I blinked rapidly, swinging my head round to look at Iain as the blazing energy faded. The instructor smiled, and nodded to my left. I twisted round, and there stood Malaika, in all of her glory. Her yellow-brown translucent hide shone with a faint light that I could feel inside me.
“Not bad, Lyssa,” Iain said. “Not bad at all.”
I grinned, made to push myself up, and thought better of it as the room swam around me.
“Yeah, it’s one hell of a feeling, isn’t it?”
I glared at him.
“You never said it would make me want to puke.”
Malaika yowled in indignation, and the sound echoed inside my head. I cocked my head.
“How can I hear her?”
Iain shook his head in mock exasperation. At least, I hoped it was mock.
“What were you doing all that time you spent in my lectures?”
“Trying not to upset everyone’s familiars?”
“Ah, yes. I forget that you don’t possess a single textbook.” He raised an eyebrow, and then a hand, cutting off my feeble attempt at any excuse. Probably for the best. I still wasn’t sure I wasn’t about to puke. “Your bond will allow you to sense her location and communicate with her. The type and strength of your bond will determine how you communicate. Some people see images, others intuit, and some people will hear their familiar’s thoughts – though the latter isn’t particularly common.”
He glanced at the clock on the wall behind him, and I was shocked to realise two hours had passed.
“Now, you should get some sleep. You’re going to need to be at your best for your assessments.”
That was going to be difficult, I thought, as I got to my feet, given that the moment I got back to my dorm room, two hours later than expected, Zara and Kyle were probably going to kill me.
Chapter Thirty
When the following morning rolled around, I was miraculously still alive, and both my friends were talking to me. Compared to the rest of my year, today was off to a flying start. Of course, we had assessments all day, so it was all downhill from here, but a win was a win, and I’d take it.
I ate a sparse breakfast – rumour had it our Combat Magic exam was going to involve a whole lot of athletics, and I’d prefer not to make an idiot of myself by losing my guts all over the floor. As if I needed one more thing to be nervous about.
“Earth to Lyssa?”
I blinked Kyle’s face into focus, and Zara shook her head.
“Looks like the Super druid’s nerve has gone,” she said to Kyle. “Deadly dark druids, not a problem. But end-of-year competency assessments?”
“Yeah, well,” I said, picking at the crust on a piece of toast, “the worst that he’d have done is kill me. If I fail Combat Magic, I’m never going to live it down.”
“Which is definitely worse than dying.” Kyle rolled his eyes.
We were sitting alone, as usual, though today I wasn’t sure if we were being avoided because the rest of the trainees hadn’t heard my curse had been lifted – or because they had. I couldn’t imagine I’d be flavour of the month round here for letting Raphael loose, and honestly, I still couldn’t believe I’d been dumb enough to even think I could trick him. I hadn’t entirely wrapped my head around the fact I was still here, either.
A hand waved in front of my face.
“Hello, anyone in?”
I swatted Zara’s hand aside and she grinned.
“Come on, we’re going to be late for our first assessment.”
“Since when are you so excited to get to a written test – in Law, at that?” I squinted at her, and she shrugged. I was starting to get the sinking suspicion I was the only one round here who hadn’t put in some serious cramming over the last couple of weeks.
“Fine, let’s go. It’s like ripping off a band aid, right? Best to just get it over with.”
“A two-hour band aid,” Kyle said, and I narrowed my eyes further.
“Alright, what’s going on? Since when do you–” I nodded at Zara, “–study, and you–” I nodded at Kyle, “–worry about exams?”
“I’ve always studied,” Zara said.
“And I’m not worried,” Kyle said. “I was just trying to make you feel better.”
“Well, mission failed. Shall we go?”
I hid a smile as we left the canteen and headed to the Law lecture hall. At least these two outcasts cared about me – and who cared about the rest of the trainees? Krakenvale wasn’t like Dragondale – I’d chosen to come here. We’d all chosen to come here – and I wasn’t going to let a couple of bigoted John McClane wannabes chase me off. Of course, if I didn’t pass this assessment, they wouldn’t have to.
