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  The pygmy bird seemed to have experience about almost everything, and if he hadn’t done it himself, he’d heard of someone who had. Even so, I wasn’t prepared for the solemnity that weighed down his little body when he answered.

  “I most certainly have faced down a force much like this one. I’d like to tell you that we’ll certainly be prepared for whatever might come at us, but I won’t make empty assurances.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The gregarious owl was forecasting gloom. Well, maybe not exactly, but I’d expected him to be uplifting!

  “Dark sorcerers fight unfairly, and they make weapons of emotions and situations they have no right to.”

  “I see,” Nando said, his face blank. But I knew my brother. His mind would already be processing different possible scenarios and how he might manage to keep me safe through all of them.

  “And it’s my experience that dark sorcerers rarely quit before their death. The darkness takes over their hearts until there’s nothing left of them but morbid determination to extinguish all the light in magic.”

  I chuckled awkwardly at my immense discomfort. “Thanks for delivering the good news.”

  “Good news? How do you interpret that as good news?” the owl asked.

  “It was a joke,” I said lamely.

  “Well I’m glad you can find humor in the situation that I cannot.” The owl held his head high and pointed a wing forward. “I came to get you for a meeting in the dining hall. Lord Mordecai has summoned all of us for some announcements.”

  Nando led the way, and I followed, trying to fix the misunderstanding. “I don’t find humor in the situation. Not at all. I laugh at times when I feel uncomfortable.”

  “How incredibly peculiar.”

  I opened my mouth to continue explaining myself, and in the end, shut it. For days now, I’d been weighed down by the feeling that nothing I said would make a difference in my life. Instead, I changed tactics. I’d learned that Sir Lancelot always liked to talk, and he was a remarkable source of information—one not to be wasted just because I felt like sulking.

  “This enemy you’ve faced before, was it the SMS?” I asked.

  “No, nothing so organized or large, but certainly just as unrelenting. You’ve perhaps heard mention of Count Washur since you’ve been here.”

  “We have,” I said, and noticed Nando was listening closely while he wove our way across the manor toward the dining hall.

  “He amassed a small army, and it wasn’t just him, there were other dark sorcerers involved, but since we’re almost to the dining hall, I’ll just say that he didn’t stop until we killed him.”

  I gulped. “I see.”

  “And not until after he’d killed Lord Albacus and led to the death of many others.”

  I emitted an odd strangled sound.

  The double doors of the dining room stood open at the end of the hall. “So basically you’re saying we’re doomed?” I said morosely.

  “Not in the least.” Sir Lancelot actually sounded surprised that I should draw this conclusion from what he’d said. “Most of us are still here, aren’t we? And many of us in this manor were the ones to face down Count Washur and his evil sorcerers.”

  The little owl flew from my shoulder to hover in front of my face for a few flaps of his wings. “Don’t you know? Goodness very often wins. The lightness of heart and magic imbues the fight with something the darkness can never have. We definitely have a chance of winning. History has proven it. And the right is on our side.”

  The owl twitched his beak in what might have been a grim owl smile, then flew through the open doors to seek out the windowsill to resume his watch.

  I met Nando’s wide eyes with my own, and searched for something to say—to reassure him or seek reassurance. I came up with nothing. Apparently he did too, because we entered the dining hall in complete silence, brooding on our odds in the fight that we might or might not win.

  Chapter 5

  Nearly everyone was gathered in the dining hall; we were the last to arrive. The only ones I noticed missing were the many firedrakes, who now considered Acquaine their home, and the dragon Humbert, who was still on the mend. Sylvia and Mathieu, however, rarely left Mordecai and Arianne’s sides now that the danger to us was imminent.

  In the same way, Wizard Meedles’ hellhounds seemed always to be underfoot. Even the hound with her swollen belly followed him around everywhere.

  Both magician and beast were doing their best to prepare for whatever would soon come.

  The anticipation hung heavily in the air, suggesting that not all of us in this room might survive the next few days, weeks, or months. I had no idea how long this conflict might last, and it was clear that the magicians didn’t either.

