Caster's Spell (A Mage Tale Book 1) Page 33

  "Expelled," he heard Zeke from behind him.

  Wesley turned back. "Really? I thought they'd never expel a noble."

  "He almost killed thousands of people plus members of The High Council of Magi. No matter what kind of pedigree a guy has, that sort of thing can't be forgiven."

  "And," Wesley looked down for a second, "what about you?"

  "Dorian was expelled and Tesla's been sent to jail. Since I confessed and agreed to testify against her, they're letting me come back." Zeke's eyes fell to his hands. "But I'll be on academic probation and am not eligible for promotion."

  While Wesley wanted to fully forgive Cameron's friend and feel sorry for him, a part of him was happy that Zeke was being punished. Not knowing how to respond, he numbly said, "Dang."

  "Yeah." The Lightning Sorcerer looked back up to Wesley. "But I'm really... Next year, you can think of me as your own personal bodyguard. Sound good?"

  "I thought that was Sri's job," joked Axel.

  "Just ask Ashlyn, right," Cameron said and laughed, the group along with him.

  Sri took her usual non-confrontational response: a glance away, a closed mouthed smile, and a red glow in her cheeks. Wesley laughed and looked at his friends warmly, again silent in thought. These were his friends, his people. It didn't matter that he was a Warlock and that they were Sorcerers. They were his family now. He actually belonged.

  Then Dean Sinclair appeared on the stage, standing behind the podium. The auditorium fell to silence after a few seconds. "Welcome, students of Reviberous and parents alike, to our annual promotional ceremony. After a most exciting series of Exams, we will now be announcing the names of our successful young magi, who have proven themselves worthy of being advanced to the next level. Before we get started, please let us take this time to give a round of applause to yourselves, your classmates, and your children."

  He waited and the auditorium was overcome with riotous cheering. Axel, making sure that he wouldn't be overshadowed by the rest, put his fingers in his mouth and whistled so loudly Wesley had to cover his ears.

  Master Sinclair raised his hand to call for silence. "As you may have already noticed, all students who have passed the first exam—the second for D-class—are in attendance. If your name is called please come up and receive your certificate and new emblem. Names will be called in alphabetical order, beginning with the D-class. So without further ado…" He cleared his throat. "Aston Aaron..."

  As he sounded off name after name, Wesley grew more nervous. The D-class finished quickly, but his thumbs circled each other anxiously by the end of the Es.

  When Cameron returned with a gray hawk emblem, Axel quickly snatched it out of his hands.

  "Ohohoh. This is so sick."

  "It's not really a big deal, Ax," said Cameron, before he let out an uncharacteristically ambitious statement. "Nothing matters until I get the phoenix."

  "I just wanna stay," Wesley accidentally said his thoughts out loud.

  "Oh, don't worry about that, Wesley," Sri said, putting her hand on his shoulder for as long as she could before embarrassment forced her to pull it back. "You didn't let anyone down. And—ummm—you deserve to be here. No matter what the judges decided."

  Wesley pretended to be less nervous and showed Sri a smile. But as the dean continued to list off F-class names, he started sweating. He knew that he shouldn't be so anxious, that he had done all that he could and now the decision was out of his hands. Yet he couldn’t calm himself.

  Then Master Sinclair started the G-class list.

  Axel and Sri held Wesley's hands—Axel squeezing tighter than he should have in an attempt to make it seem manlier—as they waited, hoping that their names wouldn't be passed over. Sri was called, which wasn't a surprise to Wesley at all. Then, after what to him seemed like forever, Dean Sinclair came to the S's.

  "Michelle Saddle... Gabriel Sanchez." Wesley's heart stood still. Then finally the next name was called. "Genie Stellman."

  NO!

  Wesley froze, unable to move, unable to close his eyes. He stared at the stage with a loose jaw and an unseen pain. His heart ached and his stomach tightened into a cluster of knots, tears hanging on the brink of his eyes.

  "Wes," Sri whispered and reached for him, but stopped short of touching.

  "I'm sorry, man," said Cameron, looking at him like a wounded puppy.

