by Logan Jacobs
But I didn’t ask.
As daylight filtered into the room, she stirred and placed a far gentler kiss on my brow. She smiled once more, gathered her clothing, and then slipped from the room. I sighed and forced myself from the bed that still carried her scent. Merlin finally emerged from his blankets with a big yawn and chirruped at me.
“Just let me get cleaned up,” I said. “We’ve got an early day today. We have to be at the tower by eight.”
Merlin made a noise like a farting sound.
“What, you don’t want to come with me?” I teased. I looked over at the puca who was shaking his head.
“Lavinia will turn you into a fur hat if you don’t,” I pointed out.
Merlin’s little brow scrunched up as he contemplated his two options. While he pondered which fate he would rather face, I washed up and tossed on the first set of clean clothes I could find. I also finally ran a brush through my hair, since Merlin had been kind enough to return the brush he’d ‘borrowed’ a couple of days ago.
“Breakfast,” I called out to the puca as I opened my door. Merlin darted ahead of me and raced towards the stairs. I didn’t see him again until I arrived in the kitchen where Merlin was carefully examining a plate of scrambled eggs. I was surprised he hadn’t started eating them, until I realized they were probably Lavinia’s.
“Touch them and you die,” I heard Lavinia’s voice call out from the pantry. She stepped back into the kitchen carrying a bottle of hot sauce.
Merlin took another step away from the plate and looked hopefully at me. I tossed the puca a piece of cheese and promised to make him toast and bacon. He chirped happily as he watched me gather the ingredients for our breakfast.
“You spoil him,” Lavinia said as she stirred the sauce into her eggs.
“He’s not spoiled,” I insisted. “And should you really be eating that hot sauce now?”
“I’m pregnant, not dying,” Lavinia replied. “You know I hate plain eggs.”
“I know, but --”
“It’s fine,” she snapped. She scooped up her plate and disappeared towards the dining hall.
“Maybe it’s a good thing we won’t be around today,” I whispered to the puca.
“I heard that,” Lavinia called from the dining room.
I shrugged and turned my attention to the task at hand. I soon had a pile of toast, bacon, and eggs for both of us, along with a mug of tea, and joined Lavinia at the table. I heard her stomach rumble unhappily, and she scowled when she saw me glance towards her belly.
“I guess the baby isn’t as fond of hot food as you are,” I observed.
Merlin ducked, like he expected Lavinia to throw something. She smirked at the puca and took another sip of tea.
“Must be the human half,” she replied.
I took a bite of my eggs and watched Lavinia. The pregnancy had definitely given her a glow, and dare I say, even a touch of softness. She looked beautiful in the morning light, even if she was frowning at me.
“Why are you staring?” she finally challenged me.
“I was just thinking how beautiful you are,” I replied. “And that I haven’t told you that in a while.”
She set the cup down and looked at me. Definitely a softer look, if not quite tender.
“You really think so?” she asked quietly.
“I’ve always thought so,” I replied. “But the pregnancy has really given you a glow. I don’t know how else to describe it.”
“I’m… happy,” she admitted. “I never thought I would have a child. And to know that child is yours is just the greatest feeling in the world.”
“Happy doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel,” I replied. “I’m the luckiest man in the world right now.”
She moved her hand across the table, and I took it in mine. We could have sat there all morning, but we heard the clanking of dishes in the kitchen, and the sound of Maruk on the move upstairs. Aerin’s voice drifted down the hallway, and one of Merlin’s sticky fingers reached for a piece of my bacon. I jabbed my fork at the paw and turned my attention back to my plate. Lavinia sat back in her chair and finished off her tea while she watched me eat.
“So today’s the big day,” she said when I had finished off my breakfast.
“It’ll be interesting to see what Maderel has planned,” I replied. “Emeline said that the assessments are different for every student.”
“Just don’t do anything really big,” Lavinia warned.
“Yes, I know,” I sighed. “You and everyone else have already mentioned that about a million times already.”
“We don’t want to lose you,” she said as she pushed her plate away. “I don’t want to lose you. Especially now.”
“I’ll be careful,” I promised. “Besides, Merlin will be there. I can always blame him.”
Merlin made the farting sound again.
“He’s supposed to be a cat,” Lavinia pointed out. “Though he acts less and less like one every day.”
“He’ll be careful, too,” I said as I shot a warning look at the puca. Merlin buried his face in his plate of toast and scattered crumbs across the table.
“Uh-huh,” Lavinia snorted.
“I need you to start working on the jailbreak plans,” I remarked in an attempt to change the topic.
“I have a few ideas,” she admitted. “I started thinking about it last night. I need to talk to Dehn, though, and see if I can get some ideas about the layout of the place.”
“Good,” I said. “And don’t forget, I’ve got the invisibility cloak. We could have her put that on.”
“I thought about that,” Lavinia replied. “But I don’t trust her with it. There’s nothing to keep her from running off with it, and we wouldn’t be able to see her either.”
“So no invisibility cloak,” I agreed. “Maybe Emeline could snuff out all the lights or something.”
