Seventeen Stones (34 page)

“What
apprenticeships did you apply for Gabe?”  Mia asked.  She was afraid that if
she didn’t make them talk the two of them would stare into each other’s eyes
until it got too dark to see.  He grinned.  Mia couldn’t tell if he knew what
she was trying to avoid or if he just had the expression pasted on his face
permanently whenever Vivian was around.  “I only applied for things around the
City.  I’ll probably end up with one of my granddad’s cronies: you know, you
put up with my worthless grandson and I’ll put up with yours sort of thing.”  Vivian
tried to thump him for calling himself worthless, but he caught her hand.  Mia
looked away when he started kissing Vivian’s fingers.

She
was looking at her friend and her beau and trying to think of a way to politely
excuse herself when Professor Fain appeared out of nowhere. “Would you care to
take a walk around the lake?”  Mia looked up, surprised but grateful.  Gabriel barely
noticed the Professor, and Vivian waved to her friend absently, as Mia took
Professor Fain’s hand and grabbed her light shawl and hat. 

He
kept his face straight until they were far enough away and then chortled “You
looked like you needed rescuing.”  Mia found out that she could laugh about it,
now that she wasn’t sitting on the blanket without a polite way to remove
herself from the love birds.  “I was about to toss myself into the lake, just
to get away.”  She took the arm he offered her as they went over a patch of
uneven ground, and somehow she never relinquished it as they ambled around the
tiny “lake”. 

“Have
you finished picking your classes for next year?”  Mia pulled a face.  “Yes. 
The headmistress insisted that I take music again.  But I managed to get a
place in History 201, and Professor Ambrose is letting me take an apprentice
level Alchemy course.  Marshall doesn’t teach Transfiguration 201, so it won’t
be as bad next year.  I’m getting a break from Astronomy; I won’t have it again
unless I can test into the Planetary Movements class in third year.  I can’t
drop Sight, but I’m done with Government, thank goodness.  I’m taking three
classes with Professor Patrick, Botany, Animal Husbandry, Charms 201, and
Creation of course.” 

He
grinned.  “Of course.”  She nodded and added “I’m also taking Healing 201.  I
doubt I’ll be allowed to choose healing as a profession after I finish college,
but I want to be fully accredited if I get the opportunity” It went unspoken
between them that a girl with such a strong talent for Creation would almost
certainly be assigned to making something, unless of course she managed to
attain Greatlady status and had a talent for setting the all-important protective
barrier spells.   

He
sighed.  “You’ll wear yourself out.  Don’t you want to spend some time just
being a student?  Going to the concerts, plays, musicals?”  She looked into his
troubled blue eyes and told him the truth.  “I feel like I don’t have much
time.” 

He
reached out and wrapped a warm arm around her shoulders.  He looked into her
eyes for a moment, and then smiled.  “I’m not sighted.  I don’t know what
tomorrow is going to hold.  All I know is that today it’s the end of a
beautiful day, and we’re going to eat ices and cake, and watch fireworks over
the lake.”  He grinned, trying to lighten her suddenly bleak mood, and she let
him.  After all, he was right.  Tomorrow would take care of itself.

Lizzy and Tristan joined the group after they returned
from the lake.  Beth and James Stubbs eventually returned from the booths.  He
was carrying a basket-load of purchases for the dainty Beth.  She could have
levitated it easily, but Mia could tell that she enjoyed having him along. 
Gabriel roused himself enough to participate in the conversation instead of staring
dreamily into Vivian’s eyes.  Ella was sitting on another blanket with the band
from the music room, singing while the lad from her village played softly. 
Sarah was playing along on a little harp she’d picked up that afternoon. 
Professor Fain left her with her friends while he went to see if the crew for
the fireworks had the project under control.

Mia
joyfully strode into the Creation room with her bag in one hand and her brand
new third year Creation text in the other.  They were supposed to start the
theory behind it today.  Ethan Fain was sitting at his desk, with one hand
gripping a piece of parchment and the other cradling his head.  He lifted his
eyes when he heard her enter. 

