Surviving Magic (The Legacy of Androva Book 6) Page 3

“Alright,” he said with a small nod. “Again, then. Do it again. Prove it wasn’t a fluke.”

  Evander blanched.

  “I don’t… er, I don’t actually want to do that again, Professor.”

  There was a ripple of laughter, breaking the tension. Talia volunteered to take his place. Her eyes stared into mine as we ascended to the ceiling again.

  “Don’t you dare let me reach the ground,” she whispered fiercely. I shook my head. I trusted my force field now.

  Diving was in the year two class. I was allowed to attend some of their lessons, and Physical quickly became a discipline I loved.

  Remedies, however, took me a long time to learn. I could create the spells, I just couldn’t turn them into remedies.

  Spell projection, in the traditional way, was much easier. I could use one or both hands, I could increase or decrease the intensity, I could start and stop as I wished. I tended to adjust spells as I went along, according to how my force field was responding.

  However, all remedies, from the most basic to the most complicated, required a completely standardised output of magical energy.

  Twenty drops per small bottle, and each drop had to be identical, falling from our fingertips like glittering tears. Different colours according to whichever remedy we were creating.

  “No,” said Professor Minra for about the hundredth time. How she managed not to raise her voice, I don’t know. I was close to yelling with frustration.

  “This is not an intuitive spell, Galen.” She sighed, tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind one ear.

  “It is learnt and then followed precisely. Any remedy you produce will be dangerous unless you can distill your magic properly.”

  Evander had a whole row of different coloured bottles next to him, freshly filled with Headache, Fever, Sleep, and Portal Remedies. He gave me a slightly smug smile.

  “Professor’s pet,” I grumbled.

  “Hilarious,” he countered, “coming from you. You do realise you’re top of the class in everything else?”

  Well, on balance, I suppose I didn’t think that particular insult through.

  I couldn’t come up with a reply, and he grinned.

  Last out of the six disciplines, but definitely not least, was Manipulation. If ever magic were used to change, or to create, or even to destroy, it was likely to be a Manipulation Spell. The list was long, and the magic could be very advanced.

  Year one was basic. Spells for repairing, movement, illumination, that kind of thing. But really, the possibilities were endless. I had so many ideas.

  Portal creation was in this discipline too. The symbols capable of opening magical doorways to connect different locations across Androva had only been discovered in the last five years.

  Portals could be really difficult to open, and they were also inclined to close unexpectedly. But the novelty of travelling long distances with just a single step outweighed the inconvenience, as far as most Androvans were concerned.

  These days anyone could attend the Seminary, not just those living near to Landor. And communication was much faster. Androvan society was now closely connected, with the Council’s authority being absolute.

  I knew they were trying to open portals beyond Androva at the Foundation for Research. Sometimes I looked up at the stars in the sky and wondered what was out there. No, that’s not quite true. I wondered who was out there. And if I would ever meet them.

  Evander thought I was mad. He told me we had more than enough to keep us busy on Androva. The year one assessments were approaching, and he was terrified of facing Professor Cassius.

  Unfortunately there was no way around this. The quality of Combat Spells could only be judged by someone on the receiving end. Observation wasn’t enough.

  I knew Evander’s spells were of a good enough standard to pass. I’d been his opponent many times. The problem was convincing him of that fact.

  Nico had finally agreed to start teaching me. I had begun to question the sincerity of his original offer because he had made me wait a long time.

  I had passed my fourteenth birthday, and now I knew more about Nico I seriously doubted we would work well together.

  He had assured me there was no point in beginning until I could do the three Combat Spells properly. I had challenged him about the delay, waiting nervously outside the Seminary one evening to catch him on his way home.

  “This is an add-on, not an instead-of,” he said seriously. “What I’m going to teach you can’t replace the basics. You want it to work, don’t you?”

  So I studied. I hadn’t fully understood this before, but Combat was actually more dangerous for adult magicians. The older we became, the more our force fields became part of our minds and bodies.

  At the coming of age ceremony, they were finally made one, turning Combat Spells into something pretty serious. Damage the magician’s force field, damage the magician.

  Contests took place inside a training room, where the Protection Spell clinging to the walls prevented any harm from magical means.

  Protection Spells didn’t stop the pain, of course. However… professors could feel pain too. And if I caused Professor Cassius even a few seconds of discomfort, I would consider my partnership with his son a success.

  Eventually Nico agreed we could begin.

  “You can’t just use a containment band,” he said to me.

  We were standing in one of the smaller training rooms at the Seminary. It was dark outside, and nearly everyone else had gone home for the day.

  There were only a couple of fading Illumination Spells left, and the blue glow of the Protection Spell was a little eerie. Nico hadn’t suggested brightening things up, and I was too intimidated to say anything.

  His blond hair was the brightest thing in the room. It looked like it had never seen a comb. The opposite of his father’s.

  “What do I use then?” I asked when he remained silent.

  He projected a containment band.

