The Voice in His Head (Original Urban Fantasy)

[jldew93]

February 9th, 1925
Saint Michael's Home for Boys
Hampstead, London.

I was a quiet child growing up. The nuns found me one morning on the doorstep on a January morn in 1915, or so they told me. From the time I was an infant, I knew I was different.

When I was younger, before the abuse began, the Nuns would talk about the golden rule. That we needed to treat each other as we wanted to be treated. I, personally, did not believe that first part. I knew I was meant for more than dreary orphan halls, secondhand clothes, and a greatness few of these brats would know. I knew this because the little voice told me. The voice didn't talk to me all the time, and sometimes went months without even interacting with me. But, it did give me impressions about my surroundings and the other orphans.

This meant that I preferred exchanging feelings with the little voice instead of talking to the other orphans. When the voice was silent, I would practically live in the library.

The little voice had taught me to read by the time I was three. It also acted as my conscience of sorts, teaching me when I should and when I shouldn't do something.

The Voice didn't speak to me, no, it just gave me impressions. Wrong and Right, feelings that felt like praise, and joy when I was doing things properly. These feelings helped me, and gave me something to hold on to as the Voice came and went as I got older.

My social reclusiveness led me to be bullied by the other children at the orphanage. There were a few moments that stood out. The first was the week Tommy Michaels killed my pet.

I had a hamster, the nuns allowed us to keep small animals in our rooms as long as we kept their cages cleaned and fed and watered properly. Tommy was a vile child. We had never gotten along, and when I was seven, my hamster escaped. It returned to me piece by piece. His legs, one after the other. Then his torso. Day after day. Until one morning I woke up to his furry brown head on my nightstand. That morning at breakfast his smirk told me everything I needed to know.

That day, in our playroom, Tommy taunted me about the death of my furry companion. I proceeded to lose my mind. It felt like a dam burst somewhere deep inside me. A wave of light surrounded my palm, and a shimmery blast of emerald light exploded out of it. Tommy was catapulted into the wall of the playroom and fractured his leg. I was sent to bed without dinner. The Voice had wanted me to kill him.
The next morning, I looked in the mirror. I noticed that my normally blue eyes had turned a startling bright, vibrant green overnight. When the nuns noticed, that was the first time I was locked in a closet and forced to pray for my sins. For my eighth birthday, I had my first exorcism performed on me. For Tommy's, he got adopted.

I found out after some experimentation, that I could make things happen. I could levitate and move objects with my mind. I could force someone to tell me the truth and knew when they were lying.
I had learned to read early, and frequent trips to the library led me to discover and cultivate a passion for reading. I dove into the classics and the new. I was particularly drawn to fantasy novels for some reason. I knew what I could do was magic, or something similar. The Voice had told me this, and it was always right.

Those literary masterpieces, and a restless urgency from the Voice, gave me an impetus to learn all I could about my new abilities. It all made sense, from a literary perspective. I was the downtrodden orphaned magic user. Voice was my version of the Blue Fairy. Of course I'd be the hero in my story.
Meanwhile, as I practiced my newfound abilities, my hair changed from blond to the same emerald shade of green.

The nuns took offense to this, they called me a devil, or a demon; Insisted on praying over me and forced me to learn their scriptures in hopes of drawing out the demon they swore lived in my body.
This might have been a self-fulfilling prophecy, but I drew special motivation for training when they screamed Exodus 22:18 in my face.

My life became hours locked in a closet that was barred with planks, or chairs. Filled only with mental conversation. That was more me talking and the Voice giving impressions of sadness and helplessness that only served to add to my drive to train, to become more powerful. This was how my life was for those three dark years.

I'd attend the trivially easy school they had in the mornings. Then, I spent my afternoons having the bible literally pounded into my skull on a few occasions, and my evening's were passed by sneaking out to the small green grove near the woods, experimenting with my magic or powers. I'd earned quite a few scars over the years from the nun's tender mercies, and slowly, began to resent them and the religion they tried to literally cram down my throat. I certainly wasn't the only orphan they did this too, but I was definitely one of their favorites.

One day, I had enough of the endless lectures, of being locked away for hours, or deprived of meals for some perceived slight against their God. The Voice was urging me to get me-us out of this mess. When the nuns decided they had enough of my "devilry" and decided to lock me in the prayer closet overnight one evening, I turned the tables on them. I broke the ropes they had bound me with. Then I locked them in the small room where I'd spent so many hours forced to pray to a deity, I frankly had my doubts about. Usually they left me with a candle. I didn't grant them that luxury. I forced my magic to hold the door, and then let them stew for a few hours. They stopped trying to "convert" me after that, and I was allowed to eat on a fairly regular schedule.

This continued until shortly after my tenth birthday. It was Monday, and I had settled into the library. My homework was arrayed before me, and a day of pretending to care about basic sums and Latin awaited me. Some things, I instinctively knew, or the Voice did. I wasn't sure which.
That was where Sister Agnes found me. She approached me as she always did, an aged leather hand clutching a wooden crucifix attached to the matching rosary in one hand. A glare on her face, and a murmured prayer on her lips. She was one of the oldest nuns at the orphanage and was convinced that I was the devil incarnate. She was one of the nuns that had led the crusade to remove the so-called demon from beneath my skin.

"Good day sister, what prayer are you muttering to the false god today?" I asked with a sneer. Okay, so I'd learned to play up to the sisters. Sue me.

"Stephen, there's someone here to see you." She said, a look of fear on her face. Her back was straight, and her posture stiff. I looked up from my compendium on Latin. That was certainly odd. I had no known associates in this life. I also knew that I was growing into the age where it would be harder for me to be adopted. I wasn't concerned with that reality. I had my own plans for what life would entail after I aged out of this place, if not earlier.

"A prospective mother." The nun said.

"Just the mother? Where's the father?" I asked.

"He's attending to other matters. You'll only be meeting the mother today." She replied.

"Come on boy, before I drag you by the ear." She said, and I closed my book.

"I'd like to see you try, sister." I rebutted, and smirked at the glare she sent me. I followed her into the office that the nuns used for administration. Mother Superior sat at the front of the desk, and seated in front of it was my prospective parental unit. I took a seat, and Sister Agnes left.

The woman was dressed casually, in a dark blouse and skirt. Her hair was pulled up in a severe bun. She didn't wear much jewelry. A string of pearls, a single diamond ring on her ring finger, and another ring on her pinkie. When she turned her gaze on me, I instantly felt a tingle come across my skin. I could feel the magic practically pouring off this woman. It was the first time I'd met someone else magical, and a weight I didn't know I carried felt like it was lifted from my shoulders. The Voice was excited too.

"This is the boy?" She asked. Her tone was grim.

"Yes, just as you wanted, an older child, independent. Smart." The nun said. The woman sniffed.

"His hair?"

"Not a clue. The boy is quite adventurous. He just showed up one morning with his hair like that. Don't worry, he won't be doing that again. " The nun replied.

"I should hope so." The women remarked with a murmur. "Stephen, my name is Bethany Andrews. If you'd like, I'd like to adopt you. My husband wants a son, and I am unable to conceive." She said. Mother Superior gasped, and I gave the matron an innocent look of curiosity. We learned quickly in the orphanage, and I admired Bethany for how blunt she was. I looked into her eyes. There was something about her gaze that seemed to pull me in.

"Careful boy, you might not like what you find if you keep looking." A voice in my head said. Her voice. I gave her a startled look, and recoiled visibly, almost knocking over my chair in the process, and she smiled softly, a knowing glint in her eyes. I nodded once, and the woman smiled.

"Fantastic!" Mother Superior said elatedly.

"I'm sorry you're leaving us child, I hope you'll carry the lessons we taught you in your new life." I looked at the matron.

"Mother, I appreciate how you've treated me over the years, and I hope someone will return the favor to you one day." I replied with a too-sharp smile. She faltered for a moment before she spoke again.

"Good! I'll fill out the paperwork, while you go pack your things." She said. I nodded. I knew there had to be other people like me out there, people with magic. There always was in the books, after all. My plan was to find them after I left the orphanage. I needed to learn more about these abilities, how to use more than the paltry telekinesis than I currently had access to.

I went back to my room and grabbed the few belongings that I had. I didn't have much, a few sets of threadbare clothes. A stuffed bunny and a couple of shells as souvenirs at the beach from the one trip we had made there.

I shuddered as those memories came to the forefront of my mind. Lingering hands belonging to old men who had no place touching younger boys in those places. Memories I squished down. I quickly packed it all in a rucksack and went back to the office.

Bethany had finished the paperwork. She grabbed my hand, and we walked out of the front. A car was waiting for us. It was a gorgeous piece of engineering for the time, painted a shiny silver. I recognized the hood ornament, and realized this car likely cost more than the orphanage's yearly budget. The rear doors of the car opened, and we got inside. As soon as we settled, the car roared to life and took me away from the dreary orphanage forever.

 

[jldew93]

Bethany touched a small button on the door, and a shimmery gauzy haze settled over the car, and soon diminished. The Voice was curious, and it urged me to ask her about that.

"What was that?" I asked.

"It's a set of privacy spells, anyone who sees the car will see a completely unremarkable vehicle." She said. Bethany took the ring off her finger. Then, the most startling thing happened: Bethany transformed. Her skin paled until it was almost translucent. Her hair reshaped itself, turning from the severe dark-colored bun to long golden locks of hair. Then her eyes changed from brown to shimmering gold. It wasn't like her eyes simply changed color, it seemed as though they actually glowed gold. It was like she was looking at me, and she wasn't. Those eyes were hard to look away from, and I fought against the chill that shivered down my spine. She was looking at my forehead, but her gaze seemed to bore into me. Finally her attire changed. What was once a casual looking blouse and skirt, and sensible shoes was now full, pale blue dress and shiny leather boots. She smiled at me. I was mildly shocked by her new appearance.

"Oh come now child, you didn't think that you were the only mage out there, did you?" I shrugged. Not from a lack of things to say, but from too many. I did not even know where to begin with that revelation. Even Bethany's accent changed from the proper London accent I had gotten used to into an almost American twang.

"Well, you aren't. I'm a mage. My entire House is magical." She said.

"How did you know how to find me?"

"The governing body of mages, the Council Majeure has an enchanted globe that records magic use, but I had other means." She replied.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To my townhome in London."

"What's a mage?" I asked.

"Honestly, fiction is so lacking in this century." She muttered.

"I would have to agree," I murmured. I hoped she hadn't heard that, and at the same time I wondered what exactly she meant by that, and why I would agree.

"A mage is someone who can channel magic through their body and use it to affect the world around them. Some mages are so powerful they can warp reality around them with a mere thought. I'm not of that caliber, but my mentor was a powerful Lord."

"A Lord, like royalty?"

"Of a kind." She replied. We had arrived at the townhome by now. The car took several turns until we drove down an old alley. The car sounded its horn twice, and the brick wall of the alley retracted into the buildings on either side. On every side, there were rows of townhouses. There were children playing on the street. A trio of them were throwing around a ball that changed colors every time it hit the ground and bounced back up. I kind of wanted to go and join them. There were a couple adults floating on brooms. Each house's exterior was painted brightly. Floating through the park were small swarms of twinkling lights. As we passed the park, I noticed a large mirror in the center of it, and I wondered what that could be.

The exterior of the townhouse we parked in front of was painted a weathered sky blue. We exited the car, and the engine turned off. Its headlights flashed twice, and we walked up the weather-worn stairs. As we came to the door, Bethany touched my shoulder. I flinched away from her hand instinctively.

"Are you okay?" She asked. After a moment, I took a deep breath and nodded. I studied the plate on the door. It was wrought in gold. There was an hourglass, with a stick that crossed and a sword of some kind below it. In an arch, lettering spelled out the phrase Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat.

There was a few awkward seconds of silence, and then she produced a key from somewhere. As she held the key up, a slot appeared on the door, and she unlocked the house. We entered a house that seemed more like a museum than anything. It was brightly lit, and the floor was a polished light ash wood, and the walls were paneled a darker wood. To my left there was a small coat room. There was a ceiling to wall mirror mounted on the wall to my left, past the entrance to the coat room. Next to that, there was a spiral staircase leading to the upper floor, and a regular staircase leading downstairs. To my right, there was a sitting room with a pair of plush black velvet and lacquered couches the same shade as the paneling that populated the walls. On the far right, there was a trio of oil painted portraits.

"Do you want a tour first, or would you like an early dinner?" Bethany asked.

"I think I'd like a tour." I replied. I wanted to explore every inch of this place. She smiled and nodded.

"To your left is the receiving room, where guests arrive."

"Guests don't arrive through the door?"

"Not if they're welcome." Bethany replied. We turned right and entered the sitting room. To our left there was a baby grand piano with a bench. I noticed that aside from the portraits, and the wall sconces that glowed with light, there weren't many decorations. The windows, like the rest of the house, were tastefully, yet elegantly decorated with dark, plus velvet curtains.

"This is the sitting room, which, along with the dining room, becomes the ballroom when there's a party." She said, pointing to the far wall.

"How does that work?"

"Magic." She said, and I glared at her.

"Until you learn more about the world, you'll get that answer a lot." She replied. I sighed.

"I guess we'll have to teach you about magic then." She said with a smile. We exited the sitting room. As we walked through the house, I noticed Bethany moved with an easy grace the stiff-backed nuns lacked, like a cat on the prowl.

"Where does the second staircase lead to?" I asked.

"That leads to the kitchen." She said, and I nodded. We passed a pair of closets, and Bethany took me into a dining room. There was a long hardwood table, with enough seats for at least twenty, and the room was decorated almost identically to the sitting room. To our right, there was a closed door.

"Where does that door go?" I asked.

"That leads to the den, and the rear exit to the house." She said, we walked in an almost half circle and exited out another door. There were a trio of closed doors.

"The door on the far right is a bathroom. The other two doors are off limits."

"Why?"

"Because I said." We walked to the other end of the house and walked up the spiral staircase. I noticed that most of the doors were closed, if not locked.

"The library is in front of us. You're welcome to browse the books there, unless they're warded."

"Warded?"

"Protected from anyone without permission to read them. Some of them I'll unlock for you. Others, well part of the reason they're locked behind wards is to ensure you can read them."

"What do you mean?"

"If you can circumvent the spells protecting them, then by all means, read them. Your skill with magic is advanced enough to use them." She said.

"The room on the right is also off limits. It's my private study, and I wish for it to remain that way." The rest of the floor was taken up by bedrooms. The next floor had two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms on either end. There was a second study, and another room. This one was sparsely furnished. There was a rack of weapons, with everything from bows to guns, and all manner of bladed weapons. A closed door led into another room. At the corners of the room's ceiling, and the midpoints, there were sconces glowing with lights. There were a series of white lines drawn on the floor. Four thick white lines were the border, with a fifth drawn down the center. Two more thin white lines, followed by a white circle in the center, sectioned the box off further.

"This is the dueling room." Bethany said.

"The dueling room?" I asked.

"Dueling is as much an art form as it is a way of holding unto traditional societal norms. The school you will be attending has a world renowned dueling team, and I'll be obtaining a teacher for you to learn this." She said. We left that room, and then we traveled up to the third floor. Bethany turned right, and led me to a bedroom that was the size of three of the shared rooms in the orphanage. The floor was covered in a cream carpet, and the bed was enormous, and covered in comfortable looking pillows.

"There are some clothes in the closet. We'll go and get more tomorrow. Now, do you remember the way back to my study?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Good, when you're ready for dinner, I'll be in my study." She said, and then she left.

I withdrew my souvenirs and put them on a small shelf hanging on the walls. I quickly found the closet, a walk in with an island of drawers in the middle. I noticed there were a few things hanging, and a few pairs of pants already on the shelves. These made my meager clothes from the orphanage seem like poorly tailored rags. After walking around my closet for a little while, I walked into a bathroom. The bathroom had a pool that was pretending to be a bathtub, and a localized downpour masquerading as a shower. Oh, I was going to like it here. I showered and enjoyed soaking in the almost scalding water, a far cry from the tepid and sometimes freezing water from the orphanage. I finished my shower, and then after some searching found a towel and bathrobe. I dressed in what was probably my first set of new clothes. I let out a breath and pretended the tears running down my face was water dripping down from my hair. After getting dressed, I walked back down the stairs until I came to Bethany's study. I knocked on the door.

"One moment!" I heard her yell through the door. She came out a little later. after a moment.

"Sorry, I was returning missives." She replied.

"What sort of missives?" I asked.

"My House, our House, has a wide variety of business ventures, and we're involved in the magical government." She replied. That told me absolutely nothing, but I had just gotten here, and I didn't want to seem nosy. Even
though I really was.
We walked to the dining room and sat down. She sat at the head of the table, and I sat to her right.

"Is it just you?" I asked.

"No. Usually my husband is home and one of our business partners is present. I'll admit that these absences are partially manufactured. We didn't want to overwhelm you with too many new faces at once." She said. A bowl of soup suddenly appeared in front of me. It was a delicious consommé. A glass of white wine appeared at Bethany's place. I was given water. We ate the soup in relative silence.

"Tell me about the Orphanage, what did you study there?" She asked.

"Math, and English. Your usual school subjects." I said evasively. I still wasn't sure whether I could trust her.

"Who was teaching you magic?" She asked, and I almost choked on my soup.

"What do you mean?"

"Child, your hair is green as grass after a summer storm. No one's aura manifests like that unless they've been practicing for years. What have you learned?" She said, and took a drink from her wine glass. We finished the soup and moved into a juicy roast. It was perfectly rare, and served with small whole potatoes that had been lightly seared and seasoned excellently. I watched as the wine glass emptied itself and filled with red.

"You never answered my question." She said.

"I was self-taught." I replied.

"Self taught?" She asked, and I nodded in confirmation.

"That's interesting, I haven't seen many self-taught mages before. That's quite dangerous." She replied.

"The orphanage was a dangerous place." I replied, turning back to my food. I took another sip of my water.

"How so?"

"I'd rather not say." I replied. I wasn't protecting them by any means, I just didn't wish to talk about that.

"Fair enough. Although, as your guardian, I am going to need to know at some point." She replied, and I ate in silence.

"Well, what have you taught yourself how to do?" She asked. I looked at my spoon, held out my hand, and willed the spoon to lift. The spoon began floating in the air. Then I closed my eyes in concentration and forced the spoon to twist and turn into itself, until it was more of a metallic corkscrewed pretzel than anything.

"Good job." She said.

"Now, pick up the spoon." I said, putting just a bit of compulsion into my voice. Usually this had the desired effect of making someone do what I wanted.

"No, I don't think I will." She said, and with a wave of her own hand, the spoon blurred and fixed itself. "What else can you do?" She asked.

"I can definitely pick up things bigger than a spoon." I replied, intentionally being vague, and she nodded.

"Not a lot of pre-novitiate mages can say that. There aren't even many Journeymen mages that can. Psionic abilities are certainly a skill that we're going to nurture." She replied.

"Do you have any abilities like that? Where do you think they came from?" I replied.

"I don't have any abilities like the ones we're discussing, my talents lay in other directions. I'm not entirely sure where those kinds of gifts are coming from." She said, I frowned. I'd gotten a very good sense of truth and lies since I'd begun training that part of my magic. Right now, my magic told me that was a lie. Perhaps a half-truth best.

"Is there something you aren't telling me?" I asked.

"Everyone always has something they aren't telling someone." Bethany replied, and took a long drink of her wine.

"But, there's something particular you aren't telling me. Isn't there?" I asked, intentionally evening out my tone. She sighed.

"Bloody psychics. Not even fourteen, and he's already getting through my shields." She muttered.

"Yes, there is." She said. I sat back in my chair.

"Well, what is it?" I asked. She sighed. We had both finished our food at this point. There were two banana splits melting into a sugary soup. After a moment, Bethany finished her glass of wine.

"I need something much stronger than just wine for this conversation." She said, and got up from the table, she began walking away.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I'm going to the bar. I'll be back soon, stay where you are." She said. After a few minutes she returned, holding a crystalline bottle and a small matching glass. She sat back down, poured herself a long measure of the amber color liquor, and downed it in one go.

"I adopted you because I owed your mother a favor." She said.

"You knew my mother?" I asked, ignoring the way my voice rose in excitement. Bethany nodded hesitantly.

"Who was she? What was her name?" I asked.

"Didn't those idiots at that orphanage tell you anything?" She asked.

"No, no they didn't. There was nothing to tell. I was wrapped up in a blanket, given a small note with my name on it, and left abandoned to the elements." I replied. I felt my magic rising as anger shot through me. I took a deep breath and clamped down on my magic. I could feel it seething inside of me, ready to lash out, and I could not allow that.

"What happened?" Bethany asked, and I don't think she was speaking to me.

"What was her name?" I asked.

"Her name was Alexis Bonaparte. She was one of the strongest, if not the strongest mage I've ever known. I was her apprentice once."

"What happened to her?" I asked.

"I honestly do not know. I've certainly got a few guesses. She went missing after the war, and I've spent years trying to track her down. Stephen, I knew your mother. I thought I did at least. I'm not sure why she would have done that. I thought..." She paused and frowned in thought. She leaned back in her chair, and then she refilled the glass.

"Fuck." She said, after a couple minutes. I thought I saw tears in her eyes, but that might have been a trick of the light. I bit my lip. My mother was someone close to her. I gave her a few minutes to gather her thoughts.

"What war was it? The Great War?" I asked. That would certainly fit. I didn't realize that women fought in that war, and it was not something we covered in our history classes. It was too fresh in the public's consciousness to recount, and I understood that.

"After the war, we thought she had perished. I was stationed in a different area, but during a battle. Their ship was attacked. My brother, Stephen, who I'm assuming she named you after, died. We found his body, but we never found hers." She took another shaky breath.

"Were they married?" I asked. Bethany gave a small snort.

"No. Stephen didn't prefer women." she stopped for a second, and then restarted her sentence.

"Well, your mother and Stephen wouldn't have been compatible with each other. We'll keep it at that. Not to mention your mother was near twice his age. She was our magic teacher growing up. She taught me everything I knew about magic. How to use it for offense and defense. How to enchant. How to create potions with alchemy. She was an amazing magician. You'll learn all of this too, some of it when you head off to school. Some of it in the coming four years that I'm going to have you as an apprentice. Do you want to have your first lesson today, or would you like to wait until tomorrow?" She asked. I still had questions, but I was tired.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find you sooner. I looked for you both for ages. Lady Alexis was a great friend of my parents."

"Why couldn't you?" I asked.

"As I said, Alexis was a powerful mage. She also had a great many enemies. They both did. She wove an enchantment around you to protect you from them. It was a stroke of luck I even managed to find you in the first place."

"So she left me there to protect me?" I ground out, and I felt my magic rising with my anger once again. This time, the crystal bottle did shatter in a thousand shards. A shimmer of magical energy protected Bethany from any debris, but they still scattered across the room. I distantly realized that I had stood up at some point, as had Bethany.

"Stephen, you need to calm down." She said. That somehow managed to add to my anger.

"She left me behind!" I shouted. An unseen wind whipped up from nowhere, and I heard the table creak as it was pushed away from me.

"What kind of mother does that! If she was so powerful, she should have taken me with her!" I said.

"I'm sure she did the best she could." Bethany said, calmly. I heard the table smash into a wall, but I was so focused on Bethany's words, I didn't see it.

"The best she could do got me treated like a freak for years! The best she could was BULLSHIT!" I screamed the last part, and I felt my magic lash out. It had been years since I'd had such little control over it, but I couldn't find it in me to care. I blinked through the tears and bit my lip from outright sobbing. Years of suffering, of torture, because someone did the "best they could"?

"Stephen, calm down." She said, putting out her hand in a placating gesture, and taking a step forward. My magic flared and pushed back against her. Her shield, or whatever it was held, and she took another step forward.

"Get back!" I yelled, partly as a warning, partly in anger. I wasn't even sure if I could control my magic at this point. It seemed to have a mind of it's own, I tried to reign it in but I couldn't. I quickly moved from angry to scared as my magic failed to listen to me.

"How do I stop this?" I asked.

"Stephen, I'm going to cast a spell. It's not meant to hurt you, and I swear on my own magic it won't be permanent, but we need to calm your magic down. What I'm going to do is drain some of your magic out of your core and into mine. Is that okay?" She asked. I took a deep breath, and nodded. She drew a long stick, a wand I assumed, and pointed it at me. A long golden thread attached itself to my wrist and wrapped around it, and I felt my magic slowly bleed away as green light slowly wrapped itself around the string and began traveling towards Bethany. As soon as the storm subsided. I wrapped myself around Bethany, and she returned the gesture after a few seconds.

"Why didn't she want me?" I asked, half question, half sob.

"Stephen, I wish I knew what her thoughts were. But I'm here now, and that's all I can do." Bethany said. I vaguely remember calming enough to wipe my nose with a handkerchief Bethany offered, but I don't remember falling asleep, or being carried to my bed. That night, I dreamed of blue skies, restless oceans, and a city made of glass.



Author's Note: This is the first two chapters of The Voice in His Head, if there's a good response, I'll be posting everything I've released so far here and add QQ to my update schedule.
If you like this, please consider liking this poist. If you like what you read, and want to support the author, and don't want to wait please consider purchasing The Voice in His Head from Amazon or Audible, or supporting me on Patreon. You can discuss this chapter below, or in the Discord. This is already completed work.

 

[jldew93]

February 10th, 1925
Andrews' Townhouse
London.

You know how it is when you're traveling, and you get to your destination and fall asleep. Then when you wake up the next morning and for a few seconds you have no idea where you are? That was my mindset when I woke up in my bedroom. The events of dinner came rushing back.

Despite the fact I had slept like the dead the night before, I was still tired, but a full bladder forced me out of bed. I was still dressed in my clothes from the night before, so at least I still had some dignity. I got out of bed and stretched, my back twitching a little bit from scars on my back. A couple of times the Nuns had gotten overzealous, and had gotten me a little bit more than skin deep. Fortunately the room was warm, and this helped a lot.

After relieving myself, I washed my hands and looked in the mirror. I looked as tired as I felt.

I walked back to the enormous bed and fell back asleep. The next thing to wake me up was hunger. I left my bedroom and went down the stairs. I couldn't quite rememberbmy way to the kitchen, the events of the past day were a blur. I did, however,Vremember how to find Bethany's study. As I got to the door, I heard another femalevvoice.

"Bethany, you shouldn't have funneled that much energy. Or, you should have called me."

"I didn't have a choice Amy. His magic was so out of control. It was like a localized storm inside the dining room." I froze. I knew that they were talking about me, but I had a feeling that this was a conversation I should not have been hearing.

"He's got power then?" The first voice-Amy said. It had a thin quality to it that I wasn't sure if I liked.

"He's got power and absolutely no control." Bethany replied. As much as I wanted to hear where this was going, I wasn't going to eavesdrop, or, at least, get caught doing so. I knocked on the door, and after a moment, Bethany opened it.

"Good morning Stephen." She said.

"Good morning. I'm hungry and I forgot how to get to the dining room." I said, ignoring the way my skin heated as it flushed from embarrassment. I did not like forgetting anything. Bethany laughed.

"Well, let's see about getting you breakfast then, before we go, I'd like to introduce you to someone." She said, and the other woman-Amy-walked out of the room. Unlike Bethany, who was tall and solidly built, she was short and lithe. She had closely cropped black hair and was dressed in men's pants and a blousy shirt.

"Stephen, this is my friend Amy; I've hired her to be your instructor in the normal subjects you'll be learning." Bethany said, and I reached out to give Amy a handshake. Amy returned it after a brief hesitation.

"For future reference, Stephen, when two mages meet each other, they usually tap wands. It signifies that they're equals. Shaking hands is seen as something only untouched do, and it's seen as dirty."

"Well, it's a shame I don't have a wand, and I've only been in this world for a few minutes." I said. Bethany recoiled, and Amy laughed.

"He certainly has inherited Lady Alexis' tongue, hasn't he?" She said.

"Among other things." Bethany said smoothly. The three of us went to the dining room. There was a full spread of breakfast food waiting for us, and I quickly grabbed some eggs and bacon, along with a few pieces of toast. I'd certainly get used to this. Bethany and Amy both helped themselves, and there were newspapers in their spots. I poured myself a cup of tea and began eating.

"How does the food get here?" I asked after a few moments. I had noticed a conspicuous lack of anything resembling staff.

"We have help." Bethany replied.

"What kind of help?" I asked.

"Phobos. Appear please." Bethany said, and then a creature appeared. It looked like a small monkey, but it's head was that of a dog's, and it was about the size of a human infant. The creature was covered in a fine down of black fur. A pair of leathery wings was on it's back, and it had a forked furry tail.

"Mistress calls?" the creature said. It's voice was creaky. Like an old unoiled door opening after being shut for far too long. The sound of its voice sent a shudder down my spine.

"Thank you Phobos."

"This is an imp, Stephen. We have a small colony of them living in the attic." She said.

"Phobos, you may leave." She said, and then it vanished. I was unsettled by the creature's appearance.

"Those things live above us?" I asked. Amy snorted, and I gave her a look.

"Absolutely adorable." She said, and I frowned. That caused her to actually laugh.

"Those things, as you so eloquently stated, are bound to our family. They're absolutely harmless, and they're damn useful." Bethany said.

"They're damn creepy." I replied.

"Be that as it may, you will respect them, as you would me or Amy. And you will watch your language." She said. I glared at her, and she glared back. After a moment, I averted my eyes and began eating my breakfast again. Midway through the meal, we were interrupted by a silvery-white spectral owl appearing in our midst, and then it spoke with the voice of a man.

"I've arrived in Thailand, the flight was uneventful. No need to respond." The owl said, and then vanished.

"What was that?"

"It was a spectral message from my husband, he's currently in Thailand on business."
"
Is that the main form of communication in the magical world?" I asked. Bethany laughed.

"No. There are many ways to communicate. Journey books, mirrors, even astral projection if you're talented enough. Vincent prefers spectral messages because they're extremely hard to intercept, and impossible to counterfeit."

"Can I learn to send one?" I asked.

"In time." Bethany replied. We had all finished our meal.

"Amy, what's your agenda for the day?" Bethany asked.

"I've got to go see how our guest is doing, then I'm meeting Eli, and then I'm portaling to Hanover." She said.

"How is the situation there?" Bethany asked.

"It's better now that we've removed Haarmann from the situation, but it's still volatile. What's on your plate for today?" Amy asked.

"I'm taking him to Emrys'. We need to finalize the contract, and he needs clothes. But first, we're going to see about getting him his Blade and Wand, and I'm keying him into the wards." She said.

"Well, you two certainly have a full day ahead of you then. Do you mind if I take a car?"

"You're meeting Eli in Untouched London?" Bethany asked.

"St. James." Amy said, and Bethany nodded.

"Well, you know where the keys are. and what of our other guests?" She asked.

"He'll keep, for the moment. He's under guard, and under a stasis spell." Amy replied. "She's not just a teacher, is she?" I asked. Bethany gave me a look.

"No, she's not. She's also my attaché. Normally I would be handling a meeting with Eli, but you are going to be monopolizing my time for the foreseeable future. She'll be taking care of a few business matters for me in my absence," Bethany stated.

"If you're done with your breakfast, we can go see about getting you a wand." She finished. I still had half a piece of toast left. As much as I hated seeing food go to waste, I wanted to dive into learning about magic.

"I'm done." I said. Bethany nodded, and she led me to one of the doors she had told me I was forbidden to enter. As we walked, a thought crossed my mind.

"What other guest was Amy talking about?" I asked Bethany.

"I have a business guest staying here, in the other wing. You likely won't be seeing him."

"What other wing, I've seen every floor of the house." I said, a confused look crossing my face.

"Every floor of the house that you know of." She replied, walked up to the door. I noticed that it had a series of odd letters on it. I frowned. I knew what these were. What were they? Finally, after a couple minutes of concentration, the answer came to me.

"These are runes, aren't they?" I asked, quite unsure of how I knew that, but certain that's what they were. Bethany gave me a startled look.

"They are." She said after a moment. She touched three of them in quick succession and then the door opened. It was about the same size as the dueling room. There was a rack of bladed on the opposite end of the room, next to a floor to ceiling mirror. On our left, there was a selection of wands encased in glass. Next to yet another door. On our right, a variety of different lengths of unvarnished wood. In the center of the room, there was a wooden table with a chair on either side.

"Bethany, there is something wrong with that door." I said.

"What do you mean?" She said.

"This room is the same length as the room outside. That door could only lead into the bedroom. I was in that bedroom yesterday, and there was no door. Where does it lead?" I asked, and she smirked.

"Magical houses merely use their exterior dimensions as a guideline, not a law." "So, that door leads, where, exactly?" I asked.

"Have you ever heard the term Non-Euclidean space?" She asked. The Voice, who thought a family of weird flying dog-monkey-baby things living above them was not just inconvenient, but absolutely terrifying, broke. I picked up on that fear and I'm pretty sure I whimpered. Whether it was in fear, or anger at the world as I knew it was slowly being dismantled, I couldn't say. Bethany let out a small laugh at that sound. Then the Voice decided it was time to fall asleep, and it fainted away.

"It's not funny!" I said.

"Oh, you're right. It's hilarious." She replied.

"As I was saying, the doorway leads to a safe room of sorts. It's also where I store artifacts that I'm waiting for a buyer to purchase. Currently it's empty. Now, have you learned to call up your magic?" She asked.

"I think so?"

"Call it up." She said. I closed my eyes, and took a couple deep breaths. My magic was dull right now, almost dormant, but at my mental touch it roared to life, responding to me. I coaxed it to the surface and opened my eyes. My palm had a soft emerald haze encasing it.

"Excellent! Now, I want you to go over to the rack, and see if any of those weapons calls to you. I walked over to the far right of the rack, and touched the first weapon. This was a silver sword with an ornate golden hilt, with a sapphire in the pommel. There was a small spark, but nothing. The next was a curved dagger, almost shaped like a half moon. The gem in this glowed, and then promptly dimmed. This process continued as I touched every weapon on the rack. The only one I got any sort of sustained reaction from was a small white handled knife engraved with runes on the blade that I picked up. As soon as it left the rack, it glowed once, and then it ripped myself from my hand and clattered back to the rack. I frowned.

"None of them worked."

"That's fine. It would have been nice, but I knew it was a long shot." She said. "Then why did you tell me to try?"

"Because it would be easier to teach you with a family heirloom than it would be a new one." She said.

"How?" I asked. She snapped her fingers, and a dagger popped into her hand.

"This dagger was my mother's, she was a Master in Warding and other defensive magic." She said.

"Okay." I said, and she touched the dagger to a wall, murmuring something as she did. Suddenly the air was filled with different mathematical formulas and runes that glowed an ethereal white. She withdrew the dagger.

"Some heirlooms learn from their former masters. She used and enchanted this dagger to analyze and slice through wards. Over time, the enchantments on the daggers shifted and refined themselves. This dagger will break
smaller wards, and point to a weak point in certain schemas." She said. Then she offered it to me hilt first, and I took it. I gave it a closer look. It felt cool to the touch. The dagger was double edged. A strip of runed silver twined around the hilt, and up to the crossguard. This chain of runes continued up the blade until it terminated at the dagger tip. There was an engraving on the pearl, De scientia veritas. I turned the dagger over. There were more runes engraved on that side, and this strip of silver led to a small emerald set into the hilt.

"Before her death, she put all her knowledge of warding into the gem, and it acts as a database of sorts for the dagger." She said. She made a twisting gesture with her hand and the dagger vanished.

"As we train you, I'll let you come back. Perhaps one of these weapons will eventually allow you to wield them."

"Now, for your foci." She said.

"According to the Nuns, your birthday is January 22nd. That'll be Rowan." She said. We walked over to the table, and she touched it with her wand. The tabletop melted into the table, and Bethany reached into the interior. She took out a bowel, and a length of wood that I assumed to be Rowan. She also grabbed a dagger from inside the cabinet. She handed it to me. I felt something in the wood tingle and felt something in me call to it, like a half-forgotten song. I felt a sudden sadness at the feeling that I knew that music once, but now it was gone.I let out a sudden hitching breath. She gave me a look, and I took another breath.

"Would you like to continue?" She asked.

"I want to continue." I said, and she smiled, all teeth. A part of me, the same part that was gibbering about non-euclidean closets and puppy-monkey gremlins, yelped in fear. She put the length in the bowl, and runes glowed
around the rim of it.

"Now, most wands are made with a gemstone center. This is imbued and catalyzed with the aura of the wielder, so no activated wand can be used against or without its owner. With you, we'll be doing something different. My father had a wand and a staff made of crystallized blood, bloodstone. It was powerful. We'll be doing something similar with you." She placed the metal bowl in the center of the table, then she handed me the dagger.

"This part will hurt." She said.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked. "This dagger is a powerful artifact. Slit your palm, and as you do incant sanguinem, tredecim uncias appendebat and bleed into the bowl. The dagger will seal the wound when it's task is done. Repeat the incantation for me. The nun's teaching actually helped, and I recognized the words as Latin.

"Sanguinem, tredecim uncias appendebat."

"You need more emphasis on the final syllable, and less on the first. It's a long a at the end."

"Sanguinem, tredecim uncias appendebat."

"Once more."

"Sanguinem, tredecim uncias appendebat." I said, and this time, I felt a small jolt from my magic. I frowned.

"Let me guess, it's your first focused spell?" She asked.

"It's the first time I've spoken a spell." I said. She nodded.

"Your aura spiked, and usually that only happens when someone's core first spikes, or when they intone their first spell. Let me guess, most of your magic so far has been you willing your magic to affect your surroundings, instead of actually using invocations?" She asked. I nodded.

"That's a great indicator of your power. When you begin wandless magic, that will be a great help."

"Is that hard to learn?"

"It's not something that's hard to learn, it just takes focus to channel your magic, which you apparently already have experience in. However, we're getting off track. I want you to repeat that spell for me once more, and if I'm satisfied then you can proceed." I repeated the spell once more, and Bethany nodded.

"Good job. You may proceed." I took the dagger and gave her a look.

"I know. It's going to be painful to do, but I promise it will be worth it." She replied. I sighed and took the dagger, resolving to become a ghost if I died. I put my hand over the bowl, placed the dagger against it, and sliced my palm downward, feeling a burn of white heat as I did. I hissed at the pain, and whispered the spell she'd taught me.

"Sanguinem, tredecim uncias appendebat." The blood dripping out of my hand became a steady trickle of crimson life. A few emerald sparks swirled in my blood, and these rose to the top, and a soft shimmer of green hovered on top of the bowl. As this continued, a sudden wave of nausea followed by dizziness coursed through me, and I fought to not throw up my breakfast. I dry heaved instead, tasting bile and swallowing it instantly.

"It will be over in a second." Bethany said. I fought another wave of dizziness and noticed stars dancing in my eyes. I leaned back in my chair, fighting to stay awake.

"Stephen." Bethany said, and her voice seemed far away, like she was talking from another room. Suddenly I felt another line of white heat, this time up my palm. I felt Bethany slap my face, twice, and I gave her a look.

"What the fuck was that for?" I asked, and noticed my words had a slight slur to them.
She handed me a bottle. "Drink this. It will help with the blood loss." She said, handing me an uncorked vial of something pink and shimmery. I swallowed the entire vial and gagged at the taste. It had a texture of oil, and tasted like chalk.

"You could have warned me." I stated.

"I was trying to stop you from fainting." She replied.

"What was that, anyway?"

"A blood renewal potion. It transmutes the amount of blood you've lost from the water in your body."

"Nifty." I replied.

"Are you ready to continue?" She asked. I nodded when the room stopped spinning and some of my energy came back.

"Now, this next part, all you need to do is grab my hand, and call your magic up." She said. I did so. I felt her magic call. It felt like a warming fire and the cold of snow biting at my face. I smelled wood smoke and tasted salt. I basked in the heat and glow of the power. Images flashed through my head. A boy who looked like a reflection of myself. Another, one that looked like Bethany. The same high cheekbones and angular face, except older, with windswept green hair and an air of seriousness and darkness around him.

A man, gray at the temples with a mane of icy blue hair. A crown on his head. A staff held in one hand that glowed with icy-blue mage light. He was standing next to a woman with deep green, almost black hair wearing a circlet. Both wore black armor. The woman held a sword in one hand that was alight with flame, and a wand in the other. Her mother and father, perhaps?
Another Memory, Bethany when she was younger, my age. Next to the boy in silver hair. They were climbing a tree, and their mother called to them. A man with white hair stood behind her, dressed in a robe of some kind. Two swords were strapped to his belt, a daito and a shoto.
There were silver bracelets on his hands that shimmered with magic. His eyes were alight with the same mischievous air the boy had. Then, one final image. Bethany, a bit older than the last vision, and the brother. It was like a still frame in my mind, they were in a building, like one of the fortifications from the old war newsreels that was crumbling around them, and the man and the woman from earlier stood in front of them. The woman had her hand raised, a nimbus of flames wreathed her left hand, and a wand was raised in the other. In front of them, there was an army of metal soldiers. I was behind them. I felt the heavy weight of armor on my body, that somehow felt right.

"Stephen, are you with me?" She asked, and I nodded slowly.

"Until the very end." I said. I wasn't sure where those words came from, but those words felt right somehow.

"I know, the first time you feel another mage's power, it can be intoxicating. But we need to move on before the blood starts to coagulate." She said, ignoring what I'd just said.

"Okay, but I have questions." I replied. Would I get these sorts of visions every time I felt someone call their magic?

"Questions that can wait until after we're done. Now, hold your hand over the bowl and repeat after me. Solidatuar Sanguine." She said.

"Solidatuar Sanguine." I said. The blood shimmered with the light of my aura.

"Again."
"
Solidatuar Sanguine." I said, and the bowl took on a green glow.

"Once more."

"Solidatuar Sanguine!" I shouted. The bowl pulsed with power one more time and the glow retreated into the wood, now a wand. Where there was once a pale piece of wood slightly floating in a bowl of crimson, there was now a deeply lacquered wand. I picked it up, a few notes of a melody echoed through the room. Like some sort of fanfare. I felt a heady rush of power and warmth travel up and down my arm. Something deep inside me broke, and I felt tears course down my cheeks.

You know the feeling you get when you arrive at a loved one's house for a party or a family gathering? All the voices having hurried conversations at once? Your younger siblings or nephews and nieces running about playing some game in the yard that only small children understand the rules too? It felt like coming home. Like Christmas, and the Summer Holidays all at once. For the first time since arriving in this strange place, I felt like I was home. Bethany was silent for a moment.

"Good job, Stephen. When you are ready, we can go see the dwarves." She said.

"Let's go now." I said, rubbing away the tears running down my cheeks. She nodded. She led me upstairs to our bedrooms.

"Go shower and get yourself fresh clothes. I'll do the same, and we can meet here when you're done." She said.

"Okay." I said. I went back to my room, stripped out of my clothes, and turned the shower as hot as it could go without burning myself. As I washed, one thought ran through my mind.

"Stephen, what have you gotten yourself into?"

 

[jldew93]

After dressing in a suit, the nicest thing I could find in my closet, I met Bethany in the small sitting room that served as a landing area for the top floor. She was dressed in a flowy, full length dress cut out of a deep purple cloth I didn't recognize. To complete the outfit, she wore a black cloak and matching shiny leather shoes that were almost boots. The cloak was fastened with a gold brooch in the shape of an hourglass. She wore a couple of gold bangles on her wrist, and a ring with the same design that was on the front door of the townhouse on her pinkie. She pushed my hair back with her hand, and with a wave of her wand, tied my tie, and summoned me a cloak from my closet.

"It's cold out today, the spells on the cloak will keep you warm." She said, I put it on, and she taught me how to fasten it.

"Before we leave, I want to give you something." Bethany said, and she produced a small box that she handed to me. I opened it. This ring was silver.

"This ring goes on your pinkie. It is the signet ring of House Andrews. This will identify you as a vassal of House Andrews to our enemies and allies, and everything in between. Now, I must warn you, accepting this ring will be me offering or invoking a familial bond. Should you accept, this will be the first agreement to an adoption. The second agreement will be made later today, and we'll discuss the last later. If you are ever in trouble, say my name thrice while wearing the ring, and the ring's magic will allow me to travel to your location."

"Is there anything I need to say?" I asked.

"All you need to do is put the ring on." She said. I placed the ring on my pinkie, and I felt a connection snap into place. A connection to Bethany, and to the house. I shivered as I felt something almost Other slither against my brain, and I yelped.

"What was that!?" I asked, taking off the ring, and tossing towards her.

"What do you mean?" She asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"It felt like a tentacle touching my brain!" I shouted.

"I should have warned you. That was the house anchoring itself in your magic."

"What?" I asked.

"Older houses, well, the ward schemas protecting them, gain a semi-sentience over time. This one has certainly been in our family awhile and has seen enough." She said. I frowned and put the ring back on.

This time, I concentrated on the feeling. It was alien, to be sure, but it sent me an impression. Not quite a thought, or a memory, but a series of feelings of safety-defense-welcome and return-enjoyment-amusement.

Apparently, it had been a long time since the Andrews family Heir Ring had been worn, and the fact that a new one had been recognized gave the old house joy. I pulled myself away from the odd consciousness.

"This house has been in the Andrews family for years, but our house has dwindled. I was the last one before you to wear that ring, and before I claimed my inheritance, this house hadn't been occupied in almost forty years. It's happy to see you, and that's a good thing." She said.

"How did you know that?" I asked.

"I felt the wards." She said. I gave her a quizzical look.

"You'll see." She replied.

"Now, the day is wasting." She said, and we went downstairs, and back outside. The car from early had already pulled up and was waiting for us. Before we got in the car, she knelt so she was at eye level.

"Now, normally we would teleport into London's magical center, but we'll be taking the public entrance today, but before that, I need to teach you another spell. You've noticed that I look different, less human, you might say, then the nuns?" She asked.

"I did."

"That's because our auras change us, as does the use of magic. We use glamours when we are out in public. Untouched humans don't realize there is a second world that lives right beside them. They can see magic when it is performed, but our world has been hidden for centuries because of fear. The Six Great Races wove a spell across the world that would hide us. There are laws that prohibit mages from using magic or not wearing their glamour out in public." Then she said, in a loud voice,

"Mutare Faciem." As she said this, she pointed her wand at her forehead. Then her
features shifted and blurred as she transformed back into the stiff-looking middle aged woman I had seen her as originally.

"Now, repeat the incantation back to me." She said.

"Mutare Faciem." I said.

"Right in one! Good job. Now, point your wand at your forehead, and think of what you want your face to look like. You need to be a hundred percent clear, or the features will come out smudged, and the glamour won't take." She said.

"Mutare Faciem." I said, pointing my wand at my head, and thinking of what I looked like before I practiced magic. Holding the image in my head. The spell felt like hot oil coating my skin. It was an instant sear down my back, and face. I yelped from the pain.

Then, the feeling of oil began hardening, tightening up my skin on my face, red and I realized that it wasn't oil I was feeling, it was candle wax. I opened my eyes, and everything felt tight, like I was cocooned by the metaphysical candle wax binding itself to my skin. I moved my neck side to side, and ran my tongue against my lips, afraid to feel wax.

I was pleasantly surprised when I felt chapped skin against my tongue. Bethany produced a mirror, and I investigated it. A face that was mine, but not mine, appeared back. Sandy hair, instead of the blond I remembered it. The eyes were mine, but the jawline was rounder, and the cheek bones were sharper. Even though I didn't see candle wax anywhere on me, I couldn't shake the feeling that it was stuck to my skin.

"I know, a glamour is unpleasant. Fortunately, we won't be wearing them long, the car will take itself home, and when we enter magical London, we can remove it. We'll teleport home."
She said. We entered the car. Bethany activated the same spells, and lit a cigarette that appeared in thin air with a snap of her finger.

"How is the car driving itself?" I asked.

"It's not." She said.

"Yes it is."

"No, it isn't. Over the years, a few of us have installed a series of runes over Untouched London. This allows us to do things like access the portal network, and utilize a series of animation spells in our vehicles." I shook my head in disbelief.

"Do they still use petrol?" I asked. Bethany made a face of disgust, as if I'd brought up a taboo subject.

"No, absolutely not. The untouched rely on that stuff far too much. We use enchantments so the cars are powered directly by ley-line."
"That's so cool!" I said.

"Yes, yes, it is." She said, giving me an odd look. By now, the car had driven us to a deserted storefront. We exited the car and the car drove off. Bethany put her cloak's hood up. From the outside, it would seem as though it was a long ago abandoned mercantile. However, that was not the case. The interior of the storefront was a plush looking waiting room. There was a door on the other end of it, and we went right through.

/////////
What did everyone think? If you like this, please consider giving me an upvote. This is an already completed work, and each post will be a chapter (or half chapter) of the first book in the Aether Cycle. If you like what you read, and want to support the author, and don't want to wait for updates, please consider purchasing The Voice in His Head from Amazon or Audible, or supporting me on Patreon. You can discuss this chapter below, or in the Discord.

 

[jldew93]

February 10th, 1925
Emrys' Concourse
Magical London

We exited into a modern for the times looking street. Along the paved gaslight streets, there were storefront signs advertising cauldrons and familiars. Potion regents and books. Other shops and signs advertising rejuvenation potions and age reversal. Carts filled the air with the smell of different food. Their owners called out their wares.

I stepped closer to Bethany. I disliked crowds on principle.

"Stephen, I'll show you how to break your glamor later. We'll keep it on until we get to Emrys proper." She said.

Other carts still advertised magical amulets. Everything was painted in brilliant vibrant colors, and I could feel the magic pouring off the streets. Bathing me in power and sending a tingle across my skin.
There was even some type of rail station at the far end where a long line of bored looking commuters stood attired in suits and dresses. Each holding a briefcase or bag. I was quickly discovering that mages had a certain look about them. An inner glow that paled their skin. Hair every shade of the rainbow from using their magic, and eyes glowing with power, almost like a cat in the dark. I noticed that there were a couple in the crowd holding long canes that glowed from the runes along their length. Each of them held the leash of some small type of animal.

"How does this exist?" I asked in wonder. This should have just been a courtyard. Not a massive sprawling street filled with life.

"A combination of spatial expansion and compression spells along with a spatial manipulation spell that puts us out of phase with the mortal world. Essentially, The Concourse exists inside a pocket of nonlocal space-time. Space-time that has been torn from another universe and situated inside localized space time. Usually, this is a blank space, although things have been known to grow in black space-time."

"What? What does out of phase mean?" I asked. I was still stuck on the fact that there was a street where a courtyard should be.

"In short, the runic relay removes us from reality." I gave her an inquisitive look.

"I'm still stuck on how this place exists." I said, and she sighed. "The concourse is anchored to a section of reality located on the confluence of two ley lines. It's a separate reality from our own, that has been enchanted to act like ours." My steps slowed.

"So, right now, we're in London, but we aren't." I said.

"Exactly, but technically we're just south of Norwich." She replied, and that caused me to trip a little bit. She grabbed me and laughed.

"You'll get used to it. You need to. The Andrews family specialize in phsyica and tempus." She said, and I gave her an inquisitive look.

"Temporal and spatial manipulation. It's how we made our fortune. Come, child, we're headed for the monorail." She said. We went to the front of the line. Two taps of her wand, and twin tickets printed out of a small machine.
Large white slips that had "Owner's Car" written in great letters on the top of them. We moved to enter the train.

"Oi, lady! Where do you think you're going!" A man behind us said. Bethany turned. A man in a suit was standing at the front of the Queue, he was red-faced. His eyes had an eerie yellow glow to them, and his skin was papery and pale. He looked older than Bethany. He had a wand in one hand.

"I've been waiting here for an hour; some stupid crawler and her brat aren't going to skip ahead of me." He said. There were a few gasps from other people in the train queue, and the person behind him glared at him and took a few steps back.

"How dare you." Bethany said, and the air dropped a few degrees. She lifted her hand up, and flashed her ring to the crowd and the man, and her glamour melted away, dripping onto the tiles of the monorail station. In that moment, she looked regal, and proud, and just a bit scary.

"You forget yourself, sir, and I suggest you return to your spot at once." Bethany said.

"Oh, it's an uppity crawler bitch. Even better. Now, move to the back." the man said, and raised his wand. Quicker than I could track, Bethany flicked her hand, and the man flew backward, hitting one of the carts that were advertising newspapers. She turned to the attendant. "Sorry about that, Lady Andrews. Your car is waiting for you." He said in a low voice.
"Have security escort that man off my monorail and have him banned from the premise, and arrange payment for whatever goods the idiot ruined." She said, and the attendant nodded. He took her ticket without another word and we walked into the train. The compartment we found ourselves in was too big for the train. It was more like a smaller apartment. There were plush looking couches and hardwood floors. A mirror on one end, and a bookshelf on the other. I looked around in awe. Two giant windows were on each side of the carriage, and soon we departed the station. We took a seat. An attendant came by and offered us refreshments. Bethany declined but told me I could order whatever I'd like.

"Now can you teach me how to break a glamour?" I asked.

"Point your wand at yourself, focus on vanishing the glamour, and intone, Conteram Illusio." "Conteram Illusio." I said, pointing my wand at myself. Aside from a few green sparks, there wasn't much of an effect.

"This is a spell that runs not on will power, but intent. You need to want this illusion to break." She said, and I did. I wanted that waxy, soapy feeling off my skin.
"Conteram Illusio." I said, and I felt the glamour begin to crack and peel away. I focused on my actual face, not the one I was presently wearing. Focused on the glamour vanishing, and then once more, I intoned.

"Conteram Illusio." Relief washed down my face and I felt the glamour slide off my skin.

"What is this?"

"Haven't you ever been on a train before?" She asked.

"Not one like this." I replied. She snorted.

"When you go off to school in a couple of years, you'll go by mirror. This train connects most of the magical world. From Emrys to the Americas and most of Europe."

"But how?"

