Cave of Nightmares Read online

  If Hayden hadn’t been naturally good at Prisms the class would have been an utter disaster. As it was, he was barely able to focus properly due to his headache, but managed to answer questions correctly whenever he was called on and made it out of the class without incident.

  The only bright side of the day was that Tucker happily agreed to join his challenge group, which meant that he and Zane only needed one more person on their team.

  Unfortunately they couldn’t settle on a fourth person before the end of registration that night, so they woke up early on their first morning off to join the other incomplete groups in the main courtyard.

  Tucker met them at the bottom of the main stairwell, yawning sleepily as they followed the other early-risers through the foyer and onto the front lawns.

  “I’ve been thinking about who our fourth should be,” Tucker greeted them without preamble. “We’ve got wands, prisms, and conjury right now, so we’re pretty offense-heavy. If we can, we should try for an Elixirs major, because they’ve got a nice balance of healing and complementary magic for the rest of us.”

  “Yeah, I was thinking that too,” Zane agreed. “Powders are pretty handy in a fight, but for our lineup we can get more out of the other.”

  Hayden tried not to look guilty at the realization that he hadn’t given their challenge group strategy any thought at all before now.

  “I’m decent with powders, so we should be able to make due where that’s concerned,” Tucker shrugged. “I’m in the third-year class, but I’m no great shakes at it.”

  Hayden frowned.

  “I’ll be lucky to make it through the level-one class without burning the school down,” he grumbled, and Zane laughed.

  It looked like it had rained the night before, and the morning dew soaked through Hayden’s shoes as they walked across the lawn to the courtyard where the others were assembled.

  There were about a hundred people outside with them, some in groups and others standing by themselves, shuffling their feet awkwardly. Hayden spotted Tess leaning against a wooden bench, looking glum.

  The Masters were outside as well, standing together in a knot of bright red. They lined up in a row as Master Sark checked his chrono and called everyone to attention.

  “You’re all here because your challenge groups are incomplete and arenas are set to begin at the start of next week,” he announced, his eyes flickering over the students around him. “Most of you are second and third-year students. Anyone in fourth-year or above should step to the side and we’ll sort you out separately.”

  About a dozen students moved away at his words. Hayden assumed that they didn’t want second-year students trying to claim fourth-year teammates for an unfair advantage.

  “As for those of you with partial teams, we have designated a team leader and placed all of the names into this basket,” Master Willow—the tallest of them—held it up for everyone to see. “We will draw a name from the basket, and the team leader will select one individual to join them. If your team is still incomplete, your name will be put back into the basket and redrawn.”

  Master Kilgore stepped forward.

  “Everyone who doesn’t currently have a team should line up in rows over there.” He pointed to one side of the courtyard, and about fifty people migrated over to line up for selection. They were each wearing a piece of paper on a string around their neck with the symbol for their major drawn on it.

  Master Reede reached into the basket and drew the first name.

  “Lorn Trout.”

  Hayden grimaced as Lorn came forward, looking like Oliver in miniature. He had a very smug look on his face at being nominated the team leader, and bumped into Hayden deliberately as he walked past. His team seemed to be missing only one person, and he scanned the assembled group in front of him for a long moment before selecting a wand major named Valeria.

  The teachers looked over their group of four and had a brief, quiet discussion before accepting the choice. Valeria didn’t seem either pleased or upset as she moved to join Lorn and his friends.

  Hayden was looking around for something to lean against—because at this rate they were going to be out here all morning—when he heard Master Reede call his name.

  At first he thought he was being reprimanded for wanting to sit down, but then he saw the slip of paper in the Master of Conjury’s hand.

  I’m the team leader?!

  He had no idea what to think about that. He certainly hadn’t been expecting it. He glanced at Zane and Tucker, but neither of them seemed terribly surprised.

  “Today, if you please,” Master Sark called out dryly, and a few people laughed.

  Hayden swallowed and stepped forward, looking out at the group of singles and spotting a few with the symbol for elixirs around their neck. He didn’t know any of them, and had no idea whether they were any good or not. Some of them were eyeing him disdainfully, plainly hoping not to be paired up with the son of Aleric Frost.

  He didn’t like having all this attention on him, and became aware of the silence stretching on uncomfortably. Panicking, he said the first name that came to mind, the only person he knew from the assembled group.

  “Theresa Wesley.”

  Tess’s eyes widened hugely and the silence broke like a dam; people were whispering, laughing, or gasping from every direction it seemed. Hayden felt his face go scarlet when Lorn called out, “Frost’s got himself a girlfriend!”

  He went back to Zane and Tucker without looking at anyone, turning his back on the masses. Zane was giving him a strange look and Tucker seemed exasperated.

  “What were you thinking?” the latter whispered in disbelief. “You’re a freaking prism—you could have chosen a third year elixir and they’d have been thrilled to join us—and instead you pick an eleven year old who isn’t good enough to declare a single major?”

  Hayden frowned, feeling like an idiot.

  “Most of the others were staring at me like I’m my father incarnate, and I don’t know enough about anyone to know who’s good and who isn’t,” he replied tersely, his ears burning in embarrassment. “Tess is the only one I know, and she seems nice enough.”

