“You got something to say?” Vesma appeared at my shoulder and frowned at Hamon. “You want to threaten Ethan, then you’ll be answering to me.”
“And me,” Kegohr said as he came to stand at my other side.
“The half-breed and the jumped-up peasants,” Hamon sneered. “What a prospect. I can’t wait.”
Chapter Ten
The guild was strict about its routines. By the time the last evening gong sounded, we were all meant to be in bed and settling down to sleep. One of the masters would go around the dormitory, check that everyone was in their beds, then douse the lanterns. Soon, the halls would fill with the gentle, rhythmic breathing of dozens of initiates, punctuated by the deeper snoring that came from the likes of Kegohr.
Usually, I drifted off easily despite the noise. Our training was tough and it left me physically exhausted, while my mind needed a rest from the rounds of lectures, tests, and guided meditations. Settling down beneath the sheets offered a welcome spell of relief.
Still, I didn’t like to have my life defined by others. I could see the point of the rules and routines, but every rule had to be bent or broken occasionally. A week after the hunt in the Ember Cavern, I had one of those occasions.
I lay in bed while the master did his rounds, counting bodies and putting out lights. To him, I must have looked like just another sleepy initiate—eyes closed, breathing deeply, restful on my cot. What he couldn’t see was that, underneath the sheets, I was fully clothed.
The master finished his rounds and left the room. The latch on the door clicked as he closed it behind him.
I rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling while I waited for the others to fall asleep. While I lay there, I considered all the things I’d learned since I came to this world. Augmentation was the most exciting part, of course. I could now channel the powers of wood and of fire, something that would have been unimaginable back in my world. Just by thinking about it, I could call forth a protective pillar of wood or a spray of increasingly deadly thorns. Since absorbing the scorched salamander cores I had also learned Untamed Torch, which let me summon balls of fire and hurl them at opponents. I’d destroyed a few straw targets, as well as chunks of the wall behind them, while working out how to shape and target those blasts. It was exhilarating to watch the effect, to realize how quickly I was mastering powers I’d never dreamed of six months before.
But that wasn’t all. My previous martial arts training was proving invaluable in the combat side of our education. My strength and reflexes made it easy for me to come to grips with weapons—not just my own sword but clubs, staves, and bows. A graduate of the Radiant Dragon Guild was expected to be able to fight with anything from a dagger to a 16-foot pike, and I relished the challenge of trying each one in turn.
Then, there were the lessons in politics, botany, history, and magical theory, all filling in gaps in my knowledge about the Seven Realms. I paid more attention than many of the others in those classes because I knew I needed them more than the rest. It was paying off, too, as I now had a far better grasp of this world than I had when I left Tolin’s temple. With a little bluffing, I could have passed for a local.
By the time I’d run through all of that in my head, the dormitory was filled with the sound of snoring. Someone turned in their sleep, mumbled a few incoherent words, and then drifted off again.
Time to get up. I had an appointment I really didn’t want to miss.
I slid out from beneath the sheets and crept barefoot across the floor, sandals in my hand. I navigated by the few slender beams of moonlight breaking in around the shutters, but I could see almost nothing. I bumped into several of the chests laying at the ends of the beds and froze each time while I waited to see if I’d woken the owner. At last, I was near the door.
“Going somewhere?” a voice whispered from the darkness.
I looked around. Someone stood only a few feet away, his face illuminated by one of those beams of moonlight.
Hamon.
Frustration swept over me. Was I about to be ratted out by the biggest rodent in this place? That would ruin my plans for the night.
Then, I noticed that he was wearing his tunic.
“I’m going out,” I whispered. “You want to stop me?”
“I could tell the masters,” Hamon hissed.
“And explain to them why you’re also up and dressed?”
He glared at me, and I glared right back.
“I thought not,” I laid a hand on the door handle. “See you tomorrow, Hamon.”
I slipped out of the door, put on my sandals, and headed off down the corridor. As I glanced back, I saw Hamon emerge, close the door behind him, and head off in the opposite direction.
By the light of the moon and the few brands still left burning in the wall mounts, I made my way out of the main building, around the arena, and to a small door in the rear of the curtain walls. As promised, it had been left unlocked, and I was soon striding across the mountainside toward the shelter of a small forest.
In the center of the wood was a clearing. There, a blanket had been laid out on the ground, with a pair of oil lanterns sitting on either side. Their light flickered across a bowl of cherries, a clay bottle, and a pair of wooden cups. But where was the person who had brought them?
I crept closer, keeping up the quiet that had let me slip unnoticed from the guild. I still felt tension, but it came as a thrill, not the fear of getting caught. I was showing
