Bitter Wind (Death's Handmaiden Book 2)

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘Daison are making a good showing. So are the teams from the Garavain and Kinnari clans. We’re ahead on points so far, however. We creamed them on the obstacle run and we won the straight races by a sufficient margin. The freestyle will be the deciding factor, however.’ There was a slight pause, then, ‘Of course, if a certain other student had agreed to join the team, things might be different.’

  He meant Nava, but Mitsuko got in before Nava could say anything. ‘While I’m not convinced that Nava’s participation would have made as much difference as you think, Carlton, if she had had sufficient time to train for this event, it’s likely that we wouldn’t be here today. Naomi, you’ll have to admit that the MagiTag teams did very well without her being at that event, did they not?’

  Naomi gave a slow nod, conceding the fact. ‘They did. They might have done better, but a win is a win. And we all heard what happened at the symposium, obviously.’

  ‘Not all of it. Not all of it has been made public. I can’t give details, but I believe I’m safe in saying that Nava kept a lot of people, including myself, alive that day. This may be a selfish statement, but I’m very glad that Nava isn’t flying today.’

  Naomi’s eyes landed on Nava. There were a few other people staring at her too, but they seemed to be appreciating her outfit; Naomi’s appraisal was of a different quality entirely. ‘The reports indicated that the terrorists were entirely wiped out.’

  ‘They were,’ Mitsuko replied.

  ‘Suki got four of them,’ Melissa put in. ‘Well, technically, it was their own grenade that killed them, but it was Suki’s Fire Blast that made them drop the grenade.’

  ‘SAS-squared acquitted itself quite well,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Melissa and Rochester provided invaluable support. All in all, it was a harrowing experience, but also valuable. I think even Darius came away believing that support students were not quite as… useless as he previously thought.’

  One of Naomi’s eyebrows went up. On his face, this was like some sort of seismic event. ‘If Darius has had a change of heart, I can only assume that all our fellow students gave remarkably good performances. First years at that. Has anyone considered that Darius may need counselling?’

  Mitsuko frowned. ‘Naomi, did you just make a joke?’

  ‘You may take it that way if you wish…’

  ~~~

  ‘The scoring is based around precision and difficulty,’ Melissa said. ‘Essentially, the more difficult the manoeuvre, the higher the score can be, but if you mess it up somehow, your score will be lower than an easier trick done perfectly.’

  They were watching the school’s senior freestyle team going through their routine and, so far anyway, it seemed like they were doing pretty well. No flubs and, as far as Nava could see, they were carrying out everything about as precisely as they could.

  ‘Everyone tries to put in at least one high-difficulty trick,’ Melissa went on. ‘I think they’ll finish this routine with a high-speed passing heart. Uh, you’ll know it when you see it.’

  A couple of seconds later, they saw it. Two of the team, trailing red smoke from canisters on their ankles, came in from opposite ends of the runway. Their trajectory shifted upward as they approached each other, and they were climbing fairly hard by the time their paths crossed. Then they were looping into a high-g turn which brought them together again for a second cross before they turned and flew off in the same direction they had started. That left something roughly like a heart made of red smoke hanging in the air until the wind broke it up.

  ‘That looked just about perfect from here,’ Melissa said. She sighed. ‘Maybe, one day, I’ll be able to do that.’

  It appeared that that was the end of the routine since the score appeared on the giant screen set up near the tents soon after. ‘Nine point one,’ Mitsuko said. ‘That puts us in first place, I think, with two more teams to go.’

  ‘And neither of them are exactly hot contenders,’ Melissa added. ‘I think we have it in the bag.’

  ‘Then let’s head back and congratulate the, probably, winning team.’

  ~~~

  ‘I’ll be stepping down as chairman of the Extracurricular Activities Committee once term starts,’ Naomi said.

  ‘That’s not… entirely unexpected,’ Mitsuko said. Naomi had taken Mitsuko and Melissa off to one side of the tent to speak to them. You did not do that to communicate good news, though this was technically not bad news either.

  Naomi nodded. ‘I have finals to think about and there’s normally an election for the chair after the summer break anyway.’

