A knock sounded on Nick’s door. It seemed too tentative to be Madam Quince. He

figured it was Crow, or one of the twins. He checked his sphere of influence. Crow

was already downstairs.

“Go away,” said Nick. “I’m getting my beauty sleep.”

“There’s been trouble in the main building,” said Steve. “Come out. I’ll make us some

tea.”

Nick pulled on a shirt over his ruddy skin. There was nothing he could do about that.

Hopefully, Madam Quince wouldn’t ask for an explanation.

He opened the door on Steve’s droopy face. The younger boy still wore his traveling

clothes from the day before.

“What’s going on, Steve?,” asked Nick. “They aren’t supposed to drag us out of bed

until morning.”

“Someone killed eight goblins in the main hall,” said Steve. “Madam Quince is here

to make sure we’re unhurt.”

Steve led the way down the hall, and downstairs. He indicated that Nick should join

them in the kitchen for the promised tea. The rest of the misfits had taken the table.

Madam Quince had been forced to stand since they didn’t have an extra chair.

“Steve said some goblins got into the school,” said Nick. He wished he had

something to drink.

Steve set out cups and started boiling water. He found tea bags in one of the cabinets

and parceled them out to each empty cup.

“Someone killed them,” said Madam Quince. She studied her suspects, hands clasped

in front of her.

“Calliope did it,” said Nick. “She steals people’s cigarettes. She could snoop around

the school and kill some goblins.”

“That is an excellent point,” said Will. “You did steal the cigarette before Madam

Quince’s stealing my second cigarette. You goblin killing cigarette thief.”

“When did this fight happen, Madam Quince?,” asked Calliope.

“About twenty, or thirty, minutes ago,” said the teacher.

“So I was asleep in my bed at the time,” said Calliope.

“Were you alone?,” asked Will. He smiled as he put his new acquaintance on the spot.

“What are you saying?,” said the girl. Her voice had turned deadly cold.

“If Felix, or Calvin, was in the room with you, you would have an airtight alibi,” said

Will.

“I am going to rip you into tiny pieces,” said Calliope. Her arm glowed as she stood.

She looked at Will sitting in his chair without a cigarette for once.

“How were the goblins killed, Madam Quince?,” Steve asked as he poured out the

boiling water for the tea into the cups. “You may put the bags in and wait until the tea

steeps.”

“Some of them had holes in them,” said Madam Quince. Everyone looked at Nick.

“At least a small group was set on fire and ripped apart.” Everyone looked at Will.

“Set on fire and blown apart?,” said Calliope. “Like a fire magician could do?”

“I was in my room,” said Will. “I don’t have the want to set goblins on fire.”

“Can I go home if I admit I did it?,” asked Nick. “Mystery solved and I am on my way

back home where I want to be. Carol and Bradley and the others will be safe enough

under your care as soon as you fix your monster problem.”

“Did you do it?,” asked the teacher.

“Can I go home?,” asked Nick.

“No,” said Madam Quince. She frowned down at the this orphan from the edges of

civilization.

“Then it seems like you are on your own, Granny,” said Nick. He steeped his tea bag

and drank his tea in one gulp before starting back to his room.

“Are you walking away from me, young man?,” asked Madam Quince.

“You have nothing I want,” said Nick. He paused in the door of the kitchen. “Except

for my freedom away from here. The other orphans are all fair magicians and can be

trained in your system. I can’t. And I don’t want to be. I’m going back to bed. If you

need anything else, talk to Will. He knows more about this than I do.”

Nick headed up the stairs. He supposed since they didn’t know he could switch spells,

they didn’t think one boy had done what he had done. He might have dragged Will

into this by accident, but he had protected Crow the best he could.

He doubted whatever skill she had, despite the hidden knowledge she showed, was

offensive in any way. No one would believe she had set someone fire with her own

magic.

Would Crow tell on him? He didn’t know. He wanted to say he didn’t care, but if she

did, he would be stuck at the school until he could get enough spirit money and

supplies to get away from the place and head home.

He doubted Master Slown could defend the village from a serious incursion by the

Lords of Death. He needed someone to help him fight back. And his friends would

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be safe at the school while he was doing what he had to back home.

He slipped inside his bedroom and lay down on his bed. He closed his eyes and tried

to drift off to sleep. A knocking interrupted his relaxation. He saw Crow was outside

the door with his sphere of influence.

“What can I do for you, Crow?,” Nick asked.

“Can we come inside?,” asked Crow.

We? He had just told everyone standing with Crow that he knew she was standing

there without looking. That would raise some questions.

He got to his feet and went to his door. He opened it. Will and Calliope stood with

Crow. Will still didn’t have a cigarette, so he didn’t have to worry about fire damage

to his bedroom.

“Can we talk for a second?,” asked Calliope.

“Where are the other three?,” said Nick. He stepped out of the way, gesturing in a

come this way wave of his arm.

“They are trying to plan out how to get through the assessment in the next few hours,”

said Calliope. She waited for Will and Crow to precede her before she stepped into

the room. “It might be a while before they can get back to sleep. Do you want to talk

about this attitude problem of yours?”

“No,” said Nick.

“You’re not getting out of here unless they decide to take your magic away from

you,” said Calliope. “I don’t think you want that to happen. It’s your only advantage.”

She sat down on his bed. She propped her head up with her hands while her elbows

rested on her legs. The tattoo covering her arm glittered in the lamp light.

Crow went to the window. She looked out on the yard.

Will took the only chair, sitting at the small desk provided for the students. He leaned

back in the chair.

