Things Lost and Found (a Waglington and Mianite fanfiction)

Chapter 60

I was about to teleport back to the main floor when a more appealing route occurred to me. I threw open the tall window next to my desk and relished the damp wind teasing my hair. It had been raining all day, the drops falling in a constant, melancholy patter. I found the cool and wet refreshing after the heat of concentrated magic I'd been working with. I reached into my coat pocket and slipped my angel ring on as I sprang to the windowsill. I sealed my hat to my head with a quick charm and let myself fall forward. I plummeted half the tower's length before fanning my wings to catch the air. Muscles strained against gravity as I pulled out of my dive, and I glided over the Tower Heart. If I stayed here much longer, I'd find myself believing that the slight blue tint to its glow was amusement at my antics.

It was a short trip to where Tena awaited me under a tree beside the arena entrance. It had been sunken below ground and layered with magic to safeguard it from structural damage. The enchantments were more than sufficient to weather the meteor shower, considering they'd been made with Tom Syndicate and his fighting techniques in mind. We descended the steps as I shook water droplets from my feathers, conveniently catching my familiar in the spray. She lightly kicked my shin in reproach and snorted. I laughed at her and pressed the button to teleport us inside.

The walls were apparently soundproofed as well as durable. We appeared in the middle of someone else's wave of zombies. I raised my eyebrows in surprise and quickly flew Akatena up to a ledge out of reach of the mobs. Then I looked to see who we'd barged in on. As smoke from a powerful blast of blue violet magic cleared, I spotted Kay at the other end of the arena. She was wielding a thin sword of pale blue metal in one hand and an apprentice's wand in the other. I distinctly remembered her not using a wand in any of the reports Wag had sent back to Laenadur. Judging by that and the awkward way she maneuvered the short wand, it wasn't hers. I recalled Tom telling me about Kay's powers maturing. I realized now just how much trouble she must be having if she'd sought the extra aid in focusing her magic.

She was tearing through the zombies as if they were made of tissue paper. Her magic disintegrated them on contact and seemed to be taxing the protection spells on the abused brickwork of the arena. Several grey and taupe bricks were cracked now, and a single crack ran through a section of glass on the floor. Aduladi—Kay's boreal owl—presided over the whole affair from a ledge next to the entrance. He was perched on a folded towel with a book and sword sheath next to it.

Kay noticed my inspection and used a spell without looking to flip a lever on the wall, deactivating the spawner. I flew up to the open space beside Kay's owl and sat there to wait for her to finish the dozen remaining enemies. I glanced over at Kay's book, curious if she had picked it up in her travels over the last year. No, it appeared to be a book from our home dimension, for its title addressed the Shadows' War. Intrigued, I reached to pick the book up, but Aduladi hissed at me and clicked his beak.

"Adu! Stop that! Please forgive him; he's grown more wild over the last year," Kay said as she jogged over to us. She stood up on tiptoe to reach her towel and sheath on the ledge, pulling them down. Aduladi screeched in protest and flew to another perch.

I raised an eyebrow at the owl's behavior. "Have you bound him as a familiar yet?" I asked.

"No, Ms. Hart," She answered warily. She wiped sweat from her face and fastened her sheath as I watched her. She was worried about getting in trouble, no doubt.

She always was a stickler for the rules. I offered her a reassuring grin. "I don't judge Echo for binding hers, if that's what concerns you. I'll even vouch for her when we get back." Kay relaxed. I pointed at Aduladi where he'd started to fall asleep. "He was an owlet when you got him. I'd suggest you go ahead with binding him soon, before he gets the urge go find himself a mate. You may lose him for good then."