by Jillian Keep
He retracted his hand slowly. “I can teach you some useful skills with your new familiar today,” he remarked matter-of-factly. “Perhaps that shall be enough to get you into the academy. Perhaps not,” he shrugged his shoulders. “I have much more to teach you as well, but we can discuss that later. One step at a time.”
She nodded, looking at him curiously. He hadn’t tried to betray her or harm her, but then, perhaps he hadn’t the power now. He could be biding his time, waiting for her to let her guard down.
So she wouldn’t. She’d take his lessons and succeed in her bid to get into the academy. She controlled him, she reminded herself. Not the other way around.
Chapter 4
She had gotten so wrapped up in her lessons with the demon that she hadn’t noticed the day slip by. When hunger finally began to overcome her excitement at learning how to change her familiar’s shape to better suit it to different tasks, Varuj merely smiled and taught her to send it off to fetch food. The ripe berries it returned with were enough to keep her satisfied and delighted.
Though all good things had to come to an end, and with night so advanced, she knew she had to get back home, or else her father would finish work and worry at her absence.
They walked together through the woods, the town still a ways off, her new pet fox prancing at her side.
She hadn’t felt so… excited for life in such a long time. All her hopes and dreams of actually becoming someone of value, someone of note, were coming true. She knew her father didn’t want his job for her any more than she did, and now she finally felt she knew a way to break the cycle.
To show those elves up, once and for all.
“I didn’t even know these things existed. Not like this.”
“There is much more,” he stated casually, his hand gently touching the base of her spine as they walked. “This thing is relatively simple,” he explained, “though it would take one of your competitors many years of tutelage to learn and do what I have done for you in but a day, Firia. It is a good start. And one they will not be too likely to suspect.”
She nodded and a smile actually began to creep to her lips. “Well, I hope so. But… thank you. Just knowing these things is a joy, even if it gets me no further ahead with my goals.”
“It shall,” he said with infectious confidence, though he came to a halt as they neared the edge of the forest, facing her. “I must hide within you for the night again, Firia. Though know my offer stands…” he tilted his head down and let his warm gaze meet hers. “Treat me as companion, and I shall show you more.” He looked back over his shoulder to where they’d come from, “Go there when you wish to learn, and I shall come forth and help you. Our bargain set.”
“Just… Please don’t go hunting for more memories…” she pleaded, her body stiff from the long day of practice.
The moon reflected off his hair, and the sleek little black horns hidden amongst the strands, its silver light making him look that much more appealing. “You mistake what happened,” he said. “Two souls mingled, that is all.” He gave her a deferential bow of his head, though. “But I shall not meddle or play the voyeur this eve, madam,” that alluring foreign accent of his so rich, “I promise.”
“Thanks.” It was so weird. All of it. His behaviour, his looks…
But the strangest was how he was making her feel such affection and longing to be around him. To have someone who actually shared interests with her and yearned to find out more about her. She stood up straighter, her large eyes becoming heavier as her mind began to quiet down for the evening. “So good night, then.”
Varuj leaned in, his arms moving up about her in that warm gesture. He embraced her again, as he had the night before. “Goodnight,” he said softly, head tilted, her dark, foreign prince of the damned looking about to kiss her as he leaned in, but then…
He was gone, she felt him settle within her. His essence mingling with hers. So foreign, so unlike her own, yet feeling so warm. So comforting.
The soft yip of her familiar tore her from the moment, however, his tail swishing as he gazed up at her.
She smiled warmly at it before repeating that motion the demon had taught her, calling her familiar to join them. To make her whole once more.
Chapter 5
Firia had resisted the urge to turn to the demon for help again. It would’ve guaranteed her success, she knew that for certain, but she feared for herself. Feared what she might do if she were exposed to his smooth charms and stunning good looks again.
He wanted more in exchange for further favours, she knew. The thought of what it might mean to treat him as equal scared her.
She instead practiced with her new familiar, honing her use of the tricks she’d learned, and trying to devise new ways to impress with her mastery of him. She also practiced the little cantrips she’d learned on her own over the years too. The ability to control flames – albeit tiny ones – and freeze water upon her touch.
It was impressive work for a human such as herself who’d never been tutored, but all the same they were meager tricks for a potential apprentice, and she knew the true road to success would be her stunning new familiar.
It consumed her thoughts as she ate her meal in front of her father, her hand repeating some of the gestures the demon had taught her – without actually casting the spells – as she prepared for the day ahead.
Her father, however, had been watching her. “You okay, hun?” he asked with concern. He knew what day it was. How the elven students would begin their competitions for recognition. She hadn’t told him of her new tricks yet, and as far as he knew her chances were still so very slim.
For her part, she was distracted with not only her spells. For though the demon had kept her word and not probed into her memories, she had dreamed of him quite frequently. Natural dreams, she felt. They were not tainted by his actual, meddling presence, she believed; it was just hard not to think on the newest addition to her life. Her great gamble.
“Yea, dad.” It was a lie they both saw through, but they were so used to these little white lies. The denial that anything was wrong in their life. The denial that they were both so unhappy.
