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  Madison does not like Adam, not even a little bit. He’s a jerk in every sense of the word, and Madison wants nothing to do with him. But Madison can’t bring himself to simply leave a mage to suffer when it’s in his power to help—and as he is the only available fire mage on campus, he is literally the only one who can help Adam bind his negative energies. It’s the kind of help he’d offer anyone; Adam the jerk is - no exception. Once the spell is done, they can go their separate ways, and that will be the end of the matter. Right?

  To Get to You

  By Sasha L. Miller

  Published by Less Than Three Press

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.

  Edited by Samantha M. Derr

  Cover designed by Megan Derr

  This book is a work of fiction and as such all characters and situations are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental.

  First Edition November 2011

  Copyright © 2011 by Sasha L. Miller

  Printed in the United States of America

  ISBN 978-1-936202-67-6

  To Get to You

  Sasha L. Miller

  "I don't like you, you know," Madison said, keeping his gaze locked onto the scenery flying by outside the car window. There wasn't anything to see, considering it was dark and they were driving through the desert, but the alternative was looking at Adam, and Madison absolutely refused to do that.

  "I'm aware," Adam said, his voice level and smooth, giving nothing away. Madison wasn't sure what he'd expected, but calm acceptance hadn't been it.

  Madison glared harder out the window, wishing more than anything he could have said no. He hadn't gotten that choice though, and he was going to have to kill Bradley when they returned. Glancing at the clock on the radio, one of the few lights shining from the dash, Madison stifled a sigh. Three more hours of driving to go. Shifting in his seat, Madison toed off his shoes and nudged them up under the dash behind his bag. He settled back in his seat and stared stonily out the windshield, trying his best to ignore Adam completely.

  It was harder than it should have been. He'd always noticed Adam, even before Adam's dick behavior with Lydia. Adam wasn't trying to draw his attention, focusing completely on the road. He wasn't trying to talk to Madison, not after the first hour, not after Madison had completely shut down every one of his attempts at conversation. He was just driving, quietly, not even sighing or making any obnoxious breathing noises, and Madison still wanted to strangle him.

  "Do you mind if I turn on the radio?" Adam asked after another three minutes had passed. Not that Madison was watching the clock; he'd just glanced at the radio when Adam had asked, was all.

  "Fine," Madison said, shrugging. Even if Adam chose a terrible station or listened to terrible music, Madison would still have something other than Adam or the desert to pay attention to.

  Adam reached out and tapped a button on the dash, making the time display flash into numbers. In the glow of the dash lights, the silver bracelet marking him as a negative energy mage gleamed, and Madison looked away, back out into the desert. Adam was the pertinent one to this casting; Madison was a fill-in because the original fire mage—Bradley, who was going to die by Madison's hand later that week—had managed to break an ankle "surfboarding" down a flight of stairs on a cafeteria tray. The only other fire mage available was a first year, and no one, not even Madison, was cruel enough to throw this at a first year.

  The music was soft, bland rock, something that Madison vaguely recognized. He wasn't big on music, but this wasn't anything that assaulted his ears, so he could deal with it. Shifting in his seat again, Madison sighed, then unbuckled his seat belt, intending to move to get more comfortable.

  "What are you doing?" Adam asked. The car was beeping at them, apparently displeased that Madison wasn't restrained, but Madison ignored the car and Adam, pulling his feet up on the seat and then clicking the seat belt back into place. His feet were near the center console, and he leaned completely against the door, resting his head against the cool window.

  He didn't bother to answer Adam, and that got him a sigh, but Adam didn't comment any further. Madison shut his eyes and tried not to feel every bump and jar in the road, which was difficult with his head pressed against the side of the car and the road a typical desert road: poorly maintained and not oft traveled. It wasn't the most comfortable way to lie, but Madison drifted off to sleep after a few minutes anyway.

  Madison jerked awake, his arm shooting out to brace against the dashboard. It took him a moment to register that the car wasn't moving and another moment to realize that the car wasn't even on. Adam was conspicuously missing, and the clock on the radio was gone, turned off with the car. Madison punched the button on his seat belt, unclasping it and letting it slide back into the side of the car. He unfolded slowly, groaning at the ache in his knees. Falling asleep with his legs curled up under him had not been the best idea.

  It took a bit of struggle—and knocking his forehead twice against the dash—to get his shoes back on. Then Madison stumbled out of the car, his legs still aching from being compressed. He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, ignoring the heavy weight and hoping that Bradley had been overestimating how far the site was from the main road.

  Why couldn't they have rented a vehicle that could cross the desert? Madison scowled at the tiny blue car as he shut the door, then conceded he really couldn't complain about that. It wasn't as though they could have gone much further in a car without the dead zone disrupting the mechanics of it. Turning, Madison nearly ran straight into a sign post.

  It was short, barely reaching his shoulder, with a square metal piece attached to the top. In the bright moonlight, the sign all but shone with the phoenix symbol of the mage guild. At least Adam hadn't gotten them lost, Madison conceded, looking around for Adam.

