Valya had never seen such opulence. The mansion was three stories tall and stretched to the left and right as far as the eye could see. They walked up the main drive that led to the main entrance, the path was paved with stone, cut flat, and tightly fitted together. The main door was actually two doors side by side, crafted from lightly stained wood and extending to almost ten feet in height. A Gardner, upon seeing that Lucette had arrived with company, jogged inside, and presently, Riku came out.

The building was a marvel, and the impeccable grounds were impressive, but seeing Riku almost made the girl faint. He was every inch of seven feet tall, with yellow skin, pointed ears and teeth, and of course, the extra set of arms. She’d heard of the Telnor but never thought that she might someday meet one.

“Welcome back Mistress Lucette. I see you had success at bringing another disciple for Master Michael.” His voice was deep and sonorous, reminding Valya of the opening of an ancient crypt. “Mistress Valya, would you like me to show you to your quarters?” She stared up at him, still in a state of shock.

“This is Riku, he’s the House Master and the heart of Anant Manor.” Lucette looked at Valya’s face, “Let’s all go together.”

Over the next hour, Valya was shown her room which was simple, yet grander than any she’d previously been in. They toured the ground, including the stables, the gardens, and the fountains where water floated in great spheres the size of watermelons. They came to the training grounds where they met a young man who was roughly Valya’s age.

“This is Gili Montu, a disciple who’s been with us less than a year now. Please meet Valya Nacica, she is the newest student.”

He shook her hand, “Nice to meet you Valya. The master is away but will return on the morrow. After you get settled, I’d love to get to know you better.” He gave her a bright smile, then looked her over from head to toe. He was just a couple of inches taller than the girls, but thicker through the body. He had dark straight hair pulled up and tied with a cord, and he wore no beard.

“That would be fine, I suppose,” Valya replied, looking confused.

“Come along Valya, I have a few more things to show you,” Lucette said, catching her by the elbow and leading her away. When they were well away from the training grounds, “I think he likes you.”

“Maybe. He comes on a little strong.”

“That’s why I pulled you out. He was hitting on me when he got here, but I’m not looking for a husband right now. I have years of training and tons of learning yet to finish. I don’t have time to get tied down to a man.”

After waking up, Valya found the dining room after only a few wrong turns. There she found a bald man with a long red beard preparing a meal. At first, she thought he was much older than she was, but on closer inspection, she determined that he was in his mid to late twenties. When he saw her, his smiling face put her at ease.

“Good morning! You’re the new girl, I take it,” He gestured for her to take a seat. “I’m Ingram Jerome. A pleasure to make your acquaintance. Would you like something to eat? We have a cook, but I often prefer to make my meals.”

“Thank you, that would be very nice. Are you an instructor here?”

“No, though I’ve been here for a few years. I started at the same time as Lucette. I sometimes show the newer people some spells, and help them train, but only according to Master Boorman’s curriculum.”

“I want to learn as much as possible, as quickly as possible,” Valya said while sitting.

“Why is that? A couple of weeks ago, you didn’t know that you had a knack for doing magic. Not to worry, you can’t flunk out of this school. We will teach you the basics, make sure that you’re no longer a menace to society, and then set you free to sculpt your own future.” Her look of relief let him know that he’d found the cause of her anxiety.

“Good morning!” Lucette said as she entered the kitchen. She took a plate from Ingram and handed it to Valya, then a second plate for herself.

“Morning!” Gili said. He took some bacon and bread from the pantry and sat right next to Vanya. “How was your first night in the mansion? It's very safe here, but I would understand if you found it a little scary.” He put his hand on her shoulder and tried to look at her with a sympathetic expression. Vanya was off put by the contact, but he didn’t seem to take notice.

“Gili, please take your hand off of her,” Lucette said, shocking the boys. “She doesn’t know you and you don’t know her. You’re too familiar.”

Gili was taken aback by the chastisement. Lucette had been more subtle in rebuffing his advances, but in defense of the new girl, she was very blunt. Gingerly, he lifted his hand and sat back in his chair.

“Sorry miss, I’m from Lournes, we have a very ‘hands-on’ culture down there.” He smiled weakly and she returned a lackluster smile. Looking around, trying to act as if nothing had happened, “Ingram, do you know what’s on the schedule today?”

Ingram tried to appear nonplussed, “Michael should be coming back tomorrow. He wasn’t sure if Valya would accept our invitation, and he didn’t know exactly when Lucette would return. There is no formal training, but I could work with the young lady this morning and Lucette can take the afternoon off. Would you like to learn how to sense magic users?”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

“I’m going to be practicing offensive spells on the range later, after lunch,” Gili said in the direction of Valya, “If you want to see what is possible.”

“I’ll leave it up to my substitute teachers,” she said, trying to gloss over the earlier ugliness.

Ingram concentrated and at his command, thick vines grew from the ground and wound around Gili’s legs. Everyone but Valya knew of Ingram’s ability to control living things. He was able to make plants grow and could control animals to some degree. They all knew it, but he was becoming so adept at his main power, he could trap an enemy while at the same time, casting other spells to bind them or in this case, slow them to a crawl. He’d learned some of the more popular spells, meant to stop an opponent's advance, including sleep, paralyze, drunk, blind, deaf, and silence.

Gili touched his natural ability, at this point, it was the only bolt in his quiver. He summoned a sword, and brilliant energy issued from his right palm till he had a weapon made of pure light. He cut through the vines in slow motion, Ingram’s spell reducing his speed to a fraction of normal. Anger darkened his face as he let his frustration show.