But this was something new. This was excitement that lay beneath the dread and fear, and her mind kept wandering. She had to be focused and sharp, but it was so hard with him on her mind. She wanted to see him again, to feel his smooth hand caress her wrist, but she had to resist.
He ate quietly, though she knew he was aware of the significance of the day. He had gotten up early to prepare her a rather lavish meal of “brain food”, as he called it. He knew she would compete, and whether it was hopeless or not, he would do all he could to help her see victory.
“I was thinking,” he said, not looking up from his own meal. “Those elvish children have a lot of advantages over us folk,” he was beating around the bush, she realized. “What with their money, trainin’ and years. Heck,” he said with a chuckle, “when you were just a girl competing on the exams, you were up against ones twice your own age.”
He wet his lips and didn’t pause long enough for her to speak, “So I was thinkin’, Firia… why not give you a lil’ advantage of your own, huh?” He put down his fork, and she watched as he reached into the pocket of his old, frayed beige sweater. What he pulled out then surprised her, for it was something human families never really provided for their children. No, it was far too rare and expensive to be spoiled on their kind. Even ones who could afford it rarely could find a seller willing to deal with their kind.
Yet there it was, embedded in cloth: a crystal ring.
“Dad…” she couldn’t help herself from saying, shock written all over her face.
Crystals, real crystals, were so rare. They helped focus a caster’s abilities, gave a great edge to anyone who wore one and focussed their efforts upon it. No real professional magic user ever went without one.
She cursed herself as her eyes blurred and she swatted it away. Was this why he never had money
for food? “I don’t know how you got this.” Her voice quivered as she stared at it, then at him, a new affection warming her heart. She’d never felt so… loved by him. So cared for.
Her kindly father couldn’t help but smile, and he got up from his seat and walked over to her. He put his arms around her and hugged her, as he hadn’t done since her mother had died. “Do it, sweetie,” he murmured to her. “Show how much potential you’ve got, and make ‘em have to claim you.”
She managed to hold in her sob as her hands went around his arms. “I will. I promise,” she murmured softly.
She had no idea how much he was rooting for her, how much he wanted for her, and she was even more determined to succeed.
With a kiss to her dark hair, he pulled back, and she saw his own eyes, red with moisture. “You’ll do it. I know you will,” and she knew he had supreme confidence in her.
Chapter 6
The competition – for that is what it was – had the look of a county fair. The great tent that swelled up to tremendous proportions, the banners that flowed in the air representing the various academies, companies and interests. It had a spirit of joviality about it. At least, elvish joviality.
They were more formal than humans in the day to day, but when they celebrated they were full of laughter and song that was not tethered to sadness, as the lowly humans were.
Firia had to press on towards the scene, her heart beating fast. Though the elders were all in high spirits from what she saw, the other students were mostly grim and determined. Their elaborate elvish clothes – reminiscent of what Varuj wore – looking so stiff on them as they all eyed the competition.
This would be but the first day of trials, but she knew that the magical academies made their picks on the first day then left, not wishing to make any further waste of their professors’ precious time. The remainders were left for lone sorcerers and trading companies to barter with. Or to simply go home in defeat.
The very first thing she couldn’t help but notice was how so many of those long, ovaline elvish eyes were upon her. She had been the only human they’d seen thus far, and she stuck out.
Yet she held her head high, despite the fact that she wanted to run and hide. To get away from their stares and scrutiny. She’d been such a loner for so long, though, it was hard to be in the limelight. To know how closely she was being watched.
And how quickly they’d laugh at her failure.
She could see it in them. Curiosity, sure. But also a desire to see her fail. To know that they were better than even the best the human world had to offer.
She was grateful she’d gotten loan of such a fine robe with flowing sleeves that showed off her wrists when she cast. It felt like a safety blanket, something to protect her from the cruelty of others, and she tried to calm her breathing as she took it all in.
From out of the sea of watchful eyes, one of the elves approached her. He was tall, lanky, with wheat-coloured hair that was cropped close to his head. He wore not a robe, but a cloth tabard, bearing his family crest. It wasn’t one of the ones she recognized, though after the elf nodded and spoke his “Greetings,” she recognized him from her class. He was not a wealthy or influential elf. He couldn’t have been, to have gone to school with humans.
It was almost like he was an ally, but she wouldn’t go that far. She knew that those with as dismal futures as she could be more cutthroat than any, and she gave him a reserved smile. “Hey, ah…” she paused, struggling to remember his name. She’d never bothered to even learn that about her classmates.
“Mae’lin,” he said without taking offense, giving her a respectful bow that in elvish society was reserved for equals. “You're going to compete then?” he asked, his emerald eyes alight with curiosity.
“Well, I didn’t come here to see how the better half live,” she agreed with a sarcastic smile. She had pulled her hair back in a single ponytail and it swished against the back of her neck as she glanced around. “I guess you are too? And… I’m Firia,” she added, just in case.
