The Magician's Apprentice (33 page)

He had a point, she grudgingly admitted. The harsh practicality of his remark only highlighted how different he was from Lord Dakon. Cold, truthful common sense was harder to like than warm, hopeful generosity. Yet it had replaced Jayan’s former disdain and arrogance, giving him a maturity that hadn’t been apparent before, and she had to admit she disliked him a little less now. Only a little, though.

Dakon straightened and sighed. “I suspect it would not take much energy to bring a man dying this way back to a state from which he could recover. A tiny portion of what I take from either of you each night – and so easily replaced. I wouldn’t consider it dangerous unless we were in a desperate situation.”

Jayan nodded, satisfied. As they stood up and left the house Tessia felt a weary sadness. Messages had been sent out to all the people living in villages, farms, forest and mountain cottages in the leys bordering Sachaka, advising an evacuation to the south until the Sachakans were driven out. But many people had stayed, their lives depending on the sowing of spring crops, hunting or other sources of income. They were easy targets for the invaders.

As she, Dakon and Jayan mounted and started back to rejoin the others, Tessia listened to the magicians quietly discussing how long ago they thought the house had been attacked. They had found several campsites of the enemy as well as their victims, but no sign of the Sachakans. She suspected that the magicians had expected the Sachakans to attack them weeks ago and were puzzled why they had not. Some speculated that there were too few of them. They wanted to split into smaller groups themselves, remaining close enough to help each other if attacked, in order to lure the Sachakans out.

But, as Jayan had pointed out, the Sachakans weren’t going to attack unless they felt they could win. They wouldn’t attack a smaller group if another was close enough to reinforce it.

So they let us follow them along the mountains, constantly giving us the slip and killing commoners as they go. Growing stronger while our magicians have only one apprentice each to draw from – those that have them.

All of the apprentices were expected to stay close to their masters, as much for their own protection as to be a ready source of extra power if needed. Strength was another constantly discussed issue among the Kyralian magicians. They could not know if they had as much stored magic as the Sachakans had. They considered how much power one might gain from slaves, and how many slaves the Sachakans might have with them. They tried to calculate how much power they each held, examining how many times they’d drawn it from their apprentices and how much they used, either habitually or on demanding tasks.

A routine had formed each night, when all the magicians took strength from their apprentices. Neither Werrin nor Narvelan had an apprentice, though apparently Werrin had sent for a young man he had promised to take on when the youth reached the customary age to begin training. The apprentice would travel with a group of magicians who had volunteered to help in the search.

The nightly ritual of higher magic made it clear how much magician and apprentice relied upon each other. One was vulnerable without the other. It was strangely comforting to know that, despite being otherwise untrained and of little use to the group, Tessia was contributing to both her own and Lord Dakon’s protection. And Jayan’s. And thus the whole of Kyralia’s.

And it had one other benefit. It ensured Tessia slept well, despite anger, grief and a nagging fear that if the Kyralian magicians were incapable of tracking down and dealing with a few renegade Sachakans, they had no hope of repelling an invading army.

Asmall exertion of will and magic increased the ambient temperature, and stirring the air helped dry Jayan’s skin. Another gust of artificial wind chased dampness out of his clothes, and he dressed quickly so the next apprentice could use the room.

Part of a mill at the edge of Lord Ardalen’s ley, this room had been a welcome find. Someone had set up an ingenious system which, at the pull of a lever, diverted water from the river through pipes into a large tub. Another lever opened a rather leaky plug and allowed the water to flow out again, probably back into the river.

Without any need for much discussion, the entire group – magicians, apprentices and servants – was taking it in turns to wash themselves and their clothes. Or rather, the servants were washing in the river while the magicians and apprentices enjoyed a much-needed bath.

Jayan picked up his second set of clothes, now also freshly washed and dried, and carried them out of the room. A short corridor led outside, where tents had been erected. Though they could have taken shelter inside the millhouse, both magicians and apprentices preferred to stay together in the open, ever watchful for attackers.