  “But I thought…” I said, trailing off before I made myself sound stupid. Didn’t he say not to use a containment band?

  He shook his head.

  “As far as everyone else is concerned, it is just a containment band.”

  It was in front of me now, spinning very slowly. I swallowed, reminded of how Professor Cassius had done the same thing. Containment bands were usually projected so fast that you never saw them up close.

  “But look at it, Galen,” he urged, stepping closer. “Look closely.”

  I blinked. There was a very faint edge to the brightness of the band. Grey. Dark grey.

  “You can only see it in low light.”

  “What is it?” I asked, at the same time as the band pushed inside my head, tightening against my force field.

  I was about to suppress my magic and escape it, something I was now very good at, when I hesitated.

  What am I doing? I can’t beat this. What’s the point? I’m a failure. A first year who can’t even win against a third year, let alone his professor father.

  I felt my shoulders drooping, and I bowed my head. The band tightened, and the pain reinforced my belief I couldn’t fight it.

  To my consternation, Nico grinned.

  “Effective, isn’t it?”

  He lowered his hands, and I blinked as the despondency lifted.

  “I should tell you something about me. My speciality is remedy combinations. I’m known for it.”

  I’d heard. His research spells so far had all been remedy based, which was one of the reasons I had begun to doubt that we should be partners.

  “Of course,” he added, with a small shrug, “it’s easy enough to combine other spells too. No one seems to realise Combat Spells don’t have to stand alone. Not even my father.”

  “Wait… You mean, you did that to me just now? Made me feel so helpless?”

  He nodded.

  “Works pretty well, I think.”

  “No kidding. I didn’t know what on Androva was wrong
with me.”

  I laughed with relief, and he joined in.

  “Teach me,” I said.

  Chapter 4 - A Lesson In Motivation

  We met up a couple more times before something happened. Something that forced me to leave behind whatever I had left of my childhood.

  I had started to like Nico. He was much more approachable in our study sessions than when he was with his group of friends.

  As far as I could tell, nearly everything he did was to prove he wasn’t like his father. There weren’t many rules he hadn’t broken at least once.

  I had just learned how to add another layer of magic to my containment band when he announced the spell combinations would have to remain secret. I was very disappointed.

  How am I supposed to help Evander if I can’t tell him about any of this? And I’ve never kept anything from Serena before.

  It was almost enough to make me back out of the whole thing. If remedies were the only research spells he was willing to tell anyone about, we both had the wrong partner.

  “No. Promise me your silence, or I won’t teach you anymore.”

  He was scowling. There was no trace of the popular joker who spent his days making trouble for the professors.

  The evenings were dark now and even inside the training room the air was cold. Summer was a distant memory. End of year assessments were next week. The Fire Spell, swirling orange and yellow around our feet, was burning low. I shivered.

  “Why do you want to be my partner anyway?” I asked, folding my arms to try to hide how nervous I was. “What’s in it for you?”

  My question took him by surprise, and he didn’t answer immediately.

  “I want to escape,” he said quietly. “And I need to partner with someone capable of breaking me out of my prison.”

  “What?” I said, completely confused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What prison?”

  Suddenly there was a knock on the door, sharp and loud.

  “Nicodemus? Are you in there?” came a voice.

  I froze. The voice belonged to Professor Cassius, and he sounded really angry. Then I realised what he’d said. Nico’s real name is Nicodemus?

  Nico had gone white. The unfamiliar scowl had disappeared, and in its place was an expression I had never seen him wear. He was scared.

  “Hide,” he said to me in a low voice. “Hide, and you’ll see what I mean by a prison.”

  His face twisted.

  I projected my force field and the remains of the Fire Spell parted for me. No sooner had I scrambled into the shadows at the edge of the room than the professor flung the door open.

  The bang as it hit the wall echoed in the silent space, and my heart sped up.

  “Hello, Father,” said Nico. “What a lovely surprise to see you.”

  His voice was bright and cheerful, completely at odds with the fear I’d seen just a moment before.

  The professor glanced from left to right, and I shrank down in my hiding place, turning my shoulder to the wall so my Sygnus didn’t give me away.

  As he approached his son, the Fire Spell flickered on a face that was coldly furious. With a dismissive gesture, he extinguished the magical flames completely.

  “You were supposed to be home an hour ago. Do you have an excuse before I punish you?”

  “I’m sorry, Father. I thought I had your agreement on the later time this evening.”

  The professor’s lips curled in a sneer.

  “Did you?” he said. “And what made you think that exactly?”

  He raised his hands, and the blue Protection Spell tumbled from the walls like a falling curtain. I stared in disbelief.

  “Because I asked you, and you said yes,” replied Nico, keeping his voice light.

  The professor tutted.

  “Have we not discussed this before? Expect the unexpected.”

  “But last time I did that, you said I had misjudged the situation. You said sometimes I should take things at face value!”

  I could hear a note of desperation creeping into Nico’s voice. What’s going on?

