“You were actually quite eloquent, Vega. Perhaps more than you know. And my words to you were equally harsh.”
She gazed up at the sky again.
The next words I said, though, got her full and rapt attention.
“The Maladons?”
She turned to look at me. “Archie told you?”
I nodded.
“Yes, the bloody Maladons.”
She said the word as though it were the most disgusting one ever conceived.
“They are powerful, I take it.”
“Yes, so much so that they destroyed us and everything we believed in. Utterly and completely.”
“Maybe not so completely,” I replied.
She gazed at me. And I thought I saw just a hint of a smile.
“What can be done?” I asked.
She considered this query for a bit. “You said you want to fight?”
“Yes.”
She looked back at the cottage. “What you did in there, Vega?”
“I don’t know how I did it.”
“Doesn’t matter. You did it; that’s what counts.”
“Well, my grandfather is an Excalibur. And you said that power follows the line.”
“It is actually more than that. Much more.” She turned on the rock to face me and her tone became quite deliberate. “An Excalibur is born with everything he or she will ever have in the way of power. That made your grandfather very mighty indeed. But there is a greater power even than that.”
“What?” I said breathlessly.
“For those who are not so powerful when young but grow into more formidable power as they become older. With such power so deeply rooted in them that they can sometimes perform large feats of magic without a wand. Without actually uttering a spell. You have no idea how remarkable that is. I think that you are one of those. And they are even rarer than the Excaliburs. They are so rare, in fact, that we do not even have a name for them. Perhaps I will commence calling such a phenomenon... Vega.”
With that, Astrea fell silent and I could think of nothing else to say. I thought we would simply sit together under a beautifully clear sky, apparently contemplating the absolute worst of futures. I was about to be gobsmacked as I never had been in my life.
“If you want to cross the Quag and take up the fight once more, you will need to be trained up,” she said. “We will commence at next light.”
Before I could say anything, she rose and walked back to the cottage, leaving me sitting there, alone.
Viginti duo: The Other Elemental
I could not sleep that night. I tossed and turned and squirmed and dreamed. Finally, in a cold sweat, I rose, dressed and went outside and sat on the stone slab by the door with Harry Two and stared up at the emerald dome and beyond that to the sky over the Quag. This coming light, Astrea said, we would start our training. I had no idea what that would entail and it was a bit unnerving. Well, more than a bit actually.
As I sat with Harry Two, the door opened and there was Delph in his long nightshirt. He didn’t look like he had slept either. In his bare feet, he sat down next to me.
“Like old times,” he said. “When we were up your tree.”
Though that wasn’t very far in the past, it seemed so long ago that I could barely remember it.
“Yeah,” I said absently, still staring at the dome.
“You said Astrea wants us to go across this place now.”
“She wants us to fight.”
“These Maladon blokes?”
“Right.”
“But we don’t know nuthin’ ’bout ’em.”
“I guess that will be part of the training, Delph.”
He looked down, his brow creased with concern and his expression one of frustration. “But I ain’t magical, Vega Jane. What you did, blasting everything like that, I can’t do that. You know I can’t.”
I took his hand. “What I know, Daniel Delphia, is that you and I are in this together. We were separated once. And we will never be separated again. I can’t do this without you. You know that, don’t you? You must.”
“That female from the past said it was you what got to survive, right? Well, I ’spect she knew what she was saying. So, if it comes to it, I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you do. And I mean whatever it takes!”
I felt swells of cold dread filling me. I looked at Harry Two. He reached out a paw and placed it squarely on my shoulder. The look on his face was somehow perfectly clear to me.
I will die for you too.
That look seized me with terror. I glanced over at Delph and then back at Harry Two. If they died for me? No, what if they died because of me?
We fell asleep on the stone and were roused only when Astrea appeared at the door and called to us. We put on our clothes, ate our breakfast and assembled in the library.
“What will the training consist of?” I asked.
“Learning magic.”
“But that means a wand.”
“Indeed it does.”
“Where did you get yours?”
“It was given to me by my father.”
“Where did he get it?”
“He took a bit of himself and formed my wand by the proper incantation and passed it down to me. It is how such things are done in our world. It gives a connectivity among families that is largely unbreakable. In this way I have the full force and power of all my ancestors.”
“He took a bit of himself?” I repeated.
“Blimey! What bit would that be?” said Delph, voicing what I was thinking.
Astrea said, “His blood. That is often used. You can see the hardened drops of it embedded in the base here.”
She looked at Delph. “Have you ever done anything magical, Delph?”
Delph gaped at her for a long moment. “I’m not magical,” he finally said, as though it should have been obvious.
“And you base this conclusion upon what precisely?”
“That I ain’t never done ruddy magic, that’s what.”
“Neither had Vega Jane, until the opportunity presented itself,” she retorted.
Delph said, “Well, I’ve never done magic, though I’ve been in situations where I wish I could’ve done. So’s that means I’m just a big lug.”
“You’re not a big lug, Delph. I’d be dead back at Thorne’s but for you. You think of things I never could. And you’re strong and so very brave.”
“Shall we commence?” interjected Astrea.
At that moment the door opened and I nearly fell out of my chair.
A young male, not much older than us, stood there. He was dressed oddly in a long nightshirt with his bare calves and feet visible. His face was unlined by care or worry and his dark hair was long and swept helter-skelter over his head. His eyes were so dazzling blue they seemed like ice chips reflected against a cloudless sky.
I saw Delph looking at him, as puzzled as I was.
“Archie!”
I turned to look back at Astrea, who had called out the name. She had risen from her chair and was staring goggle-eyed at the fellow.
Archie? I thought. But Archie was in bed, ancient and dying. Then it hit me.
“You took the youth elixir,” I blurted out.
Archie smiled and strode forward. He was far taller than his mother, but not so tall as I was. And of course he was much shorter than Delph.
“Correct, I partook of the elixir of youth,” he conceded.
His speech was oddly formal and his tone that of a much older male. Which made sense since a bit ago he had been very ancient indeed.
He stretched like a cat and then shivered. “Feels absolutely splendid. Far better than lying in bed, gasping for air.”
“What in the world made you do it?” This query came from Astrea, who was still staring at her son.