A Promised Prophecy

Chapter Thirty-Four

James was gone just as quickly as he stood up, as if there was an urgency in his request to see Cybill. It gave me the sense that they feared her, or at least what she could do with her power to persuade the people of Silverleaf. It was concerning that, even though the barriers protected us and the people of Silverleaf from Eris, for now, we had another demon to battle within its walls that was just as unpredictable.

"She won't leave him alone." Est shook her head.

"He is the leader," Callisto answered her.

"You're talking about Cybill?" I questioned.

"She's been stuck to him like glue since she arrived, barely given him a moment of rest to himself. I'm surprised she let him leave with you. It's probably why he's cautious about her catching onto you."

I nodded, knowing just how attached she is to James. If she isn't a bad person, then she must feel like I do, like a person looking for help in the midst of chaos. I'm clinging to James in the same way. If she is a bad person, well, the leader is just the guy you want to use. I didn't envy James and his position. I'd never wanted to be the leader of Silverleaf, not like Celeste had ever offered it to me, but there was a time during my apprenticeship that many assumed I would be trained to take Celeste's place when the time came. I wondered what those people thought of me now? Rhea, who sometimes makes for a good trashy television episode. Were they still proud of me as they were when I had trained under Celeste? Or did I somehow fall into the category of trashy TV due to trauma from my parents leaving me behind? How did the people of Silverleaf really remember me?

"Are you ready to get started?" Est held out a hand in front of me with her palm facing up as if she expected me to grab her hand.

"Yeah." I answered her, accepting her invite by standing up rather than reaching for her hand. She swiftly pulled her hand away as if she'd never offered it to begin with and wiped her pants as she also stood up. She turned toward the table in the center of the room and Callisto followed her. As he turned I got a clear view of two swords, one on each hip, the holsters of which had been hidden under loose clothing. His tan cloak covering the front of his body had slits in the back, where the swords protruded from, as if made to highlight their sleek form.

"What do you want to start with?" Est asked. "I'm not usually one to teach magic, especially to you, who I always looked up to as my senior."

I winced at the use of 'senior'. "Don't make me feel old, Est."

"Sorry." She giggled and I swear I saw that child I once knew in her place. "Anyway, what can you do? Let's start there."

"Whatever I did in front of Cybill."

"Not to be rude, but I don't think I know what you did in front of Cybill." She sat on the table, but instead of staying on the edge, she scooted her body to the center and sat cross-legged. She smiled at me and I realized that it wasn't just her resemblance to the girl she used to be that reminded me of our younger years, but she was still child-like in nature. I was jealous of a seemingly carefree attitude in the midst of chaos.

"I don't know what I did, either." She laughed even harder at my answer. I felt an urge to defend myself so I kept talking over her laugh. "I was trying to summon fire. I thought a simple orb would do the trick. All I did was end up burning my own hand."

"What if you weren't casting an elemental orb spell?" She offered. "Right now your magic is wonky. What you were trying to do isn't what you actually cast."

I'd already thought as much once James admitted he hadn't helped me. It still didn't answer exactly what I cast and how I could hone my magical abilities moving forward. She then held out her hand to Callisto. He looked at her and, without saying a word, bowed his head. The two seemed close, close enough to share a silent conversation. Callisto reached down to his holsters and grabbed onto his two swords. As he pulled them out, the blades electrified. It was both beautiful and terrifying. But, in that moment, I understood what Est was getting at. If I hadn't been summoning an elemental orb, I might've been infusing, or attempting to, an item with fire. That item, of course, being my hand and burning like crazy.

"Try infusing something," Est said as if she could read my mind.