by Ben Hale
"You should have seen the council's faces when the chancellor proposed it. I thought the high chancellor was having a heart attack."
"Did Gerik support it?" Tess asked. She recalled his name had been mentioned as the youngest member ever of the council. It made sense to her that a younger person would have more radical views.
"No," Rox said, surprise in her tone. "Gerik is actually adamant that it not go through. He's been speaking out against the vote. I think it was Chancellor Ranson. He's an older fellow, and to be honest I was surprised he was so forward thinking. In the past he's bordered on stupidity, or at least that's the way my dad says it."
"What does your dad do?" Tess asked, grateful that moving the ball of water was becoming easier. She smiled as it corkscrewed around her torso without dissolving.
"He's an upper level battlemage, so he's always off on assignments for them. About a year ago the Mage Security Bureau promoted him to Rayth, and he deserves it. He's awesome at stone magic."
Tess grabbed a new ball after her current one exploded into a tree like a water balloon. The name sounded familiar somehow. Then she realized it had been mentioned in her History of Magic book. "Weren't the Rayths a sort of cat?"
She nodded, her attention on the large ball of water hovering in front of her. "They were the worst kind, except for the tigrons. Now they are nearly extinct. The elite battlemages are named after them. The Rayths are like the auren's Special Forces—only with magic."
They were silent for a while as they both focused. Then Rox asked, "How much can you do with air?"
Tess's ball struck her in the face, causing Rox to laugh. Distracted, hers did the same. They laughed at each other and dried themselves off. In an effort to avoid the topic, Tess spoke first.
"Do you think the vote will go through?" she asked. She did her best to keep her voice neutral. She couldn't afford a second slip-up.
"I doubt it," Rox said. "There are too many on the council against it. We've been in hiding too long for us to step into the open so easily. Besides, Ranson has always talked like mages are better than aurens, like we deserve to rule them. I guess that's why he wants to change the status quo. He's certainly tried to become the High Chancellor before."
When Tess had first heard about the vote she'd felt odd. Now she realized why. The motivations and the manner in which the mages came out of hiding would make the difference between a massive war and a peaceful merging of peoples. But was a peaceful merging even possible? Wouldn't ignorance and fear cause aurens to start a war before the mages did?
The questions carried no answers, but they did leave Tess feeling like she understood why her role carried such weight. If she made a choice—in either direction—it could tip the scales. Abruptly she wondered what Hawk was doing to prevent a conflict, and wondered if there was any more she could do to help.
Distracted, her next few attempts became increasingly worse. Rox laughed it off and said they could meet the next day for more practice. "An hour a night should keep us at the top of our class, don't you think?"
Tess nodded and said goodbye, feeling discouraged and worried. What would a mage war do to the world? She felt a chill, as if the night had brought an icy wind.
She knew exactly what it would do.
Chapter 16: Tempest
"Come on," Derek said. "The practice field is south of the class buildings."
"What aren't you telling me?" she asked, hastening her steps to keep up with him. After hearing that she was going to the tryouts, he'd been insistent that they go together. His excitement was contagious as they followed the southern path. "Just give me a hint, would you?"
He must have heard her exasperation, because he relented with a grunt of laughter. "There are several sports that mages play, but Tempest is by far the most popular."
"Why?" she asked, eager despite his reserving the truth.
He came to a halt and spun to face her. "Because it’s the only one in the air," he said, his grin widening. "Tempest is the game for flyers."
Her eyes widened at the prospect. In the last week her flying had only gotten better, and more comfortable. But a game? She'd never felt the inclination to play soccer or volleyball, but the idea of competing off the ground sent her heart racing. She plied Derek for answers but he refused her efforts.
"It's much easier to show than explain," he said. "Trust me."
Forced to wait, she tried to be patient as they walked south. The path that Derek followed wound its way through fountains and lush gardens and then a wide field of blue grass. As they progressed, more students joined them, so by the time they reached the schools they had to slow their pace due to the crowd.
"Tempest tryouts are always like this," Derek said, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
"Is that where you study?" Tess asked. They were passing into the shadow of the mountainous earth school on their left. On their right was a structure that resembled the dorms, except the branches held large classrooms instead of individual cabins. She assumed it was the plant school.
He nodded and swept his hand at the enormous stone doors inset into the mountain. "I’ll give you a tour sometime. It's the largest school building, and the inside houses the biggest practicum rooms as well."
"Why?" Tess asked.
"Because most earth and stone mages end up building or maintaining structures. We need the space to practice."
"So you're a construction worker?"
He flashed a look at her, and then laughed when he realized she was teasing him. "Close enough," he said. "But for us it's more like art. Buildings are fashioned from our will, not our hands, remember?"
She chuckled, pleased she'd managed to get a rise out of him. A moment later they stepped out of the earth school's shadow and the arena came into view.
Although it was obviously recessed into the earth, the gigantic bowl rose several stories into the air. Massive arches of white supported the stadium's seats. Large gaps separated each section. Visible through them, Tess caught her first glimpse of Tempest.
Her eyes widened as she saw a comet fly by. Then two figures zipped across a gap between stands. A moment later they soared past the next space before disappearing once more. An explosion of fire sounded, causing a tremor to cascade through the ground. An eruption of cheers followed, indicating that they had not arrived in time to see the tryouts begin.
The crowd surged forward, carrying Derek and Tess with it. Caught up in the excitement, Tess found herself carried through one of the gaps and into the bowl. The crowd split to either side as the students moved to sit in the adjacent sections. Deposited next to a glowing shield, Tess stood rooted in place as she witnessed the game.
Easily two hundred yards across, the arena was even longer from end to end. Dominating the massive oval, several planets floated. The one closest bore shimmering rings circling its middle, and it even had a miniature moon orbiting it.
A smattering of smaller objects floated among the larger spheres. Three of them glowed with power and resembled the sun. Two of the mini suns hovered at the ends of the arena, but the third sun was larger, and rested in the exact center. With the depth of the bowl it placed the orbs at close to Tess's level. A handful of rocks soared like a belt around one side of the arena. By their irregular shape and rocky surface she would have called them asteroids.
The last object was the comet she had seen earlier. Curving near the north wall it swung back toward the center, streaking across the arena fast enough it didn’t take long before it reached the shield. It ricocheted off its glowing surface and rebounded at a different angle, almost grazing the largest planet. Encasing the entire game, the faint shield covered the playing area like a gigantic bubble.
A flash of movement caught her attention and drew her gaze to a pair of flyers soaring around the second planet. Dressed in blue, the one in the lead ducked and spun into a looping barrel roll. He leaned down as he did, grasping the board attached to his feet. The one dressed in red launched several balls
of flame at him, but none connected. The blue flyer deftly twisted and dodged each attempt.
Abruptly the blue flyer performed a flawless back flip and arced his board toward the red player's head. The red tried to evade, but the blue launched a blast of flame that struck him square in the chest. Instead of bursting into flame, the red tunic absorbed the fire and transferred it into the board at his feet.
The board faded from silver to black and turned of its own accord. Like a slow moving arrow it went toward the wall below Tess, and she leaned over the rail to watch it glide to a stop on a shelf she hadn't seen before. The flyer in red cursed as he tore his helmet free and jumped off his board, which remained floating where it had stopped.
"He's disabled for two minutes," Derek said, catching Tess by surprise. "He should have known better than to go after Kyle by himself."
Derek grinned at her expression. "Don't worry, you’ll pick it up pretty fast. The game is actually fairly simple."
"How can any of this be simple?" Tess demanded. She motioned to the comet that was coming their way.
He laughed, and gestured to the stands next to them. "Let's find a seat and I’ll explain."
She followed him to a free pair of seats, and waved when she saw Mike and Laura a little farther down. Both returned the gesture, but their attention was glued to the battling flyers. They wore spectacles and were speaking in hushed tones to a small crowd around them. Tess smiled, and wondered how many marks they were succeeding in gathering. She had to look away as Derek launched into an explanation of Tempest.
"Teams start with twenty-one players," he began. "A captain and his squad. To play you must be a class two flyer, meaning gravity, and either wind or fire as a secondary talent. The fire mages can strike their opponents with fire. One hit, and you are out for two minutes. A second means five, and a third puts you out of the game."
He paused and pointed to a flyer that blew past a trio of battling mages. In a blur of blue she split the fighters and curved under a planet. In her wake a miniature tornado drove her almost as fast as the comet. "That's a speed flyer," he said. "They use air magic to go faster than the battle flyers can go.
"There are two ways you can win. The first is to eliminate the flyers on the opposite team. The second is to capture their star." He pointed to the twin orbs, pulsing at either end. "The stars are the only thing that can be moved by the flyers. Everything else has a fixed position, or a designated path like the comet and moon."
"What's the larger orb in the center?" Tess asked.
"That's the sun," he said. "Every constellation has at least one, but some have more. Battle flyers can draw flame from their own star, the enemy star, or the sun at the center."
"What do you mean constellation?"
"There are several configurations of the planets, asteroids, stars, etc. Each one is named after a constellation. This one is Scorpio."
"What about the teams?" Tess asked. "How many battle and speed flyers are on each? And are there positions, like in football?"
"The only rule is that there must be at least one of each, speed and battle. Few teams dominate without a balanced team, though. As far as positions go, every team kind of has their own strategy. There are a handful of common roles though."
He began to point to various people soaring through the arena. "That's the Watcher, he guards the star. Some teams have more than one. Those are Detonators. They are very skilled with fire, and lay traps that explode if you get too close."
As if on cue a speed flyer skated off a planet’s rings and dodged a fireball. Jerking to the side, he soared close to a tiny black dot. The dot burst into a massive explosion, enveloping the speed flyer in an instant. The flyer burst from the smoke cloud with ash darkening his clothing. His now black board carrying him to the side.
"That's a Striker," Derek said, pointing to a battle flyer launching balls of flame from the gauntlets on his wrists. "They are usually upper level fire mages that have mastered the fire gauntlet spell. They go after the enemy in groups or on their own. Of course, everything depends on the team's strategy."
"This is . . . " Tess struggled to find the right word, and then shrugged when she failed to find one.
Derek laughed again. "I know how you feel. It's a lot to take in." Then he nudged her. "What about you? Do you think you will try out? You have earned your grav knot. You would just need a fire one now."
Do they let oracles play? "Perhaps," Tess said, dodging the question.
"I'm sure you’ll do fine," he said with a dismissive wave. "Just promise me you’ll give me a ride on your board when you do."
She threw him a questioning look, to which he laughed. "A cousin let me try it once, and it was the best five minutes of my life—even though we stayed within ten feet of the ground. Technically even that's illegal, but I pestered him until he let me."
He gave a rueful laugh. "I should just stick to dirt. That's what I’m good at."
Tess nudged him, eliciting a smile. "If I ever get one, I promise you can play with it."
His grin widened. "I'll hold you to that."
Their conversation was interrupted as Drake soared close to them. He slowed when he reached the shield. At a much slower pace, he glided through the barrier. It shimmered and allowed him gradually through. A cheer went up from the onlookers as he glided above the stands.
He grinned and raised his voice. "The next group may now collect their game boards and join us in the arena. After them, we will post the ones selected at the meal halls, as usual."
He spotted Tess and banked his board toward her. In a flawless motion he swerved to a stop above her. He flashed a dazzling grin. "Meet me after the tryout, would you?"
Tess didn't feel like she could decline the public invitation, so she nodded. Ignoring the calls from several other girls, Drake grinned and returned to the arena. As he blasted away a handful of students descended to the shelf and prepared themselves for battle. Derek turned to Tess, surprise on his face.
"I didn't know you knew Drake so well," he said.
"He invited me to the tryouts," she admitted.
His brow furrowed and he grunted, but he didn't say anything. For some reason she felt uncomfortable, and that annoyed her.
"Don’t you like him?" she asked.
"What's not to like? He's handsome, a flyer—and very powerful, not to mention he's the captain of the greatest team in the history of the sport."
"So . . . no."
"Of course not," he said, his brow creasing. "The guy is as arrogant as they come."
"Jealous?" Tess asked, a teasing smile on her lips. Although part of her felt the same sentiment, she knew the rest of her stirred every time he approached.
"Of him?" Derek scoffed. "Talent doesn't make the man."
"Where did you hear that?" she asked.
"My father."
"One of the many quotes he liked," Iris said, plopping into a seat next to them. Then she grumbled under her breath and slapped the wall next to them.
"I thought you weren't coming," Derek said.
"I am female, aren't I?" she said. "Just because I'm a techno mag doesn't mean I can't appreciate certain players displaying their physique and talent."
Tess burst into laughter, grateful for the interruption. "Glad you could make it."
Iris smiled, and then faced the wall to tell someone off for interrupting them. While she was distracted Tess watched Drake blast three in quick succession. He then flipped over a bomb and launched a fireball at it. It detonated, catching the two pursuing players as they curved around a planet.
Tess couldn't help herself. She was impressed. His skill on the board was perfect, and instilled in her a desire to perform as well. For a long moment she imagined flying next to Drake, both of them scorching the opposing team. The image sent heat radiating through her, but oddly a measure of hesitation as well. She mentally argued with herself that her dislike for him had little basis, but it refused to submit.
A few minutes
later the tryouts wrapped up as the team crushed the remaining defenders. To Tess it seemed that Drake favored destroying the other team over capturing their star. She wondered if that was a common tactic.
As the dejected players flew toward the bench, Drake soared through the shield. Flanked by two of his lieutenants, he addressed the crowd once more.
"Don't forget our first game is in two weeks against the European team."
The gathered students cheered Drake's words, and Tess had no doubt that every one of them would be in attendance. Then her gaze slid past Drake and connected with the boy on his right.
Muscled and tall, he glared at Tess with only thinly veiled hatred. Fury rippled through his features as their gaze connected. Then the boy sneered and looked away, but the look was so intense that Tess flinched.
"What?" Derek asked when she twitched.
She glanced at him and feigned a shrug. "It's nothing."
When she looked back the boy had turned his back and was flying away.
Chapter 17: Conflicted
Tess waited for Drake, and mentally fought a battle over whether she should. She'd convinced her friends to leave without her, but after twenty minutes she had begun to regret that decision. The stands had emptied of people by the time Mike and Laura walked out together.
"Tess!" they exclaimed in unison.
"Did you enjoy the tryouts?" Tess asked.
They threw each other a look. "Of course. You?"
"It's indescribable," Tess said.
Laura stepped closer and said, "We never got a chance to tell you how impressed we were with your flying in class."
"It was stunning," Mike agreed, and then winked. "And not just because we earned a significant amount from it."
Laura frowned at him. "We should give her cut."
His eyebrows shot up. "Why? We never split our winnings."
"We do if we received a tip,"
