Forest of Illusions (The Broken Prism)

by V. St. Clair

  Hayden brightened a bit upon hearing that, already beginning to wistfully consider ways to impress his friends with his new mansion.

  “There’s some pretty nice land around it,” he pointed out. “You might be able to do some decent quail hunting there. Mittens and Felix would probably enjoy running around the grounds too, and I think there’s a pond or a lake or something a little further on.”

  Suddenly reminded of something, he turned to Zane and said, “By the way, I didn’t know that Felix could become invisible until he turned up in the Forest. That was seriously cool.”

  Zane grinned and said, “Neither did I, but the Forest is supposed to be where our familiars are most powerful—on account of all the magic hanging around the place.” He shrugged. “I don’t think he was exactly invisible…more like hard-to-notice, like you just couldn’t focus your eyes on him properly.”

  “I guess it makes sense that a fox would be stealthy like that, I’d just never thought about it before,” Hayden conceded. “Dragons apparently have some battle-cry that can break steel when they’re really angry. I thought it was going to break my skull too, but luckily they cut it out before that happened.”

  “Dragons are pretty slick creatures,” Zane agreed cheerfully. “Even Bonk, when he chooses to be serious and isn’t focused on making you look like an idiot.”

  Bonk continued to roll around on the straw-covered floor while Tess stroked his belly, and Cinder spared his counterpart a withering stare that Hayden knew he didn’t mean.

  “It’s got to be time for lunch by now,” Zane looked up at the ceiling as though trying to calculate the angle of the sun through it. “Tess and I will go scrounge up some food and bring it back here. You want anything?”

  “Yeah, I’m starving.” Hayden’s stomach growled loudly as he spoke to add weight to the assertion.

  “Alright, I think it’s bean soup and bread. The food here isn’t great, but after everything we’ve been through I’d eat just about anything. Come on, Tess.”

  Hayden watched his friends depart, and for a few minutes he had no one but the two dragonlings for company. Bonk found a mouse to chase around the room while Cinder continued to perch regally and watch the spectacle, though he occasionally turned his gaze to Hayden like he was checking on him.

  Hayden had the strange sensation of being filled with too many conflicting emotions at the same time. He was glad the war was over but upset about his role in it; relieved to be with the people he liked best, but horrified at the price they’d all paid for it; excited to return to Mizzenwald but worried that the Masters wouldn’t be able to get him free of the Fias’ charges.

  By the time his friends returned with their familiars and food to share, he had decided to stop trying to feel everything at once and to simply take things as they came. Right now he was determined to enjoy lunch with Tess and Zane while he recovered, and everything else could wait until later.

  It worked fairly well. They talked about small things while they ate, like whether or not Zane and Hayden would be forced to chop wood for the former’s mother this winter, or whether Bonk would ever catch the mouse he was still chasing in circles around the room. Tess suggested that their soup and bread had been cooked for about ten hours too long, judging by their consistency, while Zane thought it more likely that whoever was cooking their food had never actually attempted to make anything before.

  They spent most of the afternoon that way, holed up in Hayden’s makeshift sickroom and ignoring the world around them. The most exciting thing that happened before bed was that Bonk finally caught his mouse.

  The journey back to Mizzenwald was a lot less exciting than Hayden would have guessed, given that they were traveling with some pretty illustrious mages for most of the way. In fact, it was a lot like the long walk from school to the Forest of Illusions, except that they were better provisioned with food, water, and other supplies.

  Asher explained that most of the mages would leave them once they felt recovered enough to do complex magic again and were confident of surviving on their own. When asked why the Masters didn’t just translocate themselves and Hayden’s classmates back to Mizzenwald—as most of them were well enough to do so by now—he was told that there were advantages to taking the long way.

  “Like what?” Hayden pressed on the fourth day of their meandering travels. It seemed to him like they were being deliberately slow, occasionally stopping for hours-long rest breaks during the day for no apparent reason.

