Magi apprentice, p.8
Magi Apprentice, page 8
part #2 of Aetheric Academy Series
The encircling wall behind him disappeared, revealing perhaps the grandest vista that Katy had ever seen.
Enceladus, as it turned out, was one of Saturn’s moons, and the castle of Ultima Thule was located on its surface.
Ahead, a jagged landscape of untouched ice and snow stretched off into the distance, bright in the clear sunlight. But by far, the most impressive part of the scene was Saturn itself. The enormous gas giant hung low in the sky, almost exactly side-on so that the rings were a bright line that seemed to cut the plant in two. The shadows from the rings cast dark lines over the golden surface of the gas giant, and as she watched in awe, Katy found she could even pick out some of the detail of the clouds on Saturn’s surface.
The whole scene was utterly mind-blowing.
She was on another planet, another moon, who knew how many thousands of miles from Earth. This was the most incredible thing ever.
It seemed like everyone else felt the same, as the near-constant mutterings of the other students had faded to nothing as everyone just stared.
“Please, everyone, take your time and enjoy the view. We’re not in any rush, and if you find yourself feeling dizzy or sick, let one of us know. It can be an overwhelming experience for some,” Trevelyan explained.
“Holy crap,” Dana said from beside her. “I had no idea.”
“Me neither,” Katy said, still transfixed by the alien vista. It took a herculean effort to tear her eyes away and look at her friends. “You’re seeing this right? I’m not imagining things?”
“If you’re seeing things, then this is a group hallucination,” Trenton replied.
“Good to know,” Katy said. She spotted some benches off to one side, near the boundary wall, and moved over to one of them, pulling Dana and Trenton along with her.
Katy sat and looked up again. As she did, she noticed off to their right, incredibly large jets of white gas or something shooting out of the ground like a geyser, and stretching off up into space.
“Wow, look at those,” Katy said, pointing to them.
“They’re water vapour,” Trevelyan said, stepping up to them and looking out towards the geysers.
“Water?” Trenton asked.
“And other things. Some of it falls back to the moon as snow. But the rest jets off into space and forms one of the rings of Saturn.”
“That’s amazing,” Katy replied. “This is… I don’t know. It’s just amazing.”
Trevelyan nodded. “Thank you. It never fails to impress, and I always enjoy bringing new visitors to one of our viewing platforms. Even now, after having visited more times than I can count, it still fills me with awe. There’s nothing quite like it to make you feel small and insignificant. Something that I think many Magi need occasionally. Anyway, enjoy,” he said and wandered off to speak to other students.
“He’s a cool guy,” Trenton said.
Katy nodded. “Yeah, I like him.”
In all, they spent over an hour on the balcony, enjoying the view, until Mr Spiros summoned their attention away from the scene and then handed off to Trevelyan again.
“If you liked that, then as a final showcase before lunch, I have one more thing to show you. Follow me please,” Trevelyan said and made for the door back into the castle.
Katy took one last look at what she was leaving behind and knew that she could just sit there and stare at it for hours. Sighing, she got up, looking around at the other students, spotting Yuki and Jasper smiling at each other and enjoying each other’s company. Further off, she noted that Felix and Josie were still not getting on as well as they had been, despite Felix’s efforts to heal the rift that had grown between them.
Felix caught her looking and smiled back at her. He pointed up at Saturn and mouthed the word, “wow” at her.
Katy smiled and nodded.
Josie caught Felix’s look and followed it to Katy. Josie scowled and rolled her eyes before walking off. Felix scuttled after her.
Katy shook her head and fell into step with Trenton and Dana as they moved with the group off of the viewing platform and back into the castle.
The walk was maybe ten minutes through what felt like endless, labyrinthian corridors that branched left and right. Katy found it incredible that anyone could find their way in here.
Eventually, they were taken down a left-hand hallway that was a good deal wider than some of the others, towards a doorway at the end that looked like it led outside. As the students in the front stepped out into the light, Katy could hear them gasping and oohing at whatever was out there.
“Any ideas?” Katy asked Dana and Trenton.
“Don’t know,” Dana replied.
“Nope,” Trenton added.
Eventually, they were through and Katy found herself on a wide, flat platform at the base of the massive castle, and upon it, sat what Katy could only describe as a spaceship.
“Oh, now that is awesome,” Trenton said, approvingly.
“That’s pretty impressive,” Dana agreed.
Katy nodded in agreement as she stared up at the sleek, chrome and black craft. It was big, too, easily large enough to carry several people.
“This,” Trevelyan said, as he stepped to the front of the class, “is an Aether ship. A Magi’s space-faring vessel. With this, a Magus may fly out of our solar system, and travel deep into space, as far as they dare to go. We get a large number of them stopping here these days, as Magi from far-flung areas of the galaxy stop here to visit Earth. Who knows? Maybe one day you’ll get to ride in one.”
The next half-hour passed just as quickly as their time looking up at Saturn, which you could still see from here and her classmates were still looking at in wonder.
Eventually, they were led deeper into the castle and served lunch on several long tables, where a wide variety of foods were available. Katy sat beside Trenton, with Dana on her other side, and enjoyed a hot meal, talking about the fantastic sights they’d already experienced.
