‘So, can I join classes?’ Natalya asked.
‘Of course. What you’d get out of them is less certain however. You’ve obviously had some training because you know how to shield, not only yourself, but also project the spells necessary to physically shield someone else. You’ve also been at work giving the hunters mental shields. You don’t seem to have a problem communicating mentally. You can heal others without effort. You’re a wizard, yet have mastered several animus forms with perfect accuracy,’ Jim commented ticking off the points on his fingers. ‘So, what areas are you interested in?’
‘Defending myself and using my magic properly. I don’t know what you think I ought to already know.’
‘Do you have skill with any particular weapon?’
‘None, well Freddie’s just started teaching me the long bow. I was never allowed near real weapons.’
‘How about physical contact defence, you know, without a weapon?’ Jim asked having made some notes.
‘I was always the prey; no-one taught me that kind of thing. That’s one of the reasons I developed my tiger.’
‘First things first, let’s try you on the training ground circuit; it’ll be fairly quiet at the moment.’ She rose and he considered her attire; a white dress wasn’t appropriate nor would it survive sword fighting or wrestling or any of the other weapons practice sessions. Now he thought about it, that garment was the only one he’d seen her wearing, aside from the torn trousers she’d arrived in. He guessed it was all she possessed.
‘A quick trip to stores first though. Let’s get you something practical to wear.’
‘That’d be useful,’ she conceded and followed him as he briskly strode from the room, down numerous corridors, before meeting up with a matronly woman he introduced as Mrs White.
‘She needs a sturdy trouser outfit for the training yards,’ Jim instructed Mrs White. ‘I’ll be back in a few minutes,’ he added and left them to it.
Natalya was glad he’d gone; she now felt freer to relax and try on this and that handed to her by the friendly Mrs White. Eventually they found a pair of leather trousers, meant for a man, but which were the only ones long enough and in her size. They fitted well enough that the overlarge men’s shirt could be tucked in and didn’t swamp her, certainly with a nice belt to finish it off. Unfortunately, because she was very tall, only men’s clothing was long enough in the sleeve or leg. Mrs White handed her a leather waistcoat with a little flourish. Natalya slipped it on and realised it was tailored for a woman. She drew the laces closed and suddenly the whole outfit of male clothing looked tailored for her instead. Socks and boots later she stepped out of the changing area feeling far better equipped and clothed than she had for a long time.
Jim had returned, having also changed and sat perched on the windowsill in the outer room. His gaze swept her and she flushed slightly; clearly he approved.
‘Good, you can leave your other stuff in my office,’ he offered, again striding through the corridors.
‘Why start me with physical lessons rather than magic?’ Natalya asked, as they walked up the track to the training ground. ‘I thought it was my magic you were most concerned with?’
‘You need to learn both the mental and physical ways of defending yourself. I’m doing it this way round because I need to discover what comes naturally to you under duress. I already know you have a lot of magical strength and that you work successfully when acting on your instincts. Obviously that can only take you so far. With some guidance we can explore what areas we need to work on to actually build a successful defence and eventually offense.’
‘You plan to teach me yourself?’ Natalya asked in surprise. ‘I thought you had far too much work to do and had teachers you’d pass me over to?’
‘I do, but we need to assess you, and may have to tailor a program to you. I’ll need to do most of that assessment. You’re also too strong and untrained in the basics to be let loose in a school room with lots of other students. You may need one to one teaching initially.’ He glanced at her, aware of her dismay, but how Vako would cope with such a wild cat he couldn’t imagine. One of Vako’s favourite ploys was to provoke a student, to push them past their fear of letting loose their magic. It was a way of forcing them to expand their abilities. He dreaded to think what might be loosed if he tried that with an already distrustful and exceedingly gifted Natalya.
‘You approve of my outfit then? Natalya asked pointedly.
Jim flushed suddenly realising he’d been caught staring. But her leather trousers and waistcoat were very fitted and revealed she had a great figure. ‘What man wouldn’t approve?’ he confided, but refrained from commenting further or looking so obviously.
