The Other Prism (The Broken Prism)

by St. Clair, V.

  Hayden tried his best not to look surprised by this testimonial from one of his bitterest enemies. He had no idea why Davis was helping him keep the secret, other than the fact that even he might not be heartless enough to upset an already devastated family.

  “He’s right. None of us would have messed with that crystal,” Hayden agreed.

  “Very well, what happened next?” Calahan prompted him to continue.

  “We were about to be attacked by the other chimaera when Master Asher found us,” Hayden lied easily. “He said he’d been hanging around to see how I was coming along, only he realized something was wrong and came looking for us. He got rid of the other chimaera, and Cinder led us back to the Resonance Crystal where Oliver and Darren were.”

  As Hayden was the only one conscious for this part of the story, none of his peers could suggest it happened otherwise. “After that we got out of the Forest as soon as possible.” He shrugged anticlimactically.

  “You forgot to mention that you found the prism trophy,” the Master from Isenfall observed evenly.

  “It didn’t seem to matter.”

  They asked about a dozen more questions of him, but Hayden stuck to his original story without adding embellishments, and eventually the group broke up to have their own conversations. Hayden fled the dining hall as soon as possible, eager to avoid Farrah’s family or anyone else who might want something from him.

  He found himself sitting near the cliffs that overlooked the Gawain Sea with Bonk, throwing the red rubber weasel (severely mangled by now) over the edge and watching his familiar fly after it. He had no idea how long he stayed there before Asher sat down beside him.

  “Is everyone gone?” Hayden asked without turning his head.

  “Yes, and about time.” The Prism Master sighed. “That was an unpleasant business, but you and Davis did a good thing back there.”

  “Oh?” Hayden raised his eyebrows in interest.

  “There was nothing wrong with that crystal before it was tampered with, and I think you both knew that,” Asher said gently, as though he already knew the truth.

  “Farrah was a good person,” Hayden explained. “She made a mistake, because her stupid teacher was hounding her to win no matter what, but that doesn’t make her bad.”

  “I agree. Death absolves us of sin. If she had survived, she would be in ruin; forced into Binders, her family name disgraced. In death she is remembered as a hero,” Master Asher said solemnly. “As a point of interest, her stupid teacher—as you call him—feels some sense of liability for what transpired, and is most aggrieved by it.”

  “Good, he deserves it,” Hayden muttered angrily.

  “Still, there would be nothing gained in apprising her family of the truth of things. You and Davis handled that very well.”

  Hayden nodded.

  “You wanted to talk to me about something privately,” Master Asher reminded him gently.

  “Oh, right. I was wondering…is the Forest of Illusions real, or not? It doesn’t seem possible that the surroundings could change the way they did, and I saw things…things that can’t be real…”

  “That’s a question that mages have spent several hundred years debating, Hayden,” Asher explained. “The Forest is real enough, and the unstable magic in it allows for the bending of space—and occasionally time—so that you may take one step and end up somewhere completely different than where you started.”

  “I saw my mother,” Hayden blurted out. “I saw her standing by a swing, like the one we used to have at home, and she said I was like my father, and that she didn’t want me to be like him…she was disappointed in me. Then she turned into a cobra and tried to kill me.”

  Master Asher frowned and said, “I personally believe that everything in the Forest is real, but not all of it is current.” He paused for a moment to let that sink in. “I too have seen things that weren’t there while inside the boundaries, but they’re all things that came from inside my head, my memories and fears reflected back at me.”

  Hayden contemplated that in silence for a moment.

  “So you think I was seeing my own thoughts?”

  “I think a part of you is worried that your mother would not be proud of you if she could see you today, and the Forest projected that back at you. The cobra was probably always there, but you couldn’t see it until the image of your mother cleared.”

  “It was a very strange place.”

  “Yes, it is. Most people don’t like it and avoid it entirely. Unfortunately, it’s a trove of power and magic, so our research frequently takes us there.” Asher sighed.

  “How come the creatures there seemed so…smart? The reindeer pointed me towards my teammates and it understood everything I said to it. And the chimaeras were much more powerful than I think they should have been.”

  “That’s because magical creatures are at their most powerful inside the Forest. You saw Cinder; he was able to scramble the chimaera’s brain with nothing more than a shriek,” Asher explained. “All magical creatures can trace their origins to the Forest of Illusions at some point down the line.”

  “Is that why Cinder knew the way out?”

  The Prism Master smiled and said, “Yes. Bonk would have known the way out as well; all magical creatures can navigate the Forest perfectly. It’s why you should make it a habit to never return there without Bonk or some other loyal creature with you.”