The mill had been deserted when they arrived. A careful inspection had revealed empty cupboards and, to their relief, no corpses. The occupants must have received Ardalen’s message and moved south to safety. There were signs of looting, however. A storeroom had been broken into. A locked trunk had been smashed open, and the contents – mostly clothing, worth nothing to the thieves – had been strewn about. It was impossible to tell if they had been Sachakan or ordinary thieves. Stories of ransacking of abandoned villages by opportunistic locals had reached them.

Inevitable, I suppose
, Jayan thought.
The fools probably don’t understand or care that if they’re caught by the Sachakans, their deaths will strengthen the enemy.

Jayan paused in the shadows of the corridor and looked out. Tessia was not with the apprentices, he saw. The other four young men were aged from fifteen to twenty-two. Mikken, the next eldest after Jayan, was slim and confident and the best-looking. Leoran was a watchful type who made up for his quietness by always having a witty observation or play on words to offer. Refan was enthusiastic, and always went along with whatever the others said or thought. Aken, the youngest, needed to grow out of a habit of saying what he thought without first thinking about whether it would offend anyone, or make him look a fool.

They tended to ignore Tessia most of the time, though if she spoke they did listen and respond politely. He knew they were unsure how to behave around her. The young women they were used to were easy to categorise: either rich and from powerful families, or servants, or beggars and whores. Those female magicians they had encountered would all have come from the first category, and some of them had quite a reputation for being adventurous, especially in their attitude towards men.

The four laughed, then glanced to one side. Following their gaze, Jayan saw that the magicians were standing in a circle several paces away, probably discussing yet again all the reasons why they hadn’t come face to face with any Sachakans and wishing they could find a risk-free way to lure out the enemy.

Now the apprentices were all looking in the other direction, and Jayan saw where Tessia had got to. She was picking small fruits off a tree and filling a bowl with them.

Probably some cure ingredient
, he thought, suppressing a sigh.
Does she ever think of anything else?
Though her obsession with healing didn’t bother him as much as it used to – not since he’d seen her work on the woman with the growth in her mouth – she was single-minded about it to the point of being predictable and, perhaps, a little bit boring.

As Jayan watched, Mikken rose and sauntered over to her. He held out his hands and she, looking mildly surprised, gave him the bowl. As she continued picking, he talked to her, all smiles.

Jayan’s skin prickled. He didn’t have to know what the apprentice was saying to know what he was up to. Stepping out of the doorway, he strode towards the pair. Mikken looked up and saw Jayan coming, and his expression became both guilty and defiant.

“It’s your turn, Mikken,” Jayan said. He paused, sniffed and smiled. “I wouldn’t put it off much longer if I were you.”

The young man frowned and opened his mouth to retort, then glanced at Tessia and thought better of it. He handed Jayan the bowl.

“I bow to the wisdom of my much,
much
older peer,” he said mockingly, gave Tessia a parting smile and headed towards the mill.

Tessia raised an eyebrow. “You two still establishing a pecking order?”

“Oh, it’s clear who’s at the top,” Jayan said. “The lesser hordes need to sort out their own hierarchy. Are you enjoying being the prize they’re fighting over?”

“Me?”

“Yes, you. I’m afraid female magicians have quite a reputation. My young, naive subordinates are trying to work out if any of them stands a chance with you.”

“A chance?” She turned and began picking fruit again. “Am I to expect a marriage proposal, or something much shallower?”

“Definitely shallower,” he said.

She chuckled. “So how do I make it unarguably clear, without offending their sensitive male pride, that I will never accept such a proposal?”

Jayan paused, considering. “Be clear and unhesitating. Give them no reason to doubt your meaning. But don’t insult them, of course. We do have to travel with them.”

Tessia turned back to him, dropped another handful of the small green fruits in the bowl, then took the bowl from him. “Then I had best be unhesitating and clear up this matter.”

She strode toward the apprentices. Jayan paused, suddenly doubting his own advice. He hadn’t meant her to confront them straight away. The eyes of the three younger apprentices brightened as she approached, though Jayan could not tell if it was from apprehension or hope.

