Master Garthis was late. When he arrived he was flustered and apologizing, saying he couldn’t stay long. He disappeared into the kitchen to get something to eat. He didn’t even ask Kaitlyn to get it, his feet unable to stop. When he came back in he said, “I have recently read the most fascinating treatise on the development of weather magic to turn marshes into arable farmland.”

Kaitlyn tried not to fidget, but then said, “Master. Something happened.”

He immediately stopped. He looked at her and then Fapallo. He asked, “Are you hurt?”

“No,” Kaitlyn said, “didn’t you notice my house…. it looks like a hut again.”

He blinked at her. He walked outside and looked back at her through the door. He asked, “How did you do it?”

“I didn’t,” Kaitlyn said. “I also… there was a unicorn and a… not-mana thing in the hearth.”

“Wait, a unicorn?” he looked at her, “are you alright?”

Kaitlyn took a shuddering breath with a half-laugh and said, “No. It scared me half out of my mind, but…. it said it would undo some of my curse and when I got home I saw…. it isn’t mana and I think it’s why the house tries to eat people.”

“Ok, start at the beginning,” Master Garthis came inside.

Kaitlyn went over the adventure the day before. Master Garthis listened without interrupting, though he opened his mouth several times like he wanted to interrupt her. She finished by saying, “So I fed a boar to the house. That helped. It’s less… hungry.”

“Show me,” he said immediately.

Kaitlyn turned and pointed to the hearth. He blinked and said, “Well, what is it?”

“It’s right there,” Kaitlyn said as she pointed to the hearth. “I can sort of see it, but it isn’t… it’s like when I visualize with magic.”

“Show me,” Master Garthis said again. “You can manipulate this like you do magic?”

“Sort of,” Kaitlyn said as she reached towards the hearth. Fapallo had already gone hunting, and brought in the rabbit he had caught for her. Apparently, he had fun hunting something so small and keeping it alive. He was quite proud of himself. She took the rabbit and held it by it’s neck as it squirmed violently.

The moment the black tendrils touched the rabbit it froze, dead instantly as it drained and then turned to dust almost as quickly. Kaitlyn said softly, “This is why the witch… fed it people. It is…. hungry.”

Master Garthis was frowning deeply and walked around the hearth, muttering to himself. Kaitlyn watched him, fidgeting nervously. She felt the power fading from her eyes, almost like a wavy pane of glass being moved. The man suddenly pointed and she felt his mana building. He began chanting an incantation she didn’t recognize. Although she could technically see the spell he was casting, the complexity of the mana and fine lines gave her a strong reminder of how much she still needed to learn.

She found herself thinking of the difference between a child trying to draw and a true artist. She sighed and then winced when he released the spell at the house. Light flared around the room and when it dimmed, Master Garthis almost had his head in the fireplace, despite the fact flames licked up from the logs.

“Master!” Kaitlyn cried out and pulled her master away from the fire, patting at the collar of his shirt where a few hot ashes had landed. He looked at her in surprise and said, “I think I got a glimpse of it, is it a grey cauldron with a face?”

“Um,” Kaitlyn looked and said, “It looks black to me and there are cracks all over it, but I wouldn’t say it has a face.”

“Well, the good news is that I know what it is then,” Master Garthis said. “I haven’t ever actually cast that kind of spell before, I’ve only read about it showing the spokes of a zidon spell either.”

“A what?” Kaitlyn asked.

“It’s a kind of ancient blood magic,” Master Garthis said. “I guessed from what you described and what it did to the rabbit, this is a kind of blood magic. It is! Powerful and ancient and…. almost unknown! I only learned that spell a few years before I met you when I had to fight an ogre mage who was using tribal blood magic.”

“Then what about the… bide spell?” Kaitlyn asked.

“Zidon,” Master Garthis said. “I think that’s what it was called. Maybe it’s Tanni? Hmmm, I’ll have to ask Master Jannalor. She did some research a few decades ago into different blood magics.”

“Wait, wait, she?” Kaitlyn was caught off guard.

“Yes, she’s an elf,” Master Garthis said, “She teaches at the University of Magic in Meley, on the Eobrin continent.”

Kaitlyn blinked, the Eobrin continent was little more than myth to her, even with everything Master Garthis had been teaching her. Master Garthis scratched his beard and looked hard at Kaitlyn. He then said, “Can you… control it?”

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She shook her head and said, “Not like… not like my mana. It’s more like… holding hands with someone while walking.”

He wriggled his mouth like he had something strange he was tasting and then said, “Well, don’t feed it people. And don’t feed it in front of other people.”

“No, really?” Fapallo rolled his eyes from the side.

Master Garthis looked at the dragonkin and said, “Yes, really.”

“I’m not excited about feeding it at all,” Kaitlyn said.

“When was the last time you were away all morning?” Master Garthis asked.

“It’s been a while,” Kaitlyn said, “I’ve gone for several hours to Javorora’s tree, but I can’t always say how long.”

He nodded and said, “I think we should test your limits these days. Let’s go for a walk.”

Master Garthis was awkward in the forest. He tromped rather than walked. Where Javorora and Fapallo never snapped a stick they didn’t intend to, Kaitlyn swore her magical master went looking for every crunchy noise on their path. She hadn’t realized how much she had picked up just by being around quiet creatures.

