She could give up. The thought was mighty tempting. It would be easy. She could find a quiet corner of the room, curl up, and refuse to talk to anyone. They’d drag her into the main room, or arena, or wherever it was she was going to fight, and she could just be curled up and someone would do something horrible and it would all be over.
Scarlet moaned, and pushed herself to her feet, walking slowly back to Martin. ‘Can I give up now please?’
He tipped his head to one side, the ghost of a smile playing across his swollen lips. ‘Of course you may. You have already done more than I could ever have expected.’
She blushed, looking at her feet. Her shoes were a state, soggy and covered in dirt. She got to buy converse maybe once every couple of years, tops, and these were like, her favourite pair. That was all it took. ‘What do I have to do. I mean, I can’t fight.’
Martin shook his head slowly. ‘You will not be fighting, not how you imagine it. The Council has grown ‘civilised’ in recent decades. It will be a power show, nothing more.’
‘So what will I do?’
‘You will choose a spell, and cast it, and your opponent will have the chance to counter it. Whoever comes out on top will win.’
‘What if I do a ‘get me the hell out of here’ spell?’
Martin chuckled, wrapping his arms around his chest and wincing. ‘There are wards on this place, powerful wards. You will not be leaving until they decide you may. Why do you think I am still here?’
‘Well, you were, you know, tied up…’
He looked at her and she gave him a sheepish grin. He nodded uncomfortably and went on. ‘What you must focus on is putting yourself into the spell. When we are practicing, in a safe place, it is easy, but when you are surrounded by people watching, and it is a matter of life or death, it will be quite different.’
He paused, coughing. She moved closer, putting her hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her, moving so he could sit properly. ‘The power you have, the inate power, is as much a part of you as your personality, the things you love and hate, then beliefs you hold. You must put all of that into your casting. We have spoken before about opening yourself, letting the magic come from within. This is where it must happen. Do you understand?’
She nodded, and shrugged. ‘Um, yeah, I think so?’
He raised his eyebrows, but nodded in return. She pulled the spell book out, thumbing through it to find the things they had worked on. ‘What about ingredients?’
‘They will have them, everything you could need. Like I say, they are ‘civilised’.’
She nodded, not sure why he was putting emphasis on the civilised, but maybe she should, so she kept quiet. He was breathing hard still, gasping against whatever was hurting him and she watched, frustrated at there being nothing she could do. She spoke softly.
‘Martin, about why you’re here. Is it to do with your wife?’
When he looked up, she recoiled. The pain she had seen before in his eyes was nothing compared to this. It was like he was carrying something, some huge weight she couldn’t see, that bore down on him, threatening to crush him into the ground. He opened his mouth, but didn’t say anything.
Martin cast his eyes around the room, and gestured slowly with one hand. ‘We shall talk about that after we leave here. There are ears in here, Joanna, and they will hear everything.’
She nodded, and they fell into silence.
‘I thought you said I needed to prepare.’
He laughed quietly. ‘I did, but in truth, there is little we can do. Look through your spells, choose one you feel good about using. Revise it, ensure you can speak it properly. That is all I can tell you now…’
He looked back down at the floor and her heart lurched, becoming heavy. They had to get out of here, just so she could see him feeling something other than sadness. Her world was shifting and coming apart and she wasn’t sure she could handle it. Like when mum and dad started shouting. She’d been young enough to not know what was happening, but everything else had gotten so much harder.
They sat in silence, until the door cracked open and one of the younger men came through. He spoke in the same, affected and silly voice. ‘You will follow me, now, both of you.’
She almost said something, but cut herself off. What was the point? If she came here to study, would they make her do the voice? There was no way she was even attempting it. Then again, the robes were pretty lame as well. What good’s a robe that only comes to your knees?
She helped Martin stand and together they walked slowly from the chamber and out into the corridor. The lights were brighter here, and she squinted as they made slow progress toward wherever it was she was going to fight.
Eventually, the man stopped before a door, holding the handle and muttering quietly. The door clicked open and he pushed it, gesturing for them to precede him into the room beyond. They hobbled through together and paused, just inside, looking around.
There were four chairs again, but they were higher up, and bathed in shadow. Three of them were full. So three of the four had decided to come and watch her. That was nice.
Around the edge of the room, chairs sat on a series of steps, three deep. They were filled with men and women, of various ages, all wearing robes or the black outfits her first captors had worn.
The conversations petered out as the audience noticed them, until the room was silent, and hundreds of pairs of eyes were fixed on Scarlet and Martin.
The middle of the room was empty, a large circle, maybe as big as a large classroom. Standing across from her, in front of the three masters, were the three men who had first found her when she came into the Council. They wore identical, smug, smiles, all staring straight at her.
So, being stared at was up there with having a knife held to her eye, and physics lessons. Being stared at by a bunch of people who didn’t like her was, like, a hundred times worse. She jumped when one of the masters spoke, his voice booming and grand.
‘Miss Joanna Slater, please, step forward into the circle.’
Next Installment Friday 20th December
