by John Corwin
"Do go on," Sideon said.
Rory bit his lower lip. "It all started about eight or nine years ago."
Clothes rustled and desks creaked as the other students leaned in to hear the story.
"Someone hired him to find the Hand of Jura," Rory said. "It was a woman, but he never found out who she was."
If I'd been a dog, my ears would have perked. Max and Ambria looked at me, both bitten by the same thought. Serena hired him. Rory's father was working for Victus!
Rory looked uneasily at his audience. "It took him months to track down the first solid lead. The whole time he was looking, other relic hunters would come by our house asking questions. My mom thought they were probably trying to find out where Dad went so they could get the relic first."
"Naturally," Sideon said. "Relic hunting is a dangerous trade. Need I remind you of those brave souls who died in places like Thunder Rock and El Dorado before the ghouls who haunted the ruins were driven from them?"
"Justin Slade did that," Lily said in a matter-of-fact voice. "They were husked angels and he revived them."
Sideon dismissed her comment with a backhanded wave. "Yes, yes, child." He nodded at Rory. "Please continue."
"Um…" Rory looked up as if recalling from memory. "Dad found the Hand of Jura in the lost city of Sukhothai. Before he could leave Thailand, he was ambushed, beaten, and left for dead. He survived and made it home then swore he'd never search for another Relic of Jura ever."
"What does the hand do?" Ambria asked.
"The hand can untie or unbind magical energies," Sideon said. "It is particularly useful if you wish to defuse hidden wards or enchantments."
"Is it a right or left hand?" I asked.
He raised an eyebrow. "Rumor has it that it seems to be both a right and left hand at the same time."
"Impossible," Ambria said. "How can it be both?"
Sideon ran a hand across his shaved pate. "A better question would be why does it unbind magical properties? How was it enchanted in the first place?"
"How can you affect magical energies if you can't see them?" Lily asked.
"Just because aether is invisible to the naked eye doesn't mean there aren't ways to see it." Sideon turned to Liana. "Who in your family is the relic hunter?"
"My big sister, Gwyneth." The girl flashed a smile. "She majored in Enchantments and minored in Treasure Hunting. She did so well in her first few hunts, the Reliquisti Order invited her to join them last year."
"Impressive," Sideon said. "The Reliquisti are highly selective. Perhaps she would like to come here and share a story with us."
"I think she'd love to!" Liana said. "When would you like her to come?"
"Why, as soon as possible," Sideon said. "Perhaps she can help us decide what the object of our first relic hunt should be." His face looked more than ever like a weasel as a grin stretched from ear to ear.
Max cupped a hand to his mouth and whispered, "Sounds like old Sideon is doing his best to get out of teaching again."
"I don't know." Ambria frowned and watched the professor speak with Liana. "He seems awfully excited."
He's not the only one. Sideon's sudden interest in relics was fortuitous for me. I barely knew where to start on my quest for the Broken Relic, but Liana's sister might be able to help. I certainly couldn't go to Rory's father, and I doubted my great-grandfather, the relic hunter, was still alive.
Vic and Della remained silent on the matter.
After class, I lingered outside the room. Max and Ambria were so busy arguing about relics that they didn't realize I wasn't behind them. I knelt in the hallway, pretending to tie my shoe in the hopes Liana would pass me and I could talk with her. I heard a giggle and looked behind me. Liana stood just outside the doorway, an amused grin on her face.
"Having trouble, Conrad?" She stepped to my side. "You've been working on that shoelace for nearly a minute."
I stood and tried to speak, but the smile in her blue-gray eyes disarmed me. My lips parted, but whatever I'd been prepared to say evaporated from my mind like morning mist caught in the rays of the sun. I found myself admiring the dimples in her cheeks instead of uttering anything worthwhile.
"Conrad?" Her smiled faded. "Are you okay?"
Della expressed her displeasure with my state. Gird yourself, boy! Don't let feminine wiles distract you.
I took a deep breath and cleared my throat. "Um, hello, Liana."
She sighed in relief. "You're not brain dead after all."
