Aether's Guard

by Schinhofen, Daniel

  “I’ll make sure they’re informed,” Yukiko replied. “Are there any other events that will be mandatory to attend?”

  “None that I have been advised of,” Dia said.

  “We’ll be here for dinner,” Yukiko said. “You’ll attend the wedding feast, won’t you, Dia?”

  Dia smiled widely. “Gladly. Now that I’m not working for the academy, I can do as I wish in that regard. I was sad to miss the betrothal. From everything I heard, it was a lovely party.”

  “We missed having you there. Can you inquire with the people who attended the betrothal? I’ll need to know if they can make it to the wedding feast.”

  “I will do so. I have things to attend to before the elder arrives back at the academy. Enjoy your day, Novices.”

  “You, as well, Dia,” Gregory said.

  “Dia,” Yukiko called out to stop her, “can you have someone run a message to Alvis for us? Jenn has filled her second rank.”

  Dia’s smile widened. “Of course. It makes me proud that you all are growing so strong so fast.”

  “Thank you,” Jenn said.

  ~*~*~

  The game with Cal, Lon, and Vexlin was a close one. They would finish it the following week, making the timing perfect.

  “That was a tricky move,” Cal told Yukiko. “I hadn’t expected you to have invested in a squad of archers, nor to have had stationed them where you did.”

  “Bloody butchered the conscripts we had trying to flank them...” Vexlin sighed. “Puts us in a bit of a hole.”

  “Not that we’ll still be there next week,” Lon chuckled.

  “We’re expecting you to have some surprises for us,” Jenn said.

  “That we’ll have,” Lon replied.

  “We’ll have some of our own,” Gregory said. “Thank you again for your time and effort over these months. We greatly appreciate your instruction.”

  “You paid for the best we could do,” Lon shrugged. “We give you what you paid for. Your clan has your troops training already, I hope?”

  “Why?” Yukiko asked.

  “If not, you’ll basically have conscripts, not troops or soldiers. Think about the disparity between each.”

  “I see your point,” Yukiko replied. “I’m sure that things will have been arranged correctly for us.”

  “Didn’t mean to pry,” Lon apologized. “We’ll see you for the last time next week. May Aether watch over you during the coming tournament and beyond.”

  “Thank you,” Gregory said, shaking hands with him. “May the Traveler watch over you, as well.”

  “Let’s go, boys. Time for some drinks, and to devise our plan to beat them and keep our undefeated record going.”

  “Works for me,” Vexlin laughed.

  “I’ll catch up,” Cal said. “I have to stop on the way back.”

  Vexlin chuckled. “She’s already got you caught, eh?”

  Cal shook his head. “No, we’re having a proper courtship.”

  “We’ll have a mug waiting,” Lon said, nudging Vexlin. “Come on.”

  Cal lingered behind. Once the other two were out of the room, he turned to Yukiko. “Will you thank Inda for me? It’s been only a couple of weeks, but I feel like this will be the right time.”

  Yukiko gave him a broad smile. “Love is a special thing. It makes the heart soar.”

  Cal bowed his head. “And the knees tremble.”

  Gregory patted Cal’s shoulder. “If she feels the same, then you’ll have a happy life.”

  “I hope that’s the case,” Cal said. “I just wanted to make sure my thanks were given. Because next week is the last time we’ll see each other, I had to speak now.”

  “We understand,” Yukiko replied. “I hope you have a good day, and that your courtship is as magical as your heart wishes.”

  “Thank you. All of you.” Cal bowed formally to them. “I won’t be leaving town like my friends. If I can help more, please contact me.”

  “We will,” Gregory said. “Let me walk you out.”

  ~*~*~

  The three friends were chatting about strategies for next week as they walked back to the academy. None of them expected the group of rough-looking men to come out of an alley just ahead of them.

  “Oy! Hand over your vela,” one of the muggers said. “No one has to get hurt if you do as you’re told.”

  “We are magi,” Jenn said. “Attacking us is a crime. Run along and we won’t bother the guard.”

  Gregory felt the hairs on his neck stand up. Glancing behind him, he saw another cluster of men heading their way. “More coming.”

  The leader clicked his tongue in disappointment. “Well, guess we’ll do it the hard way. Go ahead, boys— rough them up as hard as you’d like, just don’t kill them. They’re only novices, so no need to be afraid of them.”

  Yukiko looked over her shoulder at the group coming up behind them. “I’ll delay them,” she said, turning to face the new muggers.

  “I can take most of the ones up front,” Jenn said.

  “I’ll help,” Gregory said.

  The eight muggers who’d been in the front rushed them. The six men behind started to, but their own shadows reached out, grabbing their legs and holding them in place.

  “Fucking wench is a shadow magi!” one of the men cursed.

