Gideon placed the book on the floor and started flicking through the dog-eared pages of the yellowing tome. The spine was cracked, the leather faded and ancient. Chloe cast a brief look at the wisp, which had now floated closer to them, its attention caught by the book.

  Chloe wondered whether she should tell the others about the wisp that followed them on their journey, and about the shaman who had taken the form. The book had been a gift from the shaman to Chloe after their initial encounter in Oakston forest, but she had passed it along to Gideon, wanting to do something nice to help the nervous mage grow in confidence and develop his magical abilities.

  Yet Chloe knew it wasn’t her decision to make. The shaman had asked to accompany them all so that he could see more of the world outside his forest home. He had already seen a lot, and Chloe wondered how much longer he’d stick with them. He’d been more than helpful in several situations, lighting the way or providing magicks for them on their journey, and Chloe would hate to see him go.

  You’ve got me for a while, yet, child, the shaman’s voice said in her mind.

  Right. I’d forgotten you could read my thoughts, Chloe sent.

  KieraFreya chipped in. It’s getting pretty crowded in here. If one of you could leave, that’d be great. And since this is Chloe’s mind, maybe it should be you, Mr. Shaman.

  I am no mister, the shaman replied.

  Then are you a miss? KieraFreya chuckled.

  I am nothing more than the vessel I have been given. To identify myself in one particular way is to close off another part of my possible being. By closing doors to possibilities, we kill ourselves one decision at a time.

  KieraFreya blew a raspberry. Oh, whatever. When you’re finished speaking in riddles, maybe we can discuss your gender crisis and see if we can come to a fixed conclusion. The world runs on absolutes, not on indecision.

  “How about this?” Gideon said, unaware of the internal argument Chloe was privy to. He leaned closer, finger tracing the words on the page. “A spell to summon a raincloud. That could help.”

  Chloe leaned closer to inspect the spell. “Hmm…no. Look there, it says the spell affects the actual clouds. How is making it rain outside going to help us in here?”

  “Good point.”

  “How about that one?” Chloe said, pointing to a battered page with a small sketch of a horse that seemed to be made out of water. “We could ride on that? Could cool us down as we charge into the volcano?”

  Ben shook his head, eyes still closed. Chloe had thought he had fallen asleep, but clearly not. “No, thank you.”

  Gideon chuckled. “He’s right. I’m not on board, either. Besides, this looks like you have to be near a body of water in order to make the spell work.”

  “Damn.”

  They flicked through more and more pages, discussing the possible effects of the hundreds of spells within the book. The farther into the book they went, the more used the pages seemed. Chloe noticed a rating system on the top of each page as they went through, which showed a certain number of crescent moons that appeared to detail the difficulty and skill required to conjure each spell.

  “This would be awesome,” Chloe said, staring at a picture of a powerful magician in a flowing cloak trapped inside a bubble of water. “Water trumps fire, right?”

  “Depends what temperature the fire is,” Jesepiah chipped in, draining the last droplets of water from her waterskin. Chloe hadn’t seen it happen, but Jesepiah had stripped to practically nothing, too.

  She now sported a set of tiny shorts and something that might have been called a crop top on someone much less heavy than Jesepiah, but which now looked more like a boob belt.

  “If the fire is hot enough, the water will just turn to steam, surely?”

  Chloe shrugged. “Depends if it’s magic water, I guess.” Turning to Gideon, she asked, “What do you think? Worth a try?”

  “I don’t see why not.”

  They read the instructions carefully, mouthing the words and absorbing the spell until they knew it word for word.

  “Ready for this?” Chloe said, wiping away a droplet of sweat that had fallen into her eye.

  Gideon nodded.

  They stood opposite each other, staring into each other’s eyes as they mouthed the words that had been written on the page. Their arms went high, then scooped down, weaving and lacing between each other in a strange, more advanced version of the schoolyard pat-a-cake games Chloe had been witness to but never involved in.

