~ Every 100 Power Stones = Bonus Chapter! Your votes keep this climbing. Thanks!
Kamar-Taj Courtyard.
Hermione stood beside the Ancient One, watching Strange from a distance.
He was waving his hands, trying to draw a portal.
Nothing appeared. A few scattered sparks, and that was it. All around him, the other students were pulling off clean, spinning rings of light one after another, and Strange was sweating through his robes, jaw tight, hands growing more frantic by the second.
Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to the Ancient One. "Seriously. What were you thinking?"
The Ancient One smiled, unbothered. "He's the right choice. He just needs a little guidance."
Hermione pursed her lips, walked over to Strange, and circled him twice like she was assessing livestock.
"Hey. Question. Did the Ancient One take you on that little trip? The one where you get to see how big the universe actually is?"
Strange blinked. Nodded.
"And while you were out there, floating around in the void," Hermione continued, squinting, "did you happen to see a face? Big. Twisted. The kind that makes you want to question every decision that led you to that moment?"
A blurry image surfaced in Strange's memory. The face , massive, warped, wrong in every direction at once. Just recalling it made his skin crawl.
He nodded again.
Hermione smiled, satisfied. "Good. Hold onto that. You two will be meeting again soon."
She patted him on the shoulder with the warm encouragement of someone who knew exactly what was coming for him.
"Good luck, rookie."
Strange stared at her.
He looked at the Ancient One. "Is this kid one of yours?"
He'd been here long enough to have met most of the sorcerers. This was the first time he'd seen her.
The Ancient One shook her head. "She is not a mage of Kamar-Taj. She is our guest. She doesn't come often."
Guest.
Strange turned the word over. A place like Kamar-Taj had guests? Casual ones who wandered in and clearly had the run of the place? And judging by the way the Ancient One looked at her, they were on genuinely friendly terms.
What was her deal?
Not that it mattered. He had bigger problems , namely, the fact that he couldn't draw a portal to save his life, and his hands weren't cooperating, and he was already exhausted and frustrated and not in the mood.
"At the rate you're going," Hermione said cheerfully, "you'll die of old age before you open one of those."
She'd crossed her arms and tilted her head, looking at him the way someone looks at a car accident.
A vein pulsed at Strange's temple.
He was a doctor. A brilliant one. He'd performed surgeries that other surgeons wouldn't even attempt, and this girl , this kid in street clothes , was standing there critiquing him like he was a remedial student.
He was already annoyed from failing. Having an audience made it worse.
And then, somewhere in the back of his skull, he recognized the feeling. He'd made other people feel exactly this way his entire career.
Huh.
"It's not like I'm doing this on purpose," Strange said, forcing his voice level. "My hands are injured. I can't control the movement properly. If they weren't, "
He'd meant to finish with "I'd have done it already," but Hermione was looking at him with that knowing almost-smile, and the words died in his throat.
"You should listen to her." The Ancient One's voice was quiet, from somewhere behind him. Calm. Completely final.
Strange turned. The Ancient One's expression gave nothing away.
"Here." Hermione stepped forward and poked him in the chest with one finger. "Stop doing that with your whole body. You look constipated."
She tapped her temple. "Magic runs on focus. Mental focus. The hand movements are a tool, not the point. They're training wheels. You understand that, right?"
She pointed at his hands.
"You're obsessing over the hands. That's your problem. Stop thinking about them."
Strange's face went through several colors.
She wasn't wrong. That was the infuriating part. There was something in what she was saying that rang true, and he could feel it, and he still didn't want to admit it.
"Easy for you to say," he said, stiff with stubbornness. "If the hands don't matter, then go ahead. Open a portal without using yours."
He didn't actually believe she'd do it.
SHHHWW!
A golden ring of light appeared in front of her. No hand movement. No gesture. Nothing. She was standing completely still.
Through the portal, the Kamar-Taj library sat perfectly framed, shelves of ancient books, warm light, peaceful.
Strange's expression went blank.
He'd been joking. He hadn't thought she could actually , he'd never seen anyone open a portal without moving. Not once. Not even close.
He turned slowly to the Ancient One. "I thought she was a guest. How does she know Kamar-Taj magic?"
She was wearing normal clothes. She looked like she'd wandered in off the street.
"She is an exception," the Ancient One said.
Strange deflated.
Not only was he being outpaced by every other student in the courtyard, now he was being shown up by a girl who apparently just dropped by occasionally. He was a genius. He'd been told he was a genius his entire life. He was not accustomed to this feeling.
"Looks like you need some motivation," Hermione said.
The corner of her mouth curved up. It was not a reassuring smile.
Strange had no time to react. She grabbed his arm.
"Hey, what are you—"
The world lurched.
When it stopped lurching, the wind was screaming past his ears and the air was so thin he couldn't get a full breath and there was nothing beneath his feet.
He looked down.
Kamar-Taj was a dot.
A tiny, distant dot, far, far below.
"Where—" His voice came out wrong. "Where are we?"
"About ten thousand meters up, give or take," Hermione said, floating beside him, looking perfectly comfortable. "From this height, falling takes roughly... three minutes?"
She tilted her head like she was doing the math.
"Option one: you open a portal before you hit the ground." She held up a finger. "Option two: you don't."
She let that hang in the air.
Then she raised her arm in a cheerful thumbs-up.
"Good luck!"
She Disapparated.
Strange was alone.
The wind howled. The ground rushed upward, slowly at first, then with gathering, horrible momentum.
"AHHH—"
"YOU LITTLE BRAT!"
"I AM NOT DONE WITH YOU!"
"WHEN I GET DOWN FROM HERE, "
"#¥%@, "
He was still cursing as he fell.
On the ground, the Ancient One watched Hermione reappear beside her and let out a quiet sigh. "That was a bit extreme."
Hermione blinked, all innocence. "I'm in a hurry. I need you to die, ahem. Ascend. Soon."
The Ancient One withdrew her gaze from wherever it had been and shook her head. "Even so. You didn't have to take his sling ring."
Hermione looked down.
Strange's sling ring was on her finger, catching the light, gold and gleaming.
"Oh." She stuck out her tongue. "Sorry. Force of habit. I'll go put it back."
She vanished.
She reappeared three seconds later, brushing her hands together. "Done. He's still got a minute. Plenty of time."
The Ancient One looked at her.
Said nothing.
Sometimes there was simply nothing to say.
They both tilted their heads back at the same moment. A dark shape was falling from the sky, growing rapidly larger. Strange's arms were windmilling. Sparks burst off his fingers and scattered , too small, too scattered, nothing forming, nothing holding.
The ground rushed toward him.
Ten meters. Five. The courtyard stones close enough to count,
And a golden ring of light blazed open in front of him.
➤ Next: The Ancient One: Ah, I'm Dead
— .—— .—— .—— .—— .——
Enjoying the story?
Read 130+ chapters ahead on Patreon.
Join the free community tier for early access to the latest updates:
patreon(.)com/DarkGolds