by Sam Ferguson
“I’m coming,” Kyra said wearily.
The door cracked open just a bit.
“Kyra, are you dressed?”
Kyra smiled when she recognized the voice. It was Janik, a once powerful warrior who had saved her mother from the vampire, along with Cyrus. Now, he was reduced to a janitor within Kuldiga Academy, but he never appeared to her to mind. His face was always smiling when she saw him. More than that, he had become a welcome buffer from Feberik.
“I’m dressed, come in,” she said.
The door swung open and Janik limped into the room. He waved with his good arm while his gnarled left wrist hung stiff at his side. His green eyes seemed to sparkle as he entered the room. “I have a special announcement,” Janik said.
Kyra smiled and then she noticed something behind the large man. At first she couldn’t tell what it was, but soon she saw it was a head of hair. Kyra leaned to the side on her bed, trying to get a better look.
“This is Linny Ravia,” Janik said. “She has come to the academy early and Headmaster Herion has decided to bunk her with you.”
Kyra balked. “Don’t the new students usually live with their peers?” Kyra asked.
Janik nodded. “We are renovating the dorms for the first-year girls. If you two don’t get on together nicely, we can move her back after the start of the year, but until then, Headmaster Herion thought it best for you to show her the ropes. Maybe even help her with some of her studies a bit.”
A young girl stepped out from behind Janik as the man turned and gently pushed her forward.
“Don’t be shy now,” Janik said.
Kyra smiled at the sandy-haired girl. Linny had gorgeous blue eyes, a narrow nose, and freckles across her face. Her hair was tied up with a pair of green silk bows that matched her dress.
“Hello,” Linny said nervously.
Kyra couldn’t help but realize that this was going to make visiting Leatherback quite difficult. Still, there was something about the girl that she felt drawn to, though she had no idea what that might be.
Janik turned back to the hallway and waved. A pair of large men shuffled into the room and set a large trunk down, then turned and left. Janik then nodded to Kyra and smiled.
“Perhaps you two can get to know each other. Breakfast will be ready shortly.”
Kyra smiled to him and nodded. Linny wrung her hands and bit her lower lip, her eyes shifting to look at her trunk. Janik limped out of the room and closed the door behind himself.
“What are you going to study?” Kyra asked.
Linny offered a half-smile. “Magic, I think,” she said in a mousy voice.
“You think?” Kyra echoed. “Don’t you know?”
Linny shrugged. “Not really. I heard that I have magic in my blood, but I have never tried anything before. I don’t know anything about it, really.”
Kyra thought her statement odd, after all, having magical ability was something as natural to her as breathing, and she couldn’t remember a time when she had been unable to do simple spells. How is it that a noble family had known of magical abilities in their daughter, and not helped her to develop the gift? Even the least talented of the students she had been in classes with before being assigned to Cyrus had come to school knowing a few basics. Perhaps that is why she had been sent to school early for the summer term— to help prepare her for the beginning of regular classes in the fall.
Instead of dwelling on this too much, she thought to ask about Linny’s family. “Where are you from?” Kyra asked.
“Nortwyn Abbey,” Linny said. “It’s a small town in the east.”
Kyra nodded. “And your father and mother live there, then?”
Linny winced.
“Sorry,” Kyra offered. “This is probably your first time away from your family, I suppose.”
Linny nodded. “Yes, it is,” she said.
Kyra noticed the tears in the young girl’s eyes, but tried her best to redirect the subject.
“Would you like me to show you a spell?” she asked as she patted the bed beside where she sat.
Linny didn’t move. She fidgeted with her fingers and bit her lip once more.
“I won’t bite,” Kyra said with a genuine smile. “Come on, I can show you something.” Kyra waved her hand in the air in front of her and then turned her palm upward. She snapped her fingers and whispered the words to summon a small spark of blue flame. It hovered and danced above her hand, then she blew on it gently and sent it into the air. It grew into a round orb of fire, roughly the size of a small tangerine, and then it disappeared. Kyra watched Linny’s eyes grow wide and a smile creep upon the girl’s face.
