Abaddon's Gift

Chapter Fifteen

Theon was just sitting down with a cup of tea after spending the day cleaning his study when Naena walked in, a determined look on her face.

"Paper," she said.

He stood, offering her the parchment he had been about to write a list of supplies on and his quill.

Naena made a damned mess, but she wrote something on the parchment, dropped the quill back into the inkwell, and held the parchment over to Theon. He struggled for a moment, reminding himself that the woman could barely sign her name and then such an act was likely done with a stick of charcoal, not a fine quill whose tip he had just sharpened.

Theon took the paper from her and looked at the warding she had scribbled rather carelessly on the surface.

"Can you teach me how to use that?" she asked.

"Of course," he said. "It's not basic, however."

"Teach me that," she responded.

"You need to learn all the steps leading up to it first," he responded casually.

Theon set the paper on the desk between them and waited for the demand. The one they always made, about being ready even though he knew they were not. He prepared himself to dismiss her, though he wasn't certain if it would be permanent or if only for a few days.

That would depend on how much of a fight she put up.

"For argument's sake, let's say I could write the symbols flawlessly," she said. "No splatter, written properly."

She hesitated, watching Theon. He understood an answer was required, so he gave a small nod.

"Very well, let us say you did," he responded.

"What's the part that keeps me, a student, from using that?"

His eye twitched.

Theon wasn't certain if she were trying to find a way around the rules, or if she were honestly curious. The rules for magic were set out as they were for a good reason. Spells could swallow a boy whole. Then there were the counterbalances, the price of using magic which always came with any spell. Not to mention the demons who might eat away at a boy's mind because the boy opened himself to such tasting when he did spells he was not capable of wielding.

"It's a ward spell, Theon," she said. "It's meant to keep everyone calm and not attacking one another. So, I don't understand why this one has things leading up to it. I could summon a demon. Tonight. But I can't lay a ward spell because I must learn other things first. I don't... it doesn't make sense."

"Summoning a demon is destructive," Theon said, pleased that he was able to counter without struggling. "Creating a ward is a creation. See it as ending a life versus creating one. It takes nine months to create a human, twenty more years to create a man, but only a second to end a life."

"So, I should be better at this than a man."

Theon struggled for a moment, trying so very hard to find another analogy. In the end, he decided to ignore her comment because he simply had no alternative.

"Now, basic wards are simple. A few circles and a few dots, and there you have a ward."

"Circle, circle, dot, dot, yes, but any layperson can use that ward. So why is this particular ward so difficult?"

"You tried this," he said.

"No, I'm not stupid," she said. "My hand can write, but not perfectly, so it wouldn't work. But I found myself wondering, if I could make it right, why wouldn't it work?"