Page 88 of The Light Falls
The worst of the worst from the Underworld flashes in my brain. “This is bad. Really bad.”
He nods. “It’s not great. You’re going to have to embrace who you are, but I’ll be there in the shadows to coach you. You might have a few advantages.”
A hysterical laugh rises up. “Like what?”
“You can draw on power reserves from your subjects… even Fisk. It’s why they limited the number of people, but I can teach you the basics of how to do it. You think differently than the Fae, more like someone from the Underworld. And, apparently, you have the ability to mimic other’s powers,” he says, listing them out.
Shuffling sounds come from the corner, and I peer into the darkness. “Who’s there?”
“Rats,” he says with a scowl. “Huge rats.”
“You know, you don’t have to stay down here. Cormal fixed the alarm.”
He takes me by the arm. “We’re going to travel through the shadows. Slowly. I want you to get a feel for the twists and turns along the way. Picture the training room in your head. Step forward.”
I take a step, and it’s like I stepped off a cliff. There is nothing but air under my feet, yet my body hovers above an invisible road. Kian and Laken’s face slide by. “Wait. I need to tell them to go to the training room.”
He stops.
Popping my head out of the shadows, I tell them,“Meet me at the training room in five minutes.”
I step back into the shadows and grab Madoc’s hand. It’s rough and full of the kind of callouses you get from fighting. A lot. I rub my thumb over it, and he clamps down on my hand.
“Sorry.”
He stares down at me. “Don’t do it again.”
“You’re such a touchy bastard,” I say without thinking. “Sorry. I suffer from foot in mouth disease.” He snorts. “Oh, benevolent one. What do we do now?”
He shows me how to “see” the shadows and the ribbons extending from one shadow to another. I learn how to use the darkness to step in and out of the real world, slide down the hall, and take a leap to a different destination.
I can feel the power inside me pick up the ability. Exhilarated, I beg him to let me try. He does, and I realize it’s harder than it looks. Sometimes I lose the ribbon. Other times, I’m distracted by his closeness and forget where I’m going, which really pisses him off.
Next, we practice pulling power from individuals. The training room is full of guards when we step inside, including Kian and Laken. My adrenaline spikes and a tingling buzz courses through my blood.
“It always feels like I’m having a heart attack.”
He dismisses it. “Good. It means the power is available to you. Close your eyes. Let your power loose. Seek out the most powerful person in the room. Do you have him?”
“Yes,” I tell him excitedly, turning to face to the left. “Now what?”
He steps up behind me to whisper in my ear. “Picture a thread running from you to that person. Pull gently on it. Bring it inside your body and wrap it around the core of power inside you. Do you feel how it increased the ball of power?”
“Yes!” I exclaim. “There is… more magic available to me.”
“Good. When you’re done, unwrap it and release it,” he directs me.
“It’s infinitely more difficult with large groups because the power can overwhelm you, but that is the basic idea,” he says, with his hands on my shoulders. “What made you think of declaring war?” Large hands slide down my arms, then release me.
I shrug and tell him my reasoning. “I needed a way to negotiate without having to go through the council.”
“You better win the challenge,” he advises. “Or Fisk won’t be able to negotiate with you. Turn around.” He stares down at me with an inscrutable expression. “You have what it takes to be powerful, Meri. Don’t be afraid to take risks.”
I stare into his grey eyes. “I won’t. I promise.”
He opens his mouth to say something else, but my phone pings, interrupting the moment.
“I have to go to the funeral. I’ll see you tomorrow at the portal?”