“Maybe,” Lavinia said doubtfully. “There’s also the question of where to keep her. She won’t be able to just roam the streets of the city. Everyone will be looking for her.”
“Yvaine’s?” I suggested.
“Someone will have to stay out there with her,” Lavinia pointed out. “Just to make sure she doesn’t try to scamper off with any of the Estrella family treasures. I know the servants are still there, but I don’t know that they’re up to the task.”
“Talk to Yvaine,” I said with a shrug. “The only other real option we have is letting her stay here, but with all the workers, that could get tough.”
“We could put the work on hold,” Lavinia replied hopefully.
“You can be the one to tell Maruk and Yvaine,” I declared.
“Tell Maruk and Yvaine what?” Dehn asked as he joined us at the table. He had a plateful of leftover chicken and something that was probably supposed to be toast, but looked like roof shingles.
“Have fun,” I replied as I stood up.
I scooped up my empty plate and mug, as well as Merlin’s, and returned them to the kitchen. After a quick wash, I left them to dry in the rack. I grabbed some of the dried fruit mix that Maruk kept in a locked box and filled a small paper sack. It was the easiest way to keep Merlin out of trouble, and if all else failed, I least I had lunch.
I whistled to Merlin as I walked to the front hall. He trotted ahead of me and waited patiently while I tossed the strap of my small pack over my shoulder. He hopped up and wrapped himself around my neck. I threw the cloak over both of us, pulled on my gloves and stepped out into the morning.
The clouds had moved on during the night, and sunshine poured down on Ovrista. The snow sparkled, and the wind was only the barest breeze. It was quite pleasant, until I stepped onto the road. Then I learned that the charming snow-covered image was only a mirage. The ice was starting to melt, and my boots sank in a layer of squelching mud. I thought about riding to the Academy, but the horse would probably never forgive me. Besides, I was supposed to be a student now. I should at least try to look the part.
The trek to the tower was a slog, but I still managed to arrive five minutes early. Lain was on duty again, though he looked like he had just rolled in from a long night of something. He tried to hide a yawn behind his sleeve when I told him I was there to see Maderel.
“He said to send you on up,” Lain replied. “Is it true? That you’re taking lessons with him?”
“We’ll see how it goes,” I shrugged. “Today is supposed to be some sort of testing.”
“Good luck,” Lain grimaced. “Mine was horrible.”
“What did you have to do?” I asked.
“Professor Fogarty took me out to the middle of the lake in a boat and dumped me over the side,” he replied.
“So you’re a water mage?” I asked.
“That would have been helpful,” Lain replied. “But no. I’m an air mage.”
“But they didn’t know that,” I guessed.
“I’d already mastered a few simple air tricks,” Lain sighed, “So they knew.”
“What did you do?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“I finally created an air bubble around myself and sort of floated back to shore,” Lain replied. “But the test is different for everyone. Maderel may just ask you to knock a bug out of the air or something.”
“Well, if you’re still here when I leave, we can compare notes,” I said.
Lain yawned again, and I waved goodbye as I turned to the stairs. I wondered what Emeline’s test had been. It was definitely something I would ask, if we ever managed to finish our quest.
Maderel was in his ‘school’ office, along with two students. He held up a hand when I first appeared at the door, and I stepped back into the hallway. The place was busy this morning, as students and instructors hurried by. I heard a clock chime, and there was a last flurry of activity, before silence descended on the school. I realized that morning classes must have started, and I had to remind myself that I wasn’t about to be marked tardy or handed detention for loitering in the hallway.
I heard Maderel’s voice murmur something and then both of the students said ‘Thank you.’ A moment later, they stepped into the hallway. They looked like brother and sister and were probably just hitting their early teens. The boy was taller, and more gangly, and already had an acne problem. The girl looked angry, and she jabbed her brother in the stomach several times as they walked away.
“Gabriel, come in,” Maderel’s voice called.
I stepped into his office, and Maderel stood up from his chair.
“You’re on time,” he noted.
“Yes,” I agreed.
“You had an agreeable day yesterday?” he asked as he sat back down.
“I suppose,” I said nonchalantly. “It was just another day.”
“What? No gallivanting around the countryside?” he continued. He managed a small laugh, but his eyes were still hard as ice.
“Um, no,” I replied. “Not in that weather.”
“Hmmm.” Maderel said nothing else, just sat and stared at me.
“Why do you ask?” I finally asked.
“Oh, no reason,” Maderel replied as if shaking off a moment of inattention. “I was out near some property I own, and I could have sworn I saw that orc friend of yours, just standing out in the middle of a field with some sheep.”
“It could have been,” I agreed. “He took up a small bounty to earn some extra money. Aerin wouldn’t give him any more gold for clothing because of all the repairs we’re making so…”
“Ah, that makes sense,” Maderel said when it became clear that I wasn’t going to add anything else, though he didn’t appear to be convinced that Maruk had been out hunting for magical items.
I removed my gloves and was reaching for the clasp on my cloak when Maderel stood up.
“You might as well leave that on,” he said. “We’ll be taking a trip outside the walls for your test.”
I thought about Lain’s tumble into the water and wondered how cold it would be now. Or maybe it was frozen over, and I would have to break through a foot of ice.