  ‘Do you know who’ll replace you?’ Melissa asked.

  ‘Carlton or Francis Goretti of the MagiTag Club. They’re the most likely candidates anyway. I can’t see anyone else standing, to be honest. Carlton has the Sonkei clan going for him, but Francis is an Orlando and that’s a strong clan.’

  ‘I don’t really know Francis Goretti.’

  ‘As far as status goes, the Gorettis are higher than the Hornes, but you wouldn’t know it from the way the two behave. Francis is a likeable fellow.’

  ‘Well, we’ll miss you,’ Mitsuko said.

  ‘I thought I was intimidating.’

  ‘You are,’ Melissa said. ‘But you’re intimidating in a nice way. Hopefully, we’ll get on with whoever replaces you.’

  ‘I suspect you will. And I’ll still be at school until the end of the year. If you need a little intimidation in your life, just come and find me.’

  Shinden Alliance School of Sorcery, 235/9/2.

  When Nava had told the school that her sponsor wished to have a meeting with her, the administration had nodded its collective head and provided a room and lunch. Apparently, this was far from an abnormal occurrence. Sometimes it was a meeting with family. Occasionally someone had some other third party needing to talk with them. Whatever, there were procedures in place.

  In this case, Nava had asked for a meeting with Fawn, her ASF liaison, rather than the other way around. Telling the school that seemed likely to result in some form of misunderstanding and was also unnecessary. Nava had been quite prepared to go to Fawn since school did not start until Monday the fifth, but Fawn had said it was easier for her to fly out to the school.

  ‘So,’ Fawn said, ‘you asked to meet. What’s on your mind?’

  Dragging this out did not seem like a good idea. Nava swallowed the bite of sandwich in her mouth and began. ‘I’ve received an offer of adoption from the Greylings.’

  ‘Not an entirely unexpected turn of events. What did you tell them?’

  ‘That I wanted to discuss it with you, First Lieutenant.’

  ‘Okay. Well, there shouldn’t be an issue. No conflict of interest. There are a lot of Greylings in the ASF. Well, not a lot because I think the family runs to two thousand people, but they seem to think a term of military service is useful. Their lower ranks usually enlist.’

  ‘Free training?’ Nava suggested.

  ‘Something like that. The Sonkei clan has a fairly strong influence over the ASF. There are a lot of them in all the branches. You know that Zackery Trenton used to be an officer, I assume?’

  ‘A commander in the navy. His son is a lieutenant commander aboard the Pride of Shinden.’

  Fawn gave a nod. ‘So I’d heard. As for you… I can see plenty of advantages for you if you take their offer. About the only disadvantage would be the loss of independence.’

  ‘No, there are others. I’d be expected to uphold the honour of the clan. You probably don’t think of that as a disadvantage because you grew up with it.’

  ‘True.’

  ‘There are also going to be people gunning for me due to the step up in status. I’m going to go from a clanless nobody to a member of one of the most prestigious families in the Clan Worlds. Perhaps it won’t matter, given the nature of the Greylings, but I can see some of the students here taking it badly.’

  ‘That’s… possible. I think you’re quite capable of dealing with that, however.
And the clan honour thing may not be as much of an issue as you think. The Greylings are known to be a strong family despite not holding honour as the highest of their principles. They’re feared as much as revered. Especially among the Sonkeis, it’s common knowledge that becoming a Greyling requires you to be good at what you do, and probably fairly sneaky. There’s every possibility, considering the reputation you’ve already built here, that everyone will be too scared of you to do anything.’

  Nava considered that, nodding slowly. ‘So, you’re saying that I should take the offer?’

  ‘I’m saying that there are no obstacles to you taking it. Whether you want to be a Greyling is another matter. I think you should do whatever you feel is right for you.’

  ‘Thank you, First Lieutenant. That was a useful and informative talk.’

  Fawn grinned. ‘Glad to be of service. Anything else I can help you with?’

  ‘Well, there is one thing.’

  ‘Go on.’

