CHAPTER Fourteen
The following five days scampered by remarkably quickly. Lessons started up again on Monday, and I received exactly the same terrified rabbit-caught-in-headlights reaction from both Slocombe in Kinesis and Barton in Evocation. And I had the same success in both those lessons as I’d had the previous week, which of course amounted to absolutely zip. Nada. Nyet. I was getting damn good at staring at stones, however.
I’d been hoping for a little more from Illusion, as at least this time I had a full lesson’s worth of time with which to learn. But again, nothing really happened, other than me being forced to count to ten several times over whenever the trainer started up her hacking cackle at my pitiful efforts. I was learning to keep my mouth shut at least, and I managed to go the full week without maiming anyone or damaging any more property. There was no time with Alex to spend on Divination; instead we took the opportunity of having the peace and quiet to be able to discuss and plan out different scenarios for my impending heist. I was just trying hard not to focus on what could happen if I got caught by the vamps.
On the brighter side, I also was finding myself getting on better and better with Mary and her friends. I had little in common with them, but Deborah didn’t have a mean bone in her body, and Mary’s constant stream of chatter always helped make me feel just that little bit less stressed or worried. I spent a fair bit of time chatting to both Brock and Aqmar, and Brock in particular was opening up to me. We had a lot of deep and meaningful discussions over meals about the rights and wrongs of magic, although we entirely avoided talking about what might or might not be happening with his love life and his momentous crush on Deborah. I didn’t push it.
By the time Friday rolled around, and I had Protection again with Thomas, I was starting to feel more in control of myself, and my emotions. I’d spent more time in the library, and was starting to feel an odd fondness for Slim and his curses. I’d also found the time to translate a little bit more of the Fae book, although it pretty much just explained how my potential (probable?) ancestor found his own demise at the hands of the rather unfortunately named Bolox, a warrior who set a cunning trap involving a sacrificial virgin (who sadly bled to death in course of the proceedings) and some kind of elaborate gold mesh net. Bolox nearly hadn’t made it out alive himself, as the dragon-man had reverted back to his true form in his final death throes and had gouged a deep enough chunk out of the warrior’s shoulder that he almost died from his injuries afterwards.
Back in the virtually derelict Protection building that Health and Safety would have had a field day with, I found myself looking forward to what Thomas had to offer. Over the past week, we’d managed to maintain a cool ambivalence towards each other whenever our paths crossed. My hair was now already almost an inch long and I was still tempted to keep it shaved if for no other reason than I’d be able to keep rubbing in his face how much of a prick he’d been. But when I met him for our second round, he was all relaxed smiles.
“So, Initiate Smith, you’ve been encouraging the younger ones to attack using the element of surprise and the unexpected, have you?”
I was surprised myself that he had chosen to no longer make more of my teaching of his pet subject, and just nodded.
“Well then,” he continued, “let’s see if you can practise what you preach.”
He motioned me towards the centre of the gym, and then stood in front of me, his entire body proclaiming a calmness that I found bewildering. His stance was completely open and vulnerable, and I couldn’t begin to see how he could possibly be successful.
Thomas laughed at me. “You look confused, Initiate. T’ai chi chu’an is not about tension or the centrifugal force that modern fighters so mistakenly rely on. Rather it involves looseness in order to subdue potential aggressors with the minimum amount of effort. Your task is not to fight back, but merely to avoid my own attacks.” He bared his teeth at me in the semblance of a grin. “I doubt you will cope.”
Bullshit. I grinned at the mage, confident that this was going to be a piece of cake.
He began to gracefully extend his arms, in a move reminiscent of our previous lesson’s drills. “When your body is emptied and vacant of force and tension, your muscles relax and a resolute strength takes its place. This strength, you shall discover, is superior in every way to all other forms of attack.”
I watched him, waiting for the moment when I could block his movements and prove to him yet again, that anything I could do would best him. He was moving so leisurely and deliberately that it required no effort on my part to track his movements. Until all of a sudden he whipped out with his fist and caught me in my stomach, causing me to double over and exhale all the air I had left in my lungs. I was so stunned that he’d managed to hit me with such strength when he was moving around so slowly, that I barely managed to stand back up before he lashed out again, this time with his foot. He connected with my leg mid-thigh and, yet again, I went down.
“Keeping your body weight on one foot alone aids the movement and attack,” Thomas intoned, spinning around like a ballroom dancer in slow motion, and flicking out again to knock me on the side of my head. “Using two feet to equally distribute your weight impedes your agility.” He cast around with his arms, then brought them together and bowed.
I straightened up and stared at him, aghast that he’d found it so easy to connect and attack. The rage within me that set my bloodfire roaring threatened for one moment to overcome my thoughts, but I counted to ten instead and concentrated on re-gaining my breath.
Thomas smiled at me, pleased. “I didn’t think it would take you such a short time to manage to not reflexively return my assault.”
I had to admit that I was rather taken aback myself. I figured it was because I knew that he wasn’t really going to hurt me all that much.
I shrugged. “I guess I’m just a fast learner.” I twisted my body to the side, trying to snap out the pain that still throbbed from my stomach muscles. “But explain to me, Mage Thomas, why these techniques didn’t work before?”
