The Frozen Moon - By J.D. Swinn Page 0,8

broke the silence with a characteristically well thought out answer.

“I don’t see what else we can do. The local branch of the Vine is all but gone, and there isn’t time to locate and get to another one. Not to mention the fact that I’ve been sensing weird changes in the Guild’s magic; they’re getting closer, and we’re just treading water.”

“I still think it’s too dangerous, but if you’re in, I’m in,” Wyd said with an even tone. He was very level headed, Mira thought, and wasn’t as shy as he’d seemed at first.

“Alright then, problem solved. Well, one problem anyway. There’s still the matter of not having a clue where to start looking for the damned thing,” Talar said amusedly.

“Why don’t we just go to this place Talar’s talking about, and ask around the Upperworld? We’ll have to be careful, obviously, but if we don’t raise too much suspicion about our motives, then the Guild will probably leave us alone,” suggested Mira. The others weighed her words in silence, making her feel uncomfortable. She almost wished that she hadn’t spoken, that she could take her words back like physical objects. As soon as this thought had formed, it was shattered by a consensus of approval.

“I can get us there with a moving spell as soon as we’re ready,” Wyd said, now warming up to the idea. Mira liked the fact that he made decisions slowly and carefully, but seemed eager once he had. The idea of leaving was beginning to sink in as an actual decision, and she was excited. She began to wonder what strange encounters would be waiting for them in the Upperworld outside the Academy. Max broke the pensive mood with a final lighthearted joke.

“Alright, team; 1, 2, 3, break!” he yelled, mocking the arm motion for ending a team huddle. She finished off her coffee, which she had been sipping at through the conversation, and placed the mug on a nearby table. She had been packed for days, and only needed to grab her bag and a few other items from her room. Nameh, on the other hand, may need help; although she didn’t have many clothes or personal items, she certainly had an array of weapons.

Back in their room, she and Nameh began discussing magic while they packed.

“So, do you think that you could conjure a cup of coffee like Wyd?” she asked.

“No,” Nameh began, “that’s warlock magic, mostly. Markbearers can basically only do magic that would aid in battle somehow.”

“I don’t know, a cup of coffee could definitely aid me in battle.”

“A cup of coffee could aid you in anything.”

“Are we really having this discussion again?”

“You’re the one who brought it up, so no complaining Coffee Vampire.”

“That’s cute, very mature,” she said, picking up a small disc from a shelf.

“Be careful with that!” Nameh yelled, crossing the room to where she stood. She took the object from her hand and lightly ran her finger against the seemingly rounded edge. Blood welled in the small slice left in her skin, and she pressed her finger to her lips, cleaning it of the liquid. “It’s a throwing disc,” she explained, “It has an accuracy spell to make it hit the mark every time. I don’t use it much, though, because it cuts up your fingers pretty bad to throw it. Maybe if I had some gloves…” she mused. At this, she placed the disc into a small leather pouch along with a few others, and tossed it into her larger bag.

“Anything else in here I shouldn’t touch for fear of death or serious injury?” The question sounded like a joke, but held a serious inquiry.

“Just the small metal ball over there,” she answered, indicating the window sill. The sun glimmered off of the metallic object, but to Mira, it now looked menacing.

“Dare I ask why?” she said, making a playful cringe.

“I wouldn’t if I were you,” she answered casually.

“Yeah, I’ll take that as a ‘you don’t want to know’.”

“That’s probably for the best. Would you grab the bow in the closet?” she asked, already retrieving the matching quiver of arrows from behind the dresser. Mira hadn’t even known that she owned a bow.

“Is there a weapon that you don’t have?” she asked rhetorically. Nameh had never respected the boundaries of a rhetorical question.

“I actually don’t own a spear, but that’s because I find them cumbersome and primitive,” she said matter-of-factly. Everything else, though, I’ve pretty much got covered.”

“I know. Trust me, I know,” she said