Shadow Heir

“We’ll build it on the surface then,” said Dorian. “A floating bridge of sorts. Keeping the materials suspended there is well within my powers. Once everyone begins walking across it, however, it would be nice if, say, we could get a little support from the water.” He looked meaningfully at Jasmine and me.

“We can do that,” I said. Dorian and Kellum would suspend the earth and stones over the water, and Jasmine and I would control the water to keep the “bridge” from sinking. Between the four of us, it was doable, and it didn’t give away the full extent of my power.

Dorian conferred for a few minutes with Kellum, and then they set to their task. Despite how powerful he was, I hardly ever saw Dorian wield his magic. He rarely needed to since his subjects were well aware of its strength. When he went into battle, he stuck to his sword, and although his earth magic enhanced the copper blade, that was a very different act from what I was observing now. There was an art to what Dorian did. Just as my senses sang out to water and air, he could call to all the elements within the earth and make them obey him. I’d once seen him use that power to rain destruction on enemies, and it had been terrifying. This act of creation, on the other hand, was mesmerizing.

The two of them summoned rocks and stones to lay across the water, effortlessly arranging the various sizes so that they fit together like a game of Tetris. Once a section of rock was laid across the water, Dorian would then call up the dirt. It floated up from the ground in chunks, almost like a storm cloud, and then spread itself neatly over the stone foundation in layers to create a smooth surface. Dorian and Kellum did this for about a half hour, and although Dorian did it with his usual smirk and quips, I could see the lines of tension on his face and sweat along his hairline. This was a huge feat of magic, much greater than I’d realized when the plan was initially proposed.

At one point, Dorian told Kellum to stop and glanced at the rest of us. “I need a volunteer to try it out.”

“To see if it’ll sink?” asked Kiyo dryly.

Dorian smiled. “To see how far it’s needed. My guess is that after walking on it a bit, there’ll be a land shift and we won’t need to build this out as far as we think.” He gave Kiyo a once-over. “You’d be an excellent volunteer, seeing as in a pinch, your fox form would be light enough to scurry out of there or be lifted with Pagiel’s air power.” Pagiel’s expression told me there was a good possibility he’d let Kiyo sink.

“You can’t be a volunteer when someone suggests you,” said Kiyo.

I sighed. “Stop being contrary and just do it, please? I’ll be guiding the water, so you don’t need to worry.”

Alea seemed impatient with our delay. “While you debate, I’m going to send Spots ahead to scout.” She crooned more nonsensical words to the bird and then set him free. He took off, powerful wings carrying him over the water. He flew in a straight line over Dorian’s bridge, cleared it, and then soon vanished out of view.

“There you are,” said Dorian. “That’s where the land shifts. We’re almost there already. Wait just a moment, volunteer.”

Kiyo rolled his eyes. Dorian and Kellum resumed their bridge-building, stopping when they reached a point that was just past where Spots had disappeared. To our eyes, the bridge ended abruptly in the lake, but those on it would cross into the next kingdom before reaching the water.

Dorian admired his work and then nodded to Kiyo. “Well, then, go ahead. Try it out.”

Kiyo hesitated only a moment, as though trying to decide for sure if Dorian had done all of this as part of some elaborate ruse to drown him. Finally, deciding this was a necessary part of the mission, Kiyo set out and stepped onto the bridge. Jasmine and I both were connected to the water and were using our combined strength to make sure the bridge didn’t sink. Between us and the earth wielders, the bridge didn’t budge. Kiyo relaxed slightly and walked out the rest of the bridge’s length. Just before he reached the water, he vanished. A couple seconds later, he reemerged.

“It worked,” he said.

“Well, of course it did. No need to sound so astonished,” chastised Dorian.

“The Yew Land’s on the other side,” said Kiyo. “You can’t even see the water from there.”

“Go there and wait for us,” I said. Kiyo gave me an incredulous look. “There’s nothing you can do here! And we can’t have extra weight on the bridge.”

Reluctantly, he agreed and vanished once more. Slowly, single file, the others began to cross as well. I was a little nervous when the horses stepped out, but those of us who were working magic here were strong enough to keep everything steady. In fact, before long, the four of us were the only ones who remained since we were needed to maintain the bridge’s integrity.

“Go on,” Dorian told Jasmine and Kellum. “We can hold it without you, enough to cross right after.”