فصل 4

Chapter 4

STANDING IN THE great entry hall, Call remembered being there for the first time, listening to Master Rufus speak, his heart beating as hard then as it was beating now. He remembered marveling at the glittering mica floor, the flowstone walls, the enormous stalagmites and hanging stalactites, the bright glowing blue river snaking through the room, making you have to be careful where you stood, even though the place was enormous.

Back then he’d been worried about eyeless fish and getting lost in the tunnels. Now, those worries seemed to belong to a different person.

Tamara took his hand and squeezed it, surprising him.

Did that mean she still liked him? Did that mean they might get back together after all? Jasper had gotten back together with Celia and he was a pill, so maybe Call had a chance.

Celia is also a pill, Aaron said, which was mean for Aaron. She shouldn’t have said that stuff to you.

“I thought you liked Celia,” Call said, and Tamara looked at him in surprise. He’d spoken quietly, but not quietly enough.

“I do,” she said. “I did. But when she says those things to you — I mean, she’s insulting all of us. I know she thinks we’re brainwashed minions.” She flushed with anger. “Celia can go eat an eyeless fish.” More and more students were crowding into the entry hall. Call was forced to move slightly closer to Tamara, which was fine with him. “What happened to reaching out to people with understanding?” “I took a break from it,” said Tamara. “Look, Celia might come around, she’s just very —” A sound like a massive metal gong being struck rang through the room. Metal magic — Call felt Miri, strapped to his hip, vibrate in tune. There was the rush of air being displaced and suddenly Master Rufus was hovering above them all, looking down. Beside him were some other mages, familiar teachers and unfamiliar ones. Master North loomed to one side, with Master Rockmaple and Master Milagros on the other.

Call hadn’t seen Master Rufus since the battlefield. A shudder went up his spine at the memory. He had been so close to dying. And even closer to losing everything that mattered to him.

“Students,” Master Rufus boomed, his voice amplified by air magic. “We have called you here because we know that rumors and anxiety are running rampant among you. This is indeed a time of great instability in the magical world. Master Joseph, a minion of the Enemy of Death, tried to destroy the mage world in the name of Constantine Madden. But he was defeated.” The word boomed out defiantly. “We have all known people who went over to the side of the Enemy out of selfishness and out of fear.” There was a murmur. Call realized quite a few people were looking at Jasper and flashed suddenly to an almost-buried memory of an Assembly guard dragging Jasper’s father away from the battlefield with his hands bound.

“Many of those mages are now in the Panopticon or being held by the Assembly. Treat those who have family members who are being rehabilitated with compassion. Their disappointment in their loved ones is already great enough.” Jasper flushed dark red and looked at the floor.

“We must learn from this lesson that we cannot allow fear to rule us,” said Master Rufus. “Gossip, suspicion of your fellow apprentices — all that comes from fear. But fear has no place in a mage’s heart. It was fear of death that set Constantine Madden on his path. When fear rules us, we forget who we truly are. We forget the good we are capable of.” The crowd had fallen silent.

“There are those among us who you may fear because you do not understand them,” said Master Rufus. “But Callum Hunt, our Makar, helped close this last chapter on the tragic legacy of the Enemy of Death. When it mattered, he rose up on the side of law and order, of goodness and humanity. Evil will always rise — and good will always defeat it.” Rufus crossed his arms over his chest. “A round of applause for Callum Hunt.” The applause was faint. Tamara dropped Call’s hand so she could clap, and slowly others joined in. It was hardly a standing ovation, but it was something. It died away quickly as Master Rufus and the other mages floated down from their high perch and stalked majestically from the room, signaling that the meeting was over.

“So … now what?” asked Call, hanging back as the other students filed out. He didn’t want any more attention drawn to him.

Tamara shrugged. “We’ve got time. I guess we could go back to our room.” “Okay,” Call said with mixed feelings. He wanted to be alone with Tamara, but he was also worried that maybe he didn’t know what to say to her. After all, the only reason she wasn’t mad at him was because of what Aaron had told him to say — and if she liked the stuff that Aaron said, maybe it was really Aaron she’d always liked. That’s what Jasper had thought. That’s what Call had thought, too, if he was honest with himself. Everyone liked Aaron better than Call. Why would she be any different?

