Soul Fire (4 page)

“I don’t mind,” I told her, heading over to the table
with the platter on it. “I don’t like them already.”
Larni smiled, just a little bit, but it lit up her doll’s face
like a lamp. I already liked her a darn sight more than the
students I was bunking with.
“Any questions you would like answered?” she asked.
“Too many,” I lifted the cover off the platter. “First
things first, I suppose, where’s the bathroom?”
“Just down the hall. You’ll be sharing with the other
girls.”
I groaned inwardly. A communal bathroom? I couldn’t
even share with my mother.
A bell echoed somewhere in the castle. Larni’s face fell
a little.
“I’m to leave you now, miss,” she was already halfway
out of the door. “Good luck tomorrow!”
I ate my dinner, and then wandered down the hall to
find the bathrooms she’d told me about. I soaked in one of
the baths, revelling in being clean. Once I was scrubbed
and washed, I headed back on down to my room, dressed
in a clean white shirt and pants that I’d found in my
dresser. I sat in front of the fire that was now dancing
merrily, combing my damp hair with my fingers.
Everything about this place reminded me of the fantasy
novels that I’d read when I was little. I’d always wanted to
be a part of them, and now it looked like my wish had
been granted.
But it would still be a long time until this place felt like
home.

The next morning I was woken up by a small bell.
When I opened my eyes, I realised that it was hovering
right above my head. It chimed once, as though gauging
my reaction.

“You’re beautiful,” I whispered, not wanting to scare it
away.
It was tiny, about the size of my palm. Its gold plating
shone in the morning sunlight. I’d never seen anything
more exquisite in my life.
That was, until it began to clang loudly.
“Shush! I’m up, I’m up, look!”
I scrambled out of bed, but the bell continued its
deafening assault. Hands over my ears, I seized a tea cup
from my morning breakfast platter that someone – Larni, I
assumed – had set on the table. I hooked the tea cup over
the bell, and fought it to the floor. The tea cup hopped
about madly as the bell fought for release, but it wasn’t
strong enough to lift it. Though the chiming was muffled,
it was still loud enough to be irritating.
Just as I was considering stepping on it, there was a soft
knock on the door, and Larni slid through without waiting
for a reply. She took in the scene; me standing in my
pyjamas, the tea cup chiming loudly and moving
sporadically over the floor, and covered a smile with her
hand.
“How do I turn it off?” I asked forlornly.
She clapped and the tea cup ceased to move about, the
bell silent.
“Sorry, miss. Looks like you got an energetic one. They
usually stop once their patron gets out of bed.”
She carried over a pile of linen to my bed, which she
straightened deftly.
“Here we are, miss. I’ve got your uniform for the day,
and you’ll find boots in your dresser.” I thanked her as I
held up the shirt, noting that it was exactly like the ones
the other students had been wearing yesterday. “Eat your
breakfast before it goes cold and listen for the bell,” Larni
was watching me intensely with her large brown eyes.
“When you hear it, head down the stairs and you should
find the rest of the students.”
“Thank you.” She left, and I dressed in silence.
On the platter I discovered eggs and toast, which I
devoured; I was nervous as all heck, which meant I was
starving. I found the boots Larni had told me about in my
dresser, and I pulled them on. Someone knew my exact
clothing size – something I wasn’t too happy with – and
everything fitted like a glove.
The bell chimed just as I was twisting my hair into a
braid. I tied it off, my hands shaking, and glanced up into
the mirror. I looked tidy, uniform and respectable; three
words which had never been applied to me in my life.
Ignoring the butterflies which were threatening to
burst right through the wall of my stomach, I headed
down the stairs with the other girls. When we got to the
bottom, Jett was waiting for us.
“Morning, students,” he was bouncing on the balls of
his feet and I groaned; somehow I had just known he was
a morning person. “This way, if you will. Just some
examinations before class.”
As if I needed any more reason to feel nervous.
Examinations? Were they physical? Mental? Either one
didn’t appeal to me.
He led us down another hallway, and I deliberately
hung back. Everyone else seemed to have made friends
overnight, but I had already accepted the fact that I would
be a loner again.
But that was alright. I had a whole new world to
explore and a power beneath my skin that I was itching to
learn more about.
We were led into a hall about the size of the
gymnasium back in my old high school, except this hall
was made from stone, with torches burning in their
brackets in between the enormous windows. Iain and
Netalia were waiting for us at the other end beside an
enormous leather case.
“Good morning, students,” Iain started. “Today we start
three years of your magical education. To begin with, we
need to test your magic.”
