"I told you before. I knew your parents. It was a tragedy that they passed. If I'd known that you and your sister had gotten lost in the social services programs, I would have reached out and had the alumni make arrangements for you and your sister. I failed in that regard. So when the accident at the trial happened, I made sure that you didn't fall through the cracks again," he said.
"Thank you," she choked out.
"You don't need to thank me. It was a failure of the trials," he said. "However, there are a few complications. All the spots in Arcanium were filled, and even at our best guess, your score at the time would have put you right on the edge of making it. So I will place you in Arcanium as a probationary member, which means that you have less room for error than the others. As well, you will be starting late."
"But you're the patron," she said, not understanding why it mattered that she would be in probation.
"Yes, but as a first-year initiate, you are beholden to the Mistress of Initiates. It is she and she alone that decides if you pass or fail the first year. And know that she is a hard woman and any attention from me will only make it harder on you. It's best if you quietly slide into the program, keep your head down, and make it through the first year."
"I won't let you down, Patron Gray," she said.
"I know you won't," he said, patting her hand. "Now let's make this official and complete the link. You have a lot of catching up to do."
After he left, she practically floated against the ceiling. Her neighbors banged on the walls when she shouted for joy. The Hundred Halls. She'd finally made it. She was going to be a member of the Arcanium.
Chapter Seventeen
Pi brought the cell phone back to Ashley, who was modeling a new outfit in front of the mirror. Pi was pretty sure the thigh-length black jacket was more expensive than her whole wardrobe.
"Hey Ash, thanks for letting me use your phone," said Pi.
"So your sister really got into Arcanium?" asked Ashley, eyes bright.
"It's crazy. I don't quite understand it. But I'm happy. Though she's got a lot of catching up to do. It's already October. I guess if anyone can get caught up in a short amount of time, it's her," said Pi.
"I can't wait to meet your sister," said Ashley. "She sounds amazing."
A burst of pride filled Pi's chest. Her face was warm. "Yeah. After our parents died, she took care of me, like a mom. Sacrifices and everything."
Ashley honored the moment of silence, then her face cracked into a smile. "Are you going to the party tonight?"
"I don't think that'd be a good idea. I'll probably stay in my room and study," said Pi.
Ashley ran over and grabbed Pi's hands. "You should get out. It'll be good for you."
"I don't think the other initiates want me there and especially not the older students," she said. Ashley's face drooped. "Don't worry, my feelings aren't hurt. I can take care of myself."
"First. Not all the initiates think that way. Yes, there are a couple of jerks, but most of them are sympathetic to your cause. They think it's total bullshit the way Alton's been treating you in class," she said.
"Then why don't they stand up to him?" asked Pi, annoyed.
Ashley's nostrils flared with mischief. "Because they're soulless chickenshits. And second, you probably know this, but I'm going to say it anyway. You have to know people in Coterie to get ahead, hell, to survive. That's why you needed a sponsor to get in, and you'll need more help to keep moving up. Don't believe that it's only Augustus' word that gets us past the first year."
"They don't think I belong here," said Pi.
"Fuck 'em," said Ashley.
The foul word coming out of Ashley's plush lips with perfectly applied red lipstick made Pi laugh.
"You're always going to make enemies. And sometimes the right enemies will earn you friends," said Ashley.
"Fiiiine. I'll go. Thanks, Ash," she said.
Pi returned to her room and readied herself. Jeans, a white cami, and a little glitter on her shoulders wasn't in fashion, but she wouldn't have been comfortable in anything the other girls wore.
When it came time, Pi, Ashley, and a few other initiates snuck down to the entryway. First-year initiates weren't supposed to leave the Obelisk without permission, but that was seen more as a challenge than a rule.
The spell to disable the wards was complex, but Ashley performed it on the first try, releasing them onto the street. They ran, skipped, laughed their way to the Amber & Smoke. Typically, first years weren't invited to parties with older students, but Brock DuPont's father, who owned the bar, made it a condition of usage when it he closed it down for the night.
