by Viola Grace
“Give me your credentials, and I will get back to you if we have an evening available if I believe you can manage the visit. Don’t hold your breath.”
“Right. Apprentice Imara Mirrin of Sakenta. My number is—”
“I have it. Have a pleasant evening.”
She winced as the click sounded in her ear, but it was hopeful. Thomins would give her a good reference, she was sure of it. She just needed to live up to her promise to keep control of the Guides. From what the Guide Master had said, they would be a handful.
He was rude. Mr. E was sitting on her desk and supervising her studies. He had jostled her into making the call, and now, he had the nerve to make a critique.
“He was a Death Keeper. They rarely work with the living. He will call back. Thomins said I was a natural and he would miss me when I left.”
Did he want to sleep with you?
“Uh, no. When I started there, I was still a child. If he did, he would be a pervert, and I never got that vibe from him.”
Hmph. Well, I still think that the idiot on the phone was ru—
The phone rang, the cheerful tune belted out of the slick rectangle, and after checking the number, Imara answered it.
“Hello?”
“Apprentice Mirrin, I apologize. Of course, we would be happy to have your group of girls come for a visit. Will you be waking the spectres?”
Imara grinned. “Yes. If you have any of their families or custodians who wish a consultation, I will bring a little more stability to some of the ones who are fading.”
“Excellent! Yes, I will. Do you need anything?”
“Yes, please find a spectre who would be willing to answer questions about their situation. I would like to impress upon them that death is not the end. They will leave their knowledge behind.”
There was a pause. “Right. That is... you have summed it up nicely.”
“That was my job. I met with the families and took them to their spectres. I had to make it seem pleasant, and these girls will be introduced to it as gently as I can make it. May I have a date?”
“Name your day, and we will accommodate you.”
“I will contact the Guide Master and call you back. Thank you so much. The girls will be on their best behaviour.”
A few more pleasantries and they ended the call.
The next call was to the Guide Master, and the woman was so enthusiastic, she promised to get back to Imara within the hour when she had all of the agreements from the Guides’ parents.
Imara exhaled and looked at her phone as if it was a snake. “Well, Kitty was definitely right. There is a demand for Death Keepers in the area.”
There is a demand for you. You know that your skills with the energies of the dead are not normal, right?
She wrinkled her nose and scratched Mr. E behind his ear until he let out a purr that rattled his little body. “I have suspected as much for quite a while. Now, quiz me on the types of clouds. We are having a test next week, and I want to be ready.”
Shouldn’t you be studying with Kitty? He narrowed his eyes as if he knew what she was going to say.
“I am studying with a kitty. No, she is busy with her apiary course. Bees are bees.”
Two weeks after their first class, Imara was pretty sure that she had made another friend. Kitty had a great sense of humour, and despite her accessories, she was bright and had skills when it came to shifting weather.
Too bad. You need practice on your heat control.
“We are doing a lab tomorrow. The workspace is open, and we can let loose a little.”
It was confining to have to wait until they had lab time in the underground complex, but it was probably for the best as neither of them was particularly skilled at taking their creations apart once they had gotten them going. There weren’t a lot of places to hide in the lecture hall, but they had found most of them.
After a few minutes of studying, she looked at her phone and smiled.
It is the courtier, is it?
“Of course. It is our normal check-in time. He has had a good start to his night, and I am just about ready to pass out. It is the best time for a little technological contact.”
The snort that came from Mr. E should not have been possible for such a small body. I find it hard to believe that you are content to be distant from him. I can feel everything that runs through you when he is near. It is enough to make me blush.
“You keep your assessments to yourself. We are waiting for any of that stuff. It would be too distracting if I threw myself into a physical relationship before my studies are done. I don’t want to chance a pregnancy before I get what I want.”
I thought that modern technology fixed all that.”
She huffed and gave him a dark look. “Magic gets around that sort of thing, as you well know.”
It has never been a concern of mine. My family was banished during my sentencing. The line died out during my fourth term as familiar.
“Oh, geez. I am so sorry, Mr. E. I had no idea.”
He shrugged and curled himself into a small ball. No reason you should have.
The silence between them was heavy, so she closed her books, scooped him up, and carried him to her bed where she sat and stroked his ears until his body relaxed. No matter what the situation was, family wasn’t easy.
“Ladies, today we are working on lightning.” Eckoak was sitting on top of the lectern with a jaunty grin.
Mr. E was out in the vestibule with a book on metallurgy, so Imara didn’t worry about what they were about to do.
Kitty gave her a worried look. “I am not sure about this.”
Eckoak chuckled. “No one ever is. The bright spark is the first visible crackle of power for most elementals. Neither of you are elementals, so this is not going to be fun. I have heard that it hurts the first time.”
Kitty snorted until she realized that their instructor was serious.
Imara nodded. “Right. How do we start?”
Eckoak smiled. “That is the spirit. Now, go and stand on those thick rubber mats.”
Imara headed to the first of the mats, and she dried her hands on her jeans. This was not the moment to have any water involved.