“I know,” he said with an amused smile. “There was always talk of the quiet human girl in the back of class,” he remarked, standing more casually then, comfortable it seemed with her greeting. “Some of the other kin –” and she knew elves all thought of each other as kin “–speculated you were plotting some violent act of rebellion,” and his ovaline eyes flashed with amusement.
She laughed, and her blue eyes sparkled. “Well, we’ll just have to see what happens here. I’ll say no more.” Even though her words were dark, she smiled at him deviously and gave him a wink. The thought of the others talking about her – her! – came as a surprise, though.
Mae’lin smiled at her, almost bashfully really. “I always told them they were foolish. Truth be told,” he remarked with a shrug of his shoulders, “they never react well to humans who make them wonder or strike their interest. It bothers them.”
“Well… I suppose that’s good.” She wasn’t doing it for them, or to embarrass them. She simply wanted to do what she was best at. Always. “You never answered if you were competing.”
“Oh,” he said, brushing a hand back over his blonde hair. “Oh! Yeah, of course,” he remarked, a bit of a blush forming on his own pale cheeks. “I’m giving it a shot … My family has enough sorcerers of our own working the business, so… it’s make the cut at one of the academies or else…” he shrugged his shoulders again.
“It’s not often humans compete,” he blurted out. “I mean… that makes you pretty special… is all… I’m sayin’.” He gulped.
Was he nervous around her?
Suddenly her stomach tightened, and she felt nervous too. It was as if all her forced confidence slid out of her and was replaced with the heat of her blood rising to the surface. She finally really looked at him, not just through him, and a lump developed in her throat.
She tried to swallow it down. “I’ll be special if I get picked.”
He was handsome in his own way. Though all elves were, his long, lanky nature gave him a curious look that contrasted his kin. It made him stand out more, she realized, for the others tended to be so perfectly uniform humans could hardly tell them apart. “Either way…” he began, but then nodded firmly. “Same boat as me then. Well… kinda.” He knew it wasn’t. No human could be competing for such recognition on the same level as an elf, of course.
She forced a smile, but it was lopsided and awkward as she scuffed her black shoes into the ground. “Well… goodluck. I mean…” she trailed off, her tongue tied. She had no idea how to talk to these elves, even if they did seem genuine.
But then, did she know how to talk to her fellow humans that well either?
The longest conversation she’d had with anyone in her life might’ve been with a demon.
“To you too,” he said with a boyish smile, though she knew he had to be well beyond her years. Elves always were somehow.
The horn sounded signalling the call for competitors to assemble, and Mae’lin gave a bow and gestured for her to go ahead. “I shall see you in the fields then, Firia. Goodluck,” he remarked genuinely.
Chapter 7
Inside the grand tent Firia couldn’t help but be amazed at the staggering scope of the area it covered. It spanned the entire field, and housed within it dozens of house-sized enclosures where different groups, each showing their own banner, prepared for the festivities and competitions.
The boom of the organizer’s voice carried over the crowds, clearly instructing the young hopefuls on where the competitions would be held.
Firia had only two real tricks up her sleeve: her ability to manipulate heat and fire, and her familiar. She still held some small hope that the familiar wouldn’t be necessary to impress the academies, so she wanted to keep that one in reserve. Though she was at a distinct disadvantage.
The competitions were mostly highly regulated things, where the hopefuls competed on a series of tasks that were laid out. These were contests that basically only w
ealthy elvish families could aspire to, as only they could afford to give their children the private tutors necessary to master so many little introductory spells to numerous schools of magic.
When she heard the announcer declare the “general aptitude display competition,” she knew that her best chance lay there. As she shuffled through the crowd towards the indicated area, she saw Mae’lin doing the same and knew he was in the same boat.
Upon arrival, however, she saw the competition would not be small. The crowd of young hopefuls was enormous! The ring where they would display was large, but as she saw they were only filtering through a couple at a time, she realized the wait would be long.
It wasn’t fair. They had all the advantages, and still they couldn’t cut it in the specialized fields. She was here because this was the best she could aspire to as a human from meagre means. They had every advantage and still they thought themselves to be on the same playing field as her.
No. They thought they were better than her.
Her head lifted high and her eyes narrowed as she looked around, seeking some way to move ahead. To catch the gaze of someone important.
The contests began in the meantime, and she realized, even as she scanned for some way to get ahead, that the reason they were being filtered two at a time was for the sake of comparison. The first pair off was odd, only one of them seemed to get that fact, and while the other did her best to impress the judges, the more prepared one simply did his best to outdo her.
It was a short match for that reason, and quickly they shuttled them off, one towards one of the academy’s area, the other towards the edge of the tent-dome where she’d doubtlessly be forced to wander home defeated.
It only heightened her sense of urgency, and as the contests continued – growing more fierce with time – she wedged her way to the front as best she could.
Once there, she got a good sight of the next competition. The tables arrayed with components for ease of display. There were sconces for fires, which she noted first and foremost, there were basins of water – quickly refilled from the last competitors – and an endless assortment of wooden fixtures, practice dummies and all sorts of spell components.