The Arch Stone: Foxway Academy: Book 1

by Adam Faulkner

  “Private session.”

  “Ah, you’re little one-on-one’s with the professor.” Mary nodded. “How’s that going?”

  “I mean, I’ve been doing it for ages, and Luxomancy’s way easier than Reality magic, so I’m not complaining.”

  “So, if you’re supposed to be training with Professor Greyford, why are you moving away from the Main Building?” Mary asked. I stopped and turned around. I heard Mary roar with laughter as I dragged myself back to the main building.

  Of course, I didn’t make it far before weird shit started to happen. I was walking up the steps into the main building when I heard a voice behind me.

  “Emilie George, isn’t it?” The voice asked. I turned around to face Polly Evergreen.

  “Uh… Yeah?” I was caught off-guard by the question. “What’s up?”

  Polly walked up the stairs. She was slightly taller than me, even taller when you accounted for the heels on her shoes; she long, light hair, faintly blue eyes. She looked like someone had pulled her straight out of a fairy-tale.

  “That’s a curious necklace?” she looked at my Arch Stone. I pushed it underneath my shirt.

  “It’s nothing that fancy…” I lied. “Is that all you wanted to talk about?”

  “Not quite.” There was a strange tone in her voice. She sounded like a character from an old novel, and I reckoned she was keeping as many secrets as one. I’d picked up on it when she talked in the meeting, but I wasn’t sure what to make of it. “You are of great interest to me…”

  “That’s pretty vague. Wanna explain what you mean?”

  Polly smirked. She definitely looked like she was feeling superior.

  “I shouldn’t think so, no.”

  I clenched my first.

  “And why is that?”

  “Because it’s my business. You shouldn’t concern yourself with it.” Polly brushed me off and started to walk away. I grabbed her arm. She gasped, definitely not expecting me to do something like that.

  “What is it that you want to know about me? You can’t exactly say something like that and not get questioned.”

  “You’d best consider letting go of my hand. Assaulting the head-girl is hardly suitable behaviour,” she threatened with a wavering voice. I’d gotten to her. I let go of her hand.

  “So, you gonna tell me what your problem is?” I asked again. Polly started walking away. “This isn’t over…”

  “Then it seems we agree on something!” Polly called back.

  I felt the Arch Stone glow as I flicked my hand and smiled a little as Polly’s high-heels slipped on a carefully placed patch of ice. She managed to right herself, but I didn’t stick around to see anything else. By the time she could have turned around I’d let the ice disappear and had disappeared into the main building.

  “What’s her problem?”

  *

  “Okay, that’s good. You seem to have more or less perfected the spell, but that’s not enough. A spell like this isn’t going to be much use in a fight,” Professor Greyford explained as I released my hands, letting the spark of light disappear.

  “So, what’s next?”

  “You can create light, and that’s no small feat…” Greyford paced around his office. “But what we need to train you to do is manipulate that light, as well as light that’s already present.”

  “Right… How?”

  “Use the spell again, and hold the final position,” He instructed. I flicked my fingers around instinctively, and the spark of light appeared in my hands. “Now… Push your fingers together again.” he pushed. “Concentrate on keeping the light shining.”

  I slowly pushed my fingers back together, like in the second step of the actual spell. The light disappeared. Greyford shook his head. “You’ve got to do it faster; you can’t give the light time to dissipate. You need to force it into one hand.”

  I sighed and called the spell again. I regained my focus and quickly flicked my fingers together. The light disappeared again.

  “Sorry… I’ll try it again…” I shook my hands and cast the spell again.

  “No, you did fine. It’s a complicated spell,” Greyford reassured me. “Just keep practicing until it settles in your palm.”

  I nodded and cast the spell again. And again. And again. Of course, I didn’t get it perfect in the half-hour that the session went on for, but I had managed to get used to adding the other step. Professor Greyford had explained that Luxomancy was based on only two core spells, one for create light and one to control it, with anything else stemming from how you use them. I’d pretty much perfected the first spell, but I’d only been learning for a couple of weeks, so I wasn’t going to complain.

