Curse of Blood and Shadow

by J. M. Kearl

  The trembling hands of the last student I stopped at, a Hesstian girl who appeared to be magic-born, made me nervous. She was unsure of herself that was obvious, even though I explained to her exactly how to do the spell. I wondered how many spells she’d done in her life. Would they allow her in this class if she was so inexperienced?

  I smiled. “Go ahead, give it a try.”

  When the glow in her palm grew brighter and brighter, so much that I couldn’t look directly at it, I took a step back. “Stop!”

  A loud pop, a shriek that wasn’t from me, and I threw my arms up instinctively. I hissed through my teeth as the sting of tiny metal shards struck my arms and hands.

  Professor Tessam ran over, looked at me then to the girl who fared much worse than I. Splinters of silver were all over half her face, neck, and shoulder. At least she’d turned away so they didn’t get in her eyes.

  “Class dismissed,” she said, grabbing the crying girl under her arms to help her stand. “Let’s get you two to the infirmary.”

  I inspected my arms; hundreds of metal pieces had created tiny pricks of blood droplets that now ran down my skin. Not knowing the location of the infirmary, I followed Tessam out of the door, and looked over when Zyacus appeared beside me.

  “Your book,” he said. His eyes fell to my arms. “Ouch. She got you good. I’ll hold onto it for you.” Before I could even respond he was gone.

  Chapter 9

  Arriving at the infirmary and seeing several other injured students there, if only mildly, I knew this would be awhile. My class wasn’t the only one with an accident today. The sobbing girl who’d blown up the spoon drew much of the attention so I quietly sat in a chair in the corner. My arms throbbed as I picked at pieces of the metal. One thing I hadn’t focused on was healing. Sure I could make a potion and the salves but that was my mother’s area of expertise and so I’d always relied on her to do it for me. I’d make sure to select a healing class next semester.

  Attempting to use my magic to extract the shards, instead brought a sharp pain surging through my arm as they vibrated but didn’t fall out.

  So I sat there picking one at a time while I waited for someone to help. It felt like forever before someone said, “You’re Princess Visteal.”

  I lifted my head to see a boy about my age wearing a Delhoon uniform with a red apron covering half his body.

  “I am.”

  His sandy-brown hair was shoulder length and wavy, his gray eyes reminded me of river rocks and his slender form still spoke of strength with the muscles of his arms. “I’m only a student but I can help you since everyone else is busy at the moment. If you trust me, that is.”

  “It’s not like I have a gaping wound that could claim my life at any moment.”

  He laughed at that, stepped closer, and pulled a metal cart with supplies on top with him. I held my arms out and he inspected them. With his palms hovering over my arms, he whispered something, and the metal pieces wafted out, slower than I’d have liked, drawing a wince. He held his face perfectly still as the pieces then drifted to a small bowl on his cart. He grabbed two cream-colored cloths and placed them over my arms; whatever dampened them stung.

  I almost tugged away but he asked, “Salve or potion?” And his hands clamped down around my arms as if he’d known I would try to pull from his grasp.

  It would be a couple hours before the salve would heal completely but it would take the pain away. Potion would heal wounds this minor in seconds to a minute at most but the strong stuff was usually reserved for worse afflictions. “Salve is fine.”

  His left eyebrow raised. “I’m surprised.”

  “And why is that?”

  He looked at me steadily as if trying to figure something out. “Most choose the potion if given a choice. And since you’re a princess I bet you’re used to getting what you want. An easy life.”

  I sneered at that little dig. He was probably a poor boy from the country who had to fight to get his spot at the academy. That was the way for the unknown, lower class families; they had to earn their way in. Those of us whose parents attended the academy were invited from birth. I didn’t feel sorry for him; my father had to fight his way in and then he became one of our most feared warriors and king.

  I jerked away and stood. The cloths on my arms fell with his grasp. I picked another cloth up and wiped the rest of the blood from my arms.

