by Alex Linwood
The rhythm of the music changed slightly, and Portia lost the beat. She stopped for a moment to listen, but when she did, she felt unpleasant pressure on her limbs. Looking down, she saw her hands swelling. Her legs were swelling as well. It was uncomfortable. While she stood looking, her limbs puffed out even further until the pain was nearly unbearable. She looked more closely at her hand—blood oozed out from underneath her cuticle and dripped onto the ground. Her heart began to race.
There was a matching pressure in her face. Her skin was stretched tight. Looking around in panic, she saw the elf behind her dance with exaggerated motions. When Portia didn’t react, the elf grabbed Portia’s hands and moved them in the rhythm of the dance. Portia felt an instant easing of the pressure in her hands. Her heart leapt. She danced with her whole body, legs, arms, head and torso. The pressure eased instantly. She nodded to the elf behind her while still dancing and turned to follow the group dancing away.
She had taken so long that there was a considerable gap between her and the elf ahead of her. She ran and danced and ran some more to catch up. Each time she stopped dancing and ran, or lost the beat in her dance moves, the pressure returned. She could feel wetness within her clothes. Looking down, she saw blood oozing through her tunic. It made her a little ill. Looking back up resolutely, she focused on the dancers ahead of her and on the music. She had to keep to the rhythm for as long as this test lasted. Hopefully it would not be for much longer.
Ahead, she spied another portal. Each dancing elf made its way to the portal and then danced through. Portia breathed a sigh of relief. There were not more than ten dancers between her and the portal. She only had to maintain her dancing until they were through and she could reach the portal herself.
The music itself seemed to change as each dancer passed through the portal. Portia recognized some rhythms from her own music classes: the lilting rhythms of the coastal cities, the solid marching tones of the lands of the inner kingdom, and finally the long lyrical phrases of The Capital, which was the music named after Coverack itself. She was grateful for her music classes. As much as she had struggled with them, she didn’t think she would pass this test without what she had learned from them.
Finally, it was her turn, and she passed through the portal. To her surprise, none of the elves that had passed through ahead of her were present. It was only the elves attending the test and Lady Harper herself. One of the elves brought forth several plush towels for Portia and began patting down her arms and neck and face. When the elf drew back the towel from Portia’s face, it was covered in a mixture of blood and sweat. Portia realized with horror that her skin was bleeding everywhere. Nausea pushed at the back of her throat. What a barbaric test. She wanted nothing more than to be back in her own room with a hot bath and clean clothes.
But the elves seemed in no hurry to let her go. They continued to dry her off. One brought a basin of hot water and they washed her skin as gently as they could. Portia was glad her leathers were dark—they hid some stains.
“Congratulations,” Lady Harper said, leaning into Portia. “You have passed the tests.”
Portia nodded at this as an elf patted at her neck.
Lady Harper did not wait for any further acknowledgment from Portia, instead motioning a guard over from the far door. The guard arrived and looked uneasily at the pile of bloody towels on the floor next to Portia.
“Please alert the royal family their champion has passed,” Lady Harper said. When the guard did not look at her, she cleared her throat loudly until the guard reluctantly pulled his eyes away from the stained towels and met her look. “Now, please.” Lady Harper’s smile belied the steel in her tone. The guard leapt to obey her and ran off.
Queen Lorica and King Consort Aldis returned with the guard and several advisors. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes—they must have been close by. The queen started at the sight of the towels but quickly regained her composure and said nothing of them.
Portia leapt to her feet as the royal couple approached. She gave a small bow, not feeling up to a curtsy and feeling a little silly trying to do one in her mannish clothes.
“Congratulations are in order, I hear,” Queen Lorica said, looking at Portia.
Portia nodded in acknowledgment. The queen turned to Lady Harper and tilted her head slightly. “When can you begin teaching Portia?”
“Immediately. We should reach Rocabarra within a week,” Lady Harper said and gave a small bow.
“Rocabarra?” Queen Lorica said, surprise in her voice. She frowned.
“I apologize, Your Majesty, but it is only possible for us to teach her the magic in our kingdom.”
Portia looked back and forth between Lady Harper and the queen. Several advisors had stepped to the queen’s side, clearly wishing to advise her against letting Portia go. Portia knew as the Jack she was valuable to the kingdom. It would be easy to argue the folly of letting her leave it. But Portia really wanted to learn the elf magic. And it sounded important for the future of the kingdom. For the safety of the kingdom.
“Only possible? Or only your desire?” Queen Lorica asked, this time an edge to her voice.
The ballroom was silent at this. No one dared move.
The king consort softly cleared his throat. The queen looked to him and he leaned in, whispering something in her ear. She nodded and turned to face Lady Harper again.
“Since it is clear we are indeed on the same side, perhaps you can share your reasoning for why this magic must be taught in Rocabarra, forcing us to relinquish our champion,” Queen Lorica asked, her tone polite but fooling no one as to her true strength. Her mouth was set in a grim line.
Lady Harper’s face gave a small twitch before she smoothed her expression. She bowed once again. “Our teacher of the magic of the splinter is in Rocabarra. He is the one that must teach Portia. We do not know the magic ourselves—at least not well enough to teach it. I apologize again, but there is no other way.”