“Come on,” Kyra said. “Let’s have you try it.”
Linny took a step, and then hesitated for a moment before finally skipping over to the bed and jumping up onto it. “I don’t know the spell,” Linny confessed.
Kyra leaned in and whispered the words into Linny’s ear. “Got it?” Kyra asked.
Linny nodded.
“All right, now, it isn’t enough just to speak the words. You also have to focus on the spell, and picture the flame in your mind. Can you do that?”
Linny nodded again.
She held her hand out and closed her eyes, squinting them shut. “Plami yavlai,” she said in a whisper. She opened her eyes, a bright smile on her face and an excited giggle issuing out from her. Linny’s excitement died down when she saw nothing in her hand.
“Don’t worry, it takes a bit of practice. Try again,” Kyra coaxed.
Linny closed her eyes again and repeated the words to the spell. Again nothing happened. Three times more she tried, and with each disappointment her frown grew longer.
Kyra then hopped off the bed and walked toward the large, black trunk. “Some students use wands,” she said. “Do you have a wand?”
“I don’t know,” Linny replied.
Kyra shook her head. “You should know if you have a wand,” she said.
Linny shot off the bed. “Oh yes, I do have a wand. Sorry, I didn’t hear you right the first time.” Linny bounded over to the trunk and opened it, while Kyra studied her carefully. Linny didn’t act like any of the other girls Kyra had met here last year. There was no air of arrogance about her. She didn’t move in stiff, “proper” movements like all the other young women at the academy subscribed to. She was different. The clothes fit. The ornate trunk was like any other. Even the ornate wand Linny pulled out appeared to be similar to what any other apprentice at the school would have, but none of them would behave like Linny, or talk like her for that matter. Even the shyest of girls had always talked down to Kyra before.
Linny waved her wand, which was made of ebony and had four opals set into the handle. “Here it is!”
Kyra nodded approvingly. “A wand helps to enhance your focus. So, this time try to perform the same spell, but don’t focus the image into your hand. Instead, imagine the flame leaping off the end of the wand.”
Linny nodded. She turned and pointed her wand at the stone wall. “Plami yavlai,” she said. Nothing happened.
“It’s all right, just focus on the tip of your wand,” Kyra encouraged her.
Linny nodded. She took in a deep breath and stared at the wand. “Plami yavlai!” A blue spark jumped from the end of the wand, circled around the air for a second, and then vanished. Linny’s eyes went wide as eggs and she turned around, jumping up and down. “I did it! I did magic!”
Kyra smiled. “See, you’ll be just fine here,” she said. “Shall we go get breakfast?”
Linny shook her head and practiced the spell again. Her smile disappeared once more when there was not even so much as a hint of a spark. She shook her wand. “Come on,” she said. “Plami yavlai!”
Kyra stepped in and gently took the wand. “It’s all right, you can’t force it. Come, let’s go have something to eat, then we can try again.” Kyra placed the wand back into the trunk and closed the lid. “I can help you unpack later as well, if you like.”
Linny sighed and nodded. “I never thought I could do that,” Linny said under her breath as she stared at the spot where the spark had floated.
“You know, I bet they have ham steak and eggs today. Do you like ham steak?”
Linny nodded.
“Come on, then, let’s go.” Kyra slipped her hand in through Linny’s elbow, something Kyra’s mother used to do sometimes when she was sad, and pulled her out into the corridor.
*****
Cyrus was sitting in the classroom when Janik found him. The curtains were drawn over the windows and only a few candles illuminated the room. Janik closed the door and cleared his throat. Cyrus looked up from a book and leaned back in his chair.
“What is it?” Cyrus asked. “I am expecting Kyra to come for classes soon, so we need to be brief.”
“She hasn’t yet gone down for breakfast. We have time,” Janik countered. The lame man limped into the room, dragging his twisted leg with each step. “We have a slight problem,” Janik said.
