Chapter 3

“Cadet Kowalski, I want to know what happened back there, and it had better be good!” Kowalski didn’t reply; he was utterly crestfallen, refusing to meet anybody’s gaze.

Then again, with the Divine Blade himself cross with him, I could sympathize. Asahi Maki sat in a borrowed office in a lonely corner of the admin building. He looked a bit like a Japanese glimpse into Kowalski’s future, with a similar broad frame of mostly muscle. His black hair was tied in a top knot, matching the color of his Wizard Corps uniform. He looked a bit ridiculous in a desk made for somebody a foot shorter, and his chair creaked under his bulk.

The Divine Blade’s glare was nothing to laugh about, though, and I was glad it wasn’t directed my way for once. It was bad enough being in the vicinity of his penetrating eyes. All four of us stood before our teacher, since there wasn’t room for us all to sit.

“Today, Cadet!” Mr. Maki barked.

“W-well, sir, Buddy’s been kinda out of control lately,” Kowalski managed. He winced as the magical disruptor around his ankle popped as it absorbed a fleeting charge of his magical potential.

“That’s an understatement,” replied Mr. Maki, steepling his fingers before him. “I thought we had gotten beyond this, though. You were showing signs of improvement back at the school.”

“Buddy has been harder to tame lately,” said Kowalski. “He doesn’t like being cooped up here at the fort.”

“You talk like Buddy is a separate being,” I said. “Can’t you just admit that you’re the one with cabin fever? There’d be no shame in it; believe me, I’ve got a bad case of cabin fever myself.”

He shook his head. “No, I’m fine. I’ve been enjoying the break. Buddy’s the one who’s pissed off.” His eyes widened at the minor language, and he laughed nervously. “Er, sorry Rose, Yukiko. I didn’t mean to use rough language.”

Rose snorted. “I grew up with four brothers in the family; you aren’t going to offend me.”

“Have we considered the possibility that Mr. Kowalski does have some sort of mental condition?” asked Yukiko. “Perhaps he has an undiagnosed dissociative disorder that has seized control of his magic.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” replied Mr. Maki.

“Humans have only had access to magic for twenty years, sir,” I replied. “There might be something to Yukiko’s theory.”

“Have you seen anything like that, Mr. Marlowe?” asked Mr. Maki, his voice a bass rumble. “You have experience some of us here don’t.”

I wish he’d stayed a bit quieter; everyone else in the room thought me a former demonkin, a human with too much interest in the demonic arts, but why hint anything around Kowalski? “I can’t rightly say I have,” I conceded. “Do you have a better theory?”

“Lack of discipline,” he replied. “Lack of training. Lack of self-control!” He leaned over, jabbing a finger into Kowalski’s doughy midsection.

The blond man winced as another pop filled the air. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, be better,” he snapped. “Listen, you’re in your second year now, cadet. Most of the students in the remedial classes show a marked improvement from the start of the year, but you’re still flailing about and regressing, if anything.”

Kowalski cast his gaze down, muttering another apology.

“He did a good job when he worked with me in the War Games,” said Yukiko, placing a comforting hand on his arm.

“Yeah, Yukiko’s right,” said Rose. “He even had Soren on the run for a bit back then.”

“That might be giving him a bit too much credit,” I muttered.

“Why are you being so nice about it? Buddy almost killed you!” he blurted out.

“No, he didn’t,” said Yukiko with utter certainty. “I had a way out if they hadn’t shown up.”

Kowalski’s expression brightened. “You did? What was it?”

“That doesn’t matter,” said Mr. Maki. “Cadet Kowalski, you’re a danger to everyone in this state. I don’t care how you do it, but you need to get your act together!”

I’ll admit, there was some pleasure in being on the outside while somebody else was dressed down. After months of being under Maggie Edwards’ thumb and my own brushes with Mr. Maki’s ire, it was nice not to be the center of attention.

As if reading my mind, Mr. Maki turned his baleful gaze on me. “Marlowe, I think we know where this is going.”

“Sir?”

He waved dismissively at Kowalski. “I’m trusting him to your care. Perhaps your Mimic Sight can give you some idea of how to fix him.”

“That’s a splendid idea,” said Yukiko. “He really turned things about for Hiro and Rose once he got a good look at their magical flows.”

I opened my mouth, trying to find a way out of the job. Nothing came to mind, since everything they said about my affinity was correct. Competency is its own punishment. “I suppose I can look into it.”

“Very good,” he said. “It might be best to wait for later. I think that ‘Buddy’ has had enough stimulation for today. Also, Marlowe, Cooper? That was fast thinking back there. Well done.”

“Thank you, Mr. Maki,” we replied in unison. He had us well trained.

“Cadet Kowalski,” said Mr. Maki. “Go run ten laps around the walls, then report back here.”

“Ten?” he asked, gasping in horror.

“You’re right, twelve sounds more reasonable. Care to try again?”

“N-no sir,” he said, heading off dejectedly.

“I knew he’d see sense,” said Mr. Maki, chuckling to himself.

“Remind me to stay on your good side, sir,” I said.

He barked a harsh laugh, sending a chill up my spine. “After what you pulled back at the Tower? It will be a long while until you are on my good side.”

I gulped, despite myself.

“Are we dismissed?” asked Yukiko.

“Not just yet,” Mr. Maki said. “Now that it’s just the three of us, we can speak more openly about certain recent matters. Zone of Silence.” He twisted his fingers about, creating a shimmering soundproof dome of energy over the four of us. He could have made it a bit higher; I found myself having to duck. “I have some interesting news to report. Tell me, have you enjoyed your time at Fort Flamel?”

“No,” said Rose without hesitation.

“I can’t say that I blame you, the way the Smiths have been after you,” he replied.

“It’s been pleasant enough,” said Yukiko in an even tone. The little teacher’s pet wouldn’t want to be disagreeable with Mr. Maki, of course.

“It beats prison,” I said. “By a hair.”

“Well, then I have good news! You’re being reassigned.”

“Reassigned? We aren’t going back to Nagoya with the others?” asked Yukiko, sounding disappointed.

“Thanks to a certain someone, our return has been delayed.” Mr. Maki trailed off, casting a meaningful glare at me, waiting for me to respond.

What did he want from me? An apology? I’d already done far too much for what remained of my devil’s pride. “That’s firmly in the past; we all saw to that.”

“So you did, though Mr. Marlowe, that hole you blew in the Tower to take out Holy Brother Ratte has proven difficult to repair. The structural damage to the school is going to be time consuming and expensive to fix. We won’t be able to safely resume classes for a few months.”

No school? That was almost a letdown; learning all day beat real work.

“Are you sending us to another school?” asked Yukiko.

Rose let out a stilted gasp worthy of a b-movie actress. She was also trying too hard to look surprised. The spooks had told her something!

“Headmaster Tachibana has arranged for you students to be paired with a military unit for special training until it’s safe again,” continued Mr. Maki, pulling out a tablet that looked tiny in his meaty hands. “Think of it as a work-study.” He squinted at the glowing screen. “Mr. Marlowe, you’re bound for Iceland.”

“Iceland?” It sounded like we’d still be there through December, and it had been chilly enough when I’d visited briefly in April! “Isn’t there anything else—”

He turned to Yukiko, paying me no mind. “Ms. Sato, your father wants you as close to home as possible.”

“Of course.” Yukiko’s face twisted into an angry pout. “I’m sure he used his sway with the Corps to see to it?” With a quick sigh, she composed herself like a switch had been flipped, straightening back up again. “When do I leave for Tokyo?”

“When your work study is over,” he said, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “No, you’re going to Melbourne, and it sounds like your ‘special friend’ Hiro is too.”

Yukiko’s shoulders relaxed in an instant, like a great weight had been lifted from them.

“What? She gets a summer vacation, and I get sent to the arctic?” Curse the Enemy for tilting the Earth’s axis!

He studiously ignored me. “I don’t care how much money Hitori Sato throws at the Anti-Demonic League, I’m not going to let him stifle the growth of my best student.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Yukiko.

“Don’t thank me yet. This isn’t a vacation. Be ready to work hard; I recommended you personally, and I won’t have you making me look bad.”

“I would never dream of it, sir,” she replied, snapping a crisp salute.

“Now, as for Ms. Cooper. You’re going off to Malaysia.”

“No, I have to…” She stopped, “Oh, Malaysia? I thought you said… never mind. That sounds great.”

That confirmed it; she had been in on it, and the Smiths were too. A part of me was curious, wanting to peck away at Rose until she confessed.

Another part of me couldn’t get past my assignment. Iceland. In the winter, the darkest time of the year, up near the Arctic Circle. Who had I offended in the Wizard Corps?

… oh, right. Anybody who had a whiff of the truth, including Headmaster Tachibana himself. I was lucky I wasn’t being sent all the way to the North Pole.

“You’re going south too?” I groused. “Well, isn’t that lovely for you! It sounds like I’m being sent to freeze all by my lonesome.”

“Of course not,” said Mr. Maki. “There will be some familiar faces up there. Cadet Kowalski, for one.”

“What?”

“You just promised to help him out with your magic, you’ll recall,” he said, grinning smugly. “You can’t very well do that if you aren’t together.”

I’d been posted to the far north with Rafal Kowalski, of all people. Perhaps I really should have apologized when I had the chance. “You said familiar faces, as in plural. Who else?”

“Me, for one,” he said.

“Wait, what?”

“Did I stutter?” he asked. “You need a chaperone, and who better than me?”

I gulped again. Yes, I decided, I definitely should have apologized.