Page 26 of The Tribes of Magic (Paragons #3)

TIDAL WAVES

T oday’s agenda was Nymph magic. My team was paired with Nevada’s, something I was really, really happy about. I hadn’t seen much of my best friend lately.

“Nymph magic is about balance. It’s about existing in total harmony with the planet and all living beings on it.”

Eris was training us today. She’d brought us to the Park, which worked out perfectly. The kind old woman from the kitchen who’d asked me to find her grandson said he was last seen in the Park. I could kill two birds with one stone: practice Nymph magic and find the missing man.

The Knights had reclaimed the Park district from the Cursed Ones only a few days ago, and it showed. The Park was beyond wild; it was feral. The bushes were overgrown, the ground littered with fallen branches, many of them as tall as me.

And then there was the enormous patch of blackened, burnt grass around the new Spirit Tree, courtesy of the Brotherhood of Earth and their psychotic plan to destroy all travel between realms. Thankfully, their plan had failed, but we still had to deal with the mess they’d left behind.

The recent rainstorms had turned the big dry patch into a big wet patch.

The Spirit Tree now resided at the edge of a very large swamp.

“Today, we’ll be doing some elemental balancing,” Eris said.

We stood at the edge of the swamp. It had only been here a few days, but had already attracted the attention of the local birds, frogs, and, undoubtedly, mosquitos.

“The natural element of the day is water. Do you think you can find any?”

Most of the Apprentices laughed at Eris’s joke, but not Dutch. His gaze narrowed as it panned across the swamp that lay before us.

“You want us to remove all that water?”

“No, of course not. I want you to preserve the swamp.”

“Why? It’s a swamp.”

“Wetlands serve many key functions. They help control flooding, purify water…”

“That water doesn’t look very pure to me, Bronte!” one of the Apprentices laughed.

“…not to mention, wetlands are one of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet. They’re home to a wide variety of plant and animal species.”

“I don’t think I want to meet any of the creepy crawlies that live there!”

A few of the other Apprentices called out in agreement. I was with them on that one. I’d had more than my fair share of encounters with the local creepy crawlies.

Eris lifted her hands, silencing the crowd. “What you want doesn’t matter, Apprentices. Skye, the Nymph Knight Commander, has ordered us to preserve the swamp, so that’s precisely what we’re going to do.”

“How do we do that?”

“Thank you so much for asking, Dutch. I was just about to tell you. Now listen closely, everyone, because this is important. Yes, everyone includes you too, Cindy. You can gossip with your friend later.” Eris’s smile didn’t falter.

“First, you need to check the water for pollution and other contaminates. After that, you will use these—” Eris shook a clear bag packed full of potion vials.

“—to filter out all the bad stuff until the water is free from poison and other contaminates. Along the way, maybe a few of you might find you have an affinity for Nymph magic.”

Someone in the crowd made gagging noises.

“I heard that, Wilkins! If you feel compelled to vomit to prove a point, do it away from the water. We’re supposed to be cleaning the swamp, not contaminating it with new noxious substances.”

A few of the Apprentices laughed.

“Ok, let’s go! Work quickly but carefully, Apprentices. There was a big battle right here just a few days ago. The Brotherhood brought along all kinds of dangerous chemicals and equipment. Who knows what manner of nasty things are floating around in that water.”

The Apprentices spread out along the shore. I stayed with Nevada.

“I really kind of love the Nymphs’ philosophy.” I said to her.

We were kneeling beside a soggy pile of leaves floating atop the patch of water we’d selected to test and cleanse. The sky was clear and blue today. The sun felt warm on my cheeks. It also sparkled spectacularly across the field of water.

Smiling, Nevada set her hands over the water’s surface, until her fingertips were almost touching it. “Nymphs work together for the greater good. It’s a refreshing change of pace from all the pushups, isn’t it?”

“It sure beats my training session this morning.”

“I heard Kato made you stand on the Hex and ask out every guy you saw.”

I wondered how many other people had heard about it. Every Knight and Apprentice in the Fortress?

No, on second thought, I was better off not knowing how many people had heard that humiliating story.

I watched Nevada wave her hand to extract a cloud of tiny black particles from the water. They floated in the air like a swarm of bees hovering in place. She waved her hand again, and the stinky particles dropped into one of our buckets.

“Excellent work, Nevada!”

Eris had wandered over to observe Nevada’s work. She smiled at my best friend like she was the star of the show.

“You’ll make an excellent Nymph. Watch and learn, everyone! This Apprentice knows what she’s doing!”

No one jeered or glowered. Unlike me, Nevada was very popular.

“Ok, superstar, I’ll just be taking these.” I grabbed her bag of test strips and potion vials. “You clearly don’t need them. You’re a natural. You make it look so easy.”

“I like water,” she said, smiling. “I like cleaning it, removing all the yucky stuff humans put into it.”

I looked into the bucket full of black dust. “What happens to the yucky stuff?”

“I think the General puts it in his coffee.”

I laughed. “You’re kidding.”

“Yeah, I am. Actually, I think the Alchemists found a way to use the pollution particles we extract in a way that doesn’t hurt anyone or pollute anything. I don’t really understand how they do it.”

“And I don’t understand how you can do that ,” I said.

She’d already completely filled her bucket with black dust. The water already looked so much better than before. I slid her my bucket.

