Page 33 of Hollowed

“Myparents,”Imumbled. “Mymother, more specifically.”

“Whyyour mother?”

Forsomeone who said that he knew everyone in theHollow, he seemed genuinely interested in my views of the town and the people who lived there.Ithad been a long time since someone other thanHenryorCiarawas genuinely interested in anythingIhad to say.

Ishook my head, both in answer and to clear the emotions swirling in my head. “Iwould prefer to not discuss my mother right now.Canwe look through the books, please?”

Helooked at me for a long time, his expression unreadable.Iwas certain he was going to press me for more information, for more insight about my mother, but he simply nodded and returned to his own book, pulling it closer to him and running a finger down the page to find the spot he’d left off.Thetension bled out of my shoulders asIrealized he would not make me discuss her further.Ididn’t thinkIcould do it.Notright now.

“Speakup if you find something interesting about spirit veils or fire magic.Ifwe are going to work together, we must learn how our magic will interact.”

“Ofcourse,”Imurmured, turning my attention back to my book.

Ifelt his gaze on me again, heavy and intense.Iitched to look up to see his expression, butIkept my eyes on the pages in front of me, trying to focus on the words instead.

Givenhow oftenIfelt his attention on me, it would take me weeks just to get through the first page.

Fifteen

“Here,”Alexandersaid sometime later, tapping his finger on the page of the book in front of him.

Istraightened, wincing at the soreness in my back.Wehad been at it for several hours now, the sun setting and the stack of books to be read dwindling.Hehad made it through several books, whileIwas still on the first one he’d given to me.

“Thisis another journal, from an old…”Hetilted his head, as if he couldn’t quite figure out the word he wanted to use.Heturned the book to face me and tapped the middle of a page. “We’llcall him a collector,Isuppose.Hetalks about types of magic that can penetrate spirit wards.”

Iwanted to ask more about what he meant by a collector, but it wasn’t the time.Curiosityitched beneath my skin, andIforced it down, turning to the words in front of me.Myeyes flitted over the pages, scanning in the ancient language and the few wordsIrecognized as fastIcould. “Itdoes not give specifics.Whattypes of magic?”

Hesighed, irritation accompanying the huff of breath that washed over the side of my face. “Inan earlier entry, it said that spirit magic was sensitive—Ithink the word translated to—to certain aspects of fire magic.Ithas been a long time sinceIhave read this language, and this mage liked to use multiple languages in his entries as a sort of code.”

Dreadsettled low in my stomach.Firemagic.Mymagic.Iwas the certain type of magic that could penetrateAlexander’sveils.AsIspoke, it was as ifIwas floating out of my body, observing us from above.Myvoice echoed in my ears, sounding likeIwas underwater, muffled and fuzzy. “Whatdoes that mean?AmIa danger to you?”

Shakinghis head, he reached across the table for my hand.Asmuch asIwanted his comfort,Idid not reach out to him, and he pulled his hand back after a moment, sighing again. “No,Katrina.Youare not a danger to me.Itouched you while you were on fire that first night and felt nothing but warmth.”

Tearsburned in my throat.Iswallowed them down asIclenched my fists, settling back into my body, and the fuzzy thickness around my head subsided. “Whatdoes it mean by certain aspects of fire magic?”

“Ibelieve it means levels of magic, or perhaps subtypes within a magic class.”Hestroked his chin, his lips pursing as he looked between me and the book. “Thefire that comes out when you do not want it to is one level, and the fire that takes over your entire body is another, and the ball of flames you push out is yet another.Justlike the spirit magicIuse to see people’s magical signature is one level of mine, and the active use of it to create the veil you saw earlier is another.”

Inodded, though allIreally wanted to do was cry.Ifelt foolish, thoughIknew in my heart that even ifIhad pushed for training, my mother would have refused.ButAlexanderseemed willing to train me, and thoughIvery much doubted his faith in me to learn quickly, at least it would be more thanI’dever had before.Butwould it be enough?

Iswallowed down the acid that rose in my throat, coughing to clear the sting. “So, higher levels of fire magic?HowcanIhave different types of fire?”

“Itold you before, you are more powerful than you know.Themagic is simply stuck behind a wall in your mind, waiting to come out.”Hetook the book back, flipping through a few pages before turning it back around to me. “Thispassage here documents a meeting with a man inSleepyHollowwho had knowledge of the more powerful kinds of magic.Itdoes not say what the meeting discussed, butIassume fire would be one of those kinds of magic.”

“Didit say who he met with?”Iasked.Surelyif there was someone in theHollowwith knowledge of fire magic, my mother would have sought them out whenIwas a child, hoping to explain whyIhad little magic.

“Cyrus.Heis still on theCiallmhar, yes?” he asked.

“Yes.Heis, but he rarely takes visitors now.”

Cyruswas old.Notjust in appearance, but in age.Hehad come toSleepyHollowwell after my parents, but had clearly been alive for much longer.Whyhadn’t my mother gone to him?Ifhe knew about these types of magic,Ishould have been training with him my entire childhood.Andyet,I’donly ever seen him in passing.

“Weneed to speak with him.”Hestood from the table, pacing around the small kitchen. “Doyou know where he lives?”

Cyrushad never been cruel to me, preferring to stick to the shadows during theCiallmharmeetings.Unlikethe others who enjoyed my mother’s cruelty,Cyrushad always seemed ambivalent.Bored.Iwasn’t certain he would help us, butIwasn’t going to set my hopes on a man who had yawned when they announced theRoghnaithe’sname last year.

“Ithought you knew everyone in theHollow,”Iquestioned, clinging to anythingIcould to keep myself from spiraling.Iwatched him pace back and forth and studied the muscles in his thighs as they bunched beneath his pants when he moved.Thepower was unmistakable, yet subdued.Justlike the rest of him.RealizingI’dbeen staring at his legs,Icleared my throat and pulled my attention back to his face. “Whyare you asking me?”

“Iknow the powers of those in theHollow, andIknow the names of most.ButIam not all-knowing,Katrina.Thingshappen in private thatI’mnot always privy to.Noone is all-knowing.”

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