by Tom Early
I glanced around the room, taking comfort in seeing Tyler lying sprawled on his back across the bed next to me, in seeing surroundings that were at least a little familiar to me by this point. I wasn’t sure why I was getting these intense dreams all of a sudden, and they scared me. I lay back down, trying my best to banish the memory of the dream from my mind. My waking life had enough trouble in it already.
Tyler made a small noise beside me and then promptly rolled on top of me, pinning me to the mattress, his face only inches away from my own, breathing slowly and deeply. I took solace in it, that I was allowed some level of normalcy.
Tyler was fascinated with magic, he’d said as much, but he was here for me, not magic. He was risking his life just because he liked me. I still couldn’t wrap my head around that. But I wasn’t going to question it. Not now, not ever. I was just going to consider myself incredibly lucky, and leave it at that. I did need to breathe, though, so I wriggled up a bit so that I actually had room for that. Tyler reacted by basically just wrapping himself around me, which was ridiculously sweet. I was glad he wasn’t awake to tease me for blushing so hard. Basking in his warmth, my lingering fear from the dream was banished, and I soon fell back asleep.
It felt like I got a few more hours of blessedly dreamless sleep in before I was woken up again, this time by Tyler shaking me gently. I rubbed my eyes and sat up slowly, tangled in the blankets around me, only to see Tyler smiling, and pointing to the steaming plates of eggs and sausage set out on the small table, and the two mugs of coffee. The bitter scent of it hit my nose a few seconds after that, and Tyler laughed as I launched myself at the coffee.
“Shut up,” I grumbled, narrowing my sleepy eyes at him, “Or I’ll leave you for this coffee.”
That only made him laugh harder, and reach over to pat my hair, which was sticking up all over the place. I nuzzled into the touch a bit. Tyler segued into scratching my head without missing a beat, which I appreciated. I sipped my coffee, and rested my head on the table. The scratching stopped after a few seconds, and we ate.
“So…” Tyler began, “How are you feeling? All recovered from last night’s attack?”
“Ugh, don’t remind me,” I moaned. “As if we weren’t facing enough opportunities to die as is. Now we don’t even get a chance to sleep before the next one. And we still don’t even know what those things were.”
“Hey, I’m sure we’ll manage,” Tyler said comfortingly. “Aiden said we were all good if we could figure out the sleeping thing, remember? I mean, we didn’t then, but… look, we’ll pass the Survival Trial, don’t worry. And whatever those shadows were, the University will deal with it.”
He squeezed my hand, and we dropped the matter. I asked Tyler how his college stuff was coming along, and he just glared at me until I stopped talking and looked away. I felt kind of bad about that. If I was lucky, I wouldn’t have to deal with normal college stuff at all. He did. That must have sucked.
Soon after we finished eating, there was a knock at the door. We were both decent, still wearing the gray shirt and jeans we had ended up sleeping in, so Tyler got up and opened the door. Sam and Aria followed in, the former throwing herself on the bed like she belonged there, and the latter standing quietly in the corner by the bathroom.
“Hey, you two,” Sam said cheerily, “it’s good to see that you’re up and not total zombies. I’m guessing that’s thanks to the coffee in Fay’s case, huh?” She smirked at me.
“If it works, then it works,” I said. “Anyway, what are you doing here?”
“Well, I figured that since we probably have a little bit longer before the Speaker calls us in to give us another bullshit excuse about last night, I should properly introduce the two of you to Aria.”
Aria waved her hand shyly, her brilliant blue eyes staring out at us, and her wings wrapped about her body. I smiled at her, and Tyler did the same unreservedly. Aria returned our grins with a small smile of her own a few seconds later. Tyler strode forward, his hand outstretched.
“Hey there, Aria. I’m Tyler, Fay’s familiar. And his boyfriend,” he added, winking at me. I reddened a little bit as Aria’s eyes flicked over to me for a second, reassessing me a little. She still smiled at me, though, so I think it was just a small surprise.
She opened her mouth, and as with last time, a long flow of musical words came out.
“Hey, Tyler. It’s great to meet you, I’ve heard not all that much about you actually. Sam mostly talks about Fay, but you were mentioned a couple times. She only says good things about you, though, so you must be nice. I’m Aria Tempestas, and I’m a Magpie Girl. That’s why I have the wings and stuff,” she said, pausing to take a breath as she gestured to her form. Tyler looked a bit dazed under the unexpected verbal avalanche, but he got over it quickly, pulling his hand back when it was clear she was going to stay wrapped in her wings.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that Sam likes me,” he grinned, glancing back at Sam for a moment. She stuck her tongue out at him. “I saw you in action last night. That was really impressive.”
“Thanks,” she replied, not quite making eye contact. “It was nothing, really. Not compared to what you three were capable of doing. Sam’s glowing bird totally turned the tides last night.”
“Well, I try,” Sam said, trying not to look to smug. She failed miserably. “And on the subject of last night, does anyone know what the hell happened?”
“No clue,” Tyler muttered. “But whatever it was, it caught the University way off guard. Not to mention poor Elliot.”
“It was really scary,” Aria said, her eyes wide. “I didn’t hear a thing, the whole time they were attacking. And then there was that thing, with the shadow wings. That was even scarier!’
“Can we talk about something else, something happier?” Tyler asked, shifting uncomfortably. “I like to focus on one traumatic event at a time, and we have the Survival Trial coming up next. I’ve found that dwelling on things like monsters just leads to insomnia.”
I touched his hand softly and changed the topic. “So, Aria, what are you hoping to get out of the University?”
Aria brightened at the question. “I’m glad you asked. I’m hoping to be a Stormcaller, like my granddad. I was born with a strong gift for Evocation, which is rare for our kind. It’s why I’m so good at air magic, particularly of the offensive sort. I want to go to Janus University to learn all the spells I can that are associated with the wind. I already know a bunch from my granddad’s collection, but the University has way more, and they can teach me new methods. What about you three?”
Tyler just laughed. “Oh, I’m not going to the University. I’m just here to make sure Fay doesn’t die, or mope because he’s lonely without me. Well, that and I wasn’t given much choice about coming.”
Aria looked intrigued at that. “Really? You’re the one the Speaker mentioned the other day? I’ve never heard of a normal human being a familiar before, though. I didn’t even think it was possible.”
“Trust me,” Sam said dryly, “neither did we. You should have seen the looks on our faces when Tyler appeared in the familiar circle. Speaking of which, Aria, what’s your familiar?”
“Oh, I haven’t shown you Pip yet, have I?” Aria asked. “I guess I must have forgotten, he sleeps a lot.”
She screwed up her face in concentration, and then recited a small incantation that sounded familiar to the one Sam used to call her ercinee. A gust of wind ran through the room, and the air to the right of Aria’s head swirled suddenly as it seemed to coalesce into the form of some small bird. It was like a bird-shaped cloud, and the occasional spark of electricity seemed to jump from its tiny blue-white eyes and run through its form. A piping chirp ran through the room as the bird took flight, traveling around the room swiftly. The bird completed its circuit, and landed back on top of Aria’s head, a few strands of her black hair blown up around it.
“Pip’s a stormswallow,” Aria said happily. “He’s a subclass of air elemental, and
he’s beautiful. He also helps with my spells!”
We all made impressed noises, and nodded. Aria smiled, and then remembered her earlier question. “Oh, right! Fay and Sam, what are you two going to do at the University?”
Sam shrugged. “I don’t really know yet. I want to see what I’m good at, learn as much as I can, and possibly try to work my art into my spellcasting even more. Beyond that, I’m just excited to have a chance at being in a world that’s way more interesting than the normal one.” She shrugged. “And deadlier too, but you have to take the good with the bad, I suppose.”
She didn’t mention her mom, but I could practically see her thinking it. If Sam’s mom had gone to Janus University, it would take a lot more than homicidal shadow monsters to keep her away.
