Misha the Beast Tamer

Chapter 28

Aqila and I waited nervously outside the door to the studyroom. The very room that I met Emrick for the first time.

The heavy doors opened with a metallic scream, we were ushered inside. The room was dark. A single man dressed in a hooded coat stood beside a table. The table was Illuminated by 3 glowing crystals. One green, the second blue, and the third red.

We were mesmerised by the glowing crystals. They were beautiful and drew us into their depths, inviting us to go further.

"Ahhmm!" The man standing beside the table interuppted us.

We were shaken from the hold of the crystals and now our attention was focued on him.

"Don't let them, the crystals, I mean, draw you in. They are raw power, and if not trained properly in using them they can send you insane, or to another dimension, hopefully a good one, if you're lucky, he joked.

" Anyway, my name is Mage Gideon. You lovely ladies are?"

We went to speak at the same time, after that mess of voices I let Aqila go first.

"My name Is Aqila, and this is Misha." She said.

"Ahh, nice to meet you. Please come and join me at the table." He said while gesturing for us to join him.

We both walked over to him.

"Now hold each other's hands, I need to incite a spell, so that you are both protected from the crystal' s. They've already tried to draw you into them once. Let's not let them try again."

He mumbled and chanted in a language foreign to both our ears. I sensed a change in the atmosphere surrounding us. It was buzzing with power, my skin tingled, and my chest felt heavy. I wondered if Aqila sensed and felt what I was feeling or if it was just my werewolf senses kicking in.

The mage smiled,

"We shall begin. Now Aqila, you go first. You need to hold each crystal. If you feel burning, not warmth, I mean just put your hand on a fresh out of the fire pot. You need to put it down as fast as you can, or you will suffer burns.

If you feel an influx of power, like lightening going up your arm, tell me.

If you feel darkness, dread and heaviness, put the crystal down.

If you feel warm, like the sun on your face on a cold winters day, tell me. If you feel your heart swell with love and get the warm and fuzzies, tell me. How you react to these crystals tells me if you're compatible and if you have the potential to possess magic and powers."

Aqila took the green crystal in her hand, she put it down instantly.

"I feel coolness like ice, but it's painful. I was afraid if I held it any longer It'd turn me into ice."

Gideon nodded his head and directed her to pick up the blue crystal.

Aqila picked it up, she held it for longer than she held the green crystal. Her face became pale and tears welled from her eyes. She put it down.

"I felt an overwhelming sadness, a deep depression with no escape from its grasp. I felt hopeless, useless, not worthy of the life given to me."

She hesitated to reach for the red crystal.

"Gideon. What if I get a bad reaction from the red crystal? What happens then?"

Gideon smiled,

"No-one in the many years I've been doing this has had a bad reaction to all crystals. Have faith Aqila."

Aqila took in a deep breath and held onto the red Crystal. As soon as she touched it, it changed to yellow, then orange, then back to red. She smiled, she hardly ever smiled.

"I feel love, acceptance, freedom and warmth, like a warm fire on a cold winter's night."

Gideon smiled,

"See, I told you."

Aqila placed the crystal back down, and returned to my side. She was relaxed, no tension on her face.

I gulped it was my turn now. I stared at the Crystals. I was drawn to the blue one, the one that Aqila said made her depressed. None of the others drew me in like the blue one. As I got closer, the crystal pulsated like a beating heart. Soon the beating sound filled my ears. I touched the crystal and as soon as my finger brushed it's cold surface, flashes of a lighter blue, like lightening all met at where my finger had been. I was about to pick it up, but Gideon stopped me.

"Misha, this has never happened before. The blue Crystal has never reacted this way to anyone's touch. Obviously, that is the compatible crystal for you. But I need to research this reaction further. We will skip to the end of the test. There's no doubt in my mind that you are both very compatible and Erik agrees. Now stand in front of me and when I tell you to kneel, do it."

He held both crystals in each hand, the red in the right and the blue in the left. He muttered a chant or a spell.

"Kneel, now ladies. Kneel."

We did as we were told a gust of wind blew around us, and as Gideon continued to chant. The crystals started to expel lightening that matched their colour. The gust of wind became stronger, it flicked Gideons coat around him and blew off his hood. Soon the lightening joined the gust of wind and we were surrounded by wind and lightening. The lightening collided and joined together, forming bolts of purple light.

The wind suddenly quietened and as it dispersed the lightening separated from each other and struck us. The red lightening struck Aqila and the blue struck me. We both collapsed, our muscles felt heavy.

Gideon kept chanting. He suddenly stopped and said,

"Stand Ladies, the ceremony is nearly done."

We stood,

"Aqila you have the spirit and strength of a lioness. You are a provider, a fierce hunter, and a loving nurturer."

Misha, you have the strength and spirit of a wolf. You are a seeker of truth and you will not give up easily. You're strong and the night calls to you.

Your ceremony is complete. You may leave. Farewell."

We both left the study room, quite confused. He didn't even tell us what potential power we could possess. It felt like a waste of time. The one thing we got out of it was that Aqila and I are compatible as partner's for the remainder of our schooling at the academy.

I hoped that Aqila and I remained compatible, even 1 year from now. I wondered how she felt.