Arcane Dropout

by Edmund Hughes

  “Are you alright?” asked Harper.

  In the last fight, she’d hooked a conjured chain around one of his ankles to trip him right before he’d been able to strike the winning blow. Lee’s momentum had been enough to flip him flat on his face, which was only somewhat mitigated by the mats layered over the floor.

  “…Fine,” he muttered, as his breath returned to him.

  “We need to move on for today,” said Harper. “I’ll give you a ten-minute break to recompose yourself. Meet me at the Spell Range immediately after.”

  She didn’t wait for his answer, turning and striding out of the training room, expecting to be obeyed. Lee sighed and leaned his head back. Tess had been watching his practice and he extended his mystic stream as he felt her slide into position behind him, lending her lap to be his pillow.

  “That was interesting,” she said. “You almost got her a few times.”

  “She was going easy on me,” said Lee. “At least once or twice I could tell that she let me get closer than I otherwise would have.”

  “I know. I was just being nice.”

  Lee scowled. Tess laughed and leaned forward, cupping his cheeks and planting a quick kiss on his lips.

  “Our pact has gotten stronger, you know,” she said.

  “How can you tell?” he asked.

  “I went for a walk before you woke up this morning. I made it twice as far outside Primhaven as I would normally.”

  Lee furrowed his brow. “Is that risky for you to try?”

  Tess shrugged. “Maybe. I can’t tell you how long I’ve dreamed of taking a walk outside the school. Even just heading into that rundown little town again on my own would be so swell.”

  “I could bring you to Gillum with my mystic stream, if you wanted,” said Lee.

  “I’d like that.” Tess stroked his cheek. “But there is something to be said for getting to the point where, you know, I can... do it on my own.”

  “Probably easier to set up pranks without me judging your every move.”

  “You’re supposed to be a mystic, Lee Amaranth, not a mind reader.”

  ***

  He didn’t dally and made it to the Spell Range with time to spare, not interested in taking another lap around the college in the freezing cold. There were more students than normal occupying both the dueling chambers and the casting lanes, which was to be expected on a Saturday with no regular classes.

  Harper had already secured them a space. Lee hadn’t paid much notice to the setup on his previous visit. The casting lane reminded him slightly of a bowling alley, except with various glyphs adorning the walls to ward against the damage of spells, and a mannequin in a copper suit of armor standing where the pins would have been.

  “It would take far too long to teach you spellcraft over again from the beginning, Eldon,” said Harper. “Instead, I’m going to teach you how to specialize, how to cast spells that will synergize with your talent for knife fighting. Much of the rest that you’ll need to learn to fight properly as a mage will still come from your basic lessons, which I would advise you to start showing up to.”

  Harper’s gaze took on an intense, reproachful quality that was hard for Lee to meet. He scratched the back of his head and shrugged.

  “Yeah, I will,” he said. “I get it. Sorry.”

  She stayed silent for a couple of seconds, as though considering whether to deem his apology worthy. Finally, Harper nodded and gestured for him to follow her through the door into their casting lane.

  With the door closed behind him, they were contained within the lengthy chamber. The acoustics of the space sent each footstep echoing down and back again while simultaneously distorting the sounds of their voices and forcing them to talk louder than they normally would have.

  “What I will teach you that can be applied universally is how to prepare yourself for casting,” said Harper. “How to breathe, in a sense. It’s a harder task than you might assume and is necessary for managing even the simplest spell.”

  “How to breathe…” repeated Lee. “That’s why you were doing yoga the other day, isn’t it?”

  Harper nodded. “It’s a skill that needs to be trained. I’ve known more than one mage who’s taken their casting for granted, never realizing how much more focus is needed to work a spell under stressful and emotional circumstances. They... met with unfortunate ends.”

  Harper lowered herself down into a cross-legged sitting position, gesturing for Lee to do the same. Tess was watching them from off to the side, and Lee stifled a smile as he saw her clearly torn over whether she should sit, too.

  “Start by finding your center,” said Harper. “Focus on clearing your mind and letting each, vital breath spread through you completely. Focus on…”

  Lee exhaled slowly and extended his mystic stream. He saw Tess shoot him a puzzled look that almost matched Harper’s.

  “Like this?” he asked.

  “Yes,” said Harper. “You’ve done this before?”

  Lee flashed a small smile. “I do it all the time. It’s a skill that’s helped me get through life.”

  “I’m impressed,” said Harper. “Breath control is something that even master mages can struggle with or fall out of practice on. This will save us a great deal of training.”

  Tess let out a small whoop and clapped her hands together. Lee grinned, feeling more than a little surprised by how much he was affected by Harper’s approval.

  “I’ll give you a small demonstration of how the casting lane works,” said Harper. “The lines marked on the floor denote the standard range classifications: short, medium, and long. The training dummy at the end of the lane is… well, I suppose it’s easier to show you rather than to explain.”

  She pulled her arms up into the elemental casting stance, elbows bent, fingers straight. A burst of wind lifted her a few feet into the air, sending the golden hair braid she’d previously been wearing dancing outward like an excited cobra. Her t-shirt fluttered upward a few inches, revealing her toned abdomen and the indent of her navel.