Music thumped and pulsed into the street. Inside, the volume invaded her bones. It was an herbal bar, and various brass incense censers wafted vaguely alchemical mixtures into the air. The students on the first floor had pleasantly dazed looks on their faces. Faint visions moved through the smoke like ghosts at a parade.
Pi grabbed Ashley's arm and dragged her up to the second floor, where it was easier to speak and there was no smoke. They got drinks at the bar; no one asked for an ID card. Pi had gotten whatever Ashley had ordered, a purple mixture that swirled under its own power, but didn't drink it. She had no intention of muddying her senses.
Ashley was adept at mingling with the other students, though they generally only spoke to fellow first years. Side rooms with Japanese-style paper screens held the fourth- and fifth-year students. A group of students were playing Five Elements in one corner of the second level. Their frequent cheers and laughter punctuated the noisy conversations. Pi hadn't played the game in years, though her fingers still remembered the forms. Just watching them play brought a tightness to her forehead that she pushed away.
As a circle of first years formed, Pi was included. She stayed mostly silent. She knew their names, and they spoke to her congenially. No one called her Hickford Pi, so she felt good about that, at least.
The night went on, and Pi took a few sips of the sweet alcoholic drink in her hands. Eventually, over her protests, Ashley tugged Pi towards the game of Five Elements.
Simone and Derek were running the show, wearing their fetishy formal school outfits. Simone's was a nod to Japanese fashions with her pink Hello Kitty socks, while Derek was looking '70s' UK punk.
"Since we have a new group of combatants," said Simone, clapping her hands together, "I will explain the rules. The first one is that you must fight! No spectators. We're playing Five Elements head-to-head, and the winner gets to pick Shot, Shock, or Tongue."
Fellow first year Orson was the current winner. Someone pushed Ashley into the circle to much applause. She bowed and faced off with Orson like it was a boxing match.
"Wait, wait," said Ashley, waving her hands before she handed Pi her jade and ebony bracelet. No magical trinkets were allowed during the battle.
When Simone gave the signal, Ashley and Orson's fingers went through the complex gyrations of spell casting. Orson struck first with earth, but Ashley quickly countered with water. The match went on for a minute before Ashley broke through his defenses, scoring a win with earth.
Simone marched into the center and lifted Ashley's hand in victory.
"Shot, Shock, or Tongue?" asked Simone.
"Shot," said Ashley right away, much to the disappointment of the crowd.
Orson was handed a shot glass filled with something glowing red. It had a minor enchantment on it. After he drank it, he shook his head frantically and waved his hands in front of his mouth. Wisps of smoke and flame came out as he blew.
The game continued, and Ashley won the next four rounds. She gave them all shots, except for a second year who had turned her door into a living wall of tentacles as a prank. She gave him the shock penalty. A glass ball containing a tiny lightning elemental was presented by Derek, who was wearing insulated gloves. The second year put his hand out, and the shock knocked him to his knees.
Next, Pi was pulled into the circle by Simone, who commanded th
at: "Everyone must fight!"
In the background, Pi heard her nickname whispered, but no one called it out. Ashley held out her knuckles, and Pi bumped them.
"Good luck, Pi. I'm not holding back," said Ashley with a grin.
"Neither am I," said Pi.
When the match began, Pi went right to spirit, which was a risky move since the fingerings took longer. But once she beat Ashley to the spell, the rest was over in about half a minute. It was the shortest match so far. Someone whistled appreciatively in the back.
Before Simone could even ask about the penalty, a chant of "Tongue" went up with the other students.
Ashley gave Pi a do-what-you-want shoulder shrug.
"Shot," Pi said eventually.
The guys in the crowd booed. Ashley flipped them all off.
The shot had something glowing and alive in it. The sprite-like creature swam in circles in the glass. Ashley downed it in one motion. Almost immediately, sparks came shooting out her mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. For a few seconds, she was a human sparkler.
"That was unpleasant," said Ashley, rubbing her ears afterwards.
The next few matches went even quicker than the one against Ashley. The other initiates were a little drunk, but Pi knew she'd practiced more than the others.
