The Slayer’s Magic
Chapter One
Before the Dragon Slayer came and left his magic to the Ancestors, those who were adopted may have had an easier time. Now, heredity is everything and those without bloodlines have no value in society.
— Lyv de Dico. “Ancestral Culture and its Effect on Youth.” Journal of Mind Magic Medicine. Ancestral Library Periodicals Section, Second Floor, Shelf 100, Box 2.
With the force of pent-up frustration, Ryn chucked a stone across the glittering surface of the river. Bouncing twice, it sank instead of skipping nicely across the water. The flower-shaped note wiggled and squirmed in her hand. She picked up another rock. Smooth, flat and round, this rock was perfect. This one would fly. The paper pushed at her fingers, blooming back into shape, fighting to take up space. Instead of skipping the rock, she threw it as hard as she could across the river. Grabbing another, apple-sized rock, she pitched it hard at the water. It landed with a satisfying plop and splash. She opened her hand for the flower note to show off, flaunting its petals. She strangled it.
A dark shape brushed past Ryn’s hair. She sucked in a startled breath, as she swatted at whatever was next to her head. A bird came to rest on the embankment next to her. Ryn jumped back, pressing her hand against her fast-beating heart. The bird stretched its wings then folded them, head tilting as one eye examined Ryn. The robin had a red breast, but the shimmering gold-tipped feathers hinted this was no ordinary bird.
The bird grew, morphing, changing shape, transforming itself into a lanky girl with long brown hair that glistened in the sun—smooth…except for a few feathers sticking out of it.
“What the…Yll! You scared me half to death!”
Yll laughed. “Sorry, you should see the look on your face though!”
“Not funny.” Ryn attempted to crush the note again, but it fought against her. “I didn’t know you were back,” she said.
“I thought it would be fun to surprise you. Check it out!” Yll showed off the Ancestor bead on a cord around her neck. “Can you believe, six years of waiting, but I’m finally not an Ordinary anymore!”
“Yeah, it’s so great.” Ryn hid her flat tone by picking up a stone, head bowed to examine it for a moment before she skipped it several times across the water.
Yll stood and placed her hand on Ryn’s arm. “This changes nothing. You’re still my best friend.”
Ryn took the flower note and pressed it into Yll’s hand. Her eyes flashed up at Ryn before opening the folded paper and reading. Ryn didn’t need to see it again, as the words had been seared into her memory.
Ryn,
Ancestor blood should never be sullied by an Ordinary. My parents and I refuse to let my friends be in a situation that could lead to ruining our purebred family lines. Now that we are of age you shouldn’t mix with the rest of the village—you should go live in Waatch with the rest of the Ordinary urchins. It would be easy for my father to make life difficult for you and your odd family.
Prym de Vivus
Yll’s fingers pressed to her lips as she read. When she finished the paper folded itself neatly back into a flower. Ryn snatched it, pitching it into the water.
Summer air spun around Ryn’s feet, and the smell of warmed cedar worked to sooth her anger.
“I’m so sorry, Ryn.” Yll looked at the ground, fingers fiddling with the bead at her throat.
Ryn’s hand went to the necklace she wore. Her fingers slid along the row of beads, twelve in all. They weren’t real. They weren’t made of Ancestor bone, but stone, lovingly carved by her brother to represent a bead from each type of Ancestor magic. She wasn’t sure how her brother had made them, as it had been a surprise for her eighth birthday, but they had brought her much happiness. In the past they had presented an opportunity to imagine and pretend she could be one of them. Now she fought the urge to rip them off and throw them into the river.
Being adopted meant she didn’t know who her Ancestors were. She could be anyone—who knew? The thought thrilled her, but also tore at her heart. The uncertainty was a large missing piece of who she was. Until recently, Yll had been in the same boat, because she was adopted as well. She hadn’t known her Ancestry, but lucky for her, Yll’s mother was Madame Curator of the Library who spent years researching to find Yll’s family and, of course, her magic. Ryn’s mother, on the other hand, didn’t seem to approve of family history research.
Ryn sighed, “You were gone for a long time.”