  “Time, my impatient young friend,” Asher grinned. “We’re still trying to hammer out some of the details regarding your status as a fugitive. We’d like to have all of our ducks in a row before we return to Mizzenwald and confront the Fias.”

  “But doesn’t the High Mayor know you all are dragging your feet out here? Don’t you think he’s already warned the Fias to expect us all back sometime soon?”

  Asher smirked again. “We’ve been putting on that a few of us are much sicker than we actually are. Willow does a convincing fainting spell on-demand, and Laurren is sure to be found lying about, wailing in agony every time the mayor’s riders come by with a message. They’re far too fragile for magical travel right now, and so we must—regrettably—walk.” He winked at Hayden and left him to his friends. Hayden watched the Prism Master sit down on the grass across from Master Lauren—who looked perfectly hale—so that the two of them could play cards.

  It wasn’t until they crossed the border into Junir that anything surprising or interesting happened. As they were setting up camp on their first night back in their native land, Hayden heard the clip-clopping of a horse approaching at speed.

  “Oh good, perhaps that’s the confirmation we’ve been waiting on from the High Mayor,” Master Reede held a hand up in front of his eyes to shield them from the setting sun and get a better look. Then he frowned. “No…it doesn’t look like a rider from the capital…”

  By now their party had been whittled down to just those people who were returning to Mizzenwald, as all the other travelers had departed their company sometime during the return journey. Master Willow glanced at Hayden and said, “Best if you all keep to yourselves until we find out if this is a friend or foe.”

  Hayden, Tess, and Zane obediently hid inside one of the tents, though Oliver was permitted to stay outside with the Masters. Oliver hadn’t spoken to the rest of them much since they left the Forest of Illusions, more often spending his time in the company of the Masters he still studied with or the other sixth years—probably trying to catch up on his lessons or suck up before they returned to school.

  “If we keep quiet we might still be able to hear what they’re saying,” Zane whispered as the rider approached, holding up a finger to his lips and peeking through a narrow slit in the canvas that covered the opening of the tent.

  Their silence was quite unnecessary, however, as the first thing the rider did upon leaping off of his horse was loudly demand, “Where is my daughter?!”

  Tess gasped and covered her mouth with one hand. “Is that my dad?”

  Without waiting for an answer, she strolled out of the tent just as Master Kilgore was inquiring, “And your daughter is…?”

  “Dad!” Tess interjected, running up to the sweaty, tired-looking traveler that Hayden wouldn’t have recognized if he hadn’t known who it was. The man looked like he’d aged a decade since he’d last seen him, though the years seemed to melt off of his face as Tess threw herself into his arms.

  “Oh good, it’s your biggest admirer…” Zane mumbled to Hayden, who winced in appreciation of the dark humor. He was just beginning to get to the point where Tess’s father could look at him without scowling or cursing; now that he’d dragged her off to a war he had a feeling that his good credit with the man was shot.

  Deciding that it was probably safe to come out of the tent—surely the cluster of Masters wouldn’t let Tess’s dad murder him—Hayden and Zane returned to the gathering.

  At the moment, Tess’s fathe
r had eyes for no one but his daughter.

  “Are you alright? You’re not hurt? What were you thinking running away from school like that to go fight in a war? Do you know how much I worried when I saw your name on posters calling for your arrest? I don’t suppose you thought about stopping by the house to tell your old man what kind of stupidity you were planning with that boy…”

  Hayden grimaced. No need to ask who ‘that boy’ was. Master Kilgore glanced at him briefly and let out a low chuckle of amusement, probably at the green pallor of Hayden’s face.

  Tess’s father spoke so rapidly that he hardly gave her time to answer any of his questions, though when he stopped to draw breath she attempted to.

  “I’m fine, Dad…I’m not hurt. And we knew what we were getting into—we didn’t just leave school for a holiday. Besides, I wasn’t on my own: I had Mittens with me, and Zane and Hayden and Oliver, and their familiars too. We were perfectly safe.”

  “Well, until they hit the war zone…” Master Reede mumbled loudly enough for everyone to hear, clearly amused by the scene before him.

