“What did you do then?”
“You realize that you can ask to be challenged more,” she said.
Sam frowned at her. “I can ask?”
“Most of your instructors are just waiting for you to ask. That’s not to say that they will move you into a more advanced class setting. I suppose it’s possible, though I’ve not seen it done before. It’s just that if you ask, most of them have supplementary works that they will offer you to challenge you beyond what you’re learning in class.”
“So extra work?”
She laughed softly, stuffing a strawberry into her mouth and chewing it slowly. “It’s not like you haven’t been doing extra work anyway. Besides, you have been working with Havash, so you started that process anyway.”
Sam leaned back, and he took a bite of his sausage, chewing it slowly. Was that all he needed to do? If he asked for more work, maybe that would be enough for him to feel challenged.
Or perhaps not.
What he really needed was more time in the library.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t any good way for him to get fat without drawing the wrong kind of attention, and Sam didn’t want to do that. They could go to the library and grab books, which they had, but it wasn’t the same.
And maybe that was his real issue. When the library had been open, Sam had not felt quite this way.
Or maybe it was just that he was starting to come to terms with the fact that his time in the Academy was not indefinite.
Tara reached across and squeezed his hand. “It’s going to be okay,” she said.
“I’m not sad about anything.”
She frowned at him. “Even after what happened?”
“I don’t think that I have anything to worry about there.”
That wasn’t exactly true, though, and they both knew it. He could be a target. In fact, he probably was a target because he carried the key.
“You don’t need to try to convince me,” she said.
Sam sighed, and he finished his meal in silence. At one point, James took a seat next to him, looking over at Tara, and shrugged. He had dived into his food, a much smaller portion than he once would’ve taken, and looked over to Sam as he finished. “Are you coming to the great hall later? There’s games!” He seemed far too excited about the prospect of games.
“I might,” he said. “Seeing as how I don’t have much else that I can do.”
James looked over to Tara. “What about you? I’m sure that no one will complain if we have a fourth-year student with us.”
“I have an advanced angulation seminar tonight.” She looked at Sam, and he wondered for a moment if she actually had that seminar or if it was her way of trying to connect him to the Academy. She wouldn’t put that past her. Tara could be devious like that.
“Perfect,” James said. “Well, not that you have advanced angulation, but perfect that we can drag Sam off to the game with us. There’s a new one. It’s a card game that came out of the north.”
“What game is that?” Sam asked, and he started to question who might have produced a game out of the north. The Barlands were to the north, and though there were other places within Olway, he didn’t expect there to be too many games that made their way to Tavran.
James shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s called Bear. I’ve never played it before, but I think you’d probably enjoy it.”
“Because I’m from the Barlands?” Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.
“What? No. Because the game is kind of fun.” James glanced from Sam to Tara, shaking his head. “I wasn’t trying to upset you. I just…”
Tara got to her feet. “You two have fun. I’m going to see what I can learn about advanced angulation and the various techniques of coordinating an intersecting series of complex angulated lines into—”
“That’s enough,” James muttered. “I don’t even understand half of what you’re saying and don’t have any interest in hearing about something that I won’t even be able to use for years. If ever.”
“You’ll be able to use that eventually,” Tara said. She looked over to Sam. “And you have fun.”
Sam forced a smile.
Fun.
She was trying to help him. He appreciated that, but what he really wanted was to get into the Study Hall and have an opportunity to grab a stack of books, settle in, and just read. That was how he was going to have fun.
Tara knew that, as well.
But she also knew that he needed to be prodded a little bit.
He supposed that he should be thankful that she cared enough to try to push him out of his comfort zone and force him into doing things and interacting with others in ways he didn’t necessarily feel were necessary. Mostly because he believed that his time within the Academy was short-lived. Tara felt otherwise, increasingly so since he had bonded to the key, but Sam still didn’t know that there was anything within his connection to the key that meant he had any touch of arcane arts.
“Is everything okay between the two of you?” James asked.
“They are fine,” he said.
“I just wanted to make sure. She’s been more easygoing since you’ve started spending time together. That’s the rumor.”
“Rumor?”
He shrugged. “Well, you know how rumors can be.”
He clasped his hands together, leaning forward. “And what kind of other rumors are out there about us?”
James flushed slightly. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I’m curious. Tell me.”
“Well, after the attack, there are some who are saying that you and Tara were there. I know how ridiculous that sounds, especially that students would be involved, but neither of you were seen when the Academy was evacuated.”
Sam held James’s gaze for a moment.
“We were there,” he said firmly.
James’s eyes widened. “What? That’s true?”
Sam didn’t want to lie to his friend, and even though he knew that his time in the Academy wasn’t going to be indefinite, James was still a friend. “We had snuck in to study.”
When James smirked, Sam shook his head.
“And we caught sight of some of the attack. Not all of it, and we tried to stay out of it, but it did drag us in. Were it not for Tara, I don’t know that I would have even survived.”
