The Catalyst

Chapter 49

They began with little tricks. Tessa would conjure up a flame that floated above her palm, quench it, then start over. Dylani claimed she was a natural. He didn't wear his mask when alone with her, showing her his face whilst he hid it from everyone else. And she kept wearing the tight black clothes he'd given her.

Her demon was a stunning winged creature as impressive as one of Dylani's dragons. She was a mythical creature come to life. A phoenix. Tessa just called her silly bird.

At night, she tied up Myzian to his machine and blindfolded him. Then, she instructed him to wait. "Don't fret, I'll be right back." Tessa went to fetch the servant who waited outside. They had an agreement, and the little minx was more than happy to do as Tessa asked in exchange for a bit of gold.

"Tonight will be a game of silence," Tessa told Myzian. "I won't say a word, and I expect you to do the same. Understood?"

Myzian nodded, blindfolded face turned away from them, his smile betraying his appreciation for the game. Tessa snatched a whip and secured it in the servant's grasp. The young woman smirked and nodded. Seeing that she had the situation under control, Tessa left her to it.

After grabbing her jacket, she headed back outside. A bright waning moon shone in the night sky as she crossed the gardens, then followed the path down the slope and to the main road that spanned the city. Blue Heron's inns and taverns thrived, in spite or perhaps because of the Azurian occupation and the Felleran soldiers who had stayed to support Tessa. Most of them were in the warehouse district, provided with sufficient food and medicine to recover from their time in prison. Queen Veronica's orders.

Tessa kept at a fast pace as she made her way to the harbor. She veered south, passing a sprawling building of delicate architecture that was most likely the harbor master's mansion. She reached a small, quiet beach, halting just before the frothing waves could lick her boots. Not a soul in sight.

She summoned her demon, experiencing the rush of magic that was already dangerously familiar. The creature appeared, with her severe black eyes and fiery feathers. "All right then, silly bird." Tessa walked around to stand between tail and wing. "Let's do this."

She climbed on her back, clinging to feathers for balance. Propping her feet at the base of her wings, Tessa willed for her to take flight. You can't speak with your demon, Dylani had said, so you communicate in other ways – thoughts, images, feelings. Find what works for you.

The phoenix leapt and flapped her wings powerfully to gain altitude. Tessa clung tightly to her feathers until exhilaration outmatched fear. She gazed down at the harbor's lights and let out a delighted laugh as her demon flew higher and faster over the moonlit waters of the Dryanic. Tears stung Tessa's eyes, either from the wind, or the freedom and elation flying brought her. Somehow the experience turned out to be completely different than flying on Dylani's dragon. Perhaps some things were heightened when you had your own demon.

So far, she'd come away from training mark-free. She suspected Dylani kept his lessons reasonable on purpose. Yet after this little adventure in the sky, once she'd jumped and landed in the sand, she felt a prickling down the side of her face. Touching the skin there didn't reveal much, her fingers being numb from the cold. Hopefully it would be possible to hide it with her curls.

When she got back to the royal mansion, Tessa examined her face in the first mirror she found. Two thin lines curved out from her hairline and down the side of her forehead and cheekbone. She let go of her hair and it did cover the marks. Funnily enough, she felt no anger or regrets.

The door to Myzian's bedchamber was ajar, the servant waiting in the hallway. A glimpse inside revealed that her husband lay asleep on the bed with the blindfold still on.