“I’m not sure anything could top seeing Saturn, though.”
“You’re not kidding,” Dana said. “Beats the hell out of what we saw last night, that’s for sure.”
Katy stopped chewing and glanced right at Dana, who smiled at her, and then caught her expression of horror.
“Um…” She looked lost for words.
“A girl’s night with just Yuki, was it?” Trenton asked, referring to their earlier conversation.
“Well,” Katy said after swallowing her food. She let out what felt like a terribly nervous laugh, and wondered if he’d noticed. “Dana popped in to say hi, didn’t you?”
“Um, yeah, you know…just popped in…”
“Katy, if you don’t want to tell me what you got up to last night, that’s fine, but don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying,” she lied.
“Of course, you’re not,” Trenton replied, deadpan.
“Well, you’ve not exactly been forthcoming about your Epiphany,” she countered. “I’ve tried to get you to talk about it for a while, but you just won't go there, will you? What are you hiding?”
Trenton frowned. “That’s personal.”
“And mine wasn’t?”
“That’s different,” he grumbled.
“How?”
“It just is…”
“That’s not an answer,” Katy replied.
“It’s the only answer I’m giving you today.”
“Ditto.”
She watched Trenton bite his lip in annoyance. “Fine.”
“Fine,” Katy replied. There was silence between them, stretching out for what felt like forever, but was probably only a few seconds.
Trenton sighed. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
Taking a breath of her own, Katy nodded. “Me neither, not out here, not now.”
“Can we talk about this later?”
“Sure.”
“Thanks.”
Placing her hand on his, she smiled. “No problem.”
A Night in Space
Stuffing her clothes in one of the bags she’d brought with her, Katy stepped out of the changing cubicle and into the main part of the communal bathroom. Several girls were at the mirror, removing their makeup and chatting. Choosing a basin for herself, she started brushing her teeth.
Leaning up against the porcelain, she looked up at the frosted window, where the light that Saturn reflected back to Enceladus shone. She pictured the magnificent planet hanging in the black void above. She’d seen it multiple times during the rest of the day as they were given a guided tour of several of the rooms in the castle. They’d spent most of the afternoon in a frankly ginormous library, and in several rooms that held a bewildering array of Magical artifacts. Trevelyan had spent the rest of the afternoon helping the teachers explain what the students were seeing and the significance of the rooms, books, or items.
They were even joined by several other Magi, including two Councillors, who talked to them and answered questions.
It was a mind-blowing experience, and Katy felt sure she would remember this day for as long as she lived. It was incredible.
And to think that just a few short weeks ago, she was in a London college, learning about fashion without a clue that any of this existed.
How her life had changed.
Someone stepped up beside her.
“Daydreaming of your boyfriend, Stone?”
Katy turned to see Mikayla, with her two cohorts, Nina and Kasey, still caked in makeup, leering at her.
Finishing up, Katy spat into the sink and rinsed her mouth out before she looked back up at them. “Want me to get a butter knife to scrape that foundation off? Or a paint scraper?”
“Darling, when you can afford makeup, don’t come to me for lessons on how to stop your face from cracking mirrors,” Mikayla replied.
Katy smirked, finding the insults amusing more than hurtful. “Jesus! You really need to get some new material. Honestly, it’s just funny at this point,” she replied as she rubbed some face cream in before packing up her stuff.
Mikayla gave her a stink eye, but Katy winked at her and wandered out, feeling quite pleased with herself. She stepped out into the girl's communal dorm. It was a long room with bunk beds up both sides and girls in their nightwear either chatting or reading books, as they sat on their beds.
Katy soon found her bed. She was sleeping above Dana, while Yuki was on the next bunk over. Both of them were already ready for bed and were sitting on Dana’s lower bunk, talking.
Katy deposited her toiletries and clothing back in her case and joined her friends.
“I saw Mikayla go into the bathroom a moment ago,” Yuki stated. “Did she say anything?”
“Yeah. She always says something. I expect it now. I’d think something was wrong if she didn’t have some snide comment to throw my way.”
Yuki smiled, mirroring Katy’s grin. “You gave as good as you got, did you?”
“Hell yeah. I don’t think she liked me laughing at her, though.”
“You didn’t?” Dana asked, her eyes wide.
“Hell yeah, I did. Cow deserves it.”
“You’ll get no argument from me there,” Dana replied.
“It was a hell of a day, wasn’t it?” Katy remarked.
“You’re not kidding,” Yuki agreed. “Crazy. If you’d have told me I’d be sleeping on one of Saturn’s moons tonight…”
“Yeah,” Katy said with a nod and looked up at the nearby window. Part of Saturn was clearly visible through it. There were several other girls gazing out at the scene too. “Pretty crazy.”
“And this is just the beginning,” Dana added. “As soon as I can, I want to head out into space and see other planets. I bet there are some totally mad ones.”
“I’d love to do that too,” Yuki added.
“Yeah, me too,” Katy admitted, “But only to visit. I want to stay on Earth, I think. Maybe I’d explore some of the Aetheric though.”