  ‘The recent problem in Alliance City made me believe that I need another ranged attack spell. Something with precision and designed to be fatal in one hit. Slice works, but its effective range is a little short for my tastes. Might you know of anything I could use?’

  Frowning, Fawn contemplated the options while finishing off a sandwich. ‘I’m not a sorceress, so I don’t know if I’m the perfect person to ask, but… There is a spell the sniper units in the Intelligence Response Directorate use. I think they call it Magic Bullet. It’s a military spell, but we can arrange another fake licence for you to use it. I’ll talk to some of our magicians and see whether they think it would be suitable.’

  ‘Thank you. It should be a cantrip, if possible. If I need higher ranks in it, I can learn it properly, but a cantrip would be best.’

  ‘Mm. I have no idea how complex it is, so I can’t be sure. But, Nava, your idea of a cantrip would send a lot of magicians into fits of jealous apoplexy. I figure Magic Bullet will probably fit.’

  ~~~

  The reason Nava was back at school several days before term started – though, prior to meeting Mitsuko, she had expected to spend her holidays there anyway – was that the student council was sitting. Mitsuko and Melissa were expected to be there, so Nava and Rochester had returned with them. Rochester was using the time to meet up with Hoshi Horne and see what needed to be done with the paper they were working on. Nava was at a loss, which was why she was sitting at the table in the council room, quietly watching.

  Really, there was not much of interest going on. Almost everything was business as usual. Almost.

  ‘We have an official notification that Professor Lambert Stenger Mendel is leaving on sabbatical,’ Melissa said. She was going through the notices the administration had sent during the holiday. ‘Well, he’s gone. Hoshi Horne Sonkei will be taking over his teaching duties for this term while the school looks for a more permanent replacement.’

  Courtney frowned. ‘She only graduated last year.’

  ‘Lambert Stenger only taught first-year classes. I expect they don’t see it as a problem if it’s only for one term.’

  ‘He taught support stream almost exclusively,’ Darius said. ‘That was because most people continuing on the academic stream in their final years start in support and having an experienced teacher was more important. I suppose we can’t judge Hoshi Horne until she’s actually trying to do the job. We can submit a complaint if she doesn’t come up to standard, but we shouldn’t wait too long to do it. We don’t want our standards falling just because the school makes an ill-advised substitution.’

  Mitsuko stared at Darius for a second. ‘That sounded like concern for the support stream, Darius.’

  ‘Concern for the overall quality of our graduating students, President. While it might be more disruptive, it might be worth the school considering moving another, more senior, teacher to cover Lambert Stenger’s classes while Hoshi Horne covers the…’ He paused briefly, apparently considering his choice of words. ‘I hesitate to say the less important classes, but that’s what I mean. Combat students rarely go on to study metaphysics at an advanced level. They need a good basic knowledge and will suffer less if their teacher in the first year is not quite as good as they could be.’

  ‘Mm. Anything else, Mel?’

  ‘That’s all the notices,’ Melissa replied. ‘Any other business is next. Then we can go find a place to sunbathe.’

  Mitsuko smirked. ‘Very well. Does anyone have anything?’

  ‘I’ve told the president this already,’ Naomi said, ‘but I’ll say it again for the minutes and your information. I will be standing down as the chairman of the EAC at the end of this month. I won’t be putting my name forward for re-election. We normally have elections for the EAC chair at this time, after the summer events, and I need to focus on my finals.’

  ‘Duly noted,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Out of interest, Naomi, what are your plans for after graduation?’

  ‘I’ve already received an acceptance into the ASF’s officer corps, subject to the results of the exams. I’ll be entering the marines as a second lieutenant, after training.’

  ‘Yes. I can see you commanding a platoon of marines.’

  ‘The enemy will run away as soon as they see you,’ Melissa said. She was probably only half joking.

  ‘Winning a fight without fighting is always the best outcome, Melissa,’ Naomi said, ‘so I hope that you’re right.’

