"What about telekinesis?" Several others immediately chimed in on this note. After blinking at the chorus of affirmations, Cora shook her head.
"Show of hands, how many of you want to learn telekinesis?"
Most hands went up, including Keisha's. Right now the only way she could move things was by extending her bodily field, and that was tiring. She also suspected it wasn't wise to do in a dangerous situation. Moving objects directly would be immensely helpful.
"I'm not teaching it. Don't bother asking the other teachers, since none of them will either. Not if they're responsible, anyway, and I hope we can hold Axis professors to a certain level of professionalism."
"What, you afraid we'll go around lifting skirts?" The comment got laughter from the male half of the room, and several of the women gasped as the possibility occurred to them. Keisha narrowed her eyes and tried to see through the neutral smile that was still on Cora's face.
More questions were asked, but none of them led to a significant discussion, so the last minutes crept by. Keisha spent the time checking her syllabi and planning her schedule. There hadn't been enough time for research lately. Having a project was nice for reducing the load during exam times, but now everyone else was relaxing and she had a lot of work ahead of her.
Her plan was to develop some kind of privacy ritual. It was nothing original, but the project was a perfect excuse to get Dehateh's advice without arousing suspicion. Perhaps she could set up a permanent ritual in the nice space that Aki found to make sure they wouldn't be interrupted.
For some reason the telekinesis question was still bothering her. Keisha began puzzling through it and formed a solid suspicion. When Cora decided that class had ended and the students departed, she moved to the front of the classroom instead.
"I think I know the real reason you don't let students learn telekinesis."
"Oh?" Cora gave her the same neutral smile. "You're not worried about young men getting ideas?"
"I'm more worried about how much damage a slight nudge could do if it was inside someone's brain."
Immediately Cora's expression changed to a thin smile that seemed more sincere. "That's correct. Now, most people naturally have a field of Maleficium that makes it more difficult to move something inside them than to move something else. But it wouldn't be a good idea to teach students a deadly skill." She raised an eyebrow. "Why do you bring it up?"
"I just wanted to know if I was right."
"Well, thank you for not encouraging everyone to try to kill each other. Next semester when you get to pick your classes, you'd be welcome in Manifest Arts."
"Thank you. I'll definitely keep it in mind." It wasn't likely, but there was no sense in burning any bridges. She had gotten the course catalogue and already planned what she would study. There was more than enough to keep her busy without taking new subjects.
Guilt cut through her. It was so easy to be caught up in life here, distracted by projects and friends. But she wasn't here to study, just to find out the truth and eventually escape. It had been a few days since she thought about going back and starting her life again. Realizing that made her feel even more guilty.
Yet another voice reminded her that she would be shutting the door on a world she had come to enjoy. The old dreams remained strong and she felt conflicted like she hadn't been since high school. But worst of all would be to try for both and attain neither, so she had no choice but to move on.
~ ~ ~
Sitting around Merlin's had become even more productive lately. Not only did he seem an obvious slacker, it gave him time to work through his new ideas.
There was unfortunately no way to practice this one, considering he didn't have a target. But the more he thought about the encounter with Reylin, the more he felt certain it would work. All he had to do was develop the magical skills necessary and when he had a chance he could figure the rest out. Or so he hoped.
Someone casting caught his attention. He discovered that Jaden was creating some kind of black sphere, twirling it to impress his friends that were trying to study. "Gastion said he was looking for qualified candidates, and I know it's going to be me. This is just a warm-up for what I'll really be able to do."
One of his friends seemed suspicious. "What's he need people for? He can't mean candidates seriously, as in Light and Darkness."
"Why not? Maybe they've found a new Dark Essence to give to someone. Or maybe they've finally realized how worthless Blake is and they're going to take his away."
As he spoke the last sentence, Jaden shot a glance in his direction. Blake smiled and created several spheres like Jaden's, spinning in an atom pattern. He could have used actual Darkness, but he decided to take the effort to figure out the colored light. As he was considering making another with his other hand, Jaden growled and stormed over to where he sat.
"Do you have to take everything away from me?"
"I doubt they would have noticed if you hadn't pointed me out."
Jaden spluttered for a moment, staring at the spinning spheres. "I spend all day on that, and you just... just..."
"Really? All day on something this easy?" For once, there wasn't a trick to fake instant skill. It was just flashing lights, the kind of thing he could invent on a whim. He wondered how someone could spend all day on something so simple if they understood anything about... maybe he didn't need to wonder.
"Idiot!" Jaden sent out a wave of Maleficium and it was consumed the instant it touched Blake. Realizing how little it had done, Jaden paled and took a step back.
"Why are you so obsessed with getting a Dark Essence, anyway?" Blake dispelled the spheres and wiped the smirk from his face. "You're obviously not suited for it, so you should find out what you do well. There's no need to-"
"I want what you have!" The exclamation was nearly a yell and several people glanced in their direction. Oblivious, Jaden leaned closer and jabbed a finger at Blake. "Don't lecture me about hard work when you've never done any! Why should I work at anything else when I could have the world delivered on a platter? You get all the attention, and the scholarships, and the power, and... and..."
