Arcane Dropout

by Edmund Hughes

  As it was a Sunday, there were no classes the next morning. Lee took his time waking up, grabbing food from the cafeteria and bringing it back to the dorm to provide Tess with a few of her requests from the day before.

  He was in the middle of finishing off a sausage and egg on bagel sandwich when a knock came at the door. Toma was still deep asleep in his bed, and Lee scowled, expecting it to be Harper with a new array of demands and instruction. Instead, he found Eliza waiting in the hallway.

  “Oh, hey,” said Lee.

  “I hope it’s okay!” said Eliza. “I figured you’d probably be up by now.”

  Lee heard a small giggle come from behind him and shot a warning glance at Tess, who was in the middle of devouring a slice of chocolate cake. He stepped forward, opting to take the conversation with Eliza in the hallway rather than his dorm.

  He hesitated as he took in her general appearance. She had makeup on, more than usual, and her hair looked glossy and hung with an intentional bounciness. Eliza wore a pink blouse with a drooping neckline and frills around the wrists, along with tight jeans and a pair of fashionable, knee-high boots. She blushed slightly as she saw the attention Lee was paying to her outfit and cleared her throat.

  “I just thought, uh, since we don’t have classes today, and uh, since you’re so bad at casting spells…” Eliza winced and bit her lip. “I mean, that’s not what I mean! I was just wondering if you wanted to... maybe go and... uh…”

  “Do some spellcraft studying?” finished Lee with a small smile. “Sure. Let me grab some stuff and clean up my breakfast. You mind waiting out here?”

  “No!” said Eliza. “I mean, no, I don’t mind. Thanks.”

  “It’ll only take a sec,” said Lee.

  He slipped back into his dorm and closed the door. Tess had finished eating and was sitting on his bed, smiling a knowing smile.

  “Have fun on your date, Lee!” she said. “I’ll give you some space for it, since I know that it would be hard for me to resist teasing you. We should have a signal for if you start getting intimate, though, so I can siphon a bit of her essence. Maybe you could toss a handkerchief in the air?”

  “Uh…” Lee ran a hand across his brow and shook his head. “First off, it’s not a date. Secondly, that would never work as a signal. And third—”

  A groan came from Toma’s bed. “Five more minutes, mom… it’s Sunday.”

  “It is a date, Lee, you’re just oblivious when it comes to this sort of thing,” said Tess. “If you don’t want me to siphon her essence, just give the signal. That way you can still have fun with some hot, fresh, hanky—”

  “I’m not oblivious,” he whispered. “It’s not a date. Also, I’m not sure if we have a choice about the whole siphoning essence thing. I think it happens automatically, at least on a very low level.”

  Tess frowned slightly and tapped a finger on her lips. “Well, maybe you should just stick to touching each other over the clothes, then?”

  Lee scowled at her and she flashed a cute, mischievous grin. He quickly cleaned up what was left of their meal, carrying the tray with him to deposit back at the dining hall on their way to the library.

  “Ready,” he said to Eliza. “Shall we?”

  She’d been looking into a handheld makeup mirror and started slightly as he came out the door.

  “Yes!” she said. “Let’s go. Hopefully one of the private alcoves in the library will still be open. They usually fill up fast on weeknights, but maybe everyone will be in town since it’s the weekend.”

  “Sounds good.”

  They headed outside and started across the grass. Primhaven’s weather was back to normal and, if anything, the campus seemed more vibrant for the brief reintroduction of snow. Several of Lead Instructor Mattis’s squirrels scampered about, chittering as they moved through bushes and flowers.

  An odd tension seemed to fill the space between Lee and Eliza as they walked. It was hard for Lee to not make connections based off what Tess had said. Eliza’s outfit did seem rather thought out, and if they did manage to study in a private alcove, it would just be the two of them.

  “So, uh, after we finish,” mumbled Eliza. “Would you, maybe, want to come back to my—”

  “Initiate Amaranth.”

  Harper’s focus was on Lee as she approached, walking fast and frowning. She wore black sweatpants and a loose grey sweater, and her hair was twisted into its usual braid. She didn’t even glance at Eliza as she came up to them, favoring Lee with the entirety of her stern gaze.

  “Instructor Harper,” said Lee. “What’s up?”

  “The Lead Instructor made a request for me to run some field work,” said Harper. “You’re coming along. Gather your winter weather gear and meet me at the gate in ten minutes. We’ll be gone overnight.”

  “Wait, hold on!” said Lee. “I’m in the middle of…”

  Harper was already walking away, and she didn’t turn around to listen to his objection. Lee glared at her back and muttered a few choice swear words under his breath.

  “It’s okay,” said Eliza. “I mean, you are her apprentice. It’s not like you can say no.”

  “She’s so used to getting her way,” said Lee. “It’s annoying.”

  Eliza didn’t say anything, and Lee could tell that despite what she’d said, she was genuinely disappointed.

  “I was really looking forward to studying with you,” he said. “Rain check? I’ll throw in drinks at the Frostfire Tavern to sweeten the deal.”

  Eliza smiled and nodded. “I would love that.”

  Toma was awake when Lee got back to his dorm, oblivious to Tess, who was lying on his bed.

  “Morning, Toma,” said Lee.

  “Morning,” said Toma. “What’s with the face?”

  Lee sighed. “Harper has me heading out into the cold to do field work with her.”

  He grabbed his jacket and boots and started pulling them on.

  “You’re cracked if you think that jacket is going to be enough, assuming you’ll be outside for a while,” said Toma. “Here, take these.”

  Toma pulled out a pair of snow pants and tossed them to Lee.

  “They won’t fit me, Toma,” said Lee. “We’re completely different sizes.”

  “They’re too big for me. My mom bought them a year or so ago, said I’d probably grow into them.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head dismissively. “You can keep them if you want, they’re doing me no good.”

  “For real? Thanks.”

  “No prob, buddy,” said Toma. “Just give me the scoop on how your little adventure ends up going. Try to be an attentive student. I’m sure she’ll have more than a thing or two to teach you.”

  “Phrasing.”

  “Oh no, that was intentional,” said Toma. “Anyway, I’m going to get breakfast.”

  “Right,” said Lee. “I’ll be back tomorrow, uh, I think.”

  “See you then.”

  Toma left, and Lee sat down on his bed, pulling his new snow pants on over his jeans. Tess sat up and raised an eyebrow at him.

  “Aren’t you going to say bye to me, too?” she asked.

  “I assumed you’d be coming with me,” said Lee.

  “I would if I could,” sighed Tess. “The pact between us isn’t that strong yet. I might be able to make it a mile or so out of Primhaven, but I’m guessing you’ll be going farther than that.”

  “I could always try keeping my mystic stream extended, like I did before the pact.”

  “I’m never letting you do that again! You didn’t tell me it was going to make your nose start bleeding. Who knows what else might happen? No, dearest Lee, I’ll be fine here.”

  Lee shrugged and frowned at her. “Fine.”

  “You sound disappointed,” said Tess. “Is it just because you know you won’t be able to cast spells without me, or will you really miss me?”

  “Of course I’ll miss you,” said Lee. “I mean, at this point, you’re basically my…”

  He
trailed off, noticing the overly pleased smile crowding Tess’s face.

  “Basically your what?” she asked.

  “My partner in crime,” said Lee.

  “That’s not what you were going to say!”

  “You don’t know what I was going to say.”

  “Yes I do,” said Tess. “Leeeee! Come on, you were so close! Tell me what I mean to you! Confess your eternal love!”

  She giggled, and Lee rolled his eyes as he extended his mystic stream, giving her form. She batted her eyelashes at him, looking a tad too smug for his liking. He jumped onto the bed next to her and started tickling her.

  “Cheap shot!” cried Tess. “You’re so mean, Lee!”

  “How about you confess your eternal love?”

  “Noooooo!”

  A knock came at the door, and Lee could tell that it was Harper from the intensity of it. He sighed, pulling back from Tess and squeezing her hand.

  “I’ll be back soon,” he said. “Tomorrow, or the next day, at the latest.”

  “Be careful,” said Tess.

  “I will. The same goes for you. There could be a specter on campus, or the snow bunny could make another appearance.”

  He kissed her. Tess briefly leaned her forehead against his. She looked like she wanted to say something more, but she contented herself to rubbing her thumb across Lee’s lips.

  “You shouldn’t keep your instructor waiting,” she said. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

  “See you then.”

  CHAPTER 38

  Harper brought Lee to where their supplies were waiting outside Primhaven’s main gate. She was clad in a white parka and light-green snow pants, and as they exited the school, she gestured to a toboggan sled about the length of a person that was heavily laden with supplies. There was a set of cords that led to a harness on the front, and the absence of anything that looked like a sled hound made her implication clear.

  “You expect me to pull that for you?” asked Lee.

  “To start? Yes.” Harper pulled her hood down. “I need to take the lead in order to set our course. We’ll alternate every few hours after that.”

  “This can’t be the most practical option. Primhaven must have access to a snowmobile, or hell, even a helicopter or something.”

  “It’s not that simple,” said Harper. “Our primary objective is to investigate the sight of a weather survey team that went missing to the northeast of here, but that’s not the only reason we’re making this trek.”

  She gave Lee a knowing smile and waited for a few silent, expectant seconds. He shook his head, unsure of what she was getting at and unwilling to guess.

  “Head Wizard Odarin came clean about what had happened once Mattis and I spoke with him,” said Harper.

  Lee scowled and swore under his breath. Any sort of leverage keeping Odarin’s secret for him might have provided had likely just evaporated, now that Mattis, the next highest authority at the school, had been informed of his actions.

  “We haven’t spread the details to the rest of the faculty,” said Harper. “We’d like to keep the incident under wraps, if possible. So, you and I will also be keeping a close eye out for the ice elemental hybrid.”

  Harper gestured to him and started walking. Somewhat reluctantly, Lee pulled on the sled’s harness and started after her. The weight was somewhere around a hundred pounds, but it was easier to pull across snow than it would have been across the normal ground.

  “What’s Odarin’s deal?” asked Lee. “He doesn’t seem like the type that would be the first in line to oversee a wizarding school.”

  “He’s more powerful than his behavior might lead you to assume,” said Harper. “Much, much more powerful. He has PTSD and some rather unfortunate psychic scarring from his time in the Order. It doesn’t explain away all of his behavior, mind you, but it’s part of why he is how he is.”

  “That’s it, then?” asked Lee. “Odarin is a strong mage, so he gets to be the boss?”

  “Do you really think he’s the boss?” asked Harper. She turned to look over her shoulder as she asked the question, letting her eyes linger on his with purpose and challenge.

  “It seems more like Mattis runs the college when it comes to the day to day operations and making most decisions,” said Lee.

  “That’s true,” said Harper. “Keep working through it. What would change if Mattis was appointed Head Wizard?”

  “Well, she’s a druid…” said Lee. “Uh, nature magic seems a little underwhelming compared to the other basic forms…”

  Harper nodded and seemed content enough with his assessment to lead him to the conclusion.

  “Johnny Odarin is the magical world’s equivalent of a war hero, Lee,” said Harper. “He makes for a great figurehead, someone to represent Primhaven’s cause at fundraisers and serve as the face of the college.”

  “Putting it that bluntly seems a tad harsh,” said Lee.

  “Trust me, you would think that description kind compared to the words I had for him after he came clean about his research,” said Harper. “Purposefully attracting dangerous supernatural entities to the school so he could indulge in his monster-girl fetish. Mattis was every bit as furious.”

  Lee felt his cheeks flush slightly as he remembered Thumper’s considerable intimate talents. The conversation died off as they continued trudging through the snow. It wasn’t a particularly cold morning, but soft flurries of snow fell intermittently, forcing them to keep their hoods up.

  They traveled slowly, and given how flat the landscape was, it took more than two hours for Primhaven to disappear into the misty horizon behind them. Once it had, however, Lee felt as though he was adrift in an ocean of snow. Few landmarks stood out as anything other than smudges in the far distance, and he was left with an odd, anxious rumble in his chest.

  Harper waited until Lee’s exhaustion began to slow them both down before finally taking her turn at being responsible for the sled. Lee passed her the harness and raised an eyebrow as she merely tossed it back onto the sled instead of attaching it to herself.

  “I thought you said you’d help, too?” asked Lee.

  Harper gave him a small smile and assumed the elemental casting stance. She crouched and then pushed both her hands forward at a parallel angle, sending two small fireballs soaring ahead of them, just above the snow. The heat from each was enough to leave a trailing melted line, which quickly refroze into twin tracks of sheer ice.

  She adjusted the sled into place so that its blades were in contact with the ice and then gave it a small nudge from behind with her foot. It glided forward effortlessly, gaining twenty feet of progress off a touch that would have struggled to send a soccer ball a similar distance.

  “That seems like cheating,” said Lee.

  “Solving a problem is cheating?” asked Harper. “You need to start seeing the world through the eyes of a mage, Eldon.”

  Lee felt like it would have been much easier to do that had he actually, well, been a mage.

  “This is a lesson which you need to learn that I cannot easily teach,” said Harper. “Spells are not just weaponry to be used in combat. Each one is a tool, capable of being applied in ways only limited by your creativity.”

  By that analogy, Lee was the worker who’d forgotten his toolkit on the way to the job site. With Tess back at Primhaven, he was relatively sure that he wouldn’t be able to pull enough essence through their bond to cast even a simple illumination spell.

  “Eldon.” Harper looked at him expectantly, and he realized she was waiting for a response.

  “I’m listening,” he said. “It’s just… If you took me as your apprentice because you were expecting magical greatness from me, you might end up being a little disappointed.”

  Harper let out a single, small laugh. “I think that remains to be seen.”

  CHAPTER 39

  They stopped briefly for lunch at midday. Harper’s supplies included only dense, calorie-rich foods that wouldn’t freeze
in the cold. Lee crunched down a protein bar and some granola, and they both shared a canvas of warm tea that was sublime in both its taste and how it warded off the chill.

  The two of them continued to the northeast into the late afternoon, alternating sled duty and making slow progress. Harper scanned the surrounding area with growing interest with each further mile, until she finally spotted something in the distance worth pointing out to Lee.

  “There,” said Harper. “Do you see that?”

  “Uh, no?” said Lee. “Maybe it’s just my eyes, but that just looks like more snow.”

  “Come on,” said Harper. “I think we’ve found what we’re looking for.”

  As they drew closer, Lee understood what had piqued her interest. Small bits of fabric and scraps of canvas poked out from underneath the fresh powder ahead of them. There were discarded gloves too, along with a few poles protruding from the ground that seemed to have once held up tents.

  The snow was lumpy in places, either from where it had been dislodged too heavily for the recent downfall to hide or for other reasons that Lee preferred not to think about. There were no obvious tracks leading to or from the ruined campsite other than theirs, but Harper still examined the area with intense focus.

  “Frost trolls,” she said. “Had to have been. See that over there?”

  Harper pointed to a section covered in ice, kept clear of snow by the blowing wind. There was a footprint sunken into the ground there, too big to be a wolf or even a bear, with claw marks gouged around the edges, each nearly the size of Lee’s fingers.

  “You’re serious?” asked Lee. “A frost troll? It must be huge, judging from this. How can something this big live anywhere without being discovered by regular human society?”

  “They have been discovered,” said Harper. “Yetis, bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman. Trolls mostly keep to themselves when they can, sticking to regions of the world too extreme for humans to find them easily.”

  She dropped to her knees and pulled her hood back, examining the impression in the ice more closely. Lee went to check on their sled and was turning to head back toward Harper when he felt a fluttering chill run up the back of his neck.