“Oh?” Cyrus said as he closed his book and slid it to the side of his desk.
Janik nodded and pulled a chair up to the opposite side of the desk. “Kyra has a roommate,” Janik said. He looked around as if searching for eavesdroppers in the room.
Cyrus flicked his wrist and the candles burned brighter, illuminating Janik’s face fully so the old wizard could see the sour expression. “Why should that be a concern?” Cyrus asked.
“This isn’t just any girl,” Janik started. He fidgeted in his chair and wiggled his lower jaw side to side as he pulled in a breath through his flared and crinkled nose. “My father, rest his soul, was not always an honorable man,” Janik said.
“Most aren’t,” Cyrus replied. The wizard leaned back in his chair and folded his arms impatiently.
“I’ll just come right out with it, then.” Janik blinked at the desk, unable to make eye contact with Cyrus. “My father sired a child with another woman.”
“It happens,” Cyrus said flatly.
Janik nodded. “I saw her once. My father had left a portion of his estate to her, and to the child’s mother. I was the executor of the will. I went to meet with the mother and child…”
“But you never gave them what your father desired?”
Janik shook his head. “My mother was still alive at the time. I couldn’t dishonor her, or bring open shame upon the family.”
“And now you believe the roommate to be your half-sister, is that it?” Cyrus asked.
Janik nodded. “I don’t just believe it, I know it. She has false papers, and has been admitted to the academy. Headmaster Herion has instructed me to put her in Kyra’s room. I dropped her off only a few minutes ago. I spent some time in my office, I needed a drink to calm my nerves, and then I came here.”
Cyrus nodded. “Yes, well, that might be something hard for you to deal with on a personal level, but I fail to see why this is a problem for me, or why it should matter that she lives with Kyra.”
Janik shook his head. “What if they figure it out?” Janik asked. “If the girl knows I am her… her…”
“Half-brother,” Cyrus put in.
Janik nodded. “If she tells Kyra, then Kyra will not trust me. I told Kyra that there were no daughters in our family.”
“And that is the truth,” Cyrus said. “Most nobles don’t recognize illegitimate children. She’ll either understand this point, or she will hate you for your callous attitude toward an innocent child,” Cyrus said bluntly. “Either way, it shouldn’t matter for our purposes. If anything, that might push her closer to me. I wouldn’t worry about it.”
“What about Feberik?” Janik asked.
Cyrus shrugged. “Does he know?”
Janik shook his head. “I am the only one who knew my father’s secret.”
Cyrus sighed and rubbed a hand over his face before bringing it down to tug on his beard. “So you are nervous because of what he did at Caspen Manor?” Cyrus guessed.
Janik nodded. “I have given him the potion each night, but something like this will always rile him up beyond reason. I fear it might also make him too strong for the magic.”
Cyrus grinned. “You know, I would have liked to watch your brother at Caspen Manor. That whole incident sounded like a lot of fun.”
Janik arched a brow. “I’m serious, what if Feberik turns against me because of this? If I can’t keep him under the spell of the potions you give me, then we will lose him.”
Cyrus nodded. “Have you asked the girl whether she knows you?”
Janik shook his head and frowned. “No. If I ask her that, and she knows nothing, then I will only cause her to suspect something.”
The old wizard sighed again and began tapping on the desk with his forefinger. “My suggestion is to wait and let things play out however they may. If she knows who her father was, then it will come out in the open. Or, perhaps it won’t. If she has false papers to be here, then she might fear outing herself and getting expelled. Best case scenario is she doesn’t know, and won’t be a threat.”
“She came to study magic,” Janik said after a moment.
“Why do you warriors always say things like that as if the person is possessed? Not all magicians and wizards are bad.”
Janik chortled. “Well, considering you are the wizard I deal with the most, can you blame me?”
Cyrus smiled and flicked a brow up for a moment. “Fair point. However, the mere fact that she is studying magic is nothing to worry about.”