"It's a portal train. It is connected via various portals across the world. The technical theory is a bit ahead of what you know, but it's essentially a larger version of the mirror portal at my house. Emrys is the main concourse in Europe. It is also the center of commerce, where London is the center of learning. Emrys is also the capital of magical Britannia. We'll be purchasing clothes for you today, along with your implements." A packet of cigarettes appeared in Bethany's hand. She drew one out and lit it with a snap of her fingers. A book appeared on the table before her and opened itself to somewhere in the middle. She lounged back on the couch and began reading.

"What's a crawler, and where did all that stuff come from?" I asked, remembering the conversation between her and the man that had almost attacked us. She looked up from her book.

"A crawler is an insult. You see, Emrys is a city in the clouds. It hovers thousands of feet above the earth. Merlin himself enchanted the city during the Perdition. Those that live in the city forgo glamour. They call those who live among the untouched public crawlers, as in we crawl through the dirt like animals. They believe that the untouched are less than human, and House Andrews is new. We've only come into acceptance in the last fifty years and have yet to even form a coven. I have vast untouched wealth, and magic, but compared to the Lords of Emrys, we're commoners. That man, however, was a simple peon. He didn't have a house sigil on his neck or hand. He was without family or coven. Had it been a mage actually worth something in magical society, that situation would have been utterly different. The great Council rules the city. They decide the laws. However, House Andrews has something going for it many houses lack. Magical Power."

"Wait, fifty years, you aren't that old, and what does magical power have to do with anything?"

"Our House is the one who has a monopoly on the spell patents regarding many of the methods of transportation. The mirror portals. This very train. I pulled the cigarettes and the book from a spatial pocket I have anchored to my ring. It's very advanced magic, and it's not something we've released to the public yet. Before the mirror portals were invented, most of the transportation was done via fire travel or mass translocation. Both were costly, or cumbersome."

"So why don't we have a coven?"

"That's a political situation which would bore you to tears. I'll discuss it later with you, once you have more grounding in the background of the magical world." She said simply. I nodded.

"As for age, well, I am much older than I look. I'm nearing my second century of life. Mages have a naturally long-lifespan. We can easily reach a hundred and fifty if disease or violence doesn't kill us. That, combined with certain spells and auric transfer, and most mages are much older than they look. Lord Flamel is almost six hundred, and he doesn't look a day after forty-five."

"Auric transfer?"

"Is something I'll discuss later." She replied. I frowned. I knew what an aura was, could it be a way to transfer your aura to a different body? That frankly raised questions that I needed answers to.

"What were you saying earlier about things growing in Space-time?"

"Odd things happen in the void. Someone once left a picnic basket behind, and it turned into an enormous and self-replenishing supermarket. Most of Britain's food comes from there. House Valmont is rumored to have a forest that has weapons growing in the trees. Now, wander around, child. Check out our compartment. I need to finish this book." The train compartment fell silent. I took to pacing around while looking out the windows. Now we were traveling through a blue and purple field which I assumed was the portal. Suddenly, we exited the portal and I saw cloudy skies around us. There was nothing but air beneath us. Air and shimmering blue train track that only appeared when the light hit it just right. Then I saw the city properly. We were somehow above it, and the train was going downhill to dock. It was a great hovering city that was suspended on a rocky island in the skies. Five gleaming silver towers, one at each cardinal point, and one in the middle. The city seemed to thrum with life. I could see flying vehicles circling the skies. Great skyscrapers. A lush forest.

"Welcome to Emrys, Stephen." I heard Bethany say. I had never seen something as awe inspiring or breathtaking. The train docked in a grand white tunnel and we disembarked. We exited the cavern and were greeted by the sight of two great white statues. The first was a statue of a woman in a long flowing dress. She held a wand in her hand, and a book in the other. She looked youthful and serious. The other was a man dressed in robes. He held a staff in his hands that had great diamonds up and down the center. The diamonds glowed with light. There were white arches at equidistant points where greenery and flowers hung. It was like a castle without a roof. I spotted families dining on balconies. Fountains burbling merrily. Children running to and fro without a care in the world. There were a hundred different shops advertising a thousand different things. The clamor of an entire city. A London in the skies, minus the smog. We traveled through this maze of life and shops until suddenly, the noise fell away. The area I found myself in was quieter, and the chaos of a city filled with life faded to distant background noise. There were shops with elegant golden signs. Window displays with impeccable designs showcasing the goods they offered. At each shop, a doorman was stationed. They all wore the same black trousers and odd jacket that looked like it had a dozen ferent buckles and buttons. Bethany strode to a shop that had a display in the window of moving mannequins dressed in a shimmering gown for a lady, and a vested suit for a man.

"Ah, Madam Andrews. How lovely to see you again." The doorman said and stepped aside. We walked into something closer to a parlor then a clothing store. A woman in her mid-twenties appeared. Her skin was dark, although still papery and thin like most mages, as I was coming to find, and her eyes shone with a brilliant blue. She was dressed in a long flowing robe, and there was a small sigil on her broach.

"Bethany! Come to spend more gold, how lovely to see you again, tell me, how were the Azores?" The woman asked. Bethany smiled. "Absolutely wonderful Matilda. How has business been?" "Brisk as usual." The woman replied. She looked at me.

"Oh, and this must be little Stephen." She said. I reached out my hand, and Matilda recoiled. "Stephen, remember what I told you this morning." Bethany said, I frowned for a second, then I drew my wand.

"My apologies Miss. Matilda." I said. She tapped my wand with her own, and I got another brief flash of memories. These were mostly of school, and hours of sewing practice at her mother's hand. She gasped, and looked at me,

"Oh, you poor soul." She said and wiped a few tears off her face. We were all silent for a moment, then she seemed to gather her wits.

"You know Beth when I got your mirror message yesterday, I was shocked. I thought you said you and Vincent weren't going to have children, then I found out that you have a ten-year-old!" She said and laughed again.

"Well, he's a foundling. I found him in an Untouched orphanage if you believe."

"No!" The woman said, a shocked look on her face.

"Oh, I know. Of course, I adopted him." Bethany replied.

"Well, you can tell that the boy has power. His aura is practically blinding." Matilda said.

"Enough chit-chat, what can I get you today?" She asked.

"A full wardrobe for him, including apprentice clothes and ritual robes. Also, something casual for today. He's getting his implements." Bethany said.

"A bit young for that, isn't he?" Matilda replied.

"That's true, but he's untouched-raised. He's already behind." Bethany said, and Matilda nodded in a serious way. She clapped her hands, and a bespectacled shop girl appeared.

"Get the boy measured for a full wardrobe, a work set, and a ritual. I'll be chatting with Madam Bethany if you need us." The girl nodded and led me into a back room. As we entered the room, a boy stepped out of another. He was scrawny, and as young as I was. All knobbly knees, and a frame that spoke of lean times. His hair was a messy sandy blond, and his eyes were a color that I could only only describe as amber. His guardian was a severe looking woman, tall and willowy. A pinched face and eyes that took everything around her in.

"I need you to strip down to everything but your underclothes." I hesitated briefly.

"Oh, a shy one. Don't worry, my glasses are spelled to blur out any of the naughty bits, and you're not stripping starkers." I sighed and did as I was told. The girl waved her hand. The bracelet she wore sparked dark blue and then my body was covered by a sapphire curtain of light. The girl moved quickly, and the curtain formed into ghostly outlines of breeches and coats and bedclothes. They even measured my feet for shoes and my hands for gloves. I could almost feel her magic covering me. I caught a whiff of lilac and heard her laughter. The girl flicked her hand here and there, and a leather-bound book beside her hovered in the air, catching my measurements. In a few moments, she was done. She went to a cabinet beside her and fed the measurements into a machine. The door to the cabinet opened, and she produced a pair of black breeches, a pair of dark leather boots, and a fine linen shirt in black. They assembled themselves on a conjured mannequin and she waved her hand over them. The legs of the breeches shrunk a bit while the linen shirt's arms lengthened. Then, when she was done altering the clothes, and my new-found family's crest appeared on the shirt. I realized that same sigil appeared on Madam Matilda's brooch.

"Try these on." She said, handing me the clothes. I did so. She adjusted them once more, fixing the neckline on the shirt a bit and tightening the laces on the boots.

"The boots are self-lacing. Tap them with your wand and they'll tie and untie themselves." She said. I did just that. We left the fitting room. Bethany and Madam Matilda were sipping tea and eating delicious-looking biscuits while chatting about Bethany's last trip. They stood up when we entered the room.

"Master Stephen's clothes will be arriving at your house in a week's time Madam Bethany. All you have to do is decide the color scheme." The shop girl said.

"Thank you. Matilda, what were you thinking?" Bethany said. "His aura is emerald, so I think gold will suit, as will a deep plum. Black and linen wouldn't be amiss, but we'll avoid white. The boy is already pale. I'd focus on the darker shades for ceremonial robes. Use a classic black, lined with silver, I think for his cloak. The one he was wearing will be a nice template, I'll check what fabrics I used for that. Navy wouldn't be amiss either."

"House colors then?" Bethany asked with a smile, and Matilda nodded.

"Matilda, you know me too well." A glass orb sprang into being, and Bethany tapped her wand to the orb. It glowed green and vanished.

"Well, Matilda, I'd love to stay and chat, but we do have that appointment to make. It has been nice seeing you." Bethany said with a warm smile.

"Don't be a stranger." Madam Matilda said, and we left. We exited the array of higher-end shops, and then went down another marble arched path.

"Matilda had your sigil on her broach. Does she belong to House Andrews?" I asked. Bethany nodded.

"She's a vassal of our house. She's untouched-born, and I financed her shop." As we turned down another path, the loud boom of drums greeted us. They rattled the air with their rhythm. I could hear trumpets from afar, and crowds were gathering along the sidewalks of the streets. I could hear cheers in the distance. Despite my aversion to this amount of people, I was interested in seeing what was going on.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"I absolutely forgot there was a mage corp parade scheduled. No matter, would you like to watch it, or shall I teleport us to the bank?" She asked.

"I'd like to watch it." I said, she nodded. The crowd we had found ourselves drowned in spoke mostly in a flurry of French, although there were a few English speakers. All of them wore matching uniforms, black and red pants and blazer, a complementing pair of shiny black shoes, and a red beret completed the outfit.

"Who are they?" I asked, pointing at the students around us.

"Don't point, it's rude. They're exchange students from the Échole de Lumière, in Paris. Probably here on winter break. Do you see the black jackets on the younger ones?" She asked, and I noticed the other crowd standing just down from us.

"Yes." I said.

"They're from Coventry Lower School. It's a day school." Bethany said. Suddenly a trio of shadows blotted out the morning sun, utterly derailing my train of thought. I saw three dragons flying across the sky flying in perfect V formation, trailing a great union jack. I could see men aboard the dragons. Flying behind them were winged creatures that looked to be half-bird and half-lion. Behind them, there were men and women mounted on brooms and flying carpets. The broom-riders dove and corkscrewed across the sky. Soon the rest of the parade was upon us. First there were a group of giant walking metal statues, each pounding a drum. They were at least ten feet tall and made of what seemed like gold. The armor they wore was polished to a shine, and they had a round symbol on their breasts, almost like a stylized rook. They were three abreast and ten rows deep.

Following behind them were younger mages, dressed in the red and white of the old british uniforms. Staves were slung on their backs and they played snare drums. Their quick rat-a-tat-tat in perfect time with the loud bass of the golden statues.

A host of more mages walked behind. These had swords on their backs and were dressed in shimmering silver-blue armor that gleamed in the sun. Not one soldier waved to the crowd and they marched in lockstep with the timing of the drums. Another line of mages was accompanied by fearsome floating weapons shaped like cannons that glowed with power. Behind them were great ballistae and a floating trebuchet, followed closely by great orbs of diamond that shimmered in the sun. These were guided by mages, who held their wands aloft and were constantly murmuring incantations.
The trebuchet passed and the commanders strode forward on great black and dark purple striped cats that filled the air with a low growl. These commanders were seriously-faced and stiff- shouldered. Each of them wore a red coat and white breeches. They all had a somber air about them that spoke of hard-fought battles and hard-won victories. At the vanguard of the formation came the trumpeters, dressed in the same red and white of the officers. Soon, the parade passed, the crowds dispersed, and we resumed our trek to the bank.

We walked down the smooth white paths of the city until our arrival at a massive building. Like most of the city, it was made of white stone. Two great doors made of a dark blue metal were opened wide. On either side of the door, two great furry guards dressed in steel armor stood. They each wielded what looked to be an axe on a long pole, a halberd. The guards looked terrifying. They had spotted brown fur, and fanged muzzles, but there was a human intelligence in their yellow eyes. They nodded to Bethany as she passed.

"What are those?"

"They're gnolls. The armored guard of the dwarves. They're fearsome in battle, and you never want to cross wands or blades with them." Bethany said. I had heard of gnolls from the books I read, I made a mental note never to piss off the dwarves. The hall we entered was enormous. The floors were wooden. Glowing orbs of light hung from above and lit the cavernous space in a flickering yellow glow. On each wall, there were a series of wooden booths. There were thirteen stone pillars in different positions around the room. Each held funny symbols, runes, I guessed. that seemed to glow with the same yellow light as the orbs lighting the place. Behind each booth a small stout man sat. They all had long beards and were dressed in plain black tunics. The bank was mostly empty. Bethany approached a booth and the dwarf regarded her blankly.

"Tell Account Specialist Wraithgrip that Madam Bethany Andrews has arrived for her meeting." The dwarf looked at us, and then nodded.

"Right away, Madam." He said and scurried away. In a few moments he returned. He tapped his booth, and it melted into the others.

"Wraithgrip is eagerly awaiting you." He said, and lead us through a maze of hallways that I quickly got lost in. We found ourselves at an office door and were escorted inside. A positively ancient dwarf sat at a desk in front of us. His beard was snow white, and he looked wrinkled and thin, like a stiff wind would blow him over.

"Madam, how nice to see you. Before we begin, this is the paperwork you asked for." He said and handed a curious yellow envelope to Bethany that she took. It rapidly vanished. His voice matched his appearance, quavery and thin.

"It's nice to see you too, Wraithgrip, I'll pass these documents unto Mr. Fawcett. How goes your plans for retiring?" She asked.

"I've actually settled on a replacement, and I'll begin training him here shortly. Now, when we spoke yesterday, you said you wanted the standard contract?" He asked.

"That's correct, and I would also like to hire a smith to forge his implements." She said.

"Well, let's get the contract out of the way first." Wraithgrip said. He tapped his hand to a small crystal on his desk, and a stick sheaf of paper appeared. A feathered quill appeared.

"This will be signed in blood, due to the blood adoption ceremony that will seal the act. It is magically and legally binding, and once you sign it, we'll file copies here to establish inheritance, and with the Council Majeure. I
would like to warn you that by sealing this contract, you are provoking the familial bond between You, and House Andrews." Wraithgrip said. I went to grab the quill, and frowned. Something told me that signing this badly would end poorly.

"If you'll be so kind, Master Wraithgrip. My charge and I would like to place a privacy ward between you and us.

"I understand completely, Dame Andrews." He said, and pushed another button on his desk. A soft, wispy light covered him. Bethany waved her hand, and one of her bangles glowed, and a shimmering gold umbrella appeared around us. I looked at the sheaf of neatly penned parchment.

"How does this work?"

"The contract in front of you is a statement of intent from House Andrews to Stephen Bonaparte. We seek to adopt you via blood, into our line, as the heir Primarius. You will gain a trust account, which will be yours when you reach your majority, and we will pay for your education up to Mastery level."

"In return, what is expected of me?"

"To hold to the truths of House Andrews, Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat. To carry on our line, protect your house. Protect your family, and elevate our station."

"Our motto is Fortune Favors the Bold?"

"No, child. Fortune Favors the Strong. Right now, we are strong magically, and financially. Your job is to make us politically strong. This contract is the invocation of a familial bond. If you sign this, you will be reciprocating it. The bond will be sealed when we perform the ceremony."

"This is a pretty thick contract, for a few words." I said.

"There are clauses in it. There's several of them. I'll explain them to you. There's a renegotiation clause. When you reach your majority, if you wish, that clause will allow you to break the contract. There's a royalty clause, a revocation clause, and an access clause. "

"Royalty clause?"

"Any spells or creations you artifice are registered under the Andrews' family name. We split the fee fifty-fifty. Your income after obtaining mastery will also split along those lines. The house must make money back."
"Absolutely not. You get five percent. " I said.

"Twenty-five." she said.

"Twelve percent, all around, and only until my education plus ten percent of that has been recouped, at which point a royalty contract between myself and House Andrews will be negotiated." I said. Bethany nodded. I noticed that after we negotiated each term, it changed on the paper.

"Now, what of the revocation clause?"

"Should either party discover an act of bad faith, and one that violates the letter and spirit of the agreement and have three witnesses not belonging to the House testify to the fact, then they will be released from the contract."

"And the finance clause?"

"That's the contract giving you access to the Heir Trust of House Andrews, and the stipulations of how much you can withdraw or spend at any one time. It also contains the renewal schedule and the expenses that we're expecting you to pay out of this, such as your tuition to Coventry, and things like your clothes and educational supplies. There's a suggested budget in that contract, which will net you a certain amount of wealth if followed."

"And what about any other income?"

"That will be deducted from the cost of your education, and the remaining amount will be divided according to the royalty fee schedule."

"I'd like to add a caveat to both."

"Oh?"

"I'd like the amount you anticipate my education to cover, and the extra amount House Andrew expects to recoup for me, and then I'd like an option to pay that off completely and negotiate this contract at any time."

"That's a highly unusual subclause."

"Those are my terms."

I knew what it was like to be without funds, but I had a few ideas how to make money. I'd need to confirm a few theories first, just ideas bouncing around. The name Flamel seemed familiar to me somehow, in a way that
screamed money.

"You realize it's me offering you an advantage, right?" She asked.

"I have three words for you Bethany, Papers and Pencils." I said, and she gave me a look.

"He has a quill. These are on parchment. Is there some reason for that?" I asked.

"I've been too busy with other endeavors to pay attention to that." She said.

"Let's ask him, shall we?" I said. It was like my mouth was moving, and words were coming out against my accord, and I did not like that. Bethany brought the spell down.

"Mr. Wraithgrip, I've got a question for you." I said.

"Yes, Mr. Bonaparte?" The dwarf asked with a smile.

"Why do you use parchment and quill?" I asked.

"For lack of a better alternative."

"What if I could introduce you to a form of stationary that was cheap, efficient, and could fix it's own mistakes."

"It would certainly be of interest in the academic circles." The dwarf said evasively.

"I'd be willing to share with you such a form of stationary of course." I said, and Bethany turned to me.

"For a fee. Let's split the net profits of these two ways. Between Stephen Bonaparte soon to be Andrews, and Midas International. With any amount I make subtracted from the debt I'm about to accrue until that is paid."

"I can be agreeable to that." Wraithgrip said.

"Bethany, can you conjure a pencil, and a sheet of paper?" I asked. Bethany laughed. "After you cut me out of bounty like that?" She said.

"It's not happening." She said.

"Okay, what are your terms?" I asked.

"As your sponsor, I demand a fifteen percent stake, and I demand our House's Royalty clause come into effect."

"Why? Your house will get paid." I said,

"Your contract says all around, that could also be considered ownership." Bethany said.

"Well, fuck." I thought.

"Only if the shares are taken out of both prior parties." Wraithgrip said.

"Deal." I said.

"We have an accord." The dwarf said, and touched yet another crystal. Another sheath of parchment appeared.

"Let's finish our first contract." Bethany said. "How much will I end up owing House Andrews?" I asked.

"Page three of the repayment clause." Bethany said. I looked, it was actually page 25 of the full contract. The chart had a repayment schedule that varied on income, and a final tally at the bottom.

"Thirty-six tremisis, twenty-eight aureas, and six dupondos. What is that?" I asked.

"Well, eight bits of bronze dupondos equals one silver drachma, and sixteen of these equals one golden aureus. Thirty two golden aureus, each of them with about two ounces of gold in them, equals a single half-carat diamond tremissis. Those are worth about twelve-hundred eighty- pounds apiece. In untouched currency, it's forty-eight thousand pounds."

"Holy shit." I said.

"Language!" Bethany hissed.

"That's a lot of money." I said.

"It's about five aureas a month, spread over twenty years."

"How much would I make, roughly, when I began working?"

"About 20 aureas a month." She said.

"That's a steep repayment plan." I said.

"In a way, you'll be repaying yourself. Once you are named Heir, when I and my husband pass away, you will inherit the entirety of our house's assets. The money you pay the House back will go to investments, which will fund you further."

"I don't like owing anyone anything." I said, and Bethany let out a small laugh, and the dwarf smiled.

"Stephen, you'll find that you need to grow past that idea, especially if you are to attend Coventry. You see, this world we're in is a maze of favors owed, and favors given." "Then I'll owe no one favors." I said, and she shook her head.

"I wish you the best in that, but now, are you signing this contract, or not?" She asked.

"I'll sign." I said. I picked up the quill, and began signing my name. As I reached the middle, Bethany put her hand over mine.

"Your middle name or names should be a secret. Known only to you and your allies. I know it, but, with all due respect Wraithgrip, even Midas isn't ironclad from people ferreting out your secrets." She said. I cut the "O" off with a flourish, and finished signing my name. As I did, they continued the conversation.

"No offense taken, Madam Andrews. We remember the Great War as much as you." Wraithgrip said. Bethany signed the next, and then Wraithgrip produced a small box which opened to reveal a needle.

"Thumbprints next to the signature." Bethany pricked her thumb first, and then pressed her thumb against the line with her signature. As her thumb came away, her print shimmered gold for a second. as I repeated her actions, I felt something snap into place from the paper, almost like a thread wrapping tightly around my thumb. It pulsed once and vanished. Then the contract duplicated itself, and folded over. A wax seal was produced somewhere, and Bethany sealed the envelope on the left side with her ring. Wraithgrip sealed the right side with his own, a balanced scale encased in a circle. These documents vanished.

"What was that, and where did those documents go?"

"The second one went to Midas' central records, where it will be opened, and filed with the Council Majeure. The first went to the Andrews' Family Archive." Bethany said.

"What about the feeling I got, when I pressed my hand to the paper?" I asked.

"I added your aura to my holdings. You can make purchases within reason at any shop that has commerce agreements with the dwarves. Simply tap your wand on a purchase orb. It will draw from your trust account." Bethany said, and then we launched into another discussion of the "invention", and after a bit of a debate similar to the one Bethany and I just had, we signed an agreement. The dwarves would provide the graphite, our house would provide the rest, and we would split the profits according to our agreement.

"Now that this business is complete, you mentioned that you needed to commission a few artifacts with one of our smiths?" Wraitgrip asked.

"I do." Bethany said.

"If you'll allow me to escort you down to the forges, I'll hand you off to one of our smiths." He said.

"I would like that." Bethany replied, and the dwarf led us through another maze of doors and halls, until we came to a round stone platform. This platform lowered into the ground, through several levels of the bank. Eventually, the wood paneled walls and plush carpet gave way to grey stone, and cool hallways filled with the smell of parchment and ink, gave way to heat and the sharp cloying smell of unwashed dwarves and ozone, and the quiet halls of the bank became the cacophony of shouting dwarves and men and hammers meeting steel. Wraithgrip led us to a room where a dwarf was overseeing a team of dwarves operating a series of forges. The clang of hammers was especially loud here.

"This is lead smith Oakenshield, he will assist you with your commission." Wraithgrip said. "It's a pleasure to meet you my lady." Oakenshield said, offering his wand. Bethany tapped it.

"I'll take my leave, if you don't mind, my Lady. I have meetings I must attend to." Wraithgrip said. "It's been a pleasure, as always." She said, and the elderly dwarf left.

"Now, what are you looking to commission for the young sir?" Oakenshield asked.

"I need a full set of instruments for binding and conjuration. The white and black handled knives. A stave of rosewood. The four swords of the quarters. A fifth blade for battle. The needle. The hazel wand. The short lance. A pentacle for defense and to light his path in the dark." Bethany said. The dwarf gave Bethany a look.

"Those are ceremonial tools. I thought a simple pentacle would suffice." Oakenshield said.

"No, I want him to have the full gamut of implements." Bethany said, and the dwarf paused.

"Very well, it's your diamonds." He replied. He walked over to a long wooden bench.

"My lady, these will take time to prepare and consecrate. The young master will have to be present for the final ritual. These will take time and power to create."

"You have full access to the holdings I have held in this bank, as well as the Time I have stored in the same vaults."

"When do you need these implements prepared by?"

"Dawn on Mabon."

"That is in a few months, Madam. We might need to use time in order to ensure that the Celestial Houses and Stars align properly if you wish for the enchantments on the implements to last."

"Thus, my dear smith, the access to Time."

"This will cost you dearly."

"I am aware and accept the cost with no promise of return." Bethany said. The dwarf nodded. "Thus, our bargain is struck." He replied.

"Thrice asked and done, Dwarf. We have an agreement." Bethany said. There was a hum of power, what I was rapidly recognizing as magic being called up, which quickly disappeared.

"We can at least create the pentacle today." The dwarf said. He went over to the bench and pulled a block of dull metal from a recessed hole in the wall. He took a mold off the table. Then he placed the block of silver in the mold. He murmured a spell, and the two floated into the furnace. Moments passed, and the furnace flared. The dwarf took a bucket out and filled it part way with water.

"Blood quenched?" He asked, and Bethany turned to me.

"What he's making for you is a pentacle. It's a necklace that will light your way in the dark, a final focus if all else fails. If it is quenched in blood, then it will be tied irrevocably to you, much like your wand. Do you want that? You'll lose quite a bit of blood, but I have the potions needed to ensure you have a swift recovery, and the knowledge to heal you." I nodded after a few moments of consideration. This was a new chapter in my life. Away from the orphanage. The nuns, and the priests that were convinced I was the devil. The rich men the nun's brought us to and their wandering hands. I shivered against a repressed memory, forcing it down, and nodded.

"Hold your wrist over the bucket, my apprentice. This will only hurt for a moment." Bethany said. Then she drew a small black handled blade from nowhere and drew it across my wrist. The blood ran freely from the wound. I felt weakness and saw dark spots dance across my vision. My head swam. I heard Bethany speak, almost distantly.

"Sanguineum Consecrae. Blood freely given, bind this tool to your master. Blood freely shed, protect thy own. Blood, freely given, bind this pentacle. Be a light. Be a shield. Be a final defense. Sanguineum Consecrae, Sanguineum Consecrae!" Bethany shouted, and there was a flash of green. My head felt like it was going to explode. I heard a hiss of molten metal hitting water and knew no more.

 

[jldew93]

///////////
February 11th, 1925
Andrews' Townhouse
London.

There was a flash of light.
I saw a vision of myself that was slightly older than I was, and a pale boy with raven colored hair. We were both dressed in armor. We held our wands aloft, and magic flew through the skies. There was a vast army in front of us. Gnolls and tigers. Minotaurs and centaurs. Wolves and all sorts of woodland creatures dressed in steel armor. Women who threw fireballs hovered in the air, guarding swooping griffons and great eagles that were larger than any I had seen before, all posed on a great sea of high green grass.

Then there was a second flash of light. A tall woman with long scarlet hair stood in front of us. Her eyes were bright blue, and she flashed a smile that was all teeth. She was beautiful and deadly, a white wand held in one hand, and a silver sword in the other.

Then there was a castle, or at least the entryway of one. Strange music filled the air. There were seven of us, and four thrones, and a great armored bear bowed before us.

Then I saw a burning city from above. I smelled cooking meat and heard sizzling flesh and the cries of pain from those trapped in the city. In the distance, a great winged creature swooped and rained fire down on the city.

My blue eyes staring back at me, not the vibrant green they had become, from a chubby toddler who smiled and gurgled with happiness.
Finally, there was a sinister looking mirror gilded in silver, and a flash of purple fox-fire flames. There was another flash of white, and then I woke up with a start.
For a few brief seconds, I thought I was back at the orphanage and then I realized this bed was far too big and comfortable. I realized that I was back at Bethany's. I frowned. The Voice had been oddly silent for the last day or so, and I wondered what that was about.

Someone had dressed me in bed-clothes at some point, and I frowned. That wasn't good. I didn't want anyone to see the scars I'd earned from the nuns. I looked at the clock on my bedside table. It was around seven in the morning. Somehow, I'd slept over twelve hours. I got ready for the day, and then I grabbed my wand off the bedside table, and wandered down to the dining room. Bethany was already sitting, a lit cigarette in her hand, and a cup of tea sitting beside her. A book hovered in front of her. I grabbed myself breakfast.

"What are we doing today?" I asked.

"Today, I'm teaching you how to use magic." She said.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yes. When you're done with breakfast, we'll begin your instruction." She said. I hurriedly grabbed a couple of pieces of toast, and poured myself a cup of tea.

"Eat as you would normally, you'll need the calories, and don't eat too fast. I won't have you puking later." She said, and I slowed down a bit.

We finished breakfast, and then we went up to the library. She opened a door, and I walked into a room that probably rivaled the ground floor of the townhouse in square footage.
This was my first time in the room, and I looked around in awe. Aside from one wall, which only had a floor to ceiling mirror, the other three walls were covered in dark wooden bookshelves.
The room's walls were at least twenty feet tall. Scattered around the room were tables and comfy looking chairs made of leather. There had to have been at least a thousand books in that room. She turned to me.

"Before we begin, I want to give you something." She said, and produced a box. I opened it, and there was a shimmery star-shaped necklace on a silver chain. There was a red, shimmering gem anchored neatly in the center.

"This is the pentacle the dwarves forged for you yesterday. Do you want me to put in on for you, or would you like to put it on yourself?" I placed the box on the table, and took the necklace out of the box, put it around my neck, and fixed the clasp.

"Why don't you have one of these?" I asked, Bethany suddenly had a far away look in her eyes.

"I did. At one point, but it was lost." She said finally, and I nodded. I had nothing to say about that, and I felt bad for bringing that up.

"We will be going to an island in the North Sea. This is where you will learn magic."

"Why an island? Why can't we stay here?" I asked.

"Magic is volatile. Especially in the young. In a few years, you'll go to a school for magic here in London called Coventry. However, I would like you to get a basic grounding in the arts before you go there. We also need to do a ritual to adopt you into the family. Fortunately, Mabon will be upon us soon, and with it we can perform the rituals needed. Come now child, the day is wasting." Bethany said and grabbed my hand yet again. I resisted the urge to pull away from her.

We walked through the mirror and into a simple stone hut. There was a fireplace in the front, which she lit with a wave of her hand. In the center of the room was a small wooden table. Off to the side were two beds. There was a sink, and a series of cupboards. I didn't see a bathroom.

We walked out of the hut, and unto the island. A brisk wind was blowing, and the sun rising in the east painted the area with orange and crimson. The entire area could not have been more than an acre or two of land. I shivered in the cold.

Bethany did something with her wand. I could still feel the cold biting into my face, and I wasn't any more comfortable than I was before, but the cold felt muted, like I was touching me through glass.

"The cold will help you concentrate. When you learn the warming spell by yourself, you can use it." She said.
Bethany drew her wand. We walked the length and width of the island while she waved her wand, and almost sang a series of spells that left golden shimmers in their wake.

At the end of our walk, she stopped, turned to me, and smiled.

"Now that I've activated the wards, it's time for you to learn magic." She said.
She plopped down, and with her strange cat-like grace, somehow ended up in a perfect cross legged position. I gave her a look.

"Magic does many things. It increases our agility, our intelligence and lifespan and strength. As you grow into your abilities you'll be able to do the same thing. Now. Sit down." She said. I complied.

"Before we continue, I need to warn you, you have to do exactly what I tell you. I know I just told you this, but I will tell you again, and again, and again as your training progresses. Magic is volatile. It's not just a quick way to tie your shoes, or a simple light show to terrify other children. Magic, when improperly used, is deadly for all parties. Do you understand me?" She said, and I nodded.

"It's just like using a gun." The Voice whispered in the back of my head, and I ignored the shiver that ran down my spine.

"Now, call up your magic." She said, and I closed my eyes and did.

"Do you feel your magic?" She asked, and I did.

"What does it feel like?" She asked, and I thought.

"Like tree bark, and grass." I said, thinking of my spot hidden behind the orphanage.

"Like satisfaction." I said, and in my mind, recalled the satisfying thud of that door slamming shut on those vile bitches that had locked me away so many times.

"Close your eyes." She said, and I did so.

"Put your hands on the ground, and tell me, what do you feel?"

"The grass beneath my hands."

"Go further, search for the feelings you were just telling me about."

"All I feel is the grass." I said, digging my hands into the ground.

"There's something below that. I can almost hear it. It's like a hum, and I can taste something metallic." I replied. It felt like being near a live wire, or the fuzzy feeling on the back of your hand from
an old TV after it powers down. How did I know that? What was a TV?

"I know what a TV is." The Voice said, and he, I realized, sounded like an older version of me.

"Good. Listen for that hum. Can you hear it?" She asked, I nodded.

"Reach for it. Listen to it."

"It's all around me." I said. I felt the hairs on my neck rise. Felt goosebumps down my back.

"Now, grab that humming noise. Grab it and don't let go until I tell you to." She replied. I reached out for it, and gasped. It was like the ice-cold ocean around us, deep and all encompassing. I felt it flow into me, and tasted copper on my tongue. The feeling of an icy ocean coursed into me and flowed through my limbs, settling just into my stomach. Soon I felt full, like after a good Christmas dinner.

"Now, Stephen. This is the hardest part. I need you to let go."

"I don't want to." I said, and I meant it. This was mine, and hell would be unleashed on anyone who dared to take it from me.

"Stephen, you need to, or you will die. Let go of the magic. Let go of that power. Do it. Do it now!" She said, a note of urgency in her voice. I could have let that power soak into me forever.

"Let it go." The Voice said, and he, I was beyond sure it was a male, sounded like an older version of me.

"What?" I said.

"Kid, let that go!" the Voice said, and an actual conversation, however small, with words instead of feelings, was enough to break my concentration.

The full feeling remained. I opened my eyes and looked down. A green haze covered my skin. Then I winced. When I had closed my eyes, it had been early morning. Judging from the sun above me shining down and making me wince, it was now mid-day, and I realized that while I had been sitting here for hours, I wasn't stiff, cold or hungry.
The grass looked greener then it had ever been, and the skies bluer, streaked with colors that I scarcely knew existed in the mid-day sun. I could almost feel the salt in my nose from the ocean now.

My hearing seemed sharper, and I tasted my breakfast still on my tongue.
It was like the one time I'd gotten sick. One day all of my senses were muted, and the next day I felt great and everything felt fresh and new like I'd never known existed.
As I looked around, I noticed it was easier to focus on distant objects, and if I concentrated, I could see the markings of the individual seabird flock that was flying what seemed like a mile away.

"What was that?" I asked.

"That was a leyline. Mages tap into those to fill our magical cores and saturate our lymph system with magic. You have a small amount of magic, but to truly use your power, a magical charge is necessary. When your core is filled, your aura manifests, and the more you use your aura, the more it affects your hair and coloring. That's magic leaving its mark on you. I'm proud of you. Normally that takes a new practitioner months before they're able to even find magic. However, a seasoned practitioner can usually tap a ley for the first time in a few hours. You've never had to do that, have you?" I shook my head no.

"A magical superconductor?" The Voice asked, and I ignored it. It was suddenly so talkative and annoyed me somehow.

"All that power and you were running on ambient. That's incredible." Bethany said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Yeah, what does she mean?" Voice asked.

"There are three forms of magical energy absorption. The first is ambient absorption. This is the magic that is naturally in the atmosphere, and magic discharged from spells.
The second is communing with the family source. This will eventually attune you to the forms of magic the family practices, making you better in those fields, and worse in others.
Finally, there is leyline tapping. This allows you to directly absorb magical energy through your chakral nodes, and funnel it into your magical core. It is the quickest method of accessing more magical energy, but if you overwhelm your magical core, then you will explode."

"Well, I am going to certainly avoid that in the future." I said.

"I should hope so." She said.

"Kid. Thank god, I don't know what that magical Duracell charge did, but I'm pretty sure we can hear each other now." The Voice said*.* I ignored him.

"Stephen!" The Voice shouted. Hmm? That was new.

"What." I said aloud.

"What about what?" Bethany said.

"Uhh. What we were talking about?" I asked and she gave me a look.

"How magical energy is measured and how much energy you can conduct at once." She said. Oh.

"Pay attention. As I was saying, magical skill is ranked by how many thaums a mage can absorb and how much energy they can project. Are you following me, or do I need to use smaller words?" She asked. I was pretty sure that was the first time she'd ever talked down to me.

"I'm following." I said.

"As am I." The Voice said.

"We measure this using a Gellar-Rosen test. You'll be taking one after the blood adoption. You have a busy few months coming up."

"Ask her what our future plans are." The Voice said. I sighed and repeated his words.

"Well, by this summer, I hope to have you at least decently grounded in essential magics. You'll be traveling with me this summer, and I'll be introducing you to a few of my contacts in both worlds.
I plan on being in Brazil during the World Dueling Tournament Finals and in Saint Tropez during the World Broom Race Gauntlet. Think of it as a working vacation. That will take us into fall, and we'll be having a dinner party to introduce you to magical British society and part of our extended family.
After that, we'll have your adoption ritual, and then we'll continue full time education. But, today, I want to introduce a couple of base incantations, and a lesson about wandless magic." She said, and drew her wand.

"If you'll stand, I'll show you the first incantation I'm going to teach you." She said. I hopped up from the ground in a single motion, and drew my wand from my pocket. She winced.

"Remind me to get you a holster for that." She said with a shake of her head. She drew her own wand.

"Now, there are a few safety tips. Unless you are greeting someone, never point your wand at them. This will be considered an insult at best, and in instant duel at the worst, and always keep it
with you, even if you manage to learn wandless magic. Always have a focus on you in general." She said.
"Now, for your first spell, this is a twofold lesson, so do pay attention."
"Voice, are you paying attention?" I asked.
"Sure." Voice said, but he sounded distracted by something, and I wondered what he was actually doing.
"It's useful because it will allow you to traverse dark places while keeping your hands free. Take out your wand, and from deosil to widdershins, up to down, carve a V in the air, on it's side and intone the incantation Lux. The rune I'm invoking is Kenaz." Bethany said, moving her wand from left to right. A bright golden orb of light hung at the tip of her wand.

"Nex." Bethany said, and repeated tracing the rune in the air, but went from right to left.
Then her wand vanished, and she repeated the gesture, and incantation with just her pointer finger, except, she added a twist of her wrist at the end, and the ball hovered on the back of her hand. Just as quickly as the ball winked into being, it vanished.

"Now, you try." She said. I drew the glyph in the air steadily, and intoned lux. A few stray emerald sparks trickled out of my wand and I sighed, and hung my head.

"Stephen, look at me." She said, and I did.

"Magic is Intent. It's fueled by what you want and what you put into the spell. Do you understand?"

"I can do this wandlessly though!" I said.

"Improperly, you mean. I'll admit, you probably do have some great skill at the mind arts, and whatever spells you may have practiced. But I highly doubt you used the proper incantation or mindset. Let me see your light spell, but every time you do something wrong during the casting of it, I'm going to punish you." She said.
I placed my wand back in my pocket, balled my hands into fists, and closed my eyes. Instantly I felt a stinging sensation smack me in the cheek, and I threw open my eyes.

"Don't close your eyes to cast! If you can't cast a wandless spell while holding a normal conversation, you're doing it wrong." She said, and it took some time before I was able to block out the sun's glare enough to concentrate. As I called up my magic, I let it soak into my skin and allow it to cover me in a shimmer- and there was another sting as the spell hit me in the face.

"Great use of magical energy. I appreciate you wasting my time. You need a torch, and this is a spotlight." She said, and I gave her a look.

"I don't like you right now." I said.

"The feeling is mutual." She replied.

"Kid, maybe we should try it her way. Just think of the sun." The Voice said. I frowned, drew my wand, carved the glyph, and intoned Lux.
I felt the energy spike as it flew out of my core, and suddenly a blast of emerald light flashed out of my wand, and hovered at the tip, and an unrefined beam of light shooting away into the midday sky.

If it had been night-time, the beam would have shown for miles, like an ethereal lighthouse warning all away from the island. My wand sang in my hand, and I felt a cascade of emotions, fear, longing, revenge, washed away by the feeling of magic singing in my veins. I felt a slight drain from my magic, but as I learned to tune the spell down until it was just hovering on my wand like a small, flat torch the drain became so low I hardly felt it.

"Excellent job." Bethany said.

"The beam has a little too much power to it, and needs to be an orb, but that's nothing further refinement won't fix. Now, for your next spell, I want you to make the same wand movement you did early, except backwards, and I want you to say-"

"Nex." I finished. I repeated the gesture she did earlier, and the light was extinguished.

"Will that happen whenever I use magic?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when I first made my wand, I felt a wave of different emotions. Just not, when I cast the Lux spell, a similar thing happened." I said.

"No, that will fade in time. Think of it this way. Magic wants to be free, it urges it's users to unleash spells, to use it, to fight and feel and create with it. Have you ever had a new toy? One that you became absolutely enthralled with, and it was the only thing you wanted to play with?" She said, and I nodded. Well not brand new, occasionally I managed to pilfer a toy from one of the other children.

"Well, magic is like that. Except you're the toy." She said.

"What?"

"Magic has a mind of its own, and it can be fickle. Overtime, as you perform magic correctly, those emotions will fade."

"So we're metaphysical chew toys?" the Voice asked, and I swiftly silenced the feeling of panic that threatened to well up from him.

"So we're metaphysical chew toys?" I asked her.

"While magic can influence its users, it does not control us. You will find, Stephen, that the same can hold true for certain people in your life. No one can control you Stephen, except yourself. What I plan on teaching you these next four years, will help you defend yourself when you finally enter the magical world, and enroll in Coventry."

"Coventry?" I asked.

"What's that?" Voice asked.

"Coventry is one of the United Kingdom's premiere magical schools. All of the upper echelons of the Council Majeure send their progeny there." Bethany said.

"Oh, a magical boarding school. That's original." Voice said, and I ignored his comment. I really needed to figure out how he could talk suddenly, but that had to wait.

"So, what's the school like?" I asked.

"The grounds are beautiful, the curriculum is top notch, and the students are among the brightest and most well connected in the Britannian Empire. The amount of favors and aureas I had to pay out to allow you to gain entry was, frankly, ridiculous. Part of the next four years will include getting you an edge over the competition and your classmates. I want you to be at least three years ahead of them in knowledge, and the skill to use it."

"What's the point of me going if you're pushing me that far ahead?" I asked.

"I have no doubt you'll find ways to pass your time. Observe everyone around you and befriend the right people. Then you cultivate these relationships with your peers. At the bank, what did I say? What is House Andrews lacking?" She asked.

"House Andrews is lacking political power." I said.

"Yes, we do. While we have a voice in the Vox Populi, we do not have a seat on the higher houses, your job will be to raise our political star to the heavens, and make House Andrews a house to be respected instead of being perceived as simply nouveau riche. Unfortunately, that requires you to attend a school I'd rather have you avoid." She said. Her tone was grim, and she had a frown on her face.

"What's wrong with the school?" I asked.

"I will explain when you're older. Until then, I'll be taking you to different social events to gain allies, and show you the right families to associate with." That was a lot to think about, and I nodded.

"Until this autumn, I plan on keeping your existence underwraps. Matilda has been sworn to secrecy, she's a vassal of our house, and those oaths go a long way. Midas knows that a discrete client is a happy client, and the Heir Ring has a Someone Else's Problem spell on it. Anyone else that saw us yesterday would have paid us absolutely no mind. "
Then I asked her a question that I'd remembered from the day before.

"If there are primary schools. Why wasn't I found earlier?" I asked. Bethany let out a sigh, and looked away from me for a moment.

"Imagine trying to find a needle in a haystack that's invisible. You know it's there, and you desperately need to find it, but it's impossible to even recall what the needle looks like. You'll only feel it if it pokes you." She said.

"Okay."

"Now, imagine that this invisibility is fragile, like a soap bubble, except only on the inside."

"Okay." I replied.

"Well, when you began using your magic, you slowly started popping that bubble, I found you as soon as the tracking spells told me where you were at. I've been trying them since I discovered your general location, and I only just got a lead." She said. That made sense. Bethany, while not overly friendly, did seem to care for me a bit.

"Now, there's two more spells I'd like you to learn today, if you feel up to it." She said.

"Okay." I said.

"The first is Scuto, and the rune to invoke it is Algiz." She said, dragging her wand in a weird cross like motion, a shimmering gold shield appeared, and vanished.

"Now, you try." She said, and I carefully intoned the spell, while slowly sketching the rune. when I was about halfway through, Bethany flicked her wand and I felt something sting my shoulder. I yelped.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"You're going too slow." She said, firmly, "Do it again."

"Scuto." I managed, the shield shimmered faintly for a brief second, but when Bethany threw another spell, the shield broke, and I felt a sting on my other shoulder.

"Almost." Bethany said. I focused all my energy in stopping that spell, called up my magic, and intoned.
"Scuto!" With a yell. A disc of emerald light winked into existence.

"Great job!" Bethany said, and launched another stinging spell, this deflected off the disc harmlessly, and gold sparks flew from the destroyed spell.

"Now, let's see how long you can keep that up." Bethany said, and then jabbed her wand thrice. The first, a golden arrow into being, and then it duplicated itself until there were three arrows floating in air. The third and last spell sent them flying towards me.
I gulped down a sudden lump in my throat, and raised the shield high. Two of the arrows flew towards me, while the third went off in another direction. I caught them on my shield, and then The Voice yelled.

"Kid, drop!" He nearly screamed, and I hit the ground. The third arrow slammed into my still standing shield and flashed away in a wash of gold sparks.
I stood up and marched over to Bethany.

"What the bloody hell was that for?" I asked. My earlier thoughts of her being a caring, sane individual, promptly thrown into the nearest rubbish bin.

"It was just to test your reflexes."

"I could have been killed!" I said.

"No, you wouldn't have been. It was my spell, and those were training arrows. I learned the same way when I was your age. The only harm I wanted was a minor injury, easily healable, but since you have such excellent reflexes, that lesson won't be needed."

"Now, your next spell, it's an anchoring spell. This isn't an actual every-day use spell, but it will be useful to you. I'm going to teach you your first basic enchantments. Take off your Pentacle and hold it in your palm." She said. I put my wand back in my pocket, and took off the necklace.

"Now, do you know what stone is in that necklace?" She asked.

"A ruby?" I asked, recalling Stevenson's Treasure Island.

"Great book, kid." Voice said.

"Hardly, and that story didn't turn out like that." She said. I recoiled slightly, wondering exactly how she knew what I said.

"Because I know where to look- Oi, hold up, who the bloody fuck are you?" She said, her voice echoing in my head. All trace of a proper London accent was gone.

"I am Voice." Voice said, the tone of his speech smug.

Bethany shook her head suddenly.

"Okay, we're gonna need to get that looked at."

"Tell her I am he, not that." Voice said.

"He's a he." I said, and Bethany looked at me askance.

"Okay, it's a he." She said, and held out her hand with a shake.

"I need to send a message really quickly." Bethany said, recovering her accent and held out her wand.

"Spectra, Nontius." She said, and a golden badger appeared in thin air.

"To Amy Valentine, meet me in the infirmary before dinner. I've got something interesting to show you." The golden animal ran off towards the south. In a few moments, a bottle with a thin pink
vapor in it appeared out of thin air. Bethany caught the bottle, and popped the cork.

"Okay, sounds good." Amy said, there was yelling in the background. Something about a crowbar?

"I need to teach you and I guess your friend, this today, as this afternoon's lesson depends on it." She finished.

"Now, that gemstone is a garnet. This is your birthstone. It will be most powerful in your hands, and as you add enchantments to it, it will gain a bit of sentience to it. With any luck, this could very
well become a familiar of sorts.

"The first thing you are going to do is tie this to your blood. Do you remember how to do that?"

"Yeah, but I'm too interested to pass out now."

"You won't." She said, and produced a dagger.

"Just prick your finger, press it to the garnet, and say the spell." She said. I did, and with a murmured, Sanguinem Consecrae, the garnet glowed with my aura, until it looked like a dim crimson
and emerald eye.

"Now, cast Lux over the pentacle."

"Lux." I said, and the spell seemed to soak into the Pentacle. Like, a softly woven net of aura and will, powered by magic and thought. Soon the Pentacle was glowing with the Lux spell.

"Hold the spell until you feel the enchantment settle into the jewelry." She said.

"How am I going to know when that is?" I asked.

"You will." Bethany said. I concentrated on the spell, focusing on maintaining the flow while reducing the power until the spell was just slightly less than blinding. That required much more focus than just an incantation. It felt like the magic was fighting against me to be anchored to the pendant, but I threw out my will, and forced the magic to obey.

"You are mine to control." I told the spell, and with a rush of power, and the satisfying feeling of a pop, the spell anchored into place, and a Kenaz rune scratched itself into the top of the pendant with a screech of metal on metal, and a flash of emerald sparks.

"Excellent spell refinement. Now, two more, and we'll end this lesson." Bethany said. I looked up at the sun, it was slowly drifting towards the west, and with it, promises of lunch.

"Nex!" I shouted. I wanted this to be done. My impatience was growing, and I found that added to a lapse of concentration as the area was suddenly plunged into shadow. A brilliant golden orb of light quickly burned the shadows away.

"Try again."

"I'm hungry." I said.

"And you won't be eating until you've completed these spells. Try again." Bethany said.

"Nex." I said, carving and intoning, and aiming the spell properly. This spell fought me as well, but I expected it this time, and the rebellious enchantment was met with iron will and quickly submitted to me. Finally, I placed my wand over the Pentacle, and intoned the shield spell. This one I got right on the first try. This enchantment came easy as well.

"Excellent job." Bethany said.

"Now, lunch is waiting for us in the hut, if you would." She said, and I ran for the door of the hut and must have underestimated how fast I was running, because I almost crashed into the door. I heard a chuckle behind me. Bethany joined me.

"You'll find that when you charge from a ley, for a short time your senses will be enhanced. I should have warned you, and would have had you asked me about it." She said.

"Why didn't you tell me anyway?"

"I thought it would be fun to watch." She said with a smirk, and I glared at her. We went inside the stone hut, and quickly ate a lunch of sandwiches that were sitting in a basket waiting for us.
When we were done, and had returned the leftover food to the basket, we went back out. Somehow, a pair of targets had conjured themselves on the island. These weren't dummies, they looked like wooden man-sized dolls, painted to resemble people.

"Stephen, you said you can move things with your mind, but how accurate is it?" She said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You can make things float, but can you throw them at all?"

"I can hit a bird with a rock with decent accuracy as long it's not moving." I replied.

"Well, that brings us to our next lesson then." She said, and handed me two flat looking knives.

"Your next goal is to disable these dueling dolls."

"What does she mean?" Voice asked. Bethany pointed her wand at the dolls.

"Animato." She intoned, with a jab of her wand. The two dolls took on a golden glow, and then stood, and began to lurch towards me.

"Nope." Voice said, and I got a sensation that he was suddenly terrified. The dolls didn't bug me, even as they began lurching towards us at about a quarter of the speed of a normal person.

"How come you never use runes unless you're teaching me?" I asked, trying to figure a way out of the situation I found myself in.

"Because I've grown beyond such crutches. The faster you learn to point-cast the better, but I want you to have a decent grounding in runes." She said.

"So how am I supposed to disable these things?" I asked.

"Your goal is to stab their head with those daggers." She replied. I smiled. I had learned to throw things, but I'd never learned to throw something quite this large.

"Doesn't matter, kid." Voice said. He must have dragged himself out of his fear induced stupor.

"What?"

"Size doesn't matter. Just do it."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Yes it does. Kid, you're using magic. We were just walking around a bubble of space-time. Trust me."
I sighed. I had my reservations about this, but I held up my hand and concentrated on the want to throw the dolls, to launch them across the small island, past the beach in front of me, and into the water. I focused my will, called up my magic, and I could feel the spell just sparking at my fingertips, ready to be released. It needed a catalyst, something else. I racked my brain, and smiled, and then I spoke.

"Iactus!" I whispered, throwing out my magic, and fell to my knees from the sudden loss of strength. The spell, my first spell I'd ever created, thought and will flew threw the air, a solid wave of emerald, and hit the ground. I knew something was wrong as dirt began churning in front of it. The spell threw the dolls, and about fifty feet of grass and dirt out into the ocean. Then it continued, and soon a tidal wave had sprung up, and was only growing bigger.

"Oh fuck." Voice said. I think that was the first time I had heard him swear.

"What did you do?!" Bethany said.

"I used a spell." I said.

"I had no idea!" Bethany said.

"Magicae Fractae!" She yelled, shooting a beam of golden light towards the spell, and suddenly she was shooting into the air, a ring on her off hand wreathed in a nimbus of light.
She threw half a dozen spells, and all of them washed off the spell like water on a brick wall. The wave was now at least several feet tall and wide, and the spell seemed to only be growing. She landed next to me.

"What was the spell?" She asked, her tone urgent, her voice loud.

"Iactus." I said, and she shook her head and leapt back into the air. I felt more then heard her say her next spell.

"Nolite Carmen, Iactus!" She said, and for a brief second the spell turned gold, and then broke. Bethany did something with her other hand, and the wave abruptly ended. She landed next to me.

"This is why you are not to do wandless magic until you know how to control your power flow." She said.

"Where did you even learn that spell?" She asked.

"I wanted to throw the dolls, so I used the latin word for throw." I said, and Bethany rubbed her hand against her face.

"Okay, rule number one, and I'll take the blame for this, and I'll forgive you this time. Unless you know beyond a shadow of a doubt what a spell is, do not cast it. Do attempt to cast it. Do not even consider casting it." She said.

