The Heartwood Chronicles

“Kael,” she murmured.

“I see them.” Kael let go of her, grabbed the opposite edge of the vent, and flung himself up and out amongst shadowy figures. His fist crashed against one of them, sending it to the ground. He lashed out again, but the other mages dodged out of the way. Their suns were dancing twists of a grey so pale it was almost white.

Air ninjas or no, Amber couldn’t just keep hanging on inside the vent opening. She quickly scrambled out and crouched.

“Well, well,” said one. “Did we just catch you in a midnight raid, Deadwood mages?”

“Oh, so you recognize me. I guess I have no more reason to not do this.” The suns in Kael’s hands unshielded, trailed heat and orange light as he lashed magic at the wind mages. They bounded out of the way, flying up to the sky. Their coordinated wind attack came down like a hammer.

Amber squeaked. Kael met the attack with an arc of his hand, deflecting much of it. Still the gusts blew Amber’s cloak behind her and rippled his coat.

The wind mages danced around them, keeping up a spinning wheel formation, a vortex of air that kept Kael and Amber boxed in. One or two of the five kept darting in with an attack on Kael—a flick of a wind-whip, short sharp bursts of air. Kael fended them off, but he was on the defensive, not moving his feet much at all.

Of course. He’s trying to protect me, not leave me open. Think, Amber, think. How can you help him?

The patterns of wind magic moved so fast, she could barely see them, much less grasp and manipulate them. Whenever she did try, they cut her mage senses like glass shards.

I can’t do my magic as quickly as this fight demands.

“We’re going to nail you to your school doors after we’re through,” yelled a wind mage. “Naked.”

“Just try it,” Kael invited.

“Should we not be provoking them any more than we already have?” pleaded Amber, but she could tell she’d already lost him to battle-fever. A wind mage swooped at him; Kael ducked, twisted and struck at the ninja sneaking behind him.

“You’re too slow—” sneered one, then gasped as Kael jumped past him and grabbed his buddy who was sneaking up behind him. Heat went off Kael in waves, and the air ninjas cried out and sprang back. The entire column of air wavered crazily as Kael threw the mage out of formation.

An opening appeared in front of Kael. For a moment, it looked like he was going to drive through, but he checked. His golden eyes glinted as he looked at Amber.

If it weren’t for me, he’d have gotten free.

“Shall—shall I call the masters?” one of the air mages quavered.

The mean one snorted. “We can handle this one by ourselves. The girl’s beyond useless—what is she, some kind of trophy girlfriend?”

Amber’s cheeks flamed. She twisted her hands in her cloak, forced her will upon the thick ropes of wind magic. It burned across her soul, and Amber clenched her teeth, hard. The column faltered once more, but the combined power of the air ninjas was too strong. She gave up, her breaths coming out hard. Kael was a golden smear in her vision, grappling with grey shadows.

Movement beyond the wind barrier caught her eye. Amber’s heart sank.

Oh no. Here’s another one of them.

Wait, it’s-

Whips of cold air lashed against the roof top. Air ninjas tumbled out of position; stray gusts of air, both warm and cold, knocked Amber first one way, then another. The only one still standing was Kael, and even he had to brace his feet. Two air ninjas were flattened on the roof, two others clung to whatever they could get a hold on. One had gone right over the edge.

Amber hoped he wasn’t injured. How would she explain that to the Headmaster, or worse, Master Zoya?

A dark figure wrapped in air currents hovered above them all, hands in pockets. “You idiot sixth-year students. Don’t you know you’re supposed to watch your backs, too?”

“Come to join the party, Troi?” asked Kael amiably.

“No, I came to give you a thrashing, you numbskull.” Troi was audibly grinding his teeth. Amber’s eyes widened. She had never seen him lose his cool like that.

“Can it wait?” Air ninjas howled as they rushed at the pair, riding great howling bursts of wind. The sound grated in Amber’s ears.

Kael winced, but Troi seemed unaffected, lashing out with his whips. Air ninjas fell back again.

Mean Ninja yelled at Troi, “Stop hiding in your wind shield, barai! Face me with honor, if you still understand what that means.” He rocketed up, and his sword snick-ed out of its sheath.

Winds streamed away from Troi as he dropped several feet to meet his opponent. Mean Ninja snarled, and the two swirled around each other. Mean Ninja swung his sword, but Troi was never in its path.

The other air ninjas stared at the two, mouths agape. Kael took the opportunity to punch the one sneaking up behind Amber, then stood with his foot on the guy’s head, watching, arms folded.

Amber couldn’t follow the fight—it was just a ball of whirling air in the dark night, occasionally lit with blue flashes.

And then the maelstrom split in two, one half falling. The wind around the figure dissipated.

Mean Ninja crashed to the rooftop.

The other three air ninjas bunched together defensively. Troi descended, hands still in his pockets. He looked at Mean Ninja, prone on the stone. Then he glanced at the three still standing.

“It’s over.” His voice sent a chill through Amber. Air currents whirled around her body, lifted her up. “It’s time to go, you two.”

The journey back was rough, caught as Amber was in Troi’s ungentle winds and the force of his anger. The air snarled her hair, snatched away her breath, and stripped all the warmth from her skin.

