Archon's Hope: Book III of 'The Magician's Brother' Series

by HDA Roberts

  Before he could say anything else, Hopkins came in and waved us into our seats. She had a heavy bag in her hand.

  "First, an announcement," she said, dropping it to the floor, her face twisting in distaste, "Due to the preponderance of requests, there will be a lecture series on duels, including an appearance from someone on the professional circuit."

  There was excited nattering at that, Belle was practically bouncing in her seat. I thought she'd given up on all that nonsense, but it would appear she still had the bug...

  "I'm still working on a name, details to follow," she continued, "Today's lesson will be on concentration and will. Mister Graves, if you'd come to the front, please?"

  I groaned quietly, but I got up and did as I was told. She dug into the bag and pulled out a small silver ball.

  "This is a Tester. It's a specially enchanted item designed to be used by two people in a sort of game. It neutralises the magic of the players and reduces the contest down to the participants' ability to concentrate and focus on the goal, which is simply to touch your opponent, using the ball. Easy as that. To start, we each press a stud on the side, then we step back five paces and say 'ready'. It ends when the ball makes contact with one of us, questions?"

  I shook my head and she held up the ball. She pressed her stud and the ball started to hover in mid-air. I pressed the stud on my side and walked backwards the required number of paces while she did the same.

  "Ready," she said.

  "Ready," I replied.

  The ball shot towards my face.

  Maybe I wasn't ready.

  I focussed on the ball, and its advance slowed and then stopped about a foot away from my outstretched hand, far too close. I concentrated harder, focussing only on the ball, and it inched its way back towards Hopkins, and stopped a few feet closer to her. She had her eyes closed, her focus was intense, and I didn't even think she was even trying that hard, whereas I was more or less right at my limit. I had a long way to go.

  "Focus," Hopkins said.

  "I am focussing," I said through gritted teeth, the ball jumped an inch closer to me.

  Crap.

  I exerted my Will, in the same way I'd cast a spell, only without the magic, and the ball moved a little bit in the opposite direction before stopping again.

  "Better," Hopkins said, "now both together."

  A pulse of anger broke my concentration completely, and the ball hit my palm. It let out a little chime and fell to the ground.

  "Anger is the mind-killer, Mister Graves," Hopkins said as I picked up the ball and brought it back. She turned towards the audience, "It's that simple, everyone pick a partner and start."

  I went for Belle, but Wilbur got to me first, "Heard you were a duellist," he said.

  "You may not know better, so I'll try not to take that as an insult," I said.

  "An insult?" he replied as I moved around him, but Shelly had already nabbed Belle, and everyone else had a partner. Rats.

  "I don't duel," I clarified.

  "Why?" he asked as I turned back to him.

  "Using magic as a boxing glove for the entertainment of people who like bright lights is like using a supercollider as a microwave."

  "Screw you! You're just saying that because you couldn't even keep up with a teacher."

  I sighed, but controlled my temper (which seemed to be getting harder these days).

  "Let's just get this over with," I said.

  "Fine!" he said, holding up a ball.

  We did the necessaries and took the steps. We said ready and I beat him in about a second. He wasn't happy.

  I may not be a match for an Archon, but I can take this idiot with one hemisphere of my brain tied behind my back.

  "I wasn't ready!"

  "Alright," I said. We reset and took our spots.

  Same result. He went red in the face.

  "You're cheating!" he snarled.

  "How?"

  "I don't know, but you are!"

  Fire was flickering at his eyes, he was losing his cool (so to speak).

  We were being watched.

  "Whatever you say," I said with a sigh.

  He started to get agitated, flames started to dance around his arms and hands.

  "Don't do it," I warned, my eyes narrowing.

  "Mister Hall!" Hopkins said, "What do you think you're doing?"

  "He's a cheater!"

  "Come to Magic class, she said, it'll be good for your education, she said," I muttered, earning me a glare from Hopkins.

  "You have an issue, you take it to the ring," Hopkins said.

