Enchantress (The Evermen Saga, Book One)

by James Maxwell

  As the class muttered, Master Goss put on a pair of silver gloves. He then reached into a cabinet and withdrew a tiny vial. Suddenly the atmosphere in the theatre changed, the students leaned forward, trying to get a glimpse.

  Ella’s breath caught. It couldn’t be. For all the learning, the practice, copying the runes again and again, day after day, she had never actually seen it. Real essence.

  There were no more yawns, no signs of tiredness. The students were sitting up straight, their expressions expectant.

  "What do I have here?" murmured Master Goss.

  "Essence," several of the students whispered it. The one word holding infinite import.

  "No!" Master Goss yelled, shocking them out of their reverie. "What do I have here?" he said, looking around the room, challenging. This time no one answered.

  "Poison," said Master Goss. "The deadliest poison in existence. The most vicious substance you will ever encounter." He bit the words off, gazing intently from face to face. "Essence — or raj ichor — is black, slick, odourless..."

  "Tasteless?" Trellon, the class clown ventured.

  "Would you like to find out?" Master Goss held the vial up.

  "Umm, no…" Trellon said, at a loss for once.

  Ella had heard this all before, but somehow, with the actual substance held up before her eyes, it was all the more real.

  "No, seriously, Trellon. Come here, there’s something I’d like your help with."

  Trellon stood up and walked down to where Master Goss faced the class.

  "Wait here a moment," Master Goss said.

  He left the room, taking the vial with him. Instantly murmurs rose up from the students. Even Amber seemed drawn out of her melancholy.

  Master Goss re-entered the room. He still carried the vial in one hand. In the other he carried a large white cat. Probably a stray from the Poloplats, brought up scratching a living from the scraps of the food markets.

  The cat mewled.

  "Here," said Master Goss. Without ceremony he handed the cat to Trellon.

  The youth struggled for a moment before the cat settled in his arms. Its eyes closed contentedly as it began to purr.

  "Many of you are going to object to this. In fact, probably most of you. However the High Enchantress not only permits me to give these demonstrations, she approves."

  Remembering everything she had been taught about essence, Ella began to feel sick.

  "I take no pleasure in this, but I would rather a stray animal than one of my students, who I have spent so long teaching. Better the lesson be learned now, an unpleasant memory, than become a grim reality some time in the future. You may put the cat down, Trellon."

  The boy put the cat down. It looked up at him in surprise, and then began to rub against his leg.

  Master Goss separated the cat from Trellon with his boot. "Now stand back, Trellon. Further. Right back, by the door there. Good."

  All eyes were on the cat. Ella heard a gasp from next to her and looked quickly at Amber. Her friend had her hands over her eyes, allowing just a crack to show through.

  Master Goss leaned down and, ever so carefully, allowed a single drop from the vial to fall from the tiny bottle. The entire class watched the black drop plummet through the air, before landing on the skin just behind the cat’s head.

  "I have heard that many of the other houses perform similar demonstrations," Master Goss said, keeping a careful eye on the cat. "I have even heard that the elementalists of Petrya use a human, a half-wit or other type incapable of surviving without care. Here it goes."

  The cat’s back began to arch and a soft whining sound came from its throat. It clacked its jaws together, twisted its head from side to side. It stopped and rolled over twice, three times, before leaping up again, its mewling getting louder.

  Suddenly it squawked. Its back arched further and further, impossibly bent, like a whipcord mid-flight, about to release pent-up energy. A keening started from its throat, a howling screech that grew louder and louder. Ella put her hands over her ears. The cat was in such terrible pain.

  "Stop it!" she heard Amber cry. "Please, just stop it!"

  Master Goss stood back, watching impassively. He had seen it before.

  The cat’s jaws opened wide, wider, as if trying to vertically line one jaw up with the other. It twisted, screaming, screeching. Its tongue was black.

  The cat’s back was arched too far now. Everyone in the class heard a massive crack, as the stray’s back eventually broke.

