Back to Atlantis

And many of them weren’t sure she could handle it. It wasn’t just sheer power. They needed motivation. The kingdom had given up, and the mage needed to be a light in the dark.
A hand rose. “I will vouch for her,” Amanda said, surprising everyone.
The queen inclined her head. “Very well,” she agreed. “But if the child loses her temper, both of you will be banned from these meetings.” She sifted her attention back to Gloriana. “Now, I believe we were talking about the condition of the village. How many survivors?”
“Seventy, your majesty.” She hesitated. “One of them claims they were taking prisoners.”
Yasmin gasped. Wasn’t it bad enough to kill someone, but take them prisoner? That was horrid. Because if you weren’t rescued, the only way to save you was to hurt your country. They would be trading their freedom for the lives of their country.
“Master Ashtree.” The queen addressed an elderly man in the back of the room. “I suggest we all double the watch for enemy spellcasters and the rebellion.”
Master Ashtree raised his tired blue eyes at her. “What do you think I have been doing, your majesty?” he said, his voice nearly gone. “I have been using all my magic to help my spellcasters in any way I can.” He spread his hands. “We are all spent out, all of us but Gloriana and the mage. Perhaps they can give us energy to fight.”
A whisper of agreement built up in the room.
Yasmin felt a bit afraid. How could she be asked to do something she had no idea how to do? And could she even really help them, if all these people failed?
“You can’t.” Gloriana’s voice rang out clear above the rest.
“Why not?” Master Ashtree asked. “Attached to your new student, Gloriana?”
“Her power is too much for her body to take,” Gloriana said. “As you know, there were two mages for the first time in history. Abby Silvertree and Yasmin Rose Hill.”
A voice rang out. “We know the basic knowledge, Gloriana!” he said. “Stop wasting our time!”
Gloriana glared at him. “When Abby Silvertree died, Yasmin’s body and mind were only barely adjusting to the power she had then. She would have died or lost complete control of her power. But Abby’s magic was absorbed into her necklace, which keeps it hidden until she is ready. So while she has a lot of magic power, she is not a mage.”

Chapter 8
A spellcaster in training
“What?!” Master Ashtree shouted, his eyes wide like saucers.
He wasn’t the only one. All around the room, people were loud and confused. They were trying to figure out what was going on.
Gloriana and the queen, along with Amanda, were the only ones silent. Amanda also looked very confused, and she appeared to be looking for a way to calm things down.
Gloriana, on the other hand, was drawing something in the air, muttering words. Suddenly a loud trumpet sounded throughout the room.
Yasmin winced and clasped her hands to her ears. Everyone else did the same, except Gloriana, who seemed to have earplugs.
“Gloriana!” The queen slammed her hands down on the table. “What is the meaning of this?!”
“I am sorry, your majesty.” Gloriana bowed, her face solemn. “I wanted to quiet everyone down, and I could think of no other way.”
“Not about that!” The queen rubbed her head. She seemed very disturbed. She squeezed her eyes, and a shadow passed over her face. It smoothed out, and she had a calm face when she opened her eyes. It reminded Yasmin of ice, but also glass.
“Why did you–is this true about the mage?” the queen asked. “We need the mage, and we went through all this trouble. Are you sure you weren’t making a mistake?”
“There is a simple way to check.” Master Ashtree stood up. He walked over to Yasmin, who was feeling very uncomfortable. If they wouldn’t let her participate in the debate, then she should have brought a book!
“Young mage.” Yasmin looked up, startled. “Can you conjure a ball of light for me?” He looked at Yasmin’s opal necklace. “You have put a lot of power in that,” Master Ashtree said. “But there is some evil in there, too.”
“Master!” Gloriana’s voice sounded impatient. “Will you please do the test now? I don’t like people thinking I’m wrong.”
“Just a minute, Gloriana.” Master Ashtree looked at her necklace again. He was frowning. “All right. Conjure a ball of light. Like so.” Master Ashtree conjured a bright beige ball of light.
“I don’t know how,” Yasmin said, a bit embarrassed. But it looked cool.
“Just imagine a ball of light, child. It’s very simple.”
That sounded not too hard. Yasmin closed her eyes and imagined a bright ball of light in her hand, full of thought and feelings and blue.
“Hmm,” Master Ashtree said, startling Yasmin. She opened her eyes to find she was holding a ball of light. It shone, but not as brightly as Master Ashtree’s. It was blue all right, but that wasn’t all. Inside, it had flickers of green and pink.
“Well?” the queen demanded. “Master Ashtree, is she a mage?”
Master Ashtree looked at the queen, deep in thought. He was silent for a bit. “No,” he said, clearly. “But she has three different magic powers inside her. And one of them is from the rebellion.”
The queen held up a hand before people could begin shouting again. “Please explain.”
“That pink is the second mage’s power inside her. And that green thing, if I’m not mistaken, is the power that was used to control the second mage. She was weak.” Master Ashtree scoffed.
Yasmin didn’t move a muscle. She felt like a doll, only to be seen and used. And she also didn’t know if she should defend Abby, or agree with them. Because Abby hadn’t spoken to her since yesterday. And neither had David.
“Young spellcaster.”
Yasmin looked up.
“Have you been experiencing any weird dreams? Ones that don’t seem right?”
Yasmin hesitated. She didn’t want to tell about her recent dream, for some reason. She felt like it was private. But she had