He gave her a hug, considering what to say to that. A knock came at the door before he got the chance.
“What?” he shouted.
“Good, you’re awake.” Harper’s voice was loud and serious. “Get dressed. I need you tonight.”
Lee nodded, feeling the muscles tense in his neck. Eliza gave his shoulder a squeeze and gave him a forced smile.
“It’s alright,” she whispered. “I had a wonderful time.”
CHAPTER 3
Lee was still pulling his shirt on as he opened his door a crack to face Harper on the other side. She looked crisp despite the late hour, with nary a hair out of place in her long, golden braid. A short black skirt poked out from underneath the bottom of her white winter coat, hanging loose over grey leggings.
“What’s so important that it has you waking me up in the middle of the night?” asked Lee.
Harper leaned forward against the door, urging it open another inch or two. “I sense you weren’t sleeping before I arrived.”
The side of her mouth quirked up, and her eyes darted to the edge of Lee’s bed, where Eliza’s feet would have been visible to her. Harper wasn’t the jealous type, but there was still a hint of challenge in her voice. He didn’t take the bait.
“Something happened outside the college, I take it?” he asked.
She nodded. “Just outside of Gillum. You’ll want to wear a coat. I’ll explain on the way.”
He nodded and muscled the door closed. Eliza had sat up in bed and pulled the sheets up to her shoulder. She smiled at him and shrugged.
“I really don’t mind,” she whispered. “It sounds like it might be serious, anyway.”
“I’d ask you to wait for me, but I don’t know when I’ll be back, or if Toma will show up at some point.”
“That’s okay. I’ll head back to my own dorm once you leave.”
Lee gave her a quick kiss, grabbed his boots, spellchain, and kris dagger, and headed after Harper. He glanced around for any sign of Tess in the common room, but she was nowhere to be seen.
“What’s so important that it has you knocking on my door at this time of night?” he asked.
“Lead Instructor Laughton said someone in Gillum reported seeing a frost troll, or at least something matching the description of one, outside of town.”
Lee frowned as they left the college through the front gate. “I was in Gillum tonight. I think I saw it, too.”
“Then we’d better hurry.”
“Are you expecting this to come to a fight?”
Harper gave a small shrug. “I’m not sure. We should be ready for whatever the situation presents.”
It was colder outside, but not by much. Harper pushed forward at a swift pace, and Lee quickly broke into a sweat, running alongside her. Their feet echoed against the buildings on either side of Gillum’s main street.
They kept going, slowing as they entered the deeper snow outside the town. The top layer was only a few inches thick, but the crust underneath it was brittle enough for Lee’s weight to crack through every couple of steps, a problem Harper didn’t share.
“There,” she said, pointing ahead of them.
If it hadn’t been for the relatively clear sky overhead and the light of the stars and moon, he would have never seen what she was indicating.
The silhouette was familiar, nearly identical to the figure Lee had seen earlier in the night. He was sure now that it was a troll, easily identified from the hulking form and slumping posture.
“Do you think it’s a trap?” he asked.
“Trolls aren’t known for their subterfuge.”
“If it was one, this would be the perfect spot for it, though,” said Lee. “Look at the slope in the distance. There could be half a dozen frost trolls lying in wait, just out of view.”
Harper folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. It was the same expression he’d seen so many times before on his master’s face. She was challenging him, letting the question of how to approach the situation hang on the air instead of providing him with an easy answer.
“We should head in slowly,” he said. “Watch for anything unexpected. See what it wants. It’s not as though we can’t handle an ambush if it comes to it.”
“You read my mind. Wait here and keep an eye on it. I’ll scout around the perimeter, just in case.”
He wasn’t thrilled with the idea of the two of them splitting up, but Harper was moving before he could get a word in edgewise.
She could be silent when she wanted and as stealthy as a stray shadow in the night. She doubled back before heading north alongside their errant frost troll, Lee watching it suspiciously all the while.
As soon as Harper was out of sight, almost as though on cue, the monster made its move. It took a step forward and then another until it had built up momentum and was lumbering toward the town at a decent clip.
Lee slid his dagger from its sheath and moved to intercept it. He narrowed his eyes as he came near enough for the moonlight to illuminate the monster’s features. It was tall, easily ten feet from its massive feet to the tip of the horns protruding from its skull. It was covered with thick blue and grey fur growing in coarse, uneven patches.
Its eyes settled on Lee, and it hesitated, freezing in mid-step. He wasn’t sure whether that was a good or bad sign, but he’d already come far enough that there was no turning back.
“Hold up, big guy. I’m not sure the citizens of Gillum would appreciate you stomping through their town in the middle of the night.”
The frost troll blinked once at him. For a fleeting second, it almost seemed as though the monster understood him. Then it did what monsters do best, baring two rows of jagged black and yellow teeth and letting out a snarl that echoed through the night and brought a certain unpleasant scent to the air.
“You apparently aren’t one of the English-speaking frost trolls, I take it?” Lee took a step back. The frost troll took a step forward, its posture growing increasingly hostile. “That’s a shame.”
He brought his dagger up, point angled toward the monster, and the language of violence was universal. The frost troll swatted at his upper body with an open-palmed strike. Lee threw himself flat across the wet snow, feeling the air churn overhead as the monster’s arm moved through it.
He rolled forward, putting himself near enough to his opponent as he came to his knees to attempt a quick slash. His aim was true, but the troll’s fur was thick and the layers of fat behind it even thicker.
It had been a while since Lee had fought an opponent with a serious size advantage, and he’d let himself forget that just because a monster was large didn’t necessarily mean it was slow.
The frost troll kicked out as he tried to stand, sweeping his legs out from underneath him. He managed to cover his head—and more importantly, shift his dagger to the side—as he landed, but there was little else graceful about it.
The troll snarled. Lee sensed a slight change in the ambient light as it lifted its foot for a second strike, a stomp, to be precise. He’d been wanting to save his limited spellcraft in case more enemies joined the battle, but it wasn’t as though he could be conservative about it if he was dead.
He clasped his right wrist with his left hand and flung his arm forward, focusing his will as though curling his fingers into a fist. He pulled from Tess’s spirit essence at a distance as he cast his force spell, and not a moment too soon.
The frost troll still had one foot in the air, poised to crush down through snow and ice and, well, Lee. He aimed the force spell at the monster’s other leg, a wave of invisible kinetic energy slamming through it with a satisfying crunch.
The frost troll snorted in surprise. Lee was already casting again as it landed on its back. A conjuration binding spell this time, purple manacles around its ankles and wrist that pulsed with indigo arcane energy. He wasn’t sure whether they’d be enough to hold the monster for long but doubted they’d need to. He reached down and found his dagger in the snow.
Lee blinked, his gaze settling on the slope where he’d suspected an ambush might come from. Harper was making her way toward him with four more lumbering frost trolls, none of whom looked pleased to see their comrade down and bound.
CHAPTER 4
“What, exactly, happened here?” asked Harper.
“Just a small misunderstanding,” said Lee. “Right, big guy?”
He’d released his binding spell from the first frost troll, and it let out a small hiss that seemed rather deflated. Harper walked over to Lee, took his dagger from his hand, and returned it to the sheath he wore inside his jacket.
“I thought I told you to wait and watch,” she said.
“He looked like he was heading for the town. It wasn’t as though he didn’t instigate it, too.”
Harper folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Regardless, that was stupid. They’re simply here to deliver a message. Can you not go ten minutes without blundering into a fight?”
“Nine is usually my upper limit.” He shrugged. “Sorry.”
He glanced behind her, noticing his opponent was getting a similar talking to by the leader of the trolls in their own snarling, guttural language.
Harper turned away, facing the monsters and stepping forward. The one in charge was a foot or so shorter than the one Lee had fought, but he still towered over Harper as he came to stand across from her.
“Bialgon will make apology if want,” said the frost troll in clipped but passable English.
“It’s fine.” Harper smiled. “Mistakes were made on both sides. Let us get straight to the point. What is it your chieftain wishes from us?”
“Clan Chieftain Kukachuk brings no violence, no death,” said the troll. “He seeks meeting with the mages. He seeks to make simple offer, trade between tribes.”
“What would this offer be?”
“He will speak of it only in person,” said the troll. “Tomorrow. Toward the evening sun, where river meets forest. The matter is of the fate of the frostlands.”
Harper nodded slowly. She let the moment hang, perhaps considering the monster’s words, or perhaps just because she could.
“Tell your chieftain I’ll meet with him,” she said.
The troll nodded. It let out a few snarls and growls intended for its fellows, and then the group of them departed. Lee waited until they were completely out of sight before falling into step alongside Harper as they headed back toward the college.
“What do you think that was about?” he asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. It’s been years since the frost trolls sought out peaceful contact with Primhaven or humans in general.”
“Think it’s just an elaborate setup for a trap?”
Harper shook her head, frowning at him. “Too often, you make judgments based off surface appearances, Eldon. They aren’t evil just because they look like monsters. They aren’t that different from us.”
“Is that your take on them, or the Order of Chaldea’s?”
“Both. There will be more to this meeting than fostering goodwill. It’s possible the Melting Pack or the House of Shadows might attempt to reach out to the northern frost trolls if they really do follow through with this war they’ve been instigating.”
“How much of a risk do you honestly think that is?”
“Enough that it can’t be ignored,” said Harper. “Our relationship with them is volatile, especially after our own encounter with them a few months ago. The frost trolls would make for horrific enemies if they did side against us, so we must take the threat seriously.”
It was late in the night when they arrived back on campus. Lee slowed as they reached the point where the main path split off toward the dormitories, and Harper raised an eyebrow at him expectantly.
“Well, I suppose I should let you get back to the… situation in your room.”
Eliza. Lee winced as he thought about how abruptly he’d left.
“I guess I should.” He hesitated, noticing the stillness in Harper’s expression. “You’re not upset about that, are you?”
