Shape Shifting 201

by Viola Grace

  Chapter Four

  Imara ordered for them both and waited for the coffee at the end of the counter. When she had their order, she paused a second before a patron shoved their chair back, windmilling their arms as they lost their balance. Imara went around the fall and made it to the table where Argus waited. Mr. E balanced carefully and chuckled when another patron wasn’t as graceful.

  “That was lucky.”

  She smiled. “You don’t say.”

  “Yeah, if that had been me, I would be wearing the coffee.” He sipped and smiled. “Perfect. How did you guess?”

  “You looked like a one and one kind of guy to me.”

  He chuckled. “Funny.”

  “I know. So, why are members of the XIA here and taking courses?”

  “We need to keep up our education if we want to be promoted. Ethics is a fairly easy course for us as we already have the training.” He nodded to her paperwork. “You take thorough notes.”

  “Oh. Thanks. I would rather take down too much than not enough.” She sipped at her ridiculously complicated latte.

  “How did you know about my form?”

  She blinked. “Ah, that. Right. Well, I have a primary focus that lets me see what is behind the physical.”

  He frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  “I was a death keeper.”

  He still looked at her blankly.

  “I see souls.”

  “Ghosts?”

  She chuckled. “Not unless you are already dead. No. I see the motivating intelligence and energy that a living being possesses.”

  “Oh, so you can see through glamours?”

  “Yup. That too.” She gave him a small smile. “Isn’t it weird for so many XIA agents to be in one class at the same time?”

  He sipped at his cup. “Yes, this is very good coffee.”

  She nodded. “Right. So, how are you enjoying the college?”

  Argus smiled. “Today has been a great day. It beats going to work.”

  “Where do you work?”

  “Redbird City.”

  She set her cup down. “No way.”

  “Have you been there?”

  She shook her head, “No, but it is in my business plan.”

  “You have a business plan?” He settled back in his chair and smiled.

  “Of course. Why would I go to school if I didn’t know what I would do afterward? I have done marketing studies, completed a business class, and am getting the certifications that I need to get my license for public magic.” She ticked them off on her fingers.

  He stared at her in surprise. “How old are you?”

  “Nineteen. Well, I will be nineteen in a month.”

  His shock was evident.

  She smirked. “You thought I was older.”

  “Yes. Yes, I did.” He ran a hand through his hair. He sat straight again and seemed to reboot his brain. “What does a death keeper do?”

  She smiled and explained how the people of Sakenta City dealt with their mages after physical life had fled. He asked question after question, and she answered them all. It was nice to have someone showing an interest in her talent.

  They talked about the way Sakenta used the spectres as a resource for their families, and why it was a waste to ignore that much conscious power floating around. Argus was particularly interested in the fact that the spectres were aware of time passing around them.

  Mr. E was sitting on the table, playing with a straw, when he suddenly sat up and yowled.

  “Mr. E. What the hell?” She looked at him, and he gave her an unblinking stare with no commentary. Past the cute little ball of black fur, the daylight was turning orange. The afternoon was gone.

  “Oh, damn. I am sorry, Argus, but I have to get going.” She gathered her books and got to her feet.

  “Imara, at least let me walk you home for all of the information you have given me.”

  Mr. E let out another ear-splitting yowl.

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea. See you next week in class, Argus. It was great talking with you.”

  Before he could answer, she bobbed a bow and left the café, Mr. E crawling up her arm as she walked.

  Are you going to tell me why I did that?

  Don’t trust griffins. They have two natures and seldom direct both in the same area.

  You are jealous.

  He is too old for you.

  She laughed the entire way back to Reegar Hall.

  Using his calculations, everyone on campus was too old for her. Most weren’t accepted until their twenty-first year. She and her twin were exceptions. They may have been separated at birth, but Luken shared her skills with books. He enjoyed studying as much as he enjoyed spending time with Bara over the holidays.

  Having her twin dating a woman three years older wasn’t a bad thing, but Bara seemed to have more than Luken Demiel on her mind. If there was a woman with less interest in finishing her scholastic career, Imara hadn’t met her. Bara seemed to consider being a permanent student as an occupation. If she could afford it, Imara was cheering her on.

  Back home, she checked her schedule for the next few days. She would be busy, but with the intensive classes at one subject per day, she had the next eleven weeks planned out. Classes in the mornings or afternoons, labs and homework in the evenings. It was the same schedule that she had engaged in during the first term, but the compressed classes were going to get exponentially harder.

  She went to work on her ethics homework with a bright grin. Next week, she would get to see Argus again.

  Her herbology course for second level was a mix of ages. The only folks in first year who qualified for the second course were herself and anyone who passed the exam. As far as she knew, that meant she was the only freshman student in the class. Everyone around her had their eyes on graduating.

