The Academy Volume One

by Maxine Mansfield

  As if every last speck of energy had drained from her along with the vapor of her spell, Lizbeth sat down heavily. Sobs racked her frame as she finally gave in to the tears she’d been holding at bay since the moment Adan had kissed her and their unborn child goodbye.

  What was she going to do? How was she ever going to prove to her husband that her enchanter training could be of value if she couldn’t even make a simple talisman of protection?

  She stroked the worn pages of Goelz’s Book of Enchantments. “It’s not your fault. Sorry I let you down, old friend. Perhaps I wasn’t meant to be an enchantress, after all. I suppose I’ll have to settle for the daily simple protection spell and be happy with it, for now.”

  Gently, she closed the books leather bindings and held it close to her heart. “I’ll unlock your secrets some day, you just wait and see. But until then, it’ll be a cold day in VoT before I’ll sit idly by and watch someone else I love ride off into danger without me.”

  She almost dropped her prized volume to the floor as the door to her room swooshed open and slammed against the wall with a loud bang.

  “Aren’t ya packed yet?”

  Lizbeth stood and faced the female gnome and the two other women who had entered with her. “Don’t wait for me. I’m not going to Castle Kuropkat, after all.”

  Briar looked surprised. “Why ever not? It’s not because you’re afraid of the dragons, is it? I swear no harm will come to you. Dragons really are quite friendly if you but give them a chance. At least, they are when Uthiel or I are around. I so want you to meet Obsidian. He’s so cute, and he’s the first male dragon born in over a hundred years. But with the nogard out and about, Uthiel has him well hidden right now.”

  Lizbeth’s face heated with embarrassment at the reminder of the danger to the magical creatures she’d caused.

  The look on Briar’s face became all seriousness. “You do realize, no matter what, you’re always welcome at Castle Kuropkat, don’t you?”

  Lizbeth sat her book down on the bed and clasped her hands behind her. “I’m not staying behind because I’m afraid of dragons, though I am. It’s simply that Adan wishes me to go to my brother’s home until this is all over.”

  Lark narrowed her eyes. “And is that what you plan on doing, Lizbeth? Run home to your brothers? Somehow I can’t bring myself to believe that.”

  She knew she wouldn’t be able to come right out and lie to her friends, so she clamped her mouth tightly closed and tried to nod. She found she couldn’t do that either. All Lizbeth could manage was to stand perfectly still and stare at the floor.

  Her friends weren’t having it.

  Laycee began babbling. “Didn’t I tell ya two we needed ta check on her earlier? Up ta something, I just knew it. Felt it even. Gnomes are sensitive ta things like that, didn’t ya know. But no, ya said ‘Don’t worry, give her time ta pack in peace.’ Now do ya see what ‘give her time’ has done? It’s obvious she’s come up with some half-baked, hair-brained scheme that’s gonna get us all in trouble.”

  Lizbeth looked up quickly. “Oh, no, I would never involve any of you. You must all go to Castle Kuropkat just as you planned.”

  Lark wasn’t having it. “We aren’t going anywhere without you.”

  Tears burned Lizbeth’s eyes and her voice cracked. “But you must. I can’t be responsible for anyone else being harmed. Don’t you see? This is my fault, all of it. My husband and yours are off risking their lives this very moment to correct a mistake I made.

  “And Laycee,” she implored, “your boyfriend and your own brother are with them. They may never come back from this. I can’t hide away at my brother’s home or even Castle Kuropkat and live with that.”

  Lizbeth squared her shoulders. “I’ve made up my mind. I’m going after them. I’ll follow them all the way to Karza if need be, but I won’t sit back and let someone else fight my battles for me ever again.”

  Briar grinned. “Guess that settles it then, ladies. It’s off to Karza we go. I can’t tell you how frustrated I was to be left behind when Uthiel, Sarco, Leeky, and Adan went off questing. And…and in your condition, you never know when you might find yourself in need of a healer.”

  Lark nodded. “Yes, it was horrible being left behind to wait and worry. We are smart women. I bet we could be quite useful on a quest.”