Just then Aki walked in and waved cheerfully. "Hey Blake, are you free tonight?"
"It's not fair!" Jaden let out a wail and nearly ran out the door. Aki watched him go and then stared down at Blake.
"What is his problem, and why are you laughing?"
"Let's just say you had good timing." He controlled himself and gestured for her to sit. "I assume this is training-related?"
"Yeah, I'm going to be busy tomorrow so I wanted to reschedule."
"That works for me. By the way, I have a completely useless update for you: I thought I found out information about something important that would be happening at the date you mentioned but it turns out I don't."
"Good story." Aki raised an eyebrow. "What was the issue? The date is just an approximate, since I think it will be around two months from the first time."
"There was a lot of talk about something that might happen, but I found out what it is. Apparently someone working for the college has acquired another Dark Essence and is bringing it back. So there's going to be serious conflict between departments over who gets ownership and which kind of student receives it."
"Interesting. What exactly do you mean by 'acquire' though?"
"To get, to obtain, to procure..."
"Yes yes, you're hilarious. I mean, do the Essences just lie around or did they have to kill someone to get it?"
Blake nodded, becoming more serious as he considered the same question. "They didn't provide details and to be honest I don't know. Most candidates attract an essence to them when they become particularly attuned to Light or Darkness, but if they have to attract them from somewhere, presumably. So it might be that, or maybe Axis kills off everyone they don't want to have an Essence."
"If there really is a war, I guess they're shaping it, huh. Don't get killed."
"You're such a good friend."
; Aki got to her feet. "I should go since I'll be seeing you later. Tonight, then."
They said their farewells and Blake went back to his thoughts. He wasn't getting any nasty looks from Jaden's friends, so maybe they weren't so close after all. That didn't bother him, since he had enough people hating him already.
He had said the Dark Essence would cause a conflict among the departments, but that had been understating things. Gastion had said it would be a war. That was obviously an exaggeration, but given everything so far, part of him wondered if it should be taken literally.
Chapter 14
By coincidence Keisha was walking across the plaza when she felt the presence. Someone was approaching the university's realm, but not by the usual channels. Her first reaction was to prepare defenses, so she watched the sky carefully.
For an instant it was too bright to see, then she saw him descending. Though human in form, the man was unquestionably not human. Most of his body was clad in a uniform that was white except for golden seams. What was not clothed looked like an alabaster statue. Silver hair streamed from his head, and his features might have been beautiful if they were not so artificial.
She had paused on one side of the plaza in surprise. The creature landed in the center of the dark side and examined her with crystalline eyes. "Keisha Davis. Even in our travels, we have heard you are a promising student."
The voice was more like music than speech, and more unnerving than beautiful. She chose her words carefully, since anything less would seem unnatural. "I am afraid I do not know you as you know me."
"My name is Gadril." That was all he said, but it was enough. She remembered his name from the website, but he had been one of the few profiles that said there was no image because the individual had been absent. His position was Professor of Prophecy, a title that had struck her as absurd when she first saw it. It seemed less absurd now.
"Welcome back, Professor."
"The formality is unnecessary, especially for one who has grown the Light within her so beautifully. You will be a powerful warrior for the cause." As he moved closer, she saw that his eyes were like many-faceted diamonds, glowing with an inner light. "You still carry doubts. They will be answered in time. Only the darkness conceals, whereas the light reveals and purges."
Until the last word she had been almost flattered, but that snapped her back to herself. "Why haven't you been here until now?"
"I do not teach classes every semester. Until very recently I have been engaged in different work for the university." Gadril closed his eyes and their light was momentarily quenched. "I can only hope that the darkness has been weakened by my actions. This world at times makes it difficult to tell."
"What does that mean?"
"You will hear news of it soon enough." When he walked past her, his bare feet clicked against the tiles with every step. "Though you are not yet ready, I believe I will instruct you in a prophecy class at some point in the future."
"Is that a prophecy?"
"That is not how prophecy works." Then he was past her, sweeping toward Ax Hall at great speed. Keisha looked around and was surprised to see the center of campus was entirely empty. Almost as if the entire meeting had been planned... or perhaps meant to be.
The more she saw of it, the less she liked the look of destiny.
~ ~ ~
By the time Basic Maleficium was over, Aki was ready to go back to her room and collapse. Because of her other training, her brain was always tired and extending her field outside her body drained her quickly. It was hard to be motivated when they were learning parlor tricks that only theoretically had real applications.
Since it was mid-afternoon, everyone in her dorm should be asleep. Things had improved a little since the beginning, and B3 had been established as party central. Still close enough to easily hear the music, but at least no one was pounding on her door.
As she summoned the strength to climb the stairs to the second level, she realized that she was being followed. It wasn't unusual to walk back to the dorms with other students, but this seemed different. When she turned to look, she saw Jaden coming toward her. She barely knew him, and the closest they had come to a real interaction was a few days ago at Merlin's.
"Do you have a minute?" He was talking to her, destroying her hope that he was just going to his dorm the roundabout way.
