‘I managed to light a flame on my finger. But we didn’t want to draw attention to our location so the only other one is what I just did to show the battle,’ Amelie explained.
Vako coughed. ‘That’s rather a jump in expertise.’
‘Jim told me spells rely on being visualised clearly. And of course learning or inventing them in the first place.’
‘Yes. Normally there’s a bit more to it. But for you, I guess, that’s all you really need to know.’
‘I’d like to join your lesson,’ Amelie asked. ‘If I may?’
‘Certainly,’ Vako said and rose to his feet. He clapped his hands and the students with mugs in their hands swiftly finished up and stacked them on the tray. Jim and Amelie followed suit and accompanied Vako on the short walk to his classroom. Once there he waved Amelie into an empty chair at the front while Jim pulled up a chair to one side where he had a good view of the students as well as Vako. It wasn’t a big room but Jim was aware the twelve students present sat alongside many empty desks. All over the school, he’d seen evidence that there were far fewer students today than there used to be.
From a bowl on his desk Vako handed each student a wizened, wormy or even mouldy apple.
‘In turn, I’d like you to show me how you can transform your apple,’ Vako said and moved to the front desk at the far side of the room. Each student had their own small desk so he moved between the desks to each student.
Amelie watched the varying levels of success with which the others turned their apple into something edible. But Vako had simply said transform the apple. He hadn’t specified into what. She studied her fruit and a worm popped out and fell to the desk unsettled by the vibe of imminent danger. Amelie glanced up and realised Vako had arrived at her desk.
‘Amelie, can you do something with this?’ Vako asked.
Amelie held the apple in the palm of her hand and suddenly it seemed to dissolve to reveal four fat brown seeds which swelled, sucking in the flesh of the fruit. First one then all the seeds cracked and a green shoot came out one end and white feathery roots blossomed on the other.
‘Do you have an orchard here?’ Amelie asked.
‘Not any more.’
‘Want one?’ she asked holding out the four tiny seedlings which continued to grow before their eyes.
‘How did you do that?’ Vako asked.
‘You were expecting us to create a spell to work against nature. These apples have had their time as fruit. They now seek to grow again as new trees. That is the natural cycle. Not to go backwards.’ She noticed the young man seated beside her was staring at her seedlings in shock. He’d failed to achieve anything noticeable in the way of change in his apple. ‘Concentrate on encouraging it to grow,’ she suggested to him and watched him frown in concentration. He was obviously not finding it as easy as she had, possibly because his apple was half dead, but the apple dissolved as hers had. The seeds swelled and soon three more seedlings had sprouted.
‘Wow, that’s amazing,’ he crowed, holding the tiny plants with paternal tenderness. ‘So how come I could create life but not transform the apple?’ he asked the newcomer.
‘Work with Nature not against her and you’ll find she’ll reward you,’ Amelie said simply. ‘All things start small and need encouragement to grow and flourish. Why should spells be any different?’
‘Anyone else want to try this?’ Vako asked and glanced at Jim. Jim glanced pointedly at the other student of the class who’d failed to achieve any change and Vako went over to him. ‘Want to give it a try Josh?’
‘Not really,’ Josh muttered. His apple had stubbornly refused to change and he’d seen Vako’s disappointment. He looked again at the apple in frustration. ‘Grow,’ he told it angrily and suddenly felt it was recoiling from him. He was so shocked to feel this response that his anger left as abruptly as it’d come. He silently coaxed it, gently this time, remembering the stranger had advised them to work with nature and that encouragement was the key. Bullying he abruptly realised, was what had caused it to recoil. He was stunned, but highly gratified, when the apple slowly dissolved as the others had done and shortly he had a single tiny but strong seedling.
‘Well done Josh,’ Vako said warmly. All the others in the class had now tried it, not wishing to be left out. ‘Come, let’s go and plant our orchard,’ Vako said cheerfully. ‘What will they need?’ he abruptly asked Amelie. ‘It’s almost winter.’
‘They won’t like the frost outside,’ Amelie mused. ‘They would probably do well on these windowsills for the winter if we can plant them in big pots.’
Vako nodded. ‘Josh, can you go down to Cobbler, he’s our groundskeeper Jim and see if he can find us pots for thirty-eight apple tree seedlings! That’s amazing.’