She told you she likes you, Aaron said, and Call winced. He didn’t mind Aaron hearing most of the stuff he thought, but he wished he could hide the thoughts he had about Aaron himself.

Well, you can’t, said Aaron.

With a sigh, Call walked through the halls of the Magisterium, trying to concentrate on not thinking at all. Maybe he could take Havoc for another walk. Havoc liked walks.

As Call waved his wristband in front of the door and it slid open, he saw that Master Rufus was waiting for them. He sat on the couch, peering at Call and Tamara from beneath his bushy, expressive brows.

“Welcome back to the Magisterium,” he said. “I hope you’re pleased to be here.” “It’s better than the Panopticon,” said Call. “That was quite a speech you gave.” “Yes,” said Master Rufus. “I thought so, too. I hope you’re both ready for your next lesson. You might have learned enough magic to walk through the Gate of Silver, but you haven’t learned the same magic as the other apprentice groups. You’re going to have to hustle to catch up.” Call rolled his eyes. “Great.”

Master Rufus went on, ignoring this comment. “As Tamara is well aware, there are awards given to students at the end of their Gold Year, awards that will help you toward getting ahead in the Collegium and in the mage world beyond. No time for dawdling if you’d like to win something.” “You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Call. “Nothing I do in my Gold Year is going to keep people from thinking of me as that guy who used to be the Enemy of Death.” “Perhaps,” said Master Rufus. “But what about Tamara?”

Call looked over at her guiltily. “She’ll do great,” he said, wanting it to be true. Thinking about Tamara not getting all the awards and prizes she deserved made him feel awful. She’d been the best at the tests in the Iron Trial. She was the best at everything. If she didn’t win, it was because of him. No wonder he needed Aaron to tell him what to say to her.

“I’ll try,” said Tamara, and elbowed Call. “We both will.”

Tell her you’ll work as hard as you can, Aaron said.

“I’ll put my best effort into it,” Call said, and both Tamara and Master Rufus looked at him in surprise.

“Glad to hear it,” Master Rufus said finally, rising to his feet. “Are the two of you ready to go?” Call was startled — he hadn’t realized the lesson was going to start now. “Guess so,” he said.

It seemed to him that Tamara was looking at him strangely, but once they reached the corridor, she fell into step beside him and even bumped his shoulder with hers, so maybe he’d been imagining it. Master Rufus stalked ahead of them, cutting a swath through the crowds of students heading back from the entry hall.

“What do you think it’s going to be?” Call said under his breath as Master Rufus led them into a less crowded corridor, then down a set of natural stone steps that descended into a cathedral-sized cavern. A blue underground pool glimmered in the center; Call had forgotten how weirdly beautiful the Magisterium could be. “What’ve I missed?” “Everything,” Tamara said, but without rancor. “Um, finer control of fire magic, storm control, weather magic, metallurgy …” Call’s leg had started to ache fiercely by the time they reached the pebbled floor of the cavern. He’d shattered it when he was very young and it hadn’t healed right. Several surgeries later, he was sure it never would. Other students had already arrived; Call recognized Gwenda, Celia, Rafe, Kai, and Jasper, looking sullen. Master Milagros was there, too, and quickly explained that they’d be splitting into teams. She assigned Celia and Jasper to be team captains.

“Great,” Call muttered to Tamara. “Now I’m never getting picked.”

Celia had first choice and picked Rafe. Then it was Jasper’s turn. He strode up and down the line of waiting students like a drill sergeant in a war movie inspecting uniforms. He was even squinting one eye shut and chewing an imaginary cigar, which Call felt was overkill.

“A tough choice, a tough choice,” he announced finally, coming to a stop with his hands behind his back. “A lot of fine candidates.” “Jasper, get on with it,” said Master Rufus. “It’s one exercise, not a lifetime commitment.” Jasper sighed, as if to say misunderstood again. “Callum Hunt,” he chose.

There was a low buzz of surprise. Even Tamara made a startled noise. Call was too puzzled to move, until Tamara poked him in the back. He went to join Jasper, all eyes on them both.

