The train lurched when it first started moving, then the ride became as smooth as Conryu had been led to expect. The view outside the window soon became a blur as their transport reached full speed. The city vanished, replaced by the wide open spaces beyond civilization. At times it appeared they’d gone back to an age before people lived here. There was nothing but trees in every direction. A small town came and went so fast he barely registered it.
“What does this thing run on anyway?” Conryu asked. “Electricity?”
“Pure magic powers it.” Maria put down the book she’d been reading. “The tracks follow a ley line all the way to Central. You know why they built the capital where it is, right?”
“Because it’s nearly in the exact center of Alliance territory?”
“That’s only part of the reason. The city is built over a convergence. Eight ley lines come together there. Government wizards can work powerful magic by drawing on its energy, more powerful than anything they could manage on their own anyway. The academy is connected to the convergence via a manmade line. That energy powers the various defenses and conveniences on campus as well as making magic in general easier to use for the students.”
“How do you know all this stuff?”
Maria held up the book she’d been reading. It was The History of Central City. Conryu shook his head. Of course, he should have known.
He raised the footstool and leaned back. “Wake me up when we arrive.”
Conryu felt the train slow and opened his eyes before Maria could shake him. She smiled. “We’re here.”
He sat up and looked out the window. “Holy shit!”
The Central City skyline filled the window as they eased their way closer to the train terminal. Dozens of skyscrapers dominated the view. Unlike Sentinel City’s buildings, which were generally rectangular and utilitarian, Central’s were designed in every shape imaginable; some were spires that looked too slender to stay standing, others started out square and turned into spheres at the top. There was one that bristled with antennas, that had to be a tv station.
The walls of the train station cut off the view and Conryu leaned back. If Maria was right, and she usually was, they had an hour before they resumed the journey to the academy.
There was a crackle followed by a metallic-sounding voice. “Attention students, please remain seated while we switch tracks as the process can be rough. We will be connecting more cars to the train so please be patient. All other passengers may disembark as soon as the vehicle comes to a complete stop. Thank you.”
Conryu’s stomach grumbled. “Isn’t there any way to call room service on this thing?”
“I don’t see anything. Besides, there’s always a big dinner the first night at the academy so all the students can get acquainted. You should save room.”
“Since when have I ever had to make a special effort when it comes to eating?”
“You got me there. Unfortunately, I don’t see any other options.”
He sighed and settled in. Conryu had barely gotten comfortable again when someone knocked on the cabin door. They shared a look before he went to answer it.
“Give me a break.” Standing in the hall was the professor in his tweed jacket. “This car’s for students only. How’d you get aboard?”
“I showed them my Department of Magic badge and they let me right on. I only have a few minutes though. I’m not scheduled for my first visit to the campus until next week.”
“So what do you want?” Conryu asked.
“I just wanted to see how you were feeling, you know, first day at a new school and all. You must be excited. I know I am.”
“Yeah, I can hardly contain myself. Was there something else? You don’t have anything to eat do you?”
The old man looked away then back. “I also never got a chance to thank you for saving my life that day.”
Conryu didn’t need any reminding about which day he meant. “You’re welcome.”
The professor patted his jacket, reached in, and pulled out a container of peanuts. “I grabbed these out of the vending machine on my way here. You’re welcome to them.”
“Thanks.” Conryu tore the package open and ate a handful. They were delicious though unpleasantly warm from the professor’s body heat. “So Mr. Kane roped you into being his go-between. How’s that supposed to work?”
The professor shrugged. “Just like it sounds I suppose. I’ll bring you messages from him and vice versa.”
“Excuse me.” Maria leaned closer. “What’s this about secret messages?”
“Oh, um…” Angus looked everywhere but at her.
Conryu swallowed a mouthful of peanuts and repeated what her father had told him before they left. “Your dad wanted some way to send messages that couldn’t be intercepted. So the good professor here got the call.”
“Angus, please. We’ll be spending a lot of time together, no need to be formal.”
Conryu almost gagged on his peanuts. “A lot of time? I thought five or ten minutes a week, tops.”
“Oh no, I get you for an hour every session. That way you can tell me about your activities in detail. It will be wonderful research for my next book.”
“Next book?” Maria perked up at the mention of a book she hadn’t read.
“Yes.” Angus puffed out his chest. “Merlin Reborn. It’ll be an even bigger sensation than my last book.”
“What’s it about?” Conryu asked even though he already had a pretty good idea of the answer.
“You, of course. It’s your biography. Your transformation from ordinary young man into a legend.”
Maria giggled and Conryu found he’d lost his appetite. “You should probably get going, Professor. See you next week.”
“Yes, yes. It would be awkward if I was stuck on the train. And please, it’s Angus.”
Angus took his leave and Conryu closed the door behind him and rested his forehead against the cool metal. He didn’t know what he was being punished for, but he regretted it.
Maria came up behind him and rubbed his shoulders, drawing a happy groan. “Having your own biographer is quite an honor.”
“I’ll sell him to you cheap. Would you like to have your transformation from ordinary girl to legend chronicled for posterity?”
