Chapter 41 - Catalysts

“Hey, hey! Morrigan, where are you going?”

Morrigan eventually stopped and Emma moved in front of her, fixing her with a concerned expression.

“Just forget it.”

“Hey don’t worry,” Emma smiled. “You’re just now trying things out. It’s natural you don’t know how to control it yet.”

Morrigan sighed and looked away, her gaze falling on the crypt that had been her tomb, not realizing she had stopped in front of it. She squinted as her eyes focused on the end with the fingerhold, wondering how hard it would be to move the stone slab, and a strange desire to try.

“Morrigan?” Emma asked again, leaning to put herself into her line of sight. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just a bit freaked out,” she said, snapping out of it and pulling her gaze away from the crypt. She had a strange thought to go inside and lay down, but pushed it out of her mind.

“Maybe we should forget about this for now,” Emma said. “You know, take things slow? Maybe read the book a little more?”

“Maybe that book won’t help,” Morrigan said. “I am a reaper after all, not a witch. Even the way I found my power source is different. It doesn’t come from my heart like you said. It comes from my hands.” She lifted one of her gloved hands as she explained that.

“I see… but, you can control it. It’s not happening right now after all.”

“That thing with the grass dying happened once before.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it was the first time I tried to figure out how to use magic.”

“What were you trying to do?”

“Nothing really, just experimenting.” Morrigan looked at her gloved hand and sighed. “I just reaped a family of deer and I still had my scythe out, and I thought of trying it.”

Emma snapped her fingers. “Maybe that’s it!”

Morrigan turned her head.

“Maybe your scythe acts as a catalyst?”

“Catalyst?”

“Yeah, like a wand or a staff. A catalyst channels your energy so you can draw more out of yourself. Also, it acts as a way to focus it! Since you apparently have strong attunment it’s no wonder you got overwhelmed.”

Morrigan stood and reached to the side, grabbing her scythe and materializing it in her hands. Emma watched with fascination, her eyes scanning across the ethereal blade. “Wow, it’s beautiful.”

“Beautiful?” Morrigan asked, looking over it herself.

“You don’t think so?”

She supposed it did have a certain allure to it. The pole was smooth and pleasing to the touch, the metal frame that connected it to the blade was intricately designed, and the blade itself, of course, had an almost mirror-like shine under its soft blue glow.

“I guess everything else about this job had me not really thinking that way.”

“You don’t like being a reaper. Do you?”

“No,” Morrigan answered without hesitation. “But it’s either this or limbo, so I don’t have much of a choice.”

“You can’t really live like that. If you’re going to be doing this job, you should try to find some satisfaction in it.”

“Satisfaction from killing people?”

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Emma grinned. “Not like that. I mean, these people are going to die anyway, right?”

“I know what you’re getting at, but it’s easier said than done.”

“I get that. But, you know, maybe there’s more to being a reaper than just... reaping. Like, try to feel good about helping them step forward and—”

“I’m already doing that!” Morrigan snapped, then instantly felt guilty. She let out a sigh. “Sorry, but… like I said, easier said than done.”

“Right, sorry,” Emma said with an awkward grin. She didn’t seem overly offended from being snapped at, though. “So, want to try the glamor again? I mean, perception blocking?”

“Yeah.” Morrigan put both hands on the scythe and closed her eyes as she had done before. She hadn’t had the scythe out when she used it on the rope, but maybe that's because she had somewhere to channel it to. Either way, the feeling came more naturally to her with the scythe in her hands.

If a witch drew mana from their heart, Morrigan figured having hers come from her hands made sense. After all, finding it there felt as natural as reaching for her scythe. Right then, she felt that odd, hot-cold-tingle forming around her hands and then down to her wrists. She focused on it, crawling up her arms, around her shoulders, down her stomach, and legs. She tried to stop it there, pulling it back, not wanting it to escape to the ground again.

“Is it working?” Emma asked cautiously.

“Just stand back. I don’t know,” Morrigan said through her teeth as she focused. She then tried to think of how she used to look; blonde hair, blue eyes, and normal skin. “Anything happening?”

Emma didn’t respond at first, but Morrigan kept her eyes closed, focusing mainly on the tingling around her face. Then Emma suddenly went, “Woooah!”

“Did I do it?” Morrigan asked, opening her eyes.

“Yeah, that was weird,” Emma said. “Like, looking directly at you, uh, it’s hard to describe, but it was like I was seeing two faces at once. Looking to the side, if you were in my peripheral vision, you looked just like your old self.”

“That’s a start, I guess. But it doesn’t do me any good if I have to focus that hard, and I can't exactly just walk around with my scythe everywhere.”

Emma made a hmmm sound as she thought it over. “So, I don’t think your catalyst necessarily has to be your scythe, at least not for basic spells like that one. My cousin has a staff, but she also uses a necklace that can serve the same purpose when carrying the staff around isn’t natural.”

Morrigan thought about it. Since a witch’s magic comes from their heart then a necklace made sense. Morrigan suspected a reaper’s magic came from their hands, so… “What about a ring?”

“I don’t see why not. Why don’t you spend some time practicing, then we’ll go into town and see if we can find something. Actually, going back to Atomyst’s shop would be best.”

“No way,” Morrigan said instantly. “There’s no way I’m going back there again.”

“Eh, why not?”

“Do you have to ask?”

“Heh, I mean, it was all just a misunderstanding, wasn’t it? Besides, Atomyst himself said they owe you a debt now.” She winked. “So I bet you can get a good price!”

“I don’t have any money either way.”

Emma smiled. “I can buy one for you.” She seemed happy to make that offer.

“Na, I’m not going back there, so we’ll have to find something somewhere else.”

Emma sat down under the willow tree with the spell book and started flipping through. “Alright, fine, in that case, let me check for something. Just keep practicing. Either way, it’s better to learn with a proper catalyst first before attempting a new spell with a stand-in. I remember Hilda telling me that.”

***

Morrigan continued practicing the spell, mainly working on moving the flow of magic around her body and then focusing it on her face and hands. Meanwhile, Emma sat under the willow tree, flipping through the book and occasionally glancing over to offer feedback.

“You’re getting better already,” Emma said, looking up from the book.

Morrigan let out a breath as she released the spell. She flicked her scythe away and sat next to Emma. “This is exhausting.”

“Just because you’re not used to it.”

“So what are you looking for in there?”

“I was seeing if this book had anything on catalysts. If it’s not coming from Atomyst’s shop and just a normal jewelry store, then we have to perform some kind of ritual to give it magical qualities. I can’t quite remember what Hilda said about that.”

“So you’re not technically a witch, are you?” Morrigan asked.

“I think I am. I could have been a more skilled witch by now, but like I said, my parents kept me away from this stuff. Anyone can learn magic, though. It’s just a matter of practicing enough.”

“I figured it would be a bit more difficult than that.”

“You’re right; if you’re not from a witchy family, it is extremely difficult to get attuned. Nearly impossible.”

“I thought you just said anyone could do it.”

“Nearly impossible isn’t impossible,” she said with a wink.

Morrigan smirked at that. “So how witchy is your family anyway?”

“Witchy enough!” Emma said cheerily as she snapped the book closed and stood. “Anyway, this book doesn’t have what I was looking for. Want to make a trip into town before it gets too dark? I’ll figure out the rest once you find a suitable backup catalyst.”

“I have a feeling you’re not going to give me much of a choice,” Morrigan said, though she couldn’t help grinning. “Alright, let’s get back to the truck.”