by Lisa Cassidy
For a long moment after Rothai left, Alyx and Fengel stared at each other. The expression on his face mirrored hers, she was sure. Her stomach had sunk to her boots.
“I was hoping to never see you again,” Fengel said as they squared up, disdain oozing in his voice.
“There you go,” she said coolly. “Something we agree on.”
“You’ve missed a lot,” he said. “I don’t intend to hold back because you couldn’t manage to arrive here at the beginning of the year.”
“I wouldn’t want you to,” she said, just as terse.
Alyx hadn’t practiced with her staff at all in the months since she’d left DarkSkull, and so even in what limited skill she had gained, she was horribly rusty. Fengel saw this straight away, and as promised, made no effort to go easy on her. In fact, it seemed to annoy him that she was such an easy target.
Alyx supposed it was Rothai’s idea of amusement—and possibly punishment—to pair her with Fengel. The Zandian subsequently demonstrated the point by sweeping in and rapping her painfully on the knuckles of her right hand. She awkwardly ducked a follow up swing at her head and braced for the follow-up attack, but it never came. Instead, Fengel had stepped away, craning his head towards the sky.
It took a moment for her to realise that everyone else in the yard had stopped too—all of them staring towards the sky in wonderment. A young initiate, no older than sixteen, was floating in the air above his older opponent, a female initiate who was ineffectually trying to hit him with her staff. Chuckles broke out as the boy hovered just beyond his opponent’s reach and she became increasingly frustrated.
“A flier.” Someone said in excitement. “There hasn’t been one of those in generations.”
As fascinated as the rest of them, Alyx kept one eye on the boy and one eye on Fengel, whom she expected to resume attacking at any moment. Her hand ached abominably, dark bruising already breaking out under the skin. If this kept up, she was going to have an old woman’s hands by the age of twenty. Wonderful.
Her glance fell on Cario, standing over by the edge of the yard, his posture screaming utter boredom. His sparring partner stood close by, as riveted as everyone else by the sight of the flying initiate. Cario’s staff hung loosely from his left hand, and despite the workout they’d all already had, his hair and clothing were neat and unruffled.
It wasn’t long before Rothai noticed the standstill and barked at everyone to get back to it. Alyx sighed at the end to her brief moment of relief from Fengel’s relentless attack. He came at her again without warning, but she’d expected that. She raised her staff to counter his blow; it missed her knuckles this time, but the force of it was enough to send her stumbling backwards, her right arm going temporarily numb.
Abruptly reconsidering her strategy, she backed up, deciding to try avoidance rather than defence. As weariness set in–her sheltered court life certainly hadn’t lent itself to physical fitness–she got sloppier. Sensing the weakness, Fengel came at her even more aggressively.
By the time Rothai called the end of the class, Alyx was sure if it had lasted even a moment longer she’d be unconscious or worse. The master came over as Fengel stalked off in disgust. His ice-blue eyes raked over her swelling fingers, heaving chest and the staff that dangled from her left hand.
“You don’t seem to have mastered anything I taught you last year. You clearly put no effort in over the summer to consolidate what you learned. Your effort against Fengel was pitiful.”
“Yes, sir.” Alyx took a breath, tried to straighten her shoulders. “You’re right. I put in no time over the summer to practice. I wasn’t here last year to learn, I just wanted to leave and I wasted everybody’s time. But I promise I’ve come back to work hard and learn.”
Rothai nodded. “That’s the first reasonably mature thing I’ve heard come out of your mouth since we met, Apprentice Egalion.”
“I meant it, sir.” The words were difficult to say, and she struggled to keep her eyes on his. Swallowing her pride in front of this man was one of the hardest things she’d ever done.
“Yes, well, it remains to be seen whether hard work will be enough to catch up,” he said. “You certainly won’t learn anything in my classes if you continue to hide and avoid your sparring partner during drills. Try implementing the skills I’m attempting to teach. They may fail the first few times, but you will find with persistence you’ll improve.”
“Yes, sir.”
