“Oh, no,” Clem said.
Hagar stomped across the room toward me. She wore the same tight-fitting black robes as the rest of the Shadow Phoenixes, a stark contrast to her shocking red hair. Hagar had shaved the sides of her skull down to the skin over the summer, transforming her once long, curly mane into a wavy Mohawk down the center of her skull.
“Yeah, you.” She stormed through the room, and I remembered our fight from the year before. I tensed when she reached me and tapped my chest with a red-lacquered nail.
“What do you want, Hagar?” My Eclipse nature urged me to strike first and take the threat out before she could attack. I almost gave in.
“Welcome back,” the warden said with a devilish smirk. Before I could react, she threw her arms around my neck and squeezed me into a tight hug. She lowered her voice, her lips only inches from my ear. “We should talk. Later. Alone.”
She clicked her teeth next to my ear, a sharp snapping sound that made me jump.
She pushed back from me, her hands on my shoulders, and winked.
“Seeya around, champ.”
Clem and Eric watched her go, jaws hanging open.
“Well, that was not what I expected,” Eric said.
“I thought she was going to kill you,” Clem confessed. “You must be pretty popular with your clan to warrant a hug from Hagar.”
“I guess so,” I said, confused. The last time I’d spoken with any member of the Shadow Phoenix clan, they’d made it clear I was persona non grata. They’d been running a long con on the other clans, pretending to be weak while they built up a hidden power base, and my display during the final challenge of the previous school year had disrupted that plan. I’d assumed that my showing in the Five Dragons Challenge tour would have further cemented their anger at my displays of strength.
Not that I cared what the rest of my clan thought. I’d spent my whole life getting kicked in the teeth by people stronger and richer than me. For once, strength was on my side, and I wouldn’t pretend otherwise. It was time for the world to see what a camper could do.
“Come on,” Clem said excitedly. “Let’s check out our rooms.”
I was amazed at the number of scripted items we passed on our way through the common room. Instead of lighting fixtures, there were floating rings of pure jinsei bound in place by scrivened anchor points on the walls and ceiling. A lounge chair lifted itself into position behind a Disciple whose tight green robes made it difficult for her to bend her knees, much less sit. She reclined in the chair, a contented smile on her face.
Complex scripts also surrounded the common area’s many windows. When we passed from one side of the room to the other, the scenery changed dramatically depending on which way you looked through the windows. To the north, the terrain was dominated by snowcapped mountains. To the east, enormous sidewinders shimmered as they made their sinuous way over a shifting sandscape of towering dunes. And to the south, a jungle loomed just outside the window. Curious monkeys peered from their perches, and jewel-plumed tropical birds zipped from shadow to shadow, their raucous cries only slightly muted by the glass. The west wall didn’t have any windows, but there was a wide passage that led down to a pair of enormous double doors that were also heavily scripted.
“This is unbelievable,” I said. “I’ve seen some nice places on the tour, but nothing like this.”
“This is one of the school’s best-kept secrets,” Eric said with a grin. “After the Portal Defense Force, the tax that most Empyreals complain about is education. The luxuries you see here cost the rest of our society a pretty penny.”
As we left the common area and headed down a long hall, I thought about what Eric had said. We were the next generation of Empyreal society. Every citizen had invested their taxes in the School of Swords and Serpents. These luxuries were a constant reminder of that cost and the return the rest of society would want on their investment.
Suddenly, Tycho’s machinations seemed much greedier than they had before. He hadn’t only stolen my time to make himself rich, he’d also taken away from the time I could’ve spent perfecting my martial arts and becoming a better member of Empyreal society. He’d hurt everyone, not just me.
I’d always considered attending the School to be a privilege. Now I saw those luxuries for what they really were. A reminder of the debt I owed to those who’d paid for all this.
“The Thunder’s Children clan dorms are just ahead,” Clem said. “Try to behave yourselves.”
“Are we allowed in here?” I asked.
The previous year, the clans had been engaged in cutthroat competition. Going into another clan’s dorm hadn’t just been forbidden, it had been dangerous.
“Oh, sure,” Clem said. “We’re not initiates anymore. No one’s going to challenge you to a duel or ambush you here.”
“Not even the wardens?” I asked.
“There aren’t any wardens for upperclassmen,” Eric said. “Geeze, you must have missed out on a lot of stuff last year if you didn’t know that.”
I frowned ruefully at that and tried not to imagine what else I hadn’t learned while Hahen had me stripping down aspected jinsei.
The thought of the little rat spirit stung. My frown deepened, and it was a struggle to push the dark thoughts away. The last time I’d seen him, Hahen had seemed unsure of our future together. Maybe I couldn’t find him because he disapproved of my becoming an Eclipse Warrior and he didn’t want to be found.
I vowed to find the little rat and make it up to him. Somehow.
“Here we are,” Clem said, and pushed open the double doors to her clan’s dormitory tower.
It was even more lavish than the common area. Tiny, fairy-like creatures flitted up and down the hall, sprinkling the students with glittering powder that sizzled and popped with