  “The salve,” I prompted, when I noticed him unmoved and watching me.

  Pulling open a drawer on the cart revealed a few silver tins and he handed one to me. Then a flat wooden stick to scoop the salve with.

  I rubbed the thick brownish balm on my arms and palms.

  “Would you like me to wrap them?”

  As much as I wanted to say no, I couldn’t do anything with this sticky stuff all over me. “Yes.”

  “I wasn’t meaning to be rude before,” he said quietly.

  “Well you were,” I snapped.

  “I apologize.” We were quiet while he wrapped, and I guessed to fill the silence, he said, “My name is Vyce Copelenn.”

  I didn’t recognize his surname. “Thanks,” I said when he finished and walked out.

  I’d missed my next class so I hurried to Leadership before I was late for that. It went by fairly quickly since Professor Gilfor from Hesstia, had us all introduce ourselves then he talked mostly about what to expect from him and his teaching style. I’d never had a teacher from another kingdom and wondered if he’d be biased against me—the princess from his former longtime enemy. Although, he didn’t seem to pay much attention to me at all which was a nice change. I was rarely invisible to instructors and other students.

  When that class ended I had fifteen minutes to get Advanced Swords outside. I’d remembered seeing the training circles and I had to hurry if I was going to get there in time. Making my way through crowds of students crammed in the hallways, I received several stares from the foreign students as I nudged by. I wasn’t sure if they recognized me or if they thought I was rude for being in a hurry. I didn’t care either way. Once I burst through the back doors, my practice sword slammed against my hip as I took off at a run. It would be so nice when I could use the appearus spell and jump from one class to the next instantly.

  Seeing Madison with her golden hair and signature form-fitting black outfit walking along a line of students, I pushed my legs faster. Had it been Papa, he’d be lenient for any tardiness but not my grandmother. I ran to the end of the line and slid to a halt beside a tall boy with light brown hair. I took in a slow breath through my nose and fixed the stray hairs falling around my face.

  “You’re not late,” the boy beside me said.

  I lifted my gaze to find Aric. He smiled and I was about to smile back until Zyacus leaned forward coming into view on the other side of Aric. Of course he’d be in more than one class with me.

  Zyacus looked at my arms where the bandages still covered my wounds. “You should have put up your shield. I saw that explosion coming before she even attempted the spell.”

  I rolled my eyes, something I found myself doing often in his presence. “I’m fine by the way. I’m glad you’re so concerned.” I didn’t need him telling me what I should or shouldn’t do. Besides, Madison was making her way toward us.

  Zyacus shrugged. “I knew you would be. Though I’m not sure why your arms aren’t better by now. Who was the healer?” There was an edge to his tone like he might actually be angry at my still lingering injury.

  Aric smacked Zyacus’s chest with the back of his hand. “Professor.”

  All three of us pushed our shoulders back and faced forward. Madison stopped before us and placed her hands on her two swords, one on each hip. “Interesting that I have all three royal children in the same class. This should be fun.” She looked at me. “You’re the captain for Delhoon.” Her lavender colored eyes snapped to the two princes, “I’m sure you two can guess your roles.”

  In Delhoon, we often had bi-weekly tournaments of b
oys versus girls in sparring matches, but it looked like the rules had changed here. I should have known Madison would pin the kingdoms against each other. She’d absolutely love the rivalry. She thrived on that sort of thing.

  I stepped from the line and stood across the circles on the other side. Two circles for two sparring matches. There would be no lessons today. Madison would have us fight each other to assess our skills. “If you belong to Delhoon, join your princess. If you belong to Collweya, join your prince there,” she pointed to the left. “If you belong to Hesstia, stay where you are.”

  The Delhoon students gathered around me and I waved them in closer. “We are born warriors. This is who we are, our heritage is greatness. Delhoon are the elite. Let’s show these kingdoms how to fight.”

