14
The “Wall Incident”
The next day, Kalahari awakened Samara as usual by throwing open the curtains and spilling sunshine into the room.
Come on! Get up!” Kalahari sang. “You’re going to run a few laps, and then we’ll get to work on training your magic.”
Reluctantly, Samara sat up, rubbing her tired eyes. “I have to train that, too?”
“Of course. You need to learn to control it.”
“Okay, whatever,” Samara mumbled sleepily.
“You’re on your own this morning. I’m going to prepare a large breakfast for you while you’re outside. Magic takes a lot of energy, especially when you’re just beginning, so you need to have your strength up.”
Samara headed to the bathroom, yawning.
“Make sure there’s bacon,” she mumbled.
“Duh,” Kalahari replied, following her out of the room.
Samara splashed her face with cool water and then dressed in her sweats before putting her hair up in a loose ponytail.
Her mind was preoccupied while she ran the well-worn path. She almost lost count of the laps she had done because of everything swimming in her mind.
Last night, she had gone to the well early to make up for missing the night before. Danteous had been understanding, not in the least annoyed with her; he seemed more concerned with her well-being than anything.
But he had been quiet that night. He barely said anything unless Samara asked him a question. She had caught him several times just looking at her. And not in the way he used to.
Before, when she would catch him looking at her, it was like he thought she was the most beautiful being on the planet and couldn’t look away.
But last night, the look had been as though he were trying to figure something out—like he thought she was keeping something from him. A dark secret.
She was keeping something from him. She still hadn’t told him why she was really staying with Kalahari, but in all fairness, he hadn’t asked again either. Still, when she caught him looking at her like that, she felt guilty.
When she finished her run and went back inside, Kalahari was dishing out the food. Leela was helping her.
“Have a seat, fill up,” Kalahari said to her, gesturing to the table.
Samara washed her hands before sitting down.
“I feel bad for never helping with the cooking,” she said.
“You’re not here to cook,” Kalahari replied.
After they finished with breakfast, Samara, Kalahari, and Leela gathered in the Blue Room.
“Stand there in the middle.” Kalahari pointed.
Still sleepy and sluggish, Samara stepped on the mat and waited for the next order. She had no idea what Kalahari had in mind for this part of her training. She hoped it wouldn’t cause her to pass out again.
Leela made herself comfortable by leaning against the wall and folding her arms across her chest.
“Alright,” Kalahari said. She was walking back and forth with her arms crossed, looking like she was about to give some all-important lecture. “You control the magic. You call it at will. You are in charge.
“But you have to learn: you have to feel it in order to differentiate it from the normal feelings your body possesses—blood flow, hunger, pain, excitement. Once you learn the difference, you’ll be able to tell right away what is magic and what is not.
“You must gather the magic into one spot. Usually, that spot is your hands because it’s easier to control that way. What I want you to do in a moment, Samara, is pull the magic to your palm. Watch me.”
Samara listened carefully and observed as Kalahari stretched out her arm. Closing her eyes, Kalahari concentrated and opened her hand so her palm was face up.
After a couple of seconds, her palm glowed red and started to swell. The red turned into a small flame that rose from her flesh, dancing gracefully.
Opening her eyes, Kalahari smiled, looking at the flame.
“Wow,” Samara said. “That’s just like what Leela did.”
“I used lightning,” Leela said matter-of-factly.
Samara ignored her.
“Mhm,” Kalahari said, still smiling. “Did you observe my concentration?”
Samara nodded.
“I didn’t have to concentrate so hard. I only did that to show you how you should do it your first couple of times. Concentrate. Take control. Tell the power to go to your hand, to that one spot.”
“How will I know where it is?”
“Your mind will tell it where to be; wherever you imagine it, that’s where it’ll be. Now, watch this. Leela?”
Leela barely moved, nonchalantly holding her hand out, palm forward, facing Kalahari’s back.
Kalahari whipped around and Samara barely saw a flash of white light. It launched itself from Kalahari’s palm, straight to Leela’s. The white light disappeared into Leela’s hand.
Samara was amazed. It had happened so quickly, and Leela didn’t even seem phased by it; it apparently wasn’t painful to absorb someone else’s energy, unless it just took a lot of training where you had to get used to it.
Turning back to Samara, Kalahari said, “That’s how you will do it. Once you release your magic and can aim and hit your target in only a matter of seconds, you’ve gained total control of its trajectory. As long as it’s still connected to you, you have control, but once you let go of it, it’s not so easy to control—that’s where your training will help you.”
