The Academy [BOOK ONE COMPLETE]

Minnelil stopped between two bookcases and nodded her head to the side. “This is my favorite place here.”

The tinkling of water was louder now. The library was otherwise silent, except for the occasional murmuring coming from the direction where Grit and Firgl must have been still sorting books or whatever it was they were doing. Minnelil stepped into the circular space built from bookshelves. For the first time since entering, I saw a stretch of wall that hadn’t been covered in bookshelves. The wall was made of large and black rectangular stones, like a giant, sombre bricklayer had built it.

In the middle of the wall was a small fountain. A skeleton held the bones of a fish and water sprayed out from the fish’s mouth and between its ribs, splashing into a small round basin on the ground. The air was cool and moist. Above the opening hung one of the large orbs of light, hovering in the air. It was so large that the shadows it cast were soft, their edges blurry.

“Nice,” I said, squinting in the gloom at the shelves lining the opening. “Do you come here to read?”

Minnelil tapped her face near her eye. “There’s enough light for me, but you can also reach for more.” She held her hand up toward the orb and I felt the tingling as she reached out with mana. There was no rune, only magic. A glob of light pulled away from the orb and floated down to her hand. She let it fall on her palm and rolled her fingers around it like holding a baby chick. The handful of light became brighter and her fingers cast stark shadow across the floor and the walls. “They hold for about half an hour before floating back, unless you nudge them back,” she said, letting the ball of light go.

I reached and poked it with my finger. The light floated away slightly. “Do many people come here?”

“No. Firgl doesn’t let everyone wander around by themselves and he usually sends skeletons to pick up whatever it is that people need. If you want a book, you can send him a note, and a skeleton will bring it to the dorm soon enough.”

“I wasn’t asking for that,” I said, chuckling. “But I guess it’s good to know. This place is huge.”

“It’s reasonably well stocked,” Minnelil said. She sat on the edge of the basin and tapped the stone next to her. It was low, but wide enough to sit on comfortably without getting splashed. The water was only as deep as my hand and clear like crystal. “But naturally the most well stocked for books related to necromancy. Coratorus, Macellarius, and the Nihilms of Tenorsbridge have competed for centuries on who has the best library. It’s silly, but I guess powerful people need to have some way to feud without burning the world.

“I know the skull, but isn’t Mace just a legend?”

“Perhaps. At least he’s insufferable, according to everyone back home,” she said, flashing me a smile. The smile faded and she turned to blow the small ball of light hovering near us. The breath made it flutter and wobble, as it floated slowly up and away from us.

“When are you going back again?” I asked.

“I don’t know. The winter is making the roads impassable also in the south. It’s colder than usual and the storms blowing down from the mountain are fierce this year. You probably know more about it than I do. I will focus on my studies for now.”

I nodded along, resting my elbows on my knees. She radiated warmth next to me, as the water mist in the air made my hair damp and my ears cold. “Oh,” I said. “I talked to Jextor. He said he could teach you and that it might be a good idea. He said your skeleton was immaculate.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“That you’re uptight and he could teach you. He didn’t want to teach me.”

“Oh?”

We sat quietly for a moment, the fountain tinkling and splashing and the ball of light hovering nearby.

“I know he’s an idiot, but… maybe he isn’t?” I said. “Despite all the amazingly dumb crap he does, even Falar seems to respect him. Well, not respect, but you know what I mean.”

“I know.”

“He said I could send you to him, if you want. He sounded like he thought it could be a good idea.”

Minnelil sighed. She put her left hand on my right knee and held it there. “I don’t know. It is a generous offer, I think. Maybe he would take more students if people were brave enough to ask. I guess that’s one problem you don’t have.”

I scoffed, grinning at her. “Well, he killed me already. Not much left to be afraid of after that.”

She sighed. “I mean it, Lina. You stumbled into this world from the outside. You don’t even know how different coming here is for most people. Not because Jextor would act any different toward someone else, but because he is the legendary Bronte Jextor, the Chancellor of the Academy.”

“You really are putting a lot of emphasis on those words,” I said, leaning away as she swung her hands around her face, holding them up like she was describing a bear.

“And I’m not even done! You know I was there when Frederik’s father visited Jextor? He groveled to get Frederik in here. Jextor laughed and grabbed me as I was going past, telling me to ‘tutor the lad a bit’. Fenrich Rodn bowed to me after that, just because Jextor almost dislocated my arm for trying to walk past too close to him.”

“Okay, okay, fine, I think I get it,” I said. “But… that’s not a problem for you, right? You know who he really is.”

“One of the most powerful mages of the age? The person who keeps this whole place running, despite doing it with his left hand while having an argument with Falar?”

“Well, in addition of being an idiot.”

She smiled, finally. “A less generally known fact, but somewhat true, nevertheless.”

“Look, just go talk to him. I can come with you. If he’s so great, just hanging around with him would make guys like Fahn behave.”

She sighed, leaning her chin on her palm. The ball of light had hovered lower and she puffed at it from the corner of her mouth, driving it farther away again.

“What’s the problem?” I asked, leaning to slouch as well, looking at her from the side.

“What if he thinks I’m not worth teaching? He’s brilliant enough to have books written about him. I’m an elf, Lina. My people don’t belong here.”

“That’s bullshit,” I said. She flinched, glancing at me. My voice had been sharper than I had meant, but when I continued, it hadn’t softened. “You said all little kids want to become necromancers, wanting to read the floating skull’s book for a century. I don’t belong here, but I’m here, anyway. If anyone claims you shouldn’t, I’ll feed them to the Bursar.”

“But what if they are ri…”

Her voice went quiet. I knew what she had been going to say, and it would have been dumb, and I knew it because I had never felt any other way about myself. “The Bursar would kill them only harder. She could make another jigsaw puzzle for Hector,” I said instead.

“But he hates puzzles,” Minnelil said quietly.

---

I slapped my thighs and the sound was loud in the quiet library. Minnelil twitched. “Look, we can go talk to Jextor together if you want. I think it might be good.”

“Maybe,” Minnelil said. “I know I should. I’ll have to start moving forward at some point, won’t I?”

“Everyone has to,” I said quietly. I wasn’t sure, but maybe it was true even for me. I wanted it to be.

Minnelil nodded quietly, playing with her fingers in the water.

“Lina! Min!” Grit’s voice called out over the shelves.

“What!” I shouted back.

“We found somethi—” Grit shouted, but her voice cut out, turning into a quieter grunt.

I glanced at Minnelil.

She shrugged. “No shouting in the library. I guess we’ll have to go and see. Are you ready?”

“Are you?”

“For now. For at least a step. Thanks, Lina.”

I nodded and turned toward the shelves. Minnelil’s robe rustled. I took a step, but arms wrapped around me, one wrapping around my waist and the other coming from over my shoulder. Minnelil leaned her face on my ear, pushing the hair covering it aside by her nose. “I mean it. Thank you,” she whispered.

“It’s nothing,” I mumbled.

She kissed my ear, taking it between her lips for a moment. I let out a disappointed breath as she didn’t bite it. “One day you’ll push me too far,” I said, reaching back trying to squeeze her against me.

“I hope you do the same for me,” she said, unwrapping her arms from around me and taking my hand. “Come on, let’s go see what is so interesting.”