  Gregory knew Yukiko could hold the men behind them for a little while, so he gave his focus to the group coming right at him. Jenn went farther to his left, putting some distance between them. The men split apart, four going for each novice.

  Gregory forced foresight, the first few seconds of the fight playing out in his mind. Using that knowledge, he avoided the first strike, taking the man’s arm and flinging him into the men going for Jenn. Jumping an attempt to sweep his feet, he landed and lashed out, his kick breaking the sweeper’s jaw. The third attacker was almost on top of him when Gregory let out a flurry of blows. The man wheezed and dropped a foot from Gregory. The fourth mugger changed his mind when the first man went flying, so he wasn’t where Gregory expected him to be.

  Jenn broke the first attacker’s knee and spun in place, her foot lashing up to catch the second man’s jaw. The third was suddenly buried by an ally who smacked into him from behind, allowing Jenn to focus on the last man. Snarling, the mugger managed to land a single blow to Jenn’s face. Instead of her crying out like he’d expected, his hand crunched, and he was the one who screamed out, his broken knuckles already swelling.

  The fourth man attacking Gregory was surprised when Gregory lashed out and missed him completely, but he took full advantage of it. Grabbing Gregory’s arm and pulling it roughly behind the young man, he gave his arm a jerk. “Now, tell them to stop fighting.”

  Gregory grit his teeth at the flare of pain. He saw Jenn kicking the two downed men next to her and Yukiko looking back at him in worry. “No,” he managed.

  “Fine. We’ll break your arm first, to show we mean business,” he laughed.

  Gregory pushed aether into his elbow and jerked to get free. Both he and his captor were surprised when his arm was suddenly free, and that he’d sent the man staggering back into the side of the building.

  “What? Impossible!” the man hissed.

  Gregory tugged the medallion he wore out of his kimono, showing off the two sunflower-yellow circles that were glowing brightly. “Who said we were novices?”

  “Fuck this!” the attacker spat. “Run, boys! Job’s off!”

  The downed men groaned and tried to get to their feet, and the six men Yukiko was restraining exchanged panicked looks.

  “Yukiko, can you keep them until the guard gets here?” Gregory asked.

  “I believe so,” she replied as the first whistle sounded.

  “Fuck! Come on, we didn’t do anything!” one of the men tangled in shadows whined. “Come on, you can let us go! We won’t bother you again!”

  “Not a chance,” Jenn said, moving over to kick one of the men Gregory had dropped. “You’ll answer for the
attempted mugging so you can’t do it to another novice.”

  The six men struggled harder, but were unable to get free of their shadows before the guard came running up; first, two men, then six, then a dozen. Seeing the guards, they stopped struggling to get free and immediately began to plead their innocence.

  A man with a captain’s insignia came to them, taking in the medallions they had all pulled out of their clothing. “Magi, I am Captain Fola. What transpired here?”

  They gave him a quick rundown of the attack.

  “Hmm. Are you novices or apprentices?”

  “Novices with Aether’s Guard,” Yukiko said.

  The captain’s eyebrows rose. “Novices? Interesting.” His brow furrowed for a second. “Did you reach the final eight?”

  “All of us did,” Jenn said. “She was second place, he was first.”

  “That isn’t surprising, considering your aether levels. It also explains this debacle,” Fola said, motioning behind him. “Did any of them use weapons?”

  “No,” Gregory said.

  “Did any of them lay a hand on you?” Fola asked.

  “The one who got away tried to break my elbow,” Gregory said.

  “The one with the broken hand hit my chin,” Jenn added.

  “Physical enhancement?” Fola asked.

  “Yes.”

  “You three will be in the contenders next month,” Fola said. “We’ll take it from here. You’d better hurry, though.” He motioned to the setting sun.

  “Thank you,” Gregory said.

  Turning as one, the three of them took off running for the academy.

  Jenn reached the gate ahead of them, having matched their pace until the last few hundred yards. She hammered on the postern gate. “Let us in, please! Three novices returning before sunset!”

  She could hear an argument from behind the gate, but couldn’t make out any words. Looking back, she caught sight of Gregory and Yukiko springing forward the last few steps to her side. The gate remained closed as the last bit of sunset faded away.

  “That’s an order!” The three words were barked in a commanding tone.

  “I said to wait!” another voice barked before they heard the sound of the gate being opened. “I’ll report all of you!”

  “For doing our jobs?” the commanding voice laughed. “Go ahead. It was my decision to follow the regulations.”

  Sergeant Willof glared at the apprentice on gate duty. The apprentice looked at the three novices and turned away, the emblem of the Eternal Flame clear on his robe.

  “Novices, inside! Right now!” Willof barked.

  All three hurried inside before the gate was secured. One of the men on the gate looked up for a long second before he cleared his throat. “The sun has now set, sir.”

