The Storm Apprentice

Chapter 7

Narira hadn't gone long before she realized there was no way she could find Jay just by roaming around. She stopped for a moment to think, then set out toward a specific place. When she got to Marnella's Moccasins, the wagon was no longer parked in front of it, but she still smiled. Let's try this again.

Again, she felt into where the energy had come from, trying to find the storage Ceylis had told her about. There! There was a reserve in her of pure energy, pulsing around itself. With a careful move, she released the energy into her body. Power flew into her, making her feel almost like she was floating.

She tested herself, moving around for a bit, and then ran at the building. She didn't go for the tall one, as Ceylis had done; instead, she took a running jump at the smaller building. She flew up clumsily, grabbing the lip of the roof just as, without warning, her energy turned off. With a yelp, she clung to the roof, then scrambled over the edge, breathing hard.

"Having trouble?" a voice said behind her. She looked back at the street and saw Jay watching her, an amused look on his face.

"Oh... um, yeah," she said awkwardly. "My energy just turned off!"

"You probably ran out of magic," Jay told her. There was no hint of the anger that had been in his voice a less than an hour before.

"That can happen?" Narira asked, horrified. "So I've used up all of my magic?"

"It'll recharge over time," Jay told her reassuringly. "One of the most important electrovite skills is being able to tell how much magic you have. It's also very important to know how fast you recharge... so you can plan how you use it."

Narira nodded, studying him. Aren't you mad at me? What happened?

"You'll also want to learn to use it sparingly," he continued. "Instead of flushing your entire body with extra energy, just put it in the parts you need. For an extra strong swing, push it through your arm, or for a high jump, through your legs. You'll run out a lot slower that way."

"Look," Narira said finally. "I promise I'm not trying to replace you. I... I just want to learn how to use my powers so I don't hurt anyone."

Jay nodded. "It's fine. I just needed to vent a little. I've been thinking for four years about what happened, and it just had to blow up eventually. And Ceylis has gotten a lot better."

"You're remarkably level-headed, considering your behavior earlier," she remarked.

He shrugged. "Yeah, well, I just needed to blow up for a second. I'm okay now."

"What happened? With your training four years ago, I mean?"

Jay breathed out slowly. "Weeks after I first found my magic, there was no sign of me being able to activate it again. Ceylis began to wonder if I was even an electrovite, or if someone else had caused electricity to act weird and I happened to be close by. I was struggling with my Starrynt work, too, and he kind of got discouraged. He didn't know how to be a mentor, and he told me he thought I'd never be good enough. Then he got kind of desperate. He really wanted to prove that I wasn't a failure, because at the time he was still on the council and he wanted to prove himself so he could stay there. One day, he just told me that we were going to 'fix' me. He started running through the city, and I was struggling to follow, and then he turned around and swung his Starrynt at my head, lightning and all. I guess he was expecting my magic to activate, because that's how it works with everyone else. It didn't, and he almost killed me. He had to send a Messenger to fetch a Healer, and word got out... and he was kicked off the council."

Narira sat quietly for a minute. Then she asked, "But he didn't learn his lesson? I mean, he told me to jump off of here, and trust my magic."

"For a while after the incident, he refused to train me," Jay told her. "Actually, it was that regret and sadness that activated my magic... which was odd, but not unheard of. It's always some sort of emotion, because emotion is the one part of you that's only human. The energy and void don't have it."

Narira nodded. "But then he got back to his old self?"

"Yeah. He's gotten a lot better. He's even started trying to get back on the council. A few weeks ago, he snuck into a void stronghold to steal an electrovite artifact back from them."

"What made him figure it out?" Narira inquired.

"Oh, he still doesn't have it figured out," Jay said with a laugh. "But I suppose he realized that he actually still liked me."

"Wrong," a voice said from below them. They looked over the edge of the building to see Ceylis staring up at them. "I still don't like you. I just didn't want to force some other unfortunate trainer to have to take you."

Jay rolled his eyes. "Sarcastic to the end of time," he acknowledged.

Narira watched them, for the first time seeing the strong bond between the trainer and apprentice. They were both spontaneous, sarcastic, and hot tempered, but they were stuck together firmly. Will I be accepted into that?

"Alright, you two," Ceylis said. "I think we've taken a vote, and decided to work on using magic. Narira needs to know the basics anyway."

"Let's do it!" Narira said excitedly.

"Then come down," Ceylis told her with a sly smile.

Narira stared at him, then laughed. "Alright," she replied. She felt at her energy reserve, sensing that at least a little had recharged. Then she took a running jump off of the building. She soared down through the air, yelling happily, then channeled energy into her body as she landed with a skid.

She turned back toward Jay. He was standing at the edge of the roof, his sandy hair rustling with the breeze, staring down at her with a half smile. Then he bent his legs and launched diagonally upward, shooting over Narira's head and landing in a roll. He came up and bowed, and she laughed again. Then Ceylis ran over to them.

"Are you quite done?" he asked playfully. "I believe we had some training we wanted to do."