“Most of the Advocate Defenders come to practice in the morning, although there are always a handful in the afternoon. For the most part, though, this is the busiest you’ll ever see this room.”
“It’s plenty busy,” Jasper said, still in awe of how the wizards managed to practice so many attack spells and moves without running into each other. He glanced at Julia again, and she looked equally mesmerized. He imagined her out there one day, practicing her attack spells with her fellow Advocate Defenders, and he felt his heart tightening up with admiration. She was going to be damn good at this job. He hoped she knew that he would never try to distract her from her work or hold her back in her career. He would support her and cheer her on every step of the way. They stood and watched a few minutes more, and then Noah told them it was time to move on to the next room.
The tour felt like a whirlwind after that. They went in room after room, watching how the Advocates tackled all sorts of tasks. There was an entire section devoted to stealth techniques, which covered how to appear to be a normal human and not a wizard—even if someone in a crowd suspected that you were a wizard. A room in that section was filled with “human” devices that weren’t common in wizard communities. Things that seemed mundane to Jasper, like fax machines or microphones, weren’t an ordinary part of life for wizards, so it was important that any wizard going undercover as a human understand what these devices were called and what they did. Jasper had lived among humans before, and his clan had all been non-magical shifters before the war, so it seemed strange to him at first than someone wouldn’t even know what a microphone was. But he supposed it made sense that many wizards here didn’t. Even the shifters in Torch Lake didn’t use microphones anymore. Why would you, when you could just ask any nearby wizard to perform a quick and easy amplifying spell on your voice?
After the stealth section, there was another section where the Advocates came to practice very advanced magic spells. Julia seemed especially fascinated by this.
“Some of these spells they’re doing are things I’ve only read about in books,” she whispered reverently as they all watched an older wizard teaching a younger wizard some of the more complicated spells. Jasper had never seen any of the spells, either, but that wasn’t surprising. Even some of the common spells wizards did were still unfamiliar to him, since he’d only been living in a town with wizards for a few months now.
The tour took even longer than Noah had anticipated, and it was already nearing lunchtime when he told them there was one more section left.
“We still haven’t made it to the area dedicated to how we deal with advanced cases of unauthorized use of magic. That might take a while to get through, so we can break for lunch and come back tomorrow if you want?”
Jasper would have gladly stopped to go grab some food, but Julia was shaking her head no. “I’m not that hungry, are you, Jasper? I think it’s probably better to just get everything finished up while we’re here.”
Jasper had to laugh. Julia was so excited about this that she didn’t even want to stop to eat. He shrugged at Noah, who cracked a smile as well. They both knew that Julia was probably starving—she was just too excited to notice it.
“Well, you heard the lady,” Jasper said in a teasing voice. “Let’s press on.”
And they did. Noah explained as they walked that unauthorized use of magic was his area of specialty. One of the Advocates’ main jobs was to deal with situations where magic had been used improperly or without permission.
“It’s actually how we originally came to be known as Advocates,” Noah said. “When someone is accused of using magic without authorization, they will often hire an Advocate to defend them. Advocates are sort of like human lawyers in that regard. They are experts on the laws of magic, and can argue all the reasons why a particular use of magic was or was not authorized. Some cases are pretty straightforward, of course. But due to the arcane nature of magical laws, and the fact that magic is ever-changing, there are many cases that are quite complicated.”
They had reached a room which, when they entered it, looked something like a courtroom. “This is where senior Advocates hold mock trials to practice defending or prosecuting unauthorized uses of magic,” Noah explained. “I was hoping to show you part of a mock trial so you could get a feel for how they go, but there aren’t any scheduled today. Maybe another time. Instead, let me show you something that you’ll both probably find more interesting: the magical artifacts handling room.”
“Really?” Julia said, clapping her hands. “I can hardly wait!”
Jasper frowned. “One of you will have to fill me in. What’s this ‘magical artifacts handling room,’ and why is it so exciting?”
“It’s where our Advocates practice handling dangerous magical artifacts,” Noah said. “You see, one of our jobs is to respond to reports of unauthorized uses of magic. Sometimes this just means tracking down the wizard accused of wrongly using magic. But often, it also involves dealing with ancient magical artifacts, many of which can be quite dangerous if handled improperly. So in our practice room, our Advocates review magical handling techniques on many types of objects that we often encounter out in the field. We have fake swords, jewels, shoes, and cups, for example. By practicing on harmless objects, the Advocates can safely prepare themselves for the times when they encounter such objects out in the field, when those objects won’t be so harmless.”
They had arrived at the room by then. Noah pushed the door opened, and Jasper immediately saw wizards all over the place who appeared to be concentrating deeply. They were performing different shield spells, and using other magical methods of moving the objects around without actually touching them. Once again, Julia seemed fascinated, but Jasper had to admit that this room didn’t seem any more interesting than everything else he’d already seen. Perhaps he had just seen too many things, and his senses were on overload. Noah and Julia were both acting excited about the room, though, so Jasper did his best to look interested as well. Jasper knew Noah was very proud of this room, and Noah had been so kind to show them around in here. The last thing Jasper wanted to do was come across as rude and disinterested.
