‘Good morning gentlemen,’ Amelie said as she stepped into Jim’s office and swept her gaze around the men present, even while walking to his side.
‘May I present my fiancée Amelie and our daughter Daisy,’ Jim said watching the men’s responses closely for anything untoward.
‘Sir Cyril, I believe?’ she enquired politely whilst taking the seat Jim had just vacated for her. The men sat back down when she did, while Jim perched on the edge of his desk just behind her. She knew he could easily touch her from there and thus merge them almost instantly if the need arose. Watching the old wizard, she knew he recognised the significance of Jim’s position, even though he seemed to be placing her between them.
‘Yes. Pleased to meet you both,’ Cyril replied, his eyebrows rising as he assessed her. ‘You are an animus warrior wizard?’
‘So I believe,’ Amelie responded. ‘You can tell?’ she asked, not having felt any breach to her shield.
‘Yes. I have not seen one in many years, but your signature is undeniable,’ he said warmly. ‘What can you become?’
‘There’s about five or six different creatures I can do quickly, but I guess your main reason for asking is what my nature falls into?’
‘Yes, but so many shapes are already impressive,’ he responded honestly and waited.
‘I suppose my favourite is the panther,’ she said after a quick glance Jim’s way. She could tell he remained wary. It would be foolish to give away her secrets to this stranger, especially her rare ability to range from birds to herbivores to carnivores. Few were that flexible. Natalya for instance could only do four legged carnivores. Birds were beyond her, but then her sister wasn’t an animus warrior wizard. Unless Cyril knew she could become a dragon; that was definitely one form to keep quiet about.
‘A panther? Mm, yes I can see that,’ Cyril responded, well aware of her direct, unflinching, assessing gaze. Such a person would be quick thinking, independent, strong willed and physically capable but not necessarily a team player. They certainly had their uses though. He then turned his gaze on the baby. Damn, a leach for a father and an animus warrior wizard for a mother. What would the child become? Unfortunately, she was too young to be able to tell. However, she already had all the signs indicating she would be magically strong. This was one child they would definitely have to monitor.
‘Are you taking lessons?’ Cyril asked her, glancing at the baby that undoubtedly took considerable amounts of time to look after.
‘We decided I should begin wizard classes next term when the new school year begins. There wasn’t any point in starting part way through a term, they’re too complicated to have missed lessons. We also thought it best to wait until Daisy can be weaned.’
‘You’re a beginner?’
‘For spells, yes. Before we met I didn’t even know I had a wizard side. Everyone thought I was just another animus,’ she admitted with a shrug, her gaze finding Jim’s for a moment, before she warily returned her attention to the white haired gentleman. She decided he was surprised by what she’d said, but accepted her explanation. Could he discern what was truth even through a shield? Or did he know her history from before she met Jim and they came through the portal? She recognised the heavy “void” shield as indicating the man had considerable power. However, he was old and such an impenetrable shield took a great deal of strength to maintain for long. She wasn’t surprised when he began his farewells, keeping this meeting brief. He might have his wizard entourage to draw strength from, but she knew none of them was particularly powerful, whilst she and Jim made a very strong team. She recognised it was tactically sensible that he withdraw before he weakened and made himself vulnerable.
‘Thank you for your time,’ Cyril said to Jim as he rose to his feet. ‘You can be sure I will be setting a number of records straight on my return. I will be in touch.’
‘Thank you,’ Jim said simply.
‘Incidentally, I’d very much like to meet your warrior wizard next time I’m here,’ Cyril mentioned with a small smile.
Jim inclined his head, silently cursing. How had he sensed Natalya? Had she been poking at him or forgotten to keep her shield up? Damn, how powerful was this wizard? What was he capable of? Jim ground his teeth anxiously as they escorted the men to the door. He only then remembered to contact Cassy, quickly warning her to cease any Portal traffic once more. He and Amelie stood on the steps and watched, as the wizard who’d caused the fall of Clan Green Bear’s ancestral castle, climbed stiffly back into his saddle and rode slowly away.