"No, not yet." I managed a smile. "It seems we both have relic hunters in the family."
"Yes, your great-grandfather, was it?" She started walking but motioned me to come, so I paced alongside her.
"Yes," I replied.
"Is he still alive?" she asked.
I shrugged. "I don't know."
Her dark eyebrow arched. "You haven't kept in touch with him?"
The questions were venturing into rocky territory for me, but since she had to know the truth about my parents, I didn't see any point in lying. "I never knew him. I only heard about him from my mother."
"Ah." She touched my hand. Her skin felt soft and smooth and instantly made me forget how to walk.
I stumbled and nearly dropped my satchel. I looked back at the floor as if something there had tripped me. Liana giggled again.
So far this meeting wasn't going anything like I'd expected. I'd faced my murderous parents and fought the Glimmer Queen, but nothing was quite as unsettling as a pretty girl. I steeled myself and skipped to the real question I'd intended to ask her. "My great-grandfather was searching for the Broken Relic." I didn't know if that was true, but it segued nicely into my request. "Does your sister know much about it?"
Liana's eyes lit. "She might. Would you like to meet her?"
I nodded. "Yes, very much."
"She'll be in town this Thursday. Perhaps you could join us for dinner at the Copper Goose."
"Sounds delightful." I nearly walked into the doorframe outside Magical Defense class because I couldn't stop looking at her eyes.
Liana stopped just inside the room and leaned toward me. "I think Harris is wrong to judge you by your parents." She frowned. "The trick they played on you this morning was just mean."
I couldn't stop a grin from stretching my face. "Thank you." A voice somewhere in the back of my head whispered a warning. Remember Blue. She was nice, and then she betrayed you. I involuntarily stiffened at the memory. Harris and I had once been, if not friends, at least on good terms. That was before he'd discovered my true last name, thank to Blue.
Liana sensed my sudden discomfort. "Did I say something wrong?" Her dimples vanished and her forehead wrinkled.
"No." I forced a smile. "I just wish Harris didn't hate me."
She nodded. "There's too much hate in the world already." Liana walked across the room and took a seat next to two other girls who looked back and forth between me and her, eyes alight with the possibility of scandalous gossip.
Ambria did some looking of her own, a deep frown indicating her misgivings. "Did you stay behind to talk to Liana?"
"Obviously." I tried to act as if it was no big deal. "I asked if her sister could give us some advice."
"I wouldn't trust anyone in the Augustus family farther than I could throw a mule," Max said.
I dropped into my seat, heart heavy with his words. "Why would you say that after she helped us with Gideon Grace?"
"Her parents were big admirers of the Overlord—your father." Max scowled. "That makes them about as trustworthy as my parents."
"You should listen to Max," Ambria said. "Remember what happened with Blue."
Her echo of my own misgivings nearly made me change my mind about Liana. But what if the Broken Relic could save Cora and Delectra? I would do anything if it meant having Cora back. If Liana couldn't be trusted, then I'd have to be extra careful.
I had to be ready for anything.
Chapter 8
An explosion rocked the classroom. Students
screamed and ducked under desks for cover. I reflexively flicked my wand and a shield formed over me and my friends.
Max stared at me with astonishment. "How—how did you do that without saying the words?"
"The words?" The floor quaked and dust drifted from overhead, running down the sides of the translucent shield. Everything had happened so fast, I couldn't remember if I'd said anything. "I thought I said them."
Ambria hunched next to me. "You didn't."
Light flashed, and we braced for another explosion. Instead, the dust and debris vanished and the classroom was once again in pristine shape.
Esma Emoora stood in the doorway, tutting disapproval and making marks on a piece of parchment. "This is not the performance I'd expect from intermediate students."
I looked around the room and saw Lily cowering beneath a small shield. Harris locked eyes with me from behind a shimmering barrier of his own and smirked.
"If I call your name, you had better be fast," Esma said. "I promise the consequences will not be pleasant."
One of Liana's friends looked at the professor with huge frightened eyes. "Fast at what?"