“I wish I had your skills, Nevada.”

“You’ll figure it out. Just like you’ll figure out how the Alchemists reuse the pollution particles, how the Elves make everyone fall in love with them, and why the Sorcerers always look like they want to hex everyone they meet.”

I snorted. “I don’t need magic to answer that last one. The Sorcerers do that because they want people to be afraid of them.”

“That’s stupid. If people are afraid of you, you won’t make friends.” She laughed. “Huh. I guess that’s exactly the kind of response everyone expects from a Nymph, isn’t it?”

“It’s exactly the kind of response I expect from my awesome best friend. And, just for the record, I’d much rather someone try to hug me than hex me.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’re working with us today and not with the Sorcerers.”

“Yeah…”

I was distracted by the sight of a fat, purple tentacle tip peeking out of the water. This swamp must be a lot deeper than I thought.

“Though I suppose what you really want is for Kato to hug you.”

My attention snapped back to Nevada. She was smirking at me.

“Very funny,” I told her.

“Is it really so bad training with him?”

“Only when he makes me embarrass myself.”

“By asking out random people? Who cares? I’m sure they all knew it was part of some training exercise.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” I said. “But, actually, that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was when I asked Kato to go to the Masquerade Ball with me.”

Nevada’s eyes grew wide. “You asked him out?”

“He told me to.”

“Huh.” She paused. “Interesting.”

“It was just another training exercise.”

“Are you sure?”

“He’s my friend, Nevada.”

“But he’s more than a friend, isn’t he?”

“Kind of? Kato and Conner and I…well, the three of us have a special connection.”

“Conner?”

“Oh, did I forget to mention him? He’s also a Polymage and Kato’s best friend. Oh, and he’s the leader of the Rebels.”

“You have been busy, Savannah.”

“Yeah, I always am,” I sighed. “Kato and Conner and I saved the Spirit Trees together. We’re…well, like I said, the three of us have a special connection. I guess because we’re all Polymages. We’re like puzzle pieces that fit together and then everything makes sense.”

“What you’re describing, Savannah, it sounds like best friends.”

“ You are my best friend. You’re like a sister to me, Nevada.”

“And they’re like brothers to you?”

“Uh, no.” I laughed. “I already have a brother. I don’t need any more of those, thank you very much. But I do feel there’s something special with Kato and Conner. I guess ‘best friends’ is as good a description as any. But, wait, can someone have more than one best friend?”

Nevada shrugged. “Sure, why not? It’s a new world, Savannah. New world, new rules.”

“New world, new rules. I like it.” I dipped one of my test strips into the water, then waited for it to change color.

Nevada leaned in. “How’s the water looking?”

“Much better, thanks to you. At this rate, we’ll be finished cleaning the swamp by lunchtime. I’ll go get some more empty buckets.”

“I’ll go with you.”

She got up and walked with me toward the supply station. It wasn’t far, but we walked slowly. The buckets we carried were heavy and full of black muck. We didn’t want to spill.

“So you’re going with Kato to the Ball?” Nevada said as we walked.

“No,” I laughed. “It was just a training exercise, Nevada.”

“But you asked him?”

“Yes.”

“And he said yes?”

I frowned.

“He said no?”

“No. Actually, he didn’t answer at all. We didn’t get to that part.

We were talking about the General and how he believes I bewitched Kato to make him help me.

I don’t have very good control over my magic, you know, and I was worried he might be right.

So then Kato decided to prove I hadn’t bewitched him, which he did by bewitching me.

That made me feel all happy and silly and whatnot, so I asked Kato to go to the Ball with me.

And then…well, he broke the spell. I felt really embarrassed and sort of ran off, so I never got an answer. ”

“Uh, Savannah?” Nevada set down her bucket, then she pointed behind me.

I turned to look. A tidal wave came crashing out of the swamp.

Before I could process what was happening, the wave washed over all the other Apprentices, catching them in a swirling whirlpool.

Eris tried to stop it, but she got sucked into the water too.

Birds burst out of the canopy, fleeing in terror. Storm clouds filled the sky.

“What the…”

Nevada pointed at my hands, and I looked. They were glowing. The glow was bright, blue, and unmistakable. Gasping in surprise, I dropped the buckets.

“I did this? I caused the tidal wave? How? Why? How?”

“Maybe you could make the whirlpool stop spinning?” Nevada spoke in a soft, calming voice, the way you’d talk to a crazy person.

I was the crazy person. I’d made a tidal wave and a whirlpool, and I had no idea how I’d done it.

“Ok.” I took a slow, deep breath. “I’ll try to make it stop.”

I focused on my breathing. And the whirlpool. It stopped spinning. The wild water slid back into the swamp. The storm clouds retreated, revealing sunny skies. Everything was quiet.

I looked at Nevada. “What happened?”

“I think your Nymph magic is a lot stronger than you think.”

Eris and the Apprentices came slogging out of the swamp, drenched from head to toe. My mentor caught my gaze. Her lips curled back into a semi-snarl.

Oops.

“Your emotions are a lot stronger than you think too,” Nevada added. “And they are fueling your magic.”

She was right about that. Anytime my emotions got away from me, so did my magic. And then came the big, powerful, unplanned, uncontrolled spells.

“Also, Savannah,” Nevada said. “I don’t think your Polymage best friend trio thing is nearly as simple as you think.”