  Her head wanted to sing:

  I know something,

  But I won't tell.

  Three little monkeys,

  in a peanut shell.

  One can read,

  And one can dance,

  And one has a hole,

  in the seat of his pants!

  Luckily, thanks to Gideon’s determination, she managed to keep her focus. Instead of a flock of schoolboys running toward them and taking away their jump rope, a sudden rush of water began to run between the mage’s hands.

  Chloe smiled, then a laugh escaped her. Gideon looked just as amazed. They raised their arms, and the bridge of water went with them.

  Ben’s eyes were open now, joining Tag and Jesepiah in thirsty looks of awe.

  Chloe and Gideon fanned their arms out, tracing the shape of a circle. The water looked like a mini river caught between them, then began to fan out and follow their arms, forming the shape of a large bubble around them both.

  Chloe thought back to the last part of the incantation, made a small ring with her thumb and index finger, and blew into it. A small bubble grew, then expanded to fill the shape around her and Gideon. It grew larger than a beachball before it—

  Chloe and Gideon cried out as they were thrown back to opposite sides of the tunnel. Their backs slammed into the walls. Ben and Jesepiah were up in an instant, running to tend to one magic-user each.

  Tag slowly forced himself to his feet and dragged himself over to Chloe, having clearly exhausted a lot of his stamina on the volcaworms.

  “Are you okay?” Ben said, tending to Chloe. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know,” Chloe wheezed, coughing as the shock of the impact got to her. “I really don’t know.” Instinctively she reached down to remove her armor, wanting nothing more than to experience the coolness that Ben was currently feeling with his naked torso.

  She gripped the edges of the armor and tugged, momentarily dazed and surprised that they weren’t moving.

  Erm, what do you think you’re doing? KieraFreya said.

  “Oh, that’s right,” Chloe said, palming her forehead. “I can’t take these off.” She looked crestfallen as she sulked, the heat even more intense after the brief coolness of the bubble. “I can’t take it off.”

  “The spell was too powerful,” Gideon called from his side of the cave. “We should’ve known. The spell was rated three and a half crescents. The other spells I’ve obtained from the book have been one, maybe two tops.”

  “But we’re specialized now.” Chloe moaned. “Surely that gives us some kind of an advantage? What do we need to cast a more powerful spell like that? We’re going to all melt in here if we have to stay much longer.”

  “I don’t know.” Gideon sighed. “I don’t know…”

  Chloe leaned her head back, racking her brain as to what to do. Maybe there was another spell in that book that could help? She flicked open her stats and saw that at least 60% of her MP had drained in the effort to produce the bubble. That meant it would be a short while until her mana fully recovered and she could try another spell.

  Or try the spell again?

  “Nice one,” Chloe said out loud, meeting a confused expression on Ben’s face.

  “What is?”

  Over here, the voice said again. Chloe looked up and saw the wisp hovering in the air behind Ben’s head. You need an advanced magic user? Maybe I’m your guy?

  Chloe grinned, the smile crooked on her face. From Ben’s perspective, he was looking into the lunatic smile of a woman suffering from dehydration. In Chloe’s mind, her plan was genius.

  The shaman continued, Remember, though, Chloe. They must not know about me. I will help you, but from afar.

  Could’ve helped me the first time, Chloe quipped.

  I wanted to see the limits of your powers. Turns out even the great Chloe has them, y’see?

  Great, that’s just what we need, KieraFreya joined in. A shy shaman who enjoys watching mages fail so he can then swoop in and pick up the pieces. How noble.

  Chloe rolled her eyes and pulled herself to her feet. “Gid? Get your five-dollar ass up before I make change. Let’s try this again.”

  Chapter Four

  As expected, Gideon did not share Chloe’s enthusiasm.

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Didn’t you see what happened last time? I’ve not only lost over half my mana, but I’ve also been knocked down several hit points. The spell is too powerful.”

  “Not for us.”

  “Yes, for us.”

