The thin arcs moved to the tip of her dagger. They collected into a small ball of light.
“This might be more difficult, but still easier to control than a bolt.”
With a flick of her wrist, she sent the ball flying against one wall. The ball shattered. Snakes of electricity crawled over the wall before dissipating.
“Another way to use that one,” she said as another ball formed at the tip of her dagger.
It flew across the room, similar to the first. At the peak of its arc, it exploded.
Not a very impressive explosion.
“Of course it doesn’t look like much,” Professor Baxter said. Apparently Shalise’s opinion was written on her face. “If that was full power, you would be blind, deaf, and falling to the floor in confusion.”
That certainly sounded much better. The little crackle and small flash hadn’t been much worse than having a picture taken.
“I don’t suppose I’d be able to cast any of those spells any time soon?”
“Sooner than a lightning bolt, perhaps. The lightning around your focus should easily be done by the end of the year. What has Profess–What has Yuria got you working on?”
“Air control, mostly.” She rubbed her forehead. She winced back at a slight pain just behind her eyebrow. “Not something useful.”
Professor Baxter shook her head. “A fundamental part of learning any element is manipulating it. Why are you so focused on lightning?”
Shalise stared at her teacher, wondering if she was serious. “It is attack magic.”
“You don’t think you can attack with air?”
A pen flipped off of her desk. As it flew into the corner of the office, Professor Baxter flicked her dagger. There was a brief moment where nothing happened before the pen split into two. Ink splattered across the walls and floor.
Professor Baxter made a slight choking noise before sighing. “Last time I demonstrated that, I used a pencil.”
Shalise giggled.
“That is two examples in one. Air mages are the only ones capable of a proper telekinesis. You can fling objects at enemies. Shaping wind into a tight enough shape will cause harm as well.
“You might be hard pressed to create a blade out of wind right now, but a heavy hammering of air could knock someone over. That and following up with electricity arced around your focus is probably your best bet for now.”
Shalise sighed and shut her eyes. The darkness felt nice. Maybe the flash from the electricity ball had been more than enough to cause a headache.
“I am concerned,” Professor Baxter said, seemingly oblivious to Shalise. “There are many respectable professions in the magical world where combat is a focal point. More perhaps than peaceful jobs. Most students do not think about such things until their third year at the earliest.”
There was a brief sigh. Shalise felt the professor’s presence move in front of her. She opened her eyes to find green eyes staring at her.
“You’re not asking about this because of what happened last semester, are you?”
“No,” Shalise said quickly. Too quickly. She slumped her shoulders down and said, “I mean, I’d be lying if I said I don’t think about that. I don’t think it has anything to do with my questions.”
Her professor’s green eyes studied her intently. “Very well,” she said.
Shalise wasn’t sure her professor believed her. Shalise wasn’t sure she believed herself.
“I’d rather not talk about it, if it is all the same to you. I talked enough while I was on my ‘vacation’ back home.”
Professor Baxter’s eyes glanced over Shalise one more time before they shut. She gave a solemn nod of her head. “I understand. Would you like me to teach you the thought patterns necessary for any of the spells I demonstrated today?”
Shalise shook her head. “Perhaps next time, Professor Baxter. You’ve given me a lot to think about.” Thinking that hurt her head at the moment. A nap might be nice.
“I’ll look forward to our next lesson then.” The professor walked around behind her desk and took a seat in her chair.
Feeling dismissed, Shalise got up and walked out of Professor Baxter’s office.
Outside the classroom, Shalise leaned against a window. The cold glass pressed against her forehead. Her headache slowly melted away as she sat there, eyes shut.
Quiet footsteps approached her. The paused just behind Shalise. She tensed up, her hand going to her wand almost unconsciously.
“Shal? Are you alright?”
Shalise peeked her eyes open. She quickly let go of her wand as she turned. “Just a headache, Sister Cross.”
“Lynn, please.” Sister Cross said. She set a hand on Shalise’s shoulder and lightly squeezed. “Are you sure? I detected some magic–”
“It is fine,” Shalise said. “I asked one of my teachers to demonstrate some magic.”
There was a quiet moment before Sister Cross spoke again. “You don’t have to defend them. If someone hurt you–”
“Are you spying on me too?”
Sister Cross’ hand froze before it slid off of her shoulder. “Shal,” she said. Her voice came out as a whisper.
Shalise sighed. That might have come out too harsh. “I’m sorry. I have a headache and I’m frustrated.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Shalise didn’t respond. Did she want to talk about it? Would Sister Cross have any input to change three years of feeble magic to something shorter? Probably not.
“Walk with me,” the nun said as she continued down the hallway.
After a moment of hesitation, Shalise followed a few paces behind her. She kept silent as they walked. The ringing in her ears died down, at least.
Not wanting to further upset Sister Cross, Shalise tried to force her face into her usual smile. She could tell it wasn’t working even without a mirror.
Shalise pulled her wand out of its holder. It idly spun in her hands as she walked alongside the nun.
As they walked, she got an idea. It was wasteful to just meander along when she could be training.
Shalise practiced the motions and the mental exercises of creating lightning without channeling magic into her wand. Class hadn’t even started the actual bolt part of lightning bolts, but generating electricity seemed to be a fundamental skill for the other spells Professor Baxter had used.
It wasn’t hard to imagine what would be required for a bolt anyway. Thus far, almost all magic relied on picturing what you wanted to have happen as you channeled magic. For a bolt, she’d need to picture the electricity arcing somewhere.
At least that is what she did the few times she actually tried to make a bolt.
“What’s bothering you?”
Shalise looked up quickly, glad she didn’t bump into the now stopped nun.
Sister Cross had her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Shalise’s wand. “Are you unable to,” she paused as a small frown grew on her face, “to cast spells?”
In response, Shalise channeled magic into her wand. A bright spark hummed at the tip of her wand for a few seconds before vanishing.
“Good,” Sister Cross nodded with a small smile. She set a hand on Shalise’s shoulder again. “I was an air mage as well, before joining the order.”
“You’re not anymore?”
“Technically, I am. Many sisters still carry wands or other thaumaturgical foci with them, including myself. I was never very good at it though. I could still cast proper air magic if I needed to.”
“But you don’t.” Shalise smiled at the nun. “What do you use instead?” she asked as politely as she could.
Sister Cross looked up and down the empty hallway. “Secret. Can’t tell people who aren’t in the order. Not even you, Shal.”
Her smile slipped off again. “What if I want to join?”
Shalise crossed her arms as Sister Cross looked around the still empty hallway. There had been no changes in the last five seconds. Being a Saturday, there weren’t even students outside the window between the school and the dorms.
“You don’t want to join, Shal.” Her voice dropped to just above a whisper.