“No. Magic works in different ways for most people. My magic still hasn’t fully come in. I wish I could meditate on a painting to help it along.” Sara tried to not sound bitter as she said it and decided the best thing to do would be to change the subject. “Why don’t you tell me about the dream?”
“The main part involves a castle,” Hideki explained and spread his arms wide. “It’s weird. Half of it is Japanese style, the other half Western. I don’t know a lot about castles, but it’s medieval-looking. English? French, maybe? A bunch of Viking boats is in the ocean right in front of it, all on fire.”
“Japanese, English, French, and Vikings in your dream? You have a regular UN going.”
“Yeah. That’s not the weird part.”
“Okay,” Sara said slowly. “What is the weird part?”
Hideki shrugged. “A huge green dragon stands in the center, and he’s fighting five other green dragons. There’s another castle in the sky, too—all tall, rounded towers, with a dark-haired queen with a sword, but it’s Japanese-style sword.”
Sara arched a brow. “This is kind of…a weird dream, Hideki.” She winced. “Sorry. That was mean. This is important to you.”
“No, it’s okay. It is weird, and that’s why I know it’s important. It’s all symbolic stuff, you know? We’re supposed to take note of the details and then meditate on the symbols, that kind of thing. It’ll help us with our magic and enlightenment. My dad’s was way weirder, if you can believe that. It involved giant rabbits hunting whales in the ocean and running from sunflowers with teeth.”
She managed not to laugh despite the absurdity of the image. Dreams were so weird and ambiguous, and she couldn’t imagine trying to pull special meaning from one. She didn’t envy Hideki.
The boy watched her and waited for her response.
“And how long do you have to study these dreams in your family before you figure them out?” Sara asked.
“Until we understand them.” Hideki shrugged. “My grandfather is still working on his, and it’s been seventy years, but my dad told me once that his greatest regret was that he saw the dream, but whenever he thought about it, he could only base it off the notes he wrote in a journal the next morning. He used a spell later on to make a picture, but he’s not sure if the picture is from the dream or what he thinks he remembers.” His gaze lowered as he worked through the implications of his odd request. “But it’s fresh for me, so I want a picture to look at for the next seventy years. I heard that you’re so good at painting that even the professors ask you to paint for them. Right away, I thought, ‘That sounds perfect. I should ask Sara.’”
She folded her arms and considered the request. It would definitely be a different type of painting than anything else she’d done, especially with her greater emphasis on landscapes and portraits. If it helped Hideki improve his magic, that would be great, too. Maybe by helping someone else with their magic, she could help her own. Since her family hadn’t given her much useful advice, it wouldn’t hurt to try different things.
“Do you have sketches or other reference material I could use, Hideki?”
The boy shook his head and slumped. “No.”
“Without that, all I have to work off of is your description.”
Hideki nodded. “I know. I feel in my gut that I should leave it to your artistic instincts. Like that would be better. If you don’t want to do it because you think it’s too weird, that’s fine, too. I don’t even technically know if I’m supposed to ask for help from someone outside the family for this, but I worry about my magic. When I asked my parents for advice, they gave me a lot of stuff about how I need to figure it out on my own.”
Sara stiffened. She knew exactly how the boy felt, and that ended any concern she had about helping him out.
“I’m fairly busy with classes and clubs and stuff.” She gestured toward the beginning of her Hap painting. “I’m willing to do it, but it’ll take a while.”
His expression brightened and he straightened, suddenly brimming with confidence. “No, that’s great. Whenever is fine. I didn’t even think you’d say yes, but any time before I graduate would be good.”
Sara laughed. “I don’t think it’ll take that long, but okay. I’ll get started tomorrow.”
“Great.” He stared at the beginning of her Hap painting for a moment, then waved. “I should get going. Thanks a lot, Sara. It’ll be a big help for me to have this painting done by such a great artist.”
“You’re welcome.”
The boy backed out of the room, his expression gleeful.
She smiled softly. Her magic might not be fully awakened, but she still had other talents. Her art made her happy. It made other people happy. That counted for a lot.
She didn’t even want to paint Hap anymore. That painting was nothing but a symbol of her obsession with her magic. The more she worried, the more she let her family win.
Chapter Twelve
Mara looked at Xander and Bruce from behind her desk. The FBI agent wanted to be kept more aware of school concerns, and this was as good as time as any. Whether the PDA decided to send an agent next semester or not, an improved relationship with a government official would only benefit the school. Bruce had, thus far, proven to be an honest and good man, too.
If the school never had other concerns than magical academics, honest and good allies wouldn’t be as important. Between the betrayal years before and the incidents during the last few semesters, it’d be foolish for her to pretend he might not be able to help in the future.
“Thanks for coming.” Mara nodded to each man in turn. “I know it’s not exactly a crisis on the level of Gunnar and his black dogs, but the game is affecting the students, which means I have to address it.”
Bruce glanced at Xander before he focused on Mara. He was grateful that he’d been included, even if it was a minor issue. “If I understand correctly, you’re worried about Arc Eighty-Eight, right?”
