Chapter 9 - That’ll Burn Ya

  Every head at the table turns to see a man step through the doorway into the kitchen. Tall, broad, and powerfully built, the man fills the door. “DADDY!” Galla calls out, bolting from her chair and smashing into the man’s legs like a runaway train. The figure lets out an exaggerated ‘ooomph’ and bends over to scoop the boar-girl into a hug.

  Assuming this to be Collin, Alex takes a good look. Collin has brown hair, but with the sides shaved to mimic the boar-bristle mohawks worn by Mora and Galla. He wears something akin to a toga, a cloth wrap that goes around the hip and up to hang from one shoulder, leaving half of his chest exposed. He also has a leather-skirt that matches Mora’s. The thing that catches Alex’s attention most though, are the shoes. Collin’s footwear are similar to leather boots, but with metal cladding across the arch, toe, and around the back heel. Obviously hand-made rather than mass-produced. As Alex considers it, he doesn’t think he’s seen anything here that could have been mass-produced.

  “Daddy! I made friends!” Galla says, pulling her father by the hand towards the table. Collin looks up and notices the guests. Shock registering on his face as he sees Corvus sitting at his dinner-table eating with his family.

  But unlike Mora, he doesn’t seem concerned. “Corvus? What are you doing here? I didn’t think I’d see you again once I left the Nexus.” He says, then notices Alex. He hurriedly wipes his hands on the leather skirt before reaching to shake Corvus’s hand, then Alex’s. “Name’s Collin. I see you’ve met my family already. Hope they didn’t boar you too bad.” He says with a wink at Galla. The girl gives an exasperated groan and rolls her eyes.

  Mora however levels the ladle at him threateningly. “Oi, don’tcha start. You’re Late. You’ve got some luck there’s still food left. Maybe I ought to let these gents finish it off instead of you.” Collin wilts, lifting his hands apologetically and ducks his hands in mock fear of his matronly lady.

  The man settles at the table and is served a portion too. “So Corvus, how are you here, friend? I didn’t think you could leave the Nexus. Or is this the ‘real’ you?” He asks before popping a morsel into his mouth with a satisfied sound.

  Corvus leans on the table, propping his elbows on it and rests his chin on his hand. “Unfortunately good man, this is a splinter, not my ‘prime’ self. Even so, I would appreciate the discretion of you and your family keeping my presence concealed until we are well gone from this place.”

  The younger girl screws up her face in concentration, then looks to her mother. “What does that mean, ‘our discretion’?” She asks, looking between her mom and Corvus.

  Mora is about to answer when Corvus leans towards the girl and answers in his teaching tone. “That is a way of asking someone to keep something private without saying it’s a secret. They can tell others, but only if they’re trusted.” Galla’s face brightens and she nods.

  Then Corvus continues, answering the bigger question Collin had posed to him. “Normally you would be correct, my splinters would be incapable of leaving the nexus. They are a product of my Title as The Guide. However this young man decided to propose a Deal with me, and thus this splinter is bound to him until the Deal is satisfied.” He says, gesturing towards Alex.

  Between bites, Collin addresses Alex next. “I did notice you were Faded, so you traded for a deal with Corvus? Can I ask what type of arrangement?” He asks, looking between the other two men. Corvus shrugs and motions to Alex.

  Not seeing any harm in explaining, Alex wipes his mouth on a home-spun cloth napkin before answering. “I figured it would be a good idea to have more long-term guidance. So I asked Corvus for a deal where he’d continue being a guide. He agreed and said he’d do it until I no longer felt I needed it.” He says, pausing to think. “He said it was a bad deal for me, but I think I came out ahead.”

  Collin quirks a brow. “You knew it was a bad deal for him, and you let him still do it?” He asks Corvus. “That seems kind of low for you, crow-man. You never gave me the impression of being someone that takes advantage of others.” He says, a little incredulous.

  Mora stands and begins clearing away the empty plates, and Alex gets up to help, letting Corvus and Collin talk. Mora tries to shoo him away, but Alex insists and Mora grudgingly accepts the aid.

