The Magician's Apprentice (7 page)

“I thought
you
did it!”

Everybody jumped. The voice, female and full of surprise, came from the doorway. They all turned to find Tessia standing there. She stared at Lord Dakon. “So it was
him
?”

“Tessia!” Lasia exclaimed. “Use Lord Dakon’s name when you address him.”

The young woman glanced at her mother, then gave Dakon an apologetic look. “Sorry, Lord Dakon.”

He chuckled. “Apology accepted. Actually, I’m here to establish whether or not
you
used magic this morning.”

She looked suddenly uncomfortable. “It wasn’t me… was it?”

“It is possible. We’ll know for sure if I test you.”

“How… how do you do that?”

“An untrained natural magician cannot prevent magic from straying from their mind. I should be able to detect it with a light search.”

“Mind-reading?” Her eyes widened.

“No, there’s no need for me to enter your mind, just sit at the edges and look for leakage.”

“Leakage?” Veran looked at his daughter. “You magicians have some interesting terms. Not particularly reassuring ones.”

“They shouldn’t be, in this case,” Dakon told him. “There is another way to learn whether Tessia can use magic: wait until she uses it again. It tends to lead to expensive house repairs and redecoration costs, so I don’t recommend it.”

Tessia looked at the floor. “Sorry about that – if it was me.”

Dakon smiled at her. “I never liked the colours in that room, anyway. The pink was too… orange.” She did not smile, and he realised she was too nervous to find any humour in the situation.

“So… what do I do?” she asked.

He looked around, then with magic drew one of the smaller chairs round to face his. Veran chuckled and gave Dakon a knowing look. The small reminder of what Tessia might be able to do if she co-operated wasn’t lost on the healer.

“You’ll find it more comfortable if you sit,” Dakon invited. Tessia obeyed. “Close your eyes and try to still and calm your mind. That’s probably not easy right now, but you must try. It helps if you breathe slowly.”

She did as he suggested. Aware of her parents watching, he placed his fingers gently on either side of her brow and closed his own eyes. He sent his mind forth.

It took only a moment to find what he sought. Magic was flowing from her, gently but with occasional small bursts suggesting greater power within. Truly the term “leakage” was a good one to describe what he sensed. It wasn’t meant to suggest the drip from a small vessel, but instead the escaping water from cracks in a dam. Cracks that warned of imminent failure, and of flooding and destruction of all in its path.

Releasing Tessia, he opened his eyes. Her own flew open and she stared at him expectantly. As always, it amazed him that a mere person, a human, could contain such power. Like all new apprentices, she had no grasp of her own potential. Not even the most educated, ambitious apprentice truly appreciated the limitless possibilities it offered, or the inescapable limitations it imposed.

“Yes, you have magical ability,” he told her. “Plenty of it, from what I saw.”

Her parents both let out the breaths they’d been holding, then Lasia burst into chatter.

“Of all the things… what amazing luck! This couldn’t have come at a better time. She’s not ready to marry, sweet thing, and this will give her the time to – and what a husband she might attract now. Oh! But how long until she can marry? I expect she has to become a magician first. What—”

“
Mother!”
burst from Tessia. “Stop talking about me as if I’m not here!”

Lasia paused, then patted her daughter’s hand apologetically. “Sorry, dear. But I’m excited for you. No more . . .” She looked at her husband. “No more silly ideas about you becoming a healer.”

Veran frowned, then turned to Dakon. “I expect Tessia will have to move into the Residence.”

Dakon considered, then nodded. “It would be better if she did. Especially at the beginning, when she has little control over her power. If I’m there when she uses it, I can minimise the damage.”

“Of course,” Veran said. “I would ask a favour, though. I was considering taking a boy of the village to be my apprentice. It seems I must, now. But it will take time to train him to even half of Tessia’s level of skill, knowledge and experience. Might I borrow her now and then?”

Dakon smiled. “Of course. After all the good work you’ve done, I can hardly begrudge you that.”

“Could…?” Tessia began, then faltered at a stern look from her mother. When she didn’t continue, Dakon gestured that she should. She sighed. “Can a magician still study and practise healing?”

“No, Tessia, it’s—” her mother began.