"What's the worst that could happen?" I asked. I got the sensation that the Voice was smacking his head, when did Voice gain a head? Against a wall.

"And never say that phrase." She said. There was an almost frantic edge to her voice. At that moment, I knew that a madwoman adopted me. She sighed, conjured a pack of cigarettes, and lit one of them wandlessly. Then she took a deep drag and walked away from me.

"We're done here for tonight. Go back to the Townhouse. I'll be there shortly." She said. I nodded and walked back into the stone hut and through the mirror.

 

[jldew93]

AN: This Chapter contains depiction of abuse, and violence against minors.

February 11th, 1925
Andrews' Townhouse
London.

Bethany came back through the mirror after a few moments.

"Now, before I forget, I got you a gift." She said, and produced a black leather journal from the nether. I shook my head. I'd been in the magical world a few days, and object conjuration still bugged me. I took that, along with a fountain pen.

"The pen is spelled to refill endlessly, and the book will expand so that you'll never have to buy another. I want you to write in them every night. Record your thoughts on life, your magical studies. Even the spells you invent. When you turn twenty-one, we'll give you access to the Andrews Family Grimoire, and you'll add your own findings to our existing knowledge." She said.

"Why aren't these sold everywhere?" I asked, shaking the pen.

"Because they're hideously time consuming to enchant. As are your journals. That little trick you played with pencils is going to definitely add diamonds to our coffers. Now, we're going to the infirmary."

"We have one of those?" I asked.

"Of course we do." She said, and led me down to the ground floor, to the other locked door. This opened to an endless looking hallway. She walked down to the third door on the right, and entered the room. I quickly followed her. As I entered, I felt what was almost a mist cascade down from the top of the door. On the far end of the room there were two sets of cabinets, and a door that led god-knew-where. The room had a dozen beds, made with starched crispy-looking white sheets and matching pillows, and it was painted in whites and creams so as to look as unoffending and calming as possible. Amy was already seated at the desk, and there was another woman, with red pupils, hair in a bun and wearing a nurse's outfit, reclining in a chair next to her.

"What was that mist?" I asked.

"It was a disinfectant spell. It completely sanitizes everything on you, and does a quick scan for ailments. It's nothing to worry about." She said. The woman jumped off the chair.

"Lady Andrews, I'll find something to do." The woman said.

"Nonsense Gertrude, while I'm not going to say that this isn't busy, things in here are certainly less hectic than normal." Bethany said.

"Well, Dísablót has just passed, I'm sure everyone is still sticking to the treaty, for now." Gertrude said.

"For now." Amy echoed, turning on the wood backed chair she had been seated at.

"Gertrude, why don't you take the rest of the night off, with pay of course. Amy and I will be fine without you, and Helen will be here in an hour or so anyway."

"Of Course, Madam. Would you mind lowering the wards a wee bit so I can translocate?" Gertrude asked.
Bethany nodded, produced her wand and twisted it just so. Gertrude smiled, nodded her head, and faded away like an after image.

"How's she working out?" Bethany asked.

"She's fine. A bit wet behind the ears for a Coventry grad, but she's an excellent healer."

"That's good. Let me know at the end of her Probationary phase and I'll draft an employment contract." Bethany said.

"Now, we have a situation with this one." She said, looking at me.

"What kind of situation?" Amy asked, her voice suddenly gaining a hard edge.


"I want you to do a full scan on him. Skin to bone, and everything in between. Then you tell me." Bethany said. Amy nodded.

"Alright, down to your skivvies, and up on the bed." She said.

"Why?" I asked. I will not admit this came out as a whine.

"Voice is fine, and you've already seen my scars." I said.

"What scars?" Bethany asked.

"You had to have seen them when you changed me into my pajamas." I said.

"Stephen, I used a clothes switching spell. I would never invade your privacy. But, I want to know what scars you are talking about." She said. I let out a sigh.
After a long moment, I nodded, and took my shirt off. Then I turned to them, and they both gasped. I felt hot tears run down my face.

"This is it." I thought. "They're going to figure out what a freak I am."

"Stephen. Who did this to you?" Bethany asked, her voice sounded shaky. I turned around, and there were tears rolling down her face. Amy had looked down at the floor.

"The nuns." I said.

"Which nuns?" She said, giving me a look that chilled me to the bones.

"Sister Agnes and Sister Mary Margaret." I said.

"Were there any others?" She asked, in a still, cold voice that matched the look in her eyes. I saw a couple golden sparks fly off the edge of her hair, and her skin seemed to shimmer slightly.

"Occasionally Father Murphy would assist the Nuns as well." I finally choked out.

"Stephen. Did they ever touch you, in a place you didn't want to be touched?" Bethany said, and the question came out half strangled. After another long moment. I nodded. Bethany came over to me and knelt down so she was eye level to me.

"Stephen, I am so very sorry I couldn't find you sooner. I wish this had never happened to you, but I am going to get you the help you need. I'll always be with you." She said, and I hugged her with a hiccupping cry. After a few moments, she patted my back and I released her from the hug. She wiped my eyes and face and cleaned my nose with a spell and we stood.

"We still have to do these scans, okay?" She asked, and I nodded, and I got up on the bed. Amy made a series of motions with her wand, and soon images appeared.
The first was of my back, which was a patchwork of scars. The nuns had been careful not to leave any marks where prospective parents could see them, but my back was otherwise a patchwork of scars that crisscrossed my back.

"What made these marks?" Bethany asked Amy.

"Leather mostly, but there are a couple of burn marks. Beth, if he wasn't magical, these wounds would have killed him."

"How can we heal these?" Bethany asked.

"If these were magical, there would be nothing to do, but luckily, these are mundane. I'd do a renewal poultice, but he may have to see a plastician for a couple of them."

"I'm sure we can find one." Bethany said.

"Anything else?"

"Some malnutrition, but nothing a nutrient regime wouldn't fix. Everything else looks fine, except he's small for his age. I'm not sure if that's the malnutrition or his genetics. The Bonapartes were a scrawny lot." She said. Bethany smiled.

"Now, his auric scans?" She asked.

"He'll need a potion for it." She said. She twitched her wand and an ugly brown looking thing in a clear vial floated out of the cupboard. It was nearly flush against the wall, but I swore I saw multiple rows of potions as the door opened and closed. She took the stopper off the vial and pricked her finger. A white-silvery looking liquid dropped out of her finger, and she placed the stopper back on the vial and gave it a good shake. The brown lightened into a light caramel. Then she handed the vial to me.

"Bottoms up." She said with a wink.

"That has your blood in it." I said with a disgusted look.

"That's just not sanitary." Voice said.

"Don't worry, I've got all my shots." Amy said with a smirk. I removed the stopper and chugged the potion down. This one tasted like salt and I gagged it down.

"Tabula monstrant potentiam." She said, and another image, this one entirely blue -white appeared.

"Celare me magicae." Amy said, pointing at the image. Another image of my back appeared. From the bottom of my spine upwards to the middle of my head in equidistant points were small round spots that looked like the size of half crowns. These spots were connected with small shimmery lines that spread throughout my entire body. Those glowed bright emeralds.

"What the bloody hell are those?" I asked.

"Those are your Ether nodes. It's how your body generates your magic." Amy said.

"Everything looks fine, Beth." She replied, my lie detector didn't go off, but she was still staring at the image, like it was a wild animal that was about to bite her.

"He's hearing voices. One voice. A male voice. From the sound of it, he sounded about mid twenties to early thirty." Bethany said.

"Really?" Amy asked, and it sounded like Bethany had said something life shattering.

"Well, Alexis' strengths did run towards the psionic. Maybe he's just following in her footsteps."

"Did you know her?" I asked excitedly.

"Oh, yeah! Bethany's parents, Alexis and I all went to the same school together." Amy replied cheerfully. Bethany looked almost thirty, and Amy looked about eighteen or nineteen. Once again, my lie detector stayed silent. My stomach suddenly growled, and I realized that I hadn't eaten since lunch.

"Well Stephen, if you would like, we can run an affinity test." Bethany.

"What does that do?" I asked.

"It will allow you to determine what types of elemental manipulation you can perform. Alexis was extremely skilled in this area, and you may have inherited that gift." She said.

"Okay."

"We'll need to draw your blood for this, do you give your consent?" Amy asked.

"I consent." I said.

"What are you consenting to, Stephen?" Bethany asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"There are multiple spells and rituals that can use a mage's blood for good or ill will. If you ever need to give blood, be specific. Your blood will lose its effectiveness if it is used without your permission, but you should always be careful about leaving blood behind." Bethany said.

"That seems like valid advice." Voice said.

"Okay, I consent to give my blood, as long as the test isn't meant to harm me. " I said.

"Good job." Bethany said, and Amy drew a vial full from my arm.

"Now, Stephen, go grab supper. Amy will be back shortly. I'm afraid there are a few errands I've got to run, for your lessons tomorrow, and I need leave for a few hours. If I don't come back before you go to bed, have a great night and I will see you in the morning." Bethany said, and with a twist of her hand, vanished.
I put my shirt back on, and Amy and I went to the dining room. It was light fare, just a simple soup made of leek and potato, and a small crusty loaf of bread with butter on the side. Amy took a vial out of a pouch on her belt. This one was off-white and looked disgusting.

"Take this before you eat." She said.

"Why?"

"So it will draw the nutrients out of the food and direct it where your body needs it." She replied. I popped the cork on the vial, and downed it in one go. This one just tasted plain.
I ate dinner, and then had a second helping, and a third.

"Why am I so hungry?"

"Magic will do that." She said.

"Magic consumes ether, and it also burns through your fat stores. You don't have much of that to begin with, and you're due for a growth spurt soon. That will probably add to your appetite if anything." Amy said in a conversational tone, while flipping through a copy of The Times. I had finished my meal.

"Up to bed, bath, and then change into just night pants. I'll be up shortly to put that poultice on your back." She said.

"Okay." I said. I went up stairs and got ready for bed, and Amy was there shortly, holding a glass container of a slimy green looking paste.

"That's going on my back?" I asked, grimacing at the sight of the poultice.

"Yes, now unto your stomach." She said. I sighed, and laid on the bed. As soon as Amy touched the top of my back, I shivered.

"Stephen, are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine." I said, and if my voice had a slight tremor in it, I didn't acknowledge it.

"That's right boy, stay on your stomach." I heard Father Murphy's voice echo in my head.

She began slathering the poultice down my back, and all was fine for a moment, as soon as she touched my lower back, I was done. I flipped over, coming to a sitting position somehow, and my wand shot off the bedside table and into my hand.

"Stay back." I said. Amy held up her hand, and slowly backed away.

"Kid, she's just trying to help you." Voice said.

"I don't care." I said.

"Stephen, are you talking to the voice?" Amy asked, and I nodded.

"What did the voice say?" She asked.

"That you're trying to help me, but I don't care. I don't want anyone touching me!" I said, that last part came out as a ragged yell. Amy took a step backward.

"Okay, let's try this another way." She said.

"I'll be right back." She said, and she faded away.

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, and breathed in deep, and then let out another breath, and another, drawing in air and expelling it. Soon, my breathing changed to short rapid gasps and I found myself shaking, rocking back and forth on the bed. I couldn't stop it, it was like I was stuck on a runaway train going downhill, and try as might, I couldn't stop it.
I was dimly aware of Voice trying to talk to me, and a loud rattle that seemed to come from everywhere. It seemed as though a window had been opened somewhere, and a gale of winter air had whipped up, causing a cold sweat to run down my back.

"Stephen?" I heard a voice say suddenly, and distantly. I looked up. Amy had returned, holding a brush. Every though I knew she was only a few feet away, her voice sounded miles away.

She dropped the brush, and then vanished again, appearing almost instantly, holding a vial of clear liquid in her hand.

"Stephen, listen to me. What you're having is a panic attack. This potion will help it. I need you to take it. If you don't, you're going to break the house. Please, take the potion." She said, and there was a desperate note to her voice.

I took the potion, practically ripping off the stopper, and downed it in one go, paying no attention to the rancid taste hitting my tongue. Almost instantly, I felt relief run through me, washing away and I suddenly felt like I was floating.

I took a couple deep breaths, and tried to center myself, feeling for a ley-line, and drawing that magic into me. I felt a sudden surge of energy, and realized that I'd unintentionally tapped into something that felt familiar. Whatever magic this was, it was a comfort. Like a warm blanket on a winter night. I suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion flow through me, and I laid down, curling into a ball.

"Goodnight, Stephen." Amy said. Old memories haunted my dreams that night.

 

[jldew93]

AN: If you've purchased the Kindle Version, you'll notice that Chapter's eight and nine have been condensed into one chapter. While reviewing these two for web serial publication, I found that it made more sense to combine these two into one.

February 12th, 1925
Andrews' Townhouse
London.

The next morning, Bethany woke me up early and hurried me through breakfast. Then she dragged me to the island. The sun had barely started to rise. There were a trio of targets set up, tall, hanging from platforms from thick ropes and shaped like men.

"I realize we may have to go back to basics for this. You have power, you need refinement. So we will begin. I want you to throw all of these at the targets. Four in each target. You have one minute." She said. Having the knives hit the target. That part was easy. The hard part was the concentration of combining the images into one of a struck target. The first time, it took me a full minute to throw even one knife. This earned me a stinging spell to the back of my neck. The second, I had a target hit, and my second knife was hovering in the air. Until it wasn't as a stinging spell clipped me in the ear.

"Would you stop that?" I asked.

"If you're duelling your opponent will not. Learn to ignore them, or learn to shield from them."

"She's got a point, kid." Voice said.

"Shut up." I told Voice. I put my hand on my pentacle, muttered the shield incantation and activated my shield I had enchanted into it the day before. The stinging spells now bouncing ineffectually off it. I smiled, closed my eyes and threw the dagger.

"Excellent job." She said, and then hit me in the face with a spell that somehow skipped past my scutio. I felt my eyelids stick to the top and bottom of my eye socket.

"Never close your eyes while dueling, or in combat. This spell will act as protection against debris, and will keep your eyes from drying out. When you can prove to me you have sufficient accuracy and control, I will remove the spell. I'm also going to start increasing the frequency of my stinging spells. Get to it." This time, after a minute had passed, I had barely gotten my first knife into the air. Bethany reset the targets with a wave of her wand, and the knives zipped out of the dummies and back to the tables, where they landed with a clatter. The next round, I was back to my progress. Three more rounds in, and I had managed to nail all three of my targets. As I refined my skill, I realized that I didn't need three mental images, I needed one. I made a moving image, almost like a picture show in my head, of the knife flying through the air, and hitting the target. As I became familiar with this, I found I could speed the mental image up until it played instantly.

By the end of the day, after the sun had set, my arms were sore from directing the knives, spots of black and white were dancing across my vision, and my head was throbbing. Bethany dropped the spell, and closing my eyes was a blessed relief. I stumbled. I wasn't magically exhausted, I could have thrown out a thousand of these spells and been barely winded, I was mentally exhausted.

"Here." Bethany said, handing me a trio of small glass bottles with cork stoppers. The first was a gleaming bright blue. The second was deep purple, and the third was clear.

"What are these?" I asked.

"The first is Perry's Health Tonic. It will take care of your eyes, and your exhaustion. It's useless for serious injuries, and anything older than a day, but it will help you. The next is a muscle soreness potion, the last is a headache relief potion." The first tasted sickly sweet, and I almost gagged. The second was gritty, and felt greasy on my tongue. The third, the third tasted like ink. I gagged at the last one.

"Why do they taste so horrible?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, for most potions, anything that improves the taste turns the potion even more toxic than they already are."

"Even more toxic?"

"Magical biologies can handle a certain level of toxicity that untouched biology cannot. For example, the muscle mending potion has a bit of adder venom in it. Most of our potions would kill an untouched." She said.

"So am I gonna die?" I said.

"Hardly. You'd need several more vials of each before you began feeling the effects."

"Are there ways to mitigate this?" I asked.

"Emetics." She said.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"You would drink a potion to induce vomiting." She said, and I grimaced.

"Dinner is almost ready, let's go. " She said, and we left the island. We returned the next day, and this time, in addition to forcing my eyes open, she bound my arms to my side.

"Today, you'll be repeating the exercise. Without gestures." I went to move my arm to activate my pentacle.

"Any gestures." She said, and launched a stinging spell at my face.

"Good luck kid." Voice said, and I got the impression he was reading a book. We launched into the exercise, and it was a good hour before I managed to figure out how to activate my pentacle with a thought. Another two passed before I was able to reliably throw knives. At the end of the day, I was only able to throw five of them in a minute.

"Was your instructor this brutal?"

"No, she was worse." Bethany said flatly.

"Instead of binding my eyes open, she ripped my eyelids off. Instead of binding my arms in place, she broke them. Instead of the stinging spell, she would throw a spell that would cause boils that quickly burst, it's puss would cause more. Her methods were harsh, but effective."

"How effective? I asked. As we spoke, an ocean wave rose ten feet high behind us, and frozen instantly, a shimmering burst of heat came hurling towards Bethany and ignited into flame that wrapped itself around her. This fire carried her into the air, extinguished, and dropped her above the water. She landed on the surface of the ocean and walked unto the island, making a staircase of alternating fire and ice as she did. The last step broke off from the others, and she flew it over to us before stepping off of it.
Through this entire thing, I didn't see her arms move in a single gesture, or even her aura glow. For all appearances, she had looked like a stiff figurine being tossed about by the two different elements.

"Extremely." She said finally.

I sighed. I was too mentally exhausted to argue, and just the slightest bit crabby.

"You said that my mother was your instructor. Was she the one that was so harsh?"

Bethany was quiet for a long, unending moment.

"Your mother." She said, as if searching for words to say.

"Alexis had her reasons for being harsh. Her, my mother and father." Bethany stopped for a moment to collect herself.

"When they were young, war broke out in their country." She paused once more, and then took a deep breath.

"When I was just a few years older than you are now, that war reignited. Much like you, the first few bits of magic I learned were not for amusement or enjoyment, they were spells to kill. Spells to defend myself and to ensure I made it through another night, or another day, or even another bloody hour." She said the last part in almost a growl. After a pause she spoke again.

"I'm teaching you the exact same thing. Because another war is coming." She said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"The Great War was the war to end all wars. We're never going to war again." I said, and she let out a sudden cutting laugh.

"I'll tell you after the adoption ritual." She said.

"Why don't you tell me now?" I asked. Bethany hesitated. Then she sat down on the bench my daggers had been placed and, and sighed.

"I don't think I'm the best fit for this." She said after a moment.

"What do you mean? Am I going back? I like it here. My bed is comfy, and the food is good. The potions are icky, but I'm learning magic!" I said.

"Oh gods no. I have more of a chance of catching myself on fire than you do returning to that pit." Bethany said.

"I mean, I don't know if I'm going about this right at all." She said, and for a moment, she was silent.

"Stephen. I'm training you because I have enemies. You shouldn't even be learning this form of magic for at least six or seven years. I'm just worried. This is my first time being a parent, and I
don't want you to get hurt. But at the same time, what guardian teaches their ward how to throw knives with their brain?"

"Creepy bald dudes in wheelchairs. That's who." Voice chimed in. I was absolutely going to have a talk with him. That night.

"Was the Great War bad, Bethany?" I asked. It wasn't a subject lightly talked about in the orphanage. Quite a few of those kids had parents that had perished in the war or because of it. She looked at me with a frown.

"The war was horrible." She said, finally, tersely. There was a long quiet pause where I tried to figure out how to word my next question, and Bethany seemed to be lost in her thoughts.

"Was my mother your commander?" I asked. I knew enough about the military to know about ranks. Although Bethany didn't seem like a private to me. Maybe a general, or a captain because of her apparent age, but certainly not a lowly grunt.

"She was. As I told you before, Alexis was my instructor. When we enlisted, my father pulled strings to ensure we were all stationed in the same place. The war was absolutely brutal, and by the end of it, the only survivors in my squad were me, my husband, and my brother. I know I'm being a harsh teacher, but I'm only being harsh so you'll survive what's to come." Bethany said.
We were both silent. For a long moment. Bethany was the first to speak.

"You know Stephen, if this training-" She stopped for a second, collecting herself, "if you find this training too hard, you don't need to have it. We can wait for a couple of years. You'll still be ahead when you go to Coventry." She said finally.

I thought for a moment. That would be easier than exhaustion, tired limbs and sunspotted eyes. It would be nice to not have to choke down potions I despised the taste of. For one long moment, I contemplated that decision. For one moment, I thought I could hear the Father's voice, and I was a flash of a furry brown head sitting on a nightstand. At that moment, I made a decision that would change my life forever.

"I want it. I want the training. Teach me everything you can." I said. Bethany nodded, and for one long moment we traded a determined look. I would never be helpless again, and she would help me achieve that. We left the island soon after our conversation and returned to the manor. Dinner was a quiet affair. Bethany had an errand to attend, Amy was gone yet again, and I was left to my own devices for the evening. So, after changing into pajamas, I decided to have a long overdue conversation with Voice. I sat on my bed, crossed my legs, and closed my eyes.

"Voice, do you have a name?" I asked.

"If I do, which I think I did, I don't remember it."

"Do you know where you came from?" I asked Voice.

"Honestly, no. I remember going to bed in my apartment, and then when I woke up, I was in your head. I'm pretty sure the only reason I gained the ability to talk was because you messed around with that ley line. I'm fairly certain I'm from the future, about a hundred years give or take." The implications of having a hundred year-old man in my head was mildly terrifying.

"So are you a mage, like me and Bethany?" I asked.

"I don't think so. I might have been a magical scholar, because a lot of the books I've read involved different magic systems. A few of them were similar to this, but none of them were completely accurate. The magic wand and words are common, but the ley line thing bugs me."

"How so?"

"Physics shouldn't do what they do."

"What." I said flatly. Voice let out the equivalent of a frustrated sigh.

"That little trick you did with the throwing spell shouldn't have worked like that. Something doesn't throw everything it touches in its path. I don't think it should have caused the start of the tsunami. That bugs me. Plus, I know for a fact that ley lines didn't exist where I came from." Voice said.

"And going against physics is bad?" I asked.

"Extremely." Voice said, letting out another sigh.

"So, are you the reason I know about runes?" I asked.

"Uh, I don't think so. I don't remember reading much about those, and even if I had, kid, I've been living life through your eyes for ten years. I know there's a lot I've forgotten." Voice said, and it sounded like he was sad.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Never you mind kid. We're gonna figure out how this whole world works. I've got an idea how to possibly get my memories back. Have you heard of the concept of a mind palace?" Voice asked.

"No, what is that?" I asked.

"It's a meditation technique I learned in my old life. Essentially, you think of a place in your life, whether it's an office, or a study, and you fill the office with your memories, that way you can recall them. Right now, my memory palace is dusty, for lack of a better word. I can't clean it, but I think you can help me do that. But first, I need you to build your own palace. Think of it like this. Together, we're in one neighborhood. You need to build your house in order to visit mine. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, it does." I replied.

"If you want, I can try and guide you through the first stage of creating one tonight, but I'm warning you, it's difficult. It took me almost five years to make one." Voice said.

"How do I start?"

"Clear your mind, and think of a place you'd like to store your memories. You need to do this carefully. Start with a floor, building the walls and the roof, and then whatever you would like to store your memories in." Voice said. I gave him the mental equivalent of a nod, and then set to work. My first attempt went fine, for a few moments. I decided to model my memory palace, or at least part of it, after the townhouse. I quickly ran into problems. Imagining the floor wasn't the problem. The part was easy. When it came to building my first room, the entry room, I ran into my first issue. It turns out it's really hard to keep a blank room fixed in your mind while adding more rooms, and my mental construct completely fell apart when I tried to add the second story. I gave it up as a bad job, and reopened my eyes. The clock on my bedside table told me it was late, and that meant the memory palace took longer than I had thought. That was when I remembered the journal Bethany had given me. I'd yet to write in it, and I decided to chronicle my first few days in the Townhouse. After that, I laid down on the bed and closed my eyes yet again to try and get a few hours of sleep before Bethany woke me up. I was just drifting off when I heard the floor above my bed creek. This was followed by a dozen sudden screeches, and the sound of loud screams. I jumped out of bed, and ran into the sitting room.

"Bethany!" I said, hoping she had returned from wherever she had gone. She was already opening the door.


"I know." She said, her wand in her hand.

"Phobos!" She yelled, and the imp appeared. He held another imp by the scruff of his neck. This one looked like it had been in the ringer. His wings were shredded, and his tail was half missing. His body was a patchwork of black fur covered in lavender blood.

"Crawler bitch! Where is he?!" The imp screamed in that creaky-door voice they all apparently had, struggling against Phobos's hold. Phobos gave the imp a good shake, and the creature fell silent.

"My apologies, Mistress. We were dealing with garbage. We'll be more careful to keep the noise to a minimum." He said, snorting softly through his pug like snout.

"Where did this garbage come from?" She asked, looking at the imp like it was something foul she had stepped in.

"I do believe this trash was a gift, from Irene Thorne. I found it snooping in the cellar."

"Looking for her errant son no doubt." She said with a murmur.

"Well, she won't find him. Drop that thing." She said. As soon as he released his hand, she jabbed her wand forward, cutting the imp's head off at the shoulders. I noticed that there was no blood, and the cut was clean.

"Send her the head. Make the message poetic and showy. Don't use anything with our coat of arms. Give the body to Amy. This may just have given us the in we're looking for." Bethany said with a smile. Then Bethany looked at me.

"Did that wake you?" She asked.

"Yes." I said.

"Let's get you back to bed." She said, guiding me back to my room.

"Do you mind if I cast a sleep spell on you?" She asked, and I shook my head no. With a wave of her wand, a spell floated over me and covered me like a warm blanket. Soon I fell into a peaceful slumber.

 

[jldew93]

That next morning at breakfast, a thought occurred to me.

"Bethany, did you and Amy ever figure out what Voice is?" I asked.

"No unfortunately, the test we ran was inconclusive, we have an idea what he is, but we're not sure." Bethany replied. Today, she was reading Britain's magical newspaper, The London Eye.

"Well, what idea do you have?" I asked.

"We think you may have a form of Precognition, but to properly determine that, we're going to have you perform an affinity test. Unfortunately, that takes an entire lunar cycle to prepare. The next one doesn't begin until March, so you'll have your test by April. Hopefully, by then if the affinity test does show you have an affinity for those skills, I'll be able to obtain a tutor for you. Your dueling coach will be here Monday. He comes highly accredited. Monday is also when you begin learning untouched subjects and etiquette.

"Etiquette?" I asked around a mouthful of bacon and toast. Bethany gave me a look and took a sip of her tea.

"We are a family with feet in both worlds, and you will learn to comport yourself appropriately. This is something Coventry will teach you, but if you learn it now, you'll be that much further ahead when you go." She said.

"Today I'm going to teach you another spell, and then I'm afraid you'll have most of the weekend to yourself. I must leave for Munich today to meet with a prospective investment. After I teach you the spell, I'm giving you one last exercise and then I'll be off." She said.

"What investment?" I asked.

"There's a publisher I'm attempting to purchase before they make a rather monumental error, but I'm fairly certain one of my rivals has already beat me to the punch as it were. I still want to try."

"Is it Irene Thorne?" I asked. She gave me a look and shook her head.

"You are far too smart for your own good, and that will get you into trouble. It may also get you out of trouble as well, so it's definitely something I'm going to nurture." She said with a smile. After I finished breakfast she took me up to the library and with a wave of her bangled wrist, a blank book spun towards us, and halted in mid-air. She grabbed the book, murmured an incantation over it, and then the book shimmered once. Letters appeared on the cover and spine, A Guide to Wanded Magic, and then she spoke.


"The spell you are going to learn is a simple one, but powerful. It's a spell that allows your memory to absorb the knowledge from a book. This spell is a family secret of ours that was invented by my aunt. Simply call up your magic, tap your wand on the book, and then state "Librum Memoriae" and the spell will give you the knowledge the book contains. It's a way to perfectly recall chapters, even sentences and push your studies ahead. This is a spell you need to want to work. You have to force the magic in the incantation to shift the world around you. Power is important, but Will is key? Do you understand?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Read the introduction first, and then try to cast the Librum spell." She said.

Below A Guide to Wanded Magic, there was a series of runes and a notice saying that the book was the property of the Andrews Family. The runes shimmered faintly as I read them, and once again, I felt a weird familiarity that I should know what they say.

"If you are reading this book, congratulations, apprentice. If you are just learning magic, I hope that this book will be a guide in learning the arcane arts. If you are reading this title after you've been practicing magic for quite some time, forget everything you've learned about casting so far. You may have been taught that magic and the proper movements, whether they are hand or wand, and that incantations are the crucial to using your magic to affect the world around you. Like most lies, there's a kernel of truth in them. Wand and hand movements are essential. That's true. Incantations are a crutch for these movements. Those mages that are truly powerful have learned that screaming into the void is unnecessary. Movements are a primal connection to magic that is routed through metamath and the runes that have powered spells for millenia. The more powerful and precise the spell, the more specific and detailed the movements become. Memorize this book. I hope it is a guide for your studies in the arcane, as it was for me and my father before."

The first time I tried the spell, I felt the energies of the incantation I used break and scatter, like a spark suddenly fizzling away. The second, I felt my magic almost mesh with the spell, and saw a few glimpses of words across my vision that vanished abruptly, followed by emerald sparks shooting across my eyes and winking away almost instantly. The third and final time I used the spell, words swam across my vision. When the spell was complete, I suddenly knew more about magic than I did before.

I knew that certain spells required symbols carved with my wand in the air to invoke the runes the spells drew their power from. I had learned that depending on the spell, I needed to invoke the runes either deosil or widdershins, depending on if they were offensive or defensive, or if I was drawing power or sending it out. Certain wands were tied to certain months, and my wand used rowan wood because it corresponded with the month of my birth. I didn't know any new spells, but I knew more about how wanded magic worked and why it behaved as it did. I also learned that specific gestures and runes were tied to certain branches of magic.

Then came the pain. It was like someone stuck a red-hot poker against my head, and drove a lance of fiery pain deep inside my skull. Somewhere the Voice was screaming along with me. I screamed bloody murder. Then I felt a wave of vertigo, and went to the ground, crying out in pain came again in aftershocks. At some point, the pain receded from an agonizing jolt to a dull staccato throb. Bethany was already waiting with a Perry's Elixir and another potion. I drank them both eagerly, gagged around the curdled milk taste of the second, but managing to choke the foul thing down.

Months of rote repetition had been distilled into a few seconds, and despite the pain I'd wish I had known about and could perform this spell when I was younger. It would have helped tremendously.

"Good job. I know this spell is painful, but I need you to do this once more, and I think that's all the magic you're going to perform today." She said, selecting another tome off the shelf with a wave of her hand. This one floated to me, and I looked at the cover through blurry vision. This book was thicker than the first, and was titled, A Novice's Guide to Rituals. I repeated the spell, and my head soon filled with the differences between ritual magic and wanded magic.

Where wanded magic was simply channeling a spell, a ritual required more setup. You needed to create a circle in the ground using a bladed weapon, what the book called a black handled knife. You also needed four other swords, on at each equidistant point to call something called the quarters. Most rituals required a circle of salt, and certain symbols, runes, or regents drawn or placed at certain points. These rituals took longer to do, but with proper setup, they were far more powerful than wanded spells. This time, where the aftereffects had been a lance of pain, this was like someone had set my entire brain on fire, and I screamed in absolutely agony until my voice abruptly broke, and a final wave of pain forced me into unconsciousness.

I woke in the Infirmary. It was dusk, judging from the way the light came into the windows. I groaned.

"Did anyone get the plate of the lorry that hit us?" Voice asked. I looked up. Gertrude was sitting at the desk. She was speaking to an imp, although I couldn't hear what she was saying. She looked up, and the imp vanished.

"Oh, you're up and about! That's good." She said with a cheerful grin.

"Unfortunately, Madam Andrews couldn't put her meeting off, so she had to leave. She left you a note, and told me that you could leave as soon as you woke." Gertrude said, a smile on her face. Was this woman anything other than joyful?

I read the note.

Stephen, I shouldn't have had you perform that spell a second time. I apologize for that. I'm going to be gone for most of the weekend but look for me around Sunday afternoon. I'll explain to you further about how the librum spell works then. Do not perform any sort of magic until I have a chance to speak to you.
Bethany.

I crumpled the note. My head felt better, but still hurt. It was almost like a ghost of a headache.

"Do you mind if I leave?" I asked Gertrude.

"Not at all, dinner should be soon if you'd like to stay. I can call the imp back to get you a plate." She replied, and my stomach gurgled in protest.

"I think I'd rather just go back to bed." I said.

"That's fine dearie, I'll send a mirror message to the Lady. Do you want me to help you to bed?" She replied. I got up.

"I think I'll be fine." I said. Her cheerful attitude was beginning to annoy me. I got out of the bed, and walked out of the infirmary, and took a right. As we walked down the hall, I realized I must have gotten lost, because I had passed more doors than I had last time. We came to a stop in front of a door with an hourglass.

"Voice, where are we?" I asked.

"Somewhere in the townhouse. I have a shit sense of direction. I also have a migraine, which isn't fair, because I don't have a head." Voice whined, he sounded tired, and just a bit crabby.

"Maybe we should walk the other way?"

That was when the door opened, and a man that could have been the male version of Bethany walked out. He had the same solid figure, and sharp features, but his hair was silver. He was dressed in a fine linen suit.

"Who are you?" The man asked. His voice was soft, but rough, making it hard to understand him.

"I'm Stephen, who are you?" I asked, and the man gave me a look as if I'd just told him the sky was purple, and the grass was red.

"I'm Bartholomew, Bethany's brother. Are you lost, little boy?" He asked, and offered his hand. Not his wand. I drew my wand and offered it. He looked at me in confusion for a moment before returning the gesture. For once, after greeting a mage, there were no surprise visions or sudden feelings about them. It was as if he was a blank slate.

"I might be." I said, and he smirked.

"I'm guessing that you're the stray my sister went and collected? Is she here?" He asked.

"I'm not a stray. I'm a mage, and no, she's not." I replied.

"Of course she isn't." He muttered, as if he expected any other answer.
He gave me another look. Then he spoke again.

"Deimos." He said into thin air, and another imp popped into existence.

"Master Bartholomew." The imp said in that creaky voice that sent a shiver down my spine.

"Where is my sister?" He asked.

"She's currently in Munich." The imp replied.

"God's Blood. I'm too late. Take this one up to his room. If she or any of her entourage return before I see you again, tell them Munich is compromised. I'm going to go see if I can stop this before it escalates." He replied. With a circular slash of his hand, silver sparks danced in the air, and a shimmering swirl of silver energy rippled into existence.

"I want to go with you." I said. He gave me a look, as if considering it, before shaking his head.

"You look like you couldn't get yourself out of a paper bag. You'd only serve to get me, or yourself killed, and then I'd have to deal with an angry sister. No, you're to go to your bed. Deimos, is Phobos with her?" He asked.

"She went alone." Deimos replied.

"Of course she did." He said with a growl.

"When I leave, no one enters or exits the townhouse unless Bethany and I are with them. Redirect any visitors or entrances, including us, to the entrance room." Bartholomew said.

"Yes master." Deimos said, and Bartholomew stepped into the shimmering silver window, and left.

"Come, young master. Let's get you up to bed." the imp said.

"Can you change your voice? Your voice is creepy." I said.

"Is this better?" He asked, in a perfect imitation of mine.

"Nope." I replied.

"Then I guess my regular voice will have to do." Deimos said, in his voice and he escorted out of the long hallway and up to my room.

"Have a good night, young master." Deimos replied, and vanished. Right after that, I felt a wave of static cross my skin, and wondered what that was about.
I frowned. I was still tired, but I wanted to know if Bethany was okay. I had no way of contacting her.
"Kid, there's nothing you can do. Let's go to bed, and then we'll call that puppy-monkey thing in the morning and see if there's a way to reach her." Voice murmured. I sighed and fell into bed. Sleep was a long time coming that night.


The next morning, I went down to the dining room and found it empty aside from breakfast and a single place setting. I frowned, and sighed.

"Deimos?" I asked, the imp didn't appear.

"Phobos?" I tried, and this time was rewarded with a soft pop of air.

"Young Master calls?" The imp called.

"Is Bethany okay?" I asked.

"Mistress is fine. She is busy, and she'll return tomorrow afternoon." The imp said coldly. I frowned and nodded.

"Is there anything else?" The imp asked.

"Did Bethany say anything else?"

"Stephen, you still aren't allowed to practice magic, but there are books in the library that are about untouched subjects, and any books that aren't warded, you may read, but under no circumstances should you practice the magic in them. I will know." Bethany's voice said from Phobos' mouth. I determined in that instant, that imps were absolutely and utterly creepy.

I finished my breakfast, went up to the library, and browsed the subjects that weren't guarded with or behind shimmery walls of magic that felt like Bethany. There were Latin compendiums, books on the arts, on science and math, but nothing that was interesting. I sighed.

"Do you want to work on the mind palace?" Voice asked, hopefully. I had nothing better to do, so I chose one of the comfortable chairs scattered around the library, closed my eyes, and tried to visualize the construct again. This time, I succeeded in keeping the first floor stable long enough to begin visualizing the decor, but as soon as I finished and began the second floor, the construct broke. I opened my eyes and scowled, looking at the clock on the wall. Six hours had passed, and all I had gotten for my trouble was a headache. I closed my eyes again, and when my construct inevitably collapsed, it was dinner time.

I got up from the chair and stretched. I was stiff from sitting for hours. I wandered down to the dining room, ate dinner in silence, and decided to try my hand at the mind palace once again. This time, I chose my bed. I got a portion of the second floor's floor completed, but it collapsed. I checked the clock, it was long past midnight, and I was mentally exhausted. I wrote in my journal and fell asleep. Sunday, until the afternoon, was much the same.

Sunday afternoon I was in the library when the mirror activated in a flare of gold. I drew my wand and pointed it at the mirror. I could, in a pinch, use Iactus if I needed to.
Bethany came through the mirror first, favoring her leg. Amy was flanking her, and she was followed by a tall, bulky man with short white hair, and a long beard. Bartholomew followed them, and all were dressed in some sort of leathery looking armor. Bringing up the rear was a man I hadn't seen before.

His hair and eyes were white. He wore a dark suit, a suit so black that it seemed to soak in the light around it. His skin was nearly as white as his hair, a pale alabaster that seemed as though he'd never seen the sun. He had a look about him, like he'd been stretched. Every single aspect was elongated, from his tall, razor thin build to his spindly looking fingers, and his tapered ears. Something about him screamed danger, and I felt fear worm it's way down my spine. He gave me an appraising look.

"So, this is your new apprentice, eh Beth?" The man said. His voice had a smoky, silver quality that somehow put me on edge. Amy had already gone to work, closing the mirror with a whispered word, and walking the length of the library, wand in hand. It wasn't until whatever she was doing was done before they visibly relaxed.

"Bethany, are you okay? What happened?" I asked.

"I'm fine. It was just a bit of an occupational hazard." She said. Her armor looked singed in a few spots, and there was a crack on one of the pieces on her leg.

"Is that what they're calling it now?" Bartholomew said. Bethany gave him a look.

"He's going to find out what we do eventually." He said.

"Not when he's ten." She replied.

"Fair point. What about thirteen?" He countered.

"Bartholomew, do me a favor and please leave." She said, and closed her eyes.

"I just saved your ass. Leaving is what usually follows." Bartholomew replied, and with a gesture, a portal opened. He stepped through it and it closed behind him.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Enquiring minds would like to know." Eli said.

"Stephen. This is my husband, Vincent." She said, gesturing to the bulky man. I offered my wand and he tapped it.

"Nice to meet you, kid." Vincent said, flashing me an easy grin.

"And this is Eli. He'll be your dueling instructor." She said. I offered him my wand and he laughed. It was a high, cold laugh that didn't add to my rapidly forming opinion of him.

"This boy has class, doesn't he?" Eli asked. Bethany gave him a playful glare and sat on one of the chairs. She sighed.

"Phobos." She said. With a pop the imp was there.

"Mistress calls?" He said.

"Whisky please, and a Perry's."

"At once." He said, and vanished.

"Beth! You can't mix those two!" Amy said.

"Like I haven't before." Bethany replied. Phobos had appeared with a silver tray. On the tray there was a vial of the Elixir and a crystal bottle of whiskey. She downed the Elixir and chased it with a long pull of liquor. Then she looked at me.

"Stephen, Eli is Winter Fae. They usually cast wandlessly, and normally they don't carry wands. The Council Majeure forbids it. You didn't know this, but because of this offering your wand is usually insulting to a Fae."

"So how is he going to be my dueling instructor?" I asked.

"I'm a Scion. I'm half Fae, half untouched." Eli said, drawing a wand from somewhere on his person.

"Well met, mageling." He said, offering his wand to me. I tapped it. Then I looked at Bethany.

"Can I use magic again?" She gave me a long contemplating look. Vincent took a mirror from his pocket and gave it a look.

"I've got to get back to Thailand." He said. Bethany nodded, and he translocated away, and Amy took a seat on the arm of Bethany's chair.

"Do you think you're up to using that spell again, the book I'm going to have you memorize is a basic dueling book. It has a couple of offensive spells in it that you'll be practicing this week. Now that you've learned the libre spell, I don't want you using it more than twice a week, and only on titles I choose, I've warded the rest against that spell, and I will know if you try that." She said. Her tone booked no argument.

She summoned the book from a shelf. It was titled the Novitiate's Guide to Proper Dueling. Like the other two books, this had no author title aside from the notice of whose property it was.
I used this spell. This time, it was just a headache instead of a painful skull splitting stab. But I found my knowledge had increased, I knew a fire spell now, as well as a throwing spell, a dagger conjuration, and a spell that sent a conjured ball of dye at it's target.

"Why did that one hurt less than the others?" I asked.

"Because it built on knowledge you already had. According to the file the nuns gave me, you already were fairly well versed in Latin, and the Ritual book gave you some knowledge in runes, correct?" She asked, and after thinking about it, I did realize I knew more about runes then I had before, and I could probably recognize most of the Elder Futhark if I needed to. I had to concentrate on the knowledge though.

"If you tried that spell with a book on a subject you had absolutely no knowledge about, or even worse, one written in a language you didn't know, it would probably kill you. You aren't to use that spell unsupervised. Ever." She said, and I nodded.

"Now, if you feel up to a practice lesson, Eli will take you to the Dueling room along with Amy. I need to visit the Infirmary and have this leg checked."

"Can you make it there yourself?" Amy asked.

"I can translocate just fine." Bethany said.

"I'll do it." I said, eager to learn something else about magic and practice my new spellwork. Amy got off the chair, and Bethany stood with her help. Then Bethany faded away, and the three of us went up to the Dueling Room.

"Before we begin, I want you to show me your stance." He said. I frowned, trying to recall the diagram that was in the book. Front foot, straight forward, back foot ninety degrees, legs slightly bent, wand in dominant hand.

"Move your feet apart a bit." He said, kicking between my feet until there was about a foot of distance between them. He adjusted my posture here and there, pushing my off-hand until it was tucked into the small of my back, straightening my wand arm until it was pointed straight out, and forcing me to work around my migraine until I had the position perfect.

"Can I have a headache potion?" I asked. Amy tossed me one from somewhere, and I drank it eagerly.

"It's almost like fencing in a way. Except with fencing you only get stabbed." Voice said. It was then I noticed that if I was experiencing a headache, Voice wouldn't speak much.

"Let's go into the ring. You take the left circle, I'll take the right." He said. We did. Amy touched her wand to the edge of the ring, and a shimmering wall of magic came into existence.

"Get into position." He said, and I did.

"Now, usually we count to ten, and then begin. But I'll be satisfied with a bow for now. That book taught you the paint spell, right?" He asked. I nodded.

"Good, until you get your reflexes where I want them, that's the only spell you'll be using in this ring. Now, bow, and first to five wins." He said. We bowed to each other, and he was the first to
strike, throwing out two of those paint spells that I used my pentacle to block.

"Restart the duel." He said.

"Why?"

"Per regulation rules, you're only allowed a wand and a secondary wand. No other foci are permitted." He replied. I sighed, and we bowed again. This time, he hit me with two paint spells in quick
succession before I managed to get my scuto up.

"I see I have my work cut out for me. You need to learn to point cast that shield." He replied. I frowned. I was rapidly getting tired of this. With a glare I intoned.

"Conjuris Mucare!" And sent a dagger flying towards him. He narrowed his eyes, easily parried the spell and then gave me a look, and with a speed so quick I could barely track, had me bound with a rope, disarmed, and had covered my mouth and eyes with some kind of silver tape. I heard him walk over to me, and then I felt myself being lifted off the ground by my neck.

"Child, I'm a four-time international champion duelist. You are nothing, even with the enormous amount of power you have for your age, but if you want to waste your guardian's diamonds with such trivialities as figuring out how to unbind yourself, far be it from me to argue. We'll resume this in the morning. Maybe by then you'll have used that little hamster brain of yours to figure out what spells I used and how to counter them. Unless you agree that as soon as you walk into those doors, you will do as I ask. Do I make myself clear?" He said. I tried to nod, and he undid the spells.

"I'm going to beat you one day." I said.

"If you don't, I'm not doing my job properly. Now, let's begin, shall we?" He said. And begin we did.

 

[jldew93]

Author's Note/Micro Post:

While writing The Voice in His Head, I wrote several interludes, and two novellas for backstory.
These interludes follow Voice's Journey to Stephen, or Bethany's internal reactions to Stephen's misadventures.
To explain, The original manuscript was huge, and spanned the same story from the alternating points of view. It read like the one overly long fanfic that has been stuck in the same month for several years.

In summary, these other viewpoints were discarded during the editing process because I couldn't figure out a way to include them without interrupting the flow of the story or dragging it out an extra couple hundred thousand words. My backstory and side stories easily dwarf what I've actually written.
You can skip these, but they contain backstories and history about the world of the Aether Cycle. I'll be including these for Patreon Subscribers. Patreon subscribers will be able to read a new chapter or short story every two weeks. Regular readers will get these at the end of every "arc".

Interlude One: Preparation.
2019, Earth.

There are some events that change History. There are other events that collectively make mankind scratch their head, and go what the fuck. I was out for a walk when my world changed, and everything I knew was flipped on my head.

It was a Seattle Saturday in mid 2019. Life was good for the most part. The last two years had been kinda shitty, but my life was finally looking ahead. My app had just been sold to a Silicon Valley giant, and I was going to enjoy spending the next year or ten going on absolutely insane vacations. 2019 had been stellar, and 2020 was going to be fucking great! For the first time in my adult life, I could actually enjoy life and find happiness. It all went wrong with that stupid kitten. I was less than a block from my condo when I saw a little black kitten leap out of the trash cans on the street and run for the alley. I balanced my Starbucks cup on a nearby mailbox and dropped my bag to the ground.

I unzipped the backpack and started fishing around for the can of cat food I had in the bottom. I volunteered at the local ASPCA, and always had some sort of yummy for my other furkids. Seattle had it's fair share of strays, but it was a kitten.

I remember moving my bag and starbucks to a bench. I remember walking down the alley and saw the kitten dart under a dumpster. I remembered opening the can of cat food, and placing it under the dumpster. Then I stood back up, and that was it. That's all I remembered about dying.

The next thing I knew, I was in a white room. There was a screen hovering in front of me that I recognized as the character creation from one of my favorite RPGs, Gods and Monsters*. Gods and Monster was an Apocalyptic Sandbox RPG. In normal circumstances, this would have freaked me the fuck out and sent me into a panic attack, but something prevented me from reacting like that. I felt a calming sensation wash across me and I was able to keep myself sane.

The backstory of Gods and Monsters was interesting, because in this universe, nuclear fallout from World War III mutated creatures, and some humans, into creations that defied science. Some of these humans also had abilities that could be described as superhuman abilities. There was a single button on the screen, a question mark above the word `Help'. I pressed that button.
Instantly an NPC of some sort appeared. The NPC was using a hyper-realistic model of Mr. Patriot, AL Publishing's Captain America expy. A Red, white, and blue bodysuit, and black utility belt, a friendly gleaming grin, blond hair, blue eyes. The avatar was 6'2", and his muscles had muscles.

"Greetings Hero!" The NPC called.

"Where am I and who are you?" I asked.

"You are in an instance of the character creation screen of Gods and Monsters. I am an NPC designed to help you with your character creation. You can call me Rob."
That was helpfully unhelpful. However, the rest of the character creation screen was now available. He talked me through my options, and vanished.
The first screen allowed me to choose my general path. I had three choices.

The first choice was Civilian. This was arguably the hardest difficulty. You started as a common villager in the nuclear wasteland. You needed to fight every step of the way, through diplomacy, aggression, or trading and the only way you could gain powers was through Infusions or Skill Points. Infusions were rare in the wasteland. I'd played as a civilian and clocked hundreds of hours, and I'd only found six. You also didn't start with any skill points and if you wanted any extras, you would need to choose complications to gain points. These could range from "all animals hate you" to "pissed off one of the ganger bands" that populated the City, a post apocalyptic alternate version of Chicago.

The second was Mutant. You started with one of the six available powers, and began with six skill points to spend on any powers you wanted.

The third was Artificial Intelligence. This allowed you to begin with twelve skill points. However, you were stuck at an old military base until you could build yourself a robot, and later an organic body.

Sometimes, life hands you lemons, and you made lemonade. Sometimes life hands you a fuck-it button, and you smack it hard. This was the second of those scenarios. I chose Artificial Intelligence.

The next choice was the Power Selection Screen. When I gained an organic body, I'd have the ability to use any powers I chose. Since I had twelve points, and there were six powers that each cost two points, I chose them all. I could gain more points through taking complications. I was going to turn the City into a Utopia that would make Roddenberry proud.
The first power was called Combat Package. If I trained this power enough I'd have super strength and speed and all the reflexes and senses that went with that.
The second power was Luminescent. This would eventually allow me to fly, and manipulate light for defensive and offensive purposes. The City was a mess of gangs, and some of them were armed with laser and plasma weapons. This power could block these weapons if it was trained enough.

After that, there was Technopathy. This was an ability that allowed me to gain knowledge in five subjects a day. There was a Class Bonus with the AI character that changed it to ten. I'd be able to build the starter technologies from scrap found in the City, or the single Nuclear Transmutation Combinator that the AI had access to. This power, and the next were kinda bullshit to be honest. Victory would be mine.

This Power was Ability Control. The backstory was weird about the exact nature of powers. Surface Lore said that these were gained by genetic mutations, but mutations didn't work like that. This Power let me gain "charges" that would allow me to unlock abilities with each charge. I could use this Power to add to my existing abilities, and use it to gain more of them. With enough training, I could also block and nullify powers in a certain radius. I'd play-tested the Beta of Gods and Monsters, and this ability was only available when seriously stressing the system.
The next was Psionics. The City and its outskirts, and the whole world were a weird place. Psychic abilities were a documented phenomena in the Gods and Monsters. This would grant me psionic abilities that I needed to learn over time. I'd start with limited telepathy, hypnotic suggestions, and telekinesis. If I was playing as a civilian, I'd honestly choose this path. It would be the easiest way to get quick resources.

Finally, the last ability was labeled Biological Manipulation. This ability allowed the user to create, control, and manipulate all biological matter. I'd need biomatter to use this ability, and a working knowledge of biology would help use this power. Eventually this ability would increase in range from touch to about a mile in every direction.
Aside from Telepathy, Telekinesis, and Technopathy, I'd be unable to use these powers until I gained a body. The screen offered options for companions, but since I was confident I didn't need them, I chose to ignore those.

I flipped to the Complications and Perks screen. I choose Nice Guy, which gives me a good first impression on everyone. Then I chose Minions, which would always give me a decent stream of constant disposable minions. Then I chose Tinfoil Hat, which would defend me against any psionic abilities. I currently owed three points.
After choosing Backstabber, which made espionage easier, and Rationality, which prevented my decision making from being interfered with by my emotional well being. Last but definitely not least was No Speed Limits. Without this ability, I'd be limited to ten charges in Technopathy and Ability Manipulation. This allowed me to spend twenty charges a day. I was negative eight points.
I decide to choose my complications. The first complication I chose was Always a Bigger Fish. This meant that there would always be an enemy that would challenge me. This gave me four points. King of the Hill gave me two points, but changed my end goal to taking control of Chicago. After choosing those two complications, I was still negative two points.
The next complication I chose was Faction In-Fighting. There are multiple groups throughout the City, some help, some harm. In exchange for one point per faction, I chose two groups. The first the was Purifiers, they were xenophobic water barons. The second was the Technocracy of Bob. Bob was a pre-war AI that was slightly insane. In the games, he was also a pushover. These would give me the points I needed to finish my character creation. My points reached zero. Then I pushed the hovering button that said accept, and Rob popped back into existence.

"Do you wish to confirm your character creation**?**" Rob asked.

"Yes, I do."


"Great, Character created. Good luck, Oly." Rob said with a wink. That was my childhood nickname. I hadn't been called that in years. I gave Rob a look. He snapped his fingers, and my vision faded to black.

*Gods and Monsters is a documentary about the War of Masks that was converted into a graphic novel and later into an RPG. The RPG is rated mature and published by Andrews-Lowe's Pageantry Division.

BR/BR/BR

If you like this, please consider liking or upvoting this post. This is an already completed work, and each post will be a chapter (or half chapter) of the first book in the Aether Cycle. I'll be posting these chapters every week. If you like what you read, and want to support the author, and don't want to wait for updates, please consider purchasing The Voice in His Head from Amazon or Audible, or supporting me on Patreon. You can discuss this chapter below, or in the Discord. If you're a Troper, the Aether Cycle TV Tropes page can be found here. This needs Wiki Love, so if you like doing that, and you're a fan, be my guest!

 

[jldew93]

February 16th 1925- April 8th 1925.
Andrews' Townhouse
London.

