Magi Academy Page 3

  “What’s going on?” Katy asked.

  “Don’t worry, we just need to get to our destination a little quicker. So, you’ll need to brace yourself, this can feel a little weird.”

  “Weird? Weird, how?”

  For a fraction of a second, a tingling sensation rushed through her. She took in a gasping breath as her whole body felt like it was being sucked through a tiny hole. There was a flash of light in her eyes and a feeling of intense dislocation.

  For barely a heartbeat, she had no idea which way was up or down, and she felt incredibly dizzy. But it was over almost before she had time to react to it. She felt vaguely nauseated as the sensations faded but basically fine.

  Outside the car, the scene had abruptly changed. They were no longer outside. Now they were in a large concrete room, similar to a warehouse with no windows. Scattered through the room, people stood by small workstations of standing tables with laptops on them, hooked up to cables that snaked down from the ceiling. Their car slowed and came to rest beside one, where a woman stood waiting for them.

  David climbed out, followed by Jaki. “Out you come,” David said to her.

  “Agent Fox, Magus Mercer, welcome back. And this must be Katherine Stone?”

  Standing up as she climbed out of the car, she smiled at the woman. “I’m Katy,” she said, feeling like she sounded silly. Truth was, she was feeling a little overwhelmed. Seeing a paper cup move across a table by itself was one thing, but teleporting across a city to who knew where, was something else entirely.

  A thought occurred to her. David had said they were going to Port. Was that their word for Teleporting?

  “Katy, of course. My apologies.” She turned to address David and Jaki. “Well done on a successful mission, anything to report?”

  Katy looked around the vast room and spotted another car suddenly appear out of nowhere. Katy blinked and watched as nearby, another car suddenly winked out of existence.

  “Holy crap,” Katy whispered under her breath in awe.

  “Katy,” Jaki called.

  Katy turned and looked up at the woman. “Sorry, what’s up?”

  “Grab your bag, we’re not staying here.”

  “Oh, okay, sure,” she answered. Katy grabbed her stuff from the trunk of the car and returned to the others. “Ready.”

  “Okay,” the woman said, nodding to her, and turned back to Jaki and David. “You know where you’re going?”

  “I do,” Jaki answered.

  “Excellent, they’re ready for you, so whenever you’re ready.”

  “Are we gonna do that Porting thing again?” Katy asked.

  “That’s right, are you ready?”

  “I guess so,” Katy replied, sucking in another breath as she mentally prepared herself for the disorientating experience. The same feelings as before washed over her, but she was ready for it now. It didn’t come as such a shock this time, but she felt sure it would take a while for her to get used to it.

  As before, the scene around her snapped and she was no longer in the dimly lit warehouse. David, Jaki, and herself were now inside another facility, but this one was much smaller. They were standing in an octagonal room with a single exit. Nearby, two armed guards stood ready, close to a pair of turrets with powerful looking guns that were trained on the centre of the room.

  “Holy crap,” Katy exclaimed as they appeared, looking at the guns and guards warily.

  Jaki looked back at her and smiled. “Don’t worry, these are just precautions.”

  “Oh, great…” she answered her voice deadpan. “Against what?”

  “Hi,” a young man called as he walked into the room, interrupting any answer that Jaki might have given. “Welcome, welcome. I’m Hanif. Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.”

  “No, thanks,” Jaki answered. “We’ll head straight over.”

  “Good, good. Another student, is it?”

  Jaki nodded.

  “Excellent. You’ve been here before, right? You know where you’re going?”

  “We do, thanks,” David answered.

  “We’re not there yet?” Katy asked.

  “No, not quite,” Jaki replied.

  “Then, where are we?”

  “We just Ported from London to the Middle East. We’re in the mountains on the border between Iraq and Iran.”

  “What!?” Katy exclaimed, shocked. “Why?”

  “It’s where we need to be before we cross over into the Aetheric.”

  “I’m sorry, you’re just throwing words at me now. The what? The therik?”

  “Aetheric,” Jaki replied and spelt the word for her.

