The Black Mage: Complete Series

by Rachel E. Carter

  We were down to twenty. We’d lost eleven mentees in that first charge. Only one Combat fourth-year had made it back, and he was gravely injured. We were not in good standing.

  The prince quickly set to work outlining our next move. The first thing he did was assess our condition. There were four of us too injured to run—though a couple of Restoration mentees were attempting to fix that. We had nine mentees left from Alchemy, five from Restoration, and only six from Combat. With the exception of Alchemy—who’d had the advantage of a rear escape—most of us were second-years. We’d lost most of the older mentees in the first attack since they’d been leading the first assault.

  “From here on out, every casting needs to count. Caine is too smart to fall for our tricks and the mentors already have such an advantage.” Darren ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “Eve and I cast a large boulder to block the entrance. That should hold us in this narrow gulch for a while, but there are other ways in, and I’m sure the mentors have already started scouting the rest of the canyon for breaks in the rock.”

  “Are you sure they won’t just try to break your boulder?” Ruth, the second-year Alchemy apprentice Ella, Alex, and I had befriended last year, spoke up. “The mentors have to know your casting won’t hold forever, especially against their own magic.”

  “Caine is not going to sit around and wait.” Jayson clutched his bleeding side as two second-year Restoration mentees attempted to treat it. The pained expression he wore made me squirm. “Darren is right—Caine’s going to send some of his mentors to scout.”

  The cave broke into chaos.

  “Maybe we should just surrender now?”

  “We might’ve stood a chance in chariots, but there’s no way twenty of us can take on so many mentors now.”

  “They only lost one Combat mage in our attack!”

  I waited for the complaints to die out. “We should pick them off one by one.”

  Everyone’s eyes flew to me. It was the first time I’d spoken up.

  I forced myself to continue, uncomfortable as I was. “We’re outnumbered, but that doesn’t mean we can’t win. If we limit how many can enter the gulch at one time, we’ve got a much better chance. It’s how the northern regiment won Battle of Daggan’s Peak thirty years ago.” I’d read all about it in the history scrolls during my first year at the Academy. I’d even cited it during my oral exam in an effort to impress the judges at the end-of-year trials.

  “Ryiah is right.” Ray gave me an approving nod. “I read the same thing. By barricading the tunnel, the soldiers were able to pick off the enemy one by one since the passage only fit two men at a time.”

  “The gulch isn’t a tunnel.” A fourth-year shot us a disapproving look. “It’s just a very narrow valley with sandstone walls. It can still fit several mentors at once.”

  “Yes, but Ryiah’s not talking about the entrance. She’s talking about the scouts who try to come around the back.” Darren shifted from one foot to the next. “The gulch is narrower south of the canyon, and with so many dead ends, it would be hard for the mentors to know which route to take. We can pick them off one by one and reduce the odds before we attempt a full-on assault.”

  The tight pressure that had been building in my chest was starting to fade. My plan could actually work.

  Could it?

  “How do you want us to do this, Darren?” Eve was staring at the prince’s shoulder. I’d barely noticed it before, but now I could see a huge gash in his vest. There were burn marks, and the skin underneath was a nasty shade of red. One of the mentors must have used fire. I stared at his chest, horrified.

  Darren was back to addressing the crowd. “I want Restoration to stay here. All of you do your best to heal the injured members and anyone else we send back. There is no purpose risking your safety now... Alchemy, I want you to guard the front entrance where Eve and I cast the boulder. It will be safer than patrolling, and all of you should have some experience with the sword in case the mentors are able to break the barrier before we return. Jayson will stay with you. He’s too injured to help Combat, but at the very least he can keep watch.

  “The rest of us will pick off mentor scouts from the southern entrance. It’s a long shot, but if we can eliminate at least some of the Combat mentors, we might actually stand a chance.”

  “But what about you, Darren? Shouldn’t you stay behind with the healers for that burn?” a boy protested.