Josh returned quickly with an earthy looking man.
‘What’s all this about apple tree seedlings?’ Cobbler asked Vako then spied the tender little green shoots on each student’s desk. He oohed at the sight excitedly, ‘thirty-eight you say?’
‘Yes. We thought they might do well enough in here over the winter,’ Vako suggested.
‘They’d probably survive, but the light isn’t too good. We never did get around to fixing the greenhouse,’ he added wistfully. ‘They’d do far better in there.’
Vako glanced at Jim and noticed him rise to his feet.
‘Is this one of those jobs you needed us to take care of?’ Jim asked quietly, aware the groundskeeper was listening.
‘It’s on the list,’ Vako agreed ruefully.
‘Well, let’s get it sorted so these little trees have a home,’ Jim said.
‘Put them in the bowl,’ Vako directed and watched the students come up to the front with their seedlings and gently place them where they’d be safe. They all trooped to the other end of the building and out into a very sad area just off the kitchens. The greenhouse was huge, originally a courtyard garden filling in the inner H section of the house at the rear. On three sides it was bounded by the house. The one open side and roof were of glass, now mostly smashed.
‘What happened here?’ Jim asked, surveying the destruction. The glass wall was shattered and a big hole, surrounded with buckled and splintered wood, was all that was left of the main doorway in the outer wall.
‘We were attacked six months ago. They tried to get in the house and when we repelled them they burned or smashed many things outside, including this. Without our greenhouse we cannot grow so much of our own food and are thus vulnerable. Our two strongest wizards, the head and his second, fell to some underhand trickery and we’ve been trying to recover ever since.’
‘Well we’ve enough of us here to meld and sort this,’ Jim said briskly.
‘You know how to direct a meld?’ Vako asked.
Jim stared at him. ‘You don’t?’
‘No. I was always present but never directing,’ Vako explained, perceiving Jim’s surprise. ‘I wasn’t a senior teacher, the head or his second always led these things.’
‘You’ve been trying to do all the repairs alone?’ Jim asked.
‘Yes. You see why I needed help,’ Vako added wanly.
‘Let me see your memory of how it used to look.’ Jim said and grasped Vako’s hand. ‘Vako you’re worn to nothing,’ Jim commented with a frown. ‘You’d both best wait outside,’ he added nodding to the groundskeeper too. ‘Good, now let us get this task done. Hold hands everyone,’ Jim instructed. ‘I’m going to look into your minds only enough to create a link between all of us. I’m not going to be looking at your memories; unless you push them at me!’ he added with amused warning. ‘Our combined strength will make this a lighter task. Ready everyone?’
Jim felt the swell of power suffuse him as each person came into the link, Amelie last, making him feel twenty feet tall. He brought Vako’s memory to the fore and concentrated. He slowly waved his hand and fallen glass shards buried in the soil came free and flew up to their original places and fused back together. Dented metal straightened and fl
akes of paint renewed themselves. Section by section the roof filled in and became clean and shiny. The roof done he sent a warm mental “well done” around the flagging team, letting them pause to rest a moment and see just how successful they’d already been. The long panes of side glass were restored swiftly. More problematic was the damage to the big double doors. They’d been dragged a distance from the building and smashed. This forced destruction had also warped the door frames. Jim straightened up the lintel and frame so the adjoining glass could return then sent his senses hunting for the missing doors. Finally located, the doors were soon flying through the air towards the greenhouse. En-route they straightened and the missing shattered glass found its way back into the doors. The first door swept upright, hinges re-attached themselves and it was finally restored to its place. The second door soon joined it and closed with a distinct and sturdy clang. Jim released everyone and they returned to themselves.
Thunderous applause suddenly started up all around them. It seemed every window had faces, from the cooks in the kitchen and other support staff to students and teachers in the other wing.
‘Is everyone ok?’ Jim asked the students, noticing most were looking very tired. ‘Sit for a minute,’ he advised them, perching on the wooden edge of a handy raised bed. The students readily joined him. Some regarded him nervously, but the spectacular success of this work was unquestionable.
‘I wondered what she saw in him,’ Max commented joining Vako at the window. ‘Now I know.’