At the training ground Natalya followed Jim inside, looking around her curiously. They walked down an aisle between tall tiers of seats to the fenced off sandy arena. Inside the ring were three pairs of students practicing different forms of combat. They stood and watched for a few minutes before Bruno spotted them and hurried over.
‘Are you here for a workout sir?’ Bruno asked noticing the scuffed and battered clothes Jim wore. ‘I’m not sure who I’ve got up here at the moment who could partner you,’ he added.
‘No, I’m here to give Natalya a workout,’ Jim said cheerfully.
‘Ah. I thought she was a novice?’ Bruno said a little anxiously. ‘Wouldn’t it be better to pair her with one of the students?’ Bruno asked aware of the dangerous glint in Jim’s eyes and Natalya’s trepidation.
‘Don’t worry,’ Jim said clapping Bruno on the shoulder as he climbed through the fence, ‘she’s knocked me on my backside twice already. I’m sure she’ll survive.’
‘Good luck,’ Bruno told her, aware of her frown and not blaming her in the slightest. Jim was not an easy opponent at the best of times. He had plenty of physical strength as well as speed. Only the other animus warriors could match his reflexes.
‘Come on little kitty,’ Jim taunted and threw one of the wooden practice swords to her. ‘Let’s see what you’re made of. Ever handle a sword?’
‘No,’ Natalya said simply. She had watched soldiers practising but had never been allowed near any weapons. She flinched as Jim abruptly strode up to her. He took her hands and positioned them correctly on the sword. He then bade her copy his stance and a particular motion until she accurately reproduced it.
‘Ok, parry me,’ he ordered tapping at her hastily raised sword. He did the motion slowly twice, letting her adjust to the feel of an opponent, then he abruptly increased the pace. She matched him, her gaze fixed on his eyes just like Amelie did. He upped the tempo again and again until their arms were flying at each other yet he got very little past her.
‘Ok, move your feet,’ he instructed even while continuing to parry her sword. He advanced on her forcing her backwards. He grinned, aware she would shortly be up against the fence but she surprised him by sidestepping beforehand and without looking round. He drove her on backwards. She sidestepped several times and without warning, forcing him to overreach and have to readjust quickly. ‘New move,’ he announced, batting her sword aside and thwacking her shoulder. She growled at him for that and came at him with her attempt at the move. Her sudden offense surprised him and made him hesitate. That hesitation earned her a strike against him. He growled then and attacked with another new move which succeeded in felling her. But instead of falling and submitting or scrambling away from him, she attacked. She kicked out and swept his legs out from under him. He measured his length in the hard sand. He coughed and rolled over quickly to meet her eyes, only to find she was sitting smiling at him.
‘Did you see that Bruno?’ Jim asked, glancing at the man standing close by, just the other side of the fence. ‘She knocked me off my feet yet again.’
‘Yes, I noticed that,’ Bruno agreed.
‘What are we going to do with her?’ Jim asked him.
‘You did, for the third time, deserve to be knocked on your backside,’ she pointed out. She glanc
ed at Bruno then grinned pointedly at Jim.
‘Bruno could you stop agreeing with her quite so loudly,’ Jim complained a little peevishly, despite the fact the poor man hadn’t uttered a word. His thoughts though were loud enough for a wizard to hear. Jim glanced round and realised the others who’d shared the ring when they’d started were all standing at the railings watching. He suspected they’d all stopped immediately to watch his and Natalya’s session.
‘So what did you learn from this?’ Natalya asked.
‘You’ll make a good sword fighter once you’ve had some training. Bruno can put together a programme for you,’ he added.
‘Just sword play?’ Bruno asked.
‘Not necessarily. I’ll leave it to you to find out what will suit her,’ Jim conceded. ‘Is this a good time of day to train her?’
‘How much time can she spend here?’ Bruno asked.