  “You’d be correct. That isn’t my nature. I laid out all the reasons it would be a bad deal for him. The risk of being faded, the low value of the single Animus to me, and more. But he persisted. Ultimately, what made me agree to his Deal wasn’t the value, it was his curiosity.” Corvus explains to Collin. Then the crow looks around the home as if seeing through the walls. “You have done remarkably well for yourself dear friend. A home, a family, even a little one, and at least an Animus for each of you. It’s impressive.”

  Taking the subtle hint for what it was, Collin lets Corvus shift the subject. “It wasn’t easy. But I tried to act on what you taught me. It wasn’t long before I realized I should have listened a lot better.” He admits. “Took me a while, but I eventually did reach the first threshold. Nearly made the second. But then I messed up. Spent nearly all of it. Would have lost a lot more if Mora hadn’t come to my rescue.” He says, looking over to see Mora and Alex handling the dishes. The contented smile on Collin’s face comes as easily as breathing for him. “She saved me in more than one way.”

  Corvus beams, thoroughly enjoying hearing Collin’s story, and getting to see where it’s brought him. “I, for one, believe you have something magnificent here.” Corvus says, reaching over to rest a hand on Collin’s shoulder. “You and Mora should be proud.”

  Meanwhile, Alex and Mora set plates, cups, and utensils in the wash-basin. Just as Alex is about to ask about water, Mora pulls the rock from her skirt-pocket. “Step back hun.” She says, and Alex obliges. Mora holds the stone over the basin and lets out a snort of effort. The stone glows again, the heat distorting the air around Mora’s hand before fire rains down from it into the basin as if spewed from a flamethrower. Even with the warning, Alex still leaps a few extra steps back and covers his face.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Peeking around his arm, Alex sees that the fire is perfectly contained, landing only inside the basin. And Mora doesn’t seem harmed from having the source of the intense heat held in her bare hand. Curiosity getting the better of him, Alex steps closer again to see. When he peers at the rock, focusing on it, Alex is able to make out a wavering halo of emblems circling the stone and Mora’s hand. He doesn’t get too long to observe it before the emblems dissipate and the heat with them seconds later. The insides of the basin continue to radiate warmth however.

  He’s about to reach in when Mora stops him. “Uhuh, that’ll burn ya.” She says, having grabbed his wrist. “Let’em cool first. No rush for this part. They’re clean now, and they’ll keep where they are.” Alex nods, lowering his hand when Mora lets go.

  “That stone, is it the source of the magic, or was that you?” He asks, curiosity burning just as hotly as the stoneware. The intent-movement could qualify as magic too, but there was nothing flashy or spectacular about it. But being able to conjure fire or heat from a rock, that’s what magic should look like, or so Alex thinks.

  Mora quirks a brow at him, then fishes the stone out of her pocket again. “A little of both, I think. It takes an effort to start it, gotta focus, and it draws from my Animus. Then this rock is cooled magma, so I use that power to remind it where it came from, and it gets hot again.” Alex gets a good look at the stone and indeed it is just a chunk of igneous rock.

  Amazed, Alex plies her for more details. “So you use willpower and Animus to do magic? Does it use up the Animus?” He asks, certain that simply cooking a meal wouldn’t be worth spending an Animus, much less using it to incinerate the scraps left stuck to the plates.

  Mora chuckles at that. “No no, not at all. I can feel it ‘dim’ the Animus, but then it brightens again with time. The more intensity I need, the dimmer it gets, and the longer it takes to come back.” She explains.

  Alex nods along with the explanation, his mind brimming with even more questions. “Do you always need some type of object to focus it on?” He asks excitedly.

  Mora thinks a moment, and then shrugs. “Couldn’t tell ya. I know just the one trick. My own mum taught it to me.” She says, giving Alex an apologetic shrug.

  “Can you teach it to me?” Alex asks hopefully.

  The matronly boar just shakes her head. “I can’t. Without having any Animus, you wouldn’t even be able to get a feel for it.” She says softly.

  Alex lets out a disappointed sigh. “So the intent-movement doesn’t require any Animus, because I can do it just fine. But magic like that requires Animus to act as a power-source…” He muses more to himself than Mora.

  But hearing him, Mora looks stunned. “You can already use intent-movement? Even when you’re Faded?” She asks, voice rising in pitch with disbelief.

