In the morning we had a Long-Arm lesson with Kayle, which we used half of to go over our tactics for Merkell's lesson. Each of us knew our part to play and we still had it fresh in our minds when we arrived in the gardens to meet Merkell after lunch. He was waiting as usual with his floating pencil and paper, however before we could reach him, Kayle broke out the Slingers and fired two quick shots at him within seconds of each other.
Merkell was ready and they stopped in thin air, directly in front of his face. But the distraction was all we needed, the first part of the plan was going well and the rest of us disappeared in a plume of smoke. We each popped up at four corners surrounding Merkell, without hesitation we each aimed an attack at him from our respective sides.
He barely had chance to recover from Kayle's Slingers before our magic was baring down on him. He deflected the first two attacks, dodged the third but the fourth managed to knock him off of his feet. We surrounded him ready to attack again but he disappeared, turning up again behind Kayle and placed a thumb to Kayle's throat.
"Well done, you nearly had me," he said once he'd let Kayle go. The pencil was writing frantically against the paper. "Distract, divide and destroy, it is a very good strategy and may work against any strong opponent but Riltresik is not just any opponent. He will expect everything, give him no time to recover or disappear the way I just did... otherwise it would not be his thumb at Kayle's throat, or whichever one of you he chooses."
Merkell seemed thoroughly impressed though as he moved to stand in his usual spot, perfectly predictable.
Without hesitation Kayle took the dagger from his belt and within seconds he was behind Merkell with the dagger held against Merkell's neck. Blaike and Kaleb disappeared and reappeared directly in front of him with fireballs pointed at Merkell's chest while Emy and I created a magical shield surrounding the six of us, nothing would be able to get in or out.
"No way out, no way to avoid every attack pointed at you, nobody to come and help you," Blaike said rather scarily and I was glad he would never have a reason to talk to me like that.
Merkell looked genuinely worried for a second and then his brain caught up and he smiled.
"Never let your guard down until you know for sure that it is safe to do so. That is what I taught you and I see you took it on board, whereas I fell victim to the ruse. Bravo, if I were Riltresik now, I would be dead... I do hope you were not planning to talk to him or taunt him beforehand?"
We all shook our heads, not moving from our current positions. I couldn't imagine what someone might have thought if they came out now to see us.
"He'll die in the attack, we won't have to explain to him how we managed it."
I smiled and caught Emy's eye, the shield had been a brilliant move she'd found in one of the books from the incredible library. When all of this was over I was ready to spend a good few days in there, looking through the books and making an infinite 'to read' list. With the way people aged here, I might actually get through half of them.
"I applaud your ingenuity, you can remove the attacks now and we will continue on with our lesson."
Merkell's tone made it clear this was over for real, we each relaxed and Merkell rubbed at his neck.
"Sorry, sir. I did not mean to press so hard," Kayle said apologetically.
Merkell smiled and shook his head, "It is quite alright, Kayle, you landed the hit just as I asked you to do. Today was a success, I believe when the time comes you will all be ready to defeat Riltresik and his darkness."
I frowned at his words, straightening up my mage's outfit, "I have a question that seems kind of stupid to ask now." The others stopped. "Why doesn't Riltresik just come through instead of his Menaces? Why doesn't he just come and get rid of us himself, now? Why did he stay in the Northern Sector all this time? He gave us time to get stronger, to find a way to kill him."
The rest of the group seemed to be thinking about it, Merkell was the only one who appeared to have any idea on the matter.
"Riltresik would not risk coming here without a large force by his side. He knows that when he breaks through the mountains, I will be alerted and you know how close he came to losing the last time. He may have given you time to grow stronger but he has also given himself more time to do the very same. Once he has enough of his creatures on this side of the mountains, he will come through and it will be the war of the ages."
I shuddered at his words and rubbed my arms, it suddenly felt much colder out there.
"When will the leaders call for the meeting?" Blaike asked and I frowned in confusion which was apparently shared with Emy, whose head was tilted to the side.
"We will hear word very soon, you will all be as ready as I can make you by the time we must leave," Merkell replied to Blaike.
"What meeting? Who's leaving to go where?"
"There will be a war meeting with the leaders of the three Sectors, as well as the Elders and of course, the five of you, held in a secret location only decided on when everyone is travelling. It will happen on our journey to the Eastern Sector, where we will face Riltresik and we will either put an end to the darkness he spreads... or die trying." Merkell's words were solemn and it definitely left a tangible chill around the group.
