I’d also be protecting everyone from threats they didn’t know existed. I’d be doing good work.
And, maybe, working so closely with the elders I might learn something that would help me control my core and keep everyone safe. Maybe they’d even be inclined to do me a favor if I joined the team.
“They need you, Jace,” Hagar said. “They won’t tell me why, but the elders think you’re our best hope at finding the next big problem before it blows up in our faces like the thing with Grayson.”
“I’ll do it.” I realized I wanted to be a good guy, use my powers to do the right thing. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t get something out of it for myself. “On one condition.”
“I can’t promise you anything, but I’ll tell the elders what you want,” Hagar said.
“I want to find my mother,” I said. “I want her taken care of.”
“That’s all?” Hagar asked, her tone vaguely suspicious.
“Yes.” There was nothing else that mattered as much to me.
“I think we can do that,” Hagar said. “You don’t have to tell me why you don’t know where your own mother is, Jace, but you will have to tell someone, eventually, if you want her found. If you’re good with that condition, then I’ll do my best to fulfill your request.”
“Then I’m in,” I said.
Hagar put her mug down on the counter and pulled my mug out of my hand to set it down next to hers. She wrapped her arms around my waist and pulled me into a tight hug. Her breath was warm against my neck, and the stiff ruff of her Mohawk tickled my nose.
“You won’t regret this, Jace,” she said. “You’re going to be a hero.”
The Disciple
THE REST OF MY FIRST real day back at the School of Swords and Serpents rushed by in a flurry of new classes, new professors, and hurried meals. It seemed that upperclassmen had much busier schedules than we’d had as initiates.
We met Professor Shan, our Intermediate Scrivenings instructor, after breakfast. She was a short, severe woman from the Thunder’s Children clan who vowed to whip all our crude scrivenings into shape. She clearly favored Clem, who had become well known for her skill in this art last year, and just as clearly thought I was going to be trouble.
“You’ll have to work harder in my course than you did in Professor Ishigara’s,” she warned me with a stern wag of her finger. “Not even the School’s champion gets a free ride here. Stick with it, though, and your work will far surpass the crude scribblings you were capable of last year.”
Which admittedly wasn’t a very high bar to get over. Scrivening was easily my weakest subject, and I hadn’t had much time or inclination to practice it while I’d been out cracking skulls during the Five Dragons Challenge.
That lack of summer study made the first day of Intermediate Scrivening two hours of pure torture. We practiced the same basic forms over and over until my arm felt like it was going to fall off and my hand cramped into a useless claw.
After Professor Shan dismissed us it was time for Intermediate Alchemy. I’d been looking forward to this class because I was sure it would be a breeze. Professor Ardith introduced himself with a flourish and assured us that even though he came from the Resplendent Sun clan, there’d be no favoritism on his watch. That, of course, was immediately disproved when he grouped all the Suns together as lab partners and then split the rest of us up so no two members of the same clan worked together.
My friends and I all grimaced as we were split up. Eric headed over to the Suns, who greeted him with enthusiastic slaps on the shoulder as they paired up and took seats on the right side of the big classroom. Clem ended up with a tall, thin Disciple of Jade Flame who offered her a nervous smile as they sat in a pair of seats near the front of the room. Abi paired off with a girl from the Thunder’s Children clan who beamed as she fingered the lapel of his Portal Defense Force uniform.
I was shocked when my partner turned out to be Rachel Lu. The short girl grinned and threw a weak punch into my shoulder when she plopped down in the chair next to me.
“Bet you didn’t expect to see me here,” she said.
“You’re right,” I said. “I thought you were an initiate.”
“Really?” She frowned at that. “I know I’m short, but I didn’t think I looked that young.”
“You weren’t here last year,” I countered. “And you fought in the Challenge. If you didn’t need to win a spot at the School, why risk fighting me in the tournament?”
“Well, for starters, I thought I could beat you.” She raised her fists into a mock fighting position. “I was known as a bit of a scrapper back home.”
I found that hard to believe. She might’ve been ninety pounds dripping wet, and her showing in the arena had not impressed me.
“If you’re a fighter, I’ll eat my robes,” I said with a shake of my head. “Seriously, what’s your deal?”
“Okay, you got me.” She laughed. “I was at the Golden Sun Academy. My mom got a promotion and used her raise to transfer me over to the School of Swords and Serpents during the summer. My dad thought it would be a good idea for me to at least try the Five Dragons Challenge so I’d come in with a higher standing. That did not work out.”
“You lead with your chin,” I said, and jutted mine toward Rachel to show her what I meant. “You also flinch when a punch is coming...”
Professor Ardith cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention
