A/N: Hi guys! This is my first fanfic, and I'm kind of hyper (but
then, I'm always hyper, so...). Please R&R. I do not own the Young Wizards
series, they are the property of the brilliant Diane Duane, so please don't
sue. *Dials lawyers just in case*
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Nita Callahan appeared suddenly in her back yard. Just appeared out of thin air. Of course, nobody saw. Nita's dad had let the trees grow tall and wild so none of the neighbors would see her popping in and out. If nosey-Mrs.-next-door saw her emerge from her barrier of trees, she would just assume that the silly girl had been hiding here all the time.
But Nita hadn't been there the whole time. She had just gotten back from school, and was going to see Kit in a few minutes.
Kit. Her best friend. Her partner. Her fellow wizard. She had done everything with him. Their relation was seamless. Well, more or less. The had gotten into a fight yesterday when Kit had accused her of robbing a store with a wizardry. Powers That Be, did he actually think I did it? wondered Nita.
The fact was, this rouge wizard was actually causing quite a problem. He had been looting stored and killing cops, but there was no way to stop a wizard with guns and alarms. Nita expected that someone would be put on assignment to stop him, but when she consulted her Wizards Manual, it said that the information about the job was confidential.
Oh well, thought Nita. I better go meet Kit and get started on that Martian Project. "Dad," she called, entering the house and swinging down her bag, "I'm home!" No reply. That's funny. I expect I'll see him later though, mused Nita, walking over to the fruit bowl and grabbing herself an orange. She dug her fingernail into it, but it had no effect against the stubborn peel.
"Um, would you mind giving me a hand with the peel?" she said in Speech to the orange.
"Certainly," it responded, and moments later the peel shimmered, then disappeared to reappear in Nita's hand.
"Thanks," she said before putting the orange on a plate and walking out to the table with it.
There she munched absentmindedly, looking at her Manual and trying to come up with an actual spell to remove orange peels instead of asking the orange itself. After several minutes, however, she had no ideas and no orange, so she got up and walked out the door, thinking the six words of a spell she knew be heart to send her Manual into her hand, where it appeared with a small 'pop.' She strode out into the back yard, savoring the crisp air and the pure pale-blue sky.
She put her hand on a twisted rowan tree and closed her eyes, letting herself slide into the tree's time-sense.
"Hello," said the tree in Speech, the language of all living things.
"Hi Liused," responded Nita.
"Do you need anything from me today?"
"Well…" Nita felt a bit awkward asking this, "I was wondering if I could have a branch."
"Of course," said the rowan, dropping a branch to the ground.
"Thanks very much," said Nita, then pulled away, entering the normal time-flow. She stooped and picked up the branch, then felt around in the air. Her hand found a hard bit in the air, the zipper of her air pocket, in which she stored her materials. She tugged to the right and dropped the branch into the pocket. With a sigh, she continued to rummage inside, thinking Man, I've got to clean this thing out sometime. There's stuff in here from last decade! Finally, she found what she was looking for; a tangible circle of Speech. She dropped it to the ground, stepped inside it, and began to read.
This was what Nita loved about wizardry. The silence, the expectation in the air when you were reading a spell, that feeling of nature leaning in to listen. The thrill and excitement that came from curing a wounded animal or straightening a crooked tree. It was wonderful. Now, as the scilence pressed in around her and nature listened closely to her words, Nita felt again the wonders of working a wizardry, but still, she missed the voice that should have been speaking along with hers.
Then, she completed the spell, and vanished.