  The grins, whistles, cheers, and pats on my back told me they were ready for the challenge and when I looked across the grassy field at Zyacus, his face lacked his usual smugness. Is that nervousness I see, Prince? Good, you should be.

  Madison stood in the center and spoke loudly. “Captains, pick two from your group and send them to me for the rules.”

  I looked at each of the eight eager faces. “Any volunteers?”

  Everyone’s hands went skyward. I smiled. My eyes scanned each of them; we had large, strong-looking boys, lithe skilled girls. All lean, fast warriors. “You,” I pointed to a short blonde girl. They’d probably underestimate her based on size alone. “And you.” A tall, slender boy whose arm length would give him a good advantage.

  They quickly made their way to stand beside Madison. The two princes still worked on choosing their contenders. Perhaps they waited to see the competition. A wise strategy but I’d found over the years that one can’t know another person’s talents, strengths, and ability by looking at them so it didn’t matter to me who they sent.

  With my hands on my hips, I watched their chosen fighters join.

  Madison cleared her throat. “I’m only going to go over the rules once, so everyone pay attention.” All the students moved in a little closer.

  “Stay inside the circle, if you are pushed out, the match is paused until you step back in. If you are struck in the head and become dizzy or faint, the match will be stopped. If any bones are broken, the match will be stopped. The goal is to get your opponent in a killing position which will end the match. Harming isn’t what I’m looking for, but there are bound to be injuries. And lastly, no magic.” She gestured toward my blonde girl then to a Hesstian boy. “You two, left circle.” Next she chose a Collweyan versus a Hesstian boy. “You two, on the right.”

  We all backed off to the sides to spectate. “Does anyone know her name?” I asked.

  “It’s Lora,” said a red-headed boy with porcelain skin and brown eyes. He was on the shorter side but stout. “We’re from Arohem, your highness.”

  Resting my hand on the hilt of my sword, I mused, “Warlord Athena Asger’s territory.” One of our top military and political leaders. The warlords in Delhoon shared power with my mother in making important decisions.

  “Lora is Asger’s niece. She’s good.”

  “I like our odds already,” I crooned. It made me even happier that we faced Hesstia first. My gaze drifted to Zyacus who watched his fighter intently, and I was reminded that he was more advanced than most fifth years. “Though we should not underestimate any of them. That would be a mistake.”

  The ringing of swords, and shouts of encouragement filled the air. Lora had nimble feet and dodged everything he threw at her like a dance. Ching, clang, ping—their swords hit over and over until she dropped into a low squat, whacked him hard on the side of his knee and when it gave out on him, she kicked him in the face. With a glorious spray of blood from his mouth and nose, he fell back, smacking the ground with a thud. She stood over him with her sword point at his throat. “Welcome to the academy,” she said and the screams echoing from our side could probably be heard throughout the entire grounds. I liked this girl.

  The next few rounds went by within a few minutes but then we had two boys, Collweyan and Hesstian, who seemed to meet their match. They were huffing, sweating, and shoulders had begun to sag as they slowly circled each other. These two had been fighting a good fifteen minutes, and Madison paused the rest of us to watch. Fifteen minutes in a fight felt like an eternity.

  Aric shouted, “Find his weak spot!”

  Glaring at his cousin, Zyacus yelled to his man, “He’s tired, and his left leg is hurt!”

  I noted the limp in the Collweyan boy that Zyacus pointed out.

  So far my Delhoon had won our matches, but soon that would change. Soon the others would catch up to us, Madison would make sure of it. She didn’t let anyone under her training slack off. I had yet to go, Zyacus faced off against a girl from Collweya and won too quickly. In three moves, I didn’t even get a chance to assess his skills. Aric hadn’t gone yet. I wondered if he was waiting to face me, but I didn’t think we’d get the chance this class. The hourglass on the nearby table was down to the end of its sand.

  The Collweyan boy struck out and if I hadn’t been paying very close attention I wouldn’t have seen the push of magic the Hesstian boy used to knock his opponent’s sword aside and then took the advantage and thumped him on the forehead with the hilt of his own weapon. His skin split at the hairline and blood poured.