“I can get out of here tomorrow if I can get three thousand spirit coins,” said Nick. “I

could have left tonight, but I didn’t have any supplies to get me started, and I didn’t

want to hunt the whole way home.”

“You can get over the wall?,” asked Will. “I thought you only had one spell.”

“I lied,” said Nick. “Is there anything else?”

“What are we going to do about the goblins, and other things?,” asked Crow. “They

say there are more monsters under the school.”

“I don’t see how that is my problem,” said Nick.

“But you took time to kill some of them in the main hall?,” asked Will.

“Crow was there,” said Nick. “I couldn’t leave her there on her own. They would

have killed her.”

Calliope and Will looked at each other.

“Crow was there while I was checking on my ability,” said Nick. “We saw the

goblins, and they saw us. So I had to do something. Otherwise, I would have backed

up and let the teachers handle things.”

“I don’t believe you for a second,” said Calliope.

“Born monster hunter,” said Crow. “They were right about that.”

“The different variations of your spell confused them,” said Will. He smiled. “They

think they have some kind of rogue fire magician running around, but it’s really you.”

“They’ll figure it out,” said Nick. “Granny Bitter didn’t check on us to see if we were

okay. She was checking to see if we collectively caused the damage they saw.

Eventually they’ll realize that I can do more than one thing if I have access to spirit

money.”

“Is there a reason we should cover for you?,” asked Calliope. “I don’t want to get

kicked out. I always wanted to come here and learn more about the runes. I don’t

want to lose this chance.”

“I don’t care either way,” said Will. “I was doing okay in the school back home. I

definitely didn’t want to come here and transfer to another teacher I don’t know.”

“Crow?,” asked Nick. “What do you think?”

“They say we can flee and wait for the Dark Lord to figure out whom he is looking

for, and then he will look for us,” said Crow. “Or we can wait to see who arrives and

deal with them like the goblins.”

“You’re talking about a Lord of Death getting into the school,” said Calliope.

“One of them is already here,” said Crow. “He is waiting to see who fits the

requirements of his search. They don’t know who he is yet, but they expect that he

will reveal himself when they have no way to warn me.”

“So our options are wait and see who starts doing dirty work for the Dark Lord, or run

until he figures out what he needs and starts trying to get it after we are dispersed and

on our own,” said Will. “That doesn’t sound like good choices either way.”

“We are partially blended in here,” said Crow. “Eventually he will figure out which

one he needs, and try to take that one. Everyone else will suffer.”

“Do you know who he is looking for?,” asked Calliope.

“Not really,” said Crow. “I assume it is orphans with seals like me and Nick. I don’t

know how many others are here in the school. Eventually I think one of us will be

attacked so the Dark Lord can get what he wants.”

“If you run, you will be on your own, Nick,” said Will. “If you stay, I’ll protect you.”

“I think I would rather take my chances,” said Nick. “Can you guys pass your

assessment in the morning.”

“Yes,” said Calliope. “At least I can.”

“All I need is a light,” said Will. “Crow?”

“I have a minor trick I can do to show I do possess some skill and do belong here at

the Academy,” said Crow. “Anything more expansive will be Their choice.”

“So we protect Crow from anybody trying to get at her?,” asked Nick. “That’s our

plan?”

“At the moment,” said Calliope. “She’s the only one of us that doesn’t seem to have

any offensive spells. We can trade her partial forethought for a place to ambush

anyone in our way.”

“All right,” said Nick. “It’s against my better judgement, but if we have to protect

Crow, I will stick around to do that. If I start taking too much static from the teachers

here, I’m leaving.”

“We should try to go back to bed and get some sleep,” said Calliope. “There’s no

telling when we have to be ready to be tested.”

“Probably when we least expect it,” said Will. He put on his mimic voice of Madam

Quince. “You better hit that target. Do better than that.”

“She is going to rip your tongue out if you keep doing that,” said Calliope.

“It will be great if she does,” said Nick.

“What should we tell the others?,” asked Crow. “They are going to want to know

where they stand in all this.”

“We tell them that monsters have a way to get on the grounds,” said Calliope. “And

we might have to defend ourselves with our abilities.”

“And Nick?,” asked Crow. She gestured at the boy in question.

“He’s stuck here until we figure out what we want to do, and how we are going to do

it,” said Calliope. She frowned at Nick. “Please stop antagonizing the staff. Some of

us need this school so we can move on to jobs we want. That won’t happen if you get

all of us kicked out, or locked down away from the school but still unable to go

home.”

“We might have to figure out how the goblins got in if the teachers can’t,” said Nick.

“They will point me in the right direction as soon as I can wander around the school

some more,” said Crow. “I just need time.”

“So we need to pass these assessments, and see what a real class is like here,” said

Will.

“You guys will be able to do that,” said Nick. “I need to rest, and when I do, I will be

back to my starter spell and spirit money.”

“Which means what exactly?,” asked Will.

“I won’t have a variant, or any of the equipment I picked up,” said Nick. “I’ll have

to start over and build my resources if I need to do something after the school is

closed.”

“All right,” said Calliope. “Maybe we can come up with some way to get you your

spirit money.”

“I need to beat someone,” said Nick. “Once I do that, I can take what they have to buy

things at the market.”

“So we have to hunt bullies now?,” asked Will.

“We won’t have to hunt them,” said Nick. “We just have to be ready to exploit them

for the greater good.”

“Just don’t kill them,” said Crow. “The teachers will frown on that more than the use

of unknown powers.”

“I’ll do what I can,” said Nick.