The Awakening

by James E. Wisher

  Maria hurried over to the closest empty seat then spun to watch. She wasn’t the only one. It felt like every eye in the room was focused on him. Conryu hated the attention, but he supposed he’d have to get used to it.

  “Mr. Koda, you’re up,” Mrs. Saint said.

  Conryu took a breath, let it out slowly, and stepped up to the box. He reached for the black stone and rested his finger on it.

  The hall went dark. Crimson eyes appeared, all of them staring at him. Conryu stared back in a daze. Nothing like that had happened when the twelve dark-aligned girls had touched the stone. The only reaction they got was a slight dimming of the lights.

  “Take your finger off it, now!”

  Mrs. Saint’s order snapped Conryu out of his daze. He snatched his finger off the gem. The lights reappeared at once, but in his haste he grazed the fire gem. For a moment it felt like they’d stepped into an oven, but the heat passed as quickly as it appeared.

  The assistant dean stared at him.

  “Can I go now?”

  “No. Touch the fire gem.”

  “Hanna, what are you doing?” Dean Blane asked.

  “The fire gem reacted to him when he brushed it.”

  “Impossible.” The young wizard rushed around the table and over to the pedestal. Up close she looked even younger with her blond ponytail and smooth, pale skin. She didn’t look old enough to be a student, much less a teacher. She stared at Conryu with sparkling green eyes. “Did you feel the gem react?”

  Conryu remembered the heat and nodded.

  “Touch it again,” the dean said.

  He rested his finger on the gem and blistering heat, like someone had opened the door to a blast furnace, bathed the room. Conryu snatched his finger off it, careful not to graze the earth stone. He needn’t have bothered.

  “Touch the earth gem.” The dean’s eyes had gotten wider and her smile grew.

  Conryu didn’t really want to, but he couldn’t exactly refuse. He nodded and touched the brown gem. The floor rumbled and shook. He removed his finger at once. “Sorry.”

  “Sorry? Good heavens, don’t be sorry.” The dean spun in a circle like Maria did when she was particularly excited. “Before we found you, Conryu, the whole world believed it was impossible for a man to do magic. The world also believed more than one elemental spirit wouldn’t react to the same wizard. You have made a lie of two of the fundamental truths of wizardry. To think that something so remarkable would happen in my lifetime is a marvel. I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “I didn’t really do anything.” Conryu found himself in the deep end and in desperate need of a life preserver.

  The dean came around the pedestal and hugged him. He was so shocked he froze. “You will, Conryu, I can feel it. Now, touch the water gem.”

  In the end every gem reacted to Conryu to one degree or another. The dark gem reacted the strongest and the light gem the least, but every one of them did something. No one seemed quite sure what it meant, least of all Conryu himself. He was finally allowed to go join Maria at the end of her table. All the other girls inched away from him. Maria frowned at them and moved closer, almost sitting on his lap.

  The other girls didn’t look disgusted so much as afraid. After the black gem’s reaction he didn’t blame them. Those red eyes had scared the crap out of him too.

  “That went well,” Conryu said as platters of steaming food drifted into the hall, borne by invisible spirits. A platter of juicy meat and potatoes landed right in front of Conryu. A little tingle ran through him when the departing spirit brushed up against his arm.

  “It could have been worse.” Maria filled her plate then handed him a roll off a platter further up the table. “At least no one tried to kill you. I’m curious which floor they’ll put you on since you’re apparently aligned with every element.”

  Conryu didn’t care which floor they put him on, though of course he would have preferred to be on the top floor with Maria as she seemed to be the only person not afraid of him or angered by his presence. On the other hand, two of the tomato throwers were light aligned so maybe that wouldn’t be the best place for him.

  The feast went on for over an hour. If the idea was for the students to get to know each other it was a miserable failure for Conryu since only Maria spoke to him. The fact that they were close seemed to make the other girls reluctant to talk to her also. That sucked and made him feel guilty. There was no reason for Maria to be ostracized just because of him.

