Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127026 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 635(@200wpm)___ 508(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
No, he said fiercely. No, absolutely not. Risa would have wanted me to be with you. She would have liked you.
Kerrigan choked up at the admission. “I wish I could have met her.”
As do I, he said with a touch of melancholy. Climb on, and let us begin.
Kerrigan did as he’d suggested, and a moment later, they were in the skies. Tieran landed in the same nook they had used the previous encounters. Kerrigan touched him on the snout once in understanding before dropping down into the spirit plane. She took Tieran with her, riding him down to the ground.
She was early. Cleora had said last time that she would be late because she had an event to attend. Kerrigan was supposed to be using the full moon to tap into her visions. Of course, she had already done that, almost to her detriment. She could hardly regret it though. Not when it had saved Fordham’s life. She just didn’t have the energy to do it again tonight.
She worked on spirit plane manipulation with Tieran while they waited, and then finally, Cleora appeared, dressed in ceremonial attire. A white gown with tiny straps and a large ruched belt gathered around her waist. She looked … beautiful with her bright hair coiled into an intricate design and jewels in her ears. Her eyes looked sad, almost haunted.
“Is everything all right?” Kerrigan asked.
Cleora just sighed. “Tonight will have to be brief. I am afraid I don’t have much energy.”
Kerrigan didn’t like how she looked. Normally, she was the strong and intelligent professor. Always in command and so knowledgeable. Now, she looked like a broken doll. What could do that to someone like her?
“Is there any way I can help?” Kerrigan asked, creating the table and chairs out of thin air and helping her into one.
Cleora shook her head. “No. You wouldn’t understand my world even if I described it to you, and there’s nothing that can be done for it even if you could understand. We will focus on your work and call it an early night.”
“Okay,” Kerrigan said sadly. She hated problems she couldn’t fix.
“How did your casting go tonight? Did you have a vision?”
“It went well.”
Tieran cleared his throat behind her. Tonight?
Cleora’s eyes turned sharp. “You performed the casting before the full moon?”
Kerrigan shot Tieran a traitorous look and then apologized. “I did. I am sorry. It was necessary, and I don’t regret it. I was able to see how to save someone very dear to me.”
“Explain.”
So, Kerrigan told her about the castings … both of them. Cleora looked thunderstruck that she hadn’t burned herself out completely. More than one casting in a night was nearly impossible.
“This sounds dark,” Cleora admitted. “Blood, a working of thirteen, and a portal collapse. We have nothing like a working of thirteen here. Nor do we use portals. They were destroyed ages ago. Even the emperor no longer has one. Not that he needs one, mind you. But so many people were banished from our world that the population was practically failing. It was outlawed after that.”
“Well, we have one here. It’s guarded by the Dragon Society and doesn’t work any longer. But I don’t know what it means.”
“It’s best not to think about it. You have no way of knowing when this will take place or how it would even affect you. The other casting sounds more relevant. Was your intention more focused?”
“Yes,” she said softly. “I definitely think it helped that I was focused on one person in particular. Someone important to me. It didn’t make it easier, but it was clearer.”
“You’re so strong,” Cleora said with wide eyes. “You need some self-restraint, but you could be a great spiritcaster, even here.”
Kerrigan beamed with pride. “Thank you. I wish that there were someone here who could help me.” Her face fell. “Instead, it feels like a liability.”
“As long as you believe in yourself, you’ll go far. Now, let’s move on to the fourth tenet while I have time.” Cleora looked behind her once, as if she expected someone to jump out of the shadows.
“The fourth tenet is illusions,” Kerrigan began for her. “I’ve never done that before.”
“Yes. Illusions are something we can work on in the spirit plane. Because you can create and manipulate your surroundings at will. The spirit plane itself is a sort of illusion. We don’t actually exist here, and we can do what we will to the environment.” She knocked her hand against the table. “It feels sturdy, but it is actually just created by our mind.”
“So, does it work the same in the material world?”
“Very similar. Except that instead of this existing in our mind, the things that you shape exist outside of yourself. You can create anything you can imagine. A whole city, a duplicate of yourself, even cloak yourself in your surroundings. There are many incredible uses for it. Though it is deeply taxing. I would not recommend relying on it.” Cleora smiled and rubbed her hands together. “Let me show you. Illusions are my specialty.”