But Tessia did not launch into a speech on her unavailability, or reproach them for even considering it a matter for discussion. She sat down on the blanket they were relaxing on and handed the closest – Refan – the bowl.

“Try them. They’re delicious.”

Refan picked up one of the fruits. “But it’s not ripe.”

“It is. People make that mistake all the time. See the dark spot on the end? That’s how you tell they’re ripe. But they’re only like that for a few weeks. When the fruit starts to change colour it’s too late. They go all pithy and dry inside.”

She began peeling the fruit she had retained. Reluctantly, the others began to copy her. As they bit into the flesh underneath Jayan saw the looks of surprise on their faces. Curious, he took one for himself and discovered she was right. They were tart, but sweet.

Soon, Mikken emerged from the mill, his hair glistening with water.

“What’s this?” he said as he joined them. “What are you eating?”

“Ah, Mikken,” Tessia said. “Good. Now you’re here, there’s something I apparently need to make completely and devastatingly clear to all of you.” She glanced at Jayan. “You, too.”

To his horror, Jayan felt his face warming. He sighed, rolled his eyes and affected boredom, all the while hoping his face wasn’t red.

“I’m not planning to bed anyone during this trip, or after it,” Tessia said. “So get the idea out of your heads now.”

Jayan watched as the four boys bowed their heads and began looking anywhere but at Tessia. Aken sent Jayan a brief glare, though.

“We weren’t—” Mikken began, spreading his hands, using the tone of someone trying to explain something.

She cut him off. “Oh, don’t think I’m fool enough to believe that. You’re all male – and young. I’m the only woman around. I’m not being vain; just not stupid.” She chuckled. “I also know if there was a better-looking girl around, the situation would be different. Anyway… put the thought out of your minds. Not going to happen. After all, I’d hardly want to fall pregnant right now, would I?”

The apprentices didn’t answer, but she caught the looks they exchanged.

“What?” she asked, a small measure of anger slipping into her voice. “That didn’t even
occur
to you?”

“Of course not,” Aken blurted. “You’ve got magic. You can stop that happening.”

Tessia blinked in surprise, then, suspicion in her eyes, she looked at Jayan. “That’s possible?” she asked him quietly.

Not quietly enough, it turned out. Even as Jayan nodded, the others had lifted their heads. They were grinning.

“That changed your mind, by any chance?” Aken asked slyly.

SShe gave him a withering look. “Not if you were the last man in Kyralia.”

The others laughed. Tessia’s mouth twitched, then relaxed into a smile. “Well, we’ve all learned something today, haven’t we?” She picked up another fruit, and as Mikken examined one for himself she began explaining how to judge when it was ripe.

After a while she looked at Jayan and raised an eyebrow questioningly.
Did I convince them?
he imagined her asking. He shrugged and nodded. She leaned closer, her gaze moving to the magicians still talking several paces away.

“What do you think they’re discussing? The same old things over and over?”

He nodded. “Probably.”

“It’s such a waste of time. If they didn’t keep going over it, Lord Dakon could spend some time teaching us. I haven’t learned any magic since before we arrived in Imardin.”

Jayan gave her a disbelieving look. “I didn’t think you were that interested.”

She snorted softly. “Amazing what a bit of threat to your life and others’ can do. Not to mention the death of your parents.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I haven’t had any lessons either.”

“It’s all very well for you,” she retorted. “You’ve had years of training. I’ve only had months.”

“I could teach you,” Jayan said. Then he gulped a mouthful of air and looked away. Where had
that
come from?

Then he remembered Lord Dakon, months ago, telling him to help Tessia practise. That helping another learn would benefit Jayan, too. But Dakon hadn’t meant Jayan to
teach
Tessia, which apprentices weren’t supposed to do.

The thought that she might die simply from lack of training was
wrong
, however. Surely the circumstances were extreme enough to justify bending the rules a little.

Tessia was staring at him now, but as he met her gaze again she nodded quickly.