Chapter 25

MAZ

– The Vision of the Urn. The Magus 9x = 2{square x}.

The Three Schools of Magick.1 –

“Nothing really matters anymore ... not the world that surrounds me, not the life the inhabits me,

not the Soul that you so long for ... I freely give it all to you ...

everything in exchange for a few fleeting moments of pure existence.”

I was dragged from my drowsiness by the sound of voices. Gabriel sounded angry and so I focused my attention, trying to understand what was going on.

“You never told me any of that!” he complained, but the voice that replied sounded patient and calm.

“You never asked. But what did you expect? They are only Human, after all. It’s not like they possess paranormal powers or anything like that,” Alexander criticized. “But there’s no need to worry, as long as this doesn’t happen every day. Her ability to recover is also above the norm,” he added calmly and the air became heavier.

“That’s hardly the point, is it?”

I sat up, holding my head, still slightly dizzy, and looked around.

I was back in my room, although I couldn’t even begin to recall how I’d gotten there, and they were arguing just outside the door. I sighed, certain that the topic of discussion was, once more, me, and had to put in some extra effort to stand on my two shaky legs.

“What do you want me to say? Now you know,” Alexander replied and I dragged my bare feet to the door, knowing that that answer would only make him even angrier.

The moment I opened the door I was immediately received by two stunned expressions, almost as if I stood before two misbehaved children who had been caught red-handed.

“Mari! What are you doing up so soon?” Alexander finally asked, walking up to me, and his warm hands gently pushed me back inside and towards the bed.

“I heard voices,” I told him, sitting down, unable to resist his strength. “What about Jonathan? How is he?” I asked, his pained expression refusing to leave my mind, and Alexander gave me a soft smile that, once more, failed to reach his eyes.

“He’s resting. Which is what you should be doing too!” he practically scolded me and I abstained from telling him that that’s probably what I’d be doing if they hadn’t been arguing right outside my door.

“And Lea?”

“He came back and went out again,” Gabriel replied.

“He didn’t find her,” I concluded and Alexander sighed heavily.

“I’m really sorry, Mari. It was all for nothing.”

I smiled, feeling truly tired, but clearly recalling all the injuries that they had suffered.

“You were the ones having it worse. I didn’t do anything much.”

Alexander smiled and placed a gentle hand on my head, and I couldn’t help thinking, even with all our divergences, how great it would have been, if I could have had a Guardian like him.

“I’m going to see how Jonathan is doing. You get some rest, hear me?” I nodded obediently and watched as he left. And then there was only him, standing by the door, arms folded over his chest.

“What were you arguing about? Leaving again?” I asked, too tired to look for more subtle ways to express my thoughts.

“No. That isn’t open for discussion.”

“Then?”

“How are you feeling?” he asked me and I frowned at his clear change of subject. “Think you can recite a little bit of Magic?”

I blinked at that. “Magic?!” He nodded.

“I want to raise this Magic Circle,” he told me and my heart jumped painfully.

“The one that Seals your powers?” He nodded again and I hesitated for a moment.

I’d been the first to suggest it and, just like before, it was still dangerous, now maybe even more so, for him to walk around, getting into those bloody battles with part of himself locked away somewhere. But, on the other hand, getting rid of the Circle was erasing one of the small bridges that connected us. He himself had told me that he’d always have to return to that house, since the Circle was there. If the Circle ceased to exist, then the only thing left binding us together would be our Contract.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I smiled, amazed at my own selfishness and raised my head, as if doing so could help me convince him of how healthy I was.

“Sure. Piece of cake.”

He nodded and, as I watched in wonder, all the things I’d gathered in the past for that Magical Ritual appeared out of thin air, on the floor. The Circle reappeared, drawn in salt, and only the strange symbols of the vertices were gone. There was also the glass of water, the candle and the pile of dirt, everything exactly where I had placed them. And the heavy book at my feet was opened to the right page.

I stood up, forbidding myself to show how that simple movement had been painful, and entered the Circle, careful not to scatter the salt that formed it. I knelt in the exact place I’d been kneeling before and stopped for a moment.

I could still clearly see the symbols coming alight and exploding. And then that darkness that had opened a doorway to a forgotten dimension. Him, floating midair, right in front of me, his white body wrapped in black satin.

“Don’t stop until you reach the end,” I heard him say and took a deep breath.

