The Black Mage: Apprentice (17 page)

"But what if there is no exit? What if the
tide changes?" I didn't know much about the sea but one hole in the
rock wasn't enough to guarantee another, and if we became
trapped…

"We can always cast our way free. You haven't
used any of your magic yet, right?"

"Well, no…" I still wasn't sure.

"Then we should be able to cast enough force
to break the cave walls. No, you can, Ry. If you and Darren could
hold off Caine in that mock battle last year then you can do this.
We probably won't even
have
to."

I made a face. "You are lucky we are
friends."

"You will help me then?"

"I will. But you had better be right. Darren
will have our heads if we are wrong."

****

This is nothing. You've climbed cliffs
five times the scale of this drop…
I swallowed. That didn't
mean I wasn't scared. Climbing I could control; falling was
luck.

Ella leaped into the dark waters below, and I
heard the telltale splash as she landed inside the sea cave. "Ry,"
she called from the water, "come on, it's fun!"

I struggled to see her, peering down into
over a hundred feet of shadow. Fun was the last thing it looked. I
made a silent prayer to the gods:
Please, don't let this be a
mistake
. Then I took the plunge, jumping into the dark hollow
with my tunic flapping along the black cavern sky.

I hit the waters with a loud splash and then
I was submerged into the icy pool. I emerged for air with a loud
gasp, sputtering out water that had somehow founds its way into my
nose. "It's so cold." Teeth chattering, I swam after Ella,
following the smooth, sloping ceiling with our hands as we searched
for an exit in its tunnel-like passage.

The walls of the cave were stained blue and
green algae dotted its ceiling. It was beautiful in a lonely, cold
sort of way. My entire body was quivering by the time we had swam
five minutes.

We continued our quiet trek to what we hoped
was the sea's entrance.

Finally, after almost fifteen more minutes of
searching in numb semi-darkness, we reached the end of the tunnel
only to find it covered in the same dark limestone wall as the rest
of the cavern.

There was no exit.

"It must be underwater." Ella bit her lip.
The current tide meant we were fifteen feet from the bottom of the
cave. "I think I can see some light below – that has to be the way
the water is getting in. I'm going to dive down and check."

"Be careful," I warned.

My friend smiled, shivering as she did, and
then she was gone. I waited nervously for her to return, hoping
that our efforts wouldn't leave us trapped in a dark ocean
cave.

Five minutes later Ella emerged, wheezing
water as she did.

"The entrance is right below us. You'll need
to be careful, though. Coral lines the rim and it's definitely
sharp."

"Did you see the mentees? Did you spot their
boat?"

She grinned broadly. "They are just west of
us. I saw Ian and your mentee Merrick on the nearby rocks arguing
over the best way to climb the bluffs. It's too dangerous,
apparently. They are stuck and the rest of their group doesn't seem
too happy. There's two second-years keeping guard of their boat
right next to the cave's entrance but they couldn't see me. The
cavern is hidden in a high outcropping of rock – they'd have to
know exactly where to look to find it."

"Do you think it will be easy to pick them
off?"

She hesitated. "I'm not sure… Do you think
Ian would…?"

I laughed sharply. "He would never fall for
that trick twice."

"Well, then we both cast loud distractions in
opposite directions to scatter their group. When a couple of them
go to investigate we take on whoever is left. Hopefully the element
of surprise will even the odds."

It was a good a plan as any. Taking a deep
breath I followed Ella into the dark waters, squinting with
salt-burned eyes until I spotted a small crevice of light coming
from below. Avoiding the beautiful but deadly reef I propelled my
body through the entrance and into a bright, shallow pool on its
other side.

I surfaced. A second later Ella popped up
beside me. Slowly, we raised ourselves onto the slick rocky shore
surrounding the cave.

The two of us crouched low and tiptoe-climbed
along the rocks until we were ten feet away from where Ian and my
mentee stood arguing. The rest of their group – except for the two
mentees guarding the boat - were standing close by, waiting
impatiently for the others to make a decision.

