“Why don’t you make notes in the book?” Caleb asked over the sound of the book's pages flipping. Jeremy’s eyes slit open. It had been a couple of hours since the rock had gotten lodged in Caleb's throat. He sat against the thick trunk of a pine tree, the book in his lap. Zanie leaned against the same tree but to the side. She was conjuring water to fill up a water bottle while they rested in the shade of a grove of trees on the wide median between the two sides of the highway. Atticus lay curled beside her hip.
Jeremy leaned forward to snatch the book away from Caleb as though he had a pen poised above the page already, intent on scribbling a bunch of doodles like a toddler.
“I’m not going to write in a super-old, valuable book," Jeremy scoffed, affronted.
“Its only value is that it has useful information in it,” Caleb argued. “I don’t see you carrying first edition War and Peace around in your bag just because it's old and valuable. If you write your translations in it, then it only becomes more valuable because the information is more accessible.”
Jeremy glowered, “It feels wrong.”
He ran his thumb along the smooth gold gilt that shone on the edges of the pages. Writing in the book might not even be possible if there was an enchantment of some kind on it to preserve its condition. Jeremy had not gone as far as spilling water on the book or otherwise trying to test his theory that it was under a spell. But he was certain that something protected it from the passage of time.
There was a series of small runes on the inside of the back cover that looked as if they had been penned at a later date. The handwriting was scratchier and less formal than the illuminated script on the pages. He suspected they were an enchantment but couldn’t be sure. Maybe someone had figured out a spell and scribbled it there as a note. Maybe he should not be so worried about writing in the book himself.
“Why don’t you let me scan the pages and compile them into a PDF that you can make notes on?” Zanie offered.
Caleb twisted and stared at her in awe. “That’s brilliant.”
Jeremy hummed and settled back against the pine tree he had chosen as a backrest. The bed of pine needles beneath them was comfortable, but they could not rest here long unless they wanted to set up a camp and sleep outside. They should try to find an REI or outdoor supply store and see if there was any equipment left.
He scraped his thumbnail over the edges of the pages while he considered making notes on a screen instead of paper. All his life, he preferred paper, from taking notes in classes to writing a grocery list on the refrigerator door. The feeling of paper in his hands made the information seem more tangible to him. However, an online PDF would be a good way to ensure that the book remained accessible even if something happened to the original copy. As Jeremy had yet to figure out a waterproofing spell, he began to like the idea.
"Here.” He held the book out for Zanie to take. “Even if I don’t end up making notes online, it’s a good idea to make a digital copy of the book.”
“Look at us coming up with workable solutions,” Caleb said. “We make a good team.”
“Pretty sure it was all my idea,” Zanie responded lightly. She held her phone over the closed cover and tapped the screen. She flipped the book open and captured the title page, then continued page by page. Caleb huffed and turned back around. Jeremy shut his eyes again and let his head fall back against the bark.
They had been practicing spell work the entire time they walked. As long as they kept their pace slow and did not push themselves past the limit of how many spells they could cast without becoming exhausted, it was not too tiring. Jeremy was able to cast about thirteen simple spells, such as the barrier or a conjure fire. He considered these to be level zero spells. Nothing seemed more basic than the combination of either conjure or manipulate and one of the elemental or other magic-type runes.
Jeremy had banned throwing fireballs around since they were in a drought and walking beside a bunch of abandoned cars, some of which had been in accidents and were leaking various liquids. The last thing anyone needed was for a bunch of kids messing around with magic to set the entire county on fire. It was surprising that something like that had not happened yet. So, they’d stuck to less incendiary elements while practicing projectile spells.
There was a difference between using manipulate on a material that was already present and trying to conjure something and throw it. Conjuring water, spinning it into an orb, and then throwing it at a target involved a multi-step spell with several runes to accomplish each of these tasks. It took much more energy than manipulating one of the asphalt chunks available on the ground. That involved three simple runes: manipulate, earth, and the rune Jeremy was beginning to think of as ‘projectile'. The manipulated projectile spells seemed to cost the same amount of energy as level zero spells, but the conjured projectile spells were more tiring.
When he tried to cast the even more complicated blue fire spell without even tacking on a projectile rune, he'd been exhausted by that and two level zero spells. That blue fire spell seemed to be a combination of several basic, level zero spells, including a barrier, conjure fire, and manipulate air. He was not sure what level this would put the spell at. Maybe a two or a three? He needed a notebook to record more data and tease out some patterns before actually categorizing anything.
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He also needed that to figure out exactly what the overlays communicated. His was orange, and he could cast thirteen spells. Caleb and Zanie, whose overlays were still dark red, still could only cast ten. And even though they had cast dozens of spells throughout the day, none of their overlays changed perceptibly in color. Jeremy did not know if this was because they were missing a crucial step, such as killing something or meditating, or if it took that much more practice to climb the color scale. More time would tell.
A small disturbance in the air drew Jeremy out of his thoughts, and Caleb’s triumphant shout a moment later made his eyes fly open. Caleb whipped around, his eyes wide and mouth split into an excited grin.
“Look over there.” He pointed at one of the other pine trees. Jeremy squinted at it but did not see anything. He frowned at Caleb.
