A few hours later, the Bourbon gang was gathered in Archie's dorm suite. Everyone but Archie himself were on the sofas facing his projector-sized television. Archie himself was mixing something up in the little kitchenette by the window. It was the first time they'd all been together since the beginning of the exams.
Jacob had conferred with Camilla and Blake, and the three of them had decided that Archie and Grace deserved to know the truth about what had happened.
They let Jacob do the telling, with occasional interjections from Camilla. Once Jacob started, Archie came over and listened raptly, his hand on the back of the couch, his eyes wide, whatever he'd been doing in the kitchenette completely forgotten. Blake looked shocked too. Most of it was new to him. Grace's jaw looked like it was a bout to fall off.
"...And then we still had to write exams," Jacob finished.
Silence.
"WHAT?!" Grace screeched. Everyone winced away from her. She turned on Camilla. "You did all this shit and never told me? What the hell?!"
"Oh yeah!" Jacob said. He glanced at Camilla, then forged ahead. "One last thing: I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you about this. It... I don't know. It just didn't seem right to me. I thought it would endanger you unnecessarily."
"It's all good," Blake said.
Grace was still berating Camilla.
Archie was looking at Jacob, his eyes narrowed with a cautious admiration. He grunted and turned back to the kitchen.
"Quite shocking," he said. "So you know Tanaka quite well, then?"
"I guess so," Jacob said.
"Well, why not invite him over? I've always wanted to speak with him at length," Archie said.
"Wait, really?" Jacob asked.
Archie nodded. "Of course. Why not?"
Jacob shrugged. Not a bad idea, actually. He didn't think Tanaka had that many friends here, and he wasn't a bad guy once you got to know him. He pulled out his phone and texted Tanaka a short invitation.
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Tanaka pulled his hat down so that it would cover most of his face. He pretended to browse the fire magic section of the library while he waited for the girl hovering by the entrance to the restricted section to find her book and leave.
She plucked a slender tome from the shelves, checked the title and author, and strolled away.
Tanaka moved naturally over to the shelf in the corner, flicking a glance up at the security camera there. He let a trickle of decomp flow out of him, ripple through the floor, up the wall, and push a section of wall in front of the camera lens.
Then he strode purposefully towards the restricted section. People would be surprised how much you could get away with if you acted like you belonged.
Tanaka palmed Prof Muesli's ID card in his left hand and swiped it at the door. He'd wanted to use a veil like D'Angelo, but the spell would have taken too long to learn. It didn't really matter if they caught him, anyway. The term was over, and what would they even do to him if they caught him? He'd caught the campus killer. He'd saved their asses.
In fact, if he'd been able to learn more they would have been able to defeat Ishaan way quicker.
Hence why he was here.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Tanaka opened the door and strode into the restricted section. He felt along the wall for a light switch and flicked it on, then flicked the one next to it.
He found the section he was looking for fairly quickly, and scanned the available books on Neuromancy and related magics. The real issue with magic was that you couldn't search anything up. He couldn't look up "Best Neuromancy books" on Google and read the description and reviews to see what was any good. He had to do it the old fashioned way.
His phone dinged. The sound was like a cannon.
Tanaka hissed and fumbled for his phone. Who the hell was texting him? Gah! This was why he left it on DND!
It was Jacob:
Yo, you wanna come over to Archie's dorm? Me, Camilla, and a couple friends are there just chilling.
Tanaka forced himself to take a deep breath. Jacob was being nice. Would he go? No.
Tanaka typed out a quick text back, then pocketed his phone and continued scanning the shelves.
It's too bad he was busy. Would he go if he wasn't?
He didn't know. Wasn't really his thing, but he had liked those little meetings with Jacob and D'Angelo.
Two books caught his eye. The first was Navigating the Mind by Rashwin Anand. Sounded like it could be useful, but it had been written in 1907. The second was Neuromancy: A Treatise by Ethan Dynas.
Dynas? Must have been a relation of Arthur Dynas. Or maybe that was a common last name in England or wherever. It had been written in 1965. Still old, but the most recent thing available.
Tanaka pulled it off the shelf and slipped it in the inside of his jacket. He pulled his hat down again out of impulse more than anything. As he headed for the exit, he wondered, a little guiltily, if he shouldn't go hang out with Jacob and the others after all.
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Jacob's phone buzzed. It was Tanaka:
I would, but I'm busy.
Then
Thanks, tho.
"Tanaka says he's busy," Jacob said to Archie.
"Ah, too bad," Archie shrugged.
Jacob pocketed his phone.
"I'm hungry," Grace whined. "Let's get some food."
"Where? Cafe ain't open," Blake said.
"I don't know," Grace said.
Blake shot up out of his seat. "The market it is. You all coming?"
"Why not?" Jacob said. "Term's over. Nothing better to do."
Camilla and Archie both nodded.
The five of them slipped their shoes on and headed out of Harrison Hall.
Half way to the market the temperature plummeted to zero. Grace screamed and bolted for the nearest building, which happened to be the campus chapel. The rest of them followed. Jacob looked up at the sky, half expecting snow to start pelting them.
They clustered inside the cramped chapel entrance, shivering. Grace and Camilla stood right up against the heat vent along the wall. A faint sound pricked Jacob's ears. Then something drummed on the roof of the chapel.
He went to the door and opened it a crack, grimacing at the draft of air that wafted in. Thick balls of hail rained down. They clattered off the path like useless machine gun bullets, drowning out all other sound. The rest of the campus was reduced to a ghostly haze through the hailstorm.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Grace cried.
"Shut the fucking door!" Camilla shrieked. "It's freezing."
"Can't you use a fire spell or something?" Blake asked.
"Not here. It might damage the wood."
Jacob eased the door shut. The racket faded to a dull roar.
"That is one thing I will not miss about this place," Grace said.
Jacob chuckled. Then it hit him. The term was over. In three days they'd have their class marks and would be sent on their way.
He glanced at the others, but they were all standing there, listening to the hail on the roof, eyes distant, perhaps thinking the same things he was.
He felt like he was at the end of a long gaming sesh, emerging from his room and remembering what the real world was like; remembering all the tasks and little anxieties he'd left behind. Four months in the blink of an eye. He'd been so nervous about coming here, which was laughable in hindsight. All the things he'd done, all the people he'd met, and now bang it was all gonna be gone.
Back to Vancouver. Back to his parents. Back to a past life. He wouldn't see Blake or Grace or Archie or anyone else here at Tisdale. He wouldn't have classes about magic. He wouldn't be white mage anymore. Just Jacob Caibo: high school senior.
It would be weird. Really weird. And he wasn't looking forward to it, to any of it.
He looked over at Camilla. She was staring up at the ceiling. Well, at least he'd see her at school, and hopefully outside of it too.
"I'm going to miss this place," Archie said.
They all nodded.
"Fuck it," Blake said, straightening.
Jacob looked over at him and frowned. What?
"I'm sending it," Blake threw open the door and ran out into the hail. He sprinted into the town, head ducked, hands held up.
"Blake!" Grace shrieked.
Fuck it. Jacob thought. He booked it out the door after his roommate. Hailstones pelted his hair, the back of his neck, his forearms. He ducked his head and ran, grinning like a madman.
The others came out after him, Grace and Camilla screeching that they were crazy.
Jacob laughed.