Mr. E rubbed against her ankles, so Imara reached down and picked him up. The population around her made cooing noises, and since he had driven her there, she offered him up for caresses and cuddles.
The party that Bara had planned was extensive, but Imara only had to be there for the first twenty minutes. She scampered upstairs and checked the calendar. She hadn’t missed it. Tomorrow, she would get her exam assignment and the rest of the time would be used for preparing her assault on whatever hall she was assigned.
Imara looked at the engraved document, and she looked back up at Professor McClairie. “You are joking.”
“I am not. That is your assignment.” He raised his voice. “Guard your assignments well, as your fellow students can find you, foil you, and use their skills to work against you.”
Edgar Demiel was still sneering at her, and Imara had no idea why. She had his ancestral home on her card. Demiel Hall, on the twenty-seventh. It was the last place she wanted to be.
When the professor finished reading out the rules of their exam, she stood up. Another card dropped in front of her, and when she looked up, Edgar was out the door.
She didn’t look at the card until she was home, and Mr. E was fighting to cackle. It was hard with a kitten’s face.
“What the hell?”
Reegar stepped over to her and looked over her shoulder. “You have been invited to a birthday party.”
“It is my father’s birthday party and an introduction to my first niece. This is... something is... damn it is the same day as the exam.”
She huffed and sat down for a moment before Hyl’s advice ran through her head. “It has to be that day but not during the day.”
Bara looked up from where she was sewing together the wraps that would keep Imara from being glaringly visible during her adventure. “What does that mean?”
“That means that I am going to be doing a lot of night work, but this is all going to work out in the end.”
Reegar grinned, Bara gave her a thumbs-up, and Mr. E stretched before going back to sleep on his favourite book. Now that the Death Keepers had taken off with the spectres from the accumulation stone, everything was finally coming together.
She might be able to master stealth magic with just a little help from her friends.
Chapter Seven
Imara had given up on telling herself that she was an idiot. She already knew it. Mr. E was wrapped in the same fabric that she was, and it appeared that Bara’s weaving work was paying off. They were nearly invisible.
Demiel Hall was exactly where the map had shown her it would be. The magical sensors were at the edges of the property, and it was with a slow and casual motion that she walked past them, waiting for the alarm.
Hyl had been confident. She just had to act like she belonged there, and the grounds would accept her.
She moved calmly to the house and used her fingers and toes in the brick and stone to pull herself upward. Mr. E was sensibly using her for transport.
When they made it to the second floor, she closed her eyes and looked for what she knew had to be there. A spectre stuck its head out and spoke.
“Should I alert the family?”
The words were faint, and Imara gripped the wall with her left hand and extended her right. The spectre ran her hand through Imara’s and smiled. “A daughter of the Demiels? Well, well, what do you want here?”
Imara whispered, “The crystal. Just for three hours.”
“Well, your timing is impeccable. They have been preparing to put traps in the chamber, but they won’t put them in place until the morning.”
Imara nodded and spoke low, “Can you open the window?”
“I can turn off the whole security system, but why should I?”
“I can give you enough power to let you take physical form when you want for a year.”
Her ancestor grinned. “Deal. Do you want me to bring you the crystal?”
“Can you?”
“I can, I will give it to you now, child, and put it back when you bring it. Your soul does not shine with greed.”
The ancestor disappeared for a moment. Imara hung on and felt the panic begin to take hold. The window opened, and the crystal fell the few feet into Imara’s hand. She slipped a little of her energy into the crystal and felt the response.
She wrinkled her nose, and she waited. The slight ripple of shadow gave her what she needed, and when the weight returned to her shoulder, she took the crystal and headed down to the ground.
The bicycle was where she had hidden it, tucked in the shadows.
Now, it was time for the most dangerous part of the evening. She rode over to Professor McClairie’s home and cast an assessment spell. The professor was asleep in the study, main floor, rear.
She went to the back of the building and sent Mr. E a signal.
She stepped back against the building as her kitten gave a strangled yowl. The professor came out warily and looked around. With their wraps still on, they looked like bent landscape. If they didn’t move, they were unseeable.
“Professor McClairie? I have completed my exam.”
The face turned toward her with shock and his fist raised. “Who is it?”
She carefully parted her mask. “Mirrin, sir. I have my assignment, and I wish to register completion of my project.”
“Show me the assignment.”
She reached into the wraps and found the page that she had guarded with her life. “Here.”
“The Lieth crystal, at Demiel Hall. Where is it?”
She extended the crystal to him, and the moment he touched the glowing blue crystal, it dulled.
“Well, Mirrin, this is a fail. This isn’t the crystal.”
Mr. E started hacking up a hairball, and the genuine crystal slid out of his throat and onto the grass.
Imara reached down and picked up the crystal, wiping it off on the grass before handing it over.
“Is it still wet?”
“No, he isn’t really physical, so that sound was just for fun.”
Mr. E was busy putting his mask back in place, and he soon disappeared.
The professor examined it, and he nodded. “You have done it.”
A flash went off, and he blinked. “What was that?”
“A record that I finished in case you wake up thinking this is a dream.”
“Oh, right. Why are you here now?”
“Ah, I wanted to return the crystal to the hall before anyone notices it is gone. Since they are so eager to set me up, I thought that I shouldn’t let them panic. Plus, I have to go to a party there tonight, and all eyes will be on me. Breaking in before dawn to complete the assignment will be difficult, but if I leave now, I can manage it.”
He grinned and handed her the crystal. “I normally just return it via a spell, but I like your idea. If you survive to attend class tomorrow, let me know how the party was.”
She mentally cursed as much as she could manage, but she took the original and the dummy crystal, nodded her head, and Mr. E hopped on for a ride.
So, we could have just handed it over?
Yes. She got back on her bike and pedalled as fast as she could as the night crept on toward dawn.
I think I am going to do a pass-through.
Are you in a good state of mind?
Yes. Can you show me where to go?
So, you will carry me?
Of course.
This is getting exciting.