Nick walked the building with the others. His sphere of influence allowed him to pick

up the directions fast enough. He had a clear compass marker to their quarters and

could get there from anywhere in the main building.

He wasn’t so sure about individual rooms inside the keep itself.

He did learn where the hall was for eating with the rest of the class, where the

kitchens were in case he had hunger attack in the middle of the night, and how to get

to the three markets he could feel, see on his sphere of influence, inside the castle in

case he couldn’t get down to the main hall to use the original market from the goblin

killing night.

He thought it would take him a while to learn where all the rooms were, but he was

okay with that. If he could raid the kitchen enough and gather and store traveling

supplies he might not be there all that long anyway.

He would have to write a note for Bradley and Carol to explain why he was

abandoning them to this huge place. He hoped they understood that he hated the

school, and it didn’t offer him anything.

He supposed he would be leaving the other misfits in trouble, but they could take care

of themselves. And Granny Bitter would be looking out for them.

“Don’t think about running,” said Crow. She had sidled up next to him so they could

talk without the others hearing. “They say it’s plain that you will abandon us in a

second.”

“And I think I would be better off at my home village, minding my own business,”

said Nick. He grimaced at Them having their agent trying to warn him off. “I don’t

need to be here.”

“You know this is all about you,” said Crow. “Don’t act dumb.”

“Enlighten me,” said Nick. He gestured for her to keep talking. “What am I missing?”

“The Warlord is coming back,” said Crow. She looked around the hall. “Once his

agents find the heart stone they need, he will be able to grab the nearest body that

suits his purpose and be reborn. The Lords are looking for it, and they know it is with

someone our age, or close to it. Going back to your village will just allow them to

eliminate you from the list. Then they will come here to search your friends for it.”

“I’m not scared,” said Nick.

“You should be,” said Crow. “What happens to your village if they can’t find the rest

of the magically aligned children?”

“I can hold them off if I can get spirit money,” said Nick.

“You know better,” said Crow. “The force opposing you will be better than a bunch

of goblins you shot down from behind.”

“You need a guardian more than I do,” said Nick.

“Which is why I am staying here and out of trouble,” said Crow.

“I don’t consider it trouble,” said Nick. “I consider it defending my home.”

“That’s what all troublemakers say,” said Crow. She nodded at some unheard voice.

“They would like you to stay at least until the tournament so we can win it.”

“Really?,” said Nick. “I don’t see that happening.”

“You are underestimating our capabilities like the teachers,” said Crow. “In a free for

all, your ability to buy magic spells will be incredibly helpful, and you will be able

to loot others competing against us. And Steve has some kind of hidden talent that is

useful against other magicians.”

“Steve?,” asked Nick. He glanced at the taller boy. “Our Steve?”

“They say he has ranked his skills, and here in the best center for magic, he can easily

change his repertoire into something that will smooth over any complication,” said

Crow. “He may be able to use variants of his spells as they are now to make better

ones.”

“He can expand his spell list?,” said Nick. “Does he know?”

“I haven’t asked him,” said Crow. “Maybe we should before the tournament.”

“I guess he would like that as long as he didn’t lose the general spells he has now,”

said Nick. “He did say he only had twelve spells.”

“He lied like you,” said Crow.

“Really?,” said Nick. “I didn’t lie.”

Crow shook her head. She brushed back some of her white hair from her face.

“You’re lying now,” said Crow. “You are obscuring the rest of your talent so that

people don’t know what you can do. Steve does the same thing. I admit they don’t tell

me everything, but they have told me enough, and I have seen some of this for

myself.”

“Maybe I don’t want to tell everything about myself,” said Nick. “There’s no law

against that.”

“There is a law that says you have to disclose your abilities for your license as a

magician, or get into trouble for using magic without one,” said Crow.

“No one will be able to prove that,” said Nick. He waved the thought away. “Besides

I doubt anyone will care about that back home.”

“They won’t accept your limited help if they don’t what you can do other than

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shooting people in the head with magic bullets,” said Crow.

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

“Why are you so contrarian?,” asked Crow.

“Reflex,” said Nick. He smiled at her exasperated expression.

“I think Calliope needs to punch you in the face,” said Crow.

“What’s her deal?,” asked Nick.

“What do you mean?,” asked Crow.

“She doesn’t seem to have any magic at all,” said Nick. “Why is she here?”

“Her arm is magic,” said Crow. “That’s what the tattoo does.”

“She can cast spells with the tattoos on her arm?,” said Nick. “That seems okay. I

guess I don’t know enough to see the point.”

“I don’t know either,” said Crow. “We can ask her. I doubt she will be mad about it

if we do.”

“I think she will be,” said Nick.

“I think she will be more inclined to answer because we asked,” said Crow. “She is

going to be on our team. We’re going to have to sort out her ability when we go into

the tournament.”

“I doubt the seven of us will have a chance against a real team from the school,” said

Nick.

“I think that you are wrong,” said Crow. “I’m willing to test out against any other new

team that forms up before the tournament so we can have practice.”

“Do you want to ask Granny to match us up against last year’s teams if they are still

here in the school?,” asked Nick. “Bradley’s teacher is supposed to be the champion

trainer.”

“Do you want to try?,” said Crow. “We would be much better against a newer team.”

“I would like to see what a real team can do against us,” said Nick. “I don’t have a

problem if you don’t have a problem.”

“Let’s ask Madam Quince what she thinks,” said Crow. “It might be what we need

to train for the Warlord when he arrives.”

“The Warlord is dead,” said Nick.

“Everyone thinks that,” said Crow. “Let’s talk to Madam Quince.”

