WarMage- Unrestrained

by Martha Carr

  The headmaster studied her for a moment and his smile faded a little. “Indeed. That’s made itself quite clear after tonight’s events. I’m inclined to agree with him.”

  “Do you know what it is?” The wind picked up and blew through her pajamas. She shivered and rubbed her arms through her jacket. “Whatever’s off?”

  “I wish I did, Miss Alby, but no. That doesn’t mean I don’t also feel something stirring.” Another strong breeze pulled at his beard, and he gestured toward the wall around the main buildings. “It’s chilly and quite late. If you need to finish with your familiar—”

  “I already did for the night.”

  “Then I wouldn’t mind a little company on the walk back.”

  Raven nodded and joined him on the return across the field. The night had fallen into its usual silence again, which made the opening and closing of the stable doors that much easier to hear. She glanced over her shoulder to where Professor Worley turned away from the building as he ran a hand through his thick hair. A dark shape appeared from the other side of the stables, and the man looked down to mutter something she couldn’t hear. Another familiar, I bet.

  “Headmaster?”

  “Miss Alby.”

  “My grandfather gave me this orb a few years ago. When there’s danger, when something’s…well, not quite right, it turns—”

  “From white to red. Yes, I’ve seen it myself once or twice.” Flynn gave her another distracted smile, his hands clasped behind his back. “Do you have it with you?”

  “It’s in my room. I came to talk to you about it in your office after class today, but you…weren’t there.”

  “Ah. That’s why Rider was so ruffled.”

  “I didn’t mean to upset him—”

  “You didn’t. My familiar can be somewhat territorial, especially of my personal space. I appreciate you not trying to confront him on your own.”

  Raven couldn’t help but laugh at that. “That would’ve been almost as dumb as someone else trying to confront Leander.”

  “Hmm. Almost.” Flynn smirked and glanced at the sky.

  “That orb, though. It’s almost completely red.”

  He stopped abruptly and turned to look directly at her. “When did that start?”

  “A few months ago. The worst I’d seen it was when Leander and I won the dragon competition in Nadine.”

  “And tested out of the dragon trials. Yes.” He resumed his walk so she pushed herself to fall in beside him again.

  “I thought it was almost completely red then, but when I looked again today… Well, it turns out I didn’t know how much it was still picking up on.” She brushed her hair away from her face and wished she’d brought something to tie it back with.

  “Has Connor seen it?”

  She glanced at her boots that whispered rhythmically through the dew-covered grass. “Yes. Is that why he left?”

  “It’s possible, Miss Alby. I can’t honestly say.” They passed beneath the stone archway and into the courtyard of the main buildings.

  Okay, it was a shot in the dark. “So how are we supposed to find out what that danger is, exactly?”

  “That’s an easy question to answer. At this point, the most we can do is wait for the danger to reveal itself. Yes, that’s a bitter truth to swallow but for now, that’s all the truth I can offer. It’s not the most important question, though.”

  “What is?”

  “How do we prepare to meet that danger when it does reveal itself? The answer to that question is what every skilled and powerful mage learns to discover, Miss Alby. The key is to be prepared, no matter what arises—even if we have no idea what’s coming until it reaches our front door. Or gates, as it were.” Headmaster Flynn chuckled and gestured toward the front gates of Fowler Academy before they turned toward the girls’ dormitory.

  That’s what I need to do, then. Be prepared. Raven’s fingers brushed against her mother’s pin. For anything.

  “I believe this is where we part ways.” He gestured toward the entrance of the dormitory and lowered his head in a way that made it look more like a bow. “I very much appreciate your assistance tonight, Miss Alby. I’ve known for some time that having a dragon at one’s side is a very useful way to prepare for the what and the when. I’m also very glad to see that I can still be surprised by everything a creature like your familiar has to offer.”

  “Thank you, Headmaster. And thanks for listening to him. He might not show it but I think he’s much happier here. I might be too.”