  “Aye-thir-Rik,” Katy sounded the word out.

  “Close enough,” Jaki answered with a smile.

  “I still have no idea what that means,” Katy replied with a lop-sided smile.

  “The Spirit World,” David answered. “The Academy is in the Spirit World.”

  “Oh. But of course, it is,” Katy said, feeling even more overwhelmed, and wondered if she’d ever get used to this complete and utter madness. This all seemed like a terribly convoluted way to get to a Magical School. A train ride seemed like a much better option, but she guessed this wasn’t a children's book, this was real life.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon. We’re on the last leg now. We cross over, take a short walk, and we’re there.”

  Katy took a deep breath. “Lead the way.”

  “Let’s do it,” David said.

  The feeling that flowed over her wasn’t too dissimilar to the Porting effect, but with less dislocation. She never felt like she didn’t know which way was up or down, and the effect was a little slower, taking place over a couple of seconds as the world around her faded and melted away.

  Instead of a grim, grey-looking concrete interior, they suddenly found themselves at one end of a large cavern.

  The darkness was illuminated by the flicker of dancing candle flames, scattered around upon the rocks, their wax dripping everywhere. On the far side of the room, a ring of engraved stone with metal inlay stood up on its side, and through the huge central hole a misty pathway stretched off into the distance. Between her and that strange Portal, an older gentleman sat beside a campfire, relaxing on huge cushions, enjoying a hot drink, and cooking some food.

  A movement to her left caught her eye. She looked up and for a moment, she couldn’t understand what she was seeing. The rocks themselves were moving. A whole collection of them rose into a human-like shape with two legs, two arms, a body, and a head.

  She felt her mouth drop open as she took an unsteady step back, away from the creature. Her legs suddenly gave way beneath her. She fell, only to be caught by David, who took hold of her arm.

  “It’s okay, it won’t hurt you.”

  “Wha… What is that thing?”

  “That is Grine, he’s an Earth Elemental and he guards this Portal. And behind us…”

  “Uh, what?” Katy said, spinning around, only to be greeted by an approaching, walking fire. “Oh my god,” Katy exclaimed.

  “It’s alright, it’s okay. They’re on our side,” David explained. “They won’t hurt you. This is Fervis.”

  “Wonderful…” Katy said, her voice unsteady. All strength had been drained from her legs, and she grabbed onto David and her suitcase for support as she sucked in air.

  As she watched, the humanoid walking fire, bowed to her and stepped away. Katy just watched it in silent shock, her mind reeling.

  “Are you okay?” David asked.

  “Jeez. Yeah, I guess so. You need to warn me before showing me something like that.”

  “You’re okay. You handled that better than some of the others.”

  “Oh?”

  “Some of them literally ran screaming, and we had to chase them down.”

  Katy laughed and started to feel better. “Well, that’s something, I guess.”

  “Welcome back,” the man called out from the campfire. “Don’t worry a
bout these two,” he said, looking at Katy. “They’re big softies, really.”

  “Told you,” Jaki added.

  “Yeah…” Katy replied, still eyeing the Earth Elemental suspiciously as it loomed above her. Both Spirits were at least twice as tall as a regular adult person.

  “Another lamb to the slaughter, I see,” the man by the fire said to Jaki.

  “Wha?” Katy exclaimed.

  “Don’t be dramatic, Fareed. You’ll scare the poor girl,” Jaki answered him and looked back at Katy. “Ignore him, it’s his idea of humour.”

  “Yeah, funny guy,” Katy replied sarcastically.

  “You know the way,” Fareed said and waved towards the far Portal without getting up.

  “Come on,” Jaki urged. “We’re nearly there.”

  “We’re going through there?” Katy asked, looking at the strange misty path on the other side of the circular ring.

  “That’s right,” David replied.

  “So, we’re in this Spirit World place now?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Right, okay,” she replied, taking a breath and wondering if she’d be able to wrap her head around all this. “Lead on.”