  Willof nodded before turning to the group. “You cut that as close as possible. Go back to your clan hall.”

  “Thank you, sir. We were delayed helping the guard in the city,” Gregory said.

  “Oh?”

  “An attack by muggers. We captured them and held them until the guard showed up,” Jenn said.

  The guards inside the wall looked over when they heard that.

  “Interesting. Who was in charge of the guards?” Willof asked.

  “Captain Fola,” Gregory said.

  Willof frowned. “I see. Move along to your clan hall, and think about leaving to come back sooner than you did tonight.”

  “We will,” Yukiko said. “Good night to you and your men, sir.”

  Chapter Forty-four

  Another week came and went for them. Dia had advised them she would have a carriage pick them up from Gin’s to avoid any more complications before the tournament. After breakfast, they went to the archive to study.

  Simon greeted them. “Novices, it’s good to see you. Your friends are already here. Do you require new books?”

  “I think we’re all still good,” Gregory said. Both Yukiko and Jenn agreed with him. “Thank you for asking, Simon.”

  “You’re welcome. May your study time be enlightening to you all.”

  Nessa saw them first and gave them a smile. “Good morning.”

  “Morning, Nessa, Daciana,” Gregory smiled back. “How are you?”

  “We’re good,” Daciana replied. “No challenges this week, though Indara did mention she would have to stop our tutoring after this week.”

  “Because the clan will be busy,” Yukiko nodded. “Besides, at this point, you have a better foundation than Gregory did starting out. Just train with what she has taught you, and I’m sure you’ll be ready for your novice year.”

  “We are,” Daciana said. “We’ll be the best novices in our class.”

  Nessa gave Daciana a crooked smile. “She’s always like this. She never lacks confidence.”

  Daciana grinned. “I will lack in nothing.”

  “Except humility,” Nessa countered.

  “I’m sure she’ll have some of that given to her during the first year,” Gregory chuckled. “You don’t have to be the best at everything. Your friends and clan can help you with what you’re weak at. Jenn is a better fighter than me, and Yuki is by far smarter, and better at bargaining. Actually, I’m not sure I’m better than them at any one thing.”

  Jenn smirked. “He finally realized it.”

  Yukiko giggled. “Be nice, Jenn. He’s better in one very important way: Gregory has conviction that would be hard-pressed for us both to beat combined.”

  “He can be remarkably strong-willed about some things,” Jenn admitted.

  “Like what?” Daciana asked.

  “Let’s get on with the Magi Squares,” Gregory said, not wanting to keep the topic going.

  Yukiko and Jenn shared a look, knowing smiles in place, before they gave Daciana an apologetic shrug. Daciana grumbled softly under her breath, upset that she wasn’t being included. Nessa patted Daciana’s hand and gave her a small head shake.

  ~*~*~

  The trip to Gin’s was as quiet as it normally was in the early morning. The city was just waking up as Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn walked down the road.

  “Daciana really wants to be part of the group,” Jenn said. “Almost aggressively so.”

  “I think it’s part of her nature,” Yukiko said. “Just like Nessa is a bit more reserved.”

  “We aren’t excluding her, though,” Gregory frowned. “We’ve been welcoming and have helped as much as we can.”

  “We’ve been helpful,” Yukiko agreed, “yet she dislikes the distance that lies between them and us. Being a year behind us makes it unlikely to ever change.”

  “It’ll change when they join the clan,” Jenn said. “Then, they’ll be allowed to practice with us.”

  “Is that what she wants, or is it what her father wants for her?” Gregory asked.

  “It might have been her father’s suggestion before she met us,” Yukiko said, “but it’s fully her idea now.”

  “You don’t think she’d—?” Jenn started.

  “No,” Yukiko cut her off. “She knows that much, at least.”

  “But she might—”

  “Yes. We’ll have to talk with her privately,” Yukiko replied after cutting Jenn off again.

  “What?” Gregory asked, confused by the quick and abbreviated conversation.

  Yukiko gave Jenn a look before giving Gregory a smile. “Daciana... has her sights set on a goal that will be difficult for her to achieve. If Jenn and I speak with her, she might be better able to temper her expectations.”

  “Uh... Okay.”

  “What about Nessa?” Jenn asked.

  “I’m not sure. She hasn’t seemed as intent,” Yukiko shrugged. “Best to talk with them both.”

  Gregory frowned as they kept walking. He knew the conversation was there for him to grasp, but he felt like he was missing a key component of it.

  “Do you think there’ll be other novices who try joining the clan?” Jenn asked, shifting the topic slightly.

 
“Once we win the second tournament, I’m sure some of our clanless novices and some of Daciana’s class will be very interested. I wonder who Dia will pursue, accept, or turn away,” Yukiko said. “She has to decline the weaker clanless that are out there. They would endanger the clan and be the targets for our enemies to hurt.”