  Master Limokken was the instructor, and he looked them over before he pronounced, “This course is going to be graded on personal development with the final exam being eighty percent of the marks.”

  She tensed and listened carefully. Usually, she could get by by doing the homework in advance, but this wasn’t going to be the case.

  “Weekly, we will delve into different potions and poultices made from herbs. For the exam, you are going to grow your own plants with an eye toward forwarding their magic content. You are going to decide what you want your potion to do, and then, you will find the patch of soil on the campus that has the best magic content and, from there, grow your plants. If you don’t start your plants in the next fourteen days, you won’t have a sample before the exam. The details are in your course outline, so get to work and call me when you have something you want me to grade you on.”

  Imara looked around at the shocked faces of her classmates and headed to her workstation, her notebook in hand. She wanted to create a caffeine substitution for mornings, and this was as good a time as any.

  With most of the other students still figuring out what they wanted to do, Imara and a couple of others got to work.

  Mr. E supervised and watched her work from his perch on her shoulder. You have come a very long way in a very short time.

  That is what I intended to do.

  I know where the soil is. There was a smug tone to his voice.

  She smiled slightly and sniffed at some lemon zest. I believe I do as well.

  Where do you think it is?

  Under the rim of the edge of the wave site. Since the campus is built on the site of an invading wave of magic, it makes sense that there would be some stored under the edge.

  Sensible, but a little too literal.

  What?

  Where do you think magic is spilled over and over without dispersing?

  The duelling ground?

  See? You figured it out.

  I don’t know that the quality of magic spilled would be useful. I need magic that hasn’t taken a shape yet.

  M
r. E’s rich tone was amused, Are you sure I can’t misdirect you?

  Pretty sure. I am going to find the site of the wave and get the soil there.

  Good.

  I thought you weren’t supposed to misdirect me.

  I would have stopped you before you followed my guidance. If I don’t push you now and then, you will become dependent on me.

  It was sound thinking. If they were ever separated and she needed to defend herself, waiting for him to tell her what to do might cost her life. Thinking for herself was a good habit to keep.

  After two hours, the instructor made his rounds, and he checked on the potions. He looked over her notes and the progress she was making with the mortar and pestle and nodded. “Trouble waking up?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Watch your ratios. You don’t want to have undirected stimulation.”

  She looked over her notes and added a decimal place to the flower petals. She didn’t need a potion that lasted as long as the flowers bloomed; she needed it for a day. With careful deliberation, she added sunflowers to the recipe. She would pass out the moment that the sun went down, but she would be bright and able while it was shining.

  Imara worked until nearly the end of the class. With a look at the paste in her mortar, she realized what she wanted to do with it. She made a note in her book and made eye contact with the instructor.

  He sauntered over and looked at the mash she was scraping into a jar. “I thought you were aiming for a potion.”

  “This will have more of a general waking rather than waking my digestive tract. The preparation will be applied to my temples, and that will spread the effect through my brain, or at least, that is the theory.”

  He nodded. With a flourish, he pulled out a sampling kit. He put a miniscule sample into a tiny flask and added a drop of diagnostic liquid.

  “Well, you have magic, you have energy, and you have alertness. I give you a ninety percent for this first assignment.”

  She nodded and exhaled. “Ten percent because I didn’t know what form it would take, right?”

  Master Limokken nodded. “Correct. If I didn’t know what you were aiming for, it would have been a hundred percent, but you had the word potion at the top of your page.”

  She blinked. “Right. Thank you, Master Limokken.”

  “Oh, and your familiar is welcome to help you find the soil. The years have shown that they don’t do better than anyone else.” He chuckled and left her workstation.

  She sighed and set the jar down while she took her equipment to the sink. Mr. E was napping on her notebook, and she finished washing up, bringing everything back to her station and putting it away for the other students who took classes in the lab.

  Mr. E was cleaning his paw when she finished, and she gave him a long look. What is that about?

  One of the others got curious, so I defended your creation. I will accept a can of sardines in gracious tribute.

  She stowed the container in her bag, and Mr. E hopped up onto her shoulder. With her station clear, she left the lab and went in search of the source of magic within the college.

  Chapter Five

  Wild magic usually left a distinct marker on the landscape, but the college didn’t have any obvious signs of the wave coming through.

  She was looking for the remains of a volcano in what amounted to a mountain range. Imara tried to look casual as she crossed the campus, her senses wide open and looking for a specific trace of something that shouldn’t be there. When she only got touches from the population of the college, she pulled her senses back in. She was going to have to do some research, and the best books were home at Reegar Hall. She was lucky that Reegar just happened to have collected everything she needed.

  Smirking to herself, she turned in place and started to walk back the way she had come. The collision with the man immediately behind her knocked her back and made Mr. E hiss.

  She blinked rapidly. “I am so sorry. I changed my mind about my destination.”