  Chloe stomped her foot. “No, not for us. We can do this; we just need to try harder.” She crossed to Gideon and dragged him up by his arm. She squared his shoulders and left her hands on them. “We can do this. You just wait.”

  And wait was what they did. Waited in the sweltering heat for the mana to recover. Waited while Tag wore himself out keeping the volcaworms at bay. Waited as sweat made their clothes cling to their bodies. Waited as they stared with dry mouths at the picture in the book of the mage surrounded by water.

  By the time they’d recovered, Jesepiah, Tag, and Ben were asleep. Gideon had almost passed out but was roused by Chloe, her stamina all but spent. They knew this would be their last-ditch effort at the spell before they had to call it quits and exit the volcano.

  There was a very real possibility that they might have to turn their asses around and sharpen their skills elsewhere before returning to Bahrum. The niggling fear in the back of her head was that, should that be the only option they had, the armor piece might disappear off her map like the others she had noticed just a little while back.

  “Ass in gear, Gid.” Chloe’s mouth was parched and dry, her words just croaks. “It’s time.”

  Gideon moaned, his head rolling limply on his shoulders. She held up the book for them both so they could have one more quick look and remind themselves of the spell. It was then that Chloe realized a vital error she had made.

  “I went clockwise…” she gasped.

  “Huh?” Gideon replied.

  “Here, it says you’re supposed to go anti-clockwise. I went clockwise.”

  “I’m sure that that doesn’t make much of an impact.” Gideon coughed. “We’re still not going to have the power.”

  “Not with that attitude,” Chloe said, slapping a weak hand across Gid’s face. The effect was laughable, barely any pain from the action. “Now, let’s give it one more go.”

  Chloe and Gideon took their positions. A short distance away, Chloe could see the wisp floating in the air, waiting in anticipation. She winked at it. The wisp did not wink back.

  How could it?

  “Ready?”

  Gideon half-nodded, the words forming on his lips. The actions that followed took place in his muscles without much conscious thought. They both repeated their previous efforts, only half-aware of what they were doing as the contained river bridged between them once more.

  A look of relief passed over Gideon’s face as he felt the cooling effects of the water on his hands. It took every ounce of effort from them both to not dunk their heads in and lap it from the bridge.

  “Keep pushing,” Chloe shouted, the water bridge wobbling as her lips broke the spell. She quickly resumed her incantation, and the shaky bridge repaired itself.

  Her arms swept up, and Gideon’s followed. A stream of bright magic poured from the wisp, aimed directly at the center of the water bridge, which was already swelling in size, growing into the bubble around them. Chloe lowered her arms the opposite way that she had previously, creating the ring from which she now blew another bubble.

  Her bubble grew in size, powered by the wisp’s mana. It glowed ethereally white, expanding to accommodate both her and Gideon. The space inside the bubble provided immediate relief from the heat of the volcano.

  And then it was Gideon’s turn. His face sprang to life as his hope was restored, the disappearance of the heat the energizer he needed to blow his own bubble, this one bursting with rainbow patterns. It grew, providing further stability to the bubble that encapsulated them both.

  Chloe beamed—until she felt her energy drain. She fell to one knee, the bubble around her threatening to burst. Her mana had shrunk to 0, and now only Gideon and the wisp were holding on.

  “C’mon, Chloe!” Gideon said, arms reaching high as if to hold the bubble sturdy. “Stay with me.”

  Chloe’s gaze shifted to the wisp, whose power now came in pulsing bursts. The bubble’s walls continued to thicken and solidify, Gideon’s teeth gritted as he drained the last of his mana and joined Chloe on her knees.

  With a final push of power, a thick white light shot from the wisp, blinding the others, who were only now rousing from their sleep. A second later, the light was gone. The wisp floated to the ground like a fallen leaf.

  “It worked.” Gideon laughed. “Aha! It worked!”

