Vancouver - Leah's Apartment - Late Saturday Morning
Four runes were all it took to send a demon back to its own dimension. Way, way less energy than a Powershot. Leah showed him the runes - all four were part of her elaborate tattoo - and he just needed to draw them in the air with lines of energy. A wizarding basic.
Something he didn't actually know how to do.
It turned out Arra had included that in the instructions on the laptop. He'd been planning to read those at some time. Fortunately, the lesson was basic and it seemed he’d been instinctively doing most of it already. The rest of it seemed simple enough. When he mentioned that to Leah, she snorted.
“Lots of things seem simple when you read the instructions, but it’s an entirely different story when you actually try to hook up the DVD player.”
Fair point. “It doesn’t seem that complicated, though. Mostly, I just have to shift my internal focus to external.”
“Do you even know what that means?”
Tony pushed his chair out from the table and stood, forcing her to take a couple of steps back. “It’s sort of like choking up on the Powershot.”
“Choking up on the Powershot?” Muttering under her breath, she moved around until she stood behind him. “Your keen grasp of description fills me with confidence.”
“I need to practice.”
“You think? Make it fast and don’t destroy my apartment.”
“Your faith is underwhelming,” he muttered, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet and shaking the tension out of his arms. He could do this. He called things to his hand by knowing where they were, by being aware of the space they defined. According to Arra’s notes, focus meant being aware of the space he defined and pulling in energy to fill it. That was the part he’d been doing instinctively.
Once he had the energy, all he had to do was pick a spot outside his body, shift the focus to that spot, and re-form the energy in his chosen pattern. Like writing with sparklers only the images would stick around longer. Arra’s notes suggested he practice with a neutral symbol, something that could only be what it was.
Okay.
Right index finger extended-best not toss the scar on his left hand into the mix until he had a better grip on what he was doing-he picked a point about halfway to the window, refocused until his right eye started to water, and began burning his chosen symbol onto the air.
Leah’s curtains caught fire.
Crap! That wasn’t supposed to happen. Glancing down at the laptop, he checked the screen. No, definitely not supposed to happen.
He opened his left hand. The fire arced toward it.
The curtains separated at the char line, the lower third dropping to the floor.
Tony coughed, smoke pluming out on his breath. Back in the old days, he’d bummed the occasional cigarette from other guys on the street. The coolest guys could always make the biggest plumes of smoke. Apparently, for wizards, the cigarette had become optional-although he wasn’t sure that the present circumstances were any healthier.
He was sure blowing out a nice big plume, though.
Leah crossed the room and picked up the burned fabric. Ash crumbed off between her fingers, drifting to lie like dirty snow on the hardwood floor. She stared at the ash, at the curtain, and finally at Tony. “Damn. What did you do?”
“It was an accident.”
“After the accident. When you put the fire out.”
“Oh.” He coughed again. There was a little less smoke this time. “I called it to me.”
“The fire?” Still holding the piece of curtain, she started back toward him. “You called the fire toward you?”
“It’s just another kind of energy, right?”
“Yeah. Right.” Her fingers left dark gray smudges behind when she patted his arm. “You just keep believing that, okay?” A wave of the ruined curtain for emphasis. “Try dialing it back this time.”
“It?” One last puff of smoke as punctuation. “You want me to do it again?”
“Curtains can be replaced,” she reminded him as she returned to her place out of the line of fire, “I can’t. Once more, with less feeling.”
“I don’t think…”
“Good. You think too much and we’re running out of time. Do what you just did, only less.”
“Less. Right.” Tony wiped damp palms on his thighs, extended his finger again, and very carefully refocused. To his surprise, a bright blue light burned in approximately the right position and then went out. Okay, almost there. He needed less less. That’s more, right? Licking dry lips, he tried again. The blue light burned longer. A little more. And again. This time the light maintained; became a line; the line bent into a circle; the edges of the circle sputtered, but the shape held. Within the circle, two dots of power for eyes. The curve of a smile.
It was slightly lopsided but recognizable.
“What is it?”
Or not.
“It’s a happy face.” Even when he turned away, the power he’d used to create the symbol hung in the air. It was bone useless but way cool. “I told you it would be…” His voice trailed off as the sound of laughter filled the condo.
Tony whirled around, both hands up, expecting some kind of demonic clown charging in from the balcony. There was only his happy face, all blue and glowing and hanging in the air. Given the way it was laughing, it seemed to be very, very happy indeed.
“Simple,” Leah said, raising her voice enough to be heard. “You said it would be simple. I think you meant to tell me that you were simple. And when I say simple, I don’t mean that you’re easy, I mean that you’re…”
The Darkest Night ringtone joined the laughter to drown out her last word.
Since he couldn’t think anything else to do, Tony answered his phone.
“Tony! There’s something in the soundstage! It’s ripping the place apart. There’s crashing and screaming and…”
“Lee!”
“No, it’s Amy, you ass!”
He knew that. “I meant…”
“I don’t give a good goddamn what you meant! Get in here!”
“What…”
But there was only the dial tone. Over by the window, the happy face kept laughing.
Shoving the phone back in his backpack, Tony hung it over one shoulder as he ran for the door. “The demon’s at the studio!”
“Tony! Wait!”
“Forget it, Leah. You want your body guarded, you come with me.”
“I intend to.” She grabbed his backpack and dragged him around. “But you can’t leave that thing hanging in my condo!”
The happy face kept laughing.