  When the feast wound down Mrs. Saint left the teachers’ table and clapped her hands. “All right everyone, let’s call it a night. The older students can head to their dorms; freshmen, line up and follow me.”

  Conryu started to stand, but she waved him back to his seat. “The dean wants to talk with you in private. She’ll assign you a room after.”

  He sat back down and looked at Maria. “Can you manage your bags okay?”

  She gave him a thumbs up. “No sweat. See you tomorrow.”

  “Good night.”

  When the dining hall had emptied of both students and teachers the dean came around her table and sat beside Conryu. “You, my new best friend, are a riddle.”

  “I’m a freak. What were those eyes staring at me when I touched the black gem?”

  “The gems, or more precisely the portal gems, are a physical manifestation of a connection to the alternate realities from which wizards draw our power. The black gem is a direct link to Hell and the eyes were demons attracted to your power. You, my boy, are the most powerful dark magic user in history. Demons and other dark spirits will be eager to meet you and recruit you to their side.”

  “Great. The humans here don’t have much use for me, but at least I can be friends with demons.”

  “There’s more good news. Since all the other spirits accepted you as well you can make alliances with any of the elemental sprits. That’s an unheard-of opportunity. You could be an ambassador between fire and water, earth and air, even Heaven and Hell. Though in all honesty you’ll get the most power out of dark spirits.”

  Conryu rubbed his face. “On a minor issue, what color robe am I supposed to wear?”

  “Black,” she answered without a moment’s hesitation. “You’re going to need to focus on dark magic training above all the others.”

  “Guess I’ll be sleeping in the basement then.”

  “Yup. But don’t worry, I’ve arranged a private suite for you with its own bathroom. Can’t have you sharing with the girls, after all. The senior I kicked out wasn’t thrilled, but she’ll get over it.”

  Conryu groaned. “So you made me another enemy?”

  “Try not to worry about it. Tomorrow morning you and all the other freshmen will go down to the lake at dawn to perform The Awakening ceremony. Once that’s complete you will be able to cast spells.” She put her hands on either side of his face and forced him to focus on her. “This is very important, for all the new students, but you especially. When you cast your first spells be very careful. If you make a mistake it could be very bad indeed.”

  “What about the others?”

  “It’s dangerous for everyone, but you’re twenty times stronger than the next strongest dark magic user so the risks are twenty times greater.”

  The day just kept getting worse. He tried to imagine what else might go wrong, but nothing came to him.

  3

  Day 1

  The basement room was nowhere near as unpleasant as Conryu had expected. The small suite he’d been assigned was warm and dry, with a chest of drawers, surprisingly soft bed, nice desk and comfortable chair, and the bathroom included a stall shower and pedestal sink. All in all it could have been much worse. No wonder whoever the dean had evicted was annoyed.

  There was supposed to be a teacher assigned to each floor as a monitor, but Conryu saw no sign of her. Perhaps in the morning. He was too tired tonight to worry about it. His clothes ended up in a pile on the floor and he was asleep almost before his head hit the
pillow.

  The next thing he knew someone was shaking him awake. He groaned. “I’m up, I’m up.”

  He rolled over but no one was there. His clothes were lying neatly folded on top of his drawers and a crisp black robe hung on the back of his chair. How had someone snuck in without his hearing and who woke him up?

  “Is anyone here?”

  A breeze swirled around him, almost caressing his face. Of course; they’d sent a spirit to wake him. It had probably just blown under the door.

  “Thanks for picking up my clothes.” The breeze brushed against him again. It seemed the spirit couldn’t communicate verbally.

  Conryu stood up, stretched, and headed for the bathroom. He was in desperate need of a shower. Behind the curtain was a shower head, but no knobs.

  “How do you get water?” He didn’t know if the air spirit could help him, but he figured it was worth asking. If he had to hunt down the teacher or worse, another student, he’d feel like an idiot.

