by Rain Oxford
“We have done many exercises to strengthen your mind when under attack. We’re going to strengthen your mind to physical attacks now.”
Vincent and I were in the library. We were surrounded by a ring of blue fire, but it wasn’t hot in the least, so I was trying to chase away the January chill with my second cup of coffee. The sun was just peaking up over the forest through the east window. Too bad that warmth was seen and not felt.
“Pay attention,” my uncle scolded.
“Sorry.” I forced my gaze away from the window. “Shouldn’t that have come first?”
“No. Except from my brother, protecting your mind is easier.”
“Have you ever seen a gun? I’ve never had trouble protecting myself physically. It’s when someone can curse me with stolen blood or control my mind that I have trouble.”
“Has anyone other than my brother been able to control your mind?” he asked worriedly.
“No, but I know some of the teachers here can hear my thoughts. Professor Nightshade did once. Of course, it was just a little thing. But I told you how Heather kept contacting me in my sleep. That’s the same thing, isn’t it?”
“Sort of. She was using your visions as a weak spot to contact you while your defenses were down. The lessons I have taught you and your reliance on your ring has strengthened your mind.”
“So that’s why she can’t talk to me? Then tell me how to break it. Making a deal with Heather is the only way Langril will let me get Astrid back.”
“No.”
“No, what?”
“No to all of it. No, if you are receptive to her, then it’s not my training that is preventing you from contacting her. If it were, you would still be able to talk to Astrid. No, I will not help you make a deal with her; your soul is worth too much. And no, Heather is not the only way to get to Keigan. She is his daughter and I know he loves her in his own twisted way, but only as much as I loved Star. To him, we are all just humans, Heather included. There is something much closer to his heart.”
“Power?”
“Yes. When you gain the final key, Keigan will do two things; try to make a new deal with you and try to kill you to get it from you. Which one he does first depends on how much he fears you. Ironically, Krechea will be exactly the same.”
“Who do I have to worry about more?”
“I know very little about Krechea. Unfortunately, I do know Keigan. Keigan will never be on anyone’s side but his own, and he will never hesitate to stab you in the back if you stop being more useful to him alive than dead.”
“What did he give up for his key?”
“Logan once told me it was his heart, but I doubt he knows for sure.”
“What do you mean his heart? As in his ability to love?”
“I mean his heart. There are many ancient rituals to achieve immortality, and I believe Keigan has done more horrible things than any beating heart could handle. Logan once stabbed him in the chest with a sword, right through the heart. He didn’t even need stitches. Everyone from Dothra can heal at an incredible rate, but what creature can survive a blade to the heart?”
I took a sip of my coffee, grimacing because it had gone cold. Vincent reached across the table to touch my cup, and it started steaming. “Thank you, but isn’t that a bit frivolous?”
He made a face that reminded me of him when he met my mother (which was really weird considering I hadn’t been born yet). “What good is being a wizard if you cannot have a hot cup of coffee in the morning?”
I enjoyed the following comfortable silence as much as my coffee. Vincent never wasted time in our training, almost as if he wanted to avoid being asked any personal questions. I believed that he didn’t know he was my father. There was definitely some reason he thought otherwise, but until I figured it out, I would just be happy knowing I wasn’t John’s son.
“If we waste any more time, you’ll be late for class,” Vincent said regretfully, pushing his tea aside. We both stood and he waved his hand in a loose motion that made the furniture move away from us. “Clear your mind of everything.”
As he had taught me, I started by closing my eyes and counting my breaths. Five in, five out. For an unknowable amount of time, I was able to think of nothing. Then my instincts fired up and I ducked. I heard a thump, opened my eyes, and turned to look behind me. A dagger was stuck in the bookshelf. I turned back to my uncle just as he motioned with his hand and the dagger flew back to him.
“What was it you said about a physical attack being easier?” he asked snidely.
“I dodged it.”
“And broke your concentration. You must separate your mind and body. Trust your instincts to protect your body while your mind does its magic. Do better next Wednesday.”
Frustrated, I grabbed my coffee and went to class.
In Tools of Magic, we were told to pair up and make dream catchers. I thought this was a bit arts-and-crafty, until I found out they actually had some magic behind them. Theo immediately claimed me as his partner. I wasn’t a fan, but I was probably the only one in the class who would make sure he pulled his weight in the project. First we had to make a potion to soak our threads in and another potion to mix into our clay beads that we were making from scratch. Theo and I worked equally in preparing the ingredients. Then I did the magic while he prepared the strings and started on the second potion. We didn’t have time to finish the project, but we had both potions done and the strings soaking for our return.
I was heading to Mythology when I heard a scuffle in the adjacent hallway. My instincts drove me towards the sound. Brian, in his shifted form, was keeping two wizards from getting to Becky. No one was throwing any magic, at least, but the wizards were about to realize how quickly a hyena could tear them apart.
“What’s going on?” I asked. Brian stopped growling, but he didn’t shift back or move away from Becky.
