He pushed a pair of double doors open and swept inside. I scrambled after him.
It was the same hall that we’d been tested in the previous morning, filled with my classmates. As I walked to Dena, I noticed the dark haired boy standing apart from the rest, leaning against the wall, his sleeves pushed up to his elbows. His arms were folded but his gaze was centred on me. I looked away and just kept walking. The room went quiet as Iain walked to the centre of the room.
“Welcome to the soul ceremony. Your escort should’ve told you what this is, so I’m not going to waste any more time.”
He strode to the side of the hall and raised his arms. My skin prickled as I realised he was using magic. As he slowly lowered his arms, the atmosphere inside the hall rose, the torches died down and the lone sound of a flute rang throughout the hall. The air was charged with tension, and beautiful music filtered from somewhere unseen. Flutes, cellos and a lone acoustic guitar rose and fell together in a magical harmony.
Just as I was beginning to think that this wasn’t so bad, a blindfold was slipped over my eyes.
“Sorry,” Jett whispered in my ear. “Souls are blind and so are you.”
He moved away and I heard him murmur the same thing to Dena.
Now very disorientated, I stood very still and held my arms out, lest I bump into anyone.
I heard the others move away from me. My fingers picked at the blindfold and the music continued to play, but the knot wouldn’t come loose, and I let my hands drop.
I would play it by their rules, but I would not, could not, dance.
Instead, I began to walk. Across the hall, through my classmates. I should’ve been buffered by the others, but I moved through them unhindered.
I could sense someone doing exactly the same thing, heading straight towards me. Turns out my soul mate had had the same idea.
I stretched out, entwining my fingers with theirs. For one crazy moment I thought it was Dena until I realised how rough the hands I was holding were.
Suddenly, I felt flames race down my arms. They ignited on our entwined fingers, and I felt their magic respond in kind. The power and ferocity of this
unexpected magic took us both by surprise and before I could control it, the music stopped, and Iain spoke again.
“Mages, you’ve found your soul mates…
Congratulations.”
The blindfold around my eyes unravelled and fell to the ground. I blinked, disorientated by the sudden light in the room, and realised I was holding the hand of the dark haired boy with the fire eyes, flames of orange and green burning together over our fingertips.
For the tiniest second, something sparked in his eyes as he looked at me, but then he dropped my hand, our combined fire extinguishing immediately and I knew I’d imagined it.
“Pairs line up.” Iain continued.
Everyone else, I now noticed, had also gathered in pairs. Eleanora was paired with a young man with blonde hair, who she obviously recognised.
Netalia spoke to them quietly and then moved onto the next pair; Dena and the red headed girl she’d run the course with yesterday. All of the other soul mate pairs were standing close together, but mine stood away from me.
Netalia reached us, and I suddenly realised I was about to find out his name. As she looked upon us both standing together, her eyes widened slightly, and she looked over her shoulder at Iain who stood immobile. After a few seconds, she looked back at us and smiled nervously.
“Phoenix and Sky, congratulations on finding one another.”
“Phoenix, huh?” I asked, speaking for the first time since the blindfold had been removed. He barely glanced at me. “A legendary bird of flame is a pretty awesome namesake.”
“Maybe,” he replied simply.
I frowned but didn’t respond. My heart was beating rapidly and I felt slightly sick, but it was over, the dancing was over, and I could relax.
Outside, the sun began to set, bathing the hall in orange light. I chanced a glance at Phoenix and noticed his eyes were exactly the same colour as the sun burning on the horizon.
And I realised that my own heart was burning in sync with both of them.
~Chapter Five~
The bell didn’t have a chance to ring once before I was out of bed. As soon as my feet hit the floor, I hooked my feet under the bed frame, crossed my arms over my chest and began to do as many sit ups as I could. Larni entered the room just as I began to do push ups.
“What are you doing?” she asked, setting my breakfast platter on the table.
“Next time I run that course, I’m not giving up in it,” I told her, standing up and wiping my face on the sleeve on my pyjamas. “Though it might take me a while to get back into shape; the heaviest thing I’ve lifted recently is my library bag.”
“There is a library here,” Larni told me, laying out my uniform. “The students are free to use it.”
“Really?” I perked up immediately.
“Of course. I can show you on the weekend; you get those off.”
“Do you?”
She looked at me, puzzled.
“Do I what?”
“Do you get the weekend off?”
She gnawed her lip and then sat down opposite me, something she’d never done before.
“I get every second Sunday off to visit my family,” she said quietly. “But every other day I’m here at the Academy.”
“Every second Sunday?” I repeated. I suddenly thought of something. “Larni, do you get paid?”
Silence fell between us.
“It is payment enough that the Academy feeds and accommodates me, with my lack of magical blood,” she said eventually.
I gripped her wrist as she stood up to leave.
“Larni,” she refused to meet my eyes. “Why would you think that?”
She didn’t pull away but didn’t look down at me.
“Both of my parents are mages. I disgrace them by not following in their footsteps.”
“Do you get a choice?” I asked, frowning.
“No. I went to the magic tester when I was four. He said I had none.”
“Then how is it your fault?”