“Yeah, that would be cool,” Dana replied, but she didn’t sound as convinced about it. But, given what she’d been through at the hands of the Red Witch, Katy didn’t exactly blame her for wanting to get away.
She’d been through a lot, and it couldn’t be easy staying on at the Academy knowing that the Red Witch was, as far as they could tell, living next door.
“How do you think the boys are getting on?” Dana asked, changing the subject.
“They’ll be fine,” Yuki answered.
“Do you think Felix will hang out with Jasper?” Katy asked.
Yuki pulled a face. “I’ve got no idea.”
“You know he likes you, don’t you?”
“Jasper?” Yuki asked.
“No,” Katy replied. “Felix.”
“No, he doesn’t. Not like that.”
“I beg to differ.”
“Well, he’s going the wrong way about letting me know.”
Katy nodded. “For sure. But he spoke to me the other night, before going into Tartarus. I can’t see him being with Josie for long. She’s already annoying him.” Katy glanced over to where Josie sat on her bed with a couple of friends, engrossed in conversation.
“Then, he knows what to do,” Yuki replied.
“And what about Jasper?”
“What about him?” Yuki asked, confrontational.
“What’s going on with you and him?”
Yuki shrugged. “We’re just having some fun, you know? Like Felix is. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing,” Katy replied. “Nothing at all. Have fun, it’ll be good for you.”
“Don’t patronise me,” Yuki spat.
Katy grimaced. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I’m just…” Taking a breath, Katy thought about her words. “A little frustrated, I suppose. I just want you both to be happy. You’re my friends, after all.”
Yuki smiled. “I know. You’re right. Look, I’m just enjoying myself. If Felix wants to be with me, then he knows what he’s got to do.”
“Like what?” Dana asked.
“Grow a pair, for one thing.”
Katy laughed.
“So what’s up with you and Trenton?” Yuki asked. “You seem pretty close to him. Have you given up on Titus?”
“He’s with Mikayla now, and I like Trenton. I like his slightly rough-around-the-edges attitude, it’s a nice change. I like his honesty too. He doesn’t care what others think of him.”
“You didn’t answer my question,” Yuki said and smiled. “Do you still like Titus?”
Katy smiled. “I don’t know.” She did know, though. Deep down, she certainly did know how she felt about Titus. “Alright, yeah. I guess I do.”
“I knew it,” Yuki remarked with a look of triumph on her face. “I knew you still liked him.”
Katy shrugged. “So what? I’m with Trenton now.”
“So, it’s official?” Dana asked.
“He kissed me the other night.”
“A kiss doesn’t mean you’re a thing,” Yuki challenged.
“I know.”
“Yeah, but does he?” Yuki replied.
“I don’t know. Yeah, I think so. Maybe.”
“You don’t sound too sure.”
Not liking this turn in the conversation, Katy took a deep breath and turned to Dana. “What about you? Any guys you like?”
Blushing, Dana smiled. “Not really. I’m just glad to be away from the Academy for a bit after… you know?”
Katy nodded. “Yeah, I understand that. She’s one scary lady.”
“Freaking terrifying,” Yuki agreed.
“So, what do you think we’ll do tomorrow?”
“As long as it’s not fighting the ghost of an evil Magus, I’ll be good,” Dana replied with a smile.
Katy laughed.
Chamber
Walking with Dana and Trenton, Katy moved with the group through several corridors until they came to a stop outside a set of huge, wooden double doors. The morning had been uneventful, with a lovely breakfast served in the same room they’d had dinner and lunch the day before. Felix was continuing to spend his time with Josie, and Yuki was walking with Jasper again, leaving Katy with Trenton and Dana.
She felt tired after not sleeping well. Her mind had raced with thoughts and ideas about where they were and what it meant for her and the other students. Their ambitions could literally take them anywhere, and they weren’t even constrained to Earth.
If they wanted, they could seek their fortunes out somewhere amongst the stars, visiting other planets in far-flung corners of the galaxy. She’d found herself unable to switch her mind off. Instead, she’d tossed and turned for hours until she eventually fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion.
From the tired faces she saw among many of the other students, it looked like she wasn’t the only one to have had a bad night either.
Katy yawned.
“Oh jeez, don’t set me off,” Trenton replied.
“Bad night?” Dana asked.
“Terrible,” Trenton answered. “I just couldn’t stop thinking of… All this. You know?”
Katy nodded. “Yeah. I was the same.”
“Me too,” Dana agreed. “I almost don’t want to go back.”
“I think we have a lot of learning to do before we can head out into the universe,” Katy replied. “I’d quite like to be able to defend myself a little better, at least.”
“Good point,” Dana answered.
“Were you with your friends in the dorm last night?” Katy asked Trenton.
“Yeah,” he replied. “I did chat with Felix a bit, though.”
“Oh?” Katy answered, interested.
“Yeah. He seemed pretty jazzed by this whole experience too.”
“Did he say anything about Josie? Or Yuki?”
“Not much. He asked how you two were, though. He looked a little lonely, to be honest. Spent much of the night lying on his bed.”
