Abaddon's Call

Chapter Thirty-Eight

"Ulter asked if you'd raise a bit more Hell," Theon muttered as Naena sat across from him. "Frankly, I had more time when you were the centre of the trouble. Then again, I didn't worry so much about the magic as I did the blessed look on Luk's face when I told him I stood by and let it happen for a giggle."

It had taken days for Naena to meet his eyes after he had yelled at her for her foolish decisions.

Altering the spell while it was active could have dragged her and Graydon into it for all she knew. There was no way for her to know what might have happened. She had brazenly proceeded forward as she always did.

But all Naena understood was he was angry. It was too much for her.

Their next visit had taken almost a week. Naena showed up for lessons but was distant, as if she was nothing more than a student. It had hurt Theon, but Luk warned him off giving in too soon. Children needed to understand that there were consequences when they did stupid and dangerous things.

If the only way to teach Naena the consequences of dangerous magic was for Theon to yell at her, then so be it. He couldn't take it back because it might encourage Naena in the future.

"Problem?" Naena asked.

"Luk called out just as I got Lukdon down," Theon muttered. "He's not supposed to hear it."

"Not my spell, not my problem."

Theon pointed at his face and just stared at Naena.

"You're old enough to be my father, sort it out yourself," she responded with all the attitude that Theon was learning young women gave men they respected and hated for attempting to raise them properly.

He came to that conclusion by learning that Elena only felt hurt on the surface from Naena's rebuffs. The woman was quite pleased that Naena wasn't blindly following a matriarch around. They still argued and butted heads. One dinner ended with Naena exploding a bit of fine porcelain. A soup dish that had been filled at the time of the incident.

The dinner only really ended because the oldest girl giggled and mumbled, "I've wanted to do that for years," and Lord and Lady Pan dismissed everyone, being far too turned around to know what to say to whom.

"Graydon never asked AfPan to look in on Selifer," she said.

"Hm? Oh, yes, I meant to... must have slipped my mind."

"I'm not concerned that you've forgotten," she said. "But there's something... something about Selifer that raises the hairs on the back of my neck. He called my pebble nefarious magic, said that all happened because someone else interfered and took over my magic."

It was a sound theory based on facts that Theon had studied over his long career. Such knowledge wasn't openly taught to mages to prevent the chaos that might ensue. That a second year explained as much to Naena, a shield in training and avid reader, concerned Theon.

"However could he know that?" Theon asked. "Taking over spells isn't taught on purpose. For the obviously violent and dangerous reasons. Graydon will introduce you to it over the next three years or as you serve and need it. Don't go chasing that. It will come to you."

Naena opened her mouth to say something, then closed it.

Theon understood the hesitance. He and Ewer had been quite close friends before they began working together. As far as Theon knew, Luk believed he introduced the pair of them. Theon had never had the heart to tell Luk that Ewer helped Theon with his courseload while Luk was otherwise busy.

"There's no harm in having a secret friend," Theon said. "No harm in being friends with someone who knows more than they should. Ewer had the greatest working knowledge of Pan artifacts before they gave him access. But laws at the time said he should have been cut down for what he knew."