At the far end of the chamber, a cage was wheeled out, pushed by a man with seriously messed up hair and a chalky complexion.
“Who is he?” Kitty asked it before Imara could.
“Tellfirth works with the Mage Guild when they send their officers on assignment. He’s a medic. If you accidentally stop your own hearts, he can get you started and keep your heart going until more medical intervention can be arranged.”
Imara’s nervousness escalated, and a black streak moved past the cage to settle near her.
I am your first line of resuscitation, Mage. His black fur was spikey, and he was sitting a few feet away.
Eckoak frowned. “Your familiar is supposed to be in the antechamber.”
Imara cleared her throat. “He is my first line of defense if I am injured. The medic can step in if my familiar steps back.”
The dryad nodded reluctantly. “Acceptable. He just cannot assist you in your efforts.”
“Don’t worry. He is all in favour of my falling flat on my face; he just doesn’t want me dead.”
“Fair enough. Now, once Medic Tellfirth is in his Faraday cage, I want you to strike your targets with lightning. You have the rest of class to make one large strike. The target will let me know when you have engaged in sufficient vigour in your strike.”
Imara glanced at Kitty when two large, glowing orbs rose from the floor and settled about sixteen feet in the air, fifty feet away. It was going to be a very long morning.
Imara focused for half an hour, and only managed to create a spark that travelled two feet.
Eckoak was leaning against the podium and sipping her coffee, not offering any assistance and occasionally laughing at them.
Kitty was sitting and chanting. It was her go to.
Imara looked at
Kitty and her wealth of orbs then back to the target. Could it be that simple?
She looked at the orb and thought of it as a holding stone for a spectre. The power signature flared to life, and she nodded. “Right.”
Another half hour had passed during her assessment, and Kitty was arcing lightning halfway to the target.
Imara raised her hands and charged them, holding them outward and calling the power from the target.
The energy rushed toward her, and she sent electricity back along the path. A crackle of lightning struck the orb, and it flared brilliant green.
She closed the link and sat down. Sweat was running down her spine, but Eckoak was grinning. One test done.
Kitty was still standing, her eyes focused and her hands forward. She had made a strike three-quarters of the way to the target, but she didn’t trigger the target. She lacked power.
Kitty paused and flexed her fingers. The tips were bright red. She exhaled and looked at Imara. “I don’t think I can manage this.”
Imara smiled encouragingly and ran her hands through her hair before rubbing them on her thighs and back again. “I think you will get it. You just need to build up to it.”
Kitty smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.
Imara waited on her mat while Kitty took off her shoes, walked off the rubber and rubbed her rings against her hair before buffing them against her thighs. She slowly built up her static charge, and when her hair was beginning to rise with the magical power, she stepped back onto the mat, conjured a small storm in her palms and then sent out a tremendous crack of lightning.
The target lit up and exploded.
Imara didn’t cheer. She watched as Kitty stopped her storm and closed her hands, kneeling slowly. She drooped with fatigue, and when Eckoak moved toward her, Imara joined them.
Kitty lifted her head. “I did it.”
Eckoak nodded and cupped her chin. “You did. Good call on the static. Pulling energy from nowhere to power lightning is usually very stupid. That is the reason for the medic. You two managed to get through it with some mild exhaustion. Well done, ladies, now go and get something to eat.”
Imara helped Kitty to her feet, pausing to collect her shoes before heading for the door.
Mr. E ran ahead of them and was perched on her pack. She grabbed it with one hand and kept supporting Kitty as they got onto the lift.
“Come on, we are going to the Hall. I think you need a bit more than a sandwich.”
Kitty nodded weakly. “Sounds great.”
Mr. E sent a worried thought into Imara’s mind. I think I should run ahead and get Reegar to prepare something.
Taking on more of Kitty’s weight, Imara whispered, “I think that is an excellent idea.”
He streaked off her shoulder the moment that they were above ground, and she watched his tail disappear down the path. She would have Kitty in a comfortable space in ten minutes if she could hold her up that long. She straightened her shoulders and hiked onward, with her friend stumbling gamely along.
Chapter Five
“Your teacher should never have tried to get you to generate dry lightning. It was stupid.” Reegar administered a draught to Kitty, forcing it down her though she fought the taste.
“It might have been, but we managed it.”
“And she nearly drained herself of all vital energies in the process. I have seen this before, and it has had rather deadly outcomes.”
Imara was manning the pot of soup that Reegar had pulled together. She watched the grumpy spectre taking care of her friend and fought a smile. “I knew I was doing the right thing when I came home.”
“The draught will give her energy. Who is your instructor?”
Imara bit her lip. “Professor Eckoak. She’s a very good elemental.”
Reegar sneered. “Dryad. I know her. She was around the college as a student twenty years ago. She tried to plant a tree in my courtyard, and I sent her packing.”
“Why was she here? The college is for mages, not extra-naturals.”
“She evolved in her first year. Late bloomer. Her magic came on, and they didn’t want to eject her, so they considered her an exchange student and waited to see if she would blend in.”
