The Death of Magic: A Novel of Rootworld

Alpha had suddenly made himself scarce. That meant that his hunting party would be fanning out over the fifteen square kilometers of the Earthwise Forest reserved for their trial. There were also caverns in the Earthwise woods. According to Maurice, all the creatures of the world came up from the roots of those caves.

"You know where I am looking," said Maurice.

Kristen watched as her friend sized up a headband and started tapping on the lamp attached to it.

"It's working," said Kristen, "It's just too bright to tell right now."

Maurice cupped the bulb in his hands, then threw his cloak over his head. He came back up grinning and shrugged. Then pulled the band over his head letting it rest around his neck.

Kristen sometimes thought that Maurice's acne, also the dark rings under his eyes, were the probable result of stress induced insomnia. Apparently, Maurice's cavern theory was just one of the bedtime stories his father had lulled him to sleep with as a child. Kristen knew a word for that type of theory. A word that had gotten her a strange look when she'd mentioned it over lunch at Maurice's house one afternoon.

A lot of things, like the theory of evolution, electricity, and magnetism, produced a vibe like she'd just farted. Those were concepts she'd brought over from her high school education on the Globe. Although her friends had made the grades over here, those textbooks were fresh off the press in Rootworld.

"Dad told me that everything came up from the Root through those caves," Maurice had said, during that lunch. "Some things worked and some things didn't. Anyway, the strongest animals spread out, eventually populating everything."

"Not true!" Maurice's little brother Bobby had piped. "Mom says that Father Time and Mother Earth gave every being exactly what they asked for when they were created, and that if you were nice and grateful enough not to ask for anything special like, fins, or wings, then they gave you a brain to think for yourself."

"Okay, Bobby! Don't you have homework to do or something?" Maurice rolled his eyes. "Anyway, even if all that was true too, they still came out from the caves. The living things we know about are just the ones that made their way toward the sands before getting eaten by some other creature."

That's when Kristen had said it was like evolution. Only the strong surviving and all that jazz.

After the fart abated, Maurice had said, "Thing is, Dad told me that all those things that didn't make the cut are still down there, trying to fight their way out."

"It's not true, Maurice!" Bobby wailed, squeezing his stuffy.

"Just think!" Maurice pushed, seeing he'd gotten his little brother in a tussle, "think of all the weird mutations skittering up through those caves. Some with an extra arm, or three eyeballs!" At that, Maurice had made bug eyes at Bobby, and the poor kid started wailing.

"Maurice!" came his dad's voice from the kitchen before their mom had come in and scooped up the balling child. "Don't scare your brother like that."

Kristen still remembered the flush on Maurice's cheeks. "I was just telling Kristen about the caves."

"It sounds like evoluti—"

But Maurice's dad had made a chopping sign at Kristen with his hand, and the look he gave her said that the word was taboo. It had made her think back to how her mom used to forbid her from hanging with her crew because they were all boys.

Seems it wasn't only the Globe-siders who were having trouble accepting new truths, Kristen thought.

Kristen was broken from her reverie when a voice that always reminded her of a ferbie doll blurted out, "Go big or go home!"

Teasle was approaching the crew. He was hefting what resembled a Globe-side blunderbuss over his shoulder. He reminded Kristen of Gunner from back home, well, minus the elbow and knee pads. Teasle is half-bunny, which made his joining the Hunting guild a bit awkward to Globe-siders like Kristen. But the guy would be straight from a Rambo novel if not for the ears.

Kristen pointed at the blunderbuss. "It still rubs me wrong that I couldn't come through with my paintball gun, but crafting explosive weapons from salt peter and sulfur seems to be okay."

Teasle scoffed. "Globe side it's chemistry, but here it's just considered good ole alchemy, Baby."

"You planning on having to pour what's left of your kill into the tube?" Maurice asked.

Teasle chuckled, which was always entertaining to watch.

Ben had satisfactorily examined his tube and collapsed it again. He was currently putting it in his satchel. "To be clear, your documents go in the tube guys. Technically that's the most important part. Alpha won't tell us, but we are literally heading up the Academy of the Arts classification department. No one was ever interested in documenting the species of things over here before the Globe-siders showed up."

