Eli trudged down the hallway, emotions a twisted knot that he had no hope of currently untangling. Guilt over what had happened to Francis and his part in it, and anger, so much anger. At his father, the situation with Francis merely adding fuel to an already massive flame. Anger at himself. At Benjamin. Eli focused on that last one. Benjamin had talked to Francis, he’d had to get his permission for Eli to come here. He knew Eli’s history, knew of the connection between him and Francis. And that son of a bitch had lied right to his face when he promised no one would know him here. Just so he would take this damn job.
“I am going to kill him.” Eli muttered, drawing a concerned glance from a middle aged woman passing by. Eli gave her an awkward smile that only hurried her pace down the hall. Eli shook his head, slumping up against a wall. How had things already gone this poorly? He would think he was cursed but that was impossible due to his connection to the Void.
With a thought Eli drew upon the Void, bringing its power to rest around him in a small bubble. The cold energy coursed through his body, bringing a sense of clarity in its wake. This was terrible, no one could deny that, but Francis was right, he had a job to do and that’s what he was going to focus on. Get through today, threaten Benjamin until he’s too scared to even close his eyes, and then continue to do the fucking job so he could get away from all of this. He could do that.
Straightening up, Eli forced all of his guilt and anger into the back of his mind to either deal with later, or drown in a truly irresponsible amount of liquor. He could do this. Eli strode down the hallway, ignoring the odd glances he was getting from the occasional other staff that he saw. Back to a semi-coherent state, Eli finally took a look at the inside of Westmore. The chipped painted walls, the buzzing lights already bringing on a headache, and the faint musty odor that emanated from everywhere.
Eli sneered. This was just disgraceful. How were the students supposed to properly learn to harness magic if their very instructional grounds were falling down around them? No wonder the Sages weren’t that concerned about a few potentially missing students, it wasn’t like they were losing their best. Eli froze at that thought, shame turning his face red. That was something his father would say, hell, he could even hear him saying it, the condescension dripping from every word. Fuck that.
This was a shithole of a school, there was no denying that, but it wasn’t Westmore’s fault they had less funding and resources. Besides, Francis was the Dean so the actual teaching done here couldn’t be that bad. There was nothing Francis cared about more than magic.
Eli stood before Maddie Wright’s classroom, the door slightly open. Taking a deep breath, feeling in no way prepared, Eli knocked before stepping fully into the room. It was small, a dozen or so mismatched desks set up in straight rows taking up the majority of the space. A few looked to be one good sneeze away from breaking. The morning light streamed in from windows on the far wall, beautiful so long as you ignored the unkempt lawn on the other side. Posters lined every inch of the walls, declaring the amazingness of learning, and friendships. A coffee stained desk with a pile of books under one leg stood at the front, a disheveled older man seated at it. He stood up at Eli’s entrance, a wide smile crinkling the lines on his face into a well worn pattern.
“Hello, you must be Elijah Gram, my new assistant. So excited to meet you. The name’s Brian Harris, although the kids call me Mr. Harris, or Mr. H.”
Mr. Harris bounded across the room taking Eli’s hand and shaking it vigorously.
“Uh, yeah. Hello. I actually go by Eli. Nice to meet you too.”
“Eli, of course. I will make a note so I don’t forget that. After decades of teaching I’ve found that the only way to keep names straight is to write them down. And even then I’ll still mess up.” Brian laughed, Eli following along a half-second later.
“I have to say, it was a shock to hear from Dean Cowl that we’d be getting an assistant teacher,” Brian continued, walking back to sit on the edge of his desk. He motioned for Eli to lean against one of the desks, friendly smile never wavering. “Not that I’m complaining of course, I’m just so used to being told no to every additional expense.”
“Well to be honest, this is my first time actually teaching, so I’m pretty much being paid nothing.” Eli said carefully, unsure of what to make of Mr. Harris. Teachers, especially those teaching sorcerers, were supposed to be strict and firm, holding their students to the highest standards and meting out punishment to those who fall short. Eli had a difficult time picturing the grinning old man before him keeping a tight rein on his students. Perhaps this was just how he was to his colleagues though, and would show a firmer face in front of the students.
“But even though I have never taught, I am very knowledgeable about all things magic.” Eli made sure to add.
Brian laughed, waving away Eli’s concerns. “That makes more sense, but no need to convince me. If Dean Cowl hired you, then you have to be pretty damn good. Today I’m going to have you mostly just listen in, let you and the students get acclimated to one another.” A high pitched bell rang out, setting Eli’s teeth on edge. “Ahh, that’s the bell. The students should be arriving soon so why don’t you take a seat over there.”
He pointed to a chair set in the corner of the room, which Eli gladly took, hands fidgeting in his lap. That hadn’t gone too badly. Brian seemed like a nice enough guy, and so long as the kids weren’t total little shits, this should be a fairly easy job. Ignoring the fact that Benjamin had lied about Francis being here, Eli fully believed that the missing students were nothing more than runaways and rumors blown out of proportion. If Francis Cowl said that he had personally checked and updated the wards around the school and found nothing, then that meant there was nothing to find.
“...Mr. Gram here will be our new assistant teacher.”
Eli snapped out of his thoughts to see thirteen pairs of expectant eyes staring at him. He stood up quickly, almost knocking the chair down. He cleared his suddenly very dry throat.
“Ahh, hello. Feel free to call me Mr. G if that’s easier. It is nice to meet you all.”
He scanned over the students, all looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and excitement. Eli smiled awkwardly. His attention zeroed in on one of the students sitting in the front row. She had long strawberry blonde hair tied loosely back, and she was gazing at Eli with eagerness and a spark of recognition. Maddie Wright. She ostensibly knew why Eli was here, he just hoped that she would be able to be close-mouthed about it. He doubted the other parents would be happy to learn a mob enforcer was working in their student’s class; even if said mob enforcer knew more about magic than anyone else here.
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“Are you a sorcerer? You’d have to be to help Mr. H teach us magic. Can you show us some magic?” Maddie said, smashing Eli’s hopes to a thousand pieces. The rest of the class erupted into excited shouts at that idea, practically vibrating in their seats in excitement at the thought of seeing actual magic performed. Eli shrank back from the students, a spike of panic racing down his spine.
“Alright class, calm down. Five. Four. Three. Two. And one.” By the time Mr. Harris had reached one the class had quieted down. Eli glanced over at the teacher with new respect. “Mr. G will just have to show off for you all later, right now we have to get back to our lessons.”
Ignoring the groans of disappointment, Mr. Harris began to write on the chalkboard as he continued to speak. “Today is a sorcerer focused day, so that means this afternoon we will continue our meditation practices, attempting to draw in the ambient magic into ourselves. No one has managed so far but don’t worry, it’s something that takes patience and practice, two things adolescents are famous for. This morning we will be continuing our history lessons. Everyone please get out your notebooks.”
A rustling of bodies and papers spread throughout the room, an oddly calming sound to Eli. He hadn’t been in a classroom since he’d lost his magic and it was strange to find himself back in one. A hollow longing ached in Eli, one that he had gotten very good at ignoring over the years. Being back at an academy, seeing all these students so excited to learn how to harness their magic, it made it impossible to ignore what he had lost.
“Now, when we left off last week we were just getting to the differences between Evoker and Enchanter sorcerers. As you all begin to get more comfortable with magic and are able to draw it in regularly, all of you will fall into one of these two categories. Who wants to be the brave one to tell me more about them? Carol, how about you?” Mr. Harris said, writing evoker and enchanter on the board in big letters.
A small girl with deep black hair blushed as she was called on. “Uh, we haven’t been taught that yet, but I think that the difference between them is in what kind of magic they can do?”
Mr. Harris gave her an encouraging nod. “That’s right, each is capable of performing different spells with their magics, thank you Carol. Desmond, can you expand on that at all?”
“Um. Pass?”
The class laughed and Mr. Harris shook his head in mock dismay. “Mr. Gram, would you be able to help enlighten our future protectors of humanity?”