His suns were white-hot flames.

The sea flashed by, a shifting, glittering carpet of night. Then they were over land and Heartwood’s buildings came up quickly. The winds swooped, dumped her on Heartwood’s grounds. Amber said unsteadily, “Troi, we…”

“Amber.” Kael looked and sounded relaxed, but his gaze never left Troi’s shadowed face. “Go back to bed.”

“What,” said Troi, “do you think you were playing at, Kael? Were you trying to create an international incident? What do you think would’ve happened if the Whispering Winds had been there?”

Magical energy built up around him again, crackling against Amber’s skin. “Troi…” she began again.

“Answer me, Kael!” Troi lashed out and a roiling wave whipped at Kael. Amber squeaked and hid behind the other boy.

Kael took the blow without flinching. He reached behind him, grasped Amber’s arm, and pushed her dorm-wards. “Go home, Amber.”

Amber looked from one to the other. Troi’s face all grim and shadowed, Kael’s odd eyes glowing with a light she couldn’t decipher. Violence trembled in the air. She realized she was more afraid now than she had been on the rooftop at Torou Academy.

There was only one thing left do. Amber backed away, and ran, slipping and sliding on wet grass, to her own room. Where she jumped into bed and pulled the covers over her head.

Boys need to settle things their own way, her mother had been wont to say placidly when her younger brothers got into a brawl and Amber had wanted to stop them.

That may be so, but when the boys are both powerful sun mages? Will they hold themselves back?

It wasn’t her problem. It took some mental struggle, but she shoved herself away from the pattern so she wouldn’t have to feel the battle she knew was happening out there.

Even so, sleep was a long time coming.

Amber heard the rumors all the way to breakfast.

“Did you hear about…?”

“… EPIC fight between Troi and Kael…”

“… a whole TREE was uprooted…”

“Kael burned down one of the sheds, too.”

“How much trouble do you think those two are in?
Amber slipped into place across from Lisette, who was eating a piece of toast and staring off into space. “Who won?” she asked bluntly.

Lisette slowly brought her gaze to Amber’s face. She studied it for a while. Then she shrugged. “Two sun mages fight. Most of the time, no one wins. The idiots.”

“Are they hurt?”

“Those two lumpheads? Of course not. It’d take a stone yuka to bring one of them down.”

“Will they be—expelled?” Amber hadn’t finished working her way through Heartwood’s Rules & Regulations guide. She’d skipped past the section on “magic duels,” convinced that it didn’t apply to her.

She hadn’t planned on getting into fights.

“Nah. Probably one of the masters will give them a dressing down, and it’ll all blow over.” Lisette looked closely at Amber. “You care that much?”

“They’re two of the four people I can say I know here. I wouldn’t want to lose half my friends so soon.”

Lisette crammed the last piece of toast in her mouth, then snagged two sticky buns for the run. “You need more friends,” she commented.

“Um… Lisette?”

Lisette peered over her shoulder, eyebrows raised. “What?”

“Do people know”—Amber swallowed—“why they fought?”

Lisette took her time answering, her face expressionless. “It’ll come out soon enough, since another school is involved. They were called up to the Headmaster’s office this morning. But for what it’s worth, neither of them will out a companion. The masters aren’t dumb, though. You understand?” She cocked her head.

“Clearly.” Amber was relieved at how normally the word came out, given the tightness of her throat.

Amber saw both Kael and Troi later that day, but not together. A rather chastised-looking Kael was moving charred wood around in the distance as Amber took a short cut across the courtyard. She saw Troi as she crossed the lobby an hour later.

Troi was his old, bored-looking self. He didn’t acknowledge Amber, but as she passed, she noticed his dagger back at his belt.

And next to it was the long sword.

The contended humming from both artifacts made Amber smile.

Troi looked up, saw her, and scowled so ferociously that it not only froze Amber dead in her tracks, but also Ainsley who was walking next to her.

“Why did—why did he look at us that way?” Ainsley gasped.

“He hates me,” they both groaned simultaneously. They caught each other’s eye and giggled.

Something tight inside Amber had loosened. She felt lighter somehow.

You understand? Lisette’s words came back to her.

I do indeed. Kael and Troi protected me last night, but I need to take responsibility, too.

“Ainsley,” she said, “where can I find the Headmaster?”

Author’s Note: Ha, I heard the Cinema Sins guy say, “Roll credits” in my head when I wrote Whispering Winds this episode. Titular… things are mentioned. Is this the end of the Heartwood crew’s trouble with Torou Academy? Probably not!

If you’re enjoying the Heartwood Chronicles, please consider supporting the serial. Donors will get a copy of the e-book with my thanks. I’ll bundle the first three arcs into one volume once Whispering Winds Arc is all wrapped up. 

They swam toward the island, away from the beaches and the docks. Kael was right; the defensive spells had worn down considerably at water level.

“Wind mages,” said Kael derisively, as Amber worked at a particular threadbare spot. The spell-threads were so weak, it was a simple matter to detach them and leave them fluttering in the wind without triggering an alarm.

