by Sever Bronny
Neither Bridget nor Leera were successful either. When Mrs. Stone returned to Augum, he thought himself prepared, but failed yet again.
“Unfortunately, the only way to protect your mind against any spell is by knowing its signature,” and so they continued on, hour after hour, the repetition grating on the trio’s nerves.
Only Mrs. Stone seemed unaffected by numerous castings. “You are not concentrating,” she would say, or, “Focus like your life depended on it, for one day it will,” but the trio only tired more, until Leera collapsed, panting.
“Can we please take a break, Mrs. Stone?” a gasping Bridget asked.
“We will not rest. Breakthroughs come with perseverance. We are not at the academy. You will not master this spell otherwise. You should consider yourselves extremely lucky I am as patient as I am. Pupils clamored by the bushel for such an opportunity back at the academy. Few received it. Now—again!”
Augum’s head felt like someone had been kicking it for the last hour. He summoned his strength and returned to trying to block Mrs. Stone’s Mute attack. He failed, along with the girls, for the next hour, until all three were lying in the waning sun.
“We need to rest, Nana,” Augum croaked.
“You wish to rest, do you? Very well then. Perhaps you may also want to rethink the coming journey. Bahbell is not like Castle Arinthian—it is far more dangerous. Milham is safe, and I am starting to think you three are not up to the task after all. Much of your future rests on your decision. Think carefully.”
There was an implosive crunch and she was gone.
“Did she just leave us?” Bridget asked, panting as if having run for leagues.
Augum and Leera were both too tired to answer. The trio lay on the ground, barely moving, while the wind increased and the sun dimmed, reddening the horizon. The place suddenly felt lonely and so very far from anywhere.
“Where do you think we are, anyway?” Augum finally asked when some strength had returned.
“Probably somewhere far south,” Bridget replied, “because it’s so warm.”
“It could be another plane, like Ley,” Leera threw in.
They glanced around anxiously; who knew what manner of creature was out here.
Bridget sat up when Augum and Leera hadn’t spoken in a while. “Well, don’t either of you want to talk about our performance?”
Leera shrugged. “What’s there to say?”
“What do you mean, ‘What’s there to say?’ We’re about to lose our opportunity to go to Bahbell. What, you two want to stay in Milham? Who would train us then? What would we do, mine for iron? Wait for the Legion to find us?”
Leera waved the thought aside. “She wouldn’t leave us behind.”
Bridget scowled. “Do you really think Mrs. Stone would let us go if she didn’t think us ready? She said Bahbell is dangerous. If I were her, I’d leave us behind.”
Leera rolled her eyes. “I know you would, but Mrs. Stone knows how to have fun. She likes to challenge us—”
“—and she likes to keep us safe, too. She’s right, this isn’t Castle Arinthian. Bahbell is a hostile place we’re going to.”
“Well, what do you want to do about it? Can’t you see we’re exhausted?”
“Try harder, push yourselves!” Bridget stood up, dusting herself off. “This is our chance to show Mrs. Stone how serious we are. She won’t take us if we just do what’s required. Aug, help me out here—”
“Why are you asking him for help? He agrees with me!”
Augum sighed while the girls stared at him. “Nana told me something the other day, before everyone woke up. She said that we’re learning at a really fast pace, faster than she had ever seen, because we’re applying our arcanery in the field—or something like that at least. Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to say is …”
He slowly got up and looked at Leera. “Bridget’s right, Lee, we have to work harder. Nana will leave us behind if she thinks we aren't up to it. Thing is, if we don’t believe in ourselves, how is anyone else going to?”
Leera glared at him and shook her head. “I knew it,” she muttered. “So you want to just stand there?”
“Kind of, yeah,” Bridget said. “Let’s all stand in a line and wait for her. That way she knows that, although we’ve been beaten, we’re not ready to give up. If she comes back and we’re laying about, she won’t take us. Besides, we can also contemplate how to better ourselves.”
“You two can, I’m going to lie right here and sleep.”
“Fine.”
“Fine!”
