The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin (Books of Unexpected Enlightenment Book 1) (34 page)

Then, she paused, watching.

Dueling required a fulgurator’s wand or a dueling ring. For the first time, she truly understood the advantage of such a casting device. The gems set into the tips of the wands and the settings of the rings held what were known as charges—spells, cantrips, even powers from supernatural creatures that could be stored in the gem for later use. For serious duelists, fulgurator’s wands were preferable to dueling rings because they kept the more dangerous magic, such as lightning, farther from the caster’s body. However, some duelists preferred the control that a ring gave them.

Casting talismans took a great deal of time to maintain; as an Agent, her father often spent hours refilling his. Once prepared, however, they could shoot off a great many spells very quickly. No time was wasted speaking words or playing an instrument. Also, thaumaturgy allowed for the layering of spells and cantrips, resulting in more complicated effects than could be produced if performing the sorcery on the spot. This layering process required a gem.

As she watched, Naomi Coils turned Simon Komarek into a toad. That could not be done with cantrips and enchantment!

Suddenly, Rachel felt as if she were poised upon a pivot, teetering between two options. On one side, generations of devotion to Dare Hall and enchantment, her brother and sisters, her parents, the weight and force of tradition—all of which were tremendously important to her.

On the other?

She watched the spells zing back and forth, recalling how helpless she had felt when Valerie was attacked and when the wraith was draining Sigfried’s life. If the world truly was in danger, it would be extremely useful to be able to act instantly.

Also, it was nice not to feel so out of place about not having her familiar with her.

And then, there was Gaius…

Her dream was to grow up to be like the great librarian Daring Northwest. Because of this, it was her secret ambition to take the same course of studies as Agents—a rather grueling regime that required mastery of a great deal more of the Sorcerous Arts than the average student undertook. Unlike her father and her sister Sandra, Rachel did not want to work for the Wisecraft. The idea of an organization telling her where to go did not appeal to her.

If she wished to head off into the wilds on her own, however, facing angry
sidhe
, fending off tricky
vadatajs
, and distinguishing ponies from phooka, she would need to know how to handle herself. Undergoing Agent training was a great way to prepare, and Agents stored up their spells like thaumaturges. They needed to be able to draw on their magic instantly—which meant a casting talisman.

Slowly, she felt the needle of her compass of allegiances shift. Siggy and Nastasia still came first, of course. But after that? Why should she feel loyalty to some dormitory where she had not wanted to live anyway, rather than to this group who had invited her and welcomed her? Suddenly, she felt unexpectedly loyal to the evil Von Dread and his Knights of Walpurgis. Her desire to blab the evening’s events to her friends diminished.

First thing tomorrow, she would write home and ask her parents to buy her a wand. While she was at it, she would order one for Siggy, too. Watching the duelists fire off their fantastical array of spells, she had no doubt he would want one.

Gaius gathered Rachel, Wanda, and Salome together and taught them the
bey-athe
shield cantrip. He was an excellent instructor, patient and insightful. All three of the girls picked up the gestures and pronunciation for the shield very quickly. None of them had wands or rings yet.

Then, they practiced dueling.

Wanda was a good partner. She was very nice and did not seem to have an ounce of negativity to her. Her spells were powerful but chaotic. She did not always get an effect when she cast, but when she did her spells held a powerful punch. Salome seemed distracted most of the time. When she paid attention, however, she was a good at dueling. Rachel had to work very hard to keep up.

Work hard she did. She had made a good impression for Gaius tonight. She did not want anything to take away from it. She did well, until one moment when she was dueling Wanda, and a thought struck her. It struck her as inextricable as the spring following winter.

Gaius was going to walk her home, and he was going to
kiss
her.

The sensation was very strange. It was as if she and Gaius were being drawn toward each other like magnets; as if they were already boyfriend and girlfriend but just had not acknowledged it yet.

Only, Rachel was not sure that she wanted to be his girlfriend.

Each time the thought surfaced, she pushed it away, firmly turning her attention back to practicing. But try as she might, her mental Trunk of Dangerous Ideas kept popping open.