Celia was pink-cheeked with annoyance. Jasper looked at her sadly. “She doesn’t understand why I picked you,” he said as Call joined him.

“Neither do I,” said Call.

“It’s only fair,” Jasper went on. “Consider it payback for making the right decision on the battlefield. And for all the lives you saved. Now we’re even.” Call raised his eyebrows. Being picked last was always annoying, but this hardly seemed like a sufficient reward for lifesaving.

“I know,” said Jasper. “I shouldn’t have. Why am I so noble? I fight it but my better spirit always comes out ahead. You wouldn’t understand.” “No one does,” said Call. Aaron laughed.

It was Jasper’s turn again, and in rapid succession he picked Gwenda, Tamara, and Kai, while Celia got two Gold Years named Malinda and Cindy.

“Well, this is going to suck,” Gwenda said cheerfully once they were all grouped together. “Jasper, what were you thinking?” “He was being noble,” said Call.

“It’s because he wants someone on his team who’s going to make him look better,” Tamara said.

Jasper flashed her a look of vast hurt, but he didn’t contradict her.

“Teams,” said Master Milagros, drawing all of their attention toward her. She was carrying a basket. “I’d like for each apprentice to take one of these metal rods and enchant it to be able to find another metal. The Magisterium is rich with metal deposits. You decide which metal you want to detect. The team that has found the most metal deposits in the next hour wins.” Looking over at Master Rufus, it seemed clear that their teacher was waiting for them to raise their hands and ask something, like, say, how to enchant the rods.

“Good luck!” Master Milagros said, and both teams rushed toward her to get their supplies.

Master Rufus shook his head and Call felt as though maybe he’d already failed some important test.

The metal was cool against Call’s skin and heavier than he expected it to be. “Okay,” he said to his team. “Now, uh, what do we do?” Gwenda rolled her eyes and tucked a twist behind her ear. “See, Jasper.” Call’s gratitude toward Gwenda for being willing to sit with him was swiftly evaporating.

“I was in jail and then kidnapped,” Call snapped. “Not lying around on a beach drinking root beer floats.” “I heard it was Tamara who kidnapped you,” Kai said, turning curious eyes in her direction.

“For the good of our team,” Tamara said. “Just help us out.”

“Fine,” said Gwenda. “We’re basically making these into dowsing rods for metal instead of water. Reach into the metal and think of the properties you want it to find. These rods have flecks of all other metals inside of them, so you can make them look for gold or copper or aluminum or whatever.” “Our best shot is to divide up the metals,” said Tamara, which was really smart.

Gwenda nodded. “I’ll take tungsten,” she said. “Kai, you take copper. Tamara, you take gold, and —” “I am the team captain,” Jasper reminded them. “I will take gold. Tamara can have silver. The rest are fine. Call can have aluminum.” Call wasn’t even sure what aluminum was except for the foil that his dad used to wrap up leftovers with. Still, there was nothing for him to do but agree. “Fine,” he said, and started concentrating on the metal rod in his hand. He tried to think of it as a wand. After all, while in general being a mage hadn’t been the way that TV shows portrayed it back in the regular world, those people often waved around wands and said abracadabra. He was going to wave around this one and it was going to lead him toward the most boring metal of all. Maybe he’d be able to wrap a lichen sandwich later.

Call concentrated, trying to find something that seemed like the foil he grew up with inside what he was holding. He concentrated on silvery, shiny light until he felt a resonance.

You’re doing it, Aaron encouraged.

Call felt movement in the metal rod in his hand. It rolled a little, then straightened, almost tugging him forward. He let it pull him, like Havoc dragging him on a leash. He could hear the voices of the others raised in excitement and dismay as they worked to find their own metals. Meanwhile, Call was being marched toward the lake. He wondered if the rod was going to drag him underwater. For all he knew there were aluminum deposits ten feet down. He shuddered a little and was relieved when the rod seemed to be maneuvering him around a large boulder.

He found himself squeezing along a narrow space between the boulder and the rock wall. Just when he was getting ridiculously claustrophobic, it opened out a little. He was in a space a little bigger than a telephone booth, the high cathedral ceiling visible overhead. Call glanced around. The rod had stopped twitching, but he didn’t see anything that looked like aluminum.

