by Mr. David Reese Dorrycott

Chapter Twenty

“Are you holding that candle in the air with just your mind” Sarah asked. “Or is it something else?” She was watching as the love of her life carefully guided a lit candle from its normal position on the fireplace mantle to the dinner table, work table, everything table, right now though it was set for dinner. It seemed that Markus, the monstrously huge dragon from another world or reality and was presently the size of a child’s stuffed toy, liked having Sarah around.

“It’s not my mind” Amanda explained as she eased the candle and its holder into place. “At least not all of it, its mainly the spell, I’m no where near simply using my thoughts.”

“And she won’t be for at least a hundred years” the peanut loving dragon added.

“Right” Amanda agreed. She had finally come to grips with what magic was. Not the slight of hand things that stage magicians used but the real thing. Outside it was pouring rain, but with the carefully watched over spells Marcus had allowed Amanda to use the cabin was warm, dry and quieter than it should be what with the rain pounding on the cedar wood shingled roof above them. Amanda carefully sat down, thankful that this task had gone off without a hitch.

“The spell I use to raise the candle, it draws from my own energy. That’s why I’m always a little plump, my body has to replace that energy somehow so it burns fat.”

“I like your fat” Sarah laughed, waiting for the inevitable retort. Surprisingly it didn’t come.

“Anyway, the spell is doing all the work, it drew all the energy it needed from me when I cast it. I just used my mind to guide the candle to where I wanted it then I ended the levitation spell and it settled into place.”

“When Amanda becomes more proficient” Marcus said, tossing a peanut up high above him to inevitable to plop into his own mouth, “She will be able to draw the energy each spell needs from someplace else. Watch the flame Sarah.”

Abruptly the flame dimmed a half second and the candle rose. “As you see I drew energy from the flame itself” the dragon explained, allowing the candle to settle again. “Amanda can’t do that yet.”

“The flame keeps going out” Amanda admitted, brushing at the fur on her face. “I’m drawing everything and it makes my fur stick out like static electricity.”

Sarah sipped her tea, thinking. “From anything with energy, and everything has energy” she said. “At least everything above absolute zero, that means she could drain energy from someone, killing them.”

“Chaos does” Marcus agreed. “But if something isn’t moving it hasn’t any energy to draw from.”

“Kinetic energy” Sarah corrected. “The energy of motion either of its own creation of that of gravity acting upon it. There is also Potential Energy Marcus. Like pulling back a bow and arrow, when you are holding it still it has potential energy, energy you gave it when you pulled the string back. Now when you release it you have Kinetic energy as the potential, or possible has become the actual.”

Marcus looked from Sarah to Amanda. “Do me a favor apprentice” he asked.

“Whatever you wish Master” Amanda replied seriously.

Marcus looked back at the dark furred mouse, seeing her for more than he had realized. “Marry this woman, she has just explained in so few words what would have taken me tens of minutes to explain to a normal apprentice.”

Sara blushed while Amanda sputtered, having been drinking her own tea at the moment. “Master, Sarah is a woman.”

“Yes she is” the dragon agreed. “An intelligent clear headed woman, your perfect mate.” He smiled again as Sarah blushed deeper. “I understand apprentice, Sarah is a woman and you have no desire for one, still given the choice she is absolutely perfect for you.”

Sarah laughed, placed both her hands on the table to hold herself from falling and just laughed. “Amanda” she finally gasped. “Amanda and I, we are friends Marcus. We like each other yes, we get along and I admit that I love her but Marcus she isn’t like me. She isn’t interested in women, she’s a true blue....” She stopped talking, realizing what she had been about to say. “Sorry Amanda” she managed in a soft voice.

“Accepted” the other mouse-fem replied, her own face slightly dark and not from anger.

“Ah, another misstep” Marcus sighed. “Back to our conversation, you said absolute zero?”

Catching her breath Sara nodded yes, waiting a moment until she could talk calmly again. “Everything is moving inside, even a block of metal. The hotter it gets the faster that the atoms inside move, that movement is defined as energy. Now when that something gets colder the atoms that make it up move slower right Amanda?”

“Down to zero degrees Kelvin” Amanda continued for her artist friend. “At that temperature nothing moves, everything is static. Space, that near vacuum between the stars? It is about three degrees Kelvin, you just can’t draw much energy from your something at that temperature.”

“And oh great holders of archaic knowledge, what is the hottest anything can get” the dragon asked.

“Let me get my science book” Sarah answered, standing. “We covered this last month but honestly, my memory isn’t that good.” She walked into the bedroom that she shared with Amanda during her visits. When the door shut behind her Amanda leaned towards Marcus.

“What are you doing” she whispered. “You know all this stuff already.”

“Not all” Marcus answered in a low voice. “Sarah should be a teacher, she is telling me what I know, mostly, in a way I could never tell another. I am learning from her, learning how to teach you and others better.”

“So that is why you keep asking her to come here” the silver furred mouse said, realization coming to her face.

“She is helping me become a better instructor Amanda, I would be an absolute fool not to listen to her. Ah, here she comes...”

Sarah looked up from the book she was carrying as she came out of the bedroom. “What were you two talking about” she asked.

“You” Marcus answered truthfully. “Now what is the answer.”

“Me?” Sarah repeated. “Sure you were. Okay, this book says 1.416785(71)×1032 kelvin. Do not ask me to explain that but effectively, it is the point where gravity, no matter how strong, can no longer keep the material from escaping thus it begins to cool as is escapes its gravity prison. They call it umm...” She referred to the books page again. “Planck temperature, which was reached only once to theoretical knowledge and that was during the big bang. No Marcus, not tonight, dinners getting cold and I worked hard on it.” She sat her book carefully on the wooden floor and sat down to eat. “Your turn to pray Amanda.”

Amanda smiled at her friend, then lowered her own head. She was very much aware of what Sara was, what she so desperately wanted but was to moral and honest to just take. As she prayed Amanda smiled to herself, Sarah would wait ten thousand years for her desire, that ought to be about the right amount of time the younger mouse decided.