The Black Mage: Apprentice (21 page)

"I thought long and hard about what type of
competition we should have. I considered weather casting which is
such a relevant skill to have at sea…" The man paused as his eyes
fell on me. "But then I thought better of it."

I scowled.
Of course
. The last thing
Byron would want was a tourney centered around a skill I actually
was good at.

"I asked myself what might be a vital skill
to host. What type of casting do I want to reward…?" The master was
taking his time, basking in the light of our anticipation. "Then it
occurred to me. Non-magic combat. Time after time I have had you
train without magic. Because not only does the experience aid in
your casting, it also serves you when your magic runs dry. Because
no one's power is infinite and at some point you will have to fight
without it."

Master Byron watched our reaction to his
news. There was a scattered murmur of confusion, dissent, and then
curiosity.

Though we spent each morning drilling with
weapons and hand-to-hand combat, none of us had bothered to pay our
status much heed. I knew my standing in casting: I was better than
Priscilla, better than Ray, maybe even better than Ella. But
non-magic fighting? I had never bothered to rank myself.

And I was certain I wasn't the only one.

"What type of non-magic combat?" That was one
of the second-years.

Byron frowned at the boy. "You will find out
when you arrive. You have ten minutes to finish your meal and then
I expect all of you in the training yards. Don't worry about which
weapon to bring. I will have the servants bring it for you."

****

I was one of the first to arrive. After the
master's announcement I hadn't been able to concentrate on the food
in front of me. That, and things were still awkward with Ella. She
hadn't spoken to me once since my outburst the night before and,
though I should have, I hadn't offered up an apology. Alex hadn't
known what to do, alternating between talk with the girl he adored
and his mule-headed sister. It had grown to be an extremely
uncomfortable breakfast.

Leaning against the edge of the rail I
wondered what the contest would be. Hand-to-hand combat, sickle
sword, long sword, longbow, crossbow, axe, knife, javelin, throwing
daggers, staff, or something new? It would have to be something we
had already learned, surely. And since the prince was Byron's
favorite it would undoubtedly be something Darren was good at.

But he was good at everything.

I hoped it was anything but hand-to-hand
combat. No matter how hard I trained my arms remained stubbornly
slim, and there were many boys whose arm bore muscle twice the size
of my own. If we were forced into a weighted match I would lose to
the heavier opponent. At least with a weapon I could keep a
distance. I was fast, quick.

Please
, I thought
, let it be
something I am good at
.

"I hope it's not the crossbow," I heard Ray
mutter to my left.

"I hope it
is
the crossbow," a
second-year said. "Or the knife."

I wanted the knife too. But I knew better
than to hope for it. Byron knew I was good with it. If I knew Byron
he would pick the axe. It was Darren's favorite.

It was also, coincidentally, one of my
least.

"Don't look so sure of yourself, Ryiah,"
Priscilla drawled. "You know it's going to be a fifth-year, not one
of us."

"Maybe not." Darren stepped in between us. "I
happen to be quite good for my age." He looked sideways at me.
"Better even."

There was a flutter in the pit of my stomach.
Stop staring!
I admonished myself. Now was not the time to
be distracted. I drew a deep breath and I saw the corner of
Darren's lip twitch in a sly smile. He knew
exactly
what he
was doing.

"Is everyone here?" Commander Chen glanced
around and then back to our training master. When Byron nodded he
continued. "Good. Now Byron has been kind enough to let me pick
today's weapon of choice. Since this city's most common issue is
thieves I thought it best to stick with what my regiment knows
best: a street fight with knives."

Yes.
I wanted to kiss the bald man.
Thank you! Thank you for giving me a chance!

A couple of the heavier apprentices
groaned.

"Each one of you will be paired with another
student at random. That person may or may not be your year. You
will only have one match and your master and I will judge you
according to your performance." He cleared his throat. "After all
the matches have concluded you will be dismissed. Byron and I will
take four hours to rank you and post the results at dinner."

What if my opponent is a fifth-year?
Suddenly the odds didn't look so good anymore.

I needn't have worried.

They were worse.

****

"Darren and Ryiah."

I stood frozen in place. I couldn't move if I
wanted to.

The master frowned and called out louder.
"Darren and Ryiah. It is your turn for a match."

I'm going to lose.
I had never drilled
with Darren, ever…. except in the armory during my first year at
the Academy, and that time I had lost. And he hadn't even been
trying
then.

I'm going to lose.
I should have hoped
for a fifth-year.

Swallowing my pride I followed the prince to
a rack of blades beside the commander and Byron. I picked up a
couple of different knives, weighing them in my hands, testing
their grip.

I chose a medium-sized one of quality steel.
I wrapped my fingers around the base of the handle so that my thumb
overlapped my forefinger. The blade angled up with my wrist, locked
and ready to strike. I was ready.

I stood with my feet a shoulder width apart,
comfortable and diagonal to my garnet-eyed opponent.

The knowing grin on Darren's face was
obnoxiously self-assured. I could hear Priscilla cheering him on
loudly to my right.
You should have known Byron would never let
you win.

It was hard to imagine a month ago I'd been
kissing the prince and now I was contemplating the easiest way to
strike him down. Before he struck me.

Let Darren go first
, I decided.
Wait for him to make the first move and then disarm him.
Don't engage – disarm. Do not take him on without disarming him
first!

"Why so quiet, Ryiah?" Darren interrupted my
thoughts as I matched him, circling so that we continued to stand
across from one another leaving no side exposed. "I should think
you'd be pleased Byron thought us equal opponents." He was smiling
and waiting for me to take the bait. He knew just as I did our
pairing was not, as the commander had insisted, random.

I stayed silent and continued to study the
prince's features, not willing to waste precious energy in
banter.

"Gut her like a fish, your highness!" Merrick
screeched.

I bit down on my lip, hard. It was all I
could do not to throw my weapon at my mentee's face.

Darren took the momentary distraction to
lunge – striking in like a serpent, quick and precise.

I jumped back just in time. I shoved my knife
into its sheath and then lunged forward, snatching the prince's
right wrist with my right hand. I threw it back behind him while I
used my left hand to gouge his eyes.

Darren swore and swung wildly with his left.
I quickly pulled his blade arm and myself behind him. At the same
time I grabbed his jaw with my left hand, pulling it left as I
attempted to force him to the ground.

Darren wasn't going to lose easily. I could
feel it in the way he pushed back. His legs dug into the dirt,
fighting my weight. My arm was starting to hurt. The move hadn't
worked as easily on him as it did on Merrick during our drills. I
kicked off with my weight, letting my feet bear down on his arm as
I tried to break the non-heir's defensive stance.

But I couldn't break it.

All at once the hand gripping his arm began
to shake.

Darren was fighting like mad to break free
and the pressure became too much. I lurched back, barely avoiding
the swipe of his knife as I once again drew my own.

"Now it's my turn," Darren told me. His eyes
danced as he slashed once left and up and then across to my right
in an effort to startle me. I used my blade hand to draw each
attack away from my body - but my speed was lessening as he
continued to slash in a seemingly random pattern of assault.

I was so focused on blocking that I missed
the quick movement when he switched blade hands.

A sharp, biting pain found its way across my
stomach. A long line of blood trailed my waist. I tried not to gasp
as I fell back, stumbling to avoid his next attack.

Darren pressed forward, continuing his
gain.

He used my pain to his advantage and swung
down on my blade arm. I cried out, dropping my knife.

The prince brought up his weapon to my throat
and held it there.

"Surrender yet, Ryiah?" His hot breath
tingled against my ear and I was unhappy to notice how pleasant it
felt in the midst of defeat. His eyes were dancing.

I groaned reluctantly and Darren spun the
knife back in his hand, watching me with humor. "You put up a
better fight than I expected."

But not good enough
.

The two of us returned to our seats.
Commander Chen nodded approvingly and then sent me to a regiment
healer as the next pairing began.

I glanced at the master. Byron was
smirking.

