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Dragon's Eye

Page 7

by Robin Wirth


  teased. “Is that something you’re planning on

  doing now that you’ve accomplished your

  original goal?”

  “What, and end up being stuck at home

  trying to feed seven kids?” Felicity shuddered.

  “I don’t think I’m quite ready for that yet.”

  “Oh, Felicity, you don’t have to start

  mass producing children in order to enjoy the

  company of a man,” she told her with a chuckle.

  “They are useful for more than just one thing,

  you know.”

  “To hear them talk, they’re the only ones

  who are useful for anything at all,” Felicity

  sniffed disdainfully. “Just look at Dervish

  McTavert, for example. He thinks he knows

  everything. And then, of course, there’s

  Lancelot Jones.”

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  “What about Lancelot Jones?” she

  asked. “He looks rather like he’d be useful for

  plenty of things.”

  Felicity gasped, and her face turned

  flaming red. “I wouldn’t know,” she lied.

  Miss

  Gilwalter

  laughed

  at

  this

  enigmatically. “Ha, I thought as much. You’ve

  been spacing off excessively ever since you met

  that particular wizard, not that I can blame you

  in the least. The question is, what do you intend

  to do about it?”

  “Do?” Felicity asked. “What do you

  mean, do? Why would a powerful, influential

  wizard who could have his pick of the litter want

  anything to do with a bookish, wild-haired witch

  like me? Especially after the way we met.”

  “Because you are a bright, beautiful

  young witch who just happens to catch the eyes

  of many gentlemen, both young and old,

  whether you are aware of the fact or not. And I

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  happen to know that Lancelot Jones has a

  particular preference for petite, pretty girls.”

  “And how do you know that?”

  “Had you never seen his wife, then?” she

  asked. “She was very much like you in many

  ways. Very small, but very bright, and certainly

  a powerful witch in her own right.”

  “I hadn’t even seen much of the wizard

  himself until the very night we met,” Felicity

  pointed out. “But what ever happened to his wife

  in the first place, may I ask?”

  “Apparently she ran off with an elf,” said

  Miss Gilwalter conspiratorially.

  “My goodness, that poor man,” said

  Felicity, feeling a bit more sympathetic than she

  ought, all things considered.

  “That was over ten years ago,” she

  added. “Surely he's over it by now. These days

  he seems to be married only to his work.”

  “But perhaps that means he isn’t over it

  at all,” Felicity pointed out with a dejected sigh.

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  “No, I think not,” she agreed. “I

  happened to see him at one of the dating halls I

  frequent a few months ago. I think Dervish must

  have dragged him there. McTavert himself has a

  great eye for the witches, and there are plenty

  who have an eye for him as well.”

  “And did Lancelot Jones seem at all

  interested in anyone there?” Felicity asked

  curiously. “Why didn’t you try for him

  yourself?”

  “Well, I might have done, if I hadn’t

  already hooked up with a really hot wizard

  earlier in the evening, well before the two of

  them came in,” she explained. “He and I were

  just leaving together at the time.”

  “And how did that work out?” Felicity

  inquired with a girlish smirk.

  “Let’s just say that my bed seems a bit

  warmer these days,” she chuckled. “Though I

  should probably not be telling you such things

  as yet. Drop me a line when you know where

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  your placement is, and maybe we can talk some

  more.”

  “Yes, I’d like that,” Felicity said.

  “Maybe we could go shopping together

  sometime.”

  “And here I thought you were immune to

  the more frivolous things in life,” she laughed,

  then moved forward to give her a hug. “By the

  way, since that book called you, it’s meant to be

  yours. You needn’t bring it back at all, you

  know.”

  “How did you—”

  “I’ll talk to you soon, my dear,” she

  chuckled. “Perhaps I’ll tell you then.”

  Felicity skipped quickly up the hall and

  on toward the dorms. She took the stairs three at

  a time as she went to the top floor, four stories

  up, and flung her bag on top of her bed so she

  could open it and remove the humming book.

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  “That must be it,” she said with a shake

  of her head. “She must have heard it humming

  after all.”

  Felicity knew she should be writing her

  speech, but she spent the greater part of the night

  with her nose stuck in her newest treasure. She

  dozed off only a couple hours before she had to

  get dressed, and her eyes were puffy as she

  rushed out to join the other acolytes who had

  gathered in the main hall.

