by John Corwin
"This gathering was mandatory." Grace stepped in front of me. "Where were you earlier?"
"We didn't even know about it," I said, doing my best not to be cowed by his angry sneer. Grace despised our parents and us by relation.
"If I discover you're the ones behind these illnesses around campus, I will lock you away myself," he hissed. His arm rose and a finger pointed to the door. "Now get to class."
I wanted to shout back at him that I had nothing to do with it. It's not me, it's my father! But I didn't feel innocent. I felt guilty by association.
We didn't escape Grace's sneer for long since he taught our first period class, Advanced Spellcasting. Harris and his friends sat on the opposite side of the room near the front, so we took desks in the far back corner.
Professor Grace marched in, gray robes swishing, and gave us a sideways glare in passing. "Advanced Spellcasting." He dropped a huge leather-bound tome on his desk and spun to face us. "The spells you've learned were mere rungs on a ladder so you could reach out your tiny hands and grasp the true core of spellcasting." He flicked his wand through a complex pattern and a small dark cloud gathered before him. "Some spells requires you to layer the magic. One mistake, and your casting falls apart, or"—a bolt of lightning shot from the small cloud. Thunder boomed and everyone cried out in surprise—"it blows up in your face."
A tiny smile tugged at the corner of the professor's lips. Rain sprinkled on the floor beneath the tiny cloud even as more lightning and thunder rolled in miniature sound. The storm drifted toward Baxter's desk. Eyes wide, the ginger scooted back to avoid the tiny bolts of lightning. Grace slashed his wand through the cloud and it dissipated to a fine mist.
"Now it's your turn." Grace diagrammed the wand pattern on the chalkboard with a series of dotted lines, pause marks, and circles for the cast points. "Complete it successfully by the end of class, or receive a failing grade for the day."
"That spell looks familiar," Ambria said.
I stared at it for a moment and realized it was actually three different patterns, three cast points, layered into one spell. I opened the textbook to the spell and circled where each pattern segued into the next. "The first part condenses mist, the second adds electrical current, and the third ties the spells into a repeating loop."
"We've done those spells before." Max practiced waving his wand through each pattern. "I think I've got it." He concentrated on the air in front of him and began the patterns. Gray mist condensed, growing thicker and thicker until it was nearly black. Streaks of brilliant yellow lanced through the cloud, and thunder boomed.
It was a beautifully rendered spell, a point not lost on the professor. Grace's eyes shot wide as he realized Max was the first student to complete the spell.
Ambria clapped her hands. "Excellent, Max!"
He grinned. "Easy, peasy."
The cloud drifted down the aisle, leaving a puddle behind it. Max jumped up and slashed his wand through it to cut the spell binding before it created a huge mess.
Grace narrowed his eyes. "Passing grade, Tiberius."
Max's grin stretched ear-to-ear before he hid it. "Thank you, sir."
Ambria and I replicated Max's success and received our passing grades as well. Lily Crown, ever the perfectionist, earned her mark fourth.
Halfway through the class, Grace allowed those who had passed to leave early, so we wasted no time departing and headed down the hallway for the next class.
"Wait for me," Lily called out behind us.
Max cringed. Ambria groaned. I stopped and directed a suspicious gaze at her.
"Aren't you going to wait for your besties?" Max said.
Lily quirked her lips. "I don't want to wait another thirty minutes in there." She shifted her book bag on her shoulder. "How did you all do the spell so quickly?"
Max shrugged. "Easy. It was just a combination of other spells."
"And we've practiced all summer," Ambria said.
"Harris is convinced he'll have to fight and kill you all," Lily said in a matter-of-fact tone. "When he saw how fast you did the spells, I think it scared him."
"Harris is demented." Ambria threw up her hands. "Why does he think we're the evil in his stupid foreseeance?"
"I told him I don't think you're bad just because your parents were." She twirled a lock of brown hair on her finger as she walked alongside Max. "Unfortunately, I don't think he cares." She looked sadly at me. "Harris hates you because your parents murdered his."
