Emotionless: (Prototype: Zero book 1) Page 9

  I nodded and looked away because I now understood the strike five concepts. It makes me wonder why Mum and Dad had never taught us any of this.

  I Rounded the corner and ended up in the cafeteria. Filled with students at breakfast, and almost all of the tables were floating in the air. Some came crashing down, and deliberately close to Nixon and Donte who stood off to the right of the group. I wondered that when the tables came down, would they crush a mage underneath. When a table came down on Nixon, I noticed a bright blue underneath and knew that there was a rune underneath it. The table shifted, and other tables around it moved slightly in different directions so that the table that came down had enough space.

  Donte and Nixon gaped openly until one of the mages at the table sneered and said something in a hushed hissing breath of anger.

  “Here come the Highborn. Another Betrayal in order,” the boy said jokingly, but there was a glint in his eyes, and it made me sick to my stomach.

  “Who knows, mutt,” Donte said in a cold and calculating voice he uses when he’s pissed off. “This betrayal might be on yours this time.”

  “What!” The teenager at the table went to stand, however, the table he was at flew up towards the roof and shot to the side and away from us.

  I looked ahead at where Head Mage was walking casually and noticed his veins glow softly on his hands. I believe that is what I would call a master mage. Someone who doesn’t need to focus, but his veins throb because he has control over them. He doesn’t need to concentrate. He has a full concentration at all times. It makes me want to find out what runes he has tattooed underneath all of his long-sleeved clothing.

  He is probably around seventy-eight years old, and he looks like a ten-year-old. However, he doesn’t talk like one. I can see already that he respects all of his students but won’t take any smack talk that degrades another student. I doubt I will have a problem with him. Growing up with parents who work at the organisation, I understand respect perfectly. Better than my brothers who seem to revel in mischief and open threats. They will make friends quickly as well as enemies while I appear to make enemies but have a strange friend as well.

  Looking at the oddball, she strangely reminds me of a rebellious teenager I assumed, under different circumstances, I wouldn’t be friends with. Except, this is a strange place, and even in the strangest of places, in a city filled with mages, unlikely friendships can unravel. I wouldn’t mind knowing more about her, and if she has any runes tattooed on her, but I don’t want the small talk that comes with it. It is easier for me to live in silence instead of drowning in communication.

  “I saw your performance on television,” Charlie said as we walked up the spiral staircase and down a long hallway on the second floor of Mage Academy. “You looked bored, but your strategy was fantastic.”

  I couldn’t tell if she was talking loud enough to get on the blond-haired mages nerves, or because she was deafening and obnoxious. I blinked and seemed to nod mechanically. The simpleton of the nod made her smile broaden into a grin.

  We went up the flight of stairs and down the first hallway on the right. I noticed the stairs that I recall twisting my ankle on, but we went passed that small hallway and went down the corridor and into an empty large darkened brick interior room. All of us moved to the sidewall because we didn’t know where we should go. Isilies left us behind and went with the pilot woman. Now I am with an oddball, rebellious brothers and Lowborn mages who hate me. Betrayed, I wished that I didn’t convince Hopper to stay behind while we went to classes.

  “Students!” Mika, the Head Mage stood in the centre of the room and lifted both arms. Two tables came up from the ground with small cemented bowls with, evidently, wash-off rune tattoos. The defence was on one and attack on the other. “There are twelve of you. I am glad that it is even. Now, which two wants to go first?”

  “For what?” A girl with straight blond hair asked.

  “I will, and I choose to attack,” Charlie cut in before Mika spoke. “I already have an attack rune,” she said and rolled up her other sleeve and revealed a rune on the back of her hand. “Who will be my victim of ridicule is . . .” she glimpsed at me, half smiled and pointed to my right, where Nixon was crouched low against the wall. “Care to take me on, Highborn.”

  “Aye.” Nixon stood and scratched his brow. His defence rune on his inner wrist revealed. “I will show you what a Highborn is capable of.”