  As though suddenly realizing Hayden was there, Tess’s father whirled around and pointed at him in dire accusation, leveling his furious gaze.

  “And YOU,” he barked at Hayden. Zane took a reflexive step away from his friend, clearly hoping to avoid any backsplash of rage. “I should have known you’d do something like this: attempted murder, destruction of property, violence against a respected member of the community…and you dared drag my daughter into it?!”

  His face was rapidly reddening as his anger grew, and Hayden glanced around to see if anyone was going to intervene on his behalf. Most of the Masters looked bored, and had wandered off to continue setting up camp, though Asher gave him a cheery smile and thumbs-up, and Master Kilgore nodded as though he thought Tess’s father might have a valid point.

  Great. So much for allies.

  “Well, sir, actually…” Hayden began, trying to muster his own defense and wishing that they didn’t have such a large audience.

  Fortunately Tess grabbed her father’s arm and cut him off before he could continue.

  “None of those charges against Hayden are true, they were just made up by the Fias so they could arrest him,” she insisted sharply, using a commanding tone of voice Hayden had never really heard from her before.

  Well, technically a few of those charges are true…

  He didn’t bother correcting her out loud. He doubted it would be helpful.

  “Besides, he didn’t drag me off anywhere. I wanted to go help out our teachers in the Forest of Illusions, and so did Zane and Oliver. You might as well shout at me if you’re angry about me going, not Hayden.”

  Master Laurren chimed in helpfully at this point. “We did say ‘thank you’ to your daughter and her friends for all the help. Magical torture is a tedious business and most of us were growing tired of it by the time you kids showed up.”

  Tess’s dad seemed to lose his momentum, and Master Kilgore capitalized on the silence to add, “We’re just making dinner now. Your daughter is a fine huntress, has anyone ever told you that? Dead useful with a bow and a knife.” He pointed to a heap of deer meat that was being cooked rapidly over a magical fire. “Join us, won’t you?”

  Tess’s father took a deep breath and seemed to deflate, no longer looking like he wanted to commit murder, though he did cast Hayden a surly look as he said, “I taught her to hunt. Magic has its uses, but sometimes the best way to protect yourself is with a good old-fashioned blade.” His tone left little doubt that he was imagining Hayden as a predator who should be cut up and roasted over a magical fire for dinner sometime.

  “Come on, Tess, let’s have a look at your knife-work and see if your cuts are up to par.” He shuffled off towards the campfire to examine the pile of meat in more detail.

  “Well, that could have gone better,” Zane said brightly. “Though I guess you’re still lucky to have all your limbs.”

  Tess frowned and added, “You let me handle my father. I am not a little girl anymore, and it’s time he gets used to that.” She stalked off without another word to them, her movement rigid, like she was steeling herself up for something.

  “Have you ever wondered if we’re a bad influence on her?” Zane put in mildly. “She used to be such a quiet girl. Now she’s becoming as brazen as the rest of us.”

  Hayden shrugged. “She’s tough, she can choose for herself. Besides, she’s always been strong and smart and opinionated…even when she was quiet and shy. I think we just bring it out of her a little more than other people.”

  “Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to get some meat before all the good cuts are gone.” Zane smirked and approached the campfire, attempting to shoo Felix and Mittens out of the way, as they were staring at the meat hungrily with their tongues hanging out.

  Asher was feeding Cinder bits of deer meat while the dragon perched on his shoulder, though Bonk eschewed the provided food in favor of ripping into a fat squirrel he had caught for himself.

  Hayden sighed and went to join Master Asher near one of the tents, deciding to wait until Tess’s father moved away from the campfire before he dared to venture in for some food.

  “Afraid of getting yelled at again?” the Master greeted him, gesturing towards the place where Tess’s father stood beside her.

  “Not afraid…just not looking forward to it,” Hayden corrected. “You were little help while I was getting shouted at,” he added in annoyance.

  Asher grinned. “Of course not. It’s a rite of passage: everyone young man should be the object of hatred for a young lady’s father at some point. That’s how you know you’re growing up properly.”