“Good luck,” I said to the other two as we stepped into the hall – not that they were the ones who’d need it.
By the time we emerged two hours later, I’d reached the conclusion it was going to take more than luck to get me through all my assessments. I’d thought Dragondale exams were hard, but these were something else. On the plus side, we only had one other written test, and that was the theory part of the Familiamancy assessment. Fortunately, since I hadn’t been able to sit in on most of the Familiamancy lectures this year, on account of Malaika unsettling every other druid in the academy, I’d had a whole lot of time for private study – and I’d even spent some of it studying. I was pretty confident that, even if I wasn’t scoring top of the year, I wouldn’t be getting an outright fail in that.
After lunch, we had the practical assessments. These were all shorter assessments, taken individually, which meant a whole lot of time waiting around. Everywhere I turned, there were trainees in the corners or sitting at tables, practicing one type of spell or another. I almost got my head taken off by a stray fireball someone was deflecting on my way to grab a coffee.
Somehow, I survived long enough to make it to my Familiamancy assessment, and abruptly wished I hadn’t. I’d only bonded Malaika last night – almost everyone here had been bonded for nearly nine months. Of course, we’d fought in an actual battle, so there was that.
The door to the familiamancy hall opened.
“Lyssa Eldridge,” Iain called from within. I shot a nervous look to Zara, who was in after me, and then stepped through. Iain was standing at the front of the hall, and, true to his word, Elias was with him. I swallowed. It was fine. It would be fine. I could do this.
The door swung shut behind me of its own accord – between this place and Dragondale, I was headed for a lifetime complex – and I glanced around. The usual tables and chairs had been cleared away, leaving just one chair, one table, and a whole lot of empty floor space.
“Good afternoon, Lyssa,” Iain said with a polite smile, which I just about managed to return. “We’ll begin the assessment shortly. You’ll be given a number of tasks with increasing difficulty. You may stand, sit, or lie down, according to your preference, and your choice will not affect your score. You cannot progress onto the next question without answering the current one, and you cannot return to a question or task you’ve already answered or attempted. Do you understand?”
I nodded and settled myself into the chair.
“Good, then we’ll begin.” He glanced behind him at the magically powered clock on the wall behind him and jotted down the time on his clipboard.
“Name your familiar.”
Well, that was easy. I mean, it wouldn’t have been this time yesterday, but that was then. This was now.
“Malaika.”
Iain made a note and nodded.
“Please summon your familiar.”
I closed my eyes and reached inside myself. Unlike before, the silver thread was pulsing brightly, harder to miss than to find, and I sent my energy thrumming along it, wordlessly inviting the familiar to join me.
I felt the moment she manifested in our plane, and opened my eyes. The jaguar cub blinked up at me, her tail swishing lazily behind her. I smiled, and held my hand out to one side, pulsing a small burst of fire energy. She s
tretched up into it, thrumming with contentment.
Iain tutted, and I jerked my eyes up to see his amused smile.
“Try not to complete the tasks before I read them out.”
He made a couple of notes on his sheet, and Elias remained stoic behind him.
“Direct your familiar to make a lap of the room.”
…And that was the end of the easy questions. I bit my lower lip and looked down at Malaika, where she sat cleaning one paw from whatever astral dirt she’d walked through. I had no idea how I was supposed to do that, but she’d brought that message back to the academy yesterday, before we’d even been bonded. I supposed there was no harm in just… asking.
* Malaika.* As before, I let the sound echo through my mind, simply intending them to reach the jaguar, and she put her paw back on the floor and cocked her head at me. I figured that meant she’d heard me. *Uh, this is gonna sound really dumb, but could you walk right round the edge of the room?*
She looked up at me, blank faced.
