Magic, Sorcery and Witchcraft

by Stas Borodin

  I shivered.

  “And what happened to Elsin and Towan?”

  Ice sulked. “Nothing good. All what was left of them were some buttons and buckles. Taygvayt, the one that stabbed you, died as well, but Aspeni and Hlir are pretty much alive. I bet those bastards are testifying against us right now.”

  It seemed that this time we’d got ourselves into serious trouble.

  “You should have talked to the wizards first,” I sighed. “Before running away.”

  “I panicked,” said Ice. “I was afraid you might die!”

  “That’s why you dragged me to the city?”

  My friend looked confused. “I thought we could cover it up. You know how stupid I am sometimes.”

  “I know.”

  We stared at the ceiling together.

  ✽✽✽

  We stayed locked in our room until the evening. Angry voices came through the closed door. Someone was arguing with our guards.

  “I don’t like it,” whispered Ice.

  I looked outside through the barred window. The hospital grounds were tightly packed with hundreds of students. Goofs, Scholars, Blockheads, Elite – it was an amazing sight. The crowd rocked back and forth, split in the middle by a strip of bare unclaimed ground. Screaming and pushing, showering each other with abuse, the students were ready for violence.

  Ice peered over my shoulder. “Damn, we are popular!” he grinned. “Look at the Goofs and Scholars on the right side. There must be a couple of hundred of them. They outnumber the Blockheads and Elite three to one.”

  Ice climbed onto the windowsill, stuck his hand between the bars and waved. The Goofs burst into applause while the Elite roared with rage.

  “Stop it!” I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled away from the window. “You gonna provoke them!”

  “I’m sorry.” Ice became sour. “You always end up shovelling the mess I made. It’s a real miracle that we’re still alive…”

  “No, it is not.”

  I heard the voice of Master Raydun. The wizard entered the room and slammed the door. “This time you screwed up majestically, boys.” The Master Librarian squeezed my shoulder firmly. “Just look outside, Marcus! The students are enraged, and the Tribunal wants your guts on a plate. We’ll need a miracle to quieten things down.”

  “Why?” I was surprised. “Just tell them the truth.”

  “I wish it was that easy, but no one cares about the truth here,” sighed Master Raydun. “In this maze of intrigues and ambitions the truth has no weight. The truth and the lie are just two sides of the same coin. The one who flips it first will be always right.”

  Ice looked at me puzzled; we had not expected such a response.

  “First of all”—the wizard pointed his bony finger at my friend—“keep your mouths shut. Answer only the questions of your Defence. The Prosecutor will try to confuse you, be ready for it.”

  Ice sniffed. “What will become of us? Are they going to kick us out?”

  “If you’re lucky,” Master Raydun said grimly. “Do you feel lucky?”

  “Don’t worry, Ice.” I looked at my friend. “We’ll prove ourselves innocent. After all, we did it in self-defence.”

  Ice’s cheeks flushed. “Back in Antraga we say that the truth is a double-edged blade.”

  “I have no doubt that your father is a very fair judge,” said the wizard. “But this time you will be judged by a board of ten hungry vultures. They could easily gobble your father up, along with his court and his justice.”

  Ice snorted indignantly, but said nothing.

  ✽✽✽

  They came for us later that evening. Hiding us behind their great square shields, the guards escorted us outside. The crowd wailed. The Goofs and Scholars welcomed us as heroes while the Elite and Blockheads showered us with ripe tomatoes and rotten eggs.

  “Hail the brave!” students were shouting from one side.

  “Damn you, filthy murderers!” came from the other.

  Slipping on the broken eggs and crushed tomatoes, we crossed the plaza and went down the street to the main auditorium. With each step, the screams grew louder and the tension mounted.

  “Swords out!” barked the commander of the guards. “Get out of the fucking way!”

  The crowd rushed back. Stones hailed from both sides instead of tomatoes.

  “You shits!” someone shouted. “Stinky Blockheads! Take that!”

  Knives flashed, the crowds surged forward, clashing into each other like a mighty wave hitting a stone pier. The guards pushed to the auditorium door, closely guarded by a wizard and a squad of halberdiers.

