Traitor Savant (Second Seal of the Duelists)

by Giacomo, Jasmine

  Tala’s eyes widened. “Is that for me?”

  “Sure is. But you might want what’s in this other hand to go with it.” He brought his left mitten around, too. It held another black crystal.

  “Two? But… why?”

  “You’ve got a powerful gift, child. Your perfect pitch means your songwork will be flawless every time. I want you to try some of the duet and trio spells. I think you’ll find you’re just as competent with them in the secrecy of your room as you are with the solo spells. And I know that’ll give your confidence a mighty boost. You’ll be needing to show your alton some kind of singing progress soon, or she’ll give you over to me permanently. And as much as I enjoy your company, I don’t think either one of us want you shunted off into the Chantery for the rest of your life.” He handed her the crystals.

  Tala accepted them reverently. She couldn’t keep her eyes from their rich, gleaming facets. Their impenetrable darkness made her feel as if they were packed with secrets. “You made these, didn’t you? Just for me. I’ve never been so happy in my life, not even when I learned I could do song magic. Thank you, Doc Theo!” She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, nearly knocking him off his log perch. Then she settled beside him on the log. She hadn’t felt this warm and happy since her mother died.

  “My mother would be so proud if she could see me now. She taught me to sing when I was just a toddler. She knew songs no one in our town had ever heard before, and we sang them around the house. I don’t know where she got them. Some sounded Akrestan, some sounded Shawnash. But her favorite was a Nunaa harvest song. She said she used to sing it with my father all the time, and she was always so happy singing it with me. I miss her. But I know she would love to see me now, with an amazing tutor and my very own singing crystals. She’d be so proud.”

  Tala hugged Doc Theo again, even more tightly. As she let go, she caught a glimpse of his expression shifting into a happy, if distracted, smile. “I’m proud of you, too,” Doc Theo said.

  Over the next several days, Tala spent all of her free time lurking around the advanced classroom doorways and windows, listening to the students practice their duet and trio spells. Using a common silvered glass, she spied around the corner at their movements and memorized how they held their crystals while casting songs. Each night, she tried the techniques in the privacy of her room. No longer did she cry from sorrow while she sang. She cried with happiness.

  ~~~

  The day after Tala mastered her first trio spell in her room, Alton Bessia selected her as one of the students to attempt a new melody, a simple summer song. Ignoring the rolled eyes and sighs of boredom from her quarton partners and the patient but hopeless look on Alton Bessia’s face, Tala closed her eyes and recalled the sensation of holding her black crystals and singing an acorn into a sapling as it hovered in midair. The thrill of creation filled her mind, the power of song thrummed through her veins. She opened her mouth and sang.

  Flawlessly.

  The room brightened against her eyelids. The air temperature rose. Graela let out a tiny, startled scream. Tala held the last note of the spell as long as she could. Finally, dizzy for lack of air, she had to gasp for breath. As she did so, she opened her eyes and saw the whole room staring at her. Daen’s mouth hung comically open, and Tonn stared, starry-eyed and grinning, as if a coconut had just cracked his skull.

  “My dear girl… ” Alton Bessia stared at her with a hand against her chest.

  Circling so that everyone had to meet her gaze, she had but one thing to say. “I am a singer.”

  When Tala told Doc Theo about her success in class later that afternoon, he merely grinned and nodded. “Never had a bit of doubt. Now, since you’ve proven yourself to be a quick study, I have a test and a reward for you.”

  Tala gasped in anticipation. “What is it?”

  “You sneak out and learn that there portal spell the altons use to jump around. If you learn to sing it right, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

  Tala frowned. “You want me to learn portaling?” It was the most complex trio spell in existence, and only the altons were allowed to use it outside of class. A ripple of determination shot up from her middle. She wanted to learn that spell, to show them all what she was capable of. She leaned forward. “Who is it you want me to meet?”

  “That part’s a secret, until you can sing the spell proper-like. I know there’s some kind of echo klum-jum the trio singers use to make the portal open where they want it, so make sure you learn how they do that part ‘sides the pattern to the song itself.”

  Tala nodded, but her mind was already trying to decide the best way to learn that information. Peeking around corners with a silvered glass wouldn’t get it done this time. She’d find a way somehow. As badly as she wanted to prove she could handle a complex trio spell, there was one thing she craved even more: Doc Theo’s approval.

