Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer #3) - D.K. Holmberg Page 0,3
the Toral ring connecting her to a greater magic that she couldn’t access otherwise. When she used other power, such as sorcery, it required that she channel her power in a very specific manner.
In this case, Jayna needed to harness that energy and send it flowing through the pattern, which would then envelop the other ingredients and fold it all into the spell. Together, it created something more potent than each one individually. Her magic acted like an oven, adding heat to the ingredients she mixed.
“If you wait long enough, you’ll find some dark creature here.”
Jayna looked over, shooting her a hard stare. “You’re going to help me if I do anyway.”
Eva shrugged. “No, but I would watch.”
The power poured out of her in a trickle, easing up, and flowing distantly, slowly, into the pattern.
It tracked around the perimeter of the pattern before finally settling upon the star where she could practically see the magic shimmering into the spell, then it folded. There was something about that shape that caused it to not only hold on to her magic, but also to fold the power upward and turn it into something else.
She waited a moment, then another, and finally the power exploded through, coalescing and twisting, shrinking down. With a burst of pale-white light, the spell expanded before collapsing back downward again.
When it was done, the pattern had erased from the ground. The oil and the powder were gone. The only thing remaining was the strand of horsehair, and that had thickened, looking now like a small twig.
Jayna stared at it. “I think it worked.”
She reached down, picking up the horsehair twig. While it felt smooth and warm, it was also a little bit unpleasant and somewhat slippery; strangely enough, she could feel the energy within it. There was a sort of earthy quality to it, as if the spell had taken on some of the magic of the forest that she had used in its creation.
“It doesn’t look like much. You could have done that back home,” Eva said.
Jayna snorted. “I’m not sure I could have used a pattern like that. Besides, I’m just practicing. And there’s a reason I came out here anyway. Now that we know the forest itself has a natural defense to it that disperses sorcery so they can’t detect it, I can practice more openly.”
There was something about this forest that served to contain magic, holding it inside. She had no idea if there was something special to this forest, or whether it was simply the fact that it was here, outside of the city, distant enough from Nelar. Whatever it was, the magic dissipated quickly, and didn’t reach the city.
Which meant that it didn’t reach the Society.
“And I don’t have to worry about him scolding me for my unregulated sorcery,” Jayna continued.
“Aren’t you past that with him?”
“I thought so, but I don’t know.”
“So you don’t know if Char would report you to the Society either.” Eva started to laugh, getting to her feet and wiping her hands on her dress for a moment before coming over and leaning down to evaluate the branch that had formed with the spell. “He’s your friend, isn’t he? I thought that connection you two shared would keep you safe.”
“He doesn’t owe me anything,” she said.
“Whoever said he owed you anything? I’m just saying that he’s your friend. He would want to make sure he keeps you safe. By reporting you to the Society, it would . . . I guess I don’t really know what it would do,” Eva said.
“I don’t either,” Jayna said. “At this point, maybe nothing.”
Though she wasn’t entirely sure. It was possible that he would report her to the Society. Char claimed he wanted to protect her, but at the same time, his allegiance lay with the Society and the sorcerers within it. Plus, he believed her to be a dark sorcerer, or at least to have the tendencies of one. If Char believed he was saving her by reporting her to the Society, then she truly thought he would do so.
Jayna glanced down at the spellbook. “This one worked, so now I’m going to try another.”
“Oh, good. I was worried this was going to be the only stick you made.”
“It’s not just a stick,” Jayna said. She tapped on it, and though it still felt slightly slick, she could also still feel the bit of power trapped within it. “It’s supposed to be a wand of vapor.”