They laughed though Conryu’s was more bitter than amused. The train shook and the image out the window spun as they switched tracks. Five minutes later they were moving again. The train quickly left the city behind and entered the wilderness. They didn’t reach anywhere near the speeds they achieved on the way to the city, but the school was only fifty miles away so it didn’t matter.
Before he knew it the woods opened up, revealing a gleaming lake shining in the evening sun. A modern steel-and-glass five-story building sat on the shore and two docks jutted out into the water with three small boats tied to the pilings. An even bigger building was just visible further inland. In addition to the larger buildings a handful of smaller two- and three-story bungalows perched just off the beach.
“The big one on the lake is the dorm. It’s divided by element. Light wizards on the top floor and dark wizards in the basement.” Maria pointed at a tree-covered island in the center of the lake. “That island is where they do survival and combat training. The big building you can’t see very well is the main hall. The little ones are where sorority members live.”
“I guess living on the lake will be nice.” Conryu pictured bikini-clad college girls splashing in the water and smiled. Jonny would have loved it here. “It’s more modern looking than I expected. I thought we’d find a castle with hidden rooms and shit.”
“Disappointed?”
He shrugged. A prison was a prison regardless of what it looked like.
2
Arrival
There was no proper station at the academy. The tracks just stopped and the cars emptied out onto a cement platform next to a neatly trimmed open field. It looked big enough to hold a football game no problem. In the distanc
e beyond a low hill the dorm loomed over them. The main hall wasn’t even visible from where they unloaded. The whole place looked like someone had plopped the campus down in the middle of the wilderness.
Conryu, Maria, and another four hundred plus girls piled out of the eighteen cars and onto the platform. A woman in blue-green robes stood a short ways away and waved her hands to draw the students’ attention, with limited success. Everyone was talking and gawking all at the same time.
A cool breeze blew across the lake, ruffling the leaves and reminding Conryu that fall wasn’t that far off. Splashing bikini girls would probably have to wait until the end of the school year. That seemed a long way off.
Conryu and Maria tried to work their way closer to the teacher, but it was tricky with so many others milling around. He tried to ignore the whispers and sidelong glances. He’d expected to run into Kimmy, but if she was there Conryu couldn’t spot her.
A piercing whistle brought them up short. Everyone fell silent and turned toward the woman in teal.
“Thank you,” she said. “I’m Assistant Dean Hanna Saint. I’ll be showing you to the dorm where you can leave your bags, then to the welcoming ceremony where we’ll figure out your alignment and potential. Once that’s done we’ll eat and have a good time. The real work begins tomorrow.”
Beside Conryu, Maria was practically dancing with excitement. “I’m going to be light aligned, just like Mom. I can feel it.”
He smiled at her enthusiasm and wished he shared it. “I’m sure you’ll get what you want.”
All around them the girls were laughing and debating which element they’d end up with. A handful seemed to have a preference though the only near-universal opinion was that no one wanted dark. Probably didn’t want to live in the basement.
“If you’ll follow me.” Mrs. Saint walked toward the dorm and the students fell in behind her in a vague line.
Conryu kept his focus on where he was walking as he trudged up the hill lugging three suitcases. When he reached the top a chorus of boos filled the air. He looked up and there were maybe a hundred girls standing in their way, many waving signs, most of them with the word “men” or “boys” with red lines through them. Several chanted, “Abomination, go home.”
Since all he really wanted to do was go home Conryu wasn’t especially offended. The girls all wore robes of different colors so it wasn’t just one element that wanted him gone. His existence was clearly an equal opportunity offense.
“Break it up!” Mrs. Saint shouted. “This is an unsanctioned gathering. Return to the dorm now or I will see you in my office tomorrow morning.”
All the freshmen were staring at Conryu. He just shrugged and offered a sheepish smile. What else could he do? It wasn’t like he planned on getting protested. At least no one had attacked him with a knife, so it was actually going better than the press conference.
“Don’t pay any attention to them, Conryu.” Maria put her hand on his shoulder.
The protesters started wandering back toward the dorm in groups of two or three. Several looked back and glared at him. He glared right back, holding their gazes until they looked away.
When the bulk of the girls had left the field Mrs. Saint said, “Let’s keep moving. We have a busy night ahead of us.”
They hadn’t gone more than a dozen steps when something wet and heavy splattered against Conryu’s right thigh. Three of the girls, two in white robes and one in red, had returned with their hands full of tomatoes.
The girl in red threw another one. Conryu dodged it easily enough once he saw it coming, though a blond girl behind him wasn’t so lucky. She squealed when the tomato splattered all over her pale-blue dress.
A girl in white threw one at him. Conryu dropped his bags, snatched the tomato out of the air, and whipped it back at her. The juicy missile struck the girl right between the eyes. Liquid ran down her face and stained her robes. He stared at the other two, daring them to take another shot at him.
Mrs. Saint chanted something and the three girls went rigid. The teacher marched over to them. “You three will report to my office at six a.m. for punishment. If you’re so much as a second late I’ll double it. You’re a disgrace to this academy. Be grateful we’re required by law to train you or I’d have you expelled. Now get out of my sight.”