‘Did you hear about the apples?’ Vako asked him quietly.
‘No,’ Max said, turning to listen.
‘I was doing my usual lesson of transfiguring rotten apples. She asked to join the class. I don’t quite know why but I instructed the class to transform their apple. Most of course assumed I meant make it edible but she did not. She made the seeds in the apple grow. She said it would be Nature’s next step and we shouldn’t be going against nature. Then she turns to Josh, who’d of course failed the task, and gets him to try it and suddenly he’s done it. The whole class succeeded too. Then she asked if we wanted an orchard. Of course we couldn’t plant them outside. The ground’s frozen and such new tender things would die out of season as they are. Old Cobbler came and asked if we couldn’t just fix the greenhouse. I didn’t even have to prompt him to ask in front of Jim and look at the result!’
‘Let’s go and congratulate them,’ Max said.
‘You know they could take control of the school if they chose?’ Vako said suddenly.
‘That was the risk we took when we invited them here,’ Max agreed solemnly. ‘But he clearly wants to go home and she’ll go wherever he does. They are a formidable pair. But let’s face it; if they decided to stay they’d be exceedingly useful. I know they’re both young and probably wilful. But they are also just finding their adult strength. I’d rather have them on our side.’
‘Thanks Max. I’m feeling tired and acting grouchy I know. But he makes me feel even older than I am.’
‘Come on, it’s nearly lunch time. Let’s go speak to them.’
‘I suppose I should go and write up that list of chores so we can get some priorities figured out. This kind of work is exceedingly tiring,’ Vako said and Max simply nodded, clearly more interested in heading out into the now gleaming greenhouse.
‘That was superb,’ Max burbled enthusiastically to Jim and included each student in his congratulations. ‘See you’ve found a warm spot,’ he added, as a warm waft of air redolent with cooking smells drifted from the open kitchen door. He peered in the fruit bowl at the pile of little seedlings and smiled again. ‘It’ll be nice to have our own fruit again. We used to have a variety of fruit trees until the attack. They burned many of them. Sad day that. So where are they going to go?’ he added as Cobbler shuffled over.
‘This is the warmest place, by the kitchen,’ Cobbler said. ‘It’ll first need clearing of weeds though.’
‘Stand back then,’ Amelie said rising again and gesturing for them to leave their comfy seat. She concentrated and a small flame left her fingers. She directed more power and burnt the weeds and woody stems. The flames even followed the weeds’ roots down into the soil clearing them out completely. It was so fast there was barely any smoke. ‘Now the ground’s clear of weeds and warmed enough to dig over,’ she said to Cobbler. ‘They will grow far faster than normal so give them plenty of space. They’re thirsty too,’ she added.
‘Thank you lady,’ Cobbler said humbly. She’d just saved him and his gardeners’ hours of hard labour clearing the ground. The soot would also benefit the soil, enriching and fertilising it nicely. He pushed a spade in tentatively and found the ground yielded as she’d said. Everywhere else that had been open to the elements was frozen solid. He put the little seedlings in water and the water level fell quickly. They were indeed thirsty. After the drink they grew another inch before his eyes. Wizard touched things were strange, but he was used to that. He called for some help now the wizards and students had gone to lunch. Armed with spades, three of them soon dug over and softened the neglected bed. Finally it was raked smooth and the seedlings planted with plenty of space between each. With the number they had they took up the whole bed.
‘These are apple tree seedlings,’ Cobbler told the cook. ‘Can you keep the kitchen door open as much as possible to keep the frost off them?’
‘You needn’t worry about that. It’ll be nice to be able to open up again. It gets far too hot in the kitchen but leaving the door open to the outside was too extreme. The wind kept blowing out the fire or throwing dangerous sparks about. This is wonderful,’ she added looking up at the now gleaming glass and closed doors. ‘This is down to the two newcomers isn’t it?’
‘Yes. They’re both far stronger than anyone else, or so I hear,’ Cobbler said and sat down to share her side of the gossip.
15
The Testing
Jim’s meld team ate almost twice their normal portions at lunch. Using magic burned calories extremely fast. Without food and regular short breaks a wizard became weak rapidly and could burn out. The students however couldn’t wait to share the experience with their friends.