  If only I’d been allowed to bring Bonk with me for the championship, I might have gotten everyone out alive.

  “Well, I’d better leave you to your musings. I’ll try to have my father pick up a new chew toy for the dragons over the holiday; that one looks about done in.” He eyed the remnants of the weasel with a grimace. “Oh, yes, I also wanted to tell you that final grades have been posted.” He handed Hayden an envelope identical to the one he’d received at the end of last year.

  “Oh, thanks.” He accepted it, waiting until he was alone again before opening it and scanning the results.

  Final Exam Results – Frost, Hayden

  E- Excellent, G- Good, M-Mediocre, U- Unsatisfactory, D-Disgraceful

  Next term qualifications in ( )

  Wands: E (L-4)

  Conjury: U (Comments: Thank you for dropping my class and saving me the hassle of booting you out—Reede.)

  Charms: E (L-2)

  Healing: G (L-4)

  Elixirs: G (L-3)

  Prisms: E (L-4)

  Not too shabby, Hayden allowed with a small smile. True, his Conjury grade was terrible, but he’d been prepared for that for months now, and would be dropping it in exchange for Abnormal Magic next term anyway.

  He sat out there for a while longer with Bonk, watching his familiar chew on the mangled rubber weasel until it was completely unrecognizable, which seemed to please the little dragon.

  Eventually he got up and made his way back to the school. He hadn’t even begun packing his bags yet for the winter holiday, partly because he hadn’t yet figured out whether he would be staying at Mizzenwald or going somewhere else.

  “About time you came back,” Zane greeted him when he entered their room. “I was about to send a search party after you.”

  “Sorry, I was out by the cliffs playing fetch with Bonk,” Hayden sat down in front of his desk, tidying it up and throwing away old homework assignments to prepare for the next term. He noticed that Zane’s belongings were already packed to travel, along with Conner and Tamon’s.

  “That explains why Bonk is looking so cheerful,” his roommate observed. “He always gets that superior look on his face when he’s asserted dominance over the rubber weasel.”

  Hayden chuckled and said, “Yeah, he chewed it to death before we came in. Asher said he’s going to have Torin get him a new chew toy.”

  “You’d better hurry up and get packing, or you’re going to miss all of the early translocations tomorrow morning.”

  Hayden frowned thoughtfully. “I haven’t decided yet whether I’m staying here
or not,” he admitted. “At some point I’m going to tour my father’s house, but after that I’ll probably just come back here.”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Zane countered immediately, “You’re coming to stay with my family again until next term starts.”

  Hayden raised one eyebrow in surprise and said, “Did you actually ask their permission this time?”

  “Yes, I did. Actually, Mom suggested it during her last visit. I think she’s worried about you being all alone with the threat of war coming,” Zane rolled his eyes at this maternal concern. “I told her you’re not dumb enough to go wandering the coastline between Wynir and Osglen looking for sorcerers, but there’s no reasoning with the woman.”

  Hayden was touched by the fact that someone thought to be concerned for his safety. Swallowing a knot of emotion he said, “Does she realize that I’m not any safer with you all than on my own?”

  “You mean because no one in my family except for Sera and I can use magic, and I doubt the sorcerers are going to be frightened off by my dad waving around a rusty poker at them?”

  “Well, yeah, pretty much,” Hayden agreed.

  “Yes, they’re aware of that. Maybe Mom’s secretly planning it so that you can protect us, instead of the other way around,” Zane brightened. “You are stupidly powerful with prisms, and besides, she can delegate some of the household chores to you if you’re bunking with us.” Now he grinned in delight. “I think I’ll recommend you for chopping firewood; I hate doing that every year.”

  Laughing properly for the first time in days, Hayden said, “In that case, I’d better start packing my bags.”

  He didn’t know what waited for him in the future; whether war would come to the Nine Lands, and if it would reach Junir if so. He didn’t know when he would feel better about what he saw in the Forest of Illusions, or whether his mother would truly be disappointed in him if she could see him today. He had no idea what kind of closure he was hoping to get from touring his father’s estate this winter.

  There were a lot of dark days coming in the future for all of them, Hayden knew this instinctively. But right now it was hard to dwell on the future, or even the past. Right now the only thing that mattered was that he had a place to go during the holiday, and friends who were waiting for him at dinner. Tamon’s boa constrictor would try to eat them all, Tess would give him a shy smile every time he looked at her, and Conner and Zane would spend the entire meal furthering their debate over whether any of the Masters would look more attractive as women.

  And today that was enough.