“He did and beat the shit out of his friend. His friend dropped the stone, and I picked it up...” She trailed off, trapped in the memory.
“What happened?”
“The strongest of the spectres was leeching power from the weaker ones. They were all still there, the stronger roaring, the weaker screaming. The stronger one grabbed hold of me and tried to pull my energy out through the contact point. Thomins slapped it out of my hand, put it in a pouch, and called the authorities.”
She rubbed her hand in memory. “When the guild officers were gone with Thomins’ buddy, he started showing me how to defend myself against an accumulation stone.”
“Does it always threaten your limbs?”
She looked at him and reached out to pat his hand. “Only when there are other targets that the stone could choose. Contact with me revs them up, and pulling in extranatural energy is very easy for them. It is why Death Keepers were created as a branch of the Mage Guild. We are needed if folks don’t want embedded spectre stones to be draining life left and right out of all who pass.”
“Deadly jewellery.”
“Very.”
He grabbed her hand and kissed the inside of her palm. “I am glad you made it out, fingers intact.”
“Me too.”
She kept tight to Mr. E, feeding him what she could via their connection. Her eyes scanned the horizon and watched for the first signs of Ritual Space. When the lights of the parking lot flickered in the distance, she nearly cried. Keeping her Death Keeper face on was the key to getting through this, but inside, she was sobbing with relief.
When she got out of the car, she stepped toward the gateway, just in time to watch it swing open.
“Imara? Welcome to Ritual Space. I am Adrea Morrigan, this is Officer Hyl Luning.”
“This is Agent Argus Dencroft. Oh, and this is Mr. E, my familiar, and currently the fading containment of the stone.”
Adrea smiled; her snow-white hair and bright blue eyes glowed in the limited light. “Come this way, and we will find you a gateway to safe storage.”
Imara smiled gratefully. “Thank you. Mr. E, cough it up.”
She set him on the white gravel, and she supported him while he went through the standard feline retching noises before the crystal fell. Imara grabbed it and scooped her familiar up. “Lead the way.”
Adrea led them through the gateway, and Imara could feel the magic in everything around her. There was an outburst of life, and nothing could suppress it. “Wow.”
Adrea smiled. “Thank you. It has been the work of generations to keep it this invigorated. I am sorry; I made an assumption. Is this your first time here?”
“Yes. No apologies necessary.”
A white and blue flash appeared in front of them. Adrea nodded and crouched to pet him. “This is Blueberry. He is effectively my butler. He will lead you to the position he deems safest for the stone.”
“Don’t you want...”
“No, I don’t want to know where it is. Just follow the blue rabbit.” Adrea winked. “I will put a kettle on.”
Imara turned to Argus, gave him a thumbs-up and headed off in search of the bunny.
Chapter Three
Walking through the brush and into the shadows, she followed Blueberry until he led her to a gateway.
“Holy heck.” She stepped through the wall between worlds and looked around at a pocket dimension filled with benches of stone and archways of energy.
The bunny hopped up on the bench and chattered at the arc.
Imara stepped forward and settled the stone into place. The energy in the archway grabbed it and held it in mid-air. The power had the signature of inert gel. The stone would get no purchase there. There was no power for it to consume.
Imara reached out and withdrew her power from the stone, filtering it through Mr. E until they were both back to normal strength.
Well done, Mage.
“Thank you. Now, I hope that bunny is willing to lead us back.”
The blue and white escort waggled his puff of a tail and hopped out of the building, leading the way.
Imara followed the rabbit and waited for Mr. E to ask to be on his own four feet. He seemed content to ride along in her arms.
After the shadows and trees, they stepped out amongst berry bushes. A barely visible path led her to a backyard where Adrea was sitting with the two men, a tray of cookies, and a pot of tea. The entire area was illuminated by lanterns that were not attached to anything.
Argus got to his feet and came to her. “Imara, you have been gone for hours. Are you all right?”
She blinked. “I thought it was just a few minutes.”
Adrea winced. “Sorry. I forgot to regulate the temporal energy in that area. You lost a few hours.”
She checked her watch, and it did, indeed, show that it was nearly midnight. “Damn.”
Argus stayed next to her as she went to have a seat. Adrea poured her some tea, so Imara grabbed a cookie.
Adrea smiled and asked, “So, you are at Depford College?”
Imara swallowed her mouthful of chocolate chip cookie, and she mumbled, “I am in accelerated general studies.”
Hyl smiled. “What does that entail?”
Argus grinned. “Taking a bunch of mindboggling courses to add skills that most mages can’t manage.”
Imara ignored his words but patted his leg. “I am taking a number of high-credit courses to get a mage degree as quickly as I can so I can open my own spectral consulting agency.”
Hyle nodded. “Nice. What is your next course?”
She glanced at Argus and then looked back to Hyl. “Stealth Magic.”
Hyl looked shocked and amused. He pulled a card out of his pocket, wrote something on the back, and handed it to her. “When they ask you if you have a tutor, say yes.”
Adrea looked between the two of them. “Is there something I should know?”
Argus was looking suspiciously at the business card. “Why does she need you?”
He informed the group of them. “Stealth Magic is a difficult course. On the first day, you are going to be offered a tutor. Once you have that tutor, you will need six to eight weeks of intensive training to work your body, your spells, and your nerve. On the last day of actual class, you will be given your assignment. It usually entails breaking and entering into the house of a prime family to retrieve an easily identifiable heirloom. You bring it to your instructor, and you pass.”
Imara’s eyes bugged out. “Are students arrested?”
“All the time, but if they have their course assignment sheet with them, they are usually just dismissed, as long as they are caught on the date of the exam.”
Imara ran her left hand through her hair. “Shit. It is too late to cancel the course.”
Adrea lifted her hand. “If you have a secure space, I can link a temporary gateway to you. You can come and go for training. Hyl lives here, so he is here more often than not.”
Hyl smiled. “Not many women pass the course. It would be my honour to help you through it.”
Argus looked at the gathered folk. “I can help as well.”