Page 79 of Bonds of Magic
Two days after my night with Noah, we had a lecture at Harmony.
Their haven turned out to be a modern farmhouse in sleek gray and white, with restrained decor that had walked right out of a minimalist magazine. It sat about a hundred yards back from Lake Superior, and the great room stared at the steely blue water through a wall of floor to ceiling windows.
“We’re located out here not just for the tranquility of the setting,” said Professor Naji, the head of Harmony, “but because the great expanse of water provides an ideal field upon which to work our magic with limited interference from the technology of the mundane world. Given that we’re often testing large-scale, population-level enchantments, we need to ensure separation from technological complications.”
The settingwastranquil, though it felt a little stark. The geometric lines of the furniture seemed to echo the straight lines of the naked birches outside. It was March, and spring leaf-out was still weeks away. There was an austere beauty here, but itleft me cold. And I was having real trouble paying attention to the lecture in front of me.
All I could think about was Noah, and I hated that. I’d been rejected, pure and simple, and I should have known it would happen. Every time I thought I was getting somewhere with him, he shut me down.
So why did I keep throwing myself at him? Why was I such a glutton for punishment?
On second thought, maybe I didn’t want an answer to that.
As much as I’d wanted to avoid Combat yesterday, I’d gone to class. I’d burned with embarrassment and anger, but I was determined to show him I wasn’t as pathetic as I appeared. Instead, I’d done my best to give him the cold shoulder. But it was hard to know how effective that was when he never acknowledged I was there in the first place.
He’d probably do the same thing today. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to cry or punch a wall or scream. Possibly all three.
“So who can tell uswhyit’s useful for witches to avoid interference from technology?” Professor Naji asked.
Rehka’s hand shot up, as usual, but Min’s did too this time. Naji called on her.
“Because of Universal Loom Theory,” she said, “which argues that magic and modern science each enact change on the fabric of reality, but do so from oppositional angles, much like the warp and weft of a loom. The universe requires both forces but when seeking to enact specific changes, magic can end up bound and restrained by manifestations of scientific technology.”
“Precisely,” said Naji. “As we have discovered over the centuries, magic and science are complementary forces, but they are orthogonally opposed. Each works in its own domain, but unless specific parameters are set in place to align the forces and prevent competition, each entangles the other and engenders dysfunction. And when working with particularly large spells, this becomes even more critical—a fact that I will now demonstrate, if I could have five volunteers.”
Multiple hands shot up—Rekha’s and Min’s included—but my mind drifted away. I couldn’t do magic, so there was no way I’d be applying to Harmony. I still wasn’t sure Horizon would even let me in. We needed to pick our three havens to interview with soon, and I wasn’t looking forward to that.
What if Horizon asked me to predict something in the middle of the interview? What if they didn’t, but still wanted me to demonstrate some sort of aptitude? The idea that I could pass myself off as a Hierophant was ludicrous, and the dean had to know that.
I wasn’t sure he’d actually thought his plan through. All he cared about was me coming into my powers, in order to… Well, to be honest, I wasn’t quite sure. Become some kind of spy, Noah had implied. Applying to Horizon was a cover story, nothing more.
Did the dean even intend for me to remain at Vesperwood long-term? Or was he going to kick me out as soon as I stopped being useful? Was there a future for me here?
My stomach twisted, thinking about leaving. Going back to my old life. I wouldn’t see Ash or Felix again, or Keelan or Min. They’d be nice about it, of course, and promise to visit. But they had three more years of school. Of growing closer without me. They’d never keep the relationship up.
And if I left Vesperwood, would I ever see Noah again?
I shook my head, trying to push the image of Noah, his eyes full of desire, leaning in to kiss me, out of my mind. I had to stop thinking about that night, but I had no idea how.
“...Can be used to influence social media trends, with the proper preparations,” Naji was saying when I attempted to focus again. She was holding a scroll now, torn and stained, but filled with images and hashtags that glowed in green ink.
Min’s hand shot up again, and Naji nodded at her.
“With the influencer spell,” Min said, “I was wondering, is anyone working interdisciplinarily between Harmony and Hearth? I read a paper that suggested some interesting avenues of research concerning power sources for long-term Harmony spellwork.”
“An intriguing question,” Professor Naji said, “from a perspicacious student. I’m no hierophant, but I’d say you have a bright future ahead of you.”
Min beamed, and Rekha glowered. Professor Naji continued.
“There are, of course, many scholars who investigate the scientific and magical interfaces of other disciplines, Hearth being one of them. Here at Vesperwood, we support such theoretical research. Indeed, I myself recently published an article in Elemental Healing Quarterly about the intersection of Harmony and Heal, when it comes to manipulating emotional memory for the purposes of healing from trauma. A wonderful intellectual challenge, and Harmony certainly supports academic studies such as this.”
I let my mind roam again. It sounded like Naji was talking about something like magical psychology. Which made me wonder if witches ever visited therapists. Were there witch-therapists, or did they have to work with someone in the mundane world and carefully conceal their true identities?
Thatgot me thinking about how many witches lived in cities or towns with lots of other witches, and how much they had to interact with the mundane world in their daily lives. Here at Vesperwood, you could almost forget that the real world existed. But it did, and some witches must live in it.
Did they go to the grocery store? File their taxes? Did they volunteer at bake sales to raise money for the local elementary school soccer program? It was hard to picture someone like the dean driving to Hy-Vee and pushing a cart down the aisles, looking for his favorite brand of oatmeal. Hell, it was hard to picture the dean driving, period. He seemed like the kind of person who traveled by horse-drawn carriage.
Come to think of it,didwitches drive? Or were there magical ways of transporting themselves? Could they teleport? Fly on broomsticks? I tried to keep my mind occupied with those questions until the end of class, and not let it stew on last night.
