Reader Believes

Chapter 14

            Rika took the seat across from Ahisu at the kitchen table, frowning as she noticed the glass sitting on the wood. “No paper today?”

            “No. Shrink it,” he said, dipping his head in the direction of the glass.

            For a moment, Rika only stared at the clear cylinder that sat in the centre of the square table. Then she closed her eyes and dropped herself into a half-trance, feeling for the well of her magic. She let it surge until her veins fizzed with power. Opening her eyes, she locked her gaze onto the glass, picturing clearly the new, tiny version of it she wanted, before she moved her hands towards each other, like she was crushing something between them.

            When she stopped, the glass was still there, but it was half the size it had been. Rika looked at Ahisu, who studied it for several seconds before meeting her eyes. He nodded. “Expand it.”

            Feeling excitement join the fizzy feeling of magic, Rika grinned. It was nice to be doing something that wasn’t flying paper around for once. Far more confidently this time, she let her power build then pulled her hands slowly apart, fixing the image of the glass as it had been, in her mind.

            She refocused her attention on the glass, and smiled widely seeing that it was exactly as it had been. Rika’s eyes went to Ahisu again. His face was its usual stone, eyes unreadable. But after several moments of silence, he did turn towards her. “Move it.”

            Rika nodded letting her magic surge and pointing a finger at the glass. She twitched it upwards and felt tingles not caused by the power in her veins at the sight of the glass floating over the table. She had it spin, then moved it in a circle, before she finally put it down.

            “Your wand?” Ahisu asked.

            “Oh! I forgot,” Rika said. She patted her legs until she found which pocket it was in. She pulled her wand out and put it on the table and looked to the mage.

            “Shrink it.”

            In the end, Rika found that she was able to shrink, grow, and move her wand, Connor’s hat, and a fork besides the glass. She put the fork down in front of Ahisu, watching him pick it up and examine it.

            A moment later he dropped it back to the table and turned around. His gaze swept the room, finally lighting on the ivy vine in the window sill. He grabbed it and put it in the middle of table, nodding towards it.

            Already in the swing of things, Rika nodded. Her magic bubbling worse than a shaken can of pop, she concentrated on shrinking the vines into the thinnest of threads. She didn’t need to have her eyes open to know that something was wrong. With no feeling of power draining out into the spell, Rika stared at the plant. It was the same size.

            Rika frowned. She called up more power, picturing the vines growing until they were the same width as her thumbs. But again, her power felt like it was hitting a wall, spraying back into her instead of streaming out.

            Her eyes narrowed, Rika tried one last time, quirking a finger and moving it upwards. The plant sat on the table, like it was mocking her. She glared at it and crossed her arms over her chest. “It’s not working,” she told Ahisu.

            He nodded, gaze on her. She met his eyes for a few moments, until the heat in her face had her staring at the table. A few heartbeats later, she glanced back up at him. “So,” she said, twisting the hem of her shirt. “I guess I’m not a paper mage.”

            “No, you’re not.”

            “Do you know what I am?”

            “There are several possibilities.”

            Shay’s laughter announced his arrival. “You ought to be more honest. You have no idea what kind of power she has.”

            Ahisu’s black eyes went to the demon. “It requires further testing.”

            Rika frowned. “I guess paper, glass, metal, fabric and plastic don’t really have all that much to do with each other. I couldn’t be like a shrinking/growing mage? I’m good at that.”

            “It doesn’t explain the movement.”

            “Oh. No, I guess it doesn’t. They’re all processed things. Could my magic have to do with that?”

            “There is no such type,” he said over Shetton’s snickers.

            Rika sighed and dropped her chin onto her folded arms. Leaning her head to one side so she could better see Ahisu from the table, she said “So what now? Besides more testing? Are there more spells you can teach me maybe?”

            “This world may have different magics,” he said, pulling his hands into his wide sleeves.

            “Basically, we wait until we get more information on magic and mages here, and then we’ll try some more tests?” She sighed again, rolling her wand along the table, causing the purple crystal at the end to send flashes of reflected light. “I wish I had normal magic.”

            “From what I’ve seen of this world, no magic is normal,” Shay said, grinning as he leaned against one wall.

            Rika lifted her head to look at him and smiled. “You’re right. I should just be glad I have magic. And maybe my magic will eventually turn out to be something more useful than I thought. Thanks.”

            The demon stared at her then laughed. “Mistress, you are unique.”

            Movement across from her drew Rika’s attention. Ahisu was pushing everything she’d finished magicking back into the centre of the table. Seeing that she was watching him, he nodded towards the pile. “Practice with all.”

            “What? Again? But I already-” Rika broke off as she caught sight of his expression. While it was at least different than her usual making paper fly lessons, she still knew that this was going to be repetitive and almost boring. Only the facts that she was doing magic and that she knew that she needed to do this to improve, kept Rika from grumbling.