  Ella thought it would be over now, but it wasn’t. It was horrific, yet she couldn’t look away.

  A horrible rumbling sound came from the cat’s throat. In an instant the liquefied contents of its body erupted from its throat. Its eyes burst, dripping down its ruined face. Finally it stopped moving. The cat was dead.

  Ella could hear Amber sobbing to herself now, and felt the bile in the back of her own throat rise. She swallowed, trying to keep it down.

  "I will give you all a short recess. I expect you all back in here once you have had a chance to think about what you’ve seen."

  ~

  ONCE more the theatre was filled with students — a sober, white-faced bunch. A few of the seats were empty, but Master Goss nodded in satisfaction. There was a tall metal stand placed beside the teacher, a set of strange objects resting on it.

  Ella looked with concern at Amber. Her friend’s face was terribly pale. She had been sick again and again during the break, Ella holding her hair.

  Ella reached across and gave Amber’s hand a quick squeeze. Amber gave her a brave smile in return.

  Ella grew even more determined to help her friend and keep Amber away from any old man with such a streak of cruelty in him. Master Goss was evil, she had decided. What if Master Samson was as bad? Or worse?

  "Now that you’ve seen that, I hope you will all give essence the proper respect it deserves," said Master Goss. "It requires less than a drop and any kind of skin contact to elicit the type of reaction you’ve just seen." He looked about the room, pausing to make his point. "Now, back to our green-hued nightlamp." He pointed at the matrix of runes he had drawn on the wallpad. "You are going to see your first enchantment."

  Some excitement came back into the class, although Ella noticed many angry eyes pointed in the teacher’s direction.

  The teacher again put on the silver gloves. With exaggerated care, Master Goss took an incredibly thin metal rod from its holder. He then dipped the end of the rod into the tiny vial.

  "As you know, the rod is hollow, to draw up a small amount of the liquid. It is important to draw just the right amount of essence into the scrill. I find that dipping the rod and counting two short breaths gives just the right amount to aid decent rune-making and minimise waste."

  A small block of polished wood rested on the stand. Ever so carefully, Master Goss withdrew the scrill and began to inscribe the rune matrix that was up on the wallpad.

  As the rod moved against the wood, Ella heard a hissing sound. Smoke rose into the air as the symbols were drawn onto the surface of the block.

  "The essence will write on any surface, any at all. Choosing the correct tool for the job is critical — we have scrills for inscribing on cloth, scrills for delicate work, scrills that take two hands to hold… The list goes on. Keep your face from the smoke. It won’t kill you, but it can make you quite ill."

  Master Goss spoke as he worked, his hands moving deftly with sure movements. Presently he stood back, regarding his work proudly.

  "Trellon, do you want to do the honours?"

  "Tish-tassine," called Trellon.

  The runes lit up as the nightlamp was activated, glowing brightly with a steady green light.

  "And then all you need is a material such as paper or cloth placed over the runes to diffuse the light, and you have a nightlamp! A very good one, I must say."

  Ella suddenly felt reckless. She was angry that Master Goss could be so cruel one moment, so proud and arrogant the next. />
  "There’s a flaw in the upper crest," said Ella.

  "What?" Master Goss said, interrupted.

  Ella knew she was probably making a mistake, but she couldn’t stop herself. "The upper crest, there’s a flaw."

  "Oh really?" said Master Goss. "Well perhaps you would like to show the class how you would do it?"

  "I will," said Ella, hearing gasps from behind her.

  She stepped forward and walked down to the floor, going straight to the stand. Of course, she had been introduced to these tools before, but never had she stood so close to real essence. Ella thought again of the cat.

  Before she could change her mind, Ella deftly put on a pair of the gloves and took a new scrill from its holder. The green light from Master Goss’s matrix was in her eyes. "Tish-toklur," she muttered. Instantly the nightlamp deactivated.

  Master Goss stood back, a look of surprise on his face.

  Ella gingerly took the vial of essence off the workbench. She placed another small wooden block in front of her, dipped the steel rod in the vial, and began to draw.