  Tucker looked like he had plenty to say on the qualifications of a challenge teammate based on ‘niceness,’ but Hayden turned to watch the Masters instead of listening.

  They were debating his choice in quiet tones, and he was surprised when Sark gestured angrily, pointing back at Hayden, who was just as glad that he couldn’t hear what the Powders Master was saying about him.

  Probably telling the others how my slowing powder came out looking like snot yesterday.

  Everyone else was watching the Masters argue as well, apparently fascinated with his choice of teammate. Tess shifted nervously from one foot to the other while she waited, not moving from her position in the front row.

  Eventually the Masters finished their discussion and everyone fell silent once more.

  It was Asher who spoke to the crowd.

  “Despite the fact that some of us feel we’re giving you an unfair advantage, others amongst us commend your shrewdness,” he was grinning at Hayden like he found him wickedly clever.

  Hayden had no idea why anyone thought he was giving himself an unfair advantage, and apparently Lorn didn’t either because he asked, “Why is he smart for picking Tess the Mess?”

  Tess blushed and stared down at her feet, and Master Kilgore shot Lorn a flat stare for insulting her.

  “Because, young Trout, it may have escaped your notice, but Hayden has just formed the only team in the entire school with someone from all five majors on it.”

  Hayden’s lips parted in surprise at the revelation, though he hastily tried to look as though he’d planned it from the beginning. Everyone was muttering again, though the same people who were laughing at him just moments ago now looked impressed with his strategic thinking. Even Tucker clapped him on the back and grinned.

  “Needless to say, this should be interesting, and we approv
e your team lineup, though you will begin in the third-year roster to compensate for your team’s obvious advantages,” Master Asher finished, still smiling.

  Tess brightened fractionally and shuffled over to join them, though she was still staring at the ground. Since there was no reason for them to stick around now that they had their team, Zane motioned for them to follow him back to the dining hall for breakfast, trying to ignore the stares and whispers that followed them even when Master Reede called the next team leader forward to make a selection.

  Most of the school hadn’t come downstairs for breakfast yet, and the dining hall was the emptiest Hayden had ever seen it. The four of them sat down together at the table nearest the door, and for a moment they were completely silent. Then Zane grinned.

  “Nice work, Hayden. I can’t believe you found a way to get us all five majors on one team.”

  Tucker looked torn between pleased and concerned.

  “You heard Master Asher though; we’re starting in the third-year lineups. That’s fine and good for me, but I’m the only one of us who is actually in my third year of education here.”

  Zane and Tess looked thoughtful.

  “Well, yeah, it does sound like they’re going to make it harder for us…but hey, at least we’ve got a prism with us,” the former nodded to Hayden.

  “I hate to be a downer, but I’ve only had two days of magical education so far,” he grimaced. “Asher hasn’t even cleared me to carry a prism yet.”

  Tucker turned to Tess.

  “How are you with elixirs and powders, honestly?” he asked bluntly, and her cheeks turned pink. She began fidgeting with a piece of toast on her plate.

  “I’m a little better at elixirs than powders, but I’m in the third-level class for both,” she admitted.

  “Then why do people call you Tess the Mess?” Tucker continued in his blunt manner.

  “It started in first year,” she sighed. “I kept messing up everything I tried in all the other major arcana, and failed out of everything but Powders and Elixirs at the end of the my first year.”

  Hayden opened his mouth in shock.

  “You failed out of everything?” He was beginning to second-guess his decision to include her in their challenge group. “So you only take two classes now?”

  Tess pursed her lips, nettled by the attention.

  “Of course not. I signed up for most of the minor arcana instead, and I’m alright at them.” She sighed. “I don’t know why I can’t get the hang of wands, conjury, or prisms; I just know bad things happen whenever I try.”

  Hayden was beginning to panic, but Tucker didn’t seem to think this was bad news.

  “What minors are you in?”

  “Charms, Scriptures, and Healing.”

  “You any good at Scriptures?” Zane asked brightly.

  “I’m alright,” she shrugged.

  “This might be even better than I thought,” Tucker smiled, brushing his curly black hair away from his eyes. “Scriptures always come in handy if you use them right.”

  Hayden would have to take his word for it, because he had no idea what a scripture was or how it was used in magic.

  “Well, we’d better set up a schedule for us to practice for challenges,” Zane said pragmatically. “Since Tucker is the only one of us who’s ever been in one, we’ll need all the help we can get preparing ourselves if we’re going to start at the third-year level.”

  Tucker nodded.

  “We should meet at least three days a week, how about for an hour after dinner tonight and tomorrow, and again on Lenthin?”

  There were six days in a week, including the two they had off from classes, ostensibly to catch up on their homework and train their familiars. Adding three hours of challenge group into Hayden’s already busy schedule didn’t sound very appealing, but he had no choice unless he wanted their team to fail.

  My team, he amended, remembering that he was supposed to be the leader.

  In the end they agreed to Tucker’s proposed schedule, and as soon as they finished eating, he and Zane made their way back upstairs to get a start on their homework.