  “Never expect a dragon to show all their cards. I’m sure you’ve already discovered this for yourself.” The headmaster wrinkled his nose when he laughed again before a darker shadow of pain flashed across his brow.

  It was there and gone in an instant, but Raven caught it. He had his own dragon once too. “I know Leander still has a few tricks up his sleeve. Hopefully, I’ll be able to learn all of them.”

  “Ah. That is an admirable goal. If I may, I’d advise moving through every day as if you discovered your dragon’s tricks again for the first time. It’s merely one more way of being prepared, isn’t it?”

  “Right.” She bit her lip and glanced at the door. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “I’m sure you will.” The man turned toward the great hall with another small, curt nod. “Goodnight, Miss Alby.”

  “Oh, one more thing.”

  He turned back with another chuckle and raised an eyebrow.

  “I wanted to ask about flying with Leander.”

  “To my knowledge, you’ve already mastered that part of things.”

  “No, I mean I wanted to ask if that’s all right. It’s been a few days and I think he’s getting a little antsy. That might be obvious. Is it okay if I take him out when he needs it? I know not everyone’s happy about a dragon at Fowler and for some reason, I’d feel better knowing I won’t make things tenser if I simply assume we’re all good.”

  Headmaster Flynn laughed, shook his head, and lowered his chin toward his chest. “Yes. For some reason, it seems Connor Alby’s granddaughter considers asking permission as often as he did. Which, to be clear, wasn’t often.”

  Raven grinned. Grandpa had a rebellious streak in him. It’s only a little surprising for a retired dragon rider.

  “Don’t worry about asking permission,” he continued. “That dragon is your familiar and your responsibility. If taking him out to fly is part of you taking responsibility, then by all means. As long as it doesn’t interfere with your classes or anyone else’s and as long as you’re not out after dark.”

  Now he sounds exactly like Grandpa. “Deal.”

  “Ha! Hardly a deal, Raven Alby. After all, you’re the only one with a key. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to find my bed before someone else finds me curled up here in the courtyard. Goodnight.”

  “Goodnight.” With a grin, she watched the man who’d gone from dragon rider to Headmaster of Fowler Academy as he disappeared through the front doors and into the main hall. She opened the door to the girls’ dormitory and crossed the empty, dark common room.

  We’ll go flying tomorrow. If nothing else, it’ll clear both our minds and give Leander a chance to work out that nervous energy. Then, we can focus on being prepared.

  When she reached the third floor, most of the lights were on behind the other girls’ closed doors. Her door was open, exactly the way she’d left it on her race to comfort Leander. A low buzz of conversation filtered beneath the other students’ doors with the light, but she ignored it. Everyone’s bound to talk about it anyway. What they do is none of my business.

  Elizabeth was still awake, seated in her bed with her nose in a book again. Her bat familiar pounced and scrambled across the bed after the melon balls she had apparently stored somewhere for a late-night snack.

  “I thought you’d be asleep.” Raven shrugged out of her jacket and hung it over the back of the desk chair again.

  “I thought you’d be gone longer.” The girl close
d her book and pushed her swooping bangs to the side before they fell over one eye again. “What was all that about?”

  As she stepped out of her boots, she sighed and crouched in front of the oilskin bag she still hadn’t unpacked. “Everyone’s already talking about it. I bet if you stepped out into the hall, you’d hear all kinds of things.”

  With a snort, the other young mage raised her arms above her head for a long stretch. “I’m not even a little interested in gossip. Getting the story straight from you is different.”

  She relayed everything to her new roommate as she yanked clothes out of the bag and folded them before they found their new home in the provided dresser. Her timing was good and she reached the end of her retelling as she finished unpacking. “So get ready to hear every kind of twisted version of this from whoever feels like telling it tomorrow.”

  She expected Elizabeth to look worried or maybe at least a little surprised. Instead, her companion shrugged and lobbed the last piece of melon to Iggy. “Vagreti panthers, huh? Those things are so cool.”

