The Taste of Seduction

As the hours passed, Austin taught her how to focus her energy and control her magic. He showed her how to cast spells, summon weak spirits, and even levitate objects.

However, he was also very strict with her despite being a proud teacher with her progress. He warned her that magic was dangerous and that she had to be careful.

As she was busy levitating three items at the same time, she remembered about the ritual of breaking the soul tie. She remembered that she was told that it was held during a full moon and that she needed extreme focus to break a chain.

That\'s oddly specific to her and so, she turned her head to look at Austin and ask him about it.

"Why should the ritual be done on a full moon? Was the ritual to have a soul tie also done on a full moon?"

"Yes, also done on a full moon," Austin replied, further explaining to her the details of the ritual.

He said that the full moon was the most powerful time for magic, and it would give her the best chance of success. Hearing this, Meredith now understood why magic and rituals were mostly done at night—even in movies that she watched with Aaron.

"I see! Now that makes sense," Meredith said, nodding her head slowly. "And what of the chain? Why is it that we have to break the chain?"

"It\'s a \'soul tie\', is it not? It is represented by a chain. You need to break that exactly because in your training, we follow the energy pattern of the object in order to break it, right? That\'s why I gave you this training."

"I see," she commented, blinking her eyes a few times as she wondered aloud. "So, the chain… is one that I could see in the subconscious of Marcus?"

"Correct," Austin said matter of fact, throwing in another object at Meredith to make it levitate so she could maintain her focus while they are talking. "But remember… it is a big chain. In the subconscious, it could be a pretty different experience."

She creased her brows together. "What do you mean?"

"You see, as you try to break the soul tie, the chain instilled would try to fight off those who try to destroy it. Unlike the chain that you are going to break tomorrow, it will only be stagnant."

She widened her eyes. "You mean… the chain can… fight?"

Austin shook his head. "Not literally fight," he said, further explaining what he meant. "There will be struggle, of course. A soul tie is not that simple. It will have another magic laced on it for protection. But with proper training, it will be possible to break."

"I see. Then I can do it," she replied, a small smile on her face as they continued their training.

"You can… but remember, you need intensive focus and control. After this training, we go back to the rubber balls. I think you\'ll have a better grasp at it already."

Austin still warned her over and over that she had to control and improve her magic focus until she was able to break a chain with her mind for her to be ready to conduct the ritual. He could sense the impatience in her again and with him as her teacher, he would have to put her back on track.

***

It was already late in the afternoon, the sunset soon coming. She rested a bit, taking a drink of her cucumber lemonade that Atlas brought to her. As beads of sweat formed on her forehead, she wiped it off with her forearm.

"Damn… I can\'t wait to take a bath after all this," she mumbled to herself, now standing up from her seat and putting down the glass on the garden table. "I\'ll try it out now."

"Alright," Austin replied, leaning on the table that was behind him as he waited for her to start so he could watch her progress. "Go ahead."

They already ended their training a moment ago. As she felt that the lessons she had with Austin a moment ago had already prepared her to pop the rubber balls, she felt a sense of confidence surge from within her, ready to attempt it again.

She got a rubber ball from the box beside her. As she stood firmly on the ground, the ball on her left palm, she looked at it for a moment, took a deep breath, released it slowly, then closed her eyes.

Her senses were clear; it was doubled since the training a moment ago. It had helped her get a better focus and control of her magic, sensing the energy pattern of the rubber ball.

The moment she opened her eyes, she followed its pattern and applied pressure at the same time, successfully making the rubber ball pop.

"Woah!" She turned to look at them, a wide smile plastered on her face. "Did you see that; did you see that?" She raked her hand through heir hair, still couldn\'t believe what she had just done. "I made my first rubber ball pop!"

She picked up another one and quicker than the first attempt, this time, she was able to make it pop the second time.

"Goodness! I did it!" She turned to Austin and showed him the second ball she just popped. "I just did it! Again!"

"Good job," he complimented, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Now this time, I\'d really instruct you to pop all of the ball sin that box so you get to have a better grasp before we call it a day for the training today."

"Alright!"

Meredith got a third ball, the fourth, the fifth… successfully popping it quicker and efficiently.

As the three men watched her, they decided to have another heavy meal prepared especially for her, so she can replenish her energy tonight for tomorrow\'s big training.