He cocked his head. “What do you mean?”
“In the cafeteria. Before. When I attacked you. You didn’t try any of this stuff or at least you didn’t manage to beat me anyway. That was an easy win for me.” I wasn’t trying to goad him; I was genuinely curious.
“Ah, well, you were actually fighting me that time. It’s a whole different ball game when your opponent is not only using magic but is also seeing things through the veil of emotion.” He inclined his head. “You are a superior fighter to me, of that there is no doubt. Hence you managed to beat me in the cafeteria. And I admit, I am still feeling the effects of it now. However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t still teach you more than a few things to make you an even more effective attacker. Good teachers don’t seek to train their students to be as good as they are, they seek to make them better.”
I was shocked by his honesty, and mulled over his words all the way to the portal for my session with Jacoby Bryant. I even half-imagined that my trip through the portal was less nausea inducing than usual because I was so caught up in thinking about what he’d said and how he’d acted. I’d certainly been warming to Thomas since the previous week, but now I was wondering if I’d gotten him completely wrong. Sure, he’d been rude when I’d first arrived, but then maybe he’d had good reason to be. I tried to imagine what it would have been like down in Cornwall if some unknown mage had shown up because the Brethren had ordered us to teach them to be like shifters. Even for myself as a non-shifter, I knew I’d have been disgusted.
Entering the reception area, and seeing exactly the same girl who I’d barked at and flamed at the week before, made me also half-expect to see Corrigan striding through from round the corridor again. However, this time the girl stayed behind the desk and I felt the briefest flicker of disappointment that the only other person I’d clearly be seeing this time would be the counsellor himself. I told myself that I should be grateful: the last thing I needed was to see the Lord Alpha before our so-called date. He’d probably just make some snarky comments about my attire. Nope, I didn’t want or need to see him. Definitely not. No. No. No.
I discussed with Bryant what had happened during the preceding seven days, leaving out any mention of my now somewhat more doused bloodfire of course, and we spoke about what had worked and what hadn’t. He was pleased with my progress and I felt an unexpected thrill zip through me at doing so well. Perhaps there was hope for me yet. He recommended that I continue with the techniques he’d already shown me, and then I left without further incident.
However, the next morning, when I awoke, I could feel little spikes of flame flickering through my toes and fingers. I lay in bed for several moments, ignoring the discomfort it provided, purely trying to calm myself down and use all the tips I’d been given. Despite the numerous talks Alex and I had had about how to act once I got to Kingsway, I was still feeling nervous and more than a little scared about how it would pan out. I really didn’t want to let him down, but stealing from the undead right now seemed like a suicide mission. I imagined myself keeling over at Corrigan’s feet in dramatic dying swan fashion, and him raising one sardonic eyebrow at me for bringing it all onto my own head in the first place. For one thing, I still didn’t actually have anything to wear. Despite his promises to the contrary, Alex still hadn’t come through with a suitable outfit. At this rate I’d have to squeeze back into Deborah’s micro-mini, which remained under my bed as I’d not quite managed to guiltily sneak back into the laundry yet.
A knock at the door startled me out of my reverie. I reached over and twisted the doorknob, swinging it open to see who it was.
“Hey! Baldi…I mean, Mack! How’s it going? Ready for the big date?” It was Mary, with Deborah in tow. Naturally, they’d gotten wind of my impending evening.
I forced myself up to a sitting position. “I can’t wait.”
Mary shot me a look of suspicion at my unenthusiastic comment. “You know, the reason why you are feeling like this, Mack, is because you haven’t yet been beautified.”
Uh, say what?
Deborah grinned at me. “We’ve spoken to the boys and they’ve agreed that it’s fine to put off today’s training session till tomorrow. So we have all day to help you get ready for this evening.” Her eyes gleamed in anticipation.
“All day?” My mouth hung half-open. Really? How long did it take to have a bloody shower? It wasn’t exactly as if I had any f*cking hair that needed doing. “I don’t think…,” I began, before Mary placed her finger on my lips, shushing me.
“That’s enough. You can thank us later.”
I tried to think quickly. If I could hunt down and defeat the various nasties that the Otherworld had to offer, then surely I could find a way to extricate myself from two girls. “I can’t get ready yet,” I said triumphantly, seizing upon a reason. “I don’t have anything to wear.”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head,” tutted Deborah. “I’ve spoken to Mage Florides and it’s all in hand.”
I might have to kill Alex for not putting a stop to this, I thought grimly, as the pair of them pulled me out of bed and down to the communal shower room.
Several hours later, I’d been plucked and waxed and prettified half to death. I was sitting grumpily in a swivel chair in the girls’ dorm room, feeling none too impressed. Deborah wandered back in with a cup of coffee in one hand and a dress in the other. The aroma of the rich coffee cheered me up no end. I tried to avoid looking at the dress.
“Here we go,” she trilled happily. “Coffee and party wear!”
I reached out for the steaming mug but Deborah snatched it away out of my reach. I growled at her.
“No, no, no,” she said, with a saucy wink, “you get the coffee after you’ve put on the dress.”