  *

  Mum dropped down on the sofa, walking in from a late shift at the hospital.

  “Hey…” I greeted.

  “Hi…” Mum grunted.

  “How was work?” I asked.

  “Busy as hell. Fireworks weekend is the worst…” she replied. “You?”

  “Nothing too important… I’m helping organise a dance.” I told her. Mum laughed. “What?”

  “Nothing… It’s just not the sort of thing I’d have thought you’d be into.”

  “The dance?”

  “No, the dance seems like your kind of thing, or at least something you’d go to… But you never seemed interested in this kind of thing at your old school.” She shrugged. “Not that it’s a problem. I’m glad you’re branching out.”

  “I’m learning magic, mum. Can’t really branch out much further…”

  “True.” Mum nodded. “Hey, Em, you don’t think I could get a drink, do you?”

  “Tea or wine?”

  “We had twenty people today come in because they got hit in the arse by fireworks…”

  “Wine then.” I nodded.

  I came back in a couple of minutes later with two glasses of red wine. Mum looked at me.

  “Hey, I’m 18.” I shrugged. Mum laughed and took one of the glasses from me.

  “Way to make me feel old…” she joked. I smiled at her mockingly. “When did you get so… Mature?”

  “I don’t really know… I mean, I don’t feel that mature…”

  “Honestly… It feels like just yesterday that I was pulling you off my leg when I tried to leave you at school…” Mum confessed. “You were crying your eyes out… Then again, so was I…” I sat down next to her and smiled.

  “I don’t even remember it…” I realised. “It’s still me though.”

  “I know… and you’ll always be my little girl… It’s just… It’s hard, being a parent… It’s the best thing in the world, but it’s hard… Seeing them change, seeing them grow up.” She put her hand on my head. “Because you’re still that little girl to me, the little girl who wouldn’t let go of her mum’s leg…” Tears started to build up in her eyes. And mine. I put my arms around her.

  “That’s because I still am that little girl… And I always will be. I’m bigger now, I admit it, but I’m never not going to need you.”

  “I know… But you’re still going to leave. One day. And that’s fine. But it’s also hard…” She wiped her eyes. “Look at me… I haven’t even started drinking yet…” she joked.

  We laughed as we carried on talking through the evening. I considered bringing up what had happened with Polly, but in the end, I decided that it wasn’t worth ruining the good time.

  38

  The next time the Dance Organisation group met up was two days later, and it was still fun, for the most part. We still couldn’t settle on a good theme, so we left that for the time being and went on to working out how we were going to pay for all of it.

  “If we’re planning for the whole school to be there, we’re going to need a lot of food and stuff,” John pointed out.

  “No kidding,” Mary agreed. “There’s what, four hundred people we need to fit in?”

  “Four hundred and twelve.” Polly corrected. “Though there will be people who don’t s
how up… My estimate is just under three hundred and seventy.” Even when she was throwing out relatively simple statistics like that, she sounded like she thought she was better than everyone else in the room. I guess that wasn’t exactly something I didn’t already know. To be honest, her just being there put me on edge, after what had happened two days before. It wasn’t that I was scared of her, per se. But the fact was that she was still head girl. At the end of the day, I couldn’t just challenge her like I could anyone else. She had power in the school. I needed to watch where I went with her.

  “Are we going for an actual meal?” someone suggested.

  “That’s going to be pretty expensive, for that many people,” I pointed out. “If it’s late enough that people could have eaten beforehand, I’d just go for snacks.” A few people shrugged, seeming at least open to the idea.

  “Well, nice to hear something from the first-year,” Polly remarked. I bit my lip, fighting the urge to push her out of the window.

  “I’m just here to help.” I smiled mockingly, making no effort to hide it. Polly’s face dropped. Victory.

