Metal and Magic: A Fantasy Journey

by Steve Windsor

  “Damn,” Eli said, looking impressed in spite of himself.

  Tristan couldn’t believe how unlucky everyone had been. Rusty and Hayley had been caught in an ice storm, Zeke in a blizzard; Eli had been attacked by a bear; Leila had been in a cave-in; and Tristan himself had nearly been crushed by an avalanche. He didn’t even know how the rest of Zeke’s gang had fared.

  “Well, your knee looks way better now,” Rusty said cheerfully.

  Leila studied it for a moment. “Yeah. Grindlethorn says I’ll be able to walk just fine by tomorrow morning. He did some spell on it, so I think I just have to wait for the poultice to set.” She looked around at their half of the room; everyone was still watching her intently. Leila laughed. “Tomorrow I’ll tell you about the angry dwarves that chased me away from their cave.”

  “There are dwarves living in...wherever we are?”

  “Rusty,” Tristan and Leila said at the same time.

  “Aw, I was joking,” Rusty said, though he still looked surprised. “I was just humoring Leila.”

  “Sure,” Tristan said.

  Leila reached for her plate and continued picking at her dinner, and after a few minutes the other students started dispersing and getting ready for bed. As he thought back over the last few days, Tristan remembered something.

  “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you, Leila,” he said in a low voice. “When I got back, the teachers had a huge argument about the test. A lot of them, including Merridy, thought it had been a stupid idea.”

  Leila nodded. “I don’t think they’re used to teaching anyone. It looks as though we’re the first students that have come here, at least in a long time. What if this isn’t usually a school?” She set aside her fork and looked unhappily at Tristan. “What if they just brought us here to train us for something?”

  “That can’t be right,” Rusty said at once.

  Tristan kicked his shoes across the floor. “If you’re right, what are we being trained to do?”

  “Aside from magic?” Leila shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  Chapter 9: Delairium

  When classes resumed the following Monday, the students were suddenly overwhelmed by the work they’d neglected over the weekend. Tristan was so busy that he completely forgot he’d tried to run away. He didn’t even have time to think about what Drakewell had said to him and Amber.

  Grindlethorn spent the first medicine class calling up each of the students who’d been injured during the test. “Fairholm, you’re first.”

  Tristan stood uncertainly and joined the professor at the front of the room. “Sit here,” Grindlethorn said brusquely, pulling out the chair from behind his desk. “Fairholm’s ankle was twisted badly when he returned, with several torn ligaments and a slight displacement of the bone. Can anyone guess how I mended it?”

  Tristan sank onto the padded chair; catching Amber’s eye, he grinned briefly. She was, of course, the one who’d healed his ankle. He could have sworn she returned the smile.

  Finley Glenn, sitting in the back of the room, raised his arm. “Sir, you would’ve used a paste of either Goldthread or Twinleaf to reseal the muscle tissue.”

  Most of the class turned to look at Finley in surprise; flushing, he slumped down in his chair and tried unsuccessfully to hide behind his stack of textbooks.

  “Precisely,” Grindlethorn said. “In this case, there was no surface exposure of the wound, so I used only the powdered Twinleaf.” He swept his gaze around the classroom and scowled. “Why aren’t you taking notes?” he barked. “Start copying now—you have a quiz over this tomorrow.”

  Muttering to themselves, the students took out their notebooks and pens. Tristan returned to his usual seat and tried to remember what Finley had said. Grindlethorn could’ve used Twinleaf or Golden...what?

  In Environmental Studies that afternoon, Merridy was distracted and jumpy. She announced that every one of the students had passed the practical exam, though she would give them a written test later that week to make up for her generosity.

  At the end of the period, Merridy held Tristan and Leila back while the rest of the class filed out.

  “Are you both doing better now?” she asked in a low voice. “Tristan, you can walk on your ankle without any trouble?”

  Confused, Tristan nodded. “Yeah, I’m—it’s all better.”

  Leila gave him a significant look. “I’m fine, too,” she said to Merridy. “Grindlethorn says the bandages can come off tomorrow.”