Netalia was arranging us into two rows, with plenty of
space in between. At the mention of a test of magic, my
heart had leapt into my throat. I thought back to the
dismal spark that was the only magic I’d manage to
consciously conjure. I wiped my suddenly sweaty palms
on my pants.
“You first, dear,” Netalia was saying to a girl at the
front.
The girl stepped forward, looking as terrified as I was
feeling. She had a mass of dark curls which she’d struggled
to tie back, and behind her glasses, her blue eyes shone
with concern.
“What do I do?” I heard her whisper.
“Which is your dominant hand?” Netalia asked.
The girl held out her right hand in response.
“Very good. Now, can you feel a tingling in the air?”
I could indeed, as though someone had turned on a
television that I couldn’t see, only sense. Apparently the
girl could feel it too, because she nodded.
“Ok, now just try and gather that feeling all together,
just over your palm here.”
The girl flexed her fingers, and we all craned our necks
to watch.
Suddenly, blue flames erupted from her palm in a neat
little fireball. The girl jumped back in surprise, dropping
the fire, which went out immediately.
“Very good,” Netalia said, with the first hint of
excitement I’d seen her show since meeting her. Iain was
nodding, though he wasn’t smiling - I don’t think he ever
did. “What’s your name?”
“Sa- Dena,” she stammered, and I realised that she’d
forgotten her mage name for a second. I couldn’t help
smiling; it was reassuring to know someone else was in the
same boat.
“Come over here, Dena. Let’s get your tunic sorted out.”
Dena was led to the leather case, from which Netalia
picked out a tunic in the exact shade of blue that she’d
conjured. Dena pulled it on over her head, and then
fastened a leather belt around her waist. She had a shy
little smile on her face, but I could tell she was proud of
herself. I didn’t blame her; she’d done well to perform
under pressure in my opinion.
Slowly, Netalia made her way through the group. As I
watched, I realised that no two mages had the same colour
magic as everyone else. The dark haired boy I’d noticed
from yesterday had magic the exact same colour as fire;
when he first created the fireball in his hand, I managed to
confuse it with real fire. When he came back to the group
after collecting his tunic, I saw that his eyes were the
exact same shade as his magic; they were on fire.
Finally, I was called forward. I was the last mage to
receive their tunic, and, truth be told, I was feeling a little
naked.
As I stepped up towards Netalia with the rest of my
classmates watching me, I noticed Iain taking interest.
This was surprising, as he had looked bored throughout
the process so far.
I held out my right hand before Netalia could ask.
“Collect the tingling, and act as a conductor for it,” she
instructed.
I closed my eyes, calling the feeling in the air towards
me. It prickled along my skin like pins and needles.
“Sometimes visualising a spark can help,” she told me,
and I did just that.
As the match in my mind struck the matchbox and
ignited, I heard gasps from my classmates. Worried, I
opened my eyes and looked around.
Rather than igniting over my outstretched palm, the
magic had decided to turn me into a human torch. Flames
curled up and around my body, but I just felt a tickling
sensation. I looked up at Netalia, expecting to be told off.
Sure enough, I wasn’t disappointed.
“Very impressive, Sky,” she said, her mouth twisting in
one corner. “Decide to make a spectacle of yourself, did
you?”
“Leave her alone,” Jett piped up from next to Iain.
“She’s inexperienced; you know that.”
I dared not look at Jett; instead, I locked eyes with
Netalia.
“Come and get your tunic then,” she muttered, already
stalking away from me.
I followed her reluctantly. She pulled out a tunic of the
exact shade of green as my magic and my eyes. I pulled it
on and accepted the belt she was offering me, fastening it
around my waist.
“Now then,” Iain said, stepping back up to the front and
clasping his hands together. “To classes.”
Classes at the Academy were nothing like my classes
back at Ar Cena High. My first class was Magical Theory,
taught by a tiny, frail old woman named:
“Watt,” she announced, standing in front of the
blackboard.
All of the students glanced at one another.
“No one... said anything,” the blonde girl in the front
said.
“What?”
“What what?” a young man with red hair asked, a smile
growing on his face.
She eyed him off with her beady little eyes. The red
headed boy was looking around and smirking at the
student next to him. Before any of us could move, Watt
clicked her fingers, and a bolt of lightning snapped
through the air, striking Red Hair on the hand. His hair
stood on end, but his expression was funnier. I snorted
with laughter, and I wasn’t alone.
“Welcome to Magical Theory,” she said loudly,
strutting along to the blackboard and picking up a bit of
chalk. “In this class you will learn how to control the
magic that you’ve been newly introduced to. For some of
you, this will be old news, but please pay attention
anyway.”
