by Lucia Ashta
His body creaked and heaved, until the sound of stretching leather overpowered it. His shoes burst apart at the seams, revealing the feet of a mouse instead of a man.
I gasped.
His ankles grew thin and hairy, his shoulders shrunk, and a tail popped through the fabric of his pants.
Nando squeezed my hand so hard it hurt, but I squeezed right back anyway.
The transformation of his body seemed nearly complete when his face started changing. His teeth grew until the two in the front completely covered his lower lip. The white of his eyes faded while his pupils grew until they fully consumed the color of his irises. I didn’t even remember what color they’d been.
The hair on his head shifted to become spikier. His ears stretched to become rounder and less human.
And then, finally, the unnerving creaking sounds of a human becoming entirely less so diminished and ceased.
The clearing was almost completely silent save for the sounds of chirping birds, oblivious to the oddity of nature, who now stood before us.
The sorcerer was no longer a man, but a gigantic mouse that stood on two legs and wore ill-fitting clothing. Even Arianne and Count Vabu seemed to be in awe of the transformation.
Gertrude as a cat stalked in a close circle around the mouse-man creature, hissing, making it apparent that she’d attack the animal if he so much as twitched a whisker wrong. She didn’t care that he was twice her size, and I didn’t think it would matter much in a fight. Gertrude made it clear she could take him down, and she would if he provoked us.
Madame Pimlish gave a little squeal of delight. She brushed her hands in front of her as confirmation of a deed well accomplished. “See how well I did? I left his face mostly human so that you can interrogate him and he can respond. Nothing will have changed with his memories or ability to answer, as long as you don’t mind a squeaky voice.”
Arianne and Count Vabu’s expressions were dead pan. No one would dare tell her that there couldn’t be a voice much squeakier than hers.
“I’ve also prevented him from transforming on his own, which is what I assumed you wanted me to assist with.”
“Y—Yes,” Arianne said, admirably stuttering only at the start before regaining her regal composure. “I was concerned about him transforming into a mouse and escaping if we lowered our guard.”
“I agree. Quite wise of you to call me. As you know, there’s no one better at transformation magic than I.”
I would have been inclined to think her a braggart for her statement at an earlier time. Not anymore. She seemed to be stating a plain fact.
“This one can only remain a mouse. Unless I reverse the bindings I’ve placed around him, he’ll never be a man again.”
“Very well,” Count Vabu said. “Now that he has no chance of escape, he’ll be able to tell us everything we need to defeat the SMS.”
“Yes.” Madame Pimlish’s voice was laden with delight. “Do you have any more need of me at the moment?”
“No, thank you for your assistance,” Arianne said, leaving me amazed that she could behave as if a man hadn’t just melted and deformed into an aberration of a mouse. “Please continue resting if it suits you. We want you healthy and well.”
“I believe I shall do exactly that.” With a happy smile, the pudgy woman swirled in her flowered skirts and began the walk back toward the manor. She whistled as she went.
I made a mental note not to underestimate my teachers while at the academy. And to never ever get on their bad side, especially not when Madame Prudence Pimlish was around.
Chapter 7
We’d only managed to take two classes since Nando woke from his spell-induced sleep, not at all what I’d imagined when I first learned he and I were being recruited to the Magical Arts Academy. I realized Arianne was worried about this; she’d commented a few times that the academy was taking too long to come together, but I could hardly blame any of them. It wasn’t as if all that had happened was their fault.
Nando and I stood huddled at the second story landing of the grand staircase, trying to figure out what all the commotion was about. In the short time we’d been at the academy, we’d already learned that commotion almost always meant trouble, and when the SMS was involved, it usually meant terrible trouble.
Marcelo thundered down the stairs right past us, clutching Clara firmly by the hand. They swept past us with barely a look. Not even the usually friendly Clara reacted to our curious glances. Something was wrong.
“They must have landed the dragon on the roof,” I whispered to Nando.