"I know that already." Lily sounded so reasonable, I wondered why she hung out with Harris and Baxter in the first place. "I guess we won't be friends anytime soon."
"Just be careful, Conrad." Lily looked over her shoulder. "I think Harris wants to force a fight very soon."
Chapter 16
Lily's words chilled me to the bone. I had enough to worry about without Harris's vendetta.
Ambria huffed. "Can't you talk sense to the boy? Does he really mean to murder Conrad?"
"You should report him to the headmaster," Max said. "I didn't realize he was so unhinged."
"I have spoken to him," Lily said. "He tells Baxter how evil you all are, and Baxter echoes everything right back. They feed off each other's anger and won't listen to reason. I just thought you should know." She veered off toward the bathrooms. "See you in class."
We sat on benches in the hallway outside the classroom to wait for the class to end and the room to empty. Lessons in basic magical defense emanated from the open doorway. It seemed so odd to hear them in Asha Fellini's voice instead of Esma's. My chest tightened and salt stung my eyes. I'll never see Esma again.
Esma, my mentor, and the woman who'd never existed. Sometimes I had trouble seeing Esma and Delectra as the same person. Other times it seemed I could hardly separate the two.
Ambria's hand closed around mine. "I know this will be a tough class." Her voice broke. "Esma was my favorite professor."
Max chuckled. "She was mean, but effective."
"She wasn't real." I twisted my hand free and wiped my eyes. "It is what it is, and I'm fine." Never see her again. Ever. That infinite expanse of emptiness opened like a hole in my heart. I'd avoided thinking about this for so long, but reality refused to let me duck it any longer.
The bell rang and children flooded out of the classroom. Even after it was long empty, I remained seated while Ambria and Max watched in concern. I steeled myself and stood. Esma—my mother—is gone. Accept it and move on.
Asha looked up from a book on her desk. I already knew how much she resembled Delectra, but memories of a ghost haunted me.
Professor Fellini smiled. "You three are here early."
Ambria returned the smile. "We got out of our last class before it ended."
I tried to smile, but my heart felt like lead. I chose a desk in the row nearest the door and opened the textbook, pretending to read it so I wouldn't have to look at Asha's face. I caught a glance of concern from her, but she turned back to her own book and waited for class to begin.
Harris delivered a black glare at me when he walked in, Baxter close behind and mirroring the expression. They took desks across the room next to Lily who'd slipped in when I wasn't looking. I stared at my textbook, eyes blind to the words as thoughts and regrets consumed me. In the distance, I heard the bell ring. Heard a low electrical hum building in the air.
My hand reflexively grasped my wand, flicked through a pattern etched in my mind. A three-layered shield sprang into place before me and intercepted a bolt of harmless electricity before it zapped my nose.
Satisfaction flashed across Asha's face before she turned and tried to zap another student. Nearly everyone passed her impromptu test, but only because Esma had launched surprise attacks nearly every day on her unwitting students until they adapted and learned that danger could come at any moment.
A part of me felt happy that Asha decided to continue with the tradition.
"Shields are wonderful for blocking attacks," Asha said, "but what
happens when you're injured?"
Lily thrust a hand into the air. "You escape."
Asha pursed her lips and nodded. "That's one option. But sometimes, you can't escape, or your injuries keep you from leaving. Sometimes, you have to patch yourself up before you can go."
"Isn't that healing?" Lily frowned.
"Yes, it is." Asha stood in front of the desk and leaned back on it. "While healing is considered a branch all its own, what you will learn today is more about field healing so you can get on your feet in a hurry." She held her wand over the palm of her other hand. Azure energy flashed out and crackled.
Asha winced. The odor of cooked flesh filled the room. Gasps rose as we realized she'd just burnt her own hand. The professor turned her hand to us, displaying blackened skin. "The first thing you want to do when injured is deaden the pain."
"You burned your own hand!" Lily cried.
