In the morning when he got up, his sister was already out of the room. Laric found the home empty. There was no sign of Malcolm, no sign of Joselle, no sign even of Malcolm’s father. That was unusual, though it spoke to how long Laric must’ve slept.
He grabbed some day-old bread, some cheese, and an apple, and hurriedly ate them. When he was done, he headed out and realized it had to be midday.
He’d slept that long? It really was a measure of his exhaustion.
Before setting out, he wondered if there was some part of the connection to Sashaak that he might use, as more and more he couldn’t help but feel as if there had to be some part of it that lingered inside his mind, but every time he attempted to do so, it felt as if there was some vague energy that came and went, pulling away from him.
Why did he feel that?
Maybe Sashaak debated whether he wanted to maintain a connection to Laric.
It had been a forced one, as Malinar had been dying and Laric had been the only one who Malinar had felt safe connecting Sashaak to, though Laric had a hard time thinking that Malinar would’ve been able to force an unwanted connection to the dragon. Sashaak had to be at least an equal partner in that, wouldn’t he?
Still, some part of the dragon lingered within Laric, and he tried to capture that connection, thinking that if nothing else, there had to be some way for him to do more than just feel that vague sense of light as Sashaak remained linked to him.
Unfortunately, Laric could not find it.
He set off and paused a few times as he tested whether there were any aspects of the glyphs that he could uncover, but every time he stopped in front of some of the glyphs, Laric found them just as impossible as they had always been. He couldn’t understand them, nor could he understand the power that he knew existed in them. For whatever reason, though he was positive there had to be something more to them, Laric couldn’t find it.
As he continued walking, thinking about returning to Malcolm’s home, somebody called his name. He turned, and everything within him went cold. He forced a smile, then tipped his head as the petite form of the headmaster came toward him, accompanied by Mr. Galinar.
“You have been given quite a bit of freedom, Mr. Mason,” the headmaster said. “I have been looking for Talia to talk to her about just how much freedom I should permit you, but it seems she’s been absent.” The expectant look in her eyes suggested that she hoped he had an answer.
The headmaster was an older woman, and from what he had learned, she was not the most talented mage. Compared to anybody in this part of the world, however, she was incredibly gifted. Mr. Galinar, on the other hand, was just a well-trained instructor who taught different spellslips as well as mathematics at the school. He had always been kind to Laric, unlike some of the other instructors.
“I thought we had agreed that Iveris and Joselle were coming along with my teaching,” Laric said.
The headmaster’s brow furrowed. “We had agreed? I believe that you convinced me of a short term assignment, nothing permanent.” Her lips pursed in a tight frown. “Though I will not deny the fact that they have progressed under your tutelage. It has been quite remarkable. Which is one more thing that I would like to talk to you about.”
Laric felt a cold sensation wash through him again. And for the first time, it seemed as if Sashaak reacted to that. Was he going to help?
The headmaster cocked her head, frowning at him for a moment. Was she aware of that connection? He would have to be very careful here. He didn’t know what most mages were trained to detect when it came to dragons, and he certainly didn’t want to reveal his connection until he better understood if it was safe for him to do so.
“What can I help you with?” Laric asked.
“You have managed to help so many of your friends, I thought that perhaps I would ask you to work with some of the other students. Now I realize that poses some challenges, especially because of your standing with some of them,” she said, and Laric suppressed a smile. He didn’t have a whole lot of standing with most of the students. His entire time in school had been about trying to avoid doing any work, at least until he had no choice in the matter. “But,” she went on, “you obviously have some insight into how you can perform your spellslips that has been useful to helping other students. I was hopeful that you might show that to others beyond Iveris and Joselle. And Malcolm, for that matter.” She glanced over to Mr. Galinar, then back to Laric. “Considering you’ve trained with Mage Talia, and you have started learning spellcraft forms, you will also have a measure of authority that I suspect most at the school will respond to.”
Laric wrinkled his nose at that. He hadn’t considered that fact, but she wasn’t necessarily wrong. “I suppose I could do that,” he said. “Can I keep working with the others?”
“I don’t have any issues with you working with Rowan and Malcolm, but I think the younger students really would benefit from returning to school. You have been training them on spellslips, and perhaps spellcraft forms,” she said, arching a brow and waiting for him to respond. When he remained impassive, she continued. “But there are other elements of study that are necessary. They need mathematics. Science. Literature. Art. All the aspects of school that must be taught for us to feel as if we are providing our students with the foundation they will need.”
Laric had the urge to tell her that he doubted that anything else they would teach would provide the foundation necessary, and that spellslips and spellcraft forms were more likely to be needed, especially considering what they were dealing with and the possibility that there were still dangers to face. But he didn’t.
“I will let them know that they should return to their studies,” he said.
“Very well. And I will expect to see you at school too, even if it’s a few times a week.”
A few times a week? That was far more than he had thought she would ask him for.
“And if you do happen to see Mage Talia, let her know that I have received word from the council, and they are sending representatives to the town.” She clasped her hands together, smiling. “They were most impressed to hear that we have so much potential developing out here.”
Laric didn’t know how to react, and so he did not react whatsoever.
“I will see you later, Mr. Mason.”
With that, she and Mr. Galinar strode away.
They were going to have to work quickly. He didn’t know what they were going to need to do, but they needed to deal with Talia before any mages came. And Laric didn’t know what that might look like.
Chapter Seven
He paused in front of the portal entrance. They’d borrowed one of Malcolm’s father’s wagons to come out to the cavern, partly because Laric had pushed for it, despite Rowan’s and Malcolm’s objections.
“We need more time before we do this,” Rowan said.
“We need answers,” Laric said, glancing over to her. “And we’ve got the headmaster now pressing me about her. Besides, how long do we have before the other mages get here?”
A flood of heat washed through him, and it took a moment for him to realize just what it was. It came from the way Sashaak was trying to grant him potential. Or maybe it was Sashaak attempting to tell him something. Whatever it was, Laric felt that heat building inside of him, and it flooded through him in such a way that he tried to fight against it, because the suddenness of that power made him fearful.
Then Sashaak came sliding down the cavern and stopped behind them, filling the space. “I will come,” Sashaak said.
“You won’t be able to fit through that portal,” Laric said.
Sashaak looked at him, and Laric experienced an extreme sensation that suggested that Sashaak was actually laughing. That was incredibly off-putting, mostly because he couldn’t even imagine how Sashaak was laughing, nor did he know what the dragon was laughing at. Was he laughing at him?
“You can fit through the portal?” Laric asked.
“Wait. The dragon plans to come with us?” Despite the surprise in Malcolm’s voice, there was also relief. “There’s no way. The dragon is just too big.”
