Angelique watched him for a moment.Is this all a dream—or maybe a delusion—brought on by the sealing process?She pinched herself on the forearm, relaxing a little when pain flared.It’s real. Thank the skies above, it’sreal.
Angelique felt her cheeks lift in a smile—a real smile that started with a bubbly feeling in her chest—and she almostlaughed.
It wasn’t until her magic swirled around her—stirred by her good mood—that Angelique remembered herself. She ruthlessly shoved the magic deep into her soul, so she could barely feel a faint tickle of it, then hurried off to her dormroom.
I better be quick. I need him to fill out that paperwork before he changes hismind!
Chapter 3
Evariste was already waitingwhen Angelique arrived, toting four rucksacks that held her clothes, study materials, and the few trinkets she had salvaged from her ruined home before coming to theschool.
He was studying the kelpie fountain with his hands tucked into the voluminous sleeves of his black cloak, but when Angelique shuffled across the courtyard, he pulled off his black gloves. “Are you ready to see your new home?” He reached out and tugged on the two rucksacks that dangled from Angelique’s right fist. They were the heavier ones, filled with her scrolls of notes and the few books she hadpurchased.
“It’s fine,” shesaid.
“I insist,” Evariste said. “This is going to be your first trip through a portal. I want you to enjoy it—because you’ll be doing it quite often—and not worry about losing your things through thegate.”
Angelique relinquished two of her sacks, which Evariste held withease.
“This will be your first lesson as my apprentice,” he said. “Or rather, your first demonstration of my coremagic.”
He turned to face an empty portion of the courtyard, murmured a few words under his breath, and extended his hand out in front of him. Blue magic rippled around his fist as his powers shifted under hisdirection.
A door of light bloomed before him. It started as a rectangle of pure golden light, but when his blue magic wrapped around it, it hardened at the edges. Wooden timbers decorated with swirls of blue paint and imbedded glass beads formed the frame of thedoor.
The inside blazed for a few moments longer, crackling like flames before it was consumed by blue fire. The light cleared and faded away, leaving a view of a bright, picturesque forest through theportal.
“This is a portal,” Evariste explained. “I have an unusual type of magic that lets me make cuts through reality, so to speak, and temporarily stitch them together. It creates doorways that allow for instanttravel.”
Angelique listened avidly as she peered behind the door—which still had the wooden frame but was blocked off by the gold light that had previously faded away. She knew of Enchanter Evariste’s rare magic—no one else alive had it—but she had never heard an explanation for how his magicworked.
“I can create portals to any place I have already visited—though the time it takes for me to accomplish this varies. Since we’re going to my home, I can make it almost instantly. If we mean to travel to a place I have not often gone to, it takes moretime.”
Enchanter Evariste watched Angelique as she completed her circuit around the portal, and continued, “The way in which the portals manifest varies as well, but the biggest drawback to this magic is that it requires a safe environment to raise a portal in. This magic can be rather disruptive, so I have to be careful when and where I use it. Particularly, if an area is unsecured or in danger, it’s not recommended that I create one as itwillaffect the door itself. It’s part of the limitation of my magic.” He paused for a moment. “You were taught about limitations and prices,yes?”
Just how poor of a student does he think I am?“Yes, all magic users—from mages to enchanters—have either a limit or a price they pay for using their magic,” Angelique said, reciting the text-book explanation from memory. “Most mages have limitations on their magic—set rules and conventions they have to follow. Enchanters and enchantresses, however, usually have aprice.”
Evariste nodded in satisfaction. “Well said. I am in the minority in that my magic has a limitation, but it’s not entirely unexpected given my type of magic. Those of us with rare strains of magic usually have limitations rather than prices. Do you know if you have a limitation or aprice?”
Angelique shook her head. “I haven’t used enough of my war magic to findout.”
“I see. Well, that will be a project for another day. For now it is enough that we head to your new home!” Evariste gestured to the glowing portal. “All you must do is step through thedoor.”
“That’s all?” Angelique asked. “I don’t need to say any magicwords?”
“No,” Enchanter Evariste chuckled. “Though the experience might be a strange sensation.Ready?”
Enchanter Evariste waited for her nod before he stepped through the door, leaving the Veneno Conclave behind for the cuteforest.
Angelique nervously adjusted her grip on her remaining rucksacks, sucked in a deep breath, then stepped into theportal.
It was a strange, tingling sensation—a bit like walking through thickened water. She could feel Evariste’s magic brushing against her skin and clothes, then it abruptly released her, popping her into theforest.
Angelique blinked as she stared up at thesky.
At the Conclave, the sky had been a moody gray, covered by clouds. Here, the sun was high on the horizon—blocked only by treebranches.
The woods were a vivid green that almost made Angelique’s eyes hurt. The trees ranged in height, but the majority of them were short and knobby, and there was very little underbrush besides the moss-covered rocks and boulders strewneverywhere.