Asha's eyes hardened. "Listen to me, children." She clenched her injured hand. "I have seen combat. I've seen people die because they weren't capable of staunching blood, or patching a broken limb." Her gaze raked across the room and seemed to lock onto me. In that instant, I saw an echo of Delectra in her more clearly than ever before and it shocked me to the core.
Could she be Delectra's sister? A relative I don't know about?
"Please, please, please, heal yourself," Lily moaned. She wiped tears from her cheeks.
Asha flicked her wand through a pattern and relief flooded her face, though her hand looked just as gravely wounded as before. "That was a numbing spell." She slapped the palm of the injured hand on the desk.
Students gasped and looked away.
"I can still function. I can still escape and heal later." Asha traced her wand in slow irregular circles over the flesh. Moments later, the blackened flesh sloughed off, revealing raw new skin beneath. "Today, students, you will learn how to numb small injuries."
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Max groaned.
Ambria rubbed her eyes as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "And I thought Esma was hardcore." She grimaced and looked at me. "Sorry, Conrad."
I nodded absentmindedly, still shocked by Asha's demonstration. This was a side I hadn't seen of her, but it was a side I liked.
By the end of class, we'd learned how to numb small wounds and make magical splints for broken limbs.
Baxter sneered at me as he and Harris left the room. "Hope you learned something today, Edison. You're gonna need it."
Lily offered an apologetic smile and followed after them.
"I really don't like them," Max growled as we headed to our next class.
Eleanor Beetle bored us to tears in Overworld Social Studies by reading straight from the textbook for a solid hour. I wondered if she actually knew anything about her subjects, or if she learned by reading the textbooks along with us.
The dining hall was abuzz with activity. Unfamiliar faces crowded the head table along with a few I recognized—Esmerelda Quiff, Agatha Grint, and Galfandor. Due to the lack of seats, most professors sat at tables normally used by students. Gideon Grace looked particularly peeved, casting venomous stares at children when they threatened to sit nearby. One look from him sent most scurrying away.
A wide, black curtain emblazoned with the glowing blue orb of the Arcane Council hung from the wall behind the table.
"Who are all those people?" Ambria said.
Max took out his arcphone and scrolled to a news page with the headline: Arcane Council Holds Election at Arcane University. "That's odd."
"Where do they usually hold the election?" Ambria asked.
"The council chambers in Queens Gate." Max scanned the article. "They decided to hold an early vote instead of waiting for this evening."
I looked up at Galfandor to see if he looked upset or worried, but the headmaster carried on a conversation with Agatha Grint as if nothing was the matter. Not more than three chairs away sat Xander Tiberius, his nose angled up at a noble bearing, a smirk on his face as he appeared to humor a pale waif of a man next to him.
The serving golems set food in front of us, but for once, Max didn't seem to notice. His gaze darted from his father to the other people near him. "I can't believe the council would let him sit with them."
"Well, he is running for primus," Ambria noted.
Max pointed to the thin man next to Xander. "That's Marcus Welby, minister of Arcane law. He promised to send my father to prison if it was the last thing he ever did. Not two months ago, he gave a speech about rounding up Overlord collaborators and used my father as an example."
I observed the smile on Welby's face as he talked to Xander. "He doesn't look angry with him now."
"I don't know anyone on the council who's ever had a favorable thing to say about my father." Max ran a hand down his face. "I know he didn't bribe them to like him. He tried that once, and Minister Welby tried to prosecute him for it."
"In other words, Galfandor has this election in the bag." Ambria gave him a questioning look. "Right?"
Devon and Rhys hovered behind their father, eager smirks on their faces. Devon whispered something in his father's ear, and Xander's gaze locked onto Max. The three of them shared a laugh.
Max shrank in his seat. "I hate my family."
Xander waved a hand and the twins walked down off the stage and sat at a table on the right side.
"Where's your mother?" Ambria asked.
Max looked down at the floor and shrugged. "I'm sure she's here somewhere."