“Just be careful not to let the spell threads touch—” began Amber, but Kael was already through, scrambling up the rocky bank. He held his hand out to her. Amber sighed, took it, and let him pull her up.

She crossed her arms and stood there dripping next to him. Unbelievably, he was already mostly dry. She had to struggle not to lean into his warmth.

There are advantages to being a sun mage.

He looked expectantly at her. “Well, aren’t you going to fix this? You can’t go dripping into the academy.”

Amber opened her mouth to snap at him, then stopped. Well. She could fix this, couldn’t she?

She focused on the patterns around her. Maybe a little pull on the water in her clothes?

“Aiee!” Amber collapsed to the ground.

He looked down, astonished. “You okay?”

Amber said, with several rocks biting into her cheeks. “Urgh. That didn’t work.”

Kael crouched next to her. “Keep still.” He held his hands over her. A few minutes of warmth, and Amber damp but no longer dripping.

“Let’s get going,” she said. Her wet underthings rubbed and her shoes squelched as she walked, but those were small prices to pay for personal space.

“If you’re sure.” Kael led the way through the trees toward the dark bulk of Torou Academy, bristling with spires, upswept eaves, slanted roofs —a playground for the Kaidan wind mages.

Amber probed the spells on the Academy grounds. They were few and far between. None of them were safety spells. Looking up at the roofs, with tall poles and high hoops sticking up at them, Amber shivered. Kaidan wind mages were supposed to be proficient, anyhow.

There was also one small detail she’d overlooked. “Kael,” she breathed. “There are no doors.”

“No problem.” He crouched. “Get on.”

“Huh?”

“Unless you can fly, get on my back.”

=Amber did so, flushing and stiff. If it was awkward for Kael, he didn’t show it. He leapt high, reached a ledge. Amber tried not to choke him with her white-knuckled grip. Kael bounded to yet another ledge. He jumped again.

“Spell on the window to the left,” Amber said.

Kael switched direction in midair, shoved his fingers into crumbling mortar. His feet slipped.

Oh, help. We’re going to fall.

Then his muscles bunched. A warm wind swirled Amber’s cloak. He leapt to a window-sill, stood at the corner of it, panting hard.

“Sorry,” whispered Amber, miserably. “I’m not helping you any, am I?”

“You’re doing all right,” he whispered back. “You don’t weigh enough to bother me.”

“There are no more hand-holds, though.” Blank wall stretched above them to a roof-edge that looked very far away.

“We’ll make it. Just be ready to jump on my signal.” Currents of warm air swirled around them. They gathered into a strong push just as Kael rocketed up the wall, his hands and feet finding impossibly small places to grab hold of.

The roof-edge approached rapidly. Amber let her legs dangle, and braced a hand against Kael’s shoulder.

“Now, Amber.” Wind caught at Amber, pushed her away. Kael grabbed her by the upper arm, and flung her up, adding muscle power to the wind.

Amber flew up. Roof-tiles flashed under her, then a thigh-high parapet. Hastily, she pulled patterns, and turned her landing into something more elegant than her previous attempts.

Practice does make it better, she thought ruefully. A faint light glimmered on poles of varying heights, some topped with rings, others all spiky with arms, a couple glinting with wicked-looking spikes. The roof-scape was crazy with random walls, abrupt corners, arches and slides.

Touro Academy’s training arena.

Kael was already behind her and moving. He knelt near a rectangular grate. Several of these covered large air-vents all over the roofs.

“This is how air ninjas come home,” he told Amber. “Can you do your finding witchery now?”

“It’s magic, not witchery. I don’t raise the dead or read the future in chicken entrails.” Swiftly, Amber created four separate ghosts. Thanks to the dagger’s strong signature, her own knowledge of the missing part of the set, and Troi’s distinct personality, it was an easier task than finding the Serepentine pipe in Hopeswell.

She blew a ghost through each of four different vents, then went to where Kael was lifting one of the grates.

“I don’t sense any other defensive spells active down there,” she told him.

“Good.” Kael pointed down the vent. “This takes us to a corridor near the Academy’s library and weapons rooms. The sword should be near there. Do you have a read on it yet?”

“This kind of magic takes time, Kael.”

He grunted, then sat back on his heels. His head dropped, chin almost touching his chest.

Did he—did he actually just fall asleep? Amber stared at his tousled head.

I guess that’s an important ability for a combat mage—being able to take a power nap anywhere, anytime.

A breeze stirred, and Amber shivered in her clammy clothes. She suddenly felt very lonely and on edge, pattern senses stretched to the maximum, ears straining for the slightest noise, eyes peering into every shadow and twitching at every movement.

The pull of a ghost made her start violently.

Kael lifted his face. His golden eyes glinted eerily, making him look not quite human.

He’s fast and strong, and I barely know him. What am I doing alone with him? No one knows where I am.

He said nothing, gazing beyond her. Amber resisted the urge to look over her shoulder. “I-I found it,” she stuttered.

His eyes focused, laser-sharp, the eyes of a predator. Amber leaned back, but he took her hand in a hard grip. “Let’s go!”

Torou Academy was a strange place of high ceilings, tall doorways, curving corridors, and unexpected holes in the floors. There were no stairways.

Air ninjas live here, after all.