The next day was indicative of how my next two months would pass. In the morning, after a barrage of tests, I resumed my untouched education with Amy in English, Math, History, and Science. Bethany also forced me to learn a language without the aid of the Librum spell that wasn't Latin, which I already had a good working knowledge of. I chose French. In the afternoons, I would alternate between going to the Island where Bethany would drill me on the spells I knew, helping me refine them until I could cast them without using runes and to my pride with the Lux spell, without incantation. Or, I would be thrown into the dueling ring and subjected to Eli's tender mercies. On the days they were there.

On one occasion, for a week, I was left entirely to my own devices where I found a book on conjuring other weapons and used the Librum spell to learn it. The resulting fire poker to the brain resulted in my expelling my lunch all over the library's carpet, being forced to find the infirmary, and spending a week without my wand as punishment when Gertrude promptly, and cheerfully, reported me to Bethany. My magic lessons didn't stop that week. That would have been a mercy. Instead, I was forced into a crash course of learning magic without a wand. This did however, result in great advances to my Scuto spell, and convinced Bethany that I was allowed to learn the stronger Clypeo.

At night, before bedtime, I would either work on my mind palace, or browse the library. I was nearly at the point where if the second level of my mental townhouse dissolved, the first level would be completed. Finally, after nearly two months of training, whatever enchantment Bethany and Amy needed to work for the Affinity Test was complete, and instead of training that afternoon, I would take that instead.


My morning went by as usual. I could have used my Librum allowance to skip ahead in one of the untouched subjects, but there were just so many magical subjects I wanted to learn that I never even considered that. And in order to learn certain subjects, I needed a thorough grounding in the base materials. Enchanting for example was something that really caught my eye, but aside from the basic enchantments I was slowly but sure working into my pentacle, those needed a thorough and extensive grounding in runes and higher level spellcasting that I wouldn't be able to learn until Bethany deemed me knowledgeable enough to use those books, or I managed to pick the wards apart protecting them, which were of course something you needed enchanting to learn. Then there were the etiquette lessons. The proper way to hold a fork, and which fork to use on what food. Lapses in etiquette were met swiftly by stinging spells, which was Bethany's favored punishment for everything. After two months, despite the luxury of the townhouse, I was growing restless. Aside from the greenhouse on the roof, there wasn't much to do. At least the affinity test would give more a way to learn more magic and alleviate some of my rapidly growing boredom.


Then there were the branches of magic that I couldn't pursue until I reached Coventry. Herblore was one of them. The afternoon of the affinity test found me in the room we had crafted my wand in. I was wearing a tunic and pants not unlike I'd wear when I went to Coventry. The tunicm almost a jacket, except it would fasten and release by wand tap, was worn above a long sleeve shirt, both were black. The pants were the same color, and the shoes were the shiny leather the magical world apparently preferred. Bethany was wearing something similar, except her outfit was white, and she had a pin on each lapel. There was a table in front of us, the table had twelve stone bowls and each of them had something in them. She was the first to speak.

"Each mage has an elemental affinity. With practice, they can use this element without a wand. For example, if you had an affinity for water, you could swim without taking a breath or conjure spears of ice and unleash them at your enemies. My affinities lie in fire and water. I take after my parents." Bethany said. With a flick of her wrist, she conjured a ball of flame that flared gold. The ball of flame shifted and rippled and steamed, transforming into a ball of water that Bethany threw into the air. The water shifted into snow and evaporated.

"What affinity did my mother have?" I asked, and much like her occupation, Bethany had never quite given me a straight answer to this.

"Alexis was special, and I doubt you'd have her affinities. Now, normally, since I am your master until you go to Coventry, I would be calling this circle, but, since you need the practice for the ritual this fall, you'll be doing it." She said. I nodded and went over to another table, where there were four yellow candles and a container of endless salt. I quickly surrounded the table in a circle of salt, and at each compass point, I placed a candle. Then I began at the first candle, lit the candles with a match, and worked my way from widdershins to deosil, and as I lit each candle, I spoke a different line of the ritual.

"I call this circle. I call thee elements. Join us this day, join us this hour! Ignis, light our way. Aquae, give us your peace, your serenity. Ventus, I call you, let your winds guide me to the proper choice. Terris, mother earth, steady my hand, guide my path, give me your strength!"

As soon as I lit the last candle, the flames changed from regular flames of orange and yellow to the bright emerald haze of my aura, and that energy spun out of the candles, into the salt, and brought the circle together with a snap only I could feel. Bethany was outside of the circle, and only I would be inside during the ritual.

"Novitiate Stephen Bonaparte, Heir Presumptive of House Andrews, Call up your magic, your aura into your hand, and let it saturate your skin." She said, her voice ringing with her own called power. I closed my eyes and found my magic. It came easily to my hand, and a green glow covered me.

"Good. Now, go to each bowl, and reach for the contents with your hand." She said. Magic in hand, I walked over to the first bowl. There was a small flickering flame inside of it. I reached out for it, extending my hand. The flame rose higher in the bowl until it caressed my skin. Wrapping around my wrist and tickling me, turning into an almost liquid. I released the flame and walked to the next bowl.

Water pooled in this bowl, and I waved my hand over it. The water rose into the air and formed into a sharp spike of ice. The next was a bowl of sand. It turned to earth, and then back to sand. The fourth seemed empty until a gust of wind came from nowhere and wrapped around me like a whisper. I heard a sharp breath behind me and turned to look.

"Keep going," Bethany said with a nervous nod.

The next was a vial of something sparkling and glowing white that turned green when I touched it. The fifth was a vial of cloudy white vapor. As I waved my hand over that, I saw flashes of a grand city floating on a vast ocean. A city of great gleaming spires. I caught a glimpse of someone who looked like Bartholomew. The boy had silver hair, and shimmering eyes filled with mischief. Then, just as abruptly, the memory ended, and I found myself back in the wood-paneled study. She motioned for me to go on. This bowl held a plant that quickly grew when it felt my magic. It withered, and died, and turned to a pile of seeds in the space of a few seconds. nThe next bowl flashed with an iridescent green light. The one after that squealed when I laid my hand over it. The next bowl also flashed green. The next to last bowl held a single bone. When I waved my hand over it, I knew somehow that the bone belonged to a great wolf or a dog of some kind. The last bowl held a single angular tremis that grew and glowed with my magic. As soon as my magic touched the last bowl, something extraordinary happened. Each bowl lit again with my aura, and I felt a wash of power like nothing I had ever known course through me. Then I spoke, my tongue and lips moving of their own accord, and it sounded like thunder in my ears.

"The lowborn children shall come, winter will guide them.
The children of space and time will hide them.
The queen of metal will find them, and the golden kingdom will bind them."

Then, at once, the candles snuffed themselves, and the salt turned to ash.
"Bethany, they all reacted to me. Did I mess the test up? What did I say? I couldn't hear it." I asked. Fear ran through me. I knew I had said something, but I wasn't sure what.
"I think you just spoke a prophecy. I'm not. I don't know. I need to figure that out. The test was a failure. You are still young. It could mean that your magic hasn't settled yet. We'll train you in psionics for now, since we know you're capable of that." She said, and for the first time in a very long while, my lie detector sprang to life and screamed at me, Lie! Lie! Lie! I frowned, and I looked at Bethany, and there was an expression I hadn't seen in her eyes before. A look that had been directed at me time and time again at the orphanage. Bethany Andrews was afraid.

 

[jldew93]

April 11th- June 18th, 1925.
Andrews' Townhouse,
London to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

For three days, I moped around the townhouse. Voice had recognized my mood and helpfully remained silent. It was on the final day, that Bethany was finally fed up.

"Stephen, what is wrong?" She asked. It was morning. Tomorrow, after visiting the dwarves, we would leave for Brazil to attend the world dueling tournament, and I had yet to pack.

"Nothing, Bethany. Why do you ask?" I said, taking a sip of my tea, and reading yesterday's Copy of the Eye. According to the Eye, Percy Fawcett, a renowned battle mage and explorer would be leaving Britain today aboard the Dauntless, a zeppelin I knew Bethany owned, in search of some lost city in Brazil. Well, the Untouched had lost it centuries ago. Magical society had only lost it a couple decades ago when something happened.

"Because you've been moping around this place like someone shot your dog since you performed that test. You need to pack, and you need to stop moping."

"Where should I pack for?" I asked, taking another sip of tea.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Should I pack for the orphanage, or should I pack for Brazil?"

"What are you going on about?" She liked, looking at me like I'd just grown a second head.

"I might have to if you keep moping." Voice said, helpful as always. I sighed, sat my cup of tea down with a sharp clink, got up away from the table, and walked away.

"I know you're afraid of me now." I said, and closed my eyes.

"What are you talking about?" She said.

"I can still tell when people are lying to me, Bethany. I know you lied about my test results, and I know you're scared of me. I know whatever I said or did during the ritual must have scared you. Just, please, don't send me back there. I can't go back there." I said, letting out a ragged breath. There was a silent pause. I closed my eyes, readied myself for the inevitable. I was surprised when Bethany wrapped me in a hug.

"Stephen, I am never sending you back there. I don't know how many times I have to tell you that, but that will never happen. Do you understand me?" She said in a ragged whisper. I returned the hug, and after a moment she drew away, and looked me in the eyes.

"Stephen, I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid for you. You shouldn't have gotten those test results. A child as young as you should never have prophesied anything. I don't know what this means, but I'm going to find out. Whatever Alexis did, I think it changed your magic somehow. You should have never had that test react the way it did, and before I jump off the deep end and train you in magic I'm not sure you're going to be able to handle, much less me able to teach it, we need to figure out what happened to the three of you between your mother and father vanishing and you appearing in Hampstead. I need time to figure out what the prophecy meant, and I'll tell you what you said when we come back home." She said. My lie detector was silent, and for that, and the woman in front of me, I was grateful.

"Now, I want you to be packed by this afternoon. I've got a couple of letters to write in my study. When you're done packing, meet me there." She said, and I nodded. She translocated away, and I went up to my room, and went to my closet. Bethany had given me a backpack that I could fit everything I needed inside of it. It was quite handy, but I wasn't allowed to dissect it to figure out how it worked. A small pouch would be easier to carry than a cumbersome backpack.

I knew Brazil was hot, but the spells built into my clothes made weather a nonissue. I quickly packed a week's worth of clothes. I knew we would be traveling into the untouched world a bit, so I packed a week's worth of clothes from that section of my closet as well. I didn't know what else to pack, and that had barely made a dent in the ridiculous amount of clothes I had. Bethany, it turned out, really liked shopping. There was still plenty of room in my backpack, and I'm fairly certain I could have packed my entire wardrobe and the small library I was slowly building and I'd still have plenty of room. I actually did decide to take my books with me. Packing completed, I put the bag on my bed.

"Phobos." I said, and with a pop of air, the imp appeared.

"Master calls?" He said. The imps were creepy, but they were useful.

"Place this in our train car please." I said. He nodded, grabbed the bag, and popped away. Packing completed, I went to the library. It was Saturday, and that meant I could use my Librum allowance. I was always careful after the weapons incident to ensure it was magic I was familiar with. I ignored the books that were above eye level and above. Those books were warded to all hell, and I knew that would be a waste of my time to even attempt picking them. I surveyed the section I had my eye on. Pyromancy for Fun and Profit by T. Winter sounded like a book Voice would love to read, but I didn't have a lot of knowledge about the subject.

"I resent that!" Voice said, and I snickered mentally. We would be visiting the dwarves before leaving for Brazil, and he had an idea that he wanted to run by them when we left. I turned back to the shelves. That was odd, I'd never seen this book before. It was entitled A Practicum on Practical Psionics by G. Cortez. I grabbed that, and then looked through the shelves. I didn't see any other books I'd want, so I left the library and turned right, and walked to the door of Bethany's study. I knocked once, and the door opened. Bethany's study looked like the rest of the house. All plush carpets, dark paneled walls, and furniture not out of place in a museum. She was at her desk, a giant oak thing. A floating nimbus of light was in front of her. She made a gesture, and the nimbus vanished.

"You're packed?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Good, what book did you choose?" She asked.

"It's a book on Psionics." I replied, showing it to her.

"Oh, that's a great title. George was a friend of my father's. He was one of the best Psykers I knew. Go ahead and use the spell." She replied. I tapped my wand to the book, and intoned the incantation, and gasped as the stream of information flowed into my brain. I winced at the ensuing migraine and lost myself in the flow of information that I suddenly had access to, and sighed as the knowledge overlapped mine and clicked into place with my existing skills. Oh, this was interesting. Apparently, you could defend yourself mentally as well, although Cortez only spent a small portion of the book on this. This book was mostly about telekinesis. More specifically, short range telekinesis, about twenty feet, and teleportation that looked exciting to use.

"I want you to go finish your homework. You can practice with your new skills after we leave." She said.

"But!" I said.

"No buts, your history grade is deplorable. You'll have time to practice in Brazil. Or, you can use the Librum spell." She said, and I made a face, which was quickly punished via a stinging spell.

"Finish that assignment." She said, and I left her study.

The next day dawned bright and early. We had a hurried breakfast, and Bethany translocated us to the Concourse. We grabbed a pair of tickets, Amy and Vincent would meet us in Brazil, and boarded our train to Emrys. Our first stop was the dwarves. The first orders for pencils were coming in, and Wraithgrip wanted to discuss their performance. While we were grabbing a few last minute things, The attendants at the station would be switching the car over from the Domestic Track to the International one. We sat in his office, and he produced two sheets of paper. Each line of the paper had a different pounds amount and an explanation of what the figure was, to the right of the figure, the amount was broken down into the different types of currency.

"As you can see from the figures, even with just a few schools purchasing them, the profits from this are quite lucrative. I'd like to thank you Mr. Bonaparte, my cut from this venture is going to make my retirement quite comfortable." He said. I read the figures carefully. If sales continued or increased, which I had no doubt they would, I'd be free from my debt by the time I'd entered Coventry.

"If you may satisfy an old dwarf's curiosity, Mr. Bonaparte, are you from Napoleon's line?" He asked. I was certain the answer was no, but I smiled.

"If I said yes, would I have more tremissis coming my way?" I asked with a wry grin, and Wraithgrip returned my smile.

"I suppose my next question is are you part dwarf?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Hardly." I replied, "I do, however, have another proposal for you. But, I want the same terms as before." I finished.

"You have my word, and I'm all ears." He replied. Then Voice began speaking to me, and I said exactly what he did.

"Have you ever heard of something called a line of credit?" I asked, and he shook his head no.

"Essentially, a mage or a dwarf, or any other species could borrow money from Midas, and pay it back within a certain time frame. If they do not, then interest, extra money based on a certain
percentage of the debt owed could be charged to a customer's account. Since you also control their bank, you could simply take the money out of their accounts, or force a sale of their assets. I'm sure you have quite a few customers that spend their diamonds almost faster than they make them. This would be the perfect product for them. Of course, short term loans could have higher interest rates then long term loans to give your customers more incentive to pay them back quickly." I said.

"Oh?" The dwarf asked, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. Bethany gave me a look, and I smiled at her.

"That sounds quite lucrative, but what if their accounts go into arrears?" He replied.

"You establish repayment plans, of course, and arrearage fees. It's all in the contract, which, if my own contracts are any basis of, you have developed into an art form " I replied, giving him a grin that was all teeth.

"Mr. Bonaparte, I do believe that you're going to be one of Midas' best customers." He replied, and we shook on the deal. We left the bank and we were silent for a few moments.

"Stephen, was that one of Voice's ideas?" Bethany asked as we walked along the path. It was Sunday, and the streets were relatively empty.

"It was," I replied, "and he has another idea." I finished.

"Oh?"

"In a few years, I'll have tremissis to burn. I'm going to offer to start buying those debts from the Dwarves, or begin loaning my own funds." I replied, and she stopped, and gave me a look.

"Sometimes, I wonder how much of this is him, and how much is your own intelligence." She said, and I stopped.

"The pencil and paper idea was all mine. He's just given me food for thought." I said, and we resumed walking in silence.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"I need a new trunk, and I figured I'd get you one as well." Bethany said, we had approached a shop that had a sign over that front that proudly read in blue and purple letters,
Sir Terry's Trunks: Traveling Containers for All Occasions.

We went in the building, and it appeared we had stepped back in time. The smell of parchment and leather filled the air, and I could almost taste whatever spells were being performed in the shop. The shopkeeper was an older gentleman, he wore a black hat and a matching duster that I pegged as dragon leather. His face was kind, and despite his age, I could see a youthful exuberance. There were all manner of traveling cases on display from a rack of suitcases to a slowly rotating display case of pouches. In the center of the shop, there was a series of trunks. I approached one that was open and went to put my hand in it.

"Careful, that one bites." The shopkeeper said, and I withdrew my hand an instant before the lid closed with a sharp snap. I swore the trunk seemed a little disappointed I had withdrawn my arm.

"Madam Andrews, how are you today?" He asked.

"I'm fine Terry, I'm just in the market for a couple of traveler's trunks. The standard spells will do."

I had a feeling Bethany would be busy for the next while.

"Bethany, could I go look around?" I asked.

"Don't wander too far." She replied, and turned back to her discussion. I walked out of the shop and turned left. I knew that the other way lay Midas and things I'd seen before, after wandering the streets, I found a book store and stepped inside. A young man was manning the store. I looked around for a few moments. There was nothing interesting on the shelves, but there was a bulletin board with each year's book list from Coventry. Below was a notice that said,

"Tap your book list and they will be waiting for you on the counter."

"Might as well get started early." Voice chimed in.

I tapped my wand on the First Form list, and there was a ding. Books began flying off the shelves and assembling themselves in a stack on the counter.

"A little young for Coventry, aren't ya?" The man said. He didn't have any ring or insignia, so I knew he was untouched born.

"Never too early to start." I replied.

"As long as you have the funds, I really don't care what you buy. That'll be 12 aureus." He said. And a purchase orb popped into being. I tapped it with my wand, and it glowed green before vanishing.

"For a fee, we can deliver these, young sir." The shopkeeper said.

"Can you deliver them to the Andrews' Family car?" I asked the man, and his eyes widened like I'd just asked him to walk across the desert barefoot.

"Of course sir." The man choked out.

"Excellent." I replied.

Then Bethany walked into the store. The man gave her a look.

"Lady Andrews, greetings, how can I help you?"

"I'm just looking for my charge. Stephen, our car is ready to leave."

"Okay, I was just getting some books for Coventry."

"Four years too early, but I suppose I can let you read ahead," She said, "are you ready to leave?" She asked.

"Sure." I replied, and grabbed my bundle of books. With a nod to the shopkeeper, she grabbed my hand and we vanished.

////
BR
///
If you like what you read, and want to support the author, and don't want to wait for updates, please consider purchasing The Voice in His Head from Amazon or Audible, or supporting me on Patreon. You can discuss this chapter below, or in the Discord. If you're a Troper, the Aether Cycle TV Tropes page can be found here. This needs Wiki Love, so if you like doing that, and you're a fan, be my guest!

 

[jldew93]

We rematerialized in our car on the train. Bethany tapped her wand to what looked like a gramophone by us.

"Conductor Edwards, I'm ready to depart at your leisure." She said. After a few seconds, a male voice came out of the record player.

"We'll be leaving shortly my Lady." A man's voice called through the gramophone

We took our seats and I pulled out the dueling book from Coventry's first form curriculum. Voice was trying to work through the theory of the wavelength of a specific shield, when we heard a voice.

"Attention Passengers, Welcome Aboard the Andrews Express! We'll be departing shortly! We would like to remind our passengers that this is a non-stop transatlantic ride from the Concourse to New York City, and anyone who finds themselves in the wrong car needs to leave now!"

I looked at Bethany.

"New York City is in the States." I replied.

"I'm glad you're at least keeping up in your geographic studies."

"How are we going to cross the Ocean? Are we taking a ship or a zeppelin?" I asked, and she smiled.

"You'll see." She said, and a few moments later we, our train began moving into the sky. This train was going much faster than the one I had taken a few months earlier and in an hour we had reached Liverpool.

We waited as passengers embarked and disembarked, and then we departed. We went through an actual portal, a long purple-blue expanse of light before arriving in Dublin, where we had a bit of excitement.

Outside of the train, I saw finely dressed men and women, their skin all various shades of green, pale pink, and golden-fiery orange, all of them dressed in armor that appeared to be spun from glass. They entered the train. They surrounded two people, a man and a woman. She was tall, and regal, fine boned and graced with beauty that I have yet to see again. She was dressed in white, a circlet of gold-pressed leaves on her head.

The young-looking man was dressed in an elegant suit of black that was trimmed in burn orange. He carried a cane with a silver skull carved into the top, and a circlet of silver maple leaves that was pressed into his long, black hair. The tip of each maple leaf glimmered as if the colors were fading to rot, and they were perpetually frozen in that last moment of fall.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"That is the Faerie Queen of Summer. The other is the Faerie King of Fall."

"What are their names?" I asked, and Bethany gave me a sharp look, and quickly wrote them down.

"Stephen, never say the first. We are allied with Winter, and to invite Summer into our midst would be folly. You must never ever mingle with Summer Fae. The second name, only say it under the most dire of circumstances. While Fall stays neutral, they're still a powerful force." I nodded, and carefully committed the two names to memory.

We left the station, and the train carried across vibrant green hills until we finally came to Galway, then the train climbed into the sky, where it halted for a moment, before dropping vertically into the ocean. I let out a scream, and heard the same from voice before I held my breath and closed my eyes. Then I heard a laugh and Bethany spoke.

"Stephen, you can open your eyes." I heard her say, and I gingerly opened one eye, expecting water to be pouring into the cabin, only to find us completely dry. I gave Bethany a suspicious look and looked out the windows. The train appeared to be in a bubble of air. Outside, just past the bubble, I could see the brackish green of the ocean and a few fish swimming past, a couple of them curiously looking at us, like we were in a reverse fishbowl.

I noticed we were still in a downward path, and that the water was steadily becoming darker. I touched the window, and it was still warm from the London sun.

Then I looked at Bethany.

"That was a mean trick." I replied.

"The best tricks are those played on the unknowledgeable." She replied.

"How far deep are we going" I asked.

"We'll level out at about a thousand feet under." She replied.

"How long are we going to be underwater?"

"For an hour or two. We'll arrive in New York around morning, their time, and then after breakfast, we'll go to our hotel. Tomorrow morning, we'll leave for Salvador."

I didn't respond to her, I was in awe of the ocean around us. Great spotlights had come alive on top of the train, and they illuminated the area around us, bathing everything in yellow.

As we passed around and through schools of fish, I was quickly beginning to realize that while we dove through the ocean past fish and creatures I'd only ever seen in books, we were somehow separate from them, judging from the whales that occasionally swam along side of us, their mournful songs washing over us like a mournful aquatic symphony, and the fish the occasionally darting through our cabin. I reached out to grab one, and it was like grabbing the air. We watched the fish for a time, and then Bethany laid her hand on my shoulder.

"Do you want to see something really cool?" She said, and I nodded. She guided me to the front of the train, to a dining car where a few passengers had already gathered. I noticed that there were only a few children my age. The dining car, unlike the metal of the rest of the train, was almost entirely made of glass aside from places where the panes were riveted together with long strips of runed metal. These same runes ran along the glass, softly glowing. We took a seat at a table at the front of the car, and ordered tea, and we watched the fish some more. Here and there, we saw glimpses of men and women with gills on their stomachs, and long serpentine finned bodies.

"Meremen and women, and don't point." Bethany asked as I pointed at them.

We passed above a giant squid-like creature with an enormous shell on its back. The shell was studded with odd rock like growths, and schools of fish darted around them.

"It's a Kraken. Seeing one is a treat. They're not usually this far up." Bethany replied, in answer to my question.

"Voice, have you ever seen anything like this?" I asked.

"I can't say that I have, kid. As far as I can tell, I'm from about a hundred years from now, and we don't have anything like this at all." Voice said.

"Bethany, how is this possible?" I asked.

"It's called the route of the Mariners. We're not quite sure if they're mage made, or something natural, but it's a useful way of traveling quickly."

So, we sat for a time, drinking tea, watching aquatic spectacles and diving along waterways no untouched had ever seen.

AN: QQ and Space Battles are now current with Reddit.

 

[jldew93]

Chapter 13: The Wrong end of a Wand

After an hour or two, we slowly began surfacing, eventually entering a tunnel in the earth. We didn't enter the world above ground, instead surfacing in an electrically lit untouched tunnel, where the train came to a stop.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"The untouched have recently begun building tunnels and trains for their undergrounds. We slightly pilfered this tunnel from them. It's a useful stop off point." She said.

"It's almost morning. We've traveled back in time a few hours because of international datelines." She said. The shehe led me out of the tunnel, past a queue that we quickly went through, and up into an enormous, bustling city. A car was waiting for us, and Bethany drove us to a hotel that was the level of luxury I was quickly becoming accommodated to. We ate breakfast in our suite.

"I have business that I need to attend to while I'm here. I'll be back before we leave tonight. Don't fall asleep." Bethany said.

"We aren't going to see the city?" I asked.

"Not on this trip, I'm afraid, but perhaps on another." She replied. She vanished a minute after, and I spent the day reading the books I'd purchased. Later that night, Bethany returned.

"We'll be leaving shortly." She said, and walked stiffly into her room. The door quickly shut itself, and felt the static of wards being raised.

"Beth?" I asked.

"Go away, Stephen." She said.

"What's wrong?" I asked, and she sighed. The wards vanished, and the door swung open. She had taken off her dress. There was a black bodysuit under it. The leg was rolled up, and there was a thin red line oozing blood.

"What happened?"


"I had a meeting with a business partner. I got on the wrong end of his wand." She replied. She touched her wound with her wand, and while running a line across the cut, intoned.

"Bacterium Fractae." Her wand hummed, and the cut glowed gold. The next spell she spoke stopped the blood flowing down her leg, the next sealed it, and the third knitted the skin back together.

"Why didn't you use a Perry's?" I asked.

"I did. Perry's healed it a bit, but with dark magic, it will only heal a wound so far."

"How lethal is dark magic?" Voice asked, and I repeated the message.

"Very, black is worse. Dark magic is meant to harm. Black, black is intended to Kill." Bethany said.

"How did this happen?"

"The deal fell through. It won't affect you any." She replied.

"What did you do to your business partner?" I asked.

"It was his son, and nothing that he wouldn't do to me." She replied.

"Are you packed?" She asked after a few moments.

"I never unpacked." I replied.

"Good, there's a car already waiting. We're leaving." She said. We went down to the hotel lobby, and checked out. A car and Eli was waiting for us.

"Thank you for coming." She told him.

"Bethany Andrews, thanking someone? Wonders will never cease." He said. She was silent, and we got in the back of the car. Eli drove us to an abandoned field, and we got out.

"I was going to take you via spear flight to Brazil, but my meeting derailed those plans. Eli, can you dump the car?" She asked him.

"Bethany, who did you piss off this time?" He asked with a sigh, as if used to such requests.

"He cast first." Bethany said. She drew her wand.

"I'm not as good at this as my brother, but we're taking a portal." She said. Then she drew her wand, and began twirling it in a circle. As she did, trails of gold sparks began falling away from her wand, and the air gained a static charge. In the distance I saw an approaching trio of cars, followed by someone on a broom flying above us.

"Eli, hold them off." She said. A blast of blistering cold shot from his hand, and a wall of violet light sprang up. Suddenly, shots fired through the dark, glancing off the shield. The broom rider suddenly sped up and dived towards us, and threw a spell. Neon blue met violet and the spell bounced off our shield. Then with a sudden flare of aura, and a downward slash with her wand she shouted,

"Treddian!" And a sparking gold hole ripped away the reality. Unlike Bartholomew, this portal was jagged at the edges, and stray motes of light sparked off it.

"Fae magic?" Eli asked.

"Harder for them to trace." She replied, then she grabbed me and pushed through. It was like stepping into a whirlwind, and I felt like I was spinning across the world, a dozen sights from half a dozen places spun past my vision. It was an endless instant, a moment of travel that seemed to last hours, and suddenly I was in an apartment overlooking a city I'd never seen before.

"You're early." Amy said.

"Bethany is in trouble. There's guns. And Eli and a broom rider!" I shouted. Amy and Vincent shared looks.

"Europa." Amy said, and an imp I'd never seen before popped into existence.

"Stay here. Guard Stephen." She said, and they went into the portal. Seconds later, I felt a wave of odd magic. It felt old, weathered, but strong. Then one of the windows blew inward and a trio of bats flew in, turning into two men and a woman. Europa swooped towards one, and a wave of force slammed into the imp and threw it into the wall behind me.

"Our information is wrong. The Andrews' aren't here." She said. She had a faint spanish accent.

"What little morsel do we have here?" She said. slinking towards me with a cat like grace.

"Get back." I said, raising my hand, and calling my wand into it.

"This must be the street rat she took in. Señor Cortés is going to love this."

"Conjuris Mucare!" I shouted, and a conjured dagger appeared. I sent that flying towards the woman and she deflected it easily, sending the dagger into the wall with a thud.

"You're feisty, chamaco. I'm going to enjoy breaking that." She said, and flew towards me at a speed I'd never seen. I gathered up my will, and threw out a wave of telekinesis that drained my power considerably. The woman was caught by the blast and sent hurling backwards towards a wall. The wall broke, and the woman fell. I was too high up to tap a ley line. So I ran. Ran towards a kitchen. Then one of the men stepped out of the shadows in front of me, and grabbed my wrist.

"The little rat has power." He said. I spat in his face, and he snarled. Dropping my arms. I jumped backward and he grabbed my pentacle. It burned his hand in a hiss of burning flesh. He screamed and let go of me. Cooking meat filled my nose and I gagged. Suddenly the other rushed behind me, and pinned my arms to my side. I tried dropping to the ground. But his hold didn't break. I'd been caught in this position once. I twisted, and as the other came walking forward, tried kicking off him. He grabbed my feet, and I knew I was caught.

Then Europa came rushing from nowhere. I smiled. I was saved. Suddenly, unseen force grabbed each wing, and ripped them from the imp, who screamed in pain and dropped to the ground. I heard a stomp, and an unholy squelch combined with something breaking.

"I'm glad you caught the brat." She said. She looked no worse for wear. She looked down at me, and I saw that her face had elongated. Her features were twisted, almost melted looking, and two prominent fangs jutted from the top of her face. Two leathery wings hung from her back, and a forked tail wrapped around her waist. I spat in her face too, and she growled.

"Sleep." She said, her voice had a melodious quality to it. I felt a wave of exhaustion overcome me, and I knew no more.

////BR/////

If you liked this chapter, please consider giving me an upvote, or a like if you're reading this on SpaceBattles or Questionable Questing. This is an already completed work, and each post will be a chapter (or half chapter) of the first book in the Aether Cycle. I'll be posting these chapters every week. If you like what you read, and want to support the author, and don't want to wait for updates, please consider purchasing The Voice in His Head from Amazon or Audible, or supporting me on Patreon. You can discuss this chapter below, or in the Discord. If you're a Troper, the Aether Cycle TV Tropes page can be found here. This needs Wiki Love, so if you like doing that, and you're a fan, be my guest! Finally, I'm going to be starting a newsletter shortly, and you can find the signup form for that here! Anyone who signs up for my newsletter will gain access to an exclusive short story from Bethany's point of view.

 

[jldew93]

I woke some hours later in a cell. My wand was gone, as were all of my clothes except my underwear. I still had my pentacle. I tried tapping a ley and found nothing. Some of my magic had returned, but I was still drained from that telekinesis. There was a runed bracelet on my wrist that glowed a soft red.


"Voice, do you know where we are?" I asked.

"As far as I can tell, that she-devil teleported us somewhere. That bracelet has some kind of magic inhibitor on it." He said.
I cast my senses towards the bracelet. It felt slick, like blood on my skin, and I shuddered.

"It looks like the little brat has woken up." I heard a voice from the shadows say, and the woman walked up to my cell.

"You!" I snarled.

"Temper, temper." The woman said, and made a clicking sound with her tongue. She held a diminutive black box in her hand.

"Fuck you!" I said. And she recoiled like she'd been slapped. Then she smiled.

"We don't use that kind of language here." She said, and her thumb twitched. Then pain like I'd never known shot out of the bracelet.

Suddenly my world was pain.

Pain. Pain. Pain. Pain that set every nerve aflame. Pain that felt like my teeth and nails were all ripped out at once. Pain that shot stars across my vision and caused the world to ring with an unseen high pitched whine.

Pain that Voice screamed from, and pain that tore my own scream from my throat and swiftly turned that into a whimper. Dimly, I realized that I'd pissed myself. The woman made another clicking sound.
"The little street rat has pissed himself." She said.
"F-fuck you." I said, spitting blood filled saliva out of the bars and hitting her in the face. I realized that at some point, I must have bit my tongue. She snarled and wiped it away. Some were flung to the floor. Some soaked into the jacket she was wearing.
"You little shit! Do you know how expensive silk is?" She said, and pressed the button again. This time. I fell to the stone ground.
"Kid. S-s-she has your blood." Voice said.
I didn't respond. I don't think I could have spoken if I wanted to.
"Blood and fire. Set fire to your blood." Voice said, and it took all my will power to form a coherent,
"What?"
"Blood and fire. Sanguinem. Ignis. Silk. It catches fire easily." Voice ground out.
I looked at her.
"You're going to burn." I said. And she let out a laugh that was like jagged glass against my ears.
"I'd like to see you try." She smirked.
With a shaking hand, I reached towards her.
"I wouldn't try it. Those bars are warded." She said. It took every bit of will power I had to utter those two words and throw my magic behind them. There was a sudden spark, and the sleeve of her coat caught fire, emerald flames rapidly climbed up her arm. The puddle of spit and blood on the floor did as well. Then finally, her screams intensified as the bloody residue from my spit ignited her face. I felt my power drain away, saw spots at the corners of my eyes, and then felt myself fall forward. The next time I woke, I came to consciousness slowly. I heard voices first. They were speaking in a different language, and I wasn't sure what they were saying.

"El está despierto." One of them said. I felt someone grab my face, and slap me a few times. I opened my eyes, and tried to wince away from the bright light hanging above me.

"When my guardian finds you, you're all dead." I said, and the two men laughed.

"I think not." A third voice said, and the hands holding my face up to the light dropped away. I blinked the spots out of my eyes. I was in a small, square room that looked like it was part of the townhouse. Even the table looked like it was taken from one of the studies. What wasn't part of the townhouse, were the two chains keeping my hands at my sides. My wand was on the table in front of me. I closed my eyes, looking for my magic. It was there, and had recharged slightly. I wasn't quite at full, but I had some magic back. The third voice belonged to a rather dapper looking man. His features looked youthful, but his eyes looked old, and his voice had a thin rasping quality to it. Like wind rustling paper.

"Allow me to introduce myself, young street rat, I am Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca, Master Vampire of Rio de Janeiro, and who might you be?" He asked.

"None of your fucking buisness." I replied.

"Such rudeness in today's generation." He replied, and shook his head ruefully.

"Well, my young friend, I'm not sure what Señor Luciano wants with you, but your guardian has made a few poor decisions the last few weeks. I'm afraid that you are going to be on the receiving end of that comeuppance." He said. I noticed for the first time we were surrounded by mages.

"Kid. Ever hear of a bigger fish?" Voice said.

"What?"

"Say exactly what I tell you to." Voice said, and I decided to go along with it.

"When my guardian finds out who you are, and where you took me, you're all going to die." I said.

The man laughed, a rich, full laugh that sounded like he'd heard the funniest thing ever.

"Your guardian doesn't scare me." He said.

"Doesn't he?" I asked.

"Bethany Andrews is your guardian." He said.

"Is she?" I replied, and a flicker of uncertainty crossed his eyes.

"Why would Bethany Andrews adopt a child?" I asked. He stopped.

"Why would Bethany Andrews take a child on what must be an expensive journey. What day is it?" I asked.

"It is almost the Summer Solstice."

"When summer fades into fall." I replied.
\
"Tell me, Señor, and I'm sure you can answer this. Since you seem to have been following us. Who else boarded our train when we left Dublin?"

"I'm afraid I don't know where you're going with this." He said.

"Well, in addition to Lady Andrews, there were two other very important people on that train. Two delegations of the Fae Courts. The Queen of Summer, and the King of Fall. I'm sure you know their Names. Shall I Call my King's Name to confirm?" I asked.

"You expect me to believe that some street rat has the ear of the Lord of Fall?" He asked incredulously.

"His name begins with an A and ends with an R. I'll gladly say the rest. If you don't release me." Indecision flickered across his face again.

"Bethany Andrews deals in favors. I am such a favor. We will end you, vampire." I replied. I grinned smugly. I had won.

"I would believe that. Fae kind do assume all ages and shapes, and only someone with great skill could kill someone as powerful as my Consuela." He said, and I smirked.

"Yes, it would take someone with great power to defeat a vampire such as her. Or someone with an enormous amount of luck." He said, returning my smug grin.

"There is one detail you have forgotten, street rat." He said and grabbed my hand.

"You wear the heir ring to House Andrews. You are just a gutter rat. One that idiotic woman has raised above his station. But at the end of the day, you are a street rat, adopted by Bethany Andrews, and I'm not afraid of Bethany Andrews." He said.

"You should be." A voice said. Bethany's voice.

Bethany wasn't there, and then suddenly, she was. A whirling dervish of death and leonine grace. She had a strange silver box in each of her hands and she spun around the room, firing on the mages surrounding us. A wave of her hand, and an intoned, brutal Gravitare! and one of the mages slammed to the ground and stayed there. Her wand appeared from somewhere, as one of those boxes vanished, and a blast of golden eldritch light shot from her wand, and one of them dissolved to ash.

Amy came next, wand in one hand, box in the other, a hellish cascade of crimson flying from wand and box, striking targets left and right.

Finally, in a flash of light, Vincent arrived, wand in each hand, white spellfire hurling out spells and chains. In less than a second's time, the entire room had been bound, dropped, and killed aside from Cortés, who hand me at wand point.

My wand was on the table in front of me, and my hands were chained. Bethany was the first to speak.

"Hernán, let my charge go, and we won't have an issue. I don't have any interests on this continent aside from you. Let him go, and it will be like none of this happened."

"That's twice said, mage." The man said.

"I can't believe you're that stupid, Hernán. Thrice and done. Do we have an accord?" She asked, one of the strange boxes in her hand trained on a point just behind him.

"Tell your bitch to stand down." Amy said, her wand pointed in the same direction.

Several things happened at once, someone behind Cortés unleashed a spell, and I unleashed a pulse of unrestrained, unrestricted, telekinetic force. This blast of force shattered the cuffs tying me to the ground, spraying Cortés and I both with razor sharp shards of metal. The room whirled, and Cortés flipped me over unto my back with a snarl and I shrunk back against his fangs. I activated my shield with a thought, and he pounded against it, black taloned fists sparking against the construct. In a couple of blows, cracks had already appeared.

"Kid, knockback spell!" Voice said.

"Fuck that." I replied back.

"Iactus!" I screamed, throwing power out into the world.

My wand sent out a wave of explosive emerald energy that didn't so much slam into Cortés as it did disintegrate him, showering me in blood.
I scrambled to my feet and I ran towards Bethany. I felt a spell lance into my shoulder, cold pain cut into my back, and since I was already off balance, that impact sent me forward and at an angle. Somewhere behind me I heard a sudden scream that cut off almost instantly, and I felt heat run down my back.

Bethany made a grabbing motion with her hand. I tumbled toward her, and she grabbed me. She yanked something off her neck, and then the world went fuzzy. Suddenly we were back in the apartment. It had been repaired. There was no trace of the kidnapping. Bethany immediately began walking the perimeter, bringing our wards to life.

I felt a wave of vertigo and idly wondered where it was coming from. Everything seemed loud and buzzy suddenly. Then I felt pain again, just as Voice spoke.
"Kid, your back. Someone tagged you with a spell."

"Beth, my back." I said, and the world tilted forward The last thing I knew before I fell was Bethany running towards me.


///
BR
///


What did everyone think? If you liked this chapter, please consider giving me an upvote, or a like if you're reading this on SpaceBattles or Questionable Questing. This is an already completed work, and each post will be a chapter (or half chapter) of the first book in the Aether Cycle. I'll be posting these chapters every week. If you like what you read, and want to support the author, and don't want to wait for updates, please consider purchasing The Voice in His Head from Amazon or Audible, or supporting me on Patreon.
You can discuss this chapter below, or in the Discord. If you're a Troper, the Aether Cycle TV Tropes page can be found here. This needs Wiki Love, so if you like doing that, and you're a fan, be my guest!
Finally, I'm going to be starting a newsletter shortly, and you can find the signup form for that here! Anyone who signs up for my newsletter will gain access to an exclusive short story from Bethany's point of view.

 

[jldew93]

"Up and at them kid." Voice said. I woke up on my back, it was daytime, and I was in the infirmary at home.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You were hit by black magic. Hernan Cortés's partner did it. Were it not for your shield you would have been cut to pieces." Bethany replied.

"That man! I killed that man!" I shouted, bursting into tears. Regret sunk its claws into me. I had killed someone. I was truly a demon, just like the Nuns had said.

"That man was a master vampire. It takes more than a disintegration to kill him." She said, and that gave me consolation. Then the portal opened. Bartholomew was the first one through, and I could feel the anger pouring off him. He wore armor, black armor that seemed to soak in the light. He had one wand raised towards the portal, and Amy came out next, followed by Vincent, who made a slashing gesture with his hand, and the portal closed with a pop of displaced air.

"Well, this just seriously escalated." Vincent said.

"What happened?" Bethany asked.

"Hernan is dead. He apparently didn't have a phylactery." Amy said, and I felt a fresh wave of emotion cascade inside me.

"So, I really did it. I killed him." I said, attempting to get out of bed.

"Oh no you don't. That cut nicked a vertebrae and you are very lucky it didn't hit your spine. You aren't going anywhere mister." Bethany said.

"Let's go to my study."

"Why? Let the boy know what he's wrought." Bartholomew said.

"What did I do?" I asked.

Bethany gave the man a Look that made one of mine seem tame, and he returned it with one of his own. After a few minutes of this, Bethany finally ground out a harsh.

"Fine." In a tone I could tell meant anything but.

"You killed the Master Vampire of Rio De Janeiro. Since he lacked common sense, and phylactery, he is dead. Congratulations, not even fourteen and you've already killed several hundred. Not even your namesake managed that level of carnage until he was much older." My mind short circuited.

"H-How?" I asked. He sighed.

"You've taught him nothing." He said, turning to Bethany.

"I have other matters to attend to. Please try and go at least a few months before I have to save you yet again, sister." He said.

"I have absolutely no patience for you right now." Bethany said.

"Nor I for you, sister." Bartholomew said, ripping a portal into existence and walking through. I left out a ragged breath, and Bethany turned to me. She gave me a potion, clear and silvery and oh so calming. I downed it, and after a moment, I felt my wits return.

"What did I just do?" I asked.

"You've just killed a centuries old vampire and his entire branch. About a thousand in all, and set off a power vacuum which created a situation we need to leave."

"The Majeure is going to lose their minds." Amy said after a long moment.

"Fuck the Majeure. He's one of Silas'. Elijah cannot help us out of this, Beth. Rio is Summer's." Vincent said.

"I know. I need to think." Bethany said, and she began to pace. She seemed so tightly wound, like a sudden move would make her snap.

"How? How did I kill him? How did I kill so many?" I asked. Amy looked at me. There was something resembling pity in her eyes.

"Vampires, when they turn someone, gain a link to them. If a vampire is killed, their progeny is killed as well. You got off a lucky shot."

"Some luck." Voice said.

"It will look suspicious if we leave officially before the tournament is over. " Vincent said finally.

"His aura is all over that compound." Bethany replied.

"We could have it cleaned."

"I'm not trusting Rodrigo." Bethany said.

"We may not have a choice." Amy said.

"What about Callidora? She's in town, and she owes us a marker." Vincent said.

"What if we used Callidora to hire Rodrigo?"

"He'll know it's us. I didn't shield my aura." Bethany said.

"That's a rookie mistake." Vincent said.

"I know Vincent! I was trying to save my br-" She stopped suddenly, and took a deep breath.

"I was trying to save Stephen." She said finally. Vincent nodded, as if that was all the explanation in the world.

"Bethany, stay here. Amy and I will take care of this." He said finally. She nodded after a long, tense moment.

"Callidora, and glamours for two of our most trusted." He told Amy, who nodded. They vanished.

"What just happened?" I asked.

"I medevac'd you back home. Amy and Vincent are cleaning up the aftermath of your kidnapping, and when they return, we'll discuss what we do from there." She said, her tone was measured, even, and completely at odds with the look in her eyes.

"Why was I kidnapped?" I asked.

"An enemy of mine saw an opening and they took it. Stephen, I know you're injured, but there are things I need to do in the townhouse. To ensure our safety. Phobos." She said.

"Yes, Mistress?" The imp said, instantly appearing.

"Guard Stephen until I rearrange assets. Don't let him out of your sight. Kill anyone except Vincent or Amy, or myself who enters this room. I'll be sealing it when I leave." Bethany said.

"As you wish." He said, and Bethany vanished. The imp gave me a look.

"Young master did well today." He said. He settled on my bed's headrest.

"Is Europa okay?" I asked. The Imp was silent for a few moments.

"When my sister's body was destroyed, her essence returned to the Infernal Plain. She was obeying the terms of her binding. Should Lady Amelia choose to summon her once more, she will be more powerful than before." Phobos said after a long moment. I was silent at that. Phobos sat there, still and silent, and I was left to my thoughts. Suddenly static covered my skin. This had an edge to it. Like whatever was creating the static was hungry. Soon Bethany returned. She had changed out of her armor. She looked tired, and for the first time that I'd known her, almost old. Weary. She had an exhausted look about her I'd never seen before.

"You're going to be on potions for the next few weeks." She said finally.

"Why?" I asked. I felt fine now that I was dressed and away from those vampires.

"You were tortured Stephen. Magic can heal about anything, but your body underwent something even adults would have trouble recovering from. I want you to try refraining from casting for a
week or so." She said.

"What about the Dueling tournament, and Paris?" I asked. I was eager to explore the wider world I found myself in. Suddenly my leg twitched and trembled, and I fought against my body to stop it.

"You are in absolutely no shape to attend the Tournament. I've canceled my meetings in Paris, and we'll be spending the summer here. The next time you are to appear in public, I want you well armed. I know you were excited about summer, but these recent events have put me on edge. I'm moving our assets, and arranging for guards to be stationed here.
I'm not sure about you, but I absolutely hate being cooped up in a hospital bed, and you're going to be here a couple of days. If you like, I can bring up a few books on runes, and a couple of puzzles that go along with them. It will at least keep your mind occupied." She said.
I nodded. In a few moments she returned with a rune primer, and a small square cube.

"To beat the puzzle, you have to identify the rune and merkstave, or reverse it." She said.

"Do you want me to sit with you, or do you want me to go?" She asked.

"You can go if you want." I replied.

"I'll stay here." She said. She called the chair over to her and took a seat. A book soon found its way into her hands, and we sat for a while, me with my runes, and her with a book, an easy silence between us. Despite what I had just gone through, all was right in those few moments. That night, I was still confined to the hospital bed, but it was comfortable, and I drifted off.

The dream began pleasantly, but it soon morphed into a hellish parody of the last few days I'd just lived. I was back in the cell, and this time, I didn't manage to burn the vampire to ash. She tortured me until my limbs refused to move and my lips wouldn't work to cast the spell that would stop my torture. Cortés broke my shield, and ripped my throat from my body.

Or, my shield held, and I used my spell. But, instead of him on top of me, it was Bethany I killed or Amy or Vincent. As their blood covered me, I woke screaming, covered in a fine sheen of sweat. I looked around the Infirmary. It was empty.

"Phobos?" I called.

"Master calls?" He asked.

"Can you bring me a glass of water? And maybe something to help me sleep?" I asked. The imp nodded, and soon reappeared with a glass of water that I chugged down and a vial of milky white that I drank, ignoring the sour taste. I soon fell back to sleep. I did not dream again that night.

<BR>
What did everyone think? If you liked this chapter, please consider giving me an upvote, or a like if you're reading this on SpaceBattles or Questionable Questing. This is an already completed work, and each post will be a chapter (or half chapter) of the first book in the Aether Cycle. I'll be posting these chapters every week. If you like what you read, and want to support the author, and don't want to wait for updates, please consider purchasing The Voice in His Head from Amazon or Audible, or supporting me on Patreon.
You can discuss this chapter below, or in the Discord. If you're a Troper, the Aether Cycle TV Tropes page can be found here. This needs Wiki Love, so if you like doing that, and you're a fan, be my guest!
Finally, I'm going to be starting a newsletter shortly, and you can find the signup form for that here! Anyone who signs up for my newsletter will gain access to an exclusive short story from Bethany's point of view.

 

[jldew93]

 

[jldew93]

The next day, Bethany returned with breakfast. She was escorted by two guards that wore the same black armor Bartholomew favored, each had a silver rifle hanging from a shoulder strap.​

"I'm posting guards here for as long as I need." She said.​

"How long will that be?" I asked.​

"As long as it needs to be." She said.​

"I'm glad the guards are posted now, instead of when I could have used them." I said, and she frowned at me. I was in a foul mood. My wounds from the fight were mostly healed, and I was getting restless. I got out of bed.​

"Where are you going?"​

"Since I'm so well protected now, I figured I'd go to the library, if that's okay with you." I said.​

"I would absolutely love to know where this attitude is coming from." She said.​

"I just got kidnapped and tortured by a bunch of leeches! Where do you think it's coming from?" I asked, I began walking out the door.​

"Stephen, get back here. Right now." I heard her say. I ignored it.​

"You ungrateful brat!" She said, and I gasped. Something broke inside me, and I ran, ran towards the library. Towards the safety of trustworthy leather and faithful ink, and away from that betrayal. Instantly, Bethany called out after me.​

"Stephen! Wait!" I blocked out the sound of her voice and increased my speed. My back hurt from the sudden exertion, but I ignored the burn too-tight freshly knit skin, and ran into the library. I wanted to vanish, and so I did.​

A wave of emerald light flashed from my hand. This wasn't a spell. This was my need to change the universe, and the universe stepping aside and acquiescing. Bethany walked into the library a few moments later. I held my breath.​

"Stephen, where are you?" She asked. She frowned, and drew her wand, murmuring a spell as she did. A wave of gold light flared as the spell swept away from her in a circle. When the energies of the magic she called to life vanished, she frowned.​

"Stephen. I'm not sure if you're in here or not. If you are I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you that. I-." She stopped suddenly.​

"You remind me a lot of my brother, you know? He was just like you. Always ready to jump into a fight, looking to prove himself. Gods knew he didn't have to, mum and dad acted like the sun shone out of his arse. You remind me so much of him, and when you were hurt. It was like-" She stopped suddenly; I could see tears in her eyes.​

"It was like watching him die all over again." She said finally, taking a ragged shaky breath.​

"If you're here. Just let me know you're okay. Please." She said finally. She sounded exhausted, and I felt my own tears prickle at my face.​

"Look, I know you've had a bad life so far, and these last few days haven't helped. Give me one more chance. I promise you you'll be safe." She said. I sniffed, and broke the power granting me invisibility. She startled. Then she ran towards me. I cringed back, and she stopped.​

"I'm sorry." She said. I nodded.​

"Did you mean that, about your brother?" I asked.​

"If there was any doubt you were the child of Alexis Bonaparte and your namesake, that is gone." She said, and she took another step forward, and I walked away from the shelf, meeting her in the middle. She hugged me tightly, and I returned it, after a moment, we broke away.​

"We're going to figure this out. The prophecy, Voice. Everything. I promise you." She said, and I nodded.​

Maybe, just maybe, I had actually found a home.​

<BR>

What did everyone think? If you liked this chapter, please consider giving me an upvote, or a like if you're reading this on SpaceBattles or Questionable Questing. This is an already completed work, and each post will be a chapter (or half chapter) of the first book in the Aether Cycle. I'll be posting these chapters every week. If you like what you read, and want to support the author, and don't want to wait for updates, please consider purchasing The Voice in His Head from Amazon or Audible, or supporting me on Patreon.
You can discuss this chapter below, or in the Discord. If you're a Troper, the Aether Cycle TV Tropes page can be found here. This needs Wiki Love, so if you like doing that, and you're a fan, be my guest!
Finally, I'm going to be starting a newsletter shortly, and you can find the signup form for that here! Anyone who signs up for my newsletter will gain access to an exclusive short story from Bethany's point of view.

​

 

[jldew93]

June 26th​ 1925- September 25th​, 1925.
Andrews' Townhouse
London

The nightmares continued, and I quickly learned to raise spells of silence around my room at night.

The duels and casting drills Bethany and Eli subjected me to gained intensity. Now, in drills, I was blindfolded. In Duels, he began throwing actual spells into the mix. Mere splashes of aurically colored paint became a thing of the past. Eli submitted me to conjured daggers, blasts of frost, and shards of ice that I was forced to shield or counter.

Finally, there were runes. My instruction with them consisted of memorizing the tomes that Bethany gave me, and then I had to solve certain puzzles such as what rune was missing from a script, or what would best represent a certain concept. These days continued, until the last week of September. That was when they performed the ritual to adopt me into the Andrews' bloodline. The ritual began with me receiving the tools that Bethany had gotten made at the dwarves forge. Then I had to say an almost prayer-like spell over them, that left the gems in each of the swords' pommel glowing with my magic. A latin chant that eerily reminded me of the catechism I was forced to memorize for so long. The dwarven smith had carved runes and sigils along the length of four of the blades. The fifth was unadorned aside from a single rune that I knew as Mannaz. Bethany explained that it meant the blade could only be used by me. The two blades or athames I received also had runes inscribed along the length of the handles and blades.

