7. Kelså

Chapter seven

Kels?

G areth rose from his chair to see me out. He grumbled about his ancient knees and aching back, though I knew the magic coursing through his veins prevented such mundane ailments.

I walked the three blocks to the infirmary. The cobbles were slick from recent rains, and a chill drifted on the air. I drew heat from the surrounding air and wrapped myself in its warmth. As I neared the street where the infirmary was located, I had to step past several ruined signs and overturned carts.

"Looks like we missed quite the spring storm," I muttered as I stepped over a broken chair from a nearby restaurant's patio.

The infirmary was well marked—a large, blocky stone building with a crisply painted door emblazoned with the King's crest, and an etching of the Pheonix above it. As I raised my fist to knock, the door opened, and a lanky boy in the white of an apprentice peered out.

"How can we help you?" he asked.

"I need to speak with your Master," I said, pulling my cloak about my shoulders, as if to ward away the day's chill.

In truth, I hid my robe. One had to be too young to speak, or too old to remember, to not recognize a Mage wearing the Phoenix emblazoned in gold. Gareth and I had rehearsed how best to approach the situation, given neither of us knew the girl's name or anything about her background. A stranger's visit would be unsettling enough without immediate recognition that one of the few living Mages sought her out. Speaking with the Master first, enlisting his support and introduction, made the most sense.

The boy's eyes fell at the mention of his mentor. "I'm sorry. Master Rist was injured and isn't able to see patients. Is there something one of the apprentices might be able to help with?"

I stepped forward and spoke in a soothing tone, lacing my words with Compulsion. "Take me to your Master. I know something of the healing arts."

Unable to resist my call, the boy opened the door wider and motioned for me to follow him. We strode down a hallway and turned into the first room we reached. I recognized the chamber as the room from my scrying the night before. Rist lay on the wooden table, though his head now rested on a pillow, and he was covered with thick woolen blankets. The young woman from my vision sat in a chair by his side. Her brow creased, and her eyes darted from Rist's sleeping form to me.

"Irina, this lady is a healer, says she can help Master Rist," the boy said.

Irina glared after the boy as he scurried out of the room. A moment later, she looked up at me.

"What did you do to him, and who are you?"

I startled. A Mage so newly invested in her power should not have been able to sense my working.

"My name is Kels? Rea."

The girl gasped. " Mage Rea?"

"Please, call me Kels?." I nodded and smiled. "What are you called, apprentice?"

I had meant to comfort the poor girl, but asking her to address me so informally only caused her to widen her eyes and cross her arms.

"Irina." Her voice was barely loud enough to hear.

I decided to barrel forward. "I can Heal your Master, though I sense someone has already done an excellent job mending his wounds."

Irina shot to her feet. "I . . . I don't know what happened. I didn't mean to—"

"Irina, breathe easy. Please." I raised a palm. "Listen to me, child. You did nothing wrong. In fact, what you did was wonderful. I am here to help you . . . understand, to help you celebrate."

"Celebrate? What are you talking about?" Her voice grew stronger as anger mingled with her words. "My master is close to death. There will be no celebrating in these halls for some time."

I stepped forward and took Rist's hand in mine. Irina jerked forward, but I held her back with a quick glance. Keeping my eyes locked on hers, I called my magic, and a warm glow bloomed. The Light swelled until it flowed from my palm into Rist, illuminating his entire form.

"Stop!" Irina lurched forward. "What are you doing to him?"

The glow faded, and Rist's eyes fluttered open.

"Irina? Where—? What happened?" He tried to sit up, but Irina threw herself to his side and pressed her hands to his shoulders.

"Oh, no you don't. I just got you pieced back together. You need to rest," Irina said, the steel of a physiker's backbone ringing in her admonition.

Rist let his head fall back onto the pillow, but his eyes narrowed as he studied her. He chuckled, though his mirth grew into an uncomfortable rumble punctuated by a fit of coughing.

"Was I not clear? You need to relax . . . I mean . . . Master." Irina frowned. "What's so funny?"

"How you have grown, my girl." His smile brightened the room. "So strong and fierce. You will be the Kingdom's finest physiker one day."

She stared, appearing frozen by the magic of his words. I thought it ironic how powerful those spoken by one without magic could carry so potent an impact.

Irina released his shoulders and resumed her seat by his bedside. Her eyes searched the man. She struggled to maintain the scrutiny of his gaze—until a tiny curl crept into the corner of her mouth, and Rist's coughing laughter rang through the room once more.

I stepped forward and pressed my fingers to his arm. My magic flared, and Rist drifted into a peaceful sleep.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?" Irina's hand shot forward and grabbed the Master's wrist.

