She walked down the path as fast as her achy legs allowed. She’d left some surprises for Conryu and still had one to go. She smiled as she climbed the path. There was no question he had the raw power to deal with her surprises, the interesting thing was whether he had the smarts to figure the right way to use it.
A twig snapped and she paused. That wasn’t a pixie. The little wind spirits couldn’t be noisy if they wanted to. She doubted anyone would be pulling a prank on her, none of the students had the nerve to try it. After several seconds of silence she continued on her way.
Ten minutes later she reached a clearing on one of the island’s plateaus. She drew a circle and delayed summoning. This would be a fun one for him. And even better for her as it was the last thing she had to do before returning to her bed.
When the circle was complete she listened once more for any movement and found all quiet. She shook her head and called the wind. She was definitely getting too old for this.
Lady Mockingbird feared Angeline would hear her heart pounding when she snapped that twig, but it appeared she worried for nothing. She watched until the old wizard was out of sight then finally relaxed. That had been far too close.
She retreated back the way she’d come, pausing long enough to collect the jar. Back in the clearing she set the jar a little ways away from the pillar that controlled the shield around the island. She crouched down in front of the jar and placed her hand on it.
The magic awakened at her touch and she set it to activate when the abomination entered the clearing with all three crystal keys. The idea of killing him in the moment of his assumed triumph amused her greatly.
She straightened up, her knees popping in protest. Just one more thing to do. She placed her hand on the pillar and willed the runes controlling it to appear. An alteration here and an extra rune there would assure he couldn’t escape and help couldn’t arrive in time.
Lady Mockingbird wiped her sweaty brow. She’d done everything she could. Time would tell if it was enough. She flew back to the sorority and a hot bath. Tomorrow promised to be an interesting day.
10
Finals
They were the last to go, of course. If there was one thing Conryu had gotten used to over the past year it was going last, that and getting ugly looks. The rest of his class had passed their finals yesterday and the day before. Maria was doing her light magic final today as well. Conryu had wished her luck before joining Kelsie on the lakeshore.
Speaking of whom, beside him in the rocking boat Kelsie looked like she wanted to throw up. It wasn’t motion sickness, there wasn’t enough chop on the lake to say so. In fact it was a beautiful spring day, the sun was warm on his face, the leaves were out, and a light breeze filled the air. They each had packs with a day’s worth of supplies.
The dark magic final lasted a maximum of twenty-four hours. In fact the first group had needed most of that time to complete the test, whatever it was. They weren’t allowed to talk about it beforehand. They’d receive their instructions when they landed on the beach.
“Are you okay?” Assistant Dean Saint sat at the rear of the boat as she guided them to the island.
“Fine.” Kelsie didn’t make the lie sound believable. Her ordinarily pale complexion had gone ghost white, the black robes she wore heightening the effect.
“Let me guess,” Conryu said. “Your mom called yesterday to offer some unwanted encouragement?”
Kelsie nodded. “She said not to disgrace the family name any more than I already have.”
“Charming. Don’t worry, we’ll knock this out of the park. Your mom will be so proud she won’t know what to think.”
Kelsie reached across and held his hand. He squeezed back, trying to send reassuring thoughts. They’d gotten pretty comfortable working together over the last three months. Kelsie no longer flinched when they used fusion magic. He’d hoped to introduce her to Cerberus, but hadn’t figured out how to go about it yet.
Their boat slid up on the beach and they all piled out. He and Kelsie shrugged their packs on and turned to face Mrs. Saint.
The assistant dean pulled a folded piece of paper out of her robe and handed it to Kelsie. “Here are your instructions. That paper is a map. Three locations are marked, each containing a key hidden within protective magic. Your test is to retrieve the keys and insert them into the column you’ll find in the exact center of the island. You have one day to complete the test. For the duration a barrier will be raised over the island to prevent anyone coming or going. When all three keys are in place the barrier will fall and I’ll return to pick you up. Questions?”
Sounded simple to Conryu. When Kelsie shook her head Mrs. Saint continued. “Then good luck. The barrier will go up as soon as I clear the beach and your time will begin.”
Mrs. Saint hopped back in her boat, backed off the beach, turned, and sped away. A shimmer went through the air as the barrier fell into place. Conryu muttered, “Reveal.” The shield looked strong, but nothing he couldn’t blast through if it became necessary.
He turned back to Kelsie. “Let’s have a look at the map.”
She unfolded it and he moved closer. Their landing point was marked with a black star. An X indicated the pillar in the center of the island and the three keys were shown as little red triangles. The nearest key was maybe a quarter mile from their starting point. Shouldn’t take long to walk that. According to the map it was hidden in a cave.
“Which one do you want to try first?” Kelsie asked.
Conryu pointed at the cave. “May as well do the closest one first, don’t you think?”
“Okay.” She folded up the map and tucked it in her pocket.
They set out at a steady march, a pace Conryu could keep up for hours if need be. They soon left the beach behind and entered the thick spruce growing at the edge of the forest. The prickly needles scratched his arms through his robe as he tried to break a trail for Kelsie.
