Transformed [W&W Book 1]

Chapter 9

Jim continued his magical explanation. His brows furrowed as he spoke.

"There is also the matter of the wizardress who cast this spell upon you. I do not know how familiar you are with her, but she must be extremely powerful. Only the most magically gifted could work transformation magic from a distance and maintain it indefinitely."

"Spells are made more difficult the farther the wizard is from the subject. It is negligible with certain simple spells, but the fact that she was able to cast such a complex spell at such a distance is a matter of concern. You two have a dangerous enemy."

Theresa felt her throat grow tight at his warning. She had known Francine was dangerous, but hearing it confirmed by a wizard only heightened her anxiety.

"I immediately noted upon freeing you from my ropes that the wizardress' magic is thick, cloying, and very powerful. Very few wizards have that amount of control. I can't even guarantee that any would be able to completely remove it safely besides she who cast the original spell."

Jim's voice deepened with even more concern and Theresa wondered how much worse it could get. "There is another thing you are likely not aware of, having not studied magic."

He turned to Daphne and said, "I had not yet explained this to you, my lady. I did not want you to have additional anxiety while you waited for me to locate your sister."

"I understand," Daphne nodded, clearly anxious for him to continue.

"Every wizard has what you might call a distinct flavor to their magic. Two wizards might cast the same spell, but there is always a slight, often imperceptible difference when they cast the same magic, as no two wizards are exactly the same. This is because a wizard's spell comes from within him or herself. Magic is the physical manifestation of thought, if you understand what I mean."

"Not really," Daphne said.

Theresa wondered what his point was going to be. Was he still trying to make them understand how powerful Francine was? She thought that she already understood that too well, having lived under the woman's power for so long.

Jim looked grim. "A wizard's magic is a part of the wizard. I suppose what I mean is... Well, perhaps an example might help."

Jim picked up a grey clay jar from off a shelf and walked back over to them.

"If I cast a spell, perhaps I might turn this to a different color."

He muttered a few words and the plain jar turned from grey to a vague light green.

"Now this jar appears to be yellow, but underneath it is still just a clay jar. All that my spell altered was the outer appearance of the object."

Apparently Jim was seeing a completely different color than she, but Theresa still understood his point.

Theresa nodded as he continued talking.

"Changing the color of an object is a simple spell, but it functions like any other spell I might cast. When I first changed it, it took a fair amount of my magic. Maintaining it takes only a small amount, but it still takes some magic to remain yellow. I could change many jars like this but there would come a point where I had no magic available to change another jar."

"You can run out of magic? Then perhaps Francine might run out," Daphne suggested hopefully.

"I'm afraid it's not so simple," Jim said, shaking his head. "I could simply allow the jars to change back into their original color. Then the magic would be available to me again."

Theresa thought that she understood. The wizard meant that magic was almost like a part of someone. A person could only concentrate on a few things at once. To think of something else, a person had to let some thoughts go. It seemed that magic was the same. Daphne looked like she still was not sure.