The Black Mage: Apprentice (39 page)

Darren.

I reached across the distance and tried to
find the prince's hand. My fingers caught his and I held on tight.
I knew it was wrong but I didn't care. I couldn't speak, my pain
was building and building and all I could do was shut my eyes and
pray to the Shadow God that death would come swiftly for both of
us.

"Ryiah," Darren whispered. "I'm sorry I made
a mess of everything." He tried to laugh and then choked,
sputtering for air.

Something broke in me.

Pain was deafening my senses but an
unrequited anger rose when I heard Darren utter what he thought
would be his last words. An apology. For everything. In his dying
breath the non-heir wanted to tell me he was sorry.

And that's when I realized Priscilla was
wrong. I was wrong.

Whatever he had put me through, Darren was
good.

Darren could have waited for the keep's
regiment but as soon as he'd freed the others, he had come back for
me.

Like Eve, he'd never had an intention of
fleeing when he told me to run.

That was two times Darren had chosen to save
me instead of himself.

A prince of Jerar had decided a lowborn's
life was more important than his own.

No one that good deserved to die.

I heard the crunching footfall of boots. I
heard the mage's labored breathing as he drew close.

I let my hand fall limply to the side.

"Ryiah?" Darren's voice rose.

I didn't respond. I let my eyelids flutter
shut.

"
Ryiah!
"

I held my breath.

"She's a pretty thing," the Caltothian
declared. "I can see why you wanted to keep her alive."

"Don't you look at her!"

"You can't stop me, boy, you are dying
yourself." The mage laughed raucously.

There was a sudden clatter and then Darren
gave an ear-shattering scream. It took everything in me not to
move.

"You shouldn't have tried to pain cast," the
man addressed the prince, "not against me."

I exhaled and began to inch my hand slowly,
closer and closer to my abdomen. As soon as my fingers closed
around the dagger embedded in my stomach I took a deep breath and
waited. One.
Two
.

The soft crunch of grass alerted me just as
the man stepped on the ground near me. I kept my hand frozen in
place. There was the rustle of movement and then I cracked open one
lid, just in time to catch sight of the man hovering over the
prince.

The mage held out his hand and a shimmering
orb of fire appeared in his palm. "I would have made your death
quick, like the girl's," he told him, "but since you tried to trick
me I'm going to let you burn.
Slowly
. I want you to feel
every second of it."

I didn't waste another moment. I wrenched the
blade free and bent forward, slashing at the back of the mage's leg
with all the strength I had. I caught the steel along the curve of
his thigh and dragged down, deep,
deep
into his calf and
fell back with a cry.

Then the pain took over.

My whole world reared up around me as
blackness took hold of my sight.

I couldn't see. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't
feel.

All I could do was listen.

Harsh pounding. In and out. In. And out. The
murmur of something faint. His voice.

One word. Over and over.

Ryiah.

"I'm alive?" Though I had spoken the words
aloud, they still seemed at odds with my memory.
Wasn't I
supposed to be dead?
Dead with Darren and Eve in the northern
forest of Jerar? Surrounded by burning pines as I bled to death
from a fatal wound to my stomach?

Which brought me to my next question:
"
How?
"

Derrick snorted. "That would be the first
thing you ask us, wouldn't it?"

Alex, meanwhile, was glowering down at me
with a concerned-looking Ella clutching his arm. "You must have a
death wish," he bellowed. "This is the fifth – no, the
sixth
- time I have had to visit my sister in an infirmary because she
thinks she can take on the world by herself!"

"Alex, that's not fair," Ella interrupted,
"most of those were because of mock battles, you can't blame your
sister for-"

"
I don't care what they were for!
"

"Alex!" Derrick looked annoyed. "Don't yell!
The healers!"

"
I will yell if I want to!
" my twin
shouted. "
The lot of you are fools for choosing Combat.
Fools! And you, Derrick, choosing to be a soldier – did you not
hear that four of your own were murdered? Slaughtered like pigs for
a butcher! What kind of idiot signs up for-"

"Alright, Alex, that's quite enough." Ella
pulled on my brother's arm with an apologetic look to me. "Later,"
she mouthed as she escorted my twin firmly out of the room.