Janik sat silently, shifting his gaze to the floor and sighing loudly.
“I can hear you breathing,” Cyrus said. “I don’t like it.”
Janik looked up and snorted. “Yes well, if you hadn’t rescued me in that vampire’s lair, I guess you wouldn’t have to listen to me breathe.”
Cyrus’s features grew hard and he shook his head and waved Janik away. “Go. I have studies of my own to attend to before Kyra comes. Keep this matter to yourself. It will all work out in the end.”
Janik left in a huff, mumbling something about imbecilic, senile wizards and their schemes as he exited the room and pulled the door shut behind him.
Cyrus sat at the desk, pondering this new information.
He went to a statue of a large crow that sat in the corner of the room. He waved his hand and a small piece of parchment appeared in front of the statue. As he thought the words, they appeared upon the parchment in glowing, green ink.
Dear Hairen,
I have thought about your proposal much since our last conversation. I believe that working with you may be more beneficial than my current arrangement with the warlocks of the Order of the All-Seeing Eye. Additionally, I may have found a new recruit for your coven. Give me some time, and I will inform you of my progress.
Sincerely,
Cyrus
*****
Kyra and Linny had only just finished their plates when Kathair walked into the room. He was smiling wide and approaching fast.
“Hi Kyra, can I talk with you for a moment?” Kathair asked.
Kyra looked to Linny and excused herself. She stood from the table and they walked a few yards away for privacy.
“I’ve made another break through on my project. I think you will want to come with me,” Kathair said.
“Why? What are you grinning for?” Kyra asked.
Kathair leaned in close. “The school received a falcon today. It described how the monsters in the south were killed. The dragon slayers aren’t too happy, but I overhead the headmaster saying he was going to call a special meeting. Come with me, and we can listen in.”
“Listen in?” Kyra echoed. “I don’t think we can just walk into his office and sit down.”
Kathair shook his head. “Of course not, but I do have a few tricks up my sleeve. I mean, how do you think I got that book for you?”
“Well, I was going to help Linny unpack her things.”
“Kyra, we don’t have much time, come on,” Kathair urged.
Kyra nodded. “All right. Give me a moment.” She walked back to Linny. “Are you able to find your way back to the room? I have something I need to do.”
“Sure,” Linny said with a hollow smile.
Kyra felt conflicted about leaving her, but Kathair was already walking by, having heard Linny’s answer.
“Great, I’ll have her back to you soon. Nice to meet you.” He shot Kyra an expectant look and then continued walking toward the exit.
Kyra felt pulled in two directions. She wanted desperately to hear what Kathair was so excited about, but she hadn’t missed the fact that Linny was having a hard time. There was a large part of her that wanted to stay with her and help.
“It’s all right,” Linny said. “I can find my way back. I’ll see you soon,” she said. Linny made the choice easier for Kyra by getting up and walking in the opposite direction.
Kyra walked briskly to catch up with Kathair. He was nearly to the courtyard by the time she caught up with him. She was about to suggest they not go into the open courtyard, for Feberik might see them, but Kathair turned down the corridor to the left before Kyra ever brought it up.
“Come on, hurry up,” Kathair said. He quickened his pace and Kyra nearly had to jog to keep up.
“What’s so important?” Kyra asked.
Kathair held a finger to his mouth and shook his head. He stopped suddenly at a large door and tested the handle. It turned easily in his hand. He poked his head through and then opened the door wider.
“Through here,” he said quickly.
Kathair led her through a laundry room full of large vats of steaming water and linens hanging on lines. They snaked around the large tubs and then stopped at a grate that was about three feet long and two feet wide. Kathair bent down and pulled the grate up as if it was made of sticks.
“What are you doing?” Kyra asked.
“Come on, in you go,” he said.
Kyra shook her head. “No.”
Kathair sighed and set the grate aside. Then he dropped down into the hole. His feet hit the bottom before his head dropped below floor level. “Stay if you like, but I promise you are going to want to see this.” He held his hand up for her.