‘No,’ Felicia replied. ‘She’s no more accomplished with light either. Both of us studied the mind corpus before we came here.’
‘Odd.’ Krystal turned her attention back to Jesse as the green worked her way carefully through the casting of the spell to break Krystal’s spell.
After several minutes, the light died and Jesse let out a gasp. ‘Give me a nice plant-growth spell or something any day. I can even transmute lead into gold with less effort.’
Krystal recreated her light. ‘I don’t find it that hard, but I can’t just handwave it the way Charity’s doing over there.’
‘She’s annoyed at how slow the others are being,’ Felicia said. ‘You’re right, it is odd.’ The light went out and Felicia’s eyebrows rose. ‘You’re not that much slower than she was, and you’ve made three lights as well as dispelling one.’
‘As you both pointed out, it’s easier when you’re working with practical magic you’ve specifically studied, and I studied both the light and magic corpuses.’ She grinned. ‘Well, technically I just used light magic a lot. When you like reading after dark, it’s a lot easier on the orphanage budget if you can make light out of nothing. I’m just lucky we’re working with both my specialities.’
‘And so are we,’ Jesse agreed. ‘We would be really hurting if we had to cast both spells.’
‘So, the question is: do we go ask for additional work, since this was supposed to take way longer?’
‘No,’ Felicia said. ‘I think the question I’m more interested in is how Charity got that good, that fast. I would dearly love to know the answer to that one.’
23rd Day of Autumn.
A week and a half later there was still no answer to the question of Charity’s sudden competence, but Krystal had other things on her mind. Primarily, the thing she was focusing on right at that moment was the envelope Cragscales was handing her and its contents.
‘Eighteen lunars,’ Cragscales said as he handed it over, ‘six dollars, six bits, and a cent. Technically it’s a little early, but you’re not working on the last of the month.’
‘Thank you,’ Krystal said, beaming.
‘You’ve worked for it. I’ve had no complaints.’
‘Thank you anyway. It never hurts to be polite.’
The old dragon smiled. ‘I could wish more people lived by that. I’d suggest that one of your first purchases should be a money pouch, and be careful on your way back to the school. There are those about who might mug you for a tenth of that.’
‘Trudy’s meeting me to walk back and she knows what to watch for.’
‘She’s a good girl. Is she keeping to her studies?’
‘Yes. We’ve got six weeks before the end-of-term exams. I’m quite sure she’ll pass them without trouble, so long as she keeps her head.’
Cragscales gave a nod. ‘Good. She’s a level-headed girl. I don’t think she’ll have much to worry over.’
‘I hope so. I’m counting on her to keep me from losing it. I, uh, tend to get a little tense when I have to take tests.’
‘Tense, huh?’
Krystal gave a grimace of a smile. ‘I usually end up climbing the walls.’
‘Then it’s lucky you’ve Trudy there to make sure you relax.’
‘Yeah,’ Krystal said, wondering whether everyone knew they were sleeping together. Of course, maybe the old grey had not meant that at all. Except he was wearing a bit of a smirk…
12th Day of Wintergate.
There continued to be no sign of what had caused Charity’s sudden rise in capability, but she had got no better over the last month and the question of how she had done it had been pushed to the back of everyone’s mind. That was until she arrived late to the morning lecture after the weekend.
Theodore Marin glared at her as she tried her best to sneak into the lecture theatre five minutes after he had started, but he made no other comment. It was the first time she had been late, but Krystal had expected him to say something.
‘She looks like she hasn’t slept all weekend,’ Felicia commented under her breath. It was true: Charity looked tired, flustered. ‘Thinking about it, I haven’t seen her all weekend.’
‘New boyfriend?’ Jesse suggested.
‘He would have to be something special for Charity to let him do that to her. She’s barely awake.’
‘Hush,’ Krystal said softly, ‘or Theodore Marin is going to glare at us.’
But Marin seemed to be in a good mood since he continued his lecture, going deeper into the mechanics of contagion, without making any comment. The dark and handsome lecturer actually seemed to be in fine spirits that morning, but then everyone was looking forward to the evening…
~~~
‘How old is she anyway?’ Trudy asked as the misfits worked their way through the birthday dinner which had been laid on in the refectory.