“But I’m naturally a very clumsy person,” I pointed out, reasonably. “I might spill the coffee down the dress.”
“Hmm, you’re right,” she said thoughtfully. “I’ll drink the coffee, you put the dress on.”
Cursing the world under my breath, I stood up and snatched it out of her hands then stomped off to the bathroom to change. Pulling it off its hanger, I had to admit that it was an arresting colour. Pillarbox red, it screamed ‘look at me!’. That was all very well, I thought, if I wanted to attract attention. However, it didn’t strike me as the sort of garment that you’d wear if you wanted to sneak around undetected. Some sort of black ninja combo would surely be more suitable. I knew that the girls were only trying to be nice, and thought that they were helping me snag Corrigan’s attentions, but Alex at the very least could have gone for something a bit less obtrusive.
Squeezing into it, I performed some extraordinary calisthenics to reach around and do up the zip, forced to breathe in deeply as I did so just so that it would go all the way up. I smoothed it down and scowled. It was too low and too short and I looked absolutely bloody ridiculous. A seventeen year old might be able to get away with this, but a woman in her mid twenties just looked as if she was trying far too hard. And how in the hell was I supposed to manage running, if I needed to get away fast? It was so tight, I’d be lucky if I managed to even sodding walk.
“Coooeee!” called Deborah. “How does it look?”
I yanked open in the bathroom door and stalked out. “It looks f*cking …”
“Amazing,” breathed Mary.
“Drop-dead gorgeous,” sighed Deborah. “You’re so lucky. If I had a dress like that to put on, then Mage Thomas would definitely notice me.”
I bit back the comment that was already on my tongue and forced a smile onto my face, stomping over to the mirror to take a look. Then I had to admit that it did look pretty amazing. They’d shaped my eyebrows so that instead of giving the impression that I was permanently in a bad mood, I looked groomed and sophisticated. The make-up they’d trowelled on had evened out my complexion and made my eyes look wide and sultry all at the same time, while the dress fit snugly in all the right places. I swiveled my hips around for a couple of admiring seconds. Okay, maybe it looked alright after all.
“Something’s missing,” stated Mary firmly from behind me.
Deborah jumped right in. “Accessories, darling, accessories!”
“Yeah! If you take off that necklace, then I’m sure I can find something else that’ll match much better.”
I touched my hands to my neck. I’d almost forgotten all about the thing that hung round there. In the ensuing mess of discovering that I hadn’t needed to shave my head off after all, it had completely slipped my mind to tell Thomas that he’d have to work out a way to get it off me. Now didn’t seem like the right time to tell either Deborah or Mary that it was stuck there.
“No,” I said emphatically. “The necklace will have to stay.”
There must have been something in my facial expression that brooked no argument because for once the pair of them backed down. That was until Deborah produced a pair of shoes from behind her back.
“Well, if you won’t change your jewellery, then the least you can do is change your shoes.”
Absolutely no way. I would not be able to walk half a yard in those things. Unfortunately for me, the pair of them were already at my feet, forcing them on and strapping them up with some kind of complicated intricate leather bands. I felt about half a foot taller, and already felt like they were starting to pinch. I took a couple of steps and almost tottered over. Oh great. Mack, the killer cat burglar who crawls to every destination. Brilliant. I was about to start pulling them right back off again when there was a quick knock at the door and I looked up to see Alex.
He looked mildly astonished at my appearance, but recovered quickly and tapped his watch. “We need to vamoose, Mack, er, Initiate Smith, I mean.”
Sighing heavily, I wavered my way over to him, much in the same manner that Brock had walked when he’d been falling down drunk. I could see the corners of Alex’s mouth tipping up as he tried not to laugh and I had to resist the urge to not punch him. I could do this, I thought defiantly. It was only a dress and a pair of shoes, for f*ck’s sake. Saying goodbye to Mary and Deborah, and thanking them as graciously as I could for their ministrations, we headed out the door and down to the waiting portal. Ruefully eyeing the shimmering gateway, I felt slightly sick. So much for the perfectly applied make-up.
I’d been concentrating so hard on not falling over, that I hadn’t even noticed that the Dean was also outside, standing there waiting. He glanced at me up and down, a sneer on his face. “Trying to impress someone?”
“No.” I didn’t even bother reacting further. He just wasn’t worth it.
“I expect you to remember that you’re a representative of this institution. I know most of the people who you will be socialising with and, believe me, I will hear about it if you do anything that even hints at tarnishing our reputation.”
I stared at the mage. One good thing about the stupidly high heels was that I was now taller than him and able literally to look down upon him. It was a nice feeling. “Oh, if you know so many of them then it’s a real shame that you weren’t invited, Dean Michaels,” I said sweetly.
His eyes shot daggers at me. “The responsibility of running this academy mean that I cannot afford the opportunity to go out hobnobbing at will.”
“Of course,” I murmured, trying so very hard not to laugh. I glanced over at Alex, who was stood beside me, a ball of visible tension. “We’d better go, Mage Florides.”
He nodded and took a step forward, vanishing through the portal. I followed, hoping that I wouldn’t trip over after finally managing to get one over on the Dean.