I opened the door to the breakfast room and found Kandi, Cassandra, Demise and Tethys inhaling food (not that Tethys needed the nutrition, she got her energy in other ways, but she could still enjoy it). They said good morning distractedly, not that I could blame them, Blackhold's chef was a marvel. The little Pixies were slumped in a heap inside a large fruit bowl, peelings and pips everywhere, deep into their usual post-breakfast nap.
The breakfast room was small and cosy, with a round wooden table in the centre, always covered with a pristine white cloth (well, pristine before Kandi got at it; she ate... enthusiastically). I sat and was soon tucking into a plate of bacon and eggs while the others picked at the last of their meals and chatted amongst themselves.
"Oh, where are my parents by the way?" I asked once I was half-done, hunger at least partially sated, and thus willing surrender a little brainpower to curiosity, "I'd have assumed at least one of them would be here bossing someone around."
They all immediately looked away, except for Demise, who didn't really do shame very well.
"What?" I asked.
"Um," Kandi said, looking to Tethys.
"It's... that is to say..." Tethys said, looking at Cassandra.
"We decided not to tell them," Demise said, cutting to the chase.
"What?" I asked, "Why?"
"Well, after their... difficulties the last time you did yourself a mischief, we thought it might be best if... well, we didn't want them coming in here, it's as simple as that," Demise said.
"I video-call them three times a week, how did you deal with that?"
"You shouldn't have taught Demise Illusion Magic," Cassandra said with a smirk.
Demise concentrated, and her upper half suddenly looked like me.
I scowled and rubbed my forehead. If I argued, they'd just gang up on me. And I suppose they had a point. My mother hadn't been dealing with Magic and Magical injuries very well since I'd been poisoned. If she'd had to sit around with me in a coma...
"Okay," I said finally, "I suppose that was a pretty good idea."
Four sets of eyes narrowed.
"That was too easy," Tethys said, "He doesn't let things go this quickly."
"I was expecting a good dose of some sort of discipline," Kandi said with a pout.
I reached over and tickled her ear, making her squeal and bat me away.
"I trust you all, and it saved me an unpleasant conversation, so thanks," I said, attending to the rest of my breakfast.
Everyone seemed to relax, and went back to their conversations.
Tethys handed me a pair of envelopes when I was finished.
"These came when you were... out," she said, "I believe they were the letters you were waiting for?"
I said thank you and wiped my hands on my napkin before picking up the first. A-Levels; the big ones, the rite of passage, the barometer for the future... alright, I was just stalling. The paper crackled as I tore through the flap. I pulled out the letter and read it quickly.
I smiled.
"Thank goodness for that," I said, dropping the piece of paper on the table so I could open the next letter.
Kandi snatched up the sheet.
"Son of a bitch, you did better than I did!" she said with a growl. Tethys grabbed the paper and grinned.
"Not bad, Matty," she said.
Cassandra snatched it, and then Demise, they all looked pleased and proud. The attention made me blush.
Next was the results for the Level Ten Magical Proficiency Test. Compared to the A-level mess, a slam dunk...
Only it wasn't, apparently.
"Huh?" I managed.
Failed?! I read the letter through twice more. It didn't change with the re-reading.
"What is it?" Tethys said, no doubt recognising the slightly miffed look on my face.
"I failed my Level Ten!" I said, handing the letter over, "Which is impossible! My theory answers were word-perfect, and my Spellwork was a thing of beauty!"
"Let me see that," Cassandra said.
Tethys handed it over, and my Warden read it through. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Under 'Notes' the examiner put 'Lacks necessary maturity and societal focus'," Cassandra said, "I acted as an examiner a few times. That's the kind of crap I put when a Shadowborn crossed my path. The bastard failed you because of your Affinity."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
She nodded angrily, "There's sort of an unwritten rule; no Shadowborn gets past Level Five. Certain clubs, societies and resources are only available to people of a certain skill level and once you get past five, you're considered a Journeyman Magician and allowed to join a lot of them. Level Eleven, and you'd have the same standing in our society as a Master Magician. Nobody wants a Shadowborn to get that high, they get access to too much."
