The next morning dawned with me feeling...strange. My mind felt incredibly sluggish and dim, but my body was as just as refreshed as I would expect from a good night's sleep. My only guess was that I was completely and mentally drained.
Zane muttered that it might be the price of how much magic I had accidentally used. He also wondered if it might be a effect of having my mind merged with his own.
This state lasted for three full days. I was so slow, in fact, that the only thing I could really do was sit in my seat of the car and stare straight ahead. Zane was torn between anger and worry. I couldn't blame him. I felt the same way.
"Please," he murmured softly, on the second day, driving down the road. "Don't do that again, if you can help it. And do everything you can to help it. Honestly, I don't think it would be a good idea for you to ever...'time-travel' again."
It took me nearly five minutes to be able to completely understand, digest, and process what he had said. That's how bad my mind had become. Everything around me felt incredibly slow but impossibly fast at the same time. "Yes...I'll do my...best."
On the fourth morning I woke up feeling normal. It was such a relief that I began to laugh. Zane turned on the bed, quickly waking up at the sound of my laughter. It was the first time I had done so in three days. I smiled at him and he silently pulled me into a crushing hug. "Thank the gods."
I nodded, hugging him back. "I'm sorry I scared you. I scared myself."
Ten minutes later I was making a quick breakfast, Zane pacing behind me, muttering to himself. I waited until the food was done before speaking. "Hungry?" At the quick jerk of his head, I turned back to my meal, sitting down in one of the armchairs that had been placed a short distance from the hearth. He was still pacing as I stared up at him, eating.
If he started out as a normal human...How, exactly, did he get to the point that his normal body movements and needs are so different from a average human? There is magic, yes...But what did he have to do to make it so that he rarely had to eat or drink anymore, besides his super-human strength, speed, and hearing?
Zane paused mid-pace. "Magic is capable of anything. All you have to do is adjust your mindset, perspective, and have the strength of will to bend it as you see fit." I hadn't physically asked a question. I opened my mouth to do so, but he sighed. "Link," he muttered.
I nodded, swallowing back a drink of water. "So, what has you so...agitated this morning?"
He stopped, turning to face me head-on. "I'm feeling something's wrong," his voice trailed off.
"Wrong?" I repeated, feeling a thread of worry.
He began pacing again. I finished off my meal, rising to my feet to begin cleaning up. "Link," he muttered. "Link..."
Nearly fifteen minutes later, after I had cleaned everything up and was sitting back down in the armchair, he finally stopped pacing. "Shit!" he growled. "The link."
I blinked up at him uncertainly. "That doesn't sound good."
He shifted his gaze back to me. "It's not. It really isn't. There...there's a lot of stuff going on and I'm not completely sure what it is or what's causing it. This is rare for me and I don't think I like it. But, I do know that part of the problem is our link."
I paled. "Are you saying...Zane, you can't...cut it." My voice fell to a faint whisper of pain. The idea that he might...It was too much for my heart to handle.
His eyes were hot with rage as they glared down at me. "I would never!" he hissed. "Besides, as I said before, it is irreversible. Even if I wanted to, and I would never want to, I cannot destroy the link. I spoke the words and words are as much a thing of magic as anything else I can do. In fact, they are one of the more powerful forms of magic. Everyone else seems to forget that..."
I swallowed, trying to calm down a little. "Right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean..." I took in several deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly. "Is there anything I can do to help? I...I have magic, apparently, even if it is...very wild."
His lips pulled up into a brief grin before he grew serious once more, his brow furrowing into a frown. "Thank you for the offer, but unfortunately, this is way beyond your skill level. I'd say another one to three hundred years of training for you until you're ready, depending on how quickly you pick up on controlling your magic."
I blinked, staring up at him. "Hundreds of years? Zane, I'm human..."
He shook his head impatiently. "No, you aren't. Not quite, anyway. Mostly, yes; but being linked to me means that you are connected, partly, to the magic that I have inside me. The magic of the whole world. Since our souls are connected, that means that a measure of the magic inside me is housed in your soul. Then there is the fact that you are an Arcane mage of your own right, so-"
I interrupted. "That's the part that makes no sense. I haven't had any magic my entire life. Not since we were captured in Hesleth. So how can it be that suddenly, I'm supposed to be capable of as much magic as you?"
