A Gift of Magic

Chapter 5

            The instant the grinding sounds stopped signaling the closing of the passageway torches sprang to life around the cavern they were now stuck in. Leigh searched the room with her eyes trying to find clues. Although the room looked man made there was not a single tool mark on any of the walls. The torches were obviously charged by magic since they came on when the passageway closed, and they weren’t producing any smoke. Logan went to take a step further into the room and Leigh put out her hand to stop him.

            “Don’t move into the room before we figure out what is required in this room,” Leigh said to him quietly.

            “I don’t see anything immediately, maybe if we explore, we can find clues,” Logan said.

            Rounding on him with a glare on her face Leigh accused, “You invite yourself on a quest you have no clue about, you barge into a room that you do not have the magic necessary to enter, and now you are going to tell me the best way to determine my next steps.” Flabbergasted Leigh threw up her hands in disgust, “you know what, fine, go ahead and run around the room for all I care!” Leigh turned to the wall they just walked through and started softly running her hands along the smooth surface to see what she could find with her raccoon friend trailing on her heels still holding a mango pit in her mouth.

            Logan sighed, “you are absolutely right. I haven’t been on an actual adventure in so long I got excited and wasn’t thinking. Please accept my apology.” With that Logan sat down on the floor and watched Leigh as she searched the wall.

            Leigh shook her head and continued searching along the wall. Of all the people that could have tagged along he was the least likely. He obviously knew nothing of magic, he had no weapons on him, and he was obviously impulsive. Although he was very handsome, she was afraid that he was going to be a liability. While she was pondering this her fingers brushed along some faint carvings. “Got ya!” she whispered excitedly. To Logan she said, “there are some carvings in the wall. I have the numbers 17, 3, 13, and 7.”

            Logan’s face scrunched up in confusion. The little lines that formed between his eyebrows and next to his mouth were so cute she found herself with the impulse to smooth them out. She lifted her hand about six inches before she caught herself and lowered her hand making a fist. She had never felt an impulse to touch a guy before and this impulse to touch this stranger had Leigh feeling confused. Before she could explore her feelings, Logan’s voice cut through her thoughts, “wonder what the significance of those numbers are?” he wondered out loud.

            Leigh said automatically and absently, “3, 7, 13, and 17 are all holy numbers for the Druids, but these numbers are out of order. That has to mean something.”

            Logan looked at the room again, “The walls and ceilings are all smooth and look to be made of one piece, but the floor is sectioned off in tiles. I wonder if the numbers are somehow linked to the tiles?”

            Leigh nodded, “that is a good possibility.” They fell into silence as they contemplated their options. While they were thinking Leigh picked up a small stone and tossed it onto the fourth tile, immediately flames appeared above the tile. Both Logan and Leigh jumped in surprise.

            Logan said, “there’s motivation for getting the combination right.” He quietly added, “thank you for saving me the pain of being burnt. It wouldn’t have killed me, but it would have been very painful. I am in your debt.” He dipped his head in Leigh’s direction giving her a slight half smile.

            Leigh was lost in thought and Logan’s words barely registered with her. Thinking aloud she said, “These numbers must be a combination for getting across the room. We need to find the starting block on the third row of tiles.”

            Automatically falling into sync, the two went to opposite sides of the room and started moving to meet in the middle carefully searching the tiles on the floor. When they met in the middle Logan said, “there was a tile that had a notch in it about seven tiles from the wall on my side. Did you find anything?”

            Leigh shook her head and went straight for the tile Logan mentioned. She bent down and picked up the raccoon in her harms and stood on the tile Logan had mentioned. She then carefully tossed a pebble on the tile in front of her, when nothing happened, she carefully counted seventeen tiles. Stopping she then tossed a pebble on the tile in front of her and a flame appeared. She dropped a pebble on the tile to the left of her and the same thing happened, but when she dropped a pebble on the tile to the right of her nothing happened. She carefully counted three tiles to the right then turning towards the opposite end of the cavern she carefully counted thirteen tiles. She then carefully counted seven tiles to the right again ending on a tile with the same notch as the other side and stepped out of the tile puzzle. Logan who was following close behind stepped off the puzzle as well. They were about five tiles from the wall where they could see letters etched in an ancient dead language.

            Logan asked, “can you read that?”

            Leigh nodded, “this is the ancient Druid’s language. It roughly translates that if we want to move to the next test, I need to create a staircase. There is an incantation for the stairs.” She turned to Logan who was softly smiling at her. The day had been slowly wearing on Leigh and she was exhausted. She had used a number of spells in a short period of time and needed to rest. This cavern was at least partially explored and was as safe as it was going to get for a while. “I need to rest before I use an unknown spell.”

            Logan nodded, “I must admit I have never been around someone who wielded magic before and have no idea bout how it must wear on you. I would offer a small meal before we sleep but I had to leave in a rush and have nothing to offer.

            Leigh shrugged out of her pack and noticed that she was out of food as well. She pulled out a water canteen, she filled it just this morning in the rain-forest. It felt like so long ago now. She drank some of the water. Poured some in her palm for the raccoon and then passed the canteen to Logan. He mumbled a thanks before drinking some and passing it back to her. She then sat cross legged on the floor with her palms cupped emptily in front of her. She closed her eyes and chanted, “Oh blessed goddess Danu, hear your humble servant, grant to me the good berries to quench our hunger.” Leigh’s hands glowed a bright green to match the glowing highlights in her hair and eight juicy blackberries appeared in her hands. Wordlessly Leigh handed Logan one berry and the raccoon one berry. “These are called good berries blessed by the goddess to sustain each of us for a full day. At lease we will sleep with a full stomach.” Leigh ate a berry and placed the rest in her bag. She then curled up on the floor and fell asleep instantly. The raccoon climbed on top of her hip and curled up in a ball and fell asleep on her.

            Logan looked at Leigh in wonder. This small human not only saved him bodily harm when he was careless entering the cavern but also provided the group with food and water. The casual exchange of food from her to him an important part of their courtship. He was wondering if she would even need him on this journey. He could at least be a good companion. He took his shirt off and rolled it into a makeshift pillow and placed it under Leigh’s head. She instantly rested her head on it and sighed in her sleep. He would help where he could on this strange journey. He sat with his back against the wall watching his little mate. Eventually the strain of the day, his run earlier, and the excitement of finding his mate brought him into sleep as well. Who knows what tomorrow would bring but he was excited to face it with her.