Wrath of the Dragon Czar: Aegis of Merlin Book 5

by James E. Wisher

  Kai emerged from the bathroom and bowed. “Welcome back, Chosen.”

  “Thanks. Are you hungry? I brought a snack.” He held out the sandwich and bottle of water.

  She seemed uncertain about whether to take it, but finally she accepted. Kai unwrapped her head covering, giving him his first real look at her face. She could have been Maria’s cousin. Same soft, pale skin, dark hair and eyes. Only her short haircut and the hard, on-edge expression marked her as nothing like Maria.

  “Are you from the Empire of the Rising Sun?” Conryu asked.

  Kai nodded and brushed a crumb from her face. “We live on a small island to the west of the main chain. It’s only a mile and a half across and an enchanted fog prevents outsiders from finding it. The first Chosen brought us there and created the barrier before the coming of the elves.”

  “How many of you are there, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “Twenty-two full members plus five more trainees. I can return and summon them for you any time you command.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t need an army of ninjas just now.”

  When Kai had finished her meal Conryu got up off the bed. “Ready to meet Cerberus? Officially, I mean.”

  She bit her lip, but nodded.

  “Reveal the way through infinite darkness. Open the path. Hell Portal!”

  The black disk formed. Conryu took a step, but paused when Kai didn’t follow. He reached back and took her hand. Together they stepped through.

  The endless darkness beyond the portal looked exactly the same as the last time he entered, empty and all encompassing.

  “I’ve never been this deep into Hell before,” Kai said in a small voice. “I can’t even see our reality.”

  A growl filled the air and Conryu turned to find Cerberus staring at Kai with glowing red eyes. He gave the demon dog a swat on the flank. “Stop that, Kai’s a friend. She’s here to protect me, same as you. She’ll be hanging around in the borderland so I want you to be nice to her, got it?”

  Cerberus stopped growling and barked, his tongues hanging out as he panted.

  “That’s better. Kai, hold out your hand so he can get a good whiff of your scent, or whatever it is he smells.”

  She stepped closer and held out a shaking hand. Kai seemed more a scared girl than an assassin in that moment. Cerberus’s central head lowered and snuffled at her palm a couple of times before a long black tongue swiped her cheek.

  Kai’s giggle brought a smile to Conryu’s face. It was nice to see a regular girl under the mask. “I told you he was nice. You two should get along fine now. We need to head back before someone notices I left.”

  An instant later they stood once more in Conryu’s room. Kai bowed, the formal servant again. “Sleep soundly, Chosen, knowing I will be watching over you.”

  She faded away again. Her head wrap sat on his bed. Conryu picked it up and gave it a little wave. “Forget something?”

  A pale hand emerged as if from nowhere and grabbed it before vanishing again. He grinned. This was turning into another interesting year.

  Conryu awoke to a familiar breeze swirling around him. He opened his eyes and found a tiny face inches from his. The pixie was sitting on his bare chest wearing a bright smile. She held a three-inch scroll in her hand.

  He glanced around her and found Prime sitting quietly on the table. Since there was no way the scholomantic hadn’t sensed her arrival he must have decided to call a truce and thank goodness for that. With everything else he had going on, he didn’t need those two bickering.

  “I thought you might have said hi yesterday. Did Kai scare you?”

  The pixie nodded and shivered.

  “Don’t worry, she’s nice. Is that for me?”

  She held out the scroll and Conryu unrolled it. Seemed he was supposed to take Anya to the nurse then go to the dean’s office. He sighed and the moment he started to sit up the pixie turned back into a breeze. He trudged to the bathroom and enjoyed a scrub from the naiad. When the pixie finished drying him he got dressed and knocked on the connecting door.

  Hopefully Anya was up by now. He hadn’t heard anything, but the door seemed pretty thick, which, considering his surprise company, was just as well.

  When she didn’t respond after a minute he knocked again. “Anya, you awake?”

  Still nothing.

  “Would you get her?”

