by John Corwin
Several students raised their hands.
"Yes?" Grace pointed to a girl.
"A wand."
The professor sighed. "No." every hand went back down except for mine. He stared at me for a moment and finally said, "Yes, Edison?"
"A focus," I replied. "Just like a staff is a focus."
His lip curled into a sneer. "Yes. Can anyone tell me why staffs are sometimes used instead of wands?"
Ambria raised her hand.
Grace ignored her and pointed to a boy with thick glasses in the front row. "Hutchinson."
"Staffs can focus more power," the boy replied.
"Correct. And as we well know, some people believe in nothing but power." His gaze hesitated on me for a second after making the comment and I wondered if it was supposed to be a statement about my parents.
I felt someone else watching me and caught Harris's glare from across the room. I thought back to his comment about needing better friends and suddenly I knew who'd told him my last name.
Blue.
The day of the argument, Ambria had seen her go next door to Harris's. She must have been so angry with me she told him everything. I expected to be furious with her, but felt disappointment instead. I'd yelled at Blue when she'd been nothing but nice to me. She still shouldn't have betrayed our trust, but then again, we hardly knew her. Maybe we shouldn't have trusted her in the first place.
A part of me was happy my secret was out. At least I didn't have to worry about hiding it anymore.
"Well, Edison?"
I blinked away my thoughts and saw Grace and the rest of the class looking at me. I tried to remember what the professor had been talking about, but couldn't recall a single thing he'd said for the past few minutes. "Sorry, what was the question again?"
"The runes," Max hissed. "Say it's the runes."
Before I could answer Grace strode across the room and leaned over my desk. "Report to the common room for cleaning duties after dinner tonight."
"Cleaning duties?"
Laughter echoed around the room. I glanced at Ambria and Max. They looked down at their desks. My face grew hot, but I forced my head to stay up. "Yes, sir."
"Paying attention in my class isn't optional, Edison." Grace straightened. "Who else knows the answer?"
Lily's hand shot up. "The runes."
Max palmed his face.
When the class finally ended, Max, Ambria and I quickly left the room and went down the hall to the Magical Defense classroom. Esma Emoora was already inside and smiled brightly at us. "Hello, Conrad."
"Hello, Professor." I tilted my head in greeting then walked toward the back of the room with my friends.
"Please sit in the front," Esma said. "Only dullards hide in the back row."
Ambria's mouth dropped open, but she turned around and we took the first three desks on the right side of the room. Harris and Baxter entered next, casting dirty looks at us when they walked past. Lily followed close behind and smiled at me briefly before flattening her lips and looking serious. I couldn't tell if her smile was genuine or sarcastic.
"Edison's got maid duties," Baxter taunted.
Harris sneered. "Yeah, better wear an apron."
I ignored them and pretended to talk to Max.
The professor looked from Harris to me, but said nothing. After the last students trailed inside, she stepped to the front of the classroom. "What is magical defense?"
Lily's hand went up. "The ability to protect yourself from harmful magic."
Esma flicked a wand from beneath her robes and aimed it at Lily. "Pop. You're dead."
The girl shrank back, her face pale. "I-I didn't know you were going to do that."
"Precisely, little one." The professor's smile suddenly seemed quite sinister. "The most common defense against spells is a shield." She spun on her heel and aimed the wand at Harris. Light burst from the tip of the wand and zapped him on the nose. "You're dead too."
Harris yelped and fell out of his desk, but seemed otherwise unharmed. Tension filled the room, and everyone had a slightly crazed look in their eyes, probably wondering if they'd be next.
Esma pivoted on her heel and spun our way. Before I knew what was happening, my wand was in my hand. I drew a complex pattern like a cursive S and with each flick of my wand shouted, "Soros, quoros, eva equas!" The air in front of me flickered. The professor's attack crackled past my shield and zapped poor Hutchinson who yelped like a hurt puppy.