  Another: “You’re our leader—if you get caught it’s over!”

  Darren’s laugh was cold. “We need every Combat mentee we have. If I don’t fight, it’s over either way.”

  I DESCENDED the butte with careful hands. I was all too conscious of how risky it was to climb loose sandstone… but if Darren had done it, then so could I. Someone had to, and thanks to my reputation for scaling a cliff during Combat’s orientation last year, I’d been the first choice now that our leader was injured.

  When I reached my last foothold, I jumped, landing lightly in the shallow canyon stream below. The rest of the Combat mentees were waiting for me at the bank. Their expressions ranged from apprehension to fear.

  “How many did you see?”

  “Four. They were together, but it looked like they were separating at the fork. One of them was Ian. I think another was Bryce. They were headed toward a dead end. The other two were Combat fifth-years, and they were following the stream that leads straight to our camp… I didn’t see anyone else following, but it was hard to see past that crag.”

  Darren took in my report and then issued orders. “Eve, Ray, and Ella, you three will take the two headed toward us; Ryiah and I are going to go after Ian and Bryce.”

  Our group exchanged nervous glances. This was it.

  Ray turned to Darren. “Are you sure you’ll be fine—maybe someone should switch?”

  “You three have the fifth-years.” The prince clamped the boy’s shoulder in support. “I’m sure Ryiah and I can take two third-years, injuries and all.”

  Did that mean he thought I was weak? I wasn’t sure.

  As soon as we parted ways and started down the trail, I spoke up. “So what’s our strategy?”

  Darren’s eyes met mine and he smirked. “You really don’t know?”

  “Know what?” I was suspicious of that mouth; whenever he looked at me like that, well, it wasn’t good. Darren didn’t always play fair.

  “You are so innocent.” That maddening grin flashed. “This is going to be fun.”

  My expression soured. “Because we’re going to be beat to a bloody pulp?” Or did he expect me to take on two mentors by myself? Why would that be hilarious?

  “Think about it, Ryiah.” I itched to slap that all-knowing smirk off his face. “Who are the two third-years?”

  “Ian and Bryce.” I made a face. “What’s so special about them?”

  “Ian.” His eyes were dancing.

  “And?”

  “And I want you to distract him while I get rid of Bryce.”

  “You take the weak one and leave me Ian? He’s the best in his year!” I glared at the prince. I was good, but even with his shoulder, Darren was still the best in our year. That’s why Byron had made him the prince’s mentor, not mine.

  “You’re not going to fight him.”

  “So I’m just what? The sacrificial bait?”

  “No.”

  “Then what?”

  “I’m going to distract Bryce while you fake an injury. Convince Ian to help you.”

  “Help me? He’s a mentor, Darren.” Had he gone mad? “Ian’s not on our team.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” The prince waved my protest away with a flick of his hand. “Ian will help. Just bat your lashes and play the damsel in distress.”

  “He’s not a bloody fool!”

  “You’d be surprised.” The prince’s gaze fell to my mouth. “It wouldn’t take much.”

  Two spots of red appeared on my cheeks. “You’re such a jerk!”

  “You
’re only upset because you know I’m right.”

  “You arrogant, conceited…” Gah! Why did he have this effect on me? I held up my hands and glowered. “Fine! Fine! We’ll do it!”

  Darren smirked and pointed to the edge of our trail where the passage became entirely paved in sandstone. A soft light reflected off the walls and into the bright blue sky above. It was just past those rocky structures that our enemy awaited. “You ready?”

  Did I have a choice?

  “IAN! IAN!” I whisper-shouted as loud as I dared. Bryce was just two hundred yards away, investigating a mysterious noise that had come from whatever Darren had cast. The prince was slowly edging his way out of the shadows as the curious third-year passed him, searching for the source of the sound.