The girls stumbled when the magic holding them was released. The girl in red spat on the ground. “I’d rather be expelled than go to a school that would accept that.” She jerked her head toward Conryu.
Mrs. Saint nodded. “I’ll do my very best to grant your wish. Now get out of here.”
With one last glare the three girls scurried away. Conryu brushed the leftover tomato pulp off his pants. He hadn’t known exactly what he’d expected, but that hadn’t been it.
Mrs. Saint walked up to him and sighed. “I’m sorry about that. The administration warned them not to hold the protest, but it seems we weren’t forceful enough. I hope you won’t judge our school by those idiots. Most of us are excited to discover what the first male wizard can do.”
“Thanks, I guess.” Conryu rubbed the stain again, but didn’t make much progress in getting it clean.
“Let me take care of that for you.” Mrs. Saint cast a quick spell and the stain vanished and dried in seconds. She repeated the spell for the crying girl that had gotten hit by accident. “There. As you can see we don’t have much use for washing machines around here. Let’s hurry or we’ll be late for The Choosing.”
It was with no small amount of relief that Conryu dropped his and Maria’s baggage off in a big, empty room just off the main entrance to the dorm. It must have been put there for exactly this purpose because when everyone had left their bags it was almost full.
Mrs. Saint closed the door and chanted a spell. The door glowed briefly before the light vanished. Conryu caught her attention and raised his eyebrow.
She grimaced. “No, we don’t usually have to ward the door to the luggage room, but under the current circumstances it seems prudent.”
Conryu grinned. “You mean you don’t want anyone messing with my underwear?”
Mrs. Saint barked a laugh and the fine wrinkles around her eyes crinkled. “Exactly. After the protest I’m not taking any chances.”
They followed the assistant dean deeper into the dorm, through a lounge filled with chairs, sofas, and tables, past steps leading to the upper floors, down a hall and finally through a set of double doors that opened into the dining hall. Long tables ran the length of it and hundreds of girls in robes sat waiting. At the far end of the room was a wall of glass. Orange light from the sunset outside streamed into the room, casting weird shadows. A cheer went up when the new students entered. They probably wanted to eat, just like Conryu.
Along the far end of the hall was another table oriented left to right, filled with older women. In the center of the table sat a girl in pale-blue robes that looked far too young to be up among the teachers. In the dead center of the room a pedestal with a rectangular device resting on it waited. The device had six gems fixed to the top. From left to right they were: white, pale blue, blue-green, brown, red, and black.
The young woman in the center of the teacher’s table stood up and said, “I’m Dean Emily Blane. Welcome to the North American Alliance’s Arcane Academy. Please form a line in front of the Elemental Tester. Let The Choosing begin!”
Another huge cheer filled the room.
Conryu took a step forward, but Mrs. Saint placed a hand on his chest. “Would you mind terribly going last? We don’t want the other girls to be overshadowed. This is a big day for everyone after all.”
He shrugged. It didn’t make a speck of difference to Conryu when he went. If they wanted him to go last that was fine. He moved toward the doors to make room for the others.
When Maria started to join him he held up a hand. “It’s okay, you don’t have to come back with me. I know you’re anxious to find out your alignment.”
“I’m going with you. I
t’s not right, making you go to the back of the line like a second-class citizen. If they want you to go last, I’ll go second to last.” She took his hand and dragged him to the back of the line.
Conryu just smiled and took his place behind her. It seemed like he was always trailing along behind Maria. He wouldn’t have had it any other way.
The first girl in line, a bronze-skinned brunette with a killer figure, stepped up to the box. Mrs. Saint stood on the opposite side and offered a reassuring smile to the hesitant girl.
“Don’t worry, it works just like the testing device they used to check your magical potential. Just touch each gem in turn and the one that reacts is your aligned element. The strength of the reaction determines your power within that element. Start with dark please.”
The girl reached out a shaking hand and touched the black gem. She sighed when there was no reaction. Fire and earth ignored her as well. When she reached the water gem the humidity in the hall went up about ten percent and the air took on a foggy haze.
The student removed her finger and everything went back to normal. Mrs. Saint beamed at the girl. “Congratulations, you’re water aligned, same as me. We’ll be seeing a lot of each other as I also teach the first year Basics of Water Magic. Please take a seat at one of the empty tables. Next.”
The next two girls were fire aligned, followed by an earth-aligned student. So it went until Maria’s turn came. She stood before the box and reached out for the dark gem. The instant she touched it she flinched and yanked her hand back. “It burned.”
“Let me see.” Mrs. Saint held out her hand and Maria put hers into it. The assistant dean muttered something and made a pass over Maria’s finger, prompting the girl to sigh. “You have a high sensitivity to dark magic. I’ve seen it before, but it’s rare. Skip right to the light gem.”
Maria did as she was bid and the gem lit up followed by a heavenly chorus. She looked back at Conryu, smiling ear to ear.
“Just as I thought. You’re strongly light aligned. I doubt you’ll be able to cast dark magic at even a basic level. Go ahead and take a seat.”
The Awakening: The Aegis of Merlin Book 2 Page 2