by Ben Hale
"Are you lost, dear?" a voice asked.
Tess turned to find Eden behind her usual desk. As the gatekeeper to the directors, Eden had been the one to first register Tess for her classes. She was old, and bore white hair that was at odds to the steel in her eyes.
"Just needed a place to think," Tess said.
"Most students use Star Hall for that," Eden replied.
Tess shrugged at the suggestion. Star Hall was beautiful, but right now she needed solitude, not beauty. Eden regarded her for a long moment through her stylish spectacles. Then she pursed her lips and stood.
"I think I'll take a walk," she said. "These old bones need to get out."
Before Tess could reply Eden strode to a door and left. Tess smiled at her absence, and said, "Thank you, Eden." Then she sighed and walked to the center of the chamber, where the statue of her ancestor stood.
She hadn't realized until that moment that was where she'd intended on going, but upon facing Siarra's stone features she felt a sense of relief. She touched the amulet on her chest, and rubbed it, wishing it would reveal its secrets.
"What would you have me do, Siarra?" Tess murmured. "The world stands on the brink of a war it cannot survive. Mages have been manipulated into thinking the aurens are ready to attack, and the Harbingers are about to release the Dark."
She looked away, and whispered, "How am I supposed to lead them? I'm just sixteen, and can barely do magic. I can't even unlock the Crest. You founded a school which has endured for nine thousand years. You invented gravity magic. Surely you would know what to do."
The statue was silent. Unmoving, the stone eyes looked past her. Tess wondered how Siarra would be faring in her place. Perhaps then the war could be averted.
She sighed and turned away from the statue, abruptly annoyed that she was talking to an inanimate object. Choosing a granite bench, she sank onto its surface. The material was spongy, like a comfortable couch at her home before it had burned. She reclined on its surface and stared at the vivid detail in the ceiling.
Five minutes passed, and then ten. Eden did not return, and Tess didn't feel inclined to leave. The solitude of the chamber lent a semblance of peace that she'd not felt in some time. Then she remembered what the room was called, and her despair returned in full. This was the World Room, and she was failing it just as much as the real thing.
"Tess?"
She jerked to a sitting position to find Derek standing a few feet away. "Derek? How'd you find me?"
He flashed his lopsided grin. "Who do you think?"
"Iris." Tess said it like it was a curse. "How many monitoring motes does that girl have?"
"Don't be mad at her," Derek said. "I wanted to know where you had gone."
Tess looked away. "I wasn't in the mood to talk."
Derek didn't take the hint. Instead, he sank onto a seat beside her. "But it's Christmas Eve. You are supposed to be with your family."
"My family couldn't make it," Tess said, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice.
"Your parents aren't your only family," he said quietly.
"I barely know Alice if that's what you—"
"It wasn't." He released an exasperated breath. "I was talking about us."
"Oh," Tess said.
She felt a rush of warmth at his words. It didn't erase her tension, but it did warm it enough for her to speak on it.
"I'm drowning, Derek," she said. She couldn't look into his brown eyes, so she looked at the statue of the Siarra. Her stomach rigid, she continued.
"We haven't gotten the Sword. I can't unlock the Crest. On top of that the mages are about to go to war. What more can I do?" she demanded. "In nine days the Harbingers enact their plan—and then it's over. We'll have lost."
"It doesn't matter," Derek said.
She rounded on him, "What do you mean, it doesn't matter? What have I been working so hard for?"
His gaze narrowed at her. "It doesn't matter because if you keep acting like this, they have already won. Don't you see that your friends are worried about you? All you do is study and practice. You haven't surfed with Rox in weeks, you hardly eat with us anymore, and you don't seem to care about anyone. The only way I do get to see you is if I schedule a tutoring session and you come to learn. Even then you are so focused on practicing that you hardly speak to me."