Watch out, Aaron said suddenly, and Call stepped aside just as something whisked past his ear and hit the floor. He stared. It glimmered lightly — a ball of what was clearly aluminum. He eyed it for a long moment. “Did that just …” “Callum Hunt.”

It was a scratchy, half-hissing voice that Call knew well. He craned his head back and saw the fire lizard clinging to the rock above his head. Warren’s jeweled scales glimmered in the light, and his red-gold eyes spun like pinwheels. “A gift for you.” Warren had dropped the aluminum? Call bent down and picked it up before straightening and eyeing the lizard suspiciously.

“Why are you helping me out?” Call asked.

Warren chuckled. “Old friends stick together, yes, old friends do.” He cocked his head to the side. “I did not expect two of you.” I think he can sense me, Aaron thought, sounding a little nervous.

“Call!” Gwenda squeezed into the space beside him. Call nearly jumped out of his shoes. “What have you —” She broke off suddenly, staring up at Warren, her eyes widening. “Is that a fire elemental?” “That’s Warren,” Call said. “He’s just a lizard I know.”

“Unkind,” Warren hissed. “We are friends.”

“And he talks,” Gwenda marveled. “How’d you find him?”

“I think you mean how did he find me,” said Call. “Warren shows up when he feels like it. What’s up, Warren? You need a favor or something?” “I come to warn you,” Warren replied. “There has been much chatter in the elemental world. I have heard the water elementals in the river and the air elementals in the sky. A new great one has come.” “A new great what?” Gwenda blinked.

“The metal elementals speak of the cries of Automotones,” said Warren.

“But Automotones is dead, or in chaos or whatever,” said Call. “Come on, Warren. You’re not making any sense.” Warren made a frustrated hissing sound. “The end is closer than you think.” Gwenda almost dropped her metal rod. “That sounds creepy!”

“Nah,” said Call. “He always says that.”

“Call!” It was Tamara, sounding worried. “Call, where are you?”

“So many friends.” Warren’s tongue shot out and licked his own eye, which was a habit he had that Call personally felt he should practice in private.

Tamara emerged from the crawl space, blinking at Gwenda and then at Warren. “Hey. I thought I heard you talking to someone and …” Her voice trailed off, probably because she realized how unflattering it was that Call talking to someone on his own was unusual enough to be a concern — although probably, sadly, accurate. “What’s going on?” “Nothing much,” Call said at the same time Gwenda said, “Your creepy lizard friend was giving us a creepy lizard warning.” Tamara folded her arms and gave Call a stern look.

“He did say something about Automotones crying out or something,” he admitted. “But I told him he had to be wrong, because Automotones is in chaos. Aaron sent him there when we were looking for my dad.” I sure did. Aaron sounded pleased.

Call turned to gesture toward Warren, but the little elemental was gone. Call threw up his hands in frustration. “Oh, come on! Warren? Get back here!” “So this is how it happens with you guys?” Gwenda demanded. “Some weird lizard shows up and all of a sudden everything goes sideways and you’re fighting a massive elemental or some Chaos-ridden army or whatever? Well, let me tell you, I am not in for any of that.” “No one’s asking for your help,” Call said grumpily, picking up his ball of aluminum.

That is kind of how it happens, though, Aaron said.

Just then there was a ringing noise, like a distant bell, followed by Master Milagros’s voice, calling them back. They’d barely gotten to do any poking around. Call couldn’t believe the exercise was already over.

“Did either of you find anything?” he asked.

Tamara shook her head. “I don’t think there’s any silver in these tunnels.” Gwenda looked a little smug. “I found a vein of tungsten back in the other room and marked it down. I ran into you when I started looking for a second one.” They squeezed through the tunnel to find Kai and Jasper excitedly marking their finds on a map. Call noticed that he was the only one who had an actual sample of the metal, though. He hoped that was a good thing, but when he showed Master Rufus, he looked over the aluminum ball in a puzzled manner.

Both Malinda and Cindy had found impressive amounts of their metals embedded in the walls. Celia’s team had obviously won, although neither of the Masters made a big deal about it.