“Yes.”
“Is there something wrong with the game? It’s not being used by some sort of outside forces to attack the school?”
“No, not at all. The improved wards limit that kind of attack, and that’s not the way the glasses work. We’d know if they allowed outside interference. As troublesome as the game is, all its problems are the result of local magic and student obsession.”
Xander allowed himself a smirk. “It’s almost too bad it’s not dark wizards or someone like them. That would be a more straightforward problem to solve—or at least one that wouldn’t involve us angering the students.”
“I’ll admit, I’m lost,” Bruce said. “I know a little about the game, but I don’t understand why it’s a problem.”
“Because of too much game time.” Mara retrieved a pair of Arc Eighty-Eight glasses from a drawer and tossed them in the center of the desk. “Confiscating these things when students break the rules doesn’t even do any good. They can get them in the kemana now. I’m surprised how cheap they are, considering the complicated magic involved.”
“Mass production of magic items, huh?”
“Something like that.” The headmistress sighed. “I’ve really wanted to try to support the project because a former student was involved in it, but this game has begun to get out of hand. The majority of the students aren’t playing it, but the ones who are do so excessively. Besides some of the safety issues involved in the way the game works as they interact with the real world, it annoys the other professors, and their concerns are valid.”
“What about their studies?” The agent nodded toward the glasses. “Is the game having an effect?”
Xander snorted. “The other day, a student asked me a series of strange questions that made no sense. I finally figured out that he tried to figure out a good strategy to defeat some monster in his game. It was a waste of time, both his and mine. If my time at the school has taught them anything, it should be that dealing with dark magic is a matter of when, not if.”
“Waste of t
ime?” Mara mulled that over.
“Definitely.”
“The game might teach them flexibility,” she countered.
“I wouldn’t care as much if they didn’t take up lecture time. There’s a limit to how the skills in the game can carry over.” Xander leaned back and crossed his arms. “It’d be different if it were more like Louper, but they don’t actually use their own magic when they play it, so it’s not a good way to test or strengthen their own abilities.”
“That’s the only thing keeping the situation manageable. Imagine if all these students went around casting spells on people only they could see.” Mara narrowed her eyes at the thought of the resulting chaos. They’d been fortunate with only a few minor injuries so far.
Bruce chuckled. “With all the magic at this school, your problems end up the same as any other non-magical school, huh? Kids obsessed with the latest fad.”
She smiled at that and her chaos mindscape retreated. The agent’s description of the situation reinforced one strong positive they should further highlight.
“You’re right, Bruce. It’s nice to have a problem that doesn’t involve students sneaking into the restricted library, spectral hounds, or missing druids. It’s also why I thought you might be helpful at this meeting. You can provide another perspective. It’s like you said, sometimes, I spend too much time in my…magic castle and forget different ways to see the same problem.” She glanced at Xander. “I know I’ve made mistakes in the past when thinking about perspective.”
The agent was oblivious to the hidden tension linked to the others’ shared past. “In this case, I think the non-magical and magical perspectives aren’t all that different.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. If the game is out of hand, the next step will be to ban it. You said it yourself. It’s only a game, not training.” Bruce reached toward the glasses. “May I?”
Mara gestured toward them. “Be my guest, but you’ll be disappointed. They don’t work for non-magicals.”
He slipped the glasses on, neither surprised nor disappointed that a fantasy world didn’t unfold but tried to put himself more into the mindset of a student. He talked to a woman who was part elf and part witch and a wizard. That was more than enough fantasy right in front of him. “A threat, then? Threats have a way to clarify things for people.”
She nodded. “That might be in order. If they’re made aware of the risk of a ban for everyone on the school grounds, it might convince the students to curtail their own behavior. I don’t want to take away their fun. I simply want them to be more responsible. What do you think, Xander?”
The wizard cupped his chin with his hand for a moment, deep in thought. “It sounds like a good plan to me. It’s not arbitrary, and it’ll help encourage the students to police themselves.”
“Then we’ll reinforce the existing rules about banning it in class and extend that to the library. Leo has already complained about that and about to do it himself anyway. I don’t mind taking responsibility for it, even if he’d be willing to shoulder the blame.” Mara offered both men a polite nod. “Thank you, gentleman. I think we’re done here. Unless there’s something else you’d like to talk about?”
Bruce stood. “I can’t think anything at the moment, other than saying thank you for some of the students who’ve come my way for career counseling. From what I can tell, you’ve steered them toward me.”
“I’ve tried.” The headmistress shrugged. “But I also don’t want to waste your time. I’ve focused on the ones who’d be a good fit for government service.”
“That’s all I ask. Thanks, Mara.”
“You’re welcome.”
He waved and headed for the door.
Xander nodded at her, a piercing expression in his eyes before he followed the FBI agent.
Mara lifted her hand in a wave, then lowered it. She let the two men file out of the office without another word.
