Page 12 of A Court of Ash and Midnight
“And what is your magic type?” I ask him.
“Oh… I am an earth Incantrix,” he responds as if this is obvious. “Though that is only my primary magic. I dabble in others.”
“And you’ll test me as well?”
“Naturally. But we’ll go outside for my tests.” He turns to the other professors. “Thank you for your time, Professor Wyllora, Professor Gwynoch.”
They turn to leave as if they can’t exit the room fast enough.
“Follow me, Embyr.” Julian turns and leads the way back out into the hallway.
We meander through the enormous castle yet again, to the first floor and down the length of the main hallway to the entrance on the far side. Opposite the side of the castle I’d first entered this morning, which at this point feels an eternity ago, not a mere few hours. When we step out of the double doors, I see another, smaller stone building directly ahead. But we turn and go right, walking down a cobblestone path toward a different building not far from the castle.
As we get closer, I realize it’s a stable. It’s only one story as opposed to the much taller buildings sprawled out across Shadow’s Keep, and there’s a weathervane at the top depicting a dragon. Or perhaps, a nightmare. It’s wrought in black metal, with jagged-edged wings and a long, forked tongue. The smell of hay and pine shavings floods my senses, and I feel a wave of nostalgia. Barns have been my home more often than not the last eight years. Even if the reason I had to stay in them wasn’t ideal, nonetheless, they’re where I’m most comfortable. Not locked behind stone walls.
But we don’t stop at the barn. We pass through it, down the aisle in the center, and back out the other side. We walk across a small field bordered by hedgerows and pass through a stone archway into a lush garden. It stretches all the way to the perimeter wall of the keep in the far distance. How many gardens are in this place? The whole valley seems filled with them. Is it fae magic, or something else? Mossy paths spiral throughout the garden beds. Weathered stone statues rise among the greenery, some all but consumed by it. Flowering vines cascade along stone walls, and bright flowers the likes of which I’ve never seen bloom all around me. Several small ponds mirror the gray clouds above us, making them look like misty portals to another world. It seems as if we’ve walked into a dreamscape.
“Okay,” Professor Julian says, stopping in front of a tree covered in violet leaves. “Right here will do.”
“Do for what?”
He ignores me, and instead a hum of magic fills the air. It’s starting to feel familiar, which is incredibly unsettling. But Julian’s magic is not cool in temperature like Wyllora’s or Gwynoch’s. His magic feels like a warm spring breeze, and it carries the scent of fresh-tilled earth and green things. Of life and growth. It rustles around me and lifts the long, drapingbranches of the purplish-colored tree until they lift off the ground and send leaves spinning up into the air.
The magic only buzzes around me for about a minute and then abruptly disappears. Professor Julian frowns, but only for a moment.
“Can you humor me, Embyr, and go place your hand on the tree while we try again?”
I do as instructed, and the air once again fills with the hum of magic, but the outcome is the same.
“Very well,” Julian says cheerfully. “I didn’t really expect to find anything on the first day.”
“So, what next?” I ask, feeling an odd mix of relief and disappointment.
“We keep trying,” he responds. “We’ll have the professors from the other houses to try. Within each house there are many different sub-branches of magic. There are dozens upon dozens of possible types. I was trying some of the more common ones first.”
I nod and follow him as he turns and begins to lead the way back out of the garden, walking at a brisk pace. He seems full of an endless source of energy, and enthusiasm as well. Which is a good thing, since I have little faith in the outcome he’s searching for. As we reach the stone archway leading back out of the garden, there’s a flutter of wings behind me and a ruffle of leaves. I turn but see nothing but a nearby tree branch shivering as if something had landed on it. Birds, no doubt. This place is teeming with them.
As we walk back through the barn, I pause to stroke the soft muzzle of one of the horses stalled inside. Professor Julian, sensing I am no longer behind him, turns at the entrance to the barn and looks back at me. When I hurry to catch up, he says, “Like horses, do you? You are welcome to visit the stables anytime.”
“Really?” My voice takes on a higher pitch, which makes me flush in embarrassment. I feel so much more at home outside, and I’m relieved I don’t have to stay confined within the castle walls.
“For that matter, you’re welcome to explore any of the gardens or forests within Shadow’s Keep,” Julian continues. “Just so long as you don’t venture too close to the walls. The nightmares and all.”
I shiver, remembering the one at the front gates. Based on his pluralization, there are clearly more of the monstrous things. Which reminds me that I’m not exactly a guest here if I can’t leave. “And, if you don’t find anything during your testing,” I ask, “What then? I am free to go?”
Professor Julian pauses and looks back at me. “Surely you’re in no rush to go out into the world again with those hunters out there?” When I don’t answer right away, he says, “We’ll see where we end up, how about that?”
My heart does a flip inside my chest. It’s a nonanswer thatis, in fact, an answer… I am to stay within the walls of Shadow’s Keep until Professor Julian decides that I can leave.
Ifhe ever does.
Chapter Seven
“We still haveanother hour until dinner,” Professor Julian says as we pass through the double doors into the castle. “I can take you to the library if you wish? Or perhaps you’d like some time to rest?”
“Rest would be lovely, actually,” I admit.
“Yes. You’ve had quite the day already. Can you find your way to your room, or should I escort you?”