"Like what?" I asked, my interest overcoming my irritation, for the moment.
"Certain clubs, some organisations, more levels at the Archive, naturally. Also, the qualification gives respectability, and that can be dangerous."
"Why didn't you mention this before?" I asked.
"How was I to know someone would be stupid enough to fail the First Shadow?" Cassandra asked.
"They didn't know I was the First Shadow."
There was a long moment of silence where I could almost feel them try not to roll their eyes. Demise failed.
"Ah," Cassandra said, "That would explain it. Look, the way these things are supposed to work is that a Magician seeks out a mentor, whether as part of a school, or independently, who introduces him or her to Magical Society, attending to your education in history, ethics and Magical theory. Now, if you've completed your training to your teacher's satisfaction, then they act as a reference when you're getting your qualifications, a way of confirming that you're ready for greater responsibility, as judged by the one that trained you."
"Nowhere in any of the sodding manuals or books is that even mentioned!" I complained.
"That's because it's not a legal requirement," Cassandra explained, "it's just the understood way of doing business; a check against kids with more power than sense, I suppose. But that shouldn't have applied to you. You're a Level-Nine; that makes you a Practicing Magician in your own right. You had every right to apply for a Level Ten, and you should have got it, too. But some examiners would view a lack of references as a warning sign, though that may have been overlooked, if you weren't a Shadowborn."
I closed my eyes, rubbing my forehead.
"Perfect," I said, "just bloody perfect. If my Affinity doesn't get me blocked, my lack of a qualified teacher will, wonderful!"
I was fuming, which was odd. I didn't normally sweat things like that. Since I'd woken up from the coma, my temper had been much shorter, which worried me (that War Cry thing hadn't helped).
"Not having a piece of paper doesn't make you any less a Magician," Cassandra said, "You know more than any fifty Mages your age, combined, generally not even a really good Sorcerer would get past Level Five before they're twenty. Few ever get to Nine at all, certainly not in their first century."
I was barely listening. Mostly, I was brooding, nasty possibilities floating through my head as Cassandra tried to make me feel better. I was thinking along the lines of having Tethys track the examiners down so I could pay them personal visits; that would be satisfying...
I shook my head, trying to clear it. What was wrong with me? That wasn't who I was. I didn't do things like that. I wouldn't.
So I took a breath.
"How do I fix this?" I asked.
"You already are. You go to University, you do things the traditional way. You're still a Level Nine, that means you'll be able to take specialist courses; Demise and I have been leafing through Stonebridge's prospectus and have a few suggestions for you," Cassandra said, which made me smile, returning my equilibrium a little.
"The Magicians there will act as your teachers and eventual referees, many of them even administer the
tests, so let them get to know you and they'll soon realise what you're worth."
"Okay," I said, rubbing my eyes.
I was tired again. How long was that going to last?
"Come on, Matty," Tethys said, standing up. She offered me her hand and I took it, "We have a few more things to sort out before you start your day."
I nodded and let her lead me into the garden. We sat on my favourite bench, across from the small pond and the oak tree. I loved that tree...
"I saw that in there," she said, "You got angry, actually angry. What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing to worry about. Spiritual damage has some side effects, that's all. I'll settle down in a while," I said tiredly.
"I don't like this look on you, Mathew. You look... wounded, dangerous, like a cornered bear. You have that desperate look in your eye. It frightens me."
I turned to look in her lovely eyes, a little hurt by that.
"I would die before I ever did you harm. I thought you'd know that."
"I'm not afraid of you, you idiot! I'm afraid for you!" she said, squeezing my hand, "Despite what you try to put on for the others, I know when you're hurt, and I've never seen you this bad before."
I sighed, taking a moment.
"It just seems that whenever I get close to someone...," I started, but had to pause, as my voice stopped working.
