Memory Bonds

Rial crossed his arms and frowned, as Harmoni explained her request. He tapped a finger on his arm.

“He’s just thinking,” Glow assured them.

“Yeah, actually,” Rial concluded. “That is doable. Sort of. If you wanted to hide or cancel the dark magic everyone senses, I think that’s something you’d have to do internally, through feeling the power of the universe. And I’m not teaching you that in a week.”

“He just doesn’t think he’d be a very good teacher.”

Rial sounded slightly more annoyed as he continued. “But you could always mask the feeling, by covering it up with something else. Overwhelm any magic user with a new feeling.”

They were not the only people inside the shop today. Unlike last time, the place was actually open. Glow nodded to Fleck, and went to sit on the front table like a cat. She got there just slightly before a customer came up.

Meanwhile, Rial was free to lead them around the shop. He led Harmoni and Fleck to a shelf with necklaces. The chains were easily long enough to go around a rider’s neck. Some of the chains had some sort of pattern or weaving. Most of them had something dangling at the bottom, like a rock or a gem. One or two of the rocks even seemed to glow. There were a few with vials of liquid as well, or metal shapes Harmoni didn’t understand the significance of.

Rial looked at the shelf, finger on his chin. He’d turn his head or drop into a squat to look at some of the necklaces better. He muttered to himself a bit, about needing something stronger than his own magic.

She didn’t think he wanted her to hear. The only other customer in the shop certainly hadn’t. but Harmoni had good ears.

“Ah-ha! This might do it!”

Rial finally pulled a necklace off the shelf. It had a silver rock dangling off the bottom, glittering in places. Harmoni was pretty sure it was black on the inside. She could see the darker patches where the silver had faded. The actual part you put around your neck was a ribbon, blue thread that worked well with both the silver and black.

“This checks out,” Rial said. “The stone was from a meteor shower. And it was already magical. I just made it less volatile.”

That explained the smell. Fleck thought it smelled like space, and stardust. The smell was separate from the magic feeling it also had.

Fleck didn’t think Rial’s "drowning out" trick would work on him very well, but he understood dragons and riders had a different relationship with magic. If Rial said it would work, he believed him.

“The necklaces are each supposed to have a certain enchantment, or blessing. This one is supposed to keep you safe during travels. Being from space, it’s fitting. But, the power it gives off is strong, and more importantly foreign. It should cover up any dark magic spike in you. If someone notices, they’d have to be specifically looking for the dark magic feeling. That says more about them than you.”

Harmoni believed Rial, in that she believed he thought he was right. But she wished there was another magic user she could test this on.

Rial undid the clasp, and hooked the necklace around her. Harmoni touched it. It was a bit like touching sand, subtle grains along it. It looked like a shiny rock you could stumble upon naturally, which she supposed Rial did. But she knew it was magic, not just on Rial’s word, but the smell Fleck could pick up.

“How much does it cost?” Harmoni asked.

She didn’t have much money after all. Especially thanks to Evin.

Rial was quiet for a moment, finger on his chin. When he spoke, he moved closer to her, putting his hands on his knees as he dropped to her height. And he spoke very softly. The zenny up front squinted at them for a moment, but didn’t seem to successfully overhear.

It helped that Glow was distracting him, trying to get him to pay or make another purchase.

“I can’t give it to you for free I'm afraid. That’s valuable, and wearing it is going to drain some magic, even if it’s a very small amount. But, I'd like to think we're friends. Tell you what. You want it for something specific? You can use it temporarily, return it to me, and pay for the amount you actually used.”

Harmoni was a little shocked he’d offer that. It made sense now that he’d said it. But she hadn’t thought of it, and it seemed very . . . generous.

“What if something goes wrong?” Harmoni asked. “What if I lose it, or break it, or accidentally use it all up?”

“Then you can pay for the whole thing when that happens,” Rial said with a shrug. “I don’t think you’re the type to take it and run. And even if you are, I can find you. I’ve got my own magic and Glow’s sense of smell to track with.”

Well. That wasn’t ominous at all.

“But for the record, breaking it or using it all up would be exceptionally difficult. It’s a magic bit of meteor. You’d have to be using it for like, a hundred years.”

Possible, given her and Fleck’s long lives, but unlikely.

With that in mind, Harmoni managed a smile. “Thank you Rial.”

~~~

It was Harmoni’s day off. She still headed to the spa, because that was where Cooper was waiting for her.

Fleck remembered where Evergreen and Cembra’s shop was. The spa was sort of on the way for Cooper. The house was very much not.

Did Cooper even know where they lived? Where she worked, sure, but she didn’t think they’d ever met at the house.

Fleck shrugged. Maybe he didn’t know it. But if he wanted to find out, Moon could probably track them by smell.

The four met up, and headed towards the magic symposium. Harmoni and Cooper walked side by side. Moon and Fleck ran ahead of them, but never by much. Fleck was getting a little too heavy to ride on Harmoni’s shoulders anymore, or they would’ve done that. A sad realization for both of them, but they were making it work.

And hey, someday, they’d switch, and Harmoni could ride his shoulders instead.

‘Unless you only grow to Glow’s size.’

‘Hey! I’m going to grow bigger than her! My guardians say so!’ He jumped up and down on the spot in indignation for a moment. This got Moon laughing at him.

“I like your necklace,” Cooper said.

“Oh.” Harmoni automatically brought her hand up to it, clasping it in her palm. She smiled faintly. “Thanks.”

She’d actually gotten confirmation from Ferren of all people that it worked. The first day she came into work with it, Ferren stared at her, actually relaxing her jaw. She went back to the pinched look when Harmoni tried to ask why. But Rial said just about every elf knew a spell or two. With some pushing, confidence to do so courtesy of Fleck, Ferren agreed the necklace hid her presence.

“Of course if anyone wants to track you with magic, they could still just use the alien magic around your neck. So don’t get any funny ideas about being untraceable,” Ferren had said.

Well, being untraceable wasn’t what Harmoni was going for. She had confirmation the dark magic was hidden by someone who didn’t like her. So she didn’t have to worry about that. She could just enjoy this. And that was the important part.

The courtyard was coming into sight now. At least half of it was occupied with stalls. Tents and tables set up along makeshift paths. There were strings of glowing bulbs set up along it that hadn’t been before. It was crowded, though no more than the fights were.

Yet.

It was easy to pick up the murmur of voices as background noise, though Harmoni could also pick up a few specific voices. Someone was advertising their bracelets, designed so two people could wear them, and feel the other faintly through the magic connection.

Seemed like a weak version of the bond he and Harmoni had.

Someone else was trying to haggle.

In the part of the courtyard that wasn’t being used for stalls, a dragon had set up an ice rink. It didn’t feel below freezing to Harmoni, but it was cold enough that a dragon spraying ice out on top of the sand wouldn’t have to worry about it instantly melting. Maybe magic ice had better staying power.

They shouldn’t get rained on either. It was cloudy, but it didn’t smell like rain.

Cooper stopped just outside the courtyard. He turned to Harmoni with a smile. “Ready?”

She returned the smile. “Ready.”