Ghost

  Aya woke up in complete darkness to a squealing sound and the sensation of someone clutching her shoulder. She conjured a small magic light. A girl was gripping her shoulder, trembling, her eyes glassy and staring past Aya. She looked around. The children still slept in a chaotic pile, the door was closed, and it was dark outside.

  "What is it?" she whispered, gently squeezing the girl's shoulder. "Hey, what happened?"

  The girl's eyes slowly focused on Aya.

  "It was Aunt Ema! A ghost!" she whispered back.

  "Where?"

  "She opened the door and stood there."

  "The door is closed, see? It was just a dream."

  "But I saw her."

  "It was a dream. You have two battlemages in this room. No ghost will attack us. Sleep."

  Agvi stirred, woken by their whispering.

  "What is it?" His voice was sleepy.

  "Nothing. Just a bad dream. Go back to sleep."

  She hugged the girl and gently stroked her back and hair a few times. Soon, they both drifted off.

  Return to the Mansion

  In the morning, Aya woke up to someone crawling over her. One of the boys wanted to get outside earlier than the other children. She got up too, and soon everyone was awake. They ate breakfast and were discussing what to do next when a cart arrived to take them back.

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  "Is it over? That quick?" Aya asked.

  The guard only shrugged, as if to say, those were my orders. Back at the mansion, Xia pulled Aya aside.

  "Negli won't be coming back anytime soon. We'll stop your magic lessons for now."

  "Did he betray us?"

  "No. He was arrested by the Inquisition on false charges. The Magistrate is really trying to make our lives difficult. Don't worry — Negli's family has stepped in. The worst the Inquisition can do is keep him confined until the Conference."

  "But what's the crime?"

  "There is no crime. People are spreading rumors about us — rumors of necromancy. The Inquisition wanted proof from Negli, but he didn't give them anything. So they imprisoned him on suspicion and raided the mansion. They found nothing, except that poor fairy they took."

  "But they can't feed her! The food needs to be infused."

  Xia gave her a sad smile.

  "I'm afraid the fairy is already dead. She died on the road to Bizenki."

  Aya sighed.

  "Don't worry," Xia said. "We'll get through this. Rest now — your patrols resume tomorrow."

  Ravens

  Aya's routine resumed — patrols, training, more patrols. Kemi started team drills for Aya and four other trainees, including Agvi. His idea of tactics was simple: spell barrage, retreat, repeat until the enemy was dead. When close encounters became unavoidable, warriors took the brunt of the fighting, with mages supporting. The two formations for mages were a line for firing spells and pairs for close battles. They were taught to execute a handful of simple orders, which seemed laughably easy during simulated combat. A team of seasoned warriors opposed them in these mock battles.

  In the days that followed, Kemi became fascinated by Ixi's ability to control ravens. They tested it, and after some initial confusion, the ravens began to follow Ixi's commands. The level of detail she could communicate to them far surpassed what was possible with familiar magic. She could assign them long-range patrol routes without the usual risk of the birds misinterpreting the task. Aya didn't understand how it differed from a typical master-familiar bond, but Kemi was ecstatic. Every day, he sent out flocks of ravens and recorded their findings, as relayed through Ixi. He drew and redrew patrol routes and even created a raven schedule.

  Kemi, absorbed in his raven studies, seemed to be the only cheerful person in the mansion. For everyone else, the mood remained subdued. The recent standoff with the Inquisition had left people on edge. Three weeks passed like this. No news came from Negli.