  Raven laughed in surprise. “Yeah, until they’re right up close and trying to steal one of your goats.”

  “It’s a good thing I don’t have any goats, then.”

  The girls shared a joking smile before she crouched in front of the oilskin bag and retrieved the two worn leather journals. With a sigh, she sat on the edge of her bed and ran a hand along the cracked, dust-engrained covers.

  “What are those?”

  “My grandpa’s old journals. At least, I think they’re his.” She frowned. “He didn’t exactly say who they belonged to, but they were in his old trunk, so—”

  “Journals from a spent mage’s old trunk, huh?” Elizabeth hissed a sigh and shook her head. “I wasn’t sure I’d like having a roommate, but you keep surprising me.”

  “Thanks. I think.” With a smirk, she opened the first page of the top journal and paused. Everyone still thinks Connor Alby used all his magic. It’s probably better to not correct that assumption. She focused on the first page, which didn’t have any inscription beyond the same seal of the dragon riders that was embroidered into her grandfather’s old patch.

  With a widening grin, she skimmed through the pages and waited for something to catch her attention first, just in case. Why wait for the good stuff if I can find it first? After a few minutes, she stopped at a page not quite in the middle of the journal with a written title at the top of one page in a much larger script than the rest and underlined twice. Magic Meld.

  “Woah.” Raven read through most of the spell, but her mind raced now with possibilities instead of focusing on the actual words that filled the old, yellowed page.

  “Have you found some juicy secrets already?” Elizabeth asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Maybe…” She tilted her head and tried to focus. This is the spell he used to heal my shoulder. And he said he’d never teach it to me. Did he forget it was in here? “It’s not a secret. Only something I didn’t expect to find.”

  “That’s usually how journals work, isn’t it?”

  She jerked her gaze toward the open door of her dorm room where Teresa stood, her arms folded as she leaned against the doorframe. Damn. Bella’s gonna hear about the journals and the panther issue now.

  “Something like that.” Trying to play it cool, she closed the journal slowly and set both behind her on the bed. “Can I help you with something, Teresa?”

  The girl shrugged and fixed her with a small, calculating smile. “I don’t know yet. Is there anything you wanna tell me about what happened out there?” She nodded toward the window.

  Who is she trying to be? Professor Gilliam? “Headmaster Flynn asked people not to start spreading rumors. I agree with him.”

  “It’s not spreading rumors if I get the real story from you.” Her eyes widened when she said it and she glanced at Elizabeth briefly when the girl snorted.

  “It was only a couple of spooked animals in the stables,” Raven replied.

  “And a spooked dragon?”

  She shook her head with a small, knowing smile. “No. Leander was a little irritated by all the noise. He likes to sleep.”

  “That didn’t sound a little irritated.” Teresa’s gaze darted toward the edge of the journal that poked out a little. She shrugged again. “There had to be something else going on. Come on, Raven. You can tell me.”

  You mean open up to one of Bella Chase’s best friends and flunkies? Fat chance. “He’s a dragon. Everything looks and sounds bigger with a dragon.”

  The girls stared at each other for a few seconds before Elizabeth looked up from her book and pierced Teresa with an expressionless gaze. “I’m going to bed now.”

  The intruder frowned. “Okay…”

  “Since you’re standing there, can you shut the door?” The girl’s eye not covered by her dark, swooping bangs widened a little when she raised her eyebrow.

  With a huff, their visitor grasped the door and actually did close it for them before she returned to her room. Raven’s sound-dampening spell cut out all the noise of the other girls too excited by the night’s events to go back to bed now, including the sound of Teresa slamming her door.

  Raven chuckled. “That was nice of her.”

  “I honestly didn’t think she’d do us such a meaningful favor.” Her roommate turned slowly to look at her and the girls burst out laughing.

  Elizabeth still chuckled quietly as she curled under her covers. Raven rescued the old journals from the bed and tucked them into the oilskin bag. When they were secured, she shoved it under her bed and climbed under the covers. I’ll find a better hiding place tomorrow.