  “Nice of you to join us,” Mordecai said to Nando and me with a scowl. “Please take a seat in a hurry.”

  I no longer bristled at Mordecai’s gruffness. I’d come to realize that the way he expressed himself did little to indicate how he really felt about you, deep down—at least, that’s what I told myself.

  Nando and I scurried to claim two open seats toward the end of the table, next to Marie and Walt.

  “Now that we’re all here, I have some announcements to make,” Mordecai said. “After labored discussion, we’ve come to some decisions.” He swept his arms to indicate Arianne, Gustave, Marcelo, and Clara first, and then Count Vabu, Wizard Meedles, and Madame Pimlish. He included Priscilla at the end, with an exacerbated scowl. I didn’t think the magicians, save her brother, had decided conclusively whether the vampire was trustworthy or not.

  “As you all know, this is an academy for the advancement of the magical arts. As you also know, nothing has gone as we’d planned lately due to outside... interference.” He grimaced. “We recruited you all here under the premise of learning.” He swept his gaze from Nando, Marie, Walt, Brave, Gertrude, and me, all congregated at the end of the table.

  He drew in a reluctant sigh. “Our purpose here hasn’t changed, and I’ll do everything within my power to ensure that continues to be the case.”

  There was a rustling of clothing as we all waited for the big but that necessarily had to come next. We were at war. War changed everything, no matter how much we wished it didn’t.

  “But we’ve decided that we must modify our way of doing things. However much we don’t want to, we can’t continue to place the recruitment of new students and teachers as our priority.”

  From the sudden pursing of lips that marred Gustave’s handsome face, it was clear he continued to believe we should abandon recruitment entirely. I didn’t blame him. It wasn’t fair to bring new students into this. It didn’t seem reasonable that I’d become a part of a war I wasn’t sure I had a stake in beyond saving my own life.

  “We all understand the great importance of aligning our future in such a way that we can continue to stand for good. But we can no longer forsake the present for the future.”

  Nando reached over and squeezed my hand, as if he already knew what was coming.

  “Our focus will no longer be on dedicated lessons and a set curriculum.”

  Has the focus ever been that? They’d meant that to be the focus, but they hadn’t succeeded, not from the start. The SMS was on our tail even before Nando and I arrived.

  Mordecai held up a finger. “That doesn’t mean that you, students, won’t continue your studies. They’ll just look different. We’re going to switch to a master-apprentice way of learning, which is fine, really. It’s how things were done for a very long time. I’m certain it will suit us just as well.

  “We’ll continue to receive any teachers who respond to the missives I’ve already sent out. If any witches or wizards arrive, we’ll welcome them. But we won’t seek out any more new students for the time being. This suspension of recruitment is only temporary, understand, and the very moment we quash the threat Miranda poses, we’ll open right back up to new students. And of course, if the runes speak to me insistently
about any particular students, I’ll go find them.”

  From the surprised and worried looks that popped up on the faces of the magicians who sat next to him, it was evident that this last bit was something they hadn’t discussed. Mordecai refused to ignore the messages of his runes even in the most dire of circumstances.

  “So, without further ado, I’ll sum things up. Everything will be changing for now, but you’ll still continue learning while we prepare for battle.”

  Oh, just like that. Like it’s no big deal.

  “Pupils, we’ll assign you to your masters, and you’ll begin working with them right away while they attend to the myriad preparations needed before we whisk off to find Miranda and Albacus.” Mordecai looked out at us students, seated farthest from him, and smiled. Then he looked to the other magicians. “Did I miss anything?”

  Did he miss anything? I sure hoped so. I had little clarity beyond the nebulous understanding I had of this preparation for war we’d been doing before.

  Arianne pushed her chair back and stood, her elegance firmly in place despite our urgency. Her attention traveled to us. “Don’t worry if this isn’t clear to you in the moment. It will be soon, and everything will work out just fine. You’ll still learn, you just won’t be learning in a classroom. If you’d like to think of it this way, you might even learn more and better. In the past the only way new magicians learned was through apprenticeship. It’s a very effective way of seeing magic put into practice.”