““Magic suffuses the world, it flows through everything and is everywhere; for the most part. Sorcerers have the gift to draw that magic inside them and shape it to their will. This is what we call spells. Now, every sorcerer is a little different in their abilities. Some are able to draw in vast amounts of magic very quickly and release it just as quickly. This allows them to cast powerful spells, very flashy and generally explosive, but not a lot of subtlety. They have trouble doing spells that require delicate work and small, consistent releases of magic. Think big fireballs, but unable to create wards and constructs. These are evokers.” Eli said distractedly, his attention on Mr. Harris as he furiously wrote all this down. What was this? This was all far too relaxed. The students should have been prepared to know all of this for today’s lesson, and if they hadn’t Mr. Harris should have reprimanded them. Instead he joked around with the kids, letting them get away with their disrespect. It was no wonder this place was considered third-rate. Yet, as the students listened to him and copied what on the board into their notebooks their faces were alight with excitement, whispering to their neighbors about what kind of sorcerer they would be. Eli found himself smiling at the attention and lack of stress on their faces.
“Enchanters are the opposite,” Eli continued. “They are only capable of drawing in small amounts of magic, and have trouble releasing it in large bursts. Instead they have a level of control that evokers can never match. Enchanters set up wards that protect important places, they are healers, and they create constructs, the tools used by sorcerers to help better focus and control spells. There are more detailed differences between the two, but those are the core ones. Once you get better at drawing in magic, you will learn whether you are an enchanter or evoker. How was that?”
“That was excellent, wasn’t it class? Let’s make sure that we have all of that written down.” Mr. Harris said, nodding in approval as he continued to write on the board.
“What kind of sorcerer are you Mr. Harris and Mr. G?” Maddie asked, hand raised high in the air.
Mr. Harris laughed, surprising Eli again at the lack of anger at the shouted question. “I am an evoker. What about you?”
“I’m an Enchanter.” He kept it simple, having already prepared the lie expecting it to come up. He hadn’t expected that longing ache to pulse though, heating up the back of his eyes with unshed tears.
“And there you have it class, both types of sorcerer in this very class, and all of you will discover what you are. So long as you keep up the hard work. Now let’s get back to our lesson.”
Of course Eli knew that there was a third type of sorcerer, one so rare that they were nothing more than rumor. Prodigies of magic able to draw in massive amounts of magic like an evoker, but also able to condense that magic into the delicate control needed for enchanting.
The rest of the morning dragged on, with Mr. Harris lecturing on the types of sorcerers, giving examples of the types of spells and jobs one could expect. He even touched briefly on the history of sorcerers and magic, going back to the Beginning War thousands of years ago. He was an animated teacher, drawing the students into the lesson. It was so different from Eli’s own experiences, but he had to admit that Mr. Harris was a good teacher. Even if most of what he was saying about the Beginning War was total bullshit.
That history had been warped and molded by the victors, painting the Voidlings as evil creatures who needed to be sealed away from the world. Propaganda that was now nothing more common knowledge. Eli only knew the truth thanks to his father’s extensive collection of ancient books, and of course Amon.
Lunch was an awkward affair of Eli scarfing down his own lukewarm cafeteria slop, that he didn’t take too hard of a look at, and then wandering through the room making sure the students didn’t throw food at one another. He could feel their eyes on him, the strange new addition to their regular routine, but Eli ignored them as best he could. Especially Maddie who he wasn’t sure how to act around. How did one behave around a child that you were secretly protecting while pretending to be her new assistant teacher?
The rest of the day was taken up by mediation practice. The desks were shoved against the walls of the room, lumpy pillows were brought out, and the students screwed their eyes shut in concentration. Drawing in magic was a difficult process. You were training your mind to become aware of magic and draw it into yourself. It was like learning to grasp fog. None of the students succeeded, their annoyed grumbling filling the room as they packed up the pillows at the end of the day. Maddie in particular seemed to be annoyed, her face scrunched up in a fierce scowl.
If Eli ignored the rough start of the morning, this had actually turned out to be a fairly enjoyable day. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Taking it out he saw a message from Benjamin.
Call me. Now.
Eli sighed. He might have spoken too soon.