  She pointed at the magically glowing lantern hanging from the ceiling and muttered, “Nullen lucidis.” The light winked out and she tried to get some sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Professor Bixby waddled to the front of the History of Magic class the next morning and her frizzed copper hair caught the sunlight through the window. The squat, incredibly round professor stepped precariously onto the raised platform behind her desk and clapped briskly. “Settle down, class. I expect everyone’s full attention this morning as I do in every class. I think many of you will enjoy today’s lesson.”

  Raven swiped loose red hair out of her eyes and tried to focus on the woman’s high-pitched and slightly nasally voice. I need to get more sleep. Consistently.

  She glanced at Murphy seated two desks away, who doodled something with her quill and looked entirely distracted. Henry sat a few rows behind her near the back and leaned toward Rory Davidian with wide eyes as he listened to the not so quietly whispered accounts of, “…the dragon fighting a whole den of vagreti panthers last night…”

  I can’t say that’s completely unexpected. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at her desk. But it doesn’t help the situation.

  “Now, you all remember the blood spell we performed a few weeks ago to reveal your personal family trees, yes?” Professor Bixby leaned forward over her desk, peered at her students, and waited for a response. None was forthcoming. “Yes, that was quite interesting. Many of you discovered things about yourselves you simply may not have had the opportunity to otherwise know.”

  A few rows in front and on the right, Bella Chase turned slightly to look over her shoulder and catch Raven’s glance. The girl tossed her hair over her shoulder and returned her attention to their tiny professor. We have more in common than we thought, too.

  “Today, you’ll learn about the magical lineage of everyday things. These are family trees as well, in a sense, but perhaps not in the way you might expect.” Bixby tapped her wand on her desk, read whatever she’d written on the parchment paper in front of her, and cleared her throat. “Everything has an origin. A source we can trace all the way to the beginning. If you pick up an acorn, you hold thousands of generations in your hand. Your familiars also have a magical lineage, as do your quills and the parchment paper you write on, whether we like it or not. Let me re
mind you how important it is to respect the past and our history and where we come from because everything in this world is connected to its past. Today, you’ll draw forth the lineage of individual inanimate objects in the same way you used the blood spell for your family trees.”

  Tessa raised her hand.

  “Yes, Miss Hambridge.”

  “Why?”

  Bixby squeaked a laugh. “Why? My dear, you cannot be expected to master spells or even your magic if you do not understand where they come from. If you forget one link in the historical chain, you may end up with a completely different result than you intended. Now, this isn’t a spell we’ll simply throw around willy-nilly. I sincerely hope none of you do that but let’s not fool ourselves. You’re first-years.”

  One of the boys in the back row muttered, “Isn’t that giving us an excuse to mess around?”

  A few others snickered, but Bixby either didn’t hear or ignored them. “Now, come up here to retrieve another blank roll of parchment paper and a copy of the lineage spell. You worked with partners last time, but I think it’s high time you branched out on your own. This is much simpler than the blood spell, although no less important. I expect each of you to produce something on that parchment paper.”

  Chairs and desks groaned and shifted as the students stood to shuffle toward her desk to gather their few supplies. Raven indulged a massive yawn before she stood, and Henry rapped his knuckles on her desk. “Did the panther fight keep you up last night, Alby?”

  She looked at him with heavy eyelids and pushed to her feet. “I told you what happened before class.”

  “Oh, I know.” He grinned and gestured for her to step in front of him in the line toward Bixby’s desk. “Lemme tell ya, the stories everyone else throws around are much more exciting.”

  “Rumors are always more exciting than the truth, aren’t they?” She yawned again and tried to shake off her fatigue. “Besides, I never really pegged you for the gossiping type.”

  “Oh, no way. I’m merely a sucker for a good story.”

  They reached Bixby’s desk to collect what they needed and followed the other students to return to their desks. Almost everyone looked more or less clueless.