"So," I said weakly to my last remaining
visitor, "he's mad at me again."

Derrick guffawed. "Alex is always mad. Just
because the rest of us live exciting lives is no reason for that
grouch to bring you down." He paused. "Besides you and Prince
Darren-"

"He's alive too?" I couldn't keep the relief
from my tone.

"Of course he is, silly," Derrick chided.
"You two are the talk of the north right now. All the local
regiments heard about how the two of you risked your lives to save
the keep's knights! I wouldn't be surprised if they made a song
about it!"

I cringed. The last thing I wanted was to
hear my "deeds" memorialized in song. Especially when the only
thing I had done was almost die… "Eve," I asked suddenly, "did
she-"

"She's dead, Ryiah." Derrick's voice has lost
its humor. "It was quick, if that helps. Stabbed herself in the
chest. I overheard Master Byron telling someone it was a 'mage's
last stand,' whatever that means."

I swallowed. When someone willingly brought
on his own death to exert an extreme pain casting, it was known as
"the mage's last stand." "She was a hero," I said softly; "without
her magic, Darren and I would have died."

"Probably why the prince is in Devon."

"Darren left the apprenticeship!" I sat up
with a start and then regretted it immediately. My whole body
roared in protest. "Why would he…?"
Why
wouldn't
he after
what had happened?

"Are you mad? Of course he didn't leave."

"But you said-"

"He's visiting that girl's father. Eve. He
said it was something that couldn't be put in a letter." Derrick
looked sideways at me. "The prince is nice, actually. I don't
understand why Alex hates him so much."

"He was here?"

"He was here for the first four days.
Granted, two of them he was recovering in the cot next to yours,
but then he kept coming back. That girl you hate? Priscilla. She
caused a huge scene when she saw him in here."

"How…" I cleared my throat and tried again.
"How am I…?"

"Alive?" Derrick was amused. "Ryiah, you were
never dead. No matter what our charming brother might claim,
Restoration is not that good… The prince gave a full account to
Commander Nyx. The two of you were fighting that last Caltothian
when you pulled that dagger out of your stomach – madness, really -
and caught the man off-guard by slashing at his leg." He grinned.
"You lost consciousness right after but the prince was able to
finish the job. He wasn't faring much better, but he still managed
to carry you halfway back before the regiment arrived. They brought
you two to the keep while the rest of the mages put out that fire
you started. In case you are wondering, Ry, a quarter of the
northern forest is now gone. It's going to take years to grow
back..."

The whole time my brother was talking, I
couldn't help but remember the one thing that had been bothering me
since I awoke: the dreams I'd had. The ones where I kept hearing
Darren's voice. He'd been saying my name. Over and over. Had that
been real?

What does it matter? Nothing has changed.

"Ryiah? Are you still listening?" Derrick
looked concerned. "You probably need rest," he surmised, "I should
leave... All of the factions were delayed by the fire but now that
you are better, I expect the masters will want to set out
tomorrow."

Almost as soon as he spoke a wave of lethargy
reared its head in rebuttal. I barely had time to say my goodbye
before my head hit the pillow, overcome with sleep.

****

"Apprentice Ryiah?"

My eyes flew open and I found the commander
of Ferren's Keep standing over me, her steel gray irises studying
my face. My skin jumped and I found myself sitting up with a start.
This time with much less pain than before. "C-commander Nyx?"

"I am sorry to wake you, apprentice, but I
have a matter that cannot wait."

I waited for her to continue.

The woman pulled a chair to the side of my
cot and leaned forward. "I have already spoken with the prince, but
I need to know if you saw anything strange – anything at all that
might merit questions - that day in the forest?"

The confusion must have shown on my face
because she tried again.

"Anything odd, Ryiah. Anything that struck
you as contrary?"

I shook my head. "I'm not sure I understand
what you are asking."

