The Obsidian Palace (Through the Fire Book 3)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Huh, that means that you were the one talking, then?” Tadrick asked, looking intrigued.

  “Not quite. It was both of us, yet not… it’s impossible to fully explain, really. Being in the avatar state is a true melding of minds. I can’t tell you where one of us began and the other ended,” Ruethwyn replied softly.

  “What was that about personal preferences?” Sella asked curiously, and Ruethwyn flushed beet red.

  “Ah… um…” Ruethwyn hesitated, glancing around the room, then sighed and spoke quickly. “I’m not interested in men. Umbra is. Not exactly a conflict of interests, but it makes things… weird.”

  Master Mara coughed as the other two women giggled, then spoke quickly. “Regardless of that, I must assume you had a reason for coming to the academy to begin with, Ruethwyn. I apologize for the suspicion, but I believed it necessary. Now, what were you here for? The next classes don’t start for another two months.”

  Ruethwyn was grateful for the new topic, and focused on the teacher as she nodded firmly, getting her thoughts in order. After a moment, she spoke. “It’s fine, Master Mara, and you’re right. I’m here to retrieve a few things I left in storage, possibly to research a handful of subjects, and to make contact with Sir Whisperblade. I’d also like to borrow the summoning room under the tower of fire, if possible, but I understand if it isn’t.”

  Master Mara’s eyebrows rose, but it was Sella who spoke up. “Rue? Why do you want to visit the summoning chamber? You said you got over your fear of fire, but…”

  “I decided I need a contract with a fire elemental,” Ruethwyn explained, shrugging helplessly. “I mean, I do have one, but Sparky isn’t very powerful.”

  “Sparky?” Master Mara asked, and Ruethwyn realized everyone was staring at her. She flushed and looked away.

  “Um, Sparky was the first elemental I summoned. A minor fire elemental that didn’t have a name, as far as I could tell. Sinera told me to name it so I could summon it for my contract, and I just chose the name in a panic,” Ruethwyn explained, clearing her throat. “Sparky is maybe second rank at most, so I need to find a more powerful elemental if I’m going to improve in the sphere.”

  “Oh, well, I guess that makes sense,” Korima said, grinning as she added. “That’s the sort of name I’d expect for a dog or something, not an elemental.”

  “Look, I may have learned a lot when I was younger, but I’ve never claimed to be the most creative with names, especially not when put on the spot,” Ruethwyn retorted defensively.

  “It’s certainly an amusing name. Why don’t we go see about getting you access to your things? While you’re doing that, I’ll talk to the guards, then see if I can’t get you access to the summoning chamber,” Master Mara suggested, scooting his chair back so he could stand.

  “That’d be wonderful. Thank you very much,” Ruethwyn said sincerely, relief rushing through her.

  “It isn’t a problem, Ruethwyn, though I’m certain you’re going to have a parade of people wanting to see you and ask questions,” the teacher said, and smiled. “Cora will be particularly fascinated, I suspect.”

  Ruethwyn winced, then nodded reluctantly. “I’m sure you’re right. Not the sort of attention I want, but that’s how it is.”

  “Indeed,” Master Mara said, smiling and coming around the desk.

  Considering how crowded the room was, Ruethwyn quickly opened the door and let out a breath of relief.

  Chapter 12

  “Avim, please leave us alone? Rue isn’t interested in guys to begin with,” Tadrick said, a hint of exasperation in his voice.

  “Then what’re you doing here?” the other elf retorted, looking fairly nice in his crimson robes. “All I want to do is talk to her.”

  As Tadrick took a breath to retort, Ruethwyn reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache forming with surprising speed.

  Getting into the storage had been quite easy with Master Mara there to vouch for her, and then she’d gathered the things she needed from her crates and chest. It was somewhat bulky but being able to offload the cold weather gear had helped significantly. The problem was that Master Mara had understated how much attention she’d get.