"I know it's somewhere around here. Priscilla
and I used to play in it when we were kids!" Merrick was
saying.

"We've combed this shore for an hour," Ian
challenged. "We need to stop wasting time and find a new way up.
The mentors are going to realize that barge is empty any minute and
then they will be looking for us! We will lose any advantage we had
in surprising them if we continue to look for your precious
cave!"

"Fine! Go ahead and be leader – even though
I
am the one that grew up here!" Merrick tore off his black
armband and tossed it at Ian.

The fourth-year bent low to pick it up,
brushing the sand off his new prize with a self-satisfied
smirk.

That's the boy that I'm courting.
I
couldn't help grinning. Ian looked good with the armband. Even on
enemy lines. Forbidden and dangerous – especially after he stood up
to Priscilla's bratty cousin.

Ella elbowed me. "Enough drooling, we've got
to cause a distraction!"

A series of hushed whispers took over as my
friend and I sent two castings at opposite ends of the beach. There
was a loud boom and then sand went flying where I had cast mine.
Ella's magic split a boulder in two.

"What was that?"

"
They've found us!"

"We've got to get to the boat-"

"No." Ian's voice rang out clearly. "We
aren't going back to the boat. Not yet. I want two five-man parties
scouting the beach. We don't know that it's them. There is no way
the mentors could have already made it back this quickly. You saw
them in the looking glass on the eastern bluffs, did you not?
That's three miles from where we are now."

Just as Ella had predicted Ian split up his
team, leaving only ten behind. The rest of the mentees left in
search parties to scout the remains of the beach. Merrick and Ian
were the only two Combat apprentices who had stayed.

"This is too good to be true," Ella breathed.
"All we have to do is capture Ian and we end the battle right now.
He's practically unguarded."

"Yes, but we have to make it past the others
first."

"No, not if we do another casting close by –
he'll be forced to send Merrick and some of the others to
investigate."

"No, he won't," I said. "He'll never leave
himself that exposed. He would wait for one of the other scouting
parties to return."

"Fine. Then I'll reveal myself."

"Ella, no!" I whispered. "They'll catch
you!"

"Yes, but you know Merrick won't be able to
restrain himself from going after me. That second-year is as vain
as his cousin. He'll want to claim first capture… And while he's
chasing me it'll leave Ian unguarded. That's the best odds you
could have!"

I thought it over. She was right, of course.
This was our one chance to capture Ian while the other Combat
mentees were away. And if Ian saw that it was me again… well he
might just be too surprised to make the first move. "Okay, let's do
it."

Ella took off, climbing along the crags until
she was two hundred yards away. Then I watched as she threw a large
casting in the direction of Ian's party.

Two Restoration apprentices collapsed.

Merrick immediately took off before Ian could
stop him, and I swiftly made my approach.

Summoning a broadsword I leapt out from the
rocky shadows to surprise the fourth-year. Something about my
approach must have warned him, however, because Ian spun around
with a heavy blade in hand, ready for battle. As soon as he saw me
his green eyes widened but it did not cause him to falter.

The two of us immediately engaged – the loud
clang of swords colliding as my casting met his. The rest of the
Restoration and Alchemy mentees nearby rushed to help their leader,
but Ian waved them off with his free hand. "This is between me and
Ryiah," he told them.

"How kind of you," I gasped. I blocked the
mentee's swing and cringed under the weight of his blow. There was
a reason Darren had struggled so much in non-magic combat against
his old mentor: Ian was the son of two blacksmiths. His experience
was on full display in our duel.

"Where's your fearless leader?" Ian asked. He
swung hard to my right.

I fell back just in time, panting.
"What?"

"Where's Darren?"

I didn't want to reveal it was just Ella and
I. "No one fell for your empty warship," I lied, "they are all
waiting inside the cave."

"Interesting." Ian's eyes danced as we
continued to trade blows. "Darren was never one to shirk from
battle before." There was suspicion in his gaze.

"He thought I'd be the best one to catch you
off guard."

