First Apprentice

Chapter 7 Part 1

Inhaling, I centered my mind and loosed the bonds on my magic. Not free. Never free. Despite Joel's warnings about suppressing myself and the physical pain it caused, suppressing my magic was both habit and necessity. Otherwise, objects randomly burst into flames or froze at a touch. My right foot slid forward. Weight centered, I pressed my tongue against the roof of my mouth and began form twenty – my personal favorite.

Punch, step, turn, kick. I let my body fall into the familiar pattern. My magic seeped into my muscles, augmenting. Faster, stronger. A punch became a clawed swipe. Five black streaks lingered in the air. Repeat.

I reached the end and paused.

Redo? I narrowed my eyes at the claw marks that now crisscrossed the small clearing. I really should be doing this at my training ground, but it was too open. Too public. Less flammable though.

"Too aggressive, but otherwise well done," a soft baritone said behind me.

I jumped then feigned a flinch. "Joel," I said neutrally. Better he think I was reacting to his criticism than ignoring my surroundings. I'd heard that lecture a hundred times before and didn't need another from him.

"Manfred said you were looking for me. Your decision?"

I chose my words carefully. The Border Guard adored magically-binding oaths. Ritual phrases littered their everyday lives. With each utterance, they gained power, turning some into contracts in their own right. I grew up hearing and using a good portion of them. Say the wrong thing and I'd find myself locked into one of Rainer's infamous contracts like the one that bound the Seven for life. "Provided, we can reach an agreement on certain issues, I'm in."

A hearty laugh erupted from him. He leaned against a tree as his shoulders shook. "Promise you'll let me attend your first high council meeting?"

"Why?"

"They hated Mitchel. In the history of the Seven, he was the only one they were never able to manipulate into an accidental oath. And you, my dear, are just like him."

"You just admitted you tried manipulating me into an oath."

Joel gave me an unapologetic shrug. "I would have lost all respect for you had you fallen for it." He pushed off the tree and strode across the clearing. With one hand, he lightly shoved my shoulder, testing my balance. "Good. Do you know all your forms as well as twenty?"

When I nodded, he struck the bizarre one-legged opening of form twenty-three. I grimaced. Of course, he would like that one. For most daes, form twenty-three was the closest to combat training in their demon form they could get without shifting. Instead of using two arms and two legs, form twenty-three turned magic into a second set of limbs. Performed properly, it resembled a duel between two whirling tops. Improperly, you landed on your head, side, elbows, knees, and anything else that wasn't properly cushioned, not that my backside provided much cushion. Blessed I wasn't.

"Begin," Joel said.

My focus narrowed to magic and movement. His and mine, then ours. Spin, float, balance, and repeat. His hand grabbed my wrist, callouses rasped across my skin, and the world shifted.

Joel's aura disappeared, replaced by olive skin and liquid brown eyes. The faint glow that always surrounded trees and wildlife flickered and disappeared, almost like blowing out a candle. I froze.

"Alannah?" I looked down at the hand still holding my wrist and swallowed hard.

"Let go," I whispered.

Instead, he loosened his grip, encircling my wrist without touching my skin. Did he see something, too? The usual riot of color exploded across my vision. I stepped back. His hand closed back around my wrist. My vision flickered again.