Ella knew she was probably making a mistake, but she couldn’t stop herself. "The upper crest, there’s a flaw."
"Oh really?" said Master Goss. "Well perhaps you would like to show the class how you would do it?"
"I will," said Ella, hearing gasps from behind her.
She stepped forward and walked down to the floor, going straight to the stand. Of course, she had been introduced to these tools before, but never had she stood so close to real essence. Ella thought again of the cat.
Before she could change her mind, Ella deftly put on a pair of the gloves and took a new scrill from its holder. The green light from Master Goss’s matrix was in her eyes. "Tish-toklur," she muttered. Instantly the nightlamp deactivated.
Master Goss stood back, a look of surprise on his face.
Ella gingerly took the vial of essence off the workbench. She placed another small wooden block in front of her, dipped the steel rod in the vial, and began to draw.
The smoke drifting up from her steady hand smelled surprisingly pleasant, but Ella kept her head turned to the side. She had practised the runes so many times that if anything she kept her eyes away from the wallpad, afraid she would copy Master Goss’s mistake.
It took her a little longer than Master Goss, but then Ella was done. Remembering her training, she carefully put the stand back to its original state, double checking all of the seals and ensuring everything was in its proper place.
"It’s done," she said. "I used a slightly different activation sequence to distinguish the two."
"Well?" said Master Goss. "Let’s have it. I think you’ll see that—"
"Tish-tassine," said Ella.
Master Goss’s nightlamp lit up brightly, filling the room with a green glow.
Pausing for dramatic effect, Ella spoke again. "Tish-tassun," she said, with a different inflection. Her nightlamp flared brightly.
There was no doubt. Ella’s nightlamp was the brighter of the two. Its light was clearer, yet softer, a richer shade of green.
The class erupted in applause.
13
It is better to negotiate standing on two feet, compared to when a foot is on your chest.
— High Lord Tessolar Mandragore to Lord Marshal Devon, 524 Y.E.
OUTSIDE, in the Great Court, students kept rushing over to congratulate Ella. She felt slightly foolish. Perhaps she’d been a bit too proud? They assured her it was the greatest moment in their entire time at the Academy. Master Goss didn’t have a lot of adoring students, it seemed.
The two girls sat underneath one of the centurion trees, Amber sprawled next to Ella with an envious expression on her face — especially when young men kept approaching Ella, only to be rebuffed.
"Ella, that was amazing! I can’t believe you showed up Master Goss like that! The students are going to be talking about it for the next ten years!"
Ella blushed. It really wasn’t like her to do such a thing!
"I swear, you’re going to make High Enchantress one day. Imagine that! All the lords bowing to you, Ella. You!"
Amber enthused as Ella sat, lost in thought. "And I bet Miro will be a famous bladesinger, sung about across the land. We’ll all travel far and wide together, our enchantments known for their quality and beauty." Amber’s face suddenly fell. "Only…"
Ella looked up. "What?"
"Only I’ll be married to some old man, who makes me work for him and does horrible things to me." Amber burst into tears.
"Don’t worry, Amber. I have an idea."
Amber looked up. "You do?"
Ella smiled wickedly. "I do."
She’d help her friend yet.
~
ELLA crept through the Academy halls, so empty at this time of night, when most people were fast asleep and alertness was at its ebb.
She couldn’t believe she was doing this, but then again, she couldn’t believe she had stood up to Master Goss. She was going to help her friend and that was all there was to it. Master Samson didn’t deserve Amber.
Master Samson’s work area was located in the east wing, at the far end of Graven Building. Without difficulty, Ella located the entrance and crept down the set of sandstone stairs. A small pathfinder rested in the pocket of her dress, but she refrained from using it yet, the moon providing more than enough light to see by.
Ella came to her first locked door. She tried a trick Master Merlon had shown her, a naming technique used more for remembering common activation sequences than anything else. Some enterprising students had found it worked for testing locks or other matrices with encrypted activation sequences. Word had got out.
Whispering softly, Ella ran through a series of activation sequences. Nothing. She tried another. Nothing. Hearing a noise behind her, she started to panic. She quickly tried a third series. "Torn-aloa!" As she spoke the words, the door popped open.
Ella dashed inside and closed the door behind her, her heart pounding. Perhaps this was a bad idea. What if someone caught her?