I learned that the white handled knife was for herblore and cutting ingredients. The black blade was for carving runes into circles. Neither of these knives were meant to hurt someone, and they were tools, not weapons. The ritual began in late dusk. The three of them, Bethany, Amy and Vincent were present. Bartholomew was there too, and he had a permanent frown on his face.
I had learned much in the past month, and since this was my adoption ceremony, it fell to me to cast the circle and inscribe the runes that would power the spell. The ritual required five runes, one for each of the participants of the ritual.

I chose Othala, the rune representing inheritance. Jera, a rune that propelled endeavors to come to fruition. Thurisaz, to promote change. Sowilo, to promote success, and finally Berkano, a rune that symbolized birth and renewal. I carved the pentacle in the dirt of the island I had spent so much time on. At each point of the Pentacle, I drew a rune in the salt. In the center of each rune, I placed one of the four ritual blades, aside from the tip, or the focus of the Pentacle. The five of us were dressed in white robes tied with white rope. The setting sun painted the scene in brilliant orange and red, and I felt a hum in the air that night that I've only felt a few times since.

"I call this circle together, in perfect love, and perfect trust." I intoned. With a bit of blood that was given by each of them, along with a few drops of my own, I touched the edge of the pentacle. It sprang together with a hum of magic.

"I call thee, air! I call thee, cunning! I call thee, wisdom! I invoke your power for this rite!" Amy spoke. Her sword glowed with power, and an unseen wind whipped up around them.

"I call thee, fire! I call thee, strength! I call thee, power! I invoke your power for this rite!" Bethany said. I felt warmth caress my skin, and the sword shimmered with heat.

"I call thee, water! I call thee, fortune! I call thee, dreams! I invoke your power for this rite!" Bartholomew said, and ice grew out from the ceremonial blade.

"I call thee earth! I call thee, fettle! I call thee, steadfast! I invoke your power for this rite!" Vincent yelled. The earth rumbled, and it was then it was my turn.

"I call thee spirit! I call thee, awakening! I call thee, rebirth! I invoke your power for this rite!" I screamed into the night, and I felt magic itself pour into my core.

"Why do you call this circle, supplicant?" Bethany asked.
I closed my eyes and took a breath, recalling my words from the ritual.
"I call to be granted entry into the Andrews' line. I ask for clothes on my back. A roof on my head, and food on my plate. I give to them my oath as a mage, to stand steadfast in the interests of my family."

"As Knight of our House, I ask you, do you swear to uphold the name of House Andrews above all else, to raise the wand in its defense and the sword in its protection?" Amy asked.

"I so swear." I said.

"As Heir Primarius, I ask you, do you swear to stay true to our house words, and stand by our allies?" Bartholomew asked.

"I so swear." I said.

"As Matriarch of our House, I ask, do you swear to forsake the name you hold, and to accept your place in this house until Death calls you to the Great Beyond?" Bethany asked me.

"I so swear." I said.

"Thrice and done. The ring is given. The contract is signed, and our bargain is brokered. Our accord is complete, and your supplication has been granted. As Matriarch, I grant thee entrance. May my hand comfort thee. My teachings guide thee, and my loom cloth thee." She replied.

"As Patriarch, I grant thee entrance. May my gold feed thee, my hearth warm thee, and my house shelter thee." Vincent said.

"So mote it be." The three of them said in unison.

"Stephen Bonaparte, no longer shall you be called as such. Henceforth, you will be known as Stephen Andrews, of my house. Of my line. Of my coven." Bethany said. Magic recognized the bond and the invocation, and the circle glowed with power. I felt it surge through me, like a live wire. I felt a thread to Bethany, Bartholomew, Amy, and to a lesser extent, Vincent, snap into place.

The ritual complete, we dismissed the powers we invoked. I gathered my ritual swords, and then I scattered the salt that was used to form the runes. Finally, Bartholomew spoke.

"I resign my claim as Heir Primarius. Stephen Andrews, I name thee my successor." He replied. His family ring flashed silver. My own ring flashed emerald, and magic accepted my entry into House Andrews.

"There's one thing left for us to do. We need to tie you into the family source." Bethany said.

"Source?" I asked.

"What's that?" Voice asked.

"Each House builds their Covenstead above a font of magic. Think of it as a way to augment our magic. We power our wards with these fonts and can call upon them in times of great need." Bethany said.

We left the island, and Bethany took me downstairs, past the dining room, into the basement and the kitchen. She opened a door, and we walked down several flights of stairs until the air grew almost stale, and even the bright magically lit sconces seemed dim in the gloom. Eventually, the stairs ended, and we came to a room. In the center, there was a crystalline tree, a great oak growing from the ground glowing with magic, and shimmering with power.

My breath caught in my chest, and for one eternal second, the only beings in existence were me and that tree. I walked towards the tree, my feet moving of their own accord. One and a dozen steps later I stood in front of the tree. I had never felt something so pure in all my life. Just standing close to it felt like all my worries were washed away. Like my cares were gone, and the traumas of the orphanage ceased to be. I felt hot tears run down my cheeks, and then I placed my hand against the oak. A storm of memories assaulted me.

Men died around me to fight for one more second. Giving me time with their life's blood. I was on a silver-blue ship floating through the void. The ship and I were both mortally wounded. I had a sword in my hand, and heavy armor weighed my wounded, broken body down.

Then I was standing in front of a hospital bed. A family that I knew, but somehow, were strangers to me, surrounded a woman. They were standing vigil for the reaper that was sure to come in wee hours when only prayers and dark deeds were welcome. A week of endless tears and narrowly held sanity followed.

Then, I was in a plain wooden room. A dimly burning candle and a book of poisoned scripture my only companions, desperate prayers to anyone or anything that would listen to end the hell I was caught in. There were a half dozen more memories or reflections that I only recognized a few of.

Then, suddenly, the assault on my senses ended, and I found that I had sunk to my knees. My throat felt raw, like I'd been screaming, and the tree was glowing emerald aura green.

The light pulsed once, and I felt the magic surround me. It felt like safety and home. Like the first warm day after bleak months of gloomy, sludgy winter. Then the glow receded, and the tree changed. The stout oak changed.

The change morphed into three separate intertwined trunks, linking together like a celtic knot, and growing until they almost reached the cavernous ceiling above.
I stood up, and turned around. Four equally shocked faces stared back at me. Bartholomew was the first to speak.

"It appears the House of Andrews lies in Rowan once more." He said, and he walked away.

"Are you okay?" Bethany asked, and for a second, I saw what looked almost like hope in her eyes.

"I'm fine." I said, and then inexplicably, the hope vanished.

"What happened?" She asked.

"What did you see?" I replied.

"You dropping to your knees and screaming bloody murder." She replied, her voice careful, guarded. I paid attention to my senses. Half truth. I didn't press.

"Why did the tree change?" I asked.

"The font reflects the birthwood of the Heir. Yours is Rowan. I'm not sure why it's twined like that, usually that means there's three heirs of the House."

"Could it be counting Voice?" I asked. A look came across Bethany's face and was gone just as quickly.

"I'm not sure. I'll add that to the growing list of topics I need to research."

"Voice, are you okay?" I said. I felt something from him that I'd never felt. Loss. Sadness, an overwhelming sense of Grief that swept across him like a wave.

"Voice?" I asked aloud, and the four of them each gave me looks.

"I'm fine kid. I-" He stopped, and let out a mental sob.

"Kid, those were my memories. At least part of them were. It kicked up a lot of dust that I thought had settled. I need-"

"Give me time." He said finally. I gave him the mental equivalent of the nod. I had to wonder. If those were an amalgam of both of our memories, who did the third set belong to?

<BR>

What did everyone think? If you liked this chapter, please consider giving me an upvote, or a like if you're reading this on SpaceBattles or Questionable Questing. This is an already completed work, and each post will be a chapter (or half chapter) of the first book in the Aether Cycle. I'll be posting these chapters every week. If you like what you read, and want to support the author, and don't want to wait for updates, please consider purchasing The Voice in His Head from Amazon or Audible, or supporting me on Patreon. You can discuss this chapter below, or in the Discord. If you're a Troper, the Aether Cycle TV Tropes page can be found here. This needs Wiki Love, so if you like doing that, and you're a fan, be my guest!

Finally, I'm going to be starting a newsletter shortly, and you can find the signup form for that here! Anyone who signs up for my newsletter will gain access to an exclusive short story from Bethany's point of view.

 

[jldew93]

June-September 1929.
Andrews Townhouse.
London.


The days flew into a blur, and soon three years had passed since I had arrived at the townhouse. After I learned the librum spell, I had devoured the library. Well, at least the books that weren't spelled away, locked behind wards that I had tried to break unsuccessfully. This earned me several conversations with Bethany.
I devoured all I could get my hands on about the magical world. I gained a solid understanding of rune magic, and all sorts of spells for defense and offense. As I learned more about runes, I began slowly carving spells into my staff by creating runic scripts with my white-handled knife.

It now contained a couple of force spells that I could trigger with a mental pneumonic. Bethany wouldn't let me dabble in ritual magic, or darker magic, but I knew a lot of theory behind it. How different metamath properties lead to different inflections and results in the preceding spellcraft. I learned the fundamentals of spellcrafting, although I had yet to invent any spells of my own, besides the happy accident that was Iactus

Another six months passed, and I felt as though I had a good grounding on the basics of magic, as well as swordplay.
The summer before I was slated to enroll in Coventry, as had become our custom, Bethany took me shopping again. This time my wardrobe included several sets of the jacket, pants, shirt and tie that all Coventry students wore. These, my vast collection of books, and the tools I would need for the upcoming year, were held in a trunk with about the same square footage as my room at home, and had been similarly kitted out with a small alchemy lab, a sparring room, and my personal library.

We met with the dwarves, and I was pleased that my pencils were finally turning me a profit. Wraithgrip, who had used his portion of profits to deage himself, had put off retirement for a few decades more. I sold him the idea for something Voice called a "Bic Pen", a pen enchanted with endless ink, and that promised me even more tremis to spend in the future. I had kept the original terms of Bethany's agreement, and the House had started to gain even more wealth.

From what Bethany had told me, with the end of Prohibition, some of our business in the States had dried up, as it were.
The summer passed, and in the last week of August, Bethany took me back to London's marketplace, and through a grand silver mirror. We found ourselves on a platform that had hundreds of other children and parents saying their goodbyes. Bethany hugged me tightly.

"I'll see you at Yule, don't forget to use the mirror to call me." She whispered, and I nodded. She teleported away with a twist. I took a deep breath and then exhaled. Then I looked toward the line of students and the array of mirrors that they were lining up in front of. I found the line that said new students and walked with my classmates into the portal.
We exited into a great stone hallway. There were dozens of large wooden round tables scattered about, and thirteen square pillars turned the room into a twisting maze-like area. Each table held seats for about fifty students. There was a long rectangular table at the front of the room. A few adults sat at it, conversing among themselves. A series of stained-glass windows on the walls depicted scenes of magical history. Alongside these were glowing orbs of light housed in sconces.

"First Form Students!" A big cheery banner floating above one section of the room read. There were over a dozen older students, at thirteen of the wooden tables. Each had a glittering golden badge pinned to their lapels. They stood around the tables. They all had silver slates in their hands. There were hundreds of students in the room already, the room had to have already been half filled, and still there were children pouring in from the mirror and older students slowly filing in from two massive wooden runed doors that had been flung open. I felt my anxiety rise, and with it my magic.

"Simmer down kid." Voice said, and I reigned in my magic.

I walked over to them.

"Tap your wand on this." One of them said. I did, and it glowed.

"Alpha Squad. Interesting. Alex!" He yelled.

"What is it?" One of the male students asked.

"This midgie is one of yours!" he said, and the male student nodded. He walked over to me and extended his wand.

"Heir Alex Roman, Seventh Form in Charge of First Alpha." He said.

"Heir Stephen Andrews, Heir Primarius of House Andrews." I replied. We tapped wands, our auras flared, and he led me to a table.

"Welcome to Coventry, Heir Andrews. Take a seat over there. The other members of your pod will be here shortly." He said. I moved to the table. In the center, inscribed in gold, was the roman numeral one, and the greek letter Alpha.

I took a seat, and soon a black-haired boy took a seat at the spot next to me. His raven hair had deep blue streaks throughout, and his eyes shone with the lamplight glow all mages had. Then we were joined by a boy with icy blue eyes, and a girl with eyes that were so dark purple they were nearly black. Soon our table was filled.

"Heir Stephen Andrews, you may use my given name." I said, drawing my wand, and turning to the raven-haired boy. He had a serious look on his face.
The boy drew his own wand.

"William Lowe, you may also use my given name." He replied seriously. We tapped our wands together. Deep blue aura bled into vibrant green. For an eternal second, we shared each other's gaze. I felt protective. I saw a vision of four children, two boys and two girls, all raven haired and fair skinned playing in the summer shade. One of the children, the younger boy, suddenly fell from the tree he was climbing with a terrified scream. A nimbus of blue light surrounded him, and he landed. William stood; his hand outstretched. A look of confusion on his face. William receiving a visit from two professors at the school. A thrill running through his bones as he realized he wasn't alone. Then, William, dressed as a knight of old, astride a unicorn. Sword in hand, wand raised. A look of determination on his face. The vision ended, and I took a breath.

"Does that happen with every mage you meet?" The boy asked. A look of worry, and slight fear on his face. He had scooted away. I took a breath, and wiped sweat from my suddenly sweaty palms. He abruptly looked away from me.

"So far." I said.

"What did you see?" I asked him.

"Do you know a gold haired lady?" William replied.

"That's my guardian." I said. William nodded.

"Have you ever fought a dragon?" He asked.

"What?"

"I saw you, dressed in armor. Fighting a dragon. The dragon was winning." William replied.

"No, I can't say that I have. I've fought a vampire before. Have you ever ridden a unicorn."

"Lies don't become anyone." The girl said, she gave me a pointed look.

"I'm not lying, and who might you be?" I asked, wand outstretched. The girl was wearing tattered clothes, second or third hand clothing I'd been all too familiar with. She had strawberry blond hair, streaked through with purple that was nearly shorter than my own. You can tell a lot by someone's hands. Most of the people I'd met in the magical world had soft ones, from lack of hard work, and magic doing that for them. Her hands were red and raw. Hours of dishes, and endless sewing.

"Emily York." She said stiffly, her own wand in her hand. We tapped, and our auras flared.

I saw her, roughly five years younger. A look of pain on her face. Tears in her eyes. I felt pain between her legs. A pain not unlike some of the older boys described when the priest that ran... I cut that chain of thought off, pushing those memories down deep. I took a deep breath. That was done. I was safe. I'd never return to that place.

I saw her in a garden. Kneeling in the grass. She was talking to a snake of some kind. Whispering in a harsh language. A thrown rock. The snake's head caved in. Older boys laughing. A dam breaking inside of her, and one of the older boys, nearly a teenager grimacing in pain and blood running down his nose and eyes. He fell to his knees. Blood foaming at his mouth, his face going purple. A dark blue glow surrounding Emily's hands. A satisfied smile.

She was older, now an adult. Dressed in black leather armor that I recognized as dragon hide. A wand in one hand. A glowing ring that hummed with power on her other. I was standing beside her. My own magic called up. To my right, a grown version of William. Sword aloft, bloody from a battle. We all had the same grim, determined looks on our faces.

"Well met, York." I replied.
The vision ended as abruptly as it began. I returned to reality.

"You're an orphan too?" She asked. I nodded. I wondered what she had seen in her vision of my past, and of my future. By mutual unspoken agreement we turned away from each other. Each of us was unwilling to share what we had seen. I introduced myself to my other tablemates.

I turned to the boy next to me, offered my wand, and made my introduction.

"Reginald Coldwood. Of House Coldwood." The boy next to me said. He had an outgoing bubbly demeanor. He was a bit round in the middle and had brown hair and sea-green eyes. His ears, while not completely almost sharp like Eli's, had a soft tapered look to them. We tapped wands. There was another vision. This vision was of an adult Reginald surrounded by plants, happily teaching a class of Coventry students.
Theodora Chrissenbloom was from a family of well-known alchemists. Calumn Thorne was a family from the Ontario Thornes, and I mentally designated him as trouble, if they followed the tradition of the United Kingdom Thornes.
Juniper Robbards was a mundane born, and Calem Robére was a quiet boy. I remembered his amber eyes from Matilda's shop. I thanked the powers that be Tanya Brennan wasn't seated at my table. Soon the hall was filled with the buzz of new and returning students, and Roman had seated himself at our table. I noticed the older students sat around the perimeter of the room while the younger students sat closer to the center. That was smart. They could protect the younger ones if anything were to happen. Suddenly there was a loud bang from the front of the room. I turned. There was an older man standing behind the staff table. He was dressed in the black jacket, trousers and shirt of Coventry staff.

"Welcome to another year at illustrious Coventry!" The man said, a jovial look on his face.

"My name is Aaron Blackwood, I'm the headmaster here. I welcome our first-year students to the annals of learning, and welcome back our returning students. There are a few announcements before we begin the feast. First Form Students, you will receive your schedules in the morning. Please consult with your student advisor if you have any questions about your schedule when you receive it. As always, we'll begin classes on Monday to allow for students to adjust for the extended day Coventry has. Third form students, your elective classes will be added to your schedule following your alignment ritual on Samhain. Sixth and Seventh form Students, wandless flight classes will not be held this year due to our instructor suffering an accident. If you wish to seek outside instruction, please inform Dean Maple or Dean Coldhollow as soon as possible to allow for your schedule arrangements. Finally, and as always, we stress the dangers of Chronosickness, and if you find your fellow student exhibiting strange behavior, report it to your pod leader or a member of the staff immediately. I believe that's the end of the announcements." Headmaster Blackwood said, and with a snap of his fingers, the tables were laden with an enormous feast. There were gallons of steaming soup in silver tureens, Bowls of mashed potatoes with great shimmering pats of butter. fragrant brown gravy hovering in the air in flying gravy boats. Platters of perfectly pink roasts. Succulently roasted chicken and turkey. Steaming heaps of vegetables. Baskets of golden-brown bread. An entire smorgasbord of desserts that practically made my teeth hurt.
I filled my plate and soon we settled in. There was water and tea and juice. I saw bottles of wine and sparkling champagne being passed around by one of the older tables.

"Coventry always has amazing food." Roman said, choose a few slices of beef that looked perfectly pink. I grabbed a few slices before the tray was suddenly whisked away by a fifth form's spell.

"That was Coldwood Beef! I wanted a slice of that." Reg said with a yell.

"What's Coldwood Beef?" I asked. Reg sighed, as if searching for an answer.
"It's beef that's always perfect. How do you see the beef?

"It was just this side of rare." I said.

"I saw it with just a hint of pink. I'm sure Roman saw it as almost mooing, knowing about his family." Reg replied.

"I'd take ten for your cheek, if we were deducting points." Roman said, taking a satisfied bite of the beef. I held a hand out, and gave a soft tug on the platter, swiping it away from the fifth form who gave me a glare. I set the platter down on the table.

"Enjoy." I replied, and Reg looked at my telekinesis in awe.

"Good show for a midgie, I do believe that earned you the right to call me by my given name." Roman replied.

"That's pretty damn altruistic of you, kid." Voice said.

"I'm just following The Plan." I replied. The Plan was, of course, to elevate ourselves to the Thirteen, or the Seven. It was Bethany's Plan, and Voice's follow through. The first stage of the plan was to look for potential allies. If there was an established group, I would leave them alone and wouldn't try to take them on until I had established a group of my own. If they're a group of newly formed friends, as in, they looked like they still didn't know each other that well, then by all means, I would worm my way in and subtly establish myself as a leader.

In all seriousness the orphanage had probably prepared me better than the luxurious solitude the townhouse afforded. There were certain skills useful to future politicians that could be picked up in childhood, especially when one was constantly surrounded by large numbers of other children. Of course, adults usually turned a blind eye to these little antics. Adults tended to ignore children until they reached the same lofty status. Then those new adults would compare notes and realize who they owed their allegiance to. I was a wolf among sheep, and from this rabble, I would find my own pack.

My pod would be the first members of my clique, and then I would start picking off stragglers from Beta and Delta Squads. Anyone Gamma and below were practically useless anyway. They'd be good employees, but nothing more. Certainly, too inept to stand in the inner circle I wanted to form. Dinner soon slowed to an end, and Alex led us out of the small castle that made up the teacher's quarters and great hall, through six rows of dull grey structures and into a pod. It was sparsely decorated. Seven rows of bunkbeds and desks, and a king size solitary bed with a desk by its side.

Somewhere along the way, a female seventh form student had joined us.

"This will be your home for the next thirty-six months. Make of this space what you will, but there are morning inspections, and we will perform deductions based on your performance.
Cleanliness and hygiene are a must. Yes, boys, that means that you must wear deodorant. All toiletries are provided by the school. To the few mundane-born girls in our number, Leanna here will be going over those spells when I have a session with the boys here. That will be sometime this weekend." Alex said. The girls seemed to know what he was referring to and I did as well, but most of the other boys looked confused. Bethany had been quick about teaching me those spells. Especially when who knew what the Brennans attempt.

"Tonight, we will get to know each other better, and help you adjust to the different schedule Coventry has. We run on a thirty-hour day because we are a mixed curriculum school. Please save those questions for magical theory class. For the first few days you are here, you'll experience a change in your sleep patterns and possible insomnia as your body gets used to this. Part of the reason why we reconvene on a Friday is to allow us to adjust to this. Your Dean is Professor Crestwood. For an ice breaker, we'll go around the room, and have everyone introduce themselves. Everyone get into a circle, and we'll start." He sat where he was at, and we formed a rough circle around the two older students.

"Alex Roman, of House Roman. I'm a Journeyman battle mage, and I'm a Seventh form student." He said, and to his right, the other seventh form student spoke.

"I'm Leanna Michaels, soon of House Roman. I'm a Journeywoman Warder." To her right,

"Alicia Calhoun, of the Belfast Coven. I'm a summer changeling." Alicia was a willowy redhead who spoke with a slight Irish brogue. Where Reg was well filled out, like a bear cub, Alicia was thin, waifishly so.

"Heir Alexei Valmont, Novitiate Enchanter, of House Valmont." Alexei was a sturdy looking boy with dark brown hair and glinting purple eyes. That drew murmurs. "Stephen Andrews. I drew a false positive on the affinity test." I said.

"A false positive?" Alexei asked.

"My magic reacted with all of the bowls. We'll be retesting me this summer." I replied. There were scattered looks around the room.

"Of the London Andrews?" A prim looking boy with nearly platinum blond hair, and white aura-colored pupils said. His clothes were cut from the same cloth as mine, meaning he had money.

"Yes." I replied. The boy smirked, "Malcolm Grey, Heir to House Grey." He replied, extending his wand. I glared at him for a moment. House Gray was certainly below House Andrews. They didn't even have a seat on the Vox. For him to extend his wand first was an insult, disguised as friendship, wrapped in a power play.

"Well met." I said, dragging the words out into a bored drawl. Which meant, fuck off, I'm not playing your game. He slowly withdrew his wand, the moment passed, and the game resumed.

"William Lowe. My dad's in the service." William said.

"The mage reserves?" Alex asked.

"I'm mundane-born." William replied nervously. The air suddenly gained a slight edge.

"Well met, my parents are as well." Alex replied, and the tension suddenly left the room.

"Emily York, mundane-born. I like books." Emily replied.

"Reginald Coldwood, of the Northumberland Coldwoods. I have my own greenhouse."

"The Coldwoods are known for their farming, aye?" Alicia asked, and Reginald nodded.

"Well met, Summer's child." He replied. She nodded to him after a moment and spoke.

"Well met Winterbourne." She replied.

"Clarissa Penhallow, Journeymen Enchantress." The next girl said. She was a quiet slip of a girl. That caused a few whispers around the room. Usually journeymen weren't selected until the end of our second year.
The prim looking boy was Aloysius Moon, a line going back six generations. Selena Lovelace was a serious looking girl who had bright yellow streaks of aura coloring her hair. Tyson Savage was a boy who had his growth spurt early. He had gangly limbs and an infectious laugh. Tiberius Lockwood was from a family of politicians who held a seat on the Ruling body of the Council Majeure. He was directly in line for the hereditary seat on the Council of the High Seven. He had a twin sister, Olivia. Finally, Jocelyn York, of the Brighton Yorks was the last to be introduced. Then Alex stood.

"Now, as tradition, there are an odd number of beds in this room. Coventry runs on a basis of Power. Each of you were selected for Alpha Pod because you scored the highest of your cohort on the Wheller-Rosen scale. I'm sure the mage born among you have already studied their curriculum in advance. I'm sure one of you mundane born has as well. Your first trial in these hallowed academic halls begins tonight. The last left standing will be the one to sleep in that bed. No dark magic or permanently harmful spells are allowed, and nothing that can't be easily repaired. You may begin." Alex said, and stepped away from the circle, raising a shimmering soft green spell. There was silence for a moment. Then, hell was unleashed in the dorm. My quick thinking and almost instant scuto stopped three spells from colliding with me. I felt the binder coming from behind my head and dropped to the ground. Aloysius Moon was the first to fall to a jelly binder.

"That could have killed us!" Voice said, and I agreed. I rolled up, and spun on my heel, to see Malcolm Grey staring at me. I unleashed a binder, shielded from a stinger, and conjured a dagger I'd sent hurling towards him. He ducked the conjured steel and it hit the wall behind him, he came up, leading with another jelly binder, as silent as my own spells, and I broke that. I threw out a nail ripper, painful, and more Grey than Dark, but still healable.

He countered with his own Gray throat constrictor and I blocked and parried with a trio of conjured daggers. A very angry and bound with rope Juniper Robbards dropped in front of me, and I dodged a second binder coming from Calem Robére. This hit William, who fell to the ground.
My duel with Gray continued for a few more seconds, until he fell to a binder, and I searched for another opponent. By this time, half the class was down, and there were only six of us standing. Calem Robére and Reginald Coldwood were trading spells from the cover of bunk beds.

Selene Lovelace and Clarissa Penhollow had claimed a set of bunk beds and had raised shields so that each of them was guarding a side, and Emily York was looking for an opponent.
As she raised her wand, I made a gesture with my head towards Reginald and Calem. She quickly caught my meaning, and we swiftly bound those two.
Then we turned our wands on each other, and it was all I could to block and deflect as she fired off spells at a rate I found staggering. As I blocked and shielded, I tripped Grey with a yelp and found myself on my back. I flipped over, and suddenly it was Cortés approaching me.

"Ia-" I began speaking, ready to unleash my full power out and destroy the specter.

"Kid! Kid! STEPHEN! Stop!" Voice yelled. I froze.

"You're at school. You're safe. She's a kid. Don't do this." He said. I shook my head, and reality reasserted itself.

"I yield." I said, and she stopped in her tracks. Confusion on her face.

"What's the matter, Andrews, won't hit a girl?" She asked with a sneer.

"Fuck off, York." I said. I chose a bunk and took a seat.

"Well well, the crawler girl has moxie." Leanna said, and York spun and a shot a bone breaker in her direction. Leanna blocked this easily.

"We'll be watching you, York." She said.
The two of them went and undid and healed the spells we had thrown at each other, while the other repaired bunks. When it was done, Reginald and Calem chose a bunk.

"Can I take the top one?" William Lowe asked me. I'm not sure why, but a sudden blush worked my way into his cheeks.

"W-what?" I asked.

He gave me a look, like I had done something particularly stupid.

"The top bunk." He said with an upward flick of his head.

"Is it taken?" I asked, and he nodded.

"No. It's not. Unless you want to take it." I said quickly. He shook his head and tapped the topped headrest with his wand. With a pop, his trunk appeared under the bed, joining mine.
Finally, Alex walked up and down our bunks.

"Can anyone tell me what this exercise did. Heir Andrews, maybe you can, since your House Motto so appropriately explains this." He said.

"Fortune Favors the Strong." I said.

"Exactly. Coventry is a school for the strong. To even think about entering it, each of you had to score high enough on the Wheller-Rosen scale. This is Alpha Pod. The strongest of thirteen squads this year. By the end of the year eleven of you will remain. By the end of your academic career. Seven of you will remain. The rest won't be expelled by any means. You'll be shifted down to Beta, or even Delta or Gamma, and someone will take their place. Outside these walls, Alpha is to have a unified front. Just don't kill each other when you're not. But, make no mistake. Coventry will test and try you like nothing else. My only job is to make sure you lot don't not take care of yourselves or go missing. It is not my concern if you miss meals, don't do your homework, or lose your possessions. I fully expect you to look after yourself. Next week, I will be shadowing you to ensure you know where your classes are and how to navigate the campus.
After that, unless one of you is bleeding out, expect no help from me. The lights will turn out automatically. Try and stay up till then. I will see you all tomorrow morning for a mock inspection." Alex said, and the two seventh forms left the pod. An hour or so after that, the lights in the pod slowly began dimming. Until they extinguished themselves.
The next morning, in the early hours, I was woken by the lights turning on. I rolled over with a groan and buried my head in the pillow to try and block out the noise of the other inhabitants of my pod getting up.
A few hours, or minutes, I wasn't sure, later, A loud bang woke me up again. I whirled unto my back; my wand was in my hand. Alex Roman strode through the door.

"Good morning midges!" He said cheerfully.
He looked around the pod. The ones who were magically raised were up, freshly dressed and showered. They were dressed in crisp Coventry uniforms, and stood at the end of their beds, which were freshly made. Each stood in a typical parade rest stance.

"Andrews, Lowe, Robbards, York! Out of bed! Now!" Alex barked. With a wave of his wand our beds dumped us out of them.

"Get up! Get up!" He said.
I stood grumpily.

"You've had two hours to get ready, and you slept. Get moving." He said. I stood groggily. I hadn't changed out of uniform the day before. I began making my bed. My skill at this was sloppy. I hadn't had to make my bed in almost four years.

"Starting Monday, if you are still in bed during inspection, you will be punished. I expect your beds to be made, and you to be dressed." He said. The next hour was grueling as each of us struggled through a quick shower and dressed. Then we were chivvied out to the grounds and made to run the length of the island. We were escorted back to our Pod. We were each given a map.

"Breakfast will run until noon. Lunch will follow immediately after. Make sure you eat today." Alex said, and left. I grabbed my backpack; it was already stocked with school supplies and books. I put that over my shoulder and left to finally grab breakfast. There were already a few older students drinking tea and talking quietly over breakfast. Alongside one wall a small buffet had been set up. I grabbed a plate and helped myself to eggs and toast. There was a carafe of tea at the table when I came back. I filled a cup and put two lumps of sugar and a squeeze of lemon in it. I waved my wand over it while murmuring a cooling spell and took a sip. It was delicious.

I had pulled out a book on runes and was reading it when three of my classmates joined me.

"William and Reginald, right?" I asked. They both nodded.

"I'm sorry, but I forget your name." I told the raven-haired boy standing just behind them.

"Calem Robére." He replied, there was just a trace of France in his voice.

"Why aren't you at Lumière?" I asked.

"My father was French, but my parents died in the Great War. My mother's family is raising me, and they're British." He said.

"So, William, you're a mundane born, right?" Reginald asked.

"And what of it?" William asked gruffly.

"Nothing really. I've never met one. I've been on the books for Coventry for ages. Mundane are usually thrown into a day school. They usually aren't admitted to Coventry. The last one was in my sister's year. They're both at a school in the states right now. I personally don't care about your origins. If you managed to pass Coventry's entrance exams, then you've earned your place here." Reginald said. I grabbed a book on Runes out of my bag and began rereading it.
William was silent for a moment. He was writing something on a piece of parchment, there were a few ink spots here and there. I took a few sheets of paper out of my bag, and a refilling fountain pen, and handed it to him. He took them with a nod of thanks.

"Who are you writing?" I asked.

"My brother and sisters." I nodded and went back to studying.

"Do you have any siblings?" He asked, and I felt a strange wave of nostalgia from Voice.

"I'm an orphan." I said and sipped my cooling cup of tea.

"Oh." He said, lost for words.

"It's fine mate. I am too." Calem said softly, and I sent a grateful look in his direction.
Emily York wandered into the hall. She spotted us and made her way over after grabbing herself a plate.

"What are you lot up to?" She asked amicably.

"Commiserating about our parents, or lack thereof." I replied. She made a small smile and nodded. William and Reginald looked uncomfortable.

I gave them both a soft look.

"It's fine. I am at least. The orphanage was shit, but my guardian is amazing." I replied and gave them a smile. They looked at ease.
Emily, who had bitten into her toast, gave me a look. She sat her plate down and swallowed her toast.

"I wish I could say the same." She muttered.

"Which school did you say your sister and her friend were at, Reg?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from the elephant in the room.

"The one in upstate New York, Fairchild's I believe. Her friend is at Miskatonic." Reginald replied, and I nodded. I recognized the name, and it caused all manner of alarm bells to ring in my head. I needed to ask Bethany about that as soon as possible. Voice chimed in with his own alarm. The name sounded dangerous.

"It's very fucking dangerous kid. We need to mirror her about that." He said, over time, he had managed to lower the tone of his voice from a conversation tone to a whisper in my ear.


"My family lives in Mundane London." I told them. Even though I wouldn't really call my living situation a family. I barely saw Vincent. Amy and Bethany sometimes vanished for days at a time, only to reappear battle worn and tired.

We ate in peace. Soon, the hall was filled with students. I put away my book and then began getting up. I wasn't in the mood for hundreds of loud voices and the clamor of crowds.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked.

"To the Library. I want to see what books Coventry has on enchanting." I replied.

"Sounds interesting, I'll come with you." She replied.

"Aren't we a little young for that?" Reginald asked.
I shrugged.

"Well, you three have fun in the library. I'm going to the greenhouses. My uncle says that Coventry has plants from around the world. I really want to see Brazilian strangling vine." He said. William and Emily gave him odd looks. Calem was finishing his toast.

"I'll have to check this out when class isn't in session." I thought.

"Do you three want to come with me?" I asked the others.

"I'm going to go for a broom-flight. It's a nice day out." Calem said. He finished his toast and left.
We left the hall. William trailed behind Emily and me. We walked as we talked.

"I've already finished reading most of the first form books. They're all quite interesting. I'm really looking forward to Invocation and Magical Theory." She said.

"Invocation is such a beginner class. It's just easy spells." I replied.

"They do seem easy, but if we're going to participate in the National Circuit, we need to gain a thorough grounding in our basic spellcraft." She replied.

"Do both of you plan on dueling?" William asked.

"You don't?" I asked.

"I'm not even sure if I want to stay in the magical world just yet." He replied, and we both gave him looks.

"Why wouldn't you?" I asked.

"My entire family is mundane, and both my parents are religious. It took some talking just to come here for a trial year." He said.

"But your magic would be stilled!" Emily protested.

"You can't miss something you don't really want." He replied.

"So why did you come here?" I asked. He stopped and stared, and looked at us, like we had each grown a second head.

"Surely you know." He said, and we both shook our heads.

"Attendance at a school is compulsory if you're as powerful as I am." He said and resumed walking. We each shared looks. I had definitely scored high on the Wheller-Rosen Scale, but I had no idea that mages with high scores were forced to attend.

 

[jldew93]

September 15th, 1929- December 21st, 1929
Coventry Academy
Unknown Location
United Kingdom


Sunday passed uneventfully aside from that discussion with Alex Roman
Monday morning dawned, and I let out a groan. I was still getting used to the extra hours in our day. I managed to grab a shower. I was kind of weirded out by the showers. Instead of the shower of the townhouse, our bath was a pool that wrapped around us, and almost instantly, and retreated in a whirl of soap that left me clean, but slightly red. The smell was nearly intoxicating, in a good way. In the last couple of days, my trunk had gotten messy, and our schedule would be outdoors until after breakfast.

"Hey Reg, do you happen to have a spare cloak I could borrow?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah, no problem, mate." He said.

"Thanks." I said. Alex Roman walked into our Pod; A tray of books was following him.

"You have until the end of the week to memorize these spells, and ensure you use them." He said. A copy of each book floated to us, and I looked at the title.
Twenty-five every-day invocations for the busy mage by Amanda Blair.

"Chrissenbloom. These sheets aren't straight. Ten from."

"Sir?" Chrissenbloom said.

"Fix your bed novitiate and make that fifteen."

"Andrews, organize your trunk properly. Take five." He walked to the end of the row, and then backed up.

"York, excellent organization."

"Coldwood, five from and fix that blanket." He walked up to Calem, and picked a piece of lint from his shirt, flicking it away.

"Five from Robére."

"Lockwood?"

"Yes Sir?" Two voices rang out and he winced.

"Olivia." He said.

"Perfect sheets." He said.

"Those who have imperfections, the point loss will be doubled tomorrow, and double again the day after that, until this is fixed. Now, fall in." He said, and he led us out of the bunkhouse, and to the trail where we were joined by the rest of the first-form students.

The jog that followed was hellish. We were forced to run, and as we did, second-form students would shoot at us from the bushes at either side. The spells they used were mostly humiliating in nature and were forced to dodge and shield against them. Overhead, the sky above the island was filled with different years of students fighting running aerial practice duels, making the still dark sky explode in blasts of aurically colored spellfire like an eldritch firework shower. Occasionally an upper year would swoop down, powered by their own skill with unaided flight, and terrorize us.
Emily was the first to reach the finish line and earned fifty points. The second was Calem, he earned twenty-five. I was third and earned ten. After our morning run, we came into breakfast. Because of our year group, we ate last.

Our first class was Magical Theory.
Our teacher was a tall, thin man with tapered ears. His voice was soft but carried because of a spell.

"Welcome to Magical Theory. My name is Doctor Leopold Coldhollow. I'm here to teach you about what magic is. This class is a two-year program. Successful graduation is required to pursue apprenticeship in every spell-based field Coventry teaches. Just because there will be minimal magic used, does not mean this class is easy." He said, and he began pacing.

"Bored to tears." Voice said, and I had to agree.

"If anyone can tell me what Magic is, I will release them from this class for the entirety of the semester." Dr. Coldhollow said. Emily's hand was in the air before he finished his sentence. He gave
her a look just shy of patronizing.

"Do tell, Miss York." He said.

"Magic is the act of bending the universe around you."

"That's quite a textbook answer. Can you elaborate?"

She stopped, and cocked her head, then she answered with a smile.

"Magic is a Power that mages tap into when they perform spells. It's composed of ten different forces that combine into a gestalt and allow you to force the world to confine to your whims." Professor Coldhollow stopped for a moment, and with a small smile, spoke. He made a motion with his wand,

"Take ten, Miss York, and continue your exposition." He said.

"Magic is Energy, Motion and Magnetism. Magic is your Thoughts and Will thrown through Space and Time. Magic is Matter. It's a prayer from your soul, spoken in a forgotten tongue and thrown out into the void to affect the world around you." She said, and she had a wistful air about her.

"That last part was a bit poetic, but that does encapsulate what magic is composed of. While I won't give you the remainder of the semester off, because the definition of magic and a complete understanding is something that could take lifetimes to find. I will give you twenty-points." He said.

"Can someone please tell me what the two terms of magic are?" He asked. There was silence.

"Magic is cost, and magic is volatile. The first cost could be something relative. Usually this is mana, or thaum usage. Most spells are powered through this. Magic can also take its toll. Can someone give me an example of a cost that isn't mana?" He asked.
After a minute passed, I raised my hand.

"Heir Andrews?" He asked.

"Blood, like the sanguinem consecrae spell." I said. He nodded softly.

"I'm assuming that your pentacle and wand are both blood bound." He said, and I nodded. He smiled.

"Take ten, Heir Andrews. Now, can anyone tell me the cost of the temporal dilation spell that Coventry uses?" He asked. No one spoke.

"The spell preserves your body. You'll find, despite the fact the days are longer. That you will not age as much at Coventry. But the mind will pay for this. Roughly one in a thousand mages suffer from Chronosickness. This results in psycho- and sociopathic insanity. We have almost fifteen hundred students, and nearly two-hundred staff. It stands to reason that two of every year will fall to this disease. If at any time, one of your pod-mates begins acting oddly, inform a member of the staff immediately. One last thing I must warn you about are shades. Does anyone know what those are?" He asked.
I did. Bethany had subjected me to a lecture about them shortly after a solo attempt at wandless magic.

"A shade is your magic realized. It's what happens when you perform an improperly learned spell wandlessly." I said, and he nodded.

"Ten to, Heir Andrews." He said.

"Even our graduates are warned against wandless magic practitioners. If you do not completely know the spell completely and utterly, do not practice wandless magic unless you are in a supervised environment. Anyone unqualified doing such a thing will be expelled, immediately."

Then suddenly, a loud Ding chimed throughout the room.

"On that cheerful note, our first class is dismissed. For homework, I want a thousand words on mana, and the Latin phrases for the subjects we discussed today. You'll find the word counter spell in the book that your prefect gave you this morning. I'll take this homework Thursday." He said and dismissed us for our next class.
The following class was also dreadfully boring. Introduction to magical society was something anyone who has spent time in the magical world could teach. I quickly penciled that in as free time in my calendar.

The class after that was Herblore. I liked working in the rooftop greenhouse we had back home and enjoyed tending the plants along with the imps. This class, this was annoying, in a way working in our greenhouse never was. Working with plants was supposed to be pleasant, and peaceful, and quiet.
Working with plants alongside twelve other children, some of who didn't have a shred of knowledge about the meaning of words like "listen to the teacher" and "Why yes Alicia, a Brazilian Strangling Vine, will in fact attempt to strangle you." made Herblore a special kind of hell. Honestly, I thought Summer Fae had an instinct for that kind of work. After that hour-long exercise in patience, we were dismissed, and Alex Roman chivvied us off to Alchemy. In Alchemy, the budding rivalry between Emily and I continued.

"Can someone tell me what components we put in a potion? Miss York." Journeyman Brennan said, and gave Emily a look I disliked.

"Where most things magical rely on three or seven, potions use five ingredients plus a catalyst."

"Ten points to, Miss York. For this class, we'll be brewing the "perfectum medicamine" potion that is a key agent in the colognes and toiletries in your dormitories."

"First however, I'd like to rearrange the seating chart a bit. Miss York. Mister Andrews. To the front." He said. Tapping his wand twice on the seating chart. As we walked to the front of the room and took the first table. He began rearranging the seating chart. Reginald and Calem were situated at the table to the left of us. William and Robbards were situated behind us."

"Juniper, love, do me a favor and trade seats with me." Emily said.

"What for?" Juniper asked.

"Because he's a nightmare." She said, rolling her eyes theatrically.

"Bitch." The voice and I breathed at the same time.

"What did you just call me?" Emily asked.

"What?" I asked.

"Journeyman Brennan! Heir Andrews just cast aspirations on my parentage. I understand that I'm an-o-orphan, but he didn't need to remind me." Emily said, a hitch in her voice when she spoke the dreaded "o" word, and Professor Brennan fell for it.

"Robbards, switch seats with Andrews. Andrews, twenty-five from you for profanity in the classroom." Journeyman Brennan said.
He tapped his blackboard, and it switched to the ingredients of the potion we'll be brewing. First however, a couple of spells. The first, is the fastener spell. This will magically fasten your clothes and hair to you. Imagine, you are brewing a keyable potion, and a stray hair from you falls into it, and the potion, representing a tremissis worth of work and ingredients is rendered useless.

"This incantation is adfigo." He said, twisting his wand just so. We all quickly learned the spell, along with a spell that would shield us from any alchemical mishaps.

When we were all properly shielded and fastened. He began the lecture on the potion we would be brewing that day.

"This potion requires an ounce of fairy dust for the eyes part of the potion. What does that say to the nature of the potion?" Journeyman Brennan said. I raised my hand.

"Andrews?"

"That the potion is ephemeral and would need to be reapplied for it to have a continuous effect."

"Good work, take ten, now, the next. Breath from a unicorn foal for sound. York?" He asked and he began walking in our direction.

"Purity, new or renewal, and since both of these are ephemeral, this potion can go stale quickly."

"Take 10. Now, the portion for smell. Ground white rose petals, freshly dried, gently tended. Mr. Andrews." He was in front of us, both of us trading glares and moves in a game of intellectual ping pong.

"Truth, purity, and love."

"What would this mean the potion smells like?" He asked.

"Your true love?" I asked.

"Take 20." He said.

"The next ingredient is ground sunflower seeds. Ah, Miss York, it has been so long since I called on you. Do tell us the answer."

"Sunflowers are a symbol of vitality and happiness, these elements will awaken the user, making them almost euphoric."

"Take ten." He said.

"Now, the final touch. Mr. Andrews, I'll save the time we would have spent with you waving your arm in the air. Do tell us what the properties of silk thread is."

"Sophistication, Confidence. This potion will give the user a confidence and ego boost."

"Ten another ten."

"I'm going to end this absolutely enlightening intellectual battle by telling the class the final ingredient, and magical catalyst to this potion. Green Aventurine. This acts as a confidence booster. The gem acts as a magical catalyst to soak in ambient magic and empower the potion."
William's hand was in the air.

"Sir, could mundanes brew potions?" He asked.

"To an extent, Novitiate. Now, everyone begin brewing. Come grab your ingredients, follow the steps on the board, and let me know if you have questions." He said and took a seat at his desk.
William and I quickly gathered our ingredients, and in half an hours' time, we had mixed and poured them into the glass cauldron at our station. The odd goop had a pink sheen to it at the end, and we waited for the rest of the class to finish. When everyone finished, and Journeyman Brennan had found each of our mixtures to be satisfactory, he had us perform the next part of the alchemy lesson.

"Now that your base mixture is complete, it is time for the distillation process. I want you to weigh your mixtures, subtract the weight of the glass cauldron, and then add that much water to the mixture, then stir vigorously until it is well mixed." He said. We weighed the mixture on the scale at our workstation and added the three cups of hot water to the cauldron from the spelled faucet.
We took turns stirring this until it the water gained the same sheen as the mixture had. There were still odd floating bits, and the occasional fleck from fairy dust or a sunflower husk. He walked us through straining this mixture into the second cauldron at our workstation, and a clear pink liquid remained.

"Now, the next part is distillation. The spell we are about to use slightly ties into the temporal distillation field Coventry uses, but instead of ageing your mind, this spell ages your body. Point your wand at the cauldron, and say, distallatum unus hora." I did, as the emerald wash of aura flared over the cauldron and mixed with William's aura bright blue aura, I felt as though I'd just stared at the cauldron for an hour.
But it had distilled to a thick mother of pearl paste that slightly resembled the soap we used in the dorms.

"The cost of using Time comes from the mind or body." Journeyman Brennan said.
William's hand was in the air.

"Yes, Novitiate?" Journeyman Brennan asked.

"Could mundanes use these kinds of spells?" He asked. Nearly everyone at Coventry used the term mundanes instead of untouched for nonmagical people.

"Yes. If they found a way for a focus to work for them or gained the mental discipline that this spell would require for wandless use, there would be no reason for them not to work."

"So, Mundanes do have magic?" He asked. Journeyman Brennan frowned, and then he smiled.

"You've just raised an excellent question that isn't usually raised until fourth or fifth form. Twenty-points to. It's not the mundanes don't have magic. Anyone can create and invoke a circle. However, that's the extent of most mundanes magical abilities.
They lack the power to see through the veils and glamours we use, and the mental discipline required to use wandless magic that draws on sources other than magic. Much like anyone below the power of an Archmage can only use ambient or familial sources, mundanes lack the ability to interact with ambient magic.
This is diving into advanced theory, but it's why latents use imps and walking canes to interact with the magical world. Without this access to ambient, the magical world appears strange. I've been told it's almost like walking through a piece of abstract art." He said.

Well, that was interesting. The remaining class was spent discussing how this paste would be incorporated with lye and parabens to create the soap we used. Of all the classes we had attended that morning, alchemy seemed the closet to mundane science. We were dismissed to lunch.

At lunch I begin the next stage of the Plan. If I could gain the favor of the upper years, then that would raise my standing among our pod. The Fifth-year alpha pod was seated near the outer edges of the room, and I went to take a seat with them. Hyperion Grey and Rosalyn Thorne were they leaders of the Fifth Form Dueling Team and the Prefect for Fifth Form respectively, and they were arguably the most well connected of that cohort. As I took a seat, someone yelled at me.

"Oi Midgie! We've already got one of your lot here. Go back to the rest of your pod." I looked. He looked like a younger clone of Alex Roman. Emily smirked at me from her seat, and I stalked away. I grabbed a sandwich and decided to eat outside.
Emily was already surpassing me in academics, and apparently, I wasn't the only one with aspirations to rise in magical society. That girl was going to give me a run for my money.

"We have a rival." I told Voice, and he agreed with me. I finished my sandwich and waited for the day to resume and began mulling over the problem I had found.
After classes reconvened, we were escorted to our next one. This was the one I was looking forward to the most. Dueling. I had just spent the last four years learning at the knee of a champion, and I planned on taking Coventry's Winter All Ages Tournament by storm.

"Right, welcome to introduction to Dueling. My name is Galena Crestwood. In addition to teaching this class, I'm the Dueling Team's head coach, and Dean of the first forms. Over the next few weeks, I'll be meeting with each of you, and at the end of your second year, I'll be determining who to place on the school dueling teams. Tell me, who here has received formal instructions in dueling?" Dean Crestwood was the opposite of what you'd expect a dueling instructor to look like.

She wore a glamour, or at least one attached to jewelry. She was small. She couldn't have been more than five and a half feet tall, and willowy thin. Her cockney accent had all the rough edges taken away. Her hair was dark, like her features, and bunch up in a stiff no-nonsense bun. Her eyes were the only indication that she was a mage. They were purple and shown with the lamplight glow all mages did. I raised my hand, and so did Reginald, Calem, and half dozen others.

"Well, that's a great showing. Heir Andrews, would you like to participate in a practice duel?" She asked.

"Certainly." I said and walked to the front of the classroom.

"Now, let's see, Heir Robére, your father was quite the duelist. I'd quite like to see if you've inherited that skill." Dean Crestwood said, and Calem approached the front of the room.

"Enter the ring gentleman, if you would." She said. We both walked to the center line.

"Now, a duel is scored on the variety of spells an opponent uses, and how far back he is forced. Both if you know the disarming and shield spells I take?" We both nodded.

"Professor, I am fluent in all of the junior league's accepted spells." I said.

"As am I." Calem said, his voice a bored drawl.

"Well then gentlemen, I believe you'll be able to put on quite a show. I'll even be raising the dueling shields. First to disarm will win?" She asked.

"That works for me." I said, jovially.

"Kid, he has a ring on his left pointer. That's a backup focus. it's gotta be." The voice said, and I sent a mental nod. They had recently relaxed regulation, and one secondary focus was now
allowed.

"Ten steps, or to the center, gentleman." Dean Crestwood said, and I stood in my spot, but turned a half circle so that my back was towards Calem. I couldn't see it, but regulations demanded he
did the same.

"Turn and bow." She said, and we did as we were told, bowing deeply to each other, our wands stiff at our sides, our other hand crossing our torsos.

We came back up, and then she counted to ten, as soon.as she stopped, our duel started. Calem fired the first shot off, a disarmament spell that I deflected and sent one of my own off in the same gesture. He deflected that and was forced to step out of the ring to dodge my cutter.

"Now, class. Hair Andrews is currently in the lead. He has fifteen points for the three spells he's performed, and another ten for forcing Heir Robére backwards a court."
Calem shot me a glare and sent a jet of sand in my direction. I ducked under the spell and sent a binding spell towards his legs. He easily countered by side stepping and sending a silencing spell spinning towards me.

I was forced to jump up and sidestepped backward to avoid the spell.
Calem drew first blood by sending a cutting spell that glanced my arm and reclaimed his spot in the same maneuver.

"Oh, good show Heir Robére! Halt!" We both stopped, and I took the opportunity to knit my arm.

"Class, Heir Robére has caused a five-point loss to Heir Andrews, and gained twenty more, can anyone guess why?"
Emily York raised her hand.

"Heir Robére landed a spell, and then he reclaimed his position, while forcing Mr. Andrews to vacate his own." She said. I glared at her intentional disregard for my title, and she flashed me a quick grin.

"Great job Miss York, Ten points for correct analysis. This means that Heir Robére is in the lead. Let's see how this duel plays out, shall we?" She asked.

"You may begin." She said.

"Kid, I think we were underestimating Calem." Voice said.

"I agree." I sent.

"Trudo!" I said, jabbing my wand at Calem. He blocked my knockback spell, and I deflected the disarming spell he sent spinning towards me. I sent out another in quick succession, and he was forced to step backwards under my onslaught. I continued until I had regained my place at the center of the arena, earning myself points from Calem having to backtrack.
He hit me with another cutter, and then conjured a piece of paper from somewhere. Then with a grin, a jab of his wand, and a loud, showy, Animato Draconis! The piece of paper turned into a small fire breath origami dragon that flew swooping towards me, pushing me backwards until I was at the edge of the ring.

"Duplica trio!" Calem said, and one paper dragon became three.

"Voice help!" I thought.

"Uhhh, null-spell? I don't know!"

I turned to the dragons and sent power out into the world with a yell.

"Magicae Fractae!" I shouted, and emerald light blossomed. In addition to destroying Calem's shikigami constructs, it caused the dueling wards to pulse and became a solid white barrier for a second, before they absorbed the energy of the spell back into their lodestone. I took advantage of Calem's shock and sent a disarming spell towards him. His wand was ripped out of his hand, but the ring remained, and it took on the glow of his aura. He summoned his wand back from the ground and sent a fireball towards me with a murmured

"Ignis Orbis!" Almost instinctively I reached out to grab the fireball, and it landed in my hand. I gave it a look, and gave Calem a look, and then the Voice shouted.

"Kid, throw it back!" He said, and I did. Calem caught the ball on his arm, and his shirt promptly caught fire.

