Spellslinger by Sebastien De Castell

Spellslinger by Sebastien De Castell

Author:Sebastien De Castell [Castell, Sebastien De]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction
Published: 2017-05-04T05:00:00+00:00


24

The Mark

‘Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?’ I asked again.

We had finally reached the first of the seven wide marble steps that led up to the entrance of my family home. I felt my sense of elation over breaking the breath band fade a little as the thought of the punishment awaiting me behind those thick double doors ahead of us sank in. I had snuck out of my father’s house without permission, set free one of the creatures my people most feared and despised and struck my fellow students. When did I become such a terrible son?

‘I can stand on my own,’ I muttered.

‘Take three deep breaths, kid,’ Ferius said as she set me down.

‘What good will that do?’

‘It’ll keep your voice from sounding thin and whiny when you talk to your parents.’

As if that’ll make any difference. Why hadn’t I just run to find one of the city guards when I’d come upon Tennat, Panahsi and Nephenia torturing the squirrel cat? That would have put a stop to it without setting the little monster free and ruining my life. There was a knot in my stomach. Back at the square I’d thought I was doing the right thing, but now I had to explain it to my parents without sounding completely insane, and all I could think was that maybe I was insane. Mages don’t attack other mages to save a creature whose favourite food was probably Jan’Tep babies. But if I hadn’t saved the animal, if I hadn’t fought against my friends, would the breath band have broken? Would my parents balance out my crime against the rewards to our family?

‘Stand straight, kid,’ said Ferius at the sound of footsteps from inside the house. Someone was coming to the door. ‘If you can’t be tough, look tough.’

I thrust my shoulders back and immediately felt like an idiot. The problem with Ferius was that she confused things that mattered – like being able to cast a shield spell – with things that didn’t, like standing up straight. Who cared if I looked confident? I’d already brought shame on my father when my magic had failed, and now I’d compounded it by helping the nekhek escape. Even if Panahsi and Nephenia stuck to the story, Tennat would tell his father and Ra’meth would demand that I be prosecuted for my actions. My father was going to have to humiliate himself in front of the council and invoke his prerogative as a master mage to have the punishment lessened. Saving me was going to hurt his chances of becoming clan prince. Against that, how much would it matter to him that I’d sparked a single band?

I glanced over at Ferius, searching for something clever to say that would let her know just how badly she’d screwed up my life, but her eyes were still fixed on the doors to my house. ‘You sure about this, Kellen?’ she asked.

It was one of the few times she’d ever used my name. ‘What do you mean?’

Ferius turned and knelt down a fraction so that we were eye-to-eye.



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