Tony stretched out his left arm and sucked the energy back through the scar. He had the giggles all the way to the underground garage.
[Lifted from chapter five of Smoke and Ashes this time.]
Something he didn't actually know how to do.
It turned out Arra had included that in the instructions on the laptop. He'd been planning to read those at some time. Fortunately, the lesson was basic and it seemed he’d been instinctively doing most of it already. The rest of it seemed simple enough. When he mentioned that to Leah, she snorted.
“Lots of things seem simple when you read the instructions, but it’s an entirely different story when you actually try to hook up the DVD player.”
Fair point. “It doesn’t seem that complicated, though. Mostly, I just have to shift my internal focus to external.”
“Do you even know what that means?”
Tony pushed his chair out from the table and stood, forcing her to take a couple of steps back. “It’s sort of like choking up on the Powershot.”
“Choking up on the Powershot?” Muttering under her breath, she moved around until she stood behind him. “Your keen grasp of description fills me with confidence.”
“I need to practice.”
“You think? Make it fast and don’t destroy my apartment.”
“Your faith is underwhelming,” he muttered, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet and shaking the tension out of his arms. He could do this. He called things to his hand by knowing where they were, by being aware of the space they defined. According to Arra’s notes, focus meant being aware of the space he defined and pulling in energy to fill it. That was the part he’d been doing instinctively.
Once he had the energy, all he had to do was pick a spot outside his body, shift the focus to that spot, and re-form the energy in his chosen pattern. Like writing with sparklers only the images would stick around longer. Arra’s notes suggested he practice with a neutral symbol, something that could only be what it was.
Okay.
Right index finger extended-best not toss the scar on his left hand into the mix until he had a better grip on what he was doing-he picked a point about halfway to the window, refocused until his right eye started to water, and began burning his chosen symbol onto the air.
Leah’s curtains caught fire.
Crap! That wasn’t supposed to happen. Glancing down at the laptop, he checked the screen. No, definitely not supposed to happen.
He opened his left hand. The fire arced toward it.
The curtains separated at the char line, the lower third dropping to the floor.
Tony coughed, smoke pluming out on his breath. Back in the old days, he’d bummed the occasional cigarette from other guys on the street. The coolest guys could always make the biggest plumes of smoke. Apparently, for wizards, the cigarette had become optional-although he wasn’t sure that the present circumstances were any healthier.
He was sure blowing out a nice big plume, though.
Leah crossed the room and picked up the burned fabric. Ash crumbed off between her fingers, drifting to lie like dirty snow on the hardwood floor. She stared at the ash, at the curtain, and finally at Tony. “Damn. What did you do?”
“It was an accident.”
“After the accident. When you put the fire out.”
“Oh.” He coughed again. There was a little less smoke this time. “I called it to me.”
“The fire?” Still holding the piece of curtain, she started back toward him. “You called the fire toward you?”
“It’s just another kind of energy, right?”
“Yeah. Right.” Her fingers left dark gray smudges behind when she patted his arm. “You just keep believing that, okay?” A wave of the ruined curtain for emphasis. “Try dialing it back this time.”
“It?” One last puff of smoke as punctuation. “You want me to do it again?”
“Curtains can be replaced,” she reminded him as she returned to her place out of the line of fire, “I can’t. Once more, with less feeling.”
“I don’t think…”
“Good. You think too much and we’re running out of time. Do what you just did, only less.”
“Less. Right.” Tony wiped damp palms on his thighs, extended his finger again, and very carefully refocused. To his surprise, a bright blue light burned in approximately the right position and then went out. Okay, almost there. He needed less less. That’s more, right? Licking dry lips, he tried again. The blue light burned longer. A little more. And again. This time the light maintained; became a line; the line bent into a circle; the edges of the circle sputtered, but the shape held. Within the circle, two dots of power for eyes. The curve of a smile.
It was slightly lopsided but recognizable.
“What is it?”
Or not.
“It’s a happy face.” Even when he turned away, the power he’d used to create the symbol hung in the air. It was bone useless but way cool. “I told you it would be…” His voice trailed off as the sound of laughter filled the condo.
Tony whirled around, both hands up, expecting some kind of demonic clown charging in from the balcony. There was only his happy face, all blue and glowing and hanging in the air. Given the way it was laughing, it seemed to be very, very happy indeed.
“Simple,” Leah said, raising her voice enough to be heard. “You said it would be simple. I think you meant to tell me that you were simple. And when I say simple, I don’t mean that you’re easy, I mean that you’re…”
The Darkest Night ringtone joined the laughter to drown out her last word.
Since he couldn’t think anything else to do, Tony answered his phone.
“Tony! There’s something in the soundstage! It’s ripping the place apart. There’s crashing and screaming and…”
“Lee!”
“No, it’s Amy, you ass!”
He knew that. “I meant…”
“I don’t give a good goddamn what you meant! Get in here!”
“What…”
But there was only the dial tone. Over by the window, the happy face kept laughing.
Shoving the phone back in his backpack, Tony hung it over one shoulder as he ran for the door. “The demon’s at the studio!”
“Tony! Wait!”
“Forget it, Leah. You want your body guarded, you come with me.”
“I intend to.” She grabbed his backpack and dragged him around. “But you can’t leave that thing hanging in my condo!”
The happy face kept laughing.
Tony stretched out his left arm and sucked the energy back through the scar. He had the giggles all the way to the underground garage.
[Lifted from chapter five of Smoke and Ashes this time.]