by Ben Hale
She frowned, annoyed at all the attention she was receiving because of one gravity class. Throughout her life she'd avoided attention from others, and actively preferred the social shadows. She hadn't admitted it to Hawk, but she was afraid of everyone finding out who she was. Then she realized that the attention on her was just a fraction of what she would face when her identity became public.
The class ended with her still brooding on her identity, but she managed to feign excitement for Rox's sake. Her new friend had another class in the same building, so Tess ducked outside and took off. For a full minute all she did was soar, and hoped her concerns would be left on the ground.
When they weren't, she released a sigh and settled into a glide that would take her to the fire school. She still felt the thrill of flying, but her thoughts dragged her down. Would she ever be able to just be? Exist without the pressure to become something more? Her parents had been relentless about helping her do better in school, and now Hawk wanted her to become . . . a what? A leader? Someone to join magical and auren peoples together?
She issued a grunt and rolled onto her back. Hovering several hundred feet off the school grounds, she closed her eyes and relaxed. For a long moment she just floated. She was pleased that it was taking less and less thought to fly. Despite her worry, she was forced to admit that without Hawk, she would have never felt the power of flight—
"Comfortable?" a voice said.
Startled, Tess lost her concentration and began to fall. Panic engulfed her, but when she clenched her fists her magic gathered on reflex. A dozen feet lower she came to a stop. Breathing hard in embarrassment and lingering fear, she whirled to find Drake floating next to her.
"Are you nuts?" She spit the words at him. "You could have killed me!"
He shrugged and folded his arms. "From what I've seen, I figured you could handle it. Besides, I would have caught you if you fell."
Rather than be reassuring, his faint smile made her feel like he'd caught a number of girls. The look threw gasoline on her anger, and managed to squelch her fleeting image of his arms around her.
"It's still a stupid move," she said. Then she spun and began to descend.
He kept pace easily, unfazed by the heat in her voice. "Have you ever felt anything like it?"
Caught off guard by his question, she stopped. "Flying?"
He nodded. His sapphire eyes were earnest enough to smother her anger.
"There's nothing like it," She said.
His gaze held her fast. "Could you ever go back?"
She shook her head, frozen by the look on his face. "I could barely sit in class."
He looked away. "Magic is what makes us who we are, Tess, and flying is more than just a way to travel. It gives us a perspective of the world that most will never know."
"What are you saying?"
His eyes flicked back to hers. "That we see more because of what we can do. It's why Auroraq does so well. Flying in the clouds . . . changes you. It makes you feel a greater sense of obligation, a greater sense of responsibility."
"All this just because we can fly?"
His expression was sober. "Yes." He turned and began to descend toward the fire and gravity buildings. The move forced her to keep up, and when she did, he asked, "I would like to show you something on Saturday. Can you clear your schedule?"
"What makes you think I'll come?"
He came to a halt above the fire building. "Because you are curious—and talented. Or perhaps I just want to see you more." He flashed a grin.
Her heart fluttered, and she felt betrayed by it. Despite his statement and smile, she got the sense he was hiding something. It wasn't tangible, but the glint to his eye and the curve of his lips made her feel like there was. Possessive, was the word that came to mind.
"Where do you want me to meet you?" she heard her mouth say, and felt a rush of anger at herself. Reining it in before he mistook her expression, she fought to keep her face disinterested.
"At the practice stadium south of the school. Just follow the crowd."
Her annoyance surged. She'd thought he meant just the two of them. Had she misunderstood his intention? Or had Drake deliberately misled her so she would come?
"What makes you think there will be a crowd?" she asked.
"Because it's the tryouts for Tempest." His grin was maddening. "And there's always a crowd."
Before she could respond he turned and accelerated away. A dozen feet from her the gauntlets on his fists burst into fire and he rocketed out of sight. Irritation, curiosity, and attraction all warred for her attention. Lost in thought, she descended to the front steps of the fire building.
Alighting amid a small crowd of girls, she overheard them chattering about Drake. Sensing their animosity directed at her, she strode through the doors with a smile on her lips. She was grateful that only part of her was pleased at Drake's attention. The rest of her was more amused at the girls’ behavior.
Unwilling to relinquish her magic, she stayed off the floor and pretended to walk to class. Arriving just as it was about to begin, she sank into a seat at the back, and reluctantly released her power.
A minute later the doors closed and a man stepped into the room. Dressed in a flowing, dark red cloak, he strode to the focal point of the room and turned to face them.
His skin was dark, and when he spoke, his accent sounded foreign. "I am professor Freeson. Welcome to fire magic. I am sure all of you have managed to spark a flame in your hands, or maybe even a ball of fire—but I will be the first to say that you are at least two years away from a fire gauntlet charm."
He surveyed the crowd with an almost surly expression, and then swept a hand at the inferno raging in the pit behind him. "But long before you learn to master fire, you must learn to master heat. Therefore, a heat-shield spell is the first ability you will learn. For some of you, it will take six months to truly master it. For others, you will be able to walk through this fire within this quad. Either way, you will not be learning spells until you can shield yourself and others around you, and can extinguish a full blaze on your own."