  The man sheepishly shrugs and rubs the back of his head. “It took some practice, but I did get the hang of it on my way here.” Alex tells her, unsure why it’s so surprising.

  Mora puts her hands on her hips. “Show me.” She demands, using her tusked chin to gesture to the other side of the room.

  Alex obliges, picking a spot and focusing on it. Then he steps, blurring through the room to appear on the far side. “BULLSHIT!” Mora exclaims, slack-jawed. “You must have been out there practicing for quite a long time to get so good at it. But… no, that can’t be either, you’re Faded and just got to town earlier. You’d have starved to death out there… How…”

  Alex watches as the boar-woman puzzles through it, and decides to save her from the confusion. “Corvus explained the basics for it. It was rough at first, but bit by bit, I got better at it on my way here.” He says, then focuses inwards, leaning on another thing Corvus had taught him. “I’ve been here for… fourteen hours. And at least four of those were spent traveling from the Nexus to here.”

  Mora’s shock only seems to deepen, gawking at Alex wide-eyed. Meanwhile, the conversation at the table had died as well, Collin looking at Alex with the same incredulous expression his wife wears. For his part, Corvus just looks smugly pleased. “Do you see the power of simply not telling someone that something should be hard? I told him the process, explained the method. And like a hound scenting blood, his curious mind refused to let go of the potential.” Corvus says with obvious pride in his tone. “Animus makes it easier, it’s true. But willpower alone is enough to fuel basic skills such as that.”

  Collin chuckles and shakes his head. “Oh yeah, I really should have listened better.” He says, leaning back in his seat. “Took me the better part of…” Collin trails off, a distant look in his eyes for a moment before he continues, “months to get to where I could use it reliably. And that was with my first Animus still intact.” He says, then shrugs. “Hey Alex. Just don’t over do it. Exertion isn’t like getting hurt while Faded, but it’ll still cut into your time. Try and get an Animus back as quickly as you can.” He says, tone turning serious.

  Alex swallows, not realizing he might have been hurting himself. He looks to Corvus for confirmation. The crow nods, then speaks up. “It’s true, but in the amounts you’ve been using, the difference is negligible. Measured in minutes, maybe a couple of hours at most. You’d have spent more time than that walking here the normal way. So on the whole, you came out ahead.”

  Despite Corvus’s reassurance, Alex grumbles. “Still, it would have been nice to know. Guessing that was what caused the headaches? Burning my time as a resource?”

  Corvus nods again. “Apologies. I feared that if you were aware, you’d forego the attempt, and thus use more with less progress.” He explains, not a shred of guilt in his voice, clearly believing his choice was the right one. And as he examines the logic, Alex has to agree.

  Mora listens along as well, busying herself by pulling the dishes out of the wash-basin and starting to put them away. “Galla, be a dear and fetch my old backpack for Mister Alex.” She says, startling the younger boar out of the rapt attention she’d been paying to the conversation.

  Collin stands from the table as well, watching Galla scamper off. “Alex, step outside with me for a moment?” He asks, and Alex follows him back out to the front stoop of the home. Once outside, Collin sets a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I’m quite glad you got a chance to see what home here can be like. And for giving me a chance to see Corvus again. Thanks for visiting with us.”

  Alex smiles and turns towards the larger man. “The pleasure was mine, really. Your family is wonderful.” He says, glancing back through the door to see Mora and Corvus chatting amiably.

  Collin looks as well, smiling. “That all makes the next part hard. Alex, it’s been nice having you here, and I hope you don’t take this the wrong way.” He pauses, turning somber. “But I hope I never see you again.”

  The words hit Alex like a slap to the face. Even said with the kindly tone, Collin’s last sentiment is jarring. “Whoa, what? Did I do something wrong? If I offended you at all, I’m sorry.” Alex rushes to apologize.

  Collin gives Alex’s shoulder a little shake. “No no, nothing like that, kid. It’s just that you need to get away from this place. I found my peace here, where I belong. But I get the sense that it won’t be like that for you. So move on quickly, and don’t look back. Don’t get trapped like those fools in the buffet.”