Tethys wrapped her arms around me and leaned her head on my shoulder.
"One by one, they leave or they go insane, or their lunatic mothers rip them away from me. How long until it's one of you? I'm on a ragged edge, Tethys, I don't know if I can take another loss and stay sane."
"I'm not going anywhere, and neither are the others. We can all take care of ourselves and you know that we take care of each other as well. Even Kandi doesn't go out without a guard these days. You know Lacy, that new girl? Kandi takes her everywhere; it's why they take twice as long, the little hedonists."
I chuckled at that.
"Nobody will take any of us away. And you're stuck with me until your toes curl up, you know that."
"I do, I know. I'm just tired, that's all. I'll get over all this in time. I'm just not healed yet," I said, "Sorry I'm like this, I hate it."
"You have nothing to apologise for, Mathew Graves. This was done to you, and when those Fairies come back, I'm administering one firm kick up each of their snatches just on general principles," she said. She kissed my cheek and held me tightly.
"Thank you. I mean that."
"Any time, you idiot."
Lady Lucille Palmyra, Archon of Life, came by that afternoon to take a look at me. She was one of the most decent people I knew, and by leaps and bounds the very best healer, as you might expect. She was petite and bond, with bright eyes and a perpetual look of mischief about her, wearing a bright blue summer dress.
She smacked me over the back of the head for walloping her nurse (which I absolutely deserved. I'd already asked Tethys to find out the lady's contact details so I could send her every flower I could lay my hands on), but pronounced me as fit and healthy as I could expect to be. Even so, she still laid out an excruciating regime of diet and exercise that Kandi promised to inflict on me. She stayed for lunch, and we chatted for a good while about what I'd missed over the last couple of weeks (not much, as it turned out). She commiserated about the test and advised that I show up with my signet ring and Demise next time, which made me laugh.
Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't at least consider it. The stigma attached to Shadowborn didn't really apply to the First Shadow, as far as I'd been able to tell, but I was happy(-ish) in my anonymity, and I had enough people calling me 'My Lord' as it was. That, and I was simply too stubborn to take a win just because of who I was. I'd earned my Level Ten Certificate fair and square, damn it, and I wasn't going to cheat (I might Hex someone if that sort of rejection happened again, but I wasn't going to cheat).
The days went by quietly, and I started to recover. It was hard going at first, but having Tethys and Kandi there helped a lot, especially with the... non-physical damage. I spent my time recovering my strength and stamina... and being force-fed almost to the point of internal damage.
I went to the Grotto and caught up with the various Fairies living there; now more than seventy of them, by the way. Lunson, the boss up there, introduced me to the new arrivals, which included a new clan of gnomes, the Treelent, a quartet of Earth Trolls, called Slom, Agnor, Kretin and Mossley, who were very friendly and quite lethargic, not at all like a River Troll (of bridge-toll, Billy-goat gruff fame; nasty creatures, they would happily eat everything and everyone in sight). There was also a small clan of Wood Elves, who'd already moved into the tall trees (which they'd made even taller with their own brand of Magic), they were quite stereotypically Elfish actually, tall, elegant and graceful, pointed ears, the whole thing. There were twelve of them, three men, five women, four children; three extended families, in fact.
They were all of them from the Seelie Realm (the good one), gentle people. The original populations of Nymphs, Otters, Sprites and Centaurs had also expanded. I met them all, and made sure that they had everything they needed, which they did. Lunson had already expanded the range of my Place of Power so that everyone had enough space to live. He'd also filled the forest with game and growing consumables so that they'd never starve. There were also some new, and rather subtle, enchantments encouraging people to keep away, and some less subtle enchantments for anyone that came in anyway (some of them involved wasps... I think that's all I need to say).
Next to Blackhold, the Grotto was the most heavily defended location in the country; a confluence of Fairy and Human Magic that would do a thorough mischief to anyone stupid enough to make trouble there. Even Kron didn't have the foggiest idea how it worked, but work it certainly did, which meant that I didn't have to worry about them, at least.
