The Magician's Apprentice (12 page)

She would have to think about it later. For now all she could do was ignore him. Though not if he was openly obnoxious, she decided. Then she would stand up to him. After all, she had faced a Sachakan magician. She had dealt with grown men made difficult by pain and sickness. No mere Kyralian apprentice was going to cow her.

That decided, she was able to clear her thoughts and concentrate on Dakon’s control lesson. As always, she visualised a box and nervously opened it. Inside lay her power, a swirling, bright ball of light. She touched it, held it in her hand, even gave it a squeeze, then put it back and closed the lid.

When she opened her eyes, Dakon sat back and smiled at her. Then he stood up, walked to a shelf and took down a heavy stone bowl that had been wedged between two rows of books. He put it on the floor in front of her, then tore up a scrap of paper and dropped it into the bowl.

“Look at the paper,” he told her. “I want you to remember what it felt like to hold your power. Then I want you to take a tiny bit of it – just a pinch – and direct it at the paper. At the same time, think about heat. Think about fire.”

This was nothing like the lessons she’d had before. She looked at him questioningly, but he just nodded at the bowl.

Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward and stared at the paper. She recalled how it had felt to hold and squeeze her magic. The sensation was still there, even though she had her eyes open.

It was not unlike the feeling she had experienced when her magic loosed itself without her meaning it but… not as
slippery
.

She dared not blink.

Still staring at the stone vessel, she plucked at the magic she sensed and felt it respond. Scared that if she waited too long the bit of magic she had taken would slip from her grasp, she directed it towards the torn paper.

Her forehead burned as the air before her suddenly grew hot.

The vessel slid away from her a few strides, then flames began to flicker from within.

“You did it!” Dakon exclaimed. His tone was half surprised, half pleased. “I thought you might be ready.”

“So she has.”

Tessia jumped as she realised Jayan was standing beside her chair, peering over her shoulder at the burning paper. The smell of smoke stung her nose. Jayan grimaced and made a small gesture with one finger.

Looking back at the bowl, she saw that the smoke was now contained within it by an invisible shield. After a few moments the flames shrank and disappeared. She felt a vague disappointment as the result of her first controlled use of magic was extinguished.

Dakon, she noted, was looking at Jayan with a thoughtful expression. The young apprentice shrugged and walked back to his seat, picking up the book he had been reading. Dakon said nothing and turned back to Tessia.

“So, I think I can officially say you have gained control of your power, Tessia,” he said. “We need not fear any further destruction, though I must say the room we had to refurnish is looking a lot better than it did before.”

She felt her face warm and looked away. “What happens now?”

“We celebrate,” he told her. Across the room a small gong set within an alcove in the wall rang. “After all, I’ve never heard of any magician gaining control in just two weeks. I took three. Jayan took four.”

“Three and a half,” Jayan corrected, not looking up from his book. “And we lost three days when Lord Gempel dropped in for a chat and decided to hang around and deplete your wine store.”

Dakon chuckled. “He was old. How could I deny him a rest and a little company now and then?”

Jayan didn’t answer. At a tap on the door, Dakon turned to look at it. Tessia noted the way his gaze intensified as he used magic. The door swung open. Cannia stepped into the room.

“Bring us a bottle of wine, Cannia. A good one, too. Now that Tessia’s control lessons are over she had best start learning something all respectable Kyralians must know: which of our wines are better than others.”

As the servant smiled and left, Tessia drew her attention back to her own magic. This new awareness she had of something within her, discovered during her first lessons and reinforced by numerous exercises, reminded her of something. Then she remembered how she had become acutely conscious of the position and rhythms of her heart and lungs after her father had shown her sketches of those organs within a body and started teaching her about them.

But her magic was different. She did not need to be in control of her heart and lungs. She could forget about them and trust that they kept working. Though Dakon had assured her she would eventually stop noticing that she was exerting control over her power, that control must always remain.

Now, for the first time, the prospect no longer scared her.

Jayan yawned as he crossed the yard to the stables. The grass in the surrounding fields was white with frost, and his breath misted in the air. As the cold penetrated his clothes he created a shield about himself and warmed the air within it.