Amber moved cautiously, probing for spells and traps. Her spell-light floated like a thin bluish wraith in front of her. Kael crowded behind here, and the back of Amber’s neck twitched.

She turned her head and gave him her best narrow-eyed, thin-lipped back off! glare.

He opened his eyes wide in a sham What-did-I-do? look.

Forget him, Amber. Just focus.

Amber pointed down a round hole in the floor. Kael leapt through. Amber floated down, letting the patterns in her cloak and the air do the work.

The magical signature of the sword was even stronger down here, a spider’s web of twisting corridors with small, arched doors at irregular intervals. Troi’s dagger had started to glow and throb to Amber’s mage-sight, its agitation manifesting itself in a purple glow at Kael’s waist.

Kael sprinted unerringly for the right door.

Well, that trail was hard to miss. The dagger must really be attuned to the sword, must really yearn to join its fellow.

Kael reached for the handle, then snatched his hand back as sparks crackled from it.

Amber examined the spell on the door. “Oh, dear.”

“You can’t take care of it?”

“Given enough time, I could.”

“Define enough time.”

“Half a day to a day.” Amber grimaced. The spellwork was so intricately knotted and interwoven; it would take a lot of time to pick it apart.

“I’m not waiting that long.” Kael unsheathed the dagger and stabbed it into the handle.

Purple light shot out from the point, was joined—like a lightning bolt—by an answering bolt from within the room. The defensive spell flashed bright, blinding Amber. The sun in Kael’s right hand came alive. Heat came off him in waves; his hand was alight with orange and gold.

Amber hid behind Kael’s body. A sizzle, the smell of burning and cloves.

Darkness in her mage-sight as the locking spell charred and crumbled. The click of a turning handle.

The room inside was tiny, hardly bigger than a closet. It contained only one pedestal, and on that pedestal was a sheathed sword.

Kael reached for the sword, then recoiled. “Darn thing.” He shook his hand vigorously.

“Kaidan weapons are attuned to their respective families,” Amber pointed out.

“The dagger didn’t do the same thing to me.”

“You’ve been around Troi long enough for it not to see you as a threat.” It was strange talking about inanimate objects this way. Magical objects had always seemed more than a little creepy to Amber, the way they straddled the line between alive and not-alive.

“Then it should tell that to its friend here.” Kael held the dagger, and picked up the sword with the same hand. It zinged him again, but not with the same vigor it had shown earlier. He thrust both weapons into his belt. “Let’s get out of here.”

“No objections from me.” Amber’s senses tingled, on full alert. She hadn’t noticed any alarms, but…

This time was Kael who led the way to the roof, swift and silent, with Amber shadowing him closely. Her heart hammered and her breath hitched in her lungs, but she didn’t dare ask for a rest or a slower pace.

The sooner we get out of here…

Kael pulled her against his side and leaped for the air-vent. That square of star-sprinkled night sky was one of the most beautiful sights Amber had ever seen.

… the better I’ll feel.

Then, uh-oh.

She clung to the lip of the vent as the suns of wind mages spun to grey-blue life all around them.

Author’s Note: I’m back! The project I was working on in April is done, and I’m happy to have rescued Amber and Kael from the sea. Of course, now they’ve just walked into a group of air ninjas. Hmm, what’s a good collective noun for wind mages? An eyrie? A hurricane? What do you think?

I’d love to hear your comments on the story so far. If you’re reading this via email, click here to leave a comment. 

Next episode in two weeks!

In the night, Amber woke up to what sounded suspiciously like pebbles rattling against her window.

No. It sounded exactly like pebbles rattling against her window.

Amber slid out of bed, drew the curtains, and raised the window a crack. Another handful of pebbles fountained up toward her. Amber narrowed her eyes, and the pebbles fell soundlessly against an invisible barrier in front of the glass.

Not bad, she thought, proudly. It’s only been a week, and I’m starting to react like a combat mage.

“Hurry up, Amber,” came the whisper, “before the Old Terror catches me.” She didn’t have to think hard to guess he meant the dorm matron.

“You’re not supposed to be sneaking into the girls’ dormitory at all, Kael,” Amber whispered back, but she opened the window wider.

He was inside as quick as a flash. Amber shut the window, put up a light-scattering and sound-proofing pattern in front of the glass. She turned on her small bedside lamp.

Kael sank down into her one armchair and propped his feet on a low table.

“Feet off,” said Amber automatically, giving them a shove. She didn’t want him getting too comfortable.

He grinned at her as he complied. Oblivious as he could be, at least he was easygoing. Amber was finding that rare quality in most of her contemporaries at Heartwood. Most of them tended towards intense in some way or another.

Amber sat down on her bed, the only other available sitting surface. “So, what is it?”

“Well. You’ve been here for over a week now. I thought you’d be bored out of skull with all this school stuff by now.” He indicated the piles of books and heaps of paper all over the room.

“Actually, I find it all very interesting, but from the look in your eye, you have something in mind—probably foolhardy and dangerous.” She’d heard quite the number of stories—most of them related in fond or admiring tones—about his exploits. Amber had formed her own opinion about those and that kept her from pushing the “friends” button on Kael’s name on her cryst. “Spit out what you want, so I can say no, kick you out, and go back to sleep.”

