More than Magic: Semester Aboard (10 page)

Chapter 7

When the ship left Panama the next day, it
was much different from the night it left Mexico. For one thing, we
were anchored instead of docked, so there were no runners. It was
also a lot less dramatic pulling up the anchor and just moving away
than it had been watching them undo the mooring lines and seeing
the dock slowly vanish. And then, there was the fact that I didn't
feel like I was just leaving another country; I felt like I was
entering a new world. Looking forward to the next country, like I
had been when we left Mexico, paled in comparison to what I was
looking forward to now. Dani was at the rails with me again, but
this time I knew that he wasn't human. I knew that when we all went
back inside I was going to get my wand and use magic. It was a
strange, but exciting, feeling.

After people started to trickle back into the
ship I went to my room and grabbed the eight wands I had set aside.
Thomas met me in his room and we got right back to work. He had me
try to set a piece of paper on fire. I went through each wand and
managed to get a tiny spark that hardly singed the paper. After a
few more tries the holes I burned in the paper got a little bigger,
but nothing else happened.

"Tired?" he asked when I paused between
wands.

"A bit." I hadn't imagined that using magic
would be so tiring; I was hardly doing anything

Thomas leaned back against the wall, looking
unconcerned. "We'll take a break."

"You're sure I'm a witch, right?" I could
think of a dozen books where a new witch picked up a wand and
started doing cool things, it was never this tedious. I had spent
three nights just trying to get my wand!

"Positive."

We sat in silence for a while and my thoughts
drifted once again to why Thomas couldn't use magic anymore. Was it
permanent? I studied him while I thought. He was extremely skinny.
He had said that magic works better if you're healthy, maybe he was
sick.

"Thomas?"

"Yeah?"

"Are there, I dunno, diseases and things that
only magical people can get?"

Thomas nodded. "There are, but not many. We
don't get sick nearly as often either and most non-magic diseases
don't affect us." He grinned. "The common cold still goes around
sometimes. But in general, if you say the average non-magic gets
sick, like the flu or something, once a year, then you could say
that we get sick once every five to ten. It's very uncommon."

I nodded, that was good news. I hated being
sick. I swallowed nervously and asked my follow-up question. "Could
any of them make it harder to use magic?"

He was quiet for a moment. "Very, very rare
ones. After you get better, except in incredibly extreme cases,
then your magic is fine again."

That was even better. "Will yours be?" I
asked.

Thomas sighed and shook his head. "No.
I...well, mine's gone for good."

Oh god. "But..." I stopped myself. Even
though I didn't even have my own wand yet and hadn't known about
magic for more than a week, the idea of not being able to do it was
horrible. I couldn't imagine how awful it must have been for
Thomas. But, I was still so curious, not to mention worried. Could
I lose the ability to do magic too? Apparently, my concern was
obvious.

"Don't worry," he said softly. "It won't
happen to you."

I nodded. "Ok." Now I was worried about him
instead of me. What had happened? "Can you-" I stopped myself. It
wasn't exactly my business and I didn't want to push something
depressing. "I'm sorry, forget it."

Thomas sighed. "Don't be sorry. This is all
new to you. You've probably got a million questions and I'd rather
answer them than let you go around with some preconceived
misconceptions or something. Please, ask."

"No, it's ok. I don't want to pry."

He smiled a slightly sad smile. "It was a
long time ago; I've come to terms with it. You're not prying."

"I just..." I hesitated. "Mariana explained
to me how even though she and TS are human a lot of the time, they
can still see and hear things that people who aren't magic can't.
Like Dani's eyes and stuff."

Thomas nodded. "And you're wondering if I
can. Yes. I'm still a magic." He gestured to the partially burned
paper on the nightstand. "Ready to get back to it?"

"Yeah." I went back to visualizing the paper
bursting into flames and aiming my wand at it. I went through the
wands several more times and all at once it worked. Real flames
licked the smoldered part of the paper and there was even smoke! "I
did it!" I cried.

"That's it then," Thomas said with a grin.
"Congratulations, you've got a wand." He tossed the burned paper
into a trashcan and then took the remaining seven wands. "Now you
can practice whenever you like."

"Really?" That didn't sound very safe. "What
if I set something on fire?"