Magic could do something about the cold, but it couldn’t fix the early hour. Why had Dakon sent for him? Malia hadn’t been able or willing to tell him anything except that he’d find Dakon in the stables.

A man leading a roan horse emerged from the blackness behind the open stable door and Jayan felt his mood darken further. Dakon had given Hanara a job in the stables, which Jayan had to admit was a wise move. It kept the former slave out of the house but not out of sight. But it did mean Jayan had to deal with the man whenever he wanted or needed to go for a ride.

Hanara kept his eyes to the ground, his shoulders hunched. The apparent meekness only made Jayan more uneasy.

“For you, master,” the man said.

Jayan bit back a reminder that the title was not appropriate. He should not be called “master” until he was a magician, and then only by his own apprentice. The one time he had tried to explain this Hanara had stared at the ground, saying nothing, and later resumed using the term.

Hanara turned the mare to the side ready for mounting, then positioned himself at her head. Jayan paused, then took the reins from the man and held them as he swung up onto the horse’s back. Hoofbeats to his right heralded the emergence of Dakon from the stable, leading his favourite gelding, Sleet.

“A good morning to you, Apprentice Jayan,” Dakon said. “Care for a ride?”

“Do I have a choice? Can I get down and go back inside to study?” Jayan asked, a touch snappier than he intended.

Dakon’s mouth twitched into a smile. “That would be a pity, when Hanara spent so much time readying Ember for you.”

“Wouldn’t it just,” Jayan replied sarcastically. “So where are we heading so early in the morning?”

“The usual circuit of the village,” Dakon said, placing a foot in Sleet’s stirrup. He swung up and settled into the grey’s saddle, then nudged the horse into motion. Jayan sighed and urged his mount after them.

As they emerged from the Residence’s gates Jayan saw that a few villagers were already out and about. The baker, of course, was doing his usual early deliveries. A few young boys carried bundles of firewood from a cart to the doors of the houses, leaving them beside the doorstep.

It did not take Dakon and Jayan long to reach the edge of the village. Crossing the bridge, they headed southward.

“You don’t trust Hanara, do you?” Dakon asked.

Jayan shook his head. “No. I don’t think you should, either.”

“I don’t, but perhaps not as little as you.” He turned to regard Jayan. “I may not expect his loyalty, or trust him with secret information – not that I have any – but I do trust him to hold the head of my horse when I mount. It would be petty and stupid of him to try to spook a horse we were mounting. He knows I would cast him out of the village if I thought it was deliberate.”

“And if you weren’t sure?” Jayan asked.

“I’d give him another chance. And probably another. Once is a mistake, twice is bad luck or a coincidence, three times is either deliberate or a bad habit and would at least prove him incapable of the job I’ve given him.”

“Even if someone was hurt?”

“That would force me to read his mind.”

Jayan frowned. “You haven’t already?”

“No. I’m no Sachakan ashaki.” Dakon lifted one eyebrow. “Do you feel no sympathy for the man?”

Looking away, Jayan let out a sigh. “A little. Well, I suppose more than a little. But that doesn’t mean I trust him. If Takado turned up I’m sure Hanara would scurry back to his master’s side without hesitation.”

“Would he? He’s a free man now. Takado said I could do what I wished with his man. Hanara knows that. Would he willingly go back to the life of a slave?”

“If he has known nothing else. If he feared to do otherwise.”

“Nobody is forcing him to stay. He could leave and return to Sachaka if he wanted to.” Dakon smiled. “He is trying out a different life now. The longer he has his freedom, the more he may like it. And he will like it even more if he is not treated with distrust by every Kyralian he meets.”

Jayan nodded reluctantly. “But that will count for nothing if he does not respect you,” he pointed out. “Should Hanara face Takado again, his reaction will depend on who he fears and respects the most, you or Takado.”

“True.”

“And he may never respect a man he doesn’t fear, if that’s the only way he knows how to judge. Fear may mean a lot more than trust to him.”

Dakon frowned and fell into a thoughtful silence. They turned off the road onto a cart track which climbed steadily up and along a ridge overlooking the village. Jayan stared down at the double line of houses extending from the river to the end of the little valley. Dakon’s house was a storey higher and several times larger than the rest of the buildings. Whenever Jayan looked at the village from this viewpoint, he wondered how the villagers managed to live and work in their tiny homes.