  The breeze swirled around him then over into Anya’s room. A moment later a shriek sounded from the other side of the door. He grinned. What had the little wind spirit done to get such a reaction?

  The door ripped open and Anya, dressed only in lacy underwear, slammed into him. They staggered around in an awkward sort of dance before he grabbed her and steadied them both.

  “There’s a girl, a tiny girl, in my room,” she said between gasps, her chest heaving. A shiny golden cross dangling just above her breasts drew his eye. It had to be worth thousands. Where did she come by it?

  The pixie materialized on Conryu’s shoulder and stuck her tongue out at Anya, distracting him from the stray notion.

  He made a herculean effort to focus above Anya’s neck. “She’s a pixie. No need to be scared. The teachers use them to send messages, wake people up, and guide us to class. This little one brought a message saying I’m supposed to escort you to the nurse’s office for tests. Do you know what that’s about?”

  Her breathing slowed and she turned slightly away from him, her cheeks burning. “All part of the deal the resistance made to get me out of the Empire. I have to serve as a lab rat for the wizards. They want to see how my blood reacts to magic. I don’t really understand all the tests, but I suspect I’ll be getting them regularly.”

  “Why don’t you go get dressed and we’ll get a move on.”

  She nodded and rushed back into her room.

  “I’ll meet you outside.” Conryu needed another shower, a cold one.

  He left his room and found Mrs. Lenore peeking out her door. She spotted him and joined him in the hall. She had on her black robe instead of the pink pajamas. “Did someone scream?”

  “The pixie startled Anya, it’s fine. Did you hear what they’re going to have me do this year?”

  “No, what?”

  “I don’t know. I’m meeting Dean Blane this morning. She had that evil gleam in her eyes when she said they had a new lesson plan for me.”

  “You need one, last year was a waste given your talents.”

  “I thought I learned a lot, especially from you.” That wasn’t strictly true, but Mrs. Lenore’s smile made the fib worth it.

  Anya emerged wearing a pale-green sundress. The girl could have worn a burlap sack and looked stunning. “I’m all set.”

  “See you later.” Conryu left Mrs. Lenore and led Anya upstairs and down a long hall to the nurse’s office.

  He knocked and a moment later Nurse Sally opened the door. “This is a surprise. You haven’t come here conscious before.”

  He grinned. “Yeah, I’m just dropping Anya off. You’ve got some tests planned for her?”

  “Not me, my job is to draw blood. Central will handle the actual tests. They want a sample before and after her Awakening.”

  “Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’ve got to get over to Dean Blane’s office.”

  “You’re leaving me here alone?” The terror in her voice took him aback for a moment.

  “Don’t worry, the nurse will take good care of you and I’ll pick you up on my way back. You really are safe here.”

  “What if something happens?” Anya stared at him, her lip trembling ever so slightly. “They said I’d be safe at the Ministry then we were attacked. Please don’t leave.”

  “If you’d both be quiet,” Nurse Sally said, “I can do what I need to in ten minutes then you can be on your way.”

  Conryu nodded. “I’ll wait out here, promise.”

  “Thank you.”

  A little less than ten minutes later Anya emerged with a cotton ball taped to her
arm. They left the dorm and made the short walk to the main building. The sun shone down on them and a light breeze swirled around, carrying the scent of late summer flowers. Hopefully he could get a hike in this afternoon.

  Conryu frowned and glanced at his companion. Then again maybe not.

  “This is a beautiful spot.” Anya relaxed a little as they walked. “There were no places like this back home.”

  “What was the Empire like?” Conryu pushed the door open and headed toward the stairs leading to the administrative area.

  “Gray.” Her blue eyes took on a faraway look. “Just about everything was made of concrete. Most days were overcast. I think the witches had something to do with it. It was like they were trying to suck the life out of you. Mom and I lived in a little farmhouse a few miles outside our village. It was quiet. We had a swing hanging from a tree in our backyard. That house was the only thing I miss about the Empire.”