Thomas laughed. "You won't. In order to cast
a spell, as you've just seen, you need a wand, a word, and intent.
You've got the wand and the word, but unless you actually intend to
set something on fire, it won't happen. Remember, your wand and
magic are both an extension of you and your will. If you reach out
with the intention of shaking somebody's hand, you're not going to
punch them by mistake, are you?"

"I hope not."

"And the stronger your will is, the better
your spells will be. And, you've got a pretty strong will, so don't
worry."

"I do?"

Thomas laughed. "Yeah. That night Dani went
overboard I...trust me. The point is if you are, say, trying to
warm something up and you're afraid you'll set it on fire...well,
then you're probably visualizing it catching on fire and it just
might." I looked nervously at my wand and he quickly added, "But
you're not nearly powerful enough yet to cause any damage. You'll
just end up with some sparks, don't worry."

"If you say so," I said. "So, I can warm
things up too?"

"Right. I think I told you before, magic is
all based on elements. Fire magic, for example, has several
concrete concepts. Ones that you'd expect, fire, obviously. As well
as heat and light. You should be able to mess around with all three
at your level. As you get more experienced and powerful you can
start casting fire magic that is a bit more abstract like cleansing
or healing. And all fire magic is cast just by using
Mar
, so
having intent and being able to visualize what you want to happen
is critical, especially later on. Got it?"

"I do." I rolled my new wand around in my
hands. "It's amazing."

Thomas grinned and nodded. "It is. I'm sure
you're tired. Any other questions?"

He kept talking about getting more powerful
and being able to cast more in the future. "How long until I'm
good? Like, I mean, until I can do all that stuff and use other
elements and things?"

"Well, you never stop learning," Thomas
chuckled. "But, don't worry, soon you'll be really seeing
results."

That brought me to another concern. "What do
I do after the voyage is over? I mean, I won't have you to teach
me."

He thought for a moment. "I think you're on
your own, in terms of schooling. There aren't any basic schools for
grown witches. You'd have to specialize in something and that's
much later on. However, that's what a familiar is for."

"A familiar?" I gasped. "Like that
hummingbird or raven whatever?"

"Raven. Raven familiars can take the form of
any bird they wish. Smaller birds make it easy to stick around
unseen in public. And yes, Fend is Jon's familiar."

That sounded cool. Would I get a talking bird
that followed me around? "How do I get one?"

"All witches and wizards do," Thomas said. I
was about to ask him for more details when something in his voice
stopped me. Thomas had been a wizard, but if he couldn't use magic
anymore, did that mean he didn't have a familiar either? He studied
me for a moment and then looked away. "She died," he said softly,
guessing what I was wondering.

"Thomas, I'm so sorry. I really...I really
appreciate you teaching me all this. I know it must be hard and I
keep asking all these stupid questions that I'm sure you wish I
wasn't asking."

He smiled. "Thank you. And don't be sorry,
please. Like I said, it was a long time ago. It's just..." He kept
smiling, but it turned a bit sad. "It's just one of those things
that...never really stops hurting." He shrugged. "Can't change the
past though, right? Anyway, please ask whatever comes to mind.
You've got a lot to learn and I really do want to help get you off
to a good start."

The door opened and TS walked in. "What's the
story?"

"Nothing to worry about," Thomas said. "Jen
just got her wand."

TS grinned. "Keen!"

I held it up proudly. I had a wand, a real
magic wand. Thomas fished out the paper I had started burning.

"Show him," he said.

I took a deep breath and tried to picture the
entire paper bursting into flames. "
Mar
!" It didn't come
anywhere close to the little inferno I had been hoping for but a
flame, about the size of one on a small candle, burst into life and
licked at the paper before going out.

"Alright!" TS said.

I yawned and they both laughed.

"I think you should get to bed," Thomas
chuckled. "Latin American History, bright and early."

"Oh boy," TS said sarcastically.

"I like it," I said. "I happen to be a
History major."

"Hey, me too," Thomas said with a grin. He
grabbed my reject wands and handed them to me. "Why don't you give
those to Charlie, he'll appreciate it."

"Ok. Um...what do I do with mine? I can't
just carry it around in front of normal people, right?"