  “Ry? Is that you?” Ian twisted his neck and peered into the entrance of the small cave-like formation I was hiding in. “Why are you calling me? I’m not on your t—”

  “Ian, I-I’m hurt…” I felt a stab of guilt as I whimpered the lines I’d recited so many times in my head. You can do this; it’s for your team. “I got lost—m-my team doesn’t know where I am… I n-need to go to the infirmary, and I c-can’t walk.” Then for good measure: “I-I think I b-broke my leg.”

  Curse you, Darren, for making me do this!

  He couldn’t make me do anything I wasn’t willing to do.

  Blast it, I was just as terrible as him.

  “Just stay still! I’m coming in…” The curly-haired third-year was inside the cave in seconds, hazel-green eyes wide with concern.

  “Ryiah.” He reached out to touch my wrist. “I don’t even want to think what would have happened if you’d been trapped here all day.”

  The words got stuck in my throat. Shame squeezed at my chest. Ian looked so concerned, and I couldn’t believe I was doing this.

  I wanted the charade to end.

  “Ian…” I could see Darren slowly approaching. He was close now.

  Ian started to kneel. “Can you stand?”

  I swallowed, hating myself. Ian run. Get out of here before it’s too late. “Ian, I’m sorry.”

  “Why should you be sorry?” He glanced up so that his eyes were level with mine. His humor was gone, and in its place was an emotion I couldn’t identify. The third-year kept his hand on my wrist, swallowing.

  “Ryiah…”

  There was something about the way he was looking at me, and in that moment, Darren’s warning finally made sense.

  I was a bloody fool.

  “Ryiah,” the third-year repeated softly, “there’s something that I’ve—”

  A thunderous wind roared across the cave, and Ian was sent flying face first into the sandstone walls. He crumbled to the floor, unconscious.

  “Darren!” I swore at the prince as I raced to check on my friend. “You could have hurt him!”

  The prince peeked his head through the cave. “Come on, we need to move.”

  “I can’t just leave Ian here like this. What if the healers can’t find him?”

  Darren groaned and started inside the cave. “Ryiah, we talked about this. He’ll be fine. We have to—”

  “Well, well, if it isn’t his royal highness and a little minion at his side.”

  Darren and I almost knocked into each other in our haste to spin around.

  Too late. Caine was standing at the entrance of the cave, flanked by two fifth-years and Bryce.

  “Caine.” Darren’s voice was emotionless. “I should have known.”

  “Really, Darren, you think I’d just send in two defenseless third-years for you to pick off one at a time?”

  “You were never known for your brains.”

  “Well, I know you, Darren.” The fifth-year smiled coldly. “Always have to be a hero. I knew if I sent in two scouting parties, you’d send your best men after the fifth-years… But you’d be too proud to stay behind yourself.”

  “Ryiah.” Darren’s voice was low as he reached for his weapon. “Get behind me.”

  “Are you joking?” I hissed. “I’m fighting too!”

  There was a roar and a flash of blinding light. Flames filled the room in seconds, stopping only inches from our face.

  “Aghhhh!”

  My magic was the only thing keeping the fire from burning us alive. It wouldn’t hold us forever.

  “Darren!” His name scraped against my tongue. Sweat beaded along my brow and slipped down the curve of my neck as I attempted to keep the mentors’ casting at bay all by myself.

  How many days would it take to recover from fire like this? The mentors expected us to surrender before the flames touched our skin, but what if we didn’t?

  Why wasn’t the prince helping me? I couldn’t hold their casting forever. This was three against one, and my stamina was depleting faster than normal with the force of their casting. I wasn’t meant to take on four mentors by myself.

  The prince sliced the curved end of his sword against his wrist and blood dripped down the stone between us.

  The fire crackled and spat, retreating one small flame at a time. Darren’s casting wasn’t just helping my barrier; it was overpowering the fire.

  “You can’t keep that up forever,” Caine shouted.

  Seconds later, the fire pushed back and the prince started to shake, his skin ashy and white.

  In another minute, Darren’s defense would break. The mentors were using the full extent of their power to overtake ours.