Aria turned towards me, head tilted as she waited for a response.
“I’m just tired of feeling different in the normal world,” I said, eyes on the floor. “Janus University is my ticket into a place where everyone’s as weird as me, where I can feel like I belong. I haven’t really thought about it beyond that, though.”
Aria smiled at me. “That’s a great reason. Don’t be ashamed of that. It’s rare for magic to just randomly spring up in a person at birth like yours must have, but it’s good to see that you have a chance to see what’s offered.”
I shrugged. “You’re right, except I didn’t have these powers at birth. Something happened for me to get them.”
All three heads whipped toward me at that, Aria and Tyler looking surprised, and Sam looking a mixture of surprised and betrayed. I didn’t blame her, but my parents had explicitly forbidden me from telling even her about the origin of my powers when I was younger, for fear of it scaring her off and making her run to her dad or something. I had never really gotten around to telling her after that as it never came up, and I figured it was just easier to let her assume my powers kicked in at birth. Since everything was already insane now, though, I figured it would be a non-issue. Judging by her expression, though, I might have underestimated her reaction. Sam looked like she was about to interrogate me thoroughly, quite possibly with physical force, when I was saved by more knocking at the door.
Aria was nearest, so she opened it to reveal a homunculus, head lowered as it requested that the four of us report to the Gathering hall immediately. It walked away immediately after to carry on the message to the other rooms.
I glanced back at Sam nervously, and then headed out of the room. I didn’t dare look back for fear of being assaulted by Sam’s betrayal face. I’d only ever seen it once before, when bad assumptions were made on my part. I really hated that face. I heard footsteps behind me as the three of them started following. Sam walked up to my side.
“Don’t think we’re not discussing this later,” she hissed at me. “This is not okay.”
“I’m sorry. I really didn’t think it would be that big of a deal.”
If looks could kill… Actually, I really hoped Sam never got her hands on a spell that made that possible.
The four of us walked into the Hall, which showed no signs of last night’s battle. We sat down in the chairs near the back, and watched as the remaining seven kids filed in. Once we were all seated, a beam of silver light manifested on the dais, and Speaker Sekhmene stepped forward, holding a rolled up piece of paper in her left hand. She unfurled it, and began to speak aloud.
“By decree of the Acceptance Council of Janus University, last night’s attack has been determined as a sufficient demonstration of the intuitiveness of the surviving applicants, and their ability to stay alive in an incredibly dangerous situation. As such, all applicants are considered to have passed a supplementary Trial of Survival, and are thus excused from the Trial with an automatic pass. We express our deepest regrets at the loss of Elliot Redstone, and pledge to make sure an incident like this never happens again.”
The Speaker rolled back up the scroll, and looked out at all of us. “The culprits of last night’s attack are yet to be discovered and apprehended. We are using all the resources we have at our disposal to find them, and have the full support of the Fifth Triumvirate. We will catch them. In the meantime, you have the rest of the day to yourselves, and the Trial of Competition has been moved up to tomorrow. The winners of the Competition at this location shall advance to the next round, along with the victorious students from the other Retreats. The Trial is expected to last several days, but may go on longer. More details will be provided tomorrow.”
The Speaker’s form once more dissolved into light, and we were left alone in the Hall. Sam advanced on me almost immediately, intent on getting the full story of my abilities. Aria hastily excused herself, and Tyler stayed by my side. The three of us headed back to my room.
Sam closed the door behind us, planted herself in one of the chairs at the table, and motioned for me to sit down in the other one. Tyler just flopped back down on the bed. I sat down, and Sam stared at me.
“Spill. Now.”
I sighed. “There’s not that much to say. I don’t actually remember any of it myself. All my parents told me was that when I was five, I was in an accident. I got lost in the woods when they weren’t looking, and a freak snowstorm rolled in. I was gone for hours. While my parents were doing everything short of calling the President to send the army into the woods, I just walked back into the camp, except with white hair and blue eyes, and collapsed. I spent almost a week in the hospital after that, struggling to stay alive.” I looked at the floor. “They… don’t like talking about it.”