"Yield!" Calem said, immediately, and Dean Crestwood dropped the wards, and entered the ring. She promptly extinguished the fire and treated his burns.

"That was a great exhibition duel. Aside from the end. Mr. Robére, ten points from, for using a spell you don't know the counter for, and another ten for using pyromancy without knowledge of extinguishing spells. Now, this was a split victory duel. Can anyone tell me what that means?" William raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Lowe?" Dean Crestwood asked.

"The duel's victory was split two ways. Calem won because he was ahead in points, but Stephen won because Calem yielded."

"Excellent summary, Mister Lowe. Ten points to. If this was an official duel, Calem would be moving unto the second chance bracket, while Stephen would be moving up. Now, for points. Stephen, 105 points for the duel. That would be the number of points you scored. I'm giving you another 10 points for that amazing bit of wandless pyromancy, and ten more for that power you put into the Magicae Fractae spell. Calem, one-hundred fifteen points for the duel, and thirty points for a novel approach to using paper in a duel."

"Now, this was a practice duel. We will have a few practical demonstrations throughout the term, and before we leave for Christmas break, you'll all have a chance to participate in Coventry's Winter Open. Dueling is a practical class, as such, the studying will be kept to a minimum. I expect you to improve on your own, and the entire first through third form library is open to you. At the end of your second year, the school begins recruiting for the dueling team, and at the end of every year, there is a dueling tournament that you will be allowed to participate in. I'll be taking signups further on in the school year. Most of your classes are theory heavy. Dueling is going to your most practical class until you reach the Upper Years." The loud bell signaling the end of class sounded and we were chivvied off to the next.

Roman escorted us to the Transmutation classroom. Like Alchemy, this was taught by one of the Apprentices that was studying for mastery at Coventry. Unlike the classrooms that had a small dueling ring, or a warded area for practical demonstrations, the transmutation classroom looked positively mundane. Josiah Steele was a tall weather-worn looking man. His suit looked almost second hand, and he had a serious air about him. His eyes had an almost haunted look about them.

"My name is Josiah Steel. First things first, wands away." He said, giving us all looks.

"Transmutation is one of the most dangerous things you'll learn here. This class will be strictly theory until you take your Circle Tests at the end of Second Form. You may learn a spell here or there, but I won't have someone accidentally turning the air to phosgene or something equally horrible by a bunch of Novitiates. Now, let's see who has done their reading. Can someone tell me what the three controlled substances are?"
Theodora Chrissenbloom's hand was raised.

"Yes, Miss Chrissenbloom?" He asked.

"Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Or Pyropus, Argenti, and Aurum." She said.

"Succinct and to the point. Your father is the Master of the Alchemist's Guild, correct?" He asked, and she nodded.

"These three metals form the base of the magical economy, and as such, require licensing from both Midas and the Council Majeure to create. However, Miss Chrissenbloom, can you tell me the substance that is expressly forbidden to create?" He asked.

"Tremissis, Diamonds." She said instantly.

"Exactly, Miss Chrissenbloom. Tremissis and Tremisimancy is expressly forbidden from individual by the Council Majeure, and Midas International. Fortunately, Tremisimancy is an ability a mage must be born with. Can someone tell me the name of a known historical Tremisimancer?" He asked.

This time, Calem's hand was in the air.

"Heir Robére?" Journeyman Steele asked.

"The Romanov line." He said, and the room fell silent. The Romanov massacre was relatively recent, and while it was definitely considered historical, there were a lot of old wounds from the War that were healing. The death of that line had serious financial repercussions for Russia, and they were just now starting to pull out of the economic slump of no longer having a state Tremisimancer. The classroom was silent until Journeyman Steele spoke.

"Right, now that we've covered what you're not allowed to transmute, could anyone tell me what you can't transmute?
Reg raised his hand.

"Heir Coldwood?"

"Living flesh. Fleshcrafting and healing is Biomancy, not transmutation. Transforming a nonliving thing to a living thing and vise versa is Transmogrification, which is an entirely different field of metaphysics." He said. Journeyman Steele nodded his head once sharply.

"Aside from the incident with the Void, which magicians are still scratching their heads over, it's also impossible to transmute something that has never lived to something that has lived. You won't be able to change rock to food, but you would be able to turn wood to raw meat. You'd still need to cook it, and it would have whatever nutrients and toxins the wood has, but it's still possible to do. Transmutation is permanent. Water turned to ice would stay ice until it melted. Air ignited into fire would burn you and behave like real fire. Lead, when treated with a Philosopher's Stone, will stay and become gold permanently.

Should you choose to take an affinity test at the end of your second year and find that you're capable of one of the various types of mancery that we've subdivided the various types of transmutation into, you'll learn how to do this with ease. However, these next two years will be spent teaching you the basic theory behind transmutation. For your homework assignments this week, I'd like a thousand words on the various types of affinities someone can have, and what their abilities would entail when they have reached Journeyman stage.

We'll be covering the various types of mancery this week. We've already covered part of Tremisimancy, but there are eleven other fields we still need to cover. Now, turn to page thirty-five in your texts and you may begin copying the list of mancery that is found there. This is a good basis for the beginning of your essay, but if you turn in a list simply detailing the various types instead of a well-worded paper, I will deduct points from the assignment." He said. We spent the remainder of our class time copying that list, and I began refining my paper. The bell chimed, and Alex Roman escorted us to our final class of the day. Conjuration was also taught by Doctor Coldhollow.

"Now, can someone please tell me the difference between conjuration and transmutation?" Doctor Coldhollow said, and my hand was in the air instantly.

"Miss, York, I believe?" He asked.

"Yes Professor?" Emily's voice asked. I rolled my eyes, and wondered why didn't he call on me.

"Good question." Voice said.

"What is the difference?"

"A conjuration is a magical construct. Where a transmutation is rearranging physica. May I cast sir?"

"You may." Coldhollow said, and I turned to look up where she was sitting.

"Aquae orbis!" She said, swirling her wand in a jagged ripple I realized was the glyph for water. A round orb of water appeared on her wand and hovered in the air.
Leopold called the orb to himself, and it hovered in front of him.

"Fifteen to you, Miss York. I'll let your classmates vie to answer my next question."

"Now, class, is this orb of water real?" My hand was in the air seconds before everyone else.

"Mr. Andrews?"

"The orb of water is fake, sir." I said with a smirk.

"How so Mr. Andrews. It certainly feels like water." He said, running his hand and wand through the orb.

"Tell me Mr. Andrews, what do you think?" He said, sending the water towards me in a spray.
Quick as a whip my wand was out, and I said
"Magicae Fractae!" I said, and the water vanished.

"Sir, the water is fake because it's conjured from our minds and made real by the incantation we speak, the vision we have, and the magic we use. Real water can only be created by transmuting it from the elements we have around us or summoning it from a place that has water. May I cast, sir?" I asked.

"You may, and ten points to for excellent explanation of the theory, and a further fifteen for use of a third form spell." He said.

"Elevationem Aquae. Aquae, Orbis." I said, drawing a raindrop shaped glyph in the air.

A wave of emerald light flared out of my wand and as it touched the air in front of it, drops of water began running down my spell until I had a densely shaped ball of water resting on the tip of my wand.

"Now, Mr. Andrews, what makes this water different from conjured water? Don't tell me, let your other classmates figure it out."

"May I take that from you, Mr. Andrews?"

"You may." I said, and with a whisper of magic, this orb floated up to the front of the class. He conjured another orb of water. Reginald Coldwood raised his hand.

"Water from a true Transmutation is indistinguishable from natural water." He said.

"Interesting." Voice said.

"Your family would know about that, wouldn't they, Mr. Coldwood?"

"Yes sir, our transmutation enchantments have brought us a long way." Reginald said.

"Take fifteen, Mr. Coldwood. Now, who can expand on that. Mr. Lockwood?" He said.

"You can drink transmuted water. You could leave it in a glass, and the only way it would disappear is through evaporation. You can't drink conjured water or freeze it. Conjured ice is warm, unlike real ice. Which is below freezing."

"Fifteen to Mr. Lockwood, and 45 points to whoever can answer my last question. Why is transmuted water better to use than conjured water when dealing with magic?"
Before my hand was halfway in the air, Emily was already being called on.

"Miss York!"

"Like calls to like, professor. If you run into something like cursed fire, the conjured water will feed the magic fueling the fire, whereas the transmuted water will extinguish the flames. However, because conjured water still takes up mass, it would extinguish true fire." She said. I could feel her smirk.

"This girl is good." Voice said.

"Excellent job Miss York, and points well earned."

I looked up at her, and she gave me a smirk.

"Oh, it's on." Voice said, and I gave her a grin in return that was all teeth. Then the dismissal sounded.

"Ah, class dismissed. For homework, I want five hundred words on the properties of cursed fire and its dangers, and five hundred words on different types of conjurations and their transmutation counterpoint. Extra credit if you can include the wand movements and incantations of the spells.
Miss York, for your performance in today's class, you are excused from this assignment.

"Heir Andrews. I need you to stay behind for a moment." He said, my classmates hurried to dinner, and I found myself standing at his desk.

"Heir Andrews, I'm curious as to where you learned your Water rune." He asked, sitting at his desk, and giving me an expectant look.

"It's family magic, I'd really rather not disclose how to use it, Sir." I said. He smiled.

"I see Beth has wasted no time inducting you in those." He said with a smile.

"Sir?" I asked, confused.

"What's this guy on about?" Voice asked.
He smiled at me.

"Just give your guardian this the next time you see her, will you?" He said, and a sealed scroll popped into his hand.

"Yes sir." I said, taking the scroll and dropping it into my bag. I'd pass that through to Bethany the next time I had a mirror conversation with her.

"Now, I still have an incoming class to teach, so shoo." He said, and I left the classroom.

"He's weird." Voice said, and I had to agree.

Since Conjuration was our last class of the day, we went to dinner, and then to our Pods.
When I got back, I snuck off to the edge of the woods, and took the small silver mirror Bethany had given me. I dialed a series of runes on the surface, and it rippled for a few seconds before her face appeared in the mirror.

"Stephen!" She said, "How was your first day?" She asked.

"It was fine." I replied, and then I proceeded to tell her about my day.

"And this Emily girl, you think she's going to be a hindrance to our Plan?" She asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I want to gather more information about her." I replied.

"I've taught you well. Is there anything else to report?"

"Yes. Doctor Coldhollow gave me a scroll for you, can you receive it right now?" I asked.

"Sure." She said, and I produced the scroll and then pushed it into the mirror. She set the mirror down, and after studying the scroll, she picked the mirror back up. She had a frown on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"I had Leopold look at a ward structure I'm studying. His findings are disappointing."

"What ward?" I asked.

"Nothing you need to be worried about." She replied, and I frowned.

"I wish you'd tell me stuff." I said, sullenly.

"I will. When you're older." She replied. I sighed. We'd had this argument half a dozen times. I knew bits and pieces of what Bethany got up to, but I wanted the full picture.

"If everything goes to plan, you'll know what the ward structure is by next summer. Can you live with that?" She asked. I pondered that moment.

"Fine, but only if you tell me more over Yule break." I replied.

"Deal." She said.

"Now, I need to go. I have a Vox meeting to prepare for." She said. I nodded, and she cut the connection. I went back to my pod and did my homework until lights out.
That was my life for the next few months. Days filled with grueling exercise in the morning. As the months passed, and early autumn faded to early winter. The mud on the trail turned to icy patches, our morning runs gained an edge. The spells of humiliation faded to cutters and binders. Those who didn't know the shield spell quickly learned, and we were forced to band together to make sure our shields stopped whatever hostile magic we couldn't dodge. Small wounds became commonplace, and a few of us took to running in the afternoon to gain stamina and learning healing spells that we could access.

There wasn't much to do in Coventry outside of duel practice, and broom flight, and I think that was by design.

Practice duels, and the actual class gained a frantic pace as we all diligently trained to succeed in the winter tournament.
It seemed as everything we learned boiled down to how it would help us duel. It was as if Coventry was training as soldiers instead of students. All in all, my first term was uneventful, aside from the dueling tournament and an incident with Emily.

<BR>
What did everyone think? If you liked this chapter, please consider giving me an upvote, or a like if you're reading this on SpaceBattles or Questionable Questing. This is an already completed work, and each post will be a chapter (or half chapter) of the first book in the Aether Cycle. I'll be posting these chapters every week. If you like what you read, and want to support the author, and don't want to wait for updates, please consider purchasing The Voice in His Head from Amazon or Audible, or supporting me on Patreon.
You can discuss this chapter below, or in the Discord. If you're a Troper, the Aether Cycle TV Tropes page can be found here. This needs Wiki Love, so if you like doing that, and you're a fan, be my guest!
Finally, I'm going to be starting a newsletter shortly, and you can find the signup form for that here! Anyone who signs up for my newsletter will gain access to an exclusive short story from Bethany's point of view.

 

[jldew93]

So, we've reached the midpoint of Voice, and it's fitting that I'd like to report I've reached the halfway point in writing the sequel. As such, this is where I start looking for Beta-readers. Is there anyone that would like be a beta-reader, once I finish posting Voice?

 

[jldew93]

December 5th, 1929.
Coventry School
Unknown location, United Kingdom.
The incident with Emily wasn't so much an incident as it was an implicit agreement of mutually assured destruction. It was roughly a month before the dueling tournament. It was a Saturday. Reg, William and Calem had vanished. Something about a massive snowball fight. It's not that the cold bothered me, I was well used to being forced outside on days like these, and warming spells made that a non-issue. It was the wet. Something about water soaking into my gloves and turning the fabric into a scratchy mess that sent shivers along my skin bugged me in a way few things did. I hated wet fabric, and wet wool was the worst.
I decided to go exploring. I was done with homework for the most part. The library got boring after a while, but the main building of the compound was built hundreds of years ago, and there were dozens of unexplored corridors blocked by spells and untouched for decades that I was interested in. Who knew what was hiding in the depths of the ancient building?
I found a staircase and proceeded to go down for what seemed like ages. This was above the alchemy labs and dueling pits, so it was still familiar territory. I was walking past an empty classroom when I heard Emily's voice. The door was blocked, but she had neglected to bar against eavesdropping. I heard another voice. The voice had a low, smoky quality to it, and sounded older than any student.

"You've done well my apprentice. Aside from that Andrews boy, our plans are progressing nicely. I'm proud of how far you've come. Over the winter, we can begin translocation." The voice said. Translocation was an advanced spell. Bethany refused to even teach me the basics of it until I was much older. Who was Emily learning from? I pressed harder against the door, and it squeaked.
I jumped away from the door, and it swung open. Emily was suddenly there, and she moved with a speed that, even with my magical enhanced reflexes, I found almost blurry. Her wand jabbed and flashed, and I found myself stuck to the wall.

"What did you hear?" She said, her eyes gained an extra glow, and I froze. Fear flared down my nervous system, and my flight or fight kicked in. I chose fight.

My pentacle flared and I dropped to the ground, my own wand in hand, emerald light dancing on its tip. A wave of telekinesis shot from my mind, and she caught the blow. This wasn't powerful enough to throw someone of her weight. It was more of a love tap. A way to show that she wasn't the only one with a couple of tricks up their jacketed sleeves. With a sneer, she staggered away. Her wand was still trained in a spot just between my eyes. I didn't let my grip on mine waver, and it stood ready to unleash emerald hell upon the world.
We stood there for a long moment. Both our auras called to bear, wands at the ready, pentacles gleaming eldritch light. She cocked her head, and I slowly nodded. Then, she slowly lowered her wand, and I matched her movement. This wasn't a sign of weakness. Not by far. I was certain I could take her, and I think she thought the same about me. This was an unspoken agreement between two mages of equal strength to put possible hostilities aside.

"What did you hear?" She asked, her tone just shy of a growl. She stalked towards me with a lean grace of predator. I caught another edge from her voice. One I was well familiar with. A razor silk blade of compulsion that I parried away.

"You aren't the only one with claws, little girl." Voice and I thought, and I was momentarily shocked when I heard a third voice, barely a whisper, add its tone to the shared thought. Finally, I replied.

"Tell me what else you can do." I said. My compulsion wasn't a razor's edge like Emily's. Mine was very much like my own personality. Blunt, heavy, like a lead weight to the head. Her defenses held, and she gave me an appraising look. A slow up and down gesture of her head.

"I'm not the only one with secrets, it appears." She said finally.

"So, it seems." I replied evenly, my face a careful mask.

"What do you plan on doing with my secrets?" She asked carefully.

"What do you plan on doing with mine?" I asked.

"Really, Andrews, are we playing this childish game? What are you planning to do with the secrets you have learned this day?" She said, her magic sparked again. This wasn't the lightshow from minutes ago. This was just a warning. I decided to end the charade.

"I'm not playing games. I'm adhering to the code of conduct while in negotiations." I replied.

"Very well. Thrice asked and done. Heir Andrews, of House Andrews. What do you plan on doing with or about the information you have learned today?"

"York, I plan on doing with them exactly as you will do with mine." I said. She was silent for another minute.

"I propose an Incorporate Oath between the two of us. To be ended with mutual release. To keep the secrets, we have learned about each other and any we might learn in the future."

"I'm agreeable to these terms." I replied.
An Incorporate Oath was the highest oath you could take. Nothing, not even familial bonds could override it. An oathbreaker would be named Warlock, and their body and magic would fail them if they broke their word. But I would be spending the next several years around her. If she was anything like me, she would never know to leave well enough alone. This also gave me an edge. It meant that a secret instructor and skill beyond her years were only a small part of Emily York's secrets.
We tapped wands.

"Do you, Heir Stephen Andrews, agree to the terms of an Incorporate Oath. To never speak of my secrets. To never reveal them through word, action, or allusion?" She asked.

"I agree, but only if you will agree to protect my own secrets through the same protections you have just detailed." I replied.

"I agree. Our wands are tapped. Our words are spoken, and our bond is brokered. So mote it be." She replied.

"So mote it be." I echoed.

"In Lumen Verum." We said as one, and our wands lit.

"York, next time, you may find an eavesdropper who is less amenable to keeping your secrets." I said and began walking away.

"Prat!" She shouted.

"Bitch." I replied and continued walking away from her.

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What did everyone think? If you liked this chapter, please consider giving me an upvote, or a like if you're reading this on SpaceBattles or Questionable Questing. This is an already completed work, and each post will be a chapter (or half chapter) of the first book in the Aether Cycle. I'll be posting these chapters every week. If you like what you read, and want to support the author, and don't want to wait for updates, please consider purchasing The Voice in His Head from Amazon or Audible, or supporting me on Patreon.
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While Writing Voice and planning/writing the sequels, I did a lot of world building. Would anyone like to see those as supplemental posts?

 

[jldew93]

It was a week before the dueling tournament. We were in our dorms, and the brackets had just been posted. I looked at the bracket in front of me and sighed.

"What are you moping about?" Emily asked.

"I have to wait for Clarissa Penhallow and Juniper Robbards to duel before I figure out who my opponent is gonna be." I said.

"Ugh." Emily replied.

"Oh gods." She said suddenly.

"Hmm?" I asked.

"I've got to duel either Tyson Savage or Alicia Calhoun." She replied.

"Calhoun is a bloody idiot. I've heard they're shifting her down to Gamma." I replied.

"I heard the same thing." Emily replied.

"Both those matches are gonna be bloody awful." She said.

"Reg and Calem are apparently going against each other in the first round." I said, looking at the bracket.

"Oh, that will be interesting." She said, looking the chart over.

"Oh, poor Will. He has to go up against Aloysius Moon." She said.

"Well then." I said. Aloysious was a bit squirrely to begin with, and dueling was definitely not his strength.

♦♦♦

The day of the dueling tournament dawned, and I skipped breakfast. My stomach was upset, and I wasn't going to be the one to puke all over the dueling floor. Instead I took a run around the campus, and then returned to my dorm for a shower. After that, I got dressed in the leathers that Bethany had given me for Christmas.

For this event, we would be using the exhibition area on the grounds. This was to save time. There were almost three hundred students in first form, and since all of them would be participating, this event would have taken hours if we had just used a single pit.

Bethany had sent word that she would be unable to attend, and I had expected that. I wasn't expecting to win the entire thing, but I wanted to put a good showing for myself among the first forms. There were thirteen squads in first form, and I at least wanted to come first there. I was going to be Alpha's leader, and this tournament would prove that.

Emily and William joined me in the stands. William produced a book, and I snuck a peek at the title. It was the third form book on spells.

"It's far too early for this." Emily said.

"I agree." I replied.

"Where are Reg and Calem?" I asked.

"Reg is with his sisters. I just saw Calem in the dining hall." William said, not looking up from his book.

"Last minute cramming?" I asked, William, and I got a nod.

"Well, I'm going to go watch the competition." I said.
My mirror suddenly vibrated, and I answered it.

"The two initial duels are done." Emily said without preamble.

"Who won?" I asked.

"Calhoun on my end. She disarmed Savage, who apparently forgot scuto exists." Emily said, and I chuckled.

"What about my match?"

"Robbards won against Penhallow. She landed all five of her spells, and disarmed Penhallow."
Emily said.

"Well then." I said matter-of-factly

"Get over here, you and Robbards are up next." She said, and I hurried to the other end of the Arena.
Dean Crestwood was the announcer.

"For our next duel, Juniper Robbards will be facing Stephen Andrews." She said. We both entered the ring, reached the center, and stood.

"Voice, let me handle this." I said.

"You're the captain." Voice said.

Crestwood counted to ten, and we bowed. Then we began.
Juniper began by sending out two knockback spells right after the other. I deflected. I sent out a transmuted fireball that Juniper wasted no time in sending back my way. A flick of my wand starved the fire out.

"Great show to Robbards for easily returning the pyromancy, and excellent follow-through from Andrews ending the transmutation." Dean Crestwood said

"Tres Scyphi!" Juniper shouted, jabbing her wand towards me, and unleashing a trio of thrown conjured knives that I dispelled with a wave of my hand and a hastily intoned.

"Magicae Fractae!"

"And Robbards leads with a fourth-form conjuration, that Andrews dispels with a nice bit of wandless."

She threw out another trio of conjured knives that I dispelled. The cutter she followed up with nicked my arm, and she got first blood.

"And Robbards pulls ahead in points as Andrews is caught off guard." Crestwood said, while I was dealing with that. I began ignoring the commentary and focused on my duel.

I conjured paper, and sent three of Calem's origami dragons towards Juniper, followed by a knockback spell and a disarmer. She was distracted by the dragons, and the knockback spell hit her chest. Forcing her backwards past her center line.

She managed to shield from the disarmer and sent a bonebreaker towards me that I dodged, forcing me to step backwards, and allowing her to regain ground.
The dragons were still harrying her, so I conjured another piece of paper, and this time, I added mass, and formed it into an origami badger, thrown by a bit of telekinesis, and followed by a disarmer. I was done. The disarmer hit her, and I smiled.

"I yield." She said, and I quickly dispelled my paper creations.

"Excellent job to both. Andrews will move onto the next round."

I went to sit back down on the benches and enjoyed the next few matches.

Alexei Valmont was fast, I had to give him that, but Theodora Chrissenbloom was practically a defensive prodigy. He managed to fire off eight spells that she easily deflected while holding her own. With the work of two spells he was disarmed and thrown out of the ring, earning her ninety points for the match.

Reg wasn't the strongest dueler, but he managed to get four spells off, but Calumn Thorne fired off six, and was able to land two. One of which was a disarmer.

The next duel was between Will and Aloysious Moon. Moon was not a dueler, and William quickly bound and disarmed him.

After that, Emily faced Alicia Calhoun, who tried the disarming trick again. Emily deflected it, sent a trio of conjured daggers, and managed to land Calhoun with negative points as two of them drew blood. I had forgotten how fast Emily was. Despite the knockback spells and force spells Alicia managed to send against her, Emily stayed in her center line and neatly dodged and deflected them. Emily repeated my trick, but this time, conjured a massive paper lion that she sent roaring towards Alicia.

As it came close to her, Emily did something that I needed to learn, and the paper lion lost mass and split into five smaller ones. This small pride of lions forced Alicia backward, and one yanked her wand from her hand.

Malcolm Grey and Jocelyn York were the next to duel, and that battle was definitely one sided. Everyone knew that Jocelyn York was on the Diplomacy track for later years, and Malcolm Grey was a Grey. With three spells he had her bound, silenced, and disarmed, and I knew that he would be one to beat later on. I looked around the stands and found his older brother, who looked at me and softly nodded.

Interesting, someone wanted me to put little brother in their place, and I was one to oblige. If Emily didn't do it first. The little shadow war I was playing with the older students and Emily was at an impasse. Both of us were slowly starting to earn dividends as older students took notice of us and we curried their favor. Emily and I had agreed to an unspoken truce until the end of the tournament.

Calem's duel was interesting. Where he favored conjurations, and direct attacks, Lovelace preferred indirect spells. She employed spells of sleep, disorientation, and illusion. Both of them were eventually pushed to the back of their respective rings, and Calem managed to disarm her. The points spread was close, and the final score had him ahead by a mere five points.

The final match of round two was the Lockwood siblings. That fight was eerie. It was like watching someone fight themselves in a mirror. The fight was a double knockout, and with a flip of the coin, Olivia Lockwood moved to round three.

After a few minutes recess, round three began. My opponent for this round was Theodora Chrissenbloom, and was one of the more challenging duels I had participated in.

Theodora was great at defense, and this duel proved she was marvelous at offense as well.

After bowing, I was immediately put on the defense as a conjured vine was sent hurling towards me. I dispelled the vine and countered with a fire spell that Chrissenbloom dispelled, and then she conjured half a dozen circular blades and sent them spinning towards me. I managed to dispel three, destroy one, and lost points as two scored glancing blows off my arms. The dueling leather stopped them, but had I been wearing regular shirt sleeves, both my arms would have had nasty gashes on them.

I was caught on the backstop by some sort of conjured plant thing that looked like a deranged hedge animal.

I set that on fire with a transmutation to hopefully gain back points, and another one of those came rushing towards me.

"Ventus!" I shouted and conjured the strongest blast of wind I could. This emerald haze threw the crazed landscaping creature backward, and I regained my spot in the inner ring. Then I set into a chain of low powered, single syllable blasting spells that Theodora was forced to shield against. I pressed my advantage and threw out lightning that she ground away. A dozen conjured thorns came flying towards me, and I set them alight with transmuted fire, that I quickly smothered.
Secure in my point lead, I went on the offensive, pushing Chrissenbloom backwards until she reached the end of her ring.

"Armus Exorus, Conicio!" I said.

The first spell disarmed her, the second sent her tumbling ass over elbow into the ward shield. The knockout secured my place in the semi-finals and I allowed myself a wide grin as our stands erupted in applause.

"Damn good job, kid." Voice said.

I returned to the stands so I could watch the rest of the round.

Calumn Thorne, while superior to Reg, had nothing on William.

They'd bickered constantly throughout the year, and William and Calumn's rivalry fed that energy into the duel, although it was quite anticlimactic.

William drew his wand, dodged the disarmer, and shouted out.

"Iactus!" The spell, my spell, forced Calumn to dodge. Directly into the path of a Conicio that instantly knocked him out of the ring. I smiled in appreciation and was glad I had taught it to him.

"Good for William." Voice said, and I had to agree.

"Sixty-five to five. That has to be a new record." Reginald said.

"You would think." I replied. William joined me on the stands, and as he took his seat next to me, I caught a deep whiff of his cologne, and promptly ignored the warm and tingly feeling that went down my spine. I still wasn't quite sure what was going on with us. The barely missed glances and stumbling words between us had gained a heat to them. One that left me flushed just thinking about it and I was quite unsure what to do about it. That was when I realized that I would have to face him in the semi-finals, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that.

Emily went into her match against Malcolm Grey with a fierceness I'd only seen a few times. While he managed to shield from the initial barrage of three spells, her own conjured origami had him on the backstep till he could catch them on fire. This, along with her own use of the single-syllable blasting spells, and he was swiftly disarmed. The final score was a hundred and five to ten.
Calem and Olivia were tied for most of their match, but a last second disarmer from him stopped it from being a tie. After another recess, the semifinals began.

William and I bowed to each other.

"I'm not going easy on you, Lowe." I said.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Andrews." He replied. I knew William's style well enough, and he knew mine. We both preferred shows of force that kept our opponents on the backstep and allowed us to press the advantage. When he began the duel with the one syllable array of blasting spells, I was ready, ducking under where I knew the spells were headed, and unleashing a spell that would cause a wall of earth to erupt along my center line.

This cost me my starting position, and earned him points, but I needed to win this match. Points were secondary if you had victory. As soon as my earth wall was complete, I began breaking and hurling pieces towards him that he was forced to dodge and block. I was doing this blind, except for a bit of telepathy to know where he was.

This kept him on the move for a while, until with a wave of his wand he sent the entire wall hurling towards me.

"Bugger." I said, unleashing Iactus. This destroyed the wall in front of me, and I almost instantly raised a shield to block a spear of hurled stone. I retaliated with ice and fire, and he blocked this with bits of geokinesis. As we tore apart the battlefield, trading potshots of earth and stone, I eventually found a pattern to his spellwork.

Stone javelin, fireball, conjured knives. The next round that came towards me, I added mass to the stone javelin, used it to block the fireball, and the knives, and then I sent it hurling towards him. He blocked it with a shield, but I was already moving onto a shield piercer followed up by a binding spell.

The disarming spell meant nothing, I knew that, but it would force him to rely on wandless magic.

"Yield." He said as soon as his wand was ripped from his hand.

Calem and Emily's match was interesting. Both knew each other's strengths, and their weaknesses. Calem preferred attacking from afar, stringing along conjurations and occasionally elemental force that kept his opponent occupied.

Emily preferred wars of attrition, dancing and dodging around spells only to tire her enemy out, and then closing the gap with a barrage of spells meant to disable. She had speed, and cunning, but I knew she wasn't going to give away everything she'd learned, at least not until we got to the final.

She started the match by unleashing a billowing sapphire smokescreen. Calem countered with a furious gust of wind that sent the smokescreen to her end of the field followed by great jets of water he hastily transmuted from the air. Emily, having dispelled her own conjured smoke, easily dodged those jets of water, and the follow up knock back spells that seemed to fly wide.
Interesting. I wondered why he wouldn't just conjure it.

"Those were less energy intensive." Voice said, and I had to agree. He had a plan.
Emily shielded against barrage of paintballs hitting her. Then she unleashed a cutter that Calem dodged. He hit her with a knockback spell, and she took the blow. That's when she slipped and felt and went sliding.

"Those weren't knockback spells! He was freezing the ground." Reg said.

"That's a great idea." I replied, trying to figure out how to replicate that trick.

As she stood, I saw the look on her face, and I felt a moment of pity for Calem.

"Uh-oh" I said.

"Yep." William replied.

"He's doomed." Reg said.

"Hope he has insurance." Voice chimed in.

She smiled, and I felt a shiver down my spine. I didn't like it when she smiled like that. Then Emily unleashed hell. A blast of fire Calem had to shield against was followed by a wave of force that caught him on the back step.

Then Emily unleashed a pulse of magic, nonverbally, and all the ice on the field rose, splintered and became icy shards that went hurling towards Calem. His eyes widened hastily as he worked to put up a shield, but his efforts were negated when Emily did something, a weird flick of her wand I didn't quite catch, that turned the ice back to water and wrapped around him aside from his wand hand. Then the water frozen.

Emily regained the ground she'd lost and walked to the center line. Her pose was confident, and smooth, and I pitied him. She walked to the center and made a gesture with her wand. He floated towards her, and she plucked his wand from the frozen hand.

"Yield." She said in a flat tone of voice.

"No." He said, and with a wave of her hand, his hair turned a bright, unholy shade of pink that hurt my eyes.

"Yield. Or I'm turning the rest of your hair that color, permanently" she said, a too sharp smile on her face.

"I yield." He said, and then I realized this meant that I had to face her in the finals.

"Oh, bugger me." I said.

"Sorry, Mate." Reg said.

"Better you than me, I guess. Bronze is nice." William replied, and I gave him a look. Oh, I was most assuredly doomed.

My match with Emily started off on the wrong foot and went horribly from there.

She must have still been annoyed at Calem, because she started the duel with a series of conjured origami birds, set them on fire, and sent them flying towards me.

I dodged the winged fiery beings of death, conjured a few daggers and sent them hurling towards her. She wasted no time in dispelling them and then unleashing a wave of force that I had to telekinetically enhance a shield spell with to block. Her second spell, another wave of force, this one more compact than the first, and twice as powerful slammed into my shoulder, and I winced. Even through the dueling leathers, that was gonna bruise.

"Tired already?" She asked.

"Not a chance." I said and sent my own jet of water towards her face. That she had to dodge,

"Don't trip on this one." I said and sending a shoe-lace entangling spell towards her.

She countered the spell and leapt back before I could press my advantage. She sent acid, a seventh fucking form conjuration, flying towards me in a spray of purple sizzle that I dispelled, only to catch a shoulder dislocation.

As she unleashed a dizzying array of lazily cast schoolyard spells, I got the distinct impression that she was toying me. I frowned and sent Iactus hurling towards her. She blocked it with a shield that I didn't recognize and sent a bone breaker hurling towards me.

I ducked, lost my line, and was put on the defensive. That was when I realized that Emily had been holding back and had been since the beginning of the school year. She sent out ten spells in an equal number of seconds, and it was all I could do to raise a shield and weather the onslaught she'd sent hurling towards me. Then, she stabbed her wand into the ground, and a deep furrow opened, and went racing towards my position. As I avoided the ground, it seemed to track me.

I dragged my foot in a hasty circle and intoned a hastily yelled.

"Scuto Rhombus!" Emerald light flared, and the only thing that stopped me from dropping into the ditch was my own will. The furrow carved itself around my circle. I threw out Iactus again, pouring power into the blasting spell.

Her pentacle caught the spell, and when it did, the resulting light show dazzled me. My pentacle produced a simple emerald shield. Emily's was a work of art. Her shield wasn't a simple purple-blue haze as I expected. It was a solid circular, localized wall of light, projected nearly ten feet away from her.

I saw a flash of interconnected runes and magical formulae that I struggled to decipher. Her shield vanished as soon as the energies I projected against it broke with a shower of emerald sparks.
She unleashed another series of spells. My improvised shield broke, and one caught me. Suddenly up was down. Down was up, and the last thing I saw before being rendered unconscious by a spell was her smug grin.

I was revived. Emily had won our duel, and William won third by defeating Calem. Emily continued to climb through the ranks. She defeated the rest of the First Form winners handily, and in a flurry of duels, secured the championship for herself as the winner of the entire school.

As she stood there on the victory podium, she sent me a smug, almost feral grin, and I inclined my head towards her in respect. In a single afternoon, she had gained nearly a thousand points for herself.

Her position as Alpha of Alpha Squad was cemented. For her complete and utter victory during the tournament she gained a small trophy engraved with her name, an invitation to compete in the United Kingdom's national competition in London that summer, and fifty tremissis.

I had to respect her, but I wondered how she had managed to perform such a feat. I had been training for almost four years at this point, and she had almost easily defeated me. I reflected to a few weeks prior. Could it be that I wasn't the only one with a voice whispering advice into my head?

 

[jldew93]

The night before we departed for Christmas break, we gathered one last time in the first form common room. There was a corner of the foyer that we had claimed as ours. William and I settled into our chess match. Emily was sprawled on the couch. A dusty positively ancient looking tome was being held aloft in by a hover spell. Reginald was sitting in an armchair just to her left, carefully sketching plants into his journal. Calem was off brooding somewhere. That seemed to be his favorite pastime lately.

"What's everyone's plans for the hols?" I asked and took the rook that was threatening my queen.

"Just Christmas with the family. My dad's not going to be home, but my siblings are home from school." William said, and took my own rook in retaliation. I pointedly ignored the times our hands accidentally touched each other while we were moving our pieces across the board, or the times our eyes held each other's for a few seconds too long.

"My parents are taking me to Honduras. La Ciudad Blanca is holding a herblore conference, Dad is presenting a seminar about raising tropical magical plants in England." Reg said, not looking up from his task.

"Is your sister coming home?" Will asked.

"No, Fairchild's runs oddly. She'll be home in a month or two for their version of Christmas. Mother says that she'll let me mirror home on the weekends when she's home."

"What about you, Emily?" I asked.

"Yet another wonderful holiday at the orphanage. They may even feed us dinner." She replied. I closed my eyes for a second.

"If you'd like, I could convince Bethany to pick you up. You could spend the holidays with us." I said. My voice was low. Her book closed with a sharp thud.

"I don't need your pity, Andrews." She said sharply.

"It isn't pity." I replied, turning away from the chess match.

"Or your charity." She snarled. Then she rose from the couch and stalked away. I sighed. Reg gave me a look.

"I'll go calm her down." He said and rose from his chair. I ended up losing the chess match.

The next day I returned via mirror to an empty manor. After calling Phobos, I ate dinner and returned to my room. I levitated the trunk to my room, grabbed my magical theory homework textbook, and set to work. I had bought this copy a little over four years ago at a bookstore, and it was well marked and read.

I was just proofreading my essay when the mirror hummed to life. Bethany and Amy stepped through. Both were armored, and they had a worn look about them. Bethany stopped when she saw me.

"Stephen, you're home." She said.

"I am." I replied.

"I'm so sorry. I completely forgot. I was busy on the continent. Have you eaten? Because I'm famished, and I'm going to grab a quick bite." She said.

"I ate earlier, but I'll sit with you. Maybe you can tell me what you had my professor try and decipher?" I asked. She sighed and nodded.

"I'm going to shower and change. I'll meet you in the dining room in an hour." She said. I nodded, and she left. I left my homework where it lay and went to the bookshelves. I noticed that she had disarmed some of the wards on a few of the books that covered rudimentary wards.

I took a tome entitled "Introduction to Rudimentary Wards Vol. 1 by Ward Mistress M. Valentine." and grabbed it. I took it down to the dining room, and quickly lost myself in the book. The author really knew her stuff and was obviously a master at their craft. In a few moments a hand gently touched my shoulder.

I looked up. Bethany had changed out her armor and was dressed in a plain pair of pants and a shirt.

"Good reading?" She asked. I nodded, she sat next to me.

"Phobos." She said, and the imp appeared.

"Mistress calls?" He asked.

"Dinner please, and brandy." She said. He nodded, vanished, and appeared seconds later holding a steaming hot dish, and a crystal decanter of brandy.

"Whoever M. Valentine was, she was an amazing ward-smith." I said, and Bethany gave me a fond smile, it had a sad tinge to it.

"She was my mother." She said, "that book was written when she was twenty-one or twenty-two." She finished.

"She was a ward mistress by that age?" I asked, and she smiled.

"She was a Master of Wardcraft by eighteen, my mother was extremely talented."

"Did she design the wards around the townhouse?" I asked.

"No, but her notes were invaluable when I placed them."

"What was she like?" I asked. Bethany paused for a moment.

"My mother was fierce, and kind. She was a contrast of sorts. To her family, and to her friends? There was nothing that she wouldn't do. She was one of the nicest people I'd ever met. To her enemies? She was terrifying." She said, and took a bite from her steak, then she continued talking.

"The day they vanished; our home was under attack. My father and her fought until the last shuttle left. There were only a few soldiers that passed her wards, and when they did, my father was waiting with his own magic, and he was a Lord of some renown. Both of them had skills as a battlemage that even I would be hard pressed to match today. Each of them seemed to have an instinctive grasp of magic. They made sure our staff and soldiers were evacuated. My father and her firmly believed that they were to be the first in every charge, and the last in every retreat. It was a lesson the three of us learned a little too well." She said, a wistful air about her.

"How did they die?" I asked, and for one brief second, I thought I'd pressed too far. But it seemed as though I'd pushed too hard or asked the wrong question. Bethany had always been reluctant to talk about her past.

"I don't think they did." She said finally.

"After the war. Bartholomew and I returned to rebuild our home. We cast every spell we knew, and at that point, we knew a great many, and everything we tried returned nothing. There was no trace of them."

"But you told Bartholomew they were dead." I replied. She smiled again. Her plate had been pushed to the side, the dinner half eaten, and probably forgotten.

"You'll find that sometimes, belief in something doesn't make it real, and that perception can shift your reality into something it isn't. When your namesake died, I felt it. I felt it in my bones. It was like a piece of me had been ripped out with a hot knife. Like an iron claw around my heart. I didn't feel that when they died. For that reason alone, I believe that they're still alive." She said. I was silent for a moment. Voice and I both mulled over what she said, and then I remember the scroll.

"So, what's on that scroll?" I asked.
She smiled again.

"You're full of questions tonight. Aren't you?" She asked.

"Have you heard of the lost city of Kuhikugu?" She asked, and I shook my head.

"A friend of mine, Professor Fawcett, left to find the city a few years ago. I was going to join him as a surprise to you after the dueling tournament in Brazil. But, in the aftermath, was unable to. Before he vanished, he sent me a scroll through mirror, and I've been attempting to decipher it since. I believe that it's the portal formula to enter the city. If all goes well, and your training progresses next summer as well it has in the last few years, we'll be mounting an expedition to find the City during the summer of 1931." She said.

"What's so important about a lost city?" I asked.

"It was once the Brazilian's magical center of government. Whatever cataclysm or incident that lead to the city being lost essentially beheaded their government. The Majeure in exile would reward whoever ever found that city just about whatever they wished." She replied.

"Kid, ask her how badly we did on Black Monday." Voice chimed in suddenly.

She must have recognized the look on my face, or how my head tilted just a touch.

"What does he want to know?" She asked.

"He's wondering how badly we were affected on Black Monday." I said.

"We weren't. Aside from a few key investments and real estate holdings, I've liquidated a lot of our mundane holdings. I'll be reinvesting in steel and manufacturing in a few years, along with a couple of other firms and munitions factories." She said.

"We'll be war profiteering?!" Voice yelled. It wasn't so much a yell, as a loud roar in my brain that gave me an instant minor headache.

"There's a war coming?!" I said and shouted.
Bethany let out a sigh, and then took a long slug from the decanter.

"What did he tell you?"

"What's war profiteering, and why is Voice convinced we're going to be doing that?" I asked.
She was silent for a moment, then she spoke.

"In less than nine years, Germany will invade Austria. Most of Europe will fall before they're stopped. Millions of innocent lives will be lost."

"Then stop it!" I said.

"I tried. The man behind these atrocities is protected, and there are some mages that I'm scared to cross." She said. Her tone was final.

"So, what do we do?" I said.

"We ready ourselves for the future. This entire block is protected by spells. Even if London burns to the ground, we'll be protected. No mundane bomb will be able to penetrate our wards." My eyes went wide.

"London is going to be attacked?" I asked, fear with an undercurrent of panic ran down my spine.

"London will be fine." She said. Half-truth my magic told me. I sighed. I had to trust Bethany.

"Stephen, I am telling you as the Head of your Family, you are not to speak about this. To anyone." She said.

"How do you know this?" I asked. She was silent for a moment.

"The terms I agreed to learn that are still binding." Her tone was careful. She was searching for her words.

"When the term expires. I will tell you how I found that out." I sighed. More questions and less answers. It seemed as though that was typical of our interactions. The clock in the hall chimed suddenly eleven times.

"I had no idea that it was getting that late. Go off to bed. I'll see you in the morning." She said. I was tired anyway. I walked up to bed and reveled in the luxury of a mattress much larger and softer than the ones in my pod. I fell asleep and dreamed of a city floating in an ocean.

 

[jldew93]

The remainder of my winter holiday was mostly uneventful. Aside from opening gifts and dinner on Christmas Morning, and the Yule sabbat a few days prior, there wasn't really anything to do. I received half a dozen books from Bethany. A history of Coventry that I devoured and gave me ideas about exploration. A primer on wandless magic. A pair of daggers charmed to always return to their sheaths. Like with most of my possessions, they were placed in my ever-present bag. The balance of the holiday left me with no goals. I wanted to begin learning about control of other affinities.

Two days before the New Year, I approached Bethany. She was in her study which was locked behind wards that I didn't even know how to begin picking.
I knocked once. Then once again. Finally, after a moment, the door swung open.

"Bethany, I want to start training in other manceries." I said, there was no point in beating around the bush. She preferred directness.

"I know that you said I would have to wait until I was older, but I think I'm capable of handling that now."

"Well, come in Steven, yes I have time to talk." She said sarcastically and turned aside. The office was in sharp contrast to the rest of the house.
Where the house was your typical manor, all hardwood furniture, deeply varnished floors, and darker walls, this office was airy. The windows showed scenes of a place that was certainly not London. Fluffy cream carpet, a desk that was a marvel of metal and glass, and a floating miasma of light that projected into the air, and across the surface of the desk. There were half a dozen book cases in light wood that accentuated the office. She sighed and sat in her office chair.

"I was wondering when we'd have this conversation." She said, and I quirked an eyebrow.

"In your research at Coventry, did you ever stumble upon the word Aether?" I shook my head.

"Your mother was one. Where I'm from. Where I was raised, an Aether is a mage who is fully capable of controlling not one element, but all of them. Your mother..." She trailed off.

"I've seen her turn perform miracles. Bring the dead to life. Turn aside beams of energy that were meant to melt metals thought impenetrable. Turn a forest to ash and cause a dessert to bloom. She was one of the most powerful people I've known. It is quite likely that you have at least a bit of that talent."

I nodded and leaned back for a second. I knew this was part of the truth, but most likely not the entirety of it. I remembered the conversation I had overheard months ago. Something else was going on.

"So, who do I learn about being an Aether from?"

"There are no Aethers currently living. Well, there are, but they would not be happy to find out that you are around. Plus, I'm not entirely sure how we would reach them. I have a couple of books I can give you, and I can teach you a few things. How to control water, and fire. Vincent can teach you about how to control another element, but we'd need to find instructors for others. I can make inquiries abroad and we'll find instructors. If you'd like, I can teach you a few tricks.

"I would love that." We went to the library and took a mirror to the island. We exited the cottage and activated the defenses. Then Bethany made me stand beside her.

"Calling forth flame is the easiest of the elements to conjure. Fire is all around us. It is just waiting to be ignited. It's simple to draw the oxygen from the air and ignite it with a bit of heat. It's also the hardest to control. Fire will burn their user as quickly as their surroundings. Fire is an exercise in control. Control of one's self. Control of one's emotions. Control of one's magic. Therefore, pyromancers need to be careful with their gestures when actively calling forth fire." She said, with a sharp twist of her wrist, she called a tongue of fire into being on the tips of her fingers. That was odd. I didn't feel the magic of the fireball snap into being, and it wasn't colored by her aura. It was an orangish-red ball of flame that looked like it belonged on the end of a lighter, not on the tips of her fingers.

She extinguished the flame, and pointed her left hand outward, pointer and middle finger extended, the other digits curled back like a fist. Then with a sharp jab, a lance of true fire shot from her hand. I felt the temperature around us drop as the flame gathered heat around itself. Another gesture, this an open hand, and a blast of flame that encircled us like a half globe.
Finally, Bethany made a twisting gesture with her wrist and hand, and the half globe collapsed in on itself, compacting into less of a fireball and more of a small sun. The orb of flame hovered in her open palm.

Why can't I feel the heat off it?" I asked.

"Because I'm willing it to not produce heat. I'm actively using my aura and will to shield myself and you from the flames. A master pyromancer can stop their flames from harming whoever they wish."

With that, she cast the ball of fire upwards in an arc, it flew into the sky, and for a second, hovered before it exploded into a second sun.

"For your first exercise I want you to meditate. Feel the sun shining down on you, feel its heat. Feel the air in your lungs as you inhale and exhale. Internalize your magic and coat the air as it leaves your lungs." I dropped to the ground, crossing my legs as I did so. I cast out my senses in a wide net, tapping into the leyline beneath me as I did. The magic pooled inside me, running up my spine with a tingle. After a moment, I felt the heat. Even with the ground covered in snow and a bitter wind that was only staved off by our heating spells, I felt the warmth of the sun on my shoulders. Felt it's heat, it's warmth. I closed my eyes, blocking out the glow of my aura as it flared from the increase in magical power. After a moment, I rose. Drawing the heat around myself, directing it down my arm, and toward my hand. The air was harder to manage. I knew Bethany said to use the air from my lungs, but it was easier to use the air around us. I reached for that with my magic, and then, I brought them together and then the air exploded in a wash of emerald flame.

I flew backward, and it was only the emergency shield that was stored in my pentacle that saved my life. Still, I felt a flash of heat from the explosion.

I groaned and shook my head and stood on shaky legs. I looked down at my hands, and they were an angry red.

After she completely extinguished the fire, she turned to me.

"You could have killed us both!" She exclaimed. She drew her wand and began waving it over my body.
Instantly I saw the redness fade away.

"How did you do that?" She asked.

"I did as you said, and that happened."

"No, you didn't. Stephen Andrews don't lie to me. Tell me the truth." I felt power in those words. When she said my name, it was like someone had grabbed hold of my heart and gripped it an iron fist.

"I drew the air from around me instead of my lungs." With that, the grip was gone. I let out a breath and fell back down to the ground, this time to my knees.

"What did you do to me?" I asked.

"I invoked your Name. If someone has that, and they have the proper bonds, like say that of a family member, they can control you." She said simply.
Those words gave me a surge of strength. I leapt to my feet, drawing my wand as I did.

"Bethany Andrews, if you ever compel or attempt to control me again, I will end you." I said and threw every bit of my power into that invocation.
She gave a small laugh.

"Child, mages more powerful than you have tried." She said. Suddenly there was a long, low clap from the cottage and a small laugh.

"My my Beth, I see he's getting your habit of biting off more than he can chew." A voice said from that direction. We turned and looked. Eli was striding towards us. He still looked exactly like he had when Bethany first introduced us.

"Eli." She said stiffly, and in a blink, she was by my side, her arm was around me, almost protectively, and her other held her wand.
I could feel her magic around me, settling like a cloak and knew she was drawing up her wards, the protective enchantments she kept stored in her pentacle, or on one of the bangles on her wrist.

I drew my own wand and wondered why she was regarding him with such hostility.
He shook his head.

"You'd think I'd have earned a little trust at this point. Bethany Andrews, I agree to abide by guest protocol while I'm in your holdings." He said, and instantly, the cloak of magic faded away to golden sparks.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"I bear a missive from my Lady. She has an assignment for you." He said. He produced a scroll from thin air. A thick piece of parchment.
Bethany glared at him.

"Why did I not get word beforehand?"

"This is word." He replied.
She opened the scroll and scanned it. There must have been a privacy spell on it, because it was a few jumbled lines of text to my eyes.

"You may bring your apprentice if you wish. Selene will understand."
She gave me a look.

"He can barely conjure fire. He would just be a victim for an Ijiraq. I take it you'll be joining me?" She asked.

"Of course." Eli said.

"We'll return to my townhouse then. I need to armor myself." She said.

"I can fight!" I said

"Aw, look at him. He's so young and willing to get himself killed." Eli said with a smirk.

Bethany turned to me.

"You can hold your own in a duel, but you are not nearly ready to trade spells with a creature of Deep Winter or High Summer."

"In his defense, he seems to be able to conjure fire, he just has no control over it. Give it time, and I'm sure he'll be just fine." Eli said, and gave me a look like he was eyeing a particularly juicy steak. I shuddered.

"Leave my Heir alone, Eli, he's too young for you." Bethany said, and we walked into the cottage and through the mirror.

Once we arrived at the townhouse, I was sent to my room, and the pair left for the armory. I had tried to access it before, but I had been stopped by the wards on the entrance.
I was left to my own devices until the morning before I was due back at Coventry. I spent the time studying my book about wandless magic. The Librum spell was a powerful tool, but some books were spelled to block knowledge absorption spells. This was one of them. Wandless magic was interesting. A wand acted as a thaumic insulator and ensured that a mage who channeled to magic didn't literally burn themselves out or turn into a shade. A shade was a dangerous creature, basically a person stripped away of their emotions until only impulses remained and with the ability to channel an essentially unlimited amount of magic.

The book had a few exercises for wandless practitioners. Meditations, warmup gestures and a chart of how runes translated into the hand and finger movements necessary to call forth magical energy. There was a lack of actual knowledge about spells though.

As I read through the books, I dictated my thoughts to a pen, which wrote them down in a journal. I already had a few of them filled with ideas and notes on magic. At the end of my Second Form of Coventry, when I took the tests to enter an apprenticeship program, I planned on assembling them into my own grimoire. I wished there was a way to shorten the process instead of writing everything by hand.

"Kid, I have an idea." Voice said suddenly.

"What?" I said out loud. I had taken to the habit of talking to voice aloud when there was no one around.

"Have you ever heard the term computer?" Voice said.

"A what?" I asked. Voice was silent for a minute.

"It's from my time. It allows for someone to speak to someone in real time and allows them to work more efficiently than they already would. Typewriters exist, and if we combined those with the enchantments that allow for pens to take dictation, I think we'd have a winner."

"We'd need to go into Mundane London to purchase one." I said.

"I'm fine with that. Do you have that stash of mundane currency?" He asked.

"I do." I replied.

"Excellent." He said. So, I gathered my things, returned to my room, and dressed for a mundane outing. Then I applied my glamour and aged myself up a few years so I would appear to be an adult.

Then I struck out for mundane London, bought myself a portable typewriter. I returned home and began disassembling one of the pens. The pens worked via a series of enchantments and runic circuits engraved into them. So, I'd need to figure that out first. As I took notes verbally, my journal recorded my thoughts.

The morning before I was due back at Coventry, I was attempting to pick the wards of the top shelf. It held the books on enchanting that I would need for my new project.
Bethany ran through the mirror, suddenly. Eli flanked her and they were followed by Amy, walking backward and firing a sleek silver rifle into the portal. She threw a ball into the mirror. There was a muffled boom and a roar of pain.

With a savage wave of her hand, Amy cut connection on the mirror, and shot the mirror, and it shattered.

