“Lightning is an advanced
air skill that takes manipulation of air using earth or water for friction and
fire as an accelerant. Meteorology and atmospheric sciences use air and water
in the manipulation of the weather. Air mages often pair with earth mages to
attack air pollution, just as water and earth mages often pair for other types
of environmental damage containment,” Professor Fuentes added. “These are topics for late this year and in
your future studies, as well as for advanced students.”
Professor Tehranchi made
eye contact with me and I sank down in my chair. “Miss Lake, please come down
here.”
I heard a few groans from
the other ad-pro’s as I stood up. I hated being the center of attention. This
was not how I wanted the afternoon to begin.
“Miss Lake is an air
mage,” Tehranchi continued as I stood next to him. “She is one of the strongest
lightning wielders that I’ve ever seen, in fact.”
This was news to me, and
I tried hard to keep my face neutral. It
almost sounded like Tehranchi, who was by all accounts an ogre, was
complimenting me.
Professor Fuentes
chuckled. “You’re embarrassing Sara,” he chided. “But we’d love for her to give a little
demonstration.” He raised his eyebrows at me and I suppressed a grin.
“What exactly would you
like me to show them?” I asked.
“I know you’ve filled
this lecture hall with lightning,” Professor Fuentes told me while projecting
to the class, “but since it’s full of people, I thought you could make a few
lightning spheres. Maybe basketball
sized. Professor Tehranchi can keep them aloft.”
Keeping them aloft would
be easy. I’d never made that many small spheres at the same time before, but
there was a first time for everything.
Heck, it’d taken me four tries to light the New Mexico desert on fire. I’d
start small and go from there.
I’d progressed from
needing to start them in the palm of my hand and grow them from a spark. Looking past Professor Fuentes to Tehranchi,
I raised an eyebrow at him just as a basketball sized lightning sphere popped
into existence in front of me. I sent it
out over the ad-pro’s and held it aloft with my own air. I felt air tendrils try to take it away, but
I surrounded my sphere and kept control.
Confident that I could do it again, I did the same thing. And then I made two at the same time. And
four more. I figured eight was enough to
let Tehranchi know I wasn’t the scared little incompetent girl I had been in
January.
“Tired?” he asked, a
little drollness in his tone. I could
hardly believe it.
“Nope,” I replied with a
grin. I wasn’t. I felt great. “But I think you want to start lecturing again.”
I winked the spheres out, nodded to them both, and retook my seat.
Clearing his throat,
Tehranchi gestured to me. “Sara is
sixteen years old and in the adolescent program,” he said. “She is not
available to tutor remedial students even though she is in my advanced air
class, and,” he shot me a glare with a hint of mirth, “evidently she’s been
holding back.”Copyright 2017 Andrea Irving, Colindrea Press
:)
