Weilding Magic

CHAPTER 1 I am Tia, Wielder of Stars and Protector of Paiza. I can do this. I tried to settle my nerves as I directed my powers into a pipe made of see-through glass that was set on a table in front of me. It was filled with raw gray steam and I only had one job; to fuse my magic with it and turn it into the shimmering clear steam everyone wanted. “Steady, child,” Burk whispered from across the table. I closed my eyes and let my magic seep through the glass. I bit my lips as I felt the steam’s particles dance around my magic. I pushed further. Come on, melt together. But the particles stayed apart. They were grazing my magic, teasing me and floating away the more I pushed. Come on! “Steady,” Burk whispered again. I pulled back, then with an irritated huff I pushed with everything I had. The steam expanded and all I heard was a loud bang as I was thrown onto my back. The whole room became engulfed in black smoke. “Oh, dear,” I heard Burk say, as I sat up. He waved his hand, calling a spell. The cloud of smoke floated out of a small window behind him. I rubbed my cheeks and traces of soot were left all over my fingers. “Bubbles! I give up,” I said standing up. This was the fifth pipe that exploded in my face, today. “I have to admit, I knew that wielders’ magic couldn’t replicate the Steam Fusion spell,” Burk said, dusting off his robes, “but since your powers are that powerful, I had hoped you could do it.” “If the ancient spell is working just fine, why do you need to replicate it?” I said, as I grimaced at the sight of my fuzzed up curls. “If we can replicate it, we can give the secret to the cities and kingdoms around us to prevent any future attacks,” Burk explained with a frown as he called upon all the glass shards and discarded valves to float into a big bin. “But if they knew the secret, everyone would produce the clear better steam and Paiza won’t have all this wealth.” “Sharing the wealth does not mean losing it.” “Not everyone likes to share,” I sighed, slumping into a metal chair. I took a deep breath and let my eyes wonder around the small square room Burk and I had been working in for the past three hours, trying to figure out if wielders’ magic could reveal the steam’s ancient secret. The room was gray and mostly empty except for a table, a couple of metal chairs and few dusty stacks of paper left in the corner. It wasn’t special, but its location was. It was located inside a factory, where most of the steam transformation business occurred. Before coming here, Burk and I had unsuccessfully spent days trying the spell in our workshop back at the castle, without much success, so Burk thought perhaps being in the factory would inspire me. Obviously, it didn’t. “Why can’t we try this at the clock tower again?” I said. It was the location where the fusing magic was happening. “The magic there is too powerful, we can’t perform any spell without it interfering or clashing with your powers,” Burk said as he pulled up a new pipe filled with steam onto the table, before adding in his usual cheerful tone, “cheer up, child. We can’t expect to figure out the secrets of a thousand year-old spell in mere few attempts.” “A spell that you guessed. No-one even knows the actual spell! Not even the high members of the Court of Wizards!” I said, frustratedly, as I banged my head on the table in protest. Burk winced, not at my outrage, but at the mention of the high members, who we only talked about once after I’d revealed that I, too, was a high member. You see, all magic across the kingdoms are controlled by a group of very powerful wielders who reside at the Court of Wizards. I grew up there, but it was a horrid place. After I was named a high member, following the discovery that I was a very powerful wielder, they forced me to abuse my powers. I fled there last spring to come work as an assistant to Paiza’s only magician, Burk, because Paiza was the only city across the land not under the rule of the Court of Wizards. “And if they knew the spell…” I trailed off, not wanting to say they would take Paiza. It was a place I grew to love, the place I now called home. “Look at me child,” Burk said, squinting his eyes in a very stern way. I did as he asked. “What do we say when we think dark thoughts?” I took a deep breath, recalling every word. “They have no claim on me,” I said, reciting each word individually with determination, hoping that one day I would believe them. “No, they do not,” Burk said before returning to setting up the pipes again. Bubbles. He was right. I’ve always said I ran away from court, but in honesty being a high member was just a job that anyone could quit from. Yet, the thing was, nobody ever did. The place was like a prison with all the laws and the way they controlled my every move. I hated it there, so I left. Yet, according to Burk, they didn’t come looking for me. There was no news of any missing high members, in any magical correspondence. Perhaps they gave up on me? Or perhaps they were waiting for me to show myself? Sadly, I did show myself a few months ago when Paiza was attacked by a neighboring city, and I had to reveal my true powers to literally everybody. It was quite the theatrical fight. Burk was super proud. It was also a loud fight, loud enough for the court to hear