  “I thought I was clear with the discrimination,” Mika said firmly. “Nonetheless, you are only here to show me how great you’re at defence and attack. We will do it in pairs. Charlie and Nixon, after everyone else has had a turn, Nixon will be attack and Charlie defence. Understand, class?”

  “Yes,” the students that surrounded me said at different time intervals.

  “Don’t be afraid if something comes flying your way, students. Have faith in me.” They didn’t have faith. The wary looks as they stepped further back from the static tension of Charlie and Nixon eyeing each other off. Donte was the only one who stepped forward with his phone lifted and a broadened grin on his face. “Alright, defence up before the attack. That’s you, Nixon.”

  Nodding, he raised his hand with the rune on it and closed his eyes. His veins began to throb a dully-lit white. He was trying to concentrate. Soon enough, once he has realised that Charlie was a threat, he wouldn’t have to focus on bringing a defence up. It will happen on its own. All we had to do is wait, as his random square design runes illuminated red and yellow and surrounded him. They flickered until Charlie raised her hand forward. Her veins turned the same white as Nixon, as they stood on opposite sides of the room. It looked like a death match. Almost like Rune Wars, but more intense. As expected, when her veins lit up, Nixon felt the threat, and he turned a bright intense white.

  “Defence . . .”

  “Attack rune . . .”

  “Activate,” they both said simultaneously.

  It was a war, as a flurry of something that looked similar to firecrackers ushered out of the rune. They zipped and made high-pitched wailing screaming sounds fireworks make before they burst into the shields.

  Nixon’s protection is an equivalent to glass. When one gets hit, it shatters. The firecracker attack ran into a red square shield, and a blitz of cinders and shimmered glass exploded, only for another defence square to come back up as soon as it was down. However, Nixon’s defence isn’t par to his potions. They couldn’t keep up with the simultaneous attacks of Charlie. I can tell already that she is in the rune category. That smug look on her face when she knew she was winning when his defence was going further back from the frontal line. There was a thin layer between him and the firecrackers that pinged out. The screeching siren sounds shot towards him furiously. Various pink, yellow, orange and purple sparks flickered like static behind the crackers as they flew to him. Already, Nixon was at a disadvantage, but I always knew he wasn’t the defence type with runes. He loves the attack.

  Blinking slowly, I watched the defence break apart, and the firecrackers came forth. Nixon stepped back, a small glass bottle with dark blue liquid inside slipped into his hands. He was ready to jump when the firecrackers slammed into a brimming large white wall of magic. Looking away at the awed faces of mages, I stared at Mika who was watching intently at the match between Nixon and Charlie.

  “Alright, I categorised you both. Stand aside and let two more come. Eileen?”

  He trailed off when he noticed that I walked forward. Charlie winked and skipped past.

  Nixon got on the wrong side of the stick, with Donte showing him his phone and I assumed Magtube where Nixon was eliminated by a Lowborn. The hits will increase substantially.

  “Alright, Eileen Frost, who would you like to go up against?” Head Mage asked.

  I shrugged. I didn’t particularly care. There isn’t anyone I want to . . . oh.

  “You,” I answered. “I want to defend against you.”

  I flickered my eyes up to him, and he smiled. Pearl
y white teeth gleamed at me.

  “So, that is what your brother was hinting. Little doll, that spell won’t work on me. Pick another,” Head Mage said.

  I don’t have a clue as to what he meant about the spell. Blinking, I glanced at the other mages but don’t particularly want to target anyone with my assault. It wouldn’t be fun and is a waste of time. I also don’t want them to think I would rub my victory in their face again.

  “Me.” The curly blond mage stepped forward and sneered at me. “I am going to put you down a notch or two, little Highborn.”

  “Ok?” I responded while thinking; little Highborn was a new name.

