White Hall (The High King: A Tale of Alus Book 10) (53 page)

Why they would wish to contain themselves, Katya couldn’t understand. A grin was plastered on her face and she cried out to Cheleya gleefully, “This is so much fun!”

Cheleya grinned back at her knowing that Katya was a similar soul. They had become friends quickly and the dragoness had made sure to find a way to room with her to continue deepening their relationship. Now sharing flight, the dragoness wondered why she had told her friend no when she had asked to be taught. While the school had said that novices weren’t supposed to learn the magic until they were at least confirmed as apprentices, Cheleya had felt the kindred nature in the younger girl and knew she could truly soar.

Like Piotr and Niklaus who had shared a womb, Katya was like her sister, though she had once been a che’ther.

“Can you turn back into the wind and fly towards the school?” Cheleya asked curiously. She had felt the wind and knew that Katya had followed the air instinctively. It was nearly the way she had started about a year ago.

The mar’goyn’lya had always held control of the air, but the che’ther using their transformation amulets could join them using dragon magic. Cheleya had challenged those who were naturally gifted with flight and proved as good a flyer as any gargoyle. As a human she was lighter and more maneuverable than the heavy bodied creatures. Their strength was greater, but if they couldn’t touch her, all their speed and strength was for nothing.

Katya made an easy turn and noted the change in the air flowing against her body and wings. It wasn’t distressing, just different. With a moment to adjust, the girl was flying into the wind almost as smoothly as she had joined with it.

As they neared the school, the two girls began to descend. Katya wasn’t sure if she could land properly. Even with a natural feel for flying, landing was a bit trickier still. Many of the students still needed assistance from Kel’lor and Cheleya using their magic.

“Dragon claw,” the dragoness called out linking them together once again. “Don’t worry. I can guide you, if you have trouble.”

Katya nodded refusing to look away as she planned to implement what she had seen from the others still learning the process. The distance shrunk quickly and the girl tried to use her wings to slow down enough to avoid injury on the hard stone roof. Her timing was off, however, and Katya felt the tug of Cheleya’s claw shifting her weight to slow the girl just before her feet touched the ground.

She was down and her friend landed gently only a moment later on her bare feet as she adjusted for stopping Katya.

“Good job,” Cheleya told her as the remainder of the class jogged the short distance between them since Katya had chosen to land before worrying about running into them.

“Thanks, it was so much fun!” the younger girl repeated her earlier sentiment and looked back up at the sky wondering how long it would be before she could try it again.

Iris came over giving her an enthusiastic hug and asked, “Was that really your first try at flying or have you been doing it in secret?”

Looking up to the taller redhead as the other girl released her, Katya replied, “I figured out how to make the wings a few days ago, but I was afraid to try flying without someone like Cheleya there to make sure I didn’t kill myself.”

She finished with a nervous laugh and noted Kel’lor and Falconi Martina looking stern in contrast to the younger students who looked so pleased with the display. The large gargoyle complained, “I had better not hear complaints from her teachers because you let her fly.”

Cheleya put her hands on her hips tilting her head to the side and asked, “Did you allow it? I didn’t see you anywhere near Katya. Now stop complaining and tell her what a good job she did for her first time flying.”

Frowning at the order, the large creature finally growled, “You did well for your first try.”

Just to throw Kel’lor off, Katya moved closer to hug his waist saying happily, “Thanks, Kel’lor! I will make sure that no one thinks you were my official teacher or anything, though I was watching you all trying out your spells; but it wasn’t like you had anything to do with it directly. At least that is what I would tell anyone who might have a complaint anyway.”

She could feel him stiffen and knew enough about the mar’goyn’lya and che’ther to know that neither race was overly affectionate. When your skin was so thick or covered in scales, the tactile senses were muffled making such gestures less effective save for times like this when she was intentionally trying to embarrass the big man.

As Katya pulled away, Kel’lor cleared his throat and shook his head, “Yes, well, as long as they know that it wasn’t me who let you learn the magic intentionally, then I guess that only you will be in trouble when your mentor learns of this.”

Drawing back in surprise with a slightly exaggerated gasp, the young novice replied, “You are going to tell on me?”

Kel’lor pointed to the air and stated, “If you wished to avoid being noticed; flying over the school repeatedly in the bright sunlight might not have been your best choice. Also there are many witnesses here as well.”

Moving towards those most likely to pass along the information to Ylena and the other diplomat mentors, Katya smiled at Martina and the full wizards studying dragon magic.

“I don’t think they care that much,” she stated and felt a slight surge in her magical aura. It wasn’t intentional, though allowed by the girl as she noticed it. There was no glossing over of the eyes, however, since Katya wasn’t trying to use her magic to coerce them so much as adding to her persuasiveness. Her voice seemed smoother, her eyes more intent and her smile more winning.

Smiles and nods broke through on most of those gathered there, but Falconi Martina remained dour and stated, “We shouldn’t need to tell your teachers. You can do so yourself, young lady.”

Katya’s lower lip stuck out slightly in a petulant fit, but the girl recovered quickly due to her training. “I suppose that I should. Maybe I can get permission to become a regular member of the class, since I already know some of the magic. Much of what I need to know comes after being able to get into the air, if I haven’t missed what they have been teaching.”

“The spells are secondary to the time spent in the air learning how to read the winds and move your body. Also strengthening your mind to maintain the wings for long periods is needed since no one has ever figured out a way to bind the spell without using some magic to continue using the constructs,” Cheleya agreed in more detail.

Waving off the issue, Martina left the matter to Kel’lor and the others. She was a high ranking battle mage, but this was in affect a wizard issue and out of her jurisdiction. Everyone knew that Katya wouldn’t be able to hide the fact that she was flying for long, if she continued to do so near the school grounds anyway.