  “Are you ready for this, Felicity Lake?”

  asked Jane with a smile.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she answered,

  and they all walked out to the field for their

  ceremony.

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  TEN

  Even though it seemed like twenty hours

  later when it was finally time for Felicity to give

  the speech she was supposed to have prepared,

  only about twenty minutes had actually elapsed.

  Knowing she had no idea what she wanted to say

  did not sit well with her, since she was normally

  prepared for every circumstance at all times.

  “Good afternoon, everyone,” said

  Felicity as she stepped up on the stage. “Can you

  believe we’ve finally made it to the top? Here

  we’ve been studying so long and so hard, the

  time has just literally passed us by.”

  The audience laughed.

  “Yes, we’re all finally graduating from

  Academie Magica, and moving on towards the

  world of adulthood,” she said with a sigh, then a

  shake of her head. “But if you’re anything like

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  me, it’s just hit you that moving on also means

  there are many things we will be leaving behind.

  Like all the friends that we have made over the

  years, and all the dear old haunts we have grown

  used to, and even this wonderful old school

  itself, for example.

  “Every magical brick in this place was

  lovingly crafted throughout the centuries. Over

  that time, it has grown larger to accommodate

  our growing needs,
yet it is, despite that fact, the

  one constant that remains fixed in our otherwise

  shifting world.

  “But perhaps that is as it should be. The

  Magi have been clinging to their past for far too

  long. We have followed the same old ways as

  our ancestors before us for centuries, clinging to

  them like they were the Veil itself.

  “Yet the world outside has changed as

  well. The Mundanes have advanced their

  technologies and improved their way of life

  while we stood still. If we are to keep up with

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  them, we as adults must usher in a new era if our

  world is to continue to thrive.

  “In the past, it was always taken

  complacently, for example, that we could not

  grow our own food because magic imbues it

  within the confines of the Veil. But nobody that

  I know of, since the Veil was fortified, has ever

  attempted to discover any new spells that could

  make it possible.

  “And nobody in recent history has even

  tried to strike a bargain with the Mundanes

  before Archibald Flanders’ recent attempt. We

  have, instead, sunk to an even greater low, not

  only failing to honor the deal made by the High

  Mage for the return of Theodore Lundy, but then

  also elected to requisition our own lands in

  Mundania through the bewitchment of its true

  owners.

  “These are the kinds of behaviors that are

  leading our people down a path we ought not to

  take. I want to challenge each and every one of

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  you to consider alternative methods to using

  force to have our needs met.

  “I believe that we could live in peace and

  harmony with all of creation, to work toward the

  common good of all creatures, if only our people

  would try.

  “And now, you and I are the people. No

  longer are we the unheard children of our pasts,

  but a strong new force, ready to take on the

  world.”

  “Propagandist!” shouted Bruno Lovette

  from the back of the assembly. He shook one of

  his fists and stood to turn fully around, showing

  her his back.

  “And I also believe the best place to start

  making the necessary changes must be among

  ourselves. For if I cannot even complete a five-

  minute speech without somebody flinging

  irrational statements my way, then we truly have

  a long way to go to right the wrongs of this

  world.”

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  Hardly anyone clapped when she

  finished speaking. Headmistress Meriwether

  looked quite ill at ease as she stepped forward to

  congratulate the graduates. Most of the students

  threw their caps at Felicity rather than up into

  the air.

  Felicity

  dodged

  their

  well-aimed

  missiles with a flick of her wand as she accepted

  the certificate the headmistress handed her. Then

  she did a double take as she looked at the back

  of the room again.

  There, standing alone in the background,

  Felicity spotted the one person she would never

  have expected to attend. She was quite surprised

  as he lifted a wand and floated to the front of the

  field to wait for her.

  “Hello, Director McTavert. What brings

  you to my ill-advised little speech?” said Felicity

  as she stepped off of the stage and came to stand

  at his side.

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  “Well, lassie, as a matter of fact, ye

  have,” he told her in his heavy brogue. “The

  Council deliberated a great deal about where to

  place ye for the next six years. It seems thot

  nobody wanted to take on a discipline case, let

  alone a young woman who apparently attempts

  to sow the seeds of discontent wherever she

  goes. But I thought of the perfect place for a

  woman as spunky and headstrong as ye.”