The blonde girl who had spoken up before smiled
secretly to herself as she inspected her nails. I’d already
recognised her from the group of giggling teenagers, the
ones Larni had informed me were from this world and had
grown up in this realm. I narrowed my eyes at the back of
her head.
An hour later, we were let out into the corridor. I was
leaning against a wall, struggling to stuff bits of paper into
the satchel Jett had handed me when I was leaving the
hall, when someone bumped into me, causing the papers
to flutter to the flagstones.
“Sorry!” Dena dropped to the ground to pick up the
papers. “I was doing the same thing as you – I suppose I
didn’t see you.”
“That’s alright,” I said, accepting the papers she handed
me. “Bit overwhelming, huh?”
She nodded, pushing her glasses back up her nose.
“I’m from the human realm,” she said. “Nothing could
be more... different.”
“Me too,” I replied, relieved she wasn’t one of the
village mages. “No phone reception or anything.”
Her eyebrows jumped into her hair.
“You brought your phone?”
“Yeah,” I pulled it out of my pocket, where I’d been
keeping it for some kind of familiarity. “It got wet when I
fell in the river, but then it dried out and started up.”
Dena looked at me, confused.
“What river?”
“The river portal. How did you get here?”
“I came through a mirror,” she replied. “One morning, a
couple of days ago, I looked in my mirror and instead of
seeing my reflection, saw this place. When I reached for
it, I got sucked into my dorm room, here.”
I shoved my phone back into my pocket indignantly.
Thanks Jett, I thought savagely.
“What’ve we got next?” Dena was asking.
“Uh,” I scrutinized the time table we’d all been given.
“Fitness. Uh oh. Does this mean exercise?”
It sure did. We headed outside; following the rest of the
students to an area which looked like it had been set up by
a drill sergeant. Jett was waiting for us next to a wall that
went straight up. I shuddered; exercise had never much
appealed to me at all.
“So now that you’re all sorted and organised,” he started
eagerly. “I thought I’d start getting your health up to
standard. Any meals you are supplied with at the
Academy are specifically designed to provide maximum
protein and energy.”
He started handing out shirts for us to wear for this
subject. As I took mine, last as usual, I decided to ask him
about something I’d been wondering.
“Jett, who pays our tuition?”
He packed the last few shirts away and then turned
around.
“The Academy does, for now. When you leave after the
three years, you head out into the mage world and get
jobs. Mages are highly sought as healers and the like. Once
you’ve got a high enough paying job, the Academy starts
taking back the money for the tuition, but only in small
amounts.”
“Oh, ok,” I looked at the plain black shirt I was still
holding. “Where can I get changed?”
I followed the rest of the girls to the small changing
rooms on the edge of the training ground. When we
emerged, the boys were already being lined up at the
beginning of the course. Jett was letting them go in pairs
at intervals, and I watched as a surprising amount of them
got stuck at the climbing walls. Eventually we got to the
girls.
“Sky and, sorry what was your name?”
I turned around and felt my heart sink. The young
blonde woman, the local mage, was making her way to the
front to stand next to me.
“Eleanora,” she replied.
“Eleanora, ok. You two ready? Remember, it’s not a
race. Just try to finish.”
But the second after he’d blown the whistle and we set
off, it was very clear to us running the course - and those
watching - that it was most certainly was a race.
I reached the low wire nets a split second before she
did. I dropped to my stomach, army crawling through the
mud below them. Behind me, I heard Eleanora gasp in
pain, and I wasted a split second wondering why. Then
my elbow clipped the wire, and a sharp jolt of what felt
like electricity but I knew was magic snapped through my
body. I dropped flatter, my nose almost in the mud. But I
kept going.
We reached the end of the nets at the same time,
stretching with relief. We were coming up to the rope
swing, which would launch us out and over the muddy
stretch of water. I groaned as I neared it; it was obvious
that it wasn’t going to swing us far enough – we were
going to have to swim.
Eleanora was now ahead of me, grabbing a rope and
launching off the embankment. I did the same, making
sure to push off as hard as I could. Eleanora dropped from
her rope, and I felt a split second of elation – she’d
dropped too early!
My lungs burning, already exhausted, I waited for the
rope to reach its apex and then flung myself from it,
landing in the muddy water a good four feet from the
other mage. I gasped as the water rushed over me, icy and
churning, but the cold invigorated me and I stretched out,
beginning the short swim to the other side. I was a good,
strong swimmer; Mum had made sure of that.
I heaved myself onto the bank, wet, cold and
exhausted. I scrambled to my feet just as Eleanora pulled
herself out of the water. I dragged myself to the last
obstacle, the vertical wall. I picked up one of the ropes
hanging down it and tried to start climbing.