“Of course,” Dakon replied. “Most magicians have personal interests, and pet projects. But,” he added, “your first priority at this point is to learn to control that power of yours. It is what we magicians call the price of magic. You must learn control because if you don’t, your magic will eventually kill you. And when it does it will destroy not only you, but a great deal of whatever surrounds you. With the strength of your power, it’s unlikely it would be just a room.”

Tessia’s eyes went wide. Her parents exchanged a grim look. She swallowed and nodded. “Then I had better learn fast.”

Dakon smiled. “I’m sure you will. But I’m afraid you won’t have many chances to indulge interests or pet projects fully until you are an actual magician, and that usually takes years of study.”

Her shoulders dropped a little, but her lips compressed into a smile of determination. “I’m good at study,” she told him. “And fast. Aren’t I, Father?”

Veran laughed. “You do well enough, though I think if you saw how much study an entrant to the healing university had to do, you wouldn’t be so sure of yourself. I don’t know if a magician’s apprentice faces as much hard work?” He looked at Dakon questioningly.

“I doubt it,” Dakon admitted. “We prefer a steady pace. It’s vital to ensure every lesson is well understood before proceeding to the next. Hasty learning can lead to mistakes, and magical mistakes tend to be more spectacular than healing mistakes. My father used to use that reasoning to explain why apprentices of magic drink far less than the students of healing.”

Veran grinned. “‘Healers wake up with a sore head,” he used to say; ‘magicians wake up with a sore head, our toes burned black and the roof on the floor.’”

“Oh dear,” Lasia said, rolling her eyes. “Here they go. Just like their fathers.”

Tessia was looking from Dakon to her father and back with a bemused expression. Dakon sobered. The girl was probably still stunned by the news she was going to be a magician. She needed time to think about her future, and would probably appreciate some time with her family before stepping into her new life.

“So, when do you want to take my daughter off my hands?” Veran asked, his thoughts obviously following the same track.

“Tomorrow?” Dakon suggested. Veran looked at Lasia, who nodded.

“Any particular time?”

“No. Whenever it suits you all.” Dakon paused. “Though it would be a fine excuse for a celebratory meal, I think. Why don’t you bring her over a few hours before dusk? Tessia can settle into her new home, then you can all join Jayan and me for a meal.”

Lasia’s eyes brightened and she looked eagerly at Veran. The healer nodded. “We would be honoured.”

Dakon rose. “I’ll leave you to make your arrangements, then. I must let the servants know there’ll be a new pupil in the Residence tomorrow, and Cannia will probably want plenty of notice to plan the meal.” As the others stood up, he smiled. “It’s an unexpected turn of events, but a pleasant one for all, I hope. Don’t worry about Tessia’s gaining control of her powers. It’s a part of the training that we all begin with, whether our powers develop naturally or with help.” He looked at Tessia. “You’ll have mastered it in no time.”

Sitting in the window casement, Tessia watched her mother carefully folding clothes and arranging them with numerous other things in a trunk. The room smelled of the trunk’s fragrant, resinous wood, which was not unpleasant but still alien, like a stranger come into her private space.

Her mother straightened and regarded her handiwork, then huffed and waved her hands as a thought struck her. Without an explanation, she bustled out of the room.

Tessia looked outside. The world glistened as afternoon sunshine set droplets from the recent rain shower alight. Below, the vegetable patch looked near empty, but if she looked closely she could see that the beds containing winter crops had a thin green pelt of new shoots, the plants within them happy to get a regular soaking.

Hearing footsteps coming up the stairs, Tessia looked towards the doorway. Her father smiled and came into the room. She noted the wrinkles round his eyes and mouth, and the slight stoop of his shoulders. It wasn’t the first time she’d noticed them, and as always they roused a wistful sadness.
He isn’t growing any younger. But neither is anyone, really
.

His gaze moved to the trunk. “Are you ready, do you think?” She shrugged. “Only Mother could tell you that.”

He smiled crookedly. “Indeed. But are
you
ready? Have you got used to the idea of becoming a magician yet?”

Sighing, she moved from the casement to the bed.