Sam looked simultaneously saddened and dubious from the summary, while Tyler just looked sad. Sam spoke up first.
“Well, I don’t know why you didn’t tell me earlier about this, but I forgive you. I can see how you wouldn’t want to spend too much time thinking about that. But!” she said, holding up a finger, “I’m already suspicious of that. There’s no way you just walked back to your parents, suddenly all magical. There’s more to the story than that.”
I frowned. “It sounds bad when you say it like that, but why would my parents lie to me?”
“You were only five at the time,” Tyler said quietly. “There are some things no parent ever wants to explain to his child at that age. There are some things they don’t ever want to tell you, no matter what.”
The more I thought about it, the more what they were saying seemed to make sense. My parents were definitely keeping something from me. And judging by Tyler’s expression, he was speaking from experience. That worried me.
Sam, sensing my internal distress, pulled me in for a hug.
“Fay, it’s fine. I’m sorry for getting upset with you over this. You can ask your parents about it when the Trials are done. Right now, just relax and focus on what’s in front of you.”
“She’s right,” Tyler said. “Remember, the Competition is a dual match thing. The three of us and the ercinee are a team. Don’t you think we should try to work on some strategies?”
Sam looked at him. “Actually, I was saying he should focus on us as his honest friends and so on, but you have a point. Let’s come up with a few battle plans and combos for a while, shall we?”
I smiled at the two of them. At the very least, they were well-practiced at distracting me. The rest of the day was spent working on battle formations, attack combinations, and general ideas for the Trial. Sam left when dinner came in, and Tyler and I ate together. Eventually, we went to sleep, curled up together until tomorrow.
I wasn’t troubled by my dreams that night.
Chapter Twenty-seven
At dawn, a homunculus came straight to our chambers and roused both of us, not bothering to knock this time. We sat up and watched blearily as it set out several bundles down on the table, next to two plates of toast and yogurt. We continued to hold hands under the covers, leaning against each other as the homunculus finished its business and strode swiftly out of the room. A note lay atop one of the bundles. I raised my eyebrows at Tyler. He grinned at me, leaning into my s
houlder.
“I’m thinking it’s time to get ready for the big day. Any nerves bothering you?”
“No, I’m all good,” I said honestly. “I feel kind of refreshed, actually. Though I think coffee would help even more.”
I got out of bed, stumbling my way from the blanket fortress, and grabbed one of the steaming mugs on the table, sipping it blissfully. Tyler slid out of bed gracefully, and padded over to take a look through the bundles and at the note while I finished regaining consciousness. I watched as he pushed the bundles aside, and looked at the note curiously. He handed it over to me and went back to looking through the other things.
Applicant Feayr Hanson and Familiar Tyler Andrews, you are to report to the Retreat’s Arena at noon, accessed via portal from the Gathering Hall. Clothing has been delivered to you that you must wear for the duration of the Trial. Feayr’s bundle is on the left, and Tyler’s is on the right. Clothing was made for Tyler as well, as Janus University has never before had to provide for a human familiar. Your team will consist of the two of you as well as Samantha Gray and her familiar. It is recommended that you meet with your teammate before the Trial’s start, but it is not required. More will be explained at the Arena.
- Sekhmene, Speaker of Janus University
I glanced over at the two piles. Tyler had moved one of them closer to me, and he was busy stripping down to change. He bent over to pull on a new pair of dark leggings of over his muscled thighs, and I spent a moment thanking the gods before forcing myself to look away and see what I had to wear.
There was a pair of dark gray pants, as well as a form-fitting gray shirt, and what seemed to be a gray-blue robe of some sort. The robe had a hood, though, so it was officially already the coolest thing I had ever worn. I put them on slowly, and then spent a moment puzzling over the faint stitching of runes I could see on the fabric.
