[June Rim Maldiver]

My memory was returning to me in weird, jumpy intervals, as if it wasn’t quite there. As if it was information that had existed outside of my body that I had to specifically reach for. It was a bit of an inconvenience for my ordinarily ordered mind to behave this way, but I guess I got off easy after dying when Noxxy found my lost soul, forcing it back into my body. I recalled how a burning building had fallen on me, how I had to crawl my way out of the rubble only to get shot and collared by a Sextant chavalier.

Glenn Millian, the Dean of the Academia of Magic gave me the shivers. I remembered her. She was a true monster, the kind that takes dreams and smothers them with praises and gentle, polite words. She was basically a beautiful, pink candy wrapper that contained extremely deadly poison. People got fooled by her cheerful, sweet looking exterior and then they suffered agonizingly for it. Due to my soul debt contract, I wasn’t allowed to hurt her and talking to her generally made my situation worse. She had made me a grand offer of power and wealth, made me sign the first contract to join the Academia, the one that had given me the Rim middle name. Glenn had been in far too many places for my liking. I constantly bumped into her in the Academy as I tried to get into forbidden sections with my Shadowmancy. She looked far too young and cheerful for someone of an Archmage's power level.

Glenn spared the corpse of the Baron a glance. "Get up, tootsie. You blew it and lost your eye. Good try though. It's my turn now to shame these lovely loafers."

I looked at the Baron in trepidation. He groaned and stood up, dusting off. He looked worn out, dry. He sighed.

"What? How?" I stammered, freaking out.

"He's a lich bound to that magic armor." Nox growled. "Damnation."

"So, what's it going to be, darlings? Are you going to keep fighting?" Glenn raised an eyebrow at us.

"He started it!" Nox pointed a hand at the Baron accusingly.

"Tootsie, did you smack these lovely ladies around?"

The Baron nodded. "They needed to learn their place."

"And did they learn their place or did they break your magical eye?"

"They broke my eye." The Baron hissed.

"See, you were too rough with them. You already have plenty of toys in the lab. Do you really want more?"

"She's a Void spirit, Glenn."

"You're cranky when you don't get your beauty sleep, tootsie." Glenn smiled.

"I don't sleep." Zimmerman muttered.

"Exactly! Go sit in the corner." Glenn pointed at the couch.

The Baron sighed and went to sit on the couch, glaring at us with his one remaining eye. I knew that there would be hell to pay later. There was hell to pay already. Hell shaped like the Dean of the Academia of Magic.

"Give me the ship control ring." Noxxy demanded, looking at Glenn’s emerald ring.

"Oh, tootsie, did you promise these girls my ship ring?” Glenn twirled her ring bearing hand. “Sorry darling, afraid that he doesn't have the power to give out ship rings on his own. He forgets that I exist sometimes. Old age is hard on the poor dear. Alzheimers is a serious curse for Wurdulacs." Glenn twinkled.

I doubted that Zimmerman had alzheimers. It was more likely that Glenn erased his memories of her on purpose in some sort of a complex Rimmer game against us.

“Nox, right?” Glenn smiled serenely, her pale, silver eyes looking at my Noxxy. She nodded. I saw that she stuck her tongue out in the direction of the Rimmer Archmage evaluating her. She hugged me, projecting feelings of power and confidence. I relaxed in her embrace. With Nox at my side I could do anything, Rimmers be damned.

“It’ll be ever so lovely to see you in our esteemed halls. Why you could…” Glenn began her serenade of lies.

“I have no desire to loiter in your esteemed halls. If you want a Void dungeon opened then I want control of this ship.”

“Whyever would I want some musty old Void dungeon opened? Dungeons are so last century, darling!” Glenn scoffed as if the very idea of dungeons made her disgusted. “We’re going straight to the academia of magic so this lovely foxkin can continue her essential education. Your mission of keeping this gorgeous Void mage safe is concluded, June. Well done!” The Dean started to applaud me. A completed Quest dinged in my soul.

Nox squinted at Glenn. Things were not going according to plan. Glenn was like that. She was good at derailing everything, taking control of events and conversations.

“Don’t worry, my incredible Voidling! June simply must finish her education as per her soul debt contract. I’m sure you’ll come along after all, she’s your… precious Apostle, was it? That was quite the exciting ritual to observe! I love beautiful rituals like that. So classy. Three and a half stars for style!” The Dean smiled. “Don’t let your heart aflutter with worry, you both will be placed in the same house. You’ll get to share dorms and whisper secrets to each other and sneak into the forbidden library for kisses under cover of Shadow magic. Isn’t that exciting? I think it is!”

“Fine.” Nox sighed. “Both of you bothersome humans, get out of our room please and send some dinner our way!”

“Of course, of course. We’ll bill it to June’s soul.” The Dean made a bow. “I’ll see you both at orientation. Tootsie, apologize to the nice ladies for being a scruffian and come with me.”

“My… apologies, ladies. I had overreacted. Light magic rituals of high potency give me a severe, frenzy inducing... migraine.” Zimmerman hissed, looking at us with his remaining, blood-shot eye. I couldn't help but stare at the enormous, grotesque hole in his head.

Through our connection I felt that Nox had been completely derailed by the annoying, pink-haired, female human. If the Dean wasn’t going to threaten my life or lock me up, Noxxy didn’t have a problem with her. Neither of us had the power to defeat two Rimmer Archmages, I knew, especially since I had no idea what the Dean’s specialization was. She was just the cherry atop of the fact that the Baron was an undead, unkillable abomination.

“See? Just a little misunderstanding. The Undead aren’t good at dealing with White magic.” Glenn dragged Zimmerman out of the door. She waved an arm from the hallway, wearing the same picturesque smile. The melted closet that once concealed the Dreamancer and the two knocked out high mages vanished off the floor, as did the splatter of blood. She was too damn good. To teleport away a melted wardrobe and two human bodies and to clean up the room was an impressive display of power if anything.

The broken doorway reconstituted itself, blocking the view of the two Rimmer Archmages behind it. I let out a breath that I was holding.