“Yeah, there wasn’t a boat home for a moon. I had the chance to get to know the people of Muto a bit and start my lessons with the Ancestor.”
Ryn picked out the feathers stuck in Yll’s hair.
Yll blushed. “Yeah, it needs work.”
“It’s amazing you can shape shift after only one moon.” Ryn made an attempt to smile.
“Well, I’m coming to it much older than most, so the lessons go pretty fast. Have to be done by the time I’m eighteen,” Yll said.
“Good.” Ryn tried to earnestly feel the words she was saying. “Good for you.”
Yll, her oldest friend whom she had known since they were toddlers, gave her a look that said she didn’t believe it.
“I don’t know what to say,” Yll said. “If I could find your Ancestors and give you your beads I would do it.”
“I know.” Ryn watched the flower note swirl in an eddy, then float down the river.
“If only there was a way to access the Library and do family research ourselves,” Yll said.
Ryn sat on the embankment. “We can’t. We’re not students, and we certainly don’t work for the Library. Do you think they would believe we’re traveling researchers?”
Giggling, Yll sat next to her. “Right up until mother catches us.”
Yll’s gaze shifted down the river in the direction the note floated off. “It’s not fair. My mother is head of the Library. You would think that would give us certain privileges.”
“Library rules are hard and fast. Even your mother can’t get around them.”
“It’s so frustrating! If there was one place to find the records to prove where you came from it would be in that Library. Everyone sends their records there,” Yll said.
“I can’t even apply to work for the Library until I’m sixteen. Which would only leave me two years to find my Ancestors before I’m too old. In the meantime-—” Ryn gestured down the river in the direction the note had floated.
They sat in silence for a bit until Ryn noticed Yll looking uncomfortable.
Ryn’s eyes narrowed. “Prym invited you to the party, didn’t she?”
Yll’s face flushed as she turned away.
Ryn saw it all in that moment. They had both longed to belong in the village, to be accepted. They never had been, but they had each other and that was all that mattered. Now Yll belonged, and Ryn didn’t. She was alone in ways she never had been before.
“It’s fine, you should go,” Ryn heard herself say in a detached way. “It’s what you’ve always wanted.”
“Don’t be angry, Ryn.”
Ryn forced a smile. “Why would I be angry? This is a happy day.”
For Yll, but not for Ryn.
***
Ryn’s heart lightened at the sight of her family’s cottage and the smell of bacon cooking. Her stomach grumbled.
She had left the cottage early. The rising summer sun was difficult to sleep through, so she had gotten up early to wander down by the river.
The flower note had been waiting on the porch for her.
It was gone now. Good riddance.
She took the door latch in her hand and tried to banish all the gloominess of seeing Yll with magic. Ryn still had her family. Her brother had magic from his father, but her mother was Ordinary, like her. At least there was one person left who knew what it felt like.
Plastering a smile on her face, she pushed the door open. Her mother was bustling around the hearth frying eggs and making biscuits. Ryn loved it when her mother cooked a big breakfast.
“Ryn sweetheart, will you take the biscuits off the fire for me? I think they’re about to burn.” Her mother gestured with her head toward the iron pot over the fire.
“Sure.” Ryn used a towel to swing it away from the heat.
“Jett, will you get mugs for tea please?” Ryn’s mother called to her brother, who was absorbed in a staring contest with Abby the cat. Ryn wasn’t sure how spirit magic worked exactly, but Jett enjoyed how it helped him commune with animals.
The kettle started to whistle, so Ryn pulled that off too. Jett stood, stretching, then pulled the mugs from the top shelf that was hopelessly out of Ryn’s reach.
Once everything was on the table, they took their seats.
Jett touched two fingers to his forehead. “Thanks be to the Ancestors,” he said.
Ryn’s mother frowned at him. She always did that when he prayed. Ryn’s mother didn’t come from the Ancestors, so she didn’t feel inclined to worship them. Jett’s father was of Ancestor blood. Her mother’s second marriage was to Ryn’s father, who was also of Ancestor blood. Both fathers had encouraged the behavior during their respective times in the household.
