My Boyfriend Merlin (13 page)

Matt looked at me with a slight frown. “You have to chop off their head. Almost everything else and they will regenerate. You can bury them, but they will dig themselves out. Or if you were a powerful enough magician, you could blow them up. Disintegration may work.”

Blake scoffed. “Not even a Master has that much power.”

The girl wizard said, “You could supplement your power.”

“There is a high probability you would die,” said Blake.

Matt laid his hands flat on top of the desk. “Wizards are most likely to die from exhaustion.”

“We call it ‘flame out’,” Blake said.

Matt raised his brow. Blake’s cheeks turned red.

“Flame out,” Matt said. “A most appropriate phrase.”

Blake preened at the compliment.

I eyed Matt. I remembered him in the woods battling the giant dragon. I asked, “How do you know how powerful a wizard is?”

Blake answered in a know-it-all tone, “The more powerful the wizard, the more magic they can do. Most wizards only have one specialization. A powerful wizard can have many.”

“How do you kill a wizard?” Grey asked.

“A Regular can’t,” said Mark from behind.

“They can indeed,” Matt corrected. “Without our magic, wizards are quite fragile. Take a shot from a gun. A stabbing. If there is no healer present, any wound can be quite fatal. Even with a healer.” Matt didn’t look at Grey or me. “Things can get out of control.”

“But you can probably turn them into a toad or something before they get close enough, right?” Billie, one of the more bashful Regulars, said.

The classroom laughed, breaking the tension.

“Brute force magic is expensive—hard to conjure and tiring to execute. Using the element of surprise is by far the best option,” Matt said.

Blake asked, “I still don’t understand why we are talking about this. The wizards are all on the same side.”

“Expect the unexpected,” Matt said. “The gargoyles have been amassing magic for decades. And you never know if they have turned a magician. There are always rogues. Not everyone agrees with the way the Council has decided to keep magic hidden all these years.”

A few gasps came from the front row.

“It is not possible,” Blake said. “The Council binds anyone’s power that is considered dangerous.”

Matt smiled. “A valid point, Blake. However, you have forgotten that the sword itself is a magical object. Its powers cannot be bound. You will face it.”

I watched the wistful look on his face with interest. “You talk about it as if it were a person.”

“It’s tempting to think of it as such. But it is not. It does not have emotion. It is worse than facing a person. The sword feels no compassion. It will not stop if you cry foul or if you try to surrender. It is extremely dangerous and it will test you. This training is to make sure you have the skills to pass that trial.”

I said, “What happens if you don’t pass the trial?”

“You have seen the news broadcasts.”

Silence fell across the room. A picture of the Italian kid, Gianni, went through my mind. He may have been a gargoyle but he looked just like any of the rest of us sitting in class.

“They were unprepared,” Matt said. “You will not be.”

“As I said, the element of surprise is the best. There are also shields that can be acquired—either magical or charmed objects. Gargoyles because of their innate abilities can avoid many spells. So all of you, Regulars and wizards alike, will need something extra.”

Matt pulled forward the leather satchel he’d carried into the classroom. From inside the bag, he brought out a handful of silver necklaces and several silver rings. Each piece of jewelry held a large gemstone pendant. “Charms. Wizard or Regular, please come and get one. The charm resonates with its owner. Pick the one that
feels
right. But remember this will be the single most powerful weapon I will hand you. So choose wisely.”

The candidates at the front scrambled to get up and get to Matt’s desk. I watched as the Regulars and Vane's candidates crowded behind them. Mark muscled through the others. Another wizard boy next to Blake got shoved aside as Mark snatched the ring he had started to pick up. The rest of Vane’s candidates followed his lead. A few of the unwanted rings went tumbling to the ground.

Gia picked up a simple silver chain with a big ruby gemstone. Something about it struck me as oddly familiar. I stared at it, wanting it. Needing it with an intensity that came out nowhere.

Gia moved to put it around her neck. I nearly leapt from my desk to snatch it from her. Gia put it back down. I let out a breath.

The Regulars stood around trying to catch a glimpse of the charms while Vane’s candidates picked through the bunch.

“They’re going to rip apart everything before we can even take a look,” Grey said

Inspiration struck me. Taking out my iPad, I typed up a quick e-mail. In the back of the room, fifteen or so iPads started beeping.

Gia marched back to her desk. She picked up her iPad. “Who sent me an event request to ‘Get In A Line’?”

I grinned as I stood up to go to the desk. Matt raised a brow when I reached him.

I shrugged. “Sometimes you have to do what you have to do.”

“Yes, you do,” he said.

“Why am I surprised you agree?” I said in a snarky tone.

He picked up the simple silver necklace and held it out like a carrot. I reached for it.

Matt’s hand tightened on it. The warm gemstone seemed to heat under our combined touch. I tugged it. My hand grazed his. The friction between our hands sparked a fluttery sensation deep in the pit of my stomach.

Matt said, “The
Dragon’s Eye
. Nice choice. This belonged to a queen once.”

“Which one?” I asked.

Matt didn’t answer. “Let me put it on you.”

Since he still held onto the amulet, I had no choice. I inclined my head and slipped off Sylvia’s necklace. Matt pulled me away from the desk, making space for the other candidates to continue picking out their charms. His breath caressed my neck as he put the charm on me. Warm fingers skimmed my skin. He snapped close the clasp.

I prompted, “Done, Merlin?”

“My name is Matt,” he said.

“That’s just a cover.”

He leaned closer. “I am Matt.”

“Why?” My whole body tightened. I took a bracing breath. My spine became so rigid. “Why would you not want to be known as the most powerful wizard in the world? Why wouldn’t you want to be Merlin?”

Even though we stood in the middle of a classroom surrounded by students, it seemed as if there were only two of us present.