A smattering of grumbling swept through the room, but Professor Freeson ignored it. “To begin, each of you will use your glasses to write the properties of a heat shield from your textbooks. Then you will take turns approaching the fire. Now, some of you will try to walk through the fire without the spell. To them I say this. Get burned in my class—and you will do a week's detention. Burn someone else, and you will do a month. Am I clear?"
Professor Freeson called the first to evaluate their skill, and Tess relaxed. She knew what she was supposed to do, so she allowed her mind to wander. It didn't take long for her thoughts to turn to Drake. Two questions lingered the longest.
What was Drake's intent?
And what did she feel about him?
Chapter 15: Revelations
After feigning a lack of skill in Intro to Fire, Tess reluctantly descended to the bottom of the fire building. It wasn't that she didn't want to practice fire, she just wanted to return to the sky. Three levels down she found the practicum chambers.
Eight long corridors led away from her like spokes on a wheel. Flameless torches were bracketed into the walls, flooding the hallways with light. Shaped like giant faces, oval doors bordered both sides of the hall. The metal surface curved out to form lips, eyes, and a nose. Tess walked to one of them, but as she neared the face spoke first.
"This one's occupied," the face said.
The voice was male and sounded like rust, but wasn't harsh. She moved to the next in line. The metal eyes blinked at her, and then spoke in a matching tone.
"I don't see a knot, student. Only class five fire mages are allowed to practice on their own."
Tess ignited fire across her forearms, and then said. "Will this do?"
The metal lips curled into a smile, and the rusty voice replied with amusement. "Of course, Master."
Tess was taken aback by the response, but the metallic face
was already melting into the door. She stepped through when it swung open. "Keep it locked, would you?"
The lips pushed out of the metal to reply, "If you desire. Have a good practicum."
The door closed behind her, leaving her in a square chamber of black stone. An orb of fire was recessed into the opposite wall, and was the only adornment. With a sigh, Tess donned her glasses to look at the list Hawk had sent her. Then she set to work.
An hour later she emerged hot and tired, but pleased with her progress. The door said farewell, to which she responded. On the way to the surface she pondered on her conversation with a door. Had she already accepted such things as normal?
A smile creased her features as she stepped outside, and without hesitation she took to the skies. She only made it a short distance off the ground before a wave of weakness assailed her. Returning to the path, she suppressed her irritation and made her way through the gardens to the west meal hall. Gathering a plate of food, she moved to what was quickly becoming her usual table.
Famished, she had downed her first plate and returned for seconds before Derek and Iris showed up.
"Hungry?" Derek said, his eyebrow peaking.
She flushed. "I learned to fly today and haven't spent much time on the ground. Is it always like this?"
He shrugged and settled into his seat. "From what I hear, yes—at least in the beginning. Also from what I hear, you're pretty stunning in the air."
She was grateful his tone was more teasing than amazed. It made her feel like he wasn't planning on treating her differently. She also caught the double meaning of the phrase, but passed it off with an airy wave.
"People are so easily impressed." She grinned, causing him to laugh.
"I'm sure the flying was pretty epic, but how was the rest of your day?"
His question was honest, and as they dug into their lunch she filled them in on her other classes. Iris interrupted a few times to comment, although her words made little sense. Upon hearing about Tess's detention, Derek nearly snorted food through his nose he laughed so hard.
"Detention on your second day?" he asked when he'd recovered. "They usually take it easy on first quads. You beat my record on your first term."
"He got detention on his third day," Iris said in an aside, and then returned to her World of Warcraft game.
"What did you do?" Tess asked.
"It's possible that I was involved in a plot to fill one of the earth professor's offices with dirt."
"You?" Tess asked, her eyes going wide. "I didn't peg you as the sort to pull pranks."
"Hey," he said, pretending to be stung. "What does a guy have to do to gain some respect?" He shook his head in dismay. "Anyway, my participation was never proven."
"Then why did you get detention?" Tess asked.
"Because the room was filled in less than ten minutes," Iris said, turning her full attention on their conversation. "And only three students in the nearby classes could have done it."
"Oh, to be the unfortunate one to get punished," Derek lamented.
"All three got detention," Iris said, a laugh dancing in her eyes. "The teacher was livid. You should have seen the veins on his face bulge . . ."
"Now how could you have possibly have seen that?" Derek demanded. His eyes nearly popped out of his face. "You weren't there. It was only my first quad."
She shrugged and turned away, her eyes glazing again. Derek began to laugh, deep and rueful. "I've known her since she was a baby, and she never ceases to surprise me," he said.
Tess laughed as well, and together they finished the meal. Once satisfied, the three of them left the dining hall. Outside, Tess declined Derek's invitation to visit the leisure hall.
"As much as I would like to see it, I already feel behind on homework." She made a face. "Maybe later this week?"
"I'll hold you to that," he said with his signature laugh.
As he turned away she breathed deep of the twilight air, and cautiously lifted herself off the walkway. Elation burst through her as she felt her magic surge, powerful and strong.