The thought of Ancestors brought Ryn’s mind back to her predicament—no longer being welcome in the village, and her best friend slipping away. Her face must have revealed something, because her mother glared at Jett in a way that meant he was in for a long discussion later. She reached across the table to take Ryn’s hand.
“Ryn, sweetheart, remember that we don’t need Ancestors or magic to be happy. I’m happy being far away from all of that. There are so many greater talents than magic.”
“But everyone here does magic. I’m the only one who doesn’t.”
“The village is not the whole wide world, and most people out there don’t do magic. Look at Clayr, she’s Madame Curator of the Library, the most powerful institution there is, and she doesn’t do magic. You don’t need it,” her mother said.
“But Clayr’s different, everyone else in the Library does magic,” Ryn started.
“Not everyone, Clayr has been working hard to change that.” Her mother took both of Ryn’s hands into hers. “Did you know I always wanted to have a little girl but could never have one?”
Oh no—here it comes, Ryn fought to keep her eyes from rolling, she’d lost count of the number of times she’d heard this. It was something she’d always known.
“I was overjoyed to bring you home to be mine! You were such a tiny thing. My greatest fear has always been that someone will take you from me.”
“But knowing where I come from wouldn’t change that. And I’d have magic!”
Ryn’s mother released her hands. “Eat up, we have lots of chores to do today.”
Jett and Ryn both groaned at the same time.
***
After a morning of sweeping and dusting and mucking out chickens, Ryn sank down onto her bed. The painting on her wall loomed over her. Her mother probably spent too much on it, money Ryn was sure they didn’t have, but her mother loved it. It must be hard for her mother to make ends meet on her own without Ryn’s father to help. He had left them a few years ago. Her parents hadn’t really fought, not that Ryn had noticed, but they had clearly grown apart. Her father simply spent more and more time away from the house until it was decided it was best he leave. Ryn, always attached to her mother, didn’t struggle with it too much, but there were times when she missed him.
Now she lay staring at the painting of the little flower girl. The girl stood in the snow barefoot with knobby knees, red from the cold. A breeze blew at her dress, ragged and patched. Her face delighted at the bright yellow flower she held in her hand. Snow swirled around her. Ryn wondered if her mother considered the painting a reminder of where Ryn could have ended up if her birth parents hadn’t placed her in the orphanage. Staring at the tattered skirt Ryn could almost feel the cold wind blowing. Despite the warm summer afternoon, Ryn shivered and nestled deeper into the mattress till she drifted off to sleep…
***
Ryn found herself dreaming of cherry wood bookshelves, brimming with knowledge, and lining the walls of a room the size of her entire cottage. Drapery dripping with thousands of embroidered flowers, framed the windows overlooking rocky cliffs. The sound of waves rhythmically crashed against them. Crown molding spilled onto the ceiling, becoming complexly carved tiles. The smell of fresh polish drifted up from the dark wood flooring. The air in the room was charged with energy. She shivered with the thrill of it.
Her gaze was drawn to the end of a long, clawed-foot table. Her father stood there, intent on his study of a book. Heart leaping at the sight of him, a longing overtook her. She hadn’t seen him for too long. Not since he’d left them. Shifting forward toward him she found she wore a heavily petticoated dress, of the kind they wore in the great Ancestral Houses. Her eyes took in the room again. Realization dawned that this was one of the Ancestral Houses. She wondered at how her brain could imagine something she had never seen before in such detail.
The swish of her skirts drew the attention of her father.
“Ryn! There you are. It’s so good to see you. Come quick, I have something to show you.” He gestured her forward.
Now that her eyes were locked on him, she couldn’t look away. She hadn’t realized how much she’d been longing for this moment. She rushed to the end of the table as fast as her legs, and skirts, would allow. Her passing almost knocking over a potted plant. When she reached him, he threw his arms around her.
“Oh, it’s so good to see you!” he exclaimed.
Tears pricked her eyes. A million things she wanted to say, I’ve missed you! Where have you been? When are you coming home? but all she could do was hug him.
