Page 44 of Degradation

I set my hand on his arm and walked away from the house. Although he’d been concerned that I’d slept so long, we were still leaving much earlier than the prior day. No patrol crossed our paths as I carefully navigated us around them.

When we turned onto Pogwid’s lane, I felt the same tingle of warning as the day prior. Rather than dismiss it, I tried to explore it. The sensation radiated from her home—a dark warning to turn away. Yet, it didn’t grow stronger when I knocked on her door as a typical warning would.

As the door unlatched, I opened myself to the energy around me and searched for a spell I knew had to be present. It wasn’t in the home but in the ground along the entire street. As I would expect from a caster of her knowledge, it was well hidden within the soil and not directly tied to her home.

She was hiding.

“Are you going to stand out there all day?” she called.

I entered and saw through her spell right away.

She cocked her head at me.

“Something’s changed,” she said.

“Yes. My understanding. Why are you hiding yourself here?”

She made an annoyed sound. “Because I’m not yet ready to meet my end, of course. And I doubt the change I sense is your understanding, but you can amuse me with what you think you’ve gained. Come now. Tell me.”

“I now understand how different I am from most casters. You’re experienced enough that you mentored Henry. I’ve read his vast collection of notes. Energy is in everything in a finite amount. It was stressed several times. I’ve experienced it when I consume the energy from an object until the point it disappears. Yet, my ability to take energy from emotions surprised you. That means it’s not common. It’s also very powerful since emotions arenotfinite. The life tied to the person is, but not the emotions. They ebb and flow, depending on the circumstance, but never truly end.

“What does it mean that I unknowingly consumed them? What does it mean that I cannot sense the capacity of my well when I could yours? How did I instinctively know to hide myself? And why do I never need to pull energy into me? Why does it flood me if I am not closed off?”

She nodded slowly.

“When we discover the answer to one thing, it always creates more questions, does it not?”

“That is not an answer.”

“You seem upset with the questions you have. I didn’t want to add to them.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you are exasperating?”

She laughed loudly and rocked back into her chair to stand.

“Henry often said that to me. But the more irritating I was, the more determined he was to learn more than me.”

“And did he?”

“He was my equal when he died. That will not hold true for you and me, though.”

“Why not?”

“You already surpass me, child. As you’ve guessed, your capacity for casting exceeds mine. By how much, I cannot say. Now, are you ready to learn?”

I nodded.

Garron took a seat and patiently listened to the knowledge Pogwid imparted. I transfigured objects with increasing ease and learned to what limit I could perform a direct cast without detection. Then she taught me how to ward our house.

“Think of it as putting a lid on a pot. What is inside will be unknown to everyone from the outside. But some of the magic can seep out if you’re not careful.”

Then, Pogwid surprised me by asking me to cast a memory spell on her.

“Why?”

“Some things are best forgotten. If I’m taken by a patrol for questioning, I want any memory of you to vanish. Do you understand?”

I slowly nodded. While I understood her request, I didn’t understand why it was necessary. She saw my hesitation and motioned for me to sit.

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