Zeek watched the other students enter the stage with dread. It was pure luck his name was at the end of the alphabet, and the end of the line. He desperately needed the extra time to rally his thoughts and remain calm.
The ceremony was the same as he’d experienced in Hake. Students would hear their name, walk on the stage, then place a hand over the orb while the archbishop held it. Each time it glowed, the crowd cheered, the archbishop made a gesture at the student, and the headmaster shouted the customary phrase. The people who weren’t afraid of dying seemed to be having a great time. They’d stumble shyly into place and blush furiously as the cheering started. A few were so nervous they staggered or tripped, which gave Zeek some comfort. If he messed up and passed out, no one would notice…hopefully.
As the line dwindled, Penny’s name was called, and she gave Zeek a small smile before entering the stage. Despite her normal confident gait, she turned red when the headmaster yelled, “Rejoice! Mage Penelope is born in the Kingdom of Numera!”
A few students later, Zeek heard his name.
He was the last person onstage, but unlike in Hake, the crowd watched him expectantly. It took every ounce of willpower not to sprint away and try to escape. Two of the students had unlocked their mana during the ceremony and the orb was able to tell, which led to even wilder cheering. He realized the few people who knew him might raise an eyebrow if he appeared as a normal mage without unlocked mana, but it was too late to go back. He had practiced for a month, never considering the possibility this would happen.
The silence didn’t help.
All he could hear while walking was the patter of his footsteps and the pounding of his heart. It sounded like drums beating at a festival. He was sweating noticeably, water dripping from his forehead and soaking his socks. He could feel them starting to squish as he neared the orb.
The headmaster smiled at him while the archbishop gestured reverently and held out the orb. Zeek breathed out slowly and deliberately, trying to keep his hand from shaking. The surface was warm and solid. At first, he just felt mana circling around inside. Zeek kept his concentration inward, rotating his mana so slowly he appeared as a brand-new mage. He felt every twitch and quiver in his body while his hand grasped the orb. That was when he felt it.
Something unnatural.
A feeling like insects crawling on his skin, creeping up his arm and burrowing into his body. He clenched his teeth hard enough to hurt while maintaining a smile. But the feeling kept moving deeper, passing over his core and throughout his limbs. When it brushed against his mind, he seized up.
It was disgust and hatred and bloodlust rolled into one. It felt like a predator staring at unsuspecting prey. It felt like deep-seated hatred. It felt like unquestioning superiority and avariciousness. In that moment his mind went blank from panic and he lost focus.
His mana started to move slightly faster, like he’d unlocked it. For a brief moment, his mana vision shifted on and he saw a sickly yellow light with hues of green flowing out of the archbishop and up his arm. It was the archbishop’s mana, and it looked nothing like Zeek had ever seen. The mere sight of it made him lose control of his core briefly from shock. The orb flickered an almost imperceptible amount when Zeek felt the paper wrapping around his torso vibrate. He wasn’t sure if anyone noticed, but the headmaster spoke.
“Looks like you’re close to unlocking your mana,” he said happily.
Zeek barely heard him as he felt something wrap around his mana and help slow it. Like a circular frame had weaved itself around his core and clenched, causing his mana to grate on the new object. It made him clench his stomach in pain and begin panting heavily. He could tell the book had somehow helped him—he could feel it vibrating slowly, like it was trying to soothe him.
The headmaster patted him on the back and whispered, “Don’t worry, kid. Everyone’s nervous in front of a crowd at your age.” Zeek kept the same smile plastered on his face and nodded thankfully towards the old mage. The archbishop nodded along, not seeming to have noticed the struggle.
“Rejoice! Mage Zeek is born in the Kingdom of Numera!”
The crowd cheered wildly as he stumbled off the stage, keeping his focus inside. Penny was waiting for him off to the side. She looked confused and concerned. She wrapped her arms around his, as if they were two close friends, and supported him as they creeped back to their seats. When he finally sat down, his legs started trembling. The feeling on stage, he recognized it somehow. In a nightmare he’d once had as a child. Or was it a nightmare? He hadn’t thought of it in years. But the orb made him remember it immediately.
It was the feeling of death.
He knew what he had to do. He had to run. He had to leave Numera behind. He couldn’t stay here. He glanced up towards the earl’s box, but he was gone. That was good, perhaps he hadn’t seen what happened. Then he looked at Penny, who was watching him again. As if she expected an explanation for his odd behavior.
This place was a trap. He didn’t know how or why it existed. He didn’t know who was pulling the strings. But the orb was a trap. It was designed to catch someone with his magic. That was the only explanation he had. Why would the Archbishop’s divine mana examine all his limbs, when normal mages could only use a single arm?None had mana in their legs or their minds. Not even Archi. Not even the earl.
He barely heard the goodbye remarks, using all his concentration to maintain his slowly moving core. He walked home briskly with Penny helping him. They got back to the dormitory with the crowd, and Penny waved away a few older students who were inviting people out to celebrate.
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When he reached his room, he pulled Penny inside and let go of his core. Mana flooded his body, returning his strength. Penny, who was touching him, nearly jumped when he did it. She still looked so confused as Zeek slammed the door shut and locked it. He pulled the blinds shut and fell onto his desk chair. Penny knew something was wrong. She took a seat on his bed and waited for him to recover. He noticed her eyebrows raised as color returned to his skin and the sweating stopped.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Do you trust me?” Zeek replied, rubbing his temples as his headache started to fade.