  In response to his question a spray of water shot out. He stuck his hand in then pulled it back and shivered. “Warmer, please?” He felt ridiculous talking to a shower stall, but it seemed to be working.

  When steam filled the bathroom he checked again. Perfect. Conryu climbed in and pulled the curtain shut. A cloth and all the necessary supplies sat on a small shelf built into the stall. Maybe this place wouldn’t be so bad.

  Conryu had finished scrubbing his hair and was washing his chest when a pair of hands began to wash his back. He blinked water out of his eyes. It had to be his imagination.

  A moment later a distinctly feminine chest pressed against his back and began to rub against him.

  Conryu pulled away and spun around. A woman made of water hung in the air in front of him. Her features were indistinct, but there was no mistaking the overall shape. The water spirit smiled and reached for him again.

  He dodged around her. “Thank you, but I can manage on my own.”

  She pouted, and Conryu felt like a jerk. The spirit had only been trying to help after all. “Okay, you can wash my back, but hands only. Deal?”

  The spirit smiled again and flowed back around behind him where she resumed scrubbing. Five minutes later the strangest shower of his life ended and he stepped out onto the bathmat. “Great, no towels.”

  In response the wind spirit swirled around him like a mini tornado, drying him in under a minute. This was going to take some getting used to. Conryu finished his morning routine, dressed, and threw the black robe over the top of everything.

  “Thanks, ladies. See you later.” A watery hand waved to him from the bathroom door and the wind spirit swirled around his neck like a cat rubbing his leg.

  Conryu stepped out into the hall in time to join a line of girls in black headed toward the stairs. He fell in behind a dark-haired girl with pale skin. She glanced at him then turned away without comment.

  He sighed. Maybe he should make an effort to be friendly. “So, do you know what this awakening thing is all about?”

  She favored him with a look of cool disdain. “It’s a ritual to awaken our power.”

  “Yeah, I got that from the name. I meant, do you know what’s involved?”

  She chewed her lip for a moment. “No, I’m not certain.”

  Conryu nodded, feeling a bit better about his own ignorance. “I guess we’ll find out when we get there. I’m Conryu Koda.”

  “I know.” They started up the steps. “You were the biggest news item of the summer. I could hardly turn the tv on without seeing your face plastered on it.”

  “Tell me about it. Those vultures followed me whenever I left the house. This one reporter even stalked me on the train here. It was a huge relief when I found out reporters aren’t allowed on campus. Where are you from?”

  “What do I have to do to get you to leave me alone?”

  Conryu shrugged. “Ask.”

  “Would you leave me alone?”

  “Sure.” Conryu fell silent as they reached the top of the stairs and wandered into the lounge. Girls in red, blue and white were piling down the stairs from the floors above. Conryu blew out a sigh of relief when he spotted Maria in her gleaming white robe. She waved and hurried over.

  “Hey.” Conryu gave her a quick hug.

  “Morning. Sleep good?”

  “Like the dead. You?”

  “Hardly a wink. Too excited.”

  He nodded, not surprised. “So, did you have towels in your bathroom?”

  She stared at him for a moment. “Of course. What kind of question is that?”

  “I didn’t. A wind spirit dried me off and a water spirit washed my back. It was one of the odder experiences of my life and considering I’ve been nearly stabbed to death and attacked by shadow hounds, that’s saying something.”

  “Weird. You might want to mention it to your floor monitor.”

  “I don’t want to cause them any trouble. Both spirits seemed nice enough, nicer than any of the other students I’ve met so far.”

  “Just be patient. Once the girls get to know you I’m sure you’ll have lots of friends.” Maria frowned as she finished. “Just not too close, okay?”

  “You bet.”

  “Attention everyone.” Six teachers, one of each element, stood in front of the doors. The wizard in red appeared to be the oldest and she was doing the talking. “If you’ll gather by element we’ll head out to the beach.”