“Yes. No. I don’t know. Must I move into the Residence?” He looked at her silently for a moment before answering. “Yes. If your magic is as dangerous as Lord Dakon says, he probably wants to put you somewhere others aren’t at risk. It will be easier for him to protect everyone if you’re close by.”

“But I won’t be coming back after I’ve learned to control it,” she said.

He met her eyes and shook his head. “I doubt it. You have much to learn.”

“I could still live here and visit the Residence for lessons.”

“You’re a magician’s apprentice now,” another voice replied. Tessia looked up at her mother, who stood in the doorway of the room. “It’s appropriate to your status that you move into the Residence.”

Tessia looked away. She didn’t care about status, but there was no point arguing. Other people did, so it had to be taken into account. Instead she turned to her father again. “You will send for me if you need me, won’t you? You won’t hesitate because you’re worried about interrupting lessons or something?”

“Of course not,” he assured her. Then he smiled. “I promise to send for you when I need you so long as you trust me to judge whether I truly need you – and you promise not to skip lessons.”

“Father!” Tessia protested. “I am not a child any more.”

“No, but I know you’ll find perfectly adult reasons to place higher priority on helping people than on learning magic.” His expression became serious. “There are other ways to help the village, Tessia, and magic is one of them. It is more important because it is rare, and because we live so close to the border. You may one day save more locals by defending us than by healing us.”

“I doubt it,” she scoffed. “The Sachakans wouldn’t bother conquering Kyralia again.”

“Not if there are powerful magicians protecting our borders.”

Tessia grimaced. “I don’t think any amount of training would make me a fighter, Father. It’s not what I’m good at.”

I’m good at healing
, she wanted to say. But though she would have expected to be dismayed at discovering she must become a magician, she wasn’t.
Maybe because it doesn’t mean all my hopes of becoming a healer must end
, she thought.
They’ve been delayed, that’s all. All I have to do is learn everything I need to know to become a magician, then I’ll be free to become a healer. Much freer than I was before, because magicians can do whatever they like. Well, so long as they’re not breaking laws.

Perhaps learning magic would show her other ways to help people. Perhaps magic could be used to heal. The possibilities were exciting.

“It’s not up to you to decide what you’re good at now,” her mother said sternly. “Lord Dakon could hardly have planned to end up with another apprentice. You are not to waste his time or resources, you hear?”

Tessia smiled. “Yes, Mother.”

Her father cleared his throat. “Time to carry this downstairs yet?”

“No.” Her mother’s frown disappeared. “There’s this to go in.” In her hand was a flat box, the size of a thin book. Instead of putting it in the trunk, she handed it to Tessia.

As Tessia took it she felt a shock of recognition. “Your necklace? Why? For safe-keeping?”

“For you to wear,” her mother corrected her. “I was going to wait until you showed some interest in attracting a husband before giving it to you… but it looks as if that will have to wait. You’ll be needing something to wear now that you’ll be associating with rich and influential people.”

“But…it’s
yours
. Father gave it to you.” She glanced at her father and saw that he had an approving, almost smug, look on his face.

“And now it’s yours,” her mother said firmly. “Besides, it looks ridiculous on me now. It suits a younger face.” She took the box from Tessia and placed it in the trunk, then shut the lid.

Tessia opened her mouth to protest, then closed it again. She knew she would not win this argument. Perhaps another time, when her mother was in a different mood, she would persuade her to take back the necklace. It was ridiculous, this idea that she would need it to impress rich and influential people. Nobody in the village could be considered that way except one person: Lord Dakon.

Then an uncomfortable feeling came over her.

Surely Mother isn’t . . . she couldn’t be . . . there’s no way she would… the age difference is…

But she knew her mother all too well.

It’s too obvious to deny.
She closed her eyes and cursed silently.
Mother is hoping I’ll marry Lord Dakon
.

Well, don’t
you
look fancy.”

Jayan turned to find Malia standing in the doorway of his room. She looked down at his clothes and her eyebrows rose. “Is that the latest fashion in Imardin, then?”

He chuckled and smoothed his clothing. The robe was nearly long enough to touch the floor and all but covered the matching trousers he wore underneath. Both were dark green and the fine material they were made from had a slight shine to it.