“I don’t know a whole lot about magic, or this Syndicate, frankly, I’m not sure I want to. But I know the kind of things that people can do; can make others do…” I trailed off.
“So… You don’t care?” Raven quietly asked.
“Of course I care,” I replied. “I care that you were manipulated. I care that you were made to kill for these people. I care that you’re the one paying for doing the right thing!” I was starting to get wound up now. I think I might have shouted a little louder than I had intended…
Raven smiled, with tears in her eyes.
“Thank you, Emilie… I… I genuinely don’t know how I can thank you for understanding…” she sobbed.
I slowly put my arms around her.
“We’re sisters. You don’t need to thank me for anything…” I reassured her. I looked into her eyes, red both from her naturally red eyes and from crying. “I promised you that whatever you said, I wouldn’t leave.”
I didn’t realise what was happening at the time, but I still could feel a warm feeling on my wrist, and in the corner of my eye I could see the stone around my wrist starting to glow.
*
After the events in the library, me and Raven ended up staying there for the majority of the afternoon. I didn’t have any lessons, so I didn’t have to worry about it. Raven did. I figured she’d probably regret it at some point, skipping lessons, but I decided that it probably wasn’t the best time to argue with her. We didn’t even really talk much. I think that she just needed the time to exist, to just be there. It was a lot to take in, I admit, but I was never angry at her, not for a moment. I knew what she had done, but it was clear that she was terrified of the Syndicate, both then and now. It was impossible to hold to anything she had done in that time, at least in my opinion. And that was what mattered. Raven.
6
“Come in.” The headmaster called in from his office as I opened the door. “Miss George? Is everything alright? How are you settling in here, after your first few days?”
“I’m fine, sir. I haven’t had too much trouble so far.”
“Apart from your incident with Miss Flamel?” he reminded me. “Both of them?”
“You know about this morning?”
“I’m the headmaster. Do you think I wouldn’t know if someone was attacked by another student on school property? Not to mention how you came storming in here afterwards…”
“I suppose…”
“So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?”
“I was wondering if you could tell me about the Syndicate.”
Greyford’s skeletal face became serious.
“I see… I assume that this means you have discovered the truth about your sister?”
I nodded.
“Did you know that there is no centralized authority in magic? In fact, schools such as Foxway Academy are about as close as it gets. You see, controversial as it sounds, rigid control over magic would result in it becoming incredibly difficult to conceal from the normal world. People would want to break the rules, would want to rebel against the authorities. Because of that, instead of controlling the use of magic, we teach it. Many influential families contribute to the funding and running of the school, so that Magicals can be taught how to use their magic safely. The effect of this is that we are able to live in complete harmony with humans, without us having to enforce. However, the Syndicate believe that we are superior beings, and would rather magic was brought to the world, and, more importantly, brought under their control.”
“So, they’re a bunch of crazy wizards who want to take over the world?”
Greyford shook his head.
“No, not as such. Though they are very much capable of it, the Syndicate are not an army. More, they are a circle. They don’t want to take over, as such, but bring everyone under them. They manipulate and twist people until they side with them. It’s only when you anger them that they become violent.”
I thought back to what Raven had told me. I looked down at the floor.
“You know, I knew what Raven had done when I allowed her to study here. In fact, the majority of the school board were very much opposed to my decision.”
“You knew? I mean, I know you know now, but you knew before they told everyone?” I questioned.
Greyford nodded.
“Why did you let her in? I mean, not that I’m complaining, but, why did you?”
“Because I have seen first-hand what the Syndicate can make people do.” He replied. “Is that all?” he asked.
I knew that the right answer was ‘yes’. His attitude had changed. His normal scarily calm persona seemed to have… Cracked. I had no idea what he meant by ‘first-hand’, but I knew that it would be best not to ask.
“Yes, that’s everything. Thank you, sir.”
I turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind me.
*
I knocked on the door of Raven’s dorm. After a few seconds, Mary opened it.
