Surviving Magic (The Legacy of Androva Book 6) Read online

  Surviving Magic

  By

  Alex C Vick

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by Alex C Vick

  Cover design by Kerry Hynds

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  First eBook Printing, 2017

  For my Dad. Just like Galen's father, he has always supported my choices

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One – Sygnus Adoption

  Chapter Two – The Seminary Of Magic

  Chapter Three – Six Disciplines

  Chapter Four – A Lesson In Motivation

  Chapter Five – Making New Magic

  Chapter Six – Changing Perspective

  Chapter Seven – Coming Of Age, Or Not?

  Chapter Eight - Discovering Terra

  Chapter Nine – Claudia Marcella

  Chapter Ten – The Signature Symbols

  Chapter Eleven – The Communication Spell

  Chapter Twelve – How Matches Are Made

  Chapter Thirteen – Another Match, Another Problem

  Chapter Fourteen – Mountain Of Fire

  Chapter Fifteen – A Second Chance

  Chapter Sixteen – Present, Past, Future

  Chapter Seventeen – Marriage

  Chapter Eighteen – Jax And Shannon

  Chapter Nineteen – Once Seen, Impossible To Ignore

  Chapter Twenty – The Trouble With Time Travel

  Chapter Twenty One – Britannia

  Chapter Twenty Two – Creating A Terran Sygnus

  Chapter Twenty Three – Island Interlude

  Chapter Twenty Four – Facing The Truth

  Chapter Twenty Five – Where Is Angelus?

  Chapter Twenty Six – All Is Revealed

  Chapter Twenty Seven – Some Things Cannot Be Changed

  Prologue

  When I first met Jax and Shannon, underage magicians from two thousand years in my future, I had no idea what would happen. How could I?

  He was from Androva, like me, and she was from Terra. I was nearly seventeen, and they were two years younger. The age difference, at least from my perspective, was enormous. I thought they were children.

  Now I know that moment when they stumbled through the portal into Pompeii was life changing for all of us. Their past was my future, with two worlds at stake and thousands of lives held in the balance.

  Time travel answers to no master. On the face of it, there’s an amazing opportunity to fix the past or to learn exactly what life has in store and make it better.

  But the reality is utterly unpredictable. It’s never the same twice. And after meeting Jax and Shannon, I was left with a list of questions and no answers.

  Did I have an obligation to prevent a terrible future just because I knew about it? Or would I make things even worse if I tried? What if I did try, and changed nothing except my own fate? Unfortunately, I had to decide without knowing the answer. I could only hope I was doing the right thing.

  Chapter One - Sygnus Adoption

  “Did it happen yet?”

  “Did what happen?” I replied. “Can you be more specific?”

  She rolled her eyes. “You know. Don’t pretend you don’t.”

  I grinned, putting down my book. “Oh, you mean… this?”

  I projected my brand-new force field and held up my hands, which were giving off a faint silver glow. My sister lost her impatient expression, reaching out to touch my palm with a look of wonder instead. Two seconds later, I grabbed her hand with a pretend roar, and she screamed. “Galen! That’s not funny!”

  “Yes, it is.” I was laughing. It was rare that I got the better of Serena, and I was enjoying my small victory.

  She pushed me away and folded her arms, glaring at me. After a short silence her curiosity returned, and she leaned forwards. “What does it feel like?”

  I thought for a moment. “It feels like more.”

  “More what?”

  “More everything. As if all my senses were in shadow until now. You know how certain spells make you catch your breath if you touch them?”

  She nodded.

  “Well, imagine having that energy inside you, belonging to you. Like your own silver sun, waiting for you to tell it what to shine on.”

  Now she was staring at me, and I lowered my gaze, regretting my enthusiastic description. If she told my friends, I’d never live it down.

  Like every Androvan, I had not become a magician until I was making enough magical energy of my own. The same as physical strength, it increased with age, until contact with another force field had caused a spark of concentrated magic to ignite, deep inside my head.

  That spark would build, sustain, and control my force field for the rest of my life. I was thirteen years of age now, which was younger than some, but older than most. Not that I’d been worried or anything. OK, maybe a little bit.

  “You make it sound amazing,” said my sister wistfully. “I can’t wait until it happens to me.”

  “It will,” I reassured her.

  “I know it will, Galen.” Her eyes glinted with mischief. “Androva knows, if you can become a magician, so can anyone.”

  “Yes,” I retorted, annoyed. “Maybe even you.”

  She gave me her best unimpressed look. “I knew, anyway, before I asked you,” she went on. “I heard our parents talking about your Sygnus adoption.”

  “Really?”

  I was half nervous, half excited. When I got my Sygnus, I could join the Seminary of Magic. I had thought I’d miss the last intake of the year, but if I attended the adoption ceremony next week, I might still make it. That evening, after dinner, my father checked the strength of my force field. He exchanged a glance with my mother and frowned.