She didn’t answer.
“Larni,” I said, my voice low. “Do you get paid to work here?”
She pulled out of my grasp then, heading for the door. She was halfway through it when she spoke.
“No.”
~ I hurtled down the stairs, still tying my braid. My satchel swung wildly and I almost lost my footing, but I carried on regardless.
Before class started, I had a very big bone to pick with the Academy.
“Jett,” I snapped as I spotted him coming out of a door. He started and looked up as I approached.
“Good morning,” he began pleasantly, but I cut him off.
“Why don’t the servants get paid?” I held up my hands as he tried to reply. “No, not servants. Slaves,” I spat the word at him like it was acid.
“Sky, listen-“
“No! It’s barbaric! Larni thinks she’s worthless because she isn’t a mage like her parents. Why does the Academy take advantage of that?”
“Listen, I don’t have anything to do with how to Academy is run-“
“Don’t give me that crap,” I said, stepping away from him. “How long have you been here?”
He ground his teeth.
“A year,” he said finally.
“Why haven’t you done anything about it?”
He glanced about before speaking again.
“Look. There are things about this Academy that you’ll never understand. Leave it alone, ok?”
“No, not ok,” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “It’s disgusting. I don’t care what realm you’re from, it’s slave labour.”
The Academy bell rang.
“Go to class,” Jett said, already heading away from me.
“This isn’t the end of this discussion!” I yelled after him, but he didn’t turn around.
I fo
llowed the rest of my classmates outside, still seething. I spotted Dena amongst them and bounded over to her, determined to tell her the truth about our companions.
“Sky!” she grinned as she saw me. “Meet my soul mate, will you?”
The red headed girl next to her smiled as well, though slightly more reserved than Dena’s hearty grin.
“Sky, Theresa. Theresa, Sky.”
“Hi,” I said, nodding to her briefly. “Dena, listen can I talk to you?”
“You can talk,” Theresa said. “Anything you tell Dena, she’ll just tell me.”
Not as shy as I thought then.
Before I could speak, Jett swept past us all.
“This way, please!” he called, determinedly avoiding eye contact with me.
He led us to a field on the outskirts of the Academy grounds. In the distance I could see buildings and smoke, and I knew I had just gotten my first glimpse of the village where Larni was from.
“For those mages from the human realm, you’ll find that our mode of transportation is quite different to what you’re used to,” I turned back to the class and gasped. Jett continued. “Here, you ride everywhere.”
He was holding the reins of the most beautiful horse I’d ever seen. Behind him, several more of the glossy creatures were grazing peacefully, oblivious to the class gaping at them.
“You’ll each be given a horse, courtesy of the Academy, and the cost will be added to your tuition. Your horse is yours to care for. Come and meet them.”
We all approached the herd, the horses pricking their ears up with interest. Some went straight for students, whilst the others hung back. I stood at the back of the group, watching a beautiful bay mare standing at the edge of the herd. Warily, I approached her. I held my hand out as I got closer, and she took the last few steps to close the gap between us. I smiled as her velvet nose rubbed my palm.
“Sorry,” I told her. “If I’d known I was coming, I would’ve brought something.”
She blew at me, and I did the same to her. I’d gone to a few riding lessons when I was little, and I missed the companionship.
I stroked her glossy neck as she inspected me, her large brown eyes looking into mine.
“Your horses are free to name,” Jett was saying. I looked around, noticing everyone had found their horses. I noticed Phoenix talking quietly to a black gelding and frowned; he had already spoken more words to his horse than he had to me. “Though they might have something to say about it.”
Puzzled, I glanced at the mare who was nipping my shirt.
“Alrighty then,” I stroked her nose. “What’s your name?”
A breeze ruffled the horses’ mane and the grass around us. Riding on the wind, like a whisper, was a voice. I closed my eyes, still stroking the mare.
Echo
As clear as day, I heard the single word.
“Echo,” I said, and the mare butted me with her nose. “My name is Sky.”
Echo huffed at me softly. She was pleased; I had heard correctly.
Jett taught us how to saddle our horses and showed us the stalls in the large stable that had been allocated for our horses. By the time it was time to go to the next class, I didn’t want to leave her.
“I’ll be back tonight,” I promised.
Our next class was just as interesting; Magical Combat, taught by the most terrifying mage I’d encountered yet.
“My name is Professor Yu,” he told us in clipped tones, standing in front of us with his hands clasped behind his back. We were standing on a large mat that bounced slightly with every step. “In this class, you will be taught everything about your magic and physical, hand to hand combat.”
I bounced eagerly, standing alongside Theresa and Dena; Phoenix was yet to acknowledge me today.
“First lesson; how to fall.”
~ Later that night, I limped back to my room. True to his word, Yu had made sure we knew how to fall.
That night, I didn’t eat in my room. For the first time since I’d arrived, Larni took me to another hall, which was filled with tables and benches, a roaring fire in the large hearth at the far end.
“This is the mess hall,” she told me, not meeting my eyes. “This is where you’ll take your breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
“Will I still see you?” I asked her worriedly.
She nodded.