Once she'd given everyone in the circle a shot, Simone shrugged and said, "I guess the game's over. No one left for you to beat."
The other initiates patted her on the shoulder, or gave her a respectful nod. A warm surge of pride filled her chest, right up until the moment she heard a new voice.
"This must be the worst group of second years of all time if an initiate beat you. I'll put her in her place," said Alton Lockwood, in his signature white suit.
The laughing died, and the other initiates looked away. Alton Lockwood, and a group of fourth years, had joined the circle.
"It's hard to believe that you could be that good, since you didn't even know what a rock was, Hickford Pi," said Alton.
Pi kept her mouth shut. She preferred to let him underestimate her.
Simone turned to Alton. "Isn't that a little unfair? You're a fourth year. She's barely an initiate."
"Why don't we ask Miss Hickford if she'd like to battle?" asked Alton with a cocky swagger.
"Of course," she said.
Alton squared off against her. He cracked his knuckles and did a few finger exercises to warm up.
Simone stepped forward and held her hand out. "Any trinkets?"
Alton's lip twitched with annoyance, but he complied, taking off an encrusted ring, a gold runed bracelet, an ebony tie clip, and a bone scrimshaw in the shape of an owl from a coat pocket. Simone left her hand out until he handed over a gold-plated tooth from the back of his mouth
As the sibilant sound of "Start" left Simone's lips, Alton began with the first element: spirit. He moved faster than she thought possible. Only her limbered fingers and the years of practice allowed her to keep up with him. The matches usually had a back and forth rhythm to them until one combatant finally outmaneuvered the other. This one was a staccato burst of gunfire, bullets flying in both directions with deadly accuracy.
Pi kept it up for over a minute. Not only did Alton move fast, but each element was reinforced with heavy loads of faez. It wasn't a match, but a siege, and Alton was bringing a battering ram the size of a steamship against her defenses.
When Alton finally struck the winning blow, Pi collapsed to her knees. She'd never been in such an exhausting game of Five Elements. The spectators were too stunned by the display to start chanting "Shot, Shock, or Tongue" right away. Alton's buddies were all cheering and clapping him on the back.
Pi was miffed by the loss. She was sure she would have been able to beat him. She'd seen him cast spells in class. He might have more experience than her, but she knew she was faster.
As the chants for "Shot, Shock, or Tongue" grew, Alton strutted up to her and straightened his tie.
"You know she wants the tongue," he said, playing to his friends.
Pi was demoralized, but didn't let it show, instead keeping a stoic expression.
"Let's get this over with," said Pi. "And someone line me up one of those dragon shots. I'll need to burn the taste of him out of my mouth."
"Come on, sweetie Pi," he said. "Let's just step into the room over here. Give us some privacy."
"I'd prefer not," said Pi. "Unless you want everyone to see me barf after we're done."
"Simone. Tell the first year how the rules work," said Alton.
Simone looked around uncomfortably. "Don't drag me into this. Usually people pick tongue when they're going to hook up later anyway. Forced make out sessions are pretty gross."
Pi could have hugged Simone at that moment, but Alton didn't look dissuaded. She could sense his growing impatience and decided to just get it over with. She didn't want to involve anyone else in the skirmish.
"I'll go. I'll go," said Pi, holding her hands up. "Let's not make this any more than it is. My dog once put his tongue in my mouth when I wasn't looking, I think I can handle this."
She followed Alton into the side room. The table was set into the floor and cushions went around the walls. Dozens of empty wine bottles and half-eaten plates of food covered the table. He closed the paper screen behind them.
Pi turned around, ready to step into his arms. It wasn't going to be the worst thing that had ever happened to her, and she had agreed to the match.
"Let's get this—"
She heard the low speaking and noticed his fingers moving after it was too late. Her muscles seized up. He'd put a binding on her. The effect was too powerful for such a quick spell, but then she noticed the cuff links. He hadn't taken all his trinkets off.
