David Baldacci - The Keeper

“Tell it to lengthen to nine inches precisely.”

I was surprised by this but conjured the thought and watched in satisfaction as the wood grew to what seemed the proper size.

Astrea drew closer and examined my hand in relation to the Elemental. “Good, good. Yes, that will certainly do.”

“Do for what?”

She stepped back. “Now that will be your wand.”

My face screwed up. “My wand? You just said that a wand had to be passed from a family member. And that it had to have something of that person inside it.”

“And those conditions have been met here,” she replied.

“How?” I exclaimed. “I got this from Alice Adronis on a battlefield hundreds of sessions before I was even born. She...”

“She what?” interjected Astrea. “She couldn’t be related to you? She couldn’t have put something in the Elemental of herself?” She paused. “Wrong on both counts.”

“That’s impossible!” I shot back.

“Look at it. Look at it closely .”

I stared at the Elemental. There was nothing to see. But then, then there was something. I bent my face nearer. It was a dark red line, like a thread weaving through the wood.

Astrea said, “It’s a strand of her hair, Vega. Alice’s beautiful auburn hair.”

I looked up to see her watching me. “It can’t be.”

“A simple test will suffice.” She pointed at the wall of books. “The incantation is ‘ Rejoinda, book.’ Roll the r and make a slow, deliberate back sweep with your wand toward you. And let your mind focus only on the book. Like this.”

She pointed her wand at the first bookcase, uttered the phrase “ Rejoinda, book” and drew her wand slowly toward herself.

A book shot off the shelf and zoomed right into her hand.

She set it down and turned to me. “Now you do it.”

I looked down at the Elemental. “I can’t.”

“Yes, you can. Place your thumb over the top of the wood and your index finger below. Let about six inches of the wand extend out from your hand. And not too tight a grip. It won’t slip.”

“Why not?”

“Because it has become a part of you now.”

I stared down at the thing, expecting to feel horrified. But I actually felt warm... and safe.

I glanced at Delph. He was staring at me. “You can do it, Vega Jane. You know you can. You’ve done things. THINGS! You can bloody well fetch a book.”

I turned back to look at Astrea.

“Just believe, Vega. As you did when you plucked the Elemental from your pocket without need of that glove.”

Well, she had me there. I had done that.

I took a deep breath, readied myself, looking at my hand, the books, the wand. Wand! Maybe I could do this.

I focused on one book in particular. I let my mind see only it. I said in a firm voice, “ Rejoinda, book.”

I got the word right, rolling the r just as Astrea had, but in my excitement I snapped my hand and, with it, the wand toward me.

The entire bookcase flew from the wall and shot right at us, books cascading from it. I screamed and dove to the floor together with Delph and Archie.

“ Embattlemento ,” cried out Astrea.

I looked up in time to see the bookcase halt in midair as though it had hit something solid. Then it shot backward, settling neatly against the wall. All the fallen books picked themselves up and zipped back onto their original places on the shelves.

I slowly rose along with Delph and Archie. I gazed shamefacedly at first the bookcase and then Astrea, and then gazed ruefully down at the Elemental still clutched in my hand.

When I glanced up, Delph was staring at me with such astonishment that it was quite unsettling.

“I guess I’m not very good at magic,” I said miserably.

“On the contrary,” said Astrea, “you have surpassed my expectations. I believe that you can be a first-rate sorceress.”

This made me feel euphoric. And that feeling lasted until what she said next.

Astrea held up five fingers. “These are the numbers of layers to the Quag, Vega. Each layer, or circle, as we refer to them, is a world unto itself, separate from its neighbor. Each holds unique and deadly challenges. Each changes all the time, growing and evolving, feeding off the magic that created and inspired it.” She paused and then added, “And please understand one thing quite clearly. Despite your magical prowess, each circle could well be your graveyard.”

And with this final chilling pronouncement, she turned and left us.

The next light after we had our meal, Astrea led me, Delph, Harry Two and Archie to a large room, of which the cottage seemed to have an ample number. Along one wall was a huge blackboard like the one we had used at Learning back in Wormwood. Astrea closed the door behind us and then took out her wand and pointed it at the board. In an instant, writing started sprawling across it.

“Your first lessons,” announced Astrea.

She gave her wand another flick and a small ball appeared in her hand.

“Now, Vega, remember the incantation from the last light?”

“ Rejoinda ,” I said eagerly, desperate to prove myself in her eyes.

She nodded. “I want you to take this ball from me, using that spell.” She held up her hand before I could do anything. “But first, we need to go over some basics so that what happened before will not repeat itself.” She pointed with her wand to a section of the blackboard. “Read that,” she instructed. “Out loud.”

I looked at the section and commenced to read.

“Proper spell work involves performing a number of things at the same time, but always employing the principle of MBS, or Mind, Body and Spirit. That is to say focusing the mind, preparing the body and engaging the spirit so that all three elements come together at the appropriate time. Merely saying the incantation does nothing if these elements are not properly combined.” I turned to Astrea. “So how do I do that?”

“Keep reading,” she replied.

A bit put off, I returned my gaze to the board. “Combining MBS with the proper incantation and the appropriate wand movement will result in the desired result. Nothing less than that will work.”

I finished reading and turned back to her. Well, okay, I got that .

She held up the ball. “You jerked your hand before. You need to be slow and deliberate in the movement. But far more importantly, you need to employ MBS appropriately for any of this to work properly.”

“Which is why I asked you how to do this MBS thing,” I said irritably.

“Becoming upset with me will not result in your mastering incanting,” she said politely. “So calm yourself, focus your mind on this ball and nothing else. When you have done that, you will next summon your physical side such that all your bodily energy is congregated in your wand hand. Lastly, your spirit should be in complete harmony with your mind and body.”

“Bloody Hel,” exclaimed Delph. “That’s not asking a lot, is it?”

Astrea turned to him. “It is asking a lot. But when you’re attempting to do something truly extraordinary, isn’t it fair to ask a lot in return?”

Delph blanched and looked at his boots. She turned back to me.

I said, “How will I know when I’ve achieved the proper balance?”

She held up the ball. “When this rests in your hand of course.”

I squared my feet and shoulders. I looked at the ball and did my best to push out all other thoughts. I looked at my wand hand, trying to force my physical side to move itself completely there. I had no idea in what part of my body the spirit resided, but in my head I told it to get comfy with my mind and body. I held my wand loosely and then, remembering my mistake from before, I gave it a slow, deliberate back sweep and said, “ Rejoinda, ball,” rolling my r perfectly, or at least I thought so.