He sighed, glaring at me. "I was just about to explain that."
I swallowed, dipping my head in apology. "I'm sorry. Please, continue."
He nodded shortly. "I was going to." He coughed, clearing his throat. "So, as I was about to say. You had magic; hidden, dormant. It was just waiting for you to realize and call to it. I know most people seem to think that magic is something without any...consciousness. But sometimes, if only faintly, I almost feel as if it does have some form of mind, deep in the depths of itself. As such, I like to think that each being, born with the potential for magic, has to make a choice. They have to call out to the magic inside themselves and choose to use it. Whether consciously or unconsciously, this choice must always be made. Or, that's what I believe, anyway."
"That theory does make some sense," I agreed. My mind picked up on several things he had said. "So, what you're telling me is that..." I closed my eyes, feeling a mixture of nervousness, worry, and amazement. "Since I have both my own magic, which seems to be quite powerful, if not controllable yet...And since I am also connected, through you, to the magic of the world...I am...immune to the effects of time?"
He grinned. "Yes! That's correct." His good humor quickly dimmed as he took in a deep breath. "But you aren't one hundred percent immortal. That's why we are heading to Hawaii. But, for now, you will no longer age, no longer have to worry about dying because of time. Everything else that can kill a human though can kill you. This means you have to be just as cautious as before."
I nodded. "Yes."
His eyes abruptly shifted, startling me. I blinked and he was directly in front of me. They were the most intense I had ever seen. The black, orange, and purple felt as if they would burn through my skull and into my own mind, filling it with nothing else but those three simple colors. "Remember this, Ashna Sangini, Keeper of my heart, Home of my soul...If you are no more, the world will end. I care not for anyone or anything else in this world. I have waited much too long for my reward, my one light in this never-ending life. Now that I have found you, I will hold the whole universe hostage, if it means I can keep you. If you care at all for me...At all for this world and all the lives in it...Just remember, never let yourself die."
I gulped, trying to breathe. I couldn't find the breath to speak, so instead I nodded. Slowly, his gaze burning my own, he pulled back. Once he was an arms' distance away, his eyes and mood shifted, just as suddenly as before. "So, I think we're going to go on a vacation."
I struggled to keep up with his mood swings. "A vacation?" I repeated hesitantly.
He smiled warmly, glancing back at me. "Yes. Somewhere very far away, with no magic at all."
I stared up at him for half a second. Then I began to laugh, hard. He glared. "What is so freaking funny? I hate when you laugh at something and I don't know why. It makes my self-consciousness rear up. Are you laughing about something I said or at me?"
Him talking about being self-conscious made me laugh even more. Now I was gasping for breath between my giggles. I was slowly strangling myself with my own laughter. Realizing how bad it was, I turned a panicked gaze to Zane. Sighing loudly, he placed a hand against my chest. "Tranquillum," he murmured softly.
As soon as he spoke the word, my laughter stopped. I blinked, finding that I could breathe normally, without any problems. Sucking in one last deep breath, I smiled hesitantly. "Thank you. I'm sorry about that. I just...you, in a world without magic? That's impossible, Zane. You wouldn't last more than five minutes." I slammed a hand over my mouth, trying to stop my laughter from flaring up again.
He growled, low in his throat. "I find that a little offensive. Of course I can live in a world without magic. The world Before had magic, but it was so far between and so little...It was nearly the same as no magic."
I shook my head, lifting up my hand and returning it to my side. "How long did you live like that? Twenty years? What is twenty years to you, now?" He paused, staring down at me, growing still. "It's like a drop of water in the four thousands years you have lived with magic a constant and active part of both your very being and your life. When you think of it like that, you have never lived in a world without magic. So, how will you manage if we go somewhere like that now? Besides, could you even do so in the first place? The magic of the world is technically keeping you alive at this point. If you go somewhere without it's power, won't you just die, crumble to dust as the countless lifetimes you have lived out catch up with you?"
