The Midnight Storm (A New Dawn #2)

Chapter 12 - Fox

"I'm gonna need some volunteers," Storm muttered, then pointed to him. "Fawn, Fox, come here. I need you to hold this, each in turn, and tell your fellow council members what you experience?"

Eager to do something else than sitting and listening, Fox rushed to his feet. He cut off Fawn before she even had the chance to reach the table before he did, ignoring the annoying high-pitched scream of his name. Pride coursed through his veins as he grabbed the stone, as though he had snatched it from the magic cave himself.

He shook the stone and squeezed it. It weighed less than he had expected to be, yet didn't crumble like chalk. He blinked rapidly—the reddish hue wasn't there before, was it?

"Share your thoughts, Fox. What do you see?" Storm asked.

"I thought it was black, but it isn't. I can see bits of red in it, some brown too and even..." Fox paused. A thin white crack formed on the side, slowly but steadily. "It's changing."

"It adapts itself to the magician holding it," Storm explained. "Now light it on fire for me—pretend you want to burn it."

Fox looked up, twitching his face. "But I don't want to destroy it."

"Try it."

Still reluctant to do so, he sought Katla's approval. His master was no longer slumped in his chair but had moved to the edge of his seat, his dark eyebrows pulled together. He wasn't the only one. Badger sat straighter than usual. Several mouths hung open. Hawk gave him a faint nod.

Uncomfortable to obey her, Fox retreated his gaze, his eyes landing on Fawn, who looked as though she would snatch the stone from his hands if he didn't do anything soon. Oh, no, she wasn't going to steal his thunder this time.

Keeping a firm grip on the magic rock, he imagined flames flowing from his mind through his bloodstream to the tip of his fingers. The stone lit up, a brilliant glow at first, then carmine red oozed out of his pores, cold and smokeless. One flame shot up, then another. The fire grew, engulfing his hands, his wrists, then crept further up until it reached his elbows.

"I can't feel the flames," Fox told the council. "It's like they're not there."

"But the magic is real." Storm picked up a piece of bread the length of his finger and dipped it into the ball of fire, briefly. It came out toasted, with bits charred even.

Various members of the Mage Council had stood up from their seats. Katla was dividing his attention between Badger and Hawk, whispering and gesticulating. Sparks twitched and jumped from one end to the other. The murmurs grew louder.

"What's that?" said the Scorian Water Magician on the front row.

"I call it an 'Enhancer' but I'm Ician." Storm grinned. As he plucked the stone from Fox's hands, the fire went out as though it had never been there. It returned to its ordinary state, just black with no cracks. The bread was still toast. "Now let's see what an Earth Magician can do."

The man handed the enhancer to Fawn, who was over-eagerly jumping up and down, and ordered her to try and destroy it too.

As she held it, the stone turned a sandy brown. Keeping its shape, grains twirled down. They covered the spot where she stood, then her shoes. Her hair didn't change colour, not even when a downpour of sand started gushing out the bottomless rock.

"I've never been able to conjure that much sand!" Fawn beamed. "I can keep on going—fill this whole room."

"I won't let you. I'll melt the sand with my flames," Fox mumbled.

The Scorian Water Magician was flinching, not looking directly at the scene. "I'm not sure if I can trust this. It seems demonic."

"Or a gift from the Gods," a male Earth Magician with whitish-grey hair and an oversized cloak proclaimed, his voice silencing the countless whispers. There was a smug look on his scrawny freckled face. "A weapon to slay our enemies, dethrone promisers of falsehoods and place our own in various positions. It can start with you, Lord Storm."