I looked at the book lying on the floor beside me, and immediately identified the last sentence I had read, in that strange language that no one seemed to understand. And I hesitated again. In truth, I didn’t feel comfortable at all reading anything else from that book. But then, this time, I had Gabriel with me. Nothing bad would happen. I was just returning his powers and getting rid of a Magic Circle that I’d thought to have disappear gone a long time ago. And so I took another deep breath and cleared my throat.

I carefully read all the instructions and magic words, finishing the Ritual that I’d never had the chance to conclude while, by the door, Gabriel muttered inaudible words under his breath. Then I went back to the page about the Protection Circles. I respectfully thanked all the four Guardians of the Elements and Cardinal Points, doing it in reverse the order in which I’d evoked them. And finally I went back to the center of the Circle, placing both hands over my chest as the book instructed, to read the final words.

“The Circle has no beginning and no end; it is in eternal balance. This was a time beyond time. This was a space beyond space. Here the Dream World and the Waking World met and were one together. So it has been.”

Gabriel’s voice filled the air, startling me as words flowed from his lips in an intonation that made me shiver. Because if I had thought that his velvet whispers could not be disobeyed, the tone he was now using had the power to make the world bend and crumble at his feet, if he so wished it.

“Torzu comselh bli micaloz! Torzu comselh bli lonsa! Torzu chiso emetgis naneel doalim! Darbs cnoqvol gemeganza! Noaln! “

As soon as he pronounced the last word, the entire Circle started to glow and I prepared myself to see it explode again. But it didn’t. This time, the golden light rose from the floor, from all around me, and kept floating up towards the ceiling, and I kind of expected it to pass through it. But, as it reached the physical barrier, the circle of light started to shrink, quickly diminishing in diameter, until it was just a small ring. A flash of white light blinded me for a second and, once the light was gone, the ring fell on the ground, as hard as any other metal ring.

I stood still for a moment, waiting to see if anything else was about to happen, but all that was left were a bunch of scattered salt and a few strange objects that, all together, made no sense whatsoever.

“Pick it up,” I heard him whisper and I crouched, suspiciously touching the ring.

It was hard, and cold like any other I had touched, and so I picked it up, turning it in my hand. As I looked closer, I noticed the thin symbols delicately inscribed on the inside of the golden band and then I finally recognized them. Those were the same symbols, the ones that had exploded when he’d appeared.

“Is this the Circle?” I asked, still in disbelief, and he nodded. “But ... wasn’t it supposed to disappear after releasing your power?”

“I didn’t take my power back. It’s all still in there,” he told me and I was even more confused. “I’d rather you have it.”

It took me some time to understand what he’d just said and my slow reaction seemed to amuse him.

“Me?” I asked, widening my already over-widened eyes, and he smiled.

“Because they don’t belong to you, it will probably be difficult for you to activate them. But, in an emergency, they will activate automatically, almost like a survival instinct, and protect you,” he tranquilly explained and I looked down at the ring on my hand, a lump forming in my throat as the small golden band became suddenly too heavy on my palm.

“How can this be?”

“It’s nothing big, really. The difference is that instead of being here, the Circle will be wherever you are.”

And that was that, and was enough to make me happy beyond words. Because that meant that the link between us hadn’t been broken. Quite the opposite! It meant that he no longer had to return to that house, but to me! Wherever I might be.

“Is this like ... forever? What if, one day, you do want them back?” I asked, feeling slightly guilty, but not nearly enough to refuse his offer, and Gabriel shrugged.

“I’ll see to that when the time comes. Right now I’ll feel much more at ease if you carry it with you, wherever you go. At least until this thing is solved.”

I didn’t know if ‘this thing’ was Telane roaming around free, or the war itself, but I didn’t care. I told myself I should argue a bit more against that idea, but when I noticed the ring was already safely enclosed inside my hand. And I couldn’t stop smiling. All that ... had been for me.

“Thank you.”

Gabriel averted his gaze, as usual uncomfortable with any clear demonstration of affection, and I had to try hard not to laugh.

“And now get some rest! I know you still haven’t recovered from yesterday and you must be exhausted after today,” he whispered and, although I was kind of disappointed at myself for not having been able to disguise my physical condition, I was even happier to know that he worried about me.

“And you? Where are you going?” I reflexively asked and he seemed to struggle to find the right answer.

“I’ll go check the barrier,” he finally told me and I found myself doubting the truth of his words. Maybe it was the fact that he was still avoiding looking at me, or maybe the brief hesitance in his voice. I didn’t want him to go look for Telane on his own, which I was fairly convinced that was exactly what he’d do as soon as he left my room.

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