First Apprentice

Chapter 12 Part 1

The next hour passed in silence. After Joel's numbing seal wore off, I retreated to the far corner. With my back pressed against one wall and the other shielding my injured arm, I felt almost safe. The parrying dagger – Joel hadn't returned my sword yet and Endellion confiscated my remaining stiletto – clutched in my right hand helped. A little, not enough to risk removing my bracelet when my wrist began swelling. The other stiletto was still embedded in Terry's chest.

Unlike most of their seals, the tent anchoring seals the Border Guard employed were works of art. Just swap out the power array, add a little blood, and my daggers would stay wherever I stuck them until I decided otherwise. The best part, Terry's blood prevented my seals from showing up during the healer's scans.

I wished him luck getting it out. He'd need it.

While Endellion paced in front of the fireplace, reading and rereading my contract, I tried meditating with my eyes open and failed. I simply couldn't concentrate with Joel's magic polluting mine. Then I mentally reviewed cleansing methods that might fix both my vision and my magic. All hinged on purging the lingering traces of Joel's magic. I wasn't sure it was possible.

Normally, my magic was like a child guarding a favorite toy. Even when I was injured, it didn't share. Unless the healing used my own magic, my body rejected it every time with one exception. When I mangled my hand learning aes, Endellion conned a friend into illegally traversing the Ancient Gate.

Ancient Clovis-dae succeeded where my usual healer Xian failed. At eight, Clovis's magic easily overwhelmed mine. Joel's didn't. So why did my magic latch onto his like a toddler clutching a security blanket?

I cast my mind back to the spar. So many things went wrong. When I stabbed Terry, his face changed. I couldn't explain how. Asking me to read facial expressions was like asking a blind man to navigate a maze without running into a wall. Impossible. Something changed though. It was like he stopped seeing me. I shivered and added another reason to the list to fix the Joel problem. I needed my aura vision back. Then I passed out for no reason.

So I broke my arm for the tenth time? I never passed out before. After years summoning both the Central Keystone and the Ancient Gate, my magic automatically compensated for blood loss. Shock hadn't set in yet. So why did I pass out? What did Terry do?

The doorknob rattled. Then the door creaked open. Joel stepped inside followed by a woman dressed in a simple belted tunic and loose pants. A round medallion emblazoned with a shield hung from her neck, marking her as either an apprentice or one of the Seven. Probably an apprentice. With an unstable gate, I doubted they'd risk having four members away from headquarters. A trunk hovered beside her elbow, bobbing like an overeager puppy.

When she spotted me, the woman's lips curved into a smile. She probably intended it as welcoming, but her magic rasped against mine like cook filing a knife. Hackles raised, I pulled my lips back from my fangs and faked a smile. No one bought it.

"Aren't you an interesting one," the woman murmured. Her gaze swept over me, lingering on my markers. "Not matured yet." She pursed her lips. "I give it about six months," she said, directing her trunk to the foot of the bed.

Glass bottles rattled when it set down. Maybe she placed unbreakable seals on the bottles instead of cushioning inside the trunk? An interesting method, but they worked better in combination.

"Apprentice," she said, nodding toward the bed.

Hesitant, I climbed to my feet with the dagger still clutched in my right hand. Something about the healer set me on edge. I wasn't sure what. Without reading her aura, I couldn't say. Even with it, I might not know. Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at Endellion.

In answer, Endellion flashed her fangs at the healer. "I trust you have better sense than your leader."

The healer's smirk widened. "I've always contended there is an indirect correlation between magical power and rational thinking, especially in males. Diane, seventh seat," she said with a polite nod. "Your seal work?" she asked me.

"What?"

"The lovely dagger neither my apprentice nor I can remove from Terry's chest. Did you craft the seals?" When I nodded, her lips twisted into a smirk. "Nasty. I approve."