butts up against it and starts to push against ours.
“Pull back!” Dagda demands. Instantly, we all let our magic drop. “Damn it!” he growls, looking around as if trying to find something to hit or throw to ease his frustration.
“Perhaps if we try something that it is a little farther to the right,” I suggest. “Something just outside of Xandra’s stream of magic; be a little more subtle.”
Dagda glowers in my direction but I do not take it personally. “Fine,” he grumbles. Looking out the window again, he says, “That small clump of brush, aim at that.”
With a lot more trepidation than we started with, we focus our magic in that direction. There is no push of Xandra’s magic this time. There are several audible sighs of relief in the room. Apparently, the knowledge of how painful her magic can be has spread.
“Now, ease it to the left,” Dagda says. “Not too much, just an inch.
So far so good, Xandra’s magic has not engaged us yet causing Dagda’s confidence to grow. “A little more now,” he says.
Unfortunately, Xandra’s magic is too unpredictable to get overly confident about it. As soon as another slight shift is sensed by her magic, a little stream of it heads in our direction. Right towards the weakest link in the room. Radella.
“Son of a bitch,” I mutter under my breath. I have no idea how someone without strong magical powers became head of Dagda’s security team. She must have really good organizational skills. Or Dagda has been misled by her and her family. Probably the latter.
Though I dislike her a great deal, I do not want to have her writhing in pain until Xandra wakes up. Well, perhaps a small part of me does. I do not want myself in that position either, but I am stronger than Radella is. “Let go!” I say to the room in general and as soon as Radella’s magic seeps back through her, I manage to put a wedge between her and Xandra’s magic. I prepare myself for the pain that will follow.
It does not come. It does not push into me or cause me any pain at all. It is like a dog that has come to sniff my hand and not finding me a threat, it moves on. Her magic does not want to hurt me. At the moment. I suspect this is a temporary reprieve because I did not try to force it back into her. Strangely, Xandra’s magic does not feel out of control. It leaves me with a clear impression that it knows exactly what it is doing, and as long as we do not interfere, it will leave us alone. This is the first time I understand what Xandra means when she says magic feels like a sentient entity to her.
“What the hell do we do now?” Dagda grumbles, realizing this is not going to work.
He is not going to like what I have to say, but I will say it any way. “Perhaps there is nothing we can do at the moment. Xandra’s magic has proven to be too strong for us to budge.” The drivers and even Radella try to inch away from Dagda, ready for their King to explode with frustration and anger.
To all of our surprise, he starts laughing. A real belly laugh that I have not heard the likes of in years. Neither have the others from the stunned looks on their faces. After a moment, he has to catch his breath and then is finally able to speak. Shaking his head, he says, “I am so damn impressed with her abilities. Even while she is asleep, she is more powerful than anyone ever imagined possible.” He shakes his head again and muses, “My intentions may not have been admirable at the time, but what a beautiful creature I helped bring into this world.”
“Sire,” one of the drivers begins. He is an older Fairy who has worked for Dagda for years. I remember being frightened of him when I was a child. He has wild gray hair and eyebrows so thick that one could get tangled in them if standing too close. His eyelids are wrinkled and saggy,
“Pull back!” Dagda demands. Instantly, we all let our magic drop. “Damn it!” he growls, looking around as if trying to find something to hit or throw to ease his frustration.
“Perhaps if we try something that it is a little farther to the right,” I suggest. “Something just outside of Xandra’s stream of magic; be a little more subtle.”
Dagda glowers in my direction but I do not take it personally. “Fine,” he grumbles. Looking out the window again, he says, “That small clump of brush, aim at that.”
With a lot more trepidation than we started with, we focus our magic in that direction. There is no push of Xandra’s magic this time. There are several audible sighs of relief in the room. Apparently, the knowledge of how painful her magic can be has spread.
“Now, ease it to the left,” Dagda says. “Not too much, just an inch.
So far so good, Xandra’s magic has not engaged us yet causing Dagda’s confidence to grow. “A little more now,” he says.
Unfortunately, Xandra’s magic is too unpredictable to get overly confident about it. As soon as another slight shift is sensed by her magic, a little stream of it heads in our direction. Right towards the weakest link in the room. Radella.
“Son of a bitch,” I mutter under my breath. I have no idea how someone without strong magical powers became head of Dagda’s security team. She must have really good organizational skills. Or Dagda has been misled by her and her family. Probably the latter.
Though I dislike her a great deal, I do not want to have her writhing in pain until Xandra wakes up. Well, perhaps a small part of me does. I do not want myself in that position either, but I am stronger than Radella is. “Let go!” I say to the room in general and as soon as Radella’s magic seeps back through her, I manage to put a wedge between her and Xandra’s magic. I prepare myself for the pain that will follow.
It does not come. It does not push into me or cause me any pain at all. It is like a dog that has come to sniff my hand and not finding me a threat, it moves on. Her magic does not want to hurt me. At the moment. I suspect this is a temporary reprieve because I did not try to force it back into her. Strangely, Xandra’s magic does not feel out of control. It leaves me with a clear impression that it knows exactly what it is doing, and as long as we do not interfere, it will leave us alone. This is the first time I understand what Xandra means when she says magic feels like a sentient entity to her.
“What the hell do we do now?” Dagda grumbles, realizing this is not going to work.
He is not going to like what I have to say, but I will say it any way. “Perhaps there is nothing we can do at the moment. Xandra’s magic has proven to be too strong for us to budge.” The drivers and even Radella try to inch away from Dagda, ready for their King to explode with frustration and anger.
To all of our surprise, he starts laughing. A real belly laugh that I have not heard the likes of in years. Neither have the others from the stunned looks on their faces. After a moment, he has to catch his breath and then is finally able to speak. Shaking his head, he says, “I am so damn impressed with her abilities. Even while she is asleep, she is more powerful than anyone ever imagined possible.” He shakes his head again and muses, “My intentions may not have been admirable at the time, but what a beautiful creature I helped bring into this world.”
“Sire,” one of the drivers begins. He is an older Fairy who has worked for Dagda for years. I remember being frightened of him when I was a child. He has wild gray hair and eyebrows so thick that one could get tangled in them if standing too close. His eyelids are wrinkled and saggy,
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