Faculty of Fire (9 page)

We set off toward the long table with martyred expressions on our faces. Liz and a girlfriend were sitting there with a group of well-groomed aristocrats. From the expressions on their faces, you might have thought they were in some ordinary little snack bar, not the finest establishment in the golden city.

“I feel really sorry for your infantile psyche,” Chas whispered to me. “But if you do get the urge to beat anyone, hold back for a couple of hours at least. I have to try all this free food before we get thrown out.”

“Okay,” I replied quietly. I was feeling a little bit irritated too.

We walked over to the jolly little group, wishing very much that they would all go to hell. Of course, we didn’t say that out loud, but the thought was clearly written on our faces.

“Good evening, dear friends,” Chas declared in a grotesquely happy tone of voice. Noticing several empty chairs beside the girls, he asked. “And why are such beautiful girls sitting all alone?”

“Because they’re a pair of stupid fools!” I almost blurted out.

“Ah, our beaus have gone to say hello to the senior pupils sitting in the next hall,” Liz answered, with a hint of pride in her voice.

“How charming,” said Chas, clapping his hands and putting on an absolutely stupid expression of delight.

Liz turned her gaze on me.

“How did you manage to get through the queue so fast?” she asked, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“I’m glad to see you too, dear heart,” I said, forcing a smile.

“I heard that you got into the Academy,” Liz’s girlfriend said, making eyes at Chas for all she was worth. He was actually slightly embarrassed.

“Yeah,” he said and then (wonder of wonders!) he blushed.

I could sympathise. My ex-girlfriend’s girlfriend was remarkably pretty, with red hair and a snub nose and also, surprisingly enough, a very wily, knowing look in her eyes. To meet a girl like that in Liz’s company was pretty miraculous, and Chas had obviously decided not to let the chance slip.

“We haven’t been introduced,” he said, gallantly kissing her hand.

I had the sudden feeling that my presence was no longer required, but Liz was clearly not that perceptive.

“This is Nathalie,” see announced. “The daughter of Alexandrius Mitis, the Emperor’s new junior counsellor.”

Hey now! This girl was obviously my social superior! Never mind Chas, whose family were merely the owners of the port of Mesk-Deino, which just happened to be the only one in the Empire of the Elirs. Ah, yes, and a few butcher’s shops in Lita. But all that didn’t even come close to making Chas the equal of members of the Great Houses – after all, it wasn’t a matter of wealth. Ancestry – that was what was really mattered!

“Charmed, I’m sure,” Chas said breathily, gazing deep into Nathalie’s blue eyes. She lowered them in embarrassment and blushed.

Hmmm, if a girl of her social standing could still blush, then it really was worth paying some attention to her. And the red-haired couple would look really good together.

“How about you, Zach?” asked Liz, turning her attention back to me. “What are your plans for the future?”

“Take the vows and become a monk,” I said, handing her the reply I’d prepared beforehand.

Without really thinking why, I compared my ex-girlfriend with my recent acquaintance, who had such terrifying fangs and the most beautiful smile in the world. Liz was the loser on every count. I wondered if the winner and I would ever meet again.

“I’m serious,” Liz persisted. “What are you going to do with your life? What can you do, apart from that music of yours?”

I was beginning to get angry. Music was not something to be criticised, it was sacred.

“I think that’s something you wouldn’t understand,” I said, as calmly as possible.

I can’t stand it when anyone makes slighting remarks about music, especially about mine. Of course, Liz knew that, and she’d said that on purpose. But why?

I pulled myself together and smiled: “How about you, Liz? What are you going to do?”

“I shall devote my life to my beloved husband,” she replied.

“Is that because you haven’t learned to do anything worthwhile?” I blurted out. I couldn’t help being delighted with such a shrewd answer.

Liz started fuming, but the storm passed over – three few young men emerged from the crowd and came walking towards us. They were obviously the same young men who had gone to bow and scrape to the senior pupils.

All three of them were wearing gold tuxedos. Oh, that terrible fashion …

“Hello there, my love,” said the skinniest one, walking up to Liz.

Chas and I glanced at each other in amazement: “This scarecrow is her future fiancé?”

But then, everything was suddenly made clear.

“Let me introduce you,” Liz said in a loud voice. “This is Nathalie’s brother, Angel.”

Yes, that made it clear why she was dating him and why an enchanting creature like Nathalie was sitting in a group like this.

“And this is Nigel and Lens, Angel’s friends and adepts of the Academy.”

Chas and I both nodded in greeting.

“And this is Zach and Chas,” said Liz, nodding at us. “I told you about them.”

“Only the truth, I hope?” asked Chas, with a playful glance at Nathalie.

My friend studiously ignored the fact that broad-shouldered, blond-haired Lens had stood beside the red-haired girl and put his arm round her shoulders. That is, Lens looked broad-shouldered beside me, just as I looked broad-shouldered beside Angel, but he looked very ordinary beside Chas. Not even the Great House golden tuxedo helped. Chas was wearing a silver one (the colour of the rich families).

“Pleased to meet you,” skinny Angel said for all three of them, although the expression on his face looked anything but pleased.

“You’re looking a bit crumpled,” Lens remarked, casting a disdainful glance at my outfit, which really was rather grubby. “Did you come in via the attic?”

I disregarded his comment.

“Chas and I have things to do …”

“I’m talking to you!” said Lens, raising his voice.

Chas looked up from studying Nathalie and peered at the big guy with blond hair.

“Zach, did you hear something?” he asked, pretending to be surprised.

