Chapter Twenty-One Mist

“S o… if I’m supposed to practice my magic, maybe you could show me something simple to try?” I asked, prodding Baldr as we sat down in the center of a large chamber.

To our great relief, we’d found our way into a larger portion of the ruins. It meant we weren’t trapped in a tiny underground corridor, but we still weren’t sure we’d be able to get out. The air inside the ruins was stale and breathless, making it feel almost tomb-like. But even so, I found it hard to be worried about such things when Baldr was at my side.

Our new bond kept me in a constant feedback loop with him. If I touched his hand, I could feel the fluttering happiness in his stomach. If I kissed him, I felt the tingling on his lips. And if I wrapped my arm around him, digging my fingers into his skin, well that feeling went straight to both our cocks. So, needless to say, I was in a great mood. Baldr was more reserved than I was, but like I’d told him, my worst days were behind me. Even stuck in the ruins with him felt like a holiday compared to being under Tyr’s rule.

Baldr hesitated, a flicker of uncertainty passing through our bond. “I'm not sure that's a good idea right now,” he said carefully. “Your magic is... unpredictable. And we don't know how stable these ruins are. Or what could be in them.”

I frowned, feeling a spark of frustration. “But how am I supposed to learn control if I never practice? The spirit said I need to practice. It said I’m the only one that can stop Tyr before he hurts a bunch of other people.”

“I know,” Baldr sighed. “But this isn't the right time or place. We need to focus on getting out of here first. Once we're back home and safe, then we can work on your magic. It won’t be something we can just fix overnight. It’s gonna take a long time to make it safe.”

I wanted to argue further, but I could sense Baldr's genuine concern through our bond. He wasn't just being overprotective - he was truly worried about the potential consequences. Still, it was hard not to feel disappointed or like he didn’t trust me. Now that I had him, my magic didn’t feel that dangerous anymore. In fact, with his power coursing through our bond, I felt like I could do just about anything. But he had a lot more experience than I did and he probably knew what he was talking about even if I didn’t like the answer.

“Okay,” I conceded reluctantly. But then I added, “Not even a tiny spell? Like lighting a candle or something?”

“The last thing I want you doing right now is conjuring fire,” Baldr said, putting his hands up as if to stop me. “It’s the most unpredictable and difficult element to wield. If you were going to start with anything, I’d start with earth. It’s stubborn and slow to move, making it the safest to practice with.” He looked around at the ruins surrounding us. “But maybe not underground, huh?”

“Fine, fine…” I grumbled, pulling my knees close to my chest. “I just… I don’t like feeling so useless.”

“You’re not useless—”

“I am against Tyr,” I snapped, turning away from him to hide the tears threatening my cheeks. “He’s… He’s just been throwing me around and beating the shit out of me for years and there was nothing I could do to defend myself. He’s kept me too starved to fight back and even now I can’t hold my own in a fight.” I glanced back at Baldr for a moment, trying to hold it together. “I just don’t want to be stepped on anymore. I’m tired of being the weak one.”

Baldr stared at me for a long moment. Even though he said nothing, I could feel him through our bond, searching through my feelings. His own thoughts were relatively concealed thanks to years of practice, but I got the sense that he was trying to figure out how to cheer me up. After a moment or two, he seemed to figure it out.

“Maybe I can teach you a simple spell,” he said at last with a smile. “Something that won’t hurt anything down here.”

My depression slipped away in an instant. “Anything. I’ll learn anything from you.”

“Come here then.”

I scooted close to him, intending to sit beside him. But Baldr scooped me up in his arms and pulled me between his legs so my back was resting against his chest. I felt butt come to rest snuggly against his groin and I swore I felt a twitch there. Over the bond I felt Baldr struggle to keep control of himself.

“Hold up your hand.”

I did as I was told and Baldr reached out, lacing his fingers through mine so his palm rested against the back of my hand. Then, directing my movements, he pulled my hand down to the ground, and we both dug our fingers into the soil.

“The power to coax life out of the ground is beautiful, delicate, and fairly safe as long as you’re not sitting in a patch of poison ivy.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Speaking from experience?”

“I’ll never tell,” he grinned. “Anyway. The earth is full of life. And it’s also full of life just waiting for the right conditions to thrive.” He dug his fingers through the cool soil, my hand in his. “The soil is full of seeds lying dormant, just waiting for the perfect moment to sprout and grow,” Baldr said softly, his breath warm against my ear. “All we need to do is give them a little encouragement.”

I felt a subtle shift in the energy around us as Baldr began to channel his magic. A gentle warmth flowed from his hand into mine, seeping into the earth beneath our fingers. The dirt seemed to warm around us, like it was suddenly sitting under the summer sun instead of deep underground.