The queen quietly considered this statement. “He could not come here?”
Lady Harper tightened her mouth. “No.”
Queen Lorica stared at the elf.
Portia couldn’t stand the thick tension. She had to say something. “I will come back, Your Majesty. Please, if I need this magic for our kingdom, please let me go and learn it. I will return.”
The queen looked to Portia. “It is not your intentions I am questioning.” Queen Lorica straightened up, making a decision. “But it is true that we need this magic.” The queen smoothed her gown then looked around the room before finally turning to Lady Harper once again. “We will release her to your care for three months. Our guards will accompany you.”
Lady Harper nodded. “As you wish, Your Majesty. We will guard her well.”
“See that you do,” Queen Lorica responded and then turned and walked away briskly. She was followed by her husband and the rest of her entourage.
Portia exhaled, not realizing she had been holding her breath. She was going to another kingdom. To learn magic no human knew. The implications made her head spin. She barely recognized her life from a year ago.
Lady Harper turned to Portia. “Be ready to leave tomorrow afternoon after the festival ends. We will come and collect you at the Academy entrance.” With that, Lady Harper and the rest of the elves exited the ballroom, leaving Portia alone with only a few guards at the far door remaining in the room. Portia shook herself a bit then walked unsteadily to the exit herself.
When she got back to her room in the Pyromancy House she gratefully stripped off her filthy clothes and dropped them in the sink to soak. As happy as she was to be there, the quiet of the room unnerved her. Ella and the rest must be at the festival. It was still light outside, and dinner was a few hours away. Portia bathed quickly. There was time to go to the festival to find her friends. If she was going to be gone for several months, this would be her last chance for a while to see them. And the odd events of the afternoon still unnerved her a bit. S
he wanted to be around people. She wanted things to feel more normal.
The festival was still going, even more raucous than ever. The crowd jostled Portia as she made her way to the magic demonstrations area, thinking it was the most likely place to find her friends. It was the last night, and the city’s citizens would stay up late drinking and celebrating and seeing all the unusual things the festival brought to them. Portia struggled through the crowd to see a sign of Ella or Mia or Liam or Richard. She was especially looking for the twins. Considering how tall they were, they should’ve been easy to spot.
A hand grabbed at her arm and she whirled, expecting to see one of her classmates. Instead, she jumped back when she saw Mark holding onto her arm.
Chapter 5
Mark gave Portia a tentative smile as the crowd jostled behind him. She got over her surprise and pulled him close for a big hug.
“Mark, what are you doing here?” she asked as she held him close.
He hugged her back—squeezing tightly then letting go. “I had to talk to you. It’s important. If you couldn’t make it to see me, then I would make the trip myself.” He motioned towards the food stands. “Come, let’s get something to eat, and then I can tell you the reason for my visit. As if I need one.” The last part was said in a joking grumble.
Portia shook her head. Despite the awful events of their last meeting, she knew he’d been under Deyelna’s powers. He never would have hurt her if he had any control over the situation. Deyelna’s glam magic had hurt a lot of people. But the former gang leader was gone now and couldn’t cause any more trouble between Mark and Portia.
Mark pulled Portia over to a stand that sold fish cakes on a stick. It had been one of Portia’s favorite treats back in Valencia, but she rarely had it since it was difficult to make it to the harbor market. That market was not part of the Black Cats’ territory, so they only made it there when they were sneaking around and hiding from other orphan gangs.
He bought four sticks of fish cakes, gave Portia half, and motioned over to a nearby bench where they sat and ate. Portia was glad to see Mark. It had been an awful day in some respects, and this was the treat she needed. Mark was like family, his presence a comfort. Just sitting next to him and eating brought back memories of the few times she felt safe in the Black Cats. He was the one she trusted when she felt like she couldn’t trust anyone else, especially after John had died.
When they finished eating, Mark put down his sticks on the bench with a sigh. He leaned forward and rubbed his hands, looking around at the crowd. “I did make it back to Valencia—as you know from my note. But there wasn’t much to come back to. After Deyelna died, the house was in chaos. She had glammed everyone so completely that when her powers dissipated no one knew what to do.” Mark looked at Portia. “The house is gone. It is now a Serpents house. They had taken over all the old Black Cat territory.”
Portia looked at Mark in shock. “What about all the members? Are they…?”
Mark shook his head. “No, not dead. At least I don’t think so. But they’re scattered. I heard rumors that Peter made it back to Valencia and someone saw him at the racetrack. But that was only overheard conversation from two Brown Hares. They stopped talking when they saw me and quickly left.”
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, but they made it clear I wasn’t welcome. Perhaps some old Cat members are now part of the Hares and said some nasty things about me. In any case, I wasn’t going to push it. There were three of them and just one of me.” He sighed, sat back on the bench, and looked around.
“What are you going to do? Are you coming back here to try out for the Magic Academy like I asked you to?” Portia asked, feeling a small bit of hope. She wanted Mark here. It was safer here. As her chosen de facto adopted younger brother, she did not like the thought of him being alone in Valencia. Especially if the Black Cats were gone. Before Deyelna had become the leader, that gang had been their safety in the city. With Deyelna gone, Portia had hoped it would become Mark’s safety once again. It looked like that was not to be.