“Oh, I know you won’t be able to resist this, Amber.” Kael pulled out a narrow object from the inside pocket of his capacious coat. Amber leaned forward to examine its signature.

“A taan blade,” she said, “of Kaidan make. A family heirloom and magical weapon, and obviously part of a set. It should have a long sword to go with it. I sense this weapon has a great provenance and deep magical history.”

“I was right. You do know your stuff.”

Amber rolled her eyes. “I’ve also seen it on Troi’s hip a dozen times already. He nearly slew me with one look when I asked about it the other day.” The memory of that conversation rankled. “He’ll kill you when he finds out you’ve taken it.”

“Nah. He may try, but he won’t be able to.”

“I’ve seen him fight.” With those cold winds at his call, Troi was a demon.

“You haven’t seen me fight,” Kael pointed out.

“The warehouse and Needle Guy,” Amber reminded him.

“That wasn’t fighting. That was damage control.”

Amber almost choked at this. The sheer self-confidence of sun mages never failed to surprise her. “What do you want me to do with that?” She pointed at the dagger.

“Find the sword that goes with it.”

Amber blinked. “In Troi’s room?” she guessed. “On Kaidan?”

“Wrong and wrong.” Kael nodded toward the window. “You’ve heard about Touro Academy yet?”

“Only a little.” Carradia was one of many independent townships along the mainland coast, but the island nations had their own enclaves, too. Owned by Kaidan and located on an island in Carradia Bay, Tourou Academy was a prestigious boys-only school for the progeny of the nation’s finest families. “Ainsley told me that Troi was originally at Touro.”

Kael laughed. “He ran away from Touro to Heartwood several times. They got tired of fetching him back, so his family finally allowed him to stay on here.  He was supposed to return to Touro when he was seventeen, though. There was even a big family row about it. It all took place Kaidan so the rest of us missed it.” He sighed in obvious disappointment.

Amber’s eyes were round as saucers. Going against one’s family’s wishes was a huge deal in Kaidan culture. “Well, what happened then?”

Kael shrugged. “He made it back here, obviously. But he hasn’t been back home since then  and doesn’t talk to his family much anymore.” He picked up one of Amber’s three-dimensional puzzles and started fiddling with it. “You have a lot of stuff, don’t you?”

Amber took it away from him. “About the dagger?”

“Yeah, that. Troi inherited the set from his grandfather. The long sword that’s supposed to go with it is still at Touro. They wouldn’t let Troi bring it to Heartwood with him. Apparently, it’s a family treasure and a Kaidan cultural artifact. Or something.”

“Well, of course, they wouldn’t,” said Amber strongly. “I’m surprised they let Troi break up the set and take the dagger.

“All I know is that it’s Troi’s sword, and they’re refusing to give it to him. That’s not right.” Kael turned a small model of Allyons Cathedral over in his hands. Amber took that away from him, too.

“Stop touching my stuff,” she scolded. “Well, Kaidan culture is really strict about heirlooms like this. Even Troi knows this. Which is why you’re the only one on this weird quest.”

“Ah, well. I tried.” Kael swept up the dagger and went to the window. “See you later, Amber.”

“Tell me,” pleaded Amber, “that you’re going to return the taan blade and forget about this whole thing.”

He just looked at her.

“I’m going to tell Troi,” she warned him.

“Then I’d better get a head start!” He was out the window before Amber could marshal another argument for her cause.

He’s actually going on a solo raid to Touro Academy? How’s he going to even find the long sword in that huge place? Idiot! Amber ranted silently to herself as she changed, jammed her feet into boots, and threw her tattered mist cloak around her shoulders.

If I end up in trouble over this, Kael, I will personally take it out of your hide.

Amber was rather more cautious as she climbed out the window. I hope I can catch up with him. She reached out with her mage senses–

“Hey.”

Amber jumped. “How’d you—how’d you manage to mask your presence like that?” Kael leaned against the wall, and he was so tightly shielded she hadn’t had a clue he was behind her.

“What good is a combat mage who goes about lit up like a music hall all the time?” Kael shifted his gaze to Amber’s cloak. “Great, you’re coming. I knew you couldn’t resist showing off. Let’s go!”

“This is not about showing off,” hissed Amber as she followed him, both of them crouching low to the ground. “It’s about paying off my debts. You helped me back in Hopeswell, so I’m just returning the favor. Midnight missions with you aren’t going to become a habit.”

“Sure. Whatever.”

Amber checked when they got to the trees. “You brought a silfyl?” The creature raised its cat-like head. Its eyes glowed green.

“Of course.” Kael leaped on, and then held a hand out to Amber. She scrambled behind him. “Hold on!”

***

Night flying was even more exhilarating than that first time. Amber closed her eyes and focused on the patterns around her—ephemeral scarves of wind, distant glittering structures of rock, the restless dance of the sea, the intricate, organic machinery of the silfyl, and the amazing, multi-colored patterns of the human—

Amber checked herself, face flushing. How terribly rude to examine someone else’s patterns that way, especially since she had to sit so close to the sun mage. She had an excellent view of Kael’s broad shoulders and the shell-like feathers shimmering in his messy hair. He radiated warmth and solidity that was hard to resist.

