Black BladeTwo Steps From Hell

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The second I stepped into the training room, I immediately knew that something was wrong.

For one, Elise was smiling—and not the kindly, appreciative kind of smile. No, it was a cunning smile, hinting at a gruelling training session for me.

Two, there was another figure standing beside Elise. He was wearing a plain leather jerkin and calfskin trousers, with strong sturdy boots and a belt to finish off the look. Yet the simple clothes didn't disguise the man's rugged, fierce look. He could have been anywhere between thirty and sixty—the lines on his forehead were noticeable, but he exuded the dominance of a man who was young and eager to challenge the world. His dark hair was cropped ruthlessly; a nasty, gaping scar ran down the left side of his face.

I resisted the urge to bolt out of the room.

"Klaudia, I thought you were never going to arrive," said Elise, as though the man weren't there at all.

"Mistress Elise." I curtsied, counting one, two, three, four, five—before I finally rose up. "You have something special in mind for today?"

"Why, yes," she said. She gestured towards the hulking brute. "Klaudia, this is Frederick, one of our Fighters."

"Milady." The brute's voice was surprisingly smooth, and didn't match his appearance at all. He stepped forward, and without my permission, took my hand and planted a kiss on it while giving a bow. I barely managed to stop myself from recoiling.

"Frederick will be assisting in training today." Elise nodded at her companion. She looked unbearably pleased with herself. "I think it's time you learned the magic capabilities of the other sorcerers around here."

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Fair enough."

"I knew you'd be excited about this!" Elise was fairly bouncing on her feet. "Now, you two stand on opposite sides of the room."

We obeyed her without a word. Even from across the room, I could see the menacing smirk on Frederick's face. If only I could reach over I wipe it off. Preferably with the back of my hand.

"All right, the goal is to make your opponent yield," shouted Elise. She was standing safely away at the edge of the room. Her face was glowing with anticipation. "Sorcerers, Saint Bromilde be with you!"

I didn't realise that our little duelling match had already begun until something invisible caught my arms.

I tried to move, but I couldn't. With panicked eyes, I looked at Frederick. He had drawn a blade without me noticing. Its point gleamed like a serpent's fang; he was holding it outstretched in one hand, aiming it towards me, chanting furiously under his breath. I fought against his magic, trying to retrieve my flute. However, he sensed my renewed efforts to break free of his grip, and the torrent of words flowing out of his mouth grew stronger. In turn, the invisible hand clamping down on my body tightened; I couldn't even move my head without straining my neck.

My eyes darted towards Elise. An impassive, unsympathetic expression was plastered on her face. Her lips were pursed in disappointment, as if she were expecting me to put up a better fight. They were almost taunting, silently saying that I would never be as brilliant a Magus as her.

Silently saying that she was more worthy of Lord Himmel's affections than me.

Fury built up in my Core. I took in a deep breath, focusing all my attention upon my magic. I hummed a tentative, easy song that had a light, bobbing melody. I didn't fight Frederick's grip; I slipped through it.

I felt my magic poking around his with trepidation, as though it had a mind of its own. I didn't think too much about it. All I knew was that my magic was real, as the sun and the mountains and the forests were real.

Eventually, I sensed a hole in Frederick's magic: a widening crack at the tip of my nose. A strange place. But I didn't question the opportunity. I quickly changed the rhythm of my song—long, drawn out notes became shorter, and sweet tones were replaced by harsher ones. I circled around it, faster and faster, rising to the climax, a mountain peak just within reach. Slowly, I pushed against it. Frederick's grip started to slip.

With one final burst of energy, I struck through the weakness in his magic.

Frederick's magic shattered. I gasped, shocked from the absence of the weight that was upon my chest. My Core was humming angrily, demanding that I take revenge for the sorcerer's surprise attack. Although it wasn't much of a surprise, technically, considering that Elise had given the signal for the duel to begin.

It seemed that my dispelling had taken its toll on Frederick. His dagger was still in his hand, but his fingers were trembling around the elegant hilt. A grim satisfaction filled my being. Elise had thrown me into this like how she'd thrown me into the lycanthropes, during the first day I had stepped into this room, trying to catch me off guard and forcing me to learn from my mistakes.

This would be no different.

I sorted out all the information I had about my opponent in my mind. Frederick's Medium was a knife, so that meant his Affinity would concern something physical. Was his first attack his Affinity? No. That was probably a trick, to test out my capabilities. Then if it was a trick—

Tiny shoots sprouted out of nowhere beneath my feet, growing at an alarming rate and wrapping themselves around my legs, rooting me to the ground.

I moved to snatch my Medium out, but more tendrils sprung out and lashed themselves onto my arms. Panic seized my mind, and any sense of strategy I had was flung out of my head. All I could do was whimper and relax against the tendrils, attempting to make myself look as small and helpless as possible to everyone.