  The smoke drifting up from her steady hand smelled surprisingly pleasant, but Ella kept her head turned to the side. She had practised the runes so many times that if anything she kept her eyes away from the wallpad, afraid she would copy Master Goss’s mistake.

  It took her a little longer than Master Goss, but then Ella was done. Remembering her training, she carefully put the stand back to its original state, double checking all of the seals and ensuring everything was in its proper place.

  "It’s done," she said. "I used a slightly different activation sequence to distinguish the two."

  "Well?" said Master Goss. "Let’s have it. I think you’ll see that—"

  "Tish-tassine," said Ella.

  Master Goss’s nightlamp lit up brightly, filling the room with a green glow.

  Pausing for dramatic effect, Ella spoke again. "Tish-tassun," she said, with a different inflection. Her nightlamp flared brightly.

  There was no doubt. Ella’s nightlamp was the brighter of the two. Its light was clearer, yet softer, a richer shade of green.

  The class erupted in applause.

  13

  It is better to negotiate standing on two feet, compared to when a foot is on your chest.

  — High Lord Tessolar Mandragore to Lord Marshal Devon, 524 Y.E.

  OUTSIDE, in the Great Court, students kept rushing over to congratulate Ella. She felt slightly foolish. Perhaps she’d been a bit too proud? They assured her it was the greatest moment in their entire time at the Academy. Master Goss didn’t have a lot of adoring students, it seemed.

  The two girls sat underneath one of the centurion trees, Amber sprawled next to Ella with an envious expression on her face — especially when young men kept approaching Ella, only to be rebuffed.

  "Ella, that was amazing! I can’t believe you showed up Master Goss like that! The students are going to be talking about it for the next ten years!"

  Ella blushed. It really wasn’t like her to do such a thing!

  "I swear, you’re going to make High Enchantress one day. Imagine that! All the lords bowing to you, Ella. You!"

  Amber enthused as Ella sat, lost in thought. "And I bet Miro will be a famous bladesinger, sung about across the land. We’ll all travel far and wide together, our enchantments known for their quality and beauty." Amber’s face suddenly fell. "Only…"

  Ella looked up. "What?"

  "Only I’ll be married to some old man, who makes me work for him and does horrible things to me." Amber burst into tears.

  "Don’t worry, Amber. I have an idea."

  Amber looked up. "You do?"

  Ella smiled wickedly. "I do."

  She’d help her friend yet.

  ~

  ELLA crept through the Academy halls, so empty at this time of night, when most people were fast asleep and alertness was at its ebb.

  She couldn’t believe she was doing this, but then again, she couldn’t believe she had stood up to Master Goss. She was going to help her friend and that was all there was to it. Master Samson didn’t deserve Amber.

  Master Samson’s work area was located in the east wing, at the far end of Graven Building. Without difficulty, Ella located the entrance and crept down the set of sandstone stairs. A small pathfinder rested in the pocket of her dress, but she refrained from using it yet, the moon providing more than enough light to see by.

  Ella came to her first locked door. She tried a trick Master Merlon had shown her, a naming technique used more for remembering common activation sequences than anything else. Some enterprising students had found it worked for testing locks or other matrices with encrypted activation sequences. Word had got out.

  Whispering softly, Ella ran through a series of activation sequences. Nothing. She tried another. Nothing. Hearing a noise behind her, she started to panic. She quickly tried a third series. "Torn-aloa!" As she spoke the words, the door popped open.

  Ella dashed inside and closed the door behind her, her heart pounding. Perhaps this was a bad idea. What if someone caught her?

  Someone was moving around outside! Ella thought quickly. If she knew the naming sequence, then the converse was… "Tula-alnas," she murmured. The runes changed again; the door was locked.

  Ella waited for a moment. Whoever was moving outside eventually passed. Feeling more confident, she rose from a crouch and regarded the room.

