James Galloway - The Tower of Sorcery

"I thought there were seven," he said.

"There are. The sphere of Confluence can't be used by a single person. It's the sphere of Ritual Sorcery. It takes at least two Sorcerers to use it."

"Why?"

"We don't really know," she shrugged. "It just is." Duncan appeared quietly at the door. "Good. They're here?"

"Yes, Keeper."

"Bring them in, and let's get this overwith."

Tarrin stepped back and watched the quiet happenings curiously. There wasn't any senseless chatter. They didn't even stand in any particular formation. But the sensation of drawing in was there, and it was powerful. Tarrin seemed to sense that, as a group, they could wield more raw power than the seven of them acting individually. As if the sum of their parts was a greater whole.

That, Tarrin remembered, was what set Sorcerers apart from all the other orders of magicians. Sorcerers could link together, forming circles, and use their power in a combined effort. The Priests could mimic some of that ability, but only where consecrating ground or curing curses was concerned.

Jesmind's form seemed to waver for a moment, and then she sighed explosively. "About time!" she growled. "Don't ever do that me again!"

"Just leave, Jesmind," the Keeper said stonily.

"Fine." She gave Tarrin a strange look. "Until later."

"I'll be waiting."

"You do that," she said with a wink, then she left the Keeper's office.

"He's very strong, isn't he?" a dark-haired woman said, one of the members of the Council. "I could feel the edges of him when we linked."

"He's used his power," a very tall amber-haired man remarked. "He has the touch on him."

"Yes," the Keeper remarked. Tarrin felt very uncomfortable with the seven of them staring at him. "For obvious reasons, he just can't go back to the Novitiate. We need to give him the Test, and place him in the Initiate."

"Tomorrow," Ahiriya agreed.

"Tarrin, go back to your room," the Keeper commanded. "It's still the same one. Put your Novice uniform back on. I'll send someone for my robe later. Oh, and do let Allia know you're back? She's been about ready to kill since you left."

"I will," he said. "What about my family?"

"I'll send word. They've bought a house out in the city, and are living out there."

"Thank you," he said. He bowed sinuously, then quickly evacuated the room. All those eyes on him was giving him a very uneasy feeling.

It felt strange being back in his room. All of his things were there, untouched, though he had no doubt that the Sorcerers searched through it at least five times. He still had no idea how long he was gone, but the memory of the room was still fresh, as if the suspension of time had preserved all those memories.

He didn't even have time to open his chest and pull out his clothes before the door banged open loudly. Allia, her lovely face contorted in a mask of both rage and joy, stalked into the room. He didn't even get a chance to greet her before she reared back and punched him dead in the jaw. Tarrin staggered back, spitting out a tooth knocked loose by the blow. He tried to get his hands up as she rushed at him, but found her clutching to him tightly in a fierce embrace. "Don't you ever do that again!" she commanded in a strangled voice.

"I missed you too," he said dryly, licking a bit of blood off his lip. The tooth was growing back, which made the inside of his mouth itch.

Things were different now. He and Allia talked at length as they walked, keeping moving so the Keeper's eyes couldn't pin them down, speaking in Selani to avoid their words reaching the Keeper's ears. He told her about his time in the city, with Janette and her family, and he was brutally honest about the sensations, the guilt, and then finally the tenuous balance he had managed to achieve. He told her about things he wouldn't even tell his mother, and she listened with that same gentle patience that so drew him to her. He then told her about the episode with Jesmind, the spell, and the look that the Council gave him after they were done.

"They want something from me," he said bluntly. "I don't know what it is, but that's obvious now. They'd never have put this much attention on any other novice, even one as strong in Sorcery as they say I am."

"I know. After you left, they started paying me that attention," she grunted. "They gave me the Test. Would you believe that I can do Sorcery?"

"Really?" he asked in interest.

"I'm not that strong in it, but it is there," she affirmed. "They said that I couldn't make my life's work out of it, as if I wanted to do that, but I think that knowing a few spells here and there wouldn't be a bad idea."

"It could be handy," he agreed.

"They are keeping us together," she said. "When you go into the Initiate, I'll go at the same time." She scratched her cheek. "It's not like they're teaching me anything, or anything. I'm basically just wasting time here."

They ended up in the courtyard in the center of the hedge maze. This place of peace quickly soothed Tarrin's nerves, and he sat on the bench and relaxed as Allia inspected the large wild roses that grew at the back end of the courtyard. She tended them when they visited the courtyard, trying to coax them into growing large, beautiful blossoms. Tarrin spent that time staring at the statue, remembering those simple words that had drifted into his mind the last time he was here.

Faith.

He believed that he had found some. By coming into such close contact with the Cat, he had faith that it wasn't out to kill him. Though they would struggle for dominance in his mind, he knew then that the Cat was not his enemy. He knew that he had to be stronger than it was, to assert his authority. As long as he could do that, then everything would be fine. He had found faith in himself, a confidence that things just might turn out for the best. Things didn't seem so gloomy.

It amazed him that he had always thought that way. To him, before, each day was just one step closer to that ultimate end, either by Jesmind's claws, or this mysterious enemy, the Cat, or even his own hand. But now, now he felt that there was a chance that he just may come out of this alive.

He stood up and walked through the fountain, standing at the base of the tall statue. He could never get tired of staring at that lovely face, or those life-like eyes. "What are you doing, Tarrin?" Allia asked.

"Just looking," he replied. "Me and this statue are good friends. She's a good listener."

"And I'm not?" she asked impishly.

"When you're around, you are," he replied.

"Tarrin, look at this," Allia called.

Tarrin went up on his toes and leaned into the statue, looking over its dainty shoulder. Allia had reached deeply into the wild, tree-like rosebush she was working with, and as he watched, she carefully pulled out a shaeram . It was very, very old, Tarrin could tell even from that distance, made of silver, and with a small diamond set into the center of the four-pointed star at the core of the symbol. "Its ancient," Tarrin said, "but it's not rusted."

"Maybe it's magic," Allia said, holding it up. "But it's beautiful. I'd like to keep it."

"Then keep it," Tarrin said. "You found it."

"But I'm not worthy of the honor," she protested. "This symbol represents something I am not, and I won't dishonor the katzh-dashi by pretending to be one of them."

"It's not the symbol of the katzh-dashi ," Tarrin said. "It's the symbol of their Goddess. Since you can do Sorcery, that gives you the right to wear it."

Where did that come from?

"Perhaps you're right," she mused, holding it up to the fading afternoon light. She laid it over her head, then settled it around her neck, carefully pulling her hair through the loop. "I hope the Holy Mother Goddess takes no offense," she said as an afterthought.