Page 44 of Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings (Love X Magic #3)
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
THE POWER SHE WIELDS
Rune
“ W hat does it feel like?” I whispered, my voice surprisingly sultry.
The sound coming from my mouth shouldn’t have been all that surprising, seeing as I’d been all but drooling at Kari since the moment she raised her hands to perform her first spell.
Within these caves, she came to life. It was as if her spot in this world suddenly clicked into place, and her seidr flowed from her in a way that seemed so right.
Once upon a time, I too needed to get a hold of my power, and while some skills were easier to master, some took decades.
But unlike Kari, I knew my place was in Valhalla, among the fallen warriors and the gods.
I knew my task, my purpose, and had teachers to guide me, ones who had been attendants to Odin for thousands of years.
Kari was only now uncovering her place, her destiny.
Once she was firm in this knowledge, she would be unstoppable.
But for now, I would help guide her until she had no doubts.
This was not something that could be forced.
She had to choose a path for herself, and even my guidance would only do as much as she allowed.
“Kari?” I asked when she took too long to respond. I didn’t blame her, though, because I too alternated between being hyper present, focusing on every detail of her spell, and being lost in my mind, in a world of hopes and memories.
“Oh!” she said finally, glancing up with an embarrassed grin, a ball of fire blazing between her palms. “Sorry. This one takes a lot of focus. I can’t believe I’m able to do this at all!
I never would have been able to cast a spell this strong on Midgard.
It feels warm, even if I know it’s just an illusion.
The false flames may emanate no actual warmth on the outside, but I swear, I have the heat of a true flame burning inside me. ”
Before I could respond, the skald clapped once and said, “Very good. Let’s move on.
” The attendant showed little reaction each time Kari performed one of her tasks, moving through a list in front of them and checking each skill off as we went.
Kari had completed eight of them by now, and each time the skald told her to move on, I could sense her pride growing.
The spells the skald had been having her practice were way more advanced than anything Kari had been doing with áma, or even alone in our chamber here in Hel.
“One more spell, and then we will focus on those foggy visions of yours.”
Kari nodded eagerly, dissolving the false flames and facing her palms down on the stone table. I’m sure the chill of it felt nice on her skin after maintaining that illusion.
“Now, this time, I want you to summon your favorite meal,” the skald said, focusing on Kari very intently.
Their gaze shifted to me for a moment, telling me not to open my mouth, and I pressed my lips together in compliance.
This test was for Kari. I wouldn’t let my knowledge of seidr influence her decisions.
“I can’t,” Kari said with a shrug.
“What do you mean you can’t?” the skald asked.
“I’ve tried about a thousand times. I can’t create organic matter. When I try to summon anything living, or anything once alive, it feels as if I were to tell myself to suddenly be pregnant with little pegasus babies. It just won’t happen. It feels like nothing.”
I tried to hold back a laugh, but it slipped from my throat and echoed in the room. Kari shot me a smile, but the skald just scowled.
They have no fun here, damn.
“Good. You’re discovering your limits already.
Summoning food would be a very unusual gift for a mortal seeress, and a part of understanding our seidr is knowing when to stop wasting our time on a spell that will never work for us.
Just like you cannot summon food, Rune cannot have visions.
There are different types of seidr for different people, and that is the way of things. ”
“You knew I wouldn’t be able to do it?” Kari asked with interest.
“I did.”
“Did you?” Kari shifted to assess me, her lips pursed, more in curiosity than annoyance.
“I had a strong feeling, seeress,” I admitted. I had a feeling if she was able to summon food, she would have done it by now, especially during our days at áma’s.
“So, I guess I passed your test?” Kari asked with a proud smile tugging at her lips.
“I guess you did,” the skald said with a satisfied grin.
“Now that I know the bounds of your seidr, what you can perform with ease, and what needs work, I have an understanding of where to begin. Next, are you comfortable sharing your most recent visions with me? And when did they start getting harder to decipher?”
“Sure! My visions always used to be strong and accurate. Unlike my spells, I never had to work hard to understand them, even as a child. It could have been because they were all relatively simple and only a day or two in the future,” she said.
“They started getting more complicated a few weeks before I was taken to Valhalla. It wasn’t until I arrived in Asgard that I understood the symbolism behind them.
There’d been one that plagued me repeatedly, though, and its appearance was the first time I had the same vision multiple nights in a row. ”
“Ah, and each time you have had difficulty with your visions, were you, by chance, planning to travel somewhere new in the distant future?”
“Now that I think about it, yeah, I was, even if I didn’t know it at the time.”
“This makes perfect sense. You cannot have a vision of a realm you have never been to. You can see glimpses and symbols, but not the place itself. Once you do more traveling around the nine realms, you shouldn’t have this issue.”
“Really? So it’s not a permanent problem? Nothing is wrong with me?”
“No, Kari, nothing is wrong with you.”
“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear that!
” she beamed. “So we can focus more on my spells then? I need to master as many as I can if Freyja is to consider allowing me to join her council.” Kari had admitted the truth to the skald shortly after performing her first spell.
It’d become difficult to explain why we were here, what we wanted, and why we were in a rush while also maintaining that little morsel of information.
Plus, the skald would know better than anyone what type of skill Freyja may be looking for.
Hiding the truth would’ve only done Kari a disservice.
“We may, but while you’re here, I want to discuss dream symbolism with you.
Just because you haven’t been to a realm and your visions are fuzzy doesn’t mean you should be totally helpless deciphering them.
A good seeress can decipher any vision, no matter how unclear.
Freyja greatly appreciates someone with clear and useful visions, especially if they help her find what she seeks most.”
“Well, you lead the way. If you want me to learn it, I will. I trust you know best,” Kari said, clasping her hands upon the table.
“If only you’d had that attitude with me,” I grumbled under my breath. Kari rewarded me with an elbow to my side as she mentioned something about stalker-kidnappers not deserving the benefit of the doubt. I couldn’t argue with her, but I could scowl and pretend anyway.
“I’m going to let the two of you sort that out. I’ll be taking a walk, but call if you need me. I won’t go too far,” I said.
“You’re really leaving?” Kari asked, a hint of disappointment in her tone.
“Unless you don’t want me to.”
“No, it’s…fine. I just thought you might want to see me perform a few more spells. I’m improving so much, and?—”
“Go!” the skald said with a wave of their hands, practically shooing me away. “You’re just a distraction, and we have far too much to do here.”
I mouthed “sorry” to Kari, but she just shook her head and gave me a straight smile.
She wants me to stay. She wants to show me her spells. Gods, she’s so fucking cute.
Part of me felt bad for leaving, despite knowing she didn’t want me to, but from the look of it, I was no longer welcomed by the skald. It sounded like they had a lengthy lesson on symbolism to get through before getting back to spells anyway, and I could think of a few better uses of my time.
I wandered away, exiting the small cavern in favor of finding one of a little more interest. I followed the tunnel we’d come down but took a left through an opening in the wall about halfway through.
Once inside, orange flames licked up the walls, as if the room was on fire, but when I ran my fingers through them, I felt nothing but a small wave of seidr. The fact that Hel was able to have false fire going all throughout her kingdom was more than a little impressive.
The amount of power that would require was immeasurable, but she was a goddess, after all.
Hel reigned over death, ice, and darkness, but it was also her duty to protect the dead, and part of that was the sanity of her residents.
The people here died of old age, disease, accidents, and violent acts inflicted upon them.
They didn’t deserve punishment; they deserved a home.
After family, a home started with warmth and comfort.
These may have not been things the ice queen needed for herself, but she would certainly provide it.