  ~~~

  Acquiring the portal spell itself hadn’t proven difficult. Tala lurked outside the classroom belonging to Cedric, the Primumo to First Singer de Vosen, and begged Cathal and Sjaak, two Waarden trio students who were handsome and knew it, to help her with an assignment she’d not really been given. They were so far ahead of her in Temple classes that they didn’t know about her hiccups, and the unfeigned envy and awe she showed them stroked their overlarge egos. They’d been happy to show off their portaling skills for her, even though it had ostensibly been so that she could write a report on the sharp mental acuity of advanced trio students.

  In the space of an evening, she learned not only the destination sequence, which determined where the portal opened on the other end, but the complex three-part harmony of the portal spell itself, which involved singing different notes into each crystal at specific intervals during the duration of the spell song. The trio boys even showed her the locator notes that let them open their portals near a specific person—each other, even her. Tala felt exhausted just thinking about performing the enormous song spell, but she had what she needed for Doc Theo.

  Late that night, Tala sat on her floor and tested her portal songwork. Her first attempt was an abject failure. She transposed the note patterns for distance with those for height and kept seeing solid rock through the light-edged oval that opened in the middle of her room. After mentally reviewing everything the trio students had bragged about, she realized her mistake and managed to get the destination sequence right. That portal lasted less than three heartbeats.

  Only after two futile hours of portaling did she realize that she was gripping the crystals all the way around while she sang. The notes with which they were supposed to be resonating were unable to ring long enough to support the portal for longer than a few moments.

  Banging her head against her bed frame, padded though it was by her quilt, Tala prayed to Bhattara for patience. It was hard to remember just how incredible it was that she was able to attempt the spell at all, thanks to Doc Theo’s crystals, some arrogant trio students, and her own natural talent.

  In the darkest hour of the night, when Tala’s mind was running on adrenaline and determination, she finally managed a decent portal. Supporting the crystals atop two fingers each, she held them close to her mouth, near each cheek, as the trio students had. She sang the complex song, directing loud notes into each crystal whenever the spell required them to sustain a note.

  The portal opened, and Tala’s tired eyes lit on the sight of the Teresseren Sea beneath a waning moon. She watched its waves wash against the pale sandy beach for some while, reveling in the sights and smells of her faraway home. She found herself so thirsty for familiarity that she sang renewing notes into the crystals when their resonances began to wind down. Finally, she let the view vanish. She slept hard for what remained of the night, dreaming of portals into her past.

  The next day, she asked Doc Theo to wait for her on the mountain overlook. He agreed. She hid behind a corner and watched him head up the mountain trail as the time of their meeting approached. The
n she hurried up to her room, stomach fluttering with anticipation. Her window faced the wrong way to see the overlook, or even the mountain, so she knew her notes would have to be perfect.

  Standing in the middle of her floor with crystals balanced on her fingertips, she closed her eyes and sang. It took two tries, but she managed to open a portal a few strides from the overlook. The wind whipped through the portal and into her room with a fierceness she hadn’t anticipated. Unable to set down the crystals in order to pull on her heavy coat, she had to endure the chill as it whipped past her and blew her papers and pens onto the floor. Why hadn’t she remembered to dress for the weather on the overlook? She could have stepped through and everything. But not now.

  A figure hurried to the overlook’s edge, blurred by the sharp wind against her eyes. “Tala?” Doc Theo called.

  “I did it, Doc Theo!” She wondered what she looked like to him, still as a statue in a midair room.

  “That’s my girl!” he shouted back. “I brought something to give you.” He tossed a small package toward her portal. It rolled past her feet, and Tala heard it bounce against the base of her bookshelf. “Bring it to supper.”