Stung, her voice rose. "How does any of that matter when the world is about to—"
"It matters because it's who we are, Tess—and I don't mean just you and me. Like it or not we are soldiers now, but soldiers don't just fight to win, they fight for freedom. They fight so that their family and friends can celebrate birthdays, friendships, and holidays. Don't you see? If you let them rob you of what makes you human . . . then you have already lost.
"I know I can't understand the burden you carry—but I can understand what you feel. You feel like if you fail the people you care about will suffer, maybe even die. You feel like you are on the verge of snapping in half, and think you can't stop—even for a moment. If you do then everything will be gone."
"How can you know that?" Tess said. He sounded like he'd lived it.
He released an explosive sigh. "Because my parents have been gone for a long time, Tess, and I'm responsible for my sister."
Tess was stunned. In spite of all the time they had spent together, Tess had never heard Derek or Iris say ten words about their home life. She never would have expected this.
"What happened?" she asked.
"My dad left when I was eight," he said. "One night he was just gone. The way my mom acted I think it had been a long time coming. She still fell apart though. She's a techno mag like Iris, and she stopped caring enough to focus. She just sat there in her chair and stared into space, watching TV or playing mindless internet games. In a month our savings were gone and we had to move away from Auroraq. We ended up in a tiny apartment in Florida, living like aurens.
"Iris couldn't do anything, she could hardly pay attention. Young techno mags are difficult, even more so when they are talented. The aurens called her autistic, and put her in special classes. She ignored them, and the school sent a letter telling us she needed to be held back. My mom tried to get a job, but could never keep it for more than a week or two. After each firing she slipped further into that stupid brown chair of hers."
"What did you do?" Tess whispered.
"What could I do?" he said. "I quit school and got a job."
"But you were nine."
"So? I had no choice. I found a man that did pools for a living, and convinced him that I could dig the holes faster than he could. He didn't know I was using magic, he just knew I could dig a pool in a day and it cost him less than a tractor. At night I worked with my sister, and tried to teach her to focus. Then I slept for a few hours and woke up at five to clean our house, do the laundry, and prepare meals for the day. As soon as Iris was at school I went to work."
"How did things change?"
His gaze was distant. "They didn't for a while. Iris started to get better around twelve or thirteen, and she began to help some. She was a master already, and began to tutor kids. Within a year she was earning half our income just from teaching. The auren school thought she was going nuts, and reported her to the state. Then they came to take her.
"Iris intercepted the message in time and we left. Even then she had no qualms about breaking into secure networks." He flashed a grin. "We were earning enough by then that we could afford to live in a mage city, so we moved to Ruik in Wyoming. There I was able to use my magic freely, and managed to find work at a creation company that built homes and shops. With the extra money we put our mother into a home that takes care of rigid techno mags.
"A couple of years later I turned 16 and could have gone to Tryton's. I wanted to stay home and wait until Iris was old enough, but she wouldn't hear of it. She took on more students and forced me to come. It turned out she'd been saving a portion of her tutoring money each month, and had enough for my first year."
He released a conflicted sigh. "We came to Auroraq together, and she stayed with a friend while I went to school. When she was old enough she joined me, but to this day she covers our school expenses by teaching classes."
Derek fell silent, and on impulse Tess took his hand. The contact fell warm and comforting, and sent tingles up her arm. How could she have not known this? She counted Derek and Iris among her closest friends, and yet she had been so caught up in her own burdens that she hadn't stopped to think about others.
"I'm sorry," she finally said.
"Don't be," he replied, and met her gaze. "My life was the crucible that made me who I am. How can I be sorry for what it has taught me?"
"I mean about not knowing. I should have been a better friend."
"You are a great friend," Derek said. He flashed his characteristic grin. "It's just not something Iris or I talk about much. It's kind of a downer."
She laughed at the tone in his voice. "That's putting it lightly, don't you think?"
His eyebrow peaked. "I can't change the circumstances of my life, Tess. I can only control my response to it. I work so that I can spend time with the people that mean the most to me—like you. Do you understand now?"
