Spellslinger (Spellslinger #1)(3)

Everyone stared at me, trying to guess what I’d choose. Here in the oasis, any of us could summon some tiny portion of the different forms of magic – just enough to train in spellwork. But that was nothing compared with what you could do once you’d sparked your bands. Since Tennat had iron and breath at his disposal, I’d be crazy to choose either of those two.

‘Iron,’ I said, loud enough to ensure that everyone heard.

My classmates looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. Nephenia went pale. Shalla’s eyes narrowed. Panahsi started to object, but a glance from Osia’phest shut him up. ‘I did not hear you correctly,’ our teacher said slowly.

‘Iron,’ I repeated.

Tennat grinned, a greyish glow already winding itself from the iron band on his forearm, slithering around his hands as he began summoning the power. Everyone there knew how much Tennat loved iron magic, the way it let you tear and bludgeon at your enemies. You could see the excitement building up inside him, the thrill that came from wielding high-calibre magic. I wished I knew what it felt like.

Tennat was so eager that his fingers had already begun running through the somatic shapes for the spells he’d be using against me. One of the first things you learn in duelling is that only an idiot shows his hand before the fight starts, but since there was no possible way I could beat Tennat in iron magic, he probably figured there was nothing to lose.

That was the real reason why I was smiling.

See, for the past several weeks I’d watched every single duel Tennat had fought against the other initiates; I’d noticed how even those students with more power – those who should have been able to beat him with ease – always ended up forced to yield.

That was when I’d finally figured it out.

Magic is a con game.

The oasis was quiet, almost peaceful. I think everyone was waiting for me to giggle nervously and announce before it was too late that it had all been a joke. Instead, I rolled my shoulders back and tilted my neck left then right to make it crack. It didn’t help my magic any, but I thought maybe it would make me look tougher.

Tennat gave a confident snort. It sounded like his regular snort only louder. ‘You’d think someone who can barely light a glow-glass lantern without giving himself a heart attack would be a little more cautious in his choice of opponent.’

‘You’re right,’ I said, rolling up my sleeves to let him see the flat, lifeless inks of my own six tattooed bands. ‘So you’ve got to ask yourself, why would I challenge you now?’

Tennat hesitated for a second before he said, ‘Maybe you’ve been having death-dreams and you know I’m the best person to help usher you into the grey passage and end your suffering.’

‘Could be,’ I conceded. ‘But let’s say for the sake of argument that it’s something else.’

‘Like what?’

I had a whole speech planned about how I’d banded myself with shadow – the seventh and deadliest of magics, the one forbidden to us all. If that didn’t scare him I had a different bit about how the truly great mages among our ancestors could wield the high magics without sparking their bands at all. Just as I was about to speak though, I saw a falcon flying overhead and decided to switch tactics.

‘You don’t need to spark your bands if you’ve found your power animal.’

Everyone looked up to see. Tennat’s smirk was just angry enough to tell me he was getting nervous. ‘Nobody bonds with familiars any more. Besides, how would someone with as little magic as you ever attract a power animal? And a falcon? No way, Kellen. Not in a thousand years.’

I noticed the falcon was about to swoop down on a smaller bird. ‘Dive, my darling,’ I whispered, just loud enough for everyone to hear. There was a sudden nervous intake of breath all around me as the falcon’s claws took merciless hold of its prey. It occurred to me then that I might have made a decent actor if it hadn’t been a forbidden profession among the Jan’Tep.

‘All right, all right,’ Osia’phest said, waiving his hands in the air as if trying to cast a banishing spell on all our nonsense. I was fairly sure the old man knew I hadn’t acquired a familiar, but I guess it’s bad form to reveal another mage’s secrets, even when they happen to be lies. Or maybe he just didn’t care. ‘I recognise that it’s traditional for there to be a certain amount of … posturing prior to a duel, but I think we’ve all had just about enough. Are you ready to begin?’

I nodded. Tennat didn’t bother, as if the implication that he might not be ready were an insult.

‘Very well,’ Osia’phest said. ‘I shall commence the counting.’ The old man took in a deep breath that was probably excessive given that all he said next was, ‘Seven!’

The breeze picked up and my loose linen shirt flapped noisily against my skin. I dried my hands on it for the tenth time and cleared my throat to get rid of the tickle. Don’t start coughing. Don’t look weak. Whatever you do, don’t look weak.

‘Six.’

Tennat gave me a wide grin as if he had some big surprise waiting for me. I would have been more scared if I hadn’t seen him give every opponent that same look prior to each duel. Also, I was already as terrified as I could possibly be without collapsing to the ground.

‘Five.’

The bird swooped overhead again so I looked up and winked at it. Tennat’s smile wavered. Evidently he was capable of simultaneously believing I was a weakling and yet had also acquired a power animal. Moron.