"Excellent!" Professor Emoora clapped her hands and walked over to my shimmering shield. "This is how you defend yourselves."
"You stung me!" Harris rubbed the end of his nose. "You're not supposed to hurt students."
Esma's lips flattened. "Are you saying a tiny shock of static electricity hurt, little boy?"
Harris stiffened, suddenly aware that his manliness was being called into question. "No, Professor. But we haven't learned shields yet."
Without looking at me, her arm rotated to point at the shield. "Mr. Edison has."
Except I hadn't learned it. Like torsious, it was one of those spells I'd never studied.
Lily stared wide-eyed at the shimmer in the air and then at me. I couldn't tell if she thought it was wonderful or terrible. The shield spell finally burned through its aether charge and vanished with a ripple.
Harris's jaw tightened. "If Edison can learn it, so can I."
"We're not supposed to learn that spell until our third year of Magical Defense," Lily said. "It's a multi-cast spell because the shield is formed in layers."
Esma nodded approvingly. "Very observant, Miss Crown. What is the shield we'll learn?"
"Soros, the first layer of the Squee shield," she said, "named for the words used to evoke it."
"Precisely, and that is what we'll practice today." Esma frowned and looked around. "This layout will not do. Students, move your desks to form a circle."
There was a brief pause followed by a flurry of movement and the loud scrape of desk legs across the wooden floor. Students bumped into each other and snarled traffic as they all tried to move their desks to the side of the room with Harris Ashmore. My side of the circle consisted of Ambria, Max, Hutchinson, and me.
Esma stared blankly at the students trying to fit in on the overly crowded left side of the room. Finally, she stepped in front of them and waved her wand threateningly. "Other side of the room, please."
Eyes bugging for fear she'd zap them, the students quickly complied until the center of the room was clear and my side of the room was nearly as full as the other. Esma walked into the middle of the desks and smiled sweetly. "Miss Rax and Miss Crown, please come to the center."
Ambria gulped and did as instructed. Lily practically skipped forward.
"I will teach you both this rather simple electricity spell." She pointed her wand forward. "Up, down, quickly side-to-side thrice, and Zzt." A spark of static fizzled through the air. Several students leapt back even though they were in no danger of being hit. A smirk lit Esma's face. "Now, you try it."
Lily got the spell on her first try. It took Ambria three tries to finally summon the sparks.
"Now, you'll learn soros, the simplest shield spell." Esma traced a circle with the tip of her wand. "Soros." A shield several feet in diameter rippled in the air and vanished a few seconds later.
Ambria screwed up her face in concentration and followed the professor's lead. A sheet of translucent air the size of a dinner plate solidified in front of her. Lily made a slightly larger shield and smiled smugly at Ambria.
"Very good." Esma looked around at everyone. "For the rest of class, we'll take turns casting and shielding."
Nervous gulps echoed.
"Miss Rax, you will shield first." The professor backed away and held up her wand then swung it down in an arc. "Go."
Both girls shouted the words to their spells, but nothing happened. Ambria finally got a shield up on her third try, but it faded away by the time Lily finally zapped her with static. Esma seemed aw
fully amused. "Now switch."
Ambria shocked Lily on her first try, causing the other girl to drop her wand and shriek.
The professor called four more students and paired them off so two groups could go at a time. I practiced the simple shield while I watched. On the fourth round, Max and I were called out to face Harris and Baxter. I glanced at the professor and saw the tiniest smirk on her face. She planned it this way.
I took a deep breath to ward off my nerves and squared off against Harris. The other boy didn't look quite so confident against me as Baxter did against Max, probably because of my display of magic earlier. He didn't know that was something Vic or Della had managed, not me. Before the teacher gave us the word to go, Harris flicked his wand.
He's cheating!
I traced the shield and cast it just in time to intercept Harris's spell.
"Excellent, young Edison." Esma smiled almost proudly at me. "Winning a battle of spells is mostly about surprise and keeping your opponent off balance.