“Your distrust of Hanara is reasonable,” Dakon said. Jayan resisted the urge to sigh with exasperation.
Isn’t he finished with this subject yet?
he thought impatiently. “But I don’t quite understand the issue you have with Tessia.”

Jayan’s stomach lurched disconcertingly. “Tessia? I have no issue with her.”

Dakon laughed quietly. “Oh, it’s clear you do. Your dislike of her is as obvious as your distrust of Hanara. I’m afraid you aren’t good enough at hiding your feelings, Jayan.”

I ought to turn and meet his eyes, and state that I am happy that Tessia has joined us and look forward to many years of her company
, Jayan thought. But not yet. He wasn’t ready. Dakon had surprised him.

“If I’m so bad at hiding my feelings, then shouldn’t it be obvious what my ‘issue’ is?” he countered. “Maybe you don’t understand because there’s nothing to understand.”

“Then explain to me why you sigh or scowl at half her questions, and listen to her lessons when you say you want to read, and ignore her unless she speaks to you directly, then give her the shortest and often least helpful response?” Dakon chuckled. “From the look on your face when she’s present, anyone would think she gave you a stomach ache.”

Jayan glanced at Dakon then looked away again, thinking hard. What possible explanation could he give? He certainly couldn’t tell Dakon that he resented every moment of time Tessia took away from his own training.

“She’s just so…so ignorant,” he said. “So slow – I know she’s learning fast but it doesn’t feel like it.” He grimaced, sure that his answer wasn’t clever or evasive enough. _Make it sound as if you actually want her around for some reason. _”It’s going to be a long time before we can have a conversation about magic, or practise together, or play a game, or… something.”
Now look at him.
He turned to face Dakon, meeting the magician’s eyes and shrugging helplessly.

Dakon smiled and turned to regard the track ahead of them, which was leading to a fence and a gate.

“Watching her must remind you of your own beginnings, of the awkward questions and failed attempts at magic, of mistakes and difficulties. You know,” he looked at Jayan again, “I’m sure she’d welcome your help. You’ve put her a bit on edge, but a little assistance now and then would reassure her. Not that you should try to teach her anything new entirely on your own.” Dakon grew serious. “Apprentices are not supposed to be teachers. It’s seen as an abuse of the magician-apprentice exchange of duties.”

Jayan nodded, hoping it looked like agreement and not a commitment. Their conversation ceased as they navigated the gate. Then, as they continued on their way, Dakon looked at Jayan expectantly.

“Promise me you’ll be nicer to Tessia.”

Jayan suppressed the urge to sigh in relief. It could have been worse. Dakon could have asked him to dedicate time to assisting Tessia.

“I promise,” he said. “I’ll be nicer to her. And try not to ‘put her on edge’, as you say.”

“Good.” Apparently satisfied, Dakon nudged Sleet into a trot. Watching his master moving away, Jayan surrendered to the sigh. Then he grimaced and urged Ember to follow.

If I am so easy to read, then I need to work on changing that. Perhaps I should think of Tessia as an opportunity to gain some skill in this area. After all, what’s a minor fault here in Mandryn could be a fatal weakness in Imardin.

He might as well try to gain some advantage out of the situation. It didn’t look as if Dakon was going to send her to another teacher. Tessia was here to stay, and he would just have to get used to it.

Tessia stared at the bowl of water and reached for magic. She felt her power respond, obediently, flowing out to take the form she wanted and going where she directed it. Bubbles welled up and burst, droplets splashing her. She flinched and rubbed her skin. Too hot.

Dakon had suggested she practise turning magic into heat by warming her washing water each morning. Using magic for everyday tasks was good practice and kept a magician’s mind sharp, he told her. Nevertheless, she could not help thinking that magicians were a lazy lot every time she saw him or Jayan using magic to open doors, or to fetch something from across a room.

She knew better now than to warm the water
before
washing, however. Her most common mistake in any magical task was to employ too much magic, and to begin with there had been a few mornings she’d had to wait for some time before the water cooled enough to use.