  Marie and Brave nodded. Of us pupils, they seemed to be the most experienced in magic. Their agreement encouraged me. I doubted whomever I was assigned to would take the time to teach me basic magic or spellcasting or... well, basic anything. But perhaps I’d still manage to learn. No matter what Uncle used to say, I’d always been a fast learner on my feet. Nando too.

  “We’ve already matched you up with your masters. You might switch over time, but for now, you’ll shadow only the one. Our focus will be to incapacitate Miranda and whoever is working with her, and to rescue Albacus.”

  Mordecai nodded enthusiastically. Albacus’ rescue would be his priority, no doubt.

  “Those who’ll work with me will also attend to the firedrakes. We have at least five who are humans spelled to the bodies of firedrakes. We’ll work to free them, and determine whether the other dozen we rescued from the SMS are also cursed. If they’re magicians, they’ll perhaps choose to join our side against their captor.”

  Arianne placed a hand on her twin’s shoulder. “Gustave?”

  Gustave stood as she sat. “I’ll be working to complete Humbert’s healing. As you might know, the dragon hasn’t recovered as well as he should, and I believe that’s because dark magic is at play, festering his wounds. I’ll need to delve into books of dark magic enough to identify what’s ailing him. We need Humbert well and ready to fight before we head off to seek Miranda. Who knows how many she’s gathering to her side? Perhaps we’ll find her, along with the entire SMS at her back.”

  An unintentional shiver ran through my body. Facing one wicked sorceress had been bad enough. I didn’t even want to think of a whole army of them. There were so few of us for those odds!

  Gustave sat, but no one else stood. Finally, Arianne took to her feet again. “Clara and Marcelo will be training in fighting techniques. Madame Pimlish will be preparing transformation spells to be used in battle. Wizard Meedles will be working with his hounds to find Miranda. Count Vabu... and his sister Priscilla will be working to uncover more information about the SMS and their hideouts. We still have the sorcerer Madame Pimlish confined to the body of a quasi rat. He’ll by now be even more eager to get out of here.

  “Sir Lancelot will be assisting with research. There’s always more to discover, isn’t that right, Sir Lancelot?”

  The owl turned from the windowsill. With a slight bow to the mistress of the house, he said, “That’s exactly right. The longer I live, the more I discover there is to learn. I’m happy to assist in all ways I can.”

  I realized then that, like me, Arianne enjoyed interacting with the owl. There was something satisfying about observing the owl acting like a gentleman.

  “Thank you, Sir Lancelot. You’re very kind.” Arianne smiled at him. The owl beamed. Next she turned to Mathieu, never far from her, and Sylvia, never far from her mate. “Of course, the darlings Mathieu and Sylvia will help us with their formidable strengths.”

  I wanted to know what, exactly, these formidable strengths were, but she didn’t elaborate. “I think that’s enough of that,” she said instead. “Let’s move on to the apprenticeship assignments.”

  I gulped as Mordecai stood. With a sweep of his arms, he announced, “There’s no better way to determine the path of fate than through the runes.” He jiggled his robe pocket happily. “I cast the runes to determine the placement of every one of you. They, of course, knew your affinities right away. Though remember, as Arianne mentioned, these assignments are only your initial ones. I’ll check back in with the runes about the matter as often as I can. It’s possible that things will align differently and necessitate a change. I’ll let you know when that becomes the case.”

  Mordecai’s sharp eyes zoomed in on the six of us capping the long table. “Gertrude, you’ll begin your apprenticeship with Prudence.”

  I would have felt sorry for Gertrude—for anyone assigned to work with our tranformations teacher—except that I knew she really wanted to learn more about her ability to transform into a cat.

  “If Prudence determines that you have spare time, then you’ll work with Gustave and Humbert.”

  Gertrude nodded, seemingly content with her assignment, except for the longing glance she gave Brave—so quick that it was barely there.