  “What is it? Can I go or not?”

  He ignored me, holding my mother’s gaze. “It is the same as before,” he said. “Do I have your support to ask the Council?”

  My mother sighed. “You always have my support, Vallis. But are you certain the benefits will outweigh the potential damage to his reputation?”

  I looked at my sister, but she seemed as confused as I was.

  “I am certain,” replied my father. “I recognise the—”

  “What about my reputation?” I interrupted.

  “I recognise the energy pattern,” he continued, as if I hadn’t spoken. Then he turned to face me. “You are ready,” he said. “You will join Evander at the Council offices tomorrow to learn the Adoption Spell.”

  “And my reputation?” I repeated.

  He smiled. “I intend to give you the means to build one, Galen. For all the right reasons. Please trust me.” And with that I had to be content.

  Fortunately, I learned the spell in plenty of time. There would be ten of us in total, making the first step on our journey to becoming magicians. We took it in turns to examine the Sygnus scrolls. There were fifty symbols, representing the bloodlines of the ancient families who had created the original Council and put an end to the war.

  Now, thousands of years later, everyone was entitled to adopt a Sygnus. And all of them were equal in status. Part of our identities, and also our magical ability. None of us
had seen all fifty of them before. There were at least fifteen I didn’t recognise. We showed each other which symbol we’d be adopting, and every one was different.

  I could only manage a few bites of breakfast on the day of the ceremony. One family member was supposed to accompany me, and it was going to be my father. I still had no idea what his plan was. My mother kissed me goodbye, and my sister gave me a punch on the arm.

  “For luck!” she protested, grinning, when my mother reprimanded her.

  The Council Assembly Rooms, with their imposing white stone pillars and the grandest stone table I’d ever seen, were very intimidating. Not least because the twenty most important magicians on Androva were staring straight at us.

  Wow. If there’s such a thing as an Unfriendly Spell, they’ve all been smacked in the face with it. I hope my father knows what he’s doing.

  Finally the introductions started. We all had to bow when our names were mentioned, and make a promise to uphold the Code. Then the scrolls were opened. My friend Evander was up first. His brown hair was short and slightly spiky, and he touched it nervously, making the spikes fuzzy. My own hair was falling into my eyes. I preferred it that way.

  His family’s symbol, in the shape of a sun with decreasing circles at its centre, was endorsed by the Council first and then by his mother. Just the day before, at the rehearsal, we’d all joked about how pompous the whole thing was. Yet now my chest was tight with anticipation, and I found myself leaning forwards to watch more closely.

  The symbol shimmered on the scroll and expanded, until there was a reflection of it suspended in the air. Evander swallowed. He projected his own force field until the silver magical energy extended from his hands. I saw him take a deep breath in and found myself doing the same. His right hand turned palm up, and with his left hand he cut across it.

  Obediently, the magic sliced into his skin. Soon there were three droplets of bright red blood floating in the small silver cloud of magic. It drifted closer to the Sygnus reflection. I knew it would be taking all of Evander’s concentration to do this slowly enough.

  They merged. There was no sound, but we all felt it happen, as if our own force fields had been jolted with a spell radiating outwards from the connection. Evander’s force field retreated, and almost immediately, the Sygnus appeared on his shoulder. The outer edges of the sun unfurled quickly and precisely, until it was complete.

  The silver symbol glittered slightly against the black of his shirt. It would now be magically engraved there, on every shirt and coat he ever wore. Part of his identity, and also able to work as a key to unlock more advanced magic.

  After exchanging a relieved smile with his mother, he returned to stand next to me. Soon enough it was my turn, and I walked across the room to join my father. Conscious of everyone looking at me, I hunched my shoulders and let my hair fall into my eyes. My father’s arm twitched. If we’d been at home, he would have pushed my hair back with a spell.

  The scroll was opened, and I glanced at the overlapping circles, impatient for it to become joined to my force field.

  “No.” My father’s voice. My father’s voice, saying no to the Council. I felt my whole face turn red.

  “I wish my son to have my Sygnus.”

  I looked stupidly between the symbol on his shoulder and the scroll. They were the same.

  “Vallis,” said the older Council member at the end of the table, “it is not for you to determine which Sygnus prevails.”

  “I have the right to be heard by my Council,” he said. He looked anxious, but determined. Some of his hair, black like mine, fell onto his forehead, and he pushed it back. “It belonged to me in a way this one does not,” my father continued. “My magical ability is changed since I gave it up.”

  “Impossible!” said another Council member, half rising out of her seat in indignation. “All fifty symbols are equal in influence and number.”

  Stubbornly, my father shook his head.

  “It’s true, Vallis,” said a younger man more softly. “You are a loyal custodian. We do not seek to mislead you.”

  “If that is so, then prove your conviction,” argued my father. “I have been monitoring the lists in the Repository of Records. There is room for another magician with the Sygnus I relinquished when I married.”