His expression was unreadable as he continued to gaze down at me. When he finally spoke, his voice was softer than a whisper and I was barely able to make it out. "Gods, I love you. You thought of something like that before it ever occurred to me..." His voice returned to a normal level. "I should be fine. I have enough magic of my own that it should be able to keep me alive, as long as I ration it out. I say we don't stay away for any more than two days though."
"Why not go somewhere...safer?"
He grinned briefly. "I'm the Demon King, Ana."
I nodded shortly. "Yes. What about it?"
He sighed heavily. "Well, having the title 'Demon King' brings with it a certain image, yes?" Slowly, I nodded once more. "A large, dark, demonic man is what someone would usually image when they think of that title. I guess you could say I already fail at that part, unless I'm using illusions. But they also expect someone who has a violent temper, or a wild personality."
"You already have that," I reminded him.
He frowned before shaking his head. "Okay, yeah...But I'm not usually reckless, which is part of a wild personality. So, to please the Demon King fans, I have to do something stupid and wild. Going to a place that holds a threat of death is just that."
I rubbed at my eyes, feeling a headache pound in the back of my skull. "Zane...what fans are you talking about? Also, more importantly, there is no one here that you need to impress."
"There's you," he muttered in annoyance.
I shook my head. "Don't worry, love. You...impress, shock, confuse, and amaze me on a regular, daily basis. You don't need to do something as drastic as try to kill yourself. You've already done that once and I'd rather not repeat that horror." I swallowed, feeling the panic, rage, and bitter sorrow I still had buried over that whole fiasco.
Zane's arms were around me in an instant, holding me close. "Yes...I'm sorry, it was a stupid idea. I just thought that if we went somewhere that was out of the reach of the world's magic, it might help whatever is going on. Let's figure out something else to do instead."
I ran my hands down his back, pressing him closer. "Shouldn't we just keep heading to Hawaii?" I breathed in his scent, feeling myself calm down with him so near.
"I'm not very sure, honestly. But I guess, for now, it's our best option." We remained in each others arms for several more minutes before he stepped back. "We should probably head out. We've lost a lot of daylight. Go ahead and get ready while I refill the car."
I rose to my feet, watching as he walked out of the tent. Once he was gone, I found my pile of books and pulled out the one I had been reading the day before. I felt a little ashamed that I was still not very far in it. But I hadn't been able to help it. With how my mind had been the past three days, it had taken a lot for me to concentrate on the words in the book. Now that I was back to my normal self, I could read through it as fast as I usually did. I walked out of the tent, pausing at the sight that awaited me.
Zane's hands were twisting, moving swiftly as he used his magic on a large tree near where he had parked the car. I knew not to disturb him, so I didn't dare move, in case I distracted him. He was using very strong, very complicated magic. He had told me a few days before that he didn't really like using it, since it took so much out of him. Basically, he was taking a part of the earth and forcing it to transform into another form of what the earth could be. He was taking the 'molecules', as he called them, and changing them from wood, leaves, and the general life of a plant, into something called 'gasoline'. He had told me that gasoline came from the ground, in certain places. These places were mined very often, Before, as gasoline became one of the most used resources in the 21st century.
I watched silently as the tree was broken apart, twisting and heating, all the while being lifted into the air. Zane's back was facing me so I couldn't see what was happening during the in-between stages. But after it passed where Zane stood, the solid mass of tree was now a liquid. Quickly, it fell down, pouring into the part of the car that Zane called a 'gas tank', filling it up so that the car could continue to operate. It took him nearly ten minutes. When he was done, he fell forward, panting.
Quickly, I moved to his side, running a hand down his back. He turned his head up to mine, smiling wearily. "Can I get a kiss to help me get my energy back?" he asked, chuckling.
Grinning, I leaned down and kissed him. A few seconds later I pulled back. He let out a long breath. "Thank you. That really does take more out of me than I like." He leaned into me for another minute. He inhaled deeply before rising to his feet, taking me with him. "Let's hurry up and get going."
Turning, he began to take down the tent. I move to help but a wave of his hand let me know he didn't want my help. Shrugging, I climbed into the car, sitting in my normal spot. A minute later he was seated and turning on the car. He waved his hand absently once more and my normal bubble appeared around me. "Thank you," I murmured as I began to pour into the book. He grunted before shifting the gears of the car and starting off.