That much was the truth as well.
“Wow,” James muttered. “I thought it was just a story.”
“I don’t want you sharing that with anyone,” Sam said, eyeing him carefully.
James shook his head. “You can trust me. Besides, there are few enough of us in our tower as it is. We need to keep as many people as we can, don’t we?”
Sam started to smile, and though he didn’t know whether he could believe that James would keep quiet, it did feel better telling him part of the truth.
There had been several times over the last few months when he had been tempted to tell him the truth about his own potential with the arcane arts. He didn’t know whether James would even believe him, though. Now that he had the key, and he knew how to force power out of it, he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe he could make it look like he had some connection to the arcane arts for a little while. At least until it came to the point when he had to truly test and prove himself.
“What was it like?”
“I can’t even describe it,” Sam said.
“I mean, I’ve seen the library since the attack, so I know what happened,” James went on. “I’m just curious what it might’ve been like for you to have been there.”
“Terrifying.”
James chuckled. “I suspect that is completely true.”
He leaned back, pulling his tray with him. “Now we definitely need to go and play Bear.”
“Why?”
“With luck like yours to have survived that, I think you might be just what I need to make sure that I win.” He grinned. “Well, and you are from the Barlands. I’m sure you know how to play Bear already.”
“Sorry t
o disappoint, but I don’t.”
“That’s okay. I’m sure you will figure it out quickly. You will probably win just because you can break down the game.”
“I hope I don’t disappoint you with that, either.”
James just laughed.
Sam smiled, and he looked over to the door leading out of the dining hall, shaking his head slightly. Tara knew him too well.
Chapter Seven
Sam looked up at Havash, who sat behind his desk and scratched his pen along the surface of a page. “Any luck, Samran?” He didn’t even need to take his eyes off his writing. “We need you to gain control over that key. Ferand poses a unique threat,” Havash went on. “He knows the workings of the Academy, and if he is free, it means there are other Nighlan active in the city. We must be prepared—and vigilant.” He turned his focus fully on Sam. “Which means that I will need to trust you more than I think I had been prepared to do. You are not equipped for the dangers yet. Perhaps in time, but for now…” He shook his head.
“I’m not equipped because I can’t use the arcane arts,” Sam said, “but that doesn’t mean that I can’t be helpful. I think I’ve already proven my usefulness.”
Havash glanced over to Sam’s hand, where the key remained situated. “It is more than just that. And, as we have already discussed, there remains the possibility that you do have some potential with the arcane arts.” He frowned and scratched his beard. “Perhaps that is what I need to be working on. With your potential, you might be of more use if you do have some understanding of the arcane arts.”
“It’s not a lack of understanding that I have,” Sam said. “I can read and remember almost everything you can feed me from the library. It’s a lack of ability with it.”
“Of course,” Havash said, waving his hand. “And it’s that lack of ability that we must remedy. The key has its own power, but it’s stored power from alchemy. Perhaps the answer for you is to find understanding in a different manner than what you would have before.” He got to his feet and headed to a bookshelf before grabbing one book and setting it in front of Sam. “Look through this.”
Sam pulled it toward him. It wasn’t one he’d read before.
“What is this? It looks like language construction.”
“What is a language but a way to bring order?”
“So you want me to study the languages so that I can better understand what?”
“If you have as quick a mind as you say,” Havash started, though there was a hint of a smile to the words, and not insult as Sam was accustomed to, “you should have very little trouble gaining insight into some of these other languages. Once you do, we have alternative volumes that you can begin to read. Perhaps the key to your understanding of the arcane arts and finding how you can best apply the zero tenant will be locked within one of them.”
Sam snorted. “Is it belief?”
“I don’t know,” Havash said. Havash patted the table. “Begin to study, Samran. I believe you don’t have any difficulty with that instruction, do you?”
Sam shook his head. “You know that I don’t.”
“No. You do not.”
This time, Sam was certain that he heard a measure of respect and Havash’s words.
Sam turned his attention to the book, moving through it slowly. It wasn’t an easy book to get through. It was all on the language of Vothal, a country that Sam didn’t even know. He immediately understood why Havash wanted him to read it, though. There were a series of symbols within it, similar to what he saw in the almanac. Perhaps that was what Havash hoped that he would find.
He lost track of time when the door to the alchemy tower opened and Chasten entered. He was tall, much older than Havash, and had a shock of gray hair and piercing blue eyes that studied Sam for a moment. He wasn’t an instructor at the Academy, though he had participated in testing.
“Sam,” Chasten said, nodding. “An interesting choice for your studies.”
“Havash thought that I might learn something from it.”
Chasten snorted. “He thinks you can interpret the almanac?”
“It looks like that.”
“There’s a reason that we have the key,” he said.
“I wonder if he worries we will lose it.”
“Because of the other attack,” Chasten said, tapping his lips. They were pursed into a deep frown, and he continued to stare for a few long moments. “A difficult title to attempt.”
