I tried not to gape again, but it was hard. Ethan had told me he’d learned in class that monsterscouldbe controlled by fae, but it was exceptionally difficult. The only person I knew who could control monsters was Gabby, and she had gained that power through Droga. I’d mastered the art of killing monsters, but controlling them was a different story, especially without the help of a god channeling through me. I wasn’t sure I could do it.
“I assume you’ve studied pookas in your classes,” Lady Magdalina said. “We’ll start there.”
I nearly gulped. Pookas were dark horse fae that were related to kelpies. They were one of the more dangerous monsters in the fae world, and what was worse, they liked to transform into goat-headed men that ate people alive. I thought that was a bit extreme for our first lesson.
But Lady Magdalina wasn’t kidding around, and as she spun her hands, a portal began blossoming in the middle of the room. From out of the portal stepped a majestic horse, with fur blacker than night and eyes that shone even darker. It had a scraggly long mane that fell to its large hooves, and a tail that hovered lightly upon the air in a ghostly fashion. The portal shut behind the pooka, and it snorted, blowing out steam from its nostrils and grinding its teeth.
The way the pooka stared at me caused ice to ripple through my veins. It looked so deadly and haunting. Surely this was a creature that came from the Underworld itself.
“What do you expect me to do with this thing?” I asked shakily. Because right now, all I wanted was to run a sword through it, to prevent it from eating me.
“Connecting to a monster’s mind is similar to wolven telepathy magic,” Lady Magdalina instructed. “Reach out your mind and feel the monster’s vibrancy, its life. It will resist allowing you into its mind, but force your way through. Once you’re inside, take charge by giving it a command. Your magic will overpower it, and it will be forced to obey.”
The pooka faced me, pounding its hoof against the floor. I imagined a tendril of thought crossing from me to the monster, but once I felt the presence of its mind, a wall went up. It was difficult to break through. My magic fought against the monster’s strength as it warred to keep me out.
“You are a Worldweaver, Emmaline. This should be simple enough for you,” Magdalina said. “Don’t allow it to keep you out. Teach it that you hold the power.”
I pushed harder against the creature’s mind, but the pooka let out a whinney, rising up on its back hooves and lashing out. I gasped, and fell backward. The monster took off at a gallop, racing across the arena.
I wasn’t sure where it was going, until I observed the creature as it transformed. The monster changed from a black horse into a naked man, belly protruding and yellow skin sagging off its bony form, its fingers ending in sharp claws. Like the legends said, the man had the face and horns of a goat, its jaws open to reveal sharp and pointed teeth.
The pooka lashed out with its claws, and the wooden stands my friends were sitting on were slashed to ribbons at its touch. My friends screamed, and leapt off the stands for safety. They began running for cover while the pooka gave chase, salivating at the mouth.
The pooka was just as fast as a vampire. It moved with super-speed, darting from this way to that in the blink of an eye, its form becoming a blur. In moments, it had pinned my friends against a wall. Odette threw up a shield to protect them, but the pooka was making quick work of it, cutting the magical barrier to pieces with its teeth and claws. My friends screamed, unsure of whether to use magic to destroy this monster, or let me handle it.
“If you don’t gain control of this creature, I daresay it’s going to make your friends its lunch,” Magdalina said fairly. “Hurry along, Emmaline.”
Lady Magdalina wasn’t lying. If I didn’t learn to harness my powers to control this creature, she’d let it eat my friends. She had a “sink or swim” approach to her training that I’d learned well under her instruction as an ice skater, and apparently while teaching magic, her methods were even more brutal.
I forced my thoughts to calm and focused on what she’d told me. My heart was pounding in my ears, and it was distracting, but I blocked out the screams of my friends and closed my eyes. I reached out my consciousness until it made contact with the pooka again. It was even more ravenous while it was hunting, a delirious beast with the scent of blood in its nose.
It wasn’t strong enough to keep me out of its mind, not when it was distracted. I forced myself past the pooka’s mental defenses, and opened my eyes. Immediately, the monster went ridgid, realizing its mistake.
It was far too late by then. With effort, but not so much energy that it dropped me, I created an anchor in the creature’s mind with my own power.Change back, I ordered it, gritting my teeth.
It didn’t obey— not at first. But then my magic became more insistent, and the pooka morphed from the goat-headed man to the black horse it had been. Its eyes were locked on me, looking for more instruction.
I crooked my finger, and the pooka trotted to me. It was terrifying, watching a dark monster like that come barreling toward me, but I held my ground. If I let go of this monster’s mind now, it would kill me, so I had to remain in control.
“Very good, Emmaline,” Magdalina said approvingly as the pooka came to a stop in front of me. “Now, raise your hand, and place it upon the monster’s forehead. Thus, you will be able to survey its thoughts.”
With shaking fingers, I put a hand to the pooka’s temple as my friends observed me in awe. I expected to be bombarded with thoughts of violence and death once I entered the creature’s mind, but mostly, the area was dark and vast. The pooka’s thoughts were definitely malevolent, but it wasn’t as intelligent a creature as I had assumed. It had thoughts to kill and to eat, and that was where its imagination ended.
Lady Magdalina conjured a dummy. The straw target sat stiffly on a pole, and Magdalina said, “Tell the pooka to attack it.”
This was far too similar to those lessons where I’d practiced with my spriggan. After seeing how Ethan’s spriggan had ripped Elijah apart, I never wanted to call upon it again.
But through the mind connection, I could feel that the pooka wasn’t as evil a creature. It was more or less a dangerous animal looking to feed.Attack, I told the pooka, glancing at the dummy.
The pooka wasted no time in following my orders. It charged toward the straw dummy with a violent scream, ripping the dummy to pieces with its teeth and stomping the straw underfoot with its hooves. Its reward was a raw steak inside the dummy Magdalina had created. The horse feasted on the flesh like it would on grass, blood dripping down its velvet nose while it made a satisfied sound.
When it was done feasting, the pooka looked at me. I whistled to it, and it came over at a slow walk. I dared to stroke its coat, and the monster let out a soft neigh. Now that it had fed, it was calm, and easier for my magic to control.
“Monsters can be easily manipulated when you know what they want, and provide for that desire,” Magdalina said. “Pookas, for instance, desire food. Give them something to hunt, and they will listen to your commands far more willingly. Most monsters have an inherent sinister desire. Satisfy it, and they will do your bidding.”
“Is there a chance of it backfiring?” I asked. “As in, can the monster sense a weakness in me, and overpower my mind once I’m inside theirs?”
Magdalina frowned. “Unfortunately, yes. However, most monsters will not be stronger than you, since you are the Worldweaver. Most are nowhere near powerful enough to be in your league. The ones that are— well, let’s hope that you never have the misfortune to encounter them.”