‘You think she warrants extra sessions?’
‘She’s welcome to join my warrior class,’ Bruno suggested eagerly. ‘I know they are all far more advanced but that’s where she should be.’
‘You don’t think she should start in one of the lower classes first?’
‘No, she wouldn’t thrive there. She obviously learns quickly and is physically strong. She’ll soon be able to hold her own.’
‘How does that sound to you Natalya? The warrior class meets here after breakfast every day. In fact many are here now,’ Jim added, realising more were present now than had been when he first arrived. ‘Sorry, are we holding up another class?’
‘No. Word has evidently spread that you’re here training,’ Bruno commented.
Jim suspected from the way Natalya was being ogled that it wasn’t him they’d gathered to watch and Bruno’s sidelong glance at her confirmed it.
‘How long is your class if they come every day?’ Natalya asked Bruno.
‘All morning,’ Bruno said. ‘There are many disciplines to cover, from hand to hand combat to all the forms of weaponry through to handling and training a war horse. Can you ride?’
‘Yes, but I don’t know anything about war horse commands,’ she admitted.
‘That’s for you to learn,’ Bruno told her. He was eager now to get started testing her and training her properly. From what he’d just seen she had a great deal of raw potential and such candidates were rare. If Jim hadn’t become headmaster Bruno would have suggested he join the class too. With more training Jim could be very good too. As it was, the range of manoeuvres that Drako had taught him sufficed for most circumstances. Jim was, after all, a wizard. He didn’t have to rely on physically pounding someone, he could cast any number of spells to either protect himself or indeed disable an opponent from a distance.
‘How’s your arm?’ Jim asked her aware he ached from the blows she’d managed to land on him.
‘Sore I suppose,’ she admitted and pushed up her sleeve to look. A large purple bruise was just starting to cover her shoulder and upper arm.
‘Sorry, let me mend that,’ Jim offered coming to her side.
‘There’s really no need,’ she objected, but weakly; it did hurt.
‘I’m not having Freddie come and growl at me again. I never thought he could be quite so disconcerting, but where you’re concerned he’s exceedingly protective.’
‘I’m surprised you find that unexpected,’ she told him as they slipped between the rails and sat in the stands so students could use the arena again. ‘He’s the alpha leader of a pack of strong wolves. He didn’t become alpha by letting others push him around,’ she commented, then fell silent to turn her feelings inward to observe what exactly he was doing to ease her bruises. ‘That feels a lot better thank you. Shall I do yours? Assuming I landed any,’ she added ruefully.
‘You did, I can assure you,’ he said with wry chagrin. ‘It’s just my hip that hurts badly though. I think I landed on it awkwardly.’ He watched her place her hands lightly on his waist and thigh over his trousers. ‘Can you tell what I’ve done to it?’
‘Just bruised I think,’ she told him and immediately copied what he’d done to reduce her bruises. ‘Better?’ she asked taking her hands off him quickly when he nodded. He smiled at her then rose and went to speak to someone. She picked up a handful of sand and rubbed it between her palms for a moment feeling the need to scrub his scent from her skin. It was very odd to feel like that; it wasn’t as though she’d remotely done anything wrong. She absently watched Jim talking to someone and rubbed more sand through her hands. She glanced up, aware of a presence and found a rangy young man had come closer and was watching her curiously. Under his unruly thatch of dark hair she noticed his soft brown eyes shone with intelligence. He seemed to know what she was doing with the sand and she flushed with embarrassment and let the sand fall.
‘Hello, I’m Natalya,’ she greeted. ‘You’re animus aren’t you?
‘Yes. I’m Jason,’ he told her, amused she seemed to accept him just because he was animus. Well that was certainly a refreshing attitude. ‘You’re Freddie’s girl aren’t you?’
‘Is that how I’m known?’ She snorted softly. ‘Yes, I suppose I am.’
‘What does he think to you fighting the wizard?’ Jason asked.
