Page 71 of The Tribes of Magic
Someone in the crowd made gagging noises.
“I heard that, Wilkins! If you feel compelled to vomit to prove a point, do itawayfrom the water. We’re supposed to be cleaning the swamp, not contaminating it with new noxious substances.”
A few of the Apprentices laughed.
“Ok, let’s go! Work quickly but carefully, Apprentices. There was a big battle right here just a few days ago. The Brotherhood brought along all kinds of dangerous chemicals and equipment. Who knows what manner of nasty things are floating around in that water.”
The Apprentices spread out along the shore. I stayed with Nevada.
“I really kind of love the Nymphs’ philosophy.” I said to her.
We were kneeling beside a soggy pile of leaves floating atop the patch of water we’d selected to test and cleanse. The sky was clear and blue today. The sun felt warm on my cheeks. It also sparkled spectacularly across the field of water.
Smiling, Nevada set her hands over the water’s surface, until her fingertips were almost touching it. “Nymphs work together for the greater good. It’s a refreshing change of pace from all the pushups, isn’t it?”
“It sure beats my training session this morning.”
“I heard Kato made you stand on the Hex and ask out every guy you saw.”
I wondered how many other people had heard about it. Every Knight and Apprentice in the Fortress?
No, on second thought, I was better off not knowing how many people had heard that humiliating story.
I watched Nevada wave her hand to extract a cloud of tiny black particles from the water. They floated in the air like a swarm of bees hovering in place. She waved her hand again, and the stinky particles dropped into one of our buckets.
“Excellent work, Nevada!”
Eris had wandered over to observe Nevada’s work. She smiled at my best friend like she was the star of the show.
“You’ll make an excellent Nymph. Watch and learn, everyone! This Apprentice knows what she’s doing!”
No one jeered or glowered. Unlike me, Nevada was very popular.
“Ok, superstar, I’ll just be taking these.” I grabbed her bag of test strips and potion vials. “You clearly don’t need them. You’re a natural. You make it look so easy.”
“I like water,” she said, smiling. “I like cleaning it, removing all the yucky stuff humans put into it.”
I looked into the bucket full of black dust. “What happens to the yucky stuff?”
“I think the General puts it in his coffee.”
I laughed. “You’re kidding.”
“Yeah, I am. Actually, I think the Alchemists found a way to use the pollution particles we extract in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone or pollute anything. I don’t really understand how they do it.”
“And I don’t understand how you can dothat,” I said.
She’d already completely filled her bucket with black dust. The water already looked so much better than before. I slid her my bucket.
“I wish I had your skills, Nevada.”
“You’ll figure it out. Just like you’ll figure out how the Alchemists reuse the pollution particles, how the Elves make everyone fall in love with them, and why the Sorcerers always look like they want to hex everyone they meet.”
I snorted. “I don’t need magic to answer that last one. The Sorcerers do that because they want people to be afraid of them.”
“That’s stupid. If people are afraid of you, you won’t make friends.” She laughed. “Huh. I guess that’s exactly the kind of response everyone expects from a Nymph, isn’t it?”
“It’s exactly the kind of response I expect from my awesome best friend. And, just for the record, I’d much rather someone try to hug me than hex me.”
