by Viola Grace
“Good. We found the culprit, and she’s dead now.”
“It was a woman?”
“It was. Black energy. I haven’t seen anything like it.” She thought about it. “I have seen a soul eater before, but its magic was more of a grey wisp.”
“Black? Let me consult the library.”
She looked at the stacks of books and got to her feet. “Maybe I can help.”
“If it keeps you busy. You are in shock.”
“Yeah, I would agree with that.” She walked into the library and ran her hand over the ancient books on the shelves, letting her fingertips caress the spines.
She had made it through two-thirds of the books when her fingers tingled. “Got one.”
“Ah, Definitions of Power. That is likely.”
They took the book to the study table and opened it. She kept petting Mr. E as he purred and her blood pressure gradually reached normal levels.
The pages of the book turned one after another with a wide collection of information on power signatures and focuses. An illustration of black tendrils was suddenly front and centre.
“That’s it.”
Reegar looked at it and read aloud. “’Magus inversion. A mage who has suffered a severe psychic injury can begin to consume the magic of others in order to function normally.’ It appears to be a nice word for psychic vampire.”
A female voice spoke behind them. “There is no nice word for it.”
Imara turned and saw the chancellor. “Magus Deepford-Smythe. I would say good evening, but it really isn’t.”
“No. I need to check your mind, Imara. I just have to confirm that you weren’t the cause of the death. I need to see her last moments.”
Imara nodded. “Go ahead.”
Soft touches at her temples and she saw the evening on fast forward. When the replay was over, her mother slowly broke contact. “So, you were defended by your familiar. That is within the bounds of self-defense. I will report it to the guild, but they may still want to question you. It is fine. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Thanks. It is good to hear it.”
Mr. E was still purring in her arms.
Her mother looked at her familiar and inclined her head. “Thank you for watching over my daughter.”
Mr. E squirmed until he was sitting properly in Imara’s arm, and he nodded his head formally.
Tell her that I accept her thanks and that you are worthy of protection.
“Uh, he says that he accepts your thanks.” She smiled tightly.
Mr. E dug his claws into her arm.
“And that I am worthy of protection. Though he doesn’t seem to think so right now.” She flexed her arm and set him on the table.
Mirrin made a hesitant move toward her and then hugged her. “I am relieved you are all right.”
“Thank you. Aside from it being your job, I am glad you are here. I needed a hug.”
Reegar chuckled. “I would have offered it, but I have never been good at commiseration.”
Mr. E licked his front foot and started washing his face. I am an excellent soothing companion.
Yes, you are, but there is nothing like a mother’s hug.
He cleaned his fur, and her mother released her. Mirrin smiled. “I will have Luken check on you this afternoon.”
“That will be fine. I have an ethics class in the morning.”
“Oh, Imara. Do you think you should? You have had a shock.”
“My instructor is a douchebag, so I don’t want to give him an excuse for a bad grade. I will go even if I take a nap during the lecture.”
Argus came in and walked up to her, ignoring the chancellor. “Imara, are you all right?”
“I am fine, just a little shaken. Bara has regained her power, but I don’t know what the situation with the others is.”
Mirrin looked between them. “Have you met?”
Imara began blushing. “Ah, yes. We have. We share an ethics course and have gone to coffee and lunch a few times. He also coached me for my shifter class. We’re friends.”
Argus smirked as she babbled. “We have agreed to a delayed courtship.”
Her mother’s mouth opened and closed in surprise. “I see. I believe I am going to have to speak with your superiors to get a gauge of your character.”
“Chancellor?” Argus was confused.
Imara decided to explain while Reegar was trying not to laugh. “She is my mother.”
He stared at both of them in turn, and then, his lips quirked. “Well, that explains the similarities.”
Imara sighed and picked up her familiar again. “I am a little tired, and the chancellor has confirmed my version of events so if you don’t mind, I am heading to bed.”
Argus inclined his head. “I will see you in class.”
She smiled slightly and nodded.
Heading to her room seemed like the best thing for her to do. Hopefully, she wouldn’t dream of panthers on fire.
Chapter Twelve
With the threat of the magic-sucker gone, the campus breathed a sigh of relief. Imara’s name was kept out of the official reports, and no one on campus mentioned the familiar.
Life returned to the cycle of studying, tests, exams and spell work.
Tuesday lunches with Argus became a habit that they both enjoyed. The weeks flew by, and soon, there was only the exam left.
“So, one more class and I don’t see you again?” She quirked her lips.
“You know that isn’t true. I simply want to abide by your schedule, so let me know when you would like to go out for a meal or coffee, and if I am awake, I will be there.”
She smirked. “Well, I do have time off between the terms. I will be starting again, but I have three weeks off after exams.”
“So, after next week you have time off?”