Several hours flew by. I would read a few chapters and then try to put what I had read into practice. By the time midday had come, I was now able to make a bright ball of light with relative ease. Sometimes I would struggle with it, but not nearly as much as before. I was ecstatic. Magic really was very interesting and I wasn't even scratching at the surface of all the things it could do yet. Zane smiled and encouraged me to keep going. So, I did.
By the time evening had fallen, I was grateful for my ball of light. It helped me keep reading on. When we stopped for the night, I was trying to use the magic for telekinesis, my mind pulling up the term from Past Zane's memories. I had finished eating and it was nearly time to go to bed. I had placed a pillow at the end of the bed and I was trying to make it come to me. I was lying down on my back, the other pillows keeping my head propped up so I could see the one I was experimenting on. It wasn't a great distance, but I figured starting out small and easy was best.
Only, this wasn't easy.
It took an incredible amount of concentration to make the pillow move a centimeter. Zane was sitting up in the bed to my left, watching me practice in silence. I let out an annoyed breath as I once again failed at making the pillow move closer by more than a centimeter. Zane's hand on my shoulder made me jump in surprise. I had been concentrating so much I had forgotten he was nearby. "Maybe you should give it a rest for today. You can't expect something like telekinesis to be easy to do. But, the more you practice the better you'll be, love. Besides, look how far you did get it to move. Despite what you think, that's actually impressive. Especially as this is the first time you've tried and you've only been doing it for half an hour."
I turned back to see what he meant. I had gotten the pillow to move from the end of the bed, which was farther away than where Zane's feet ended, when he was stretched out properly. In fact, I had moved it all the way to my thighs. Even though it was within reach, I hadn't wanted to pick it up with my hands until it had reached my shoulders. Now, grudgingly, I shifted under the covers until I pulled free my hands, grabbing the pillow.
Once we were settled once more, I wrapped my arms around Zane. "Thank you," I whispered in embarrassed gratitude. Having him there, a constant, supportive presence was helping me not get too frustrated when I was unable to reach the goals I set for myself.
He laughed softly. "You're welcome, though I honestly didn't do anything. This was all you. Your own hard work and your own determination. You just have to keep at it. I love you, Ana. We should go to sleep now."
I nodded, cuddling closer as I closed my eyes. "I love you too."
O O O
For the next week, I continued to work on practicing my magic, struggling to gain better control over it. I didn't want anything like the random outbursts I had to happen again. Zane supported this decision of mine whole-heartedly. By the end of the week I was able to use telekinesis with most objects easily. Anything heavier than a chair made me struggle though. I was able to call up light and change its form easily as well. I had already learned to call forth the same blue fire that Zane did at times. One time I had even made an object of light in the miniature shape of our car. Zane had laughed and shook his head at that.
The next day Zane pulled the car in a different direction, heading to the west instead of south. I stayed silent until we reached the coast. Once the car was parked, about thirty feet from where the solid ground began to turn to sandy beach, Zane stepped out. Slowly, I did the same. "Why are we at the coast?"
He turned to me, grinning. "You want to practice your magic, right?" At my hesitant nod, his grin grew. "Water is perfect for practicing force-fields and for just good old water manipulation." He laughed some more. "Who knows, maybe you have some talent as a Waterbender."
I blinked at him.
He sighed. "Avatar: The Last Airbender, think about it..."
After a few seconds, the name pulling forth memories, I realized what he meant. "Oh. Perhaps I might," I murmured, seeing how Waterbending was done by Katara in that TV show.
He faced forward again, leading the way to the beach. With the amount of distance we had been traveling in the car for nearly a fortnight, the area we reached with the car was quite a bit warmer than Seattle had been. From what I understood we were still inside the boundaries of Gres though.
According to what I had learned, Gres was such a large country that it took up most of the world. Where I had come from was part of a very small country, Lena. Lena was located to the east and north. It only took up about a tenth of the world. Then, of course, there was Tenoick, which took up two-tenths, and Gres that took up the rest. I had also heard rumors of two other countries that were farther north than both Lena and Gres, and south than Tenoick and Gres. But I wasn't sure if the rumors were true or what the countries were called.