“Is this some kind of prank?”
Zeek stared at her. “No.”
“Then I trust you more than anyone here. You’re the only person I really know,” she replied.
“Prepare a bag. We’re leaving Lem tonight.”
“Why?” she asked.
“I can’t tell you.”
“That’s not good enough. I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on,” she replied with the same concerned look on her face.
Zeek slammed his fist onto the writing desk. He instinctively used mana. His hand went through the wood like it was paper, shattering the top of the desk and cracking it in half. His face turned red as he yelled at her.
“Damnit, Penny! I’M TRYING TO HELP YOU!”
She jumped from the bed and towards the door, her face frightened. She nearly ran from the room but stopped when her hand touched the doorknob. Zeek was glaring at her; she could tell how conflicted he was.
“Just calm down. Let’s talk this out. There’s no reason to get violent,” she said reassuringly, while keeping her back to the door.
“I can’t talk it out. I can’t tell you…I’m sorry I got mad,” he said as he stared at the splintered wood beneath his feet. “Just, please. Please come with me. You’re in danger here. We all are. I just need you to trust me. Just this once, don’t treat me like the village fool. I’m trying to do the right thing for once,” he begged.
Penny nodded while her shoulders relaxed. He could tell she wasn’t fully convinced, but she was trying to understand. If Zeek were calmer, this would be a big moment. The first time someone from Hake tried believing in him. But his mind was too chaotic to think of anything but fear.
“We can’t leave in broad daylight. I’ll prepare some supplies for us and meet you at midnight. You need to calm down. Nothing good will come from how you’re acting right now,” she said.
“You can’t tell anyone. Do you understand? I don’t know who to trust,” he replied.
“Alright, I won’t say anything. Just use the next few hours to relax. We’ll leave tonight.”
Zeek hung his head and nodded as Penny left. For the first time in years, he began to weep. Penny, on the other hand, hurried from the building towards Earl Yenson’s manor.
###
Earl Yenson watched the frightened girl leave the manor from a side entrance. She slipped into an alley and disappeared back towards the academy. He stopped by the parlor where Sirius and Priscilla were having tea and his son looked at him questioningly.
“Is everything alright with Penny, Father?”
The earl smiled at the innocent young mage. “Everything is fine. We’re going to celebrate the new academy year with your friends tomorrow evening. But tonight I’ll need to be out late preparing for our feast,” he replied.
“Don’t spend too much money on alcohol,” Lady Yenson warned while delicately holding her teacup. He laughed merrily and gave her a kiss on the cheek, which she tilted her face to receive as if it was expected. He returned to his study and sent a quick message using the device he had hidden.
Then he prepared for a fight.
Not the plate-wearing, bastard sword-donning, blood everywhere kind of fight. The type dangerous gentlemen got involved with. He wore a midnight blue jacket over his black attire, and checked that each knife he concealed was carefully placed.
Opening his wardrobe, he removed a cane covered in spell models with a large, dark red jewel on top. He pulled a hidden blade free from the cane and brushed against it to check the edge. He switched out his loafers for tall boots with tight laces and spell models hidden in the soles. To finish his attire, he slipped a utility belt around his waist and examined the thin finger-length phials of liquid that were attached to its loopholes. Lastly, he chose a dark hat. Not because it was magical, it just looked nice with his suit.
Before he left, he stopped in his bedroom and turned his pillow over. The top was embroidered with the symbol of the goddess, and the bottom with a lone flame. It was a message to his wife: If I don’t return, they killed me.
She knew what to do if the worst happened, but hopefully it wouldn’t. The night would be dangerous, depending on what was noticed. It might also be the fortuitous encounter he was waiting for. He slipped out of the same back entrance Penny had used.
It was always a nerve-wracking walk into the darker parts of town. His life wasn’t in danger really, he just didn’t want to be noticed. Plenty of the underworld in Lem liked to get information on the nightly activities of the nobility. If he walked too close to a whorehouse or a bar known for criminals…well, Priscilla would have to put on a big show for the other noble ladies.
She’d know the real reason for it, but it still made him cringe. The woman really liked to sell the lie. The thought of her warmed his heart as he twisted through gravel-filled alleys and past dilapidated shacks. He managed to arrive at his location without any fuss. The sign above the door made him smirk.
The Dancing Shadow
It had an image of black figures twirling around a faded campfire, their arms raised as if they meant to torment the light. The worn door opened to a dingy inn that smelled of beer and puke. There was a patron passed out on the floor in the corner, and a few other gentlemen played dice on a short table near the only hearth. The flickering light gave their many scars a villainous look. Earl Yenson walked briskly past the tables and trash, ignoring the scrawny serving girl, and greeted the innkeeper.
The earl tapped the jewel on his cane in greeting while the innkeeper wiped a wooden mug clean. The fat, greasy man shook his head in the direction of a dimly lit back passageway. The earl placed a silver piece on the end of the counter and walked by.
Halfway through the hall, he tapped a knuckle on the wall, listening for the hollow thump of a fake passage. He pressed on a panel hidden towards the ceiling and a click resounded as the wall swung away, revealing a staircase. He descended after shutting the door, following the light filtering through a doorway at the bottom.
He entered a room with one round table, a few wooden shelves filled with parchment, and several candles casting long shadows from the other occupants. The earl smiled broadly at the man sitting in the back, his elbow on the table as his fingers rapped the wood impatiently.
“Well?” the man asked.
“Nice to see you too, Captain,” the earl replied.