The song is Hunter by Dido, and anyone who gets really antsy right before an electrical storm is going to understand this better than the rest, esp. if they've also heard the song. ^__~
Lina could only see the curdled sky dimly through the high, vaulted windows of the old library, but she could feel the storm brewing. She felt it in the cool humidity between the ancient stone walls, smelled it in the faintly moldy aroma of the books, and sensed it most keenly in her bones, in the sharp tingle that ran up her back and along her nerves.
With one light on in one room
I know you're up when I get home
Zelgadis sat across from her at the table, nearly hidden by the stacks of books on his right, on his left, and in front of him propping up the tome he was presently reading. Was he completely oblivious? How could he sit so still? They'd been in the library all day, researching cures so intently she'd had to kick him under the table to remind him to eat.
We learn so much, and accomplish so little, she reflected in frustration and restlessness.
With one small step upon the stair
I know your look when I get there
"Zel," she called, and was considering kicking him again when he absently grunted acknowledgment. "Zel, there's a storm out."
"Ah," he said, not looking up.
"You know, a storm? Like with lightning?" she emphasized, making a fireworks gesture.
"Mmm, wild magic," he concluded, and turned the page.
If you were a king up there on your throne
would you be wise enough to let me go
"What?"
"It comes in with storms, sometimes," Zelgadis answered mildly. "You know it's a natural phenomenon, you just don't see magic in the weather all that often." He spared a brief glance up at the window, and started up a light spell before returning to his book. "Hmm..."
"Is it good for anything?"
For this queen you think you own
"It's wild magic," he repeated. "It can't be controlled. It's better just to stand back and watch."
Lina gave him a long look.
So, that's how he's going to be.
How much of her future would be like today, like the past week, every waking hour spent studying in a damp library?
Wants to be a hunter again
wants to see the world alone again
She let him read, and watched the lightning flash beyond the windows, too distant to be heard yet. Calm resolve dawned on her, even through the electrical influence of the storm, and she could sense ... it was too clear. She pushed her chair back and stood with her hands on the table.
"Zel," she said again. "I've got to go."
Wants to take a chance on life again
so let me go
"Hmm?" He looked up again, and met her eyes this time. Was it a shadow from the light spell, or had she changed? There was desperation, and some faint sadness...
"I've got to go," she repeated firmly. It was an appeal.
Suddenly he understood what she wanted, what it was in her eyes, and he kicked himself for having missed it before ... not that either of them could have changed it.
The unread book and painful look
the TV's on, the sound is down
"Well, nothing's stopping you," he answered easily, almost with a smile.
"Really?" she blinked.
He looked around him at the bookcases, the piles of volumes on the table. "If you've got to go, you shouldn't be here," he admitted, and her hands came off the table as she stood up.
"Thank you," she told him faintly, a little painfully, and then she left.
One long pause, then you begin
oh look what the cat's brought in
She walked only as far as the huge doors of the library, unaware of the speed gathering in her step until she crossed the threshold and broke into an all-out run down the darkened, empty stone corridor. The cathedral was old, and drafty enough to permit the tangy electrical rainscent of the storm. Lina ran faster, pounding the itch in her marrow, and still not fast enough.
If you were a king up there on your throne
would you be wise enough to let me go
A violent peal of thunder shook the air, as if the sky itself were being torn apart, and she called back to it happily.
I'm almost out! Wait for me, wait for me!
"Raywing!" she shouted in her impatience, and she skimmed above the age-polished stone far more quickly than her feet could carry her.
For this queen you think you own
Her spirits rose with her body, and she barreled down the hallway grinning with fierce anticipation. She hadn't run in too long. She hadn't flown in too long, either. What had she been thinking?
There's so much more to a quest than just research! The memories were a bright beckoning flame.
Wants to be a hunter again
wants to see the world alone again
The front doors were coming up. They were vast and heavy, and there was too much speed on her now to cast a spell in time --
Lina ducked her head behind her folded arms and rammed through the front doors elbows-first. She shot straight out into air cooled and perfumed by the night and the approaching rain.
Wants to take a chance on life again
so let me go, let me leave
Zelgadis felt his gaze drifting up again to the empty chair across the table from him, and this time he let himself look. It was still vacant.
Hmph. I shouldn't expect her to be there still, he scolded himself. Selfish. He turned his attention back to the page, but his concentration was spoiled for the book. He snapped it shut, passed it to the stack on his right, and opened a new codex.
For the crown you've placed upon my head
feels too heavy now
She flew up, up, seeking the bright heart of the storm and the inexplicable unity she felt with the elements at that moment. The bruise-colored clouds churned and seethed like a breathing thing, moving like the scales on a dragon's belly, and the lightning guided her in. The building she'd left was now a spiky block of stone standing out of the sprawling forest.
And I don't know what to say to you
but I'll smile anyhow
Lina laughed as she chased after the thunder; watching lightning strike from above, it was easy to pretend you were a god. Overjoyed, exhilarated by the incredible power moving all around and within her, she began to practice her stunt flight.
Yes! This is how it should be!
And all the time I'm thinking
thinking
The sweet pull of G-forces as she spun to a stop and reversed her course in midair, the shapes and knots she could execute during a barrel roll-the confirmation of her old skill made her feel every inch of her boasts:
Lina Inverse, the sorcery genius! Lina Inverse, the Bandit Killer!
I want to be a hunter again
She spiraled recklessly up into the thunderhead, fiercely happy, and laughed loud as a bolt of lighting split the air a bare hand's-breadth from her chest. It nearly deafened her, but she didn't mind-what else was there to hear but thunder?
I'm free, I'm free!
want to see the world alone again
The rain began, gently at first, but not warm, and she descended again to treetop-height. She grinned a tight grin to herself, playing with her speed and agility.
When had she last felt this good, without blowing something up? Lina was surprised the thought occurred to her.
Want to take a chance on life again
Ahead, something tall and pointy showed quickly through the veil of rain... It was the cathedral! Static electricity rolled across the sky and down one of its lightning rods as she flew past.
Yes! She laughed again, dodging and circling the spires, and called to the storm like a playmate.
so let me go
Zelgadis was distracted briefly by the distant but distinct sound of laughter on the roof thunder. It was too murky by now to see anything out the wet window, but he smiled faintly to himself, alone in the library.
"Wild magic," he muttered into the book as a reminder. "Can't be controlled."