‘One doesn’t enquire of a lady’s age, darling,’ Felicia said.
‘But today is Celestina Nightsky’s five hundred and eightieth birthday,’ Krystal said, ‘and from what I’ve seen, she’s looking good for her age.’
‘You’ve seen her close enough to know?’
‘Krystal talked to her,’ Trudy replied. ‘She was at the founding event at the start of the year, back when you were a rich bitch.’ She flashed Felicia a grin, but Felicia still grimaced.
‘Back when I was rude to Jesse.’
‘That’d be the night.’
‘And I am still paying for that. Last night she got some rope and–’
‘I met her at the buffet table,’ Krystal broke in before Felicia could say more. Interestingly, Jesse was not looking embarrassed, but she was looking down at her food with a smirk on her face. ‘Celestina Nightsky, that is. I didn’t know it was actually her until later, but she spoke to me, as Trudy said. And she didn’t look a day over four hundred.’ Which was not entirely true, but it was the lady’s birthday.
‘Better than Charity then. She looked like she had at least eight centuries under her belt this morning.’
‘Maybe not quite, but she did look tired.’
‘And she’s not here now,’ Xanthe added. ‘Her squad of lap dragons is over by the main door looking like they don’t know what to do with themselves.’
‘She looked tired,’ Jesse said. ‘Maybe she’s trying to catch up on some sleep.’
‘Maybe,’ Krystal said. ‘She looked exhausted rather than tired. If you’re right about a new boyfriend, the guy has to have a lot of stamina.’
‘Unless there was more than one of them,’ Charlotte suggested cheerfully. Her brow furrowed and she glanced at Felicia. ‘Uh, sorry, Flis, maybe that was–’
Felicia waved the apology away. ‘Mama is in Appleyard intent upon taking the cloth for her transgressions and, if I’m honest, despite the change in circumstances her actions have resulted in for me, I can’t entirely blame her. Papa has not exactly been the most considerate husband, and if Mama finally snapped and decided to get some of her own… I just find it difficult to believe she would, despite the evidence.’ She shrugged. ‘Anyway, I wasn’t the one photographed in various indecorous positions with multiple masked men, so I’m not worried over the comment.’
‘Still not a great topic for a birthday party,’ Charlotte said. ‘I wonder if they made Celestina Nightsky a cake. I wonder if we’re going to get any of it.’
‘Good old Charley,’ Trudy said. ‘Always ready with a food comment.’
‘True, I am, but food is always a good topic. At least it is when you spend as much time in the air as I do.’
Everyone laughed. Xanthe spoke up, however. ‘Charley, no one spends as much time in the air as you do.’
‘Oh, there has to be someone who does. Somewhere…’
~~~
The meal was done with, but somehow it was an evening for sitting around the refectory, chatting, and drinking the glasses of wine which had been put out. Well, it was the founder’s birthday, and the dean was there with her students, and the
re was no Charity around.
‘You know,’ Charlotte said, ‘I could get used to this. Maybe we could arrange it so that Charity is asleep every evening.’
‘Something alchemical would probably be easiest,’ Krystal mused, ‘but then you’d have to sneak it into her drinks or something. Anyway, it’s really unethical.’
‘That would depend upon your ethical framework,’ Felicia countered. ‘On a “most good for the most people” basis, I believe you could make a valid case for doping her with a sleep potion.’
‘Okay. Maybe. But I would point out that we don’t get wine with dinner every night, so it might not have as profound an effect as you think.’
‘My learned colleague makes a good point,’ Trudy said. ‘The booze does help.’
‘Booze always does.’ The voice came from behind Krystal, and she turned before her brain had registered the fact that she knew who was speaking.
Krystal’s eyes widened. ‘Celestina Nightsky! Oh, uh, happy birthday.’ The great and grand founder of the school was wearing a leather jacket over a T-shirt and dark jeans, which seemed both wrong and right for her.