*Uh, please? It’s really important.*
She did a slow blink in what I swear was the jaguar equivalent of an eye roll, then got to her feet, stretched languidly, and started walking with exaggerated precision round the edge of the room. I did an eye roll of my own. I was starting to understand why we’d been drawn to each other. Sarcasm apparently transcended species and corporeality.
Iain’s pen scratched across his clipboard – hopefully not commenting on Malaika’s amusement at my request. She completed her lap and returned to my side, then started cleaning her whiskers with a casual disdain for us druids and our crazy notions.
Iain ran me through half a dozen more exercises, all of which Malaika complied with, albeit with varying levels of tolerance, and then he looked up at me over the top of his clipboard.
“Okay, last one. Inside that cupboard,” he said, gesturing behind him to a walk-in cupboard, “is an object that you may find somewhat useful in your Combat Magic exam. Identifying the object is the final task required to complete this assessment. However, if you and your familiar, working as a team, can retrieve the item, then you will be able to utilise the item.”
“Wait… If we can get it out, I can use it to help me pass the Combat Magic exam?” I grinned. “Seriously?”
Iain cleared his throat, and I quickly rearranged my face into a more serious expression, and gave a solemn nod that was fooling no-one. But hey, if there was anything that could stop me getting my arse kicked in my Combat Magic exam, I wanted it.
* Malaika*, I called softly. She twisted her head round to me and yawned. *I know, I know. But we’re nearly done.*
*Druid has already said this.*
*I know, but this is the last test, I swear.*
* Malaika does not understand tests. A bond such as ours cannot be measured by mortal means.*
Apparently, Elias and the rest of the academy didn’t agree with that assessment, but I wasn’t about to argue with her.
*If we don’t pass this test, they’re going to kick me out, and they’ll dissolve our bond.*
At once, the jaguar leapt to her feet, lashing her tail and hissing.
*Who will attempt to dissolve our bond, druid? Malaika shall not permit them. Which shall I attack first?*
My eyes widened, and I shook my head.
*Uh, no need for that. We just have to pass the test.*
*What do you require?*
She was at my side in an instant, alert and all business. I thought for a second. Tempting as it was to just focus on finding a way into the cupboard, we didn’t have long left, and the priority was finding out what it was.
*There’s something inside that cupboard over there. Can you tell me what it is?*
The familiar stalked to the cupboard and vanished effortlessly through the door. I felt her curiosity humming along our bond link, and then it turned to confusion.
* Malaika does not recognise this object.*
*Can you describe it?*
*Its glow is hidden. Sparkly light has vanished inside.*
Well, that certainly narrowed it down… I pursed my lips, trying to think of a way to frame my question that the jaguar would understand.
*What colour is it?*
*Sparkly rock is…* There was a hesitation, then she sent an image of a glowing ember. I could have slapped myself.
*Can you show me the object?*
Immediately, an image came to mind of a dull red crystal – the darkness in the cupboard meaning it didn’t throw off any ‘sparkly lights’, and some of the jaguar’s contempt came along with the image. I grinned, and opened my eyes. Elias and Iain were both watching me closely.
“It’s a shielding crystal.”
And I absolutely wanted it for my Combat Magic exam, because suddenly I got the feeling Killian would be throwing a lot of magic my way, and that he was expecting to land some direct hits.
“Noted. Do you wish to continue?”
I nodded, then thanked the familiar and called her back to me, running an energy pulse along her spine in a petting motion.
After a moment, I strode across the room and yanked on the door. It didn’t budge. Oh well. I caught Iain’s frown and shrugged. I’d have felt dumb if I hadn’t tried.
“You have three minutes remaining.”
Well, that wasn’t long. Iain had said that we needed to work as a team to get in there. But the familiar was non-corporeal; she couldn’t just smash the door down, and I didn’t think Iain would be much impressed if I did, either. And I didn’t know any spells to open a locked door – which, now that I thought about it, would be ridiculously useful. I made a mental note to ask Glenn, assuming I didn’t flunk any of my assessment. But if it was a locked door, that meant there should be a key, right? We just had to find it.