“Now that you’ve found so much metal in the Magisterium, tomorrow we will go to the library and discover the properties of each,” Master Milagros announced. “What kinds of magic do each of the metals lend themselves to? And how would you fashion a weapon from what you’ve found today? We want to see your designs and ideas.” Celia, clearly expecting a prize instead of another assignment, gave a heavy sigh.

Master Milagros continued. “There’s something else we are going to do today, something done very seldom, but which is not without precedent. Master Rufus and I have been discussing what would be most helpful to your learning and it’s been decided that Gwenda and Jasper will become Master Rufus’s apprentices and I will take on some of the orphaned apprentices from Masters who were lost in the recent battle. Right now, everyone is a little overloaded, and this is a way to help.” More Jasper? Why does the universe hate me? Call thought.

Tamara folded her arms over her chest. Call wasn’t sure what it meant, but at least she wasn’t jumping up and down for joy.

Celia, however, appeared to be fuming. She must be upset enough at having her boyfriend moved to another apprentice group, no less one with the Enemy of Death in it. This wasn’t going to make things better between her and Call.

“Jasper hasn’t made it much of a secret that he wanted to be Master Rufus’s apprentice from the beginning,” Gwenda said. “But why me?” “Don’t you remember?” Master Milagros said. “You asked to be reassigned.” For a moment, Gwenda looked as though she was going to choke, and Call abruptly recalled how she had come to their rooms a long time back to complain about Jasper and Celia making out. How she’d asked if they could persuade Master Rufus to take her on as an apprentice. Apparently, they weren’t the only ones she’d discussed it with.

“But that was Bronze Year! And I definitely didn’t want to move in with Jasper,” Gwenda said, which so perfectly summed up Call’s feelings that he couldn’t help thinking it might be fun to have her as a roommate after all.

But no matter how much he liked them, having new apprentices in his group was going to be weird. It had always been him and Tamara and Aaron — and even if Tamara didn’t know it, it still was. Besides, he had important stuff to work out with Tamara. How was he going to win her back with Jasper around all the time? How were they going to find time to talk?

How are you going to figure out a way to tell her about me? Aaron asked, and there was something in that thought that made Call remember how, to Aaron, this might feel like being replaced.

“Jasper and Gwenda, you’re going to move into Tamara and Call’s room, so pack up your things and we will reenchant your wristbands,” said Master Rufus. “Tonight, I will meet with you privately to determine your strengths and weaknesses.” Jasper nodded, looking shocked. He’d spent his Iron Year trying to get into Master Rufus’s apprentice group. Master Rufus was the most famous of the mage teachers and had an eye for picking apprentices who would go on to do important things — for good or for ill. He’d taught Constantine Madden, but he’d also taught prominent members of the Assembly and mages at the Collegium. Now, Jasper was finally getting his chance. Call wondered if it was still something he wanted.

“Okay,” Jasper said slowly, as though he was still trying to process what was happening. Gwenda towed him away to pack. Celia went over to Master Milagros, probably to complain. Call decided he better go back to the room and make sure Havoc was on his best behavior for the move.

Tamara fell into step with him. “So,” she said, “what do you think of Warren’s warning?” With everything going on then, it was the last thing that Call expected her to say, but Tamara was a person who seldom let herself be distracted from what was important.

“Could Automotones have really escaped the void?” Call asked, although he didn’t really expect an answer.

No, said Aaron. Not possible.

“I don’t know,” Tamara said. “But we could go to the library tonight to research. Maybe there was another elemental like Automotones.” “Like his cousin?” Call asked. “And you think that maybe Warren’s friends mistook them because Automotones is the famous one?” Tamara gave him an annoyed look. “Sure,” she said. “Automotones is in all the elemental celebrity magazines.” Aaron chortled. That was pretty good.

Oh, shut up, Call thought, homing in on something he realized had almost passed him by. “We’re going to the library tonight?” Is this like a date? A study date?

Tamara nodded. “I think we better check this out, just to be sure. Warren’s annoying, but he’s been right before.” She put her hand to her chin. “We’re going to need help, going through all those books. Jasper might do it. He’s our new roommate now, after all.” So, not a date, then, Call realized. Aaron sang “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts” in his head all the way through the corridors of the cave, just to cheer him up.