Which is why he turned to study one of the more interesting swords closely. The wizard who was practicing on the sword noticed Jasper’s interest and paused his training.
“You’re Jasper, right?”
Jasper nodded and extended his hand. “I am.”
“I’m Tim,” the wizard said as he shook Jasper’s offered hand. “They said you might be coming through today. What do you think of the advanced training facilities?”
“Impressive,” Jasper said. “It’s crazy to think that all of this is going on right here in Torch Lake and most people have no clue.”
Tim laughed. “Yeah. But it’s better that way. We keep our defensive methods a secret, and people don’t get freaked out by what could go wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
Tim shrugged. “The longer you work as a senior Advocate, the more you learn about all of the possibilities for things to go very, very badly. And some of the bad things that could happen we have no way of fixing. For example, there are some magical objects that are cursed and can make you very sick, or strip you of your magic, or both. There’s no known cure. We do our best to keep weapons like this from being used, but what good would it do people to worry about them? Most people would just freak out, which isn’t helpful for making things safer. Better for them to stay ignorant, you know?”
Jasper wasn’t sure he entirely agreed. He was the type who thought that knowledge was power. But he also realized that there was a lot about magic that he didn’t understand. Maybe Tim knew better than him what people should or shouldn’t know. So he nodded and said, “I see your point.”
Tim’s face brightened at the seeming agreement from the most famous dragon shifter in town, and he seemed eager to make Jasper feel at home. “Do you want to hold this sword I’m working with? It’s an exact replica of an ancient sw
ord that could swing itself and inflict poison. Don’t worry, this one’s fake and it’s completely safe. But look at the intricacy with which the sword’s handle was carved!”
Jasper looked back at Julia, and saw that she was standing with Noah next to a table of brightly colored balls. The two of them were pointing at the different balls, deep in conversation. Jasper might be here a while. He might as well take a look at the sword.
He picked it up and squinted at the gleaming handle, which was indeed carved impressively. He’d barely had a chance to start looking at it, though, when an angry scream sounded out behind him. Startled, he turned to see what the commotion was about.
Whatever had caused that scream had not been a fake magical artifact. That scream had been very, very real, and when Jasper saw one of the Wizard Advocates yelling in Julia’s face, he felt his blood run cold.
Chapter Eight
Julia dropped the bright green ball she was holding, startled by the loud scream. She thought at first that it must have been some sort of practice exercise that was louder than the others, but it only took a few seconds for her to realize that the scream was not an act. There was a very angry, very red-faced wizard running across the room. It took her a few more seconds to realize that the scream was directed at her.
“What are you doing, you idiot!” the wizard yelled. “Drop that ball! Drop all of them. Who are you and why are you touching my artifacts? Everyone here knows better than to touch my things! Magicae devoco.”
As the wizard spoke the magic spell, the balls lifted into the air and zoomed into the thick sack he was holding. Julia recognized it immediately as a magic safety sack. The Wizard Advocates used these sacks, which eliminated or dimmed magical energy, to safely transport many magical objects. Julia was still confused as to why he was so angry, though.
“I…I’m sorry. I didn’t realize they were yours. I just thought they were practice objects that no one was using.”
“You didn’t think! That’s the problem,” the wizard yelled. “Noah, is this girl with you? She’s not even an Advocate, judging by the way she’s dressed. Who authorized you to let her in?”
“The High Council,” Noah said, standing up to his full height. “And I’ll thank you not to yell at our guests.”
Julia felt her cheeks turning red with embarrassment as the room fell silent. All of the Advocates had stopped their training sessions to gape at the scene being made near the front of the room. In her peripheral vision, she saw Jasper walk up beside her. He put a protective hand on the small of her back, and she felt grateful for his support.
She also felt humiliated. She had no idea what she’d done wrong, but getting yelled at for it in front of so many senior Advocates was the worst punishment she could imagine. These were the people she wanted to impress most—the people she hoped to one day protect as an Advocate Defender. And right now they were all staring at her like she had two heads.
“I’ll yell if I want. Everyone in here knows this table holds my stuff, and that no one is allowed to touch it.”
“Oh, god, are you still on that whole spiel?” Noah said, not backing down an inch. “You’ve been told by the High Council numerous times that you can’t claim any of the objects or tables in magical artifacts handling. They’re community training tools.”
The wizard’s face turned so red it almost looked purple. “I can claim them if I want, now get out of my face.”
Julia thought Noah was going to say something else, but at that moment Noah looked around and seemed to notice that the whole room was watching him with bated breath. Noah turned back to look at Jasper and Julia, and must have decided that it was better, given the circumstances, not to cause any more of a scene than had already been made.
“Fine, Kai, we’re leaving. But don’t think you’ve heard the last of this. I’ll be informing the High Council of your behavior today.”
