free from ice.

“Whoa,” Abby exclaimed at my little magic show.

I smiled, “Tada. Let’s see if Ulrich can get his sword now.”

Abby dropped her smile and showed a frown. “You did all that just to mess with Ulrich?” I faltered. I didn’t think about how to stupid that sounded until now. “God of Mischief indeed,” Abby mumbled as she turned from me and walked back to the cave.

“Jimmy,” I said to myself, “You’re an idiot.”

Hesitantly, I began dragging my energy deprived body back to the cave for some sleep, leaving the blade frozen in the stone.