"I'm tired, but I'm not doing anything. What's up?"
"Just wanted to ask about you and Blake."
Jaden had already been giving her creep vibes, so that sentence motivated her to start up the stairs. More than her intuition, he was radiating unformed Maleficium that gave her fragments of his thoughts, and she didn't like any of them. "Yeah?"
"What do you see in him? It can't just be the Dark Essence, you're not that kind of girl. I don't understand how you-"
"Wait, wait, wait. I think you have the wrong idea." She turned back toward him and folded her arms. "Blake and I get along really well, but that's all."
"You expect me to believe that? What were you doing with him the other night, then?"
Training, but she didn't want to say that. Aki realized that she didn't have a good answer and her pause seemed to be enough for him. The uncontrolled Maleficium spiked, hitting her with a wave of jealousy. It wasn't even enough to dent her defenses, but what came next burned straight into her mind: a disturbingly detailed image of her and Blake in bed together.
"What the hell?" As she beat the picture out of her head, she sent her own Maleficium lashing out. Jaden stumbled back and she went after him. "If you talk to me again, I'll hit you with more than just this. And if you ever imagine me naked again I swear I will burn you alive."
From the terror in his eyes, he believed her. As her rage faded, Aki realized the threats were empty and wondered what she could really do. She'd read something about targeted Maleficium that could make someone sick in response to specific thoughts, but that was way out of her league. While she was thinking, she saw Edgar over his shoulder. He was just arriving, carrying a bag in each hand.
"I'm going to go ask Edgar how his vacation was." She glared at Jaden and he flinched. "Can I do that without you assuming we're having sex?"
Jaden practically fled and she felt a sense of satisfaction. That worried her, since she realized how easy it would be to enjoy abusing power. But she couldn't feel very guilty about it, not after he... best to keep her thoughts moving and go talk to Edgar.
"Did you just get back?"
"Yeah, it was a good time." He set down his bags and ran a hand through his hair. "But I'm really not looking forward to all the work I'm going to have to do to catch up."
"Sorry to bother you, but... did you find out anything?"
"A little. My family is pretty nervous about the politics, and they're right to be. There are big houses moving, and the Coven is acting like there's going to be a war. But the funny thing is, they said Reylin wasn't on good terms with them. I'm not sure what that's about."
"Well, thanks for finding out what you could."
"I'm not done." He glanced around them and lowered his voice. "There must be something everyone wants. Not just vampires, lots of people."
It might make him suspicious, but she wouldn't get a better time. "What about the Sinistrals?"
"Them? Uh, I didn't hear anything about that, but they do have some pretty militant groups. They denounce them publically, of course, but everyone knows where the funding goes. Maybe whatever it is could be something they want."
"Could it be the Dark Essence that Axis just got? All the faculty have been worked up over that."
Edgar shook his head immediately. "No, that's a separate issue. There's no need to steal it, they'll just campaign for it to be given to a vampire student. Of course, that fragment of the Fey Arts department isn't big enough win very often, but that's just the usual politics."
Then it almost had to be the Omphalos. The initial attackers had gone after it, the staff probably knew the Sinistrals wanted it, and now v
ampires. Aki thanked Edgar and let him get to work. No one else stopped her, so she was finally able to get back to her room.
Yet though she fell into bed exhausted, she couldn't sleep. Pieces were beginning to fit together and they only left her with more questions.
~ ~ ~
"What's wrong with this ritual?"
Though Keisha knew, she decided to remain silent. When she answered questions constantly, the other students started to resent her. Now she only spoke up for the difficult issues where she wasn't sure about the answer.
But this was easy. The sugar had been poured in a generic circle when a triangle was a stronger shape for protection. There was a crack in the glass bottle. The cell phone that was supposed to be the focus of the ritual was in vibrate-only mode.
Others called out the answers that she had thought of, yet Dehateh waited at the front of the class as if they were missing something. Frowning, Keisha searched for another mistake. She didn't have much time before Dehateh interrupted their thoughts.
"This one isn't entirely fair, because it involves the next basic principle you'll be learning. I know I've been harsh on ancient Propitiation, but they got one thing right that people today tend to get wrong." She strolled around the table as she generally did when lecturing, her hands behind her back. "Our ancestors believed they were petitioning gods. Now we know we're only creating conditions for higher realms to influence ours - but we make the mistake of assuming they're all the same."
She stopped in front of the table and ran her finger through the sugar. "This should be salt. Sugar isn't very conducive for our purposes - it doesn't 'please the god' in question. We call the various targets for rituals iconic fields, and you'll be learning all about them over the next unit."
A new section always put Keisha in a good mood, since it made her feel like she was moving forward. The rest of the class went quickly and they were soon filing out. As Keisha collected her books, she realized that Dehateh was standing next to her.
"Would you be willing to help me with something?"
"What is it?"
Dehateh actually looked away. "You may be aware that Axis has acquired a new Essence. I would like to submit a proposal to experiment with mixing Light and Dark, so I would need an excellent student early in her development."