As the evening continued, Von Dread and a few other older students walked around the room offering advice, watching and critiquing. At one point, when Rachel and Wanda were dueling, the Bavarian prince stood with his arms crossed and watched the entire match. When Rachel eventually “won” the duel, Dread nodded and moved on.

Rachel watched him speculatively. Salome, the princess, and her father all agreed that he was evil. Was he? She recalled how he had championed poor Misty Lark, hearing again the fierce conviction in his otherwise-calm voice.

Was that really how evil boys acted?

Salome had called him the unofficial head of Drake Hall, claiming the students there listened to and obeyed him. Impulsively, Rachel ran after him.

“Mr. Von Dread, may I speak with you?”

He paused and nodded again. “Yes, Miss Griffin?”

Rachel spoke quietly, making sure that no one overheard her. “I cannot help but notice that you seem devoted to law and order. I want to ask you a favor. There is a girl in Drake Hall, a freshman, who seems to be…” Rachel paused to moisten her dry lips and then forged ahead. “She often has bruises, as if someone is hitting her. There isn’t anything I can do, because I cannot protect her in her dorm. But you can. Maybe…do you think you could look out for her, try to keep people from abusing her? Her name is Magdalene Chase.”

He listened closely. When she finished, he said, “I will speak to the college resident and to her sister, Eunice. As you might have noticed, bruises quite often accompany dueling practice. You, whom I have heard are quite a flyer, probably also realize they accompany broom sports. I will not make assumptions but, if I find she is being mistreated, I will see to her protection and to the punishing of those responsible. Is there anything else I can assist you with?”

Speak to Eunice?

Oh no! Had speaking to him been a huge mistake?

“Just…” Rachel bit her lip. Her heart beat so loudly that she had trouble hearing herself. “Please be careful whom you talk to. Her sister may be the person who…And please don’t mention I was the one who expressed concern. Her dorm-mates don’t like me. If they knew, they might be meaner to her.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter whom they like or dislike. If they are hurting the young woman, they will stop. I am not a tutor or a fool. I will notice if they continue to heap abuse upon her after I have told them not to.”

Not a tutor or a fool
.

Rachel liked that. It meant he would not ignore her the way Mr. Fisher and Mr. Tuck had.

A wave of gratitude assailed her. She put her hand on his arm and gave it a tiny squeeze. “Thank you.”

Von Dread lay his fingers over hers and nodded one more time. Rachel ran off. Behind her, she saw him standing and looking at Magdalene’s sister. Eunice was busy doing something and did not notice. Then she saw him glaring at her and flinched noticeably.

When Rachel arrived back where the other freshman stood, they were watching a match between two college students, Taka Ishizuka from Japan and Seymour Almeida, a young man with a scar across his cheek. When Almeida won, he vaunted loudly, strutting back and forth and congratulating himself. Gaius rolled his eyes.

Gaius continued to instruct them, introducing a new cantrip called
nothor
, which caused airborne objects to swerve away from whatever it was cast upon. It was useful for deflecting arrows and bullets, and also to stop certain kinds of spells. Rachel recognized it as one of the two Nastasia and the others had learned at the YSL the previous night.

As the girls began practicing, they were interrupted again by Almeida vaunting. He had beaten a cheerful young woman by the name of Jenny Dare. She was descended from the school’s founder Virginia Dare, for whom Dare Hall was named, though Jenny herself lived in Marlowe. She lay dazed on the mats while Almeida laughed and taunted.

“Excuse me a moment,” Gaius murmured to the girls.

Gaius walked across the room and bowed to Almeida, who shrugged and grinned. “Sure, Valiant. You want to go down, too? My pleasure.”

The two of them squared off, and the duel began. Seymour stood face on. He held his wand out, shooting and parrying incoming spells with the same hand. As the two older princes had done, Gaius stood sideways, like a fencer. He used his wand to attack, while gesturing over his head with his left arm to deflect incoming spells.

Gaius was lithe and quick on his feet, dancing and weaving to avoid gouts of red sparkles and glowing golden bands. While Almeida shouted, his face growing red as the match continued, Gaius remained calm, his slight smile never leaving his lips.

