I sat cross-legged on the grass and propped my chin up against my knee, hunching over to think about it for a while.
Pandora was a living creature, too… Why hadn’t I ever thought of that these past few months? I’d been so preoccupied with his towering body, which seemed to pierce the sky, and the ancient legends that I’d ended up deifying him and hadn’t considered him as my partner. I was an idiot.
“I studied magic for over ten years, and this is what I’ve come to…”
I recalled back when my mom, the village’s conjurer, had still been alive.
What had I done when I’d learned magic? I remembered doing plenty of terrible things in the name of mischief, testing the limits of my crude spells through trial and error.
I’d zapped the nearby lake with an electricity spell to catch fish, then used another to power up a dead giant old frog into temporarily jumping out of the grass to scare the neighborhood bully who’d wailed on my friend.
“I was a li’l terror.”
I started to feel grateful to the adults who’d set me right with a reproachful whack of their fists when I’d been up to too much magical mischief. We were a poor village without anything special to offer, but there are some things you can’t gain from just living in sophistication.
“From the look on your face, it seems you’ve come upon a realization.” Tory looked at me, one side of her mouth lifted way up.
“I almost feel like kneeling down and kissing your feet,” I said.
I scratched the top of my head, smiling awkwardly. I wasn’t just happy about the breakthrough—I was pretty embarrassed by how quickly I got to the right answer after just a little advice.
“Heh-heh-heh-heh. Now, I would ask you to try it out right this minute, but you’d better not summon Pandora here. The weight alone would be enough to send us plummeting.”
Tory slowly cast her sights over the outside of the cemetery. We were also led by her gaze. We noticed for the first time then that the turrets of the hexahedrons had gone silent.
They hadn’t run out of ammunition. The summoners whizzing around the cemetery had simply started to leave.
“Oh, how spineless the youth have been as of late.”
“That’s because those turret guns the cemetery uses are absurdly powerful. What are those things?! They blasted away a dragon carcass in a matter of seconds.”
“Look, Feil. Lulua didn’t fall,” Cyril said.
“She must’ve boosted the power of her Holy Shield using her summon. But you’ll need more than high endurance to win against those things.”
Cyril paused before saying, “I can’t believe we were able to accomplish what Lulua couldn’t.”
“Well, we did put our lives at risk. I reckon we’ll be in for a scolding from either Sasha or the professors when we get back.”
Just then, the absurdity of what we’d managed to accomplish really started to sink in…and we’d even met Tory in person! I felt like running myself ragged had totally been worth it… In fact, all things considered, everything had gone so smoothly that I was actually a bit terrified by our achievement.
“Well, then…”
Seeming to have had her fill of squishing Myfila’s cheeks, Tory finally released our teammate. She turned her back to us and started walking alone toward the center of the cemetery. Her pace was slow, almost as though inviting us to follow after her.
“You’ll travel past Raddermark in the evening as it is. Why not tour the flying cemetery in that time?” she said. “Would you care for a treasure hunt? I can tell you the way down into the tombs, at the very least.”
Cyril and I shared a weary look, then I gave Tory’s slender back a strained smile.
“You’ll have to forgive us, but I’ve already used up all my magical reserves.”
“And I’m sure you saw in his memories—he doesn’t steal from others,” Cyril added. “He even hates being treated to anything unless he can pay a person back.”
Damn you, Cyril. He didn’t need to say that. But Tory laughed and seemed to have accepted the explanation.
“Pfft! Ha-ha-ha!”
She laughed high and toward the sky, then pointedly stopped to look at us. I could clearly see she was pleased through her eyes, which had arched into the shape of crescent moons.
“Your austerity is not altruistic,” she said. “You inexplicably exacerbate your own poverty, but it’s endearing in a way.”
Cyril elbowed me.
“I’m fine livin’ this way,” I said. “It’s been like this ever since my dad died.”
I set my mouth, then stuffed both my hands into my cloak’s pockets.
“Since I don’t have any money, if I start accepting handouts, people will start thinking I’m some sorta charity case. And stealing’s even worse. I’d be a sorry excuse of a son after all my parents invested in me if I turn out like that.”
I was more talking to myself than anyone else, but Tory still picked up on my low voice and replied, “You already are such a selfless child, Feil Fonaf. To keep paying back the dead in this world where no such thing as resurrection exists requires compassion.”
I’d never known my grandparents, but I imagined that they would’ve been something like her. After today, I’d probably never have a reason to see her again, but I decided that I could come by for another graveside visit just for the sole purpose of seeing Tory. The thought flitted by for a moment.
“Lyle and Roselle have such a dedicated son,” Tory continued.
It’d been a while since I’d heard my parents’ names.
The greater elemental, who’d been alive since the age of gods, had said their names in the famous flying graveyard. That alone seemed like a special condolence, and it made me want to ask my mother and father directly how they felt about it.
A cold wind swept by, reminding me of the loneliness I’d buried.