The Liberian

Chapter 60

He relaxed his grip on her wrist, and his hand shifted to hers. “I realized something this morning, these past days,” Derek murmured. “I am a spoiled prince. No matter how unfair it may be, I do not do well being denied something I want, even if it’s self-inflicted. I have hurt you, I have put you in harm’s way, and I will continue to ask this and more of you the longer you stay near me. Yet knowing this, I seem to want you closer even when sense tells me the opposite.”

“Derek.” All words but his name failed her.

“You asked me before for honesty; there it is.” It was his turn to search her features for her reaction.

Halle felt dizzy, and all she could manage was a nod. He led her back to the small sitting area and sat with her. Halle felt the warmth of his skin under her fingertips, and she did nothing to break their contact. “So, if it involves my feelings, trust me above all others.”

“Above Elecia, you mean.” Halle didn’t leave things to chance.

“Above Elecia,” Derek agreed with a nod.

“So then, you’re not upset with me?” If they were clearing the air, Halle wanted to get everything out.

“Not in the slightest.” Derek’s thumb ghosted over the back of her hand. “If anything, you should be upset with me for ...” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“Let’s call it even.” Halle didn’t want to dwell. She had done enough of that all day, and she felt at ease finally knowing more or less where she stood with Derek. “So what are we actually supposed to be working on?”

Derek shared a brief smile with her before his face quickly turned somber. “I have a plan to take the North.” His eyes bore into her. “But I will need you.”

“What could I do?” She hadn’t mastered any type of combat.

“It will depend on if you are able to become proficient at Projection. I believe I am able to see you when you are Projected because of our Bond, but no one else should be able to. If you can Project, you can infiltrate the Northern stronghold undetected. Learn its passages and its weaknesses. The information you could give might make them fall in one night.”

Halle instantly felt uneasy at the idea. “But last time I became stuck.”

“I will help you, I will be here.” Derek squeezed her hand lightly. “If you are willing, we will begin practice tonight.”

After some internal debate, Halle finally decided. “I will.” Perhaps this would be the one thing she could do that would give meaning to her conscription into the military. “What do I need to do?”

“Well, have you worked on Channeling?” Derek finally straightened, pulling his hand from hers. The distance he’d previously placed between them didn’t come rushing to fill the space. It didn’t feel like he was planning for it to be the last time they touched.

“Not really.” Halle glanced away.

“I didn’t see you using magic when we practiced either.” Derek gave her a knowing grin. “So, let us practice that first.”

Halle nodded and thought back to the last time they had worked together. It was an easy memory to recall, given the impact the Joining had on her. Halle extended her hands, focusing on them. She’d seen Derek repeat the movement countless times.

She clenched her hands into fists, and felt a rush of power. It was the same feeling he had imparted upon her during their Joining, and it made Halle wonder why she’d been so fearful to attempt it. Her eyes darted back to him. “I think I did it.”

“Really?” He seemed both surprised and skeptical.

“Check,” she suggested.

Derek looked askance. “I cannot.”

“What?”

“I cannot use magic sight.” Derek seemed embarrassed to admit the fact.

Halle stared in shock. He couldn’t do something? More notably, he couldn’t do something that she could. His eyes failed to meet hers, and Halle cleared the look from her face. He’d been helpful to her when she had no idea what magic was. She’d not chastise him now.

“Well, let’s just assume I can.” Halle gave a small grin.

“Truly? So easily?” He was surprised.

“I have a good teacher.” She flashed him a wide smile, and his mouth curled upward in reply before he could give it thought.

“Do you remember how you Projected?” he asked.Vaguely,” she confessed. She remembered trying to be near him when the Emperor had returned to the capital, and Halle remembered stretching her mind toward the rose garden. She thought it’d been a dream then, but perhaps it made more sense as a Projection.

“Try to repeat that process.” Derek seemed as uncertain as she felt.

Halle nodded, willing to let his confidence in her give life to her attempt. She closed her eyes, thinking back to the process she had used long ago. Visualize, she instructed to herself. In her mind’s eye the room began to rebuild with a magically sharp clarity.

Halle allowed the world to slow and still. Farther, she needed to stretch farther. Now able to maintain an open Channel, Halle found it easier to construct a magical world for her to walk within. She was the air; it beckoned endlessly to Halle, asking for her to fill the space. Soon sound disappeared, and she stood.

Her senses rushed back to her, but they were different than before. She heard by feeling the air move; she saw by how the shimmering currents of air circled around objects. Halle watched her body slump limply.

Derek caught her physical form and shifted it to rest in his arm. A smile curled his lips at the sight of her.

“Excellent,” he enthused.

Can you see me? she asked.

He nodded. “Try walking.”

She turned in place. It was easy to cross the room, and his eyes followed her the whole time. She walked over to his armor and reached out a hand. Halle studied it uncertainly.

What do I look like? she asked, wondering if the ghost-like appearance of her hand was the same for him.

“Fuzzy, as though you are in a fog. How a mirage looks in the desert,” Derek replied.

Halle tried to touch the plate and found her hand passed right through it. I can’t touch things, she observed.

“Try to use your magic,” he suggested.

Halle held out her hand, attempting to manipulate the wind around her. It was suddenly slippery and formless, like a vat of snakes and oil. Halle demanded it oblige her, focusing harder.

“Halle, stop,” Derek warned.

She didn’t even look back at him. Halle tried to take a deep breath, to feel the air, but found she couldn’t in this form. She would just have to force it. Immersing herself in her Channel, she insisted the armor move. Her vision shifted, the world phased between light and dark.

Derek? she called.