Then, Almeida hung upside down in mid-air, his wand on the other side of the chamber. Glowering, he conceded. Gaius lowered him to the ground and bowed. Students on both sides clapped.

Without a comment, he returned to instructing the girls.

The meeting ended at midnight. Many left well before that. Rachel continued practicing diligently to the end, despite the fact that she was starting to weave on her feet. She could not remember the last time she had been up so late.

Gaius left when the last group shuffled out. A number of people paused to say goodbye to Rachel. She smiled cheerfully at each of them. While everyone was leaving, Von Dread called to Eunice, calling her “Miss Chase,” asking her to please stay and speak with him. She grew slightly pale but agreed.

Rachel was careful not to even look in their direction. She did wish that Von Dread had not glanced over at Eunice right after she had spoken with him. She sighed. Clearly, he was a law and order type but lacked a sense of delicate feminine diplomacy.

Gaius escorted Rachel out into the darkness of the early September night.

“Thank you, Mr. Valiant,” she said softly, once they were on the lawn. “I believe we made a good team.”

“Miss Griffin, it was an honor and a privilege to be your sponsor.” Gaius replied gallantly. “Thanks for not losing. I’ll walk you back to Dare Hall, if you don’t mind?”

“That would be very kind of you, sir.” She leaned toward him and confided. “I must admit that it’s way past my bedtime, and I’m feeling a bit woozy.”

Gaius took her arm, squeezing it once. He walked her all the way to the front steps of Dare Hall. Once there, just as she had known he would, he smiled, leaned in, and kissed her lightly on the lips.

Rachel gazed up at him, her lips slightly parted. Beneath her calm and happy exterior, she felt quite frightened. Kissing him when he was paralyzed had been great fun. But this was for real. He seemed very big, and she did not know what he wanted from her.

She feared her terror showed in her eyes.

He whispered, “Have a good evening, Rachel.”

Rachel nodded once. Then, she bolted, running into her dorm, pausing only once to wave cheerfully over her shoulder.

Rachel woke up early yet again, too excited and troubled to sleep. Mistletoe lay curled beside her, his warm body cuddled against hers. It felt so strange to be able to tell exactly where he was, even with her eyes closed. She ran a hand over his silky fur. He purred sleepily as she gently pushed him aside.

She rose and made an attempt at pinning back her hair. Then, grabbing her broom, she slipped out through the window and soared upward. She glided through the pre-dawn twilight, a hint of peach glowing along the horizon. All around her, birds sang of the joyous morning. Rachel was aware of the loveliness of it all, but her mind was on other things. The feeling that had gripped her last night—that she and Gaius were being drawn toward becoming boyfriend and girlfriend—was even stronger this morning, and she was not at all sure how she felt about it.

The idea of being admired by a dashing and competent older boy was intoxicating. She had liked Mr. Valiant even when she thought he was a mediocre student and a loner. Now that she knew him to be a brilliant scholar and popular, talented sorcerer, his attention to her was even more exhilarating. Plus there was their shared secret about wishing they had been in Dee Hall, which still made her glow inside when she recalled it.

And he had paid attention to her!

Rachel played back her memory of the previous evening, carefully noting the interactions between the girls and boys. Ethan Warhol was definitely interested in his girlfriend, Salome, but she seemed interested in everyone. Bernie Mulford, the son of her parents’ friends, was a male Salome, flirting with all the girls. William Locke and Naomi Coils were almost certainly an item, and Samantha Strega, the girl whose neck had been slashed, fancied Seymour Almeida, the braggart with the scar on his cheek. Maybe it was a scar thing.

Most of the other girls vied for the attentions of the two crown princes, but neither Von Dread nor Romulus showed interest in any of the young ladies batting their eyelashes at them. Gaius was nice to everyone. Even so, it was hard to ignore the fact that he had spent more time with her than anyone else. Her natural humility balked at this conclusion, but her memory confirmed it. She could perfectly recall the times he blew off other girls to pay attention to her.

Could it be that he
liked
her?

And he had kissed her. Twice now. Though, they had yet to kiss each other. Last night, Rachel had been too frightened to return his kiss. The memory of his lips brushing hers warmed her. She felt like melting right off her broom.