  "Well I'm not!" Axel exploded. "Screw that, bro. You're like ten times better than Chad or Freddy. This is just..." He growled. "No, man. You're gonna learn magic if I have to pay for a teacher, myself, got it?"

  Axel's outburst almost inspired a laugh out of Wesley, but instead, he wiped his face to make sure that he wasn't crying and let out a long awaited breath.

  "It's gonna be okay, bro, I promise," the Earth Sorcerer went on.

  "Axel!" called Master Sinclair.

  The young Sorcerer turned, still upset, and shot a vicious glare. "What!"

  The building was completely without sound, except for the collective gasp at his audacity.

  "Oh, nothing. I just thought you'd be interested in getting your new F-class emblem." The dean smiled and waited for a response.

  "It's not gonna end this way. Don't worry," said the Earth Sorcerer before he went to retrieve his new status.

  "Axel's right," Sri agreed. "I'll visit and tutor you, if that's what it takes."

  "I'll move in with you," said Cameron. "I already met your folks. They seem cool enough."

  At long last and after waiting for Axel's return, Wesley brought himself to speak. "Thanks guys. But it's okay."

  No it's not! he screamed on the inside.

  "I guess some of us aren't meant for magic." He made a laugh that was empty of humor. "Back to the farm."

  Then his shoulder flooded with pain. He looked to his right to see Axel rearing back for a second strike.

  "No!" shouted the Sorcerer like he was scolding a dog. "You're a mage. Remember?"

  Cameron and Sri nodded and agreed with the same faces as the large boy.

  This time, Wesley really laughed. His friends would never give up on him. Not ever. Killer-B, or whoever that master was, was right: Wesley had gotten something from the school greater than magic.

  "Okay," he said. "I won't give up."

  "Good," all of his friends, and even Zeke, said one-by-one.

  "But for now," he went on, "let's finish watching."

  After Master Sinclair finished reading the last name on the list of promoted students, the crowd cheered again in a way that inexplicably brought Wesley to feel optimistic. Then the dean raised his hand for them to settle down.

  "That's strange," said Cameron.

  "What?"

  "Right now's usually the time where fireworks start going off and we're encouraged to meet with our parents and take pictures." The newly promoted D-class Sorcerer nibbled at his knuckle.

  Wesley looked down, but not at anything in particular. "What do you think it's about?"

  "One way to find out," Cameron said motioning for them to listen.

  "Usually, at this time, the formalities would be ended," Dean Sinclair began. "But this year's Final Exams had in it an unusual event, which deserves recognition."

  Wesley's stomach fluttered.

  "Astonishingly, a G-class student activated a mass destruction, forbidden relic, the Orb of Genesis; a feat that will forever mark his name in history."

  Wesley's heart sunk. Even in performing evil, Liam was more deserving in their eyes! He was their ultimate genius, the Wizard philosophy personified.

  "And far more impressive," Master Sinclair went on, "another G-class stopped it." The dean looked directly at Wesley. "Being that this student was incapacitated and wasn't expected to attend promotion, his name wasn't included on the list. So it is for his sake that I am prolonging the ceremony, if only a few minutes. At this moment I'd like to call Wesley Thomas Savage to the podium."

  He had come to terms with the idea of failing. He was prepared to go home and be don
e with it all—and now this? Wesley was so taken aback that he hadn't realized the applause at the sound of his name, or the shouts of his friends, telling him to move. He was frozen in both happiness and disbelief.

  Then he was awoken with a strong shove, but it wasn't the usual suspect.

  "Go," said the Water Sorceress. "You did it!"

  Wesley stood up feeling like he was riding the downward slope of a roller-coaster. He approached the stage with every step bringing on a new sense of excitement and even more disbelief.

  Is this really happening?

  "Wesley," said the dean after taking his hand in a shake. "You saved this school and everyone in it, including members of the High Council, from certain doom. I can only speak for myself when I say that I owe you a debt that can never be repaid. However, I do have the power to give you what you've earned. You've obviously displayed source levels that are beyond the under-class, let alone the G-class, and you've shown enough proficiency in the amount of control you have over your incantations. You've even accomplished the prerequisite to graduating from the D-class, and that is inventing a new spell. What do you call that by the way?"