  The Masters had given them plenty to work on this weekend, and Hayden sat down at his desk and decided to start with Prisms. He tossed a spare piece of toast onto his bed and heard the telltale signs of Bonk munching on it as he set to work.

  Asher had assigned them a chapter on the light array for slowing something down, as well as a drawing. Hayden found the wording difficult to understand, and wondered if the author had been paid by the syllable.

  “—can be utilized in a multitude of applications, though it is most efficacious when imposed upon an animate species or classification…”

  He read the sentence three times before he could puzzle out its meaning.

  Why couldn’t the author just say, “It works best on things that are alive?”

  It took him the better part of an hour to get through the reading assignment, and then he was supposed to copy the pattern of light for Slow onto a sheet of paper and begin labeling the major alignments.

  He got out his colored pencils and copied the book’s picture of the Slow array without too much difficulty, but then he had to read the chapter on major and minor alignments to figure out what he was supposed to be labeling. Apparently there were different combinations of light arrays that recurred across similar types of spells, and there was an entire science behind mapping the alignments and using them to discover new magical combinations.

  At first it made his head spin just thinking about it, but after another half hour he began to make sense of it, and carefully picked out the groupings of color that formed the prime trifecta: a trio of red, blue, and yellow bands of the same thickness that abutted each other.

  Consulting his book, he was able to identify a minor alignment as well, and labeled it in pencil, leaning back to examine his finished product.

  Bonk hopped down from the bed and landed on Hayden’s shoulder, head-butting him in the side of the face until he put his Prisms homework away and acknowledged him.

  “What do you want?” Hayden asked, annoyed.

  Zane looked up from his desk and raised an eyebrow.

  “He probably wants you to play with him.”

  Hayden scowled.

  “I’ve got lots of work to do, Bonk. We’ll go outside later.”

  Bonk was apparently not moved by his plight, because he continued to nudge him with his head to get his attention. When that didn’t work he took to shrieking piteously until Hayden slammed his hands on the desk and stood up.

  “FINE.” He moved so quickly that he nearly dislodged Bonk from his shoulder. “I’ll take you outside, so stop screaming like you’re being murdered.”

  Zane chuckled sympathetically.

  “I’ll be out with Felix later if you’re still there. We usually run the obstacle course on the weekend to make sure he stays in shape.”

  Hayden grabbed his book bag and brought it with him, hoping he’d have time to work on his assignment for Wands while Bonk did whatever the little dragon wanted to do.

  He was thankful for the climate control when he remembered that it was actually the middle of winter, walking past the main courtyard and towards the obstacle courses, most of which already had familiars navigating them.

  “Alright, Bonk. Hop down and—um…go through that tube.” He motioned towards a large tube made of plastic that Hayden himself could have climbed through if he’d wanted to.

  Bonk gave him a decidedly haughty look and remained on his arm.

  “Oh no you don’t,” Hayden narrowed his eyebrows at him. “You dragged me out here to play, now you go and play.”

  Bonk still didn’t move, even when Hayden tried to grab him around the middle and remove him from his shoulder.

  The dragon eventually started shrieking again, and Hayden hastily stopped trying to dislodge him before people began staring.

  “What do you want from me?” he snapped, irritated.

/>   I’ll bet Slasher doesn’t give Oliver this much trouble.

  In response, Bonk took flight and soared gracefully over to a red rubber mouse that was lying in the grass, picking it up with his teeth and returning it to Hayden.

  “Uhh…” Hayden held out his hand for it, not sure what to do with it now. Bonk was looking expectant.

  On a whim, Hayden drew back and lobbed it away from him, and Bonk immediately took flight and went to pursue it.

  Finally understanding the game, he set his bag down in the grass and waited for the dragon to return with the mouse, which he threw again, even farther away this time.

  It went on like that until his arm hurt, about fifteen minutes later. He had tried throwing the rubber toy in all directions to challenge his familiar, and had nearly hit Lorn Trout in the head with it by sheer coincidence. After nearly being mistaken for a chew-toy by Bonk, Lorn had shouted a stream of obscenities at him before taking his familiar—a mink—to a different obstacle course.

  Hayden drew back for one last toss and hurled the mouse towards the main courtyard. Bonk flew after it as usual, but upon reclaiming it he turned away from Hayden and disappeared around the eastern wall of the castle.

  “Hey, come back!” Hayden grabbed his bag and hurried after him, his books banging uncomfortably against his legs as he ran, dodging groups of students in his way and ignoring the looks he received. He was winded by the time he rounded the side of the castle and saw Bonk collide with a dark purple dragon in mid-air. The pair of them went down together, flapping their wings at each other and shooting little jets of fire from their mouths.

  “Bonk!” Hayden sprinted towards where they’d fallen. The owner of the other dragon was sitting in the grass with a friend, and as Hayden tossed his bag to the ground and tried to approach the wrestling dragons to pull them apart, he heard a familiar voice say, “Let them be, they’re just playing.”

  Hayden turned his attention to the two men sitting in the grass and was stunned to see that they were Torin and Asher. He hadn’t recognized the Prism Master without his bright red robes. Hayden didn’t imagine him owning any normal clothing until now.