Samara only nodded. She was worried about not being able to summon the magic at all.
“You try,” Kalahari said. “Remember how I did it; concentration is your main key. Imagine yourself pulling the magic to your palm and holding a flame, but do not release it.”
After taking a deep breath, Samara closed her eyes and stretched her arm out in front of her as Kalahari had done. She imagined holding a flame in her hand.
For a long while—Leela had even started picking at her fingernails—nothing happened. But finally, Samara felt an unfamiliar warmth course through her body, leaving a chill in its wake as it rushed to the spot she had commanded.
It was too late before she realized she couldn’t stop it from exiting her hand that she had no control as Kalahari said she would. She felt the energy explode from below her fingers and then she heard a real explosion. And, with her eyes still closed, she heard Kalahari gasp.
Reluctantly, she opened her eyes, and they widened in embarrassment. She had released the energy in the form of a fireball and it had flown right through the west wall.
The flame wasn’t supposed to leave her hand! Now there was a hole in the wall the size in diameter of the punching bag. Kalahari was gaping at the hole. Leela looked like she was trying to hold back condescending laughter; she covered her mouth to keep from doing so.
“I’m sorry,” Samara whispered, horrified at the damage she had caused.
Kalahari moved to get a better look through the hole. A bright pillar of sunlight was triumphantly shining through it, showering the floor.
“Oh!” Kalahari gasped again. “The poor squirrel.”
* * *
After dinner that evening, Samara helped Kalahari clean up the dishes. As she was drying the plates, Kalahari surprised her by confronting her about Danteous. She wondered how long Kalahari had known about their relationship.
Being caught off guard—which is probably what Kalahari had been counting on—she felt awkward; she wasn’t comfortable talking about her relationship with Danteous to anyone. Perhaps because it had been kept a secret for so long.
“I’m not sure you know who he really is,” Kalahari said.
“What do you mean?” Samara asked casually, trying to hide her discomfort.
“Well,” Kalahari said, trying to be gentle with her words. “He’s never been a one-woman man before. And he has a bad temper . . . I’m just worried you’re getting in too deep; getting your hopes up.”
Samara sighed inwardly. Not this again, she had already heard this lecture from Leela.
“I appreciate your concern, but he’s never aimed his temper at me before. And I know what he was like when we first met, about the women, I mean. I saw a lot of the girls he knew before. But, he’s changed since then.”
“How?”
“Well,” Samara shrugged, putting a plate on top of the other two sitting on the counter. “He’s with me every night, not them. And he’s not as arrogant as he used to be.”
“Maybe that’s his disguise so you’ll trust him,” Kalahari mumbled.
“What?” Samara asked, making sure she had heard her right.
Kalahari looked at her and chuckled, an obvious cover-up for the slip.
“I’m sorry, Samara, I shouldn’t say that. Maybe he has changed; perhaps you were capable of helping him do so. It’s just…oh Samara,” she sighed, exasperated. “I love Danteous, but his personality and the way he treats others is not always deserving of an award.”
She touched Samara’s shoulder, an assuring gesture. “Just be careful, okay?”
“I will.” She smiled. “But I don’t need to; Danteous won’t hurt me.”
* * *
It had been a few weeks since “The Wall Incident” as Kalahari now called it. She had fixed the hole assaulted by Samara’s magic and Samara was able to continue with her training.
She had learned to control the magic, though she had accomplished this more slowly than her other training. It took her longer than Kalahari had hoped; she was better skilled with the sword than with magic.
Her magic was strong, but she still had a lot more potential that she hadn’t been able to release, and though Kalahari tried to hide it, Samara knew she was concerned.
“I think you’re ready,” Kalahari blurted out one day after a session of sword fighting.
Samara and Leela both dropped their weapons to their sides and looked at Kalahari in response.
“When do we leave?” Leela asked.
“But . . . my magic, I’m not fully trained-” Samara said. She had to try anything, anything to prolong her departure from Danteous.
“You’re trained enough,” interrupted Kalahari. “Your sword will make up for where your magic lacks, and you can continue to train your magic along the way.
“It’s going to take weeks, maybe months, to get to the orb because, after Crystal Sea, you’ll have to walk since the terrain won’t permit any other means of transportation.