"I see." Ian grinned and came at me with a
low crescent sweep. I blocked with a wince as part of his blade
grazed my thigh. "Still relying on my weakness for the girl with
red hair." He gave me a disarming smile, one that made me falter
just the barest second.

It was a second too late. I heard the whistle
of metal and then something heavy and sharp crashed into the back
of my shoulder - biting deep,
deep
into the flesh within. I
screamed, falling against the limestone ground.

Merrick's head bobbed up above me.

"Byron should have given me a better mentor,"
the second-year drawled. "That was hardly a challenge."

I cursed as the boy dislodged the throwing
axe and held it to my neck.

"You surrender?"

"Yes." I spat at his feet, glaring up at the
bragging second-year with his white blonde locks and his cruel
violet eyes that were so much like Priscilla's it was startling. I
could not fight back: in a real battle I would have already been
slain.

I had lost.

I huddled on the ground. My whole back felt
like fire – excruciating, searing hot fire. Blood was seeping into
my tunic and my body was alternating between tremors and
shakes.

"If Ryiah made it down here the cave must be
somewhere nearby," my mentee continued. He glanced at his leader.
"The rules let us torture her for information, Ian. The regiment
and our masters can't interfere while we do it."

Ian knelt down to where I was, shivering and
cursing with pain. "Ryiah," he said quietly, "please don't make me
let him. Just tell us where the cave is."

I stayed silent. Giving up the location would
cost my team a victory. If the mentees found the caves they would
no longer be trapped at the cliff's base. They'd be able to sneak
up on Darren and the rest of the mentors while they were still
trying to sink the barge.

"Ryiah, please."

I did not look at Ian.
Be brave
, I
told myself,
whatever Merrick does – the healers will step in as
soon as I am unconscious. A real Combat mage would never succumb to
torture.

And I really thought I would stay strong. But
then Merrick swung his axe back into my shoulder – Ian turned his
head away - again and again and I screamed until my voice was lost.
The second-year raised it a fourth time. "E-east…"

Why couldn't I just lose consciousness?

Merrick pressed down with his blade.

I cried as he dug the axe deeper. "R-right at
t-the b-base, in a p-pool." I crumbled into a sob, cradling my side
back and forth and fighting back tears.

Ian knelt to touch my face, gently, and then
the darkness took hold.

****

"Two years. That's two years in a row our
mentees have beaten incredible odds." Master Byron's voice was full
of unabashed shock as he addressed the crowd of apprentices and
Port Langli's regiment. He stood clutching a goblet of wine in his
place at the center table of the port's ceremonial hall. "Who would
have expected this?"

"A toast to the victorious mentees and their
leader Ian. And a special mention to Apprentice Merrick for helping
come up with the strategy that contributed to their victory."
Commander Chen had taken over for the Master of Combat and
continued to cite the merits of yesterday's mock battle.

I felt sick to my stomach. Every single one
of the mentors was glaring at me with the exception of Ella, since
they were mad at her too, and Alex, because he was my brother. I
hadn't spoken with anyone since I had been released from the
infirmary an hour before the feast. I knew all of them were waiting
to tell me what they thought of my folly.

After I'd fainted Ian and Merrick had led
their team to the cavern in the bluffs. From what I had heard the
mentees cast a climbing rope to reach the top of the cavern's
opening and then surprised the rest of my team while the mentors
were busy casting at an empty barge.

It hadn't even been a fair fight. Most of the
mentors had used up all of their magic by the time the mentees
arrived. Darren had been forced to surrender within minutes of
their approach.

As soon as the commander's speech ended I
made a beeline for the door. I didn't want to run into anyone on my
way to the barracks.

"Oh no you don't!" Priscilla grabbed my bad
shoulder – the one that had only just finished healing but still
felt incredibly sensitive. I cried out as she whirled me around to
face the angry mob.

Ella was cornered as well.

I looked to the head table. The regiment was
too busy in conversation to notice. Master Byron could see… but it
didn't take much to understand he would never intercede on my
behalf.