  Merridy let out her breath. “I apologize. Your tests were too dangerous—it was bad judgment on my part. It will not happen again.”

  “Um...thanks?” Tristan glanced at Leila, bewildered.

  Leila nodded. “It’s perfectly fine, Professor. Good afternoon.” Grabbing Tristan’s wrist, she dragged him from the room.

  As Tristan and Leila hurried back to the bunkroom, Leila said, “You were right.”

  Tristan frowned, running his hand along the cold marble wall. “What was that about? Why was Merridy apologizing?”

  “It’s like you said earlier—the teachers don’t really know what they’re doing. I think Merridy, at least, has never taught this class before.” She tossed her braid over her shoulder.

  “So...”

  Leila sighed. “Merridy must have known we’d be in danger during the test, but I don’t think she bargained on anyone getting seriously injured.”

  “What does that mean for us?” Tristan asked, pausing outside the doors to the bunkroom.

  Leila put a hand on the door. “It means we should keep an eye out for the real reason we’re here,” she said in a low voice. “And in the meantime, don’t trust the teachers.”

  Halloween was on Friday, and in a fit of unexpected generosity, the teachers cancelled classes for the last two days that week. On Thursday, most of the students spent the day in the ballroom trying to get through their homework. Finally growing sick of Zeke’s attempts to steal her half-finished essay, Leila abandoned her books around lunchtime and went to help Quinsley in the kitchen. Tristan suspected she was also hoping to learn more about the teachers’ argument.

  At this point Tristan and Rusty went back down to the bunkroom, no longer motivated to get their work done. They spent the afternoon throwing uncapped pens at a target circle someone had drawn next to Damian’s bed, trying to get the pens to leave a mark on the clean stone. With Merridy’s test still on their minds, they started guessing what would happen if any of them failed their classes.

  “We’d probably spend the rest of our lives working off punishment,” Tristan said.

  “I bet they’d just send us back to juvie,” Rusty said.

  “Or jail, if we’re eighteen by then,” Tristan reminded him.

  “You think Zeke’s gonna last three years here?”

  Tristan scowled. “With his luck, he’ll be the next headmaster.” He hurled his pen harder than he’d intended and missed the target by several feet. “Maybe they’ll just abandon us in the mountains and let us wander forever.”

  “I bet they’ll feed us to their pet dragons,” Rusty said, squinting at the target.

  “Or those angry dwarves Leila told us about.”

  Rusty grinned. “I don’t think they eat people.”

  Several hours later, Tristan and Rusty still hadn’t decided what would actually happen if they didn’t pass their classes, though their theories were growing wilder with each guess.

  “Who’s marrying a mermaid?” Leila asked when she returned from the kitchen.

  Tristan lobbed all the pens he’d been holding at the wall—for the first time, one actually left a bright blue mark right in the center of the target. “What did you find out?”

  Leila put her hands on her hips and frowned. “I was helping in the kitchen. What was I supposed to have found out?”

  Tristan and Rusty looked at each other, smirking, and said nothing.

  “All right,” Leila said, rolling her eyes. “I did get Gerry to talk abo
ut the tunnels, but only a little. He said—”

  Just then, the door to the bunkroom opened. Leila broke off as Evvie appeared, clutching something behind her back. With a furtive little smile, Evvie hurried over to her bunk and stuffed whatever she’d been carrying into her backpack. Then she cleared her throat and paced stiffly across the room to join Tristan, Leila, and Rusty.

  “Hi,” she said, glancing from the ground to the circle of darts and back. “I—um—know we haven’t talked much, but I was thinking I should maybe—er—get to know you guys better.”

  At any other time Tristan would have welcomed the chance to talk to Evvie. Now, though, he was more interested in hearing what Leila had been about to say.

  “We were just going up to dinner,” he said curtly. “If you want to eat with us, we’re leaving now.”

  “Oh, um, thanks,” Evvie said.

  I’m sorry, Tristan mouthed to Leila.

  Leila sat in an incensed silence all through dinner, while Tristan stared guiltily at his plate.

  Rusty seemed unperturbed. “How do you like school, Evvie?” he asked kindly.

