Lucinda frowned at Gary’s joke and rubbed her head, “I feel like you’re being somewhat crude.”

“I mean he is right on a technicality,” said Bobby, trying to figure out when exactly his life had become a comedy sketch.

“Whose ugly?” asked Wat-haf Wedon.

“Did that rat just talk, why is it green?” Lucinda asked.

“I was dead, this ape brought me back, but he won’t tell me how.” said Wat-haf, pointing a stubby leg at Bobby.

“I told you I used magic.” Bobby said defensively.

“I told you I don’t believe in magic.” Wat-haf parroted.

“Look, do you want a demonstration?” Bobby asked, channeling magic into his hand so it glowed.

Lucinda looked at his glowing hand, “Woah, cool.”

“Anyone can have LEDs implanted under their skin.” said Wat-haf, “Does it have a flashing mode as well?”

“Oh, you want an actual spell?” said Bobby, raising an eyebrow, “I suppose I know some now.”

He held out his hands and found the spell he had discovered earlier, the one that summoned a ball of searing energies that could disintegrate matter. Having never cast a spell before he went about it slowly.

First he opened his third eye and pulled on his magic, drawing out several long strings between his fingers, then he began weaving them together as the spell demanded, like he was making a spider web of magical thread. He made a few mistakes in the process, but they could be easily undone. After about a minute the knots he had formed began flickering and tugging on each other.

Then after a bit more time the pattern seemed to gain a sort of momentum, further transforming itself to reach completion, in fact he barely needed to participate anymore, it was like the spell knew what it needed to be and was showing him how to get there. Bobby blinked as he realised his fingers were blurring a bit. Is this a side effect of having a higher dexterity?

Then it was done, several of the strings that came from his hands broke themselves off from his fingers unprompted until only two were left, anchoring it between his hands. The loose threads were drawn into the mesmerizing construct that looked like it was collapsing in on itself.

In the physical world, Wat-haf Wedon was in the middle of calling him vain for getting LED’s implanted under the skin of both palms when there was a flickering between Bobby’s hands and a white ball of light that slightly hurt to look at bloomed into existence, growing until it was about the size of a tennis ball.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

This time it was Lucinda’s turn to look skeptical while Wat-haf stared on in wonder, not having seen some of the latest technological marvels. “That could just be a holo-projector.” she pointed out.

Bobby raised an eyebrow, “Put something into it then.”

Lucinda shrugged and grabbed her tv remote before lobbing it at the ball of light, aiming to hit him in the chest. The remote sailed through the air, half missing the ball of light, but the half that didn’t miss just vanished, deleted from existence.

Then the remains of the remote hit Bobby, who was not expecting something to be thrown at him and wobbled, falling back. Instinctively he brought his hands back to try and catch himself, but then after remembering that the ball between would probably dismember him, he thrust his hands away.

The speed of the motion and the break in his concentration caused the two strings that tethered the ball to him to snap, and the searing ball gently arced up into the air. Before being brought back down by gravity.

When the ball hit the floor it made no noise and vanished out of sight. Where the ball had been there was left a perfectly round hole, with perfectly smooth walls. After managing to catch himself, Bobby shakily got up, the danger having filled his system with adrenaline.

He looked down the hole, seeing the workshop below, and a hole penetrating straight through the workshop, continuing into the darkness. Wat-haf hopped over and joined him, staring down the hole that he could almost definitely fall into.

Lucinda was momentarily stunned for words, she seemed to be caught between the annoyance at having a hole made in her floor and the frustration that the thing she needed to watch tv was broken, as well as the knowledge that both were technically her fault for not believing in Bobby.

She too curiously got up to look down the hole before falling to her knees. “Nooo, my workbench.”

“Ooops, sorry.” Bobby gingerly scratched his head, “You guys definitely believe I can do magic now though?”

Lucinda took some deep breaths before replying in a slightly strained voice, “Yes, but please cast your spells outside next time.”

“Will do.” Bobby said, still amazed the ease with which the orb had annihilated all matter in its way. With its casting time it would probably be useless in actual melee combat, but against an indestructible enemy with an army between him and them he would have more than enough time to prepare the spell.

Wat-haf was still silently staring into the hole. Eventually he shivered and looked up at Bobby, “Remind me to never get on your bad side again.”

Michaela chose that moment to walk in, seeing a couple of humans and rats surrounding the strange and perfect hole in the floor. “What did I miss?”

Everyone turned to her, she hadn’t bothered with the scarf since Lucinda had pulled it down, and had chosen to shed some of her many layers of clothing as well, leaving her looking a bit like a coat hanger, with bones obviously visible beneath the fabric. Her face had a permanently grinning visage, although the body language of the slight tilt of her skull indicated that she was curious.

“I wasn’t dreaming, you really are a skeleton!” said Lucinda, momentarily forgetting about her house damage as she walked over and looked round the dead woman. “It’s so uncanny the way some of your bones just float in the air, looking like they aren’t supported by anything.”

“Has anyone told you it’s rude to stare?” Michaela said, before giggling raspily. “Hahaha, I don’t mind, would you like to look down my top as well?”

Lucinda blushed at the question, before tapping her chin and adopting a serious expression, “Can I?”

Michaela was the one who now looked uncomfortable.

+++++