Page 48 of House of Embers
“Yes,” she said, clearing her throat. “For the first time, I’m going to take you out of your body with me so you can get the feel of it. Then I’ll let you try it yourself.”
He nodded. “I’m ready.”
She felt the brush of his magic against hers, as if he were searching for the thread of her spirit magic in the same way that his shadows existed. Except her spirit wasn’t like that. It was a vast, shifting well within her core like a bottomless lake that she dove into. Still, Fordham settled there, a soft presence that made her sigh with relief.
Then she called the plane to her, dropping out of her body and hovering above it in the center of the aerie. Fordham appeared next to her, awe on his face.
“I…” He hesitated as he gazed around. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
“Didn’t Gelryn do this to you in dragon testing?”
“Yes, but it felt different. I couldn’tfeelit. I can tell the difference through our connection.”
“Good. Use that difference, because it’s your turn.”
Kerrigan dropped them both back into their bodies. Fordham’s eyes flickered open in surprise.
“That’s disorienting.”
“Wait until we get onto the plane itself. It’s twice as strange.” She grinned. “Your turn.”
“So I just pull?” he asked.
“Reach for the spirit magic, and let it suffuse you. Then you’re going to step out of yourself. Just don’t take too big of a step. More like a little shuffle forward,” Kerrigan said. When she’d initially learned this astral projection, it had been with her first spirit teacher, Zina, whose mother was the last full spirit user in Alandria. She’d disappeared after the Battle of Lethbridge, when her father had fallen andshe’d learned about her mother’s true death—another person to add to their list of potential allies.
“Here I go,” Fordham said, closing his eyes again.
The first pull sent them both to the top of the aerie.
Kerrigan laughed. “Good. A little less oomph, but that’s the hang of it.”
“You made it look so easy. This feelsterrible,” he admitted.
“You’ll get used to it.”
He shook his head. “I really doubt that. You used to do thison dragon back?” He shuddered. “I can’t imagine.”
Kerrigan pulled them both back toward the ground. “You can’t be the best at everything,” she teased. “Now put us back.”
Fordham floundered for a few minutes before he settled enough to drop them back into their bodies. He was panting when he opened his eyes. “That’s exhausting.”
“Yes, it’s draining.” Though Kerrigan didn’t feel drained—not with all the celestial power boost. It must be because this was all new to him.
“Maybe we should visit our allies before I’m tapped.”
Kerrigan frowned. “Are you sure? This is your practice time.”
“As king, reaching our allies is the most important thing here. I can practice another time.” He cleared his throat. “Or not at all. I sort of hated that.”
She laughed. “I’ve never known you to give up.”
“I know my strengths.”
“Okay. Well, let’s check in with Cleora at least. Hold on.”
Fordham reached back out with his magic, and this time when she pulled them both out of their bodies, she continued past their world and onto the spirit plane. She landed in a bed of clouds on a sunny day. Fordham looked around in shock.
“This is the plane?”
