Yi left for work an hour later. Before stepping out the door, he paused to rummage through a cabinet drawer.

  He produced a leash.

  The effect on Skippy was immediate. The dog's entire body went rigid. His tail began wagging with such violence that his whole back end swung from side to side, as though the tail were wagging the dog rather than the other way around.

  "If you get bored," Yi said, "you can take him out for a walk. He gets antsy if he's cooped up too long."

  Skippy was already spinning in tight circles, nails clicking frantically against the wooden floor.

  Yi laughed and reached down to ruffle the dog's ears. "Not now, buddy. Later." He straightened and fished something else from his pocket: a small brass key, which he pressed into Magnolia's palm. "For the door. Lock up if you go out."

  The metal was warm from his body heat.

  "Yi," she started, but he was already pulling on his jacket.

  "Get some rest. Or don't. Explore, if you want." He flashed her a smile over his shoulder. "Just try not to burn down the kitchen."

  The door clicked shut behind him.

  Magnolia stood there for a long moment, the key clutched in her hand, Skippy panting hopefully at her feet.

  Then she turned and surveyed the empty house.

  * * *

  She started in the kitchen, scrubbing away the evidence of her culinary catastrophe. Then the sitting room, where she examined the sparse furniture and bare walls. Then back upstairs, to the room where she'd slept.

  She found herself drifting back downstairs, to a narrow shelf tucked in the corner of the sitting room. A few books were stacked there, old things with cracked spines. She ran her fingers along them, reading the titles.

  A History of the Land.

  Heroes of the City.

  Miracle Manifestation and Fundamentals of Grace.

  Magnolia paused. Something about that last title tugged at her.

  She slid the book from the shelf. It was heavier than it looked, bound in worn leather, the title stamped in faded gold. She flipped it open.

  The first page made her stop breathing.

  PEACEKEEPER TRAINING MANUAL

  Issued by the Peacekeeper Corps

  For Internal Use Only

  Why would Yi have this?

  The question demanded an answer, but Magnolia found she didn't particularly want to look for one. Perhaps he'd found it somewhere. Perhaps it had belonged to his parents. There could be a dozen perfectly innocent explanations, and she decided, firmly, to believe in one of them.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Magnolia carried the book to the kitchen table and began to read.

  Grace is the lifeblood of the Ascended.

  Sourced from the heart, every Ascended is born with the ability to manipulate Grace, though few learn to access its full potential.

  The first step in mastering Grace is reinforcement: the act of flooding one's body with Grace to enhance physical capabilities beyond normal limits.

  Grace? What was Grace?

  The new term for mana, said a voice in her head.

  Magnolia went very still.

  It was once called mana, the King continued, sounding faintly bored, until the Church decided that wasn't holy enough for their tastes. They changed it. A low laugh. They renamed sorcery to "Miracles" as well. Pretentious vermin.

  She could picture him perfectly: lounging on that throne, chin propped against one hand, watching her with half-lidded eyes.

  You've been quiet, she thought. Where were you?

  Observing.

  Observing what?

  You. She could hear the smirk. The business with the pot was entertaining.

  Her face warmed. She tried to ignore him.

  How does your body feel? he asked.

  Fine. Why?

  Silence. Then: I can hear every thought in that head of yours, girl. All that suspicion. All that distrust. He didn't sound offended. He sounded amused. It's almost flattering.

  You're in my head without permission. What did you expect?

  Nothing more, nothing less. His presence shifted, pulling back. Focus on the book. Everything in it should come naturally to you now.

  What do you mean, naturally?

  But the King had already gone quiet. The conversation was over because he had decided it was over.

  Magnolia turned back to the book, irritated in ways she couldn't fully articulate.

  To reinforce the body, one must first learn to visualize it. Picture your physical form in your mind. Not as flesh and bone, but as an outline. A shape. A vessel waiting to be filled.

  Then, draw Grace from your heart and use it to "color" your body, much as a child might color within the lines of a drawing. Fill your limbs with power. Suffuse your muscles with strength.

  Note: Reinforcement is easiest with body parts you can directly observe. Hands, arms, legs: these are simple to visualize. Internal organs and sensory organs are significantly more difficult, as the Ascended cannot see them directly.

  Magnolia set the book down.

  She looked at her hands. Thin fingers, bitten nails, a small scar on her left thumb she couldn't remember getting.

  An outline. A vessel waiting to be filled.

  She closed her eyes.

  In her mind, she pictured her fist. Not the flesh-and-blood version, but a shape: the contours of her knuckles, the lines of her fingers, the curve of her palm.

  Then she reached inward and found that well of energy behind her ribs, the same energy she'd drawn upon in the alley when she'd unleashed those tentacles.

  She pulled.

  Power rushed down her arm, flooding into the mental outline. She directed it carefully, filling in the shape, coloring between the lines...

  Her eyes flew open.

  Her fist was glowing.

  Not brightly. But there was a faint luminescence clinging to her skin, pale light flickering around her knuckles.

  She flexed her fingers. The glow rippled and shifted with the movement.

  She could feel it. Power, real power, coiled beneath the surface. She felt, quite suddenly, as though she could put her fist through a brick wall.

  But feelings, as Magnolia knew perfectly well, were not the same as facts. She had felt safe before. She had felt clever. She had been wrong every time.

  She needed to test it.