SORCERER (The Elemental Magic Series Book 1) (10 page)

"Can we go get lunch now, it's almost six bells?" Christi asked.

"Hang on for just a bit, here," he said handing Alec a fair size sapphire. "Keep those gems somewhere safe, they hold your power in them. I'll see you two tomorrow morning right here after breakfast"

They turned to go when he spoke again. "Oh, if you're going to be sharing the shower together try to be a bit more discrete." He said with a wink.

Chapter 10

The two of them left the tower, their faces a bright red color. Alec's from embarrassment and Christi's from laughing.

"He thinks we...together... at the same time?" Alec stuttered.

"What not pretty enough for you?" Christi asked in a serious voice.

Alec stopped, his mouth gaping as she walked on till she realized he wasn't beside her.

"What, you don't think so?"

Alec's mouth just opened and closed with no words coming out.

"I'll take that as a good thing?" She laughed. "You have a lot to learn about nobles. He was only teasing. It might be fun teaching you all about it." She laughed again at his puzzled facial expression.

She took his hand and led him to lunch as six bells were starting to toll. Christi ate while Alec explained what it felt like when he'd reached his power. When he was done Christi began hinting at the way nobles approached intimacy. Nobles apparently talked more openly about it and teasing was more the norm than not then gave him some examples.

By the time they were done eating one very embarrassed Alec was left sitting at the table. Christi left on her own having arranged to meet one of her brothers. She had wanted to take Alec with her to meet her brother Billy but Alec begged off saying he was tired.

Alec went back to the tower and saw Peter upon entering.

"Ah, Alec, where's my other first year?"

"She went to meet up with her brother, Billy I think it was."

"Well the days of loafing around are gone." He said with a fatherly smile. "I just got your schedules."

Peter handed him a thick sheet of paper with his name on it. Alec opened it and read through him courses. Magic lessons through the morning with Peter then after lunch it was general learning with a Mr. Caller every other day. At the end of the day was combat training with a Master Stolle.

"Do you know a Mr. Caller, Peter?"

"Yes I do, he's a very hard math teacher but fairly lax when it comes to reading and history, you have him for general then?"

"Yep, and I have Master Stolle for combat training."

Peter winced at Master Stolle's name.

"What?" Alec asked.

"Master Stolle is....well let’s just say he's a perfectionist who is very strict. I think he has more students transfer out of his class than all the others together."

"Oh!"

"Anyway, first years start their classes tomorrow. If I were you I’d go figure out where you need to be."

Alec left, heading for the scholar’s school. He got lucky by going to the largest flat building and, after asking, found Mr. Caller in his room sorting through some books.

"Sir, are you Mr. Caller?"

"That would be me young man. What can I do for you?"

"I'm Alec Carter sir. I'm in your general class starting tomorrow."

"It’s nice to meet you, Alec. Have a seat. Did you have any questions?"

"No sir just figured I'd see where the classroom was."

"We meet right here after lunch at seven bells every other day. I don't have a lot of information on you, would you mind if I asked some questions?"

"No sir, what would you like to know?" Alec replied taking a seat closest to his desk.

"I'm told you're from a small farm community south of here by about two and half days and you're to be a sorcerer. That's about it. So I’d like hear you read the first couple pages of this book if you don't mind."

Alec read from the book only stumbling a few times but catching himself without any prompts from Mr. Caller.

"Not bad, you'll get better with practice. Now step up here to the desk while I write out a few problems for you."

After about five minutes he had Alec working on some ever increasingly hard math problems. When he got to the problems with letters in them Alec was stumped. Mr. Caller told him it was called algebra.

"Not bad, I was expecting a lot worse to tell the truth. I'll see you after lunch tomorrow." He said patting Alec on the shoulder.

Alec left the room heading for the martial school. After seeing Peter’s reaction to Master Stalle he was a little nervous.

Following one of the main paths he gave a polite greeting to a couple of wizards headed the other way, they acted as if they didn’t hear him. Passing the Bard school Alec gave smiles, nods and an occasional greeting to others and got the same back. Going through a small gate he saw Christi standing arm in arm with a guy who was fairly good looking and about a head taller than himself, putting him two above Christi.

He felt a slight pain of jealousy even though it was obvious they were siblings by their common facial features. They had the same high cheek bones and slightly upturned nose. There was even a slight reddish tint to the guy’s brown hair.

"Alec, over here!" Christi called seeing him standing there looking around. She dragged her brother over by the hand when Alec made no move to immediately join them.

"Hey Alec, this is my big brother Billy. Billy this is Alec." She introduced them smoothly.

"It's Bill, Christi has been talking my ear off about you. How's your first day of classes going?" He said holding out his hand with a smile.

Alec took the offered hand with a firm shake. "It's been good, just got my schedule and thought I'd better find out where I need to go. Just came from Mr. Caller's classroom for general learning which I have after lunch. Then at eight bells I've combat with Master Stolle,” Alec ignored the open mouths of disbelief. “I need to find out where to meet him for lessons."

"They gave you Master Stolle? Why would they give you, a first year, to him? You have Master Steadhold, right?" Bill asked Christi in disbelief.

"Do you know where he is by chance?" Alec asked.

"We'll show you." Christi took his hand in hers gaining him a look from Bill.

They made their way to a small building set back and off in the corner of the guard wall. The small open courtyard area in front of it had several people paired off and fighting with different weapons. Bill pointed at an older man with a bald head who was sparring with a younger guy. It was obvious the instructor way out classed the other guy. His movements were so fluid from one stroke of his stave to the next. When it contacted the other's stave you'd think he planned it if the younger man hadn't been sweating profusely and losing ground quickly.