  Hayden snorted and rolled his eyes.

  “Well then, mission accomplished.” He twirled a finger in the air in mock-celebration. “I suppose you’re going to tell me you were never so unlucky as to be frowned upon by a girl’s father?”

  Asher laughed and said, “Are you kidding? I’m extremely handsome, and obnoxious; I haven’t yet met a man who liked me seeing their daughter,” he explained cheerfully. “One time I spent hours hiding up a tree from a father who was determined to club me to death with a fireplace poker.”

  Hayden, surprised by his levity, asked, “But couldn’t you have used magic to stop him, or at least to escape?”

  The Prism Master shrugged and said, “It didn’t seem sporting.”

  Every time Hayden started to think that Master Asher might be sane after all, he went and said something to cast doubt on himself again.

  “Well then, I’m going to get some dinner. Try to keep Tess’s dad away from any fireplace pokers for me, will you?”

  Asher tossed Cinder another piece of meat and said, “Sure thing, kiddo.”

  Hayden woke at dawn the next morning, yawning and pulling his shoes on to step outside and greet the day. His movements woke Zane, who rolled over on top of Felix on accident and was greeted with a loud yip from his familiar as he was squashed.

  “Sorry, Felix,” he yawned widely and sat up in bed. “Where’re you going?” he asked Hayden.

  “I heard voices outside; I think breakfast might be ready.” He ducked under the tent flap and stepped out into the crisp dawn air, though it was immediately apparent that no one else was up yet. Frowning, because he could have sworn he’d heard people talking, he was preparing to go back inside the tent to kill time when he heard the lilt of Tess’s voice from somewhere nearby.

  Zane joined him at the tent flap and Hayden motioned for him to stay quiet, the two of them sneaking closer to listen, using the other tents as cover by hiding behind them. Finally they could hear what Tess and her father were discussing.

  “…at Mizzenwald for the rest of the year, if they can’t even keep you from running off with boys.”

  Tess sighed and said, “Dad, are you going to pull me out of the best school in the Nine Lands just because you’re afraid I won’t stay there? That seems silly.�
�

  “You could have died fighting in a place you didn’t belong, all because you’re determined to follow some boy around that you have a crush on. He isn’t worth it, I tell you, war hero or not.”

  Hayden felt his insides go glacial, and was considering returning to his tent and leaving Zane out here on his own when Tess answered.

  “Well…if you’re so set against Hayden…there is another boy I could choose instead.”

  Suddenly it felt like Hayden had no insides at all. He had no idea that she’d been seriously considering Conner all this time, and wasn’t sure he could ever face his roommate again without wanting to punch a wall. Zane gave him a startled look, plainly as caught off guard as he was by this announcement.

  “Oh? And who’s that?” her father asked cautiously.

  “His name is Lorn, and I’ve been trying to decide between him and Hayden for a while now, because they’re just so different,” Tess answered easily.

  Hayden and Zane turned to each other with identical looks of astonishment and confusion on their faces, and the latter mouthed, Lorn Trout?! as though wondering if he’d caught the wrong name.

  As far as Hayden knew, Tess and Lorn could barely stand each other, so this was brand new information to him.

  Great, another rival…

  “Lorn, eh? What’s he like?” Tess’s father asked with hesitant optimism.

  “Well, he’s from a really good family…a Great House, actually,” she began. Hayden couldn’t help but think, I’m from a Great House too! as though it mattered.

  “Really?” he sounded impressed. “Well, that’s ambitious of you…”

  “He’s also a lot more relaxed than Hayden,” Tess continued quickly. “See, Hayden’s always so serious about things…like he’s always telling me we need to focus on schoolwork and getting good grades so that we can have better prospects when we graduate. It can be a bit boring sometimes. Lorn is a lot more free-spirited. He thinks school hardly matters as long as you can scrape through without failing, and that it’s hardly worth even staying to the mastery year, especially since he has his estate to support him.”