  Annoyingly, Evvie didn’t object to Rusty’s use of the nickname. “It’s not as bad as I expected,” she said shortly. “My foster parents have probably forgotten I exist by this point.”

  Her tone was bitter—Tristan’s anger faded slightly as he realized she probably still felt like an outsider here. He had forgotten she was an orphan.

  “Aw, I’m sorry,” Rusty said. “I dunno whether my folks still think about me or not. They didn’t care much when I was arrested.” Though his tone was light, a shadow passed over his face. “‘Course, it doesn’t really matter. This has gotta be the first time I’ve been useful to anyone.”

  “Yes, we certainly are useful,” Leila said darkly. “But I don’t think I want to know what we’re being used for.”

  To Tristan’s dismay, Evvie followed them back downstairs after dinner. Tristan stopped outside the bunkroom and said, “I just remembered, I have to go get my...”

  He was saved the necessity of inventing something he’d left behind when Leila said, “Come on, Rusty. We have to get your textbook before Alldusk goes to bed.”

  “What?” Rusty said, breaking off mid-sentence and frowning at Leila. “I don’t—”

  Leila kicked his foot.

  “Goodnight, I guess,” Evvie said to Rusty. Biting her lip, she turned and vanished into the bunkroom.

  As soon as the door swung closed, Tristan, Leila, and Rusty hurried down the hall and back towards the stairs—several of the other students were returning from dinner now, so Tristan led Leila and Rusty up to the second floor, where the hallway to Alldusk’s classroom created a dark corner that hid them from view.

  “What’re you on about?” Rusty said indignantly when they stopped at last.

  Tristan glanced down the hallway. “Leila had something to tell us.” He nodded to her. “What was it?”

  Leila rolled her eyes. “If you boys hadn’t been so eager to flirt with stupid girls, I would’ve been able to tell you at dinner.”

  “Hey!” Rusty said indignantly. “I was just trying to be nice to Evvie—I mean, no one really pays attention to her.”

  “That’s her fault, not ours,” Leila said, scowling. “We don’t have to be friends with absolutely everyone!” She rounded on Tristan. “Besides, Tristan pays plenty of attention to Evvie.”

  “Not anymore,” Tristan said irritably. “I just wanted to be nice, but everyone likes Rusty better than me. All Evvie can see is my—” he stopped short. Clenching his jaw, he slouched back against the marble wall.

  Leila gave Tristan a curt nod and turned on Rusty again. “I’m just annoyed at you, okay?” she said coldly. “If you want us to be your friends, you can’t just keep abandoning us whenever you get the chance.”

  “I didn’t abandon you,” Rusty said with a bemused frown. “Maybe we shouldn’t be so exclusive. There are only fifteen of us here—if we make enemies too fast, there won’t be anyone on our side.”

  Tristan scuffed his foot loudly on the marble floor, trying to break up the argument. “Who says we have to take sides?” he said. “It’s not like—”

  Leila cut him off. “I’m just fed up with Rusty hanging out with us only when there’s no other choice.”

  “That’s not true!” Rusty said. “You should try and make some more friends if you’ve got an issue with me.”

  Leila scowled, hands curling into fists by her side. “Don’t you dare tell me what to do. I’d rather have a best friend I can trust than—”

  “Who says I want to be your best friend?” Rusty said loudly, making a face. “Eli and Trey are a whole lot nicer than you.”

  “Guys,” Tristan snapped. “Shut up.” He had just noticed a shadow bobbing towards them along the marble wall. The shadow grew taller, until its owner emerged from around the corner.

  “It’s Drakewell,” Tristan said sharply. “Quick—in here!” He grabbed the sleeves of Leila’s and Rusty’s shirts and dragged them through an open door.

  The room was lit by the dim glow of one magical lantern by the door, and as Tristan pulled the door shut behind him, he looked around and recognized it as Alldusk’s classroom.

  “Doesn’t Alldusk usually lock this place?” Leila whispered.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Tristan said. “Just tell us what you found out, Leila. It’d better be important, after that dumb argument.”