  Harper seemed to run with the same snaking motif that Lee had attributed to her hair. She extended one hand to the side, releasing a gout of swirling water. It traveled in a dancing spiral for a few seconds, spinning as though on standby, before snapping toward the training dummy at the speed of an arrow loosed from a bow.

  Lee had seen videos before of police using fire hoses to scatter protesters. Watching Harper’s water spell strike the dummy created a similar effect. The separate pieces of its armor went flying across the end of the casting lane, revealing that there was no actual dummy underneath.

  The pieces landed against the stone floor in a clatter, the noise echoing through the space and grinding against Lee’s ears. A second or two passed without anything happening, until the individual armor segments jerked upward off the floor and flew back to their original positions, reassembling into the doppelganger of a bronze knight they’d been initially.

  “The armor is hexed,” said Harper.

  “Right,” said Lee, nodding along. “Makes sense.”

  His instructor turned to look at him, smiling more with her pale blue eyes than with her pouty lips. “Your turn. To start, I think it would be prudent to have you attempt a basic conjuration force spell. The capacity you’ve shown for telekinesis will lend itself well to this.”

  “A force spell,” said Lee. “Uh… Yeah, okay.”

  He rubbed his hands together and rolled his shoulders. Out of reflex, he glanced over at Tess, who was still watching from the side. She shook her head apologetically.

  “I was never that good at explaining the act of arcane casting,” she said. “Sorry, Lee. You can still pull essence from me for the spell, but you’ll have to do the heavy lifting of the actual spellcraft yourself.”

  “A force spell, Eldon,” said Harper. “Start by assuming the basic conjuration casting stance.”

  Her voice was surprisingly patient, which gave him hope. He’d learned enough during
his time at Primhaven to remember the conjuration casting stance. His right hand was held forward, palm facing out, with his left hand clasping it at the wrist.

  “Good,” said Harper. “Now, focus on your breathing and reach for your arcane essence. The underlying mechanism is the same as with any other spell. You’ll take the essence and form it into the shape with your mind, defining the properties of the spell, before pushing it outward.”

  Lee did his best, trying not to let his struggle become evident in his expression. Harper noticed anyway. She slowly walked over and came to a stop directly behind him, which in Lee’s opinion was the absolute worst place for a teacher to watch an anxious student from.

  “Breathe and feel for your essence, Eldon,” whispered Harper. “Right here.”

  She reached her arm around and set her hand on his chest, directly over his solar plexus. The movement brought her body, namely her breasts, into contact with Lee from behind. It felt more like an embrace than instruction, which only made it harder for him to focus.

  “Breathe,” she repeated. “Find your arcane essence.”

  Her hand gently rubbed across his chest as she all but hugged herself against him. Lee licked his lips, feeling like a failure. There was no arcane essence inside of him. He felt normal, perhaps even a little hollow. He felt…

  Wait, there was something, but he could instantly sense upon touching it that it wasn’t the same as what Harper meant. It was a sort of electric, fluttering coldness. It was a form of essence, but not of the arcane variety. It felt like touching a ghost. Spirit essence.

  “Shape the spell, Lee.” Harper’s lips were nearly against his ear, her breath tickling along his neck with each syllable she spoke. “A force spell is powerful and direct. Like a runaway train, a speeding car, a dominant athlete.”

  Lee took a slow breath, almost mimicking the process he went through with his mystic stream, and then tried to take the spirit essence he could sense and apply it as Harper had instructed. He felt the essence flutter briefly through his chest before shooting along his arm, hesitating as it reached his palm.

  He exhaled and pushed his arms forward, feeling Harper hug him tighter in response to the motion. An invisible wall of surging magical force rushed down the casting lane, crashing into the bronze knight and scattering the pieces of armor. A rush of displaced air fluttered Lee’s hair, and he stared at his handiwork, mouth agape.

  “Good,” said Harper.

  She was still hugging him, and it took a second or two before her hand slowly slid to the side and she stepped back. Lee heard Tess let out another whoop and applaud him again. He grinned and pumped his fist in the air.

  CHAPTER 34

  “Cast it again,” said Harper. “I want to see what you’re capable of, Eldon. Push more of your arcane essence into it this time.”

  Lee nodded slowly, settling back into his casting stance. It was easy to see what Harper was getting at when she spoke of having him focus on a spell that would complement his skill with his kris dagger. A force spell might not be as flashy as shooting beams of magical energy or flinging fireballs, but it could effectively disable an opponent, at least for a moment. Once he’d knocked down his target, he could get into knife-fighting range and fight within his comfort zone.

  He took a breath, gathered the requisite spirit essence from Tess, and exhaled as he pushed his palm forward, releasing the spell. The effect was about the same as it had been before, scattering the bronze sections of armor and displacing air.

  “Don’t rush,” said Harper. “Preparing a stronger spell takes more focus and time. Be patient, let the arcane essence flow, and then cast.”

  Lee nodded and prepared to try again. He went through the same process, carefully shifting the essence and letting it linger this time before proceeding with the act of casting. The effect was far more pronounced, sending the suit of armor bouncing off the walls and ceiling.