  “And what kind of parent would I be if I didn’t teach you the importance of recognising deception? Hmmm? I do this for your own good, Nicodemus. You must prepare to be unprepared.”

  The professor was talking in riddles. Nico could not win this game.

  If black is sometimes black and sometimes white, how is he, or anyone else for that matter, supposed to tell the difference?

  Professor Cassius surrounded his son with a thin mist of magic. It drifted towards him slowly but surely. I could barely see it. Nico was shaking, and his eyes had darkened with fear.

  “This spell,” said the professor, almost casually, “will give you nightmares for a week. Quite nasty ones, too. Let’s see how you cope with the year three assessment when you haven’t slept for several days.”

  He walked in a circle around Nico, who was staring in horror at something I couldn’t see. He was actually cowering. I held my hand over my mouth to silence my reaction.

  “I am going to leave you now. Don’t worry, you need not bid me farewell. I doubt your mind can distinguish me from the hallucination anyway.

  “It will wear off within the hour and not return until you sleep. You may thank me later.”

  He walked from the room without looking back. I was like a statue, unable to move because of the shock. I could not believe what I had just seen.

  What is Professor Cassius doing? I have to stop him!

  I thought of telling my parents, or one of the other professors, so they could help. I wondered who would be the best person.

  But wait. If Nico wants someone simply to tell tales, he doesn’t need me. Anyone can do that.

  I’d just seen an extremely sophisticated Manipulation Spell at work. Fast, and almost invisible too. I knew no one else who was capable of such magic.

  This man was not an opponent I could challenge in plain sight. If he discredited me, Nico and I would both lose any chance of being assigned a good profession. Or making a good match. Or having a good life, more to the point.

  I got up and walked over to Nico, who had his back against the wall. He was shrinking into it as if something terrible were about to happen to him.

  “What can I do to help you?” I said anxiously.

  He shook his head, over and over, holding up a hand, then two hands to ward me off. His eyes were huge and staring.

  I stepped away, not wanting to upset him. Whatever he was seeing, my presence was making it worse.

  I cursed my inexperience. What could a first year like me do against such advanced magic? Then I had an idea. The Protection Spell. There had to be a reason why the professor had removed it. Maybe if I put it back, it would protect Nico from whatever this was.

  I let my force field expand like I was about to perform Solo Transference. Then I projected the blue energy of the most basic, but most important, spell in every training room.

  Fortunately, this was a medium-sized room, with an ordinary height ceiling. It didn’t take me long. I looked nervously across at Nico, who was now resting his hands on his knees with his head bowed.

  “Thank you,” he said quietly.

  “You’re welcome. Your father is a monster, by the way.”

  He lifted his head, and I was glad to see his eyes were back to normal.

  “You noticed?”

  I took a slow breath. Now the danger had passed, my legs were feeling a bit weak. Had that really just happened?

  He straightened up.

  “My prison is not like the one in the history books, before the Council restored order to Androva. I carry it with me wherever I go.

  “I used to think I could win my freedom,” he said, then sighed. “Back in the days when I was still young and stupid enough to believe him.”

  “Believe him?”

  “Yes. When he told me he was teaching me how to be a better magician. That all I had to do was prove myself worthy, and he would stop the les
sons.”

  I swallowed.

  “He’s never going to stop,” I said quietly.

  “No. And I’ll never be able to prove myself. He’ll keep changing the rules to make sure I can’t.”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “What about your mother?” I asked.

  “She only stood up for me once, and he… he punished her too. I begged her not to help me again.”

  The mingled rage and despair on his face prevented me from asking any more questions.

  I didn’t know what I could do. We had nowhere near enough experience to fight someone like him.

  We are both underage magicians, and he…

  Suddenly I had an idea.

  “We’re underage,” I said.

  Nico rolled his eyes.

  “We are. Have you got any other motivational comments you’d like to share?”

  “He’s not. He’s had the coming of age ceremony. His force field is permanently joined to his mind and body.”

  “And?” said Nico, still looking unimpressed.

  “We need to combine a spell that would normally work on the mind or body, with one that attacks the force field.”

  “I don’t understand,” he said, his voice flat.

  “Well, let’s say you wanted him… I don’t know, incapacitated for a while. Professor Cassius would never knowingly take a Sleep Remedy, would he? You can recognise the colour a mile off. It shows up no matter what you mix it with.

  “But,” I continued, more excitedly, “if you put the spell for the remedy in a containment band, and wrapped it around his force field…”

  I grinned.

  “He’d have no choice in the matter. His mind and body would have to pass out. He wouldn’t know what had hit him.”

  Nico laughed.

  “Genius. Pure genius.”

  Then he gave me a thoughtful look.

  “Androva help whoever makes an enemy out of you, Galen.”

  I went red, embarrassed at the implied compliment. I attempted to change the subject.

  “Nicodemus?” I said, raising my eyebrows. “Is that really your name?”

  “Fortunately not. He’s the only one to use it. My mother registered me as Nico and by the time he found out, it was too late to change it.”

  “It’s certainly… unique.”