“I am Matt,” he said in a low tone. “Because I can’t even remember who Merlin is. Matt is real.”

He let the amulet drop. The gemstone fell on my bare skin. I gasped at the heat emanating from it. It sat on me as if I’d always worn it.

Matt stepped back with an enigmatic smile. “Perfect. It’s been waiting a long time for you.”

***

“Now that you are more or less on the same footing, I will be sorting you into groups,” he announced. “Each group will contain at least one wizard.”

Everyone rose. With a wave of his hand, he cleared the tables and benches. They slid to the edges of the room up against the walls. Matt assigned me to Blake, Oliver, Gia, and Paul.

“Now, one wizard from each group will come to me. I will give you an attack spell. The rest of your group will be defending against you. Those of you defending use the amulet to see through the spell and reach the wizard. If you can touch him, you can disable him.”

“I’ll go,” Blake volunteered. I glanced at Gia. She shrugged.

Blake scuttled over to Matt. Matt huddled together with the ‘attack’ wizards. Blake returned, trying to hold a serious expression on his naturally cheerful face.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Sure,” I said, lining up to be first.

Gia stopped me. “I’ll go first. Try it on me.”

Across the room, I saw everyone else doing the same. Grey was going first in his group. I turned back to Gia and Blake. Blake raised his hand and shouted out a spell.

“
Prazaanta
.”

I could barely make out the word as it grazed my ear the syllables warbled and warped sounding. It hurt to hear the word but then it faded.

Blake’s palm punched out at Gia as if to direct the flow of the spell towards her.

Gia froze in place. For a second, I saw her skin turn a pale blue. I glanced over at Grey. He too had a slight sheen of blue. All across the room, every single candidate stood paralyzed. No one had stopped the spell.

“Merlin,” Grey said. “This is bogus. You need to give us better instructions.”

 “See the spell coming. Don’t let the flow hit you directly. Step away. Move. Don’t stand and take it.” Matt folded his arms across his chest and leaned back comfortably against the front of the teacher’s desk. “Let’s keep going. Next person, step up.”

Oliver moved forward. I held up my hand and shook my head. Oliver let me go again. Blake sent the same spell. I heard the word almost as if I could see it. The air in the room seemed to thicken. I felt a breeze from where the spell originated. I saw the air move as the spell snaked towards me. The amulet on my chest felt cold… and dead. My hand reached up to touch the gemstone even while my feet moved me out of the way of the blast. The spell moved as I moved. It repositioned and headed straight for me.

Matt was full of crap. The amulet had no special affinity for me. It didn’t even work.

CHAPTER 10
TRAINING

The spell-blast hit me like a wallop of wind. All of a sudden the amulet glowed, just as it had done when light hit it before, red fire rose around me creating a barrier. The spell glanced off me and dissolved. Red fire faded. I wiggled my fingers and toes just to make sure I could.

They wiggled.

 “Nicely done.” Matt clapped. He walked over to our group.

“What was that?” Blake demanded, his cherub face turning purple. “You said to move. That had nothing to do with moving.”

“By moving, she activated the amulet. It sensed her heightened state and responded.”

I looked down at the quiet gemstone. Red winked back at me. “I woke it up.”

“My turn.” Oliver gestured at Blake. Blake shot the spell to him. Oliver stepped out of the way as I had done. I saw the spell follow him. Oliver’s soft blue amulet glowed. It didn’t create a barrier like mine, but somehow the spell dissolved.

“Well done,” Matt said.

I opened my mouth to ask him about the lack of barrier, but Matt had already gone on to another group. I saw across the room the same defensive move being used. Some had success. Some didn’t.

Three hours after the class had begun, Matt called it to an end. Everyone ran out towards the dining hall. We only had half an hour for our lunch break and we were all starving. I took my time putting Matt’s heavy tome into the school shoulder bag we’d all been given and securing the iPad. I traced the detailed stitching on the front flap of the bag. It had the same lion emblem on it that had been on the front door of the school.

When the last person had left the classroom, I marched up to Matt. My stomach let out a dragon-like growl.

“The amulet uses up your strength,” he said mildly. “That’s why you’re so hungry. You should get to lunch.”

I laid my palms on his desk. “Do you want to come with me?”

Matt stopped in the middle of closing his bag. “I can’t… I mean… I could. Teachers are allowed, but I… can’t.”

I fiddled with my new amulet. “I see.”

Matt watched my movements. Self-consciously, I stopped.

“Which Queen did the amulet belong to?”

Matt closed his bag. “Why do you ask?”

“I want to know.”

“Do you want to give it back?”

“No!” I said. And stopped. I rubbed my eyes. “I don’t know why I said that. This thing is doing something to me.” I tugged at the amulet.

Matt moved swiftly to stop me. He put his hands on mine to still them. “Don’t take it off.”

“Why?”

Matt didn’t answer.

“If you don’t tell me,
Merlin
,” I said, “I’m taking this off and tossing it away.”

Matt took a step back. His gaze lowered to the floor. “I made it.”

I stilled. “What? What does that mean?”

“Charms are as powerful as the wizard who makes them. I’ve only ever made one in my life.” He confessed, “And you’re wearing it.”

“You wanted me to have it. You brought it out for me,” I said sharply.

“It is the most powerful charm in existence. I want to keep you safe, Ryan.”

I raised a brow. “Then why are you acting so strange?”

“Why are
you
acting so strange? So attached?
You
feel a strong connection to it—”

Matt’s dark gaze locked on mine. My heart skipped several beats.

“—because you feel a strong connection to me.”

He meant he knew I liked him. I felt the tips of my ears turn red.

Matt came around to stand directly in front of me. His heart thumped against his chest. It seemed to beat so loudly it echoed around the room. I laid my hand against it and took a breath. For a long second, we just stood there.