“Becky is a traitor to the council,” one of the wizards said. Both of them were in their second semester and I didn’t know their names.
Brian shifted into his person form. “She’s the daughter of a council member. She hasn’t betrayed anyone, and if she doesn’t like the new council rules, it’s none of your business! Just leave her alone!”
“Anyone who opposes the council is going to ruin everything for the rest of us!”
I noticed the mark on his wrist, but it was different from the ones I saw on Li Na and Theo. “So you’re going to go around and… what? Kill everyone who opposes the council?”
Both wizards hesitated and glanced at each other. “Well, no. We just wanted to make her… I don’t know.”
“Brian, move out of the way if you don’t want their blood splattering all over you,” Becky said.
Since I clearly wasn’t needed, I turned and started on my way back to class. Becky caught up to me a few minutes later, as we had class together.
“So what was that about?”
“Everyone thinks that if you don’t take their side, you’re against them.”
I saw her wrist as she ran her fingers through her hair. She saw me notice and regarded the unmarked skin. “I refused when my father wanted me to get the council’s new mark.”
“How come there are different marks?”
“They’re different sides. Some students embrace the council. They would rather have more rules and less control over themselves in exchange for supposed superiority over other paranormals. Most of them just do it because their parents are somehow involved with the council. Now there’s a group opposing the council and they’re tattooing their wrists with a different mark to show their rebellion.”
“How does your father feel about this?”
She scoffed. “He forbade me to come here. I know the council is planning something to make Hunt give up the student records.”
“How do you know that? What are they planning?”
“I don’t know what they’re planning, only that my father is demented. They’re probably setting up some kind of legal sc
andal they’re going to blame on Headmaster Hunt, which is ironic because if anyone knows about scandals, it’s my father.”
I noticed an exceptionally bitter note. “Has he tried to set Hunt up before?”
“No. He’s blackmailing me. He says that if I tell my mother he’s cheating on her, he’s going to have me labeled as a throwback and try to get me kicked out of school like he tried to do to Darwin.”
“Are you going to tell her?”
“I already have. She knew, but she refuses to leave him.”
In class, the professor talked about Roman gods.
Summoning Your Familiar was going to be a difficult class for me because all of the other students were so excited to get their familiars. Becky was also in this class with me and she was the only one besides myself who wasn’t thrilled. Although she wasn’t the most powerful student in class, she also wasn’t the weakest. The more I got to know her, the more I felt like her personality made up for any flaws in strength.
First, we had to learn how to call our familiar, which required opening ourselves up to nature. I admit I slacked off while the other students were meditating. I refused to let my familiar suffer from my condition. When everyone else left, I held back to speak to Professor Houx. He sat at his desk and smiled politely for me to ask my question.
“If someone doesn’t call his familiar, will the familiar be okay?”
“The familiar will probably never know what his purpose was in life, but most never even know the difference. When you call your familiar correctly, he must either answer your call or suffer the loss of his powers.”
“What if I didn’t call my familiar and then I died?”
“The creature was meant to be your familiar from the moment you were both born. Every wizard has one. However, the bond isn’t fully formed until he accepts your call. If you die before then, he will feel it, but not suffer the same fate.”
“Thanks. That’s what I needed to know.”
“Unless he calls you,” the professor said as I started to leave.
I stopped and turned back. “What?”
“When you bond with your familiar, you strengthen each other. You make up for each other’s weaknesses. If your familiar is powerful enough, he can find you himself. He may even figure out what it means, especially if he needs you. You help your familiar as much as he helps you. If he’s desperate and powerful enough, he can begin the process himself. If you don’t answer, he will lose his power.”
“Where is your familiar?”
“She stays in a safe place.”
* * *
The rest of the week went by in a rush. My classes were pretty interesting. I made a dream catcher and then put it away in a box under my desk so that I didn’t have to worry about it working. I helped Darwin pay attention in the shifter psychology class. Unfortunately, it was immensely below him. It was difficult to slack off in Professor Houx’s class. Vincent’s class was similar to our normal lessons, just less individual.
On Wednesday morning of my second week, I was woken by the harsh kneading on my neck of the twenty pound cat sitting on my chest. I pushed Ghost away, but he just dug his claws in. I smacked him and he bit my hand. “I’m awake, you old bastard.”
The cat vanished.
I got up, showered, dressed, and grabbed two cups of coffee without getting any food. I drank one cup down as I headed to the library. When I entered, Vincent was already waiting for me. “We will do the same exercise as last time. Clear your mind and defend yourself without thinking.”
I did, trying desperately not to fall back to sleep while standing there. After a while, I felt a sting in my arm and looked down to see a deep scratch.
“No instincts today?” Vincent asked.
I shrugged. “It wasn’t a kill shot.”
“Your heart is not in this.”
“It is. I will do what I have to in order to save Astrid.”
“You are not ready. Start coming here on Friday mornings to train with Logan in addition to meeting me on Wednesdays. Are you having trouble sleeping?”
“No, my sleep has been great. I’m not having dark visions and visits from dead girls all night like I was before.” I was just worried. I had been having dreams with Astrid before and they suddenly stopped when she was lost in Dothra. Does it mean she’s dead? Or is she just too far away to dream with?
I practiced for a couple of hours with Vincent. I would clear my mind and he would attack. Although I was able to avoid being injured again, my focus was broken each time. Finally, Vincent called it a day and I went to class. Wednesday and Thursday were pretty much just about my classes.
On Friday morning, I met Hunt in the library. He was sitting at the table, reading a book just like Vincent had been. He gently shut the book and gestured to the seat across from him.
“Why do you want to get the key?”
The fact of the matter was that I actually didn’t want the key and was hoping it never came to that. However, I would go after it if I had no other choice. “To save Astrid.”
“That key does not open the way to Dothra. You need Keigan, not the key.”
“Professor Langril doesn’t have Astrid. He can help me get to her, but I don’t believe he will. Langril may be extremely powerful, but I think Krechea has the upper hand.”
Hunt’s eyes widened. “You plan to make a deal with him?”
“I don’t have a plan yet; I don’t know what situation Astrid is in. All I know is that I need as many opportunities as I can get. I have no doubt that Langril would kill me just as fast as Krechea if I got in his way.”
“And how is your heart?”
It took me a second to catch on to the change of subject. “I’m taking care of it. I take my potions and I never remove the scorpion.”
“I am the last person who has the right to lecture anyone about sacrifices. As long as you know why you are striving to attain the key, I will help. I just hope you realized that if Astrid is what is most important to you, you will lose her.”
“I will, but if giving her up is the only way to save her, I’ll do it.”
“Then you have a lot of work to do.”
“You’re not going to make me read more books, right? I don’t think my heart could stand the excitement.”
“Put on your ring,” he said.
“What do I use to focus my vision on?”
He frowned. “You still do not fully understand what your ability is. What you and Vincent have is unique, but only in that it comes naturally to you. Any wizard can learn to use magic to do what you can. All the ring does is put you in a particular state of mind. You trained your brain, not the ring. You will learn that is the case with any magical items you construct. Wands, staffs, rings… they are all merely tools to control yourself.”
“What about the amulet that Gale was after?”
“That is an exception. There are many items in the world that have real power, and most of them are better off destroyed. The point is, this ring merely helps you get into a state of mind that is receptive to your visions.”
I took the ring out of the pouch around my neck and slipped it on. Immediately, I saw Felicity. We were both in a cheery, sunlit room and she was sitting comfortably on a couch. Before I could figure out who else was in the room, a sharp pain in my shoulder brought me out of the vision. I looked down to see a small, metal dart buried deep in my skin. I plucked it out. “What the hell is wrong with you wizards?”
“You must learn to protect yourself while having a vision,” Hunt said, unconcerned.
“Maybe I should have a familiar to protect me while I’m…” I let myself trail off, since I was no longer talking to Hunt. Instead, I was watching from… the sky. I look down on Henry and Addison. The ocelot shifter was ducking behind what was left of a watch tower while Henry shielded himself in his jaguar form. Although he was invisible, I could see him, but it wasn’t with normal vision.
I felt something try to distract me, but I pushed it aside.
I needed to make sure my friend was okay.
Henry was apparently able to bend light around him as well as changing the shade and texture of his fur in order to seem invisible. With my odd vision, I could see wavelengths of light.
Addison barely got out of the way of a burst of energy that decimated the stone wall behind her. Henry ran to her just as another man advanced on her. He was familiar, but I couldn’t place him. A solid, black sphere formed in his hand, which emanated a malevolent red glow. He threw it at Addison. Henry reached her just as the attack did… and the energy hit an invisible shield. Henry waved his hand in an instinctual motion of defense and a huge bolt of lightning shot from him into the attacking wizard.
Henry looked at his hand like he had never seen it before.
Henry, who was a shifter and could do no magic.
I opened my eyes to see Hunt giving me a warm look that was something like pride and amusement. “Henry is going to use magic.”
“Then he either attains a magical device or he is someone’s familiar.”
I had been thinking that calling my familiar would only lead to his death. Professor Houx was right; my familiar could use my magic and probably my instincts. I decided then that I would learn how to call my familiar, whether it was Henry or not.
* * *
Learning to be “respectful” to our familiars proved to be tedious. Aside from the call, there was a ritualistic greeting, which fell just short of shaming ourselves before the creature. I imagined Professor Roswell begging his bat to bond with him.
“What happens if we don’t say all that?” I asked. The horror on my fellow classmates’ faces suggested they were equally unwilling to verbally emasculate themselves.
The professor sighed and muttered something in French, of which I only heard “Américains.” “If you do not show your familiar his due respects, depending on what he is, he could decide to eat you instead of bonding.”
“Okay, so if our familiar is a cat, we’re cool. If it’s a dragon, we grovel,” Becky said. Everyone except the professor nodded their agreement. By the end of class, I was pretty sure that Professor Houx was teetering on ending the course altogether.