  He folded his arms. There was silence. My mouth had fallen open. What is he doing? Never mind about my reputation, I might not even get a Sygnus at this rate!

  “If you believe there is no difference, then what does it matter?” added my father.

  We all had to leave the room while the Council debated the question. Evander gave me an embarrassed look. Everyone else in the group seemed to be finding the walls and the floor incredibly interesting all of a sudden.

  “I can’t believe you did that!” I whispered to my father. “Are you crazy?”

  Anger and embarrassment were bringing tears to my eyes, making them sting, but my father stayed infuriatingly calm.

  “You will never reach your full potential with the wrong Sygnus.”

  “They’re all the same!” I argued. I could hear murmuring from the others, and the tears prickled harder. If I actually start crying, I’ll never forgive him.

  “I only want the best for you,” he said. He touched my arm, and my tangled feelings were swept away. It was a Harmony Spell, normally used on children to remove negative emotion. I was grateful for it. It didn’t change what I was thinking, but at least I was calmer now.

  We were called back into the main Assembly Room. The Council members were seated along the curved stone table, and I studied their expressions, trying to figure out if they were angry or not.

  “Very well,” said the older man. “We have taken a vote, and your request has been granted.”

  As he said this, I could see more clearly who was happy about the outcome and who wasn’t. It seemed from their faces that the vote had been quite evenly split. My father’s hand, resting on my shoulder, relaxed slightly. I looked at the new scroll. It showed a seven-pointed star, with many lines crisscrossing at its centre. Not a single curve.

  I carried out the spell, and when the Sygnus joined with my force field, I had to take a step backwards. I heard a couple of gasps. I hadn’t expected it to feel so… perfect. I grinned. It was like my magical energy had been slightly out of focus before, and now it was sharper. I raised my eyes and saw my father’s satisfied expression.

  The Council said nothing. Looking back, I guess they didn’t want to acknowledge there might be anything out of the ordinary going on. My mind was buzzing too much to care. I hardly noticed the rest of the ceremony.

  My father and I walked home, avoiding the portal queue. I saw some curious looks being sent in our direction, but no one actually said anything.

  “Don’t worry, Galen. By the time you all start the Seminary next month, most of them will be more worried about their lessons than your Sygnus.”

  My first instinct was to give him a suspicious look, but I couldn’t manage it. “Wait until the Harmony Spell wears off, and I’ll tell you if I agree with you,” I said. He laughed.

  We were soon leaving the centre of the city. The most important places were all close together. The Assembly Rooms and associated government offices were largest. Then the Repository of Records, the Seminary of Magic, the Exchange Station, and the Foundation for Research.

  All of the buildings were made out of stone, spacing out the further we walked. Many different colours, shapes, and sizes, reflecting the personalities of the magicians who had constructed them. Androva didn’t have enough trees to build with wood. Not anymore. Supplies of living magic were in decline. Wooden furniture was expensive and an indicator of status.

  “What if the Council hadn’t agreed?” I asked my father.

  He shook his head. “It was possible, but I did my research carefully. For them to disagree would be to deny everything they hold true about the impartiality of the fifty symbols.”

  I considered this. “
Was it true, what you said? About your own magical ability being weaker after your new Sygnus?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I did not say weaker, Galen. I said changed.”

  I thought back. He was right. “But then why…?”

  “There is a pattern to magical energy,” he replied. “You will be able to recognise the differences in individual force fields when you are older. Certain patterns are naturally a better fit for certain symbols.

  “I have no proof, but something tells me it could be important for you. Important enough for me to do what I did today.”

  I felt guilty. He’d taken a huge risk, and I doubted my brand-new force field was worth it.

  “Do not think you can disappoint me, Galen. It is my role as your father to give you every opportunity. What you do with those opportunities is entirely up to you.”

  “Entirely up to me?”

  He chuckled. “I will do my best to leave it up to you. I can promise no more than that.”

  I looked down at the seven-pointed star glittering against my shoulder. I could not imagine having the other Sygnus now.

  “I promise to make the most of every opportunity,” I replied.

  I had no idea what my life would bring, but I was determined that I would keep my promise.

  Chapter Two - The Seminary Of Magic

  “The containment band is capable of causing great pain. In order for you to be credible as an opponent and, indeed, as a magician, you must not shrink from inflicting this pain.”

  Professor Cassius, the senior professor for Combat. And somehow I’d ended up with him teaching my first year class.

  “In fact,” he continued, walking up and down, “I can tell you this now. If you fail to convince me that you are performing to the best of your ability in my class, I will not advance you to the second year.”

  He folded his arms. There were alternating sections of light and dark grey in his hair, combed straight back to show an unsmiling face to best advantage.

  To look at him, you would think we had already failed. His frown was so low that his eyes were nearly disappearing underneath it. I could feel my palms getting slightly damp.