  “Stop it right now!” roared the wizard, rising above the crowd. “I’ll have you all expelled!”

  A juicy tomato hit the wizard between the eyes. We were pushed through the open door and didn’t see what happened next.

  At the centre of the room there was a long table raised on a small dais. Behind the table I saw ten wizards clad in flowing ceremonial robes and pointy hats.

  We were seated on an uncomfortable low bench. The bench was so low I could see my face reflected in the assessors’ highly polished shoes.

  One of the wizards stood up and cleared his throat. “My name is Hile,” he introduced himself. “I represent your defence.”

  Another magician left his place. “I am Sgilty,” he said. “I’ll make you pay for your crimes.”

  Master Aydiola Glef bowed to both wizards.

  “As the head of the Academy”—he turned to the wizards sitting at the table—“may I present to you the esteemed Tribunal: Master Kaledir, Master Gvistir, Master Berwyn, Master Tegyr, Master Henvis, Master Dorid and Master Morin.”

  The wizards nodded when their names were called. Of all those present, I was acquainted only with the Archwizard and Master Kaledir.

  At first glance, the wizards were no older than my father. Looking at those blank stern faces, I wondered how many centuries they had seen, and how many tribunals such as this. I shivered involuntarily; we should expect no mercy.

  “The Prosecutor begins,” announced Master Aydiola.

  Master Sgilty turned to face the Tribunal. I noticed that under the pointy hat his hair was beginning to thin and his long flowing mantle was shiny on his arse.

  “Esteemed Tribunal,” began Master Sgilty, “these two students before you are accused of murder and sedition.”

  “Bastard!” Ice hissed through clenched teeth, but the Prosecutor didn’t hear him, or decided not to hear.

  “I have proof that all their actions were malicious in nature, and therefore, these two should suffer the most severe punishment.”

  Forward came the defender. “Esteemed Tribunal,” said Master Hile, “I’ll prove that my defendants were mere victims of circumstances and had no evil intent whatsoever. In addition, the latter charge wasn’t included in the Tribunal’s protocol and therefore cannot be considered at this session.”

  “Sustained.” The Archwizard nodded. “Master Sgilty, follow the protocol, if you please.”

  The Prosecutor glared at Master Hile. “Last night, these two broke into the students’ private club and provoked a fight. As a result, we have three men dead and several wounded. Both of them employed some lethal magic, which is strictly forbidden by the Academy’s regulations.” Master Sgilty raised his hand and started to count on his long pale fingers. “Murder, abuse of magic, violations of the laws: these two are the most heinous criminals this Tribunal has ever seen!”

  “These are serious accusations.” The Archwizard nodded grimly. “What can be said in their defence?”

  “Esteemed Tribunal”—Master Hile pointed at us—“whom do you see before you?”

  “Some lowly murderers, obviously,” Master Dorid chuckled. “I’ve seen a whole bunch of them in my lifetime.”

  “Well, look closer.” The defender remained impassive. “They are still innocent, until their guilt has been proved.”

  Master Dorid winked at the Prosecutor and ostenta
tiously covered his mouth with his hand.

  “With your permission, I shall continue.” Master Hile bowed to the Tribunal. “So what do we have here? Oh yes, one freshman, who’s already attended a couple of lectures, and one Goof, who has wasted three years of our precious time. There’s no more to be said, they are clearly some terrible criminals. One look from them makes Master Dorid tremble with fear!”

  I heard laughter disguised as a cough.

  “Do you think the likes of them could attack six older students and cause them any harm whatsoever?”

  The judges whispered and nodded in agreement.

  “This is ridiculous,” continued Master Hile. “It’s all just an unfortunate accident, nothing more.”

  “Then tell us more about this accident,” said Master Kaledir. “We’re all ears.”

  “Esteemed Tribunal”—the accuser stepped forward—“fortunately, we have two witnesses who can tell you the whole story.”

  “Bring them in,” nodded the Archwizard.

  The watchman opened the door and invited the witnesses in. Aspeni and Hlir looked pretty miserable, their faces badly bruised and heads crowned with fresh bandages. All their pride and arrogance had been stripped away, replaced by obedience and humility.

  “Just look at them!” Ice whispered. “So humble and innocent. I’m barely holding my tears back!”

  Aspeni and Hlir stood with their heads bowed, holding hands like little children.

  “Tell us what happened there,” the Archwizard ordered.

  “Esteemed Tribunal”—Hlir stepped forward and bowed—“we beg for justice! Our dear innocent friends were slain in cold blood, by—”

  “The Tribunal should decide who is innocent,” the defender interrupted him. “Tell us all, hide nothing.”

  “I can’t believe we came out of this alive.” Tears rolled down Hlir’s cheeks. “It was so terrifying!”

  “Don’t test our patience.” The Archwizard frowned. “Get to the point!”

  “Yes, Your Honour.” Hlir sobbed and nodded at Ice. “He lost the bet, but refused to pay us, claiming we were cheating. After a while he brought the other one. We let them in, unaware of their evil intent—”

  “What was the bet?” The defender interrupted him. “Can you tell us?”

  Hlir swallowed hard.

  “Please, answer the question,” said the Archwizard.

  “Fire spitting!” blurted Aspeni. “It wasn’t anything reprehensible, it was just a game.”

  “A game?” Master Hile raised his eyebrows. “But why play with this Goof if you knew beforehand that he was bound to lose?”

  “Why not?” Hlir shrugged. “He got what he deserved.”

  “Damn liar!” Ice gasped.

  “And what happened next?” asked the Archwizard.

  “He brought his pal over, and they attacked us out of the blue,” Aspeni sighed. “The last thing I remember is fire everywhere and the screams of my burning friends.”

  “Wait a minute. Explain to me just one thing.” The defender raised his hand “You said that Ice brought Marcus over. Why would he do this? Marcus is just a freshman. What chance would they have against six senior students?”

  “How should I know?” Hlir ground his teeth. “They fooled us somehow.”

  “Right.” Master Hlir looked at the Archwizard. “You just said that you had defeated my defendant in this fire-spitting competition. Does this mean that his Gift is much weaker than yours? Can you burn someone too? Can you turn someone into ashes?”

  Aspeni and Hlir stood in silence, clutching each other’s hands.

  “I would like to see that,” Master Morin chuckled. “These two show-offs are mine, I know their limitations well.”

  “Then, how on earth could you win this fire-spitting competition?” Master Hile appeared surprised. “Could you be mistaken?”

  “No, I’m not!” Hlir snapped. “You must understand that we are still confused from the whole ordeal, and our recollections may be tangled from time to time.”

  “Well, how could you be a witness, then?” the defender chuckled. “We will be lost in the maze of your recollections.”

  “You confused them with your stupid insinuations!” protested the accuser. “Now it’s my turn to ask some questions.”

  Master Sgilty glared at us.

  “I can’t let you do that,” the defender said. “I shall speak on their behalf here.”

  “This is an outrage!” the accuser roared. “You are insulting the court with this behaviour of yours!”

  “We are not that sensitive, Master Sgilty,” the Archwizard chuckled. “Let the defender do the questioning. It is his right, after all.”

  Master Hile nodded.

  “Marcus Grimm, tell us what you saw.” He lowered his voice. “Tell them the whole truth.”

  I told them all. How I met Ice, all blue and bloody, and how we planned to punish the bullies. I told them what had happened later in the club, and why I ended up in the city hospital. I just kept silent about Master Raydun’s involvement.

  “Well, Master Henvis”—the Archwizard rose from his seat—“it’s your turn. Tell us who was telling the truth and who was lying.”

  Master Henvis looked at Aspeni and Hlir. “These two were lying throughout.” Then he looked at me. “This one is hiding something, but otherwise he’s telling the truth.”

  I froze on my bench slack-jawed. Master Henvis was the Truth-Speaker! I wondered what he was doing here. This kind of Gift was extremely rare; any king would kill to have such an adviser at hand.

  “Aspeni and Hlir, you lied in front of the Tribunal. That is a very serious offence.” Master Aydiola turned to Master Sgilty. “Tell them to take their place beside the accused.”

  The students stood dumbfounded: they obviously hadn’t expected this turn of events.

  “Well”—the Archwizard wrote something down in his notebook—“now we have the whole picture of what’s happened. If anyone has any more questions, ask them now.”

  “No other questions,” muttered Master Kaledir. “Let’s get it done, for Orvad’s sake!”

  The wizards nodded and fidgeted in their high chairs.

  Aydiola Glef rose from his seat and cleared his throat. “The accused students are found guilty of violation of discipline, gambling, perjury, and murder.”

  I noticed a troubled expression on our defender’s face. I followed his gaze and realized – Master Raydun was still absent.

  “We are in deep shit, brother,” whined Ice. “So deep I can blow bubbles with my nose.”

  “Master Raydun isn’t here,” I replied. “Something’s not right, Ice. He would never abandon us like this!”

  “The Tribunal has decided,” the Archwizard continued. “For misconduct, perjury, gambling and use of forbidden magic, Aspeni of Dekt and Hlir of Tergas shall be expelled from the Academy, deprived of their Gift and sentenced to five years of hard labour on the galleys.”

  Aspeni and Hlir cried out and fell to their knees before the Tribunal, pleading for mercy. The guards put them in irons and, without much ado, dragged them away. The students wailed all the way to the door, spitting and cursing the judges.

  “Ayssived of Antraga and Marcus Grimm of Lieh are found guilty of misconduct, gambling, use of forbidden magic and murder. The accused shall be expelled from the Academy.” The Archwizard placed his notebook on the table and looked me straight in the eye. “They shall be hanged by the neck until dead.”

  Despite the horror of the situation, I could not help laughing. It reminded me of similar trial back in Lieh.

  “Just look at them,” I chuckled. “New actors – old play.”

  “Have you gone mad all of a sudden?” hissed Ice. “Didn’t you hear what they said? My dad loves hanging people; I saw enough hangings in my lifetime. Pretty gross death, I must say!”

  I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. “We won’t go down without a fight.”

  The wizards stared at me as if I was a madm
an.

  “Wake up, brother! These are fucking wizards!” Ice yelled. “Every single one of them!”

  “So fucking what?” I growled. “They bleed just like us. Believe me; I saw it with my own eyes.”

  I sighed, straightening to my full height. I wasn’t afraid of these wizards. Telaris had been terrifying. He was so scary that you could piss yourself just looking at him. I looked at the funny robes and silly pointy hats.

  “Oh well,” Ice sighed. “We are already deep in this shit, I’ll take a dive!”

  His eyes sparkled mischievously, his breath smelled of smoke, and his chest heaved like a pair of powerful bellows.

  “Let’s see what they are made of!”

  The wizards jumped from their seats, unsure what to do. All their power and strength was naught against our anger. I was a sorcerer-killer after all! I was a wolf, not a sacrificial lamb!

  “My dear friends!” A familiar voice stopped me short. “I’m so sorry – I was… delayed.” Master Raydun smiled, looking at me through the open door. “Someone must have decided to play a joke,” he said, as if nothing had happened. “Ha-ha! They put some kind of spell on my door and I had to squeeze my rusty self through the bathroom window. And that, I must confess, is quite a challenge at my age.”

  Master Raydun smiled, clapped his hands and looked at the hostile parties. “Some friendly dispute, I see. Sit down, my friends; I’ll join you in a jiffy!”

  The wizards returned to their seats, grumbling. Ice and I remained standing.

  “Damn, I’m so fired up,” Ice said. “I’d serve them a barbecue Antragian-style right now!”

  Hands behind his back, Master Raydun circled the table, looking slyly at the judges.

  “You know, I carried out a small investigation too,” he said. “And I even managed to unearth something interesting.”

  A tense silence gripped the hall.

  “I want to ask you a single question,” Master Raydun smiled. “While Master Henvis is listening.”

  The wizards watched the old librarian warily.