It had been some time since my first session with Yoji in the basement of Saito’s apartment building. I had been practicing what the demon within my friend had tried to teach me, but there weren’t many places I could practice without being caught or destroying property. Since the full moon had risen once again and I was banished to the exile of Saito’s place, I decided that a few of the hours this evening would be spent down in the basement honing my new found skills. While my first attempts were shaky at best, they had been somewhat effective against the demonic bugs Yoji had summoned to attack me. I knew there had to be a better way to focus my energies and call out the fire I now knew was entirely separate from the fire I could conjure by mere thought. So where does a girl like me go to find new ways to do such a thing? The library of course. Research before action is always the safest way to go. I had been pleasantly surprised to find a decently well rounded section on occult and magic at the local library, of course I would never actually check one of the books on the subject out. I couldn’t risk someone in the corporate world finding out that I was interested in such a thing, even though I had seen first hand that my current employer possessed many of the same gifts that I myself had stumbled upon. Still, those weren’t the same as actively trying to harness the powers of magic, those were side effects from close contact with demons, supernatural gifts if you will. So at the library where I was to do my research, I casually picked up one of the books that seemed to focus on controlling the element of fire and hurried to a private table way in the back so that I could read over some of the information with no one seeing. There were spells and abilities mentioned in the book that I had never considered doing, never would have even imagined such a thing was possible. The common thread through each write up of the different possibilities was the need for an invoking chant to call the element to the user and compel it to do the user’s bidding for that short span of time. A way to take in the element and bend it to the user’s will or need. So that explained what was missing during the training session with Yoji and why the fire felt a lot like what I had been previously manifesting and controlling mentally.
Armed with this new information, and the scrap of paper I had written sample invoking chants on, I made my way down to the bowels of Saito’s building with only my hands outstretched to guide me through the darkness. After feeling my way down the stairs to the large dank room I had visited that night, and passing my hands over only god knows what along the way, I was ready to try out the first of these new chants. I figured it would be easiest to start with the weakest of the two techniques I had tried with Yoji that night. The fire ball move had been effective, but I had known even then that it wasn’t quite right. Now I knew that was because I had been accessing my pyrokinetic ability more so than the actual fire element. Envisioning an imaginary target some distance away, I prepared my body for whatever effect would come and allowed my hesitant voice to break the heavy silence of the dungeon like room.
“Valde orbis incendia adeo mihi”
Having been raised by nuns at the orphanage I had your basic catholic school knowledge of the latin language so I had a general understanding of what I was saying in the rhythmic chant. Essentially I was asking a great ball of fire to come to me, but that isn’t exactly what showed up. What I got was more accurately described as an ember or a glowing coal that you see nestled in the bottom of a dying camp fire. To say I was disappointed would be a gross understatement. Since I am genetically or somehow ingrained to be physically incapable of wasting anything, I went ahead with the original plan of action and directed the glowing coal toward my imaginary target, which was really just a lighter than normal spot on one of the thick cement columns supporting the floor above. The ember hit fairly close to the spot I had my eyes trained on and did manage to leave a slight mark of soot but I knew that I possessed the ability to do much better.
Through the hazy fog of my self doubt and nagging disappointment I somehow managed to remember that the book about fire magic had indicated that the force of the spell would come in direct correlation to the conviction with which the chant is spoken. If that were truly the case it would explain my less than impressive results. I knew my voice had been meek and hesitant. Hell I was talking to an empty room and calling to a great ball of fire. Who was I, some guy with wild hair and a certain flair for dramatic piano playing? I think not. My determination to succeed and prove to Yoji… and maybe Saito as well… that I was a worthy opponent for any man, wolf, or demon was too strong to let the fear of making a fool of myself win. Taking a deep breath, and clearing my fear thickened throat, I straighten my shoulders and give it another shot… this time taking Sister Mary Francis’s advice to sing, or chant in this case, from the diaphragm.
“Valde orbis incendia adeo mihi!”
I didn’t speak the words as loud as I could, but there was undoubtedly more conviction in my voice. No trace of timidity had been left behind. My valiant effort was rewarded by the manifestation of what appeared to be a baseball on fire. Ok, so I wouldn’t be blowing any holes in rogue werewolves with this thing, but at least I had graduated from a lowly ember. Progress was progress in any form you can get it, and I wasn’t one to look a gift horse… baseball?... in the mouth.
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