“If I’d known how thick the underbrush was I’d have packed a machete.” He spat out a mouthful of needles. “You okay?”
“Fine. I’m not as frail as I look.”
He grinned. It was good to see Kelsie showing a bit of spunk. He’d feared talking to her mother might have messed her up like at the midterm.
A hundred yards from the beach the thick evergreens thinned out and gave way to mature trees. He blew out a sigh of relief. If they’d had to walk all the way in that scrub it would have been rough.
Now that they had some space Kelsie moved up beside him. A little further inland the ground rose into hills. That was where they’d find the cave.
“So are we going to bother with the fusion thing or do you just want to dispel the wards yourself?”
“I think we’d better do the fusion thing.”
“Why? At this point I realize my power is a meaningless addition to your strength.”
He glanced over at her. She wasn’t frowning or angry, thank goodness. “Mostly I was thinking that the teachers might be watching in a magic mirror and if I do all the work they might not give you credit for the final.”
Her eyes widened. “I hadn’t considered that. We’ll definitely do the fusion magic. Thanks for not lying and saying you couldn’t do it without me.”
Conryu stopped and turned to face her full on. “I’m never going to lie to you, not unless I’m ordered to. You’re my friend and I respect you too much to do something like that. There may be times when I can’t tell you everything that’s happening, but that will be because others have cautioned me against it or the information might put you in danger.”
She blushed and looked away. “Sorry. I’m not used to the truth unless it’s couched in an insult from my family.”
“Your family sucks. You should spend a couple weeks in Sentinel with me and Maria this summer, see what a normal family looks like.”
“Really? I’d… I’d like that. You know I don’t think I’ve ever visited anyone without my mom and that was just business.”
Kelsie dug it out again. “It says there’s a lightning-scarred oak near the cave.”
Conryu searched the treetops. The half-dead oak stood out like a sore thumb amongst the evergreens. It almost looked like someone had put it there intentionally to mark the key’s location. Considering they were at a school for wizards that wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility.
The oak was about a hundred yards to their left. He set off again. They hadn’t taken more than a handful of steps when Kelsie asked, “You don’t think Maria will mind if I come for a visit?”
“Why would she? I’ve already explained to her, several times, that we’re just friends. Besides, she’ll be busy working with her mom.”
“Do you not have to work?” Kelsie asked between gasps as they climbed up a steep slope.
At the top he spotted a cave and since it was the only one remotely in the vicinity of the oak it had to be their target. It was so dark he couldn’t see past the entrance. Kelsie was panting beside him so better to wait a little while before they explored further.
“I’ll help Dad in the dojo and putter around my friend’s garage, but without a work certificate of some sort my options are pretty limited. I don’t have any overwhelming desire to spend my summer vacation working a fryer or waiting tables. I tried that two years ago and it sucked.”
“No, that doesn’t sound terribly appealing. The hard part now will be getting my mom to let me go.”
“Let you? You’re an adult, you don’t need permission.”
“I do if she locks me in the house.”
He almost laughed, but from her grim expression he realized she wasn’t kidding. What a screwed-up family. At least his mother only locked him up for his own safety. “Why don’t you just come straight over from school? You’re already packed and she can’t lock you up if you don’t go home.”
“I don’t know if I could defy her like that. My mom doesn’t take that sort of thing lightly.”
“Well, think it over. Whatever you decide I’ll back you up. Shall we go collect that first key?”
Kelsie stood up straighter than he’d ever seen her. “Yes we shall.”
As they strode down the hill toward the cave Conryu moved a little ahead of Kelsie. It was instinctive and he did it all the time when he was with Maria. Overprotective she liked to say. Better over than under he always countered. In this case it turned out to be a good decision. Halfway to the opening four fire cats appeared in a swirl of flames.
Conryu chanted Cloak of Darkness, dropped his pack and charged. The cats spread out to surround him.
He took out one with a roundhouse kick. The moment he did a second one sprang at his now unprotected leg.
Conryu leapt over it and pointed his right palm with the fingers crossed at its back. “Break.”
He landed, rolled to his feet, and spun. Both hands came up in matched gestures. “Break!”
Two spheres of darkness struck the remaining fire cats, snuffing them out in an instant. No threats remained so he canceled the Cloak of Darkness.
“That was impressive.” Kelsie had taken cover behind the massive oak tree. “I didn’t expect to encounter any physical threats.”
“I suspect Mrs. Umbra left them for me as a bonus test. They didn’t even look at you, did they?”
“No, not so much as a glance. You think the summoning spell required them to focus on you?”
“Yeah. You don’t know any defensive magic, do you?”
Kelsie shook her head. “Only the basic stuff they’ve taught us. Most of us don’t get special training with the head of dark arts.”
“If you want to sit in on one of my classes the only requirement for joining is a minimum of two attempts on your life. I think I’m up to four.”
