Austin McConnell

“Sparks, this man was large. It was like one lumberjack had eaten another lumberjack, and their powers had combined to form one really fat lumberjack. He stood up in the boat as Val hopped on. He shook hands with Prof and Tia, then smiled at me. “Exel,” the man said softly, introducing himself. He paused briefly between the syllables, as if he were saying it “X.L.” I wondered which position in the team he’d fulfill. “You’re Steelslayer?” “Yeah,” I said, shaking his hand. The darkness, hopefully, covered my embarrassment. First Val, then this guy, referring to me that way. “But you don’t really need to call me that.” “It’s an honor,” Exel said to me, stepping back. They expected me to climb onto the boat. That shouldn’t be a problem, right? I realized I was sweating, but I forced myself to step onto the unsteady vehicle. It rocked a lot more than I’d have wanted—and then rocked even more as Mizzy climbed on. Were we really going to cross this enormous river in something so small? I sat down, discomforted. That was a lot of water. “Is this it, sir?” Exel asked once we were all on. “This is everyone,” Prof said, settling himself by the prow of the boat. “Let’s move.” Val took the seat at the back next to the small outboard motor. She started it with a soft sputtering sound, and we pulled away from the dock onto the choppy black water. I held on to the rail tightly, watching the water. All of that blackness beneath us. Who knew what was down there? The waves weren’t huge, but they did rock us. Again, I wondered if we shouldn’t have something larger. I scooted closer to the middle of the vessel. “So,” Val said as she steered us along. “Have you prepped the new guy?” “No,” Prof said. “Now might be a good time, considering …,” Val said, nodding toward the distant lights. Prof turned toward me, his form mostly hidden in shadows. The wind ruffled his dark lab coat. I hadn’t completely gotten over the awe I’d felt upon first meeting him. Yes, we were close now, but occasionally it still struck me—this was Jonathan Phaedrus, founder of the Reckoners. A man I’d practically worshipped for most of my life. “The one who rules this city,” he said to me, “is a hydromancer.” I nodded eagerly. “Rega—” I began. “Don’t say her name,” Prof interrupted. “What do you know of her abilities?” “Well,” I said, “supposedly she can send out a projection of herself, so when you see her, it might just be her duplicate.”
― Brandon Sanderson, Firefight