about it. My head throbbed and my shoulders tensed. “I don’t want to try the spell again,” I whined. He frowned in a sad way. “I can’t, Burk, like for bubble’s sake. I can’t.” “How about a tour of the factory then?” said a voice from behind me that sent my whole surroundings bursting into bright colors. I turned and smiled at the sight of Rhein, my favorite inventor and the King of Paiza, in all of his black outfit glory, standing at the door. “Hey. I thought you were working all day today,” I said standing and waiting to be hugged, because after failing all morning, I needed a hug. His face was lit up by his croaked smile that broke the harshness of his scar, as he opened his arms to embrace me. His blanketing arms were immediately around me and the warmth and strength of his body pushed all my frustration away and filled me with coziness and comfort. “Chi had to attend to a matter in the farm, so our meeting was postponed,” he said, breaking the hug. Then out of nowhere I felt something shoved on my head, gently, but suddenly. “Bubbles, what is that?” “A helmet,” Rhein said with a smirk as he tightened a strap under my chin, “for your safety.” I reached up to touch it. It was made of leather and covered my whole head, leaving only my face and few purple curls. “I probably look like an upside mushroom.” “A very cute mushroom,” he said, cheekily. I giggled and his hands tightened their grip on my waist, which sent flutters of butterflies across my body. He leaned in, kissing the star tattoo under my eyes before Burk, spoiler of joy, coughed. “Hello, Burk,” Rhein said, his eyes still on me. “Greetings, your Majesty,” Burk replied in a very official tone. “May I borrow Tia for the rest of the day?” Rhein asked, as if him taking me wasn’t already decided. “Of course, your Majesty, of course. We can work on the spell tomorrow,” Burk said with a dramatic bow. Rhein took my hand and we left. I then realized that when I came this morning, I was perhaps too anxious or too sleepy to register the beauty of the place, or perhaps it was the new prospect of spending the rest of the day with Rhein, but the factory was spectacular. The whole place was one big hall with a high ceiling and huge windows that were covered in spots of soot and steam residue that allowed just enough sun to sneak through and glow up all the copper and iron metal inside. It was like one huge greenhouse for inventions. We stood before a metallic moving belt that cut the hall into two parts. One was clean and had some metal chairs along the belt, which were occupied with inventors wearing their goggles and leather helmets. Each one had a specific role along the belt. Some screwed valves into containers, tested their pressure and others just moved rods and pushed buttons, which I assumed was very important work. On the other side and closer to the windows, a cluster of tables with tall piles of papers and tiny sharp gadgets were located along with a group of very chatty inventors. In between the organized chaos, three pillars shot up to the ceiling with open spiral staircases, that led to a circular balcony that floated above us like trees. The place was a metallic forest. “This way,” Rhein said, as we walked between the busy inventors, who didn’t flinch at the sight of the King walking among them. They were used to him. His visits had increased over the past couple of months, as work on new inventions to enhance Paiza’s security and production of steam increased. As we walked across the belt, the machine’s noises grew louder and when we reached the other side of the hall, Rhein stopped. Before us and across the whole wall, was one big flat machine. Glass shields protected dials, tiny valves and metal wheels that were scattered across it, whilst the huge pipes that emerged from it, were installed into the belt. Three inventors hung onto the machine via thin ropes that descended from the ceiling and were tied around their waists. They flew gracefully from one square to the next, checking the numbers and turning a wheel or two. “The control panel!” Rhein shouted over all the noise. He was proud of that panel; I could see it in his eyes. Something about those inventions brought pure passion onto his normally stern royal face. Bubbles! It was taking everything in me not to reach up and kiss his jaw in front of every inventor in that factory. I focused on the control panel and was about to ask Rhein something, when someone screamed. I looked up and saw that one of the ropes had snapped, dropping one inventor from a dangerous height. “Hex!” I cursed, raising my left hand. I intended for my power to save him, but a deep sharp sting cut through my forearm. I bit my lips, but the inventor was about to hit the hard ground. There was no time for me to react to this weird pain. My right hand immediately moved, and a thread of light shot from my fingers and wrapped around his body, stopping him an inch from the ground. His nose barely grazing the ground. The pain in my forearm vanished completely. I blinked and flexed my wrists. I was feeling totally fine. It was as if I’d imagined the whole thing. Perhaps I did? Rhein ran toward the inventor and helped him to his feet. “Are you alright?” The inventor, who was just a young boy with ruffled red hair and freckles was shaken, but