‘You’ve both certainly made an impression on your first day,’ Max said to Jim and Amelie with a grin.
Jim followed his gaze, noting the animated discussions going on at the student tables. The focus was each member of his meld team and then he and Amelie. ‘So it would appear,’ Jim returned wryly. ‘Perhaps you’ll go easy on us for the rest of the day?’
‘Don’t tell me you’re tired?’ Max asked cheekily.
‘Of course we’re tired. Neither of us has ever done any of the spells we did today. But we’re used to being tired.’
‘What usually happens in the afternoon?’ Amelie asked.
‘Physical training,’ Vako said. ‘Would you like to join the students?’
‘What kind of training?’ Jim asked. ‘We don’t need to get fit.’
‘No I suppose you don’t as a generality,’ Vako said. ‘But are you skilled in combat?’
‘No. Neither of us has had any training in that,’ Jim told him. ‘I’m a fair shot with a bow but that’s about as far as I go. I’m not a warrior.’
‘And you?’ Vako asked Amelie.
‘Nothing to speak of,’ she said.
‘The training ground is half a mile out beyond the oak tree behind the house. You’ll see the track. Be there at two,’ he said and left the table. They saw him speak with a burly man who’d been seated at the far end of the teacher’s table and who was now looking their way. Then he was gone.
‘Two, that gives us another hour,’ Jim said glancing at the big clock in the hall. ‘I think I could do with a nap. I rather think we’re in for a pummelling later.’
She nodded ruefully and they headed back to their apartment.
They arrived promptly at the training ground and looked around with interest. A large outdoor field set with archery targets was in the corner of the b
oundary walls so only had to be fenced on two sides to be enclosed. A long low shed stood on one side and as they approached they could see this was full of stalls where horses stood saddled ready for cavalry drills, but sheltered from any rain. They spotted a student go into a large circular shaped building flanked by a few smaller sheds and followed. Inside they discovered a sandy fenced arena. It was surrounded by tiers of seats set back and above ground level, thus mostly out of reach of any stray weapons fire.
‘Amelie, Jim, this is Bruno. He’ll be your instructor,’ Vako said gesturing at the burly man they’d seen earlier.
They nodded and sat down. ‘I doubt his magic is usable,’ Jim commented for Amelie’s ears alone.
‘Look at the size of those biceps. He doesn’t look like he’d need magic to overpower anyone,’ Amelie responded apprehensively.
‘You, stop your nattering and come down,’ Bruno snapped at Amelie.
She glanced at Jim anxiously but rose.
‘Come on, we haven’t got all day. I thought you were meant to be some hot shot warrior wizard?’ Bruno said.
‘Only he has made that claim,’ Amelie snapped back, gesturing towards Vako. She walked quickly to the low barrier and vaulted into the ring to face this man.
‘I have had no training in combat,’ she added eyeing him warily. She’d prudently exchanged her dress for a pair of Jim’s trousers and was glad she’d done so. Her boots sank into the depressions made by other feet. The sand hadn’t been raked and was uneven, making the footing treacherous.
‘So I hear,’ he responded. ‘Yet you have been in battle.’
‘Yes, but not in feeble human form,’ she said and side stepped as he suddenly moved closer. Being animus agile and strong she evaded the various ploys he used to get close enough to hit her. She’d been told she couldn’t use magic in this class, but actually she was not yet fluent enough in crafting spells for that to be an issue.
‘Nevertheless, we need to see what you’re made of. Try and attack me,’ he invited. She nipped in and punched his upper arm and was out again before he could catch more than a glancing blow at her. His arm however was now numb and unresponsive. She might be a girl but she was easily as tall as he and animus strong. She nipped in again but he’d been expecting the same approach and punched her in the face. He’d checked the force of his blow but her head snapped back and she fell. Even on the ground her eyes remained fixed on him however and she jumped up quickly, shaking her head. Blood flew from her lip and her eyes were narrow; now she was angry. She rushed him low and grabbed him about the waist. She ignored his flailing arms, lifted him and threw him down. She was about to go for him again when he began laughing and held up his hand.
Amelie: Wizards of White Haven Page 23