Max howled and jumped back as Baxter zapped him twice in a row and the professor's smile faded. "It seems some of you have a long way to go."
A bell gonged in the distance and students scrambled for their belongings.
Professor Emoora put away her wand. "Practice your spells tonight, children. Tomorrow we will practice this again."
From the angry look Harris gave me, I knew he'd be ready for me the next time.
Chapter 25
History with Eleanor Beetle was next. The plump little teacher sat on a stool in the front and recited the lesson directly from the history textbook. I barely managed to stay awake when she began to list the founders of the Arcane Council in a monotone voice.
Max rested his head on his hand, eyelids drooping. Ambria nodded off. A thud jerked everyone awake. Max sat up rubbing his forehead where it had hit the desk.
Professor Beetle didn't even look up from her reading.
Max yawned mightily when we sat down for lunch. "I'd rather get zapped in Professor Emoora's class than sit through another snore-fest like that."
"Me too," Ambria said without hesitation. She leaned on the table and looked at me. "Was your shield spell the work of Vic and Della?"
"Yes." My stomach growled noisily as I took the lid off my lunch plate. "If it's anything like the torsious spell, I probably won't be able to repeat it."
"Multi-casting is high level stuff," Max confirmed. "By the time you learn that spell you should be able to think the words in your head."
"Yes, thinking is normally done in your head," Ambria said dryly. "I can't believe Grace gave Conrad cleaning duty."
"I can," I mumbled. "He hates me but loves Harris."
Ambria sighed. "He's a rather unpleasant man to begin with."
On that we could all agree.
Max buttered a slice of toast. "There's something we haven't talked about yet." He took a crunchy bite and wiped crumbs from his lips.
Ambria raised an eyebrow. "Which is?"
"The anchor stone." He motioned toward me with his toast. "Mirjana told us how the Glimmer Queen can keep her immortality, so maybe we should tell the queen."
Her forehead pinched. "You think we should tell her?"
Max shrugged and looked at me. "If we tell Naeve, then we'll have solved her problem and she won't help Conrad's parents."
I shoveled down a hunk of brisket and nodded. "Unless the queen was lying."
"Why would she lie?" Max said. "I think we should get this over and done with."
"I agree," Ambria said. "We should also tell her that Conrad's parents didn't plan to help her in the first place. Maybe the queen will help us capture them."
One last spoonful of potatoes and my plate was clean. My stomach made an appreciative noise, but I still felt hungry.
Ambria waved a hand in front of my face. "Well, Conrad, what do you think?"
"I think it's a fine idea." I pointed to her toast. "Are you going to eat that?"
She sighed and handed it to me. "Boys are always hungry."
Max stopped one of the server golems as it took his empty plate. "Can I have seconds?"
The golem didn't seem capable of speaking and walked away.
I ate the toast and thought about telling Naeve the answer to her ancient problem. "I wonder how hard it is to find pieces of the anchor stone."
Max looked hopefully at Ambria's remaining potatoes. "From what Mirjana said, it's not easy."
Ambria huffed and pushed her plate over to Max. "Maybe we should ask Evadora to find a few pieces that we can give to Naeve. I wouldn't want the queen to steal Conrad's pebble."
The thought hadn't occurred to me. "That's a good idea. Maybe we can go to the Glimmer and look for her."
Ambria leaned back in her chair and shook her head rapidly. "I don't want to go through the reflected world or any of that again."
Max paused midway through lifting potatoes to his mouth. "Let's wait for Evadora to come to us. The Glimmer scares me."
I thought back to our mirror counterparts chasing us and wondered if mine still waited on the other side. My reflection looked normal yesterday when I rescued Klave, so maybe I could sneak through again if necessary.
After lunch, we went to Elementary Potions taught by Professor Trask. Her classroom resembled a lab with stations instead of desks for the students and a long table at the front covered in glassware of all shapes and sizes. It reminded me of Percival's table in the healing ward. Cabinets lined the front wall, their shelves laden with jars and bottles of ingredients. Pickled lizards and small brains floated in two of the largest jars.