  “Sounds nice. I’m a city boy, never spent much time in the country before I came here.” They reached the administrative area and one of the secretaries, a stern woman with small, round glasses perched on the tip of her nose, looked up as they approached. Conryu flashed the scroll. “Dean Blane is expecting me.”

  The secretary grunted. “She told us you were coming. The dean’s office is straight down at the end of the hall. Knock before you enter.”

  The woman returned to whatever she’d been typing and Conryu shook his head. Looked like he still hadn’t won the approval of everyone at the academy. Maybe if he helped save another city.

  “She wasn’t very friendly,” Anya said when they moved a little further down the hall.

  Conryu shrugged. He’d gotten used to poor treatment over the last year. “It doesn’t matter.”

  Outside Dean Blane’s office waited a pair of soft chairs. Conryu knocked then asked, “Will you be okay waiting for me?”

  She nodded and settled into one of the chairs.

  A moment later the door opened and Dean Blane’s face appeared in the gap. “About time. Come in, come in. We’ve got a lot to discuss.”

  Conryu had never been to the dean’s office before. It looked exactly the way you’d expect: big desk, bookcases, and a window overlooking the campus. She waved him into one of the two guest chairs. As Dean Blane climbed into hers Conryu imagined a pile of books on the seat to boost her up.

  “I think we can both agree that focusing on year-appropriate magic in your case is a waste of time, especially considering you’ve already mastered some of the most powerful dark magic spells.”

  Prime made a noise like clearing his throat.

  “With the help of your excellent scholomantic, of course.” Prime radiated pleasure through their link. He had a lot of ego for a talking book.

  “So if I’m not going to learn the basics of the other elements, what am I going to do?”

  Dean Blane put her hands on the desk and leaned toward him. “You will study with each of the department heads one on one. They’ll evaluate your progress and accelerate your studies as they deem appropriate.”

  “So it’ll be like what I did with Mrs. Umbra only with everyone else? That’s cool. It’ll be nice not to have to go at the pace of others who are so much less powerful than me. Who are my teachers going to be?”

  She grinned. “I’ll be teaching you wind magic. Hanna will handle water magic. You’ll continue with Angeline for dark magic. St. Seraphim will cover light magic. Callie will teach fire magic. Last but not least will be Cora and earth magic. You’ll attend two elemental lessons every day for three hours each.”

  “Three hours? That’s twice as long as my classes last year.”

  “We decided longer classes would allow us to approach your training with more depth. I’m super excited to work directly with you and I’m sure the others are as well. Angeline has had you all to herself for too long.”

  Conryu found the idea of studying with such powerful and experienced wizards surprisingly exciting. “When do we start?”

  “You and me, first thing Monday morning.” She giggled. “I pulled rank to get my hands on you first. Anything you’re particularly eager to learn?”

  “I want to fly.”

  Her eyes lit up. “I love flying. I can’t wait to see how fast you can go. This will be so great.”

  Conryu’s excitement dimmed. “What about Anya? How am I supposed to protect her and attend class?”

  “Her teachers will be responsible for her safety during the day. You only have to escort her to and from class and the dorm and be ready to act at night.” Another giggle. “I imagine having a girl like that next door keeps you plenty ready at night.”

  Conryu sighed. “Don’t say things like that. Maria’s already upset with the situation.”

  “Don’t worry. Once you settle into a regular routine, everyone will forget all about it.”

  Conryu thought about the gorgeous girl outside and seriously doubted anyone would forget about her living next door to him.

  “Oh, yeah. I assume you know Angus won’t be joining us this semester?”

  He brightened. “I did. It seems his unauthorized biography is doing well, so the publisher sent him on a book tour. Merlin Reborn, what a joke. He didn’t even offer to cut me in for a percentage. Since it’s my life he’s writing about you’d think I’d get something.”

  “You did,” Dean Blane said. “Half a year with no Professor.”

  Anya paced and watched as Conryu helped set up tables for the welcome ceremony tonight. He’d volunteered to help a crew of twenty girls get the cafeteria ready for the celebration. She didn’t know what to do with herself. Everyone seemed so relaxed here. It was weird. The rest of the freshmen were due to arrive in a few hours. The smells coming from the kitchen made her twisty stomach churn.