  "He won't duel!" Hall said, "He's a coward!"

  "You know what? Fine," I said, "let's do this."

  I'd had enough. And I didn't like being called a cheater. I mean, I do cheat, but only when it's necessary (or it might be funny). I hadn't needed to cheat against this imbecile.

  "Wait, what?" he said, suddenly looking worried.

  "I said I accept your challenge. Let's go."

  "Um... yeah!" he said, "I'll show you!"

  "After class," Hopkins said, returning to the others, offering a note here, a suggestion there. Hall and I both sat down at either end of the stands. The other competitions ended after another ten minutes, and Hopkins made them do it again. I'd been reading a textbook while Hall became steadily more agitated, waiting for our duel.

  "Alright, you two, let's get this done," Hopkins said, pulling safety gauntlets from the duelling supplies cupboard. She handed one to each of us and gestured for us to get in the ring. The gauntlets are part of the ring's magic, they let the competitors throw fireballs at each other without either of them getting hurt, as the gauntlet absorbs the attack and transmits the energy into the ring.

  They only work inside the circle, though, which was a shame, they might have been useful in the wider world.

  "Best of three, no high magic," Hopkins said, standing outside the circle as we took position opposite each other, "you both ready?"

  "Yes," I said, preparing shield constructs in my head.

  "Absolutely," Hall said, glaring at me.

  "Duel," Hopkins said tiredly, shaking her head. She didn't like duelling any more than I did.

  I brought up my shields and cast Mage Sight before I started gathering force. That took a few seconds.

  During which Hall had been dancing.

  I kid you not. He was actually moving and skittering, waving his hands back and forth. He was gathering a little heat, but hadn't even bothered to put up a shield.

  "What is that?" I asked, "What do you think you're doing?"

  "You're never going to see me coming," he said, darting back and forth, almost like a boxer.

  "But you're right there," I said, "I can see you."

  "But you can't see... this!"

  He threw a fireball. It wasn't even a big one, or a particularly hot one.

  I caught it.

  Well, it looked like I caught it. You couldn't actually take another Mage's Spell, it was a magical frequency thing. You could refract it, and send it back where it came from with a very specific type of shield, but I didn't use them. They were complex and required very specific knowledge of what your opponent was doing as he was doing it. What I did was to enclose his fireball in a sphere of my own Will, where it detonated, and the Magic of the spell disappeared leaving only the heat behind, which I then drew into my own fireball spell, still inside the sphere.

  It looked impressive, and technically speaking I suppose it was. But the idea wasn't to be technically impressive, it was to illustrate the point that I should be left alone.

  I drew more heat into the spell, making it brighter and hotter, and then I tossed it back. He tried to dance out of the way, but I simply had the ball follow him and smack into the aura provided by the gauntlet.

  There was a chime.

  "One-zero, Graves," Hopkins said.

  "How did you do that?" Hall asked.

  "Magic," I replied, which raised a few laughs, "Stop danc
ing and put up a shield for heaven's sake."

  "Don't tell me how to duel!"

  I sighed and took my position.

  He didn't dance again. He did try to raise a shield.

  "Tighten up the outline," I offered.

  "I know what I'm doing!" he said, but he did what I told him anyway.

  "More power-links in the central web," I said.

  He growled, but added the strands, the shield brightened and strengthened, growing hotter, more solid.

  "Hold it there," I said, "and see if you can make it wider. It's more stable if you don't try to move it. If it's wider, then you don't have to."

  "Why are you helping?" he asked, following my instructions.

  "For the time when you meet someone who doesn't want to help," I replied, "Let's see your fireball again. Take your time, keep the shield in place. You don't need to be fast this first time."

  It took him some time, but he managed to get a fireball and a shield up at the same time.

  "This is boring!" Maria said.

  The shield flickered.

  "Ignore her. Focus."

  He swallowed and the shield brightened again, the matrix tightening up properly.

  "Good," I said, "Now throw the ball."