"You're coming with us then?" Emy asked and I realised I hadn't even considered where he might be while we were fighting.
Merkell actually laughed at her question. "Of course I am, where did you think I would be?" Emy shrugged and smiled, a sentiment shared around the group. "I will be with you but I will not be fighting Riltresik, that is up to the five of you. Nenny and I have discussed it in great detail. I will however, be killing as many Dark Horrors, Terrors and Scavengers that I can get my magical hands on."
He sounded a little terrifying and it almost made me smile, I was extremely glad that he was on our side.
"Do you really think we can do it?"
I was shocked to hear Kaleb was the one asking, he and Blaike had always been so confident about these things. I didn't expect him to doubt our abilities and it made me bite my lip.
Someone was watching me but I didn't need to look to know who it was, I felt a hand slide into mine and squeeze gently.
"Do not worry, he just needs a little reassurance every so often. We can do this and we will." Blaike spoke quietly and I smiled as I looked up at him.
"Its nice to know we all get a little worried now and then, thank you for my reassurance, too." I squeezed his hand back and returned my attention to Merkell.
"I think you are capable of succeeding, you could practice forever but it will never fully prepare you for the day. You are all stronger than anyone your age should be, you can do extremely difficult magic without exhausting yourselves and there are five of you. You have a much greater chance of succeeding than I did." He didn't sound bitter or disappointed, it was as though he was stating a well known fact.
The mood around the group lifted slightly, we were all trying to see what Merkell saw in us. Blaike and I were still holding hands but Merkell made no comment about it. I assumed Emy must have spoken to him at some point, either or he just wasn't surprised. He dismissed us after a few more words about what we would be doing in our next lesson. He also hinted at us learning how to make Kayle a Vessel but he was brief and seemed distracted. I wondered if he was worried about teaching us how to do it.
He walked off in front of us when the lesson was over, which was unusual, he generally stayed in the garden consulting with his pencil and paper. We walked inside to wash and change for dinner. My thoughts were mostly focused on the meeting with the official people of Nentarli; it sent my stomach into knots and the only comforting thought was that I wouldn't have to go alone.
I kept that in mind while Emy and I headed down to dinner. I felt hungrier than usual, probably from the energy needed to conjure and hold the magic shield. It was lucky that we had managed to create it without any practice. But I felt confident in my magic, like it would do almost anything I asked it to, like any other part of my body.
We ate dinner with the guys and spoke about the next few days of lessons, we all felt the underlying tension though. Any day now they might call for us to go to the meeting and then it would be on to fight Riltresik and his Menaces. I knew I needed to get every bit of fun and relaxation out of our time that I could, just in case.
We were just about to separate to our own activities when Kayle, who was nearest to the window, looked out and laughed.
"Of course it would snow, right when I need to go send a letter," he sighed dramatically.
"It's snowing, right now?" I asked eagerly and ran to the window.
Sure enough huge snowflakes were falling thick and fast. Felenda had been nice in the snow but I had been waiting to see Dumair under a layer of snow since we'd first arrived.
"How much of it do you usually get here?"
"It can build up as high as your knees in one night, or if it is very bad, it can build as high as your waist." Kaleb answered, he had joined me at the window along with everyone else.
"Cass will never want to come inside," Emy joked and I nudged her shoulder.
"The temperatures are almost as treacherous as the snow itself, when it becomes very bad we do not go out in it, if we can help it." Blaike said and he sounded a little worried.
I smiled, "You don't know what it's like to have fun in the snow. As long as it doesn't get up to waist height, I'll show you."
He arched a brow at me and I smirked, but for a time we all stared out of the window at the falling snow. It didn't let up and soon there was a thick covering over everything it landed on.
"I do not think this is going to be the kind of snow you will want to play out in." Kayle said and stepped back from the window. "I also think my letter may have to wait as well."
He looked disappointed but if he couldn't even send a letter, this snow must have been worse than I thought.
"Why is everything we find fun, so dangerous here?" Emy asked.
She moved away from the window as did we all and we walked through to the hallway together.
"This world is different, that is all... and I've seen dangerous things in your other world that should be fun but is fraught with danger." Kayle retorted.
"Like what?" Emy and I chimed together.
"Running down the street with the wind in your hair, you cannot do that without fear of being run over by a car or some other nonsense." Kayle said matter-of-factly and Emy and I burst out laughing.
"That's what fields are for," I told him through my laughter.