“We’re running out of time. I know my father said it wasn’t likely anyone else could find it very quickly without Cyril knowing where he is, but I have a feeling the One is getting closer to figuring it out.”
“We have to trust your feelings,” replied Leela, seeming to hold back excitement in her voice. “When do we leave?” she repeated.
Samara didn’t say anything else. Her eyes felt like they would break at any moment; she didn’t want to leave Danteous, especially since she wasn’t positive she would return.
“You’ll have a day of rest tomorrow and then leave early the next morning.” Kalahari locked eyes with Samara and mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
Samara felt a wave of nausea briefly roll through her stomach. She took a deep breath and forced it away. She had known from the beginning that this day would come.
Maybe she shouldn’t get so upset, yet. If she explained to Danteous what she had to do, maybe he would want to go with her and Leela. Kalahari had said he wouldn’t help with the orb, but that was before he had gotten close to Samara; he might want to help her.
But something in Samara’s gut told her that they would be saying goodbye. She didn’t like the feeling.
“Get cleaned up. I’ll be in the living room; we’ll discuss more there,” Kalahari said, leaving the room.
Leela tossed her sword down and followed.
Samara wiped a tear away and then slammed her blade into the blue mat. Leaving it there, impaling the thick cushion, she hurriedly went to the bathroom so she could take a quick shower and have a brief escape to let the tears fall freely until she could calm her emotions.
* * *
“The orb is hidden in a tower,” Kalahari began. “You know that much. The tower is protected from human sight; only those with magic abilities can see it, that way the humans don’t get suspicious.”
The three of them were sitting in the living room. Samara had been mostly silent since her shower.
She wanted to be in Danteous’s arms right now, remembering it was just the other night that he had finally said he loved her, actually said the words. They had been lying in his bed together, Samara on his chest and on the verge of sleep, and he had just said it—no warning. She had been so happy that night—not just that night, though; she had been so much happier being with him.
She didn’t want to leave now . . . she couldn’t.
“Before my father died, he gave me this map.” Kalahari’s voice chimed in and interrupted Samara’s thoughts. She held up a yellowing map, its corners ripped. “It’s the shortcut path to the orb. My father took it a different way to avoid the mountains, but if you go the way he went, it will add about three weeks to your journey—six if you count coming back. The mountains will be difficult to pass over, but it will get you to the orb faster, and I have faith in you both.”
“It won’t be a problem,” Leela said. She didn’t fear anything.
Kalahari nodded in response and then looked at Samara for her opinion.
“Yeah, no problem,” Samara mumbled.
“So,” Leela said. “Who gets to hold the map?” She was trying to make light of the situation by being sarcastic. Her whole attitude had changed since Kalahari said they were ready to start their journey. She seemed excited, like this was what she had been waiting for all along.
It was maddening.
Kalahari smiled. “That’s between the two of you.”
Leela held her hand out and Kalahari gave the map to her.
Samara was looking out the window, uninterested. She didn’t care who held the map. She wished she didn’t have to go on this stupid journey at all. The only reason she was going was because she knew she was the only one who could stop Cyril from being released. That and she had to honor the death of her parents. Plus, if she didn’t go, she might not ever see Danteous again because they could all be killed if Cyril was released. At least this way, she still had a chance at being together with him when her task was over.
“I want you both to listen to me,” Kalahari said.
Samara turned and looked at her.
“Though not many of us are left, most sorcerers know of the orb and some are just as eager to get their hands on it as the One. Be suspicious of everyone and don’t hand out any information about yourselves or the orb.
“Keep in mind you could, and most likely will, be followed.” She and Leela glanced at each other for a brief moment and Leela nodded.
“You don’t have to worry. No one’s getting a hold of that orb but us,” Leela said.
Kalahari smiled.
“Is that all?” Samara asked. She wanted to go to her room and lie down since she couldn’t go to Danteous right now.
Again, Leela and Kalahari looked at each other. They seemed to be communicating with their eyes.
“Actually, there is something we’ve been meaning to tell you,” Kalahari said.
Samara shrugged. “So tell me.”
“Before we do, you have to understand something, Samara: we didn’t tell you in the beginning because we weren’t sure if we could trust you and we couldn’t take a chance of you telling anyone about the orb in case you decided not to be responsible for it.
“By the time we knew we could trust you, it was too late; telling you would have interfered with your training.”
“How?” Samara asked, her full attention now on Kalahari. She had a bad feeling.
...to be continued in the final chapter...