  He obeyed, and it smacked into my gauntlet, which chimed.

  "One-all," Hopkins said, her voice soft, just a hint of pride there. I ignored her.

  "The ball's got a good form, but it could be stronger, show me again," I said.

  He obeyed, and I helped him tighten up the structure. When we were done it was half the size and four times as bright. I had him bring up his shield, and it was quicker and stronger this time.

  "Okay, throw when ready," I said.

  "You'll lose," he said.

  "Who cares?" I asked, "It's just a duel. It's not like it's Chess or something."

  He chuckled and threw his fireball.

  The chime went off, and he won. There was muted applause, it wasn't that great a duel.

  "Hall wins," Hopkins said, not sounding surprised. Hall came up to me.

  "Thanks," he said, offering his hand.

  "Welcome."

  "I have trouble sometimes, can I ask you?"

  "Sure. I'm around."

  He nodded and walked to his friends.

  The Shadowborn were sneering, no doubt they found that distinctly unimpressive. Belle patted my shoulder, "You always were a good teacher," she said.

  "That's it for tonight everyone, Graves, stay behind," Hopkins said.

  "Aw," I muttered.

  Belle grinned, "See you later, Matty."

  "Later," I replied, moving towards Hopkins.

  She glared until everyone else was out.

  "Putting aside pride for the good of someone you didn't even like," she said, "Interesting."

  "Did you have a point?" I asked.

  "How can you be so decent to that annoying duellist, but so disdainful of me? What do I have to do to make this right?"

  "Here's the problem. You say that you want to make this right, but all I hear is that you want whatever plan you have back on track."

  "And I keep telling you that I only did what I did for your own good!" she shouted, making the ground shake in the way she does when she's really mad.

  "You don't destroy somebody's life for their own good!" I shouted back, shadows leaking from every patch of darkness, "You don't rip the very core of a person's self-respect away for their own good!"

  I was so angry at her, and still so hurt. Even without the hideous scars on my face, I still wouldn't be able to look in the mirror, because of her.

  "I don't know what it is you're after. If I'm feeling charitable, I might be willing to accept that you're just someone who wants their brother home. I can understand that. What I can't tolerate is the cost of your search on me and mine. So, anything you say to me, I will immediately assume is designed to help you. And now I have to assume that you are willing to accept any cost to me in order to do it."

  "You done?" she asked.

  "Very," I said, turning away.

  "Come back here," she snapped.

  I turned back.

  "Whether or not you believe it, I have done what was necessary to keep you alive and sane. Whatever my goals may be in the end, I want you to be alright, and I will not apologise for doing that," she said.

  I stayed silent, didn't trust myself to say anything.

  "Nothing?" she asked, looking hurt.

  "What do you want me to say?"

  "I don't know," she said, looking away, "You can go."

  I walked away again, feeling even worse than before.

  Chapter 10

  The week passed nicely enough. Hopkins and I didn't talk much. She didn't even ask me questions in class anymore, and whenever she looked at me her expression was filled with such... guilt, and pain.

  But I knew it was a manipulation. It had to be. She just needed me for something to do with the First Shadow, that was all. That thought allowed me to ignore it; most of it anyway. She really did seem to feel bad, but she'd been willing to hurt me and Des both; and yet that was probably the only reason I was still upright... it was maddening!

  Bill, Cathy and I were wondering through the school that Saturday, making our way towards one of the computer labs, Cathy wanted to play Doom again. Bill and I wanted to go to the school movie, but, as is so often the case, Cathy gets what Cathy wants.

  There was a crowd of girls under the Old Oak, all sitting around a raven-haired beauty I didn't recognise. They were all laughing at something she'd said, they seemed entranced by her.

  "Who's the new talent?" Bill said, his tongue practically hanging out.

  "No idea," I said, "Cath?"

  "Nope," she said, "is she in the same year as us?"

  "Looks like it, but then she looks just all kinds of right to me," Bill said, walking towards the pack.