Amber’s education had not prepared her for close proximity to other people, especially of the male persuasion.

“Hold on to me,” said Kael.

“What?!”

“You’re going to fall off, Amber.”

Amber put a hand on his shoulder.

Kael shrugged, the movement far too intimate under her palm. “If you fall, I suppose I could catch you.”

“I’m not planning on falling.” Amber grabbed at wind-torn patterns and wove them around her in a net. She risked removing her hand.

There. All better now. I just have to keep focused on these patterns in case I lose my balance. Focus, Amber.

Of course, now she couldn’t enjoy the beautiful night and the wonderful flying, and the constant battle against the wind’s erosion of her spellwork was giving her a headache—

—but it was worth it for the sake of improvement, right?

“We’re here.”

Amber opened her eyes. Touro island rose above Kael’s shoulder, a tall, dark building atop it. Defensive patterns swirled all around the place.

That’s right. Kaidan mages used air currents as their magical medium.

“Time to get off.” Kael pointed at the dark water below them. He added, “You can swim, can’t you, Amber?”

“Ummmmm….”

“Better stay close to me, then.” He twisted around, put his arm around her waist, and lid off the silfyl.

“That’s got to be the eleven billionth time, you crazy sun-mages!” Amber’s words were lost in the wind. They landed in the water with a splash, Amber with a yelp. Her mist-cloak swirled atop the surface; the rest of her clothes were instantly water-logged and dragging.

Above them, the silfyl made a wide turn and headed back towards land. Amber watched it longingly.

“Fun, isn’t it?” Kael’s suns glowed as they boosted his body heat and, for all Amber knew, his buoyancy.

“It’s freezing!” Great. I’m stuck in this cold dark WET water with a risk-taking, danger-seeking mage. All sun mages recharged their magic in physical and emotional ways. A mage could gain energy through mundane things like eating and exercise, or through absorbing certain kinds of energy through the patterns of the world. There were mages who recharged by sticking their hands in fire and others by eating snow.

Emotional energy also recharged magic power. Anger, joy, love, desire, jealousy—all the tints and shades of emotion were available for harvest, based on the individual. It was the twisted passions of the ruling family of Serepentina—the feeding on pain and fear—that caused their ultimate downfall.

Amber was unusual in that her nodes were like ordinary people’s. She used magical energy in low amounts, and it all came from her environment.

Luckily, water was a great source for Amber. Free-flowing nodes bobbed against her body, and she greedily slurped up the energy from them.

The water around Amber warmed. She gave Kael a grateful look. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Let’s go!”

Amber grabbed his collar. “Not so fast, hotshot. What’s the plan?”

“We bust in, you do your witchy thing, we grab the sword, and leave. If any Torou wimps show up, I fight them.” He looked way too happy about the fighting part.

“Bust in?” Amber raised her eyebrows, though it was really hard to maintain that warning look when one was drenched and clinging to the offender’s arm.

“I meant sneak in, of course,” Kael amended, “while avoiding any and all traps and guards.”

“And if we’re caught?” Regret gnawed the inside of Amber’s stomach. What was it about Kael that swept other people into his madcap schemes?

“Breaking into each other’s school is practically a tradition,” Kael assured her. “The masters will overlook it. Besides, I know for a fact that the faculty was invited to dine and stay over at the Governor’s mansion in Marylebow tonight. Master Zoya got the invitation, too.”

“They can’t all have gone,” Amber pointed out.

“Enough of them are.”

“Kael, they’re not going to be happy with us running off with the sword.”

There was silence, broken only by the lap of wavelets against their bodies. Amber drew the pattern around her, keeping her afloat. A swirl of the warm currents did the same for Kael.

Kael said softly, “There is no doubt, no legal doubt, that the sword is Troi’s. If it turns up in his hand tomorrow morning, there’s not much Torou can do. You’re taking Magical Law and Ethics with Blunkett; you should know how the law strongly favors the rights of the owner of a magical artifact.”

“Well, yes.” This was true even in Ravin; Amber knew of several cases of mayhem and mischief caused by magical artifacts separated from their rightful owners—however you defined those. The Wicked Walking Stick and the Magical Menace of Mapleton were two particularly well-known examples in her homeland.

She tilted her head. “I’m surprised you’re so well-versed in magical law, Kael.”

Even in the starlight, his smile was quick and bright. “I did have to take the class four times, after all.”

“Oh.” Amber searched for something positive to say about this. “That sounds like a… school record.”

“It is.” Kael squeezed her shoulder. “Don’t worry. You won’t get into trouble. People expect me to do crazy things and talk others into them. There are advantages to being a reckless, uncultured nobody. After all, I don’t really know enough of Kaidan traditions to understand the implications of my actions, right?” A wry smile tugged at his mouth.

Amber blinked. This shrewd practicality was new. “I… I suppose so.”

“Then let’s get going. Torou’s defensive spells are weak at the water’s edge.” And with that, Kael arrowed into the water, leaving Amber staring after him.

