“There’s no coffee in here, is there?”
“Only tea,” said Leo. “Although if you’d like to try my tea coffee, you need only ask.”
“I’d prefer to be able to sleep at some point this week.”
“Sleep is overrated,” said Leo. He cleared his throat, then quickly pointed at a path extending into the woods beyond the ruined cloister on the west side of the courtyard. “Shall we?”
He strode off for the path before Ceri could respond, leaving her wondering what she had missed.
She followed behind him as they climbed a bare dirt path under the trees. Leo retrieved a ‘lectric torch from his rucksack, which lit a narrow beam of light onto the path ahead. Ceri had to stay close to him to see the ground in front of her.
“This is an experiment too,” he explained, waving the torch. “A new type of power-saver. I would have brought one for you, but I’m not certain if it’s safe.”
“What could be wrong with it?” asked Ceri, backing a little further away.
“Well, it could always catch fire. Possibly violently.” Leo said it quite casually, as if this was an ordinary hazard when working with him.
Perhaps it was.
Despite his warning, the torch continued to function without trouble. The path climbed steeply through the darkened forest. There was nothing to see aside from the beam of light; everything around them was pitch dark. Ceri knew she would have been terribly afraid had Leo not been with her. Even with him there, it was difficult not to feel the darkness pressing in, particularly in the moments when the torch’s beam drifted too far ahead as Leo navigated the turns in the path.
After what felt like an hour but was probably only twenty minutes or so—Ceri regretted that her time spent flying and dancing around ballrooms had not prepared her physically for this much of a climb—they reached the observatory. It was a small building with a domed roof standing right at the top of the hill. Ceri had thought they had reached the top of the mountain after such a long climb, but a much larger mountain loomed behind the observatory.
Just as they were about to clear the last row of trees before the clearing, Ceri heard a cracking sound from overhead.
“Look out!” she shouted.
Leo turned the torch towards the canopy in time to see something dark streaking downwards towards them.
There was little time to think. Ceri reacted with a burst of her magic, sending the dark object—a large branch—careening into the trunk of a tree as Leo grabbed her by the waist, pulling her out of the way.
The torch fell to the ground. Ceri stood still, feeling her body pressed against Leo’s, hearing his heartbeat next to her ear.
She couldn’t move. She’d forgotten how.
“Are you alright?” he asked her. He removed his arm from her waist and bent to pick up the torch. He shined it on them and then on the branch, which had shattered at the base of a young pine.
“That could have killed us,” said Ceri slowly. How many near misses had they had today? Two, three?
“That was you, sending the branch into the tree?”
“Yes,” said Ceri. That one had cost her. The earlier spells—removing the tea coffee, adjusting her heels—had been minor feats. The force required to move the branch, as large and heavy as it was, had taken more out of her. She felt a bit lightheaded. “I think I need to sit down.”
“The observatory is just ahead,” said Leo. “Can you make it?” He offered her his arm.
She took it. She had no other choice.
Leo led her to the observatory steps and helped her take a seat. He looked her up and down, concerned. “Are you alright?” he asked.
“I’ll be fine in a minute,” said Ceri. “It’s like sprinting up the stairs, doing strong magic out of nowhere. It doesn’t help that I’m out of practice.”
“Will you be alright if I leave you for just a moment? I left everything in the woods.”
Ceri nodded. It was strange the way the air changed the moment he was hidden by the tree line, the sudden awareness it gave her of the darkness and a sense that although she was alone on the steps, there was something lurking out there.
A cool, strong breeze blew through, sending the hair on her arms up into goosebumps.
She felt a great sense of relief when Leo returned with the blanket, his rucksack, and the vacuum flask. He dropped the rucksack to the ground and wrapped the blanket around Ceri’sshoulders. Then he took a seat next to her, pouring the contents of the flask into the attached cup.
