Hope (Knights of Av'lor - Book 1)

Chapter 11

Just over a week later, Kathryn sat alone in her room and finished reading the last of her magic assignment, again. In the beginning, she feared Jakob had tricked her. Since she didn't believe in the Goddess, she didn't see how asking Her to activate a spell would work. Sighing, she closed the book and traced its indented designs with her forefinger.

"She must really like me." More likely, she liked Jakob and it had nothing whatsoever to do with Kathryn.

While the other candidates struggled to perform their spells, she could perform hers on the first try. The second day, she read the fire spell in the common room and created a small fire globe in her palm. Awed and with a happy smile, she looked up to see the others staring at her, frowning. She had packed up her things and had left the common room.

Learning afterwards from Rielle that the other recruits had been trying to perform the fire spell for hours without success, Kathryn could see how they would think she had showed off and probably resented her now. The language barrier prevented her from going back down to the common room to explain; afraid she would only offend them somehow. Even Hal seemed annoyed that she could perform a spell on her first try while it took him about twenty tries to get it right, if at all.

Not wanting further to embarrass her fellow candidates in class, she seldom raised her hand to show the Assessor that she had mastered the spell. Assessor Jakara interpreted her lack of participation as ineptitude. Whenever he spoke of other people whom failed the class, he would always look at her with a scowl. She had learned to despise that arrogant ass.

Rielle had spelled all of the descriptions to be in English, so Hal and Kathryn could read them without a translator. Last week, Kathryn had decided to read ahead and learn a few more spells. She had ended up reading the entire book and could perform the spells without thinking. The book of spells consisted of pages of long alien words that she found somehow familiar, with their pronunciation, a detailed description of what each one did and how to counter or block it. Although she never let it show, she was terrified.

When she would read a spell, she would know how to pronounce it before she looked at the pronunciation guide. Instead of learning the spells, it was like refreshing her memory. She knew Jakob's memories seeped into her mind, but the creepiness factor still made her feel inadequate. She hadn't heard from Jakob since his condolences. Cheating never appealed to her and this felt so much like copying someone else's paper, Kathryn didn't trust herself.

She had learned something else early on when she had first attempted her water spell. She had looked at the wooden bowl, pictured the spell in her mind, and then before she finished uttering the spell, the water had already formed in the bowl. After several experiments, she found she could invoke the spell without speaking the incantation. With that and the Sights, she just didn't know who she was anymore. Even with Jakob's slow trickle of memories, the flood of change overwhelmed her sense of self.

She jumped as a knock sounded at the door. Opening the door, she found Hal standing on the other side with a desperate look on his face.

"May I come in?"

Nodding, she stepped aside.

"I finally built up the nerve to speak with the other candidates. They were pretty wary at first, but thawed when I started asking them if they could help me with my spells." He looked embarrassed before he continued. "I would have asked you, but I didn't want you to think I was stupid or anything. I'm desperate at this point. I've never had this much trouble in my life learning something."

"Which spell are you having problems with?" she asked.

"Um, all of them," he said with a grin. "The other candidates are in a similar situation. They've learned one or two, but only if one of them gets lucky and teaches the others. After seeing how easily you performed the fire spell, they were embarrassed to approach you. I convinced them that you didn't bite. Could you come to the common room with us and give us a few pointers?"