  He wasn't very far away, standing a dozen paces into the desert. His pack—about twice the size of Madison's—was sitting at his feet, and he was using a flashlight to look at something cupped in his hand. Madison walked over, the sand crunching beneath his sneakers with every step. Adam looked up when Madison stopped beside him, his features highlighted strangely between the light of the moon and the flashlight he held.

  "You know how to get there?" Madison asked, though it was really more of a statement. The professor who'd drilled him on the spell casting had said Adam would get them there, and then insinuated that Madison wasn't really capable of doing his part because he was too concerned with the inconsequential details like transportation.

  "We just go straight north for five miles," Adam said, gesturing with the instrument in his hand. A compass, Madison belatedly realized. "You good to go now, or do you want to rest some more first?"

  "I'm fine," Madison said, rolling his eyes though he doubted Adam could see it. "Let's go."

  Adam nodded, clicking off his flashlight. He returned to the car briefly while Madison waited impatiently, returning without the flashlight in hand. It also wouldn't work, and anything that passed into the dead zone of magic wasn't reparable, which was why Madison had gone over his bag ten times to make sure he hadn't missed anything that might break.

  They set out into the chilly night with only the light of the moon to guide them. Adam set a quick pace, but not so quick that he'd leave Madison behind. Madison followed along wordlessly, pleased he'd remembered to wear a thick hoodie, even if he'd not need it during the day when it was hotter or during the ceremony.

  They walked for a while in silence, Adam pausing frequently to check his compass by the light of the moon. They should reach the grounds near dawn, which would give them a few hours to
set up. Then they'd perform the spell casting, Madison would pass out for a few hours, and then they'd head back to campus.

  "I don't get it," Adam said, breaking the silence as they crested a small hill. He pulled out the compass again, not looking at Madison as he spoke. "If you don't like me, why help with this?"

  "The only other candidate was a first year," Madison said sourly. "Believe me, if I had a choice, I wouldn't be here."

  "But you do," Adam said. His face was only partly visible in the moonlight, but there was no missing his scowl. "They'd never let that first year fire mage do it, so if you said no, I'd just have to wait a year for someone else to do it."

  "That would mean you couldn't be on campus for a year," Madison said, crossing his arms and returning Adam's scowl. Did he really think Madison was that petty?

  "And? You don't like me, what do you care?" Adam asked angrily. Madison held his ground as Adam stormed over to where he was standing.

  He loomed over Madison in the dark, having a good half a foot of height on Madison. He was also wider, just plain bigger, than Madison in every way. He glared at Madison, his shadowed face only amplifying the half-visible expression. Madison scowled up at him, refusing to be cowed.

  "I don't like you," Madison said slowly, condescendingly, as though Adam were behaving like a particularly obtuse child. "But I never said I hated you. This may not be my idea of fun, but I'm not going to put you back a year in your schooling simply because I don't like you." Reaching out, Madison shoved Adam. Madison had expected it to barely move him—he'd just wanted to get Adam's attention—but Adam stumbled back a step, clearly surprised. "Can we get going now? I'd like to get there before the sun rises."

  "Right," Adam muttered, running a hand through his hair. He turned away from Madison and started walking again. Madison rolled his eyes and followed, wondering what stupid thing Adam would come up with next.

  Adam slowed his steps after a few minutes of silent, furious walking. Madison rolled his eyes, but fell into step beside him as Adam was obviously aiming for. Seriously, when had Adam gotten the hint that Madison wanted to talk to him? Because Madison had been trying his damndest to hint the exact opposite.

  "Thank you," Adam said after another moment of tense, expectant silence. Madison nearly tripped, startled. He hadn't expected that. Adam was a jerk. Jerks didn't say thank you.

  "Whatever," Madison grumbled, grateful it was dark enough that Adam wouldn't be able to tell he was blushing. "I'd do it for anyone. You're not special." Madison glanced at Adam, narrowing his eyes when he realized that Adam was smiling for whatever stupid reason.

  "Thank you, anyway," Adam said, as cheerful as he'd been in the car when they'd first started the drive out there. Madison refused to respond to that; he just kept walking and hoped Adam took the hint this time.

  He seemed to, thankfully, and the rest of the hike out to the center of the dead zone was quiet, filled only by their footsteps and the sound of their breathing. Towards the end, Madison began to doubt they were going the right way, but he bit back any questions since Adam seemed plenty confident in where they were going and he was the one who'd been out here before.

  Then they crested another small hill and were there. The casting site was obvious; it was a wide circle of tall stones, evenly spaced around a small concave depression in the ground. It was hard to tell in the pre-dawn light, but Madison though he could see markings of previous castings laid out in the center of the circle.

  Adam tucked his compass away then started down the hill. Madison followed, shifting his bag higher on his shoulders. They'd only been walking a few hours, but his bag already felt twice as heavy as when they'd started out. Adam skirted around the stones and casting circle, heading for the base of another small hill on the far side of the circle.

  It was a campsite, ill used, but Madison doubted many people needed this sort of casting ground. Adam dropped his pack with a thud and sat down beside it with a sigh. Madison followed suit, setting his bag down more gently and clearing some small rocks from a swatch of ground before sitting down. He fished out a bottle of water, squinting at the horizon where the sun was starting to rise.