nodded. His hand reached for the three rusty goggles that hung from his neck. They were really old and in three different sizes. He mouthed, one, two, three, as his fingers touched each. He was calming himself. One of the two other inventors flew down toward us and hugged the boy. This inventor was a middle-aged woman and had the same ruffled red hair. His mom? “Thank you,” she shouted before taking him away. I turned to ask Rhein if that was the young boy’s mom, when I saw darkness fall upon his face. All the proud passion disappeared, leaving nothing, but a cold royal face. I reached out, hoping to touch his arm, but he dismissed me and walked out. Hexing cauldrons. I ran behind him between pipes, buffs of steam and rushing inventors, because, bubbles, he was so fast. He didn’t stop until he found a door, pushed against it and stepped outside. I blinked at the bright light of the noon sun and realized we were standing in a narrow alley. The factory was located close to the market circle behind the clock tower, so we could hear the busy noises of the sellers and buyers, but no-one was passing this side of city. It would’ve been nice to be here and feel the fresh air and inhale the smell of moss and flowers after being cooped up in the factory all morning, but I was worried about Rhein, who had started pacing in a short line, going back and forth. “I need to talk to Chi. We need better ropes. Better materials,” he said. His eyes were focused on the stone ground and his hand pushed back his new short hair. He always did that when he was worried or thinking really hard. He was obviously doing both. “It was an accident, and nothing happened,” I said, trying to calm him, but I realized it was the wrong thing to say as he stopped pacing and his frown deepened. “An accident is a result of recklessness. One wrong move and the consequences are dire,” he said so softly, it ached my heart. I shouldn’t have said that word. It always brought back the memory of an accident he had many years ago. The accident that gave him two sharp scars that ran from his jaw down to his chest and the accident in which a colleague inventor of his had died. “I know,” I took his hand. “Come sit with me.” We sat on the step of the door. He closed his eyes and squeezed my hand. I leaned in and rested my head on his arm. We sat there in silence. I don’t know how being with Rhein had become so normal and easy. Ever since I had slept for three days straight, following the battle of the wall, Rhein and I had been getting closer each day. Trying to spend every free moment together whenever we could find one. I couldn’t put a name to this closeness, but I didn’t care. I just liked it and I was content. “I’m sorry,” Rhein finally said, “I shouldn’t have reacted like this. I’ve ruined your day.” “No, you haven’t. You’re just tired. I, as well, am tired. If you hadn’t come to offer me a tour, I would’ve thrown all those new vials of steam out the window. You actually saved my day.” Rhein coughed a laugh, which meant I had managed to calm him. “We have been working really hard,” Rhein agreed. Bubbles, how true that was. We had been very busy, working for months, securing every important location in the city, from the steam factory to the market and the farm. One would think after winning a big battle, things would ease up and we’d have a bit of peace, but nope, the amount of work doubled. Soldiers were tasked with weeding out spies, inventors had to come up with new ideas and Burk and I were doing our best to enhance Paiza’s magic in order to figure out the old ancient spell to create the one-of-a-kind steam. This was all because other cities and kingdoms were capable of attacking Paiza, including the Court of Wizards. It was a lot to deal with. “Still, I’m happy,” I admitted. “I liked being busy, especially on those days when all I could think about was the Court of Wizards.” I liked the distraction and the satisfaction of helping. “I am too,” he smiled and held my hand up to his lips. Suddenly, the door behind us crashed opened, causing us both to jump to our feet. Hexing bubbles! Couldn’t people leave us alone? Standing at the door was the young inventor I’d saved. He didn’t meet my eyes and his face was as red as his hair. “Here,” he almost whispered, offering me a small metal rock that glimmered under the sun. “It’s cobalt. For saving me.” “Oh, thank you,” I said, taking it and smiling wide at the inventor. He nodded sheepishly, ruffled his hair and left in a hurry. “That is one rare metal. Your admirers are growing in numbers,” Rhein remarked. “The perks of being Paiza’s protector,” I replied with a giggle. With a swift assertive move, Rhein turned me to face him. His hands firm on my waist, holding me close. My breath shallowed and my head felt light. “But who does the protector admire?” he whispered. His warm breath tickling my nose, sending shivers down my spine. Life around us was muffled by the sound of my thunderous heartbeat. “Oh, is the King of Paiza jealous?” I said, humming, teasing him and enjoying how his fingers dug into my waist as he got impatient waiting for me to say his name. “Who?” he urged me as a chilly breeze danced around us. “There is one. His name is …” I paused for only a second, only to say the name he longed to hear, “Rhein.”