Ambria stared at them. "Eww. I hope she doesn't expect us to handle tiny brains."
"You handle yours pretty well," Max said with a grin.
Ambria swatted him on the arm.
We were the first to the room so we chose the middle table on the second row from the front. I held my breath as students filed inside and finally let out a sigh of relief when Baxter and Harris didn't appear.
"Four to a table," Trask said.
Students looked around and found tables that needed more partners, but avoided ours until every table had four but ours.
Professor Trask raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to speak when a straggler walked in. "Miss Crown, I expect you to be here on time."
Lily looked down. "Yes, Professor."
Trask pointed to our table. "Partner with them."
Lily's eyes bugged when she saw us. "But—"
"No buts, Miss Crown." Trask shooed the girl with her hands. "Go."
Keeping her eyes on the floor, Lily walked over to us and took a stool without saying a word.
"We don't bite," Ambria whispered.
"You lied to us," the other girl hissed back. "Besides, Harris is convinced he has to fight you to protect the world."
Max pshawed. "That prophecy is bollox."
Professor Trask's eyes locked onto him. "Mr. Tiberius, since you seem so eager to speak, perhaps you'll tell us the ingredients for a Juji potion."
Judging from the stunned look in Max's eyes, he didn't even know what a Juji potion was. During my studies in the ruined mansion, I'd read about the mixture and even made it once.
Max hemmed and hawed for a moment. "Um, water?"
Trask didn't appear amused.
Lily rolled her eyes and raised her hand. "Juji potion is an energy drink made of black nettles, a bee stinger, and crushed tube leaves."
"Excellent, Miss Crown." The professor narrowed her eyes at Max. "I suggest you read ahead in the textbook, Mr. Tiberius."
Max looked down at his hands. "Yes, Professor."
Trask turned back to the rest of the class. "The interesting thing about Juji potion is that none of the ingredients by themselves will give a person more energy." She turned to the shelf behind her, removing jars and setting them on her table while she spoke. "And yet, Juji potion will give a person a boost of energy with no negative side effects like caffeine or guarana." She set boil
ing flasks on the table next to the ingredients. "I want every table to send a representative up here to gather what they need to make a batch."
Lily jumped off her stool and went to the front before the rest of us had a chance to react. When she returned, she sorted the ingredients on the table and snatched the mortar and pestle.
"Do you plan to do it all by yourself?" Ambria asked.
The other girl looked up, brow pinched. "You can watch and learn."
"I learn better by doing." Ambria looked in the textbook and sprinkled the black nettles into the mortar. "Max, you crush them."
He took the pestle and pounded it on the nettles like a hammer.
Lily snatched the tool from him. "You're doing it wrong." She pressed the pestle on the nettles and twisted it. "Pound and twist."
Max groaned and held out his hand. "Fine, I'll do it your way."
The girl reluctantly handed it back to him.
After mixing the ingredients and boiling the concoction, we were left with a dark liquid with bits of leaves and nettles floating on top. Lily tried to strain it with a wire mesh, but couldn't get rid of the fine particles. I looked in the drawer on our table for something better, but didn't notice anything except sponge cloth. The image of Victus straining amber liquid through the soft yellow material flickered in my mind.
I didn't know if Vic meant to help me, or if it had just been a random thought.
I tucked the cloth into the mouth of a jar and poured our potion onto it.
Lily looked aghast. "What are you doing?"
"Straining it," I replied. By then the liquid began to trickle through to the other side.
Ambria narrowed her eyes at Lily. "I guess you don't know everything after all."
By the end of class, we had a flask filled with black liquid that smelled slightly of cinnamon. Professor Trask walked around and inspected the results, grimacing at another table's batch that was thick as oil, and stopping in astonishment to stare at the toxic green liquid another table managed to produce.