“Can we go again?” Katya asked ignoring the other problems. If she was going to be in trouble anyway, then a second flight and maybe more might as well be taken. The girl doubted whether it was one or ten, that she could get into more trouble.

Cheleya started to shake her head, but stopped to shrug. “If you feel strong enough to go again, I can take you. Maybe Iris will join us?”

The apprentice grinned and soon the three were aloft. Despite a few days extra turns at flying the two novice flyers were about equal; but with their friend Cheleya with them it became more about fun than thinking of the magic.

Niklaus sat on the bench watching his brother working with the field shrike. The nature novice looked as skilled as those considered full wizards to the cadet, but he had seen his brother do amazing things with his magic since last Fall and maybe as a new battle mage he wasn’t the best judge. Still, his twin released the shrike only to have it return over and over as he exercised the bird.

Piotr didn’t have to say a word and very seldom did he gesture beyond lifting his gloved hand to have the large bird land. It would turn around or look at him and all the while the nature novice never batted an eye or looked worried that he would be pecked or otherwise injured. To Niklaus, such control was impressive; but he hadn’t intruded on his brother’s free study time to just sit watching.

“That’s a pretty big bird. Do you think it would be hard to turn into one and fly?”

Piotr glanced to his twin as he lifted his hand sending the field shrike back into the air. The bird was a cousin to the even larger black shrikes found north of the wall. Carrion birds mostly, they were known to take down rabbits and even young deer if they were starving. Their large wings were enough to lift their prey and drop them to the ground. The damage from the fall would kill the animals and once it had cooled they would land and begin to eat.

It was a grim fact passed on to the children who lived close to the wall. Some said that they would even grab children who were unattended, which made many a parent keep their eyes on the sky when their little ones were outside. Kids would soon forget as they played, but if there were large black wings in the air, parents would call them inside out of fear.

The field shrike was a smaller bird, perhaps half the size of the mountain shrikes. Their diet was comparable to their larger cousins, but beyond rabbits, only cats or maybe a stray lamb would likely ever be a target. At half the size, they could only lift about half the weight after all.

“Feel free to try it, but avoid looking in girls’ windows and baths,” his brother retorted with sarcastic wit.

“Very funny. Katya caught me and used you and Job to do it besides. You should at least feel a little guilty. They still have me working in the kitchens and assisting the janitors cleaning up.”

“Well, you used a janitor’s closet, so I guess they figured you might have a talent for it,” Piotr continued to jest with his twin. “I don’t think I’ve ever asked you, was it worth it?”

A slight smile touched Niklaus' lips and the elder twin replied, “Well, I didn’t get to see a lot, but Katya... well, let’s just say that it was worth it.”

He finished with a chuckle. After the incident, even Xara and Uliya had given him the cold shoulder for a few days; but bygones were bygones soon enough among the young. Xara was still interested in him and he thought that if he asked she would show him her body easily enough. For now, Niklaus knew better than to find new trouble. It wasn’t like his urges were so much for the sights as the knowledge that he could tease the girls.

While he was fourteen, there was still that little boy inside him that showed more of his affection by teasing girls than trying to romance them. Romance was a foreign concept to the cadet and no girl had officially pushed him to evolve to that point to try.

Piotr sighed at his brother’s infantile behavior. While he was the younger twin by about an hour, the boy had always been the more mature and quiet of the two. He had an interest in girls like most boys his age, but Piotr wasn’t willing to go to the extremes that Niklaus was.

Besides just seeing a girl naked through a bird or from a vent, like Niklaus had, was more of a tease to his thinking. Seeing what you couldn’t have only made you want it more, he thought.

“Katya is pretty, but I’m not kidding when I say tread lightly around her.”

“Pfft,” Niklaus scoffed, “I’m not afraid of her.”

Thinking of the petite, beauty as frightening or dangerous was hard, but both boys had experienced the strength of her magic. Even at thirteen and just a novice, Katya was likely to be more powerful than both of them put together. She also had talent for magic and could use either mage casting or wizard. Her using of single word spells had made the mentors complain that she shouldn’t be using short cuts, but Piotr understood that she was already comfortable enough in her magic to be doing so and often the short cuts led her to other breakthroughs.

“I would be, if I were you,” his brother continued the conversation. “You felt her spell in the bathhouse and nearly gave yourself up then. She used us to play you into giving yourself up without any investigation. Not only can she use magic, but she can outsmart you pretty easily, Niki.”

“I’m not exactly dumb, Piotr; but you aren’t answering my question. Is it hard to fly as a bird? You’ve been in their minds, so if you could change could you fly?”

Pulling his thoughts from the novice diplomat wizard, Piotr thought of what he had experienced through the eyes of birds and wondered about his brother’s question. “When I fly with the birds, I let them do the work; but it might cross over to someone who can shape change. I don’t see why it wouldn’t. You feel the natural abilities of the animal you shift into, don’t you?”

It was Niklaus turn to think. He had managed to turn into dozens of animals though he favored the bear and lynx. The wolfhound was excellent as well, though the shape changer often wondered if he could go beyond the natural animals. “My senses are better. My agility as a lynx and my strength as a bear are beyond human. My mind controls what I do, but I guess that counts.”

“Those are all land animals, so you might be more in touch with them than a bird though,” Piotr said putting out his hand for the field shrike to return once more. The bird had taken a perch on a tree branch on the far side of the courtyard. At the signal, it took flight and found his hand easily. Wings beat hard to make a controlled landing and the novice thought perhaps that was the most difficult part.

The two boys were silent for a moment. Niklaus was busy thinking, while his brother reached into a special pouch to produce some raw meat for the bird. He had a glove on, but he knew that even with that his hand would stink for hours even if he tried to wash it with scented soap over and over again. It was aged enough to stink, but that was what shrikes preferred.