  Small red splinters were starting to form against the barrier like glass. I could feel the overwhelming heat against my face; the scent of singed hair that was probably my own.

  I barely had time to think before I grabbed Darren’s hand and thrust my other hand along the barrier’s surface.

  This time my pain wouldn’t win.

  “Don’t—”

  I never heard the rest of Darren’s cry as red-hot flames licked across my skin. The pain was relentless and deep; I felt it right down to my bones. The pain chased along my veins like a coursing river, dragging and shoving me down as the magic bubbled and broke.

  The pain was a violent storm; it called out and fought for control.

  My magic reared like an angry stallion, kicking down walls

  Shadows danced across my eyes, a red and orange waterfall of flame. The pain was too much. My legs were quivering. I felt the wave of agony rolling, and the magic threatened to break—

  Darren’s hand tightened on my own. A sharp swell of coolness flooded my veins, erasing the fire and pain and returning me to myself.

  Control.

  I was the master of my casting, and he was the master of his.

  We pushed back as one. Together, with a shaking step, and then another, Darren and I advanced with the fire billowing back.

  We were going to win.

  Caine and his friends didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late.

  The fifth-years and Bryce released their fire, but our force threw them before they could summon a barrier of their own.

  The four mentors were sent sprawling to the sand. Two of them were knocked unconscious from a boulder.

  Caine and Bryce crawled backward on their arms in an effort to escape.

  Darren dropped to his knees with a gasp; he’d breached his limits.

  I found myself struggling to stand. When I tried to call on my magic, there was nothing left to cast.

  Time for something else.

  I drew my blade and staggered cross the sand with the weapon in hand. My legs shook so badly that I stumbled and slipped.

  I attempted to push myself back up, but the pain was too much. I couldn’t do it.

  I was so close…

  Caine began to laugh, dirt and blood spilling from his mouth. He wasn’t faring any better.

  “Surrender, Caine, your time is up.”

  The fifth-year stopped laughing and blinked. Three dark figures emerged from the sandstone passage behind us. As they drew closer, I recognized Ella, Eve, and Ray—all of them a b
it bloodied and bruised, certainly worse than when we parted an hour before. Ray was limping and Ella favored her arm, but they were the best thing I’d ever seen.

  They looked even better when they cornered Caine and held three curved blades to his throat.

  The fifth-year spat at them and tore off his black armband.

  We won. Loud whoops filled the air and I heard rather than saw Darren collapse.

  Ray and Eve ran over to check on their fallen leader. Ella started toward me, but I shook my head and pointed to the cave. I barely had time to murmur “Ian” before my vision, too, faded to black.

  4

  “You look a lot better today.”

  I groaned, opening my eyes and wrinkling my nose. I was in the infirmary. The room smelled strongly of herbs and rubbing alcohol, and it was colder than the barracks. My hands and feet were numb.

  I sat up with a start. “How long have I been out?”

  Ella grimaced. “Almost three full days. That burn on your hand took the longest.”

  I glanced down at my hand; it was just the barest shade of pink. It didn’t even throb.

  My friend gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “You and Darren had the worst injuries. Everyone else already returned to the barracks.”

  “Byron let the mages heal us?” I scanned the room, looking for the prince.

  Darren was near the back, one arm hanging off a cot. His black bangs fell to the side, lips slightly parted as his chest rose and fell in deep sleep. He looks so innocent. I almost laughed. Darren never looked innocent.

  “Well, we are departing tomorrow for the Academy.” I’d forgotten. “None of the masters want a bunch of cripples holding up our progress. It takes ten days to reach Sjeka, as is.”

  I couldn’t believe we were returning to the Academy so soon. Last year at this time, I’d been drowning just trying to keep up.

  Ella grinned at me. “There’s a feast tonight for the victors. The masters haven’t formally congratulated the mentees yet. Loren said they usually have it the second night, but since you and Darren played such a large role, they decided to wait until you two were out of the infirmary.”