  The crystals’ resonance faded. She bade Doc Theo farewell and let the opening close naturally. The glowing outer rim of the portal imploded silently, winking out. As she turned around to pick up the item Doc Theo had tossed through, she realized how tense her entire torso was from holding the crystals and singing so precisely. She tipped her neck from side to side, rolled her shoulders back, and let out a relieved breath. “Any more of those trio spells and I’ll need to start using a singer exercise routine.”

  She bent to retrieve the rounded package from near the bookshelf. To her surprise, the shape inside the cloth padding was an avocado. A ripe, freshly picked avocado, like the ones grown in the dry orchards in Balanganam. Had Doc Theo bribed a trio student to pick it for him?

  If a trio can do it, so can I. I can get anything I want now. From anywhere.

  She shared the avocado with Doc Theo at supper. No food ever tasted better.

  ~~~

  Doc Theo led Tala into an unused storage cellar two floors below the kitchens while she hummed under her breath, creating just enough light to see by. She carried her precious black crystals wrapped in protective wool. Between hums, she asked, “What are we doing down here?”

  “We’re busy not getting caught. It’s time for your reward. Let’s sit over here on these barrels.”

  Tala sat. “You’ll have to tell me who I’m portaling to now, so I can locate them.”

  Doc Theo grinned at her as he struck a match and lit a fat candle so Tala wouldn’t have to concentrate on lighting the room. “Bayan Lualhati.”

  The famous duelist? She’d heard about his successful battle at the Kheerzaal not long after she’d arrived at the Temple. Tucked away in the mountains as they were, few other students seemed to care much about Bayan’s rescue of the emperor or the battle’s implications, but Tala felt a fierce pride for her fellow Balang’s accomplishment. She smoothed her hair back with a nervous hand, then got her crystals ready, laying each across the curve of a barrel top. She sang the locator notes into them, then spoke Bayan’s name in neutral pitch. Following up with the trio note, she let the spell wash over her, showing her exactly where Bayan was at that moment.

  Frowning in concentration, she closed her eyes and sang the portal song, using Bayan’s trio resonance as her destination sequence.

  “Bloody hell, what in sints—?” cried a frantic male voice.

  Tala popped her eyes open in surprise and saw a pale Dunfarroghan boy with light hair and no obvious clothing. He clasped a wide pillow to his lower front. He stood in the middle of a narrow, well-lit room that poured its light into Tala’s dark cellar. Next to him sat a bed with a night shirt spread out on it. Opposite the single bed rose a bunk bed, and further behind the boy sat three desks heaped with books, papers, and various oddities. A large, dark bird on a platform in the far corner of the room squawked and flapped its wings.

  The boy’s mouth opened and shut a few times before he managed to speak. “Bayan, do you see this? Tell me I’m not mad, aye?”

  A curious Balanganese face leaned into view from the lower bunk. “I see her.” Bayan seemed to recognize Tala as a fellow Balang, and he eased warily into a standing position.

  “Bayan, you do know you’re in your smallclothes in front of a girl.” The pale boy edged around the side of the portal’s view and dragged his night shirt off his bed with the hand that wasn’t clasping the pillow to his person.

  “So are you, Calder. But she came into our room without knocking, so I’m not going to dress up for her. Besides, I come from a warm country. Clothes are far more optional there than where you’re from.”

  Tala flushed. “Ay, Bhattara! I’m so sorry. Doc Theo told me I could look for you to say hello. I didn’t mean to interrupt your… whatever you’re doing.”

  “Doc Theo? Is he with you?” Bayan leaned forward. “This is singer magic?”

  Doc Theo bent around behind Tala and waved. “Good to see you-all again, boys.”

  Bayan grinned, and Calder edged back into view, now wearing a knee-length tartan night shirt. “Eward is never going to believe this happened when he gets back from the cold house.”

  Bayan’s eyes locked onto Doc Theo. “Are you feeling better? We’ve been worried. Gerrolt’s been taking your absence badly.”

  “I’m much improved, thanks. I’ve been helping Tala get over some nervousness with her singing, in between working shifts at the Temple Chantery. She’s done so well, I’m letting her try an advanced spell to meet you.”