  “Oh, really?” Felicity answered, not at

  all certain she liked which way this conversation

  seemed to be headed. “And where might that be,

  sir?”

  “There’s only one place I want a wee bit

  of a lass who was able to get inside my Magical

  Museum so easily, and thot would be within the

  walls of thot very same Museum itself, where I

  can keep a close watch on ye,” he said with an

  enigmatic grin. “I had no trouble at all

  convincing the other members of the Council

  just where ye belong.”

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  “You can’t be serious,” said Felicity.

  The first wave of shock had now passed, and a

  second was gathering steam already.

  “I’m quite serious, Miss Felicity,” he

  insisted. “Lance has been in need of an assistant

  for some time now, whether he likes to admit it

  or no. And ye are imminently qualified for the

  task. I had a look at thot charm ye conjured in

  my office before. Was it something ye invented

  yerself?”

  “Of course it was,” she said as if the

  answer should have been self-evident. “I make

  up spells and charms on the fly all the time.”

  “Aye, I thought as much. Then how

  would ye enjoy a job categorizing and archiving

  thousands of spells thot are so rare thot only the

  copies within our Museum remain?” said

  Dervish in a conspiratorial tone. “Ye have to

  keep them under wraps, of course, but I have no

  fear thot a girl so honorable as to take all the

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  blame for an idea thot was not even her own

  would betray thot trust.”

  “You’re right, sir,” she agreed. “I’m

  nothing, if not loyal.”

  “On lunch breaks ye can even study

  anything ye wish, which I’m sure would tickle

  yer fancy as well.”

  “Very much,” she said. “But I do have

  one question, sir. Have you told Lancelot Jones

  about all of this?”

  “Och! Of course I told him, lassie. I’d

  never presume to hire an assistant thot the

  wizard with need of one wouldna approve of

  first,” he said. “In fact, I believe he took the

  whole thing rather well. We have agreed thot

  Lancelot, and not I, will be yer protector till ye

  come of age.”

  “Is that the truth, or are you just trying to

  make me feel better?” she asked. “How could

  Lancelot Jones possibly have agreed to anything

  of the sort? The last time I saw him was during

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  my day in court, where he threw me to the

  wolves for slaughter.”

  “Aye, ‘tis true he did as he felt was best,

  but thot doesna mean he’s forgotten ye,”

  Dervish said with a wink. “I have a feeling ye

  may have b
een greatly on his mind since thot

  day.”

  “I’m flattered that you believe me

  worthy of remembrance, in any case,” she

  chuckled. “By the way, sir, I recently have been

  told by more than one source that you live high

  atop a craggy mountain in Scotland, but it seems

  like you’re always here. How could you live so

  far away and yet get about so well?”

  Dervish chuckled at this, and placed a

  hand upon her shoulder as he said, “Well,

  perhaps ye’ll find yer answer in the archives

  someday.”

  “That is as may be, sir, but it doesn’t

  answer why you never seem to go home, if

  indeed that is where you live.”

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  “Thot, too, is easily explained, lassie,”

  he said with a sheepish grin. “Have ye ever sat

  atop a craggy mountain? If ye dinna have a care,

  the rocks will go right up yer arse.”

  Felicity wasn’t sure if she should laugh,

  or take him seriously. She opted to simply stare

  at him instead, and Dervish held in his own

  laughter less than a minute before both of them

  were chuckling merrily together.

  Bruno’s voice resounded nearby as he

  shouted, “Look at Miss Fancy-pants, acting all

  friendly with a Director, of all people. Tell us,

  Lake, are you working on going into politics

  next?”

  “Nay, she is not, young Master Lovette.

  Now mind yer own business, if ye please. I am

  in charge of yer father’s paycheck, in case ye

  have forgotten.”

  “Yes, sir,” he agreed, and abruptly

  departed.

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  “I’ve been trying to figure out how to

  shut him up for years,” Felicity marveled.

  “What’s your secret?”

  “A compelling spell, of course,” he

  explained. “I dinna have time for his nonsense.”

  “On a wizard, sir?”

  “On anyone I desire to control, Miss

 

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