“Hey,” she greeted. “Raven’s not here, by the way.”
“That’s fine. I was actually wondering if you could tell me something,” I explained. “I want to know what type of magic a certain person uses. Apparently, you’re the one to talk to.”
Mary laughed, and nodded.
“Yeah, basically. I’m not great at magic myself, but I’m pretty damn good at theory, if I don’t say so myself. So, who is it that you want to know about?”
“August Flamel.”
Mary laughed under her breath.
“I shouldn’t be surprised…” she admitted. “August Flamel, first year, source: Energy, Speciality is Card Magic.”
“Card Magic?”
“She combined the magic-energy-manipulation powers that her source gives her and combines it with specially designed cards, which harness the pure magic energy.” she explained. “Why did you want to know?”
“She…” I trailed off. “No reason, not really. I was just curious, that’s all. Thanks, Mary.”
I know that Greyford knew about August attacking me, but explaining to anyone else would mean having to explain the jewel. Which I couldn’t, even if I wanted to. Not that Mary looked convinced either way, but I figured that wasn’t the most important thing. “Anyway, thanks for helping. I should probably get going home.” I decided, quickly hurrying out of the door.
“Idiot!” I shouted at myself as I crossed the courtyard.
“I mean, yeah, but any specific reason?” Someone said from behind me
“Oh, shit… Every time…” I muttered as I turned, smiling at Matt and Leigh.
“Hey!” I greeted, slightly too enthusiastically.
You alright?” Leigh asked.
“Yeah, I… um…” I struggled to find a good excuse. “It’s nothing…” Again, I couldn’t really explain anything that was going on with anything at the moment. In the last week-and-a-half, I’d,
1. Found a sister,
2. Learned Magic,
3. Enrolled in a magic school,
4. Made an archenemy,
5. Been given some kind of magic rock,
6. Been attacked because of having the previously mentioned magic rock, and
7. Found out that my sister, who I had only known for a month, had actually killed a person.
Not exactly a normal couple of days…
“You heading home?” Matt asked.
I nodded.
“I was going to see if any of my friends from my old school were around. I haven’t really talked to them since I told them I was leaving, so I figured it’d be nice to catch up,” I explained. “Not really sure what I’m going to tell them though. I can’t exactly tell them about Magic…” I realised. “I’m sure I’ll think of something…”
“Old school? Okay, I think it’s about time you actually explained what your deal is. You’ve left us hanging for long enough.” Matt decided. I’m not sure if he was intending it that way, but he seemed almost intimidating. Not that he really
was intimidating. He was tall, but not particularly muscular. Lanky was probably the word for it, much as I hate the word. Leigh was shorter, and similarly thin. Their father was English, though their mother was from Egypt, so their skin was a few shades darker than mine, and they both had pretty dark hair.
Anyway, hasty descriptions aside, I did end up explaining everything to Matt and Leigh. At least, everything about meeting Raven and starting here. I figured it wasn’t a big secret, and though I was still pretty cautious about them (I wasn’t 100% sure that they would be ‘good role models’ as mum would put it), they were at least positive acquaintances, if not bordering on friends, so there wasn’t a particularly good reason not to.
“That’s actually kind of cool, you know. You don’t really meet people like you. People who didn’t grow up around magic, I mean. I mean, it’s not super rare, there are a few people here like that, even a couple of teachers, but generally, people normally either know magic for their whole lives, or they never know at all. You’re an anomaly,” Matt decided.
I stepped back in pretend shock.
“Wow, Matt, that sounded almost like a compliment!”
Matt grunted. Leigh laughed.
“So, Emilie, have you got any idea about a Speciality yet?” Leigh asked.
“Speciality?” I questioned. “I mean, I have my Source…”
“No, not like that. A person’s Source tends to be fairly restricted, to the few Spoken Magic spells that each Source has. Arts Magic is different,” she explained..
“Arts Magic…” I repeated. “That’s all this magic with the weird hand movements and stuff, right?”
Leigh nodded.
