by Tom Early
I wondered what form I was good at. Without my ice magic, I seemed to suck equally at all of them.
“I’m sure there are questions about all this,” Sekhmene continued, “and to that end, you have each been assigned a more experienced student to help guide you through the process. We will all also be available for questions through email and by appointment, though it would be preferable if you did not contact us about trivial matters. Each of you will also have a professor, and on occasion a Speaker, as an advisor. They will help you choose courses and answer any of your more difficult questions over the coming years.”
Sekhmene paused and looked around the room, her luminous gaze seeming to touch on every one of us.
“As some of you know, Janus University was attacked by an unknown group last winter, in an effort to disrupt the Trial process. Several students’ lives were lost.” I tried not to flinch. “And I know many of you are aware of the growing land tensions across Gaia. This past year has been a difficult one, and Janus University has responded by taking additional measures to assure our students’ security. I can promise that you will be perfectly safe during your time here.”
I hadn’t forgotten about the shadowy figures that had invaded the location of the Trials last winter. Their eerie silence and sheer murderous ability had resulted in more than a few nightmares over the past months. Sam and Tyler also had them. After I had gotten a better handle on my trauma, we’d spent a long time talking about what had happened. By now we were all in a better place, but that didn’t make the memories any less terrifying. I reached for Sam’s hand for comfort, and she obliged immediately.
“This concludes the salient points of my speech,” Sekhmene said. “You are all free to wander campus as you see fit, though we suggest you return to your rooms within the next few hours to meet your new housemates. The university has also given each of you tablets, which you will own for as long as you study here. For those of you unfamiliar with the technology, tablets are rather like a collection of books and information, but all in one place at the same time. They have been delivered to your rooms, along with a primer on how to use them for those of you new to the technology.” The smallest of smiles flitted across her lips. “And with that, it is my pleasure to welcome you to Janus University. I wish you all an excellent year ahead.”
Speaker Sekhmene turned and walked off the stage, the rest of the Speakers and Didas following suit. There was a lull for about five seconds, and then the auditorium was filled with conversation and people moving to leave.
I glanced at Sam. “Do you want to try and find Aria, or should we head back?”
“Find Aria,” Sam said, already scanning the room. “She should be here, right?”
I nodded. She’d seemed perfectly healthy and happy the last time I’d seen her, when she’d come to visit me. I still couldn’t believe she’d just forgiven me like that, even if it wasn’t my fault. I owed her for dragging me out of my shell again after what had happened. And Sam, well, it was pretty clear that she’d felt something for Aria that was more than friendship back at the Trials.
Sam and I took another glance down our row and then stepped out so we could keep looking. I took up a position by the door to make sure we didn’t accidentally miss her, and Sam started combing the other rows. A few students glanced curiously at my white hair as they passed by, but given I wasn’t the only one here with unusual colorations, it didn’t garner as much attention as it might have.
I saw Septimus as he passed, and he saw me as well. His eyes narrowed when he recognized me, but he didn’t do anything else. I noticed the other students were giving him a wide berth as well, and a few of them were eyeing him with open distrust. I wondered what he’d done to upset them already; we’d only all been here for a few hours. There were other faces I thought I recognized passing by, including the mage and knight pair who had lost to Aria and Kaede in the final match, and Jacob, the water-magic boy who’d been paired with Septimus. He looked even more nervous than I remembered him. Poor guy.
I also kept half an eye on Sam as I scanned the people leaving. Her face was getting tighter with anxiety as she kept moving down the rows, not finding Aria. Eventually she came to where Kaede was coiled up and appeared to ask her a question. I couldn’t hear what they were saying from this distance, but Kaede ended up shrugging and Sam kept searching, now starting to look frantic.
All the while people kept passing by me, and none of them were Aria. Eventually Sam and I were the only ones left in the auditorium, and Sam came back up to me.
“She’s not here, Fay,” Sam said, biting at her lower lip. “Why wouldn’t she be here?”
“I don’t know. She seemed perfectly healthy when she came to see me a few months ago.”
“Do you think something’s happened to her since then?” Sam asked, the worry clear in her tone. She was always very good at disguising her concerns, except when it came to the people she cared about. Aria qualified, apparently.
“I have no idea.”
Sam allowed herself one last pointless scan of the room and then took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
“Okay,” she said, “there’s no point in dwelling on this. But if she doesn’t show up soon, we’re having a talk with Didas.”
I nodded and wisely didn’t comment on how tightly she clenched her fists. “If anyone knows what’s going on with Aria, it’s him. Do you want to head back to the rooms, or blow off some steam first?”
Sam smiled sharply. “How well you know me. Let’s find Aiden; one way or another, he’s going to help me with that.”
“Just remember that you’ll get in trouble if you actually hurt him,” I reminded her. “And that he’s trying to be nice right now.”
I was treated to the famous eye roll-sigh combo for that. “I’m not stupid, Fay. But there’s no way people like Aiden only fight during the Arena fights. If anyone knows about a way to get around that particular rule, it’s him.”
“Well, ask and you shall receive,” Aiden said calmly, stepping in next to us. “What is it that’s causing you concern, exactly?”
