A routine could be found at any school. At home, it had been the laborious trudge of lesson upon lesson in bland classrooms, interspersed with lunch and recess. Elvie had started Year 8 – and she always believed the monotony would get worse over the years.

Not much was different in the past. Elvie had five main classes: lessons with Ash and Oak houses; another for the history of magic with James; and a final one for magical instruction. Of course, added into this mix were meant to be classes for Elder House, but she was fast becoming used to her Great House’s obscurity on Winters Island.

Nothing was said about the visit from the royal ambassadors, which set tongues wagging further. They had simply arrived, been drawn into the Court, and were barely seen or heard from again. For many students, that level of mystery left them imagining every possible worst-case scenario, with the darkest ranging as far as: ‘they were victims of the murderer.’ Elvie did her best to ignore it all and focus on her learning.

In her lessons for Ash House, Elvie learnt fundamental spell forms like Verhuizen, which used round, sweeping hand motions to move water. The spell was not easy, and the more water you attempted to move, the more difficult it became. All the students had been told that practice of the spell, and greater focus, were the only ways to increase the volume of the water that could be shifted. Like routines, that message also reminded her of home. The only way to improve was practice, practice, practice.

In her magical theory lessons, Master Ayliah drilled into the consequences of magic use and had organised a demonstration to prove ‘a point’, in her words. Elvie and her classmates gathered in a wide grassy field adjacent to a pebbly beach.

Two magicians had joined Ayliah on that cool afternoon. The first was Shrinth – a pale-skinned, dark-haired lady wearing the flaming red colours of Birch House. Another lady, Beatrix, formed a stark contrast; where Shrinth was stick-thin and short, Beatrix was wide and tall with midnight skin and a deep and resonate voice that brought warmth and comfort. Elvie’s Mum would have said she had an excellent bedside manner through the projection of reassurance and confidence.

The purpose of their lesson was to demonstrate the effects of drawing too much magic.

Ayliah started: ‘We have talked about this in our classes, but I know one absolute fact about students – many of you are fools.’ Small giggles broke out. ‘I have told you repeatedly, the greater the task, the greater the strain, and yet I still expect you to try to draw too much magic.’

‘We have discussed how magic comes from both your soul, and will, at the same time. It is intangible – tough to understand – but willpower and magic go hand in hand. Yes, a magician can accomplish amazing feats with magic, but they will drain you. If you push further, they will eventually drain you of your desire to live. Your breathing ceases, your heart stops, and you will die. You would need swift intervention by those of Apple or Willow House to survive.’

‘You must understand, so I’ll spell this out nice and simple – one spell, if you commit to it so completely, so fully, and it is too large in scope – it will kill you. Just. One. Spell.’

Shrinth stepped forward and spoke. Her accented voice was soft – was that Canadian? ‘I am going to demonstrate something perilous. I’m going to overdraw my magic and prove to you the dangers. After too many deaths, we decided the best way for students to understand this idea, was to see it. So, I will show you what happens by deliberately overdrawing to the point approaching death.’

Shocked moans arose from the crowd. ‘Won’t that hurt?’ Anander asked.

‘Very much. But you will see, and you will understand. Ready, Beatrix?’

Beatrix nodded.

‘As you are no doubt aware, I am of Birch House, which means I can manipulate the air. When using air-based spells, they have the potential to expand rapidly, which makes it easy to overdraw.’

Her hands made gentle looping motions, her fingers swayed to and fro like she played the piano. ‘Awel araf,’ she whispered, and it could be heard amongst the students as they silently watched in anticipation.

The air moved – they all felt it. A gentle breeze flowed across the field and swirled hair about faces or shifted cloaks back and forth.

‘Right, now,’ Shrinth said, face obscured by her own moving mass of black hair, ‘I’m manipulating the air within this field, which is well within my capabilities.’

Some students nodded; others were less impressed.

Her hands resumed their motion, her eyes closed and brow furrowed with concentration. ‘Straverunt.’

The effect on Shrinth was instantaneous. Her body stiffened as her muscles spasmed into a locked position.

Despite this, she was still calm as she spoke: ‘From this field, the breeze I now control is across the entire island. I have a sense of the air as well, as it moves between people and places. Some of that relates to my training in Apple House and a natural blending of my spellcraft.’

Gasps of amazement greeted her this time.

Master Ayliah stepped forward. ‘Great work, Shrinth.’ Then, turning to the students: ‘You see the strain, yes? The signs of fatigue are the first warnings of danger, so you may notice a tightness around the eyes, perhaps some shaking in the hands, or sweat breaking out. Those are relatively natural responses to magic use, which we put in the commonplace basket.

‘If you accumulate multiple spells at once like Shrinth has, or expand the scope rapidly, it’s going to get worse. Depending on the well of magic from which you draw, we’d then be moving into simultaneous sweat and chills, or straight to a headache or nausea. There is a point where a magician will feel like they’re holding on – hence the locked muscles. This is what we’d call the cusp. Shrinth has it under control, but expanding more would be dangerous. Are there any questions?’

