“I want one of those.”
“Family heirloom,” she said, once again showing her rare smile. At Eva’s frown, Juliana continued, “there are mass produced versions at shops, maybe one down in the general equipment store. They will be far inferior and still very expensive.”
Turning to leave the store as soon as she heard that, Eva ran straight into a person coming in. She stepped back with a hastily mumbled apology as two men brushed past her without a word.
Juliana came up next to her and whispered, “rude.”
It was Eva’s turn to grab the blond’s hand. She led the girl back towards the dorms.
“We’re not heading to the general store?” Juliana asked as they left the circular plaza.
Eva barely heard her as she walked, but she managed to register the question a minute later. “No. Think I’m a bit fatigued of shopping for now.”
“Those men bothered you?”
“Would you believe bad vibes? We’ll come back another day. I still want one of those suitcases,” Eva said with a big smile.
The smile disappeared as she turned forward again.
There was something off about those two men. And it wasn’t just that they were the only two customers Eva had seen aside from herself and Juliana.
It might not have been noticeable from a distance, there was something covering it up, but Eva’s nose had been right in the man’s chest. She took a brief inhale of two very familiar scents. One was the coppery tinge of blood.
The man wasn’t a blood mage though. If he was, he wasn’t a very good one. Every drop of blood spilled by a proper blood mage is consumed whether in spells or to heal yourself, as such the scent doesn’t stick around long or that strong.
The other scent was far more worrying. A scent she had only ever found on long decayed corpses.
The scent of rotting flesh.
Chapter 009
The outdoor auditorium where most of the summer seminars were held had a nice atmosphere. Seats surrounded a small circular platform on a raised dais down in the center of the area. On the platform, a wall of cushions had been set up and a waist high pile of silver marbles lay at the other end.
The auditorium was at the very edge of campus, somewhat near a small lake. An overgrowth of plants and trees spread out from the forest behind the platform. A single pointed mountain lay in the distance almost directly behind the platform.
Eva took her seat in the stands. The weekend passed and there had been no sign of Arachne. So she sat without a spider clinging to her chest. Juliana sat to her side. There were far more seats than the thirty or so students who showed up.
Zoe Baxter appeared on stage like some sort of magician. She had a pointed silver dagger in her hand. With a wave, the lights on the platform brightened and the lights in the audience darkened. She tapped her throat and began speaking in a loud voice.
“Welcome to my seminar. Here you will learn to fight. We will perform mock battles and we will discuss survival techniques.” She scanned the crowd as if waiting for questions or objections. None came. “Tonight will be a bit different.
“The goal is to avoid my attacks,” she gestured to the large pile of silver marbles, “and to land a single strike on me. Any volunteers?”
A larger student, maybe a third or fourth year, stood up and got a bit of a reaction from Zoe. “Oh. Mr. Burnside. Have you learned from last year’s mistakes?”
The student climbed up on stage and rolled a palm sized red sphere in his hands. “I’ve given a lot of thought into what I did wrong. You’ll be the one on your back this time.”
If Eva hadn’t been watching Zoe closely, she might have missed the tiny sigh that escaped her lips. “Very well, Mr. Burnside. Let us begin.”
Zoe gripped her dagger and flicked her wrist. Six of the marbles floated off the top of the pile and launched themselves towards the student.
A massive ball of flame, about the size of a large beach ball, erupted from the red sphere. Eva felt the heat wash over her as it raced towards Zoe.
The marbles entered the flame but did not emerge from the other end.
A heap of marbles moved between the flame and Zoe. The ball of flame crashed against the makeshift wall. More than half of the marbles disappeared beneath the flame before the ball of fire dispersed.
The remaining marbles all launched themselves at Burnside. He tried to dive out of the way but a number clipped his back. He was carried backwards and landed in the pile of cushions at the end of the stage.
“That was a powerful attack, Mr. Burnside. Relying on a single large attack is not a valid option. If your opponent avoids or defends against it, you will lose. I believe you tried a similar strategy during your second year. I do not wish to see it again.
“You may take a seat, Mr. Burnside.”
After that, a number of veterans fought against her and, without exception, all wound up failing to strike at her.
As the number of willing participants started to dwindle, Zoe began to call out specific people.
“Miss Eva. You look eager to test your mettle.”
Eva was certain she looked nothing resembling eager. “So much for not participating right away,” Eva whispered to Juliana.
The blond just shrugged.
Eva pulled out her wooden wand and climbed upstage. She hadn’t practiced with the thing at all since she got it, and didn’t intend to actually use it. Holding it in her hand and waving it around should cover up her casting.
What she was going to cast was the bigger issue. Neither she nor her master used traditional magic much and neither had a proper education in it. But Eva didn’t have her vials or her daggers, nor any demons to come rescue her. Not that she would have used any of them in a little mock battle.
Stepping was the most normal magic she used. She could do simple light spells, but she wouldn’t be throwing around fireballs just now.
Her poor planning session ground to a stop as Zoe took up a stance. “Ready yourself,” she said.
Immediately a handful of the silver balls shot towards Eva. Several aimed at her face.
She stepped past them and immediately threw up her hand. A dark ring spread and enveloped the stage.
Her instructor slowly turned, unable to see in the darkness but obviously expecting an attack. Several marbles launched from the pile in seemingly random directions. More than a few were a bit too close for comfort for Eva.
Eva flashed a bright light just to the left of her instructor and stepped to her right. Her hand, already halfway through a punch when she came out of her step, froze in midair as she felt the cold flat of a blade on her neck.
That happens way too often for my comfort, Eva mentally sighed.
The darkness dropped to reveal Zoe Baxter looking her usual proper self.
“You managed to avoid the projectiles and create a situation disadvantageous to myself. You pressed your advantage in an unexpected move with a physical attack. I can’t say I ever expected to be nearly punched.
I would compliment you, however you just moved within range of one who uses a close quarters weapon as their focus.” She removed the dagger from Eva’s throat. “As lithe and as delicate as it looks, it is still a deadly weapon. Unless you have a counter, don’t get close.
“Take a seat Miss Eva.”
Eva frowned as she walked back to Juliana’s side. If Zoe hadn’t already known about her abilities, she may have been able to surprise the woman. That didn’t make her wrong. In real combat, Eva would never attempt to get close to someone with a weapon if there were alternatives. But in real combat, Eva would have used blood magic and Arachne, if she were around.
If she were around. If Eva were attacked on the way back from the seminar, what would she do? Run, probably. She didn’t have Arachne, her daggers, or any vials of blood. Maybe she would start carrying a dagger and some blood.