“Yup, if the herbology exam doesn’t turn me into something unfortunate.”
“Are you worried?”
“Not really. After the way this term started, I have been practicing all of my magic skills and am confident that I can pass my courses.”
He grinned. “I am confident as well. If I could read your handwriting, I would be tempted to cheat off your paper.”
She laughed. “During the ethics test?”
“Yeah, it would be ironic.”
She was still smiling a few minutes later, but it faded when she finally asked the question she needed to know. “Why did she do it?”
“Based on her journals, blog, and texts, she was assaulted the last term by someone at one of the frat houses. Her fury became the power that lashed out at others and women who were partying without drinking were tempting targets. She could dose them with what they thought was plain soda and simply corner them in the shadows.”
“Did the others recover?”
“They are still recovering, but their magic is returning.”
“That is a relief. One fatality was enough.”
He nodded in agreement.
She twisted her lips. “So, since you have persistently bought my food, I thought I would get you something to remind you of me when you are back at work.”
Argus leaned forward and raised his brows. “What is it?”
She reached into her bag and brought out a precisely wrapped box about two inches long and three inches wide.
“Here.” She tucked her hands under the table.
“Shall I open it?”
“Please. It is just something small.”
He took the box, and it looked tiny in his hand. He pulled back the neat bow and popped open the side to slide the box free. When he opened the box, Mr. E sat up on her shoulder.
The enamelled metal black cat with huge green eyes looked up at Argus with smiling lips.
He grinned. “Thank you.”
Without another word, he attached the keychain to his keys.
“There, whenever you see him, you will think of me.”
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He chuckled. “You are pretty firmly entrenched in my thoughts.”
“I hate to say that I am pleased about that. Have Lio and Ivar gotten over my age?”
He wrinkled his nose. “They are working on it.”
“I will get older.”
“I know, and I will be waiting. Your mother isn’t pleased with our interaction.”
She laughed. “She is just going to make sure that you aren’t a serial killer. One of those attached to me is enough.”
Mr. E let out a mew and purred.
“Well, you need to study for the exam, and I want to fly around the campus. I will see you tomorrow, Argus, and I will miss you when you leave the campus entirely.”
“Then, let me take you back to your hall, and you can get on with your flight. See you tomorrow for the exam.”
She nodded. “Yup. Let’s go.”
They got up from their table at the coffee shop, and Mr. E hopped onto her shoulder. It was amazing that he never got larger, but he was a projection of a kitten wrapped around a killer. It was best that he stayed the size that he was.
Their walk across campus was far slower than it needed to be, but she enjoyed it. The exams started the next day, and the rest of her week would be hell. This was the calm before the storm.
“Did you want to come in to do some cramming?” She quirked her lips as they approached the hall.
“No, I think I had better be on my way. I can’t concentrate when you are around, my friend.” Argus chuckled.
They used the words my friend, buddy, dude, madam to keep distance between them. It was working so far to remind them that nothing else could happen until she had graduated. They were holding tight to it.
When he left her at her door, she went in to face a pile of books; Bara’s loom in the study area was clicking away as she laughed with Reegar. Imara watched them for a moment before she joined in and settled at the study table with the hum of her companions around her. She had an exam in the morning, and she wanted to knock it out of the park.
The Magical Ethics exam had been gruelling. For the first time, Imara begged off going out with Argus, and she crept home for some rest.
She could see him again after she ran the gauntlet of exams. Two more and she would be ready for a well-deserved rest.
Bara and Reegar made her a tremendous breakfast on the day of her herbology exam. If she was going to have to drink her own potion, they didn’t want it to happen on an empty stomach.
With her purse and familiar, she headed out to the exam lab, collected her pot of herbs from its secure locker, and she carried it to her workspace.
The proctors were watching the students, and four of them came over when she put her pot down on the table.
Her instructor checked the content of the pots using potions to test the magical transmission of the herbs.
Imara stood with her plants and watch the other students’ offering be tested one by one. Only one student had zero magical effect in their herbs, the rest had sparks and crackling energy released by the testing potion.
When the magus stood in front of Imara, she wiped her palms on her thighs.
“What are those?”
She cleared her throat. “They appear to be apples on a rosemary bush.”
“I see. And these?”
“Basil.”
“No, the small objects.”
She leaned forward and looked at the soft green leaves hiding the small curving items. “Bananas?”
“I see.” He beckoned to one of the proctors, and a large vessel was wheeled over. The magus pulled off one of the apples with a pair of tongs and set it on the bottom of the vessel, clamped the lid on and poured the detection potion into the top.
Imara covered her eyes as a fountain of light poured out of the miniscule hole in the lid. It continued for several minutes and formed tumbles of pastel mists on the ceiling.
The instructor looked at her and nodded, “So, that is one hundred percent. May I know where you got the soil?”