Was he really coolly exploiting his own reputation as an “act first, think later” type? I might need to re-evaluate my opinion of Kael, Amber thought as she followed.

Author’s Note: Kael surprised me at the end. I didn’t realize he had the self-awareness to take advantage of his character “type.” He’s a funny mixture of easygoing and rashness and, apparently, cool calculation! I’ll have to keep a closer eye on him and see how his character develops. 

To make up for yesterday’s debacle, Amber arrived at Master Cinbar’s training area extra early, hair braided and pinned, dressed in practice gear. She’d taken possession of her rooms in the girl’s dormitory last evening, stretched out on the bed to shut her eyes for a few minutes, and promptly fallen asleep for the next several hours.

She’d missed dinner again. Fortunately, Ainsley had left a cold supper and note outside her door, but Amber thought it better not to make a habit of skipping meals with the rest of the school.

A nap had done her no good. Amber had spent the rest of the night lightly dozing, awakening frequently to check the time. It had been a relief when it was finally six o’clock.

Now, ten minutes before the appointed time, Amber crossed the dew-speckled grass under a lightening sky just flushing with dawn. She passed through a line of trees and into a hollow. A pond gleamed to her left; a gazebo sat upon a man-made island right in the center of it. In front of her was a grey-stone house with a pitched roof of slate tiles. A path led up to the front door, but Amber took the fork that meandered down the side of the house and to the back.

The clash of steel upon steel assured her she was going in the right direction. Amber rounded the corner and stopped, staring.

Master Cinbar and Troi sparred together in the cleared yard, swords blurred lines of silver in their hands. They moved like cats, light and lithe. Master Cinbar lunged, so fast Amber had barely time to gasp before Troi blocked the attack. His blade snaked out in counter-attack, but Master Cinbar had already stepped away. Troi’s style was dangerous but flashy; the Master’s graceful in its economy of movement.

They were both good, but the Master was better. Now that Amber was no longer enchanted by the initial dazzle of their swordplay, she saw how Master Cinbar pressed his opponent, pushing Troi to the brink.

But most surprising of all was the look on Troi’s face, a fierce joy, a leaping aliveness.

She had, Amber thought, never seen him so happy.

Curious, Amber surveyed the fight with her mage sight. The pattern rippled and flowed around the two combatants. Troi’s magical nodes glowed softly, but she couldn’t make out Master Cinbar’s at all. The master was well-shielded, but neither of the two used magic.

Or… maybe not. Troi moved well, but he still got tangled in the pattern’s invisible threads from time to time. They tore apart and reformed around him, giving him just the tiniest bit of resistance, costing him just a fraction of a second, expending just a bit more energy.

The master, on the other hand, moved with the shimmering flow of magical energy, aligning himself with, not against, the pattern.

Fascinating.

The swords met again. Master Cinbar twisted his wrist, and his blade disengaged first, stabbed through the air, and the point came to rest at the base of Troi’s throat.

“Well done,” he said, low and pleased.

Troi, panting, hair falling across his forehead, said, “I almost had you there, a few times, sir. Someday soon…”

Master Cinbar laughed. “I’ll postpone that day as best I can,” he promised.

Troi’s grin was fierce. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Master Cinbar stepped back and sheathed his sword. Troi did the same, though with a slight tremble that spoke of exhaustion.

“Miss Shelburne,” said Master Cinbar without turning his head. “You had better warm up now.”

Troi looked over at Amber, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. And then it was gone as Troi swiftly but surely withdrew. Amber fancied she could almost see the shutters come down over his face as he locked himself away from the world.

Now his expression was the one of habitual boredom. Amber almost hissed in annoyance at the sight.

“Over here, Miss Shelburne.”

Amber hurried over to her instructor, putting Troi out of her mind. She couldn’t be distracted by the enigmatic Kaidan when she had a chance to redeem herself.

Twenty minutes later and redemption was far from her grasp.

She was, as it turned out, not a natural swordswoman. Or even an average one.

Amber held the wooden practice sword gingerly, as if it might turn into a snake at any moment. It felt all wrong in her hand, and her movements as she went through the first few practice drills were stiff, unnatural, and lackluster.

Master Cinbar watched with narrowed eyes. He’d corrected her grip, her stance, how she moved the sword. But he hadn’t said anything for the last few minutes. Amber gritted her teeth and endured.

It was only one practice lesson. Once he saw she was no good, she’d be back with Mistress Blunkett and others closer to her skill level.

“Troi.” Master Cinbar beckoned the boy closer. The point of Amber’s sword wavered with her surprise. Maser Cinbar said, “Perhaps an opponent will help you understand these blocking drills better.”

Troi’s face was as wooden as the practice sword he picked up. He and Amber faced each other. Her heart hammered.

“Begin.”

Troi attacked. In slow motion. With about as much force as a newborn kitten.

Still Amber barely blocked him.

Troi disengaged, attacked again. Amber managed to swat his point away.

Again the blade swept for her.

What’s next? thought Amber, panicking. What was the next part of the drill?

Too late. She screwed her eyes shut, wincing away from the blow.

It never came.

Amber cracked open her eyes. Troi’s wooden sword was poised at her neck.

Then he tapped her on the head with it.

