Damian's Immortal

Intrigued by his words, she obeyed and stood before him.

"Close your eyes. I want you to sense my magic without touch."

Yully's eyes closed, and she focused hard on feeling something other than Jule, whose presence still lingered in her body. The harder she concentrated, the louder Jule's heartbeat grew, as if their bodies were pressed together again.

"No, Father," she said with some frustration.

Her father touched her arm, and fire tore through her. She gasped.

"That should unlock the rest of your gift," he explained. "I'd hoped not to have to do this, but I can't wait for you to figure it out."

Jule's brand on her soul was even more intense, enough so that she physically ached for him. Muddling through the sensations, she sensed her father's magic. It was like standing in front of a bonfire.

"I feel you," she breathed.

"Good. Pull the magic into you. This time, don't blow up one of my antiques."

There was no resistance this time as she drew his magic into her, gathered it, and focused it. She sent a chair sailing across the room.

"I always knew you were the one," her father said, showing excitement for the first time since she could remember. "Come with me. One more thing, and I'll let you rest. We only have a couple of days until the autumn equinox."

His power moved through her like a wind in a forest. Everything in the room radiated some sort of subtle energy, and she waded through the energies, marveling and confused by them. Yully followed him out into the cold, rainy afternoon. He didn't pause for their coats, so she bypassed the cloak room and crossed her arms as she exited the warm house.

The energies of the things in the house were replaced by new energies coming from the ground. They were faded and distant, and she looked down as she followed her father. He paused in the middle of the lawn that stretched between the house and the massive garage.

"Can you feel them?" he asked, facing her.

Shivering, she nodded, puzzled. It was as if small objects had been buried in the ground, and their weak magic was muffled.

"Is this a test, Father?" she asked, anxious to get out of the cold rain. "Did you bury things out here to see if I could feel them?"

"Yes," he replied. "And you do. Can you draw the energy into you?"

She walked in a circle until she found the strongest of the energy patterns in the vicinity and paused above it. The magic crept up through her shoes and into her legs, warming her body as it went.