The Variables

Valerian’s private lab was a converted observatory on the north side of the campus, far away from the dorms. It was a clutter of chalkboards, copper wiring, and partially dismantled spell-engines.

When the guards dragged Elara in, they dumped her on the examination table and fled as if the building were on fire.

She was still in the straitjacket, but the muzzle was gone. She spat on the floor. The saliva sizzled, burning a hole in the linoleum.

"Acidic secretion," Valerian muttered, writing it down. "Dietary or magical?"

"I'm going to kill you," Elara said. Her voice was scratchy, unused. "I'm going to peel your skin off and wear it like a coat."

"That sounds unhygienic," Valerian said, not looking up from his notes. "Also, useless. My skin doesn't have mana conductivity. You'd be better off wearing a cloak of woven spider-silk."

He walked over to the table. He held a small pair of shears.

Elara tensed, baring teeth that looked too sharp for a human mouth. "Get away."

"I can't work with you while you're swaddled," Valerian said.

Snip. Snip.

He cut the straps.

Elara burst free. It was an explosion of motion. She scrambled off the table, crouching on a filing cabinet, purple energy crackling around her fingers. The shadows in the room elongated, turning into grasping claws.

"I'll do it!" she screamed. "I'll tear this whole room apart!"

Valerian stood still. He put the shears down. He reached into his pocket.

Elara flinched, expecting a weapon.

Valerian pulled out a small, glowing shard of obsidian. It pulsed with a dark, rhythmic light. A Void Shard. Highly illegal. Highly radioactive to normal mages.

"Hungry?" Valerian asked.

Elara’s eyes locked onto the shard. Her pupils dilated until her eyes were entirely black. She could smell the entropy coming off it. It smelled like home.

"What is that?" she whispered.

"Raw Void concentrate," Valerian said. "Refined it myself. The school gives you dampeners to suppress your hunger. It’s like starving a shark. I prefer to feed the shark."

He tossed the shard.

Elara caught it out of the air. She didn't hesitate. She popped the shard into her mouth and crunched down.

The sound was like glass breaking. She swallowed.

A shudder went through her body. The purple lightning around her hands stabilized, turning a deep, rich indigo. The shadow-claws retracted. She let out a breath that sounded like a purr.

She looked at Valerian. For the first time, the madness in her eyes receded, replaced by a sharp, terrifying clarity.

"More," she demanded.

"Work first," Valerian said, pointing to a complex array of copper coils in the center of the room. "Reward later. We need to calibrate your frequency to 400 hertz. If you can hold a stable output for ten minutes without liquefying my equipment, you get another one."

Elara hopped down from the cabinet. She stalked toward him, stopping inches from his face. She smelled of ozone and decay.

"You're playing with fire, lab coat," she grinned, and it was a predator's grin.

"I know," Valerian said, his pulse steady. "Fire is boring. You're something else entirely."