“Don’t you see the needles sticking out of the bark?” Caleb scrambled to his feet and crossed over to crouch at the tree. Jeremy followed, brushing the pine needles from where they clung to his pants as he stood. Sure enough, about a foot off the ground, a handful of dried, brown pine needles stuck out of the broad, plated bark. Jeremy’s brows drew down as he reached out to brush a finger over one. It bent beneath his touch but was firmly lodged in the bark.
“What did you do?” He asked.
“I thought it would be interesting if you could use pine needles the way magicians use cards sometimes," Caleb shrugged. “You know how like a card is super flimsy, but if they fling it just right, it can cut through stuff and stick into walls.”
“Is that a real thing?” Jeremy wondered.
“It certainly is now," Zanie said without looking up from scanning the book. “Anything trick magicians used to do is definitely possible for real now.”
Caleb’s face fell, and he pouted. “That kinda takes the fun out of magic tricks since they were all about perception and tricking people. Now it’s just plain boring magic.”
“You are not allowed to say something like that. Nothing about magic so far has been plain or boring.” Jeremy plucked one of the needles out of the bark and peered at it. “Can you do it again so I can see the runes?”
“Sure.”
Caleb chewed on his lip, then swept his hand through the air. A group of pine needles lifted from the soft bed beneath their boots and flew through the air to embed themselves in a different tree trunk. The runes that appeared by Caleb’s hand were four. He recognized manipulate, earth, and projectile. The fourth rune was new. Perhaps it meant something along the lines of hardening or whatever else would allow the brittle needles to pierce into the bark.
“I need a notebook.” Jeremy rifled in the bags for the healing spells. They were tucked in the bright red first aid kit to make them accessible. He’d been scribbling his notes about the barriers and other spells on the backs of them. That was another reason why he wanted a notebook instead of writing on the pages of the book. Some of the spells came from experimentation and were either not in the book, or he had not found them in its pages yet.
“We should keep moving on if we want to find a place to sleep tonight.” Caleb squinted at the sun. It was descending through the pine branches to their west but had yet to cast the long shadows of the trees. Dusk was several hours away, but with the extended distances, it might take them that long to reach the next exit with hotel lodging. Jeremy tucked the sheets back into the first aid kit and zipped his duffle bag shut.
“Can I hang onto this?” Zanie held the book up and gave it a little shake. Jeremy nodded and handed her the Ziplock bag for it. She secured it away and climbed to her feet with a groan. “I don’t think I’ve ever walked this much in a day.”
“Once we get a little further from the city, I’m sure that the traffic won’t block the roads so bad.” Jeremy said, “Then maybe we can find a car.”
“We should get one of those vans and repurpose it into a tiny home, then we can have a post-apocalyptic cross-country road trip while hunting monsters,” Caleb spouted. “That would be awesome.”
“Maybe,” Jeremy lifted his bag over his shoulder, “But until things calm down a little, I’d rather stay around here. Besides, I still have to get around to my parents' house to check on them.”
“They were fine the last time you called, right?” Zanie said, “I’m sure they are fine without you for a little while.”
“I know. That’s why I’m out here instead of heading straight to them. I’d rather get some experience before I go back so that I can protect them, you know? That way, it's not like I’m just running back to my parent’s house because it’s the apocalypse, and my apartment burned down, and I need their help.”
Zanie gave him an unimpressed look, her eyes all scrunched up in a squint. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with wanting to be with your family while the world is falling apart. That’s not running back to your parents for help.”
“I don’t see you going back to your family.” He pointed out.
“That’s cause if I went home, I’d never be able to get away again,” Zanie said. “I love my family, but not even all this is enough to make me want to give up my independence. Maybe if a meteor was headed for the earth, and I knew we only had a few hours...but not when there is magic to learn.”
Caleb bounded over and put an arm around Zanie’s shoulders.
“You don’t have to defend your decisions,” He told her, even though hours earlier he had been on Jeremy’s ‘keep questioning Zanie about whether she really wants to come with us’ train. “Jer just has a complex about asking his parents for help. Or asking anyone for help. He’s a do-it-yourself so that it gets done right kinda guy.”
“You’re a dick,” Jeremy grumbled.
“Hey!” Caleb slapped a palm over his heart and leaned more heavily on Zanie with his dramatics. “And I was about to say how much the apocalypse has helped you open up to the possibilities of teamwork. You even asked that nurse back there for help.”
Zanie untangled herself from Caleb and pointed to the gym bag on the ground. “Go get your bag.”
“Fine, fine.” Caleb slung it over his shoulder. Since he’d worked himself into a dramatic mood, he made a big deal moaning about how heavy it was. “We need to invent a bag-of-carry enchantment. Or we should bury these dragon scales somewhere and come back for them later. These are so heavy to keep carrying around.”
“Oh, shut up., Jeremy said lightly. “We’ll pick up a car soon. Let’s keep moving for now.”
They set off down the median, walking beneath the pine trees for the shade they provided. The sun was low in the sky now, but they were far enough away from the city that the haze was gone. The sun’s rays beat down unfiltered and unforgiving. While Jeremy preferred the sweltering heat to the acrid burning smells and ash, he did not miss the way the unescapable sun’s rays made him sweat buckets. He wondered exactly how far it would be before the gridlock of cars blocking the highway would finally ease.