“Close your eyes,” he instructed. “Feel the life force in the soil. You might see them as tiny sparks at first.”

I did as he said, trying to visualize the process of growth. At first, I felt nothing but cool dirt. But then, ever so faintly, I sensed a stirring. The barest flicker of life, like the flutter of a butterfly's wings. Tiny sparks of potential, like dormant embers waiting to be fanned into flame.

“I think I feel it,” I whispered, not wanting to break my concentration.

“Good,” Baldr murmured, his breath warm against my ear. “Now, imagine those sparks growing brighter. Picture the seeds cracking open, tiny roots and shoots emerging. Feel the life force flowing through you and into the earth.”

I did as he instructed, picturing the seeds sprouting in my mind's eye. To my amazement, I felt a faint tingle in my fingertips, like static electricity but somehow softer.

It was magic.

“That’s it,” Baldr said. “Find the seeds and give them the nudge they need to grow.”

Letting the magic flow through me and our bond, I reached deeper into the soil with the tendrils, searching for more seeds. Sparks appeared in my mind’s eye and I reached out, touching each one in turn. I felt the seed shells crack and split as roots began to grow from them. And as they started to burrow into the soil too, I allowed more magic to flow out of me, giving them the boost they needed to burst free of their dirt prison.

“You’re doing really good,” Baldr whispered, his lips grazing against my neck. “Keep going.”

His touch sent a wave of pleasure through my system, the sensation wrapping around my magic and causing the plants to put on a burst of growth. I couldn’t help but laugh as I felt them surge through the soil around my hand, their tiny green leaves tickling my skin. Without a second thought, I fed them more magic, wanting to see if I could make them bloom too. And I wanted to make Baldr proud, to prove to him that I could handle my magic and that it was safe to try small things.

No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than I felt something snap inside of me. There was a loud crack deep down, somewhere beyond my body. And it wasn’t until the rush of chaotic magic came suddenly crashing through my body that I realized what had happened. Somehow, without meaning too, I’d tapped too far into the well of roiling arcane power contained within me. And now there was nothing I could do to stop it.

“What are you doing?!” Baldr cried, his fingers still laced through mine. “Stop!”

“I-I can’t! I don’t know how!”

Baldr tried to pull his hand away, but it was almost as if our skin was fused together. Not only that, no matter how hard I pulled, my fingers wouldn’t come free of the soil.

“How do I stop it?” I cried back.

But I didn’t hear the answer as my magic connected with the earth. Suddenly I was no longer inside my own body. Instead I was watching the scene unfold before me as if my spirit had been shunted ten feet above me. But it didn’t stop there. My perception followed the flow of dark blue magic down into the soil, streaking through it like a bolt of lightning. It shot off in several directions, seemingly searching for something. I only had to wait a split second to find out what.

My magic found bodies under the ground, except they weren’t buried. Instead they were entombed in vaults or laid out on stone shelves. I could see them plain as day, their swords and shields still at their sides or lain over their chests. My magic seeped out of the stone, wrapped around their corpses, and began to weave them back to life. Stringy mummified grey muscle swelled and pulled at joints. Where no flesh could be found, the bones rattled and creaked, moving of their own accord as the bodies came to life. And the last thing my magic did was grant them sight, coalescing in their eye sockets like burning blue flames. I felt more than a dozen take their first breaths in centuries and their bodies begin to shift and quake before I snapped back into my own body.

Suddenly Baldr and I came apart, both of us panting from the toll the magic had taken on us. It seemed my magic, thanks to the bond, caught his in the flow, and it drained us both to fulfil its purpose.

“Wha… What was that?” I asked, staring up at him wide eyed. “I… I was just trying to make the plants grow! To breathe life into the soil!”

Baldr stared at me for a long moment. “You did,” he said simply, a note of surprise and fear in his voice.

“Why did it go wrong then?! What did I just do?”

“You lost control,” he replied, not trying to spare my feelings. “And you made Draugr.”

“Draugr? What the hell is a Draugr?”

“Undead… Powerful undead.” Baldr shook his head, pulling himself to his feet. “And they will hunt us mercilessly until the magic that brought them back is extinguished forever. That way they might one day rest peacefully once more.”

“Can’t we just undo the spell?”

“Once you open the floodgates, how do you undo it?” Baldr asked, his eyes wide. “This isn’t telepathy or a simple candle-lighting incantation. You gave those creatures life. They are conscious now and in full control of their own faculties. Nothing short of burning them alive will put them back to sleep.”

“Doesn’t your mother’s spellbook have something about Draugr in it? You told me it did!”

“It did,” Baldr nodded. “In the part that Tyr ripped away.”

“What do we do then?”

He held out a hand, a look of urgency in his eyes. “We run.”