Particularly as the odds were so unbalanced, she thought, as the two opponents left. It hadn’t escaped her notice that there was a greater gap between the two contestants than there had been between Frieda and her victims. Doing so well with the odds so heavily slanted against you definitely counts in your favor.
She shook her head, then supervised the next set of duels. Some of them surprised her—the opponents were imaginative and flexible—while others were boring, nothing more than hexes being exchanged like tennis balls until one side slipped up and lost. She suspected that some of the latter duelists were in for an unpleasant surprise when they faced someone a little more imaginative. Frieda would have smashed them flat, even when they were older and more experienced. But then, losing was a great teacher. Sergeant Harkin had told her that time and time again.
And he ensured that I lost, Emily recalled. Her magic had been pitiful compared to the older students, back in her first year, but her hand-to-hand combat skills had been worse. She had improved, over the years, yet she knew she would never match Jade or Cat. I learnt never to let a stronger man get within arm’s reach of me.
She muttered a spell to amplify her voice as the final duels came to an end. “Those of you who want to withdraw, hand in your tokens,” she ordered. “The rest of you, get a drink and catch your breath. We’ll be starting the next set of duels in ten minutes.”
Gordian walked over to her, his face utterly blank. “Not bad so far,” he said, curtly. “They”—he nodded towards the representatives—“seem to like it. They’re just wondering why you don’t have a ranking ladder.”
Emily shrugged. “First, we’re starting from scratch.” She’d considered duplicating the league’s ranking system, but it had never struck her as particularly clever. Besides, too many students would have to start out ranked at the bottom. “And second, we have too many duelists to go through in too little time.”
She smiled as she glanced at Frieda. It was nice to see her younger friend looking happy again, although they were going to have a serious conversation relatively soon. Frieda wasn’t going to go anywhere for half-term, was she? Emily made a mental note to catch up with Frieda after dinner, then turned her attention back to Gordian. The Grandmaster was reviewing the results, nodding happily to himself.
“We’ll probably have to hold separate contests for each year,” she said, as she read the results. She’d been right. They were weighted in favor of the older students. “But you can do that next year.”
Gordian nodded. He wouldn’t have Emily next year ... the thought caused her a pang, even though she knew she’d be coming back one day. She hadn’t abandoned her dream of teaching. It was an odd career, she’d been told, but it was the one she wanted. And besides, she was good at one-to-one tutoring.
I might start teaching at Heart’s Eye instead, she mused. Gordian would be relieved. He wouldn’t have her in his hair any longer. And then I can set my own class sizes.
She glanced at her watch, then blew the whistle. A number of duelists had backed out, she noted; she reset the tokens, then watched the contestants take their places. There was no chatter this time, just a grim determination to get ahead. She felt a moment of sympathy for anyone who wasn’t good enough to stand their ground, then pushed it aside. It was a sport, not war. And it wouldn’t keep them alive, if pressed.
It might, she told herself.
Gordian stood beside her, completely silent, as the first pair of students marched into the dueling ring. They were both Fifth Years, Emily noted; they fought like experienced magicians, rather than duelists. The line between legal and illegal spells was brushed over a dozen times in the first two minutes alone, forcing her to make split-second decisions between blowing the whistle and letting it stand. She couldn’t help thinking, judging by the way they hurled spells at each other, that there was something deeply personal in it. Perhaps they really didn’t like each other. By the time one of them was blown back against the wards, hard enough to stun him, they’d exchanged so many spells that the ring was on the verge of collapse.
“Not bad,” Gordian said, as Professor Armstrong hastily checked the ring. “Not bad at all.”
Emily said nothing. The next set of duelists stepped in as soon as Professor Armstrong declared the ring safe, then went at each other with bitter determination. They’d both learnt from the last set of duels, Emily decided. She’d seen them standing still before; now, they were moving to dodge spells instead of trying to deflect them. She mentally commended them for showing a little more imagination, then sighed as one of them finally lost. They still didn’t have the skill they needed to win.
Gordian tapped her arm as the loser stumbled out of the ring, followed by the winner. “Do you wish you were with them?”
Emily shook her head. Dueling had never struck her as fun. She’d learnt the basics at Mountaintop, but she’d considered it just another contemptible sport, no different from football or basketball. The jocks who were good at it were feted, allowed to get away with murder if it was what it took to keep them on the team. And then Master Grey had tried to kill her ...
“I’d be happy if I never saw another dueling circle,” she said. “I don’t like dueling.”
Gordian gave her a surprised look as the last of the duels came to an end. Twenty-nine students had won one or both of their duels; the remainder, the ones who had lost both, exited the field. Emily hid a smile as a number of them headed straight for the showers, rather than staying behind to cheer everyone going into the third round. If she’d been that hot and sweaty, she would probably have done the same.
“It’s a way to prove that you are the best,” Gordian said. “Isn’t it?”
“I don’t want to prove that I’m the best.” Emily nodded towards the dueling ring, where Professor Armstrong was testing the wards again. “I just want to live.”
Gordian frowned, but said nothing as the final set of contestants assembled. Emily had agreed that students who won both of their matches could move ahead to the second round, but only two of them—Adana and an older student she didn’t know—had taken advantage of the opportunity. Everyone else was lining up, looking ready and willing to resume the dueling. Emily glanced from face to face, seeing the same grim determination everywhere.
This isn’t just a game to them, she told herself. This is ... a chance to prove themselves.
She winced, inwardly, as Frieda and an older student stepped into the ring. If she’d had time, she would have called one of the other supervisors ... but Gordian was standing right next to her, watching. Emily cursed under her breath, wondering just what she’d do if Frieda stepped over the line. Or even the other student. She knew from grim experience that someone could slip a spell past the referees, if they were careful. If she saw something and Gordian didn’t—or vice versa—it could easily get her in trouble.