Measureless Magic 1: Ch. 10 + update

Just one chapter this week, but I've been working hard on revisions for Apocalypse Parenting #5. It's gotten about 2,500 words longer in the past week, mostly in bits and pieces, an extra paragraph here and there as I make my first editing pass. I'll definitely be sharing the updated version with you all once it's done, but, well, I'm about a quarter of the way through my first editing pass.

I should be able to share a preview of the Measureless Magic cover art next Monday! I'm very excited about it. It's being done by Shen Fei, the same artist who handled the covers for Mark of the Fool.

Chapter 10

It’s hard to explain what it means to see another person again, after so long. Somewhere along the line, hope starts feeling like delusion.

• Diary of Temuria the Wanderer

“I’m alive?” Ravel laughed. “We’ve all been worried you died. After you disappeared…”

She laughed too, a nervous sound. “No. I just wandered around. I thought you were all… I wasn’t sure if I was back in the same room or not.”

Her words made Ravel look around. The room they were in did look very much like the first one. The walls had similar wooden paneling, the floor had similar frayed patches of rug affixed to the walls, and there was even a little faucet in the same corner. An archway against the far wall led into darkness once more, but the sign above it was dark.

The wall behind Ravel was blank. Even if he wanted to go back, he couldn’t. Unless…

“Did you try going through that archway?”

She shook her head. “No way! It was scary enough the first time, and this sign isn’t lit. If I’m not supposed to go in, I’m not going to.”

That made sense.

But finding this girl alive again… didn’t.

Ravel had been worrying about whether or not this was all real for hours, and he’d basically decided that whether it was or not, he wouldn’t see this girl again. If this was some kind of test, this girl had been the one to verify the first death and she’d been the one who had mysteriously understood the weird sign immediately. To have her also be able to successfully navigate the magic maze on her first try? That would be unbelievable. If this was some kind of trick, he figured she’d vanish.

On the other hand, if this was all real, he figured she was probably dead. If it was fake, her instant understanding made a certain amount of sense: she was working with the people running this trick. If it was real… how could she possibly have known how to do all the things she’d done and have instantly navigated the maze that had everyone else so confused?

Maybe this had been a test, but it was almost over? The people in charge weren’t trying so hard to freak everyone out anymore?

He dropped down next to her. “Listen, I promise I won’t tell anyone else I figured it out. Just… just tell me that girl in the first room wasn’t really dead. I need to know. Please.”

She jerked back, as if offended. “What? No. She… she was dead. I’m not a doctor, but I can at least tell when someone is dead.”

He looked away, unnerved by her certainty… and by the creepy statement. Why would she know if someone is dead? Why would she have seen dead bodies before? She’s… lying! She must be.  He tried again. “You don’t need to keep up the act. No one else is here, and I figured it out.”

“Figured what out?”

“If… if you can’t tell me because they’re watching you… then…”

“Whoa. Look, I don’t know what you think is going on here, but if you think I’m a part of it, you’re wrong. I’m a victim just as much as you are.”

“But… you’re the only one who could read the sign above the door.”

She shrugged. “It’s pretty common on ancient books and artifacts, especially the ones related to pre-magic religions.”

Ravel threw up his hands. “And you can’t see why I’m suspicious?! There weren’t a lot of ancient artifacts and texts in my nursery.”

She frowned. “What’s your name?”

Caught off-guard, Ravel answered automatically. “Ravel Lion-Spider.”

“Really? I would have thought Lion would have had some. My dad said that there are still some groups that follow some of the ancient religions, and I think Lion was one of the nurseries he mentioned…” She paused for a second, as if considering. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure Lion was one of them. There are a lot of Guardian families there.”

Ravel stared. “So… you knew the text because you follow some pre-magic religion?!”

“No. My brother just really loves history, so he always requests library shipments of any pre-magic books stable enough for transport. Whenever he gets to the top of a waitlist, he gets really excited. He graduated three years ago, but he still comes back to show off his old books. I’m not nearly as into history as he is, but I picked up some things.”

“Requests library shipments?” Ravel said. He knew the stock in the Spider Nursery library changed every few months, but that had just been something that happened, like morning and evening bells. It had never occurred to him that process was something anyone could - or did - influence. But here was this girl, talking about it like it was a normal thing to do, as if it was obvious that he’d know exactly what she was talking about. “What nursery… wait, Urchin, right? You got on the bus at Urchin?”

“Yep. That’s me.” She stuck out a hand, which wavered slightly as she extended it. “Dee Urchin-X.”

X. Ravel frowned. The second part of her last name would be her dad’s nursery, and people from X had a bit of a reputation for being strange. It was the only nursery not named after a pre-magic animal, and, well… when you read about the rediscovery of some kind of pre-magic technology, the person who’d figured it out was almost always related to X somehow. 

And Urchin… that’s where her mom was from. Where she’d been raised. Not all doctors came from Urchin - many, like his friend Kris, started their training with the doctors practicing at their home nurseries - but the hospital was nearest to Urchin nursery, and everyone knew that doctors were from Urchin more often than not.

Urchin-X. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so implausible that she’d be able to quickly tell if someone was alive or dead. Her explanation for why she could read the text was less believable, but… not completely implausible. But he still wasn’t buying it. How could she have made it through the maze on her first try?

Dee still had her hand extended, and Ravel shook it hesitantly. “So… your dad is some kind of pre-magic science expert, I’m guessing?”

“That’s one way of putting it! He’s just as into history as my brother, in his own way, but he’s all about trying to recreate something called a computer.” She laughed, and for the first time, she looked straight at Ravel’s face.

Her right eye met his as normal, but her left… didn’t. It skewed off to the side.

He sucked in a breath, suddenly understanding. “That’s how you got through the magic.”

  Dee looked confused. “What magic? The darkness? I know it kicked that angry girl out. I didn’t do anything special. I just walked around for a minute and ended up here.”

“It kicked all of us out. Over and over. It took me a long time to figure out how to make it through. It took me a long time to learn how to feel the magic, so I didn’t understand how you did it immediately. It made me think you were lying. I’m sorry.”

“Feel the-” she shook her head. “I don’t think I did that. Not on purpose.”

“Did you just walk straight?” Ravel asked. 

She frowned thoughtfully “No. I was pretty upset, but I definitely changed direction more than once. I… I don’t know why.”

“Maybe it felt better to you? Being in the magic? If your mutation is usually uncomfortable-”

Dee flinched, and cut him off.  “It’s not a mutation! I was born this way. My mom wasn’t exposed to magic. I wasn’t exposed to magic. Yes, I’m sure. There are historical records of people with conditions like mine from long before magic.”

She snapped out her explanation with a rote, practiced air and an undertone of bitterness. It didn’t sound right to Ravel - especially since she’d made it through the maze on her first try - but she’d clearly made that speech dozens or hundreds of times before. 

I don’t need her to agree she’s wrong, he thought. Besides, even if what she said is true, maybe something about her condition makes her better at sensing magic. 

Oh, shit.

I believe her.

I mean, maybe not about her not being mutated, but… I don’t think she’s in on it.

I want to, but I don’t.

But if she’s not in on it… if she’s not part of this test… 

Then that girl in the first room was really dead.

And that means this is all real.

I really am in the castle.

And no one comes out of the castle.