The Wielder and the Source

Chapter 17

NINE

For every cape there is a magician, and every magician a cape. A tradition as old as Magika itself. The perfect balance. Day and night. Sun and Moon. The wielder and the Source.

As Kitaya gazed out the window of the antechamber, she reflected on the events that had led her to this point. When Aldeheid had first appeared in her orchard, she hadn't thought much of him, except that he was an idiot.

Well, he was still an idiot.

She had to wonder where she would be had he not come to her in his time of desperation. Or if she'd punted him out of her orchard instead of pondering his request. Perhaps she'd still be on earth, making her rounds around the realm, checking on all the thin spaces.

And where would he be? Kitaya had never thought of what would've happened to him if she'd sent him away. Maybe he would've wandered around earth until he found a place to settle down. Or would he had made the long journey to Kon in search of Mellidius.

"This isn't working, Kitaya." Aldeheid cut into her thoughts. He sat across from her, regaled in black finery. With the gold a red symbols stitched into the fabric, he looked as though he belonged in Kon.

"Again," Kitaya said, and Aldeheid released an audible groan. "Come on, angel eyes."

"Alright, alright." He breathed a sigh and held up his marked hand, balling it into a fist. With his brows knitted and his mouth pressed into a thin line, he was the epitome of concentration.

She felt a tugging sensation ripple through her marked hand and smiled. "Good work."

"It only took a thousand tries." He grimaced at the ether stones in his hand.

He is getting better, Kitaya thought. Slowly but surely. She could sense his frustration, and it didn't surprise her. Patience wasn't a virtue Aldeheid held dear. He wanted his progress overnight, not after years of blood sweat and tears.

"Actually, it took forty-eight tries, but that's two less tries than yesterday." She clapped her hands. "Progress, angel eyes." That got a small smile out of him. Kitaya crossed one leg over the next, arranging the folds of her pale yellow dress. "Can I ask you something?"

He went to rake a hand through his hair, but balled his fist instead. "Sure."

"What would you have done, if I hadn't brought you with me?"

"I..." His words trailed off, and he gazed out the window. "I don't know. I had no other... contingencies. Which is funny because I'd expected you to say no."

"I see. Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad I brought you along, angel eyes." She smiled as a blush crept into his cheeks. As much as his self-deprecating attitude grated on her nerves, she'd enjoyed having him around. If she'd been on her own after Gebarro placed her on leave, she may have driven herself crazy.

Voices drifted in from the Great Hall as the last of the guests got into position. Most of them were probably there to see if Kitaya was going through with this. After so many years, even she herself doubted that she'd ever find a magician that mildly piqued her interest.

But as she'd watched Aldeheid learn and grow into a better magician, her view of him began to change. She was able to see less of what he was and of what he was capable of. And it was that underlying potential intrigued her the most.

If anyone had told her all those years ago that he – the blithering idiot who'd stumbled into her orchard – would be her magician, she would've punched them in the throat. But it seemed even fate had a sense of humour.