Blowing Embers

Chapter 35

            As the last echoing note of the clock tower’s bells faded away, Kallai found herself back on the roof, her lunch dangling in one hand. Shuu was still where she’d left him, leaning casually against one of the crenellations, grinning at her. She scurried over to him, sitting down and spreading out the cloth, hoping he wouldn’t notice the faint tremor in her hands.

            “Sparrow,” he said, frowning. His tone told her that her hope had been in vain. “You shaking are. Why?”

            She bit her lip, letting her hands fall back to her lap as she avoided his gaze. “I skipped all of my classes this morning,” she whispered. The realization had come as they’d neared the end of her lesson, the magic having caught her up so much that she’d forgotten what she was supposed to be doing. “I’ve never missed class before, except to visit the physiker’s. What if I missed something important? What if I fall behind the rest of the class? What if I get into a lot of trouble?”

             Shuu laughed. “What to you they can do? Any punishment they give, easily you can avoid. Your magic stronger is. If you truly focused, completely yourself applied, this school you probably could level. With resistance from the Magi. No fears you should have, not of them.”

            “Strength doesn’t always matter as much as knowledge and experience. A powerful mage who can only do a few spells is more likely to lose against a weaker one who knows lots. Especially if the weaker one also has more experience in magic fights. Power helps, but doesn’t make up for a lack of skill. All of my teachers have more skill and experience than me. Even the other Indigos have actually been practicing magic longer than I have. I only started being able to do magic after meeting you.”

            He shrugged, grabbing a piece of cheese and chewing it. “Well,” he said, before swallowing the morsel. “The Magi nothing you to teach have. Their spells you not can do. So, whatever you want, you should do. Them not you what to do tell. Elemental mages above Magi are.”

            Kallai shook her head slightly at his unconscious arrogance. She knew Shuu was powerful, stronger than anyone she’d ever seen before, but the way he talked about it… “I want to graduate from here. I want to take the magic license exam, both to prove that I can do it, and because I want to be able to do magic work in the future. I might not be able to do Magi spells, but learning about them is useful. It gives me ideas of different magic I can try with my fire, and it teaches me about what other people can do. ‘No learning is wasted,’ is what Sevilen tells me all the time, and I think he’s right.”

            Shuu stared at her for a moment then shrugged again. “I not do understand, Sparrow. But if that what you wish is, then that what you should do is. Before, and even now, not much with Magi I to do had. Their magic lesser is, generally okay at everything, they nothing at excel. And their magic by spells, words, symbols is bound. Of natural world is not. That way of working, I not do understand.”

            “Have you thought about trying? You probably can’t enter our school, since you’re too old and I don’t even know if the usual magic detectors would work on you, but you could listen in. I know you can, since you listen in to what I’m doing sometimes. You might even be able to hear something that’s useful.”

            “Your class to I have listened. Nothing of interest to me I did hear. Very technical, lots of theory and memorization there is. No…creativity or intuition there is. Magi magic very structured is. Not something I comfortable with would be. Maybe an earth elemental mage better would be, they structure do like, but I not do know.”

            Kallai sighed slightly, her shoulders dropping. “It was an idea.”

            Shuu grinned. “Not a bad idea was. If I here forever to say were, then your Magi magic knowing useful would be. But I not am. Home I will go, as soon as my winds my home do find. But, before I go, you to see I will come. With me to come I will ask. Your choice then, you can make.”

            She stared up at him, feeling her cheeks colour before she looked away. His offer…she couldn’t deny it was attractive. To be with people who understood her magic, who could teach her more, was something she’d never dreamed possible. Of course, if she went, she’d have to leave Sevilen behind, and she wasn’t sure she could do that. If she could convince him to come along too though… But, for now, she wouldn’t worry about it, except for hinting at it to gauge her cousin’s reaction. Shuu hadn’t come up with any leads yet, so she had time. At least, she hoped she did.