He nodded. “You have classes to get to. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”
Alyx fled before she had to stand under that withering stare any longer.
“That looks painful.” Finn’s eyes went immediately to Alyx’s hand as they left the yard together.
“It’s no worse than before,” Alyx replied, trying tentatively to straighten the aching digits. They were too swollen to extend fully, and sharp pain shot through them when she tried, but she was reasonably confident nothing was broken.
“Rothai gave us better partners this year.” Dawn looked sympathetic. “Not for you it seems.”
Tarrick jogged up to them. “Nice work this morning, Finn. You’re really improving with the cross spin.”
“Thanks.” Finn glanced at Alyx. “Rothai put me with Rickin this year, from Renwick’s group. He’s much better than me but he’s also patient and willing to teach. It helps that I’ve been able to help him with his languages homework too.”
“He’s a quiet guy, but decent, and a good fighter,” Tarrick said.
Alyx nodded, only partially hearing Tarrick as her gaze lingered on the outside wall of the sparring yard. It was the spot she’d seen Brynn for the first time, being bullied after class. Dawn had tried to help, earning the ire of Galien and his friends. She swallowed, memories of Brynn swamping her. She hadn’t realised it would be harder, being back in the place where she’d known him. In Alistriem his loss had been easier to deal with.
“You okay?” Dawn touched her arm.
“I miss Brynn.”
An awkward silence fell. Finn cleared his throat and stared down at his shoes. Tarrick’s shoulders turned rigid.
“We do too.” Dawn squeezed Alyx’s arm tightly for a moment, almost painfully.
Alyx shook her head, dispelling her bleakness and the silence. “Where do we go now?”
Finn cheered instantly. “Language classes until lunch, then map reading, strategy, basic healing and mage lore before dinner.”
“It’s good to see some things haven’t changed,” Alyx said dryly. “Especially your inexplicable love for learning.”
“You’ve got heaps to catch up on. I’m happy to help, if you like?”
“That would be great, thanks.” Alyx frowned as a look passed between the twins. “What?”
“It’s just strange, that’s all. Last year whenever I offered help, you barely paid attention.”
“This time I have nobody else to blame for being here. As Rothai made perfectly clear, I either catch up or I drown.”
Dawn nudged her with a smile. “And you were just implying Finn was crazy for enjoying classes here.”
“I certainly was,” Alyx agreed. “Insanity was a large factor in my decision to return.”
They all laughed, Alyx as much as the others.
Yes, there was a simple joy in being back with her friends.
Her first lesson was on Zandian grammar, and as with the previous year, Alyx could make neither head nor tail of what Master Prajana was teaching. It didn’t help she’d missed the first week of class.
“Apprentice Egalion, you’ll sit there. We’re working from page five.” Prajana pointed to a spare desk beside Finn’s but said nothing further about Alyx’s return. Alyx nodded, sat down, and heaved an inwards sigh as she opened the book to a page of incomprehensible characters.
Prajana began speaking, and Alyx focused her full attention on the master. Finn tried to fill in the gaps where he could in faint whispers until he was told to stop mumbling or he’d be moved out into th
e hall. Cario was in the class too, although he sat in the back beside an apprentice she vaguely recognised from the previous year.
All her subsequent classes followed the same pattern. It was uncomfortable to be so far behind everyone else, but this only added to her determination to pay attention and try to catch up. By the end of the day she had a dull, throbbing headache and her eyes were dry and scratchy from staring at books, but she at least felt like she was trying.
The headache receded when their last class ended, and Alyx packed up her books with relief. Dusk was falling over the grounds as she and Dawn trudged to their room to dump their books before going down to dinner.
Nothing much had changed there either. Tarrick and Finn sat alone at a table on the fringes of the hall where the familiar hum of student chatter pervaded the large space. Alyx cast her gaze around while she and Dawn collected their food. Cario sat towards the end of Galien’s centre table beside Tarran, but tonight her nemesis’ attention was focused elsewhere. She looked quickly away before Galien could swing those intense Shiven eyes in her direction and headed straight for their table.