Every time she saw Xander, a new coal was added to the fire in her heart. Even after all these years, her old feelings continued to burrow out of her heart and demand a hearing. Even if he’d lost himself to dark magic in the past, those days were over.
She convinced herself that it was easy to keep the distant past in memories, both beautiful and bittersweet, but she couldn’t ignore the poisoning. It’d changed everything, and not only because of her sacrifices. As Xander had wasted away the year before, she’d had to face the painful reality of losing him once again.
The thought brought a familiar stab of pain and she breathed in and slowly released a long breath. Maybe it was time to trust her instincts.
Chapter Thirteen
Professor Hudson surveyed the young people before her and adjusted her glasses. History wasn’t always a favorite subject for students, who were often more interested in flashy direct uses of magic. She didn’t care as she’d hooked enough each semester to ensure that a new generation of witches and wizards would understand the importance of looking to the past. That said, she wouldn’t mind a few more Raine Campbells to help things along. The girl’s thirst for knowledge was insatiable, always a welcome trait to an educator.
“The gates between the worlds,” the professor declared in a loud voice. “We’ve already discussed in previous semesters how they open in cycles of thousands of years. You wouldn’t be at this school, of course, if we weren’t in the midst of another cycle. Although, also, we’re still at the beginning, and while much magic has returned to Earth, so much more has yet to come. Few have lived long enough to know a time when the gates were last open.”
Many of the students stared at her with bored expressions, but Raine hunched over her notebook and scribbled the professor’s words like they were required incantations for some ancient and fantastic spell. A curious mind could take a witch far and was to be encouraged.
Professor Hudson picked her wand up off her desk and flourished it. Translucent floating images of Earth and Oriceran circled above her.
“The word cycle, in of itself, implies that our current experience is not unique. But for practical reasons, most people on Earth care only about the opening of the recent gates and sometimes, about the last opening of the gate. It should be remembered that the shared history of the two worlds goes back much farther than that.”
Raine raised her hand, ready to burst with curiosity. Evie, who sat beside her, eyed her friend before she returned her attention to the professor.
Professor Hudson nodded at Raine. “Yes?”
“How far back?” Raine was surprised that she’d not actually bothered to read up more on the issue, even though Librarian Decker had mentioned it briefly to her once. She was as short-sighted as anyone else on Earth, it seemed.
The motion of the planets above the professor increased speed until they became a blur.
“That’s a good question, Raine. A very good question with important implications.” Professor Hudson cast another quick spell, and the planets were replaced by an image of London. The sun moved through the sky at a rapid pace and the moon rose as quickly. A swift day and night cycle unfolded.
After a few seconds, the students realized that time in the image now ran backward and accelerated. Tall skyscrapers gave way to simpler buildings—the Magic Age to the Information Age, then the Industrial Age and earlier, and steel to wood. London shrank before them from a metropolis to a medieval city and finally, to a modest Roman town. The scene shifted to a city in Egypt, far more ancient but with a similar journey in which a massive urban center shrank to a town and then a tiny village and a scattering of simple huts.
Any hint of human civilization disappeared, and the magic movie zoomed in on small bands of primitive hunters tracking prey. A woman in a ceremonial headdress raised her hands, and a man’s weapons blazed with power.
Professor Hudson waved her hand, and the image froze. “Everything we know suggests a permanent relationship between the two planets, but if we’re honest, we can’t know that for sure. It might well be that in the fa
r distant past, especially before human civilization, Earth and Oriceran were completely separated.”
Raine frowned. “Why can’t we simply check the records?” she blurted. “Or ask some gnomes or other ancient Oricerans?”
The lack of protocol could be tolerated in service to the girl’s reaching mind.
Professor Hudson gave her a soft smile. “How far back do the records in the Great Library go?”
“At least ten thousand years. That’s a long time.” Raine could barely imagine ten years, let alone such a vast span.
“It is a long time and that covers human civilization, but it doesn’t do much for the lengthy period of time before the rise of cities now, does it? Humans didn’t begin existence already living in cities.”
Another girl raised her hand, and the professor called on her.
“So you’re saying they don’t have records? They don’t even know? How can that be?”
“Oriceran civilization was already greatly advanced ten thousand years ago,” Professor Hudson said, her tone even. “There were enough of them who pushed against one another with enough power that the Great War regrettably happened. That naturally implies a history deeper than ten thousand years. There are records from before that period, but they become increasingly less common the farther back we travel in time. The Great War did a lot to convince certain Oricerans of the necessity to keep records of their past safe, but even though the Oricerans have documents and magical records that extend even deeper into the past, they eventually cease. The trail goes cold, you might say.”
Raine scribbled a few more notes, fascinated by the whole thing. She’d read briefly about this kind of thing before but never delved deeply into it.
Professor Hudson swept the room slowly with her gaze and gave each student a chance to experience her intense interest in the subject. “The truth is that we have little knowledge of what might have happened on Oriceran before fifty thousand years ago. The wisdom of the most ancient of gnomes and other long-lived beings doesn’t give us insight. It’s somewhat a mystery, other than a few tantalizing scraps.”
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