Captive Magics

18 - Escapade

"Of course I didn't plan to explode at him," Lissy told him when Leander asked about the conclusion to the argument with her boss of less than three days. "Why would I plan that?!"

"Well, it was successful," he pointed out. "He can hardly disagree about with you about magic now. Besides, you told me yourself: magic is the product of the will of the cantor, and the actions they take to bring it about."

One of the ponies stumbled suddenly and Leander flinched. But the pony picked its feet up and ambled on heedlessly with its head nodding while Leander's pulse slowed.

"You remembered my exact words," she said, looking startled. "I quoted Madame Bird; she always used to repeat that at me, over and over."

"So, you wanted it to happen and you cast a spell accordingly."

"No," she insisted. "I couldn't help it. It's true that canted spells are cast by reciting from a book. That's why we lost all our magic when Avarti burned our libraries of magic at the start of the war. We lost all of the magic in those books."

"That's not true, though, is it? I've seen you work magic without books." He glanced sideways at her.

"I'm not explaining myself well," she sighed, curling her fingers over the edge of the driving seat.

The vehicle they had hired for their northerly trip to Tisk was a smart and overpriced little thing, gained at short notice. Two horses and four wheels, and ample room for Lissy to bring a trunkful of (unburnt) texts from her library. The further they got into countryside, the more attention it attracted. So far they had only passed farm carts and a postal carriage.

"When I first learn a spell, I have to use a book," Lissy began again. "Spells are complex, but often I will try to memorise it. If I've used the spell so many times I've learned the feel of it – I don't know how to explain that to someone who can't feel magic themselves, so you'll have to take my word for it – I might be able to cast it without speaking. With a little work, I can even sometimes combine bits of cants to make a new hybrid spell. But I can't cast a completely new spell without instructions. It's not possible."

"Except..."

"Except moments like yesterday, when I lose control. It's only happened to me once before."

"Is that normal?" Leander asked, wondering why he had never heard of sorcerers having very scary tantrums before. Presumably this was something unique to Lissy.

"Not especially, no," she told him mildly, confirming his theory. "I don't know how it happens. It's why Madame Bird came out of retirement to teach me."

"Because you exploded at someone?"

"No, I can heal bones without trying too. Left up ahead." She pointed at the sign.

Leander deftly steered the ponies towards their destination and Lissy tilted her face back to catch the warmth of the afternoon sun. He wondered how easily she burned. There was no point suggesting she use a parasol if she wouldn't even agree against burglary. But it was still early enough in the year for the sun to be weak, the clear blue sky was a novelty and he could almost fool himself into thinking this really was a holiday.

In a way, it was. The countryside surrounding the city was verdant and lush, an unexpected relief for Leander, who hadn't realised he needed to temporarily break from pavements and houses, even when the city was dotted with as many parks and public gardens as Lissy was with freckles.

As they approached Tisk and the border between Pelland and Avarti where the war boiled on, farmland began to make a notable push onto difficult hillsides and recently hacked down woods. The people they passed had colder, harder expressions than those closer to the capital. Lissy took it all in thoughtfully, and then turned to Leander.