Kristen though about it.

The assignment was simple really. "Hey, what was the trial like before the student exchange program?"

"Uh, that's a question for Alpha. I think his father was a guild instructor before the breach," said Ben.

"Or," said Teasle, dropping the barrel of his cannon into his left palm, "You could ask Seren."

Kristen followed the bunny's right ear, which had gone rigid and pointed in that girl's direction. Seren had her foot up on a bench and was tightening the laces of her leather high heeled boot. Kristen couldn't tell if the pointy metal things that protruded from the leather body suit were decorative or deadly. And why, she thought, would such a tight suit need laces? She reminded her of Cat woman, but with silver pig tails. She was thinking the red blotch on her face made her look menacing when her green eyes darted their way.

"She's new here," Kristen said.

"Far from it!" said Ben. "It might be the first year she's been in this guild, but Seren has been around."

Teasle's ear went limp when he saw her coming. "Not in that way, Kristen. Ben means, she's flunked a few trials. I heard she failed the Rogue trial. You don't fail the Rogue trial and live. It's the Rogue trial!" The bunny was trying really hard to ignore the incoming Seren.

Her heels clicked on the pavement. She put her hands on her hips just a few feet away.

"Did you paint your nails for the event?" Kristen asked.

Teasle dared a slow glance her way. Ben adjusted his binos. The reflection in his lenses showed a set of huge leather breasts, which was an effect of the glasswork, as the chick was, at best, a c-cup.

Seren lifted her fingers and turned her hand so they could see the red nails and she did a little midair piano dance with the digits. Then she balled them into a fist and flinched at Teasle.

His bunny ears scrunched up like a cat doused in cold water and Seren stood there smiling. Her eyes landed on Kristen. "Just for you guys as a matter of fact."

Teasle relaxed. Maurice's laughter only tempered by Seren's possible wrath.

"They're nice," Kristen said. "Mine are broken."

Seren's hand dropped languidly to her side. Her body turned away beneath her head like a marionette on strings and she said, "Happy hunting." Then her head snapped around, catching up with the rest of her.

Happy hunting, Kristen thought. That's what her mom had said before she crossed the Memorial Skybridge.

She was thinking of asking her about it when Teasle's voice took over. "Now there's your new species!"

Seren turned her head back toward Teasle and put two fingers up, flicking her tongue in between them, then continued walking.

"She's always teasing me," said Teasle.

"Quiet down, man," said Maurice. "You want her hunting you?"

Teasle licked his wrist and ran it up along his ears and then over his head. "Sure, as long as she cleans me after." He continued cleaning himself with his spit.

"Ug," Ben said. "You do know there's such thing as a shower."

"This is more tactile," said Teasle.

"Well, just don't ask me to scratch for you."

"Wouldn't give you the pleasure of pleasuring me," said Teasle, putting his eyes to the ends of Ben's binos. Then, throwing an arm over Kristen's shoulder he said, "I've already got a cuddle buddy."

Kristen gingerly lifted the hand away. "Uh, not this time Teasle. I'm gonna run this thing on my own."

Maurice deflated but then shrugged. Ben adjusted his binos uncomfortably.

"Okay," said Teasle. "So that's how it is, huh? I thought we were a team."

"Look," said Kristen. "You guys have been riding my coat tails the whole year—"

"—Uh, who sighted your bow for you?" interrupted Ben.

"Really?" scoffed Teasle at Ben.

"Please!" barked Maurice. Then at Ben, "Who taught her to throw?"

'Well who—" started the bunny, and the arguments blended together in an uproar.

"Okay," said Kristen evenly, but when Teasle took Maurice by the collar and Ben grabbed Teasle by an ear, she finally put her arms between them. "Okay! Enough!"

They finally abated.

"Truth is, we've been riding each other's coat tails. But it's time we stand out." She looked over when she noticed Seren giving her a final glance from the edge of the woods. Besides the collapsed tube slung over her shoulder, she only seemed to be armed with a set of throwing darts and a deadly looking hairpin that she'd slid between her pigtails as she disappeared. Kristen pointed, "She seems to be confident enough on her own."

They all looked at one another.

"I just wonder where she keeps her pencil," said Ben.

They all laughed.