  The man brushed at his clothing, and he nodded. “No harm done.”

  She paused and stared at another of her brothers. “Right. Well, excuse me.”

  She stepped around him and his friends, heading back toward home without looking back. She knew what she would see. His eyes were the same shade as hers, his hair was a touch darker, and his jaw was stronger, but he was definitely one of her siblings. She didn’t know which one he was, so she kept going until she was in the hall with the door closed behind her.

  I thought you liked Luken.

  I do, I just don’t know how the others feel about me. Luken is the seventh son of the seventh son; he has the power he needs. The others might not be so charitable.

  Right. Good plan. Your mother’s family eventually became more interested in learning than destruction, but the Demiels have always been on the violent side.

  She headed for the kitchen. Were they on your list, too?

  I was getting there. The original Deepfords were a definite bunch of black souls, using demonic energies to gain power, land, and dominion over other mages.

  Right. Anyway, I need to study to find the oldest structures on the campus. Any idea where I should start?

  Start with the college memorial edition. It should have the list of oldest books.

  She smiled and spoke out loud. “Excellent. I will start there.”

  He nuzzled her neck as she dropped her bag on the study table and helped her make a few choices from the library.

  “What are you looking for, Imara?” Reegar walked in and watched her molest his collection.

  “I am looking for a record of the oldest building at the college.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to find the most magical soil on the property and use it for herbology. I don’t want to use the mage’s battlegrounds because there is focus and intent in that magic. I need wild magic. I want to find the source of the wave that sprouted at the school.”

  Reegar cocked his head. “There have been hundreds of attempts to find the source. It always evades those seeking it.”

  “Maybe they just haven’t asked nicely.”

  He chuckled. “Perhaps that is it. I have a few books on the search.”

  “Look them up, please. I will need to start at the beginning if I am going to find the soil I am looking for.”

  Magus Reegar, spectre for decades and master of the house, headed off to find her the books.

  While she waited, she got Mr. E his sardine and got herself some crackers and cheese. His mind broadcasted happiness that only occurred when the kitten in him had full control.

  She set out her notebooks and took out the alertness poultice. She sniffed it a few times and enjoyed the sensation of a waking mind.

  Reegar came in with armloads of books trailing behind him, riding on a cushion of magic. Some of them looked older than the building she was in.

  She looked at the stack set before her, and she took a deep breath, running her hands down the spines.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Trying to see if I get lucky.” The faintest tingle ran through her left hand, and she pried the book out of the pile.

  Reegar snorted. “That is a fictional account of the college. It was a history created by a previous student.”

  Imara grinned and settled in her chair. “Those are the best kind of stories. If I can get a clue, it will be worth the read.”

  He blinked and wandered back to the stacks of the library, phasing through a few of the shelves as he passed.

  Mr. E climbed her leg and used her to boost himself onto the table. When he had curled up in a ball, she smirked and started reading.

  The book was a novel nearly a hundred years old and written by an L. Ganger. Hunted Moonlight was the tale of a woman with blended bloodlines who was being pursued by a man with demon blood. They were both at the school, one as a student and one as an instructor. It was an amazin
g read.

  She sniffled and sobbed during the book, finally getting to the ending where the couple forced their families’ agreement by consummating their love in tasteful and obscure terms in the chancellor’s garden, under a pear tree.

  When she read the reference to the garden, she felt the tingle on her skin again. Right, well, that made sense and was a good place to start.

  She set the book back in the pile and went looking for a spell book on diagnostics. If she was looking for the source of magic on the campus, she was going to need a way to prove she had found it.

  Bara came home with her arms loaded with supplies. “What are you up to?”

  “I am just heading to the lab to make up some magic test strips.”

  “What?”

  “Like an acidity test but for magic.”

  “Cool. Can I help?” Bara shifted her armloads of books and bags.

  “I think you have your hands full. What are you taking this term?”

  “Weaving. Magus Reegar said I could use the loom in the attic.

  “Do I want to know why he has a loom in the attic?”

  Bara grinned. “One of the students he scared away left it behind. I had better drop this stuff up there.”

  “You do that; I will get started.” Imara continued her search, flipping through book after book until she found a few spells and potion recipes that would work. The thumping that was coming from the upper floor was enough indication that Bara wasn’t going to be coming down anytime soon.

  Reegar appeared at her side. “Would you like advice?”

  “Sure. Let me just wake Mr. E up. If I let him sleep in the afternoons, he gets all cranky.”

  “How can you tell?”

  She chuckled and passed the table where Mr. E still snoozed. She shifted the books to one arm and tickled him awake. “C’mon. I actually need you as a familiar.”

  He stretched, arching his small back with his fluff standing out at all angles. Half of his face fur was flattened, and he had a serious case of bedhead. She bit her lower lip and put him on top of the books with some blank sheets of paper before she headed to the lab.