‘He knows I’m at the school today to find my place. I need training and they offered to teach me. What they have in mind I’ve no idea, but Bruno seemed to think he could teach me. Are you in his warrior class?’
‘Yes. They asked you to join this class?’ Jason asked in surprise.
‘Yes. Bruno thought I could do it. I don’t know,’ she added a little doubtfully. ‘I’ve never even been allowed near a practise ground let alone weapons before. Maybe they expect me to fall flat on my face,’ she grumbled then shrugged. ‘At least I’ll learn something useful. See you,’ she added by way of a farewell, seeing Jim glance at her, obviously now ready to go. When she glanced back she noticed Jason was watching her but was now surrounded by others. She supposed that knowing the person she was speaking to was animus she’d automatically lowered her voice. Few of the others would have been able to overhear what they’d spoken about so briefly.
‘So, what now?’ she asked Jim.
‘Morning tea break is about to start. Want to speed run?’
‘Speed run?’ she queried, but followed him into a jog.
‘Feel what I’m doing, but start slowly or you’ll trip,’ he warned. He felt her reluctantly touch his mind to discover what he was doing, or rather to see the mechanics of how he’d just sped away from her without effort. He heard a giddy laugh and she was abruptly alongside.
‘Come on then,’ he challenged and increased his pace. They blasted along the track towards the house at about a horse’s gallop pace. ‘This is even better when you’re on horseback. Doubling your own running pace is good but doubling a horse’s gallop is astonishing. You have to be careful not to go anywhere they’re likely to trip over anything though. It’s almost impossible to judge how to jump an obstacle at this kind of pace. If you see one you just slow up to normal pace to tackle it before speeding up again. It’s funny, but no-one else seems to have grasped this spell. You constantly surprise me Natalya. You’re so like Amelie in that regard. She loves going fast. She likes her horse’s gallop, but even better is her eagle or dragon, they truly know real speed.’
‘That’s more tiring than ordinary running isn’t it,’ Natalya commented, puffing as she walked up the steps and into the school moments later.
‘A little, but mainly it’s deceptive. If you’d sprinted that distance you’d understand why you felt breathless. But because you’ve covered the distance twice as fast, your mind tries to tell you that you haven’t gone very far. That’s the main reason you feel odd. Yes you add to your weariness by having used some of your magic but it’s only like any other spell. I just thought this one might appeal to you in its usefulness.’
‘It certainly does. There were many occasions when using that spell would have been very useful.’
&nbs
p; ‘I would point out that it has a major downside in that it’s a loud spell. Any wizard or even a sensitive animus would feel it from miles away and be able to track your direction. I haven’t found a way to counter that signature yet. Well, to be honest, I haven’t given it much thought. Maybe you can come up with a way of making it quiet.’
‘Me? Why do you think I might be able to figure out something like that? I wouldn’t know where to start,’ she said little aghast.
‘You are good at shielding. That might be the way to do it.’ He shrugged then turned his attention to pouring them both mugs of tea then juggling a handful of biscuits as well and taking them to the nearest vacant chair. Natalya sat near him, glancing around curiously at the people surrounding them and listening to snatches of conversations. But she rather single-mindedly concentrated on her tea and biscuits. She had expended a great deal of energy and effort already this morning and clearly needed the food boost. She turned towards the window and whilst continuing to sip her tea, her mind seemed elsewhere. A faint hum of power surrounded her and Jim noticed she was smiling.
‘Who are you talking to?’ Jim asked.
‘Freddie,’ she said simply and continued sharing her experiences of this morning with her love.
‘So, does he approve of your joining the warrior class?’ Jim asked her and gleefully suspected from her frown and inward looking pause that she hadn’t told him that bit. Freddie was a warrior and would know exactly what such training would involve. Whether he would wish his lady to train to fight and voluntarily put herself in harm’s way, was likely to be the sticking point. No man really wished that.
Natalya: Wizards of White Haven Page 16