"I think so," Tess said, and meant it. The cold weight that had settled into her heart seemed to have dissipated—to a degree. She doubted it would ever be gone entirely, but at least now she could focus on other things.
At that moment she became aware of his proximity, and the earnestness to his eyes. Their hands were still intertwined, and she felt a burst of heat that had nothing to do with magic. She felt a desire to kiss him—and almost did. At the last second she was a coward.
"Good," Derek said. He swallowed as if regaining control of himself, and pulled her to her feet. "Because we have some errands to run."
"What errands? I still have homework to do."
He dismissed that with a wave. "It's Christmas Eve. I'm sure your teachers will understand. You're already blowing through this school faster than anyone in history. Besides," he skewered her with a glare, "I bet you haven't bought anyone gifts yet."
She blanched at the realization. How could she forget such a thing?
He issued a bark of laughter and pulled her toward the door. "Then let's go. We still have a few hours before the shops close on Sentre, and I am seeing a particularly nice gift in my future."
"Are you going to pick it out?"
"Of course," he said with an airy laugh. "Why do you think I came to find you?"
She stopped him. "Thanks, Derek."
He grinned. "Anytime," he hesitated, and then added, "Don't tell Iris I told you. She doesn't like people to know. Now let's go."
Tess allowed herself to be dragged to Sentre and to its festive shops, grateful that Derek hadn't let go of her hand. For the first time in weeks the chill in the air didn't seep into her skin. Caged within her, her worry continued to remind her of how much time she had left.
For now, she ignored it.
Chapter 41: Christmas
Tess awoke Christmas morning groggy but actually excited. Iris was already awake and sat crouched next to the five-foot Christmas tree that had appeared in their room overnight. Beneath it were a bundle of presents. Tess recognized only one of the wrapped packages, the one she'd purchased the previous evening.
As with all the gifts she'd purchased, they had been wrapped by the store and a seeking charm had been placed upon them. The shopkeepers had assured her that they would all find their way to their intended recipients. Iris had only opened one, and was staring at the orb with a confused expression.
"What did you get?" Tess asked.
Iris jumped and whirled to face her. "You don't have to startle a girl," she said crisply.
"Sorry," Tess said, and then repeated her question.
It was odd, Tess couldn't help but view Iris differently after what she'd learned, like she was more mature. Still, Tess had promised not to say anything, so she did her best to talk normally. Iris was good enough at picking up on cues that Tess didn't want to give her knowledge away.
"It's a Braon stratos orb," Iris said, and held it up so Tess could see it better.
"What's a stratos orb?"
"Stratos is like chess, but more strategic. It was a game invented twenty years before the Second Draeken War. If you'll recall, Braon led the defenses at Azertorn. What you may not know is that he was selected primarily because of his skill with Stratos."
Tess had moved to the floor and was examining her presents, choosing which to open first. Nearly everyone she knew had sent her something.
"Why is his face in your orb?" Tess asked.
"After the war they started enchanting memory orbs to include more than images." She gestured to the painting on the wall above her bed, which showed Iris flying in the sky with Tess. "The orbs were the precursors to the paintings," she said. "But back then they were used to capture an aspect of someone's identity.
"They can't hold an entire persona inside them. People's minds are too complex for that, but you can have a specific feature charmed into the orb. These days the charm is used primarily for Stratos." She gestured to the orb. "Braon is the most valuable because he has never been beaten."
"Never?" Tess raised an eyebrow. "It's been ten thousand years since he lived. Surely someone has defeated him."
Iris shrugged. "Siarra once said that Braon's strategic mind was actually a kind of magic—a unique. I suppose that's why he's so good."
The way she said unique struck Tess as odd, like it was a title. She was about to ask but decided against it. "Who gave it to you?"
"Warren," Iris said with a frown.
"It sounds like a pretty expensive gift," Tess said. She thought back to Warren's behavior. Did he like Iris?