She
took in his posture with a feeling of concern.  “What’s wrong?”  He smiled slightly. 
“Wrong?  Nothing, I suppose.”  He shook the parchment to draw her attention to
it.  “This is a letter from the Magus; in his own handwriting.  Do you know how
rare that is?  I don’t think I saw him write a single letter the entire time I
apprenticed to him.  He just casually dropped the contents of every boyhood
dream I ever had into my lap this afternoon.”  He straitened his shoulders.  “I
have to take my Greatlord exam in a few minutes and then meet with the highest
ranking members of council to plan an expedition to Greenvale.  The Magus wants
me to see if there’s a good site there for another city.”

The implications
hit Mia like a stone wall.  He would be a Greatlord, no longer her teacher. 
Worse, he wouldn’t merely be busy here in the City; he was leaving on a three
week long trek to the middle of the grain belt to find a site to build another
city.  How could they build another city?  Why would they want to?  He would be
gone for years!  Of all of the outlandish ideas that they’d considered that one
was the most unlikely!  Building in the grain belt would sterilize a portion of
the richest lands in the City bounds.

Professor
Fain nodded.  “Greenvale might have the bedrock we need.  Or we might find near
the marshes or in the desert…we have to take a survey crew out first.  You have
to be onsite for topographical mapping spells to work correctly.  The Magus has
everything arranged: crews are ready to go, supplies stocked up, and all the
research done…mostly by the college staff.  I do wonder how the Headmistress
kept me out of it entirely…and why.”  He shook his head.  “I haven’t even told
her yet…she’ll need to find someone to sit in for my classes.” 

He glanced
at Mia and smiled, but the expression was more than a little gloomy.  “Funny
isn’t it?  I’ve spent my entire life working toward this moment, and now that
it’s here, I realize how much I enjoyed teaching.”  He gave a short, bitter
laugh.  “I’d give anything to just say ‘no, thanks.’ But you know that it
doesn’t work like that.  We all do what we have to in service to the City.” 
Mia nodded.  It was the most quoted line from the City code.  She’d never felt
less like honoring it. 

He
stood up and squared his shoulders again.  “I’ve done something highly
illegal.”   Mia’s brows shot up.  That was the last thing she’d expected him to
say.  He reached into his satchel and handed her an exquisite little hand
mirror.  “I have a more masculine version of this in my shaving kit.  I put a
communication spell on it this morning so that we could discuss your studies
during the summer.  There are spells that monitor all the mirror spells that
the Greatlords set.  That’s not common knowledge.  I took turns monitoring the
mirror calls when I was an apprentice, so I found out how it worked.  This is
untraceable.  Look into it once a day and check for messages.  And you use this
spell to call me…”  He quickly showed her the simple spell.  “Be very careful. 
There would be questions if anyone caught you with this.  I’ll check on you
soon.”  He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it.  Then he strode out of
the door without another word. 

It
hardly mattered what the headmistress or anyone else thought of Ethan Fain’s
assignment.  He left that afternoon directly after attaining the Greatlord
status that he’d waited his entire life for.  Within hours he was in a coach,
traveling with several other Greatlords toward Greenvale.  He was young to be
in charge of this sort of project, but no one argued with the Magus on issues
like this. 

Deprived
of her Creation teacher so suddenly, the Headmistress took the easiest route
around the end of the year exams: she canceled them for Creation.  Any student
who could pass an entrance exam would be allowed into Creation 201.  Mia’s
extra lessons were canceled at least until the next semester; but she dutifully
packed every book that Professor Fain had recommended to take with her to
Forestreach.

Mia was
ushered into the sitting room.  She nodded politely to the footman, John.  He
nodded back, powdered wig still firmly attached to his head.  She realized that
it hadn’t even slipped during the battle.  He must be using a spell to keep it
on.  Everything was the same; they had even repaired the painting of the Magus
in the corner and the curio cabinet. 

She glared
at the Headmistress as she walked in.  “You knew.”  The headmistress looked up
from the pile of parchment in her lap and put her teacup down.  Her green eyes
narrowed at Mia’s tone.  “Certainly I knew.  I knew that the Magus had
something special planned for that young man from the moment he accepted him as
an apprentice.  It wasn’t hard to figure out what he was planning once
Professor Tate and Professor Patrick started doing the research the Magus
requested.  So yes, I knew that you’d be lucky to get a full year with Ethan
Fain as your Creation teacher.”  She picked up a stack of parchment and flipped
through the resumes’ as she glanced at Mia.  “I hope you made the most of it
because my options for replacements are even more limited than they would normally
be, what with Ethan building a new city a world away.” 