"I'll meet you in the room," Tess said to Iris, and then exploded upward. She arced her way above the lake, and flipped over the tops of the trees. Then she swept in a great circle around the dormitories.
Gardens stretched away below her, separating the dormitories from the schools. The setting sun cast the flowers and streams in amber and gold. A late afternoon breeze caressed the plants, bending and swirling leaves as it swept through the vegetation. Her vantage point provided a stunning view, but it merely inspired her to remain in the air. Banking and rolling, she released a cry of giddiness before plunging into the dense foliage of a dormitory tree.
Catching a branch here, twirling to avoid a cabin there, she weaved through the darkened limbs and pinpoints of light that marked the dorms. She burst from the leaves on the opposite side and turned straight up. A moment later she alighted on the back porch of her room.
"I'll never get used to that," she said to Iris, who had beaten her there. Then she noticed that Rox was also in the room.
"Nice flying," Rox said from Tess's desk. "I didn't realize you were a flyer."
"She learned today," Iris said brightly, and then laughed into thin air before turning away.
Tess laughed as well, but realized she had no idea if Iris's humor had been a result of her own comment, or someone else's. "Sorry about not telling you," Tess said, turning to Rox. "I'm still getting used to all this."
"Oh, no worries," Rox said with a dismissive wave. "Most flyers want you to know what they can do. It's refreshing to talk to one who's not so conceited. Still, it's good to know that you are the one everyone is talking about."
"Is it that bad?" Tess asked, sinking onto her bed with a sigh.
"You'd think our Tempest team had just won the International."
"The school threads are chattering about you, too," Iris said. "They want to know who you are."
If they only knew, Tess thought. "I'm just glad I get to fly. I can't imagine a better magic to wield."
"Except for techno, of course." Iris said it like it was glaringly obvious. Then she began to argue with someone in France about something called a Trekinsol.
"So you want to get practicing?" Rox asked, flipping her hair. "I only have an hour before I have to meet someone."
Tess told Iris that she would be back soon, and then followed Rox out the door. She would have liked to fly down, but it felt rude to do so. She hoped Iris didn't blame her for doing it after dinner. Once they reached the ground, Rox led the way to an overlook that reached a short way out onto the lake.
Tess turned and asked, "So what now?"
Rox eyed her strangely, and then said, "You've practiced orb skills, haven't you? Of course you have, after the shaping you did at the testing today."
"It's . . . been a while," Tess said.
Rox laughed, sending her red hair rippling. "You and me both. But it's a good place to warm up." She gestured to the lake, and a ribbon of water streaked toward her. With a flick of her wrist it formed into a ball in her hand.
Her face a mask of concentration, Rox tossed the ball into the air, and then rolled it up her arm. The second time she tossed it into the air it began to wobble. Rox growled when it disintegrated. She scowled as it drenched her shirt, and then she pulled the water from her clothing. Beads of liquid coalesced from the cloth and dripped to the ground. When she was done she sighed and gestured to Tess.
"So? I should have practiced more. Let's see you do better."
Tess accepted the challenge, and after a few seconds managed to collect a ball into her hands. She tried to toss it between her hands, but it lost its form on the third try. Rox laughed at the attempt, but the humor was directed at both of them.
"I'm glad you suggested we start tonight," Rox said, pulling more water to try again. "We can't let our first week be our best showing, can we?"
Tess nodded in agreement and tried again. They laughed together when they
both ended up soaked. After several more attempts, Tess said, "You said you're the first in your family at Tryton’s, but you seem to know a lot about it."
Rox shrugged, her eyes on the ball of water she was gathering. "Doesn't everyone? My dad went here ages ago, but he's a rock mage just like my brothers. I take after my mom's side of the family. Besides, my boyfriend has been here a year and a half."
"What school?"
"Music and Sound, actually," Rox said, "and you should hear him sing." She sighed and lost her concentration.
They were silent for a moment as they both focused. Then Rox asked, "What about you? Dating, siblings, magics?"
"In that order?" Tess asked.
"Of course," Rox exclaimed with a grin.
"Not currently to the first and none to the second. So far I can do grav, fire, and water."
"So far?" Rox asked her eyebrows rising.
Tess could have kicked herself. She'd been so busy trying to hold the water together she hadn't been paying attention. "I . . . can move air—sometimes."
"A secondary, huh? Too bad it's not a primary. You could've been a class three flyer."
Tess was relieved she hadn't given herself away. "What's a secondary?"
"It's when a mage can occasionally see or do a little of another field. I think it's somewhat common, but you can't join a school unless you demonstrate enough power at your presenting."
"Can a secondary develop into a primary?"
"Doesn't happen often," Rox said. "It's like an ability that's just out of reach. No matter how much you practice, it won't get better."
Tess grunted in acknowledgment, wishing she could just tell the truth about herself. Prior to Tryton’s she'd never really hidden herself before, and she found the dishonesty unsettling.
"What do you think about the upcoming vote?" Rox asked, changing the subject.
"I don't know enough to have an opinion," Tess said. "I just learned about it a few days ago. It's about taking magic public, right?"