  While he had gone to see about getting her access to the summoning chamber. Ruethwyn and the others had gone to the library, since she didn’t see any harm in getting some research done. That was when the other students and teachers had begun to linger in the area to watch them. Then it was like some of the stories she’d heard about when wolves would start closing in on prey. After the tenth person approached to ask her questions, and some of them to flirt, Ruethwyn had started having to resist the urge to run and hide in a room, since she’d never gotten this kind of attention before in her life. Well, maybe not never, but there’d only been the one maid at Sella’s home, not dozens.

  “Are you alright, Rue?” Sella asked in concern.

  Korima laughed softly, then replied. “She’ll be fine. She’s just learning the joys of how it is to be at the center of attention. Like it or not, everyone is going to swarm you.”

  “That doesn’t help, Korima. In fact, it rather makes me think longingly of how remote the Frostglades are,” Ruethwyn replied tartly, letting go of her nose and giving the kitsune a look. “When I went there, I didn’t think I’d be exchanging one problem for a series of far more… frustrating ones.”

  “Whether you thought you were or not, now you get to deal with the consequences,” Korima replied calmly, looking down at her book and debating for a moment before making a note and smiling. “There we go! I think that’s how I want to cast that spell.”

  “You aren’t being very nice, Korima,” Sella scolded, frowning at the kitsune.

  “Why should I lie about it? Mother has to deal with things that’re ten times worse than this! Heck, I’ve had to deal with stuff like this myself, especially once they heard I was part of the troupe, or heavens forbid if they knew who I was related to,” Korima retorted, glancing around the room lazily. “This is barely even anything to worry about, and she’s wanting to hide? Rue needs to figure out how to deal with it, because this is likely going to be normal.”

  “Unless I get roasted by a dragon,” Ruethwyn replied, her mood sinking still more.

  “Don’t be morbid,” Tadrick said, finally having fended off the young man, and sat back down with a sigh. “I’m spending enough time trying to help, so you could at least try not to be depressed.”

  “I’m not depressed. Overwhelmed, maybe, but not depressed,” Ruethwyn replied, frowning at him. “I’ve been depressed before, and believe me, this isn’t that.”

  “Good,” Sella chimed in, nodding in approval, and Tadrick seemed to agree.

  Ruethwyn wondered how the two were doing, but she didn’t have the energy to worry about their relationship, not with the other students that were circling. They reminded her of hawks ready to dive on her, or maybe those fish she’d read about in the oceans, the ones she couldn’t remember the name of. Only the fact that the librarians would probably kick them all out if they made too much of a commotion was making Ruethwyn’s life easier.

  Suddenly, Ruethwyn saw Korima’s gaze rise to look past her, and a flicker of worry crossed the kitsune’s face. Ruethwyn only had a moment to wonder what had her friend worried, then a familiar voice spoke from behind her. “Well, it’s certainly Korima, Sella, and Tadrick… but is that really you, Ruethwyn?”

  Ruethwyn turned in place slowly, trying to resist the urge to sigh in frustration. Madeline Rosemeadow stood only a couple of paces away from her, and the young duchess was looking as immaculate as always, with her strawberry-blonde hair and blue eyes, along with a fine blue dress embroidered in silver thread.

  “Hello, Madeline. Yes, it’s me. Unfortunately, the cure for my curse appears to have had rather dramatic other changes that have caused… issues,” Ruethwyn replied, trying to keep her tone polite. She’d never gotten along well with Madeline, though they’d grown to at least grudg
ingly respect one another.

  “Hm. It sounds like you, and you’re acting right… so I suppose it is you,” Madeline said, the skepticism fading from her voice as she took a couple of steps forward. “You look entirely different than you did before, which is why I was surprised. What happened? Are you fully recovered?”

  “Recovered isn’t the right word, I don’t think,” Ruethwyn ventured, slightly taken aback by how Madeline wasn’t acting nearly as distant or arrogant as she had before.

  “Closer to reincarnated, I think,” Sella volunteered, smiling. “While her hair may not be natural for most elves, it didn’t seem that out of place for someone with fey blood.”

  “While true, that wasn’t really the question,” Ruethwyn said, shaking her head and letting out a sigh as she looked back at Madeline. “The change was quite dramatic, but as it stands, I’m in as good of condition as I was before Mellesyn was attacked, if not better. It’s a little odd, perhaps, but I’m able to use my magic properly again.”