  My jaw dropped and I wanted to scream out “cheater!” but my grandmother yelled, “Stop!” She rushed in, shoved the Hesstian cheater aside and grabbed the hurt boy’s face. With the snap of her fingers a clean cloth like the one I’d gotten from the infirmary, appeared in her hand and she pressed it against his wound. “Hold this.”

  Madison turned and in one swift movement backhanded the cheater on the cheek. He stumbled, nearly falling to the ground, and after a moment to recover, he stood erect. The red mark on his face already welted.

  Everyone grew silent as the grave while we watched what further punishment might be. “Don’t you ever cheat in my class again.” She glanced around at each of us. “Magic is a wonderful tool that in a real fight I encourage you to take advantage of but the rules of this class are to learn swordsmanship alone, without magic. If your magic is ever suppressed by a kirune weapon or manacle and you’ve always relied on it to win, you’d be in a world of trouble and it might even cost you your life.”

  The Hesstian cheater bowed to Madison. “My apologies, Professor, it won’t happen again.”

  She lifted her hand ever so slightly and the cheater boy levitated into the air, stiff like he’d become paralyzed. Fear flashed in his eyes as they grew wider.

  “If you want further battle training with magic,” she said, without even looking at the fear struck boy, “from someone who’s killed hundreds. From someone who is cunning and lethal as the darkness itself, come find me after final classes today.” The boy dropped to the grass and he clumsily fell to his hand and knees. “Class dismissed.”

  My grandmother liked to put on a show the first day, but this was the best I’d seen yet. My first year at the academy I wanted to take her up on that offer to learn her ways, but my mother forbade it. Not only because I wasn’t ready at such a young age but she didn’t like my grandmother’s underlying cruelty. She didn’t want me to become like her but without people like Madison, we wouldn’t have fared so well in the war.

  Since I was no longer under my mother’s watchful eye, perhaps I could learn something from my grandmother other than the sword. Though Bindy would no doubt report on my every move. She sat with her eyes closed under a nearby tree, her back leaned up against the trunk. Anyone watching her would think she was asleep but I knew better.

  Madison stood beside me. “We fought well today as I expected. I’m interested to see how you do against the princes but I will be choosing the matches tomorrow and you won’t be against either of them. You’re going to teach that Hesstian boy a lesson for cheating. He’s good but not on your level.”

  I smiled. “Would love to.”

  Madison
started off and I touched her arm before she could go. “Could I train with you after classes?”

  Her lavender eyes grew softer than usual. “Your mother won’t allow it and even if I am her mother, she is the queen and what she says goes.”

  I sighed and said goodbye. My stomach growled and I was grateful lunch was being served next.

  Chapter 10

  During lunch break Taz and Legacy told me all about their classes and when they asked about the bandages on my arms, I had the best story to tell of the day so far. Their classes had been uneventful.

  The rest of the day went by slowly. Each class had introductions and the professors told what to expect from them this year. Thankfully Professor Deg chose to ignore me rather than put me on the spot. Taz thought it was unusual. Maybe Deg didn’t want to start off at this academy as the most hated professor.

  When classes ended for the day, I went to the Delhoon girls’ dormitories. Legacy was already in the common area lounging on a gray sofa, talking with someone I didn’t know. Across the room with another girl was Lora from Advanced Swords. I hadn’t had the chance to tell her how impressed I was with her match earlier so I made my way over.

  Her friend gave me an awed, wary look I knew all too well. Princess. That’s what they saw when I approached. “Hi,” I said. Before I could get out another word, both of them stood and bowed. I didn’t get this treatment as much during class time but after, it was like someone changed the rules. I went from being their equal to their “royal highness”.

  “That’s not necessary,” I said quickly. “Anyways I was impressed with how you took down that boy in class today. And that line, ‘welcome to the academy’ was great.”