“I can work with that,” whispered Lee. “I’ve got more than just my magic, anyway.”
He’d left his kris dagger in his dorm room, though even if he’d had it, he’d never have considered using it against Eliza. No, it was his new ability—his dispel—that he was eager to exploit. It had effectively dismissed Gabby’s control over her summoned lamias. Lee suspected that it would work against other spells in a similar manner.
Eliza dropped her handkerchief. There was no wind within the chamber and it fell without hesitation. Lee dropped into his conjuration casting stance as soon as it touched the floor, though he had no intention of casting just yet.
Eliza lifted her arms, adopting the elemental casting stance. She exhaled and threw her hand forward, sending a tumbling ball of clear water headed straight for him. Lee slammed his arms over his chest as it closed the last stretch toward him and he cast his spell shield.
Half a dozen spheres of glowing green light spun into orbit around him. The air at the impact site flashed a similar color as the water ball struck the border of his shield and dispersed into tiny, harmless droplets. It was the defense he should have attempted the last time he’d dueled Eliza, the one most real mages actively trained deep into their muscle memory.
“That’s one spell down,” whispered Tess.
Lee charged ahead, knowing that his win condition was based on getting into range to use his own limited attacks against Eliza. He had his force spell and that was about it, aside from physically overpowering her.
Eliza moved backward, trying to preserve the distance that Lee was trying to close. She clasped her right wrist with her left hand and fell into a crouch as she cast another spell.
Lee’s charge was abruptly yanked to a stop by a conjuration binding around his right ankle. He fell hard onto his chest, breaking his fall with his elbows and forearms, which was still rather painful. He could already see Eliza shifting back into her elemental casting stance, and a shiver ran down his back as he remembered how close he’d come to drowning from her water spells in their last duel.
He focused on his breathing, inhaling slowly as he used his new ability, dispel. The sensation was a bit like hearing his ears pop, but there was no visual component whatsoever. The conjuration chain around his ankle suddenly felt looser, almost stretchy. He pulled his leg toward him, managing to slip his foot free at the small cost of losing one of his shoes.
He stood up, taking advantage of Eliza’s surprise to get even closer to her. She was quick to recover, pulling her arms into position as she sent another water spell surging toward him. This one was a long, flowing stream that danced in spirals through the air before shooting upward and blasting down on him from above.
Lee crossed his forearms and used his spell shield again. It wasn’t as clean of a defense as it had been last time. Eliza’s spell battered at the limits of his shield, trying to force its way through like a hammer chipping away at sheet rock. The water stream dissipated in the same instant that it shattered Lee’s shield, and he felt its remnants as a falling deluge of icy cold but ultimately harmless droplets.
He stayed focused, adopting the conjuration casting stance and preparing to blast Eliza down with his force spell. She brought her hands up to either side of her face, her brow furrowing in concentration as she cast a rather advanced illusion spell.
Seven copies of Eliza appeared in various places around the chamber, including one that stood in her original position. They were perfect, each one clad in the same tight t-shirt and sweatpants, each one with the same bouncy auburn curls. She’d not only cast doppelganger illusions, but she’d put a minor invisibility veil over herself to make it so that a typical opponent wouldn’t even stand a chance at making a lucky guess about which one was the original.
Lee was not a typical opponent. Most illusions didn’t work on him, and he could still see the true Eliza underneath her veil as she tried to circle around to attack him from behind. However, he still acted as though she’d succeeded at confusing him, both to preserve his secret and to give himself an advantage.
His commitment to the part went on for an instant too long. As Lee spun and prepared to use his force spell to target the real Eliza, he stared head-on into a cresting wave of water magic. It struck him before he could gather his focus to get off a spell of his own, knocking him backward while simultaneously forcing its way up his nose and down his throat.
He hated hydromancy. The most effective way to defeat an opponent with any spell was to focus on whichever weaknesses it exploited. The need to breathe was a weakness. The innate impulse of terror triggered by the sensation of drowning was a weakness. Lee felt his body struggling with both as he tried, at first unsuccessfully, to stay calm and focused.
He couldn’t exhale, as he usually did to prime himself to use his mystic abilities. Instead, he pictured himself in another place. Lying with Tess on his bed, cuddling and watching videos on his phone. A place of peace and comfort.
He used dispel. Eliza’s control of the water assaulting Lee’s mouth and nose faltered, allowing his body to force it back out. It wasn’t a pleasant experience, especially since Lee knew Eliza was already preparing another spell as he coughed up a small pond’s worth of liquid and gasped for air.
But this time, he was quicker on the draw. Eliza continued to hide amongst her illusions, which gave her a false sense of security over the situation. She was still considering her next move when Lee formed his hands into the conjuration casting stance, spun to aim at the real Eliza, and cast his force spell.
She was the one who let out a squeal of surprise, but the feeling was mutual. His force spell looked markedly different from normal. It was usually an invisible wall of blunt magical kinetic energy, demarcated by its area of effect rather than primary visual indicators.
This time around, it was a wall of opaque blue slime. Eliza was still knocked back the spell’s usual force, but her entire body was also coated in sticky ooze. She let out a cringing groan as she fell onto her back. Lee didn’t let the unexpected nature of his spell keep him from capitalizing on his advantage. He charged forward, diving to tackle Eliza as she tried to stand.
She struggled for a moment as he used his size advantage to pin her to the floor. He couldn’t help but grin once he had her subdued. She was his friend, and she was a girl, but it felt good to beat her.
“You still have to officially yield,” said Lee.
“This spell is disgusting,” said Eliza. “Also, your nose is bleeding.”
“You’re the one who forced water up my nostrils. Now yield, or I’ll cast my spell again.”
Eliza rolled her eyes, but she had a small, reluctant smile on her face. “I yield. But I swear, if you ever spray sticky goo all over my face again…”
“Phrasing,” said Lee.
Eliza turned pink. He stood up and helped her to her feet. She cast another water spell, this one to wash off the ooze from her skin and clothing. It left her t-shirt sticking tight against the curves of her ample breasts, the darker outline of her bra as clear as day underneath.
“I am impressed, though,” said Eliza. “I didn’t think you’d actually be able to beat me.”
“Can we go back to normal now?”
“Yeah.” Eliza crossed her arms and grinned at him. “If the goo ends up staining my clothing, you have to buy me a new outfit, just so you know.”
“Did you forget our agreement already?” Lee held up a finger. “I won. You have to do what I say.”
“I didn’t forget.” She gave a small shrug. “What do you want me to do, Lee?”
Her voice was serious, and oddly, not laced with the reluctance that Lee would have expected. He was about to let her off the hook and ask for a simple favor—maybe a mug of beer from the Frostfire Tavern—when Tess slid in close and whispered a better idea into his ear.
“The Equinox Ball,” he said. “You have to be my date.”
Eliza’s jaw fell open. She started moving her mouth, but no word
s came out at first. She shook her head, cleared her throat, and nodded. “Okay. I’ll… be your date.”
She looked like she was trying not to smile. The moment lingered until an odd tension began to dance through the air between them. Eliza turned away from him and continued brushing the last few bits of goo off her arms.
“I think she would have said yes even if you’d lost,” said Tess. “Just look at her.”
“Trust me, I am,” whispered Lee.
“You’re looking at her chest, not at her,” said Tess.
“It still counts.”
CHAPTER 23
Eliza needed to tend to some work for one of her instructors, so Lee headed off on his own once he’d left the dueling chamber. His boredom got the better of him, and he opted to head into town after grabbing his jacket from his dorm room.
The sensation of leaving Primhaven’s climate-controlled campus was just as jarring as ever. Lee pulled the hood of his jacket up as he started down the road, with Tess walking alongside him.
“I don’t need to be in your mystic stream anymore to travel this far outside the university,” she said.