  ‘We’ll save all the comments about your exemplary service until you’re actually out of the seat,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Anyone else?’

  ‘It’s not actually council business,’ Darius said, ‘but I would like to mention the exceptional performance of our students at the recent symposium in Alliance City. Both the intended performance and the more, um, improvised one. I realise that I’m congratulating myself for part of that, but I think it’s worth noting that none of us folded under the pressure. Some of us showed remarkable talent and awareness. It’s a shame that much of what happened has been hidden behind a layer of Alliance security.’

  ‘I can’t help but agree,’ Mitsuko said. ‘Some of what happened at that event deserves far more public appreciation. However…’

  ‘I would particularly like to bring up Melissa Connelly’s and Rochester Hunt’s performances. And I think I can even get away with mentioning what I found so commendable without breaking that security blackout. I joined up with Nava Ward in the corridor outside the theatre I had been in when it all started. We then went to get Melissa and Rochester. By the time we got there, Rochester was able to give us a basic picture of the opposing force through the use of Sorcerer’s Eye. His intelligence input and Melissa’s defensive walls were key elements in our survival that day.’

  ‘I’d like to second that,’ Courtney said. Melissa’s face, already red, went redder.

  ‘Yes,’ Mitsuko said before Courtney could go on. ‘I think we were all very happy with Mel and Chess on the day, but there’s a problem we need to deal with urgently.’

  ‘There is?’ Darius asked.

  ‘Yes. The student council’s vice president has been replaced by an identical clone or brainwashed.’

  ‘I have not been replaced by a clone–’

  ‘That’s exactly what a brainwashed clone would say! Captain, cuff this imposter.’

  Courtney made no move to get her handcuffs out. She was not even carrying them. ‘You have to admit, Darius, that you’re acting a little out of character. Have you gone soft?’

  ‘On the contrary, I’ve hardened. I killed a man for the first time during that incident. He was trying to kill me. I feel no remorse. However, that was the first time I’ve ever ended someone’s life and… I admit to feeling a little ambivalent about it. More importantly, I was presented with solid evidence that support students are not cowards. Not all of them anyway. I suppose that I learned to judge people by their actions, not by their choice of career.’ He waved a hand across the table at Melissa. ‘Our secretary admits to having a phob
ia regarding blood, but she was there, unwavering, doing what needed to be done with efficiency and skill while the blood flew. Maybe I grew up a little, but I haven’t gone soft.’

  ‘I’d just like to point out that I had to be led out of that room with my eyes closed,’ Melissa said. ‘I really don’t like the sight of blood. Anyway, what Chess and I did is just what we do in class. Well, there aren’t people trying to shoot us with real bullets in class, but we did what Nava drilled into us.’

  ‘Games in the classroom are one thing,’ Nava said. ‘A real situation with real danger is something entirely different. You did well. Accept the compliment with humility and move on.’

  ‘Right, uh, I was only doing what I’d been taught, Vice President, but thank you for your praise.’

  ‘That wasn’t forced at all,’ Mitsuko said.

  ‘Not in the slightest,’ Darius agreed.

  ~~~

  ‘How was Aquaria?’ Mitsuko asked. The student council meeting had turned into more of a general ‘what did you do over summer’ chat, at least for the women. Darius and Naomi had cited prior commitments and left their compatriots to talk over coffee.

  ‘Hot,’ Marie, the treasurer, replied. ‘With your skin you’d have been using Shade all the time. It’s not a bad place to spend your first ever adult vacation, however. I mean, it’s in another system, away from home, but it’s not too far away either.’

  Mitsuko gave a conspiratorial grin. ‘How many men did you go through?’

  Marie raised her nose. ‘A lady doesn’t tell such tales.’

  ‘Uh-huh.’

  ‘Four.’ So much for being a lady. ‘It might have been more, but one of them got clingy.’ Marie gave a little shudder and Nava concluded that it had been more than just ‘clingy.’ ‘Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and now I’m renewed and ready to face another term.’

  ‘We got shot at,’ Melissa said, ‘but now we’re all renewed and ready for a new term too!’ Pause. ‘That possibly came out wrong.’

  Nava’s shoulders lifted briefly. ‘I don’t know. It sounded about right to me.’