Most students just stared.

‘Straverunt. Cyfuno.’ Shrinth commanded, and the world responded.

Rain fell.

This time the impact on Shrinth was devastating. Her body buckled sideways like it desired to tear itself in two. Muscles uncontrollably twitched and flexed as she pushed herself to her feet through obvious pain. This time the gasps were of horror as Shrinth battled the spasm of hand to move the hair off her face – blood covered her entire visible skin as if her pores had convulsed.

Elvie stared in shock. Behind, a student thumped unconscious to the ground.

Ayliah grunted. ‘Will someone check on him? Hmmm… Let’s see the effects. One. Blurred vision around the edges, kind of like looking through a telescope with no focus. Two. Extreme difficulty standing or moving your muscles, so much so that even speaking or breathing becomes a labour. Three. Blood. Lots of blood, as it flows from all parts of your body. The nose, eyes, ears, skin – if you reach this step, your body is literally on the point of tearing itself apart as it seeks to control the power. The internal damage can be most severe, as your body cannot match the exertion of your mind and soul. If you bleed, you need to know this – there is but a short time for you to live. Find a healer, or die. That’ll do Shrinth. Beatrix?’

Beatrix stepped forward and carefully laid Shrinth down on the grass. She immediately began a procession of spells, too quick for Elvie to follow.

After a minute of her ministrations, Shrinth unsteadily resumed her feet and stood looking over the students. Ayliah passed her a cloth, and she wiped streaks of blood from her ears, nose and eyes – returning herself to her pale visage outlined in smeared blood.

‘Magic is an amazing tool,’ Shrinth said, her voice raw and scratchy. ‘For a fleeting moment, I made it rain across the entirety of Wales. But the cost… You have seen that now. Remember this cost.’

Ayliah took over. ‘You just witnessed a staff member risk their life to prove a point to you, such is the seriousness of this issue. Abusing magic will kill you – you have seen it for yourself. Know your limitations and accept them. The alternative is death.’ Silence greeted the pronouncement.

‘Oh, and one last point – if you experience the fraying – where your magic is literally ripping your body apart, so far are you beyond the point of control… you’d better be using your last thoughts for prayer. Pray the Lord takes you quickly, as it is a horrendous way to die.’ She stared them down, her eyes ominous storm clouds. ‘This class is over. Go and think about what you’ve seen.’

Students wandered in all directions, but Elvie stayed where she was. Shrinth remained buckled in obvious pain, and nobody seemed to care. Ignoring her suffering didn’t sit well with Elvie. Besides, she was developing a habit of staying behind to talk to her teachers. It was deliberate... Anything for knowledge that may help her.

‘Are you all right?’

Shrinth blinked in surprise, wiping blood off her face as she straightened and nodded. ‘It’s kind of you to ask, but I’m fine. Unfortunately, we’ve done this many times before. I know what I sign up too.’

‘That seemed… crazily dangerous.’

‘It is.’

‘A day or two in bed,’ Beatrix interjected as she put a hand on Shrinth’s back. ‘She’ll be right as rain afterwards – sorry, no pun intended, Shrinth. Off with you now, Miss, you can hassle her another time.’

‘I hope you feel better soon,’ she said, departing. What did you do for pain management in a world of magic? Did they have aspirin here? Even if they did, it wasn’t like you could grab it from a shelf at a local grocery store.

A hand flicked out of Shrinth’s robe and grabbed her arm, spinning Elvie around to stare into clear blue eyes. But her focus extended beyond simply looking – no, Shrinth was reading what lay beyond – she was reading Elvie’s mind.

In her mind, a cat hissed in rage.

Elvie gasped in shock.

‘What on earth? Shrinth, stop it! Are you that taken ill?’ Beatrix said.

Ayliah turned and made her way over.

Shrinth dropped her arm, muttering. ‘Something lingered in her thoughts… Something unusual, but it was gone before I could make out the details. Blocked perhaps.’

Ayliah and Beatrix looked to a wide-eyed Elvie.

‘You’re scaring her,’ Beatrix scolded, ‘and all for being nice. It’s not the example you want to set now, is it? Besides, you know the convention on reading someone’s mind Shrinth.’

‘I thought I saw… I don’t know. I didn’t force the reading. She sent it, and then I sought to clarify. There were strange houses everywhere, and rows of things all stacked up nicely that looked…’ She shook her head to try and clear it.

‘Let’s get you back to your bed Shrinth. You need rest, not commotion.’

Beatrix led Shrinth away.

Master Ayliah appraised Elvie. ‘Forgive Shrinth – there is an enormous strain in what she does. She could probably do all of England, as far as I know, but covering Wales alone takes its toll. Go now, and remember to think about the lesson.’

Meeting Shrinth was not something Elvie was likely to forget.