  I put my hand on his arm.

  "What?" he asked, looking miffed, "I'm wasting precious time!"

  "I smell something," I said, pulling him back.

  The girl looked up at me, smiling naughtily as her eyes locked with mine. It was very familiar, and her eyes were so dark...

  I cast Mage Sight, and sagged in frustration.

  "You two carry on, I need to have a word with her," I said.

  "Hey, I saw her first!" Bill said.

  "Billy!" Cathy said, smacking his arm.

  "Trust me, none of us should go near her, I'm just going to have a little chat before I call in an airstrike or something," I said, walking towards the tree.

  My friends left.

  She was leaning against the trunk, looking smug, her glamour elegant and damn-near perfect. It still felt like magic to me, though.

  "Look, ladies, we have a visitor," she said, "and what brings you by, Magician."

  "Funny, I was just about to ask you the same thing, Evelina," I said, my eyes narrowing.

  "Please, a little decorum, Magician, that's Princess Evelina, or 'your highness'," she said, dropping her glamour. She was wearing a midnight-purple ankle length dress, relatively modest, but leaving her arms bare. She wore a silver-coloured circlet, twisted and coiled around her forehead; the workmanship was astonishing.

  The girls with her 'oohed', and a couple of them squeaked and clapped.

  "Ladies, would you give me a moment with my friend?" she said, her voice slick and commanding.

  They nodded and the crowd dispersed. She stood, brushing some stray bits of grass off her dress.

  "So that's what was under the bandage," she said, looking at my scars, "Not very attractive, is it?"

  "I wasn't exactly keeping the women away with a stick to begin with. What are you doing here?"

  "I'm here to extend an invitation," she said, moving towards me, I stepped back.

  "Afraid of little old me?" she said, her eyes dancing with amusement.

  "You're an Unseelie Royal. Just because you're not at your strongest here doesn't mean that you ar
en't horrifically dangerous," I said, raising a set of shields.

  "Flattery will get you everywhere," she purred. She reminded me of Tethys.

  "Who's the invitation for?"

  She blinked hard before rolling her eyes, "You," she said in a voice that demonstrated disdain.

  "Why?" I asked.

  "That is a very graceless reaction," she said, her eyes turning dangerous.

  "And yet I'm still asking," I said, increasing my shield power.

  "My mother wishes to thank you," she said, smiling again, "and so do I."

  "That's very nice of you. But the way your mother was looking at me would tend to indicate that I wouldn't survive her... gratitude."

  "How you misjudge us, Mathew... may I call you Mathew?"

  "Sure."

  "Well Mathew, whether or not Mother likes you, she respects you. She respects the fact that you could have asked for anything in return for me, and she would have given it, and yet you asked for nothing. This is unusual among your kind. Magicians always want something."

  "So did I," I said reasonably.

  She stopped, her head cocked, "Really? And what was that?"

  "I wanted to be able to sleep at night. I couldn't do that if I left someone in the hands of a monster."

  "He was one of your own kind."

  "No he wasn't," I said icily, "I don't kidnap girls and mutilate innocent creatures."

  "I mean he was human," she said, not backing down from my sudden irritation.

  "Again, I'd have to disagree with you there."

  "You think that humans can't be monsters?"

  "I happen to know that they can. I just don't consider those people human."

  She smiled again, it was starting to worry me.

  "Come to my kingdom, Mathew. I think you'd like it."

  "No doubt I'd enjoy a visit, but I like my own realm for the long haul, thank you, and generally speaking, once someone goes to Unseelie, they don't come back."

  She giggled, which was cute, and still terrifying.

  "Oh, it's fun when they're smart," she said, "I can like a powerful man, but I do so prefer a smart one. Imagine my interest when it turns out you're both."

  "Interest?" I asked, now worried and looking for the nasty thing that had to be hiding nearby. This had to be a distraction.

  "Do you know how the Highborn choose their consorts?"

  "Consorts?" I asked, I was in a very abbreviated mood today.