“I’m not your only teacher, Harold. I have brought an assistant teacher, Lieutenant Elizabeth Cavendish. She has managed to get herself pregnant by a common servant, so she might as well make herself useful. She can teach the youngster”—she nodded at Elaine—“and the commoner. The rest of you are already far too advanced, so we will focus on the four battle spells of shield, lightning, fire and telekinesis in my classes. Please stand in a line over there.”
“Golly, she’s something,” Arcturus heard Edmund whisper as they hurried to do her bidding. “She’s not even unpacked and she’s already getting started.”
A second Peryton swooped through the front doors, wheeling around the atrium before landing with a clatter of hooves beside Lady Faversham. Elizabeth grinned at Arcturus, before dismounting and sending Hubertus out again with a click of her tongue.
“Elizabeth, take the little one and the common boy to the summoning room and teach them the basics. I shall remain with the older students.”
“I’m not a little one,” Elaine pouted, scowling at Lady Faversham. “I’m thirteen years old. Me and Arcturus should stay!”
The noblewoman’s nostrils flared, but before she could respond, Elizabeth swiftly took Elaine by the arm and led her through a set of heavy doors a few steps away. Clearly, Lady Faversham did not take kindly to being contradicted.
“You too,” she snapped, clicking her fingers at Arcturus, “and infuse your demon while you’re at it. Don’t you know you’re not allowed to take your demon out other than in your room and in lessons? If I catch you again, I’ll have you sent to the punishment room to think about what you’ve done.”
“I don’t know how to infuse my demon yet,” Arcturus replied matter-of-factly, “and the bedroom I’ve been given is the punishment room.”
Lady Faversham’s eyes narrowed and she took a step toward him. Arcturus met her gaze as calmly as he could, though his heart thundered in his chest. Sacharissa bumped her side against his thigh, but he calmed her with a thought before she could let out a growl.
“I don’t like your tone, boy,” she snarled, jabbing her finger at him. “You will call me ma’am when you speak to me. Is that understood?”
“Yes, ma’am. Should I go now, ma’am? I wouldn’t want to keep Lieutenant Cavendish waiting, ma’am.”
“Get out,” she hissed, pointing at the door, “and take that stinking mongrel with you.”
Arcturus hurried to the summoning room, his courage suddenly failing him. He had been stupid to speak to her that way, for she held all the power and he had none. But it had felt good to fight back. Give as good as you get, that was what Elizabeth had told him.
As he and Sacharissa passed by Lady Faversham, she darted forward and drew him closer, so he could feel her hot breath on his ear.
“The king’s curiosity will only last so long,” Lady Faversham whispered. “When it fades, I’ll have the skin whipped from your hide, and more besides.”
Arcturus tore himself away, trying to stop himself from sprinting out of the room.
“See you later, dog breath!” Rook called after him.
CHAPTER
9
ARCTURUS STUMBLED INTO THE summoning room, slamming the door behind him. He leaned against it with his eyes closed, taking a deep breath. Sacharissa nuzzled him and he slid down, burying his face in her fur. He waited until his heartbeat returned to normal, and after a few moments, he lifted his head to find a bemused-looking Elizabeth watching him.
“You know, when I said stand up for yourself, I didn’t mean to the teachers!” she chuckled, walking toward him. “Lady Faversham is the king’s cousin, not to mention her husband is the king’s best friend … well, second best, after Provost Forsyth. Then again, it’s not like she was particularly fond of you to begin with, what with you taking her son’s demon.”
“I had to show everyone I have a backbone. Who better to make an example of than Lady Faversham?” Arcturus said, more to himself than to Elizabeth.
“Let’s just hope she doesn’t make an example out of you,” Elizabeth whispered softly, lifting him to his feet.
The summoning room had a high ceiling, with heavy oak floorboards covered in a spiral of pentacles, varying in size and shape, from the size of a man’s hand to twice the length of a horse. There were lockers lining the walls on either side, and Arcturus could see leather gloves and aprons on hangers inside. The only source of light came from flickering torches in embrasures above the lockers, giving the room a smoky scent.
“Elaine tells me her brothers got most of the attention when her father taught summoning and you’re completely new to all this, so I think it only right I give you both a crash course in summoning,” Elizabeth said, sending a blue ball of light into the air and allowing it to float aimlessly around the room. Elaine was sitting cross-legged on the floor, stroking Valens’s carapace.
“Elaine, please explain to Arcturus how to create a wyrdlight,” Elizabeth asked, crouching in front of the young girl.
Elaine groaned and sent Valens fluttering into the air, then scrambled to her feet.
“Every demon has a source of ‘mana’ within them. Mana is the power source for all spells, and every demon has a different amount, depending on their species,” she said in a bored voice, as if reciting from a textbook. Arcturus stared in rapt attention, trying to memorize as much as he could. If King Alfric considered him a threat he might need to escape from Vocans and go on the run.
“A wyrdlight is just a ball of raw mana. The summoner must transfer mana from the demon to their own body via a mental link, then push the mana through their finger, like so,” Elaine continued, brandishing a finger in the air. For a moment, nothing happened, and Arcturus wondered whether she knew what she was doing. Then, in the blink of an eye, there was a blast of light that illuminated the ceiling above her, beaming from her finger.
“The summoner must then control the mana and make it into a ball. By concentrating, they will be able to manage the size, shape and movement of their spell, in this case, a wyrdlight. If they do not, the spell will come out in a blast, wasting a whole lot of mana, as I just showed you.”
“Very good, Elaine!” Elizabeth said, smiling at the girl and holding her hand up for a high five. Elaine rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Valens, who had settled on her shoulder.
Arcturus stood in awe, his fingers itching to attempt the same feat. He looked to Elizabeth hopefully.
“Well … uh … let’s move on to more advanced spellcraft,” Elizabeth said, dropping her hand with disappointment. “As Elaine said, a wyrdlight is just a ball of raw mana, which can be controlled with a bit of practice. Its only real use is as a light source, a flash to blind your opponent and occasionally, for target practice. It disappears as soon as you touch it.”
Elizabeth snuffed out her wyrdlight with a snap of her fingers, which also served to return Elaine’s attention back to her once again.
“The real power we summoners wield comes from etching. Please watch closely. I send the mana to my finger, rather than through it.” Elizabeth held up her hand. Her fingertip glowed a dull blue, growing steadily brighter until it burned almost white and Arcturus had to shield his eyes.
“When your finger is bright enough, you draw a symbol, like so!” Elizabeth sketched a strange, jagged triangle in the air, leaving glowing blue lines, like the afterglow of a cinder being waved in the air.
“This is the shield spell. It is one of the four battle spells that every summoner uses when fighting. The others are fire, lightning and telekinesis.” She demonstrated by drawing each in succession, the first a flamelike, curling symbol, the next a zigzagging bolt and the final a hypnotic swirl. Arcturus wished he had pen and paper to draw them, but instead focused on memorizing the shield spell. Better to be able to protect himself than hurt someone else.