“I’ll stick with the standard course of study, thanks. Besides, Mrs. Umbra makes me nervous.”
“Why? She’s been great with me.”
“She reminds me of my grandmother.” Kelsie shuddered.
Having met her grandmother Conryu seconded the emotion. Mrs. Umbra, on the other hand, was nothing like the domineering master of the Department of Magic. “I think if you got to know her you’d find she’s really nice and I’m not just saying that because she’s probably watching us.”
Kelsie looked all around like she expected to find Mrs. Umbra hiding behind one of the nearby trees.
“Maybe we should go get the key,” Conryu said. “I doubt we’ll have any more to worry about at this site. Do you want to handle the light?”
Kelsie chanted and an orb of fire about the size of his fist appeared in the air beside her. He waved her toward the opening. “After you.”
“I wouldn’t want to be rude. Please, go ahead.” She sent the ball of fire in ahead of them.
Conryu shrugged and walked in after it. Kelsie clutched his arm and walked along beside him until it became clear the cave was strictly a single-file proposition.
The cave appeared freshly dug. Some earth magic wizard had probably made it last week when they were working on the preparations for finals. Crystal said she’d done some casting to help the teachers get ready, though she wouldn’t give him any details.
He brushed dangling roots out of the way. The tunnel didn’t extend very far into the side of the hill and they soon reached a circular chamber. A low pedestal rose out of the ground and in the center sat a crystal key. Wards crackled in his enhanced vision, light and fire magic mingled together.
“I think we can handle this,” Conryu said. “How about you?”
Kelsie studied the wards and nodded. “No sweat.”
She moved behind him and put her hand on his back. Conryu cast the spell, careful to target only the wards and not the key itself. The protective magic sparked and vanished when his ray of darkness struck it.
Kelsie darted in front of him and snatched the key. “One down, two to go.”
They retraced their steps and the moment he cleared the entrance the cave collapsed with a whoosh. Kelsie squeaked and grabbed his arm again.
He patted her hand. “Relax, we’re the last team remember? The cave was no doubt designed to be sealed when we finished our test.”
She released him and brushed a stray hair out of her eyes. “They might have waited until we were a little further away.”
He shrugged. “Where to next?”
She tucked the key away and dug out the map. “Ugh! Looks like the next key is on the northern tip of the island. Three-quarters of a mile if we set a straight course.”
Conryu looked over her shoulder. “That’s rough country.” He pointed at two paths on the map. “If we take this one, then that one, it’ll be easier walking.”
She frowned and looked from the little marker on the side that said “half a mile to the inch” to the paths. “I’d say that route is more than twice as long, but I agree, thrashing through the shrubs is for the birds.”
Kelsie trudged along behind Conryu. The path made for easier walking, but it was still uphill the whole way and she wasn’t the world’s greatest athlete, unlike her partner. She thought about how he handled those four fire cats and shook her head. It was like they were nothing to him.
He had very little in common with the other freshmen. She wished she could wield her magic with so much confidence. Though at the moment what she most wished was that she could climb the path without her legs and lungs burning. Maybe she should have taken those exercises the self-defense teacher assigned more seriously.
Five minutes later she couldn’t take it anymore. “I need a rest.”
Conryu stopped and glanced back at her. He wasn’t even breathing hard, damn him. “Sure. I’d say we have another half mile or so. Best to be rested in case Mrs. Umbra left another surprise.”
“Do you think she might have?”
“You’ve done pretty well so far.”
Conryu looked around then motioned her to follow. A little ways off the trail was a fallen tree. He sat and patted the rough bark beside him. She settled in and sighed, delighted to get her weight off her feet. After a second she dared to lean against him. He felt safe and solid and warm.
“We’ve done pretty well so far.”
She tilted her head up at him. “What?”
“You said I’d done pretty well, but what you meant was we. You and me are a team after all.”
She restrained a laugh that would have sounded humorless and bitter if she’d let it out. It was sweet of him to say so, but they both knew she was more of a burden than a help. That he never treated her like a burden made Kelsie like him more than she should.
Sometimes she pretended he might like her as something more than a friend, then she saw him with Maria and knew she was dreaming. When they were together he looked so happy she wasn’t certain what the right word was to describe it. That they argued like an old married couple only added to the impression.
“We are a team, at least for a day, though I don’t think I bring much to the partnership.”
“You’re wrong. You bring something important: trust. When you put your hand on my back I know you won’t do anything to put me at risk. That one fact makes you the perfect partner. There’s only one other person I trust that much and she can’t be near me when I use dark magic.”
“Thanks.” She stood up. Knowing he trusted her sent a jolt of energy through Kelsie. Whatever it took, she wouldn’t let Conryu down. “Shall we move on?”
“Yeah.” He led the way back to the path and they resumed their trudge.
Fifteen minutes later the path leveled out onto a plateau. She took the map out again. “It should be right around here somewhere.”
The Chimera Jar: The Aegis of Merlin Book 3 Page 14