Tanoki ushered me out of his office, and I headed for the kitchen to grab two apples, three bananas, and a bowl full of grapes from the fruit stand they left out to feed those of us who missed meals. I would’ve preferred a steak, or even a sandwich stuffed with ham or roast beef, but beggars couldn’t be choosers. I ate every bite on the way back to my room, and my stomach still growled.
Lying in my bed alone that night, I hoped I’d made the right decision bringing the librarian deeper into this. I didn’t know anything about him, really, only that he’d set me on the path that led us here during my summer internship. Without him, I’d never have gotten the letter that had jumpstarted my quest.
I crossed my fingers and hoped I hadn’t made a huge mistake.
The Visitor
HAHEN DRAGGED ME OUT of bed far too early the next morning. The bullet hole in my side ached every time I moved and woke me up when I tossed or turned. If I’d gotten more than an hour or two of sleep, it was a miracle. Judging by Hahen’s expression, I didn’t look any better than I felt.
“Not a word about Sleepless,” I warned the rat spirit. “I’m not in the mood.”
My mentor looked shocked, as if the technique was the furthest thing from his mind. He waggled one finger in my direction and admonished me, “I came to find you because I was worried when you weren’t at breakfast. It is highly irregular for someone with your appetite to miss a meal.”
The gnawing cramp in my stomach confirmed what Hahen said. I’d missed two meals yesterday and now a third this morning. The only thing more irritating than my hunger pangs was the thought of missing Krieger’s sorcery class. Until I’d mastered my serpents again, I couldn’t afford to skip any training in that department.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“You won’t be late if you hurry,” Hahen assured me. “I even brought you a little something to help you quell your ravenous appetite.”
I eased my way out of bed to avoid angering the hole in my side, peeled out of my robes, and foraged a clean casual robe out of the closet. While I changed, the rat spirit produced a paper sack with grease-stained sides. Its heavenly aroma of bacon, sausage, and warm, buttery biscuits made my mouth water and my stomach demand immediate attention.
“Thank you, honored spirit,” I said with a quick bow. Then I snatched the bag out of his hands and headed for the door. My next words were half muffled by a mouthful of a hearty breakfast sandwich. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“In more ways than one,” Hahen said. “You have ten minutes to get to class. You’ll make it if you hurry. I’ll meet you there.”
The bullet hole in my side still ached, but it was more of a pulled muscle pain than an I’ve-been-shot sort. If I didn’t do anything stupid, like get ambushed by a bunch of heretics, I’d be fine in a few days.
I reached Krieger’s classroom with a few minutes to spare and enough food in my stomach to keep me from chewing my arm off for at least the next couple of hours. The handwritten note on the door, though, told me I’d be late after all.
“I have moved classes to the Scriptorium for today only,” I read aloud from the hand-scrawled page. “Just great.”
Even with my skill at navigating the School, I didn’t arrive until after class had already begun. With a deep breath, I braced myself for a dressing down from the professor, pulled the door open, and headed inside.
Krieger stopped talking to watch me make my way up to where my friends had taken seats in the fourth row. The weight of his attention burned into the back of my neck as I hurried up the steps and grabbed the empty chair between Clem and Abi. He cleared his throat after I’d settled in and rapped his knuckles on the lectern in front of him.
“Now that everyone has arrived,” Krieger said, “we’ll continue. As I was saying, the filter scrivening is among the most useful a new sorcerer can learn. When installed on a flask or other container, it prevents aspect pollution and keeps your supplies pure. I’ve drawn an example of this powerful tool on the board. Allow me to describe its component elements.”
As Krieger dove into his explanation, my interest grew. My scrivening had improved over the past year, but it was still nothing compared to Clem’s skills. On the other hand, the design didn’t look too difficult to master, and the implications for its use were amazing. The professor described how the filter could keep a single type of aspect from entering or leaving the container it was inscribed upon. I already saw a far more powerful application.
“This is amazing,” I whispered to my friends. “If we can master this, it’ll change everything.”
Abi fidgeted next to me. His hands knotted into fists on his desk, and he muttered under his breath. He looked more upset than he had all year, and that was saying something.
“You okay?” I asked him.
Clem elbowed me in the side. She gave me a stern look when I glanced in her direction and shook her head.
Krieger drew complex loops and whorls on the board. Those represented different gates, which allowed sorcerers to create more refined filters. There was so much information there, so much potential, that I wanted to give it all of my attention.
But Abi was upset, and I couldn’t let that go. I nudged him with my elbow and raised my eyebrows when he looked at me.
“It’s stress,” he whispered. “What happened yesterday gave me nightmares.”
That didn’t surprise me.