  Wesley didn't know what to say, so he went with the truth and spoke, surprised that his voice was amplified throughout the auditorium. "It isn't knew, master. It's called the Spirit of Gaia."

  "I am well aware of the Spirit of Gaia, and that wasn't it."

  "Sir?"

  Some people in the audience laughed, only the oldest of masters.

  "It was very close, but you applied it to a kai and involved your own source to increase the blast, which made it different, not to mention nearly impossible to recreate—I'd appreciate it if you'd teach me how. The spell also was never meant to be translatable, so the fact that you used it without being a Wizard, makes it a new spell." Sinclair gleaned the growing excitement on the boy's face. "Yes it is something else entirely and as such it deserves its own title. I suggest... The Savage Gaia."

  "The Savage Gaia," Wesley repeated. There was no containing his proud smile. "I invented a new spell."

  "Yes you did. Unfortunately, it would be impossible for you to succeed in the upper-class without knowing the basics. So with my endless gratitude and admiration, I present to you..." The dean took something from behind him. "...with your F-class green raven."

  Wesley's eyes became perfectly round, a smile shaking across his face.

  "And," said Master Sinclair.

  More?

  "Your white albatross. Welcome to the E-class."

  Everyone in the assembly roared, none more loudly than his three friends, for his success. Wesley was so happy he became weak in the knees, but fought to keep himself standing. This was no time to pass out. He received both his new emblems and certificates and held them in the air with his capable arm.

  This was the pinnacle of his life. It was his moment! They cheered and praised him and he allowed himself to feel nothing but happiness. He had proven that his kind should have permission to be taught in proper schools. He had made his parents proud and verified to himself the assertion that he was worth something.

  He held his head high.

  An E-class mage.

  After all primary celebrations and pictures and handshakes and "thank-you"s, Wesley had a brief but uplifting conversation with his parents. Near the end of their words his mother spoke softly, "There's something you need to know."

  "Yes?"

  "When you were very young—"

  "Wesley," he heard Master Rosen's voice behind him and looked back over his shoulder to see the short stocky man. "I believe congratulations are in order."

  "Thank you, master," Wesley said turning to greet him. But Rosen's eyes left the boy and fixed on his parents.

  "Pardon me, Mr. and Mrs. Savage, but might I please have a word with your son?" he asked.

  "Of course," said the boy's father. Then the adult Warlock looked down to his son. "Have fun tonight, but be safe. We'll see you tomorrow."

  "Okay, bye Mom, Dad," said the young mage and his parents walked away. "Can you believe I'm an E-class now!?"

  Master Rosen smiled. "Like I said earlier this year, you are more powerful than you give yourself credit for. But I'd like to talk to you about something serious, if that's alright."

  "Sure," said Wesley.

  "It's about the young man you met on your first day of school."

  Wesley suddenly gasped, remembering his name. "Oh yeah! He said—"

  "Yo, Wes!" Axel called from a distance of twenty yards or so.

  "Huh?"

  Cameron was running to him. "C'mon, aren't you coming?"

  "What?"

  "A bunch of us are going to Athens for the yearly games and to hang out. Let's go," Cameron put his hand on Wesley's back to lead him away.

  Wesley looked up to see the group of people his roommate was referring to. Among them, stood Sorcerers and Wiccans of whom he didn't know. There were a few, other than Axel and Sri, that he did recognize however. They were Cameron's friends, the first people the Sorcerer tried to introduce him to back in August.

  "They won't wanna hang out with me," Wesley referred to the group.

  Cameron laughed. "M-mm. They'd kill me if I go back without you."

  "Really?" Wesley thought for a moment. "Well, I'm sorry but I can't. I have to talk with Master Rosen."

  He felt the man's hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Wesley. We can have that discussion later."