  The bubble was all around them, several layers of water shining in various colors. The inside of the bubble shut out the heat from the volcano, the two magic-users’ eyes closing as they relished the cool.

  Ben, Tag, and Jesepiah stood on the outside of the bubble. Chloe and Gideon’s forms wobbling and shimmering through the water.

  Ben placed a hand on the water, then his face, eyes closed, and the water cooled his skin.

  “No fair!” Tag said. “How are we supposed to get inside?”

  Chloe’s face fell. She hadn’t considered that. The spell had acted as it should, but she had no idea how she was supposed to have manipulated the spell in order to all the others to join them.

  Maybe she should have waited and performed the spell with the others already between her and Gideon? Would that have worked?

  “I…er…”

  “It’s just like you two to go ahead and do this without us. I bet you’ve got your own wizard club now? Another place where we’re left out of your secrets.” Tag crossed his arms.

  There came the sound of someone choking on water, and all heads turned to see Ben’s head now sinking into the bubble. Where he had pressed his face, he realized he could pass straight on through. He held his breath, breaking through the first, then second, then third layers, emerging on the other side with his hair flattened and wet. “Hey, guys.”

  “Hey, Ben, come on in, the water’s fine.”

  Ben scanned the bubble in amazement. “I’m starting to regret not going for mage now.”

  “There are enough mages in this group,” Gideon snapped, maybe a little too sharply. He clapped his mouth as he realized what he had said and muttered a brief apology to Ben.

  “What are you waiting for?” Chloe called through cupped hands. “You wanted in on the club. Then come on in!”

  Tag and Jesepiah wasted no time jumping on through, their bodies dripping as they stood inside the bubble. The relief on their faces was a sight to see. The sweat disappeared as the bubble lowered their core temperatures and revitalized their energy.

  “Now the question is, can we get this ball moving?”

  Chloe had once been zorbing. It had been a bright summer’s day in the rural district where the private school she had attended as a little girl was located.

  The school’s sports day saw a whole raft of activities that would otherwise have been unavailable at public school, but the injections of cash from the wealthy parents who sent their kids to the Hampton Hill Elementary School allowed for something of a unique experience.

  The zorbing race had taken place on a large open lake bordered by drooping willows. Swans and a variety of ducks and waterfowl paddled near the edges, where the younger siblings of the competitors threw bread into the water.

  The zorbs had bobbed precariously as the children were shut inside, a long fence holding back the balls until the starter pistol went off and the race began.

  Twenty-five meters. That was all that it had been. But for the excited group of seven-year-olds, that had been the same distance as walking from the US to China.

  Chloe remembered it well, the technique of pushing with the arms and forcing the ball to roll, feet kicking and running as though she were on a hamster wheel. It had taken some getting used to, but once the rhythm was in place, the ball eventually began to gain momentum.

  Chloe had taken third place in that race. That had been almost fifteen years ago, now. She had hoped the technique would come back to her instantly.

  But she hadn’t accounted for four other passengers in her bubble.

  “Okay, try again,” Chloe said, trying to hide the frustration in her voice. Ben had the technique down, which was the only saving grace for Chloe at that moment. They had traveled about two meters before Tag had fallen out of step and landed on his ass. Jesepiah was trying, bless her, but thanks to her bell-like shape and low fitness level, she had a hard time keeping up.

  Gideon was almost there but found himself tripping frequently on his cloak, which he had insisted on wrapping back around him now that he was cool again. He also spent far more time looking confused as he expressed his concern about how they could pass through the bubble when they wanted to but were somehow able to push the bubble like it was a solid mass.

  “It’s a magic bubble,” Chloe replied. “We cast water from our hands, remember? None of this has to make sense.”

  “Still…” Gideon said. “If I will myself into wanting to leave the bubble…” He placed a hand on the bubble wall and the water parted, allowing him to wave in the heat beyond “Ouch! Forgot how hot it was out there.”

  Chloe performed air quotes with her fingers. “Forget the ‘science,’ just focus on the mission.”