It had been a long time since the pair had left the hut. Kaitlyn was both glad to be outside and immediately began to regret their choice. It wasn’t even high summer yet, and the heat felt like it pressed down on them. Master Garthis barely seemed to notice. Most likely, due to his half-fae nature he felt temperature extremes less.

Fapallo ranged out around them, winding through the trees nearly silently as a vanguard. Kaitlyn wondered if Linmell was also nearby, but she didn’t see the larger dragon. If she was, she must be shifted into a smaller form or flying high above the trees.

Master Garthis paused to let her catch up and then said, “I also wanted to get you out of that house while we talk.”

Kaitlyn fidgeted slightly, and then asked, “Why? You sound worried.”

“I am,” Master Garthis said, “Sit. Let’s have a chat. This is long overdue and you have some decisions to make.”

“Decisions?” Kaitlyn asked.

Master Garthis ran his hand through his hair and then said, “In a normal master apprentice relationship, you would live in my house and learn by helping me with experiments as well as the learning on your own. We have had to modify that, but you are definitely losing out on some important things by being out here alone.”

Kaitlyn opened her mouth to respond, but Master Garthis raised lifted a hand to silence her. She closed her mouth again and he continued, “You aren’t hearing and seeing my conversations with other masters for one. You aren’t helping me in my experiments. You aren’t learning wizard culture.”

He lifted his hand again. An image appeared above it, an illusion of a sphere with blue and green across it. He said, “This is our world. It is larger and vaster than you have seen and there are races and cultures I would like to expose you to. There are more languages I would like to teach you. Dragonic is a good one since dragons live nearly everywhere. I would also like to teach you senina, there is one of the largest universities in the world there and they have a talent for training young mages…”

Master Garthis took a deep breath, clearly pulling himself off his own tangent to return to the topic he wanted to discuss, “I remember why I left you here Kaitlyn. I think it was the best decision I could make at the time. It might not still be the best decision given what we are learning about this hut.”

“Master, what about the curse?” Kaitlyn asked.

“There must be another way,” Master Garthis said firmly. “You are not stuck here if you don’t want to be. It might be more dangerous for you to be here than we first believed. I don’t know what this house might do to you as it gets more powerful. I don’t know how… I don’t know enough about the kind of magic it uses to guarantee you will stay safe Kaitlyn. That terrifies me.”

Kaitlyn looked at her master in surprise. He could be silly, sarcastic, or strong, but she couldn’t remember seeing him so vulnerable before. He sat down beside her and said, “I haven’t taken an apprentice before and I thought I could do it this way but…”

He scratched his head furiously and said, “You need more than I am giving you. You are powerful and I need to test your foundations more. I need to expose you to other mages… I think I’m doing this all wrong.”

Kaitlyn twisted the ring on her finger as she waited. Master Garthis didn’t continue and Kaitlyn said, “Master, are you saying I need to leave my hut?”

He stood and said, “I don’t know! Maybe!”

He began pacing and muttering to himself. The little Kaitlyn picked up, he was arguing with himself, trying to think how to keep her magic under control while bringing her to his own house. Kaitlyn considered this and twisted the ring on her finger. Kaitlyn considered what Master Garthis had said. She could do more magic. And if they solved this pain…. she could go home.

Kaitlyn tried not to think too much about home. The days she missed her family, she threw herself into some kind of work or study. She dreamed of them sometimes and woke with an ache in her chest. She had always wanted to see other places, but she always thought she would have more contact with her family. In the almost three years she had lived in her hut, she had received no word from them. She had asked Master Garthis to send occasional letters. She knew this was not a simple thing and kept them rare. His messengers reported there was no reply.

The sudden longing and hope to see her family again overwhelmed her. Tears sprang from her eyes and a sob choked her. She buried her head against her knees as a pain she hadn’t let herself feel for a long time crashed into her. She didn’t even noticed Master Garthis moving to sit beside her and gently wrap his arms around her.

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I should have done this before. I should have broken this…”

“I want to go home,” Kaitlyn sobbed out on his shoulder. “I miss my mama.”

The older mage was silent a long time, hugging her as she bawled like a little girl again. He looked around wishing he had invited Javorora with them. The dryad was much better at handling this sort of emotional support. He didn’t know what to do, so he tried to pat Kaitlyn’s shoulder. She didn’t stop crying.

It was a long time before Kaitlyn stopped sobbing. She finally starting taking some large, shaky breaths. Master Garthis asked, “Are you…. ok?”

She sniffled and nodded. Then she shook her head. Then she said, “Yes. I think so.”

“What… I didn’t know it was this bad for you,” he said gently. “Are you so unhappy?”

“I…” Kaitlyn didn’t even know how to answer that question in the moment. Yes, she missed her family with a visceral ache she had been ignoring for a long time. No, she loved what she was learning from her master and she loved Javorora. She loved being independent. She missed sitting in the kitchen with her mother while they cooked together. She loved meeting the new people and creatures in her hut. She opened her mouth to respond to her master, but nothing came out. Not yes and not no.

Master Garthis frowned and said, “Well, I think that settles it. We separate you from your hut.”