This choice: people were staring. "You're late. And I'm sorry, but I need a volunteer." • Go Back...Chapter #5Not a great start to the day. by: RoyalJelly   "You're late," said Cosyt. She wasn't angry. If anything, she seemed guilty.
Melona's body tensed as she realized what was about to happen. "Oh. I--Professor, I'm sorry, but I--" she let herself slacken. "Today's a demonstration day, isn't it."
Cosyt nodded. Her look of regret could have made a stone weep.
Normally when Melona was late, she'd be met with a disapproving titter from her fellow classmates. She wasn't even late that often, but after she managed to develop her reputation as a human disaster, people tended to find her missteps amusing. Today was different. Today, the students breathed a sigh of relief. Today was a demonstration day.
One unfortunate aspect of magical education, Melona had learned, was that sometimes it needed a target. Charmcasting didn't make sense unless there was a person to be charmed. Self-defense magic didn't work without a sparring partner. Certain summoning rituals needed a human vessel. There were certain schools that took a more progressive approach to this. Homunculi, flesh golems, or soul constructs could be used as an admittedly-poorer substitute for a human participant. The Briar Academy, however, was not the kind of institution to let progressive education policy get in the way of magical efficacy. Its teachers used human volunteers for their demonstrations. What was more, there was an unofficial rule among the faculty: if somebody broke a rule (for instance, by being late) before the demonstration began, they were selected to be that day's demonstration. The good news was that being the subject of a demonstration took the place of any other punishment most of the time. The bad news was that being the subject of a demonstration involved, well, being the subject of a demonstration.
Melona's heart skipped a beat. There were probably other classes whose demonstrations weren't as bad as Summoning class, but there weren't many. Melona had heard about one of the senior students being used as a subject for an exorcism lesson. She wasn't sure if the whole story was true, but the green stains on the wall lent some credence to the idea.
"Professor, please," said Melona.
"I'm sorry, Melmel." Cosyt shook her head sadly, and Melona felt the familiar wave of learned helplessness take her over. It was never a good sign when Cosyt broke out the affectionate nicknames. "None of the other students volunteered." She gestured to a complicated summoning circle on the ground. "I'll try to make it quick. Please don't smudge any of the chalk lines."
Melona trudged into the summoning circle, making sure not to step on any of the markings. "Sorry," was all she could manage.
"It's okay," said Cosyt. Her voice was too soft for anyone but Melona to hear. "Today's lesson's not that bad. It's just a little show of what--"
Melona shook her head. "I don't want to know."
"Okay." Cosyt took a deep breath, walked behind her desk, and grabbed an ornate knife from one of the drawers. Raising her voice back to her normal volume, she continued. "Now, don't worry. This is a blood ritual, but the only person's blood it needs is the caster's. She walked over to the summoning circle, kneeling down as she brought the tip of the knife to her finger. Melona watched as a single droplet of pitch-black blood welled up out of Cosyt's finger. "And before anyone asks, yes, it works with my blood as well as ordinary human blood, and no, you won't need to prick yourselves."
Melona watched the droplet fall to the chalk below. Nothing happened.
"This is a non-verbal summoning," said Cosyt. "Can anyone tell me what that means?"
Every hand in the room shot up, eager to win the professor's approval. In the back, an overexcited student blurted out the answer.
"It means that spoken words don't affect the spell! something else does!"
Melona laughed inwardly as she saw every other student shoot their loudmouthed compatriot a dirty look.
Cosyt giggled a bit, and even Melona felt the urge to swoon. "That's correct, Nala. But maybe wait for me to call on someone next time?" She raised a hand, pre-empting any chatter from the class. "That's correct. I could say just about anything right now, and the ritual would be a-okay. All it takes time. Speaking of which..." Cosyt moved a sleeve back to reveal a wristwatch that didn't seem to mesh with the rest of her outfit. "The transfer should begin in five, four, three, two, one..."
Melona heard a low, blaring drone in her head, overlaid by a growling roar. Her body froze in place as a confusing sensation of icy chill and burning heat overtook her. Her vision went red, then faded to black. When she awoke, she realized that she...   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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