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Chapter Five

I hadn’t been sure what to expect, over the next two days, but no one said anything about the incident. Nothing. Nothing at all. Cemburu and his cronies sat uncomfortably, and glared at me whenever they could, but they did nothing. I knew it wouldn’t last. Cemburu might be very different from the boys in the village, and he had certainly underestimated me, but at base they were the same. It was just a matter of time before he did something to strike at me, something to convince himself that I hadn’t beaten him with a single punch. His pride wouldn’t allow anything else.

The rest of the class seemed determined to stay out of it as much as possible. I wasn’t too surprised. They didn’t know who was going to come out ahead, or if I was even going to stay, and I suspected some of them were reluctant to take sides against their male peers. Men respect allies, not traitors, even when the allies are allied to a complete idiot who is likely to bring everyone else down with him. It was rare for someone, back home, to betray their friends or fellow villagers. Even if they were in the right, they would be in the wrong.

I stayed behind, after class, to talk to Master Falladine. It was nerve wracking. I had no idea what he thought of the whole affair. Did he see me as a weak woman, very lucky to escape being raped or molested, or did he see me as a student? Still a student? The thought made me grind my teeth in frustration. Back home, woman had a certain degree of protection, but that protection came at the expense of subordinating themselves to their male protectors, their fathers or brothers or husbands. Here … if I needed protection, I would look weak and unworthy of respect. And that I could not allow.

“Janis,” Master Falladine said. “What can I do for you?”

I was tempted to jump around the issue, but I suspected that would just irritate him. “I need to learn more combat magic,” I said. “Will you teach me?”

Master Falladine studied me for a long moment. It struck me, suddenly, that I had no idea how the rest of the tutors felt about the whole affair either. Were they on my side? Or his? I didn’t know anything about Cemburu’s origins, or where he came from. I was fairly sure he was an aristocrat, and clearly not one used to physical exertion, but otherwise … I just didn’t know. I didn’t know, either, how well I was doing compared to the other students. Master Falladine might consider me worthy of extra tuition, or he might not. It wasn’t as if I had any way to pay him, except … I tried not to think about it. I wasn’t going to give anyone my body in payment, even for private lessons. It was unthinkable.

“And how,” Master Falladine said, “do you propose to pay for these lessons?”

I swallowed. Was he implying …? Could he read my mind? I had been thinking about payment and yet … if he could, wouldn’t he know I have no intention of trading sex for anything? If I did that, no one would ever respect me again. Cemburu would call me a whore and he would be right. But what else did I have?

“You need an assistant,” I said. Master Falladine didn’t have a personal apprentice or even a servant, someone to clean up classroom, organise lesson plans and everything else a tutor normally had to handle himself. I didn’t know why - some of the other teachers had apprentices or assistants of their own - but it was all I had to offer. “Give me the extra lessons and I will be your assistant.”

“I see.” Master Falladine said nothing for a long moment, just long enough to make me sweat. “And why do you want to learn?”

I felt a hot flash of anger. Didn’t he know why I wanted to learn? He’d seen me on the floor, helpless, and at the mercy of a young man who thought me nothing more than a servant. Or a serf. Or a slave. The thought powered my rage. I didn’t know how far Cemburu would have gone, if he hadn’t been interrupted, but I didn’t want to believe he would have stopped short of actually raping me. If Master Falladine hadn’t walked in, I could have had my virginity stolen by a monstrous …

“Two days ago, I was nearly raped,” I growled. It was hard, almost impossible, to keep my voice steady. “I want to make sure it can never happen again. And that means I have to learn how to defend myself.”

“Cemburu does not have the nerve to rape anyone,” Master Falladine said, bluntly. If he was shocked at my choice of words, words aristocratic woman were not supposed to know existed, he didn’t show it. “I doubt it would have gone much further.”

His casual dismissal of the threat to my virginity and my life angered me further. “I still need to know how to defend myself,” I said. “I can’t count on anyone to protect me.”

“Unfortunately, you’re probably correct,” Master Falladine stated. His eyes bored into mine. “Understand this. First, I will push you hard and I will show no patience whatsoever if you are unable to keep up; second, I will be expecting you to assist me after you master enough skills to be an effective assistant. Right now, you don’t have enough practical magic to be helpful.”

I nodded, torn between relief and fear. Lessons had been hard enough in class, with the tutor splitting his attention between twenty students, but if I had his sole attention … he whipped out his wand, faster than I could blink, and cast a spell. My body froze, my muscles locking up and then cramping painfully. I struggled to free myself, but I could do nothing. Master Falladine looked me up and down, then undid the spell. I collapsed in a heap on the ground. The fall was so violent that I honestly feared he’d somehow vanished my bones. My entire body felt as if it had turned to liquid.

“Your reflexes need work,” Master Falladine said, as I staggered back to my feet. “You also need to master other techniques, such as wandless casting. Are you still willing to learn?”

I nodded. If Master Falladine could do that to me, it was only a matter of time until Cemburu could too. I didn’t know if he would have the idea of getting a tutor of his own, but I was sure he had something to trade if he wanted one. My legs felt wobbly, a grim reminder of just how helpless I had been. I needed to learn to defend myself before it was too late.

“Yes, sir,” I said. “I’m willing.”

“Very good,” Master Falladine said. “Make sure you eat as much as possible at dinnertime, then report to my office at sunset. We will begin at once.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, again. I would need to sneak to the office - I had no doubt that nasty rumours would start the moment Cemburu realised where I was going - but that wouldn’t be hard. I had no pressing engagements after dinner. The very thought was absurd. I had no friends at school and I wouldn’t ever, unless I proved myself. “I’ll be there.”

And I was. Master Falladine, true to his word, drilled me thoroughly in defensive magic, teaching me dozens of little tricks to get the best out of my growing powers and how to speed up my reactions when I was under threat. He showed me how to cast shields, then hit them with charms and curses to shatter them, then taught me how to discard a breaking shield or even turn it into a weapon. I had never considered the advantages of turning fragments of magic into projectiles, but it was clear it worked very well. The wave of sharp-edged magic could cut through almost anything.

“Don’t try to block a spell if you can evade it,” Master Falladine instructed, after hitting me with a charm that shattered my shield and threw me back against the wall. “Getting into a trial of strength with a stronger magician is a losing game. He will batter you down with naked force and then do whatever he wants to you.”

I glowered. “Is Cemburu really that strong?”

Master Falladine shot me a sarcastic look. “Do you think he’ll be your only challenger?”

I scowled as I wiped the sweat from my forehead. He was right. I had seen advanced students joshing each other for position and even junior magicians challenging their seniors. I had even heard a rumour that a magician had come to Whitehall to challenge Bernard for the school, although nothing seemed to have come of it. Magicians liked testing themselves against their peers, even at the cost of their lives or reputations. Cemburu might be a pain, but he was also very low in the hierarchy. My next challenger might prove a tougher case.