“Purpleisthe color of the Fae, Bane.You should know.Isn’t Violet’s magic purple too?”Norman pressed.
“It is,” I said.
“Purple indicates pure Fae blood,” Desmond said matter-of-factly.
I watched as he focused one hand, pulling and twisting his purple fractals like spun sugar.I half expected to see vines at any second, blinking furiously and relieved there wasn’t.
And then the color shifted.It faded from purple to a deeper plum.It...darkened.
“Whoa, that’s fucking cool,” Norman said in wonder.
Desmond lifted the barrel and the dark fractals surrounded it.The barrel began to shake, to wiggle and rattle within the confines of the ribbons of magic surrounding it like dark matter.
And then, in the blink of an eye it shrunk into...a small, miniature barrel.It clattered against the floor.
Norm picked it up with his twitchy suckers.
“One down, twenty-nine to go,” Desmond said.“Your turn, Bane.”
I breathed out a heavy sigh as I concentrated on my magic, on pulling my fire to my fingertips.Norm settled beside me, and I tried my hardest to ignore him.I focused on the barrel, lifted it even, but as I tried to twist it, to transfiguration, it would not stretch.It kept unbinding itself and I growled in frustration.
“You think too much,” Desmond said plainly.
Norm’s tentacles slithered along my arm and I jumped.
“Shhh...I’m helping,” he said, his voice tinged with his drink.
“You are trying to feed,” I nipped.
“I’m trying to help conduct,” Norman said.“Water is a conduit, Bane.”
“Very smart, Norman,” Desmond said.
“Just...try again,” Norman said, his voice even.
I called my fire, incensed by their aggravating show ofhelp.But I also knew we were on a time crunch, and if I wanted us to get back on time, and if I wanted to seeViolet, who was to meet us here practically any moment, I needed to just get this over with.
“Fine,” I said.
Desmond stood beside me.“When you lift it, don’t focus on your magic.Focus on the feel of the barrel.The warm bow of the wood.It’s heavy on the ground, but in your grasp—” Desmond’s voice took on an almost hypnotic tone.“In your grasp there is nothing too heavy, is there, Bane?”he asked.
I nodded, focusing on the details.
“Everything is made of water,” Norman murmured.“Even you.So you...and the barrel...you’re not enemies.You both are made of water, so speak to it.”
I rolled my eyes, but his suckers sucked on my neck and I hissed.
“Just try it,” Norman said.“Humor me, okay?”
I closed my eyes and tried to think of the water.Tried to find the common group between me and a barrel of whiskey.With Desmond’s voice in my ear and Norman’s smooth tentacles along my arm, things felt strange, but not in a bad way.
I focused on the lightness.Nothing in my grasp was too heavy.
When I opened my eyes, I saw my flames engulfing the barrel and the heat warmed my face as I grinned.It shrunk in an instant, dropping to the ground like a hot kamikaze crumb.
“Nice!”Norman said, picking it up, but dropping it again with an “Ow!”that echoed in the room.
“See, piece of cake,” Desmond said as he lifted his hand again.