13. Natalya
Natalya sat in Wizard Derek’s class, listening to his lesson with part of her mind whilst the rest monitored Jim’s emotions. Jim was speaking with the infamous warrior wizard, Sir Cyril, just down the corridor. Since he was meeting him alone she was worried. What if Jim was taken advantage of, or was overcome in some way, perhaps by trickery. Jim might be exceedingly powerful but he was not a warrior wizard.
She doubted Jim would be happy to know she could sense him, even through his shields. Neither would her sister, if she knew. It was in her nature however, to be both protective and alert for any threats. Generally speaking, she never listened without cause, respecting his privacy. However, not only was he her little sister’s fiancé, but was also their leader and their first line of defence. He might not think he needed backup, but he was just as likely to succumb to a surprise attack as anyone else. She was sure she wasn’t the only one to recognise that White Haven, and its people, would suffer if he fell. Warrior wizard Cyril had the reputation for being canny; he would undoubtedly understand Jim’s tactical importance too.
Whilst Jim’s wizard self was well protected mentally, she’d discovered her tiger could listen in to his lion’s emotions. She’d essentially discovered a backdoor into the instinctive part of his mind. She probably ought to clue him in to that weakness, but the impressions she gathered were too valuable. In any case, she doubted another wizard would dare confront or attempt to overpower the lion personality directly. As a tiger, however, she could shift into a predator that the lion could respect. Their feline forms understood one another in a way a non-shifting wizard would not, and what’s more, he was willing to accept her contact without a fight.
Since Jim rarely took lion form, except when he was under duress, she knew to listen for the lion’s appearance. She’d put in triggers to monitor him for any emotional spikes, in particular deep anger. However, she had to be careful when he was angry, in case he lashed out at her, so she’d briefly connected several times when he was calm so he would recognise her. Of course the last thing she wanted to do was distract him if he was in a tricky situation.
Today the lion was close to the surface, not surprising since he was speaking with a warrior wizard who was so heavily shielded he registered as a “void” to her acute senses. She could detect the subsonic hum of heavy magic the wizard was using to maintain his shield. She curiously examined that shield, just down the hall. About to mention it to Jason, she realised very few wizards were sensitive enough to even be aware Cyril was a wizard at all. An animus like Jason might not even feel any magical aura.
Scanning for other dangers, she reached for the village and frowned. Where was everyone? ‘Freddie?’
‘Everything ok, love?’ he responded immediately on their private mental link.
‘So far. Where is everyone? The village is empty.’
‘We evacuated.’
‘Evacuated where? You haven’t taken everyone through the portal, surely?’
‘No. Jim thought it might not be wise to keep the portal active while Sir Cyril is so close.’
‘Ah, he might sense it if it’s in use?’ she mused, then shrugged. ‘I have no idea of his particular skill-set. He is so heavily shielded all I can tell is that he has warrior wizard grade strength like me.’
‘You can tell nothing else?’
‘Not really. So how have you masked a village worth of animus presences?’
‘You know Cassy designed and
built us that big bank at the far end of the village? It was with defence against wizards in mind. It is a reassuringly large and solid barrier. It’s also far closer and more convenient to run to. Everyone knows where to go and what to do when there’s an alert. Our people feel physically safe there and we animus know how to act quickly. The village was mostly empty of animus before he’d even stepped through the gates. So, you can’t sense us when we’re behind the bank?’
‘No.’
‘Excellent. Everyone will be relieved to know it works as we hoped for magic too. Keep your shields up tight, love. We don’t want him to know about your existence either and perhaps seek you out before we’re ready.’
‘Will do. Keep everyone behind that wall. I’ll let you know when it’s safe for them to come home,’ she told him aware he was alert and in full combat readiness mode. ‘The kind of heavy shields he’s got up will be very tiring to maintain. I can’t imagine he’ll stay long.’