Maderel retrieved his own cloak and gloves, as well as a large fur hat. He gave me a nod after checking that I had my gloves back on, then led the way back to the stairs and the first floor.
“Lain,” he called sharply as we stepped into the lobby. I saw the tousled-haired student jump up and scramble to his feet.
“Sir?” he asked respectfully.
“Let Professor Valora know that I’ll meet with her this afternoon after I’ve returned,” Maderel said. “I’m assuming she hasn’t made it in yet.”
“I haven’t seen her, sir,” Lain replied.
“That woman won’t be on time for her own death,” Maderel muttered. He turned on his heel and marched towards the exit. I followed after him at a quick jog, dodging a few stragglers who got caught in Maderel’s wake.
“You walked here this morning?” Maderel asked.
“I did,” I agreed.
“You’ll have to use one of the Academy horses, then,” Maderel replied. We walked across the square and towards a series of low buildings that sat on the far side of the quad. I’d never given them much thought before, beyond Emeline once describing them as ‘support facilities’.
The stables were back here, and Maderel walked quickly inside. The stablehand snapped to attention, much like Lain had, and ran off to retrieve Maderel’s horse before Maderel had uttered a single word.
“We’ll need Streak as well,” Maderel yelled at the hand’s retreating back. We waited quietly while the hand dealt with the horses. It was pleasantly warm in the stables, and I could hear the horses moving in the stalls. I was about to greet a pony who had stuck his head over a stall door to look at us when the stablehand returned leading two horses.
I recognized Maderel’s bay stallion. It tugged on the line as it danced on its toes, anxious to get outside and move. The other horse, the one I assumed was Streak, was a large gray gelding. He didn’t look excited to be heading out, and he gave both Maderel and I a snort of disapproval.
Maderel mounted, as did I. We turned the horses to the main city gate, and Streak was reasonably cooperative. The guards waved us through, and Maderel pointed us towards the west. Streak, unfortunately, had exactly one speed: plodding. While Maderel’s stallion chomped at the bit and tried to surge ahead, old Streak ambled along, and if I hadn’t kept prodding him with my knees, he probably would have stopped in the middle of the road and called it a day.
Eventually, we found ourselves near the river. We left the horses in a sheltered spot and walked towards the sound of the rushing water. I pondered Lain’s story and tried to figure out how to create the giant bubble of air. Except that Maderel suddenly veered away from the water, and we were soon wandering deeper into the woods.
After nearly thirty minutes of walking, we arrived at an old, disused shack. The door was missing, and I could see a hole in the roof. The windows had been boarded over, and vines crept up the sides of the house.
“Your task is simple,” Maderel said. “There’s a magical item inside this structure. Find it and bring it to me.”
“That’s it?” I asked.
“That’s it,” he acknowledged.
I looked at the building again, and then slowly circled it. I used my mana to check for spells and protective wards, but there was nothing, at least on the outside of the building. When I was certain that there weren’t any booby traps, I took a cautious step inside.
It was dark, except for the light that found its way through the hole in the roof. Snow had covered the floor, as well as the broken chair and toppled table that were all that remained of the previous inhabitants. I opened my cloak, and Merlin slipped to the floor next to me. I scanned the room with my mana again, but still saw no trace of any sort of protection magic.
“Do you feel anything?” I asked the puca quietly.
Merlin sniffed the air experimentally, then gave me a shake of his cat head. I stepped further into the room with Merlin plastered to
my side. He may not have sensed any magic, but he wasn’t happy about this place either.
“It’s strange in here,” I muttered, and Merlin meowed in agreement.
I walked slowly around the one-room cabin, but I still didn’t see anything that looked like a magical item. I also didn’t spot any hiding spots, not even a loose floorboard, though the wood creaked ominously every time I moved.
“Maybe it’s a riddle,” I suggested.
Merlin sneezed as he snorted a noseful of snow. He sat down in the center of the room and looked around. After a moment, he stood up and walked towards one of the corners.
“Did you find something?” I asked as I followed him.
Merlin had wiped the snow from the corner with his front paws and was digging at the plank flooring. I moved him gently out of the way and tested the board. At first, nothing happened, but when I touched it again, using my mana, I felt something warm under my fingertips. I still couldn’t see anything, but I could definitely sense something under the wood.
I pushed harder with my mana, and slowly, the warmth built up, until the room itself began to feel hot. Whatever was on the other side was eating up my energy, but it still wasn’t revealing itself. I pulled my hand back and looked over the spot again.
The temperature in the room began to drop, so I pulled out my mana knife, and carefully inserted it between the planks. Almost instantly, the room turned hot, and this time I could hear melting snow dripping through the hole overhead. Merlin let out a squeal of protest, and I turned to look back at him. He was still in cat form, but he was hunched up, like he was in pain. I pulled the knife from the boards, and the heat slowly dissipated. Merlin unwrapped himself and stared at me with pleading eyes.
“Okay,” I said to him. “We can’t use mana. But we know where it is.”
I pulled out a plain blade from my belt and carefully inserted it between the boards. This time, there was no reaction from whatever was down there.