“It makes up most magic that’s taught here. But there’s so many different spells that you can construct, it’s impossible to learn all of them. So, students tend to focus down on one type to learn.”
“What’s yours?” I asked.
“Reading magic. And just that alone is a lot of work. Book-reading takes a lot of effort. Cards are a little easier. I’m pretty good at Psychometry though. Reading objects, their histories and stuff.”
“Not that it’s any use to anyone,” Matt mocked.
“So, what’s your Speciality, Matt?” I asked.
“Matter Magic.” he replied. “I can manipulate matter. Eventually anything, especially once I’ve finished my Geomancy course. At the moment, I can only control gasses, air particles mostly,” he explained. “It’ll be powerful fighting magic though, unlike Leigh’s hippie-magic.”
“I don’t like using combat magic. I’m not much of a fighter anyway. I prefer to actually use my brain,” Leigh smirked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Matt confronted.
“Your little fighting spells are cool and all, but who do you think wrote the books about it?”
“Nerds. And who do you think told them about them?”
“People who weren’t smart enough to write the books themselves!”
I laughed under my breath.
“I’m… Gonna leave now…” I awkwardly called back as I slowly turned to walk away, leaving Matt and Leigh arguing over whose type of magic was more useful.
*
I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. I held out my hand, still with the jewel tied around it.
“What are you…” I muttered. “I know you’re important. You wouldn’t have been hidden like that if you weren’t. Greyford said you were a magical artefact… But what does that mean?”
I let my arm drop and turned over to face the window. It was past midnight, but I was finding sleeping pretty much impossible. So much had happened in the last couple of days. And the crazy thing was that none of that was including the fact that August Flamel had almost killed me. Given everything that had happened, almost being killed didn’t seem like a huge deal. Bearing in mind that the rest of the last couple of days included being given a magic jewel and finding out my sister killed someone, technically almost being killed by a magical maniac had actually happened before.
Speaking of August Flamel, there was definitely something with her. I may have not known what it was, but she definitely seemed to recognise that jewel. And I was going to make her tell me what it was.
7
As I walked to school the next day, I planned out my confrontation against August Flamel. I could picture the tall, flame-haired girl, but I couldn’t find a way to make her tell me about the jewel without ending up with a face full of flaming cards. Not that I had much of a choice. I needed to know something about the jewel. Greyford was never going to tell me anything, I’d worked that out by now; I sure as hell wasn’t going to get anyone else involved, especially Raven. And that left one choice.
I somehow managed to persuade Mary to tell me where August’s dorm was. She was a part of Maidenheart dorm. From what I had picked up from the Silvemists and Mary, no one really knew what went on behind closed doors there. But, I decided to ignore that. Maidenheart looked, from the outside, exactly like the other dorms, as should be expected. But nothing could have prepared me for what was inside. I stormed through the door, more than a little hyped up by the idea of essentially threatening August for answers.
The second I walked into the Maidenheart Dorm, I froze. From what I’d heard, I had basically been expecting some kind of creepy witch’s coven. That was only half the story. Though, judging by some of the place, there was definitely some witchcraft going on (Which, somehow, was insane and out of the question even by Foxway standards.), the rest of the place was covered in flashy, fluffy cushions and more pink than the girls’ aisle at a toyshop.
“Shit… It looks like someone shoved a grenade in a unicorn…” I muttered as I looked around in awe. I genuinely think I would have probably been less scared if there were bodies hanging from the ceiling. I looked down at my hand. August Flamel was in a room on the third floor of the dorm. I charged up the stairs, until I got to the top floor. And then I waited for about five minutes at the top of the stairs to regain my breath. I couldn’t exactly do the whole ‘dramatic entrance’ thing if I passed out on her floor from lack of oxygen. Once I had caught my breath, I took a deep breath and walked towards the dorm room. I banged on the door that I had been given. After a few seconds of banging, August Flamel opened the door.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing here?” she hissed, as she tried to close the door. I wedged my foot in to stop it. “What do you want?”