  Bayan gave Tala a courteous nod. “Congratulations, Tala. When I first got here, I couldn’t do any magic at all. But I found some help, like you did. I hope your training is as exciting as mine.”

  “Don’t wish that on her, you great stupid loon.” Turning to Tala, Calder added, “Don’t listen to him at all. He’s the sort to run mad along the edge of a cliff because he likes to feel the wind in his hairy feet—”

  “I do not have hairy feet!” Bayan protested, shoving Calder’s shoulder. “I don’t,” he insisted to Tala, who watched their boyish exchange in speechless amusement.

  “Don’t let him take you on any dates here on campus,” Calder continued from beneath a hail of pillow strikes that toppled him onto his own bed. “It’ll only end in tragedy!” he cried in mock horror.

  Bayan attempted to smother Calder’s words with his pillow. “You’re no safer. You’d trade my finished homework to Taban for a single waskukone’yen flower, just to impress her.”

  Calder shoved Bayan off and thwacked him with another pillow. Bayan ducked onto his own bed beneath the upper bunk, and Calder leaped close to the portal, wearing a cheeky grin. He was so close, Tala could smell spiced yams on his breath. “I would, you know. Bayan’s homework is worth plenty a ducat on the black market. And you’re a very pretty lass.”

  Tala felt her cheeks warm under Calder’s frank regard.

  “That’s enough, you-all.” Doc Theo’s voice carried a strong hint of disapproval. He diverted the boys’ attention by asking after Gerrolt and the state of affairs on the Academy campus, but the answers Bayan and Calder gave him seemed conflicting and didn’t mean anything to Tala. She refreshed the portal notes in her crystals three more times before their conversation wound down.

  Finally, they bade the boys a good evening. Calder lurched in once more and added, “Next I see you again, I’ll get you one of those what’s-yer-cinnamon flowers. Count on it.”

  Bayan moved to tackle Calder again. “Waskukone’yen, you horsekiller.”

  Tala raised her eyebrows in surprise at Bayan’s insult. A moment later, her crystal resonances depleted, the portal winked out. She and Doc Theo were alone in the cellar again, their faces lit by the flame of a single candle.

  “Are they always like that?” Tala asked.

  She could hear the smile in Doc The
o’s reply. “They haven’t seen a girl who isn’t a duelist in almost two years. You’ll have to forgive their exuberance.”

  Tala nodded. As they sneaked back out of the cellar, she found her thoughts returning to the handsome duelist she’d just met. She’d remember the evening for a very long time.

  Doomed to Fail

  Kiwani kicked at a stone on the gravelly trail, enjoying the feel of its submission to the sole of her shoe. Campus had become noticeably crowded in the two days since the second wave of the emperor’s newniks had arrived. The racket in the common room of the barracks was incessant. Who knew girls could be so rambunctious? She’d blame the Raqtaaq if she hadn’t seen, just that morning, three Akrestoi girls and a couple of Waardens engaging in a full-volume pillow fight.

  She had left Master witten Oost’s class, but her hexmates remained enrolled, as if they didn’t agree with her or support her decision. She doubted they could even see what she had seen in witten Oost’s actions. In addition, Calder seemed to be getting special treatment. If she didn’t know better—and she wasn’t sure that she did—she’d assume that Calder’s new status was in direct retaliation to her leaving, as if the master were spiteful enough to rub her rejection of him in her face.

  Some days, she really hated her ingrained ability to read politics like a book. Not even Odjin followed the rants she’d included in her recent letters. She blew out a frosty breath and stared at the trail’s pebbles as they passed underfoot. Maybe it was time to admit she’d made a miscalculation and return to class. It had been a hasty decision, after all. Maybe if she talked it over with Bayan—

  “Kiwani!” Taban’s breathless voice wheezed her name from a distance.

  She looked around and saw Sem, Taban’s tall, creaky Wood avatar, running at full speed toward her, a limp figure in its arms. Taban himself lagged further and further behind his long-legged avatar. His arms formed the arc that held his avatar in Idle. She couldn’t recognize the person Sem carried.