Vhalla instantly felt uneasy at the idea. “But last time I became stuck.”
“I will help you, I will be here.” Aldrik squeezed her hand lightly. “If you are willing, we will begin practice tonight.”
After some internal debate, Vhalla finally decided. “I will.” Perhaps this would be the one thing she could do that would give meaning to her conscription into the military. “What do I need to do?”
“Well, have you worked on Channeling?” Aldrik finally straightened, pulling his hand from hers. The distance he’d previously placed between them didn’t come rushing to fill the space. It didn’t feel like he was planning for it to be the last time they touched.
“Not really.” Vhalla glanced away.
“I didn’t see you using magic when we practiced either.” Aldrik gave her a knowing grin. “So, let us practice that first.”
Vhalla nodded and thought back to the last time they had worked together. It was an easy memory to recall, given the impact the Joining had on her. Vhalla extended her hands, focusing on them. She’d seen Aldrik repeat the movement countless times.
She clenched her hands into fists, and felt a rush of power. It was the same feeling he had imparted upon her during their Joining, and it made Vhalla wonder why she’d been so fearful to attempt it. Her eyes darted back to him. “I think I did it.”
“Really?” He seemed both surprised and skeptical.
“Check,” she suggested.
Aldrik looked askance. “I cannot.”
“What?”
“I cannot use magic sight.” Aldrik seemed embarrassed to admit the fact.
Vhalla stared in shock. He couldn’t do something? More notably, he couldn’t do something that she could. His eyes failed to meet hers, and Vhalla cleared the look from her face. He’d been helpful to her when she had no idea what magic was. She’d not chastise him now.
“Well, let’s just assume I can.” Vhalla gave a small grin.
“Truly? So easily?” He was surprised.
“I have a good teacher.” She flashed him a wide smile, and his mouth curled upward in reply before he could give it thought.
“Do you remember how you Projected?” he asked.
“Vaguely,” she confessed. She remembered trying to be near him when the Emperor had returned to the capital, and Vhalla remembered stretching her mind toward the rose garden. She thought it’d been a dream then, but perhaps it made more sense as a Projection.
“Try to repeat that process.” Aldrik seemed as uncertain as she felt.
Vhalla nodded, willing to let his confidence in her give life to her attempt. She closed her eyes, thinking back to the process she had used long ago. Visualize, she instructed to herself. In her mind’s eye the room began to rebuild with a magically sharp clarity.
Vhalla allowed the world to slow and still. Farther, she needed to stretch farther. Now able to maintain an open Channel, Vhalla found it easier to construct a magical world for her to walk within. She was the air; it beckoned endlessly to Vhalla, asking for her to fill the space. Soon sound disappeared, and she stood.
Her senses rushed back to her, but they were different than before. She heard by feeling the air move; she saw by how the shimmering currents of air circled around objects. Vhalla watched her body slump limply.
Aldrik caught her physical form and shifted it to rest in his arm. A smile curled his lips at the sight of her.
“Excellent,” he enthused.
Can you see me? she asked.
He nodded. “Try walking.”
She turned in place. It was easy to cross the room, and his eyes followed her the whole time. She walked over to his armor and reached out a hand. Vhalla studied it uncertainly.
What do I look like? she asked, wondering if the ghost-like appearance of her hand was the same for him.
“Fuzzy, as though you are in a fog. How a mirage looks in the desert,” Aldrik replied.
Vhalla tried to touch the plate and found her hand passed right through it. I can’t touch things, she observed.
“Try to use your magic,” he suggested.
Vhalla held out her hand, attempting to manipulate the wind around her. It was suddenly slippery and formless, like a vat of snakes and oil. Vhalla demanded it oblige her, focusing harder.
“Vhalla, stop,” Aldrik warned.
She didn’t even look back at him. Vhalla tried to take a deep breath, to feel the air, but found she couldn’t in this form. She would just have to force it. Immersing herself in her Channel, she insisted the armor move. Her vision shifted, the world phased between light and dark.
Aldrik? she called.
“Vhalla, stop!” He sounded distant and far.
Aldrik! she cried. Vhalla stood in a world of blinding light.