  Laycee cackled. “Can’t wait ta see Leeky Shortz’s face when he sees the lot of us riding up. Would almost be worth bringing along Miss Bunny. We better get going. They’ve got more than two turns of the hourglass start on us.”

  Lizbeth shook her head. “No, I can’t ask any of you to come along. It’s much too dangerous.”

  In unison, three voices rang out. “Who’s asking?”

  Chapter Twenty

  “What was that?”

  Adan sighed as he rolled over, tucking his blanket in close about himself to ward off the night chill of the Karzan desert. “It’s nothing but the wind, Ray. Just like the last ten times you thought you heard something. For God Draka’s sake, I know it’s still evening instead of the middle of the night, but we’re all tired, and we’ve a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Please shut up.”

  He could hear the little man’s disgruntled snort somewhere off to his right. He didn’t care. He was too tired, too lonely, and too hungry to care about anything right now.

  From the moment they’d stepped through the portal, the day had been one tedious turn of the hourglass after another. Even now, the stiffness of his backside and the soreness radiating from the insides of his thighs outward reminded him how much time had passed since he’d last sat a saddle for such a long trip.

  And what had been the prize at the end of the lengthy day? A dinner that consisted of nothing more than dry bread and hard cheese. It was all that had been available since they’d failed to find suitable game. And being the mighty hunters they were, they hadn’t thought to bring along anything else of substance.

  Even though it really wasn’t that late, it was dark, and there was nothing left to do but doze. Trying to find sleep with a mostly empty belly while lying on the ground with only one thin blanket between him and the cold hard pebbles had been challenging enough without having Ray announce every few minutes he was hearing things.

  For not the first time since they’d left the Academy, Adan regretted having to bring the little man along.

  He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes once more. Weariness finally overcame his hunger pangs and the worry of what tomorrow would bring. With one last wish that things could have been settled better between him and Lizbeth before he’d left, Adan drifted off to sleep.

  “Don’t tell me you didn’t hear it that time? Something or someone’s out there, I’m telling you, and it’s getting closer.”

  Adan sat straight up, ready to throttle the little man. A nasty retort was on the tip of his tongue when he felt the sound more than he heard it. Horses, three, perhaps four, their steady gaits and soft clip-clopping coming closer with every passing moment.

  In a single motion, he leapt, grabbed his sword from its scabbard, and looked toward his friends. Sarco, Leeky, and O.T.T. were already flanking him, weapons drawn, alert, and at attention.

  Ray, however began rambling. “I knew I should’ve stayed at The Academy. I’m much too important to lose. We are all going to die, I tell you. I just know it.”

  Adan sighed and ignored the little human. It was common knowledge, no one without dubious intentions traveled the Karzan desert at night. There were too many quicksand traps, not to mention dangerous creatures, the most treacherous being of the two-legged variety. No one with two functioning brain cells traversed this desolate area after sunset, at least not anyone he’d hope to meet.

  For a moment, Adan closed his eyes and concentrated, then pointed straight ahead. “There.”

  Though the sky above was clear and star-filled, and one of the three moons of Albrath was full and shining down upon them, he still had to squint into the darkness to make out t
he four figures.

  It took a few moments to convince himself he really was seeing what he thought he saw. He wasn’t the one who spoke though. That ability had fled him as soon as the face of the lead rider came into full view.

  “What the pus-filled pimples on the raw underbelly of a street-walkin’, toe-tappin’ Ogre temptress in lime-green leotards do ya make of that, lads?”

  Adan didn’t look Leeky’s way or even acknowledge the gnome’s question. All he could manage to do was stare at the sight of his pretty little pregnant wife on a horse that was way too big for her, in a place she should have never been, and at nighttime no less. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do first, yell at her, throttle her, or kiss her silly.

  He settled for yelling as the quartet rode into camp. “Have you lost your mind, Lizbeth? What the VoT are you doing here?”

  Before his eyes, she became the queen he’d always known she’d one day be. She raised her chin a notch and looked down her nose. “You know I don’t appreciate vulgar language, Adan, and I do wish you would refrain from using words like VoT, especially in mixed company. As far as the state of my mind goes, I think, for the first time in my life, I’ve finally found it instead of it being lost. I’m the one responsible for this mess, and I’m going to help fix it. I-I mean, we are going on this quest with you, and you aren’t going to stop us.”

  Pandemonium broke out.

  Sarco sputtered. “Larksong Sunwalker, I forbid you to do this. First thing in the morning, you’re going straight back to the Academy. Do you hear me?”

  Lark simply smiled at her husband and shook her head.

  Leeky began pacing. ”Everyone knows ya can’t have a bunch of lasses along on a quest like this one. It’s not seemly, bad luck even. Now, blow-up dolls, that’s another story. They can be useful. But not a one of these is plastic.”

  He glanced hopefully at Laycee. “Ya didn’t, by chance, bring my Miss Bunny along with ya, now did ya?”

  A shrug of her shoulders was Laycee’s only response.

  Leeky cried, “We’re doomed, I tell ya. Doomed for sure.”

  Laycee chuckled. “We’re coming, and ya ain’t got no say-so in it, Leeky Shortz. Yer stuck with the lot of us, so get used ta it. And as far as your Miss Bunny, maybe I brought her and maybe I didn’t. Not telling ya ’til I feel like it.”

  Leeky’s mouth opened and closed twice, but no sound came out. Then he simply sat down in a heap.

  Ray jumped up and down. “Bet you’ll believe me next time I say I heard something, won’t you? Ears like a hawk, that’s what I’ve got. Oh, and they can’t be allowed to come along with us. They’re females. It’s a serious breach of the rules, I’m sure. I’ll report it. Just you wait and see if I don’t.”

  Adan ground his fingertips into his temples as he glanced at Sarco. “Look, they even have Briar with them. Uthiel’s going to kill us when he finds out.”

  Sarco looked at his friend’s wife and gulped.

  Briar smiled benevolently. “Don’t worry about Uthiel. I can handle him. Anyway, you never know when you may need a healer. I might come in handy, and what Uthiel doesn’t know, won’t hurt him.”

  It was Adan’s turn to gulp. “Yeah, he’s going to kill us for sure.” He glanced at his own wife. “You can’t do this, Lizbeth. For God Draka’s sake, if you won’t think about yourself, at least consider our child. You could be putting him in grave danger.”

  Lizbeth ignored his comments and hopped down from her steed unassisted. “It’s been a long day, Adan, and we’re all tired and a little cranky. There’s really nothing to be done ’til morning anyway, so we might as well try to be civil to each other and make the best of the situation. I hope you don’t mind if we make use of your fire.”

  His head felt fuzzy as if this were some strange dream. “Fire?”

  Laycee beamed and pointed to something tied to the back of her horse. “We got a boar, a young one. Gonna cook him and eat him.”

  “Boar?” was all Adan could manage.

  Lark chuckled. “You should’ve seen us. You would’ve been so proud. Laycee spotted it, I hit it dead on with a fireball and knocked it out, Lizbeth enchanted a knife to kill it quickly, and Briar gutted it and cleaned it all proper. He’s not very big, mind you, but he’ll make a nice meal.”

  Adan’s mouth watered, and his stomach rumbled. “A wild boar?” His mind raced. Meat or not, hungry or not, he really should put up more of an argument.

  The four women grinned from ear to ear as Laycee cut the bindings and the gutted boar slipped to the ground. Lizbeth, Lark, and Briar lifted their prize high for all to see.

  Laycee linked her arms across her chest and stared at the men. “Well, ya going ta stand there all night gawking at us, or are ya going ta help us get this thing cookin’.”

  Adan, Sarco, Leeky, O.T.T., and even Ray, quickly stepped forward.

  ****

  Lizbeth licked the last remnants of meaty juice from her fingertips, leaned against a boulder at the edge of camp, and sighed with contentment. Happy finally to have Adan all to herself for a few moments, she was hoping to be able to convince her husband of her value on this trip, so he wouldn’t be so quick to try and send her away.

  She turned to him and smiled. “Now I know exactly what my brothers meant when they used to say meat tastes so much sweeter if you’ve caught it yourself. I never dreamed I’d be a good huntress.”

  Adan cleared his throat. “Speaking of your brothers, come first light that’s where you’re going, and I refuse to argue this matter.”

  She shook her head slowly. “No, I’m not. I’m going on this quest with you for the Blade of Gin.”

  “Lizbeth, my little lizard, listen to reason. I can’t do what I need to do if I have to constantly worry about the well-being of you and our child.”

  Heat burned her cheeks. “Stop calling me Lizard. You know I hate it. You don’t have to worry about me, Adan. I can take care of myself.”

  He shook his head back and forth and for a moment, Lizbeth’s fingers itched to run rampant through his golden curls. Then he spoke and ruined the effect. “That’s the whole point. You really can’t seem to take care of yourself. I know you think you can, but left to your own devices, you make bad decisions and get yourself in trouble.”

  He held up a finger. “For example, one, you forgot your PDUP spell and ended up with child before we even had a chance to discuss starting a family.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Not that I mind, for I don’t. I’m even looking forward to becoming a father, truly I am. It’s just one example of your not thinking things through.”

  Hot tears stung the back of Lizbeth’s eyes.

  Adan sighed and held up a second finger. “Then, you lost your temper and accosted my mother. She most assuredly deserved it, but as a future queen, you no longer have the luxury of doing whatever you wish whenever you get angry. You must think out each and every action and reaction you contemplate. The future of the kingdom may one day depend upon your being able to control your temper.”

  She fought hard, but a single tear escaped and slid down her cheek. She wiped it quickly away.

  Adan didn’t seem to notice as he lifted yet a third finger and continued. “Then, you failed miserably at your enchanter final exam and created a monster. Your fault totally or not, and I don’t believe for a moment it was, it was still you who spoke the nogard into being. I do wish you would forget this nonsense about becoming an enchantress. You simply aren’t magical.”

  Though the lump in her throat threatened to choke her, Lizbeth whispered past it. “I will become an enchantress, I must. It’s the only way. I have to protect us.”

  A growl emanated from Adan’s throat one moment before he jumped to his feet. “Again, you seriously don’t believe I can take care of my family? Why must you always be so disagreeable, Lizbeth? Why can’t you find it in yourself to be just a little trusting? And why can’t you at least pretend to be sweet and pliable, or even quiet and obedient to your husband’
s wishes as your instructors were commissioned to teach you to be?”

  Lizbeth glared as she stood. She faced her husband toe to toe with not more than a breath separating them. “Is that what you really want in a wife, Adan? Someone who’ll blindly obey your every whim and lie at your feet like a pet? You’ll have to forgive my instructors, my lord. Though they were quite diligent in their task, not in a thousand years could they have turned me into such as you wish for. Not even Master Seiger could accomplish that, though he certainly tried.”

  For a moment, Adan looked as if she’d slapped him, then as quickly as the hurt had formed in his eyes, it was gone, and a cold, empty mask was once more in its place.

  “Go to sleep, Lizbeth, for in the morning you are to return to your brother’s keep, and that’s my final declaration.” Without another word, he picked up his blanket, turned, and stomped out of camp.

  “I’m going on this quest with you, Adan, whether you like it or not,” she shouted after him.

  ****

  He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting, watching Lizbeth sleep. All he knew was, she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen and he was hopelessly in love with his wife.

  With a single finger, he tentatively stroked the rose-petal softness of her cheek. Not only was she beautiful, but she was stubborn to the core. Even in sleep, Lizbeth’s brow furrowed, her chin stuck straight out, and her fists clenched as if ready to do battle. She tossed first one way then the other, fighting to stay asleep on the cold, hard, uncomfortable ground.

  What was he going to do with her? He couldn’t possibly let her come along with him, could he? It would be irresponsible of him. It would be madness. Men didn’t take their women on dangerous quests with them anymore. These were modern times. Women stayed home where they belonged, watching and waiting for their men to return.

  She was half barbarian though, so perhaps the same rules didn’t need apply. How many nights had he sat and listened to the stories his father told of his great grandmother? A woman who’d fought and died at her husband’s side.