  “Good luck.” Maria jogged over to the other girls in white and immediately fell into what appeared to be a friendly conversation. Must be nice.

  A dozen girls in black eyed him suspiciously as he approached. He didn’t know if they were afraid he was going to tear their robes off and attack them or one of his spells might backfire and kill them all. After his conversation with Dean Blane he was worried about the latter.

  He smiled, trying to appear friendly, but it didn’t work. He ended up standing next to the girl he’d spoken to earlier. She scowled, appearing no more interested in talking to him now than she had before. Looked like he was the odd man out, literally.

  The teachers led them down to the beach just as the sun started to peek over the trees. Five glowing circles and one of black so dark it appeared to absorb the morning light decorated the beach.

  “Everyone take your place in the circle of your element,” the fire wizard said.

  Conryu and his reluctant companions marched down to the black circle. The light seemed to dim further as they approached.

  “Stop!” The wizard in black ran toward them, waving her hands.

  Conryu froze three feet from the circle. He and the girls all looked back at her.

  “Mr. Koda, please join me away from the circle. Just to be safe, you’ll be doing your awakening on your own after everyone’s finished. Dean’s orders, sorry.”

  Conryu shrugged and stood beside the dark wizard as everyone else gathered in the circles. When they were in place the wizards began to chant. Energy from the circles arced over, entering each of the girls and bringing ecstatic looks to their faces. They all stared at each other, eyes wide, with big smiles.

  When the ritual finished all but the black circle vanished. The wizard in black turned to Conryu. “Your turn.”

  Conryu walked down to the circle, every gaze tracking his progress. He’d grown thoroughly sick of being the center of attention everywhere he went. Maybe after this he could simply be another student, no different than the rest, aside from being a guy of course. And maybe unicorns would come flying out his ass. He caught Maria’s gaze and she gave him a thumbs up. At least there was always one person he could count on.

  As he drew closer to the circle it seemed the black line thickened and the light of the now fully risen sun dimmed. Had to be his imagination. Of course, that’s what he thought about the water spirit and she turned out to be real enough.

  When he stepped into the circle a feeling of welcome settled over him. Conryu had never experienced anything quite like it, but it felt good
all the same.

  The teacher began her chant. An odd pressure built in Conryu’s chest and it grew as the spell increased in power. After half a minute the pressure became an ache that spread through his whole body, like something trying to claw its way out.

  The ache became pain and soon the pain grew to the point that it took all his willpower to stay on his feet. Just when he thought he might faint, whatever was trying to escape exploded out of him.

  The world went black. Red eyes surrounded him, like when he touched the gem. Hundreds of voices whispered in a language he didn’t recognize. The tone was at times pleading, at times demanding, and yet other times almost hungry.

  “I’m sorry.” Conryu hoped these spirits understood him like the ones in his room. “I don’t know what you’re saying.”

  Some of the eyes vanished and the susurrus of voices fell away until only three remained. One was female, sultry and rich. Another snarled and growled, more like an animal than a person. The last was deep, male and powerful. Unfortunately he couldn’t understand them any better than he did the more numerous voices.

  He moaned and his arm burned as red letters seared into his flesh. Three words inscribed themselves in the meat of his inner forearm. A bright light blinded him and he knew no more.

  Maria watched Conryu make his way down to the black circle. Just looking at that horrid dark energy turned her stomach. It sucked that Conryu couldn’t bathe in the light energy like she had. The warmth and purity of it left her feeling like she’d just climbed out of the best shower of her life. That energy lived inside her now, ready to appear at her command.

  Maybe it was the same for dark-aligned wizards. She liked to think so. Conryu deserved a break.

  All around her the girls were muttering. None of them seemed certain what to think about Conryu. The range of opinion ran from nervous to outright hostile. Maria had only spoken to a few of the girls in the light magic group, but it was clear that the ones who came from a family with wizards in it were more disapproving than the rest. His existence threatened to change everything they knew and most didn’t like it.