Being able to speak mind to mind like this was invaluable, especially in these kinds of situations. Whilst she knew he respected her strength as a warrior wizard, his alpha wolf instincts were to protect his mate at all costs, especially now she was pregnant. That he remained down at the village, to protect the villagers, instead of rushing to be at her side, spoke of his control over his instincts. Reassuring him she was not in any immediate danger would soothe his wolf, helping his concentration and state of mind. Whilst she’d love to have him up here by her side, the wizards would sense him. Pity she couldn’t wrap him in a shield to hide him. Or could she?
Dwelling on that thought, she remembered that everyone had assumed her to be animus during her childhood. She now understood her magic had been too strong to hide, refusing to be entirely bound and had seeped past the shields her mother had given her at a very young age. Back then, no one had been able to tell she had wizard magic, nor that she was actually very strong. She now sat and thought about the fact her mother had successfully found a way to hide a warrior wizard’s very strong and distinctive signature. Hiding a weaker animus signature entirely must therefore be possible. She just needed to figure out how. Maybe she should talk it over with Amelie, see if she remembered anything of what their mother had done, since she’d shielded them both.
***
‘Are you still with us, Natalya?’
‘Of course sir,’ Natalya responded guiltily, jumping a little at wizard Derek’s question that brought her out of her musings.
‘Anything you’d like to share with the class?’ he enquired, his brow furrowed in disapproval at her inattention in his lesson.
‘The warrior wizard, Sir Cyril, has just left the grounds,’ she told him.
‘Has he indeed?’ Derek replied extending his senses to verify what she’d just said. Whilst he hadn’t been able to detect Cyril personally, his wizard entourage had certainly been magically visible. Since Jim had sent Amelie and their daughter into his class, albeit briefly, there was no point in asking Natalya how she knew of Cyril even though they hadn’t spoken about it aloud.
‘So they have,’ he remarked with studied casualness and considerable personal relief. Whilst he doubted the warrior wizard would harm children, he was too powerful to discount and no one yet knew his agenda or orders. When he’d been called in to give evidence, he’d been relieved he was only required to relive the night of the attack. Cyril had asked him to recall Jared’s orders in particular and the justification given for attempting to abduct a young wizard and her baby. He’d gathered the impression that Cyril shared their anger that a squad had been used like that, and in so cowardly a manner. He’d been glad to show the scenes and once over he’d immediately been released to return to his class.
‘Sir, could you tell us about Sir Cyril?’ Natalya asked, eager to learn more about him, now that the immediate threat was over.
‘He is a true warrior wizard, as you already mentioned. He was knighted for acts of valour in the King’s service long before even I was born,’ Derek remarked with a faint smile, aware his students considered anyone past thirty-five old. ‘He is the one who first instigated negotiations for wizard independence from sovereign rule. He championed wizard rights for many years, under great pressure, to allow wizards to create a network of self-governed Guilds. He succeeded where others had failed and is therefore due a great debt of gratitude from those of us coming after. However, as I’m sure those of you animus students will know, he was also named as the leader responsible for crushing many animus strongholds, including Clan Green Bear’s home at Féarmathuin Castle. What most of you probably won’t appreciate is that he had no choice in the matter. All wizards of the time were firmly under sovereign control. As the strongest warrior wizard of his generation and an acknowledged leader of men, he was tasked with many campaigns he himself objected to, under direct orders of the king. Those orders are the primary reason Cyril fought so hard to get out from under the king’s thumb. Of course, by the time he succeeded, most of the animus peoples had been crushed and dispersed.’
‘You’re saying he didn’t want to hunt animus?’
‘Exactly.’
‘How do you know that?’ Jason demanded. ‘He killed so many of my kin.’
‘Yes, and he has to live with that memory, too. The records state that he protested many of the crueller orders he was given and urged moderation. He did show people mercy when it was possible to do so. One example of that is that he did not immediately pursue those fleeing after the fall of Féarmathuin castle. He could have rounded up the survivors easily.’
‘Our people used secret passageways to evade the army, that’s how they escaped.’