His eyes were fixed on the retreating figures rushing down the stairs. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Yeah, I do too.” I sighed. “Can’t it ever be good news?”
“I hope so.” His smile wasn’t convincing. “Let’s go see what this is all about.”
Just then, Gertrude raced past us, Brave half a step behind her. Neither one of them acknowledged our presence in their haste.
Nando arched his eyebrows at me, and we ran after them. I clutched my skirts in my hands so I could skim the treads without falling.
We followed into the parlor. It was packed, even though all the firedrakes but Mathieu and Sylvia were absent. Nando and I leaned against either side of the large door jam and waited. I wanted to ask a million questions, but I understood it wasn’t my place.
Arianne, who’d been sitting on the sofa next to Gustave, jumped to standing. I studied Gustave, wondering if his memories had been restored, but I couldn’t tell. He looked perhaps a bit more focused, but I wasn’t sure that indicated anything. For everyone’s sake, I hoped he was back. From the palpable panic in the room it was evident we needed all the help we could get.
“Tell me this first,” Arianne started, a hand to her chest. “Are you all right? Are you injured?”
“We’re fine, Grand-mère, really, we are, just a bit shaken, that’s all,” Clara said. She looked to Gertrude next, offering her a slight smile of reassurance. The sisters were close, perhaps even as close as Nando and I were. I could tell just from the brief time I’d observed them together.
“What is it?” Madame Pimlish, out of breath, asked in a whirl of flower-patterned fabric and fluster, popping in through the parlor’s other entrance. “What’s all this fuss about?”
She’s one to talk. I was starting to think Madame Pimlish didn’t go anywhere without making a fuss.
Her hand settled on her ample bosom. “Well? I’m starting to feel faint with panic, so someone had better start filling me in.”
“Just a moment,” Count Vabu said from the corner, next to Sir Lancelot, who remained sentinel at his usual spot at the windowsill. “We haven’t yet heard ourselves.”
“Take a seat, dear Prudence,” Arianne said, gesturing to the open seats. “You’ll hear along with the rest of us.”
Madame Pimlish huffed but claimed a seat, collapsing into it loudly.
“Who is this?” Marcelo asked. His tone wasn’t necessarily impolite, but it was certainly impatient, and I worried for him. He obviously didn’t realize he was dealing with a cannonball whose fuse was lit.
With a flicker of cautious eyes to Madame Pimlish, Arianne stepped in. She rested a hand on his arm and said, “Marcelo, Clara, this is Madam Prudence Pimlish. She’s to be our new transformations teacher. There’s no one better at animal transfiguration magic than her.”
Madame Pimlish smiled magnanimously, all potential offense seemingly waved.
“And dear Prudence, this is my granddaughter, Clara, and her husband, Marcelo, Count of Bundry and Irele.”
Madame Pimlish perked at Arianne’s use of Marcelo’s titles. “Very pleased to meet you both.”
“The pleasure is ours,” Clara said, clearly sharing her grandmother’s manners—and sense of caution.
Marcelo nodded in a gesture of respect. For his sake, I hoped it would be enough.
Introductions handled, Arianne quickly added to them. “You both already k
now Vladimir.”
“Yes, they do,” he said. “Now, what happened?”
Finally someone willing to dispense with etiquette to get to the bottom of things!
Marcelo grimaced. “Our ruse of using the pocket watches to plant information for the SMS worked well.”
“Too well,” Clara added.
Marcelo ran a hand through his dark, disheveled hair. “They knew we were coming, that’s for sure. So as far as us being a distraction for Mordecai, I’d say it was a perfect success.”
I took in Marcelo and Clara’s appearance more closely. Their hair was a mess, their clothes untidy, and their eyes wild.
“The moment we cleared the manor, they were on us,” he continued. “They still have some firedrakes left, though they haven’t replenished their numbers, so that’s a good thing.”
