When His Magick Exploded ✓

35: Across deserted places, into their arms.

The land ascended to look upon an oxbow lake carving deep into rustic rock encircling a giant landform anomaly. A red rock like an upside-down bottle with a very narrow neck. The pale blue lake shimmered in moonlight.

Or it could be sunlight, Cypur yawned waking up from a nap. The trip to Yorkwren was a longer endeavor than he had seen on the map. Arius explained that it was because of the shifting roads and time zones. It messed everything up and nothing was a straight line to Yorkwren from Orkorvia Town. But there was no other way to get there.

"Are we there yet?" Wescherlie asked in a thick, sleepy voice, rising herself from her nap.

"We'll get there when we get there, bird," Vanesska said with a sigh. It was one time out of many. Wescherlie groaned and joined Cypur on his side. Together, they watched the scenery go by.

The deep blue sky sparkled with stars. A five o'clock sun hung onto the horizon. But it wasn't five at night or in the morning. No one carried a watch because there was no point in following shifting time. It could be any time.

"Look, houses." Wescherlie pointed to a group of wooden structures like the ones in Orkorvia Town. One had smoke coming out of a chimney. Cypur couldn't even fathom why any Sorcerer would live out here.

Unless maybe they're exiled. He stared the smoking chimney and imagined some Sorcerer standing over a stove, roasting meat or brewing stew. His stomach reminded him with a grumble that he hadn't had a good meal like that in a while. Being in this free life was nice, but Cypur knew he would rather go home. He would rather wake up in the morning and eat breakfast and go off to Academy again.

He missed his room and the comfort of his bed. No more trying to be comfortable on the ground or in some crammed wagon. And he missed how he could look out from his window and see the foggy Vrebrinfeld Lowlands. With a jolt, he remembered the brooch.

"I saw Precense," he whispered for Arius was asleep. "Your brooch."

Her eyes widened and she smiled when he took it out of his pocket. "Well, he kept his word."

"Am I allowed to ask what the stone is?" Cypur had been thinking about it for a while now and it seemed a similar stone to the one Marchis had around his neck. One with unusual magical properties. But Wescherlie shook her head.

"Even to my best friend," she said softly, "I can't say yet, well," She paused and fingered the brooch, letting it glow in her hand, "it's like my destiny, I guess I can tell you that much. After I find out of the truth of Charmteller and my past, I'll probably go on."

A thorn stabbed him, and his heart fell to his stomach. They had finally gotten together again, but after this was over, they would have to say goodbye? Cypur grabbed her hands, and she gave a quiet laugh.

"Oh, don't look so desperate. We don't even know what Charmteller's going to say or do, for that matter, you see? Depending on all that, I could be staying for a while, and it's not like I want to go. I have to."

She pressed his hands into his lap, pushing him away. Something that he didn't even know about was pulling her away from him. He knew she was a Lady, but it probably wasn't that.

"The Human criminal I met, the one I told you about, he had a stone, too. An orange one. It's of the same kind, isn't it? Unusual magical properties that even a Human without magick can easily wield."

If there's something big going on with her with magick, maybe I could help after all this is over. Cypur pleaded with his eyes for Wescherlie to tell him something about what it was about. "And it's something that Precense knows, or he wouldn't have—"