“That’s enough for now,” Ingram said as Gili was freeing himself. “I have years more experience than you. Don’t let a setback interfere with your mental state. When you lose your focus to anger or insecurity, or worse yet, overconfidence… you lose.”

“You’re untouchable! I can’t get close to you with these damn vines that you tie me up with. You swarm insects at me, sick rats on me. I don’t know who could beat a mage with your power.”

“Michael is still double the mage that I am, and Master Jorn is ten times his superior. If he were here, he could defeat us all combined, with little to no effort on his part.”

“I wish that I had been able to meet him. Any idea when he’ll return?”

“Not that I know of. I’ve fought with him against the minions of the Lords of Shadow. His strength is beyond measure. He is as close to a god as a man can be.” Instead of his mage’s robes, Ingram was wearing simple, brown cloth pants and a light-colored shirt. He wiped the sweat on his shiny head with his sleeve and started walking toward the stables.

Valya came from the direction of the mansion, having just finished meditation with Lucette. She had been given a new dark green cloak and a bright orange dress. She was clean and her hair was combed and treated with fragrant oils. Gili could almost smell her before he caught sight of her, and her scent made his heart beat even faster. She wasn’t the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, but she was very attractive, and she was one of the prettiest girls he’d ever spent more than a few minutes with.

“I saw you training with Ingram. I’m not sure that I understand how your magic works?”

“I can summon light energy and make it into solid shapes. They don’t last long, but Michael tells me that as my power increases and my skill improves, I’ll be able to make longer-lasting creations.”

“That’s incredible! I saw that the sword you made was sharp enough to cut through Ingram’s vines and free yourself.”

“True, but his slow spell essentially made me helpless. He could have done anything to me in the time it took to break free. I’m a long way from being able to face true dangers.”

“Much closer than I am. I’m not completely certain what my magic is, and I definitely can’t control it yet.”

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable before. I’ve not been around women as pretty as you before, I guess I don’t know how to behave properly.” Valya smiled at the compliment. “Do you want me to show you how it works?”

“Yes, please. I don’t even know how to make my own magic work. It might be helpful.”

He stepped a few feet away from her and began his spell. She could faintly sense the presence of magic, a build-up of energy coming from his general direction. A second later, he was holding a ball of white light energy that flowed like candle wax to form a dagger. The dagger seemed to harden, and when it was complete, he spun it around in his palm. For all intents and purposes, the blade was a steel knife. Smiling at her, he threw the knife at a pole across the yard and stuck fast. A few moments later, the blade became transparent, then faded, leaving only a hole in the post to show that it had ever existed.

“That was incredible!” she said while clapping. He saw a light in her eyes, the kind he’d been wanting all along.

“I can do more, and Michael tells me that someday I’ll be able to do incredible things with my gift. While you’re here, you’ll also learn a lot of more common magic. I’m pretty good at making small fires, conjuring food, and conjuring not only water but wine.” He reached out and took her hand, “With my abilities, we could go for a picnic by a nice fire, have some sandwiches and wine…”

She pulled away violently, “Let go of me!” she shouted. He grabbed at her again, but she started running and he hesitated for a second before following. She only got a dozen feet away before he pulled at the sleeve of her cloak.

“Wait! I thought you were starting to like me again.”

“Again? I just met you, and I’ve never liked you.” In vain, she tried breaking his grip on her sleeve. “Leave me alone. Leave me alone and never speak to me again!”

He pulled her sleeve with a jerk, causing her to fall to her knees. She cried out as her knee struck the packed earth. He tried to pull her to her feet, no longer trying to be the least careful. Anger flared in his eyes and his pale skin flushed. He began to shake her, all the while growling unintelligibly. She struggled in his grasp, but he was too strong for her. He lifted her and when she tilted her head back, he could see the fear in her eyes, the tears streaming from them; and he didn’t care. As much as had desired her before, he now longed to get revenge on her for spurning his advances. He delighted in the thought of her suffering. Holding her up by the front of her dress with one hand, he cocked his hand and slapped her hard across the face. She let loose a cutting scream, and the sound of his hand striking her soft cheek echoed across the enclosed training grounds.

“Stop it, please,” she begged as he struck her several more times. Madness filled him, his excitement was overwhelming his common sense. Her left cheek was puffy and already turning bright red, a trickle of blood touched the corner of her mouth. He reared back to land a solid punch when she summoned her flagging energy and kicked him between his legs. Even a light blow to the testicles can cause a man to double up in pain. She struck him with all the strength she could muster. He fell to his knees, screaming in pain, though still clutching at her. She raked her nails across his face, leaving four lines of blood from his ear, across his chin, and down the side of his neck. He let her go, his hands reaching for the shallow, though painful wound.

Valya gathered her cloak around her and ran off. She had gone fifty feet when the dagger struck her thigh. Less than a second later, another dagger hit her lower back, a third struck her right shoulder. She turned as a last dagger ripped across her right cheek. Made of pure light, the blades vanished in seconds, leaving her with open wounds up and down her body.

Gili stalked after her, favoring his groin and letting the blood flow from his scratches. He formed a sword of light as he reached her. She was crying in pain, lying prostrate on the ground. He raised his light sword, but his eyes went wide when the massive fist struck the back of his head. The giant Telnor Riku punched the young man again, this time knocking him completely unconscious. He scooped up the injured girl in his four strong arms and ran to the main house.