  To me, this was merely an observation, but for Rebecca, the curly blond-haired girl, this was a strange type of revenge. Her emotions of anger for me is going to break her judgement. All I see is the rage in those blue eyes, as she grabbed the attack tattoo. Mika went to her and pointed at various points on her hand that she can place an attack symbol. She picked up a larger attack wash off tattoo which made me look at my small one. I always wanted more major attack rune, but have been refused or ignored. The notion of having another one never brought up again. I suppose it must be because I have not seen my parents for so long.

  “Students. Attack runes are not mandatory on your hands, but they’re easier to handle. Do not try to place them in places you cannot reveal all the time. Boys, the abdominal may look like a beautiful place to show off a rune and your body at the same time, however, when it is minus one degree and snowing, I doubt you would want to reveal your body to the world to attack an enemy.”

  They laughed while Rebecca said, “Head Mage, you didn’t reveal your runes when you pushed us back to the door at the entrance.”

  “It takes a great rune wielder, at the level near master mage to use runes without showing them or moving. It takes years, time and concentration and you don’t need to worry about that until senior year. Right now, it is to be comfortable with runes on your body.”

  “Why do we need to tattoo them?” One of the boys asked.

  “That is simple, does anyone know?”

  “It doesn’t take time to attack someone if you have tattoo runes,” Charlie answered. She was currently beside Nixon and Donte and looked up when Mika asked a question. “What if you don’t have potions, crystals or time to draw a rune to use? They keep you safe, even if you only have a weak defence and attack rune. It is better than nothing.”

  “Thank you, Charlie. Now that that settled, Eileen, concentrate and place up your defence so I can evaluate.”

  “Ok.”

  The veins throbbed instantly, and a gush of magical power illuminated my skin, as the lines weaved in various directions. After a couple more moments, I pulled my sleeves down and whispered, “Activate level one and two defences.”

  The intake of breaths, as a large stone, structured broad knight with full hands that could crush anything morphed into focus from a rune while the cylinder shield propped up behind it and encased me in protection. The stone structure was beautiful, round and when it moved, it sounded like two bricks were rubbing against one another. His arms that are thick as trunks raised outwards, palms up and frontal, ready to force things back into his stable broad structure.

  When I was eight, for my birthday, I wanted a tattoo. Such a strange thing to ask of your parents, with the swirling determination formidable on the inside. They knew I was serious, as I laid out my design on the glass table in the living room. Mum and Dad stared at me with their stone faces. They didn’t give anything away. Donte and Nixon gave me presents, ones I didn’t bother to open because I knew it would have been an item that resembled a prank. Isilies was at camp, a simple call was an Isilies way to do things, and I enjoyed that about him. My mum and Dad, however, worried me on what they were going to say. I was working on the stone knight for months and had to get the balance right. I Made sure his legs were not stumpy and awkward. He ended up being perfect, except the steady decline and shake of the head from Mum and Dad. Upset, I averted eyes and nodded. That was when my mum handed hers and Dads present. It was a counter to my rune. ‘How to create a rune inside a rune.’

  They sold me on waiting a little while longer before I get my first tattoo.

  Rebecca widened her eyes slightly. I doubt she expected this to be my defence. It took me close to a year to get the whole design right before I was comfortable enough for it to go on my wrist. It also has been the first time that I was going to be using all my defence runes at once.

  Annoyed that the mages who were leering at me the whole time we walked in here are now wide-eyed and dropped jaws, Rebecca raised her hand, and the wash-off rune glowed a vibrant blue and meshed with her white veins. She washed her hand in front of her, and a flurry of bouncing fireballs came gushing out from before her, and I was the target.

  Narrowing eyes slightly, I twitched a finger, and the stone structure raised his hands. The fireballs slammed into him and erupted.

  There is a sense of direction to these bouncing attack balls as well. A pattern. They’re moving downwards. Bouncing against the ground and then back up to slam into the hands of my stone structure knight. It was interesting, as Rebecca, angered, waved her arms forward and let the fireballs explode out of the rune. She was fuming, and with that fury, it was her motivation with magic. Rebecca wants to humiliate me.

