Jeneva Speaks

Jeneva Speaks

Around here, most magic-users need two things: words and something to focus their magic with. I don’t need either. I don’t really brag about it. I mean, who would I brag to? I live in a foster home in Farm Central, with expanses of nothing in all directions. None of the other kids do magic. I’m pretty lucky that my foster parents let me. And, for the record, before you start “Potter”-ing me, they’re good people who don’t lock me up in a tiny space under a staircase and I don’t attend a fancy school in a castle. I go to normal school half an hour away with other normal students from around the area. There are a few other magic users there, but we’re not on the best of terms. Well, I sort of get along with Easley, and Claire’s all right, but we’ll get there.

And, I wasn’t left on their porch. I’ll give you this one, though. They took me in after my parents were killed by dark magic. Mhm. Yeah. And the dark magic is probably out to get me. Not that anyone believes me, but hey, you aren’t schizo if they really are out to get you. Anyway, mostly I learn magic use from the… Oh, I hate saying this. You’re going to think I’m crazy. From the Barn Owl. Yeah, yeah, and there’s wizards and owls. Shuddup. The Barn Owl kindly informed me of that opening fact.

I guess it’s like any sort of energy, magic is. I mean, wind energy is great, but you need to catch it somehow. So they make giant windmills to catch the wind and turn gears and things to convert the energy to something people can use. In the same way, most magic users catch magic from themselves or from around them using things like wands and staffs and focus it into something useable. For example, Easley mostly uses his favorite paintbrush. Claire’s parents had enough money to get her a specially-designed quartz bracelet that both stores and focuses magic. Not that they’re that rich. I mean, they only have one summer home in California. And the ski lodge in Big Sky. Please, note the sarcasm.

Where was I? Right, right, magic user and focusing. Pretty much a focus item can be anything the magic-user wants it to be, but some things do work better than others. Straight objects with pointy ends help with the, well, pointing. Magic can be worked over an item, like Claire’s bracelet, to make it more effective. There’s a lot of money in that business.

Still, for whatever reason, I don’t need anything to focus my magic. I can do pretty much anything I can think of, as long as I have the energy for it. Flying, for instance, is really insanely hard. The first time I tried, I used up so much energy that I went into a coma. And fell off the top of the barn. Embarrassing. Theresa, my foster mom, was really cautious about letting me go back to the barn after that one. By the time bones healed and all that, she and James had agreed to let me get back to studying. If you gathered that James is my foster dad, good for you. Go have a cookie.

Words also really, really help with the focusing. Most magic-users come up with keywords and phrases to focus their magic. They rely pretty heavily on them. “Light on” to make something glow, for instance. Some of them make up entire chants to help them build up the energy to do something. I don’t need the words, either. A focused thought and it’s done.

Scary power for a fifteen-year-old girl? Yeah, I suppose so. But, again, let me point out that there’s dark magic out to get me. Potentially. Probably. I’m going to need that power.