“It was on campus, and there is a paper trail for my permissions.” She looked at the avid students on her left and right.
“Of course. We will discuss it later.”
He moved on and continued testing until the remainder of the students demonstrated their horticultural leanings.
When the exam was over, she scooped up her pot and watched Mr. E playing with the leaves.
“Ms. Mirrin?”
“Yes, Magus?”
“May I keep your exam project?”
She blinked. “I don’t think that would be appropriate, but you can take an apple and a banana.”
He smiled brightly and nodded. “Thank you. That is a lot of energy.”
“Yeah. I lucked into a hint, and it paid off.”
“I will be in contact with you for the location.”
“That would be fine. It would be best if you could come to the hall. That way I can be assured of privacy.”
“Of course. Excellent. I will be in touch. This is a phenomenal result.”
He got his samples, and she got her mark. With a swing in her step, she only had to face the final exam. Domestic Magic.
She faced the room and tried to figure out if she had missed anything. She had unclogged a drain, removed a spilled potion and its effects from a carpet, pulled a cursed object out from under a settee using a rubber glove, and cleared crumbs out of a cupboard with a compression spell.
The timer chimed, and she had to stand while the instructor investigated the chamber.
“You missed the window, but you got the cursed idol under the settee without activating it, so you have passed, Ms. Mirrin. Excellent job.”
Imara sighed in relief.
“Thank you, am I free to go?”
“Yes, yes. I have to reset this for the next student.”
She was waved off and left the testing chamber that she had been assigned. There were five chambers active, and all had staggered start times. She was glad it was over and done with.
Imara was exhausted. Her focus for the term was over, and she had a few weeks of blank thought ahead of her. Good, bad, or ugly, she was done.
Reegar Hall had never looked so welcome. She walked in and headed for the common space only to shriek in shock.
“Surprise!” Bara and Reegar were flanked by Luken, Lio, Ivar, and Argus. Near the cake, Mirrin was standing with a present.
“I can’t believe you did this again.”
Reegar chuckled. “You are only here for another year and a bit, so I am making the most of it. Small parties are the best ones.”
She chuckled and hugged her way through her friends and family. Argus held on just a bit longer than was appropriate, but she didn’t comment.
The cake excited Mr. E. A black kitten sitting on a spell book took front and centre. I have never been depicted in sugar before. I am perversely honoured.
Imara chuckled, cut the cake, and the party got into full swing.
The XIA agents were interrogating Luken, trying to find out why he hadn’t been a proper big brother to her. When he finally admitted—loudly—that Imara was his elder, Reegar turned and stared at her.
She shrugged weakly and smiled. “I am usually in a hurry to get my way.”
Argus grinned. “I will remember that.”
For some reason, she blushed.
Mr. E had badgered her into protecting his image on the cake, and he was guarding it like it was his baby.
Liirick arrived around sunset, and he brought takeout. The party continued into the evening, and after hours of trying, Imara got away from the crowd and headed up to the roof.
She was unsurprised when Argus joined her after a few minutes, but she didn’t mind.
“So, no familiar?”
“He is playing with his new icing friend.”
Argus sighed and walked up to her, wrapping his arms around her from behind and staring out over
the college with her.
“You are a force of nature, Imara.”
“Nope. I just have a focus. My life has been filled with an absence of hope, so I made it for myself. I am content with it.”
“I am in awe.”
“You are not. You are unsure because you haven’t run into many women with this mindset.”
He hugged her. “That too, but I am still impressed. I know where you came from, so to have your success is astonishing. I know you don’t use magic to achieve it and that makes it all the more amazing.”
“Well, I do use magic in the classes. That is what this college is about. I can’t advertise myself as a spectral consulting magus if I am not a magus. I have to be registered with the guild, and that takes credentials.”
“See? You have a plan to make something from nothing. You take my breath away.”
He lowered his head to her neck for a kiss, and she smacked his forehead. “No shenanigans. Two more years.”
He sighed. “Right. Two more years. You are just so sweet, lovely, intelligent, and powerful, I want to be with you at all times.”
“Trust me, you are always in my thoughts, but I have my goals, and I will achieve them. When that is done, I can open my social options to include a partner.” She patted his arm.
“As long as it is me, I can wait.”
She grinned and watched the moon rising and the stars coming out. Argus kept her warm and simply held her as the sky performed just for them. The moment took her breath away.
Not all enchantments were magic.
Author’s Note
Well, Imara is moving on and the next book, Sky Breaking 301 will take her into weather manipulation and send her colliding with several of her brothers.
Mr. E will have a chance to pull on his hellkitten guise again, and Imara continues her journey to her professional life. Did you know that consulting for the XIA gets you college credit?
Look for the next instalment before the fall... but not much before. I have a very full dance card.
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace