Trial By Fire (Schooled in Magic Book 7)

by Christopher Nuttall

  Imaiqah kept a hand on Emily’s arm, as if she was afraid Emily would bolt, as they walked down to the courtyard. Caleb waited by one of the coaches, looking as nervous as Emily felt. He stared at Emily, as if he wasn’t quite sure where to look, his face flushing with embarrassment. Oddly, that made Emily feel better. Imaiqah had pointed out that he might feel as nervous as she, perhaps more so.

  “It’s a guy thing,” she’d said, and followed up with an example so crude she’d made Emily blush. “They’re as nervous as us girls, Emily; they just show it differently.”

  “I’m glad you made it,” he stammered. “You look great.”

  Emily flushed. “Thank you,” she said. “So do you.”

  Caleb blushed, too.

  “You can both get in the coach,” Imaiqah said. She waved to a young man, a year or so older than her, wearing dark robes. “Emily, Caleb; this is William.”

  “Pleased to meet you,” Emily said. William wasn’t the first of Imaiqah’s boyfriends she’d actually met, but he was the first who’d actually been named. They came and went so quickly that Emily had given up trying to keep track of them. “Shall we go?”

  The ride down to Dragon’s Den felt shorter than Emily remembered, but that was something of a relief. William wasn’t a bad person, she was sure, yet there was something about him that put her teeth on edge, even though she wasn’t sure why. She forced herself to remember that Imaiqah could look after herself, and watched through the window as the coach pulled through the gates and into the city. Imaiqah led the way out onto the streets - they smelled as bad as Emily remembered - and down towards a small eatery.

  “This place serves the best food in the city,” Imaiqah said, as they walked through the door. “And it is one of the nicest places to visit, if you happen to be a couple.”

  Emily frowned as the door closed behind them, feeling oddly trapped. It was warm inside, with a small band playing in the corner and a couple of pretty waitresses on duty. They’d probably be the owner’s daughters, Emily figured; they would have been working for their father since the day they were old enough to hold a mop or wipe dishes. One of the waitresses spoke briefly to Imaiqah, then escorted the small party through a side door and into a garden. The rear of the building was surprisingly nice - and deserted.

  “You can order what you like,” Imaiqah said, “but I’d recommend you share a couple of dishes. That would let you have a taste of two different meals.”

  She pointed Emily and Caleb to one table, and sat down with William at another. Emily felt a spark of panic - she’d assumed they’d all be sharing a table - but did as she was told. The wooden chair felt hard beneath her; she opened the menu and skimmed down the short list of selections. They probably cooked the food from scratch, she reasoned. She doubted they could afford an enchanted cabinet primed with preservation spells.

  “I’m not sure what to eat,” Caleb confessed. “What do you recommend?”

  Emily shrugged. Dragon’s Den was the most cosmopolitan city in the Nameless World - or, at least, the most cosmopolitan city she’d seen - but she’d never been to this particular eatery before and she had no idea what half the items on the menu actually were. She wound up picking something made out of chicken, while Caleb picked the beef. The waitress took their orders and money, placed a large jug of water on the table, then retreated, leaving them alone. Emily glanced at Imaiqah and realized, to her irritation, that her friend had already cast a privacy ward. Whatever she was discussing with William, Emily couldn’t hear it. She couldn’t even lip-read.

  She looked back at Caleb, finding herself at a loss for words. What did one say on a date? None of the books she’d read offered her a clue, and there was no way she could say the hackneyed lines she’d heard in a dozen romantic movies. Maybe that was why people talked about the weather, she realized. It gave them something to talk about, something guaranteed to serve as a conversational opener. But what could she say? The only thing they had in common was the project and she didn’t want to talk about that, not now. And Caleb seemed to be equally tongue-tied...

  “I never really asked,” she said, frantically. “How did your career interview go?”

  “Well enough,” Caleb said. “I explained I wanted to go into independent research and Master Gordian suggested I take a short apprenticeship with a research magician. We had quite an interesting chat about some of the limitations inherent in the career training system.”

  Emily smiled. “What sort of limitations?”

  Caleb smiled back, as if he was relieved that the ice had finally broken. “Our project is a mixture of Charms and Alchemy,” he said, “as well as some practical work. It wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t worked out how to combine the two fields. But they’re considered separate; I could apprentice with an Alchemist, or a Charms Master, but I couldn’t combine the two apprenticeships. And it would be very hard to apprentice with first one and then the other.”

  “I don’t see why not,” Emily said. “Wouldn’t you learn good habits from the first apprenticeship?”

  “You’d also be three or so years older than a normal apprentice and have the right to add Master to your name,” Caleb pointed out. “Would you want an apprentice like that?”

  “I don’t think I would have cared,” Emily said, but she knew it might be different if she was the one tutoring an apprentice. Someone who had already proved himself by winning a coveted title might not be willing to go back to the hard life of an apprentice, being tutored like a child. “Do you have a solution?”

  “There are stories of covens, back in the old days, which gathered several masters and apprentices together,” Caleb said. “I was thinking we could restart it, perhaps as a form of research institute...”

  A university, Emily thought. It wouldn’t be a bad idea.

  “It would have to be small,” she said, slowly. “And funding would be a problem.”

  “Not for Alchemy,” Caleb said. “Anyone at that level could brew Manaskol. The apprentices could produce it, once a week, and use it to build their finances. I’m pretty sure there would be other ways to make money too...”

  Patents, perhaps, Emily thought. There was no such thing in the Nameless World, which was partly why her ideas had spread so far in such a short space of time. But they wouldn’t be very enforceable.

  The waitress returned with two bowls of steaming meat, a pair of plates and a large pot of rice. Emily sniffed the chicken, decided it smelled strong but edible, and took a small helping. Caleb helped himself to both the beef and the chicken, talking all the while. Emily had to admit the idea seemed workable, but if it had been tried once and then fallen out of fashion...why? She made a mental note to look it up.

  “It would be easy to combine the two fields in group study,” Caleb said. “And it might make it easier to handle other apprenticeships too.”

  “It would also make it harder for the master to judge the apprentice’s progress,” Emily said, after a moment. Lady Barb had discussed Healing apprenticeships in some detail, as if she’d been trying to drive away anyone who wasn’t actually committed to the role. “There wouldn’t be a single person giving one-to-one teaching.”

  “But they might not be aiming for mastery,” Caleb pointed out. “Merely...raw research.”

  “You’d need somewhere very secure,” Emily said. Professor Thande had told them that magicians who pushed the limits too far were told to take themselves off to deserted mountains and carry out their research there. “Hell, you’d need a nexus point.”

  “There are some we could probably buy,” Caleb said. He sighed. “But I’d need to be a Master in my own field first.”

  Emily nodded. A Master could speak and be heeded, whereas a mere apprentice or journeyman could not. Once he was a Master, Caleb could make proposals and even carry them out, if he had enough backing. Hell, he could even take apprentices of his own, men and women who might be willing to help test his theories. But it would be at least five years befor
e Caleb achieved mastery and set out to change the world.

  She glanced down at the plates and was shocked to discover that, between them, they’d eaten everything. Where had the food gone?

  “Hey,” Imaiqah said. “William and I are going off now. We’ll see you back at the school?”

  Emily wanted to object, but she couldn’t. “I’ll see you back there,” she said. “Have fun.”

  “They’re happy,” Caleb said, as Imaiqah and William walked out the door.

  “She’ll break up with him within the week,” Emily predicted, shortly. Part of her would have liked to be so...carefree, but the rest of her knew it was too dangerous. “And she’ll have another boyfriend by the start of next week.”

  Caleb shrugged. “Do you want to go back to the coaches now?”

  Emily hesitated. The first time she’d come to Dragon’s Den, they’d had a set number of hours within the city, but after that there had been coaches running backwards and forwards all day. She was tempted to remain in the city with him, yet...she was scared of what might happen if she did.

  “If you don’t mind,” she said. In truth, there was little in Dragon’s Den for her right now. “I can go back on my own, if you like.”

  Caleb shook his head. They left a tip for the waitress - Emily hoped she’d have the wit to keep it from her family - and walked back to the coaches. The trip back up the mountains was slower than the trip down to the city, but it gave Emily a chance to focus her mind. Maybe, just maybe, it hadn’t been a complete disaster.

  “It’s deserted,” Caleb said, as they climbed out of the coach. There was no one in sight, not even a student cleaning the cobblestones as a form of detention. “They’re all gone.”

  “Probably round the back of the school,” Emily said. Alassa had grumbled about it, when she hadn’t been grumbling about detention with Madame Beauregard. She should be there, she’d said, spying on the opposing players. “Everyone who isn’t at Dragon’s Den will be watching the Ken match.”

  “Oh,” Caleb said. “Emily...?”

  Emily turned to face him, feeling her heartbeat suddenly starting to race.

  “I had a good time today,” Caleb said. He seemed to be looking anywhere, but at her. “Did you?”

  “I did,” Emily said. She blinked in surprise. He was suddenly very close. “I...”

  Caleb took her in his arms and kissed her. For a long moment, Emily was too stunned to move. Jade had kissed her, but it had been different. Caleb was different. His lips felt warm, yet demanding; his arms felt strong and firm.

  It felt good. She felt as if she trusted him, maybe that she wanted to go further...

  And then she panicked. Shoving his arms away, she turned and ran.

  Chapter Twenty

  CALEB CALLED HER NAME, BUT SHE ignored him as she tore through deserted corridors, unsure if she was running from him or her own treacherous feelings. She had liked the kiss; she had wanted the kiss...and yet, the mere thought of kissing Caleb frightened her. She wanted to go back, to apologize, to have him kiss her again, but she also wanted to flee to her room and hide. Her mother had warned her, time and time again, never to trust her feelings. Emily hadn’t understood what she’d meant until now.

  It wasn’t normal. She knew it wasn’t normal. But she was torn between wanting to embrace her feelings and throwing them out of her body and soul. She liked Caleb; he was smart, funny and caring, not aggressive or unpleasant. And yet, men could change in the wink of an eye. No doubt her mother had loved her new husband until he’d shown his true colors...

  She came to a halt and stumbled against the wall, clinging to the dark stone for strength. The school seemed to be humming, a dull throbbing running through the wards that seemed...off, somehow, but it was hard to focus when her mind was so confused. She wanted Caleb, yet she didn’t trust herself to maintain control...and part of her just wanted to surrender to the wellspring of feeling within her. It was a nightmare...

  But Imaiqah has had dozens of boyfriends, her own thoughts mocked her. How does she do it?

  “Emily?”

  She looked up to see Frieda staring at her, alarm written over the younger girl’s face. It took everything Emily had to straighten up, to draw on reserves of strength she didn’t know she possessed, just so she could let go of the wall. The corridor seemed to spin around her - for a moment, she was convinced she’d been hexed in the back - and then straightened out. Frieda ran forward, caught her arm and stared into her eyes.

  “Emily,” she asked. “What happened?”

  “Caleb kissed me,” Emily said, numbly.

  Frieda stared at her. “Caleb kissed you and...what did he do?”

  It slowly dawned on Emily that Frieda thought Caleb had done something utterly unforgivable. She’d grown up in the mountains; she’d have known, from a very early age, both the facts of life and how unpleasant life could become if the wrong person took a fancy to you. Without magic, the youngest daughter of a family that was already too large would be lucky if she wasn’t sold to the highest bidder, who might well be a pimp at the nearest brothel. Or the lord’s youngest son, seeking a mistress...

  “He kissed me,” Emily repeated. Frieda looked doubtful. “He kissed me and I liked it.”

  Frieda looked at her as if she’d started speaking in tongues. “He kissed you and you liked it?”

  There was something in her voice, something wrong. But Emily barely noticed.

  “Yes,” Emily said. She twisted until she was leaning against the wall. “I liked it.”

  “Emily,” Frieda said. She sounded...upset. “You liked it?”

  Emily stared at her. Were they talking about different things?

  “Yes, I did,” she said. “I just...feel strange.”

  Frieda let out a strangled sound, then turned and ran. Emily stared after her, completely confused. She knew why she’d run from Caleb, but why had Frieda run from her? Had the thought of Emily kissing someone - anyone - shocked her? Or...

  “It isn’t nice for a Fourth Year to bully a Second Year,” an all-too-familiar voice said. Emily slowly turned to look as Master Grey emerged from the shadows. She’d been so upset that she hadn’t even known she’d run past his office. “Detention, Lady Emily. Go get that tacky ballroom gown off, and report to Lady Barb. I’m sure she will have something unpleasant for you to do.”

  Emily clenched her fists, feeling a wave of cold fury that threatened to break through what was left of her control. Master Grey was smirking slightly, his eyes flickering over her; she had to grit her teeth to keep from saying something she knew would get her into even worse trouble. Caleb had kissed her, Frieda had run from her...and she still had to remain calm, to put her stress on the back burner. The charitable part of her mind noted that it was a lesson she needed to learn, but the rest of her found it hard to care. She’d never had to cope with her own body betraying her...

  But that’s not true, her own thoughts countered. Your body changed without your consent.

  “Go,” Master Grey ordered. “Unless, of course, you want to serve your detention with me, personally?”

  “No, thank you,” Emily ground out. Lady Barb would probably have some mind-numbing task for her to do, something that would keep her from having to think. “I’ll go to Lady Barb.”

  She forced herself to walk away slowly, despite the growing urge to run. Master Grey’s gaze bored into her as she walked, sending chills down her spine. By the time she had walked around the corner and up a flight of stairs, sweat was running down her back. The sensation that someone was preparing to stick a knife in her back was almost overpowering. She walked past a young boy who was tapping his ear with his finger, probably as the result of a curse, then towards the entrance to the dorms. Thankfully, it was unguarded; everyone was either at Dragon’s Den or watching the match. She opened the door to her room and stepped inside, feeling her control start to snap as the door closed behind her. And then she saw Alassa, working at her desk.

 
“You’re back early,” Alassa said. She looked up. “What happened?”

  Emily glanced in the mirror. Her eyes were wide and staring, her dress was disheveled and her hair had fallen out of its ponytail. No wonder Frieda had thought the worst, part of her mind noted. She looked far too much like someone who had been through hell.

  “Caleb kissed me, I liked it so I ran and then Frieda ran from me,” Emily said. She sat down on the bed, feeling her body start to shake. “And then Master Grey gave me detention.”

  Alassa rose to her feet and paced over to sit beside her. “Start from the beginning,” she said, “and go on to the end.”

  “You sound like Lady Barb,” Emily said. “I...”

  “I should call Lady Barb,” Alassa said. “What happened?”

  Emily stumbled through the whole story, careful to explain that it had been she - not Caleb - who’d messed up her dress. Alassa listened, shaking her head in dismay, as Emily explained what Frieda had done and her own complete lack of comprehension. Master Grey seemed to be very much a secondary concern.

  “That could have gone better,” Alassa said. She met Emily’s eyes. “You do realize that Frieda has a monumental crush on you?”

  “Pardon?”

  “Frieda has a crush on you,” Alassa repeated, patiently. “You’re her heroine. I think she’s probably had a crush on you since Mountaintop.”

  Emily stared at her. “But why...?”

  “You saved her from having to slave at Mountaintop, without learning any proper magic,” Alassa pointed out, dryly. “You took her to Cockatrice and gave her a home. You treat her as a friend and an equal rather than an inferior or a servant. Why shouldn’t she nurse a crush on you?”