The Pixies spent just about every waking moment (and most of the sleeping ones) with me, knowing that I'd be 'going away' for a while, even though I promised I'd visit (and it wasn't like I was going very far!). Tethys helped me wade through all the University paperwork, and even made a few calls to make sure that I'd get a good room in the Halls of Residence, which I didn't really need because... palace, but I wanted to at least try and have a normal university experience.
And also, with any luck at all, I'll meet people, hopefully make friends, and it would be easier to keep the whole 'First Shadow' thing under wraps if I was seen to have a normal room at Uni. Magicians, especially, got very peculiar about the Archon thing, and I wanted to avoid that, or, even worse, making friends off the back of it (though my feelings on the ethics of meeting women that way changed depending on the time of day, I was still eighteen, after all, with all the hormonal issues that brought).
Speaking of age, my nineteenth birthday was a week before the start of term, and that was a wonderful day. Kandi woke me with a rather charming rendition of happy birthday. Charming because she was half naked, lying on me and crooning sweetly into my ear; this was followed by a spectacular breakfast, calls from my parents (safely in Mexico, where nothing could abduct, eat, or otherwise bother them) and the few of my friends I was still in contact with. Tethys took me to the theatre that night, and we all had a quiet dinner at home, with a sixteen layer chocolate cake that even Cassandra was baulked by (which didn't stop her from eating most of it, I hasten to add). Hopkins and Palmyra came and celebrated with us. Lucille did her best to help Cassandra in her quest to demolish the cake, but even she dropped out of the race eventually.
That was a very good night.
When dinner was over, I rescued some cake and placed it in a Tupperware box before borrowing my signet back from Tethys and dressing in a hood that covered my features. I told Cassandra I was heading out for a bit, and she was so stuffed that she didn't even raise a token protest (something to remember for the future!). I quickly hopped into a Shadow before she could change her mind.
Getting to the Magicians' Prison, commonly
known as 'the Farm', was not particularly hard. There were secured entrances in four major cities, Stonebridge, London, Manchester and Edinburgh. The Stonebridge one was inside of the local SCA headquarters about a quarter of a mile from the Conclave building.
I walked out of a nearby shadow and up to the front door, box in hand. The building was a modern, concrete mess of a place, with enchanted bars over the safety-glass windows, wedged between two much nicer constructions of glass and steel. I opened the heavy wooden doors and walked up to the front desk.
"Can I help you, Sir?" said an irate looking older man in a grey shirt and trousers, which was the undress uniform of the SCA rank and file.
I showed him my signet ring, which caused the officer to dart to his feet and stiffen to attention. The rings could always be recognised. Any Magician who saw them would instantly know that they were dealing with an Archon (even if they couldn't see said Archon's face). Even those who'd never even heard of an Archon would recognise the bearer as someone in Authority. It smoothed the going in situations like this.
"Good evening Lord Shadow, how may I serve?" he said, suddenly seeming much less irate.
"I need to visit the Farm, please, the Criminally Insane Wing, is that possible?"
"Is it urgent, Lord Shadow? Only it's very late, and visiting hours are long since over."
He'd seen the box of cake.
"Not urgent, but time sensitive," I replied, "I'd consider it a favour."
"Of course, Lord. He shouted out a name and another officer came in, dressed much the same, but taller and younger, radiating competence (and Magic), "Take Lord Shadow where he wants to go, Pimin."
"With pleasure, Sir," he said before nodding to me.
I told him where I wanted to go, and thanked the desk officer. Pimin led me through a side door and down a set of concrete stairs. The Portal was a simple marble archway with a heavy stone covering it. Pimin spoke to one of the six guards, and one of them placed his hand to the stone. There was a small pulse of Magic, and the Enchantments of the stone activated, causing it to slide into the floor, revealing a wide concrete room with barred gates on either side, a caged reception desk opposite me. A little shimmer around the edge of the archway was the only clue that space was being bent.
Heart's Darkness Page 5