  Mordecai seemed to notice it too. “I realize that many of you are accustomed to having your friends with you. The runes work on a bigger picture than that.”

  Brave slid a fast look at Gertrude; she was already looking away.

  “Brave, you’ll work with Marcelo and Clara.”

  “Very well,” he said. The runes seemed to be doing a good job so far. Gertrude and Brave’s assignments made perfect sense. From what I’d seen, Brave was suited to battle tactics.

  “Nando and Marie.” Just right there my heart rate sped up. Mordecai was separating me from my brother, my personal protector, the one who always helped me. “You’ll work together for now. You’re to work with Vlad and Priscilla in gathering intelligence.”

  I believed Nando would have been better suited to work with Marcelo and Clara on battle tactics, and I imagined Nando would think the same. But he didn’t complain, and I suddenly wondered how much of that might have to do with Marie, who simply nodded politely at her assignment.

  Nando is going to be working with two vampires. I didn’t like that. Not one bit. Especially when I apparently wasn’t going to be around to keep an eye on him. He was better able to protect himself than I was to do anything to help him, but still... he was my brother. The only one in my family left.

  “Isa and Walt, you’ll begin working with Arianne.”

  An immense wave of relief rushed through me. Arianne was kind and approachable, one of the few here who didn’t make me nervous in close proximity.

  “When it’s time, Walt you’ll likely work with me, and Isa, you’ll apprentice with Marcus.”

  Marcus? That was Wizard Meedles. He didn’t go anywhere without his hellhounds. Certainly I wouldn’t be expected to be around the beasts by myself, without Nando to hide behind.

  “Sir Lancelot will assist in teaching wherever he’s needed. There’s no better source of magical history than he.” Unlike Arianne and me, it didn’t seem as if Mordecai said it to please the owl. He claimed it as simple fact.

  Sir Lancelot was pleased just the same. “It will be my honor.”

  Mordecai nodded at the owl who was smaller than his beard, and then clapped, startling me so much that I jumped in my seat. “You have your assignments. Now off you go. Humanity
needs us to defend it from those sorcerers who misuse magic. Our duty is important. Work while remembering what’s at stake in every moment.”

  With that, Mordecai swirled with a whoosh of his robe, and moved to exit the dining hall. The other magicians stood and also prepared to leave, casting glances over their shoulders for their apprentices to join them.

  But I wasn’t looking at the masters or apprentices. I couldn’t shift my focus from the hellhounds, who apparently understood all that was said, because they picked me out of all the students to pin in their unnerving stares, watching every one of my movements. They were so large that they could have been small horses, and it didn’t look as if they appreciated the idea of sharing their master with me.

  Why would the runes pick me to be with the hellhounds? I have no affinity for hellacious beasts!

  Something touched my arm and I squealed. When I realized it was only Walt, I looked around, embarrassed, to see if anyone else had noticed.

  “Whoa, tense a little?” Walt teased.

  “I’m fine.” Obviously, I wasn’t.

  Then Nando was at my side. “Will you be all right?”

  I looked over his shoulder at Marie, who was waiting for him. Count Vabu and Priscilla were already leaving the dining hall.

  “I’ll be all right. Don’t worry.” I plastered a smile on my face for his sake, but it was clear it wasn’t convincing.

  “I could talk to Mordecai....”

  “No, don’t. I’ll be fine, really.”

  He hesitated, so I reached in for a quick hug. “Go. They’re waiting for you. We’ll talk over dinner.”

  He searched my face for what, I wasn’t sure. Finally, he nodded, squeezed my shoulders, and turned to Walt. “You watch out for her.”

  “I will. I promise. You watch out for Marie.”

  Nando nodded solemnly. Each brother took the protection of his sister seriously.

  Nando headed toward Marie when Walt said, “Come on, we have to hurry.”

  I wrenched my gaze from eight hellhounds, who continued to stare at me, only me. I nodded rapidly, hoping that the day when I’d be left alone with the hell beasts would never arrive.