I blinked. “Were you… waiting outside for us?”
“Yes, actually. I had a feeling that somehow you two would need further guidance.”
“Can you help us find someone?” Sam asked, jumping straight to the point. “One of our friends who passed the Trials, Aria Tempestas. She should have been here.”
Aiden frowned, his perfectly groomed eyebrows furrowed together. “You say she passed but wasn’t at the assembly? It’s possible circumstances prevented her from arriving on time. It doesn’t happen often, but there is precedent for it. It’s also possible she decided not to attend after the Trials, but that is exceedingly unlikely. Given that those who attend the Trials tend to already know what they’re in for, the, ah, straightforwardness of it doesn’t tend to scare anyone away.”
“She came to visit Fay a few months after the Trials and said she’d be coming then, so that’s not an option.”
Aiden turned to me. “She visited you? You said her last name was Tempestas, correct? That would make her one of the Magpie People. They don’t ever travel to Earth. If they did, their wings would give them away in seconds, especially since their people have no gift for illusions.”
My stomach churned, and I felt the blood leave my face at the reminder, once again, of how much damage I’d done. Everything was starting to spin, and I leaned against the wall for support. Three people dead, Didas’s voiced echoed. Their families have been informed. Your friend, the one with the wings? She will never fly again.
Sam noticed what happened immediately and was by my side in a second, her hand resting on my shoulder, a comforting weight. I could hear her telling me to breathe as if she were shouting from miles away, and then right up close.
“Fay, are you with me? I’m going to count down from ten, okay? If you can, count down with me. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Can you hear me?”
&n
bsp; I managed a nod, now aware of how hard I was breathing, how much my hands were shaking. Sam kept standing there and started counting down again, slower this time. It took three more cycles for me to calm down enough to count with her, but it worked. The hand clenched around my heart and stomach slowly relaxed, and I could breathe again.
I stood up shakily and was met with Sam’s face, which was deceptively calm, as clear a sign as any as to how concerned she really was.
“I’m okay now,” I said, hating how weak my voice sounded.
“Then could someone please tell me what just happened?” Aiden demanded, his voice sounding a little strained. I glanced over in time to see him hastily regain his composure. For a moment his face actually gave the impression of surprise, even worry.
“Panic attack,” I said, trying for a nonchalant tone and failing utterly. “Don’t worry about it. It just happens sometimes.”
“Don’t patronize me,” he said sharply. “Panic attacks like that don’t just happen. They get triggered. So I’ll ask again. What just happened?”
I looked him in the eyes. I didn’t have the patience for this anymore. “And I’m telling you, they just happen sometimes. You think we’re friends? You think I’m just going to tell you everything about me, just because sometimes it throws you off? You’re wrong. I get to choose to tell you. You don’t get the right to demand. Ever.”
Now it was twice in one day that I got to see Aiden taken aback. He hesitated, looking like he was about to speak, and Sam growled. There was no other word for the noise she made. I didn’t even need to look at her expression to know it was promising a lot of pain. Aiden blanched and then nodded once, curtly.
“Understood,” he said, his face carefully blank. He turned back to Sam. “As I was saying, I don’t know anything about this Aria girl. Now, I believe you were saying something about needing to let off some steam?”
“I was,” Sam said, eyes still narrowed in anger. “And now I need it even more.”
“Then follow me,” he said and walked out of the auditorium. Sam glanced at me questioningly, and I nodded, moving as well.
The depression had taken months to get marginally better, but I had it back under control. The panic attacks that came when I was reminded of what I’d done, well, those were probably going to be with me for a while yet. They didn’t hit often, and I hoped seeing Aria would help me get over them too, at least a little. Not that I deserved her help. I had taken away part of what she was, ruthlessly cut the wings off her back. I knew it was Winter that had done it, not me, but that changed nothing in my mind. If I hadn’t been so determined to win, if I hadn’t decided to attempt the Trials, it would never have happened.
Aiden led us out of Prince Hall and over to Ares. Inside Ares there were several classrooms, and then what looked like a dojo in the back behind a windowed iron door. Admittedly I only knew what a dojo looked like from the one unfortunate time Sam dragged me to one of her lessons and I got beaten up by a ten-year-old, but still.
Aiden pulled out his key and inserted it into the door lock. He looked at me questioningly.
“Will you be joining us, or just watching?”
“I’ll settle for watching this time,” I replied.
Aiden nodded, said, “Two and one, please,” and then turned the key. The door shimmered and the symbol of Obsidian House appeared, with Aiden’s name etched in gold above it. The door swung open, and Aiden walked in, followed by us.
The room had changed to include a small seating section on the left, in which there was one comfortable-looking chair. The rest of the room was about 250 square feet, much larger than it had looked through the door originally. Aiden nodded me toward the chair and then walked to the far end of the room.
“Ares Hall has sparring chambers for classes,” he said to Sam, “but students can use them as well when no class is in session. Each door can hold up to eight chambers at once, and there are five such doors in Ares. Enchantments are in place on all of the chambers, preventing any real harm from being dealt to those inside.”