The woman sighed and stood up, pressing the
chair legs back with a loud squeak. "If you think of anything, no
matter how silly or minute the detail might seem, please send for
me."

I nodded and promised to do just that. The
woman left the room with a wish for my speedy recovery and then I
was left once again with an overwhelming fatigue. I drifted off
quite quickly, but as I did one question pressed at my
thoughts:

What was that about?

****

On the second week after we arrived at the
Academy, Darren finally returned from his visit to Devon. I was at
odds with his arrival. I couldn't hate him like before, not after
what had happened. I didn't know what to think.

I spent the next couple of days lost in my
own dance of drills and meals with my friends. At one point I
turned around to ask Eve her opinion – and then caught myself. I
had a sickening moment where that day in the forest came rushing
back and I decided to retire early that night.

It was as I was turning the corridor to my
room on the Academy's second floor that I finally came across the
prince. He was not alone, however.

"Now is not the time to discuss our wedding!"
I entered the hall just in time to see Darren slam a chamber door
in Priscilla's face.

The girl let out a loud shriek and picked up
a nearby vase and threw it against the wall. It shattered into a
mass of tiny shards, wilted flowers and water flooding the floor.
Then she turned around and caught me staring.

"He wasn't just visiting her father," she
sniffed. "He was with
her
. My friends in the palace tell me
everything."

I didn't know what to say. Once again my
chest was being ripped at the seams. I felt torn between three
states: pity for myself who loved such a capricious person, pity
for Priscilla who spent her whole life fighting girls like Shinako
and me to keep the prince and her position in court, and then
frustration at Darren for saving my life and being so heartless and
power-hungry in the same breath. Why couldn't a person just be good
or evil? Why couldn't Darren pick a side? I was tired of trying to
guess which one he was, and it was beyond aggravating when my heart
was involved.

"The day I am crowned princess will be the
best day of my life," Priscilla continued. "Believe me when I say
you are lucky to be lowborn, Ryiah; a highborn's struggles are more
tiresome than you could ever know."

There
. That was the reason I didn't
pity her. Not truly. "One. My status as apprentice means I am no
longer 'lowborn,'" I snapped. "And two. My struggles are just as
relevant as yours."

The girl rolled her eyes.

"I find great pleasure in knowing that it is
one of your own that is stealing him away," I told her flatly.

"And here I was trying to be polite!"

"You are wasting your breath. You are just as
cold-hearted as Darren. Any pity I feel at your situation vanishes
every time you open your big mouth."

The girl stopped smirking. "You have grown
vain in light of your magic, Ryiah. Were we friends, I might use my
influence to have Byron give you a high rank at our ascension - but
let me assure you
, even if you were the best apprentice of
our year, you will be ranked last without my help."

"I'd rather be last than align myself with
you."

The girl glared at me. "You are making a
mistake."

"Her only mistake is talking to you. Why
don't you find some other hallway to haunt with your presence?"

I grinned as Ella appeared next to me on the
stair. Priscilla spun off to find better company and I turned to
Ella. "Thanks. That girl spends half her time trying to belittle me
and the rest of it trying to convince me to join her little army of
minions."

"She is afraid of you. Priscilla knows you
have power and it scares her. Last thing she wants to do is make
enemies with the future Black Mage."

I snorted. "I find that highly unlikely."

Ella looked thoughtful. "Maybe. And maybe
not."

****

The rest of our time at the Academy seemed to
pass by even faster. Suddenly the solstice had arrived and the
castle grounds were covered in snow. Most of my time leading up to
the ball was spent with Alex, who had calmed down since his temper
tantrum in the keep's infirmary.

When it was time to dance, I left my friend
to my twin and headed outside after a quick visit with Sir Piers.
It was strange to be surrounded by so many eager-faced first-years
and know that I had been one of them, enthusiastically sharing in
drinks and laughs, just four years ago. I still had five more
months at Ferren's Keep, but the ascension took place in Devon, not
Sjeka. Tonight would be my final night within the Academy
walls.