Tapping my legs, I stand between Jo and Tressie in the long queue to Professor Cronan's class. After today, we'll have our life back. But till then, we're still in hell, now at the very core of it.
A girl, crying, walks past us, with her friends at her side trying unsuccessfully to console her. "I'm going to fail," the girl says in between hiccups.
I exchange glances with my friends. All my friends need is a passing grade, which I've faith they'll be able to score. But for me, I need an A to guarantee a spot for me in the higher studies. And Cronan is a tough examiner, utterly stingy with the grades.
He's the professor of System of Detection and Concealment — the field of sorcery devoted to the study of how to detect and conceal different kinds and grades of spells. Being such a fundamental discipline this may sound like the easiest to learn, but that couldn't be more far from the truth.
I still remember the first class of Cronan I was in. He said, "A curse; a shield; a transformation, there are plenty of ways sorcery works. But can you wield or protect yourself from any of them if you can't even see them? The strongest witch or wizard is not the one with the most power, or knowhow of spells, but is the one that knows exactly what he or she is dealing with."
It's been over a few weeks since I found out Hayden is my Alka, and I still don't know what kind of curse befell on us and why. My morale is not the strongest at the moment to take this exam.
When Jo comes out in one piece from the exam room, she rejoins the queue to wait with Tressie for Tressie's turn. Before I could ask Jo how it went, Conan's voice bellows from inside, "Next."
That's me.
Conan is a large, rigid man, always dressed in black. I neither have a good nor a bad impression of Conan. None of the students do. He's fair to us all, yet unforgiving.
Once my eyes adjust to the dimness, I notice the box on a pillar at the centre of the room.
"There are three spells," Conan starts right away, "One around the box, another inside it, and the third is anywhere in this room. Without moving from where you are now, detect and categorize all three incantations and also give their countermeasures."
I know what's around the box right away, even without having to pull out my wand. "The box has a flare shield around it. It's grade II Defensio. The countermeasure is Arena Manifest."
Conan nods and checks something on the clipboard he's holding.
I take out my wand and cast a detection spell to find out what's inside the box. My spell permeates through the flare defense, but comes back with no result. I sense that the box is empty.
Which means there are three possible spells inside: Assorbiros — a spell that absorbs incarnations like a parched sponge thrown into a river; or Par Hex — which lets the spell pass through; or Refless Incum — the spell is reflected back.
If it's reflected back, I would know, so it's not the third one. As for the first two, I don't know how to confirm without taking a look inside or behind the box. And for that, I'll have to move from my spot, which Conan told me not to.
Shit.
Instinctively, I start biting my nails. I'm stuck with just the second spell?
An excruciating minute passes by before I decide to move onto the third spell. I'll come back to this one later. Turning my head, I look around the dark room. I don't sense any incantation over it.
I cast about eight different detection spells but none give me an answer.
I pull out my necklace and start biting it. I glance at Conan. He's patiently looking at me with an inscrutable face.
With coming short on the third one, too, I revisit the second spell, the one that's in the box.
Feeling the onset of distress and a headache, I stop staring at the box and look again at Professor Conan. Conan is intimidating at any given time, but even more so as an examiner.
And suddenly, I've a postulation for where might be the third spell. He said it's anywhere in the room. I checked the room, there's nothing. But I didn't check him.
I cast the spell, aiming my wand at him, slightly scared. When it hits him, a blue hue forms as a vibrating string around Conan for a second.
I resist a smile.
"The third spell is Assorbios. It's a grade I Defensio. The countermeasure is Litigarios. And the second spell, one in the box, is Par Hex. It's a grade I Tenebro. Countermeasure is Specsion."
The inside of the box lets through my detection spells, which are absorbed by Conan himself. That's why I couldn't make my detection spells work.
Not saying a word, Conan scribbles something on the clipboard. "You can go," he says.
He won't tell me if I'm right? If it was any of my other professors I would've asked them, but I won't dare say anything to Conan. I'm happy just to be excused.
I step out relieved, and give a nod to Tressie before she's called in next.
"How was it?" Jo asks.
"Intense."
She nods. "You got everything right?"
"I think so. What spells you got?"
"Mutum and Dilargios. Don't know the third one. You?"
I would've loved to have those two spells. "First is a flare shield. I answered Assorbios and Par Hex for the other two."
Jo raises her brows and whistles. "Tough."
"Tell me about it. Well, whether I get an A or not, at least the exams are finally over."