  Once I’d had a good idea, it felt like I was actually a part of the group, and I could tell that it was annoying Polly. I wasn’t trying to use this as a way to attack her, of course; I was trying to help. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy seeing her look so pissed off just a little.

  The snacks idea stuck, with it being decided that we’d all buy things from our own local Foxmarts in bulk, working everything out nearer the time. I’d assumed drinks were going to be trickier, but it turns out that John lived in Nightrain, and was more than happy to share the enchantment that they used in their parties to keep the drinks flowing.

  The whole thing was starting to come together already, and everyone was starting to throw out more and more ideas. Of course, a fair amount of them had to be shut down, but it was fun being a part of all of it.

  I was just about to walk out of the door when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Mary had had to rush off quickly, so I knew it wasn’t her. And that left one possibility.

  “What do you want?”

  “I was just hoping to carry on our conversation from yesterday,” Polly explained. “I don’t believe we ever came to an agreement.”

  “Look, whatever you want to know, it’s none of your business. If you’ve got a problem with that, take it up with the professor.”

  “Professor Greyford isn’t of any use to me here. Not that the old man would even listen to me…”

  “Why would he?” I mockingly agreed. “You’ve got nothing to do with anything. If it’s got nothing to do with the dance, then I’d like you to stop talking to me.”

  I pulled myself away from her and moved towards the door, but it slammed shut, and a shimmering field covered the handle. I breathed out, trying to stay calm.

  “Let me out.”

  “Tell me what’s going on.”

  “Nothing’s going on.”

  “I know what that is around your neck.”

  “Then you should know not to screw with me,” I threatened. “Let me out.”

  “Not until I get what I want.”

  “You’re not getting anything. If I have to fight you I will, but I don’t want to have to do that.” I was doing my best to stay calm. Not that that was ever easy.

  She’s going to hurt you… You have to hurt her first…

  I bit my lip, trying to ignore my head’s useful suggestions. I really didn’t want to have to fight. It wasn’t anything like the right conditions, and getting into a brawl with the head girl was never going to go my way, regardless of magical ability.

  Polly waved her hand, pulling me towards her. That hit me a bit. I’d never seen anyone who was able to use such a basic telekinesis spell to move a person. I was definitely dealing with someone who knew what they were doing. She opened her mouth to speak but caught herself. I’d definitely rattled her, but she wasn’t a kid; she knew how to control herself. She let go of me and dropped the barrier around the door.

  “I’d reconsider your position, if I were you. I don’t like not knowing what’s going on in my school. I’ve got my ways of getting what I want, and if you want to stay comfortable at this school, I’d recommend you stop resisting me. I am not one to be threatened,” she snarled. I picked up my bag and stifled a laugh.

  “Does that scare people?” I asked. I didn’t wait for an answer before I turned and walked out of the door. “See you around, head girl.”

  *

  “She did it again?” August questioned as we walked to the sparring hall after school. I nodded.

  “It was pretty scary, I’m not going to lie. I mean, I think I could probably just about take her, given all the attack-specialised magic we learn… but…”

  “I saw her in the Casting competition at the beginning of the year,” Matt interrupted. “Her technique’s pretty much perfect. From a technical standpoint, she’s probably the most talented person in the school. Possibly even better than some teachers. But you’re right; you probably could take her. I’ve got a feeling that she’s all bark and no bite…”

  “I don’t want it to come to that…” I sighed. “Who’s the head boy?”

  “You gonna talk to him?” Matt asked.

  “I’m thinking about it, yeah. I don’t want to get any teachers involved, not unless she makes an actual threat, but…”

  “She literally stopped you from leaving a room.” August interrupted. “Sounds like a threat to me…”

  “She’s right. You really shouldn’t let this go on any further.”

  “I just… If I get the school involved, shit’s going to get messy. She’ll deny everything anyway, and people are going to believe her over me any day.”