  “Truly? Well, that certainly will make class this fall interesting,” Madeline said, smiling slowly as she looked Ruethwyn’s face over. “I always wondered how much you could do if you hadn’t been injured. Catching up with you had been one of my goals, but now things should be more fun. What’s the point if I don’t have to work for it, anyway?”

  Ruethwyn blinked, opening her mouth, then shutting it as she considered, then finally shrugged and replied, somewhat wryly. “Thank you, I suppose? I’m sure you’re going to do well, Madeline. You’ve got an incredible talent with your spheres, enough that I suspect it’ll be all I can do to keep up with you and the others.”

  “Perhaps so. Fascinating, though,” Madeline said, smiling again, then nodding. “Have a fair day.”

  “And you as well,” Ruethwyn replied. She watched Madeline go, then turned back to the others in confusion. “What was that all about? She was nice. Or kind of nice.”

  “I’m not sure,” Sella said, frowning after the noblewoman. “I’ve never quite understood Madeline.”

  “I think she didn’t like how you looked before, Rue,” Korima said, tilting her head and a grin playing across her lips. “Despite her attempts to pretend you were beneath her notice, though, you proved that you were better than she wanted to admit. So she’s probably trying to figure out what to think of you, now that you don’t have your previous appearance weighing you down.”

  “While I’m not sure on the details, I suspect Korima is at least partly right,” Tadrick agreed, sitting back thoughtfully. “I think part of it is image. For a lot of the high nobility, those who’re much higher rank than my family is, image is important. If she was on friendly terms with someone who might hurt that image, it could hurt Madeline’s reputation, especially since she hasn’t taken control of her lands yet. I’m not sure if that’s the case, but it could… ah, dammit, another person? Why won’t they take the hint and leave us alone?”

  “Probably because people are persistent,” Ruethwyn murmured, her mood souring as she saw the handsome blond man approaching. She was debating what to do, but then her eyes lit up as she saw Master Mara step into the library. She quickly stood as she spoke. “There’s Master Mara! Why don’t we return the books and see if we have permission?”

  “Sounds like a plan to me. It has to be quieter,” Sella agreed, quickly following suit.

  With the others following her, Ruethwyn quickly took the books over to the librarian’s desk, giving the woman a grateful smile as she set the books down, then almost fled over to Master Mara. He looked somewhat amused as he looked around the room, then at Ruethwyn.

  “I take it that you were waiting for me? There’s rather more activity in here than usual for the summer,” Master Mara said, his tone level, as it usually was.

  “I remember from last year. Alas, it seems I underestimated the attention I’d draw, and things have been… uncomfortable,” Ruethwyn replied, nodding politely. “May I assume you got a reply? Either way, I think I need to vacate the area.”

  “I did,” Master Mara said, trying and failing to suppress a smile. “The headmaster and the head of the tower of flames both agreed to allow you to utilize the summoning chamber, but with a couple of requirements. I doubt you’ll have issues with either.”

  “What’re those?” Korima asked curiously. “Oh, and can I watch, Rue? You’ve never summoned a fire elemental before, and I want to see!”

  “That will partly depend on what the requirements are. If they want me to leave you behind, I won’t have a choice,” Ruethwyn said in amusement. She’d never quite understood Korima’s fascination with fire.

  “No, that isn’t one of the requirements. They’re quite simple, in fact. You must allow both myself and the head of the tower to be present, and also to inspect the wards to ensure that the elemental is properly contained,” Master Mara explained calmly. “Are those acceptable?”

  “Completely,” Ruethwyn agreed instantly, feeling relieved. “Additional opinions on the wards are always welcome. And yes, Korima, you can all come watch, though I doubt it’ll be that much different than the contract with Zaria. Maybe with more bargaining, but I don’t know for sure.”

  “Yay!” Korima exclaimed, grinning broadly.

  “In that case, follow me,” Master Mara said, leaving the library at a brisk pace, which Ruethwyn matched in her attempt to leave behind the crowd.