"He's fine, Irina. I helped him sleep. That is all." I glanced about the room. "Is there somewhere private we can chat? I would rather not be interrupted by others coming to check on your Master."

Irina glared, as though deciding how far she could trust me, then looked down at Rist. His breathing was steady, and color had returned to his face. He looked peaceful.

Irina nodded once. "We can use his study. It is as insulated from prying ears as anywhere in this building."

Hours later, Gareth and I stood in the circle before the other Mages.

"She's exceptional—keen intelligence, strong, inquisitive. She will be an excellent addition to our number when she accepts who she is," I reported.

"What in damnation were you thinking?" Tasha's rage echoed off the rounded stone walls. "We agreed you could find her. What gave you the right to make contact without—"

"Tasha," Gareth cut in, "Kels? faced a rapidly evolving situation."

"Rapidly evolving, my ass. The man wasn't dying. The girl had stabilized him."

"He was not out of danger," I said. "I had to Heal him enough to—"

"You what?" Elric boomed. His knuckles gripped the arms of his chair so tightly I could almost see bone through his whitened skin. "You exposed yourself?"

"No, my gown remained on my shoulders." I knew my quip for a mistake the moment it left my lips.

"And now you mock us." Tasha glared at the Grand Mage. "Johann, this cannot go unpunished."

"Punished?" Gareth spat. "One of our number Healed a prominent man, one in the favor of the King and Queen of Spires, and you want her punished? She soothed a new Mage, the first we have seen in how long? She prepared her to accept us, to accept herself, and you want what? To bind her power? To throw her in a dungeon? To flay her at dawn?"

"Stop being dramatic, Gareth," Tasha snapped. "Flaying is so last century. I would settle for banishment."

"Banishment?" Gareth sputtered.

Half a dozen of the others began shouting over one another, while Tasha screeched and Gareth shouted.

I stood before my chair, chin high and shoulders back, amazed at the stupidity of it all.

"Peace, please," Johann tried to calm the assembly.

When sugar failed, he chose the bitter approach, slamming his staff onto the marble so hard sparks flew and the circle flared to life, bathing everyone in a frightening golden glow. Startled eyes darted from the Grand Mage to the circle and back. Johann had not used his powers in their Chamber in centuries, perhaps longer. No one used magic there.

"Everyone, sit!" Johann's command was inviolate. In that Chamber, we were his. Every ass found a cushion, and every tongue stilled. "We will not bicker like children. We are this world's guiding Light. I expect each of you to act like it. Do you understand me?"

His words punched into my gut like a fighter's knuckles, and I knew his power compelled obedience.

"Yes, Grand Mage," nine voices mumbled.

"Good. There will be no banishment . . . or flaying . . . or punishment of any kind. There is no prohibition against what Kels? did. We are barred from affecting the flow of history, not Healing a single person. Some among us would do well to remember that when placing old grudges above current challenges."

Tasha crossed her arms across her ample bosom and refused to meet Johann's gaze. Elric's icy glare would have cowed most.

Johann ignored his spite and turned back toward me. "You say she is prepared? That she will accept us now?"

"I did not say that. Gareth expressed hope based on the Healing. Irina is strong willed and intelligent. We will need to handle her carefully," I said, still on my feet by my chair. "She has served as an apprentice for the past four years. All she knows is compliance with strict instructions of a Master. Rist is renowned among his community, both for his skill and his ability to train others. I believe she will devour any instruction we offer, as long as we win her trust first."

Tasha sat back and crossed her arms. "What do you mean, ‘win her trust'? Did your little demonstration not entice her to learn?"

Tasha's head remained facing away from me, despite her addressing my remarks. I locked eyes with Johann instead. "The girl is sixteen years old. She has never known anyone with magic and has never wielded it herself. She was still in shock from what she experienced, from what she did. Surely, each of us remembers magic's first touch, yes? Some of us were much younger than Irina. I recall the terror in more than a few of your eyes."

Tasha shifted in her seat, her gaze landing on the center of the circle, but she did not argue. Her own manifestation had been among the most difficult I could remember.

"How did you leave things with her?" Johann asked.

"She is frightened but was willing to speak privately for several hours. That was an important first step. I should return and offer to teach her basic control. Once she views me as an ally rather than some mythical creature, you can approach her about her full potential."

A few of the Mages snarked in hushed tones, but Johann held up a hand to silence them. "Fine, but she needs you now, not days from now. Return to Fontaine. Do what you can. We will meet again in one week to determine next steps."

Johann banged his staff again, signaling the end of the discussion, then rose and exited the Chamber before the others could react.

I didn't wait to hear the eruption from Tasha and her cadre. I glanced toward Gareth, receiving a quick nod, then vanished from the Chamber.