  If she were honest with herself, she was scared. All this instantaneous travel, these impossible creatures, it was mind-blowing. She could feel a tightness in her chest, almost as if she was struggling to take a full breath, and put it down to what was most likely anxiety and stress caused by all the messed up stuff that was going on today.

  She’d never had any interest in fantasy books or science fiction films growing up, let alone thinking that any of it might be real. Part of her wondered if this might actually be some kind of dream that she was having. Maybe it was. Maybe she’d wake up, and the day she’d thought she’d had, would turn out to be some kind of fever dream.

  “Right, come here. You need to listen to me before we walk through there,” Jaki said, making sure she had Katy’s attention.

  “Okay,” Katy answered. “I’m listening.”

  “Good, because this is important. This,” Jaki pointed to the misty trail, “is a Lych Way, a path through the Aetheric that will get us to where we want to be. But these paths can be dangerous to the unwary traveller.”

  “Oh?” Katy asked, focusing intently on Jaki’s words. This was the first time she’d issued a warning to her during the entire trip.

  “You need to follow me, and stay close. You walk where I walk, and you keep your eyes on me. Do not stray into the mists, not even slightly. It’s very easy to get lost in the Aetheric, and if you do get lost, the chances of me ever finding you again are very slim. Do you understand?”

  “Yeah, sure. I understand,” Katy replied and peered down the Lych Way once more. It looked a little more foreboding than it did before… or was that her imagination?

  “Okay, I’ll go first. Katy, you’re in the middle, and David will bring up the rear.”

  Katy nodded and followed behind Jaki as she stepped through the stone ring onto the path. The pathway seemed to be made from uneven, hard-packed earth, that shone in the silvery half-light that bathed the way. On either side of her, she could only see thick, cloying, grey mists, with just the occasional shadow glimpsed in their depths.

  The sounds of the cave—the crackling fire and the grinding stone of the Elementals—faded to nothing. It was eerily still in here, but as she walked, she felt sure she could hear the occasional muffled noise. She had no idea what they were. There was something about these mists that seemed to distort and warp the sounds. It was uncanny.

  “Not far now,” Jaki said, glancing back. “Keep your eyes on me,” she reiterated.

  Katy did as instructed, walking in Jaki’s footsteps, always making sure she could see her at all times. Ahead, there was nothing but mists for what felt like forever, until a large angular shape emerged from the fog, and they stepped through a doorway and into a building. It was a small, unfurnished stone construction, with another open door on the far wall.

  Katy followed Jaki through the building, leaving the mists behind, before finally stepping out onto a rough, cross-path that cut through a dry landscape with just a few scrubland-like bushes scattered around.

  “Here we are,” Jaki said.

  Katy looked to her left at the massive fortress-like building they were just a short distance from. Seven enormous, squat, stone towers covered in smaller spires, jutted up into a grey, cloudy sky. These were surrounded by tall walls on all sides, and ahead of them, a huge wrought iron gate looked like the only way inside. Moulded into the gate was the name of the building, written in capitals:

  THE ACADEMY OF AETHERIC ARTS

  The edifice was set close against the mountains and cliffs that stretched all around the back of the fortress. Behind her, there was just a rolling arid landscape, with few prominent features.

  “Quite the location,” Katy commented.

  “It wasn’t chosen for its scenery,” David replied.

  “You’ll find out more in time,” Jaki added. “But this used to be used for another purpose until recently, when it was transformed into the first Magi Academy.”

  “So, this is where I’m going to be staying?”

  “That’s right,” Jaki replied. “Welcome to your new home. Let’s get you inside so you can meet your teachers and fellow students.”

  Katy felt that same tightness in her chest again as the idea of starting a new school took hold. She’d been so close to graduating and getting a job, and now it looked like she’d be doing it all again. This was not what she had in mind, even if it was a school of Magic.

  Katy took another deep breath and nodded to Jaki. “Okay, let’s do this.”

  The Academy

  Katy walked towards the main gate, admiring the building as it rose above her. It was an impressive sight. As she approached, she suddenly remembered she still had her phone on her and pulled it out.