“Did she?”
“No. But the issue of the tree was the only disagreement I had with her. I didn’t hear much about her from the other building caretakers.”
Kitty struggled to sit up straight. “What was in that vial?”
Reegar glanced at her. “It was the vitamin shot that I work into all of Imara’s food when she isn’t looking. Nothing magical, just herbs and fruit extracts.”
Imara suspected that he wasn’t joking, but she asked, “Are you ready for some soup?”
“Yes, please. It smells great.”
Mr. E came in, holding a metal charm in his mouth. He hopped up onto Kitty’s lap and spat the charm out.
The light glow that came out of the charm was echoed in Kitty’s eyes.
She blinked rapidly. “Wow, that feels much better.”
She used her body to power the first strikes. It drained her. The harder she worked, the weaker she got.
Imara relayed the information to Kitty, and her friend nodded.
“Yeah, that is what it felt like.”
She dished up some soup and put a plate under it as well as some crackers on the plate. “Here you go.”
Kitty set the plate in her lap, and she got to work on the soup.
Reegar smiled. “How is it?”
“Excellent. Thank you.”
“My mother used to make it for me when I was in school. Of course, she made it over a coal fire, but I think the essence of the herbs come through.”
The thought of Reegar having a mother had never really occurred to her. Imara cocked her head. “Did you always like to cook?”
“Always. It was relaxing to do something so ordinary, so human.” He smiled. “Everybody has to eat.”
“True. I hadn’t thought of that. Cooking wasn’t something that I bothered learning.” She shrugged. “There was always something to study. Food just showed up, and I ate it.”
Kitty smirked. “I had to come when I was called, or I didn’t eat.”
Imara chuckled. “They had to feed me, or they didn’t get paid.”
Reegar glanced at her. “Was it awkward? You haven’t mentioned your caretakers.”
“It was rather cold. Even being here is warm and fuzzy by comparison, but then, I was always working toward a goal, and that didn’t include them.”
Kitty blinked. “You didn’t live with your parents?”
“Nope. I am an off-contract birth. My father’s family didn’t want me, and my mother wasn’t allowed to keep me. It all worked out.” She said that in a rush when the stricken expression crossed over Kitty’s face. “Really, it is all good. I have met my mother, and we get along very well. I have even met a few of my brothers. One is due here any minute, actually.”
Kitty looked around. “Here?”
“Yup. Keep eating. He is dating Bara, and she has an early afternoon today. I am guessing he does as well because he is pulling up in the lot.”
Kitty had just finished her restoring soup when Luken arrived.
Imara waved at him. “Hiya, Luken. This is Kitty. She is recovering from our morning class. Kitty, this is my brother, Luken Demiel.”
Kitty looked from Imara to the young man standing beside her. “Well, he is definitely your brother.”
Imara smiled. “Yeah, there is a resemblance.”
Luken came up to her and nudged her on the arm. “This is my long-lost twin.”
“I wasn’t lost. I was merely misplaced.” She laughed. “I found my way eventually.”
“And I am glad you did. I wanted to see what my rugged good looks would be like on a lady. She isn’t half bad.”
Imara lifted her hand, held her thumb and forefinger apart and sent an arc of lightning from digit to digit. “I am not above zapping you, Luken.”
&
nbsp; He grinned. “Is Bara in?”
“No, but she should roll in in a few minutes. Her class is across campus, and it takes a while to haul all of her textile studies supplies home.” She dismissed the energy and rubbed her palm on her thigh.
Luken nodded. “I will head out to help her. Nothing gets more bonus points than helping a damsel in distress. Kitty, it was a pleasure meeting you.”
“Pleasure to meet you as well.” Kitty nodded and waved as he headed back outside.
When he was gone, Kitty stared at Imara. “He is a third year.”
“Yeah. He got early admission. How did you know?”
“My cousin was in a class with him, and she had a huge crush. I have to admit, he’s good looking.”
Imara grinned. “He got the best side of the womb.”
“Ah. Well, since I have my brain together for a moment, would you be interested in coming to my family’s place next weekend? We have plenty of room, and my parents would love to meet you.”
Imara blinked. “Um, why?”
We should go. I want to catch some shrews.
Imara looked at him. “Shrews?”
He yawned, showing his little white teeth. They are all I can catch in this shape.
Kitty smiled. “Yes, we have shrews. The yards are all hedged, so there are a bunch of small rodents around the property. We try and put up repulse spells, but they keep coming. So, Mr. E is interested?”
Imara sighed. “He is. I just am a little unsure of how to deal with a family situation.”
Kitty blinked. “Don’t overthink it. We could practice mantras and poses in the old barn, and when my mom calls us for dinner, we go in and eat. When we are tired, we sleep. When the weekend is over, we come home. Nothing more than that.”
“Why?”
“Because I really get the feeling that you need to do something not related to studying. We can go play with the lambs and calves if you like. Generally, you will just relax and unclench.”
Reegar was fussing near the kitchen, and he turned back, “It might not be a bad idea. I think that you need a little socialization.”