"Well, Miss Pi. While I'm sure you were secretly wanting to kiss me, I'll let you know I had no intention of letting that happen. What I am going to do is inform you that you don't belong here, and that it would be in your best interest to leave the Obelisk tonight, or you might find it becomes your permanent home. Take your things and scurry back to whatever rock you crawled out of.
"To ensure that you are properly motivated, I'm going to put a little charm on you. You might find it's quite irresistible. It's my specialty. You'll find that you just can't control yourself tonight. Your inhibitions will be gone. Before the end of the night, the rest of the initiates will think you were either a stripper or a whore before you came here. They won't want to touch you, and neither will any more sponsors."
His grin was made of hate. He let her wallow in the realization of what he was about to do. It was clear this was a spell he'd used on other girls, but usually in the privacy of his room.
She refused to let it cower her. As he cast the charm, she knew she would have a brief moment when the new one overrode the binding, but hadn't completely taken hold. The transition would only last a second, not enough for a counterspell.
When her muscles released, Pi surged her knee forward, connecting directly with his groin. The impact disrupted the charm. Alton doubled over.
Pi used the distraction to cast the same binding he'd used, locking him into the bent position. She thought of about a dozen things she could do to him before she came up with a plan.
His eyes were wild with fear. The swagger had left him. Despite the rictus, his expression had slackened.
"I should take one of those bottles and shove it halfway up your ass." His eyes turned bloodshot. "Don't worry, I'm going to leave you here instead. I'll even pretend that you were a good kisser. But since you were a cheating fuck"—she took the cuff links from his jacket and put them in her pocket—"these are mine now. And if you try to get them back, I'll expose you as a cheater. Just imagine what people would think, sponsors included, if they knew you had to use these to take down a first year. They might question if you were worth the effort anymore."
Her words had a surprising impact on him. If he could have moved his head, she thought he would have nodded. She mentally noted that she needed to
understand the politics of Coterie better, since it appeared she was woefully underprepared.
"Have a nice night, asshole," she said, stepping out of the room. Pi cast a spell on the door that would release his binding the moment it was opened.
When she turned around she wiped her mouth off casually and gave everyone an it-wasn't-so-terrible shrug.
"I think he liked it more than I did," she called out, getting a bit of laughter from her fellow first years. "He wants to savor it for a while, so don't bother him."
She made a shuffling motion with her hand and winked at his friends. Then she walked directly to Ashley, who was standing at the bar chatting with Orson. Pi grabbed her arm and whispered under her breath, "We have to go. Now."
Ashley nodded and marched-ran outside. As soon as they hit the street, Pi had Ashley get them a taxi back to the Obelisk. On the way back, Pi explained what happened and showed her the cuff links.
The glossy look in Ashley's eyes at the end of the story put a stone in Pi's gut.
"When I said make an enemy to earn friends, I didn't mean like that, or with him," she said, sighing heavily.
"Is it that bad?" asked Pi.
"Alton's considered the top student in his class. But more importantly, he's got connections all the way up to the patron. Supposedly, his father signed off on major loans to members of the Coterie. Like Swiss-bank, offshore kind of loans, if you get my drift," said Ashley.
"What do you mean?" asked Pi.
Ashley turned to Pi and grabbed her hands, getting the serious girl-talk look on her face.
"When I decided to come to Coterie, my parents were aghast. They'd always had a cold relationship with my grandfather, who's a famous alumnus and I thought it had to do with them not going to the Hundred Halls and eschewing magic. But when I asked my grandfather if he'd be my sponsor, he was super excited, and talked about how I could continue the glories of the Cabal for the family."
"Isn't that supposed to be like the Illuminati, or one of those other urban legends?" said Pi.
Ashley shrugged. "When I asked, he didn't say much more about it, but after a while he did talk about how much I stood to gain from membership. You see, my grandfather is a rich dude, but my parents aren't. They gave up their inheritance when they disowned him. I never really understood it until that moment. I almost decided not to go to Coterie, but if I didn't join this Hall, then he wouldn't pay for any of them, and it would kill me not be able to use magic."
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