“I still wait on you.” She told me, and then left.
My heart twisted painfully as I saw her go. She was too embarrassed to face me now.
I grabbed a tray and followed Theresa to the serving area.
“Can I sit with you?” I asked her.
“Of course,” she replied, confused that I’d even asked. “Dena wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I followed her back to the table, where Dena was sitting with four other people.
“Sky, this is Yasmin and her soul mate Petre, Rain and her soul mate...” Dena squinted. “Sorry, I’ve forgotten your name.”
“Ispin,” the young man replied, smiling broadly. “Don’t worry, I still forget it sometimes.”
We laughed, and I sat beside Yasmin, a young woman with honey blonde hair and laugh lines around her eyes.
“Crazy day,” Rain began, twisting her glossy dark hair. “We have horses now.”
“I’ve always had a horse,” Petre said, already tucking into the mashed potatoes on his plate. “Cobalt, his name was.”
“Yeah?” I challenged, immediately disliking his rather snooty attitude. “Well I had a car.”
“A cart?”
“No, a car. With an engine.”
Petre blinked at me, completely lost. Yasmin laughed.
“Petre, a car was what we used to get around in the human realm. It had four wheels and could go very fast.” She said.
“Well, Cobalt was the fastest horse in my village,” he told us all proudly, gesturing with a bit of potato stuck on his fork. “I won a lot of money with him.”
I was grinning along with the others, until I remembered the events of the morning.
“Listen,” I said, leaning forwards. “Which of you are from this realm?”
Petre put his hand up, quite unnecessarily, as did Ispin and Rain.
“Did you know that the servants at the Academy don’t get paid?” I asked, watching them closely for their reactions. Dena gasped, but Petre just shrugged.
“Of course they don’t. I brought Jeffield with me from my estate.”
My stomach seemed to shrivel up as I looked at him.
“You knew?” I asked incredulously. “Why isn’t this illegal?”
“They’re usually from a mage family,” Rain explained. “Most magical folk pass the gift onto their children, but when they don’t, they can offer the children to rich families or magical institutions.”
“That’s disgusting,” Theresa snapped, her pale yellowgreen eyes flashing.
“It’s our way of life,” Ispin told us. “The children don’t mind; they are well cared for as servants.”
“Don’t call them that,” I told them. “Call them slaves, because that’s what they really are. And some of them do mind.”
Silence fell at our table. I picked at my food but then pushed it away.
“So, Sky,” Yasmin tried to pick up the thread of conversation. “Who’s your soul mate?”
“He’s over there,” I said, spying Phoenix sitting at a table by himself. “He hasn’t spoken to me since the ceremony, and even then, it was only one word.”
“Figures.”
I turned back around and fixed Petre in my sights.
“Excuse me?”
Petre looked up from his dinner.
“I said, figures. He’s from the Shayde Mountains.”
“And that’s bad?” I asked, frowning.
Petre put down his fork.
“Only a few folk come from the North, and when they do, it’s not often that they make anything significant of themselves. He’s had a hard life, trying to scrape a living off of rocks an
d ice. That’s all there is in the Mountains.”
I twisted around to look at Phoenix again.
“Where are these mountains?” I asked.
Petre slid his plate towards me.
“This here,” he pushed a potato forwards. “Is the Academy. Right next to the Academy, where many of the... servants... come from, is the village Keyes,” he pushed a snow pea forwards as I glared at him. “South of here is the city Castor, capital of Lotheria.”
I squinted at the lump of carrot portraying the city.
“What’s Lotheria?”
“Lotheria is the continent we stand on. They should really teach you all of this first thing. Anyway, this,” he pushed a piece of tuna that he’d abandoned furthest up his plate, away from the potato, snow pea and carrot. “Is the Shayde Mountain Range, up in Orthandrell. It snows all year around, and they live in almost constant darkness. It was probably the biggest shock of his life when the sun rose on his first morning here.”
“They don’t let a lot of their mages come here to be schooled,” Rain said quietly. “Even Netalia and Iain aren’t sure how many unschooled mages live in the North.”
“So what state is this?” Theresa asked.
“This is the state of Stanthor. I’m from Abdoor,” Petre explained. “From the city Riverdoor.”
“I’m from Gowar,” piped up Ispin.
“And I’m from the islands east of here,” Rain said. “The Tsalski Islands. My parents came here when I was little and never left.”
“So much to take in,” Yasmin said quietly, resting her cheek on her hand, observing the vegetable map. “So what do you do here?”
The three looked at her, puzzled.
“What do you mean?” Petre asked her.
“What do you do? For fun, I mean.”
“Well, I used to go to Moon Bay and the Paw Islands all the time,” Ispin said, his boyish face lit up with excitement. “With my mother, father and younger sister. She’ll be joining the Academy when I leave.”
“Moon Bay and the Paw Islands?” I asked. “Where are they?”
Petre pointed to a spot to the east of Castor.
“Why are they called the Paw Islands?” Theresa asked.
“Because they’re four islands shaped like a paw,” Ispin explained. “And Moon Bay is in the shape of a crescent moon.”
Soul Fire Page 5