We were still chuckling at Kayle when we decided to spend the rest of our evening together, taking up residence in one of our classrooms. I had a perfect view of the falling snow while perched on a desk. Emy was sat beside me with a piece of paper and a pencil, drawing a new outfit design. The guys were discussing the merits of body armour in a fist-fight. It was calm and relaxing, the snow was still falling thick and fast, I got the feeling it would keep going all night.
"Do you think our lessons will go ahead tomorrow if this doesn't stop all night?" I didn't look away from the window as I spoke and someone shifted.
"It will be difficult to do anything if it gets too high, it would be pointless exercising our magic to clear it just for the sake of a magic lesson," Kaleb said, looking out of the same window I was.
"Maybe we should just have a snow day," Emy said too eagerly and I turned around to see that she was still doodling.
"We may get one," Kayle leaned against the desk in front of him, which he had turned to face the rest of us.
"A day of fun? I don't think you guys know what that is," I teased and they rose to the bait.
We had a few laughs, a few disputes and a nice evening in the classroom before we took ourselves off to bed, just in case lessons weren't cancelled.
We separated at the top of the stairs, where Blaike gave me a kiss on the cheek to say goodnight and Kayle and Kaleb jeered and wolf whistled. I blushed and Blaike chased after them towards their rooms.
Emy was rolling her eyes when I looked at her, "Boys really are the same in any world, so immature... That was really cute though," she grinned and linked her arm in mine.
We spent a little time in Emy's room, talking while she measured out some red fabric for her latest design. We spoke about the tension we knew everyone was feeling. We also talked about our fears for the coming days and I felt almost reassured that she felt the same. She was much braver than I ever was, if she felt it then I probably wasn't overreacting.
I went to bed feeling calmer but still worried, that wouldn't go away until we were in the middle of the fight and I let the adrenaline take over. I changed for bed and climbed in, my clouded mind wouldn't let me read so I laid in silence and looked towards the window. I could see the snow falling in clumps and I smiled, snow could cheer up almost any of my moods.
Impending doom and war, aside. I fell asleep looking at the window, one hand wrapped around my necklace from Blaike. I started to think about what life might be like after Riltresik was gone. The possibilities and new directions life could take, letting myself drift into the endless scenarios.
Kayle had been right about the snow, by the next morning it was halfway up the front door when Emy and I got to the hallway. Mal had opened the front door while we were there and we could barely see the garden beyond.
"Wow! I've never seen so much snow in my entire life," I stared in awe.
"It was snowing like this on the day you were birthed, Miss Cassandra." Mal said and she closed the door back up again.
"That explains a lot," Emy muttered with a grin and a shiver.
I nudged her arm playfully then turned back to Mal, "Do you know if we have training today, Mal?"
She shook her head, "I do not think so, it is too treacherous to go out in this. You will catch your death in cold," her motherly spirit made me smile.
"Okay, thanks."
She nodded her head once and then bustled off, while Emy and I headed for the dining room. It felt odd to find the parents in there again, they had a few papers laid out on the table in front of them.
"If that's more invitations for audiences, I'm gonna scream into a bottle and send them that as a reply." Emy said jokingly and I chuckled, until I noticed the expressions on all of their faces.
"Please sit down, these papers have nothing to do with an audience." My mum's voice was grave and I sat down warily, looking between all of their faces and my heart started to beat too fast.
"What's going on?"
"We must wait for the others," Alacor said, he kept fidgeting with his glasses.
I didn't want to wait, I could tell how serious it was this time and my brain was working through fifty different scenarios of what it might be. Another attack, another death, Riltresik arriving, it could have been any number of things.
One of my theories was finally confirmed when the guys walked in, accompanied by Merkell, who sat down in any old seat. His expression was unreadable but I got the idea that he already knew what this was about.
"Now that you are all here, we can begin?"
I thought my dad was starting but he seemed to be asking a question, I wasn't sure to whom he was asking until they answered.
"The room is secure, you can tell them now," Merkell spoke quickly, his voice was emotionless.
My dad nodded, "This is a serious matter, we know Merkell explained about the war meeting that would be happening very soon. Well soon has now arrived, we will be leaving tomorrow morning for the Eastern Sector. A more detailed location will be disclosed on the way, through another message.
"I know this is sudden, but there has been word of more volatile activity in the mountains. We all knew it would arrive some day and your training has gone so exceptionally well that I know you can do this."
He looked around at each of us, including Merkell. He was trying to say it, without saying it. Trying to tell is that it was time to go to battle, the battle we'd all been waiting for. It was our time to fight, to save the world, or to die.