“It’ll be fine,” he promised in a soothing tone. “This just seals thedeal.”
Angelique reluctantly held up a thumb, her forehead wrinkling in concentration as she allowed the tiniest trickle of magic to escape her hold. It took a few moments, but silvery magic gathered at the pad of herthumb.
“Sealed!” Evariste declared as he bumped the pad of his thumb against Angelique’s, almost making her jump in place when their magic brieflymeshed.
He laughed at her expression. “I’m just jesting with you, Apprentice. Press your thumb against your oath, and thenmine.”
Angelique had a hard time swallowing as she did as instructed, her magic leaving a silver circle behind on the papers each time she lifted herthumb.
The lettering glowed brighter, until the papers crackled and the light faded. The ink had turned emerald green, and the magical marks on the papers seemed to sparkle alittle.
“Well done.” Evariste opened a drawer of his desk. “I do have a little something for you.” He scooped up an item from the drawer—a silver bracelet that held what looked like a glass bead tinted blue surrounded by a little cage ofsilver.
“This isn’t part of the ceremony, but it’s my gift to you.” Evariste offered the bracelet toAngelique.
“Thank you.” Angelique took the bracelet, even though her first instinct was to eye it warily. She could feel magic in the bracelet. And if she squinted, she could almost see it floating in the glassbead.
“I got a craftmage to spell it for me,” he explained. “You can use it to alert me—just say my name while touching the bead. It has a bit of a tracking spell in it so I’ll be able to find you, should you needaid.”
Ahhhh.Angelique relaxed slightly as she slipped the bracelet over her wrist.That’s the real point of this: he doesn’t want me wandering around without his knowledge. That’s sensible—and reasonable, given what I am.“Thank you, Enchanter Evariste,” Angeliquesaid.
He waggled a finger at her. “It’s Master Evariste now. No more of this stiff formality. And I expect you won’t have to wear it long. Once I teach you some defensive spells, you’ll be safe enough to wander off on yourown.”
“I’m sure,” Angelique lied through a sugarysmile.
Evariste tilted his head as he studied her, his blonde hair glinting in the candlelight. “I’ll have to get you some new clothes,too.”
“No, my wardrobe is fine.” Angelique smoothed the blue skirt of her simplegown.
“As your instructor, it is my duty to see you clothed and fed.” Enchanter Evariste leaned back on his heels as he studiedher.
Eager for the opportunity to launch her scheme to be as easy-to-maintain-as-possible, Angelique smiled. “I am comfortable with my clothes. Should I need repairs or replacements, I willask.”
“Hmm,” Evariste said. “In any case, with the formalities finished, we can begin lessons!” He spun around and poked through the books piled on Angelique’s desk. “We’ll begin with illusions. I think that’s a magic you’ll adjust to nicely, and we can sweep through it with the intent of graduating into alteration magic—that’s when you change something so it doesn’t justlookdifferent, it becomes what you want it to be. As long as your magic is present to power it, that is. Here—this is the book you’llneed.”
He pulled a book with a cracked leather cover from the stack and passed it off to Angelique. “Take a seat,Apprentice.”
Angelique slid into her chair, taking a moment to arrange the books on her desk so she had space to take notes. “Can you begin teaching me a new kind of magic so swiftly?” she asked. “I only know how to wield my coremagic.”
“You took all the required academy classes?” Evariste asked. “Besides Magical Integrity and Ethics, thatis.”
“Yes, I have a foundation in mathematics, magical history, environmental studies, the basic science courses, as well as the classes for war mages: weapon-based combat, archery, hand-to-hand combat, caring for weapons, and soon.”
“Yes, you are more than ready to jump into illusions. But perhaps I should begin with a bit of magical theory.” Evariste rubbed his jaw. “It has been explained to you that what divides enchantresses and enchanters from other mages is the level of magic they possess,yes?”
Angelique nodded. “The depth of their power allows them to use their core magic—that is the magic they are naturally gifted in—and use it for other varieties of magic that would normally be out of theirreach.”
“Exactly,” Evariste nodded. “You’ll never be as good as a weather mage at summoning a snow storm, and any enchantments we put on items can’t hold a candle to a craft mage’s work, but our ability to weave all these different types of magic together can be a very powerfultool.”
“But how does one accomplish that?” Angeliqueasked.
Evariste held up a single finger. “Through a great deal ofcontrol.”
“Oh,” Angelique said, some of her joy dying abit.
Control was something she lacked terribly. If she strangled her magic with enough force, she could let little bits of it ooze out and control that—as she had done with the oath. But that wasn’t the type of control Enchanter Evaristemeant.
“By control, you mean the ease with which one wields her magic, and the finesse she uses to manipulate it?” sheasked.
