She paused, and I hazarded a question, doubting I could be in more trouble than I was. “How did you find out, professor? I said what I did accidentally, but when I realized what I’d spoken, I looked about and could see or hear nothing.”
Deryn Lhopri’s brow furrowed even deeper in anger, but she did not withhold a reply. “There are things in this world, Toven, that eye cannot see and ear cannot hear.”
“What? Like that creature sitting in the corner over there?” It was flippant and rash and stupid, and I knew so the moment I had spoken. But I said it anyway, for I felt violated by the professor that she knew even the whispered words between Hero and myself. However, letting on that I could sense the strange air being in the office was a mistake, for I had given away something Deryn Lhopri clearly had not calculated on.
Her angry glare softened momentarily in surprise before she regained her composure. “Indeed,” she said in a strained voice barely above a whisper. “It appears we still do not have an agreement about honesty. You are still keeping things from me, Toven, and you had best start telling all. You are a servant of the Dominion, first and foremost, and it is my task to see you develop into your true potential as a mage. You seem intent on seeing me as an enemy and not as the friend and mentor I could be. And so, I think I have arrived at a suitable punishment, after which we can begin your training in earnest.”
“What punishment?” I asked, and the question was barely past my lips when I felt the other presence rush in on me, assailing my mind so rapidly that I could not even begin to defend myself. I clasped my hands to my head, screaming in agony as this thing took control of my mind.
I heard Deryn Lhopri speaking, but her voice seemed distant, as though traveling through the twisting tunnels of a cave network to reach my head as a faint echo. “Now, Toven Aimis, you will tell me what you know about your ether so far. If you try to lie to me, the air golem will make you feel my displeasure deeply and painfully. Do you understand?”
I did not entirely, but I nodded, for I understood the basics and those were that only the truth would spare me further punishment than I already felt. In the deep recesses of my mind, I felt guilty, for I finally comprehended Hero’s reaction of the other day when I’d inadvertently invaded her head, the sense of violation that she must have felt and the betrayal of trust that had nearly ruined our friendship.
“Very good,” Deryn Lhopri’s voice echoed in my head. “Begin.”
And so I told her everything I knew, which while not much was more than the professor had probably even guessed at. There was no question of withholding information, but it was not so much the threat of pain that opened my throat as the complete compulsion to speak at the prompting of the creature inside my head. I could see Deryn Lhopri nodding as I spoke, but like the distance of her voice, her face seemed a long way off, despite the fact she sat across the desk from me.
Finally, I felt the alien presence in my mind withdraw, and I slumped forward in my seat, my forehead slamming against the desk. I was too weak to stop myself toppling over, and too sore even to cry out in pain. I lay there like that for a time until a knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” the professor called. I managed to lift my head to see who was interrupting us. I could no longer sense the air golem—as Deryn Lhopri had termed the creature—but before the door opened, I knew who was there, for I knew that particular mixture of the five elements very well.
“You asked to see me, professor?” came Hero’s voice from the doorway. If I’d had any color left in my face, it would have drained away completely, but I could see in Hero’s eyes that I was already rather haggard in appearance from my harrowing experience of moments before.
“Yes,” replied the professor. “Come in, child, and close the door behind you.”
My eyes never left Hero, and I allowed myself to briefly probe at her mind with my ether, for I was certain something was wrong, that this meeting was more than it seemed. I was careful this time to be gentle and not force my way into Hero’s head, instead flitting lightly over the surface of her mind with my ether, picking up what I could without alerting her to my presence. Ordinarily, I would not have dared such a thing, but I was clearly not in my right mind in that moment, and I was even more troubled by the fact that Hero appeared fearless. She sat down in the chair next to my own, her expression shifting between concern for me and deference for the professor.
“I understand,” Deryn Lhopri began, “that you have offered to help your friend here in any way possible to develop his abilities as a mage.”
Still, Hero’s expression did not show fear, and I knew then that something was seriously wrong. There was no possible way that a girl as intelligent as she was couldn’t have realized by now that our conversation of the previous day had been overheard and that what we had been saying bordered on treason. Instead, she simply nodded and replied, “That is correct, professor. I believe Toven has an important role to play in the future of the Dominion, and I want to do my part to see that it is realized.”
It began to dawn on me what was happening, what seemed so out of place in Hero’s actions and speech. I sent my ether towards her mind again, this time risking a deeper probe, and I was rewarded almost at once with a sharp pain between my eyes, blindingly sharp, so much so that I cried out again and slumped over in my seat in a stupor.
I could still hear Hero and Deryn Lhopri conversing, and I knew that they were not talking about what had just happened to me. In fact, they both seemed to be entirely ignorant of my situation, ignoring it as though I were not even in the room with them.
Slowly, as my mental facilities righted themselves, my mind cleared enough to confirm my suspicions: the air golem that had invaded my mind earlier was now in control of Hero. I pulled myself back into an upright position, noticing Deryn Lhopri’s eyes flick in my direction as I did so. She seemed unconcerned, though, still focusing on Hero.