  “It’s not like Professor Greyford won’t side with you,” August noted. “I say you go straight to the top.”

  “That’s hardly going to go down well with the rest of the school though,” Matt pointed out. “Evergreen’s popular. Most of the school will side with her whatever happen.”

  “Exactly.”

  “I wasn’t saying that it should stop you,” he hastily added. “You definitely can’t leave this alone anymore. But maybe going through the head boy isn’t the worst idea in the world.”

  “So, who is he?”

  “Gabriel Pendragon.” Matt explained. “Don’t know if he’d be too useful, but I’ve heard that he doesn’t get on great with Polly, so he might at least side with you.” Matt shrugged. “No idea where to find him, though.”

  “I don’t know… There’s no reason why it wouldn’t help, but what reason does he have to listen to me?”

  “I guess that’s what you’ve got to work out.” August shrugged. “You’re pretty good at persuading people to listen to you though. You’ll be fine.”

  “I dunno…” I sighed. “Either way, I’ve got more important things to worry about before I take any notice of Polly Evergreen.” I decided. “I’ll track down Pendragon, if I have some time.” I decided. “Anyway, we should hurry up. The Professor and Raven are going to wonder where we are…”

  *

  I strained as I tried to recall the steps for the Luxomancy spell that I was supposed to be learning. Starting it was fine. I pressed my fingertips together with my hands spread out and brought the fingers together. Then I extended all of the fingers out again, apart from the ring fingers, which moved the opposite way, with the second segment of the fingers pressed against each other. I then moved my index and middle fingers into the same position and pressed my thumb and little finger (Still straight) against the rest of the fingers. Finally, I brought my fingers back to their original position, pressed against each other, and a small light formed in the cage. But once I’d got past that, I was struggling to do anything else. I straightened my fingers out, trying to make sure that my palms didn’t touch, and flipped my left half over to my right palm, I bent my hand up so that the palms were facing forward, and bent the fingers on my right hand into themsel
ves. I let my left palm drop and flicked my hand forward. The little ball of light in the palm of my hand flew forward, fizzling out in the air. I breathed out as I let myself relax.

  “Good,” Greyford praised. “You’ve definitely got the right idea, but you haven’t quite perfected the construction yet…”

  “It’s hardly going to be any use anyway…” I grunted. “Why can’t I try using it on other light? Making my own is fine, but…”

  “But you’re struggling to expand the light you’ve already got?” Greyford finished. “That makes sense. The light created with the spell you’re learning now is pure light energy. You’re physically creating the photons and charging it with your own magic energy. That makes it a lot more powerful than manipulating light already present. It’s something you need to learn,” he assured me. “But, I can clearly see that you’re struggling here. If you want to work on manipulation spells for a bit, so you can get used to the constructions, then I suppose that could be helpful.”

  “Sounds good.” I switched my focus back on and stood back.

  “Okay, first you need to focus on a good source of light.”

  I looked around the room and saw a beam of sunlight coming in through a window and pointed up at the source.

  “The window…” Greyford nodded. “That should do just fine. Now, the spell is essentially the same as the manipulation stage of the other spell.”

  I nodded and bent my right hand’s fingers down into themselves, bending the hand up, and placing my left hand behind it.

  “Now, turn your left hand around ninety degrees, and push down on it.”

  I did what he said, and my hand started to glow. Almost instinctively, I flicked my fingers out and held them out to the light. I swung my arm down, and the sunbeam redirected itself, becoming more solid and crashing into the wall of the sparring hall. Greyford nodded proudly.

  “Yes!” I laughed. “I was not expecting that to work first try!”

  “That’s only the start, Emilie.” Greyford tried to calm me down, though I could tell he was at least a little entertained. “You still need to learn to expand the light, even if it’s already there. Keep practicing this and keep practicing the first spell I taught you. Eventually, you’ll work it out. I have no doubts about that in the slightest.”