Celestina grinned. ‘At my age, I usually prefer to forget them. But I felt like seeing how you’re all doing this year and’ – she lowered her voice to a conspiratorial level – ‘I don’t think Scintilla has noticed I’m here yet.’
‘She will, you know. I think she has some sort of special sense.’
‘I’m sure it’s a charm.’ Celestina’s face shifted, the grin fading. ‘You young dragons were the ones who had to deal with… the necromancy incident.’
‘I wasn’t there, Celestina Nightsky,’ Felicia said. ‘I, uh, became a misfit after.’
Celestina’s gaze shifted to Felicia. ‘You’ve had your own shock to deal with, Felicia Goldring. You’re all coping after what’s happened to you?’
‘We’ve got friends to help,’ Charlotte said.
‘F-friends help a l-lot,’ Jesse agreed.
‘Yes, they can,’ Celestina said. ‘I’m glad to hear that events have not kept you from achieving your potential. Now, according to my astrology reading this morning, I must keep moving or Scintilla will corner me. Enjoy the rest of your evening, ladies.’ And she moved quickly off toward another group.
‘Celestina Nightsky stopped to talk to us!’ Felicia squeaked.
‘You’ll get over it,’ Charlotte predicted. ‘Maybe Jesse will too.’
‘I am not that bad,’ Jesse said, blushing.
‘You know,’ Felicia went on, ‘I think she seemed to be paying particular attention to you, Krys.’
Krystal waved the comment aside. ‘Oh, she talked to me at the founding thing. I was just a convenient dragon to make the introduction.’
‘Except that she seemed to know who we all were,’ Xanthe said.
‘Well, yes. There’s “the zombie incident” and Flis’s mother. She’d know about both.’
‘Unfortunately,’ Felicia grumbled.
‘So, all I’m saying is there’s nothing odd about her knowing who we are.’
‘Oh, I don’t mind, especially since she didn’t turn her nose up at the sight of me.’
Krystal grinned. ‘I don’t think Celestina Nightsky is the kind of dragon who cares much about social ranking, and certainly not about a reputation handed down from your parents. We’re students in her school and she’s concerned about us. That’s all.’
19th Day of Wintergate.
Charity was on time for the lecture, but she looked, if anything, even more tired than she had the week before.
‘What is she getting up to?’ Felicia asked, frowning.
‘No idea,’ Krystal replied, ‘but if she doesn’t get her act together, she’s going to be in trouble. We’ve got three weeks until the exams.’
‘Oh, don’t remind me, darling. I’m normally the kind to take tests in my stride, but this year… Let’s just say I’m not feeling as sure of myself.’
‘You’ll be fine,’ Jesse said. ‘I’ll make sure you’re all relaxed before each one.’
Felicia smiled. ‘So long as I’m not as relaxed as Charity seems to be, that should be fine.’
4th Day of Midwinter.
Krystal put a small stack of books down on the counter beside the till and gave Cragscales her best smile. He was checking the cash take for the day and would now have to add in Krystal’s purchases, but she did not think he would mind too much. She now had two pay packets unspent and had been unable to resist picking up a few choice textbooks, especially since today was a special day.
Cragscales looked over the collection Krystal had presented him and then reached under the counter to pull out another book. This one was clearly older and, unlike the books Krystal had selected, had been printed by hand. It was bound in leather while Krystal’s were paperbacks. ‘No charge for that one,’ Cragscales said. ‘It’s not wrapped, but it’s a birthday present.’
Krystal blinked. ‘How did you know?’
‘Trudy may have mentioned it last week. Says you’re going out on the town tonight.’
‘Uh-huh. Flis says she has a restaurant lined up and then we’ll go to a club. Trudy picked the club, so I’ve no idea what I’m in for there.’
‘Nothing you’ll not cope with. Trudy also said, sometime or other, that you knew some astronomy.’
Krystal nodded. ‘Nothing really complex, but I know stars and planets, and some of how it all works.’
‘Then you should be able to use the book. Quite a good one on astrology. Divination’s a useful talent to educate yourself on, but remember to always be wary of what you see when you look.’