Mark’s face turned red. “No matter what you say, I don’t think I’d be welcome here—not after what happened. I can’t see any reason the Academy guards would ever have for letting me on the grounds again.”
“But—”
Mark didn’t let her continue. “I’ve already found another job. There’s some wonky religious order that sprung up in Valencia. I think they’re a little crazy, but they pay well. They’ve offered me a job as a page.”
“A page? What is that?” She had not heard of such a job.
“Honestly, I have no idea. But they pay in silver every week. More money than I’ve ever seen in my life. It has something to do with nobles. I guess I’ll find out more next week. They were not ready for me to start right away so I came to see you.” Mark looked down at his hands.
Portia wondered if he was hiding something from her. He could have written her a letter instead of making the long journey to see her. “Be careful of any job around nobles. They live by different rules than you and I do.”
Mark glanced at Portia sideways. “Are you so sure? These days you are a lot closer to a noble than I am.”
This stung. Was Mark accusing her of betraying him? They had always been a team. To hear him talk of her being different from him was more painful than she had ever expected. And she had never expected to hear such words from him. It was unbearable. “I am not. They’ll never let me forget that I’m an orphan. We will always be the same.” She looked at him intently, willing him to believe her.
Mark snorted and shook his head but did not argue. He stood, looking around at all the richly dressed people at the festival. Portia knew that even in the harbor market of Valencia, the well-to-do didn’t dress as fine as the average person in Coverack. The royal city of Coverack was wealthy. For some reason, this embarrassed her. He turned and looked at the fine clothes she was wearing. She had on the kirtle and breeches she had bought for her audition for the Academy. She had never worn anything like that while she had lived in Valencia. Her face turned red as he examined her clothing.
Clearing his throat, he finally looked away. “So, what are you studying these days?”
Portia wasn’t sure how much she could reveal. She wanted to tell him about her trials with elves, as well as her burden as Jack, but she also did not want to put him in jeopardy. Professor Aelric and Professor Hilda had made it clear that being Jack was serious business, and she was not to tell anyone of her powers. Her need to confide in Mark battled against her desire to protect him.
Protecting him won out. “Just magic stuff—how to be stronger, you know. Your powers are a lot stronger than last time I saw you. Perhaps I should study with you,” she said, trying to make a joke.
This got a laugh from Mark. “No, I don’t think so. That was desperation.”
“So that’s the key, hmmm.”
This time her joke fell flat. Mark said nothing and continued staring off into the distance.
“I did meet some elves,” she said. She thought she could share this much. It caught his attention. He turned to her, his eyes open wide. “There are some here at the festival. We should go see if they’re doing more magic demonstrations.”
“That would be worth seeing. I thought they were a fairytale,” he said, a grin on his face. “It’s not like one ever made an appearance in Valencia.”
“If you were an elf, would you go to Valencia?” Portia asked, laughing.
“Oh, heck no. I’m not even sure why I’m bothering to go back. Oh yeah, silver,” Mark said ruefully.
“They have silver here.” Portia reached out to grab Mark’s hand. He let her hold it for a second then pulled away, clearing his throat awkwardly.
“Let’s go see those elves then,” he said, walking into the crowd.
Portia sighed. Someday perhaps he would consider coming to Coverack to live. She followed him into the crowd.
There were no elves in th
e magic demonstration, much to their disappointment. Portia tried not to feel that she had personally let Mark down.
The day was coming to an end and the fair winding down. They joined the crowds leaving the fairgrounds. He walked her through the city all the way to the Academy entrance. “I should get going. If I don’t leave Coverack tomorrow, then I won’t be back in time for the start of my new job,” he said.
Portia hated to say goodbye without telling Mark she was leaving Coverack too, but she felt like she couldn’t say anything. It was for both of them, and for the kingdom. “Okay. You have a place for tonight?”
“Yeah, don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
For all of Mark’s bluster, he was still her younger brother. But they had both changed a lot in the last year. She no longer felt like she could be so pushy in telling him what to do. She had to trust that he truly could take care of himself.
When Portia got to her room Ella was resting on her bed. She rose and gave Portia a pouty wide-eyed look. “Where were you? I thought you would come find us at the festival.”
“I tried. Where were you?” Portia asked, genuinely curious. She had been looking for her friends the entire time she was walking with Mark and had seen none of them.
“Oh, yeah. I guess you didn’t know about the eating contest,” Ella said. “I should have warned you about that, or left a note. It was sort of last minute.”
An eating contest did not surprise Portia. She thought the cafeteria was the favorite part of the school for most of the students. “Let me guess—Richard and Liam.”
“And me.” Ella looked both proud and embarrassed. Her appetite was well-known throughout the house.
“Of course. And who won?”
Ella didn’t answer, instead pulling out a small wooden trophy and holding it up shyly for Portia to see. Portia chuckled. She was going to have to give Richard and Liam a hard time for letting a woman half their size out eat them.