  Leila and Rusty shared an irritated look that meant neither one was about to forget their squabble.

  After a moment, Leila took a seat on one of the sturdy desks, feet dangling off the ground, and began.

  “Well, first I wanted to know how Alldusk and Merridy managed to keep track of us during the test. It has to be something magical they use, because I can’t believe they’d resort to technology after banning cell phones and computers. I mean, they don’t even have light bulbs in this place.”

  “But Quinsley wouldn’t tell you?” Tristan guessed, taking a seat beside Leila on the desk.

  She shook her head. “However, he did say the teachers were watching us from down in the tunnels. Those unlit passages, I mean.” Leila swept her eyes around the room as though looking for one of the tunnel entrances. “It sounds as though there’s something really important hidden beneath the school. Something that would explain why we’re collecting all of this magic, and what we’re being trained for.”

  Looking interested in spite of himself, Rusty ran a finger around the rim of a glass beaker. “So why did they need a bunch of criminals? Why not use regular kids?”

  Leila twirled her fat braid around one finger. “I don’t know about that,” she said. “Most us aren’t real criminals, though, are we? We were just unlucky. And Evvie is just an orphan.” She said the name as though it tasted sour.

  “That’s right,” Rusty said, now tapping the glass with his thumb. “Even Damian and Zeke aren’t anything like the guys I met in jail.”

  Tristan sighed, unwilling to point out that he was a murderer. “If you’re right about that,” he said, “it means we were brought here for a very specific reason.”

  “Okay, so what else did Quinsley say?” Rusty asked.

  Leila considered for a moment before replying. “Nothing specific. He talked a bit more about the thing they were using to watch us—apparently you can use it to keep tabs on anyone you want, anywhere in the world except the Lair.”

  “Yeah, ‘cause we’re underground,” Rusty said.

  “I don’t think that’s the reason,” Leila said, tilting her head and frowning at him.

  In the silence that followed Leila’s words, Tristan heard soft footsteps tapping along the hall just outside the classroom. “Quiet!” he hissed. “Rusty, get the lights.”

  Rusty blew on the single glowing lantern, and the room was plunged into darkness.

  Outside, the footsteps slowed and then came to a halt—Tristan reached for Leila’s arm and tried to drag her
off the desk, thinking they could hide. She got quietly to her feet and followed him away from the door. Then—

  CRASH!

  One of them had knocked the glass beaker to the floor, and the sound of its shattering echoed around the high chamber.

  The classroom door swung open, revealing a tall figure silhouetted against the light from the hallway. Tristan ducked, pulling Leila to the floor with him, as the figure made a sweeping motion with one arm and every light on the wall flickered on.

  It was Merridy who glared at them from the doorway, not a trace of sympathy in her cold eyes.

  “Explain,” she said coldly. “What are you three doing in here?”

  Tristan got to his feet. “We were looking for a book Rusty left here earlier,” he said quickly.

  “In the dark?”

  Leila cleared her throat. “It’s difficult to find the lights. They’re...um...really small.”

  Merridy’s eyes narrowed further. “After hearing so many excuses from you three about homework, I expected a better story. Four hours punishment each, and if I catch you sneaking around again it will be doubled.”

  “Sorry, Professor,” Rusty said, hanging his head. “It won’t—”

  “Just go to your room,” Merridy barked.

  With a last glance at Merridy, Tristan hurried out of Alldusk’s classroom, Leila and Rusty close behind. They nearly ran back to the bunkroom.

  “Damn, that was close,” Tristan muttered as they slipped through the door to join the other students.

  “What do you mean, close?” Leila said angrily. “We got four hours of punishment each.”

  “Yeah, but it could’ve been Drakewell.”

  Whether because of the extra punishment they’d just received or because she was still angry at Rusty, Leila was in a bad mood for the rest of the evening. When Tristan joined her sitting cross-legged on the floor to start his homework, she turned to him with a scowl. “You know what I just realized?” she hissed. “If the teachers had any idea what they were doing, they would’ve put boys and girls in separate rooms.”

  “Maybe there wasn’t enough space,” Tristan said reasonably, though he agreed with her.