Suddenly in a flurry of strikes the younger man was on the ground with Master Stolle's stave pointed at his neck and the younger man's beside him just out of reach. A tight shiver started at Alec’s lower back and began to climb its way up his spine.

Alec had a crazy idea on how to get on the good side of this instructor. One of two things will happen. I'll either be made into a puddle or I'll gain a bit of respect for my courage, Alec thought. Please let it be the respect Alec silently prayed to no god in particular.

Alec waited till the applause had stopped and people began to move off. He stepped into the path that Master Stolle would have to take to go inside.

Christi and Bill gave him a look that asked if he was crazy. Master Stolle headed straight for him. Alec straightened his shoulders and held his hand out to the instructor as he came to a stop in front of him.

"Alec Carter, sir. I'm to be in your eighth bell class, sir."

Master Stolle shook his hand with an amused half smile on his face. "We'll meet here in front of this building at eight bells sharp. If you have a weapon and want to learn to use it, bring it."

Alec stepped out of his way with a "Yes sir." He felt a little light headed and his knees started shaking.

Bill and Christi took him by the elbows and led him over to a bench across the courtyard.

"That was brilliant." Bill started.

"Stupid is more like it." Christi refuted.

"You must have some serious stones on you, and standing in Master Stolle’s path like that, simply brilliant. That was great!" Bill told him still excited about the whole thing.

"I just figured I needed to make sure he knew I was serious."

"Serious? Seriously stupid!" Christi smacked him up the back of the head. "You could have transferred to a different class. Now if he likes you he won't let you transfer."

Alec and Christi left Bill and made their way back to the sorcerer’s tower. They had a while till supper. Alec headed toward the store to get some hangers and other toiletries he didn't bring with him while Christi went on to get her formal schedule from Peter.

Alec was just passing the wizard’s tower as Travis and some of the other early upper class men came out.

"Hi, Alec isn't it? No hard feelings about this morning right." Travis said to him putting his arm around his neck and slowly squeezing harder.

Alec realized he was being herded toward the back of the store tower. Alec noted then a faint blue glow coming from under his shirt and realized it must be coming from the necklace him Aunt had given him.

"Excuse me. I need to stop at the store." He told them while trying to make his way in that direction. Three of the other guys pushed him back the way they were going.

"Let's go over here first, buddy." One of them said with a sneer.

Alec knew they meant trouble for him and started trying to back away from them.

As they went out of sight from the other towers a fist found its way to his stomach doubling him over and knocking his breath out of him.

"Let's consider this a warning. Christi will never choose you over a real man. She's a noble, dumbass. You’re what, a pig farmer or one of those inbred sheep breeders. Stay away from her!"

Another fist flew toward him. He put both arms together and blocked it from hitting his face. Someone punched his ribs on the right. What a weak punch. He thought and struck out at whoever was in front of him aiming for just under their sternum. Another punch hit his ribs from the right again. That hurt a bit, he thought, they should really get lessons from Gary and Jason. He punched out again but only heard a grunt when he hit ribs instead of the kidneys.

With one still down trying to breathe and Alec still trying to block, the other two joined in hitting his ribs and gut. With Alec on his knees and a guy on each arm holding him, Travis walked up and punched him in the jaw splitting his lip.

"Stay away from her or you'll go home in a box, got it?"

Alec was so mad he spit blood from his lip at him, which just earned him a punch to the jaw again.

Travis and his friends walked away and Alec laughed to himself thinking, a little pounding on the ribs and a split lip. What a bunch of asses. All over a girl I'm not even dating, or am I?

He got up off the ground and dusted his robes off then dabbed his lip with the end of his robe.

Good thing this thing is black, unlike the wizard’s brown robes, it won't show blood less I get it on the green stripe. He thought with a chuckle, all on his first day.

Alec went around to the front of the store and entered. Standing at the counter was Gil.

"Hello Mr. Carter, looks like you've had a rough day."

"Yah, you could say that." Alec nodded. "I'm going to need some hangers, a shaving blade, and a lather bar if you could. Oh, and is it possible to get extra robes." He asked thinking he was going to have to change yet again today.

"I've six hangers left for half a copper. Blade and bar will be four coppers, and robes, if I’ve got your size, are a silver a piece."

Alec nodded asking him to check. Gil went upstairs and a few minutes later came down with two sets with a green stripe.

Alec told him he'd take both as well as the other things if he had them. Gil went to a back room and returned with his things.

“Two silver and four and a half coppers, I'll write it off your account.”

Alec thanked him and went to his tower to put his things away.

Alec pushed the front door open with shoulder and turned to see Christi.

"What took you so..." Christi stopped as Alec turned toward her. "Oh, my god! What happened to you?" she asked getting up off the couch and gingerly touching his face.

"A few guys thought I needed a lesson in the difference between nobles and commoners like me." He said heading for the stairs without waiting for a reply.

She followed him up to his room.

"We need to go talk to Peter and report this." Christi told him.

"No. Leave it be."

"You have to though. They can't get away with this."

"Christi, I'll deal with it on my own, OK. Besides it’s my word against theirs, and the only thing I learned from them is that they punch like an eight year old," he said with a weak laugh as he continued putting his things away.

"Who punches like an eight year old?" Peter asked from the doorway.

"It's nothing really." Alec said his head hung down hoping Peter wouldn’t notice his lip.