“I want you to tell me what this is.” I pushed my arm through the door, showing her the jewel.
“I told you to stay away from me. Especially with that thing.”
“I just want to know what it is. Then I’ll leave you alone.” I promised.
August pushed my hand away.
“No way. That thing is far too dangerous. You don’t have any idea what it is you’re dealing with.”
“How am I supposed to know if no one tells me? Greyford just keeps throwing the ‘you’ll find it out eventually’ bullshit, I’ve got your stuck-up arse threatening me without giving me a good reason. If this thing is so dangerous, why won’t anyone tell me what it is?!”
“Because of reasons that someone like you couldn’t begin to understand.” she replied, much quieter than I had expected
“What do you mean ‘someone like me’?”
“You know nothing. Nothing about magic. About this school. Why the headmaster thought you could handle that thing I don’t know, but I refuse to put myself in danger because of his mistake.” August grimly promised. “Leave. Now.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but I hesitated.
“You’re right. I don’t know a lot about magic, or this school, or any of this batshit crazy world I’m a part of now. But that doesn’t mean I’m incompetent. Professor Greyford doesn’t strike me as type of person who does things without thinking them through. Whatever this is, whatever scares you so much, I can handle it. I know I can.” I turned and walked away.
“You don’t know anything…” I heard
August mutter as she slowly closed the door.
8
I dragged my hand along a row of books in the library. I didn’t have any lessons that morning, so I had decided to try and do some extended reading about magic. I was 17 years behind everyone else on my knowledge, so I figured it wouldn’t be the worst idea to do some homework. Though, admittedly, I probably should have been doing actual homework, but never mind. I looked down the shelf and something caught my eye.
“Reality magic?” I asked to no one in particular as I pulled the book from the shelf. I opened the book to the first page.
*
“You want to do what?” Matt laughed.
“I want to take Reality Magic as my speciality. It’s pretty different from my source, but I think I can work it out,” I repeated. “I read a book about it in the library. It seems pretty awesome.”
“I’ve only seen one person ever successfully use Reality Magic, and that’s the headmaster. You haven’t got a chance,” Matt brushed my idea off.
“Well, there’s no reason I shouldn’t try.” I shrugged. Matt opened his mouth to argue again, but Leigh closed his mouth.
“I think that that’s a great idea, Emilie. I’m sure you’ll be able to learn it, as long as you put the effort into it,” she decided. I wasn’t wholly convinced by her tone, but I think she was just trying to stop Matt. I appreciated the help, though. “You should talk to Professor Greyford about it. I’m sure he’ll be able to give you some advice,” she suggested.
“Yeah, I think I will.” I agreed. “So, what do you guys have now?”
*
I sat in Advanced Magical Physics, for once not bored out of my mind. Most of the classes, even the boring ones, I didn’t really have much of a choice but to actually listen to. After all, everyone else at Foxway had grown up on magic. But it didn’t make the weird pseudo-physics any less painful… But, today, I was content with just sitting where I was.
Admittedly, that had nothing to do with the class itself. I had borrowed the book on Reality Magic from the library, and I was reading through it. From what I could understand on my own, Reality Magic consisted of a lot of different techniques. Temporal manipulation, spatial pockets, even teleportation was a part of it. It was clearly a difficult type of magic, and, to be honest, I did have doubts that I’d be able to handle it as my speciality at the time. But, I decided that I wouldn’t know unless I actually put the work into it. Which, judging by the book, was going to take a while. With what Matt and Leigh had said this morning, I had decided that I was going to have to talk to Greyford about it. Which, admittedly, was becoming a worrying habit. I was running out of fingers to count how many times I’d had to go and talk to the headmaster on. Not that you can blame me. I wasn’t exactly knowledgeable about any of this, and it was kind of his job to help with stuff like this. Especially with how little he was telling me about the jewel. I heard someone cough behind me. I looked up to see the teacher standing in front of me.
The Arch Stone: Foxway Academy: Book 1 Page 5