"Are you sure you trained this pathetic whelp, Elise?" spat Frederick. With a quick flick of his knife, the tendrils grew thicker, almost bearing me down with their weight. Black spots danced before my eyes, and my tongue tasted of metal and ash.

"I think you forgot that this 'pathetic whelp' is still your lady, Frederick," Elise said coolly. Her voice echoed strangely in my ears. Or perhaps it was just me. My head was becoming too light for comfort. "Mind your words, or I'll have your tongue."

"Lady or no, she is a Magus. Look at her—she's already fainted!"

I stayed very still, keeping my breathing even. I had closed my eyes unconsciously, and allowed my limbs to grow slack. I was now only being held up by the tendrils. My feet scraped against the floor, and I was hung up like a rag doll. Only my Core, burning and churning with the hunger for vengeance kept me awake.

I could use this to my advantage. I opted to wait for a while, fighting the instinct to open my eyes and scan my surroundings. Meanwhile, I heard approaching footsteps. Frederick and Elise; I recognised the solid thunk of boots and the hushed shuffling of slippers.

"Are you sure she's a Magus?" Coarse, scarred fingers seized my chin and jerked it upwards. I maintained a relaxed expression. "Her magic drained out so quickly."

"Maybe if you'd given her the chance to actually draw her Medium out, she might have posed a better fight," sighed Elise. To my surprise, a note of displeasure rang in her voice—for Frederick. Not for me. "It would have taken her immense power to break free of your first spell, and she did it without her flute. You shouldn't be surprised."

"But still. At any rate, our lord didn't choose her for her looks or for her magical talents."

Hopefully Frederick was too absorbed in talking to Elise to notice the hint of red creeping up my neck, hidden behind the curls escaping my knot. He released his fingers, and my head drooped without any resistance. "It's her first time duelling another sorcerer, Frederick," argued Elise. "You shouldn't be judging her so harshly."

"Is the battlefield ever kind towards a sorcerer? Never!" he snorted. "She may have potential, I admit, but she definitely has a long way to go."

Enough was enough. I could take so many insults to my dignity while keeping quiet. "Liohtia!" I screamed. "Liohtia! Liohtia! Liohita!"

Light flared from behind my closed eyelids. Not wasting another moment, I coaxed the weakened tendrils to let me go. They hesitated at first, but eventually listened to me and slithered back onto the ground. With sore wrists and ankles, I found my footing. I finally drew out my flute and put it to my lips.

When I was sure that the light wouldn't blind me, I opened my eyes. Frederick and Elise had thrown their hands up to shield their vision. They were some distance away from me, so they must had staggered backwards after the sudden flash I had cast.

I blew into my flute. My Core was drained from my previous efforts—like Elise had said—but it was reflecting a determination to carry on. It gave me the strength I needed to push forward, and I took it.

The song was unlike my usual variety: it had structure, it had pace from the beginning. It was a variation of that strange, unknown yet familiar melody I had sung to Josef yesterday. Except this time, instead of a smooth, gliding melody, it was bold—powerful. It sought to dominate, to extend its reach and influence the minds of anyone who heard it.

Then strangely enough, I felt two separate minds. It was like I was back in the Fountain facing Saint Bromilde, with that beautiful rush surging through me. It was an odd sensation, like I had extracted the essences of two beings, and they were circling around me. They weren't threatening me, though I sensed their slight discomfort at being persuaded to do my bidding. I modulated into another key, and their discomfort ebbed away.

In front of me, Elise and Frederick were frozen in their positions. Then in stiff, mechanic movements, they removed their hands from their eyes. Their faces were as still as statues; they looked frightening, phantoms in the daylight.

Experimentally, feeding a small stream of energy from my Core and into the base of the magic, I changed the tune. In my head, I projected them to wave at me. Their minds resisted; I pushed harder.

They waved.

With a shock, I dropped my magic. Elise and Frederick's minds instantly snapped away from my control. They blinked furiously, regaining consciousness. I stared at them, dumbstruck.

I had just controlled their minds.

Once he'd recovered, Frederick whipped out his knife—there was a sheath strapped to his thigh—and slashed the air. Invisible ropes tethered me in place. I didn't bother to fight back.

Then he released a guffaw that practically filled up the atmosphere.

"Excellent trick back there, milady," he said. He was grinning from ear to ear. He didn't look half as menacing with the grin, and I decided that I could get used to it. "None of my students had ever tried to pretend to go unconscious before lashing back at me."

"Your students?" I asked, stupefied. It was hard to imagine that anyone would want to train under this hulking brute, although he might not be as ruthless as he initially seemed.

"I'm the main trainer for sorcerers around here," he explained, not offended at my ignorance. "Elise used to be my assistant, until you rolled along, and she was ordered to personally train you. While similar, several aspects of magic can be very different between Magi and sorcerers."