“So you’re saying you can expand and stack up space to make more rooms?” Sam asked, already assuming a fighting stance. “Just like that?”
Aiden shrugged. “I can’t pretend to understand the science of it. Ask someone in the Change Form, and perhaps they could explain it to you. I believe it involves a connection to Limbo in some way. Now, the rules are simple. The match begins when the holder of the key says ‘Start,’ and ends when either side says ‘Stop.’ This is not a room for competition. It’s a room for practice. Ready to begin?”
Sam snapped into a battle-ready stance. “Let’s.”
Aiden nodded. “Start.”
I felt a pulse ripple through the air around me, and the similar sensation of changing pressure happened again.
A Ward shimmered into existence in front of Sam immediately, and all around her the air compressed into the same Orbs she always used. There were seven at once this time, and I thought I saw sparks of electricity inside them. Another thing Aria had taught her, then.
Aiden, meanwhile, looked supremely unimpressed. “I had a feeling this would be the case.”
Sam pointed at him, and one of the orbs arced at his face at an alarming pace, only to be slapped out of the air by a tendril of shadow.
“What do you mean?” Sam asked, sending another orb flying.
Aiden shook his head. “It would be easier just to show you. Try again.”
Another orb whistled toward his face, and another tendril rose to meet it. I saw the flicker of triumph cross Sam’s face this time, however, and watched as the orb exploded in a burst of wind and crackling electricity. Aiden was sent flying into the wall from the force, still wrapped in layers of shadow. He stood up slowly, not looking much worse for wear.
“Seems to me I’m doing just fine,” Sam said, smirking. “Shouldn’t you be putting up more of a fight?”
Aiden sighed, brushing dust off his shoulder. “You still haven’t learned the lesson that all people with talent who come here have to learn. Please, don’t hold it against me that I must be the one to teach it to you.” He turned to me. “Feayr, please intervene if you think I’m going too far. I have no wish to earn any more marks against me in your books than I already have.”
I nodded, then watched as Sam appeared directly in front of Aiden, slamming her knee into his groin. He fell down groaning again, and I expected to see Sam grin. Instead, she looked down at him with a puzzled expression.
“That wasn’t….” Sam frowned. “What’s going o—”
I reflexively winced as Sam went flying into the wall as a massive burst of shadow slammed into her from behind with enough force to shatter her Ward entirely. Now it was her turn to slump to the floor, as Aiden’s prostrate form dissolved into darkness and the real Aiden stepped out of the shadows from the other side of the room, snaking tendrils of shadow following him out.
He looked down at her form almost sadly. “Would you like to continue?”
She glared at him, dark hair falling in a mess out of her ponytail. “Wouldn’t have it any other way.”
She blinked again, appearing behind Aiden this time, swinging her arm against his neck. Aiden didn’t even bother to look as the shadows immediately wrapped around her form, slamming her against the wall once more, even as her hastily raised Ward absorbed much of the impact.
Aiden knelt down next to her, face emotionless. “Do you yet understand the lesson I am trying to teach you, or are you still too angry to properly listen?”
“Go to hell,” Sam growled, and the Minor Orbs she’d constructed and left hidden in the air as she’d teleported all slammed into Aiden’s back.
With a startled whoof, Aiden landed on top of Sam, but he didn’t seem hurt much at all from the impact. The darkness covering his body seemed to act as a sort of armor.
This time they both stood back up, circling each other warily.
Aiden grinned properly this time. “Good. You didn�
��t ignore everything, then. But you’re still too reliant on direct, brute force. Battles between mages are layered games of chess, with plans and safeguards stacked on top of each other at all times. If you insist on charging blindly in every time without precautions, your only result will be failure. It is a lesson everyone naturally gifted at fighting has to learn eventually. Better it be taught by me than by someone whose intent is to truly hurt you.”
Sam blinked slowly, and some of the tension left her shoulders. She took a moment to put her hair back behind her ears and then looked Aiden squarely in the eyes.
“When I beat you,” she said, “you’re going to stop speaking like a medievalist wannabe.”
Aiden smirked. “Agreed.”
Then Sam said a word I hadn’t heard before, and a sheet of roaring flames extended from her fingertips, covering Aiden in fire. I flinched back from the sudden presence of light and heat and looked at Sam with surprise. Apparently she’d found the time to learn a spell or two from the books. I just hoped Aiden hadn’t been kidding about the room protecting the fighters, or he’d be toast.
But then the flames died out, guttering away into nothing as darkness surged from Aiden’s form, smothering everything it came across. Sam backpedaled instinctively from its approach, from the whispering even I could hear. The only sign that Aiden was behind it at all was a pair of glowing golden eyes, watching from a pit of darkness. Sam reached the wall and blasted orb after orb into the darkness, watching as each one was hopelessly swallowed up. I was busy watching nervously as the shadows halted only a few feet away from me, kept at bay by the room’s protections. I remembered those whispers, and not fondly.
“Paries noctis.” Aiden’s voice echoed through the room. “A rather handy ability my bloodline possesses. Next lesson: What do you do when confronted with something of darkness? Consider your options carefully.”