He wasn’t sure if that was the right way to approach that particular question, but it needed to be asked. Harper was aware of his relationship with Eliza, and Eliza knew about his sporadic intimate encounters with Harper. The two women’s feelings toward each other, however, were still a bit of a mystery.
“Upset is not the right word.” Harper shrugged. “Concerned, maybe. Be mindful about giving the wrong impression, Eldon.”
“To you, or to her?”
The side of Harper’s mouth quirked up. She took a step forward, drawing near enough to Lee for her presence to flood his senses. She kissed him, slowly and shallowly, then faster and more deeply. Lee put his arms around her as a sudden mixture of desire and temptation flooded through both his heads.
She pulled back suddenly, walking away without looking back, hips swaying, golden braid trailing in the cool night breeze.
Giving the wrong impression, indeed. Lee took the lesson to heart as he made his way back to his room, his posture doubled over to hide what Harper’s kiss had coaxed to life.
His dorm was empty. He could understand Toma still being out for the night, and Eliza must have gone back to her own bed, but he was a little surprised Tess was nowhere to be found. He tried not to let her absence be too disconcerting as he took a shower, changed into boxers and a t-shirt, and settled into his sheets.
A sharp tapping sound came from his window, startling him out of the early stages of sleep. Lee made his way over to it slowly, briefly weighing the idea of grabbing his dagger. He relaxed as he glanced outside.
“Lee,” whispered Tess. “Hey! Down here!”
He sighed, hiding his smile as he pulled the window open. “Down where?”
“Look at this!” Tess took a step back, pointing an ethereal finger at a tiny clump of ears and fur nestled in the medium-length grass. “I found it in the bushes.”
It was a kitten, and a malnourished one at that. Its fur was a calico mixture of orange, white, and brown, and it had a droopy eyelid, making its face look lopsided. It was young, barely old enough to have been weaned off its mother’s milk as far as Lee could tell.
“Where’s its mother?” he whispered.
“I… don’t think it has one,” said Tess. “I think it may have been one of the animals that had to be put down after Mattis… you know.”
He winced. The aftermath of Mattis’s betrayal, redemption, and execution had led to the instructors having to take precautions against many of her less-agreeable bonded animals. The vast majority had eventually calmed down, but some had only been socialized through the strength of Mattis’s will.
“Can I keep it?” asked Tess.
“What?” Lee frowned at her. “How would that even work?”
Tess was still on her knees by the kitten. She attempted to pet it with the tips of her fingers, but her ethereal hands passed right through its fur and skin. The kitten shivered and sank low on its haunches, apparently not all that fond of the sensation.
“You could keep it in your dorm. I’ll bring it food and water. If you leave your window open, I can sneak in everything it needs. You won’t have to put in any effort, I promise!”
“And when it has to go to the bathroom?”
“I’ll… find a way to help it get outside,” said Tess.
He sighed and pulled her into his mystic stream. The shift let her fingers make contact with the kitten, though the animal seemed rather unnerved by the experience of an invisible hand petting it. Tess’s brown eyes were wide with hope, impossible to say no to.
“Fine,” he said. “But only for a few weeks. Then it goes back to living on campus.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” shouted Tess.
He leaned out his window and scooped up the sickly-looking kitten. It hissed at him and blinked hard, which looked more like
a taunting wink, given the droopiness on one side.
“I’m going to name him Harold,” said Tess.
“Don’t you mean Helga?”
She furrowed her brow.
“It’s a calico cat,” he said. “Genetically speaking, almost all calico cats are female.”
“Really?” Tess made an appreciative noise. “Harold must be really special, then.”
“Maybe you should, uh, check its parts again. I’m pretty sure it’s a girl.”
“No need,” said Tess. “Just look at his face. So handsome and strong, like a lion…”
Lee watched Tess lavish the kitten with attention as he climbed into bed, which he had to admit, was surprisingly endearing. He drifted off, buoyed to sleep by the sound of the kitten’s soft purring.
CHAPTER 5
Meta-Magic class was in one of the lecture halls in the Seruna Center, and Lee was one of the last initiates to arrive. It was a fact which made it easy to notice Toma was still missing in action as he settled into a seat next to Eliza.
“I’m starting to get worried,” he said. “Toma never came back to the dorm last night.”
“I could see him skipping class or spending a night out, but not both,” said Eliza. “How was your night, by the way?”
Lee grinned at her. “The part of it I spent with you was excellent.”
“You know what I mean.” Eliza folded her arms over the front of her initiate robes. “After that.”
“After that, I went and chatted with a bunch of frost trolls with Harper. Seriously. They want a meeting with her, or someone from Primhaven, at least. Why? What did you think we were doing?”
Eliza’s shoulders relaxed a bit and she shook her head. “Never mind. I was just concerned. I guess it was concern for you and Toma, and everything in my life that doesn’t quite, um… well, just never mind.”
Lee let the point drop as he heard the back of the class go silent. The arrival of Primhaven’s Interim Lead Instructor and Meta-Magic teacher, Genevieve Laughton, was often like that, at least with the initiates.
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