An evil smile spread across Esma's face. "Jessica Hale." Her wand flicked out and a bolt of red energy zapped out.
The spell hit Jessica in the shoulder. Shrieking, she stumbled backwards and fell on her backside.
Esma didn't stop, calling out Liana next. Liana held her wand defensively, like a sword parrying a blow and shouted, "Parrano!" The spell ricocheted and sparked off the wall.
"Excellent," Esma said. She spun. "Maximus Tiberius!"
Max spun his wand and cried out, "Soros!" The red energy shattered the shield like thin glass, but thankfully none of it reached him.
Esma continued randomly calling names. Ambria passed. Lily, Harris, and I had little problem countering the spell. Four more students felt the stinging pain of Esma's magic—a pain I was all too familiar with since she'd taught me how to shield myself by attacking me. She even called out Jessica once more. This time the poor girl managed to parry the spell.
The professor hung the parchment on the wall in the front of the classroom with the names those students who'd failed her impromptu test. "If you see your name up here, you will report to me after school for remedial training." She regarded us with a cool expression. "I will not tolerate lackluster performance in my class. If you fail two more pop quizzes, you will be demoted back to the Elementary Magical Defense class."
Students shared uneasy looks with each other. Max blew out a long sigh of relief. "Man, I'm glad I practiced."
After class, Esma motioned me to her desk. Ambria and Max watched with concern, but I motioned them to go ahead to lunch without me. Liana lingered at the back of the room with Jessica, a curious look on her face, then followed her friend out of the door.
"I was impressed with your shield, Conrad." Esma tucked away her wand, much to my relief, since she enjoyed surprising me with random attacks to keep me on my toes. "Who taught you to cast without words?" There was an edge to her voice—something resembling jealousy.
"No one," I hurriedly assured her. "It just happened."
A smile broke the ice. "Yes, I see you're learning to think magic and not just translate it."
"Translate?" I scratched my head. "I don't understand."
"Word is merely form, Conrad." She took out her wand. Her smile broadened when I tensed in preparation. Instead of zapping me, she rotated her wand in a pattern. Her voice dripping with sarcasm, she said, "Here at this vaunted university you are taught that spells are made from wand patterns and words."
I resisted interrupting and let her continue.
Esma planted her small fists on the desk, and leaned toward me. "The very fact that you could cast a complicated shield spell without uttering a single word makes me believe that you could be ready for something far more advanced."
I could barely contain the elation ignited by her kind words. Of all the teachers, Esma had been the only one to take extra time out of her schedule, to help me hone my skills. She cared even more than Galfandor. If I were to defeat my parents, I needed advanced training.
"Yes," I said, "I'm ready."
"I thought so." She put her wand back in its holster. "After school today, I'd like to introduce you to someone."
I grimaced. "I have detention with Professor Grace."
Her lips peeled back into an adorable snarl. With her bouncy blond curls and petite figure, Esma Emoora looked anything but threatening. Having witnessed the way she'd dispatched my abductors and nearly killed them, I knew better than to be deceived by her outward appearance. "Gideon Grace is a disgraceful grump who isn't fit to teach."
I completely agreed with her, but kept my opinions to myself. It was one thing for a professor to say such things, but completely another for a student. "Perhaps tomorrow?"
She shook her head. "I'll speak with Grace. Perhaps he'll let you serve your detention with me." Esma's eyebrows rose as she turned her gaze on me. "What, exactly did he deem deserving of detention?"
I told her about the trick played on us. She didn't seem amused.
"How delightful—the good Professor Grace laid bare his favoritism for the golden boy, Harris Ashmore." Esma backhanded the air. "I will speak with him. Meet me in my office after school."
"What if he doesn't agree?" I said.
"He will." Esma clasped her hands together. "I will see you later."
"Thank you, Prof—Esma." I picked up my book bag and hurried to the dining hall where I met my friends and told them about the meeting with Esma.
"I wonder what she has in store for you," Ambria mused.
Max cast a frightened look at me. "Better be ready to defend yourself. It might be one of her pop quizzes."