“That’s convenient, especially considering I’ve already had one nosebleed today.”
“You’ll have to find another way to prove your undying love for me.”
Lee rolled his eyes. He dropped to one knee, pretending to tie his shoe as he formed a quick snowball. He extended his mystic stream as he stood up. Tess made a surprised noise, followed by a furious squeal as he lobbed the snowball at her, clipping her on the shoulder.
“Lee Amaranth, you are such a pain!”
It was still early in the afternoon, but the Frostfire Tavern was already near capacity. Lee managed to find a seat at the bar, which he shared with Tess, who sat across one of his legs. He bought himself a beer which he also shared with her, and the two of them settled in to relax.
“Your leg just vibrated,” said Tess after a few minutes. “Or some part of your lower half, at least.”
She winked at him, and Lee chuckled.
“It’s my phone. Probably Toma or Harper.”
He pulled it out and found that it was, in fact, Nurse Susie. The text read “Cum see me soon,” and the photo included made Lee’s jaw drop. She was lying in one of the infirmary beds, her naked body half covered by a sheet. The uncovered half included her breasts, which had perfect pink nipples the same color as the hair of the illusory self she wore over her true form.
“Ooh,” whispered Tess. “I still feel something down there, and this time, I don’t think it’s your phone.”
“This is the third one she’s sent me. I’m not sure what to do about this.”
“I know exactly what you should do!” Tess grinned at him. “Of course, I have too much sophistication to ever go into specific detail, but it’s an action that would lead to us scoring more essence.”
“Scoring more than just that.” Lee sighed. “Except with Toma watching Susie like a hawk, it’s impossible.”
“If you keep ignoring her, the situation will just come to a head on the other side. She’s a succubus, Lee. They aren’t good at taking no for an answer, even when it’s in their best interest.”
“I know,” he said. “I need to find a way to get Toma’s mind off his paranoid theory. A distraction that would appeal to his interests.”
He took a sip of his beer. Tess scrunched her face up in thought for a couple of seconds before suddenly shooting upright and bringing her hand to her mouth.
“I have an idea!” she said. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”
She slipped off without explaining, leaving Lee alone at the bar. He noticed one of the women sitting next to him giving him an odd look and made a mental note to try to whisper more quietly the next time he spoke with Tess in public, or maybe pretend as though he was on his phone.
Tess came back ten minutes later and immediately began leading Lee by the sleeve. She pointed to a table with a single girl sitting at it. She was one of Primhaven’s students, another initiate with thick glasses, a mousey but cute face, and severely smudged makeup.
“Her boyfriend just broke up with her,” said Tess. “Cheated on her, said he’d stop, and then left her for a harlot.”
“So?”
“So…” Tess sighed and began gesturing with her hands and speaking slowly. “There is a ball tomorrow. She now has no date and obviously can’t show up alone.”
“You’re saying I should… what? Tell her to ask Toma?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” said Tess. “Why are boys always so slow about these things? Tell her that Toma has an unrequited crush on Nurse Susie and is also nursing a broken heart.”
“How do I even know that she still wants to go to the ball? You’d think that she’d just be done on love for a while after being cheated on and dumped.”
“It’s not about love. It’s about the ball,” said Tess. “She was doodling sketches of a dress, probably her dress, in the margins of the notebook she has out on the table. She desperately wants to go, still.”
Lee shrugged. It was a clever idea and easy enough for him to run with. He made his way over to the mousey girl’s table and sat down across from her.
Her name was Jenna. Tess’s insider info was accurate. When Lee brought up his dateless friend, Toma, she jumped on the idea almost before he’d finished explaining it.
“He’ll be outside the infirmary, for sure,” said Lee. “You might have to be a bit wily about your approach. Don’t mention me, obviously, and don’t tell him that he’s crazy.”
“Does he know that Nurse Susie is chaperoning the ball?” asked Jenna.