‘No,’ Derek contradicted, but gently. ‘He let them go. He would have sensed a concentration of so many animus, even if they’d been hidden from physical sight. He’d been ordered to destroy the castle, to ensure it could not be used defensively. For him, that was enough harm to inflict, without going after the retreating survivors. That compassion is why so many Clan survived to become a thorn in the king’s hide to this very day.’
‘What do you think he’ll do now? He must have sensed there were many animus people in the village,’ Jason asked dourly.
‘Actually, the villagers went into hiding,’ Natalya told him. ‘I couldn’t detect them in their bolt hole so I doubt Sir Cyril did either. Their presence here should still be safely under wraps.’
‘Good to know,’ Jason remarked and he wasn’t the only animus in the class breathing a sigh of relief.
‘Do we know why he visited?’ Jason asked, looking from Derek to Natalya.
‘Not yet. I’m sure the headmaster will tell us what transpired in due course,’ Derek said closing the subject. ‘Right Natalya, you say you detected Sir Cyril? What did you determine about his shield, because I hear he owns a rather impenetrable one.’
‘Yes he does. It’s hard to explain, but it was as though he’d made himself invisible. Physically looking at him, whilst shielded, he could be mistaken for an ordinary, someone with no magic at all.’
‘Interesting. So what do you think he had to do to achieve that?’ Derek asked.
‘There was no spill of magic; he kept everything contained.’
‘That takes discipline and is a skill in itself, but that wouldn’t hide a person’s signature.’
‘I have a shield that Headmaster Jim calls a “void”. Perhaps he has something similar?’ she mused and activated her shield so they could see hers.
‘You almost disappear,’ Derek encouraged, ‘but I still feel the hum of your magic.’
Natalya nodded and concentrated on trying to contain all her magic. It wasn’t easy. She had so much magic and it naturally wanted to spill out and interact with the world around her.
‘Yes! You disappear. See if you can maintain that,’ he instructed whilst then turning to the class and asking them to stretch their senses to “feel” her rather than just using their eyes. If she hid somewhere out of physical sight then this shield would be exceeding
ly effective. Of course, it didn’t seem to work on another warrior wizard, but they were very rare.
Derek was intrigued to notice the animus members of the class seemed disconcerted too; he hadn’t known they could sense magic just as clearly as a wizard could. Whilst initially dubious about having a mix of animus and wizard students in the same Warrior class, Jim had said the mix worked. He now had another example where Jim had been proved right.
Natalya was proving an interesting student to teach. Her perceptions were extraordinarily clear and her conclusions, as she made leaps of understanding, were often surprising. It didn’t matter that sometimes all he could do was guide her in reaching the final step. Watching her discover what might lie beyond everyone else’s abilities was rewarding in itself.
When the bell went, signalling lunch time, Derek wasn’t the only one eager to get into the lunch hall to find out what had happened this morning. Life as a teacher at White Haven was certainly a lot more interesting than he’d ever imagined. It was also far more rewarding. At the Eastern Guild’s facility at Half Circle, he’d had to spend countless hours attempting to drum basic warrior skills into every wizard assigned there. That instruction was mandatory regardless of actual ability or interest.
In sharp contrast, the students here were refreshingly bright, energetic and competent. They soaked up his lessons with swift eagerness and were a joy to teach. The thought of what his old guild might do next, to attempt to curtail White Haven’s success, always plagued the back of his mind. He remained impressed that Jim had so far been able to sail around each obstacle thrown in his path. They just had to remain vigilant. He hoped Sir Cyril’s visit was not heralding a rise in the stakes, of stronger powers looking their way.
14. New Pathways
Cyril rode away from the White Haven School with many questions whirling around in his head, but the fundamental one had been answered. Namely that wizard Jim was not the loose cannon that some of the guild had feared. Cyril felt he now had an understanding of Jim’s basic character and what he’d discovered relieved his mind.
Forging Alliances: Wizards of White Haven Page 20