Reader Believes

Chapter 26

            Rika leaned against one of the trees, folding her legs carefully to one side of herself as she felt a gentle breeze roll over them, almost chilly with them already in the shade. Sure, she was bearing bike shorts underneath, but she still didn’t want a gust blowing her skirt up around her ears. Dropping her much abused bag to one side, she looked at the other two.

            Myra sat in a similar position to her, legs to one side, skirt spread over her thighs. Her hair was a red veil between her and the school, she unwrapped a sandwich without looking at it, her focus on Rika and Hugh.

            The boy sat cross-legged, his gaze flickering between the two girls, his lunch in his lap. Like Rika, his bag sat beside him. Knowing how Ahisu was about his staff, she assumed Hugh had a wand or other magical implement in there. She knew she had her wand still strapped to her back and that she had a back-up in her bag.

            After taking a bite of her sandwich, Myra swallowed and looked at Rika. “You promised me an explanation.

            Rika nodded, glancing around. Satisfied that no one was nearby, she sighed. “It’s going to sound crazy. I mean, it’s awesome and the stuff of dreams, but not all dreams are nice, and it could be dangerous for you to know.”

            Myra shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”

            Her gaze flickered to Hugh, who nodded, before Rika sighed again. “This all starts…well it was months for me, but only…” Rika ticked days off on her fingers, frowning. “Two weeks ago? That can’t be right. I suppose though, with the way everything changed, it just feels like longer. Anyway, I’ll tell you the whole story sometime, but right now the part that’s most important is that magic, and I mean actual magic not sleight of hand stuff, is real.”

            Eyes bright, Myra frowned. “How do you mean it’s real? And how do you know?”

            “Because she’s a mage just like I am,” Hugh said.

            “So you can use magic? Can you show me?”

            He shook his head. “My magic…it’s not good for quiet demonstrations.”

            Rika reached into her bag, yanking a scrap bit of paper out. “I can show you,” she said as she looked around for anyone who might be watching them. Only when she was as sure as she could be, did she wave Myra closer.

            With three heads leaning over, Hugh looked curious as well, Rika placed the paper on the ground. Letting her magic flow up until one finger was alive with tingles, she twitched it up. The paper rose a few inches off the ground and hovered there.

            Myra gasped. She reached out and touched the paper, snatching her hand back as soon as she’d brushed it. A moment later, she touched it again, then waved her hand above and below the paper. She closed one hand onto it and tugged, but the paper, and Rika’s finger, didn’t move. With her eyes owl wide behind her glasses, Myra could only stare at her friend.

            Smiling, Rika remembered how she’d felt when she’d first seen magic, she spun her finger in a slow circle. The paper rotated, like a dog following a treat-holding person as they turned. A few more flicks of the digit had the paper rising higher up, flipping upside down, and doing a little loop-de-loop. Only then did she release her magic and the paper.

            Myra shook her head, watching the paper float down to the grass. “How…?”

            Rika shrugged. “I have magic. I didn’t know until Ahisu told me, and that wasn’t until after we’d been attacked by Lord Atelic’s people. He started teaching me then.”

            “How did he know? You didn’t know. Wait, how did you not know?”

            “Depending on the type of magic, it can be easily hidden as long as the mage isn’t using it. And some things can be easy to dismiss if you aren’t aware of magic,” Hugh said. “Of course, given that magic runs in families, it’s rare for someone to be unaware of their potential magic.”

            Rika nodded. “Neither me or Connor knew. He’s not too happy about having magic, but then again, he can’t do much training with his, Ahisu said. It’s more just practice. I don’t think he’ll be doing it though. He wants to forget.”

            Myra blinked. “Wait, Connor has magic too? He can move stuff?”

            “No. Ahisu says Connor’s an Animation mage. If it’s alive, he can talk to it, and get it to do stuff. He only found out because he asked himself out loud where I put the strainer and the ivy in the kitchen pointed. He didn’t like that much.”

            Hugh frowned. “If your brother’s an Animation mage…”

            Rika grinned. “Yep! I’m an Inanimation mage, Ahisu says. If it’s not alive and never really has been, then I can do stuff with it. But I can’t change an object’s natural properties. So mostly I can just make stuff grow and shrink, and move stuff around. Still, it’s better than just being a paper mage, which is what we thought I was for a long while. Heck, until recently, the only spell I could do was a messenger one with paper. I was hoping for something more impressive.”

            “Better Inanimation than Necromancy. No one’ll look at you weird, even though it’s not like you have a choice in what kind of magic you have.”

            Myra turned to stare at the boy. “You’re a necromancer?”

            Hugh nodded, his lips a barely visible line.

            Rika frowned. “People look at you weird? Why?”

            “You’re probably the only person who’d say that. Then again, your teacher a Demon Summoner, so I shouldn’t be that surprised.”

            As Myra’s mouth sagged open, Rika’s frown deepened. “I still don’t understand. You said yourself it’s not like you choose your magic.”

            Hugh’s laughed had an edge of bitterness. “Never mind. I don’t think you’ll ever get it.”