“Tell him that, for sure,” said Lee. “He’ll be desperate for a date to blend in, if you do.”
Jenna grinned. “I will! Thank you, Lee!”
He would have felt worse about manipulating her if not for the fact that she seemed genuinely excited at the prospect of finding a last-minute date. He got the feeling that Toma’s focus on Susie would be redirected rather than completely nullified, which meant that he didn’t have to feel too guilty about sending a girl with a somewhat ulterior motive barking up his friend’s tree. Lee and Tess stayed at the tavern for a while longer before heading back to Primhaven together, arm in arm.
“That was a good idea,” he said. “Thanks.”
“Now I just need to find a date,” said Tess.
“You’re my date.”
“I’m going to tell Eliza that,” teased Tess. “I’ll write it on the mirror while she’s in the shower.”
“Shout it from the rooftops for all I care. You’re my date. Which means you can’t get mad when I throw snowballs at you.”
“How does that make any… Lee Amaranth, don’t you dare!”
CHAPTER 24
It was early evening when Lee and Tess arrived back on campus. He still had one duty to address, and he headed straight for the hidden jail to make sure that it was attended to.
Gabby was sitting on her bed, deeply engrossed within the fantasy novel Lee had brought her the previous day. He tapped his knuckles on the wall in an imitation of knocking on a door to announce his presence. She smiled when she saw him, which was a good sign.
“No sweets today?” she asked.
“I wanted to see what you were in the mood for, first,” said Lee. “I can also bring less sugary food, if you prefer.”
Gabby tapped a finger on her lips, reminding Lee of the way Tess would often exaggerate her thinking posture. “I want cake. The biggest slice of cake you can bring me.”
“Good choice.”
He headed to the cafeteria and arrived back a few minutes later with a slice of cake large enough to feed three people. He frowned as he noticed the food slot, which wasn’t high enough for him to fit his offering through.
“You could always open the cell door and hand it to me,” said Gabby, in a teasing voice.
Lee shrugged. “I’m almost tempted to. But I wouldn’t have anythi
ng to trust that you’d stay tame, other than your word.”
“What was it you said to me before?” asked Gabby. “Isn’t that what trust is?”
She batted her eyelashes at him. Lee sighed, really not wanting to have to smush the slice of cake into thinner pieces using just the fork that he’d brought with it. He set the plate down on a chair and found the cell’s key near the jail’s entrance.
Gabby waited in the corner as he opened the door. Lee turned to the side to pick the plate back up.
“Look out!” cried Tess.
Gabby’s spell struck him through the shoulder with jarring blunt force. He was knocked back against the bars of the opposing cell, the back of his head striking metal hard enough to stun him. The cake went flying and the plate let out a screech as it struck the tile floor and shattered.
The prisoner ran for it, trying to take advantage of Lee’s distracted state. He was still in pain and felt worryingly woozy, but he hurled himself forward, tackling her through the midriff. Gabby slammed her hands into a foreign casting stance and triggered a spell shield that gave off a red glow and prickled as it made contact with Lee’s skin.
It pushed him back and held him a few feet at bay. She rolled to the side and cast again. Lee slammed his hands over his chest, forming his own spell shield. The attack Gabby used took the form of a spiked ball hanging from a chain, like the end of a medieval flail powered by conjuration. It smashed through Lee’s spell shield and struck a glancing blow across his temple, sending blackness and stars flooding through his vision.
Conjuration bindings clipped over Lee’s wrists and ankles, locking him to the cell doors on either side of the hallway. Lee gritted his teeth and focused through the pain, slowly inhaling as he used dispel. Air seemed to rush outward from his face as the bindings loosened, giving him a chance to pull free and charge at Gabby again.
She let out a gasp of surprise, adopting a casting stance again. It wasn’t necessary, as blood began pouring out of Lee’s nose. He felt one of his legs give out as he wiped it away. Perhaps the combination of losing blood on top of the blow to his head was too much for his body in such quick succession.
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