  "But—"

  "Go," said his favorite teacher. "Enjoy yourself. I remember participating in the games myself, once upon a time; of course, I was an Athens Prep guy then."

  "Booo," Cameron hooted.

  "Go play. I'll always be here, in my office, when you get back. And besides, this gives me a chance to speak with your parents, which I've been looking forward to for some time now."

  The former outcast was torn. He wanted to hang out with friends and meet people and know the Athenian experience. But at the same time, he really wanted to talk about that Killer-B person. Who was he?

  "Okay," he said, hiding his slight unwillingness to leave. "Let's go."

  "Great," said Cameron as they started to walk away. "You're gonna love Athens, especially the rivalry."

  Wesley thought less and less about the conversation with every step he took away from Master Rosen. Together, as a group, the students of Reviberous ported across the sea to where their competition awaited them. They vied in a number of hysterical games, none of which involved a single act of magic, such as walking with eggs balanced on their heads and wheel-barrel races. Afterward, they sat around a bonfire with their rivals, marking the single point in the year where camaraderie existed between the schools, and enjoyed themselves deep into the night.

  Wesley was staring into the fire and hardly blinking. Only after the fun of the games and conversation settled down did his thoughts returned to his many unanswered questions.

  "What's the matter?" asked Sri as she approached the sitting Warlock.

  He spoke without turning to her and his mind clearly elsewhere, "Nothing really."

  "Wes." She waited for him to face her and then with her expression alone, broke down his barrier.

  "It's gonna sound dumb."

  "No it won't. If it's bothering you, it's important enough to me."

  Wesley reached out a hand toward the fire that one of the eight nearby Fire Sorcerers had built. A small flame jumped from it and into his palm. "Ya know, nine months ago, I woulda never thought that I'd be able to do something like this. And actually reaching this point would have made me feel like I did the most amazing thing in the world." He stared at the fire in his clutches. "Then I find out that there are people out there like Benjamin Caster and now I realize that it's not enough." He closed his hand, extinguishing the flame. "He made four relics, became a B-class master and an SP officer, defeated Master Conley, and was considered the most powerful new mage of the decade, by the time he was fifteen. He could have destroyed an entire city. W
hy make something like that?"

  "The Orb of Genesis? It was initially created to clear land, to rebuild," said Cameron who stumbled onto the conversation.

  "Why does it matter?" Sri asked. "You already beat him."

  "I stopped his relic, not the person," said Wesley, staring into the bonfire again. "That's just something he left behind."

  "Hey." Axel pushed his shoulder, almost knocking him from his seat on the log. "Even Povlow didn't know what to do and Caster wasn't strong enough to beat the grandmaster. Why do you care so much?"

  "Why would someone create something like that? Why would they become a renegade? Turn against us?"

  "I'm sure they have some reason that makes them believe it's the only good thing to do," Cameron said. Then he laughed. "Or they're just crazy. What do we know about the minds of criminals?"

  "Magic is supposed to help people. It's supposed to be something good." Wesley looked around at his three friends.

  "It's just a tool, Wesley." Sri put her hand on his shoulder. "You can't blame magic for the things people do with it."

  "I know," he relented. "It's just confusing."

  "Why do you even care?" Axel repeated.

  "The thing is..." Wesley began and he lowered his head. He wanted to be sure that he said his next thought as best he could.

  "I think Caster's still alive," Wesley said in a whisper, barely loud enough to be heard over the flames.

  The reactions of his three friends were far removed from one another. Cameron didn't seem affected at all, but that was just his nature. Instead, he put on his concentration face. Axel laughed at the ludicrous idea. Sri's eyes grew even larger, if at all possible, and her lips parted in a state of approaching terror.

  "Why would you think that?" Cameron finally asked.

  "I think I met him."

  "Yeah right." Axel brushed off the possibility.

  "You know that guy I stopped to talk to—he told me to call him Killer-B. Plus his source, it felt like the Orb."

  "Wesley, who are you talking about?" asked Cameron.

  Then Axel added a startling revelation, "There was no one there when you stopped, bro."

  Wesley opened his mouth to protest, but a different voice interjected.