“Then we shall begin at once,” she was saying, “and again, I thank you for your willing aid in this.” I did not miss the emphasis placed on the word “willing,” but I had no way of knowing what it was Hero had supposedly volunteered for. Whatever it was, I felt certain that it was no good thing, nor had it been willing, and the professor had to know that I knew.
Deryn Lhopri rose from her chair and retrieved The World Belongs to the Strong from the bookshelf behind her. She opened it to a point about a third of the way through and handed it to me. I took the book without thought, more puzzled now than fearful. I glanced at Hero, but she remained rigid in her seat, staring straight ahead.
“Read the underlined portion aloud,” Professor Lhopri ordered, and despite myself, I lowered my eyes to obey.
“Before all else, be armed. For among other evils caused by being disarmed, it renders you contemptible, which is one of those disgraceful things that a mage must guard against.”
I looked up as I finished reading, confusion causing my voice to stop in my throat.
“I am going to teach you to be strong, Toven,” said Deryn Lhopri in response to my expression. “What you have experienced here today is the result of your weakness, and you are going to fulfill your part as a mage, you are going to have to learn just how strong you are. Your girlfriend has kindly volunteered to be your sparing partner, shall we say.”
I looked to Hero in shock. “She did not,” I answered heavily.
“Oh, but she did, Toven. Your dear little friend would do anything for you. Anything. The sooner you learn that such devotion is an absolute weakness, the sooner you will become what you are meant to be. And, it just so happens, Hero is the strongest Hymanni in your year. None but the strongest will do, either, for anything less than that would fail to provide you with sufficient challenge for your abilities.”
“What are you doing to her?” I snapped. “I won’t hurt her.”
Deryn Lhopri cast me a pained expression, as though I’d said something irredeemably stupid. “I’m afraid you crossed that line when you broke your
oath of silence to the Hymage. Punishment for that crime has not ended, nor shall it ever end. This is your doing, Toven. Not mine. You brought Hero into this by divulging state secrets, and as soon as anybody knows these things, she must—as I have told you before—either join us or be eradicated.” She smiled faintly, and I got the impression that she was a predator grinning at her cornered prey. “I have a soft spot for you, however, though you will not find out why that is for some time yet. Nevertheless, it is because of this softness—a weakness, I must confess—I will forego executing this unfortunate girl, so long as she continues to prove willing and useful.”
“You monster!” I screamed, but even now I cannot tell whom I was accusing more: Deryn Lhopri or myself. “I won’t hurt her.”
“You will do what is necessary to serve the Dominion,” Professor Lhopri said, unperturbed by my outburst. She’d likely heard far worse from others in the past, I realized. “Anything else, and you will both be executed for treason. This is not a game, Toven. This is life, and the world truly does belong to the strong. You may be a mage, but you are far from ready to do anything of importance or contribute anything of value to the Dominion. If you disobey me again, I will break you with all the ease of snapping a dry twig. But if you obey and do as you are told, I will teach you how to defend yourself. Then, when you are ready, you can break me for all I care, though I doubt when I am through with you that you will be anything but grateful for all I am sacrificing on your behalf. Do we understand one another?”
I glared at the professor for a long time, turning over a response that would challenge Deryn Lhopri’s assertions without ending in Hero’s and my deaths. “Let me hear her say she does this willingly,” I said at last. “Tell that thing in her head to leave her. Let me hear her volunteer without coercion, and then, if she is willing, I will do as you say.”
It was a gamble. I believed that Hero would not willingly volunteer to be beaten about by me, whatever she had intended when promising to help me learn the limits of my strength. I doubted I could use her as Deryn Lhopri suggested even if Hero gave her consent, but I at least believed that it would not come to this if the professor agreed to my demand. The gamble, however, lay in challenging Professor Lhopri when she had essentially given me an ultimatum. As I have said previously in this narrative, I was still young and innocent enough to have a conscience. Believe me when I say that I would have died rather than hurt Hero, even with her conscious consent.
To my surprise, Deryn Lhopri nodded. “Very well. If that is the price of your obedience in this matter, let it be so. But know this, Toven Aimis, that when Hero agrees—as I have no doubt she will—anything but total obedience from you will result in her death. And if you press me too far, it will be death by your own hands as well. Now, do we understand each other?”
I breathed deeply before answering, but I was still certain that Hero would never agree to such an outrageous demand. “All right,” I said at last. “Now let her go.”
I sent my ether towards Hero’s mind again to ensure that the presence abandoned her as Deryn Lhopri had promised. I sensed it recede, reluctantly almost, until it stood behind Hero like a separate entity.
Hero’s head snapped around to face me, panic suddenly in her eyes. “Toven?” she asked, clearly disoriented.
I reached over and pulled her into a hug. “Hero,” I whispered.
Deryn Lhopri cleared her throat, and I stiffened. As I released Hero so we could face the professor together, I found the woman’s expression much changed. She was smiling kindly, like a motherly figure. Gone was the anger. Gone were the strong lines that lent her a chiseled look as though carved from hard stone. There was look of slight concern in her eyes, and the stiffness of her shoulders had softened into the image an inviting, even friendly, matron.
“Hello, Hero,” she said. “I understand you are confused, and I ask your forgiveness for this. It was necessary to bring you here under some secrecy.”
“Where are we?” Hero asked her, completely taken in by the woman’s devious act. For my part, I sat there stupefied, beginning to realize that Deryn Lhopri was a conniving genius. She would not win Hero’s compliance through threats but through kindness. I began searching at once for a way to scupper her maneuvering.
“We are in my office in the University grounds. That is no secret. No, the secrecy lies in the nature our meeting, for we have to discuss some rather delicate material, and I’d rather none your classmates know what is happening.” Hero nodded as Deryn Lhopri paused. I could see that my friend was struggling to reconcile this woman with the image of the scheming and manipulative crone I’d painted her as with my words. Professor Lhopri had to know that this was how I’d spoken of her—given how much else she knew of my conversations with Hero—and was clearly using this to her advantage, winning sympathy rapidly by showing herself to be other than expected.
“You and Toven had a bit of a conversation yesterday afternoon”—Hero gasped lightly—“about delicate state secrets to which he has been sworn to secrecy. He told me as much out of guilt.”
I began to sputter in indignation, but the briefest of glances from Deryn Lhopri, coupled with the sudden pressing on my mind by the air golem behind us, silenced me at once. I looked on with horror as I realized my mistake. In gaining the professor’s agreement to release Hero, I had said nothing about ensuring I was also left alone. It was clear that I was not going to be allowed to interfere in this matter.
“We have decided that it may be best if you too were to join our little group. It is clear that you love him, and I do not blame you for this—nor he for loving you, as you are both delightful young people.” Again I felt like intervening, but the thought was not yet fully formed when the air golem reminded me once more of its presence and of the professor’s threats. “We have decided that you can better help Toven by being privy to some of our meetings. You are loyal to the Dominion. I know this much from what Toven has told me, and I am sure you would not mind helping him grow into his abilities as a mage.”
Hero was transfixed. I was certain that she was in full control of her mind. My ether told me as much. And yet the silky tone of the professor captivated Hero. I could sense in her already the belief that I was mistaken about Deryn Lhopri. Surely this woman was too kind and too gentle to be the person I’d described her to be. Slowly, Hero nodded. “I did offer to help him yesterday. I even said I’d help him in any way possible. He doesn’t trust you.”
I closed my eyes as the professor glanced in my direction yet again. I groaned inwardly, knowing that the battle was all but lost. Hero had offered up that last slice of information entirely without coaxing. How she had gone from the suspicious girl I’d known the previous afternoon to this close confidant of the professor’s in the space of a few minutes, I could not tell, but the woman’s words were like honey just then.
“I realize that,” Deryn Lhopri replied. “I know also that you have no great trust for my motives either. Your boyfriend has shared this much as well. Do not blame him, though. He is a servant of the Dominion, as are you, and knows the importance of forthrightness. I do not hold that mistrust against you, dear girl, for I realize you do not know me. Nevertheless, we are not here currently to discuss me, but to discuss you, and what you are willing to do for your Hymage—and your friend here.”
I opened my eyes to look at Hero. Now was the moment. If she was going to foil Deryn Lhopri’s plans, she had to draw the line in this instant. Hero turned to look into my imploring gaze. She nodded. “I will do anything I can to help.”
“Anything?” Deryn Lhopri asked. She allowed the faintest bit of skepticism to creep into her voice, as though challenging Hero’s sincerity. It was cleverly done, for rather than recoiling from the word and redefining her terms, Hero spoke out of love for me and not out of simple sense and awareness of what was happening.
“Yes, anything,” she asserted, as though Deryn Lhopri had accused her of lying or lack of fidelity to her friend.
&nb
sp; “Hero, no!” I screamed but saw that it was too late. The blank stare had returned to her eyes, the air golem moving to take control of her mind faster than I’d been able to track it.
“You are most fortunate, Toven, to have a friend like her. You heard her words, and now I need your promise. I did not force her to offer herself, as per our agreement. Now, will you use your friend as she has offered, or must I kill you both?”
“You tricked me—you tricked her,” I said.
Instead of answering, Deryn Lhopri took up The World Belongs to the Strong from the desk where I’d laid it down, flipped to a new page, and read: “For we are not fiends who ruin and destroy for our own gain; we are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to our advantage.” She closed the book. “Do not hate me unduly for what I have done, for upon reflection you will realize that it is you who is responsible for putting her in this situation. You will need to learn, Toven, how to take advantage of the opportunities other men give you, willingly or unwillingly, through simple unassuming sincerity or through manipulation and coercion. Now, I believe we are ready to begin your training in earnest.”
-XII-
Much to my surprise, Deryn Lhopri dismissed Hero then. I looked at her oddly, wondering what the reason for this sudden decision was. I had felt certain she was going to make me hurt Hero right from the start, seeing as my opinion of the professor had plummeted in the past few minutes. But she did not force me to do anything of the sort.
As the door shut again behind Hero, I sensed the return of the air creature to the office, leaving Hero standing without, a little confused, no doubt, but otherwise unharmed.
The Scion of Abacus, Part 2 Page 6