Chapter 12

An hour later, the sun finally provided enough light that we could stop casting Merlin’s Lanterns. Kowalski stayed near the side where Buddy had divedinto the rolling, blue waves.

Since I knew we were on a wild whale chase, as it were, I took the chance to inspect Kowalski. I had always thought my Mimic simply let me copy spells that others cast around me, but my time at the school had taught me there was more to my talent. I could intuit when somebody was about to use their magic, and if I closed my eyes and shut out my other senses, I could see the flow of magic through their body.

The world was dark, lit only by the traces of magic. Mariko and Heida were a muted, blue glow, since they weren’t actively casting any spells. They looked like the others I’d worked with: their outlines were faint, and they would periodically pulse, seemingly in sync with their heartbeats. Mariko’s flow was distorted through her damaged right arm, with that section flashing an angry red instead. The fisherman was completely invisible, which made sense for a mundane.

I turned my attention to Kowalski and was nearly knocked out of my meditation. He shone brightly, which made sense since he was working his magical affinity. However, there were two of him standing in almost, but not quite, the same space. It was as if somebody had done a simple drawing of the boy, and then copied it slightly to the right. They moved in sync with one another, pulsing periodically as Buddy drew on their magical energies, represented by a long line that trailed into the distance, where a solid sphere of energy darted this way and that.

No, I realized, not both of them. The magical tether was connected to the right one, but not the left. What the devil did that possibly mean?

“Are you with us, Soren?” asked Heida, shaking my shoulder.

I snapped out of my trance in an instant; I’d trained myself to rest more lightly after a few near calls with Mimic Sight during the Tower Attack. “Yes, yes. What’s happening?”

“I had to put a stop to it. What in the world are you doing?”

“Using my affinity,” I said.

“Do you know just how weird that looked?”

“I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure of watching myself,” I said. “You look distressed.”

She shuddered. “You sat there, legs crossed, and your eyes were drilling into me.”

“Hold on, my eyes were closed.”

“Exactly what was so strange about it! You were looking all around, leaning over to focus, just with your eyes closed. It was uncanny.”

“I can’t promise not to do it again,” I replied. “At least, not while Kowalski is about.”

“Oh?” She gestured for me to shift over on the metallic bench to make room for her, and she plopped down next to me. “What’s so special about him?

I looked behind her and found that the others were busy with their snipe hunt. “You might have noticed that shadow that emerged from him? It’s completely out of control.”

“I gathered that much,” she said.

“Well, I’ve been volunteered to help him sort that mess, and what you saw was part of that. I can see and smell magic, for lack of a better term. What did Rei call it? Synesthesia, I think.”

“Who’s Rei?” she asked.

It was my turn to shudder at the memory of holding the unfortunate Holy Sister’s lifeless body in my arms. I’d tried to talk sense into her, but she kept attacking me. It was her fault, not mine. A proper devil wouldn’t care that he’d been the one to recruit her, and wouldn’t have thought twice about saving his own hide.

Heida shook her head. “A bad memory, I take it.”

“Y-you could say that,” I said, wiping some perspiration out of my eyes. Perspiration and nothing else.

I felt something else wet, this time on my cheek. “Didn’t take you for the sensitive type, Magpie.” Heida glanced over pointedly at Mariko, who hadn’t noticed the bit of affection. “Or do you prefer Tom? What was that about?”

Best to come clean. “I wasn’t supposed to be out last night. I was worried the Corps would find out, and I was right to be cautious! I can’t say I was expecting to meet you today.”

She smirked at me. “Good, you just passed.”

“Passed what?”

She reached out and flicked my nose. “If you’d said you were trying to be humble, I’d know you were full of shit. Celebrities usually are.”

“Celebrity?” For somebody who wanted nothing more than to lay low, that word was like a blow to the gut. “Little old me?”

She flicked it again. “Don’t start that humble act now! Everybody in the Wizard Corps has heard of you, Mr. Magpie Wizard. You and some of the other students wiped out the Holy Brotherhood squad that attacked the Nagoya Tower, and the reports make it sound like you did it almost singlehanded.”

“Don’t believe everything you read in the news,” I replied, earning another flick. “Ow! Stop that, that wasn’t me being humble, I’m telling the truth!”

She pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I’m a little miffed with you, you know.”

“Why’s that?”

“They watch you cadets so closely. I thought you were going to one of the local colleges, and I could just call you anytime. It’s going to be so tricky to sneak you off to have some fun.” She cast another look at Mariko. “Especially with that one around. She seems like a killjoy and a snitch.”

“A snitch? Hardly. Mariko isn’t exactly fond of the Wizard Corps.”

“You admit she’s a killjoy, though.” Heida’s expression brightened. “Good, then it isn’t completely hopeless.” She hopped to her feet and stretched her arms. “We should get back to work looking for the Sverðhvalur. We can talk about barhopping later.”

As if on cue, Kowalski waved us over. “Hey, everyone! I think Buddy found something!”

“What is it?” I asked, jogging over.

“I don’t know,” he said with a frown. “I can’t see what he sees, but I can feel him coming back, and he’s pulling something big.” He braced himself on fishing boat’s railing, and I noticed that we were listing a again.

“Don’t tell me Buddy caught the blasted thing.” I felt the color drain from my face, and I took a step back in an attempt to rebalance the weight.

“Oh, no!” said Mariko, coming over to my side. “The poor creature.”

“If it’s a Sverðhvalur, it had it coming,” declared the fisherman.

Heida let out a surprised yelp. “What? D-don’t bring it up!”

“That isn’t my call,” said Kowalski. “Buddy pretty much does what he wants.”

Heida began trembling, even as she twisted her fingers into the position for Magic Bolt. “Shit. Shit! Soren, Mariko, ready combat magic! We might have a fight on our hands.”

Mariko’s own fingers twisted. “We should be ready to cast Blessed Bathysphere, just in case we fall in.”

“That’s a good idea,” I said. The spell would create a transparent bubble of energy around our heads, trapping enough air to keep us alive for a few minutes.

“That won’t do any good,” said Heida, her tone growing more frantic by the moment. “If you fall in the drink, you’ll die of hypothermia in minutes.”

“Oh,” I said, starting to understand Heida’s terror. “Svalinn’s Wrath!” I cast the spell four more times, positioning the magical daggers directly over a bubbling section of ocean a few meters to our starboard side. I was ready to will them downwards at full speed at whatever surfaced.

At least, I thought I was. Buddy breached the surface, still in his pseudo-octopus form. His tentacles were wrapped around a white mass covered in dangling threads, and I immediately wanted to retch. The disgusting thing was nearly as long as the fishing vessel.

“Ara, that is foul!” Mariko leaned against me for support as her hand flew over her mouth. Kowalski, being the closest, lost his struggle and relieved himself over the edge.

Buddy was unaffected by the smell as he clambered back onto the boat. He was actually smiling, which was almost more disturbing than his normal glowering. He vanished back into Kowalski’s shadow without any prompting, and the blond wizard let out a long breath. The analytical part of my mind contemplated what I’d just seen, and how it could help bring Buddy to heel.

It was only a small sliver of my brainpower, though. I was overwhelmed by a stench like a fish market that had been left out in the sun for a week.

The fisherman was the only one of us who wasn’t fighting to keep down his breakfast. “Well, I’ll be. Guess it was only a globster.”

“What the devil’s a globster?” I demanded.

“It’s a whale’s corpse after there’s nothing left but bone and blubber,” he replied. “It must’ve been floating near the buoy earlier. I guess we can pack it in.”

“Thank God,” said Heida and Kowalski just about simultaneously.

So, you know a Sverðhvalur when you see it, do you?

I chose not to rub it in. Not so much out of manners, but because quarreling with him would only delay him getting us the Hell away from that stench.