The Outcast (Summoner #4)(22)

There was silence.

Then Scipio spoke, a ragged voice in the shadows.

“Let that be a lesson to you. The ether is a dangerous, unpredictable place. Class dismissed.”





CHAPTER

12

THEY TROOPED OUT OF the room in silence, leaving Scipio to recover on his own. Prince Harold threw some wyrdlights over his shoulder on the way out, allowing Arcturus to catch a glimpse of Scipio embracing Kali with tightly closed eyes. He understood the feeling—if Sacharissa had almost been lost to the ether, he would likely be in tears.

It seemed incredible to Arcturus that the students would be exposed to such danger, especially in their first lesson. Would it be like this every day? He dreaded to think of a time when he would have to send Sacharissa into the ether.

Yet, even as the thought crossed his mind, he could hear the other students talking excitedly about their near miss. Perhaps this was not so normal after all.

“So, dog breath. Are you off to hide in your room, like you did yesterday?” Charles asked, stepping in front of Arcturus. Rook and Zacharias crowded close to him, but he ignored them and met Charles’s gaze with as much confidence as he could muster.

“I wasn’t hiding,” he replied, lifting his chin. “But you don’t seem to enjoy my company, so I chose to avoid yours. Maybe you’re scared of me.”

“We’re of different stock, you and I. A mongrel and a thoroughbred. Yokel and blue blood. Pig swill and upper crust. It wouldn’t do for us to mix,” Charles sneered.

Arcturus resisted the urge to punch the boy in his smug face, which was just as well, for Sacharissa’s chest was rumbling with a deep growl.

“Oh, leave the boy alone,” Prince Harold called out in a bored voice. “Zacharias, don’t you have better things to do? Edmund and I are going to Corcillum. Will you join us?”

Zacharias dug his elbow into Arcturus’s ribs before following the prince and Edmund through the atrium’s entrance doors. The others were already making their way up the stairs, except for Elaine, who was watching their exchange with open curiosity.

“Not invited?” Arcturus asked innocently, noting Charles’s disappointed look.

“Shut up,” Charles hissed, shoving a finger in Arcturus’s face. “The prince likes me well enough. Zach and Edmund are his childhood friends, just like my father and the king were. If I were a bit older and didn’t live so far north, things would be different.”

“Sounds like I hit a nerve,” Arcturus said, goading the boy. It wouldn’t help matters, but Charles already hated him and it felt so good.

“I’ll hit you in a minute,” Rook snarled, grasping Arcturus by the collar and raising his fist. A warning bark from Sacharissa was enough to stop him going any further.

“Don’t worry, Rook. This is my fight,” Charles grunted, laying a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Yeah, tell your lapdog to stand down,” Arcturus said, smiling at Rook. The boy’s face reddened with anger, but he obeyed Faversham without question, releasing the collar and stepping back.

“How about it, Arcturus? Just you and me. We can meet right there, in the summoning room. Nobody will hear us.”

Arcturus knew he was being baited, but he could feel Sacharissa’s eagerness to fight fueling his own. He remembered Charles’s new demon was the Faversham family’s second choice, an Arach … whatever that was. Surely Sacharissa was more powerful? And it was Charles’s first year at Vocans too. He had only just had his first lesson at performing battle spells, so it was unlikely he would be able to do one yet. They would be evenly matched.

“What time?” Arcturus asked, clenching his fists.

“When the second bell rings, open the summoning room door,” Charles said, banging him in the shoulder as he and Rook walked away. “Don’t be late. Again.”

*

Arcturus waited a few minutes before he followed them up the stairs. He would have liked to go sooner but Elaine took what felt like an age to leave, lounging around the atrium until he pretended to head to the washroom. He wondered if she had heard what they were discussing. Though … what difference would it make if she had?

As he trudged up the stairs, Arcturus wondered if he was doing the right thing. At the workhouse, he would never back down, or else the older boys would steal his food. He had to goad his bullies into a fight, and make sure he blacked their eyes, even if he lost. That way, his tormentors would think twice about attempting it again—he was not an easy target.

Arcturus didn’t need to keep Charles and Rook within sight, so he hung back when he made them out in the gloom ahead. After all, he already knew where Charles’s bedroom was. It didn’t take long for him to arrive outside the door. Sure enough, he could hear muffled voices behind it. Too muffled.

He tutted with frustration and pressed his ear against the wood, but still the voices were indistinct. He hadn’t anticipated that. There was always the possibility that Charles would cheat. That maybe Rook would come at him from behind as soon as he stepped into the room. Maybe they would simply attack him together. If that was the case, there was a good chance they would be discussing it at that very moment.

Sacharissa nosed under the door, as if she could smell the plush carpet she had enjoyed just two days ago.

“I wonder if you can hear what they’re saying,” Arcturus murmured. “You seem to understand me well enough.”