"Oh." I wiggled a little in his grip. "Can we please talk after you get me out of this?"

"Not until you yield." Frederick waggled his brows at me. "I'm not falling for any other possible tricks."

Despite myself, I managed a choked laughter. "I yield."

"Good girl."

He sheathed his knife; the invisible ropes fell away. I rubbed my chaffed wrists ruefully. "You have a lot of raw energy in you," he said, "and you do much through intuition, but you should really polish up on your technique. I suggest that you walk through Ventilard's Quintessential Spells for the Beginner."

"Hogwash, Frederick!" said Elise. "Lady Klaudia is well beyond the level of a beginner, and you know that."

"Well, perhaps. But it never hurts for someone to go through the basics, even a master."

"I think you're just slightly miffed that she managed to fool you for a while there," she teased.

Frederick grunted and put on a scowl. But it was rather hard for me to accept the gruff, hard-core warrior he was now trying to portray. "At any rate, you did well, Lady Klaudia," he said. It was an easy compliment, yet the way he projected his words made me flush with happiness.

"Thank you, Master Frederick," I replied.

The corners of his lips upturned ever so slightly. Then turning towards Elise, he said, "I'll be off then. Who knows how poor Marissa is surviving without me?"

"She'd probably be flopping around half-dead with the rascals you've put her with," Elise retorted.

"You're probably right." He chuckled. "Anyhow, good day to you, Lady Klaudia, Mistress Elise."

He bowed; we curtsied. Once he exited the room, I asked, "What was he doing here?"

"Honestly, he wanted to see how you were progressing as a Magus," she said. "I told him yesterday while we were having our meal that you were one of the brightest students I'd ever seen. Needless to say, he refused to believe it, hence the duel today. Besides, I think he just wanted the opportunity to say that I'm a lousy trainer." She cast me a side-glance, as if she wanted me to give her dignity back.

"You're not. You just happen to be saddled with an incompetent student, if Master Frederick's words are anything to go by," I said.

She snorted, one that was not unlike Frederick's. "He was just being an ass. Oh, excuse my language. Just because I'm younger than him doesn't mean he has the right to dictate my every movement. Or maybe he's just envious that Lord Himmel assigned me to train you, not him."

She almost sounded like a girl, complaining and divulging her inner thoughts to me. Any traces of her real age were tucked away—the crow lines at the corners of her eyes weren't from worries, they were from laughing very often; the dancing darkness in her eyes weren't from decades' worth of seeing the world change, they were from happiness and everything youth had to offer.

I suddenly remembered the way her eyes had gone blank, the way her lips parted slightly, and the way her face assumed a mask of obedience. The image sent a chill running up my spine. "Elise, just now, I..." I trailed off, unsure of how to string my thoughts into one cohesive sentence.

"Elise? No title?" She raised a conniving brow at me, but her mouth was twisted into an amused smile, so I assumed that I wasn't in much trouble.

"Yes, Elise." I rather liked addressing her without a title. It made her seem less intimidating—less of an enigma and more of a comrade. "Just now...I think I controlled your minds. Yours and Frederick's."

She whirled around on me, grabbing me by the shoulders. Her eyes were wide with shock and incredulity. "Are you sure?" she demanded. Her tone made me flinch.

"Yes," I said with conviction, knowing that any other answer would only make her doubt. "It was only for a moment, but I'm sure of it."

Her fingers clutched onto me painfully. With a cry, I wrestled free of her grip. She let me go. However, fear crept into her eyes, a shadow which marred the glittering beauty of her violet eyes. "You—you are absolutely sure that it was only for a moment?"

I nodded. "Very sure."

My words did little to ease her anxiety though. Her hands were clenched by her sides, and she was pale to the lips. "Klaudia, listen to me very carefully: You do not, and I mean you do not go about controlling minds anymore. Do you understand?"

"Yes," I said without thinking. A pause followed in between; a little question popped into my mind. "Elise, what is your Affinity?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She showed me her teeth, but her lips weren't curled into a complete smile.

"I would."

"It's of no matter to you." She resumed her usual aura of superiority, opting to stare me down her nose although I was slightly taller than her. Yet I was dwarfed, somehow. "Now, we shall resume our lessons. Perhaps we should take Frederick's suggestions on going through Ventilard's Quintessential Spells for the Beginner."

I stayed my tongue. I knew when I had to give up. My hand strayed to my pouch. Josef's ring weighed heavily inside it. Should I tell him that my Affinity was mind control? Or should I wait till a suitable opportunity arose for me?

"Klaudia! Are you listening to me?" Elise snapped. Her violin had appeared in her hands. "Watch me closely."

She began to demonstrate a spell for me. I forced myself to concentrate on the rest of the lesson.

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