* Malaika, did you see a key? A, um… silver sparkly?* I shook my head at the ridiculous question, and sent a mental image of a key to the familiar. She looked up at me, her feline face twisted into a scowl.
* Malaika knows what a key is, Druid.*
Of course she did.
* Malaika has not seen a key.*
I paused for a moment and thought again. I hadn’t had much time to work with her, and I didn’t know how much she could do, or what her limitations were.
*Can you, I don’t know, sniff it out?*
* Malaika is not a dog.*
Oh, this was going to go just great.
* Malaika will track key’s energy.*
Cool. As I watched, the young familiar circled back to the cupboard, swishing her long tail through the air. She stood unsteadily on her back legs, with her oversized front paws resting on the door, and her whiskers twitched. After a moment, she hopped back down and started trotting across the room. She paused halfway there, flicking an unmistakably exasperated look over her shoulder. I took the hint and hurried after her.
“One minute remaining.”
I spun round and stared at Iain, open-mouthed, then realised I was wasting precious seconds.
*Key is here, Druid.*
I rushed to the window Malaika was indicating, running my hands over the sill and along the ledge until they closed around the small, metallic object. I snatched it up, spun around the sprinted across the floor, vaulting the chair in my path. I slammed into the door, turning the key in my hand and lining it up with the lock, and–
“Time’s up.”
I groaned and slumped against the door. So close, and yet, so far. And so much for my shielding crystal.
Chapter Thirty-One
The Spellcrafting exam was hell.
Not so much because of the actual spells – which, miraculously, and in no small part to months of additional tuition from Glenn – I was able to pull off to at least a basic standard, but because I spent the entire time wondering how I was going to get through my Combat Magic exam without getting roasted. Literally.
I was so fixated on it during my potions assessment that I almost melted a hole clean through the bench I was working
on, and could only hope that Travis assumed melting was my way of meeting the brief of a potion to disable an attacker. I mean, technically it would have – but I’d been going for a blinding smoke targeted at the assailant’s eyes.
And then the waiting and wondering came to an end.
“Good luck,” Zara said, playing fire over her fingers and arms. I gave her a taut smile. I was going to need it.
As with the rest of my practical assessments, Elias was standing stoically at the back of the hall. At least that meant Killian couldn’t outright try to stitch me up. Small mercies, right?
“Lyssa Eldridge,” Killian said, marking something on his clipboard. He looked me up and down and sneered. “Without a shielding crystal.”
He was going to enjoy this, I could tell. I wasn’t quite sure the same could be said for me.
“This assessment will be made up of two parts – offensive magic, and defensive magic. We will start with offensive combat magic. You will have five minutes to land direct strikes on a number of moving targets. If you can.”
His tone left me in no doubt as to whether or not he thought I could put it off – leaning heavily towards the not. Oh well. Being the underdog was becoming a theme for me.
“Step into the circle.”
I stepped inside the same chalk circle we used for training and Killian flicked his wrist and muttered a sound, and a bluish tinged shield formed around the circle in a semi-sphere. It created a barrier than magic would rebound from, and without a shield, I was going to have to be careful not to be incinerated by my own magic.
“Begin.”
Movement caught my eye, and I whirled around. A dinner table sized circle of wood was flying through the air – straight at me. I ducked low, turned to track it as it glided over my head, and hammered a fireball into the centre of it. No problem. If they were all going to be this easy–
I hissed in pain, mid-thought, as something bounced off my back – another circle of wood, this one the size of a dinner plate – and skittered towards the edge of the shield. I threw another fireball, scorching its edge as it slid through the magic barrier. That had been close. And it was going to leave a bruise. I needed to be more alert.
Familiar Magic (Druid Enforcer Academy Book 1) Page 21