“I wouldn’t think they’d be able to,” Arianne said. “It’s already shocking that they managed to gather so many. Firedrakes are rare in the magical world.”
“Well, we saw enough of them to make us reconsider that conclusion.”
“We think they might be breeding them,” Clara said.
“You saw proof of it?” Arianne sounded angry, always rising to the defense of her creatures.
“No, but we saw at least another dozen firedrakes. With those we’ve rescued here, that’s far too many for them to have any other way, don’t you think?”
“Hmph. Yes, I see your point.” And clearly, the grandmother didn’t like it one bit. She crossed her arms across her chest, looking like the firedrakes’ great defender.
“A dozen or so firedrakes swooped over us right away,” Marcelo said. “The sorcerers who rode them flew higher than Humbert, working to keep him from rising in height. They worked to limit our flight.”
“Quite successfully.” Clara frowned. “Humbert could have broken through them, of course. He could have flamed the firedrakes into crisps taking little damage, no matter how hard they fought.”
“But you would’ve murdered innocent firedrakes,” Arianne said, dropping her arms to her sides. “Those firedrakes are not to blame for the actions of their masters.”
“Exactly.”
Marcelo began to pace the short distance between the tea table and the nearest sofa. “As if they realized we wouldn’t hurt the firedrakes, they cornered us into riding beneath them. But even if they didn’t anticipate our actions properly, they made sure it would be difficult for us. Beyond the dozen or so firedrakes keeping us down, their riders flung spells at us the entire time. And as soon as we cleared the manor and crossed roads beneath, sorcerers riding horses popped up.”
“But they couldn’t have known in which direction you’d travel,” Count Vabu said. “The horses would have been of little threat when you were riding a dragon, an admirable feat, by the way. I haven’t seen a dragon in years, let alone one willing to let a magician command him.”
“Clara shares my gift with magical creatures,” Arianne said, pride evident in her voice.
“Only some,” Clara said. I looked to Gertrude, thinking she might be jealous of her sister. But I registered none of that emotion. Whatever troubled Gertrude, it didn’t look as if it stemmed from basic sibling rivalry.
“Usually the horses wouldn’t have been a problem.” Marcelo resumed his explanation. “We did specifically mention where we were going when we acted out our conversation for the spying pocket watches.”
Neither Count Vabu nor Madame Pimlish looked particularly surprised at the mention of spying devices, and for the umpteenth time since arriving in Acquaine, I wondered at what seemed like the unfathomable amount there must be to learn about magic.
“But when we changed directions, trying to shake them, we discovered they had horses with sorcerer riders posted everywhere. It seemed no matter which direction we went, we were blasted from above and below.”
“And since the firedrakes were keeping us from flying higher,” Clara said, “we were within spell range from below.”
“Sounds harrowing,” Madame Pimlish chimed in. Her sympathy surprised me. I hadn’t thought she could worry about anyone but herself. Her expression looked plenty concerned though, and I reminded myself that I should know better than to judge a person so quickly. “How did you manage to free yourselves?”
“It wasn’t easy.” Marcelo and Clara shared a heavy look before he continued. “I managed to maintain a shield around us while Clara accessed the air element. Since the shield would keep her magic contained within it, and probably kill us when she directed the air, I had to time the lowering of the shield precisely. It was tricky, and we had problems. The moment I released the shield, a sorcerer from above and from below managed to smack Humbert with a spell.”
Arianne and Gustave gasped at the same time, giving me hope that at least some of her twin’s usual self had returned. “Is he injured?” Arianne asked.
Marcelo’s shoulders slumped. “I think he’ll be all right.”
“Bless him, he managed to get us back here.” Tears shimmered in Clara’s eyes.
“But he’s hurt. We didn’t know what to do for him, so we just brought him back as quickly as we could. He managed to land on the roof without trouble, so I hope that’s a good sign.”
“I’ll go see to him right away.” Arianne started to move from the room.