  A strained gasp came from behind Lee, and he turned his head in time to see Tess shudder and collapse to the ground. He immediately dropped out of his casting stance and started toward her, only hesitating when he remembered that Harper was there, watching him.

  “What is it?” asked Harper.

  “I…” Lee chewed his lip, searching for an excuse. “I feel exhausted. I don’t think I can manage another spell today.”

  Harper frowned and shook her head. “You’ve barely cast three spells so far. Even at your level, arcane fatigue shouldn’t be setting in this early. You can push yourself further. Now, try it again.”

  “No, you don’t understand,” he said. “I can’t. I really can’t.”

  “There are threats in this world that will not give you a break simply because you ask for one,” said Harper. “Why should I? In truth, I would be doing you a massive disservice in your training as my apprentice if I didn’t push you to your limits.”

  “Look, I get it,” said Lee. “You have insane magical skills. You have a reputation. Hell, you were even my sister’s friend, and taking me as an apprentice is a favor to her, and an honor for me, or whatever. But I’m still... coming to terms with my own limits, and how far I can push them. This is a two-way street.”

  “A street on which I control the speed limit, the traffic flow, and the parking,” said Harper. “You have not earned a rest yet, Eldon. Continue casting the spell until I tell you to stop.”

  Lee gritted his teeth, holding her gaze. She wasn’t angry; rather, her face was set in an expression of calm authority. She was the teacher and he was the student. He needed to tread carefully. Yelling at her or throwing a fit would only make the situation worse.

  “Instructor Harper…” He lowered his head. “Please. Just for today.”

  Harper let out a sigh. “Look at me, Eldon.”

  He did. She had a sympathetic smile on her face, and tapped one of her fingers against the scar that ran along the edge of her cheek.

  “I’m not evil, and I’m not insensitive,” she said. “I will push you hard, and it will almost always be for your own good. With that said, you’re still new to this. I’ll give you a break for today.”

  Lee breathed a sigh of relief, still forcing himself to play it cool and not rush over to Tess’s crumpled, ghostly form.

  “Thank you, Instructor,” he said.

  “Tomorrow is Sunday, which is your day off,” said Harper. “I expect you to report to my office immediately after your regular class on Monday. Be prepared to work much harder than you did this morning.”

  She gave him a small nod and then headed for the door. Lee waited until she’d left before hurrying to Tess’s side. He extended his mystic stream and lifted her up, cradling her head and fearing the worst.

  “Hey,” he said. “Tess! Tess, are you okay? Damn! I should have been more aware of what I was doing…”

  “Sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t have enough spirit essence to give you. I don’t have a lot normally.”

  “It’s fine.” Lee brushed a few strands of her brown hair back from her face. “You scared me. Just let me know next time before you reach this point, okay? We’ll find some other way to manage if I have to cast more than a couple of spells in a short period of time.”

  “I already know of one,” said Tess.

  “What?”

  “Remember what I did with the succubus?” asked Tess. “It’s easy for me to siphon essence from supernatural entities or even mages when they have their guard that far down. I can hold onto their power for a day or two afterward for you to use as needed.”

  She let out a yawn as she finished speaking. Lee took her hand into his and squeezed it, frowning slightly as he considered her words.

  “Isn’t there a more practical way other than me having to whore myself out?” he asked.

  Tess let out a small giggle. “No, not really. I can only siphon from targets that are either emotionally vulnerable or heavily weakened, and I figured you’d prefer the hanky panky to beating people up.”

  “You are
such a dork,” muttered Lee. “Please, just say ‘having sex’ instead of using that ridiculous wording.”

  “I’m a proper lady. I can’t say things like that.”

  Lee rolled his eyes but couldn’t keep the sides of his mouth from pulling up into a smile. He slid his arms under Tess and lifted her into the air, keeping his mystic stream extended so he could still interact with her physically.

  “Oh, how sweet of you,” said Tess. “Though since I’m a ghost and rather petite to begin with, I’m sure it’s not that much of an inconvenience.”

  “I still feel your weight when I’m using my mystic stream,” said Lee. “Honestly, you’re a tad heavier than you look.”

  “Take that back!”

  “I’m just wondering where all that extra weight is on you,” said Lee. “Here, maybe?”

  He shifted a hand to squeeze her butt. Tess let out a squeal that was as surprised as it was offended.

  “Lee Amaranth, you take that back, right now!”

  “Hey, quit wiggling so much or I’ll drop you.”

  ***

  Primhaven’s campus was nearly empty, meaning Lee didn’t have to give too much attention to disguising the positioning of his arms, which would have seemed oddly placed to any onlookers. He brought Tess back to his dorm and set her on his bed, feeling doubly lucky at the fact that Toma wasn’t around.

  “Getting some rest will help, right?” he asked.

  “It should,” said Tess. “I’m fine, really.”

  Lee nodded, considering the phrasing of his next question very carefully.

  “What would have happened if I’d cast another spell after you’d collapsed?”

  Tess didn’t look at him. She folded her hands in her lap, looking embarrassed, vulnerable, and far smaller than she usually did.