by Ben Hale
She shook her head, discarding the last thought. Clenching her jaw, she turned to face Drake, who stood staring at her with an odd expression. His eyes were narrowed and evaluating, yet held less anger than she would have expected. And was it respect or desire in his eyes? Had she succeeded in impressing him?
"Tess," he said, his tone measured, "I will change your class schedule to include Intro to Flight. Your skill level is not suitable for this class."
"Don't I need to learn more about gravity magic?" she asked.
"You just did. I will see you there. You are dismissed from this course."
She swallowed at the intensity of his gaze, wondering if she had erred in what she'd done. Mentally she cursed him. Why hadn't he given more instruction than that? It was his own fault for his 'aggressive approach.' Then she realized he was waiting for her to leave.
Raising her chin, she strode from the room. She threw a glance up the hole as she passed. A dozen faces from the upper floors stared down at her, shock and wonder reflected in their features. She looked back as she stepped into the hall, and saw that her classmates bore the same expression. Anger and worry hastened her steps as she fled.
Chapter 11: Inferno
Hawk frowned at Tess, his expression thoughtful. It turned out that Tess hadn't needed to tell him about the events in the gravity class. Within an hour she'd gotten a message via her glasses for her to meet him. Her compass had led her to a lower classroom of the fire building after History of Magic. She never would have admitted it, but she'd been elated to see him.
At every turn she felt like she didn't know how to act. Would something reveal her identity? Would some untoward word betray her? She didn't know, and worse, she didn't know how to learn—without Hawk.
But his expression when she'd found him was unexpected. She'd thought he might be angry, or perhaps worried. Instead, he looked like he was studying a battlefield, trying to identify the best place to attack.
Hawk finally sighed, and said, "I think it would be best if we begin our tutoring now. There are certain things that perhaps I was remiss on."
"What about . . . what happened?"
"We'll get to that," Hawk said, and swept his hand at the room.
"To begin I should explain this room. You will see it for yourself tomorrow when you take your fire class, but for several reasons we should begin your fire training now."
"Why?"
"Because if you can do that with gravity, you will likely do more damage with fire."
"Oh."
He smiled sympathetically and pointed to the pit at the front of the chamber. "This is a fire training hall. You will notice the walls are stone, as are the benches. You will also notice that they slope down to the pit next to me. Everything in here is immune to fire except the pit. The purpose for the protection may be obvious, but the bridge over the pit may not be."
Hawk strode to the pit and lit a ball of flame in his palm. He tossed it into the hole, where it ignited an explosion of fire. The billowing flames filled the cavity as if fed by gasoline, and engulfed the twenty-foot bridge that arced over it.
Hawk then stepped to the bridge and walked across it. Tess noticed that the fire was less intense at the start of the bridge, but got progressively brighter the farther Hawk went. As he approached the end Tess had to shield her eyes to see that tongues of flame curled up his body.
He stopped at the hottest spot and turned to face Tess. He didn't seem aware of the inferno licking at his bare arms.
"This is the first thing you will learn in the fire school," he said. "It is called a heat shield. It is a safety spell, and you must master it before you can learn to manipulate fire itself. Casting a heat shield can save your life, the lives of others, and can stop a great deal of accidental destruction.
"To cast a shield spell, look at the fire and shift into your sight. You will see the red of heat. At this point I am confident you could simply extinguish the flames, but for now, I want you to wrap your body in the lighter red of the room. Then walk over the bridge as I have done, a step at a time. When it gets too hot, stop."
Hawk stepped out of the fire and gestured for her to begin. Clenching her jaw against her nervousness, Tess walked to the edge of the fire. She then blinked into her sight and did as he had requested. It seemed easy, as if the cooler air of the room wanted to attach to her body.
She took a cautious step onto the bridge, and then another. A small part of her wondered if she had gone crazy. Walking through an inferno would have been suicide a month ago, but now felt oddly . . . . normal. Through her sight, she watched the fire touch her body, but not sink in. Smiling to herself, she took another step. She could feel the warmth but it was distant, like a campfire that was just out of reach.
Step by step she crossed through the flame. Upon exiting she faced Hawk with a grin of triumph on her lips. It faded when she saw his worried expression.
"Did I do it wrong?" she asked.
"You did fine," he exclaimed, a smile erasing his frown. "You did exactly as I expected, and as I feared."
"What do you mean?"
Hawk sighed and stabbed a finger at the pit. "It takes most students a full quad to master the heat shield, and you did it on your first attempt. I doubt anyone has ever done so well."
"Just like with gravity," she said, her eyebrows pulling together. She would have been thrilled by the display of power, but Hawk's expression made that impossible. Could he not be proud of her at least once?
"Exactly," he said, and flashed a wry grin. "I think it's safe to say you will be a power oracle."
"A what?"
"Sorry, sometimes I forget you are still new to this. Throughout our more ancient history there were many oracles, although usually just one at a time. Over the last few centuries we have begun to classify them as either future oracles, or power oracles. Future oracles had a greater talent with their farsight, power oracles were gifted with the various magics."
"So every magic will be like fire and gravity?"
"No," Hawk laughed. "I'm afraid it won't be that easy for you." He traced a circle in the air with his finger, lighting a ribbon of flame that hung suspended. "As you now know, the various energies are typically represented in a circle—with the exception of the unknowables that aren't related to any others. You also know that when a mage is skilled in multiple magics, their skills most often are adjacent to each other on the circle. Fire and gravity are a perfect example.
"Since you broke your binding with fire, and have demonstrated such an aptitude with gravity, I would say your greater skill is congregated toward this side of circle." He nudged the top of the floating ring, and its flame brightened. "Your skills on the opposite side, though . . .," he poked the bottom of the circle and the flame dimmed, "will be much weaker. Body, healing, and animal magic will likely be more difficult for you."
"At least I know that in advance."
"True," Hawk said, and dismissed the circle of flame. "And that is the purpose of our lesson today. Now that you know what is coming, you must hide more of yourself. We must do everything we can—ˮ
"To hide my identity for as long as possible, I know." She blew out her breath. "So what do you want me to do? Pretend to be normal?"
"As much as you can, for now." His look was apologetic. "But I doubt it will go on for long. By the end of this quad you will have no choice but to reveal who you are. The school will require that you present yourself. If I were to try to avoid it a second time it would arouse a great deal of suspicion."
"That's why you brought me late," Tess said.
"Yes," Hawk said. "Your anonymity right now will allow you to make mistakes without being judged. It will also protect you from demands you could not hope to fulfill."
"So I have three months to learn control and wisdom?" She sighed and looked away. "What if I can't be normal?"
"Then nearly every mage in our world will love you or hate you, demand that you lead us . . . or seek to manipulate you."
No pressure.
"What about today?" she asked, leveling her gaze at him. "Is it already too late?"
His brow furrowed in thought. "I don't think so, although I have no doubt your name is now known. By this time tomorrow everyone will know you as the most powerful flyer in generations—all before you have flown."
"Great," she said under breath. One day in and I am already blowing it. How could Hawk expect her to just step up and be the oracle?
"It was bound to happen sometime," he said, "And at least now you get to fly. There's really no point in hiding your skill with gravity after what happened. I would also wager you have an inkling of how powerful you are, and will become."
"I'm still not sure that's a good thing."
"Power, in of itself, is not bad, Tess. It's how you control and use it that matters."
His remark reminded her of her father, and how he would talk around election time. The thought made her miss him, and wonder how he would be dealing with all this.
"I'll do my best."
"That's all I can ask," he said. "Now, since you can't practice fighting in your fire class, we will finish our time by doing so here. Do you remember the fire gauntlets?"
She flushed, her mind turning unbidden to Drake. She tightened her jaw and used the emotion to call forth a fire. Just as Drake had done, the flames coiled and tightened around her forearms. She felt a sense of pride that she had done so without the gauntlets that Drake wore.
"Excellent," Hawk said, and in a burst of heat called forth his own. "To do this with your bare skin is one of the most difficult spells for a fire mage. This is because our skin isn't great for attaching heat. That said, if you can do it you don't need the expensive gauntlets that the Tempest players favor.
"What's important for our purposes is that you can compress a great deal of power around your arms. Do so now—but stop when it feels like they are going to explode."
With that comforting thought she incrementally raised the heat of her gauntlets. Drawing from the still blazing fire, she paid close attention to its breaking point. She took it slow, and Hawk waited patiently until she stopped.
"I think that's all I can do," she said.
She was actually afraid that she had done too much. The fire on her arms had turned orange with their intensity, and felt almost heavy, like a hot, wet towel had been wrapped around each arm. Both fire gauntlets vibrated as they strained to hold the power in check. She looked up and found Hawk only a step away. Startled, she lost her focus.
—her gauntlets exploded.
On instinct she shielded herself from the flames as she flew backward, but again lost her focus as she collided with a stone bench. She grimaced as pain knifed across her back, but she managed to shield herself against the massive fireball raging twenty feet in front of her. Standing in the middle of it, Hawk calmly siphoned off the fire into the nearby pit. When it was gone he approached her and helped her sit up.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
She rubbed the spot on her back. "Just bruised, I think." Then she rounded on him. "You distracted me."
"I know," he said.
She blinked at his ready acceptance. "You did it on purpose?" Her anger dissolved into confusion. Why would he do that?
"I did," he said. "And I hope you can forgive me. If I hadn't, they could have detonated in the middle of a fight. You need to know what it's like if you lose your focus."
A part of her wanted to be angry, but it was hard to hold onto with Hawk's look of apology. "Any way to prevent it?" She scowled at him, but was more annoyed than upset.
"Of course," he said. "And excellent job in shielding yourself. I was prepared to do it for you, but there was no need for me to step in. Your instincts are right where they should be."
The praise was sufficiently mollifying that she smiled. "Alright, you are forgiven. Now show me how to stop that from happening again."
He then taught her how to seal the spell. Once completed, the flame gauntlets became self-contained, allowing for her to use other magic without them detonating. Once she'd mastered that, Hawk had her do target practice. Thirty minutes later she was tired, sweaty, and covered in ash.
"We are probably done for today," Hawk said with a satisfied nod. "Hitting seven moving targets is enough for now."
"My dad used to take me shooting with him," she admitted. "And this isn't that different from hitting clay pigeons with a shotgun." Except that I am the gun . . . and the ammunition. She grinned at the thought.
He smiled in turn. "Next time we will work on more powerful fire spells. In the meantime I want you to practice fire at least four hours a week. I know your schedule is full, but it's imperative that you improve your skills—and you can't do it in your fire class. I will send you a list of spells and charms that you can work on."
Tess issued a troubled sigh. She loved learning magic, but the volume of homework she'd received was alarming, and she hadn't even gone to all of her classes yet. Hawk seemed to read her thoughts.
"I'm sorry about the extra work," he said. "But I want to ensure you are safe if they come after you again."
"Where should I practice?"
He pointed to the floor. "Each school has practicum rooms in their lower levels. The ones here are private, and contain a heat source that you can utilize. Apprentices are not allowed to enter without an adult, but demonstrate your fire gauntlets and the doors should recognize you as skilled enough for private study."
"I will practice," she promised, and resolved to do it after her daily fire class. She had a break before lunch and no one would be expecting her anywhere.
"I am confident you will continue to exceed my expectations," he said. "I will let you know when I can tutor you again."
"Won't it be every week?" she asked, surprised at the vague reference.
"Hopefully—but there are critical events occurring right now that I must be present for."
"Like what?"
His gaze seared her with its intensity.
"You aren't the only one trying to prevent a war, Tess."
With that cryptic statement he left her with an admonishment to be careful, and to choose her friends wisely. With her thoughts slowing her steps, she trudged her way to dinner. Wishing to avoid contact with anyone, she ducked into the second meal hall and ate quickly. Then she ascended the steps to her room.
With twilight deepening into darkness, she called her mother. As they talked Tess wondered if she would ever not feel guilty for lying. After saying goodbye Tess turned to her load of homework.
Her old loathing for the task seemed to have abated, to a degree, and she assumed that was due to the subject material. Even History of Magic was interesting. For the next two hours she delved through a history that lay hidden from the known world. Then she worked on her essay for Magic in the Modern World.
She was stunned by the sheer volume of areas that magic had influenced. Everything from farming to space travel had been subtly impacted by mages. After an hour she felt like her mind was spinning out of control, so she went to bed before Iris returned. Despite her fatigue, her mind would not stop asking the same question.
How can I do this alone?
Chapter 12: The Key
Breaker smelled the smoke and came to a halt. He was still a couple of miles from the rock troll village and smoke was to be expected from their fires—but this carried the distinct scent of burnt flesh. His wariness sparked to the forefront of his thoughts and he picked up the pace.
The dirt under his feet lifted him higher and sped him through the jungle. Stone magic was his specialty, and was displayed proudly by the knot tattooed onto his right arm. Short and stocky, he was built like a muscular boulder. His brown hair was dark and matched his eyes, which bore a harsh intensity for anything except his family.
As he cruised through the trees his brow was furrowed in thought. This was supposed to be a routine assignment, which was why he'd been sent alone instead of with his team. Bigfoot sightings wer
e becoming more and more common, and when they were based in truth it was because someone had spotted a rock troll.
The sightings had forced more and more of the massive trolls to migrate to one of the three remaining villages in the world. One lay hidden in the deserts of southern Utah. The second had been forced to move further into northern Europe. The last was Breaker's goal, and lay deep in the unexplored Brazilian Amazon.
Some in the mage community feared that the auren expansion would push the rock trolls to revert to their ancient ways. Breaker believed differently. Ever since the legendary King Tryton, the rock trolls had changed. Where once they had thirsted for the heat and blood of battle, they now fought for a higher purpose. They had become sentinels in defiance of war and unnecessary bloodshed. The shift in their traditions had not diminished their prowess in battle, nor their effort to be supreme warriors. It had only altered their purpose in training. On many occasions they had secretly brought down warlords, tyrants, and terrorists.
Breaker slowed as he saw the glow through the trees, and stopped when he reached the tree line. His blood ran cold at the carnage before him. A mound of rock rose into the air. Pockmarked with caves, the mound was surrounded by a deep gorge that would have made it difficult for most to pass.
Fires blazed from most of the caves, leaving thick, black smoke to curl into the night. He peered through the haze, trying to identify the cause. Then a gust of wind rippled the curtain of smoke and he saw the bodies. Bloodied and beaten, the massive forms lay on the ground in front of the rocks. Broken swords and spears lay shattered around them, bearing testament to their final moments.
Fury surged in Breaker's heart, but he suppressed it. Who would have done such a thing? And more importantly, who could have? Knowing he had to learn more, he stalked the outside of the gorge, scanning for survivors—and attackers. Finding no one, he jerked his hand at the stone at his feet. It arced over the gorge and deposited him on top of the natural wall that ringed the village.