“Ow!” said Amber, more indignant than hurt.

“Don’t close your eyes, dummy!” Troi stalked back to his place. The look he threw her was irritated. As Master Cinbar watched—was there a glimmer of amusement in the teacher’s eyes?—Troi said, “Now, again.”

Troi was at her lesson the next day and the day after. Amber wondered why Master Cinbar wasted his time like this, but she couldn’t deny it was effective. Every time Troi faced her with a bored look on his face, Amber couldn’t help but want to do something—anything—to wipe it off.

At least she held the sword properly now. Amber cringed at the memory of Troi’s face when his sword had met hers a little too hard during a drill and the jarring contact had made her drop the wooden blade.

It was his two-koppa witch expression.

She hadn’t dropped the sword since.

On the fourth day, after more blocking drills, Master Cinbar said, with a gleam in his eye that Amber mistrusted, “I think we should make time for sparring today.”

Troi straightened, eyes lit up with unholy glee. “Excellent idea, sir.”

“But, sir,” Amber appealed to the master, “he’s miles better than I am. And just look at his face. He can’t wait to squish me flatter than a pancake.”

“We’re using wooden swords, Miss Shelburne,” said Master Cinbar with a straight face. “I’d like to see how you do in a combat situation. However, in order to level the playing field, Troi is confined to using only the practice sword. Miss Shelburne may use all the weapons at her disposal.”

“I’ll still beat her,” said Troi with a snort.

All her weapons? Did that include magic? As Amber took her place, sword ready, she decided it must mean so. How else was she to beat Troi?

When Master Cinbar said, “Begin,” she reached for the pattern.

Troi was right there faster than she’d expected. His sword flickered towards her. Amber scuttled back, tripped on a rock, and fell on her rump.

Looming above her, Troi said, “At least get your sword into guard position. I know you can do that much.”

“It’s hard to do two things at the same time,” she grumbled, scrambling back to her feet.

Troi raised his eyebrows and sword. “Then learn. Quickly.” He attacked.

Amber squeaked and ducked to the side. The wooden sword whistled through the air and rapped her on the hip.

“Now you’re bleeding from a leg wound,” said Troi conversationally. “What will you do next?” He slashed at her, but Amber managed to block the strike. Barely.

Troi disengaged as Amber circled him warily, keeping out of his reach. Then he stepped forward…

… right into a patch of uneven footing where she’d cut the pattern. Troi stumbled, and Amber, waiting for that, rushed in, extending her sword arm. Blast him, but he was already recovering…

Her sword point met Troi’s chest just as his blade rested against her neck.

Amber let out her breath in a long sigh.

Master Cinbar called out, “That’s enough for today, then.”

Troi gave her a grim nod, and they both turned to bow to Master Cinbar. Troi left quickly, but Amber, shaky now that the adrenalin rush was gone, remained.

Master Cinbar said soberly, “It was a draw there, at the end, but Troi was right. In a real fight, you wouldn’t have made it this far.”

“I know.” Amber closed her eyes, as her pounding heart settled down to a slower tempo. “I know.” She opened her eyes and gave Master Cinbar a direct look. “Why are you and Troi both wasting your time with me, sir? You know that I’ll never be a great swordswoman.”

“Teaching you to stay alive,” said Master Cinbar gently, “is not a waste of my time. Have you forgotten that your erstwhile employer has already sent his thugs after you? Because we at Heartwood have not.”

Amber shivered. “But surely they won’t come all the way here!”

“Do you wish to wager your freedom, your life, on that, Miss Shelburne?”

Amber was silent. Then, slowly, she shook her head.

“Your magic is unique and versatile.” A smile broke Master Cinbar’s face. “I’ve already had to listen—from many Masters, not just my wife—just how amazing it is. They want me to teach you to stay alive long enough to use it.” He paused. “I think you can win with it. Fighting well is not only for sun mages.”

Again that gleam in his eyes, but at least now she understood his purpose, at least a little bit. Still, the way he said that…

“Master Cinbar,” she said, “when you and Troi fight, it’s always without magic. Still, the way you move… do you… sense the pattern, too?”

His smile was wry. “Miss Shelburne, I have no magic.”

She stared.

“And yet, even I can hold my own in a sun mages’ world.” He nodded at her. “Think on that the next time you doubt yourself, the next time you call yourself “stupid” in your own head. If you get in the habit of doing that, you’ll lose your fight before you even step foot on the battle field.”

A bell rang out from within the house. Master Cinbar tilted his head. “Time for breakfast. You had best go get your own.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.” The words came out in a rush. “For these lessons and everything else too.” She bowed and the master sketched a good-humored gesture of dismissal.

As she hurried away, his words came back to her.

Fighting well is not only for sun mages.

Amber smiled.

Read Episode 4.

Author’s Note: Sorry for the unintended break! Family sickness and other responsibilities took a large bite out of my time.

I’ve decided to change up the way I’m doing the serial. Instead of one short episode a week, I’m moving to longer episodes every other week. I hope it’ll be easier to be immersed in the story with longer episodes.

Next week, Amber’s invited along on an unauthorized midnight mission. I think you can guess who instigates it!