“I think he is hopeful that my ability to memorize will be useful here.”
“You think that it will be?”
“I don’t know,” Sam said. “He made some comment about languages creating order.”
Chasten chuckled again. “And alchemy creates order as well. An interesting approach. Perhaps not the one that I would’ve taken, but…” He pulled the chair over, taking a seat next to Sam. “Given that the Nighlan have made their presence in the city known, it might be best that you continue your studies of the almanac. If you can do so without needing the key, it might be even more beneficial.”
“For who? For you? Havash?”
Chasten smiled tightly. “A quick mind indeed,” he muttered. “Yes, I suspect that Havash does intend for you to try to come up with some way of interpreting the almanac so that others can work through it. Those of us who understand alchemy know that only a few ever are permitted access to the key.” He nodded at Sam’s hand. “I was surprised when it bonded to you. And it has most definitely bonded.”
“Which means it can be unbonded,” Sam pointed out. “It was in the vault when I found it.”
“Either it was unbonded, or something happened to it.”
“What does that mean?”
“None of us were here during the attack. It’s entirely possible that when the tower was attacked, something happened to the key.” He frowned. “I’ve been trying to understand the purpose behind the nature of that specific attack. There had to have been something they hoped to accomplish. The only thing that I’ve come up with, especially in that they targeted the alchemy tower specifically, is that they were trying to dislodge the key.”
“Is it really the literal key to understanding alchemy?”
“You’ve seen what the almanac permits you to do.”
“I’ve seen it,” Sam said, nodding. “But it seems to me that there would be other ways of accessing that kind of alchemy too.”
“You would think so.” He patted the table. “And if you can uncover some secret to alchemy that more people can understand…”
“It would mean the Nighlan would be able to access the almanac more easily.”
“Perhaps, or it would mean that those without access to the key could perform true alchemy.”
Chasten got to his feet, and he made his way down the hall, pausing at one of the bolts.
Sam stared at the book.
Havash was smart—and clever.
He was after something more than what it appeared. Sam was certain of it. The challenge for him was understanding just what Havash was after.
He turned his attention back to the book, before growing tired. Not only tired, but impatient too.
Without any answers, he didn’t want to remain here. Besides, Tara would be waiting for him.
He debated going through the Study Hall, but there was no need. Instead, he took the stairs out of the alchemy tower.
When he reached the kitchen, he paused.
He pushed the door open and found it busy with the evening preparations.
“Where have you been skulking off to these days?” Okun asked.
Sam looked over, and he chuckled. “I haven’t been skulking.”
“You could have fooled me.”
“Is it that difficult to fool you?”
Okun raised up a meaty fist. “You were fooled,” he said, smiling. He had been injured in the attack, but thankfully he hadn’t died. Sam knew only a little about Okun, enough to know that he was more than what he appeared. Certainly more than just a co
ok. An alchemist and somebody who understood the workings of the Academy.
That alone was enough for Sam to trust him.
He wished that Okun would share more with him, but he had secrets, and Sam was just a student—a first-year one at that.
“You were downstairs for a while. You missed dinner, didn’t you?”
Sam shrugged before nodding. “I might’ve.”
“And you need something to eat.”
He looked around the kitchen, glancing to the clean counters and the cooks near one of the washbasins, and finally turned his attention back to Okun. “What do you have?”
“I have a sourdough bread and some cheese you might like.”
Sam wrinkled his nose. “What makes you think I like saltier foods?”
Okun headed to a cupboard, pulled out a few things, and handed them to Sam. “Go. Stay out of my hair.”
Sam chuckled. “You don’t have much.”
“No, because I want people like you to stay out of it.”
Sam hesitated for a moment. “I’m glad that you weren’t hurt.”
It was his way of offering some comment about how he knew what had happened, but he wasn’t sure that Okun would respond very well to him.
Okun just grunted, not at all surprisingly. “Not thrilled by what took place.”
“You were watching the tower, weren’t you?”
“Watching, listening, waiting for somebody to be stupid enough to go venturing down there.” He locked eyes with Sam for a moment. “Never thought it would be someone claiming to have no insight about alchemy.”
He kept his voice at a low whisper, but Okun’s deep voice still seemed to rumble. Sam glanced past him, wondering how many of the others in the kitchen could hear what he was saying. He turned back to Okun, he realized that the cook was glowing with pale white light, though it was faint. Maybe he had created some sort of barrier that would prevent anyone else from hearing what he was saying.
“I have some insight,” Sam said. “I do need to improve, but it’s not that I’m ignorant.”
“You can’t learn everything in books, Sam.”
“I know.”
Okun watched him for a moment before breathing out and turning, going to a cabinet, gathering a few things, then carrying it back to Sam. He handed him a hunk of bread, some cheese, some sliced sausage. “Go. Don’t miss your meal.”
Alchemist Assault (The Alchemist Book 2) Page 7
