The morning light awakened me and I grunted as slants of light fell into my eyes. Myra was still sleeping beside me. I groaned and slid my hand over my eyes hiding them from the bright light. There was a groan beside me and dark eyes cracked open to take mine in.

  “Did it work?” she asked, yawning.

  “It did. I know what I have to do but first, can we get out of this sunlight? I’ll tell you all about it,” I promised and she chuckled, rolling off and stretching.

  I sat up and stretched before standing and walking over to the doused fire. Myra lit the small debris in the small pit and set the cooking pot over it. She filled it with water and set it to boil. She turned to me smiling.

  “Get talking,” she said so I did, describing each memory and the array.

  “I need help completing it,” I said.

  Myra tipped a colorless mixture that tasted like oatmeal, into the pot and began to stir. “How can I help? I only know twenty-seven symbols. It was a miracle I came up with that sealing array,” she muttered, staring at the pot.

  “You have a serious gift with runes, Myra. It takes a Medium level to do what you did in less than a week! Besides, I'm going to teach you power matrix’s using your already-known symbols and the elemental matrix so you can help. I need an anchor for this. Any one of your abilities would work here and the pot is going to boil over again,” I said smirking.

  “Oh crap!” she cried and took the pot off the fire. “I miss a stove,” she muttered hauling the pot up and serving two bowls of whatever it was. As I took my first bite the answer came to me.

  “Grain meal,” I muttered, scooping what I termed spork into my mouth.

  “Huh?”

  “That’s what this is called,” I said, scooping another mouthful. It was grainy and tasted more like wheat than anything. I guess it really was a grain meal.

  “I prefer oatmeal or cream of wheat,” Myra muttered, shoveling the meal into her mouth.

  I nod. “Yeah, it was sweeter and not so...grainy.”

  “Grain meal, fitting,” she smirked, placing the bowl by her side. I handed her my bowl and she washed them and the pot out. “I also miss the dishwasher,” she muttered while scrubbing at the pot. She finished and I led her to our makeshift classroom where our runes work was still out. I kneeled and took out a new piece of rice paper from the supplies the oracle gave us, and picked up a brush. Myra followed and kneeled in front of me, her brush in her hand.

  “Ok, so the elemental matrix. You know how water and fire are opposites right? Water puts fire out and together they make smoke, right?” I said drawing a w and an arrow to an f with an s in the middle.

  “Yeah.”

  I drew another arrow across the first and drew a w and an e. “The same for wind and earth. Wind is stronger than Earth. Then there is Ether who is the strongest element, space and has two weaknesses. Wind and fire. This is the matrix for the elements.”

  “What are Earth and Fire strong against”

  “Wind and Water. They are weak against each other and each element with the opposite, makes a secondary element that comes out as mutations. The hybrids are capable of mixing their elements to get a secondary element which is really why they are envied, three elements at their disposal.”

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  “Sadly, they are enslaved for their differences,” she said.

  “It is. Well, do you understand the elemental matrix? Each element balances the other.”

  She nodded and I moved to power arrays. “Ok power arrays are really simple. You write what element you are using and make a few focusing arrays around them. Again be specific. Draw out that half of the matrix. For abilities that have nothing to do with the elements, you use the universal symbol for power, a circle within a hexagon,” I said.

  Again she nodded as I showed her a simple power array. “You’re going to make one of these and we’re going to link it into the sphere I’m going to draw. I’m going to use my cape as it's big enough for me to step on, and make a circle. Actually, I’m going to need your help. I’ll need you to stand on the cape while I make the circle,” I said smirking.

  “Alright, let me make my power array first,” she said, tapping the tip of her brush against her chin much like I did. I left her at it.

  It took her about an hour to draw a power array. It shouldn’t have taken so long so I was curious as to what she did. I was in the middle of my own array when she walked up to me with her array.

  “I have a lot of powers to choose from so why choose one? I chose my healing which is the hexagon and Water. I think that element is useful for cleansing you of this taint. Anyway, I drew the elemental matrix for Water but I didn’t know what to put to specify healing so I had to make that bit up with what I know.”

  I stared at her power matrix. She tied healing in with all the elements in some form making the array a lot stronger than most. I wouldn’t have thought of that until maybe three hours in!

  “It's great, Myra. It’s solid and it’ll work. I have to tie it to mine and I’ll be finished. I’ll be using your power as an anchor for the spell so you might feel drained,” I warned. Her eyes clouded over lost within, before slowly unmisting and focusing on me again. She agreed.

  “Good. Then I’ll get the cape,” I said tugging the silk and tying back my hair. It was down and my hands were smoothing over the silk piece.

  “Open the door with no key,” I said, and the silk glowed, and parted to show the dimensional pocket where my cape was. I took it out and placed my hand on the silk.

  “Closed is the gate,” I said, and the silk closed, and stopped glowing.

  I showed the cape to Myra who nodded and took it, spreading it on the ground. She stepped onto it and I kneeled down and began my work, trying to ignore her legs. It took me a good two hours and by the end, my knees hurt and my back was aching. I linked Myra’s array to mine and that took up some more time. Finally, I was done.

  Myra was standing and zoned out with a strange smile on her face, while she curled a lock of her hair.

  “Myra? I’m done,” I said. It took a few minutes but she zoned in and smirked. “Finally! I grew bored two hours ago,” she said, stepping out of the circle gently. I smirked and we let the cape set for a few minutes.

  “I need a chant,” I said, tapping my brush against my chin.

  “Hmm, how about Oppolemei get rid of my curse please?”

  I shoved her lightly, shaking my head. “Too simple,” I said. “The more runes you use the stronger your chant must be.”

  “Oppolomei, as I rid myself of this magic, as I venture into the unknown to do so, please guide my hand and heal my soul,” She muttered.

  I stared at her surprised. “You are really good at this,” I said, smirking. “I like it. You'll do the spell since I’ll be in the circle.

  “Ok...wait. Huh?”

  “You’ll be doing the spell.”

  “But didn’t you make it? Won’t it recognize you as the caster?”

  “Normally but you’re written into the matrix as the anchor. That means you can cast it too.”

  “I’m casting again?”

  “Yep.”

  I stood in the circle as Myra kneeled and took a breath.

  “Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be,” I muttered rubbing my arms. Would something go wrong? I didn’t know but I had to try to stop this thing.

  “Okay then. Oppolomei as he rids himself of this magic, as he ventures into the unknown to do so, please guide my hand and heal his soul,” she chanted as she touched the runes. They glowed and shifted. A white pillar rose around me trapping me as golden power encircled me and began invading me. My eyes widened and I searched for Myra but the pillar of light wouldn’t let me see in. I screamed as the golden magic seeped inside and began to tear into me. I fell to my knees holding my stomach. I felt sick. I was going to puke.

  “Stand. It is almost done, Jonah,” came a heavenly voice but I couldn’t answer. I pushed myself on shaky legs and stood again. A scream came from outside the pillar and I saw a filmy rope knot itself around me. Then the golden energy left and aqua energy filtered in cleansing me from the inside. I saw it drag the black magic the gold magic had fought off, toward the pillar and disappear. The pillar disappeared and I collapsed, my hand colliding against something soft.

  “You are bound to each other,” was the last thing I heard as my eyes closed.