"Too bad I don't play Stratos," Iris said, and tossed the orb onto the bed. She grunted in annoyance and muttered under her breath, "Now I have to figure out something to get him."
Tess smothered a laugh and turned to her own gifts. Selecting the one from Derek first, she unwrapped it to find a large chunk of metal. Irregular and craggy, it bore a shallow depression in the middle that resembled a small cave.
"What is—"
She was interrupted as Stel burst from her arm and slipped into the hole in the middle. Cooing loudly, it turned into a kitten and nuzzled against the glistening metal.
"Nice," Iris said. "He wouldn't tell me what he was working on, but he did a good job. You needed a grend home anyway. Stel can't sit around like a bracelet forever."
Tess felt a rising sense of gratitude at the thoughtful gift. "Do you like it?" she asked the metal intelligence.
Stel poked its metallic furry head out of the hole and rumbled a satisfied purr. Tess grinned and used her magic to float it onto the stand beside her bed. Then she turned to the one from Iris.
"They're just spectacles," Iris said. "But I made them myself, so they have some extra features you might like."
Tess donned them and expressed her appreciation. Iris glowed with pride and then turned away to tell someone off for interrupting her Christmas morning. Tess set aside the ones she'd been borrowing from Derek and put her new ones in her case. Then she opened the rest of her gifts.
Rox had given her a pair of stylish shoes that were specifically enchanted for water mage surfing. Hawk's package contained a tiny red car. Tess tried to figure out what it was, but ultimately set it aside.
Alice had sent her a gift as well, and she felt a moment of chagrin that she hadn't thought of her. Inside the package was a tiny glass memory orb with all the magics swirling inside it. Distinct colors curved and touched, and lazily drifted around each other.
Once they had finished with their presents they dressed and Iris stepped to the door. Tess caught her arm. "Do you want to fly with me?" she asked. Her roommate lit up and jumped to the rear doors.
"Any chance to fly is welcome," she said.
Tess felt a twinge of regret, and promised herself th
at she would fly Iris more frequently. Joining her, Tess gathered her magic and jumped off the back balcony. Iris crowed with delight as they glided toward the lake, and Tess swung them into a few twists and turns.
When they landed, Tess said, "Let's make this a daily thing, shall we?"
Iris sniffed. "It's about time."
Tess grinned, and said, "And I want you to teach me to do some techno magic."
Iris lit up, and launched into a description of how to send mental messages using the auren networks. "It's the single most useful trick," she said.
Tess tried to keep up, and promised that she would try to practice it when she had more time. Bearing a large smile, Iris opened the door to the meal hall, which was full to the brim with chattering students showing off their presents. Tess gathered a plate of strawberry topped waffles and bacon before heading to her usual table. Warren intercepted Iris, and stammered a question about the Braon orb. Tess hid a smile at Iris's consternation and sat across from Derek and Shorn.
"Merry Christmas guys," she said.
Shorn was talking with Rox, but turned to answer at the same time as Derek. "You too, Tess." Then he turned back to talking with her.
"How can you say it's better?" Shorn asked. "Air surfing is in the air."
Rox jerked her head, an easy smile playing on her lips. "But in water surfing you make your own board. I can control the wave and the board."
Derek grinned and made a subtle gesture toward them. Tess blinked, and then tilted her head in understanding. How much had she missed in the last few weeks? Shorn was sitting quite close to Rox, and the proximity didn't seem to bother her. Instead her eyes were bright and she seemed to be smiling more than usual. Tess tried to recall if she was currently dating anyone, but couldn't remember seeing anyone since Wilson the memory mage had tried to alter her memory.
After a minute they joined Derek and Tess as they talked about their presents, but it was frequently interrupted by other students stopping by their table. Parker, Kyle, and Lisa visited to express their greetings, and several of Tess's other teammates, squadmates, and classmates did the same. To her surprise, Katsuo from the Brokins team waved to Shorn and Tess as he found a seat.