They hurried to catch up with the rest of the group after falling behind during their

talk. Will had a cigarette in his mouth but he wasn’t smoking at the moment. The

twins exchanged comments about everything in the current hall with Calliope. Steve

stood in the back, looking around with a distant expression.

“Granny?,” said Nick. “Crow wants to fight last year’s tournament champions.”

“Granny?,” said Madam Quince, squinting at the boy.

“I said we should see if we had the means to challenge them with the seven of us,

Madam Quince,” said Crow. “See what we can do, and that sort of thing.”

“She expects to stomp them into the ground,” said Nick.

“I do not,” said Crow. She frowned at him. “I would like to see how we would stack

up against an experienced team before the tournament so Nick can work on helping

others.”

“I help others fine,” said Nick.

“I don’t think that is necessarily true,” said Steve. He raised his hand to forestall any

backlash. “I’m just saying you’re a lone Ganber; unfriendly, unhelpful, and prone to

doing harm.”

“I’m friends with Crow,” said Nick. “And I have friends here at the school.”

“Friends with Crow?,” asked Felix. “We’re all friends with Crow.”

“Are you a special friend with Crow?,” asked Calvin.

“I was going to ask that myself,” said Will. “Are you special friends?”

Crow’s pale face turned red. She glared at Calvin and Will.

“We’re not special friends,” said Crow. She huffed as she calmed down. “But I’m

attempting to shape Nick into someone valuable to my purposes. So I would like to

see how we do against last year’s champions, Madam Quince. Can you arrange it?”

“I will speak to Master Cairn about such a match up,” said Madam Quince. “Will

all of you be participating?”

“We’ll take Steve, or Calliope,” said Crow. “Three of us against three of them.”

“Why not Calvin, or me?,” asked Felix.

“Whomever we get will be ready for generalists,” said Crow. “They won’t be

ready for Calliope, or Steve.”

“Nobody is ready for me,” said Will. He grinned around his cigarette.

“Seven on seven is the standard,” said Madam Quince. “I will see what Master Cairn

thinks. He might want to try out this year’s team against you.”

“Thanks, Granny,” said Nick. He smiled at her with the fakest, happiest smile he

could put on.

“I’m not your granny,” said Madam Quince.

“I’m an orphan,” said Nick. “How would you know?”

“I have never had a child,” said Madam Quince. “That precludes having a

grandchild.”

“If you say so,” said Nick. He shrugged.

“We don’t have a chance against a good team of generalists,” said Calliope.

“I think we will do better than we think can,” said Crow. “And I think it will be

enough to shock the rest of the school into changing their outlook.”

“I doubt that,” said Madam Quince. “But a private challenge might be something to

show you all your strengths and weaknesses.”

“Will you give us some kind of reward if we win?,” asked Nick.

“I will take you into town if you can beat Master Cairn’s team,” said Madam Quince.

“All right,” said Nick.

“Don’t kill them,” said Madam Quince.

“I can’t promise that,” said Nick. “But I will do the best I can.”

“Let’s finish the rest of the tour so we can move to our afternoon break, and I can talk

to Master Cairn,” said Madam Quince.

“Do you really think we have a chance?,” asked Calvin.

“No way,” said Nick. “I just want to shoot somebody.”

“That’s what I expected,” said Calliope.

“Don’t worry,” said Crow. “If Master Cairn agrees, we can put a strategy together

around whomever he chooses to fight us.”

Madam Quince raised an eyebrow at that. She regarded the group. She had dealt with

many such over the years. These children seemed the most in control of their abilities

than even some of the faculty of the academy.

She supposed that when you only had one ability, then you already knew a lot about

it, maybe more than people with a similar talent.

“Come along,” said Madam Quince. “Let’s finish our walkaround, and then I can let

you have the rest of the day to practice.”

Crow touched Steve on the shoulder so he would fall at the back of the group with

her as the others followed their teacher along the hall to some steps leading to a

tower. Nick noticed and stayed behind also.

“Are you special friends?,” asked Steve. He smiled quietly, but still maintained most

of his hangdog air.

“No,” said Crow. “I turning Nick into my guardian until the Warlord falls again. I

wanted to ask you if you knew how to create altered spells for what you possess.”

Nick doubted he would be a good guardian for his classmate.

“No,” said Steve. “Do you?”

“They say that you can create a variant of something you can already do,” said

Crow. “They didn’t tell me how.”

“A variant?,” said Steve. “So I could potentially gain more specialized spells for the

general ones that I use.”

“I believe so,” said Crow. “They said it’s in the learning process part of your spell

creation.”

“Can you do the same thing, Nick?,” said Steve.

“No,” said Nick. “All of my abilities are already there. I just have to buy them with

spirit money when I can get it. It takes three thousand coins to buy a larger spell

for instance.”

“How many monsters would you have to kill for that?,” asked Steve. He rubbed his

chin in thought.

“Depends,” said Nick. “Do you have an idea on what Crow is talking about?”

“Maybe,” said Steve. “I need to test it tonight when we get done with things. I’ll have

to use my least useful spell for it.”

“Least useful?,” asked Nick.

“I have a spell for creating bubbles,” said Steve. “Maybe I can turn that into

something else.”

“Making bubbles?,” said Nick. He smiled at the thought.

“It’s not particularly useful right now,” said Steve. “Don’t you have something that

isn’t useful, but you like?”

“Not really,” said Nick. “All my spells are monster hunting pointed. I don’t have

anything that doesn’t go to that. The closest thing I can think of is the decoy that I can

use if I buy it.”

“What does that do?,” asked Steve.

“It makes a sound like a duck,” said Nick.