  "Here," Adam said, tossing something at him. Madison caught it—barely, with a bit of fumbling—and frowned at it.

  An energy bar. Madison briefly thought about tossing it back and saying something sharp about feeding himself, but in the end he just mumbled a thanks and unwrapped it. He'd brought simple granola bars— an energy bar would probably nourish him better.

  "Do you want any help with your prep, or should I just set up for after?" Adam asked, pulling a tightly wrapped bundle of fabric from his backpack.

  "I'd rather do it myself," Madison said around a mouthful of energy bar, not caring how rude he appeared. He rooted around in his bag, pulling out the book with the spell circle he'd need to draw. Swallowing, he added absently, "Not that I don't think you could help, but I'd rather do it all since I've only had the chance to practice a few times."

  "Okay," Adam agreed easily, and he sounded rather happy about it. Madison scowled, wondering why Adam had to be so cheerful all the time. It made it harder to remember that Madison didn't like him. "I'll just set up the campsite so you won't have to do anything but fall over."

  "You can check me when I'm done," Madison said because it only made sense. Adam had done this three years running—if not more prior to university—and this was Madison's first time. Adam just kept smiling, and finally Madison snapped, "What?"

  "Nothing," Adam said, but he failed to wipe the smile off his face. Madison rolled his eyes, pointedly where Adam could see him do it, and stood, bringing the book with him. It was obviously better if he limited the amount of time that Adam could be cheerful and stupid at him.

  He paused briefly to fetch the silver knife from his bag then headed over to the casting site. The casting for this spell had to take place at noon since that would give Madison a power boost, so he had a good few hours to get the circle carved. Madison frowned as he approached the circle of stones. There was a spell circle already marked out within the stones, as he'd thought he'd seen when they'd approached. Sloppy, that; it was good practice to clear the spell circle when it was finished.

  Kneeling, Madison set the spell book down and unsheathed his knife. It was a minute's work to carve a wiping spell: one wide circle with a series of five intersecting triangles and three symbols for cleansing, customized for fire magics. Madison activated it with a thought, touching the center of the circle as he did so. The surface of the casting circle blazed briefly with unnaturally bright yellow flames. Their brightness flashed across the surface quickly, leaving nothing but smooth dirt behind.

  Madison smeared the circle for the wiping spell into the dirt, until none of the lines were visible. Sheathing his knife, he stood again. He toed off his sneakers and peeled off his socks, then discarded his hoodie next to it. It was still chilly, but Madison would be moving around shortly, and the sun would be rising, so he wouldn't need it anyway.

  Squatting, Madison flipped the spell book open to the appropriate page. Binding Negative Mage Energies read across the top of the page. A complicated, four-layer spell circle in full, glossy color spanned the page below it. Madison studied it a moment, then used his sneakers to pin the book open to that page. Straightening, he frowned at Adam, who was watching him with confusion.

  "What?" Madison snapped, suddenly worried he'd screwed something up. He hadn't done anything but clear the circle, though, and that was standard practice.

  "Bradley never cleared the circle," Adam said, the confusion in his expression clearing. "Sorry if I distracted you."

  "Bradley is lazy," Madison said, scowling at that news. "He didn't clear the circle, ever? I'm surprised he never screwed it up."

  "He did," Adam said, shrugging. He didn't elaborate, but fixed his attention on the canvas he was stringing up as shelter from the sun. Madison watched him move for a moment, admiring the way Adam's jeans fit him then force
d himself to turn away. He had his own work to do, after all, and it would probably take him a few hours since he wasn't lazy and didn't recycle circles. He also didn't need to be ogling Adam; nothing would come of it, after all, and Madison didn't want to be as stupid as his sister.

  Focusing on the spell circle in the book, Madison contemplated it for a moment. He was going to have to kill Bradley extra slowly now. What sort of fire mage was he to skimp on a spell circle? Especially one this complicated? Obviously whatever mistake Bradley had made hadn't done Adam any lasting harm, but that didn't mean it couldn't have.

  Scowling, Madison paced to the center of the stone circle. He knelt down and began carving the shapes for the innermost circle, meticulously drawing each line half an inch into the dirt. He paused every so often to check his work against the diagram in the book, but otherwise didn't pause.

  The day quickly grew hotter as the sun rose, and Madison really wished it was worth it to drive to another dead casting spot in a better climate. Unfortunately, that would make it a week-long trip instead of a long weekend, and the university wouldn't excuse them from classes that long. Even if it meant they were spending a day or two in the desert heat because of it.

  "Dead" casting spots were actually sinkholes of negatively ionized magical energies. There were very few uses for them and very few of them. Madison hadn't paid enough attention to the lesson that had covered them in his intro class on magic history to know why they were formed, just that most of them were very old and no one knew how they'd come about.

  One of the foremost uses, though, was to bind negative energies in pure energy mages like Adam. Pure energy mages were as rare as dead casting spots, and their magics came from equal parts 'positive' and 'negative' energies. Normal mages—like Madison and his fire energy—had all positive energies, and Madison had never heard of a mage who had all negative energy.