  The plan was for her to slip into the flow of new arrivals and mix in like she’d just arrived on the train. It seemed like a perfect time for the czar’s agents to grab her, but the teachers all assured her they’d be on full alert. Besides, the odds of someone plucking her out of a group of hundreds of girls and getting away was beyond remote. If the czar wanted to kill her, on the other hand, the chances grew much better.

  She jumped when one of the tables screeched as Conryu pushed it into place. He offered a reassuring smile. Maybe it was stupid to be so on edge here, but after everything that had happened she didn’t dare drop her guard, even with Conryu nearby.

  Anya turned on her heel and found his flying book a foot from her face. “Gah!” She leapt back, her heart racing.

  “Too much anxiety isn’t good for humans,” the book said.

  “You floating a foot from my face isn’t helping my anxiety any.” Anya took a deep breath and tried to relax. The book had a point. Getting herself worked up wasn’t going to help anything.

  “Prime!” She turned to find Conryu looking at her, or more precisely, at his book. “Behave yourself.”

  “I was offering your new female words of comfort. She seemed uneasy.”

  “For the last time, she is not my female. And having been under threat of death myself a few times I can tell you anxiety is totally natural. Now stop pestering her.”

  “Yes, Master.” The book, Prime, flew over closer to its master.

  Anya sighed. Maybe a project would take her mind off things. She went to join Conryu who had moved on to lining up chairs. “What can I do?”

  “You can lay out the plates. Don’t mind Prime. He has the manners of a demon.”

  “I am a demon,” Prime said.

  Conryu grinned and she felt some of the weight lift off her shoulders. He was a nice guy and he seemed to want to do his best to keep her safe. That was something.

  She set a plate in front of the first chair. “Can you run me through the ceremony?” Avoiding surprises would help her relax, maybe.

  “It’s not really a big deal. The freshmen will file in and you’ll approach the testing device which tells you your elemental alignment. Try to act surp
rised when you touch the earth gem. Once everyone’s done we have a big meal and go to bed to sleep it off.”

  “Sounds simple enough.” Conryu’s friend Kelsie had wandered up to lay out silverware. The girl offered her a shy smile which Anya returned.

  “Yeah, nothing to it. Tomorrow you’ll have your Awakening then go to your first class. The teachers will protect you until lunch when I take over. I suspect that pattern will hold until midterms after which we head home for winter break. Speaking of winter break, are you crashing at my place again?”

  “I assume so, though I would like to visit my mom.”

  “Do vampires celebrate Christmas?” Conryu asked.

  The laugh slipped past her lips before she realized it was coming. How long had it been since she really laughed? It felt like forever. “We don’t even celebrate it in the Empire. We have a midwinter carnival. There’s ice skating, spiced cider, roasted chestnuts, and a dance. Our schools teach that Christmas is a decadent excuse to waste money on junk.”

  “Sounds about right.” Conryu looked past her. “What do you think about an air mattress?”

  “What?” Kelsie seemed caught off guard by the question. Anya was as well, come to that.

  “I thought if we got you an air mattress you wouldn’t need to stay with Maria during winter break. Would that work?”

  “I guess.”

  Anya suppressed a smile at Kelsie’s blush. He really was a nice guy.

  Maria sat beside Conryu as they waited for the freshmen to enter the cafeteria. The lights were down and the testing device in place. She’d kept a close eye on him and Anya during the preparations and while they’d been friendly, she couldn’t find a thing wrong with their behavior. After the fool she made of herself last year over Kelsie, Maria didn’t plan to overreact this year. Still, it seemed impossible that he’d ended up living in such close proximity to another beautiful girl. There had to be some plain wizards needing protection.

  Kelsie sat on the other side of Conryu and the two of them were discussing air mattresses of all things. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know what that was about. To her left and right girls chattered about the coming year and what new spells they might learn.