“No, did you?” I said with a yawn.

“No, I didn’t either,” he said, winking at Nathalie.

She blushed again and lowered her eyes.

“It’s a waste of time talking to them,” Angel said in a loud voice. “They’re not from our social circle.”

“Miserable wretches that we are,” I murmured.

“Calm down,” said Nigel, who hadn’t said anything so far. “If you have something to settle, then settle it outside.”

“Right now, if you like,” I agreed.

Lens twitched, but Angel caught hold of his sleeve.

“Drop it. It’s just that one of them’s furious because he didn’t get into the Academy, and the other’s not even blue-blooded, he’s a nobody.”

Now it was my turn to hold Chas back.

“Calm down,” I whispered to him. “There’s no hurry, you’ve got plenty of time, and all those years of study in the Academy ahead of you.”

Chas relaxed and chuckled again.

“You know, guys, if I were you, I wouldn’t go boasting about your pedigree. People like you can only disgrace it, and you give me the impression the imperial clan is rapidly degenerating.”

Another moment, and I was sure no one would be able to hold Lens back, but then two men came over to us, and all the attention was instantly focused on them. They were a Craftsman in red livery with an incredibly long nose and Nigel, who had somehow managed to slip away from us without being noticed.

“What’s going on here?” his companion asked.

“We’re having a talk,” Lens murmured through his teeth, glaring hard at Chas.

My red-haired friend took no notice of the others and carried on made eyes at Nathalie.

The Craftsman turned to me and Chas.

“Would you mind sitting somewhere else?”

“Gladly,” I immediately replied. I grabbed Chas by the arm and we made a rapid withdrawal.

As we walked across the hall to the table standing in the farthest corner, we didn’t say a word. But once we sat down at the table beside some old men who were almost asleep, Chas asked: “Did you see that?”

“Yes,” I said with a nod. “They took us down a peg or two … or we took them down a peg or two.”

“No, not that, did you see Nathalie? She … she …”

“Ah, you miserable wretch,” I said, turning to him. “You’ve already got a girl.”

“What girl’s that?” he asked in surprise.

“Come on, you came walking up to me with her this morning.”

“Don’t be silly,” he laughed. “I brought her for you, to cheer you up.”

“What?”

“Well, you were so … miserable, so I brought a girl. You mean you didn’t see the way she was flirting with you?” my redheaded friend laughed in amazement.

“Who flirts at that time in the morning?” I protested. “I don’t even remember what she looked like. I wouldn’t recognise her now if you showed her to me.”

“A hopeless case …” said Chas, shaking his head. Noticing the food on the table in front of him he said, “Hey, there’s a roasted goose here!”

Now it was my time to shake my head. Once Chas got started on his food, he was in a different world and it was absolutely pointless trying to talk to him. But I was in the mood for a bite to eat myself, and I set about devouring the food every bit as eagerly as he did.

I soon ate as much as I could and leaned back in my chair, unashamedly scrutinising the other guests. No doubt about it, the hall was crammed with an absolutely incredible number of people. Most of them were young guys and girls my own age, but there were a few more staid, respectable ladies and gentlemen from the Great Houses too. The Craftsmen were sitting apart from everyone else, and there weren’t any senior pupils in this hall – they were feasting in the next one, which was smaller. And all the different costumes that were on display … naturally, most of them were various shades of gold worn by members of the Great Houses and the red colours of the Craftsmen. But there were also the brown colours of merchants’ suits and the silver tones of the rich families like Chas’s. The hall was filled with the babble of jolly conversation and laughter and here and there people were dancing, where there was enough space.

As I ran a leisurely glance over the faces, I unfortunately saw my aunt, who was standing with a group of worthy individuals and glaring at me balefully. Before I could pretend I hadn’t noticed her, Aunt Eliza beckoned me with her finger. That familiar icy stare certainly didn’t promise me anything good.

I nudged Chas, nodded towards my aunt and ran a finger across my throat to show that she was all set to blow, reluctantly got up off my chair and plodded across to her.

“Aunt,” I said, with a quick bow.

“Allow me to introduce my nephew Zachary,” Aunt Eliza said in an icy tone to the people surrounding her.

I nodded in greeting.

“What are you doing here?” my aunt enquired in annoyance.

“What do you mean? I’ve been accepted in the Academy,” I said, making an attempt to smile. “This is the enrolment party.”

“Shame on you!” she said in a surprisingly loud, shrill voice that made me start in surprise. “Aren’t you tired of these lies?”

I cringed under her gaze, trying to understand what it was I’d done wrong. It was the first time I’d ever seen my aunt so furious.

“I … I’m not lying,” I said quietly. “You have no reason to say that.”

The people around my aunt quietly melted away, realising that I was about to get a dressing-down, and the family quarrels of the Great Houses were definitely not something they wanted to be involved in.

So that was why my aunt reacted so calmly when I told her I’d got into the Academy, I suddenly realised. She simply didn’t believe me.

“What’s going on here?” a calm, steady voice asked behind me.

I swung round, already knowing who I would see.

“Romius, I haven’t seen you for a long time,” my aunt declared petulantly. “Why have you suddenly decided to join us?”

I was surprised. Their conversation was rather strange. When I was talking to Romius, he hadn’t mentioned that he was on bad terms with his sister. In fact, he’d said quite a lot of good things about her …

“I just heard you scolding the boy for no good reason and decided to intervene.”

I was so surprised that I even swallowed that “boy” without a peep.

“You know perfectly well that his future has nothing to do with the Academy. He can’t …”