  “Ruethwyn, this is Grandmaster Sorle. Sorle, this is Ruethwyn Sylaris,” Master Mara introduced her, then nodded to each of the others as he added. “Her friends are also from last year’s class, and are Korima Lightweaver, Sella Vintas, and Tadrick Daskar.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you,” Sorle said, offering a hand to Ruethwyn with a smile.

  The woman wore elaborate red robes and had a slightly more angular face than Ruethwyn was used to, looking more severe than pretty, yet her smile was friendly enough. She also had short brown hair and muddy brown eyes. She didn’t really strike Ruethwyn as fitting the image of a fire mage, but Ruethwyn wasn’t going to argue. More surprising was that her mannerisms made Ruethwyn think she was younger than most of the other teachers.

  “Grandmaster, it’s a pleasure to meet you as well. I don’t believe we’ve met before,” Ruethwyn said, taking Sorle’s offered hand and giving it a shake. Her grip was firm, but nothing more.

  “That’s because you haven’t. My former master, Grandmaster Odivan, decided to retire last year, but he chose to stay on until I could return from my studies among the Isles of Kalpher. I arrived a few weeks ago but waited to replace him until the year was done,” Sorle explained, and she smiled more as she added. “I’ve heard a fair amount about your exploits over the year as well. It sounds like you’ve had an eventful time so far.”

  “That would be putting it mildly,” Ruethwyn replied, her eyes brightening. “But Kalpher, really? Are there truly caverns that open into miniature worlds of their own there? I used to love reading about other countries, and those fascinated me.”

  Sorle’s eyebrows rose in surprise, and her smile grew warmer as she nodded. “Indeed, that there are. I was entranced the first time I walked into one of them myself, especially when I saw that they had their own night skies. However, as much as my studies in Kalpher were enjoyable, we have something else to address.”

  The teacher turned to walk toward the stairs leading downward, passing the small chapel to the Dowager that was on the ground floor of the tower. The entire building was heavily reinforced, Ruethwyn had noticed, and while she wondered why, she wasn’t going to ask now. Instead, Ruethwyn followed the teacher politely.

  “Your request to use the summoning chamber was a surprise, yet not an entirely unwelcome one. If you were a graduate, or a student in the tower of flames, I would have simply granted it. However, you’re different, Ruethwyn. You haven’t entered the academy again since your final trials, and your new nature means that I must be cautious,” Sorle explained. “This is part of why I insisted on being pres
ent when you utilized the room.”

  “That makes perfect sense. In all truth, the summoning I’m going to be performing isn’t any sort of secret, it’s mostly standard, though some of the summoning runes allow me to step into the circle with the elemental without breaking its magic,” Ruethwyn said, shrugging. “It’s effectively a normal summoning, simply a precursor to being able to use atavism with the elemental. I might have to try several times before finding an elemental that will agree to the bargain as well.”

  They were getting down to the same depth as the building’s foundation, Ruethwyn thought. The tower could still go deeper, but she didn’t know much about the construction of the towers. Moments later, they reached another floor, and Sorle stepped off the stairs and headed down the hall, taking one of the doors to open a summoning chamber.

  “Indeed? Interesting. I believed it might be more specialized than that, but atavism isn’t taught at the academy. For good reason, based on the records I’ve seen of what occurred the last time someone without the talent for it attempted to practice the art,” Sorle said.

  “Ah, to be fair, the last time things turned out relatively well. Yalline learned a valuable lesson, and it quelled most of the personality clashes between the students. I believe an external enemy put their differences into proper perspective,” Master Mara interjected.

  “True, Emrick. I was thinking about the older attempts, but your point is made,” Sorle said, nodding graciously. “Atavism is a fascinating art, but it’s dangerous.”

  “I can agree with that,” Ruethwyn said, nodding and frowning. “I sometimes wonder if there aren’t improvements I could make to it. While Sinera may have created it, that doesn’t mean that she made it perfectly. I’ve never heard of any magic which couldn’t be improved upon in some manner.”

  “Rue? You’ve never mentioned that before,” Sella said, looking a bit startled. “Or that you thought you might be able to improve on it, anyway.”