When we were finally dismissed I was the
first to go. I spent the next four hours watching the tide rise and
fall from the harbor, studying the way the frothy waves sprayed
across the pier.

Ella found me after awhile and sat down
beside me, leaning her head against my shoulder with a sigh.

Guilt reared its ugly head. "I am sorry I am
such a bad friend," I told her.

I felt rather than saw Ella smile. "I
shouldn't pretend to understand, Ry." She paused. "I know you. If
you are struggling this much with the decision it's because Darren
means more to you than your brother and I realized."

"I don't want to choose him. I know a future
with him would never be what I want it to be." I felt a sudden urge
to explain. I tried to shove it down and bury it but I couldn't. I
had been silent for too long. I needed to tell someone. To
acknowledge the truth that I was fighting so hard to deny. "When he
kissed me, Ella, none of that mattered. I wish I could say it did…
but I've never felt anything like that with Ian. Or anyone else..."
I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. "I know the answer is simple
but a part of me won't let Darren go."

"Is that why you were trying so hard today to
win the tourney? To run away from them both?" Her eyes were two
pools of sparkling amber.

"Yes," I admitted. "But it didn't do me any
good." I laughed weakly. "Maybe I will get lucky. They both won
their matches. Maybe one of them will rank first and I can pick the
one that stays behind."

Eventually, the evening bell rang and the two
of us picked ourselves up off the ground. We made our way to the
dining commons that were already packed with eager apprentices
fighting over a list that was pinned to the door. Even the others
from Restoration and Alchemy were interested.

Everyone wanted to see who had placed first
in today's competition.

"Ry." My twin found me, making his way to the
back of the crowd. His eyes were wide.

My stomach fell. Did I place last? Maybe
Master Byron would use the contest as another way to humiliate me.
Rank me even lower than the second-years.

"What did she get? Wait, what did I get?"
Ella pressed on eagerly, unaware of my reaction.

"You were tenth, Ella… Ry, you were-"

My brother was interrupted by an angry shriek
at the front of the room. "The lowborn placed second? This
has
to be a mistake!"

The "lowborn?" There were only seven of us in
Combat, but only one that Priscilla would ever call to her
face.

Darren arrived just as my brother and friend
caught me falling limp with shock. I hadn't won. BUT. I. HAD.
RANKED. SECOND. "Congratulations, Ryiah," he said smoothly, "You
must have impressed the commander. You lost to me, of course." He
grinned, white teeth flashing. "But there's even better news-"

"W-what?" I was still too startled to take in
his words.

"Ryiah. I'm so proud of you!" Ian rushed
forward to embrace me and then stepped back awkwardly. "Sorry," he
said quickly, his face reddening. "I keep forgetting you need time
to make your decision…"

"She won't have much of it."

Ian's eyes shot to the prince and I found my
own doing the same. "What are you talking about?" His eyes
narrowed.

The non-heir gave an innocent wave of his
hand. "One of the Combat mages dropped out from the mission so
Commander Chen decided to have a second apprentice participate as
well."

"And who would that be?" Ian's arms were
folded and his eyes flared angrily. "Ryiah?"

Darren's smile didn't waiver.

"You rigged this!" Ian spat.

Darren raised a brow incredulously. "And how
would I do that? How was I to know that Ryiah would perform so
well?"

No one said anything. But I knew what they
were thinking. They were just too nice to say it aloud. I hadn't
really ranked second. Darren must have told Byron to do it and then
talked one of the regiment mages into withdrawing.

The non-heir gave an exasperated sigh. "I
didn't do anything."

"But I bet Byron would," I said quietly. "I
bet he would if you suggested it."

The prince's eyes met mine, amused. "That is
probably true," he conceded. Then, feigning a yawn he stepped away
from our group in the direction of the barracks. "Well, I must get
to packing, as fun as our little conversation has been." His eyes
fell to me and the corner of his lip twitched. "Perhaps you should
too, Ryiah… What was it I heard Commander Chen say? Oh yes, we
should expect to be deployed for a month." Before any one of us
could realize what he had said the prince was gone.