They both burst out laughing.

"We are normal people," TS said in mock
irritation.

Thomas smirked. "Well..."

"Ok, not us," TS chuckled. "But, for future
reference, Jen, magics usually get offended if you refer to
non-magics as normal people."

"Oh," I said, embarrassed.

"But," Thomas said, "to answer your question:
no. You're right, you can't carry your wand out in the open with
non-magics around." He frowned. "Normally, the person teaching you
would shrink it and eventually you'd be able to do it yourself.
Should've gotten you an air wand. Eh, even then you wouldn't be
able to do it, that's too abstract."

"Do I need it?" I asked. "I could just hide
it in my room."

"You could," Thomas said. "The thing is
magical bonds, including those between a witch and a wand, are
strengthened by physical proximity. The more time you spend with
your wand, the faster your spells with get more powerful. They'll
be better too."

"Interesting." I held my wand a little
tighter.

"It's sort of like-" TS began, but Thomas cut
him off.

"I feel a bio-chem allusion."

TS snickered. "Never mind," he said, rolling
his eyes.

I yawned again and Thomas stood. "Get off to
bed. If I were you I'd tuck my wand somewhere, or at the very least
keep it in a purse. You'll be thankful when you see your magic
improving."

"Ok, thanks. Goodnight," I said. I
practically skipped down the hall to Charlie's room. If I hadn't
been so tired from using magic I probably would have. I knocked and
a guy I didn't recognize answered.

"Yes?" he asked. I spotted a girl in a bed
behind him.

"Is Charlie here?"

He shook his head. "Nope. No idea where he
is."

"Have a good night then," I said. Charlie's
roommate practically slammed the door in my face.

I was a bit disappointed, I had been hoping
to show off my wand and give Charlie the extras. I was curious
about how he ate it, which, I was assuming, was why Thomas had
asked me to give them to Charlie. I passed Dani and Mariana's room
on the way to mine and realized I could show them my new wand. I
knocked and waited eagerly.

"Hey, Jen," Dani said happily when he opened
the door. He was wearing an old, torn band t-shirt and boxers. He
looked like he was dressed for bed and I realized that the lights
were off.

"I'm sorry, I didn't wake you did I?"

He looked confused. "No, I was studying."

I had to ask. "In the dark?"

Dani laughed. "Yeah. Come in. Let me turn on
the lights for you." I joined him in the narrow hallway and closed
the door behind me. Dani flicked on the lights and I looked around.
His room was a bit different from mine. It was bigger and instead
of two twin beds there was one full and a small couch. Mariana was
sprawled out on the bed reading a book.

"Hi, Jen," she said.

I stared in shock. "Can you both see in the
dark?" They nodded and looked amused. "Wow."

I noticed that there was a pillow and a sheet
on the couch, and wondered if Dani and Mariana had been fighting. I
hoped not; I hated to think that they'd get mad enough at each
other to sleep separately during their honeymoon.

"So, what's up?" Dani asked.

I looked away from the couch and decided not
to ask. "I got my wand!" I could hardly keep the excitement out of
my voice.

"Splashy!" he cried.

"That's great," Mariana said.

Dani sat down on the edge of his bed and
gestured for me to sit on the couch. "Wishing you picked a water
one?" he teased.

"Nope."

They both laughed. "Out of curiosity," Dani
asked, "what are you doing with the leftovers?"

"I was going to give them to Charlie."

Dani grinned. "How thoughtful, he'll be
touched."

"But, he wasn't in his room."

"Mark kicked him out," Dani laughed. "Hey!"
he yelled. "Some of us still need the bathroom, you know!"

A moment later the bathroom door opened and,
to my surprise, Charlie walked out. I'd never thought of him as
remotely overweight, but I usually didn't think of guys who were
short and stocky like him as particularly in-shape either. Without
his shirt on I could see that he was in more than just good shape,
he was in
really
good shape. In fact, he was pretty
muscular. TS may have been the size of a football player, but I had
a feeling now that a fight between him and Charlie would be pretty
even. He was wearing boxers that looked just a bit too tight for
him. He pointed his toothbrush accusingly at Dani. "Some of us
don't take an hour to get ready for bed. Oh! Hey, Jen."