When at last he pulled back he turned her toward the book on the table. “What do you make of this?” he asked.
“You’re the rare book expert,” she said.
He put his thumb and forefingers to his chin, studying, but saying nothing. Ryn took a closer look.
She ran her hands over the impressive, tree patterned leather cover. Then opened the book and gasped—the first few pages were torn from the book. On the remaining pages there were entries—entries of when children arrived…and when they left.
“And look at this”—her father turned the pages of the book—“it mentions you…”
***
Bam! The bedroom door slammed closed.
Abby, who must have curled up next to Ryn to nap, jumped up and took off running.
Ryn stared at Jett through blurry eyes.
NO! No, no, no, no no! It had been right in front of her. The book had been right there—the record of where she came from!
“Why are you here?” Ryn croaked, rolling over to cover her face, struggling to hold the dream in her head. Maybe if she fell back to sleep it would continue.
“Clayr’s here with some news. They kicked me out of the room,” Jett said, plopping himself down on her bed.
“So go to your own room!”
Jett bent to pick up Abby and soothe her.
The evaporation of the dream spiked Ryn’s annoyance with Jett. She wanted to throw him out, if only he wasn’t twice her size. Grumbling, she rose to finish her chores.
“Where are you going?” Jett asked.
“To sweep the porch.”
“Don’t. They clearly want to be left alone.” Jett rolled over and fluffed a pillow.
“Whatever. I’ll be in and out, they won’t even know I’m passing through.”
Even so, Ryn cracked the door open to listen for a good pause in their conversation for the interruption.
“…came this morning to deliver the news,” Clayr’s voice said.
“What is he claiming is the purpose of his visit?” Her mother’s voice was tense.
“Says he’s working on some minor research project, and he wants to take on students.” Clayr sighed.
Ryn’s mother swore. Ryn tensed—her mother never swore. “Minor research project, my foot!”
“And taking on students out of term,” Clayr added. “It means I’ll have no choice but to hire at least one of them. Master Wes is a renowned researcher who never takes on students. The Board will expect me to hire his prized pupil—and they will be of his choosing. I won’t be able to block them. Who knows what he’ll bring in…and from where.”
“You know that trip we keep putting off for me to pick up that packet of land records from Saarimuto?” Ryn’s mother said. “I think it’s time I went to retrieve them.”
“Unfortunately, I agree, Ryette. It’s best you make yourself scarce while Wes is around,” Clayr said.
Her mother’s gaze shifted to Ryn’s door. Ryn shifted out of sight.
“What do I do with the children?” her mother asked.
“Jett and Ryn are plenty old enough to care for themselves,” Clayr said. “Aren’t you introducing them to Lar this evening? He can watch out for them when I’m not able.”
The room got quiet. Ryn widened the crack just enough so she could see her mother now staring down into her cup with a distant look on her face.
“The boat that brought Yll back from Saarimuto is taking on supplies. It should leave on its return trip in a few days. You have time to think on it.” Clayr rose.
“No, I need to go. It will be worse if I’m here,” her mother said.
Clayr nodded. “I’ll have your traveling papers and contract drawn up.” She patted Ryn’s mother on the shoulder. “It’ll be fine. I’ve buried those records deep. He won’t find them.”
Ryn’s mother put her hand on Clayr’s and nodded.
Clayr moved toward the door. “We’ll watch over the kids, don’t worry. Gotta get back to chore day. Who knows where Yll has flitted off to in my absence. I’m beginning to regret having a shapeshifter in the house already.” Opening the door to the cottage she added, “Have a wonderful dinner. Bye—love ya!” And she was gone.
Ryn watched her mother stand to grab the broom, then stop—staring into space. Closing her door, Ryn leaned against it, mind racing. What did she just hear? Master Wes, the world-renowned researcher coming here and taking on students? Why was that so upsetting? And why did it make her mother need to leave? What was going on? And who was this Lar and dinner tonight? Her mother had said nothing about it.
The ground seemed to be shifting beneath her and she was no longer sure where to find a solid place to stand.
The Slayer's Magic 