Smoke and Memories (The Dark Sorcerer #3) - D.K. Holmberg Page 0,85

point, perhaps a linking spell would work, as it barely required any. It had also been the very first use of magic she had uncovered at the Academy. Why couldn’t she use it now? The magic of the spell was straightforward. It was just a matter of pulling across a distance.

But what about her connection to Char? Might she be able to use that to get his attention?

The sense of him had changed.

It had been subtle at first, but gradually got to the point that she could feel his presence in the back of her mind again, though much fainter than she was accustomed to. The shift within that linking spell had been so slow that she hadn’t even considered it.

Could he know she was here?

It was so faint that it was like pulling on a thin filament in the back of her mind.

She worried that she’d sever the link if she pulled too hard.

She closed her eyes and focused on the linking spell, then plucked at it gently, trying to get his attention. There was no response.

She tried again—but again, no real response.

There had to be some way for her to tap into that connection and find a way to reach through the distance. It was almost like the barrier that had been placed over her access to magic also somehow prevented her from reaching him.

Topher’s coin still vibrated and she turned her attention back to it, squeezing it and feeling for its energy within. If Topher could reach for her across the distance, then maybe she could reach him.

That was what she had to focus on now: linking to the coin.

Jayna had given up trying to use her own magic, but dular power was different. She had known that. The magic required to create enchantments was different from what sorcerers used. What if she could somehow use the power within the enchantment for herself?

She focused on the coin and it vibrated. She had to find a way to draw from Topher’s power inside of it.

She could feel it. It wasn’t nearly as much energy as she would normally draw upon, but there was something there. Now she just had to use it.

It was as if she were borrowing some distant source of magic. It came across that distance, through the connection she shared with the coin, though faintly.

Jayna attempted to create a spell, but it didn’t react the way she needed it to. She didn’t have enough power.

But maybe she could try something else.

Jayna thought perhaps she could use the coin to help her tap into the dragon stone energy, but nothing changed when she attempted to draw through the stone.

That wasn’t going to work.

Help.

That was what she needed.

Why did she need to try to do this on her own?

She only needed to use the power within the coin and try to communicate through it. There was enough power for that, she thought.

She closed her eyes, thinking about the linking spell she shared with Char. Could she draw the power from the coin and use that to tap into her connection with him? Even if she could, would there be anything he would do?

Probably not.

He wasn’t going to take action against Master Agnew.

He might not even believe she was here.

Jayna didn’t know if would be able to reach him, and even if she did, she didn’t know if it would make any difference. She needed to find a different kind of help—and the kind of help she thought she needed was the kind that had attacked the outpost before.

Ashara. Which meant getting Eva.

She didn’t understand why this enchantment was still active when the others were not, but it connected her to Topher.

She focused. If this subtle, simple pattern worked, she would only need to pour a hint of power into it to create enough of a linking spell to reach across the distance and get Topher’s attention.

She pushed power into the coin.

It involved layering an enchantment over an enchantment.

Jayna had no idea if such a thing was possible, but she remembered the shield she had seen in Telluminder’s shop, and if there were layered enchantments on that, then why couldn’t she do something similar?

There was no reason she couldn’t.

No reason she shouldn’t.

Jayna focused, letting power flow into the coin.

All she needed now was a way to tap into the enchantment.

She relaxed.

The linking spell took hold and the vibration stopped. Jayna hesitated, still squeezing on the coin. She worried she had changed something within it that might take away