“Wait, you need to hear the rest of this. Clara directed the air and saved us.”
“But I probably also injured some of the firedrakes, and definitely some of the horses, though at least there were only a few of them below us at the time.” Clara looked devastated. “The air pushed the firedrakes and horses with such force that many of the sorcerers fell from their mounts. Most of the firedrakes were sent into a spin, falling straight downward.”
Arianne closed the distance between her and Clara rapidly. She placed both hands on Clara’s shoulders. Seeing them standing together like this, I was struck by how much they resembled each other, down to the inner strength which radiated from them, despite the fact that both were visibly upset at the damage caused to innocent creatures.
“Ma chérie, you perhaps didn’t cause the firedrakes harm. I don’t know how the horses reacted. If they fell, it’s true, they might have been seriously injured. But firedrakes are incredibly resilient. Once they escaped the current of air, it’s very possible they could have straightened themselves. They might have dumped their riders and been all right themselves.”
Clara nodded. “I hope so, I really do, but I saw at least two of them with tears in their wings from the strength of the gale.”
“Oh I see. They wouldn’t survive that, not well anyway.”
Tears brimmed in both their eyes now.
“Those ratbags,” Arianne ground out, and I startled. It didn’t seem like ladies ever said things like that. She was furious. “These sorcerers think whatever they want is more important than the well-being of everything else—every person and every creature. They care not for the harm they cause, they intend only to cause more of it. They wish for us to submit to their wicked will. Well, I won’t. Not even on my dying breath.”
Whoa. That was quite a declaration. I believed she meant every single word. Her will was made of steel.
Marcelo just nodded, his determination matching hers. “I’ll fight to ensure it doesn’t come to that, but I fear you’re right. The SMS will fight until we submit, or until they’re all wiped out. And the bad news is, based on what we saw today, there are many of them. To come at us from every direction like that, anticipating every way we could have flown, they had to have lots of them stationed, perhaps even hundreds. Humbert flew like a dragon possessed, and yet if not for Clara’s magic, we wouldn’t have outrun them. We won’t be able to do that again. I hope that at least it helped to spare Mordecai from their attentions. Has he returned?”
“Not yet.”
“Then I must ride out to find him.”
Clara reached for his hand to attempt to hold him in place. “You need to rest firs
t. What we went through... you need some time.”
“There isn’t time.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“No, you need to stay here, where you’ll be safe.”
“If you go, I go.”
Marcelo was staring at his wife, jaw twitching, when Count Vabu spoke up. “I have information to impart, but first, I need to understand something. How is it that Clara directed the air element? Did I understand correctly? Is that what happened?”
Arianne, still shaken, managed to reflect pride in her statement. “My granddaughter is unique. She connects with the elements directly, without spells. She works with the elements, which as you know are the basis of all our magic, without the confines of spells.” Arianne glanced at Gertrude. “Actually, both my granddaughters are unique.”
Gertrude didn’t even acknowledge that Arianne included her. Her body was tense, ready to fight, to spare those she cared about from harm. Perhaps she and I aren’t that different after all.
But Count Vabu focused only on Clara. “She works directly with the elements, you say?”
“Without any spells?” Madame Pimlish asked, sliding to the front end of her seat.
“Yes,” Arianne said.
“That’s unheard of,” Count Vabu said. I never believed I’d hear awe in his voice; he seemed like the type who’d maintain his nerves through every situation. But he marveled now.
Arianne smiled. “I told you, she’s unique.”
“Most certainly.”
“What is this information you have?” Marcelo asked.
“While you were away, an agent of the SMS entered the grounds.”
“Despite the wards? Again?”
“Yes. He entered as a mouse. I know that with the reinforcements I placed, I didn’t include animals. If Mordecai didn’t either when he placed his wards, then it’s likely this sorcerer found the way to change his essence so entirely in his transformation that the wards believed him nothing greater than a mouse.”