Augum felt bad but he stood beside Bridget anyway while Leera lay on her side, her back to them. After a long time, she made an aggravated noise. “Oh for—fine!” and stood up beside them, muttering, “I really hate the two of you right now …”
He gave her a light punch on the shoulder. “Do this with us—it’s no fun without you.”
She frowned and punched his shoulder back—much harder. “I said fine …” though he thought he saw her cheeks redden a bit and the corner of her mouth curve upward ever slightly.
“Mrs. Stone thinks you’re going to face your father one day,” Bridget said quietly after a time.
Augum only nodded, raising his hood to protect against the increasing wind.
“The millennials said something similar,” Leera threw in, raising her hood too.
“ ‘When thy fallen can’t be slain, when lion children rise again, when fires burn from east to west, blood of kin can vanquish death’,” he said. “Nana told it to me the other day.”
“Wait—” Bridget said. “Those are Thomas’ last words, aren’t they?”
“Yes. It’s an ancient witch poem. Might be a prophecy. Anyway, guess I’m destined to confront my father, or fight him, or talk him out of his insanity or something.”
“Doesn’t sound like you believe it.”
“Nana said it’s just a poem. I think it’s just a poem too. But she did say I can maybe—just maybe—reach my father through my mother. Apparently he sees some part of her in me.”
Leera shook her head. “You’re not going to be able to talk him out of being crazy. He’d just capture you again and use you for ransom, or groom you into his own Robin.”
He stared at the jagged horizon. “I know one thing—no way could I face my father without either of you.”
“No way we’d let you,” Leera said.
“Definitely,” Bridget added, drawing her own hood. “Let’s just hope we don’t have to face him …”
They stood like this for who knew how long, the wind slowly increasing in strength, the horizon steadily dimming. Thick, low-hanging clouds rolled in, so close Augum thought he could touch them. Stomachs began to groan as suppertime passed, but no one complained, at least aloud. He used the time to go over in his mind what he thought he could improve on. At long last, when it was pitch-black, there was an implosive crunch.
For a time, Mrs. Stone observed them, staff in hand, scion flashing with silent lightning. They stood at attention.
“So I see. Do you realize how dangerous the coming journey is? I may not be able to protect you. Do you really wish to go?”
“Yes, Mrs. Stone!”
“You would not rather stay in the comforts of Milham, eating warm food and laying by the fire?”
“No, Mrs. Stone!”
There was a resigned sigh. “So be it. Let us begin again.”
And so they trained long into the night, collapsing again and again from exhaustion. Each of the trio vomited at least once from the terrible nausea of pushing their arcane boundaries. On top of that, they had to do it in complete darkness with a powerful wind and a very long fall only steps away. Augum had never worked so hard at anything in his life, nor was his body even remotely prepared. His legs gave way numerous times as his mind failed to function properly. He began hallucinating, repeatedly thinking he saw great big flying things in the blackness above.
At some time in the middle of that awful
night, there came a glimmer of hope.
“I did it!” Bridget shouted from the darkness, sobbing. “I did it …”
“Again,” came the sound of Mrs. Stone’s voice. There was a pause in which Mrs. Stone attacked Bridget’s mind with the mute spell. “Good. Again!”
Bridget made an anguished cry but gritted her teeth and pushed as if enduring great pain.
“Excellent! You have discovered the spell’s signature and are on the correct path.”
It was the highest praise Augum had ever heard her give.
Bridget collapsed, crying with joy and grief.
Mrs. Stone moved on to Augum, whose hopes were buoyed by Bridget’s success. She repeatedly attacked his mind, until he too finally struck upon the right combination of thoughts that prevented his throat from closing.
“I think I got it!” he shouted, wincing from the throbbing pain in his head and trying not to vomit again.
“Repeat!” and so he strengthened the thought pattern until it was written in stone and he was able to block the attack without fail.
“Excellent! Now, Leera—”
Leera took the longest, vomiting a third time, but she would not give up. Augum could hear her sniffing and sobbing but she persevered through it, until she too cried out in victory.