In response, the wizard screamed again. But Noah turned on his heel and started walking toward the entrance. Julia scurried after him, keeping her head down meekly, still not sure what she’d done so wrong.
“Back to work, everyone. Nothing else to see here,” Noah called over his shoulder as he left. The other Advocates in the room quickly scurried back to their practice stations. Noah was one of the more senior Advocates, and no one dared question his authority. Well, no one except this Kai character apparently. He must have been someone fairly high up, but Julia had never seen him before, which was strange. She had made it her business to easily recognize all of the top level senior Advocates, but his was an unfamiliar face.
“Who was that?” Julia asked as soon as they were safely down the hallway from the magical handling room. Jasper’s hand was still on the small of her back, for which she was grateful. He hadn’t said anything, but knowing he felt protective over her meant the world right now. Noah was in front of them, so Julia couldn’t see his face. But she was pretty sure by the way his shoulders stiffened when she asked her question that he was loathe to talk about Kai.
“Kai Radfar. He’s a top level senior Advocate, but I don’t think he’s been around much since well before you became an Advocacy Support Specialist. He’s the oldest Advocate here, and the most ornery. He used to be our best trainer in the magical artifact handling room but he went kind of crazy a few years ago. Started talking to himself, hoarding the practice objects, and going off for no damn reason all the damn time. There are rumors that he may have mishandled a magical object and been cursed by it, causing him to go a little crazy. But he’s been examined by the best wizard doctors in Torch Lake and no one can find anything wrong with him.”
Julia frowned. “What did I do to make him so angry?”
“Touched his balls,” Noah said.
Jasper couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter at the unintended innuendo in that statement, but Julia quickly silenced him with a furious glare. This was no laughing matter.
“I’m really sorry,” she said. “I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to touch them.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Noah said as he punched an exit code into the main door of the training facility. They’d made it back to the main entrance at this point. “You didn’t actually do anything wrong. He just flies off the handle when someone touches something he perceives as his. I haven’t been back in that room for a while and forgot that the table we were next to is where he likes to store his little hoard of practice objects.”
Noah looked at them and rolled his eyes before pushing the door open so they could exit. Julia didn’t feel a whole lot better, though. Even if she hadn’t technically done something wrong, she’d still caused a huge ruckus in the training room. It had been horribly embarrassing, and it definitely wasn’t how she wanted to be remembered by the senior Advocates. But Noah was already waving his hand in the air, as if waving away the annoying nuisance of Kai Radfar.
“Seriously, Julia. Don’t worry about it. And Jasper, I’m sorry your tour ended on such a sour note. If you have any questions feel free to get in touch with me anytime. And if there’s anything in there you want to see again, let me know. I’m sure the High Council would authorize me to take you again.”
“Thanks,” Jasper said, shaking Noah’s hand. “And don’t worry about what happened. Added a little excitement to the tour, eh?”
But Julia didn’t like that the situation was being turned into a joke. The whole thing had really bothered her, and no matter what Noah said, she felt responsible for the disruption. She frowned and crossed her arms across her chest.
“If Kai is so obnoxious and potentially compromised, why keep him around?”
Noah shrugged. “Because despite how crazy he can be, he’s still the best damn trainer on how to handle magical artifacts. In fact, a lot of people think there’s no way that he’s actually compromised, because they can’t imagine him incorrectly handling a magical artifact.”
“What do you think?” Jasper asked.
Noah grimaced. “I’m not the best person to ask
. Kai and I were never the best of friends, even before he started going a little cuckoo.”
“But surely you have an opinion?” Julia pressed. She found it interesting that Noah didn’t seem to even want to answer the question. He looked back and forth between her and Jasper for a moment, as though trying to decide whether to say anything. When he finally chose his words, he did so slowly and carefully.
“I think he shows many signs that are typical of someone who has been infected by a cursed ancient magical artifact. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.”
“But—” Julia began, but Noah put up a hand to stop her.
“Nope. That’s all I’m going to say. Now, if you two will excuse me, I have some meetings soon and I’d like to grab a quick lunch first.”
Julia sighed, but thanked Noah for his time and let him go. She was silent during the entire walk back to her office, as was Jasper. The more she thought about what had happened, the more agitated she became. Between the incident in the magical artifacts room, and the fact that she and Jasper hadn’t had a chance to talk about what was going on between them, Julia felt like an absolute mess right now. She felt a little queasy, too, almost like she was getting sick, but she suspected that was largely due to the fact that it was now past one o’clock and she still hadn’t eaten anything for lunch. All she knew was that she was ready for this work day to be over. She just wanted to go home.
She didn’t even want to talk to Jasper right now, even though she knew he wanted to talk about their relationship. Earlier today, she’d been excited to talk about it, too. She’d had a whole speech planned out, to tell him how she’d been wrong to not want to date him, and she hoped they could continue to get to know each other better. The truth was, ever since she slept with him out on that boat, she hadn’t been able to get him out of her head.
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