  Some runes were activated in the corner, bathing the room in a soft glow. The various enchantment projects of Master Samson and his apprentices were situated around the room: some kind of sword, exceptionally large and curved slightly; a set of armour, made with heavy steel — if the runes ever faded the wearer would still have a good degree of protection; and a set of two deskpads, linked with a slim fabric. Ella wasn’t sure what that was.

  Ella knew what she was here for. She had read the Academy charter, ultimate responsibility rested with the master.

  Ella opened cupboard after cupboard until she found what she was looking for. She had to break another coded door, and then she was holding it. Ella took the tiny vial of essence from the shelf, regarding the oily black liquid in the wan light cast by the activated runes.

  Deliberately, Ella removed the sealed cap from the bottle. Looking for a good spot, she placed it down on the workbench next to the sword. There, her work was done.

  Ella smiled to herself. Master Samson was known to arrive late, after his apprentices, and was always the last to leave his workroom. When one of his apprentices arrived in the morning and saw the uncapped vial they would immediately report it. Leaving essence unguarded and unsealed was a serious breach, especially for a master. It would no doubt see Master Samson disgraced, and Amber’s parents would have no wish to see their daughter married to such a man.

  Ella quietly left the way she had come. She hoped Master Samson wouldn’t pay too high a price, but it made her feel better to picture the smile on Amber’s face, the love she was sure Miro would feel for Amber when he realised what a beautiful young woman Amber had become.

  Deep in thought, Ella didn’t realise until much later that she’d forgotten to lock the workroom door behind her.

  ~

  TALWIN arrived at the Academy early, hoping to have a word with Master Samson. He had never had the courage to speak privately with the imposing master before, but after his father had seen his last grade report for naming, Talwin had decided to see if he could get some private instruction, perhaps from one of the master’s apprentices.

  Talwin stood outside the door, summoning the nerve to knock.

  Ever since Ella had turned him down in the Court it seemed life couldn’t go right. Talwin was sure Amber had seen him cry too. He had avoided both girls, hating himself, unwilling to face the humiliation.

  Why did he have to say something? He’d been so sure. Ella had started spending more time with him after her brother left. Talwin had felt so proud, having such a beautiful young woman at his sid
e. She laughed at his jokes, and poked fun at his dress sense. He watched her when he knew she couldn’t see, his eyes running over her figure. Aching for her.

  Now she thought he was a fool.

  Talwin sighed. The Academy was everything to him, everything to his family. They expected a lot of him, as the first son. He was expected to be at the top of his class, not dragging up the bottom.

  With trepidation, Talwin knocked on the door to Master Samson’s workroom.

  He waited. Knocked again.

  "Ho, is anyone there?" he called.

  Talwin pushed gently on the door. It fell open in front of him.

  In awe, Talwin ran his gaze over the Master’s workroom. He knew he was overstepping but he couldn’t look away. He took a step inside.

  All manner of strange and fantastic equipment was spread around. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a set of enchanted armour, covered with matrices of runes, too many for his mind to encompass.

  Talwin took a few steps further inside, running his hand over the armour. It was deactivated, he was sure of that. There was no harm in touching, was there?

  Growing bolder, he moved deeper into the workroom. Talwin stopped, staring.

  It was a zenblade, he was sure of it. The sword was massive, bigger even than the swords he’d seen at the sides of the bladesingers. Whoever wore this sword would be a powerful man!

  Talwin ran his eyes down the length of the blade, trying to decipher each rune as he came across it but giving up. Then he saw it. His heart stopped.

  It had to be. It shouldn’t be. But it had to be. Essence.

  And there, on the workbench next to the tiny vial, was the bottle’s cap. It was unsealed! Realising the danger, Talwin moved slowly forward, not taking his eyes off the vial. Yes, there was liquid inside it.

  It was terribly dangerous, leaving a bottle of essence unsealed on the workbench like this. What was Master Samson thinking!

  Talwin saw an opportunity, a chance to get into his teacher’s graces and do a good deed at the same time. He lifted the stopper, and then picked up the small vial.