Mia
plopped down on the sofa, distracted.  “Why didn’t you mention this?”  The
headmistress chuckled a little.  “It wasn’t any of your business, nor any of
the new Greatlord’s for that matter.  Both of you had plenty to deal with.  You
still do.  You’re probably lucky that the Magus and most of the council were so
distracted.  The Magus agreed with me that this work was too important to use
students.  That concession alone would buy my agreement.  I believe that my
silence on the matter is what finally bought Markson’s appointment as Council
Representative after all these years of petitioning.  I’m not sure why the
Magus is building another City...”  Her gaze went to the portrait.  “He’s a
canny old politician.  If he worked this hard to keep something quiet, you may
be sure there was a reason.”  Mia studied the painting for a moment until she
felt that cold sensation again.  She turned her back on the painting and stared
at the headmistress.    

The
headmistress softened her tone.  “I wonder if you realize that I have a hint of
Sight myself?”  Mia’s head turned to look at the older woman.  She nodded.  “It’s
very nebulous, more irritating than helpful most of the time.  You are in
danger Amelia.  I don’t know why, but I know that you are.  I hope I did the
right thing, in keeping you here.  The Oracle would have taken you, or you
could have gone back to your guardian.  There are uncharted islands off the
coast beyond the few the City uses to grow our tea and coffee.  There are even
bands of humans living deep inside Forestreach, outside the City protections, if
you can believe that.  I could have sent you away, but I chose to keep you
here. You
should
be safer here than in any other part of the world.  The
college is where you belong…”   She let that sentence die away, unfinished. 
There was an uncertainty in her voice.  Mia understood.  Her own sight was so
nebulous that the feelings she occasionally had were hard to verbalize. 
Sometimes they were hard to distinguish from eating too much pastry after
midnight. 

Mia tried to smile at the Headmistress.  She looked
like she appreciated the effort.  “I understand that you’re splitting your break?” 
Mia nodded.  “Half in Forestreach and half at your mother’s estate…that’s an
interesting choice.  Did you know that there’s an oracle near Forestreach?” 
Mia shrugged, vaguely aware that there must be: Lydia from the village had gone
to the oracle after testing.  The headmistress quickly sketched a map.  “Go and
visit the Oracle over the summer.  It will be good for you.”

Sarah
watched Mia pack with a mournful air.  “It won’t be the same with all of you
gone this summer!”  Sarah was staying in the City with her parents.  Vivian was
already gone; an armed group of four mercenaries had arrived to escort her to her
parent’s home at five that morning.  Mia didn’t expect that Vivian would enjoy
the trip as much as she could have wished.  The guards didn’t look friendly.  Her
parents weren’t taking any chances with their only daughter, not with the
disappearances finally catching the public’s interest.    

Beth
wiped her eyes again for the fourth time that morning.  Lizzy handed her a
clean handkerchief.  Ella was contentedly eating a bowl of strawberries.  It
was too far for her to go home over the summer so she was staying in the dorm;
Sarah had promised to keep an eye on her.  Mia intended to invite them both out
to her estate near the end of June.  She was staying with Emma for three weeks
and then traveling back to the estate.  Mr. Smith and Mr. Dempsey were
delighted that she intended to spend her vacation learning estate management. 
It wasn’t a decision: the estate was her responsibility.  That was how Emma had
raised her. 

Lizzy
and Beth left next: their Grandmother had been waiting since the night before,
eager to have them home.  She’d graciously invited all the girls to come to her
estate over the summer, but it was a six day journey, and they all felt like
they had to decline. 

Sarah
and Ella walked Mia down to her waiting carriage about nine.  John Coachman
tipped his hat to her as she climbed into the leather seats.  At least the trip
home would be more comfortable than the trip she’d taken into the City.  She
smiled as she sat in the seat of her own carriage, remembering the cramped
coach she’d arrived in.  She managed to sleep a lot…and look at a particularly
beautiful hand mirror from time to time.  Two days later, she welcomed the
sight of Emma’s snug cottage in the distance.  She was home.