"Will the Leshi be able to follow us?" She asked. Bethany shook her head.

"Our Paths are well guarded, and that thing won't be able to breach our wards. I'll have to replace the mirrors."

"I thought it was an Ijiraq?" I asked.
Bethany gave me a look and glared at Eli who shrugged.

"Honestly, we thought it was too." He replied with a shrug.

"This was fun and all, but I'm too sober for this right now, and I need to be going. My Lady needs to know what was terrorizing her constituents, and we need to commission a hunting party to track this beast down and warn others about what accompanied it." He said. There was a shimmer in the air, a rush of win, and a flurry of snow, and he vanished. As soon as he left, Bethany sank to the ground, exhausted. Both their faces were dusted with soot, and ice crystals glittered in their hair and eyebrows. Amy turned to Bethany.

"Beth, that was a fucking Tindalos! It took us months to lose one of their trails last time." Amy said.

"So, I brush up on my Enochian. It'll be fine!" Bethany said. I heard an eddy of fear from her voice.

"This would be a wonderful time for exposition." I said.

"Tindalos Bad. Mmkay. Ask Bethany." Voice said.
While Amy furiously muttered lines of incantations, a line of runes trailing behind her, Bethany let out a shaky breath.

"Bethany, would you please explain to me what the bloody buggering fuck is going on?" I asked.

"We were ambushed." Bethany said, stripping off her leathers down to the body suit. She turned around.
There was a long diagonal gash in the suit. The cut was shallow, but it was oozing blood.

"Stephen, what does it look like?"

"I'm not a doctor."

"Kid, field medicine!" Voice said.

"Right." I said shaking my head.

"Medicae Revalarae!" I said, drawing the rune that signified medicine. Her aura was gold, and there was a tangled net of purple and black-ish green in the cut.

"Purple, and dark green." I said.

"Dark green how, dark green like your aura, and black mixed in with green?" She asked.

"The second."

"Fuck me."

"Stephen, what I'm going to ask you to do is gonna hurt me. I need you to sterilize that wound and cauterize it."

"Take a pain-killer potion."

"I can't. That will render me unconscious. I need to be coherent, and you need to do this."

"But what about Amy?"

"She's busy shoring up our wards. You are the only one who can do this." She said, I felt panic rise. I was vaguely knowledgeable about healing, but this looked serious.

"Breathe kid." Voice said.

"Bacterium Fractae." I said, and Bethany grunted in pain.

"Cauterize." She said.

"Cautero." I said, running my wand diagonally down her back

"Now, intone Fractae Nex, Permas. Use Sowilo as the rune invocation, use the cut as the alignment rule. " She said, and I did, the rune glowed green with black lines, and then pulsed once,
turning to white. A grainy black powder fell from the wound."

"Now, reverse the cauterization." She said, and steam rose from the cut. It began freely bleeding again.

"Now, all you've gotta do is stop the blood, and seal the wound."

"Sanguine Soliditeur." I murmured, stopping the bleeding and siphoning away the blood into nothing as I did so.

"Cutis mente unoque consilio." I said, and the skin knitted itself back together. When the energies of the spell dissipated, there was a thin pink line, but other than that, the cut appeared to have healed.

"Good job." She said. Rolling her shoulders. Amy had returned, and Bethany looked at her.

"We're clear. The defenses held." Amy said, and then she looked at Bethany's back. Her suit had begun slowly knitting itself back together.

"It's good." Bethany said. Amy nodded, then she looked at me.

"It's late, shouldn't you be in bed?" She asked.

"It's 10am." I said flatly.

She frowned for a moment.

"Time zones, Ames. Add 9 to the chronometer." Bethany said, and then Amy nodded.

"Bethany, I have to be off. Vincent still needs my assistance on the continent. The Russian situation is precarious at best right now, do you mind opening a portal for me?" Amy said.
Bethany nodded, and twisted her hand. A portal sprang to life, and Amy waved and stepped through it. The portal closed.

"Now, what's a Tindalos?" I asked. Bethany sighed.

"It's a type of Other." She said.

"Other?" I asked.

"It's a type of creature from Outside reality. Some Others are relatively benign. Some think that eating your face is a way to say hello. Quite a few would love to break our reality in two and see what makes it click. Tindalos are vicious creatures. They hunt those who meddle with Time."

"So, I'd be a target?" I asked.

"No, even with the chronotrail that Coventry coats you with, you would attract a mild interest, but nothing deadly. They want to flat out eat me." She stood and winced, and then she rolled her neck, and I heard the pop as vertebrae realigned themselves. Bethany sighed and stood, then she walked out of the library.

"Stephen, I had intended to teach you the basics of pyromancy and hydromancy before you return to Coventry. I still intend to do that, but it will be costly."

"How so?" I asked.

"I intend to use chronomancy to give us back the time we lost. It is imperative I begin teaching you the basics of your power. Follow me." She said, and I followed. She led me to the door with the long hallway, and to the room with the hourglass. She tapped the door panels in a specific sequence and the door swung open. It was long, about the size of one of the ranges we used when we were working on target practice for archery and spellcasting. There was a line of targets on one wall. There was an hourglass carved in the floor. The room was lit with glowing round sconces.
There was a bookshelf that took up the entirety of one wall, and a small cabinet took the corner of another, along with a pair of couches and a chair. Bethany closed the door.

Then she traced the hourglass on the floor, and it took on a golden glow. Then she called up a few more bits of magic, a ward scheme that I didn't recognize that flared into existence and vanished just as quickly. The room was cold, and I could see my breath in the air.

"For every hour we spend in this room, a minute will pass outside. I want to at least teach you the fundamentals of pyromancy now. We can spend Easter break covering more of that and start your hydromancy lessons. Now, start your meditation.

"This room isn't very warm." I said.

"I know. Since you don't seem to have a problem conjuring fire from external sources, your goal today will be to conjure from within. When you manage that, I'll adjust the temperature in the room. A pyromancer is always able to call upon their element, and you will be no exception. Just concentrate on your breathing, and the energy inside of you."
I focused on my breathing. On the air flowing into my lungs, and then out. On the heat inside of myself. After some time, I drew the heat out of my body. Channeling that heat from my center, up through my arm and until it felt like my fingertips were burning. I opened my eyes, filled my lungs, put my fingers inches from my hand, and breathed.
A jet of true fire burst from my fingertips and danced above them. Not much, only the amount a lighter would produce, but enough.

"Good job." Bethany said.

"Now what do I do? My hand is on fire!" I said, and the jet of flame jumped a bit. I hastily lowered my arm.

"Keep calm. Fire is linked to your emotions. Surprise. Anger. Stress. Anything that elevates your heart rate will increase the output of your flames. Breathe."
Bethany ignited her own small jet of flame, and then shot it toward the targets on the far wall. It impacted and burned a small hole in it.

"As you jab your finger forward, release your hold on the flame, settle its target in your mind's eye like you would with a spell, and then fire."
That part was simple, and I hit the target with ease.

"Again, and this time hurry." Bethany said. I went through the mental exercises once more, in a few minutes time, I conjured the jet of flame, and unleashed it.

"Again." We went through this exercise until I could conjure a jet of flame on my fingertips instantly. Then she had me practice stopping it before it hit my target, extinguishing it midair and making it jump from fingertip to fingertip and hand to hand.

When we were done with that, she had me change the shape of the flame, and from a jet, to an orb, to a half dome that hovered in front of my palm. Visualization played a large part in my control, and it was my will alone that stopped those flames from consuming me.

This continued for hours, and I had to force myself to learn how to shield from the heat as we worked through the katas that encompassed the beginning movements of pyromancy. At the end of the session, we sat and grabbed a couple protein bars, which I hurriedly consumed.

Magic required energy, and that energy came from somewhere. When the energy was burned out of my core, I could release my power, or I could rely on my body's fat stores and those were quickly consumed. Bethany produced a small lodestone, a diamond orb about the size of a softball, and I drained the magic out of it in a few moments. The magic rushed up my spine in a cold blaze and I sighed at the buzz. We rested for a moment and I sprawled on the floor, mentally exhausted from my exercises. I stared at the room's high cathedral ceilings and zoned for a few moment's time, trying to gather the motivation to get back up.

After a few minutes, I must have fallen asleep, and I felt Bethany's spell catalyze in the air as her will and power combined into a sharp dart of magic. I rolled out of the way, instantly awake and alert, and the spell hit the ground harmlessly.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"You're here to learn, not sleep. Each borrowed second of time I use in this room costs me dearly, and I intend to minimize that cost. Now, stand up."
I stood. She snapped her fingers, and a trio of books popped into existence.

"You've got to teach me how to do that." I said.

"There will be time for party tricks after you've mastered the fundamentals of survival." She replied.
I took the books out of the air. The first was titled, Invisibility for Idiots: A Beginner's Guide to Phosphomancy by J. Harrison. The second was A Practicum on Practical Psionics Vol. 2 by G. Cortés.

The third and final book was titled Audiomancy: how to silence yourself and those around you by a T. Cortés.

I chose the Psionics book first. I found that when using the Librum spell, it was less painful if you memorized something that you already knew about. Memorizing this book felt like a small ball of pressure centered between my eyes, and the knowledge poured into my brain. In that instant, I figured out a missing piece to my mind palace, and I wondered if this was the information, I needed to complete its construction. I paused, and then memorized the Phosphomancy book. Since my knowledge of invisibility was nonexistent, memorizing this book like driving a nail into my brain. I bit back a scream, and as the knowledge soaked into my brain, I realized what I had done four years earlier in the library, and how I could replicate it if I bent light around me just so.

I held my wand over the third book and intoned the Librum spell. Where the last was a hot nail, this was like a frying pan to the skull. I crumpled as my brain absorbed the knowledge from the book. I felt my stomach lurch. I fought to keep in the calories I so desperately needed,

After my vision returned to normal, and my brain stopped trying to kill me for defying the natural order of things, I realized that Bethany was holding the usual combination of potions for dealing with such a thing. I took them gratefully and let them work.

"Are you recovered?" She asked, as I stood on shaky knees.

"Well enough." I replied.

"Work through what you've just learned."

With a minor effort of will, I drew the dagger sheathed to my ankle. It hovered in the air for a second. With my newfound knowledge I opened my mind and closed my eyes. I felt Bethany's mind and reached out toward it. I was quickly rebuffed.

"That was rude, Stephen. Trying that again will result in pain." Her voice echoed in my mind. This wasn't telepathy, I don't think Bethany was capable of this. It was using a connection I had already opened between us. Like taking a trail someone else had already blazed. I opened my eyes.

"How did you do that?"

"I'll give you a tome on psionic defenses before you leave for school. Now, try the Phosphomancy."
I reached for the light around me, and bent it to my will, imagining a black spot where I was. Wrapping it around me like a radiant cloak that bent reality around me.

"Qui revelare." She said, waving her wand in a wide arc. Then she aimed her wand right at me and fired a spell, I dodged out of the way, and directly into the path of a binder she spent spiraling towards me. I fell to the ground with a thud.

"Perforabit Velum." She said, and I felt my grasp on the light break.

"That was an excellent first attempt. However, you need to learn to protect from sensory magics. I'd suggest an addition to your pentacle." She said.

I glared at her.

"Well, get up."

"Unbind me and I will." I replied.
She smirked.

"Figure out the binding."

I growled. Well, two could play at that game.

"Confractus Magicae." I said and poured power into the spell. I felt it break and stood.

"It was a decent attempt, but what if I had layered my spell to include a backlash?"

"I'd probably have killed myself." I replied.

"Yes, you would have. Next time, I'll add such a spell, and you'd better be prepared." She replied.

"Bethany what's this about? This whole session, and since I first spoke to you this morning, you've been..." I grimaced. This was going to be painful.

"For lack of a better word, bitchy." I ground out.

"My, Stephen, or Voice, who ever really controls my nephew, that was positively 21st century of you." She replied and drew her wand carefully.

"Bethany what are you talking about?" I asked.

"Who's really driving this body. Is it Voice, has he completely possessed you?" She asked, her tone firm.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"He's a time traveler. It wouldn't be the first time I had to deal with one. Alexis has sent me on a merry chase since I first arrived here. She's covered her tracks extraordinarily well. She's left me nothing but a trail of crumbs that end in smoke and mirrors.

Then there was that idiot boy my nephew got involved with. That was a fun week. Saving the universe usually is. Whatever Voice is, there's obviously some sort of temporal translocation involved, if not some sort of auric one as well. Plus, the meeting I just had raised more questions than answers.

Now, I want to know. Are you Stephen Andrews, or are you some imposter riding his body? If you are, I'll remove you, spirit." This was straying dangerously close to exorcism territory, and that was something I would never be subjected to again. I drew up my magics, prepared to fight my way out.

"Honestly, don't bother. I would have killed you in your sleep had I wanted. I want to know how this happened. I've gone over that orphanage with a fine-tooth comb magically, and I found nothing. Now, thrice asked and done. Who the fuck are you?" She asked. There was something dangerous in her eyes. Something I had seen directed towards the vampires that night in Rio. Something that was now directed towards me.

"I swear on my magic, that I am Stephen Oliver Andrews, Heir of House Andrews, once known as Stephen Bonaparte. Voice has no control over my magic. Does that satisfy you?" I asked. Then I lit my wand, and it glowed. She stopped suddenly, and it was like I'd hit her upside the head.

"Oh." She said, her aura vanished with a crackle. There was silence for a few moments.

"I'm sorry. I had to be sure." She said.
We sat in silence, and then she spoke.

"What was that about? What was this whole argument about?" I asked, my tone carefully neutral.

"The people I work for and with have dangerous enemies. They've taken a bounty out on my head, and I was informed my apprentice was in danger. I'm attempting to accelerate your instruction in battle magics. You should be safe here and at Coventry, but you are not the first apprentice that has been threatened by bounties, and I want to ensure your safety."

"That isn't a lot to work with." I replied.

"All I have to go on is rumors of rumors and whispers of plans that are as nebulous as smoke. I spoke to a Seer. All I know is in a year's time, perhaps more, perhaps less, you will be tested."

"Tested how?"

"I'm not sure, all I know is you and a boy will be present."

"What does the boy look like?" I asked.

She waved her hand, and a shimmer of light flowed from her hand and coalesced into an image of William.

"Will." I breathed.

"What?" She asked.

"His name is Will Lowe. He's a classmate of mine."

"Curiouser and curiouser." She replied with almost a murmur.

"Why?"
She shook her head, refusing to tell me more.

"So, when are you from?" I asked.
She gave me a quizzical look.

"You mentioned your parents were from a hundred and fifty years from now, so that's mid-21st century."

"When did I mention- the argument? Oh, you are clever aren't you." She said, and I smirked.

"We have a year to prepare me for this trial. Let's get started on hydromancy." She said, and I dove headfirst into that. This was easier than pyromancy. Water required willpower, not energy. You had to Will it to go where you wanted, and it did. Freezing it, drawing the heat from the water you wanted without rearranging the molecular structure and sparking a flame? That was tough.
I was quickly learning that I had an issue with accidently starting fires. I shuddered to think of what would happen when I began experimenting with Phosphomancy offensive capability.
We spent almost a month in that room. A month of 18 hours of work per day.

Studying, learning hydromancy and pyromancy. By the time we were done, I had a solid grasp on both specializations. Enough to stand my ground in combat using either of those, along with an improved veil and a new enchantment on my pentacle that would block some types of analysis spells. That, and the Audiomancy allowed me to become functionally invisible.

Bethany told me that there were other ways to use Hydromancy. Deadly ways that made even what I knew from dueling seem like love taps. She told me that I wasn't going to learn those until I was much older.

We departed the temporal chamber. It was early in the evening, and I had to be up early tomorrow to return to Coventry. We parted ways, and I stripped out of my clothes, took a shower, and fell into bed after I set an alarm spell.

The spell woke me up a few hours later. I had packed a couple of days before and added my new books to the bag that I had taken to carry earlier. It was now a small mobile library at this point, along with the few weapons I could claim as mine.

Bethany teleported us to the façade the school used on the mundane side, and we entered the building. Before we did, she turned to me, and gave me what looked like a skeleton key. There was a book on the end opposite the teeth.

"Find the room this key goes into and use it to your advantage. I had to go through a great deal of trouble acquiring that, so I suggest you use it. Keep up with your drills. I'll be displeased if we have to spend half the summer relearning old material."

"Okay," I said, pausing for a moment, and then saying the word with a shaky breath, "Mum." I finished. She smiled and wrapped her arms around me.

"I've been waiting years for you to call me that." She whispered.
William and his family had already arrived, his brothers and sisters were in tow, and I guided Bethany over to them.

"How were the hols, mate?" He said, offering his wand. I took a long look at his face, and when he returned the look, I felt my face flush. I had missed him during the break. We tapped, and he introduced me to his parents and his siblings. The one closest to him in age, Cassandra, looked like a female version of him down to the eye color, which I realized was not his aura shining through, but his actual eye color. She blushed when she caught my gaze, and quickly turned away. The next, Edward, had William's raven hair, but his eyes were a chestnut brown. The third and final was Evelyn, who after I asked her name, quickly told me.

"Call me Evie." She was young, no older than eight or nine. When I took her hand, I felt a spark of power. I knew that this girl had the gift and that it would only be a matter of time before she joined us at Coventry. The other two could use magic, they had a sense of Fae about them, and I wondered if that was where the Lowe family's children got their magic.
Evie had power. It was untapped, but it was there. Coventry only accepted those with an ability above a certain threshold, and she had it. After introductions were made, I scanned the crowd. The other mundane-born families were also milling around.

I caught a glimpse of Emily on the outskirts of the group and waved, but she ignored me. I saw Calem next to her, and they were in a hurried conversation. Trading looks around the room and holding hands. Frowning I turned back to Will.

"Did you get any letters from Calem or Reg while we were on break?" I asked Will.

"How would I? I don't have a mirror, and a mundane letter would take too long from Brazil." He said.

"And what about Emily?"
William sighed, and I raised an eyebrow.

"I'm more your friend, and Reg's friend than Emily's. We don't really speak unless we're in a group." He said. I nodded.
Then there was a click and a clunk, like an old key turning in a lock, and a door appeared in thin air.
Dean Crestwood stepped through.

"Welcome back from your Winter Holidays! I hope your holiday was wonderful, and now without further ado, please form a line so I can take roll call. We did, and when Dean Crestwood finished with the roll call, we wished our families good-bye and walked into the door.

 

[jldew93]

January 1930-Late April 1930.

Coventry School

Location Unknown

United Kingdom.

My first week back at school was spent revisiting material. Bethany's tutoring had put me ahead of the curve as it was. The temporal chamber had utterly ruined my chances of remembering where we were in the material. My nights were spent in the common room, playing chess with William or Reginald. Emily was still ignoring me. She'd interact with Reg, and Will, but whenever I tried to speak to her she'd act like I didn't exist. Apparently, something had happened with her and Calem, because those two seemed to be stuck together like glue. When they weren't walking the halls together, they were in whispered conversations. I tried using my skill in Audiomancy, to eavesdrop, but Emily must have raised a spell against it because all I heard was a static hiss.

When Calem wasn't hanging around Emily, he had begun hanging around with Thorne and Grey.

It was the second week back, when I finally confronted the two of them.

"What's going on with you two?" I asked. A great blizzard had confined us to our pod.

"We're a couple." Emily said simply. I looked at her. Lie, my magic told me.

"And Calem is suddenly hanging out with the idiot duo?" I asked.

"He's expanding his connections. It's really none of your business." She replied. Lie, lie, LIE! My magic yelled.

"I'll explain later." She sent, and I jerked back. She gave me a slight nod, and I walked away.

The same week, I'd finished another project. I'd snagged a bag from Mundane London. This was a small pouch with two metal clasps which, after much trial and error, and almost a year of trying to figure out the enchantments for spatial expansion, I had finally cracked the spell.

There were no upper limits to a spatial expansion spell, except you needed to ensure the width of whatever you put in the bag was the same as the opening. However, this could be solved with shrinking spells. Essentially, I'd created a pocket of hammerspace. I'd bought nearly two dozen of these pouches. One of them was enchanted with a stasis spell that would keep food in pristine condition until I needed it. I had no idea what kind of trial I'd face, but I would not be without resources. A third pouch would eventually contain survival gear. Another for my equipment and so forth.

Early January turned to late January, and snow still blanketed the grounds. Ostensibly, Coventry was in London, in the same manner that Fairchild's was located in Buffalo, New York, Geijutsu in Tokyo and Great Lakes was located in Traverse City. The entrances for those schools were in those locations, but in the magical world knowing a location's entrance, and knowing where it was located were two entirely different things. Then you added in translocation, spatial distortion and compression, and the dozen or so other tricks mages used to hide their homes and schools, and no one except the upper echelons of the governments knew the exact location of vital places in their society.

Class had just dismissed, and instead of crowding into our pod, I had a better idea.

"Let's explore the main building." I said.

"That's a great idea mate. The noise in the pod is going to drive me barmy." William said.

"Emily, what do you think?" I replied. Aside from the short mental message, she had yet to speak to me.

"I'm in agreement with William." Reg said quickly.

"Well, let's go on an adventure then." I said, tucking away my book.

"Where too?" Reg asked.

"To the lower levels."

"Those are forbidden for us to visit." Emily said.

"Rules are meant to be broken." I replied and began striding towards the staircase at the lower levels.

We walked down into the depths of Coventry, past the dueling arenas, and the archives, and three more levels down. We walked down a hallway that was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the witchlight orbs that seemed dimmer than the ones a flight up.

William and Reginald drew their wands and lit them. The hallway took on a green glow as their blue and yellow auras collided. I snapped my fingers, and a fireball of true flame flared into existence.

"Where did you learn that?" William asked.

"I began training in my affinity over Christmas break." I said.

"I didn't peg you for a pyromancer, Andrews." Reg said.

I shrugged and we continued. We must have walked a quarter of a mile down that dusty hallway until finally we came to a door. This one was locked.

"Looks like we're at a dead end." Reg said. I drew my own wand and murmured a revealing spell. The door's threshold lit up with my neon green and revealed a few runes carved into the floor. I pushed away the dust on the floor. There were a trio of runes carved into the floor.

ᛁᚱᚦ

These runes were woven with a glimmering gold metal that I didn't recognize but seemed to shine somehow.

"Any idea what this circuit does?" I asked.

William crouched down beside me. Reg and Emily joined him.

Emily pointed out a series of mathematical formulas around the border of the runes.

"That's the metamath formula for a locking spell." She said, then she drew a line with her wand to the rune in the center, tracing a fine line that dropped down into the top of the rune.

"That's a Raidho, so, I'm assuming that's the rune and metamath blocking the door from being opened."

"The one on the right is a Thurisaz, it's connected to this formula right here." Reg replied.

"What does that one do?" Emily asked.

"I'm not sure, but I recognize the formula. Stephen, do you have a copy of Cartier's Primary?"

"Our conjuration handbook?" I opened my bag and summoned the text.

"While you're in there, can you get me Markov's Secondary? That's an Isa rune, on the left, and I think I know how to counter it." William asked.

"And the Tertiary." Emily said.

"Why would I have a third form book?" I asked. She glared at me again.

I produced the two of them, and they each opened a book while I examined the runes. I hadn't begun delving into the metamath that allowed spells to be constructed yet. Math was always something that I struggled with.

I examined the area around the door. Aside from the runes there wasn't anything really around the door.

"Can you just blow it open?" I asked and raised my wand.

"No!" Four voices simultaneously said.

"Okay then." I replied.

"I figured out mine. I need paper." Emily said and gave me another look.

"Well, aren't you chatty today?" I snarked and produced a few leaves of loose paper.

She blew a circle of dust away with her wand, plopped down in a cross-legged position, and began scribbling away.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Dispelling a scuto shield without it catalyzing into a tertiary cascade that will disintegrate us." Emily said.

"We're in a school, no one is going to be trying to disintegrate us." Calem scoffed.

"She's right. We might be in the school, but I think this was here before the school was built." William said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"My uncle is an archeologist. He's taught me a few things. Do you notice the walls?" He asked. I looked around. The walls were smooth, someone had tunneled this place with magic.

"What about them?" I asked.

"The rest of the school is brick. Those tunnels look older than that. I'm not sure how much older, but I think this tunnel was built before the rest of the school. This isn't a security spell from the school, it's one designed to keep intruders out." He replied.

"And I was wrong about the rune. It's a Laguz. It means water. The spell attached to it is a cutting spell. If it activates it would boil the water in our bodies." William said.

"Ouch. Can you disarm it?" Calem asked.

"I think it's tied to the Raidho. We need to disable that." He said.

"The Thurisaz is a reactive force tied to a blowback spell. It will explode if it triggers." Reg asked.

"Could we react the force inward?" Calem said.

"If we triggered the spell inside a barrier, maybe." Emily said.

"Like a telekinetic barrier?" I asked.

"More like a bubble with an inverted curve. I can't exactly map the parabola of the explosion without a lot more time." Emily said.

"How do we trigger it?" I asked.

"A burst of offensive magic directed at the door." Emily replied.

"When I say now, shoot." I said, and threw out a wall of telekinetic force, placing a series of mental anchors around the door.

"Any requests?" Emily asked.

"Surprise me, and fire at will." I retorted.

"Guys is this such a good idea?" Reg asked, hastily walking backward.

"Carnificare!" She snarled. Sapphire power flared, catalyzed and sent deadly force out into the world. The spell flew, inches from my head, through my barrier, and impacted with the door. Magic reacted, runic circuits came to life, and the wards in front of the door blossomed. The explosion hit my barrier, and I heard four voices yell out.

"Scuto!"

Just as quickly as the explosion happened, it vanished from existence. I dropped my barrier and immediately tapped a ley, funneling cold power into my core.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and knew just from that bit of contact, and familiarity with my friends and their power, that it was Will. I leaned into his touch without thinking about it.

"You okay mate?" He said, I bit my lip and nodded, and felt a trickle of wet down my face, and wiped it away. The sleeve of my shirt came away red.

I turned to my friends, and Reg had his wand out instantly.

"Do I have permission to heal you?" He asked.

I nodded.

He murmured a spell over my nose, and I got the scent of wheat I associated with his magic.

"Cessare." He intoned.

"You broke a blood vessel in your nose, that should fix it." He said.

"How do you know how to heal?"

"You'd be surprised how many accidents happen on a farm. Plus, my mum gets the nose bleeds from using her gifts. How are you a Psyker if you're already a Pyromancer?"

"Let's go on." I said, avoiding the question. That bit of power cost me more than I realized, and I fought back a wave of vertigo. I wish I'd eaten more at dinner, because whatever calories currently being digested by my body were gone from how much magic that took from me. We walked for some time down another dusty hallway and eventually Reg spoke.

"Emily, how did you know that spell?"

"I learned it from the library." She replied.

"Coventry doesn't have those kinds of spells." I said.

"We have one of the top dueling teams in Europe. Of course, we have those kinds of spells. You just need to know where to look. What I want to know is where you learned how to use that bit of telekinesis, Andrews." She replied.

"Oh, I'm full of surprises, York." I replied.

"Full of shite, more like it." She retorted. I ignored the remark and we continued our trek. Eventually we came to a fork in the path.

"So, what do we do now?" I asked.

"Well we could split up." Reg suggested.

"Yeah, that's not happening." Voice said, and I echoed that.

"What's the worst that could happen?" William asked, and I gave him a look.

"Honestly, haven't these kids seen a horror movie?" Voice muttered.

"What's a horror movie?" I asked him, I got the mental equivalent of a shocked look.

"It's a movie designed to scare you. They probably haven't even been invented yet." He said.

"That seems like a bad idea." Emily said.

"Andrews, since your psychic, why don't you tell us which path to go down?" She asked me.

I gave her a look.

"I haven't trained for that. Do you think you could magnetize that stick in your arse and turn it into a compass?" I said.

"Maybe I'll use the silver spoon lodged in yours." She retorted, and I drew my wand.

"Come and try, York." I snarled, and she drew hers as well, her eyes glowed with her aura.

"Enough, you two!" William said, and we looked at him.

"I'm not sure what's going on between you two but put it aside for two fucking seconds please." He said, and we stared.

William didn't swear. Ever.

"Fine." I said. Emily began walking down the path on the right, savagely carving lux into the air. A trio of sapphire orbs sprang to life.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I chose a path. Follow me or don't." She said, and we did. Eventually it led to a dead end.

"Great choice, York." I said.

"Fuck off, Andrews." She said and turned back around to retrace her steps.

"What is her problem?" I asked.

"I think it's you, mate." Reg replied, and followed her. We came back to the fork and took the path. This one was much shorter and fed into a chamber. In the center of the chamber, a triquetra was carved into the floor in silvery blue metal. This led to a set of two steps. On that dais, there were three doors. Each of them was carved with a kite shield. The first, on the left, was painted blue. A snarling lioness painted gold with a crown on her head was painted in the foreground. The second, in the center was black. A single bright red Kenaz rune was its only embellishment.

The third, the door was the right, was the one most detailed. It was painted a piercing bright blue. A white pentagon was pointed on the shield. At each point on the pentagon, a seashell was painted. In the center of the Pentagon was a creature with the lower body of a mermaid, and the upper body of a lion.

"God's blood." Reginald said, at the same time as Emily uttered.

"Bloody buggering fuck." With a viciousness that I only usually witnessed during duels.

"I thought these were lost." Calem said.

"What do you three know?" I asked.

"Could someone please tell me what is going on?" William asked.

"What do you know about the history of our school?" Calem asked him.

"Nothing really." He said.

"Well, what do you know about King Arthur?" Reginald asked.

"Just stories my dad would tell me when I was younger. It was Ed's favorite story." William said.

"Do you know how he died?" Reg asked.

"Of course, the Ladies of the Lake took him to Avalon after Mordred mortally wounded him in a final battle. He killed Mordred in the process." William replied.

"Did he tell you what happened after?" Calem asked. He shook his head.

"Lady Morgana, the Grand Sorceress. Merlin's last apprentice." Emily said.

"Lady Vivienne York, Enchantress without Equal. Herald of Glory's morn." Reginald said. His voice filled with awe.

"Leanna Pendragon. The Queen with no throne. The orphan heir. Spirited from the ashes of Camelot that was, hours before Mordred returned to his traitor Queen." Emily said, an almost reverent tone to her voice.

"At their knees, Leanna learned of magic and sword. Of spells, charms, and magics both terrible and beautiful. In time, the foundling grew into a woman, and took her own apprentice, and then another, and then a third. Soon, three had grown into thirty, and then a hundred. A school was formed, and a coven followed." She continued.

"Eventually, the school's origins faded into history, and then myth. It's rumored that when the Sword is drawn again from the stone, Leanna will return, and a new golden age will start." She finished.

"That was poetic." I said.

"You're pathetic." She replied.

"And I think I know how to open these doors." I said and fished in my pouch for the key Bethany gave me. I tried each of the doors, and nothing happened. William took the key and tried the doors. Then Reg and Calem tried the same. When Emily grabbed the key, it dinged, loudly, like a church bell and glowed. It flew out of her hand, and into the door on the left, where it turned in the lock. The door swung open, and we walked into it.

Emily winced.

"This room is hurting my eyes." She said, and instantly the glow subsided to a light grey.

"I wish I had a chair." Emily said, and instantly a wood backed armchair appeared next to her, and she sat.

"It's a magical holodeck." Voice breathed; he was excited.

"What's a holodeck?" I asked him.

"Think of it as the ultimate simulation." He replied.

"Uh, thanks." She said out loud.

"Your welcome." A voice said. A man materialized. He was roughly six feet tall. He had a white beard that was nearly as long as he was tall and was dressed in a dapper black suit. His eyes were a twinkling emerald green, and he held a cane in his hand.

We jumped. Well, four of us did. Emily toppled backward. She quickly stood.

"Who are you?" I asked. The man ignored me.

"Who are you?" Emily asked, and then he spoke.

"I am an impression of Merlin, crystalized from the memories of my three ladies and his journals, and artificed into Genius Loci, before an idiot headmaster decided that he didn't need my input, and locked me away, for, what year is it?"

"1930." she said.

"Ah, yes, seven hundred years." He replied.

"Why won't you respond to my friends?" She asked.

"This room was designed to be controlled by the Heirs and the Headmasters of Coventry. They are neither. Would you like to extend interaction privileges to them?" He asked, looking her in the eyes.

"Yes." She said.

I felt a magical scan come from the man and wrap around me. It vanished just as quickly.

"Interaction credentials created." He said.

"What is your purpose, and what's this room's purpose?" Calem asked

"My purpose is to control the wards of this castle and its exterior defenses. This room is a multi-purpose room designed and enchanted by Lady Vivienne Fairchild. It is designed as an object retrieval and replacement system, a training room, a library, and an emergency shelter in case of attack by hostile forces."

"What exterior defenses? Aside from the wards, Coventry has no defenses." Reg said.

"That's impossible." Merlin said, and he waved his hand in the air. A 3D image appeared in the air. An image of a sprawling walled fortress appeared. The walls of the fortress were bristling with ether cannons and gargoyles. There an entire courtyard of armored golems that looked like ancient Chessmen, the gold automatons that mages used as shock troopers.

He waved his hand and a modern version of Coventry appeared.

"What happened to my school?" He asked.

"I'm not sure, anyhow, back to what you said earlier. What do you mean by training room?" I replied. Merlin waved his hand and a gnoll appeared in thin air and charged me. I dodged a swipe of its claws, that would have decapitated me if I wasn't running on a full charge, and then knocked it backward with a focused pulse of telekinetic power.

Then, I threw out a jet of flame and the creature squealed, and fell to the ground, it's fur ablaze. I smelt cooking meat and heard its flesh sizzle. Without pause I drew my daggers telekinetically and threw one in each eye. The creature died and vanished. My daggers clattered to the floor and I summoned them back to my sheathes. Emily had raised her wand and was already looking for another target. The other three had barely gotten their wands in hand. "What was that? Speak quickly." She said.

"That was a psionic simulation using the knowledge stored within my memory to create a juvenile gnoll. I judged it to be an apt challenge for four first form students. Apparently, I was wrong. We can try that again if you'd like?"

"How about just targets next time?" Reg asked.

"Now, your library functions?" Emily asked.

"Ah, yes. Over the years, due to my object retrieval system being turned off some time during my first century of existence, once again the work of a meddling headmaster, every object a student loses eventually comes into my care. As such, I have a vast pool of magical texts to draw on. What would you like to know?"

"Magical rituals, how to enhance strength and speed. Preferably without using a wand." Emily.

"Well, to do that, you'd first need a ritual and the proper knowledge on how to unlock your chi points so that magic would saturate your body most effectively."

"Okay."

"Before you'd use that, you'd need a text on how to properly meditate and focus on your magic."

"Okay." She said.

"You'd also need a set of ritual knives. The white and black handled blades, enchanted specifically for rituals."

"Just show me the texts I need." Emily said.

"Very well."

Three tomes the size of large phone books appeared in a row and Emily's eyes grew wide.

"Isn't there a condensed edition?" She asked.

"This is the condensed version." Merlin replied.

"I'm never going to be able to read all this." She muttered.

"I have a spell that will duplicate the texts. That way we can all start studying them." Reg said.

"Why would you need to know these rituals?" She asked. Reg closed his eyes.

"I'm the youngest of 8. My brothers are all grown, and I was almost sure I was Ungifted. I need power." He said simply.

"Why would you need it?" He replied. She didn't reply for a moment, and when she did her voice was thick.

"T-Things are rough, at the orphanage. Even more so for a girl. A young girl." She replied.

I closed my eyes. Had it not been for my magic lashing out, and Tommy's cruelty, and Bethany, I'd have been in the same boat.

"They won't be here." I said.

"For a moment Andrews, it seems as though you cared." She replied.

"I have a spell that will allow us to skip reading those texts. The knowledge will just flash itself into our memory. I'll teach you the spell, York. For a price." I replied.

"And what would that be?"

"Tell me why you've apparently decided to hate me." I replied. She glared at me for a few moments.

"You got lucky." She said.

"What kind of answer is that?" I asked.

"The only kind you'll get from me. Now. The spell if you please."

"Okay. I'm warning you. This spell is painful." I said.

I walked over to the book on the left, pointed my wand at it, and intoned.

"Librum Memoriae." A vast wave of knowledge washed over me. Pages upon black and white printed pages swirled through my vision on meditation. On proper breathing and mental focus. On how different meditations on different days prepared your body for the magic that you planned on inviting into yourself and merging with. I breathed a sigh and the room spun. This was mostly material I already knew. Emily had already begun absorbing the knowledge of the first book and had moved onto the second.

Reginald and William were quick to follow, and we all drank the knowledge of those three books. At the end, I had a mild headache. Emily looked pale and stood on shaky legs. The other three were on the floor, curled up in agony. William had vomited his lunch in an arc across the floor and had curled up in a ball next to it.

"Emily, how are you still standing?"

"If I fall, I won't get up." She replied. After a moment I stood and walked over to William. I helped him up and cleaned his sick. Then we both retrieved Reg from the section of the floor he was cuddling with. Emily helped Calem to his feet and took care of the mess he had left behind.

"You said that this room was an object retrieval system?" I asked Merlin.

"Yes, over the years students have lost many objects, or discarded them. The school returns those objects to me, and I use what access I have to leylines in order to fix them. Then I catalog them and store them in a spatial pocket.

"Do you have any gold?" I asked. I had money, Bethany's money. But I wanted access to my own funds besides whatever my deals were bringing in.

"There is currently an estimated nine tons of gold aureus in my stores."

"Are there any expanded shrinking trunks, with feather light spells?" I asked.

"There's five of them."

"Can you split the gold equally between the trunks and retrieve them?"

"I have no use for gold, but that's a tremendous sum." He said.

"If you do this, I swear if it's ever in my power. I will restore your runic array." I said. He nodded, waved his hand, and produced five trunks. We each pocketed one of them after shrinking them.

"Mate, do you have any idea the fortune we just received?" William had a triumphant smile on his face.

"My family's finances were tight because of Coventry. They're going to be thrilled." He said and gave me a hug. I froze. Two sides of me fought. One wanted to run and hide. The other wanted to stay like this forever. I hugged him back gingerly and patted him on the back. He stepped backward and I nodded.

Reg waved his wand then.

"It's nearing curfew. We should probably get back to the common room." He said.

"I wish this room wasn't so far away, we could use it as a place to practice our spellwork." Emily said.

"I take it you used one of the Coventry's Master Keys to open the door?" He asked.

"It was a key my guardian gave me." I replied.

An image of a key popped into an existence. It was identical to the one that was in the door even now.

"There are three of these Keys. Simply put them in any door, think of this room, and turn the lock. The key will allow you to enter any room in school that is connected to the primary ward array."

"Can you produce a door?"

"Yes." Merlin said, and one shimmered into being along a wall. I ran and retrieved the key, then, while thinking of a storage shed close to the pod, I took the key out of the lock, and reentered the room. The door closed, and I placed the key in the lock. It opened to snow. Reg, William, and Calem entered, and then with a pull, I shut the door again, and called the Key to my hand.

"What was that for?" Emily said.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You and Calem. Calem and those two morons. What are you planning?" I asked.

"It's nothing of your concern." She said.

"It's not going to bring harm to me?" I asked.

"No. It's just a play. Calem is in on it. I can't say anything more." She said.

I frowned.

"If that's all, can I leave?" She asked.

I reopened the door. We returned to the pod without incident and went to bed. The next week was boring. At night, I'd used my magic to sneak away to the room and practice my elemental control. That weekend, we went down to the room as a group, minus Calem. The snow had continued and there were at least a dozen feet of white icy powder burying the grounds. We arrived in the room, and Merlin appeared.

"So, what do you want to practice?" I asked.

"I think it would be best if we begin with basic target practice. This room is going to give us a massive edge in dueling tournaments." Emily said.

"Merlin, you said that you can create a training course, right?" She asked.

"Yes."

"Create one for us, or a scenario. Benefitting our skill levels."

"As you wish." He said, and then a half a dozen gnolls came into existence. They were backed by a trio of dwarven archers. Instantly the gnolls charged us. Emily smiled. This time she unleashed that carnage spell she was fond of. One of the gnolls was decapitated and her grin grew wider, only for a crossbow bolt to slam into her shoulder, and she screamed. I was busy with my own opponents. Two gnolls had charged me, and I threw my daggers at each of them.

They dodged the daggers and I backed up, conjuring a half dozen razor sharp spears of ice, and throwing them outward. Three impaled one of my opponents and I smirked, unleashing a jet of flame at the second. This one raised its arm, and the fire washed away on its bracer.

The gnoll grinned a smile full of yellow razors and turned the flame back at me. I jumped to dodge the fire, and it attacked, grabbing me by the ankle, and hurling me before going after Reg. He conjured vines from thin air with a jab of his wand, and they wrapped around the gnoll's spout. Calmly he drew a dagger and sliced its throat and unleashed another binding spell at a second gnoll. William was dueling with a duet of them.

Emily had killed one of the gnolls. The crossbow bolt was still lodged in her shoulder, and she was attempting to take on the archers, but she was pinned down, forced to keep up a shield. William was in the center of the room, fighting a pair of the gnolls with schoolyard hexes. Then something slammed into my shoulder, and a hot breath streamed into my face.

The gnoll that I had impaled earlier held me in the air, and it roared in my face. One taloned arm held me pinned to the wall, the other cocked back. Then it slammed into my gut, and I groaned in pain. The gnoll wrapped its hand around my throat, and I felt my airway constrict. It took every bit of will I had to blast it backward. I called upon fire, and it answered, and I unleashed bright green hell upon the creature. That was when a crossbow bolt slammed into my abdomen, cutting into my stomach, and sending agony shooting through my core.

I fell to the ground, holding the wound as my lifeblood poured outward. Reg was backed into a corner by a gnoll, only his magic keeping him from death. William cornered by the last.

Emily laid on the floor, her body bristling with crossbow bolts, laying in a pool of blood. Then, as soon as it began, it was over. I wasn't bleeding out. Emily wasn't dead.

We'd lasted a couple minutes. We all tapped a ley and recharged our magics.

"That was abysmal." Merlin said.

"Don't they teach you group tactics anymore?"

"We're mages, not soldiers! We're practicing for dueling. Not combat!" Reg exploded.

"Combat is just dueling in an art form. As long as there are mundanes, gnolls, dwarves, and half a hundred other creatures and races coexisting alongside us, then you need to be prepared to defend yourself no matter where you are. We'll run this again. But try and keep each other alive." Merlin said, and the nine opponents reappeared.

"Shields, On me, scuto!" Emily said, conjuring a shield.

"Who made you the boss?" I asked. A crossbow bolt whizzed by my head, and I raised my shields alongside the other three. The bolts began glancing off our shields, and the gnolls ran at us and around us.

"They're going to flank us." I said and threw out telekinetic force that sent them stumbling.

"Stephen, you contained an explosion. It stands to reason you can stop crossbow bolts. Right?" Reginald said.

"Sure." I said, lying through my teeth.

"Raise a shield." He said, and I did.

"Don't let them through." Reginald said.

"I'll do my best." I said.

"Now, Will, Reg, fire off your strongest spells!" Emily said, and she unleashed the carnage spell. Reg fired off a dozen silver spikes. William threw out a bone breaker, followed by a dagger conjuration. The carnage spell deflected off one of the gnoll's bracers. Of the silver spikes, three of them hit their targets, and then one of the gnolls unleashed their own pulse of force that slammed into mine. I barely kept the shield up. Then another unleashed a ball of magical power that caused cracks to appear in my construct.

"Did I mention that your opponents will learn and adapt to your techniques?" Merlin asked. A jolt from a third direction had me looking behind.

"We're surrounded." I said. I wasn't going to lose. I racked my brains. There had to be a way to pull us out of the fire. Without bringing down my shield. Then the four of the gnolls threw out power at once, and my shield broke. I threw out a wave of force to knock them backward, and they quickly ended us.

"So. You're more abysmal than I thought." Merlin said, I sent a jet of flame through him.

"That was rude." He said.

"What battle magics do you four know?" He asked.

"Battle magics?" William asked.

"Spells meant for defense of oneself. Spells to break your opponent. Magic meant for killing."

"Like dueling spells? I guess the entire first and second form of curriculum." William said.

"A bone breaker. The bone-saw spell, a blood boiler, and the nerve shredder." Emily said.

"The vampire and the werewolf killers. The Single syllable blasting spells." Reg said, and I gave him a look.

"Half a dozen ways to snare the mind, break the body, and rend it to ash." Reg said.

"How do you know that kind of magic?" I asked. There were spells designed for battle. Then there was whatever Reg was apparently learning.

"My parents are both Hunters for the Council Majeure." He replied.

That settled that. The Hunters were the boogeymen for the council. Hunters tended to be recruited from certain families.

"Have any of you taken the affinity tests?" Merlin asked.

"I drew a false positive." I said, repeating the lie.

"False positive?" Merlin asked.

"All the bowls reacted." I said, and Merlin was quiet for a second.

"I'll have to research that more, but the rest of you haven't, I take it?" He asked.

"I'm a Biomancer." Reg said.

"Really?" Merlin asked.

"Have you begun training?"

"I'm moderately proficient in healing. I have a better control of plants than anything." He said.

"We're both mundane born." William said.

"And?"

"And our parents, and guardians haven't tested us." William said.

"When they started the school, every new student was tested for that on their first day. Morgana was from a tribe of pure elementalists, and she wanted to test her students for those affinities. If you'd like we can test you three now." He said, and they nodded. Merlin conjured the bowls. The test I'd taken had been different. This had ten bowls instead of twelve.

Emily's aura reacted to the bowl that I recognized contained some sort of memory. William's reacted to the bowl containing earth.

"A psionic and a geomancer. Interesting." He said, and I took a look at the bowls. The ones missing a bone, and a hunk of crystals were absent.

"Well, we need to get your started training in these elements." He said and produced two books that William and Emily quickly memorized. I held William as the aftereffects of the spell ran through him. It took him a long time to recover from that.

"Don't memorize any more books today." I said, and he nodded.

"Did the books settle well?" He asked, and they both nodded. The room shimmered and changed. Two stacks of earthen discs appeared, along with half a dozen targets.

"I want you each to throw those discs into those targets." He said. They both looked at each other.

"Merlin, can I see that text on Geomancy?"

My own copy appeared in front of me, and I quickly memorized the spell. I could see how the principles of moving earth linked in telekinesis. It hurt, but the knowledge increase wasn't as much as I thought.

I, however, had enough on my plate. Another set of targets appeared alongside the first, a pair of unstrung bows, and a quiver of arrows.

"I want you two to practice with these. Stephen, do not use your abilities." Merlin said. I'd never fired a bow before. Bethany had focused on swordplay and using my daggers.

I took the bow and strung it after some struggling. Reg had easily strung the bow and had begun firing at targets and was hitting them fairly accurately. I faced the target, and fired, and completely missed the target. After a few minutes of utterly humiliating myself, Reg took pity on me.

"You're standing wrong." He said.

"What?"

"Stand to the side. Point your feet towards the arrow." He said. I did.

"Now turn your head and pull the string back with one arm as you push the bow forward with the other."

"Now, close your eyes, and aim." I did, and when I opened my eyes, my aim was just to the right.

He nudged my foot back, and I moved it. My aim adjusted.

"Fire." He said, and this time my aim was true, and I hit the target, but it was below where I was aiming for.

"You've got to account for drop, aim just above where you want to hit." He said.

I tried it again, and my target was true.

He went back to firing at his own targets. I noticed the easy grace he had with the bow. He'd have to have been training with it for a while. On the other side of me, Emily and William were moving along swiftly.

They were easily hitting their targets and had taken to seeing who could get the most in a row. We continued our target practice for some time. After a while, Reg, who had been keeping track of time, informed us that we needed to leave, and we wished Merlin farewell, and left.

 

[jldew93]

That night, I stole into the room.

"Merlin." I said, and the figure appeared.

"This is the first time during your nightly sessions that you've called me Stephen, how can I help you?"

"Why didn't you test them for the other two elements?" I asked, and he froze.

"Even in my time, society was based on the Tremissis. Tell me child, do you know what that last element is?"

"Some sort of gem?"

"Tremissis. Diamonds. Even when the great twins, Iannes and Membres, along with Apuleius, who we can arguably say was the founder of the current magical system, feared Tremisimancer. Their powers could ruin society. Knowledge of that ability is locked away, and in my times, the Council of Lords, who were the predecessors to the Council Majeure had a kill on sight order for mages who practiced that art. The other is just as powerful."

"What is the other?"

"Necromancy, child. The controls of the dead. To travel down such pathways is folly for three students so young. I refuse to teach them that art."

"Necromancy exists?" I asked, and Merlin nodded. Interesting, and the fact I could use such a tool? I fought back a shiver, whether it was from fear or excitement, I didn't know. That wasn't the purpose of my visit.

"My guardian tells me that in a year's time, I'm going to be tested somehow. I need to learn as much as I can." I said.

"I refuse to teach necromancy. Especially not to one so young. Maybe before you graduate. But that's it." He said. I nodded.
The days and months passed in a flurry of magical research, homework, and socialization. I perfected my typewriter aside from the enchantment designed to link a pair. Winter faded, and our early morning obstacle course resumed. We trained in our room. The days were peaceful, but that ended the week before exams.

Aloysious Moon fell to Chronosickness in early May. It was the middle of the night, and Exams were slated to begin the following Tuesday. I had been up late studying when suddenly a pained scream ran throughout our pod. I was awake instantly, wand in hand. The lights were dimmed, but I could see, someone hunched over Alicia Calhoun's bed. Hunched on top of her. I heard her screaming, and it suddenly faded away with a gurgle.

"Pod, Lights on!" Somebody, I think it was Robbards, yelled. And the Pod's lights flared to life. Aloysious Moon was crouched over her. His face was covered in blood and he had a feral look in his eye. Alicia's throat had been torn out, and she laid limply in bed.
Aloysious looked around, and then with a growl, leapt off the bed.

"Catenis!" I heard a voice shout, and purple-blue chains flew through the air. He dodged them and ran towards the caster. Emily.

"Someone get Roman!" Another voice yelled. It might have been one of the Lockwood siblings. One of them ran out of the pod.
I got out of bed and cast a tripping spell at him. It hit him and he sprawled to the ground. In an instant he was up, and turned towards me, spinning his body visceral. His body jerked, like it was a live wire, and he came rushing at me.

"Adstringo, Allio!" I said. He blocked the bind with a wave of his wand.

"I'm going to kill you Andrews." He said and leapt toward me. Were it not for my Pentacle, he would have leapt on top of me. Instead he swung a magically charged fist at my barrier and threw out a shimmering ball of something that cracked my shield down the middle.
A spell hit his shoulder, and blood flew into the air. Malcolm Grey stood.

"Keep him off guard." He said. A yellow knockback spell hit him, Reg's doing from the aura. Juniper Robbards unleashed a force spell as Calem sent three of those origami creatures he was so fond of towards Moon.
Jocelyn York sent out a sleep spell. But Moon, never the most accomplished duelist, showed an aptitude he had yet to display in class by blocking everything and lashing out with spells that bordered on dark magic.

"Close your eyes!" Dean Crestwood yelled, suddenly there. A flash of light bloomed into the air. I closed my eyes, and bright light flared, and I heard a loud bang, followed by a crackle as a series of spells shot through the air. I opened my eyes, blinking away spots. Aloysious Moon was down and bound.

I turned around. Roman was accompanied by a good quarter of the first form teaching staff. One of the school nurses walked over to Alicia. She murmured a spell and shook her head. Then she conjured a white sheet and gently placed it over her.

"We'll inform her parents." The nurse said, and she gently levitated Alicia's body and left the pod.

"What just happened?" I thought. I went back to my bed and sat. Robbards and Jocelyn York were crying, and the rest of the dorm was nearly silent aside from Aloysious Moon's screams. I heard someone yell.

"No, Miss Robbards!" I looked up to see Juniper Robbards point her wand at Aloysious Moon. A spell flew through the air, and his head was severed from his body, bloody spurted his neck, and the head fell, his face still frozen in a scream. Dean Crestwood bound her. The Pod was silent. Finally, she spoke.

"Mr. Roman, help me move the first forms to the guest wing." She said. It was a joke. It had to be. This was some fucked up end of year illusion. One of Coventry's many tests. How else would a student die? Surely this wasn't real, was it?

"I think it is, Kid." Voice said. His tone was soft, almost gentle.

"Everyone grab your trunks and follow me." Alex Roman said stiffly.
Numbly, I did as he asked, and we followed him through the night towards the main building. The guest wing was lavish compared to the pods.

"Everyone choose a bed. You'll only be here for the night." He said.

"Before you go back to bed. I need each of you to swear a secrecy oath tonight not to speak about what happened."
Instantly we all began yelling in outrage.

"We just saw two of our classmates die, and you expect us to keep it a secret?" Calem shouted.

"Are you mad?" Penhallow yelled.

"Fuck that." Malcom Grey said. Alex Roman looked around at us and realized that upsetting a bunch of teenagers who had been learning to duel and use their magic offensively the last ten months was probably not the best idea.

"Fine. I'll tell Crestwood you agreed. But I'm telling your incoming prefect, and if I hear word of this getting out, I'll ensure your lives are hell the rest of the time you're here. Do you understand?" He asked. We all traded looks, and we agreed.
He left us alone. Sleep was non-existent that night.

The remainder of the term was spent hurried between exams. We didn't return to our pod the next night, or the remainder of the term. After that night, the school was somber. We never spoke a word to anyone, but Coventry's population knew somehow. Maybe it was an overheard hurried conversation between teachers, or Seventh Form Gossip, but by the time we departed for home, everyone knew why Alpha Pod was lacking three students.

 

[jldew93]

Summer of 1930

Andrews' Townhouse

London

Summer had been brutal so far, and the news had taken a grim tone. Stories from Mundane Germany about a new political power on the rise, and the Calhoun Coven's withdrawal from the Council Majeure filled the headlines. Bethany had begun my training as soon as I got home, and when I wasn't training in dueling, and sword play, and finally with a pistol, I was studying magic.

Bethany had moved unto battle magics, and my earlier training with Merlin had been thoroughly put to the test. May had turned to June in what felt like a blink of an eye. My nights were equally hellish. The nightmares I had thought I'd dealt with came roaring back; on the nights I could sleep, I woke up covered in cold sweat. Replays of Rio and that horrible night fresh in my head.

In a week, we'd go see Emily compete in the United Kingdom's dueling tournament, and that looked like it would be the highlight of my summer.

I dragged myself to breakfast early one morning, and Bethany was waiting for me.

"What's today's training?" I asked around a mouthful of toast. I fixed my tea with a bit of wandless, a squeeze of lemon. A few cubes of sugar flew into my cup and I stirred it.

"It's a field exercise." She said.

"Oh?" I said, fighting a new wave of exhaustion. I had been drilling until two. It was now six. I had learned quickly that summer what would happen if I had slept in, and it was not pleasant.

"Mmhhmm." She said, taking a drink of her tea.

"When does it start?" I asked. The room felt like it was spinning, and I

"Now." She said. I fought a wave of vertigo again and looked at my tea.

"Did you drug me?" I asked, but the words came out a slur, and the world went to black.

I woke a few hours later with a groan. I looked around. I was in a forest. Judging from the fine sheen of sweat on my skin, and the cloying layer of heat that permeated the air, I was somewhere tropical. I was awake instantly, burning the remaining poison out of my veins. I noticed that Bethany had bound my legs and arms, and I had been stripped to a pair of trousers and a shirt. I didn't even have a pair of shoes on.

I burned the ropes to ash with a growl and tapped a ley-line.

The magic pooled into me in bursts, like static interference from a radio station. Instead of a cool burn, it was like shards of glass rippling across my skin. I noticed a bracelet on my wrists that glowed neon every time I called up power. Bethany had bound me! Nearby, on a tree stump, my wand lay with a note.

It simply read.

"Survive."

It was written in Bethany's hand. I looked around the clearing. The first thing would be to erect defenses, and I did just that. It didn't have my stock of blank rune slates that I had carefully squirrelled for such a time, so I'd need to improvise.

Blood was a magic all of its own, and I used mine. A scarlet trail dripped behind me as I carved runes and murmured spells in a circle. Thurisaz, Algiz and Scuto Rhombus for a protective frame to layer my enchantments. Kenaz and Sensorium Divertae, and Algiz for protection from scrying and to negate the attention of any animal that would happen by. Hagalaz, Ignis, and Sowilo for directed, fiery destruction against any who would try and bring down my defenses.

Finally, I walked to the center of my wards, carved an Othala in the air and shouted, throwing my power out into the void.

"INVOCARE!" My wards came to life in an eldritch bloom of neon aura and settled in the air like a heat shimmer.

With my shelter taken care of, I built a bonfire with the brush in the clearing. I ripped the water out of the foliage and setting it ablaze, I stored the water in a couple of stone jugs I fashioned from the ground. Those done. I turned my attention to the next step of my survival lesson.

The spell I performed next was taxing, but necessary. A quick runic chain of Eihwaz, Mannaz, and Raidho along with the incantation, Spectra Nontium, and a green spectral owl appeared.

"Send this missive to Bethany. To Amy, To Vincent, and ask them to please come get me. Also, tell them the tea was delicious, and that I would like to know where I'm at. Shoo birdy." I said, and the spectral owl took flight after giving me a slightly annoyed look.

My spirit animal wasn't very nice. Maybe it picked up on my rage of being stranded gods knew where. It flew around the perimeter of my wards for a few moments, and then vanished. That. That worried me. It meant that wherever I was, either Bethany was not reachable, or I had been kidnapped.

Now that my basic needs were taken care of for the most part. I wasn't worried about food. A mage could go up to a week without food while minimally using magic before the body started self-cannibalizing. Unless I got into a duel, I'd be fine.

Instead I fashioned myself a spear, and set to exploring the jungle I was trapped in. I fashioned a needle out of stone, used a magnetization spell, and began to navigate. It was when I walked in a straight line for half an hour, and then wound up back at my camp, that I began to worry. The fact that I'd just looped around told me that I was in some sort of non-Euclidean space or an illusion of some kind.

The first thing would be to map it. These constructs had certain rules. Especially since it was a single level. It meant that it had a set diameter before the construct looped back on itself. If I could find the barrier, it would break.

So, I took off again. This time, I marked my location by carving bits of wood with a rune. I'd walked thirty minutes when I ran into my first marker. I smiled and turned around and called my power.

"Magia Fractae! Magicae Dispardorious! Magia Salvis!" I said, and the spells impacted an invisible wall, and the construct broke.

I rode the wave of my enchantments crumbling, focusing that backlash into the bracelets on my wrists, and smirked as they crumbled to dust. Then Bethany was standing in front of me. We were in a small courtyard. The heat, the foliage, it was all gone. Replaced by mild British summer. I drew my wand.

"What was that?" I asked, all but growling.

"That was an experiment in survival. To see how long you would last in a non-Euclidean space, and to see if you could escape. I occasionally find myself in those types of traps, and as my apprentice, I need to know that you'd be safe if we were separated. Plus, it was a lesson in detecting poisons. You failed that portion of it." She said.

"Like someone is going to poison my tea!" I scoffed.

"Moscow, 1917. Were it not for a vial of powdered bezoar I'd kept on my person that I barely choked down; I'd have died from manticore venom. It is clear, and odorless, and the only way to detect it is with an analysis of the blood after the victim has been poisoned or with a poison detect spell. When it is ingested, you have exactly five minutes before you are dying from internal hemorrhaging."

"You gave me manticore venom?"

"Hardly child. It was a sleeping potion."

"Normally, I don't begin training my apprentices in poison detection until they've passed the circles needed to be certified as a journeyman in herblore. You, however, are special. You and Voice are older than my other apprentices and need to know everything you can for this upcoming trial. Now, to the dueling ring. Today, you're only using wandless magic." I groaned, turned on my heel, and teleported to said ring.

She joined me, and without pause, launched into a series of ridiculously fast blasting spells. I dodged and went on the defensive, bringing up a Scuto variant that was designed to deflect kinetic force. She switched tactics and sent out a shield-piercer that broke my Scuto and put me on the back step.

I threw up a stone wall and exploded it, sending the deadly pieces of shrapnel towards her. She transmuted it to air, ignited the oxygen and sent a gout of true flame toward me. I rolled under it and came out of the roll with my own single-syllable barrage of kinetic force.

She used some sort of air-hardening spell and the spells were stopped. Then unleashed a half dozen lances of ice. I melted them with a flammare aegis, A flame shield. She smothered them quickly and I was forced into a corner.

A nerve rip spell came corkscrewing toward me and I spun out of the way. I wish she'd given me my daggers back. Instead, I stomped my foot, and a pillar of stone shot out of the ground under her. She leapt backward, finally on the offensive, and I pushed my edge. I launched into a binding spell, and a series of school yard spells. Nail ripper, color changers. Bowel looseners. Anything to give myself thirty seconds to breath. I wrapped the light around myself, canceled sound around me, and rushed forward. Then I caught a wave of kinetic force in my chest and found myself spinning into the wall.

"Again." She said. Barely five minutes had passed. I unleashed a concussive wave of sonic force, followed by a series of six cutters. Sli, Di, Jul in a loop.

She blocked all of my spells and threw out a pulse of water that wrapped around my arm. I smirked, preparing to turn into ice. That was when I saw golden lighting streaking toward the water. It hit, and I instantly felt it rip through my nervous system. I fell to the ground. She healed me.

"You came close that time." She said.

"Can I just have my stuff back?" I was not in the mood.

"It's in your room. You can have tomorrow off to recoup. A letter came for you earlier, it's waiting with your pouches." She said. I walked upstairs and found my stuff. I opened the letter. It was a mundane post, but there was a small runic script written on the back of it. Basically, the townhouse's magical equivalent to a phone number. I opened the letter.

Dear Stephen.

I need to talk to you soon. I will be in London for the summer at my uncle's. Please respond to this letter through mundane means as soon as possible. Or you may call my aunt's phone number, 23- 20-27-31-0-28-20 +8, and I'm sure my three cousins and I will be grateful for the visit.

Sincerely

Emily York.

I looked at the address. It was in Mundane London. She also listed a phone number. It was not a phone number, and Emily had no family. We had created a code when we were at Coventry. This was to communicate with Emily about magic. It was a simple Caesar Cipher, with an addition to change the letters to numbers. I quickly wrote the code out and solved it. It read,

Help Me.

I quickly wrote a letter.

"Emily, I've received your letter. I'll be in touch soon. Madam Andrew's number is below.

Yours, Stephen.

PS: 30-29-0-28-14-0-12-16-14+8."

I grabbed an envelope, and hastily scrawled the runic code for mundane delivery on the back of the enveloped. I dropped it in my trash can, and it vanished with a poof. I knew it would get to her almost instantly.

I dropped the letter and quickly strapped on my pouches and daggers along with my leather armor. I placed my pentacle on my neck and grabbed the letter. I ran downstairs.

"Mum!" I said. No answer.

"Bethany!" I shouted. I found her in the foyer. She was coming from the direction of the dueling ring.

"What is it?"

"I got a letter from Emily." I said.

"And?"

"She's in trouble."

"How do you know?"

I handed her the letter.

"I take it this is a cipher?" She said, and I nodded.

"She's asking for help." I said.

"Yes, she is." She murmured.

"I take it's some form of alphanumeric substitution." She said, she waved her hand in the air, and then she nodded.

"Plus, eight. That's smart. Elementary, but smart." She said, and then she looked at me.

"You're dressed for war." She said, and I nodded.

A snap of her fingers, and her own rune engraved leathers appeared on her body. A sword was on her hip, and she glamoured both of us. Then she looked at the time.

"It's nine. That's rather late." She said.

"I'll go with or without you." I said and headed out of the foyer.

"Stephen, wait!" I heard Bethany behind me, I ignored her. I'd need to buy a map of London somewhere. Then she appeared in front of me in a swirl of magic.

"Stephen, I let you leave once, and I won't let it happen again."

"What?" I asked, confused, and she recoiled back, like I'd just slapped her in the voice.

"Ignore that. Let's get the car. I'll drive you." She said, and we hurried to the garage. We dried ourselves off with a spell and got in the car. It started, and we drove out into the streets.

"Bethany, what did you mean?" I asked. She didn't answer for a few moments. Then finally she spoke, her voice was tight, and I caught a trail of tears rolling down her face.

"When my brother, when your father died. He wanted me to go to battle with him that day. The war we were fighting had been raging for years at that point, and I was safe, for lack of a better word. Bartholomew had been ambushed a few months previously, and his entire fleet had been destroyed. He had nearly died. If it weren't for Amy, he would have.

Friends we had been raised with were dead. My parents. My aunt and uncle. That war was hard. We'd already lost so much, and every death was like another knife in my heart. He had found a solution to end the war. To kill the opposition's leader, and he wanted me in his hunting party. I declined." She looked over at me and flicked her gaze back at the road.

"You have to understand, Stephen. I was tired of the war. Tired of leading squads and battalions and legions to their deaths. Of laying fiery blossoms on their graves. To fight a war that seemed utterly endless. I'd lost my home. Most of my family. Everyone I knew was scattered to the winds. Vincent's family had been killed around the same time Bartholomew was attacked, and his kingdom was in tatters. Instead of-" She choked back a sob.

"Instead of fighting with my brother, and Alexis. I stayed safe, and he died. She vanished, and the war was won. Morgan was killed, and I let my brother die." She said.

"I won't let that happen to you. Even if it kills me. I will always be there." She said in a hoarse whisper. I nodded. Finally, we arrived at the house.

It was an old Victorian house on the outskirts. It was ramshackle and faded even in the night. We parked on the street, and Bethany glamoured us. We walked up to the house, and Bethany knocked on the door. An older man knocked on the door. He was dressed in a suit, odd for this hour. He guarded the door.

"How can I help you?" The man said stiffly.

Bethany smiled.

"My charge received a letter from his friend, and we'd like to visit her."

"Madam it is late."

"I understand, but the visit will only take us a few moments." She said. I felt something brush against my magical senses. Something cold, and old, like worn leather. I caught a whiff of something musty. I frowned. I'd recognize that anywhere. This man was a vampire.

"Be ready to fight, child." Bethany said. Her voice echoed through my head like a whisper. She must have noticed that magic. The miasma of shadow that was now starting to coat the steps.

"As I said, it is late. I suggest you leave madam."

"And again, I ask for entry without quarrel." Bethany said, her voice had grown icy. It seemed as though shadows had grown around the man. The man almost snarled.

"Let's cut the pretense. Thrice said and done mage. Take your apprentice and leave." He said. His face had changed. Elongated. His teeth had grown, and his eyes had taken on a reddish tint. His skin looked leathery now, like old paper. Bethany went to walk down the stairs.

"Stephen, if you're ready. We can go." She said. I nodded. Gritting my teeth. I readied myself to do just that.

"Thrice said and done, Vamp, we demand entry." She said.

"Demand away, mage. We have dispensation from the Midnight Court, and your own Council Majeure."

"I guess we'll go, if you want Stephen." She said, and I nodded.

"More than ready." I said, she nodded, and threw out death into the world. A wave of force shot out of my palm, dragging the vampire down the steps. I pinned him to the ground with my daggers and a bit of will.

The other vampire flew backward into the house, and Bethany set into a line of blasting spells. We walked into the house.

Another vampire came rushing out of the shadows at a speed faster than a human could track, and I was just barely able to avoid him. I threw up a pillar of earth and used a wave of telekinesis to shatter and throw deadly shards out. It peppered the vampire, and I released my daggers from their sheathes, throwing them out.

The vampire rolled backwards, drew a revolver and fired twice. I smirked, brought up a kinetic shield and then grunted in pain as both bullets broke the barrier with the enchantments engraved on them.

One clipped my arm in a blaze of hot fire, and the other went wide. He fired twice more, and I raised an earthen shield. The vampire took that opportunity to vault the shield, firing the gun in midair. Were it not for a flare of telekinetic force knocking him back, they both would have hit me. The vampire closed in, all pretense of humanity forgotten as it rushed toward me, hands turned to black taloned claws.

"Iactus!" I yelled, and the spell went wide as the Vampire dodged suddenly, blowing a hole into the wall.

"Lux, Lux Aeterna orbis!" I spat out. The vampire killing spell was a ball of directed ultraviolet energy that went careening toward the leech. It smirked, dodged yet again, grabbed me and threw me into a wood paneled wall. Then in the same gesture it fired the revolver twice more. The first bullet buried itself in my shoulder. The second would have splattered by brains across the wall had my Pentacle not deflected the spell.

I directed the earthen shield from earlier toward the vampire and it slammed into him. Then I recalled my daggers from where they were pinned in the wood paneled wall and threw them out. The vampire smirked, dodged, and let out a strangled gurgling as they immediately reversed and changed course, stabbing him in his spine and through his throat in a spray of scarlet heat.

I set him aflame and turned my attention to the second, just as Bethany beheaded him.

Her arm was a shredded mess, and her leg wasn't in much better condition. Then a third vampire flew down from the railing above. This one wasn't as lucky, or skilled as the first two. A ball of mental force pulped its head. We quickly set about healing our injuries. We each consumed a vial Perry's.

Then when we upstairs. There were three bedrooms. Each of them was warded.

"Start on the one on the left, I'll start on the right." Bethany said.

I quickly went to work. It was a simple schema. Three runes designed to lock the door. I merkstaved them quickly, and the door opened. I opened the door, and there was a boy, no older than eight tied to the bed, face up, and naked. His mouth was gagged, and his eyes looked glassy. At different pulse points, he had bite marks. His throat was torn open. I did a quick medical scan. He was a mage. One that young their ether nodes had barely had time to form, and he was dead. He'd never stood a chance. I walked out of the room and turned right to the doorway at the end of the hall. I didn't bother with the runes. I called up my magic and the door blew off its hinges. Emily was tied to a chair, screaming around a gag. She was dressed in a sleeveless shift. I quickly undid her bindings.

"Stephen. I need my wand. I'm going to kill these bastards." She said. I looked around the room. There was a desk along the wall. There was a ledger on the desk, along with a fountain pen.

"They're dead, but where's your wand?" I asked.

"In that desk."

I went over to it. It was a plain wooden desk, there were no drawers or anything. Which was odd.

"Fractae!" I said, overpowering the spell. The time for subtly was gone. The illusion protecting the desk burst into magical shards. I opened a drawer. There had to have been a dozen wands in that drawer.

"There's a few different ones in here. Tell me which is yours." I said.

She looked through them. I turned my attention to the ledger.

I opened it, stripping it of the spells that were contained inside.

"January, '29. Three. Male, five, human. Female, 11, mage. Male, 8, human. -SG 8 Tre."

"March, '29. Two. Males, twins, seven, Mage. -SG, 10 Tre."

"June '29. Five, three humans. One therian. One Fae- SG 25 Tre."

The entries continued down, all of them with an assorted number of humans, or mages. All of them signed SG, along with a number next to TRE. This continued, until I got to the final entry.

"June '30. Four humans. Two males (twins, 8), two females (11, 13). All mage. 100 TRE- SG, PMT Can. Dispose."

I stared at the log in revulsion. Children boiled down to inventory. It took everything in me not to burn the house to the ground right then.

I walked out of the room. Bethany had broken the wards of the last room. She was working frantically. There were half a dozen phials on the ground. I picked them up and read the label. Blood restorative, and a purge potion. This boy was unbound and laying on the bed, naked. He was pale, but I could see some color already returning to his cheeks.

"He was almost dead, but I saved him. Dosed to the gills on morphine, and nearly dead from blood loss. Did you find your friend?" Bethany said. Emily had joined us in the room. Bethany took a look at her and took off her cloak. Emily took it without saying a word.

"Emily, do you know if there are others in this house?" She asked.

"There's a basement. They said something about storage." She said.

"Any other vamps?"

"Just the two."

"You'd only need two if you were dealing in drugged children." I spat. Voice shared my sentiments, and we fed off our mutually shared anger.

"Where's the fourth girl?" I asked her.

"Mildred… Mildred was killed earlier today. We tried to escape." She said. I nodded, then she left the room.

"Emily, where are you going?"

"To the basement." She said. I followed her.

"Come back here!" Bethany said. We ignored her. We practically flew down the stairs, into the foyer, and the kitchen, and into the door that lead to the basement. I blew the door of the hinges and a vampire flew up the stairs a second later.

Emily, in a display of savagery I'd never seen from her, grabbed the knives off the block on the counter, and threw them into the vampire. They hit true, and the vampire continued onward.

"Carnificare!" She snarled, and the spell leapt from Emily's wand and sapphire-purple aura bisected the vampire.

Then she blasted its head with a pulse of telekinesis. The vampire's headless body dropped. We went down the stairs. The basement had stone walls and floors. A rack in the center of the room held a naked man. Or was once a man. His finger and toenails were gone and scabbed over. He was missing an eye. One of his feet was missing its toes, and he was covered in bruises. Bones protruded from his emaciated form along his leg. His torso was covered in long deep oozing cuts, and his genitalia was missing. The floor around the rack was covered in dried and fresh blood. He sobbed in pain.

"Please. Let me die." He said. His voice was hoarse from screaming.

"Just let me die." He said, repeatedly, like a macabre chorus.

"Mum! Get down here!" I yelled. I fished a Perry's from my belt, pouring it down his throat. Then took another. I took a third and sliced a piece of my shirt off, soaking it in the precious liquid, applying it to any wound I could see. I heard the pound of her boots and turned. Instantly she had her wand raised, going through the movements for a diagnostic charm.

"Grab your mirror. Call Amy." She said.

I obeyed without thought, opening the mirror, and rushing through Amy's runic code.

Amy's face appeared in the mirror.

"Stephen, what's wrong?"

"Trace my signal. We went on a rescue mission. There's a man here. He's in bad shape." I said. Moments later, Amy appeared in a swirl of magic. There was a bag on her hip.

"Male, mage. Approximately thirty. Numerous deep lacerations. Severe malnutrition. Blood loss. Ether nodes have been blocked somehow." Bethany said. Amy leapt into action. She undid the buckles that tied the man to the rack and placed him on the floor. Then she drew a series of stones from her bag. Each was a different color.

"What's your name?" She asked the man.

"M-m-Marcus Steele. London Hunter division. Thirty-three-twenty-two-rho-Sowilo-eight." He said.

"Marcus, this is going to hurt, but I need to kickstart your magical nodes."

"Okay M-m-ma'am." He said.

She laid a purple gem at his forehead.

"Sahasrara."

A dark blue one on the bridge of his nose.

"Ajna."

A light blue one at his throat.

"Vishuddha."

A green one on his chest.

"Anahata."

A yellow one on his stomach.

"Manipura."

An orange one on his groin.

"Svadhisthana."

And finally, a red one at the bottom of his legs.

"Muladhara."

"Magic, I call thee, flow back into your child. Course through the seven paths. Live within him once more, invocare!" She shouted the last part. Each stone began glowing in reverse order, until they were lit. Then Marcus screamed like he was on fire. It continued on for at least five minutes, and then he was silent, and a cocoon of multicolored light wrapped around him.

"Bethany, you need to call Eli. Now. Charging into a vampire's holdings could be an act of war. The Majeure is going to lose their minds." Amy said.

"Already done."

"I'm here." Eli said at that exact moment, coming down the steps. He was flanked by a giant purple feline.

"Care to tell me why you had me come to a vampire's blood house?" He said.

"Rescue mission gone awry." Bethany replied.

"Who's the bloke on the floor?" He asked.

"A Hunter. A London Hunter." She replied.

"Oh bloody buggering fuck." He said, and she nodded.

"Bethany, you're the Popularis of London. Aren't you in command of the Hunters?" I asked.

"Yes, and Marcus here was reported MIA three months ago. He was undercover in Undertown." She said.

"It's my fault." Emily said, and she broke. Bursting into tears. I quickly embraced her.

"A few days ago, a man approached the orphanage. He adopted me, and another girl, Mildred. I knew Mildred was a mage. But her gift, it was minimal. They put us under sleep spells. I broke the spells binding me a few hours ago and managed to scribble a letter. I sent it, and they tied me up again. Mildred died trying to use a fireball spell to buy me time. It was like the spell burned her alive." She said.

"There's a ledger upstairs. It's a log of beings they sold." I replied. I'd grown over the summer, and I had some height on her, she curled into me.

"We need to inform the Hunters." Eli said.

"It's why I called you. I'm calling in Winter's marker. That Hunter can never know we were here. I cannot afford the Majeure interest at this time." Bethany said.

"I'll make the arrangements then. What about the girl?" He asked.

"She'll come with us." Bethany said. Her tone booked no argument.

"You realize that these arrangements won't be completely covered by your marker. My Lady will want another favor from you." He said.

"I understand." Bethany said.

"In full transparency, what do you want done with the contents of those chests?" He asked. Emily and I turned. There were a trio of chests. Bethany walked over to them and opened the chest. There were coins made of diamond.

"There's at least five hundred Tremissis in this chest." She said and opened the others.

"Stephen, my gold!" Emily said suddenly.

"You didn't take it to the London Branch?"

"I didn't have time, I was kidnapped!" She replied.

"What gold?" Bethany asked.

"About two and a half tons." Emily replied.

"Gods, how do you have that kind of fortune?" She asked Emily.

"We found it in school." I replied. Bethany's eye twitched.

"We will talk about this later." She said. She went to the second chest. She pulled out a small leather belt. A pair of knives followed by a simple pair of boy's trousers, and shirt, and then a trio of leather pouches along with a pentacle.

"Stephen, these pouches reek of your magic." Bethany said.

"They're mine." Emily said.

"The traveler's purse?" She asked.

"Followed by a standard spatium boundary configuration." I replied.

"Good work." She said. From Bethany, that was a glowing bit of praise.

Emily reclaimed her clothes, and belt. She put her pentacle back on her neck, and her knives back in their sheathes.

The third chest was filled with clothes. Children's clothes.

"Split the tremissis between the two of us, and you can deal with the bounty however you see fit."

"What are we doing with this place?"

"First, I'd like to check that ledger." Bethany said, and we led her upstairs. She read through it. Then she made a copy and gave the original to Eli.

"I'll make sure this ends up in the right hands. You need to go before the cleaners get here." Eli said, and Bethany nodded.

We walked downstairs and exited the town house. Then we got in our car and returned home. First, she turned to Emily.

"I'm not sure how long you'll be here, Emily. But I give you guest rights. May you find shelter in the House of Andrews. My blade is yours, and my wand will be raised against your foes." Bethany said, and the two tapped wands.

"Stephen, show Emily to the guest room across from yours. We'll take her shopping in the morning and discuss the gold that you two have gained. I have business to attend to tonight, but it is getting late. Tap lines and recharge. Then off to bed." Bethany said, and left for her study. I took Emily upstairs. The townhouse had at least seven bedrooms. There were currently five occupied. Bethany and Vincent shared a room. Amy crashed in hers occasionally, and on the very seldom occasions Bartholomew and Eli ended up overnighting at townhouse, then they had their own rooms. Each of them had an ensuite bathroom.

Emily sat down on the bed.

"This is all mine?" She asked. I nodded. I saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes and ignored it. She'd probably punch me. That fact that she was even close to tears spoke volumes.

"The bathroom has a bath and a shower. There should be towels and toiletries in the bathroom. If you need anything, ring the bell by the bed and speak it. It will appear. I'll see you for breakfast." I said. She nodded again, and I left for my own room. After I stripped out of my leathers, I tapped a ley, and felt the magic pool into my soul. I rode that high into oblivion and sunk into my bed.

 

[jldew93]

Author's note: Sorry about the god awful formatting, I'm copy and pasting this from mobile.

I woke up early the next morning, as custom. I'd learn to function without a lot of sleep. I rolled out of bed. After a quick shower I dressed in a new pair of trousers and a shirt, this was followed by a vest and blazer. I always wore my pentacle these days. The emergency shield alone was worth it. Bethany had taken to using the guard statues around the town house as impromptu ambush points.

Being attacked by a four-hundred-pound piece of pottery tends to ruin your day, and I'd upgraded the shield from a standard scuto to the more advanced contego shield.

I'd other plans for enchanting. A set of rings that would hold spells ready to go. Maybe some sort of staff that could hold a bit of Geomancy. I had half a dozen ideas in my journal. After I got dressed, I left my room and walked across the hall to knock on Emily's door.

She opened the door almost instantly. She was dressed in the boy's clothing.

"You know that female mages wear dresses, right?" She glared at me.

"I'm aware Andrews, but I'm not going to be living in Emrys, and frankly, I'd rather be able to dress in something I can move in. Besides, these are all the clothes I own." She replied.

I led her downstairs to the kitchen and we quickly ate breakfast. Bethany was already there. She looked worn, more tired than I'd seen her in a while. I went to grab a cup of tea. Before I took a sip, I looked at Bethany.

"It's safe, Stephen." She said. I took a swig of tea and grabbed a piece of delicious looking streaky bacon off the platter, using it to make myself a sandwich, I bit into it. Savoring the crunch of the bacon and the delicious eggs.

"At least the tea is." She said with a smile. I froze mid-chew, and she laughed.

"As I told you yesterday, I'm not going to try and poison you today." She replied. She was reading the Morning copy of the London Eye. In enormous letters, the headline yelled, "Silken Veil destroyed! Silas Goodfellow deceased! London Court Sanguine in uproar!"

I resumed chewing. Emily had chosen a couple slices of toast and some of that fruit Bethany insisted upon serving. She looked at us both as though we were crazy.

"Are we taking the train today?" I asked.

"Not today, we'll be taking a portal directly to Matilda's. After we get Emily's new clothing, I will be escorting you both to the bank. Emily, do you have a proper set of implements?"

"I have my pentacle and wand, along with a set of white and black handled knives I bought from a vendor in Undertown."

"That's a dangerous place for someone your age to go. Anything could happen to you there." Bethany replied.

"Like being kidnapped by a vampire and watching the only mundane friend I have killed?" Emily said, taking a sip of tea. Her gaze was unblinking.

"Point taken." Bethany said.

I had finished my sandwich at that point and was checking my possessions.

"Bethany, are we responsible for whatever the Silken Veil was?" The silence and her haggard expression were everything I needed to know.

"Are you ready?" She asked us, and we nodded.

She took a runic set out of a pouch and arranged them in a line. Then activated them with a bit of power. An arch opened up in the air, and a portal sprang to life.

"Why aren't we using the mirror?"

"The fixed portal network is undergoing maintenance." She said, and she stepped through the portal. I followed behind her, and Emily followed closely behind us.

We emerged into Madam Matilda's plush parlor. She was already waiting for us.

"Hello again Bethany." Matilda said with a smile.

"Hi Matilda. Sorry about the short notice."

"It's no problem at all Beth. Tell me, are you making a habit of finding strays?" She asked

"It appears that way." She replied.

"What will the young miss need?" She asked.

"A full set of junior miss clothing."

"Boys clothes." Emily said.

"Hmm?"

"I'm not wearing dresses. Or those flouncy dresses those legacy bitches wear. I want boy's clothes. Trousers and shirts, and boots." Bethany gave her a look.

"You want clothes you can fight in."

"Always. I will never be helpless again." Emily said.

"It's unorthodox, but it is not something unheard of. I can make the shirts in brighter colors, and the vests the same. For formal functions, a dress is imperative. However, made in the right length, it should be durable, and the sleeves would need to be looser. If you don't lace the corset that tightly, then it would afford a small amount of protection, especially if you have the bone carved with endurance runes. It would be more costly, but if her chemise and pantaloons were made of Arachnesian silk, it would turn away most spells, and catch any arrows."

I really hated the faux Victorian clothing that seemed to be all the rage in magical society. The underwear I had to wear was some weird sort of one-piece jumpsuit. Fortunately, I only had to wear that garbage at school.

"Are we designing battle armor or a dress?" I asked.

"In certain environments, they're the same thing." Bethany said.

"You're getting new clothes as well."

"My clothes are fine." I replied.

"No, they're not. You've grown at least a foot since we were here last. Grab a room."

The next hour was filled with the usual flurry of measurements. At the end, Bethany, when we were done, the bell jingled once, and Amy walked in. It was odd seeing her in the flowing robes that passed as everyday dress in magic society. Normally, she dressed in mundane clothing.

"Do you have the paperwork?" Bethany immediately asked. Amy produced a piece of sealed parchment, and Bethany placed it in her bag.

"Official as of this morning." Amy replied.

"Thank you." Bethany said, she quickly paid, and we left for the bank. We entered the main lobby and after conferring with a teller, a dwarf quickly escorted us back to a wood paneled office.

"Madam Andrews, what can I do for you?"

"I need to meet with Wraithgrip." She said, the dwarf bowed, and nodded, and led us to his offices.

The dwarves, despite myths to a contrary, valued three things. Gold, Smithing, and Gold. They'd gained a reputation over the years. You had the goblins of South and North America. The gnomes of Zurich, but the ones most feared? The ones with the ability to field an army? Those were the dwarves.

"I'd like to open two sub accounts for my charges. They are to have unrestricted access to these accounts, and their allowances are to be deposited into them. Here are the papers from the Council Majeure signifying my adoption of Emily York." She said and produced the piece of parchment from earlier. The dwarf unsealed it.

"Everything seems to be in order." He produced two sheets of paper, along with a fountain pen.

"Have your charges sign these. The fountains are blood pens. That way the contract is magically binding." We reached for the papers, and we both read through them twice. She picked the piece of paper up and took her own pen out of a pocket.

"The exclusivity clause is an utter tripe. Signing that will only allow them to bank in Europe."

"I'd like to raise privacy wards, Master Wraithgrip, if you don't mind."

The dwarf raised an eyebrow.

"Madam Andrews, if you insist upon doing so, then do so."

Bethany raised her wand and waved it like she was conducting an orchestra. A dozen spells flew out her wand and coated the airs and walls around us in defensive magic. She completed the set of spells with a flourish.

"I have it on excellent authority that trouble is brewing in Germany." She said.

"That new political party?" He asked, and Bethany nodded her head.

"You warned us about that business with the Romanovs, despite our failure. How do you suggest we prepare for this?"

"How I suggest you prepare depends on how favorably our negotiations go."

"What would you like?" Wraithgrip asked.

"The transfer fee will be waived between accounts, and the exclusivity cause will be rendered null."

"Done."

"Finally, we come to the issue of aureus reclaimed. I propose a two-percent withholding rate."

"Midas' standard is twenty-five."

"Let's be reasonable. Say, five, percent."

"Eighteen."

"I could just take my business to the Gnomes." "You're being awfully obstinate about this one issue, Madam Andrews."

"7 percent." Bethany said.

"8, and not a dupondos less." The dwarf said.

"I can agree to those terms, on the condition that the initial percentage deposit be waived."

"You're lucky you'rer one of our bigger clients Madam, but your terms are fair, and our bargain is stuck." The contracts vanished, and new ones came into existence. Bethany read over them, and nodded, and we signed them.

"Now, will the initial deposits come from your vaults here or another source?"

"My charges have done a bit of treasure hunting it seems. Children, produce your chests."

We did. Bethany grabbed one out of her pocket as well, and we enlarged them, and placed them on the floor.

"Each of those chests contains roughly seventy-two thousand aurei. My chest contains two-hundred and fifty tremissis. I want that divided equally between the two accounts."

The dwarf waved an orb in front of each chest. "Well played Madam Andrews, may I ask where you got such a bounty from."

"We found it, not her, and you may not." Emily said.

"My charges have been remarkably tight lipped about where they've gotten this gold from."

"It is curious that your two charges, a mundane born, and a legacy all brought nearly identical sums in, all in the same time frame."

Emily and I shared looks.

"Do you think we should tell him." I sent with a bit of telepathy.

"Well, if we fleece Merlin out of the Silver, Bronze and Tremissis the Room has, we'd probably get William's fees knocked down to something resembling ours." She replied.

"I agree. Me or you?"

"You." She said.

"Hypothetically, Sir Dwarf. If four more deposits were to make their way into your coffers. In say, amounts similar to this in Tremissis. In Dupondos, and in Drachma, what impact would that have in, say, lowering the Mundaneborn's rates to, say, those identical to ours."

"If such a deposit were to make their way into the coffers of Midas International, we'd be thrilled to lower our rates for such high-profile clients."

"I would need that in writing of course."

"I'd assume you want five copies of such an agreement?"

"You would be assuming correctly."

"Continuing on with hypothetical situations. I'd say you could expect such a deposit in roughly a year and a half." I replied.

"Is there any other business we have today?"

"I want to commission implements for Emily. She has a pentacle, and the white and black handles. Give her the rest, and have it prepared by day's end. I also want two consecrated bells, on slips of black ribbon."

"I assume you're willing to use the Time you have stored in your vault?" Wraithgrip asked.

"No, I won't. You'll be responsible for that."

"Absolutely not."

"You will, or Selene will receive word that Midas has been receiving payments from the Sanguine Court to provide Fae blood to the late Silas Goodfellow."

"You dare say her Name in our territory?" Wraithgrip said.

"I dare, and do, and will so twice more. It is quite odd how fires have a way of burning away deceit and bringing the truth to light." She said.

"Certain things are better hidden in the dark."

"Like the death of three dozen changelings in as many months?" Bethany asked.

Emily and I shared another look.

"I think an arrangement could be made, and we'll have those implements delivered by courier no later than the day's end." The dwarf replied.

"I'd hope so." Bethany said.

"Now, unless you'd like to discuss any other business arrangements, I'd like to discuss what preparations we'd need to make regarding future tensions on the continent."

"Beginning in a couple years' time, I'd say '33 at the earliest, and '38 at the latest, I would completely pull Midas out of Germany, France, the Netherlands and Italy. I'd put those branches into complete lockdown. Then I would consider raising your siege wards in your London Branch, perhaps by Summer of '40. From there? Concentrate on Greece. I understand that Midas Africa is practically a business unto itself, but I would certainly consider having them go into lockdown soon after along with the Grecian branch. In short? I'd suggest a complete pullback of all Midas interests and a lock down of their branches by no later than '33."

"You're talking about a global withdrawal." "Yes. A war is coming that will give humans the ability to rip reality in two. In a decade's time they will surpass mages in combat ability."

"The end of the Perdition is coming then?"

"It is a distinct possibility. Their governments know. Mages make up ten percent of the population. In the upper echelons, magic is well known, and even accepted."

"You've given me a lot to think about. A lot to tell my superiors. Is there anything else?"

"Not that I know of."

"Well, if your business is finished, I can supply a portal back to your residence."

"We have our own transport arranged, but I appreciate the gesture."

"Very well." Wraithgrip said. Bethany dispelled the privacy spells and we left the bank. We went back to the shop, and Bethany supplied another rune set that created a portal. We returned home.

"Is everything you said true?" Emily asked. We'd made a late lunch of sandwiches.

"Yes. Everything I spoke of will come to pass."

"Why don't you stop it then. If you know so much about what's to come, why can't you do something to stop it?"

"I've tried. It's out of my control at this point, I personally have no choice in the matter." She said, and she gave me a look. A chill went down my spine.

Could I interfere with that war? I didn't know if I could do that. That kind of responsibility? Gods, I couldn't, I didn't, even know where to begin with that kind of implication. My brain literally short circuited.

"Regardless of what the future holds, tonight, I'm taking another step to prepare you tonight, Stephen. Emily, I'd also like to include you in this."

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"As the last day has taught us, you particularly Emily, sometimes, the enemy has the upper hand. Sometimes you are caught without your implements. Tonight, I'm giving you a solution to that. We'll begin as soon as the delivery from the dwarves arrives. In the meantime, these are the texts I need you to memorize." She produced a trio of books from thin air. They were the Key of Solomon, The Lesser Key of Solomon, and the Binding and Compulsion of Spirits.

"Emily, I'm assuming that Stephen has continued on with the tradition of not knowing when to keep a secret, and telling you about the Librum spell?" Emily nodded.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"My brother did the same thing, and you are more like him than you know." She replied.

We quickly memorized the trio of texts. These were books on rituals, and I felt pressure built up behind my sinuses, followed by a wave of vertigo. Bethany handed us headache potions, and we took them.

"I'll give you both time to adjust to the new information, and I'll retrieve you later tonight." We both retired to our rooms. I took a quick nap, and then went to the training range to perform my daily drills. The day passed, and night fell. We had dinner, and then met back up with Bethany in the foyer.

"We'll do this on the island. Stephen, you'll find we made some improvements." I hadn't been to the island for almost a year. We traveled up to the library.

"The mirrors are back in order." She said. She walked up to the mirror and activated the series of rune buttons below it. The portal opened and we saw a vision of the island's cottage beyond. We walked through the portal into the cottage, and out of the cottage and into the field.

A dais of stone had been constructed in the center of the island, and at five equidistant points, a diamond obelisk had been raised from the earth. The obelisks were carved with hundreds of runes, and fine copper and gold wire was twisted around them in intricate patterns. Each rune was lit with the pure white-blue light of magic. On a pedestal in the center of the dais, a diamond lodestone softly glowed.

Another smaller stone platform had been erected nearby. This one was like a smaller version of the first, except the runes carved into it were jagged, different than the other, and glowed a black-green.

"What are these?"

"The larger of the two is an ether spire. It charges lodestones and then teleports them to one of our warehouses. Then it retrieves another from the blank warehouse. The smaller is a ritual platform. Today we will be using it to summon a cacodemon for each of you. You read the ritual, and you know how to do this. Once you begin the ritual, under no circumstances do you break the circle. Contain the cacodemon in the bell." She said, and she gave each of us a silver tinkling bell that was attached to a length of black ribbon.

"Which of you would like to go first?" She said.

Emily stepped forward.

"I'll do it."

"The chalk and candles are in the chest."

Emily nodded, and took the necessary tools out. Six candles, a piece of magnetic chalk, a leather-bound book and a ruler. She carefully made a pentacle with the chalk. At each point she lit one of the candles, and the flame was the sapphire of her aura. Finally, when she was done, she carefully sketched out a circle. She stood at the edge of the circle, opened the leather-bound book, lit the last candle, and rang the silver bell in her hand. Her voice was full of conviction, and I felt her power crash against my skin like dozens of hot needles.

"I call upon the four princes! I call forth Egyn of the North! I call upon Amaymon of the South! Oriens of the East! Paymon of the West! Guard this operation! Protect thine operator! With my blood, I bind this circle!" She pricked her finger with a needle and placed it on the circle. I felt the snap of magic as it coalesced.

"I call upon the nameless! The chittering hordes! I call thee up imp! Appear this night, in this place!" The candles flared, magic surged, and a creature appeared in the circle. The creature was six feet tall and covered with a fine down of black fur. Its hands had three clawed fingers each. Its feet were cloven hooves. A pair of leathery bat-like wings grew from its back, and it had the face and head of a man. He looked at Emily.

"Greeting operator, how might I help you this fine night?"

"I wish to enter in allegiance with you. To hold you as a sword against my enemies. Do you agree?"

"Let me out of this circle, and I will ensure your enemies fall as scythe before wheat. Break the spell binding me, and I will protect you till the end of your days."

"Only if you submit willingly to be bound forever to this bell in my hand.

"I will not be bound by some mortal girl. Release me!" The demon snarled and slammed it's tridactyl hand against the barrier.

"Then you leave me no choice. I bind you demon."

"You'll die, you little bitch!" It snarled. "I bind you, by Dawn. By Dusk. By Day!" Emily shouted.

"I'll rip your head off and fuck your skull, little orphaned bitch! No one wants you, not even your barely magical mother wanted you! No one needs you!"

"I bind you by Morgana. By Vivienne. By Leanna!"

"I'll eat your innards and make you watch! I'll tear that boy to shreds. Your world will burn before I am through!"

"I bind you demon, forever and a day! Forever and a memory of forever! Forever and a century more! By the bell in my hand, by the book at my feet, and by the candle that lights my way this night! Thrice by thrice by thrice! Bound be, demon! As I will it to be bound!" Emily said. The demon let out a wordless snarl. An incoherent shriek of anger and rage.

"Fiat. Fiat. Fiat!" She shouted. She dashed the candle to nothing but bits of wax, and slammed the book shut. Then she rang the bell. When she did, the candles extinguished themselves, and the bell glowed green and black.

"Stephen, perform the ritual." I reset the ritual for myself. I lit the candles, closed the circle, and called forth the princes and the imp. My demon appeared, and unlike Emily's this one had the body of a lion, and the head of a man. It had the cloven hooves of a goat, and its fur was whiter than fallen snow. It spoke with a female's voice, a voice of pure seduction.

"What do you wish, oh great operator, who's wisdom is greater than Solomon? Let me free and I shall shower you with riches beyond compare, and the world will bow before you."

For one fleeting second, I was tempted to break the circle. To let this wondrous creature loose. Then my common sense kicked me in the ass.

"I think not. Submit to me, temptress, agree to be bound forever to my hand."

"Foolish boy! I will not be bound! You will be mine!" The demon snarled.

"I bind you demon! I bind you by Dazzling Element! By Royal Blood! By Cascadian Magic!" I screamed, thoughts rushed through my head, and it seemed as I thought I'd done this before. It was remembering a half-forgotten dream, or a dream of a dream. It was like reliving memories long burned to ash, faded to dust and left to settle at the bottom of my soul.

"You don't belong on this plane, and I will cut your souls from your broken body and return them to whence they came!" The demon screamed, like razor blades on a chalkboard.

"I bind you demon! I bind you to my cause! By Time! By Birth! By Sleep!" The words flowed out of my mouth, and it was like walking down a road I'd traveled down a hundred times before.

"I'll lap your blood from your cooling corpse! That boy you are so infatuated with will grovel at my feet!"

"By the holy book! By the eternal flame! By the clarion bell! You are mine demon. Thrice by thrice by thrice, for endless Eons you will serve my cause! You are bound, demon! Fiat! Fiat! Fiat!" I screamed into the void. My own bell rang like a trumpet. The candle was dashed to bits, and the book was slammed shut, and the bell in my hand shown like a second emerald sun that swiftly faded away.

"Now that we're done with the summon. You will learn to use the demon. Ring your bells." We did. Our demons appeared.

"The little bitch rang?" Emily's demon said.

"Emily, the demon is bound to you. It must follow your commands."

"Demon, you will speak to me politely. You will not insult me or my companions."

"Yes, girl."

"You will refer to me as Mistress, do you understand."

"Yes, Mistress." The demon grumbled.

"And you will speak in a polite tone of voice."

"Yes, Mistress." The demon said.

"There, was that so bad?"

"It was as painful as the hundred hot needles I'm going to shove under your fingernails!" He snarled and ran at Emily. She calmly stood her ground and the demon stopped inches from her face. She smacked him upside the head.

"You will behave. You will not threaten me. You will not allude to threatening me."

"Can you change form?"

"Whatever form your heart desires, Mistress."

"I'd like you to look like a cat." The demon smiled and shifted his form into a kitten. That was inside out.

"A normal looking kitten. One that is not deformed in any way shape or form."

An adorable orange and white kitten appeared.

"Aww, who's a cute kitten." Emily cooed

"Will you respond to any name I chose to call you?"

"Whatever Mistress would like."

"In our family, we have a habit of naming our imps after planetary bodies." Bethany said. Emily looked at the imp.

"I Dub thee Gany, short for Ganymede. You'll come to either name." She said.

"I thoroughly hate you." Ganymede said.

"That will be all Gany. Return to your bell." She said. After I set the same guidelines for my own demon, who I named Io, I ordered her to assume the form of a raven and returned her to my bell.

"Now that we have initially bound them, and set parameters for their control, I'm going to bind these bells to your bodies."

"How?" I asked.

"Hold out your wrists, palm up." She said, we both did.

She laid our bells on our wrists, looping the ribbon around them tightly until the bell was flush against our pulse points. She poured a bottle of black liquid over each of us.

"By blood and ink, I bind this bell to their flesh." She said. It burned. How it burned.

When the pain receded, the bell and ribbon were tattooed into my skin.

"A standard glamour will cover that. Shake your hand like you're ringing the bell, and it will release itself from the tattoo, wrap your ribbon like I did, and it will return to your skin."

"It's getting late. Stephen, we'll resume training in the morning. Emily, until you get you up to speed, Amy will be tutoring you in magic."

"She's up to speed." I said.

"She knows everything?"

"She's on par with me when it comes to magical combat. We've been training at Coventry."

Bethany sighed and looked up at the sky.

"We're going home. I'm fixing us all tea, and then you're going explain just what the bloody fucking hell that school has been teaching you."

"Why Bethany, you've gone native." I replied.

"I need you to stop talking for a minute, Stephen."

Bethany said, and began walking into the cottage. Emily followed behind me.

"Stephen is your life always this, odd?"

"This last week has been kind of eventful. I will admit."

Bethany stopped.

"Before I forget, Emily. This is yours." She said and drew a box out of her pocket. It was a signet ring, like mine. Emily placed it on her pinkie finger.

We took the portal back home and went down to the kitchen.

Bethany had already laid everything out for tea, and we each quickly fixed ours.

After a few minutes, she sat her cup down, leaned back in her chair, and said.

"Now, what, the actual fuck am I sending you two into? I thought Coventry was decent. Is it a school for magical assassins?" She asked. Emily and I shared a look.

"Probably." I said finally. So, in turns, Emily and I told her about the school. Our first year. The first few rocky months of our friendship. The discovery of the Merlin Genius Loci, and that room. Aloysius Moon's death. The carnage that night.

"I've never heard of Chronosickness. That sounds wrong." She said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"If Mastery of Time and Space was something given to mages, I would have one. I've never heard of Chronosickness before, at least not in the context you described. I'm not sure what happened to your classmate. If it weren't for the magical contract I signed as your guardian when I enrolled you in Coventry, I'd strongly consider unenrolling you and taking care of your education myself. I thought the key was a way to get into the Graduate Studies Library. Not whatever Merlin is."

"Please don't." I replied. Bethany sighed again, then made a shrugging gesture, and flicked her hand. A pack of Luckies appeared in her hand, she took one from the pack, and she lit it wandlessly. After she took a drag she sat back up.

"Could I?" Emily made a reaching gesture for the pack. Bethany smacked her hand away.

"Absolutely not." "I can summon demons, but I can't smoke a cigarette." Emily said in a flat tone.

"Talk to me again in two years." She said.

"So, your other friends, William and Reginald, they're going through the same training as you?"

"It's not training. We're just practicing a bit. A little target practice, a little spell work. It's nothing really."

"You both took out vampires. Juvenile vampires. Had I known what we were facing when I took you into that house, you would have stayed behind, and I would have taken Amy with me, and you took it out with relative ease."

"It was just some Geomancy, and I got shot. It wasn't easy."

"It's as if you've had a couple years training. Your control in Pyromancy and Glaciomancy have also gained massive strides." Emily and I shared a look. "How many times did I swear our training sessions seemed to last days?" She sent. I sent an agreement back.

"Emily, who are you talking to?" Another voice said. This one sounded like Emily, but older. A woman instead of the half-grown girl I knew. It was the voice I'd heard in the classroom months ago. I yelped, jarring my cup of tea.

"However, I was thinking. We should invite your friends over, after the dueling tournament. We could have a party celebrating Emily's adoption. The Summer Solstice is in a couple of weeks. We should have it then. Prepare a guest list Emily." Then Bethany looked at the time.

"Prepare it in the morning. It is far past bedtime." She amended.

"I'm going to the library before I go to bed." I said.

"You both can browse for a bit. You've got an hour." She said.

I walked up to the library; Emily was on my heels.

"What kind of books are you looking for?"

"Just poison detection spells. Bethany is probably going to try and kill me tomorrow."

"What?"

"Oh, we're covering poisons right now. She knocked me out the other day. She'll probably try and kill me during breakfast tomorrow."

"Will she try that with me?"

"It's a possibility. I might be setting you up for that. I did say we were on the same level of skill."

"This library doesn't have an index, does it?"

"No, it doesn't, but I have a trick. Vocare books on poison!" I said, making a yanking gesture with my wand.

A dozen texts flew off the shelves and flew around me in a whirlwind.

"Okay, settle down. I want books on poison detection." I said. Five books flew to the forefront. The rest turned back to their shelves, almost sulking.

"The spells she expects us to use are in these."

"We'll die if we try to memorize all five. That spell takes a lot out of me." Emily said.

"I agree." I said. I was silent for a moment. "So. Who was that?" I asked.

"Who was who?" Emily asked. Her voice was careful innocence.

"Emily, I'm already under oath to hold your secrets. Please don't lie to me." I said. She was silent for a minute.

"I'm not crazy you know. The voice is real," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Since the time I was a little kid. I've been able to hear a voice in my head. This voice said she was me from the future. I call her Oh-Em. Short for Other Emily. She helps me with my studies. She's taught me a lot about magic, and how to use it. It's how I'm so good with dueling and magic. She can feed me information about how spells and magic work. Most of the magic we're learning at Coventry is stuff she already knows." Emily said.

"I have one too." I said.

"What?" She asked.

"I have a voice as well. He's kind of annoying sometimes, and he's from the future. He's a mundane. But he's much better at theory than I am. He's from the future, and he has all sorts of ideas that are making me money. He helped me learn some wandless magic before I was adopted. You're not alone Emily. If you're crazy. So am I." I said.

She was silent for a few moments.

"Do you think the imp was telling the truth?" She asked after a long moment.

"About what?"

"How he threatened me. About. About my mother. How she didn't want me. How no one wants me." She said. I caught a quaver in her voice and looked to my side. She stood there, and I saw the unshed tears glistening in her eyes. The books were forgotten, and I embraced her.

"Oh, Emily. That's the farthest thing from the truth. I want you. Will and Reg want you. Calem probably wants you."

"Probably?"

"He doesn't talk much. I'm not sure what he wants. But you two are together."

"He doesn't want me, at least not like that. Calem doesn't like girls. We're in a play. I told you. We're certainly not together." She said.

I digested the information. Men liking other men wasn't the taboo subject it was in the Mundane world. It was frowned upon in some circles, but so was being born from a family without magic.

"I just... I don't have a family. You have Bethany. Reginald has his. William has brothers and sisters galore. I have no one." I drew back and looked at her.

"What's your middle name?"

"Why?" A mage would never give anyone their middle name. I didn't know Bethany's. She knew mine, but she had adopted me. I caught a flash of something then, almost like a vision. Another version of me maybe, older. Words sprang to the front of my mind.

"Emily. Just trust me."

"My Name is Emily Helena York."

"Emily Helena York, I promise you right now. On my magic. I will always be there for you. Where you go, I will follow. Into battle, or peace, I will be by your side. Where you die, so shall I. Where you are laid to rest, so will that be my resting place. My blade and wand are yours to call on. I am your family. I'm with you, until the very end." I said. She smiled and wiped at her face..

"Your middle name?"

"My Name is Stephen Oliver Andrews."

"Stephen Oliver Andrews, I swear on my magic. On my blade, and on my wand. I accept your oath. Where you go, I will follow. Into battle, or in times of peace, I will be by your side. Where you die, so shall I. Where you are laid to rest, so will that be my resting place. My blade and wand are yours to call on. I am your family. I'm with you, until the very end." She said. There was a snap, and I felt the magic of our oath flare between us.

"While I love being sappy as much as the next girl, we've got half an hour before we have to be in bed. Let's try and find a solution to not dying." After that night, something changed between Emily and I. It was like a stone wall crumbling to dust. Where there was once a source of tension, there was camaraderie. We'd both been alone in this world with just a voice in your head. We knew what it was like to be an outcast. That, and maybe the oath we swore to each other, forged a bond.