The Golden Tower (Magisterium #5)(6)
Back then he’d been worried about eyeless fish and getting lost in the tunnels. Now, those worries seemed to belong to a different person.
Tamara took his hand and squeezed it, surprising him.
Did that mean she still liked him? Did that mean they might get back together after all? Jasper had gotten back together with Celia and he was a pill, so maybe Call had a chance.
Celia is also a pill, Aaron said, which was mean for Aaron. She shouldn’t have said that stuff to you.
“I thought you liked Celia,” Call said, and Tamara looked at him in surprise. He’d spoken quietly, but not quietly enough.
“I do,” she said. “I did. But when she says those things to you — I mean, she’s insulting all of us. I know she thinks we’re brainwashed minions.” She flushed with anger. “Celia can go eat an eyeless fish.”
More and more students were crowding into the entry hall. Call was forced to move slightly closer to Tamara, which was fine with him. “What happened to reaching out to people with understanding?”
“I took a break from it,” said Tamara. “Look, Celia might come around, she’s just very —”
A sound like a massive metal gong being struck rang through the room. Metal magic — Call felt Miri, strapped to his hip, vibrate in tune. There was the rush of air being displaced and suddenly Master Rufus was hovering above them all, looking down. Beside him were some other mages, familiar teachers and unfamiliar ones. Master North loomed to one side, with Master Rockmaple and Master Milagros on the other.
Call hadn’t seen Master Rufus since the battlefield. A shudder went up his spine at the memory. He had been so close to dying. And even closer to losing everything that mattered to him.
“Students,” Master Rufus boomed, his voice amplified by air magic. “We have called you here because we know that rumors and anxiety are running rampant among you. This is indeed a time of great instability in the magical world. Master Joseph, a minion of the Enemy of Death, tried to destroy the mage world in the name of Constantine Madden. But he was defeated.” The word boomed out defiantly. “We have all known people who went over to the side of the Enemy out of selfishness and out of fear.”
There was a murmur. Call realized quite a few people were looking at Jasper and flashed suddenly to an almost-buried memory of an Assembly guard dragging Jasper’s father away from the battlefield with his hands bound.
“Many of those mages are now in the Panopticon or being held by the Assembly. Treat those who have family members who are being rehabilitated with compassion. Their disappointment in their loved ones is already great enough.”
Jasper flushed dark red and looked at the floor.
“We must learn from this lesson that we cannot allow fear to rule us,” said Master Rufus. “Gossip, suspicion of your fellow apprentices — all that comes from fear. But fear has no place in a mage’s heart. It was fear of death that set Constantine Madden on his path. When fear rules us, we forget who we truly are. We forget the good we are capable of.”
The crowd had fallen silent.
“There are those among us who you may fear because you do not understand them,” said Master Rufus. “But Callum Hunt, our Makar, helped close this last chapter on the tragic legacy of the Enemy of Death. When it mattered, he rose up on the side of law and order, of goodness and humanity. Evil will always rise — and good will always defeat it.” Rufus crossed his arms over his chest. “A round of applause for Callum Hunt.”
The applause was faint. Tamara dropped Call’s hand so she could clap, and slowly others joined in. It was hardly a standing ovation, but it was something. It died away quickly as Master Rufus and the other mages floated down from their high perch and stalked majestically from the room, signaling that the meeting was over.
“So … now what?” asked Call, hanging back as the other students filed out. He didn’t want any more attention drawn to him.
Tamara shrugged. “We’ve got time. I guess we could go back to our room.”
“Okay,” Call said with mixed feelings. He wanted to be alone with Tamara, but he was also worried that maybe he didn’t know what to say to her. After all, the only reason she wasn’t mad at him was because of what Aaron had told him to say — and if she liked the stuff that Aaron said, maybe it was really Aaron she’d always liked. That’s what Jasper had thought. That’s what Call had thought, too, if he was honest with himself. Everyone liked Aaron better than Call. Why would she be any different?
She told you she likes you, Aaron said, and Call winced. He didn’t mind Aaron hearing most of the stuff he thought, but he wished he could hide the thoughts he had about Aaron himself.
Well, you can’t, said Aaron.
With a sigh, Call walked through the halls of the Magisterium, trying to concentrate on not thinking at all. Maybe he could take Havoc for another walk. Havoc liked walks.
As Call waved his wristband in front of the door and it slid open, he saw that Master Rufus was waiting for them. He sat on the couch, peering at Call and Tamara from beneath his bushy, expressive brows.
“Welcome back to the Magisterium,” he said. “I hope you’re pleased to be here.”
“It’s better than the Panopticon,” said Call. “That was quite a speech you gave.”
“Yes,” said Master Rufus. “I thought so, too. I hope you’re both ready for your next lesson. You might have learned enough magic to walk through the Gate of Silver, but you haven’t learned the same magic as the other apprentice groups. You’re going to have to hustle to catch up.”