“See the initiates?” Tarrick pointed them out with a smile.
They weren’t hard to miss in their brown robes. Most of them had grouped together, though a couple sat on their own—those considered by the mage world as lesser mages no doubt. The flying boy sat a few seats down from Cario on the popular table, and Alyx wondered if he was there because of his talent, or because he was mage nobility.
“It’s because he can fly,” Tarrick answered her unspoken question. “He has no mage family to speak of. Flying ability is as rare as being a mage of the higher order, so it’s considered a special talent.”
“I wonder if we’d be suddenly popular if everyone knew what Alyx was.” Finn lowered his voice.
Tarrick instantly gave him a dark look, never liking it when one of them referred to the fact Alyx was a mage of the higher order out loud. He took his role as her protector very seriously, and being a mage of the higher order was a dangerous thing to be in a world where the most powerful of mages tended to inexplicably disappear.
“Alyx would be.” Dawn smiled. “Not so sure about the rest of us.”
“What is Alyx?”
All of them looked up as a familiar apprentice stopped by their table, a curious smile on her face. Tarrick discreetly punched Finn in the arm, causing the healer to wince and mutter an apology.
“Hello, Jayn,” Alyx greeted her with genuine warmth.
“Hi. It’s good to see you back here. I was hoping they hadn’t driven you off for good,” Jayn said easily. “I am curious now, though. What is this big secret about you?”
“She’s noble born,” Finn said smoothly. “She’s going to marry the future king of Rionn.”
Now it was Alyx’s turn to shoot a glare at Finn. Her situation with Cayr was far from certain.
“Really?” Jayn’s eyes widened.
“Well, it’s likely,” Alyx hedged.
“Okay, well, I hate to break it to you, but Rionn is considered a bit of a backwater by most here.” Jayn smiled in amusement. “I don’t think being a noble from Rionn is going to make you popular.”
“You’re probably right.” Dawn gave an exaggerated sigh.
“I’ll see you all around.” Jayn chuckled and left to join her own table.
“It’s a moot point, anyway.” Tarrick picked up the topic of conversation. “After Alyx’s first class with Howell, Cario is going to know what she is, and I can’t see him not telling everyone.”
“A problem for another day,” Alyx said. “And one that pales in comparison to several others I have to contend with.” Her most recent nightmare being one. She still hadn’t decided what to do about that—the more time that passed, the less confident she was that what she’d sensed was actually a man as opposed to just a horrific dream. It didn’t help she was irrationally afraid that if she spoke about it, she might bring another one on.
“Galien?” Tarrick’s eyebrows rose.
“That’s one of them.” She shot a dark look in the direction of the popular table. “But the truth is, I didn’t come back here just to learn to be a mage.”
“I’m intrigued.” Finn leaned forward. “Do tell.”
Dawn touched Alyx’s arm. “Is it about your parents?”
Alyx nodded, lowering her voice as she related to them everything she’d learned from her father and Ladan. They hung on her every word, Finn in particular, their remaining dinner going untouched.
“You want to find out what happened to your mother?” Tarrick frowned.
“Wouldn’t you?” she said fervently, trying not to be annoyed by his apparent reluctance. “Especially if she abandoned you after stealing your memories? Surely you’d want to know why, at least.”
Finn responded before Tarrick could. “I would. And you’re right in thinking DarkSkull is the best place to find out. Your mother belonged to this world.”
“All you know so far is that she found out something and left her home in a rush?” Dawn asked.
“Yes. Possibly to meet a man named Terin.”
“I do love a good mystery.” Finn beamed. “Let me think on it awhile.”
“Some mysteries are better left unsolved,” Tarrick said darkly. “Alyx, your focus should be on staying safe from Galien and learning your magic.”
“And on that note.” Alyx smiled at him as she rose. “I hate to cut dinner short but I need to get some study in before curfew. Finn, could I prevail upon you for some help?”
“I’d love to.” He stood also, looking pleased. “I’ll go back to my room to get my notes and meet you at the library?”
“Great, thanks. I’ll see you soon. Dawn, Tarrick, see you at breakfast tomorrow. Night.”
On her way to the library, Tarrick’s words lingered and she resolved to take his advice into account. As determined as she was to get answers, there was no guarantee they would be truths she wanted to hear.
Chapter 8
Alyx had been fortunate in one respect. She’d arrived at DarkSkull Hall on a Fifthday, and since all apprentices were allowed one full day off per week—Seventhday—she had a day off after her first full day of classes.
Conversation over breakfast revolved mostly around their plans for the day. Since apprentices were allowed to leave academy grounds on Seventhday, the first thing Tarrick suggested was a ride to Weeping Stead to visit Dashan.
“He could be busy,” Alyx warned. “His Bluecoats aren’t here on holiday. They were sent with an assignment to integrate and liaise with the Tregayan militia unit in the region.”
“If he’s busy, we’ll just say a quick hello and spend some time in the town shopping or whatever,” Finn said. “At least we’ll get a few hours away from here.”
“Do you mind if I come along?”
They turned to see Cario standing at the end of the table, hands in pockets, one eyebrow arched in query.
“You want to come with us?” Confusion coloured Dawn’s tone.
“Sure.” Cario shrugged. “This Dashan fellow sounds interesting, and I’m as eager to get away from DarkSkull as you are. Shall I meet you at the stables in a half hour?”
“If you like,” Tarrick said, watching in puzzlement as the apprentice walked off. Alyx followed Tarrick’s gaze, as curious as he was. She was no closer to forming an impression of Cario, which was odd. Normally she got a sense of people quickly.
“I can’t believe we don’t even get to sleep in on our day off,” she complained as she finished her oats and pushed the bowl away.
Dawn laughed. “Not when Tarrick has anything to say about it. How many other apprentices did you see down here at dawn?”
“Since when is he in charge?”
Dawn simply levelled a look at her.
“Oh, all right.” Alyx sighed. “Apologies if I fall asleep on you at any time today. After yesterday and studying last night, my head feels like mush.”
“You’ll get
used to it,” Finn said bracingly. “We’ll get those intellectual muscles stronger, don’t you worry.”
“Thank you,” she said sarcastically. “That makes me feel much better.”
“You know what I can’t believe?” Tarrick turned back to them, joining the conversation. “That Cario Duneskal wants to spend his day off with us.”
“He probably only wants company on the ride into Weeping Stead, then he’ll leave us to do his own thing,” Dawn said.
“Why doesn’t he ride in with his popular friends, then?” Finn asked.
“It will be nice to spend some time in the company of a man who knows how to dress well and keep himself groomed,” Alyx said airily. “I think Cario and I will get along quite well.”
“Of course you will,” Finn grumbled as Dawn and Tarrick exchanged amused smiles.
They were all in good spirits as they rode out of the grounds and across the bridge, happy at the thought of a full day of freedom stretching before them. Alyx lagged behind the others with Dawn, catching up on all the little things that had happened at DarkSkull before her arrival.
“Madgena told Madam Grange that Roya had come into the dormitory after curfew,” Dawn related an incident with one of the initiates. “Grange had us all lined up in the foyer at dawn the next morning to ‘reiterate’ the rules about curfew. She gave Roya two weeks of dishes duty.”
“Poor girl. I know how she feels,” Alyx said sympathetically.
“Yes, but the best part is that Grange then gave Madgena three weeks’ dishes duty!”
Alyx eyes widened. “Really?”
“It was fantastic,” Dawn said gleefully. “Grange said Madgena must have been out of bed after curfew to notice that Roya was late, and since she was an apprentice and should know the rules better, she deserved a longer punishment.”
“What’s so funny?” Finn called back as the girls laughed.
“I was telling Alyx the Madgena story.”
“Ohh, that’s a good one. Tarrick, you should tell them about—”
“Not another privy story,” Dawn cut him off firmly. “Those are not funny.”