Minister Quiff banged a gavel on the main table and the dining hall went quiet. "For too long the council has gone without a primus. Today it is time to inject all Arcanes with a renewed sense of purpose and give them a government they can trust." She beamed a too-sweet smile across the room.
"Hear, hear," Welby called out.
The others on the council clapped. Gideon Grace exchanged a perplexed look with other professors at his table even as he joined the scattered clapping. Nearby students looked around, half-heartedly applauding if they saw their peers doing the same.
"I hereby call the voting into session," Quiff said. "Do I have a second?"
Agatha Grint banged a fist on the table. "Seconded!"
"Thirded!" Welby said with a wild grin on his too-thin face.
Galfandor frowned, but said nothing while Xander bared his teeth in a confident smile.
A stout councilwoman shoved back her chair and stood. "This is highly irregular! I hereby call to dismiss this vote and hold it at the scheduled time in the council chambers."
"I second Minister Bell," said a burly fellow next to her. He tweaked the end of his magnificently groomed mustache and stood. "There is no need to rush the process."
"Is that so, Minister Moon?" Quiff raised an imperious eyebrow. "Let us vote on the matter. All in favor of voting now?"
Six members raised their hands.
"All opposed?"
Six more raised their hands.
All eyes turned to a trembling woman seated between Ministers Welby and Bell. She hugged herself and looked down at her food.
Quiff raised another eyebrow to join the first. "What is your vote, Minister Lutz?"
Welby nudged her ribs from one side. Bell elbowed her none-too-gently from the other side.
Xander leaned around Welby and said something that made Lutz stiffen. She looked up sharply, eyes wide. Her voice cracked as she said, "I vote in favor."
The table burst into an uproar, both sides shouting over the others.
Minister Moon jumped to his feet, towering over the others. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you, Quiff? Not a week ago you shouted down Grint for suggesting an early vote, and now you're the one leading the charge?"
Quiff banged her gavel until the handle broke and at last the shouting subsided. "The matter has been settled." Another smile. "Now, let us vote."
Moon bared his teeth and sat back down. "Fine, let's get it over with, shall we? I don't suppose we'll be voting by secret ballot as per
council rules either?"
Grint turned to him. "We will keep voting transparent for all to see."
Quiff wasted no time. "All in favor of Galfandor, let it be known."
Six hands rose. Minister Bell elbowed Lutz until she hesitantly raised her hand, making it seven out of thirteen for Galfandor.
Max gasped in relief along with the rest of us at the table. "I can't believe six people are voting for my father."
Quiff glared at Lutz. "All for Xander Tiberius."
The same six hands that called for an early vote rose, but they had lost by one vote. Cheers rose from the end of the table with the victors. Galfandor watched on, eyes wary, and stood.
Xander stared at Lutz. She averted her eyes, but still trembled as if she could feel the malevolence. Welby whispered something into her ear and the woman wilted. She stood and raised her hand.
Quiff smiled. "Yes, Minister Lutz?"
"I wish to change my vote, Minister." Lutz hugged herself ever more tightly. "I change my vote to Xander Tiberius."
Chapter 17
The hall burst into an uproar. Galfandor narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but said nothing. Max went white as a sheet. Ambria shook her head in disbelief. "Impossible!"
I watched Galfandor for any clue this might be a trick. A shadow seemed to move against the black curtain on the wall. I glimpsed it beneath the head table, a silhouette so small, I might have missed it if not for my fixation on the headmaster. I blinked, thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me, but when I opened them, the object moved into the light.
Shiny, black and slug-like. A ripper wyrm! "Galfandor!" I shouted, but the roar of the crowd drowned my terrified voice.
Galfandor walked over and spoke with Agatha Grint, one of the very council members who'd voted against him, unaware of the monster creeping up on him. I leapt from my chair and ran toward the head table, heart thrashing in my chest. Students looked up at me in surprise as I raced past shouting for the headmaster.
My foot caught on something. The floor rushed to meet me. Either adrenalin or Kanaan's training kept me from falling. I stumbled, caught myself. Something slammed me in the back and I went down hard.