I laughed though deep down I knew he might be right. After lunch, we went to our next class, Arcane History.
I expected to see the squat figure of Eleanor Beetle waiting inside. Instead, a beautiful woman with lustrous black hair and creamy fair skin watched me enter. Asha Fellini's red lips smiled at me, and dread turned my knees into water. Though the woman had never raised a hand against me, she so closely resembled Delectra that I couldn't help but fear her.
"Good day, children." Her dulcet voice bore the hints of an exotic accent that hearkened to some faraway land.
"Where's Professor Beetle?" Ambria asked.
"I was told she's not feeling well," Asha replied.
Liana came in behind us. "Professor Fellini, I thought you taught prophecy, not history."
"One cannot see the future without the past." Asha smiled. "Take your seats, please."
I chose a desk near the back, to be as far from those unsettling features as possible. Asha bore far too close a resemblance to Delectra for my comfort. I dared a glance toward the front and met the professor's eyes. I looked away first.
Where Eleanor Beetle preferred to read straight from the history text, Asha Fellini told riveting tales that held me and the other students in thrall. Using her wand, she conjured illusions of Moses, the first Arcane, and told us how he was involuntarily drafted into the first war against the Seraphim.
A chorus of groans sounded when the class ended on a cliff hanger.
"Why did Daelissa kill Thesha?" Max said. "Can't you tell us a little more?"
Asha smiled with great satisfaction. "I'm afraid you'll have to show up for class if you want answers, Max."
Ambria couldn't stop speculating about what might happen next on our way to Rhona McTrask's potions class. "Do you think Kenshu will live? He was so close to the blast zone, I don't see how it's possible."
"I'm positive he's alive," Max said. "He's my favorite character."
I chuckled. "It's history, not fiction. They're people, not characters."
"Oh, you're no fun." Ambria slapped me lightly on the shoulder. "I don't know why you're still afraid of Asha. She's a wonderful professor."
A shiver ran down my spine. "I know, but she looks so much like De
lectra."
"Did your mother have sisters?" Max asked.
I shrugged. "I hardly know anything about my family."
"We know your great-grandfather was a relic hunter." Ambria squeezed my arm and let go. "At least that's something."
It was something, but not nearly enough. I wondered if the books I'd taken had any information on my family tree. Reading them would have to wait until after my meeting with Esma.
Headmaster Galfandor stepped around the corner ahead of us, his tall frame looming over the children. His beard looked several inches shorter than the last time I'd seen him, and he seemed to have fewer wrinkles in his face. He smiled at us, bright blue eyes twinkling. "Hello, children."
"Hello, Headmaster," Max said in his most respectful voice. "How are you today?"
"Quite well, young Tiberius." He removed a pair of spectacles and polished the lens on his long gray robe, but his eyes remained on me. "Conrad, I require a moment of your time."
"Yes, what is it?" I couldn't hide the annoyance in my voice. I knew I shouldn't show disrespect to the headmaster, but why had he kept his mentorship of Delectra a secret from me? What else was he hiding?
Galfandor raised a bushy eyebrow. "Is something the matter?"
Max and Ambria stood where they were, eyes wide at my disrespectful tone.
I allowed myself a moment to cool off. "No, sir. I just don't want to be late for Professor McTrask's class."
"Ah, yes." He chuckled. "She doesn't abide tardiness." Galfandor perched the spectacles back on his long crooked nose. "Perhaps we can speak later."
His abrupt dismissal caught me off guard. "What was it you wanted to talk about?"
Galfandor stopped in mid-stride. "It's likely nothing, young man, but there are troubling rumors that there are people in town who have been asking a lot of questions about you."
My heart skipped a beat. "When?"
"The past few weeks." He stroked his beard. "I only found out about it while dining at the Dancing Pig a few evenings ago."
"Where is that?" Max asked. "I've never heard of it."
"Jack Lamont, the owner of the Laughing Dog in the Grotto, just opened a new public house here." Galfandor turned back to me. "I asked Shushiel to take you a note since you were staying in town, but she's been dealing with family issues and couldn't break away."