‘Well, I can’t really take a reading for me. I only know the date I was born on because it was written on the note the nuns found with me, along with a name. Just a first name, no family. I don’t know exactly when I was born or where, and with just a date I doubt I could get any idea of my future at all.’
‘You can do forecasts for others though. Just be careful about how you interpret what you see.’
Krystal gave the old dragon a smile. ‘I will, promise.’
~~~
Krystal had insisted that she wanted no one giving her presents for her birthday. Her main reason for doing so was that she knew Trudy could not afford to go around handing out gifts to all and sundry, and Charlotte was in a similar boat. It seemed very reasonable and everyone agreed, but then Felicia bought Krystal something anyway.
Apparently, the indigo had conspired with Trudy, because the sandals Felicia had bought fit Krystal perfectly and Trudy was the only way Felicia could have got the size right. The shoes were a beige colour which might have been called ‘skin tone’ if Krystal’s skin had been less white, and they had a three-inch heel. Krystal had never owned a pair of heeled shoes in her life, but she had been taught to walk in them since ‘some employers might require a servant to wear heels on formal occasions.’ The sisters had also said that ‘any employer who required a servant to wear heels at all times was likely a pervert and certainly a sadist, and should be avoided.’ Krystal had decided wearing the things was a form of masochism, but she had to admit that the sandals were not uncomfortable and they did go well with her dress.
Felicia had also insisted that Krystal and Trudy keep the dresses they had ‘borrowed’ for the last night out. They were, she said, from last season. Krystal had suggested that it was too much and Felicia should not be doing this for her and the reply had been telling.
‘Let me do this, Krys,’ Felicia had said. ‘I may not be able to pretend nothing’s happened for very long, but I can still afford to buy a pair of shoes to complete your outfit and feel like I’m doing my duty. So, let me do this.’
So, Krystal had accepted Felicia’s gift and the gang had gone out on the town with Krystal focused mostly on not falling over. At least that took her mind off the possibility of her neckline becoming her waistline if she jumped or something. But then there were other things to take her mind off that anyway: Charlotte, X
anthe, and Jesse actually owned dresses! Xanthe had a rather nice little black dress, and Jesse was actually in a corset, bra, and skirt ensemble which worked as a dress. Charlotte’s was blue with white bands around the skirt and quite a low neckline falling from a high collar. They all owned heeled shoes too, and Charlotte and Jesse looked about as comfortable in them as Krystal felt. Felicia was back in her leather dress, so, all in all, they looked like six proper young dragons going out to a dinner party. Sort of. Considering that most of them were more comfortable in T-shirts and jeans or shorts, they were more or less living up to Felicia’s view of how they should look.
That was probably fairly good since the restaurant Felicia took them to looked kind of posh. There was a maître d’ at the door who escorted them to a table for six near the back. Krystal was not surprised that they were hidden away where most of the other patrons could ignore them, but she was a little surprised that Felicia showed no signs of being unhappy about it.
Surprised until a somewhat plump, older dragon in an apron emerged from the back of the restaurant. She was probably a grey from her blonde hair tied firmly into a bun and covered in a paper hat, and from her pale-blue eyes. She smiled at Felicia with an odd kind of sadness in her expression and Felicia returned the same sort of smile.
‘Everyone,’ Felicia said, ‘this is Julietta Sandmane, the owner of the Silversand restaurant and also the chef.’
‘Cook, Flis,’ Sandmane replied with a half-grin. ‘I’m no chef, as you well know.’ She had the kind of carefully cultured accent that only came from having all trace of your own speech patterns educated out of existence.
‘Well, she’s a very good cook and she was the best nanny any girl could wish for.’ Felicia lowered her voice a little and added, ‘And that’s why she was willing to take my reservation.’
‘At the moment, that might be true,’ Sandmane said, ‘but things will settle down when the gossip pages have something new to titillate their audience. Don’t you worry about things like that. I’m just sorry I had to put you out of the way like this. Six such well-turned-out young ladies in my restaurant would attract more customers.’
Misfit Magic (Misfits Book 1) Page 19