Mrs. Stone forced her to iron the pattern in with repetition. By the end of it, Leera was writhing in agony but successful.
“Congratulations. Historically speaking, you have achieved what only a handful of apprentices have ever achieved—you have learned how to use Mind Armor to block Mute, all in the space of an evening. Tomorrow, we continue.”
Leera dry heaved. Augum and Bridget had to help her up, though neither were in much better shape.
“Let us join hands in preparation for Teleport.”
When they arrived back in the Okeke home, the trio collapsed where they stood, nothing to throw up, no energy to move. The candles, including the stubby Endyear candle, flickered and settled.
Teleporting had finished Augum off. He could barely think, let alone stand. He had to crawl to bed while the girls had to be carried by Mr. Okeke and Mr. Goss, both of whom fussed endlessly about the state the trio were in.
“Is this really necessary, Mrs. Stone?” Mr. Goss asked, wetting a towel. “They are frightfully pale and weak, and they missed supper.”
“I am afraid it is, Mr. Goss—it is the price they pay for competence. It may save their lives.”
Haylee helped too. She seemed better now—her hair was clean and there was a bit of color to her cheeks. She crouched down beside Augum, smiled gently, and cleaned his face with a cloth. He didn’t have the strength to say or do anything, however, except fall asleep where he lay.
Perseverance
The next day, the trio were treated to an enormous late breakfast of warm milk, eggs, potatoes, bread, roasted lamb, and beet soup—and they ate every single bit of it. Jengo found their hunger amusing, until Leera snapped at him, “Just you wait until you have to stay up all night training—”
Jengo knocked on the cover of the blue book on arcaneology. “As a matter of fact, I’ve been studying with Haylee and Leland. It was arduous. I’m sure I’ll come down with something vicious—”
“—all in the comforts of home. It’s a book, Jengo, about as dangerous as a pillow. I’d like to see you do it balancing on a cliff edge in the middle of the night.”
Jengo shivered at the thought.
“Tomorrow is New Year’s,” Mr. Goss reminded them.
That’s right, Augum thought as everyone exchanged excited looks, though he suspected Mr. Goss had said it more for Mrs. Stone, who ate quietly and sparingly. Perhaps Mr. Goss wanted her to take it easy on them today.
He snorted—they had better odds of finding the remaining scions in the next few hours. “Sorry,” he mumbled when everyone looked up.
“Leland and I look forward to gathering the supplies today, don’t we, son? All that coin will go to good use.”
Leland moaned sadly.
“He wants to come along,” Mr. Goss whispered.
“He wouldn’t if he knew what we were doing on that mesa,” Leera muttered.
Augum was definitely not looking forward to returning to the training ground. The novelty of it had long worn off. All he associated it with was horrendous throbbing pain and vomiting. Every muscle ached and his head still hurt from the night before.
“I’d like to come,” Haylee said meekly.
Mrs. Stone looked up. “Is that so, child?”
Augum gave her a look, trying to pass on what horror awaited her should she want to train with them. She didn’t seem to get it.
“I do, Mrs. Stone. I’m … I’m ready.”
“You’ll regret it the moment you puke all over your new robe,” Leera said.
“Leera—” Bridget whispered.
“What? She has a right to know—”
“I shall not go easy on you, child,” Mrs. Stone said. “Are you sure this is what you want? It is a serious trial, a trial that may even cost you your life.”
Augum suddenly realized she may be talking about more than just training. Maybe she was asking if Haylee wanted to come with them to Bahbell …
Haylee swallowed but nodded. “I’m sure, and I realize it may cost me my life. But if I’m going to die, I want it to be for a purpose.” She glanced at Augum. “I have nothing to lose.”
“So be it, child. You will have to work very hard though. Prepare yourself.”
“I will, Mrs. Stone.”
After breakfast, Mrs. Stone ventured to the center of the room. “There is no time to waste. Stand in a circle and hold hands.”
When Haylee took Augum’s left hand, he noticed it shook. She had to be nervous hearing them talk about their experiences on the mesa, or at least from seeing the state they were in the night before.
