Dark Apprentice by Val Neil

Author:Val Neil
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781955075008
Publisher: Living Relic Press

Medea sat in the common area and waited. When the wards notified her that the boy left the island, she breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he was gone!

The past few weeks—months?—had been brutal. It was difficult to share her home with apprentices for years on end. She’d considered the idea of making separate living quarters for them but in the end decided against it. They needed to live on the island and have access to her library and other facilities. Having separate barracks wouldn’t solve the issue of casually running into them outside of lessons. It was a sacrifice she’d long ago decided to make.

But the damned curse complicated things. It had kicked in far sooner than she thought it would and made lessons nearly impossible to complete. Rather than giving her new novice the customary one day off a week, she’d pushed them both to make up for lost time. To his credit, the boy tackled his studies with appropriate fervor whenever he felt well.

Still, it was going to be a very long ten years. Probably longer than ten. Fast learner though he was, at this rate she’d be lucky to get him out the door in twenty. The idea of sharing her home for that long made her shudder.

Removing the curse was out of the question. That would be interference. No, he’d just have to deal with it on his own. The curse wove through him in a way that would almost certainly result in death if not removed with expert precision. He might one day be able to extract it himself, but for now it lay beyond his capabilities.

As much as she wanted this one to live, she’d vowed to protect him from her training, not his own stupidity. Actions had consequences, and some consequences led to death. She wouldn’t break her own rules to help him.

Dragging him from the water had been a monumental error. When she’d detected his health failing and found him in the cave pool, her first thought was that he’d slipped and hit his head. It was only after saving him and seeing the apathetic expression on his face that she realized the curse was in effect. Accidental or not, she’d broken her rule.

She’d been furious. Furious at herself for interfering. Furious at the boy for putting himself in a situation where the curse might be fatal. Furious for not realizing sooner and leaving him be. Furious at being relieved she didn’t have to sit by and watch him die. That couldn’t happen again. Interference was against her rules.

Of course, a part of her nagged, she had already broken her rules by restricting the boy’s access to certain information and areas. No matter how many times she told herself it was for his own good, that he would get all the information he wanted in due time, it didn’t feel right.

She couldn’t help him with the curse—not directly—but perhaps she could nudge him in the right direction. Healing was something she attempted to teach all her apprentices.

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