  Puffing cheeks, I watched her fireballs intently instead of Rebecca and her facial expressions. They’re landing in the same spot. The charred burnt brick flooring was confirming that she cannot change the direction of aim. They only point straight towards the enemy. It makes things simpler.

  “Deactivate, defence level one,” I said, and the stone structure flickered out of existence, and the bright blue line in the rune faded while the others still illuminated.

  “Getting tired there, little Highborn?” Rebecca laughed, but I noticed her exhaustion run out as well as her veins seemed to dim with every moment we stand here. “Give it up! I will break that defence of yours!”

  “No, don’t.” I glanced at Donte and Nixon who was standing beside Head Mage. “Don’t call it off until after level three.”

  Knowing my brothers, they want Head Mage not to interfere. It was evident that they have their motive for wanting me to keep going as well as I have mine. I wanted to try out a new rune technique. It was simple. After I had estimated where her fireballs were hitting, all I needed to do was diminish the two defence structure and barrier and bring out level three. Level three was only used for a limited amount of time because it always drains me. It exhausted the magic that withers through my veins.

  “Level two deactivate, level three activate.”

  Once the second shield went down, the third, something that looks similar to green fish netting encased the front part of my body. It moves when I move and always supports the front. Rebecca assumed that the reason there was one defence up is that I was growing weaker with magic. The thing is, I can have them active all day and still feel okay. It was my veins that worried me. My veins always seem dull when I think that I’m fine or when I don’t have total concentration. When the veins diminish, the runes deactivate.

  Right now, I feel calm. My veins were only throbbing with magic because I was concentrating. Nevertheless, not for long. Rebecca started to push her attack. A flurry of fireballs bounced in the same spot and lifted up to slam into my defence. The netting shield moved back, like elastic and stretched. The fireballs zipped near my face until the elastic flicked back out and aimed at Rebecca who straightened up and turned full-eyed with fear. The veins dulled and my skin turned back to normal once I deactivated the rune. The fireballs diminished when they were close to hitting her, and billows of smoke washed over the room. It was suffocating the place and muffled everyone in sight.

  When the smoke cleared, Rebecca was glowering at me from the ground. My brothers were smirking with amusement and Charlie was openly gaping. The rest of the students looked on and were dumbfounded. Head Mage was at the door;
his face turned away from me and to the now open door.

  “I apologise class. It seems I may have to leave you for a short time while I settle Ms Frost into her designated classroom.” Mika turned around with a grave expression on his face. “She is different and different students are exempt from this class.” He raised his hand and a small rune on his knuckle activated. Another he appeared beside him, but he didn’t have a beanie. “Teach the class. I am going to escort Eileen Frost to the small east tower. I am sure this would be an interesting meeting,” he muttered the last part under his breath.

  East tower? Why does that sound so familiar to me?

  Chapter 8

  Eileen – found the boots.

  Leaving the room, the shock of what I had done moments ago that had settled across the mages faces washed away. Their eyes narrowed, and some, especially Rebecca, curled their lips and looked at me as if I was the enemy they need to get rid. I wouldn’t particularly blame them. I rubbed how superior that I am in their faces without even knowing again. I was merely doing what I love doing. Looking at my runes activating.

  The door closed behind me, and we walked down the hallway. A few students that walked past ducked their heads and avoided to make eye contact. The look in their eyes, when they glanced at me was fear. It seems that Mika, the Head Mage was widely known for mages to be afraid. I find it strange that I wasn’t scared of him, and I know how strong he is. The magic is resonating from his veins and his bloodlines. It peaks my interest more than anything does.

  I wanted to know more.

  Out in the stairwell, Head Mage walked up to the lone staircase that is small and enclosed. I have been up here and recently. It wasn’t too long ago that I was roaming around the Academy corridors and come up these same stairs.

  The dust lifted, cobwebs stuck on stone walls and clumped in corners and edges. Spiders crawled, and the more we spiralled up, the more silent it becomes. There was no rummaging in the cafeteria or the soft hum of magic that filled the air. Up here, it was a silent void that I was entering, and it was somewhat calming.