"Zane," I called out. "Do you know if there are any other countries in the world besides Gres, Tenoick, and Lena?"
He paused for half a second before continuing, though he didn't turn to face me. "Of course there are. This part of the world isn't all there is. This place is a globe, which means its round. We are just on one curve of the world, Ana. Let's see...from what I remember, Japan was sort of still kicking, as are parts of Asian and Europe. I'm not very sure about Africa, Australia, or South America. Those continents were always too hot for me, not my cup of tea at all. But I'm sure there must be at least some small amount of human civilization hanging on in those places as well."
I nodded. "Okay. Thank you. I was just curious, is all." As far as I was aware, there really only was Gres, Lena, and Tenoick. But, Zane had been alive for much longer than me and he knew a lot more than I did. I would just have to believe him until I saw these other places he spoke of for myself.
We reached the beach and Zane sat down in the sand, about twenty feet from the water. "Imagine the water like you would if you were moving it with telekinesis. Also, try to pull forth some force-fields, like I was telling you about. Once you do, go walk into the water. It will make it very obvious to you just how large and also how strong your force-field is. Go on, try it out. If you get into too much trouble, I'll be here." He waved me toward the water.
I started to the edge, glancing over at him. I almost tripped, falling flat on my face, when I saw he was stripping. "Uh...Z-Zane?" I stuttered. Despite myself, I couldn't help but stare, my face a little red.
He laughed out loud as he finished pulling off his tunic. "Hey. We're at the ocean and I love both the water and to swim. You'll be busy practicing magic. While you are, I'm going to swim to my heart's content. If you need me, just call."
I quickly turned my head as he started pulling off his trousers. I took in several deep breaths. My pulse was pounding so erratically I could hear and feel it in my ears. I could still hear him laughing, all the way until I heard a loud splash. Turning my head to the right a couple inches, I saw him take off into the ocean. He swam so well it was almost like he was one with the ocean itself. I paused. Perhaps he was?
Shaking my head to clear it of all other thoughts, I turned forward once more. I had other things to be doing right now. Staring at the waves, I imagined a small portion of them lifting up and twisting. I called upon imagery from the TV show Zane had mentioned earlier, seeing how the water had moved and bended at the will of another.
It took me two hours but I was finally able to bring forth a long tube of water, twisting it around itself and me. Once I had succeeded, I collapsed onto the beach, exhausted. It had taken a lot out of me to bend water. Unlike everything else I had used my abilities on, all those man-made items...
Water was very different. It was a force of Nature itself. It was also very temperamental. I had come to discover that, though mostly calm and fluid, water could just as quickly shift to anger, like a summer squall. It had not liked me trying to force my will upon it and force it to transform and shift. Besides that, it was also...slippery? It was magically just as it was physically. It was hard to grasp and keep hold of. My magic would slip through it as easily as my fingers would.
I sucked in another breath. Zane will be back soon, I told myself. I should try to practice my force-field making skills as well. I rose to my feet, a little shaky. I was a little torn. Part of me wanted to try and impress Zane. Another just found it fun to use magic. The last part of me just wanted to curl into a ball and nap for several hours. Fighting with water really had taken more out of me than I had expected or wanted. Is this how Zane feels when he makes the gasoline for the car?
I closed my eyes and imagined a force-field. I could feel the magic in me humming and spinning, faster and faster. It's movements were erratic and much too quick for me to fully understand. As I tried to envision a force-field just a little bigger than me, it suddenly spiked.
I let out a cry of fear and pain as the purple ball of magic inside me, as I envisioned it, suddenly grew, expanding until it was so large inside me that it was outside my own body.
My eyes opened long enough for me to register two things.
First, I was floating high up in the air, nearly fifty feet.
Second, my magic had made a force-field around me that was so strong; it was pushing away not only the water, but the earth and air as well. The size of the force-field was nearly thirty feet in all directions of me.
I was choking from lack of air. Gasping, my vision going black, I passed out.