Meanwhile, Leera squeezed his right hand extra hard. When he glanced her way, she pretended not to notice. He blinked, confused.
There was an implosive crunch. When the sickness of teleporting passed, they assembled before Mrs. Stone like lambs awaiting slaughter, each putting on a brave face. Mrs. Stone told Haylee to stand aside while she refreshed the Mind Armor lesson for the trio. They only failed a few times before successfully blocking her Mute attack.
“Mute is a 6th degree spell. I chose to start with it because it is one of the more difficult mid-range spells to block. This one, Deafness, is only 4th degree. Let us see how you fare against it.”
And so the trials began again, but this time there was no vomiting and little nausea. Augum’s head barely hurt, even though he failed to protect himself from the spell time and again. That same sensation he felt of intrusion into his mind and tingling in his throat now focused on his ears. It was easier though, and after only about a hundred tries, he finally managed to block it, Leera and Bridget following shortly after.
They exchanged grins and nods, for it had only taken them the better part of two hours as opposed to before, when it had taken them all night. Throughout, Mrs. Stone imparted instructions for Haylee on what she was to be doing—simple stuff mainly, mostly the basics on Telekinesis, Shine, Repair and Unconceal. Although Haylee was reasonably proficient, she had not mastered them near to the degree the trio had.
“Now let us move on to Confusion,” Mrs. Stone said to the trio. “It, too, is a 4th degree spell. Prepare yourselves.”
This one was tougher because upon failure Augum had a hair-raising sensation as if he’d just woken up from passing out. There was something absolutely terrifying in not recognizing where he was or who the gawking people around him were. Even ordinary words required more thought than usual. Further, there was the added danger of accidentally stepping off the mesa and tumbling to his death.
It took them well past noon to succeed. This time they had learned their lesson—no one whined for lunch, not even Haylee, who seemed determined to catch up. She was woefully behind, mostly struggling with Unconceal. Mrs
. Stone remained patient with her though, hiding objects again and again.
Meanwhile, the trio moved on to defending against the 4th degree spell Fear, an even more difficult spell than Confusion, for it caused them to want to run off the Mesa in terror. More than once, Mrs. Stone had to pull someone back from the edge, much to the horror of the onlookers. It barely helped that Augum had once been subjected to a real attack of the spell. It was still like living his worst nightmare.
Eventually, though, they conquered that one as well, and at mid-afternoon, Mrs. Stone teleported off, promising to bring back lunch.
“How’s Unconceal coming, Haylee?” Augum asked as the trio sat trying to catch their breath.
“I hate this spell, it’s impossible …”
“And that’s why it’s not working,” Leera said. “It’s your attitude.”
Haylee gave her a pointed look but said nothing.
“Let me help.” Bridget sidled in beside her. “Unconceal is about feeling the subtle fluctuations in the arcane ether—”
Leera elbowed Augum. “There she goes sounding like Mrs. Stone again.”
Yet by the time Mrs. Stone returned, Haylee had actually smiled for the first time in recent memory.
“Mrs. Stone, I did it!” she said, biting her lower lip, blonde hair sparkling in the sunshine.
Mrs. Stone placed a basket before the trio. “Show me.”
Haylee covered her eyes while Bridget hid an acorn. Bridget then sat down beside Augum and Leera. “Ready.”
Haylee opened her eyes and splayed her palm. She found the acorn immediately.
Lunch consisted of water, fried salmon, yellow cheese and journey bread. Augum only hoped they’d be able to keep the food down.
Soon they were training again, Mrs. Stone switching tactics by randomly casting all the offensive spells they had trained against thus far. It proved immensely difficult to guard against unknown attacks, but they handled it in the end, blocking almost all.
In the meantime, Haylee had to repeatedly perform Unconceal, often ending up on her knees crying from the pressure and grueling strain. Yet each time, a look of determination would cross her face, she’d grit her teeth, and stand. Mrs. Stone observed but didn’t let up, asking Haylee to cast all the 1st degree spells successively. This, too, sent the girl to her knees.