  She noticed it had no signal or Wi-Fi connection at all, and pulled a face at the screen as she realised just how cut off she was from the world. She sighed, and brushed the thought aside, opening the camera app instead. She fired off a few pics as she approached the gate.

  Jaki looked back and smiled.

  “Am I not allowed to take photos?”

  “Well, I’ve not been told you can’t, but that phone won’t be allowed to return to the Material World with them on there. All this is hidden from the Riven, and we can’t allow them to find out about it.”

  “Oh…” Katy replied, and glanced away before realising she had a question. “Who are the Riven?”

  Jaki laughed. “People. Normal humans who don’t know about Magic. You’re a Magus, like me. But David here, is a Riven.”

  “Oh. Sorry, David,” Katy replied, looking at him with a shrug.

  “It’s okay. And I’m an Initiated Riven, actually.”

  “A Riven who knows about Magic,” Jaki clarified before Katy had to ask.

  “Ah, I see,” she said as they approached the main gate. She could see two figures waiting just inside it, who opened the gate as they drew nearer. Jaki walked up to the waiting man and woman.

  “Welcome back,” the woman said with a smile, and shook Jaki’s hand, and then David’s. “Good to see you. So, this is Katherine Stone?”

  “Katy,” she corrected the woman. “Katy Stone.”

  “Sorry,” the woman replied. “I’m Miss Hunt, and this is Mr Spiros. Welcome to the Academy of Aetheric Arts.”

  Katy smiled, although she wasn’t sure how happy she was to be here. “Thanks.”

  “Okay, let’s get you inside and settled in as quickly as possible. I know how insane all this must seem to you.”

  “You’re not kidding,” Katy replied.

  “Thanks guys, we’ll see you soon,” Miss Hunt said, and Katy looked back at Jaki and David.

  “You’re going?”

  “Afraid so,” David replied. “We don’t work here. We just bring in Novice Magi like yourself.”


  “Good luck, Katy. I’m sure you’ll find your way,” Jaki added.

  She nodded to them. “Thanks, and thank you for getting me out of… you know…”

  “No problem, now go on. Work hard and do your parents proud.”

  Katy smiled. It was a corny line, for sure, but she understood the sentiment behind it. “Sure, bye.”

  Jaki winked at her, and with a wave, the two Enrolment Officers turned and headed back to the Portal in the gatehouse, a short walk away. Katy watched them go for a moment as the gates were shut behind her, making her feel well and truly separated from her former life.

  She wondered what the future might bring as she turned and looked up at the two closest towers, and then followed on after Miss Hunt as she walked between them.

  “How are you feeling?” Miss Hunt asked.

  “I’m okay, I guess,” Katy replied. “A little overwhelmed with all this, but I’ll survive.”

  “Good. But you must tell us if you feel like it’s all getting a little too much for you. We can help you and guide you through it. We’ve all been in your shoes, so we know what it’s like to learn that the world isn’t what you thought it was. Are you hungry?”

  “A little,” Katy replied. She’d eaten at home, but it wasn’t like she’d had a main meal, and she could easily munch on something else.

  “Okay, we’ll see what we can do for you.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “We’re taking you to a little meeting. You’ll meet the Head, and we’ll just discuss a few things before we settle you into your dorm.”

  “Okay,” Katy replied as they moved through another gate between the two towers into a central courtyard that the seven towers surrounded. Katy spotted a couple of other people hanging around who seemed to be close to her age. They watched as the two teachers led her across the courtyard, towards the farthest tower, which was also the tallest of the seven.

  “You’ll get to know the layout of the place soon enough, but this tower is where the staff have their offices. It’s called the Ebon Tower, and it’s the main administration area of the Academy. The student dorms are spread between four other towers in the upper levels, while the classrooms and such take up the rest of the space in those four. The two towers on either side of the main gate are staff lodgings and storage. You’ll find the place quite empty for a while. As we build up student numbers.”