The Apprentice's Apprentice

Part 31

Neither Cora nor Warren was surprised to see Philippe leaning against the bus stop pole in front of school. He pushed himself off at the sight of them and waved. Cora smiled and waved back while Warren grimaced for a moment before sighing. She frowned at him but then they'd reached Philippe and she was smiling up at him. "How's everything?"

"Good. How are you today?"

She shrugged. "Fine," she said as they fell into step together. Warren had already started walking after shaking his head at both of them.

"That doesn't sound like the Cor I know. Is something the matter?" Philippe said, frowning.

Warren snorted while Cora's lips thinned after a glance around. There were still too many people around for her to be able to discuss it openly. "Nothing much. A bit tired from my extra lessons."

Philippe's frown deepened and his gaze went to Warren. "You're pushing her too hard."

He glowered. "I'm not doing any damn thing. It's my master who's taken over teaching her. And if you have a problem with it, you can take it up with her."

"It's fine," Cora said. "Really it is. I just...there's some stuff I need to learn as quickly as possible, so I've been practicing it a lot."

"What are they teaching you that you need to learn fast? You've only been learning a few weeks. You should still be focused on the basics and speeding through them will be the ruin of your fundamentals if you're not careful."

Cora's gaze flickered around them. It was only the three of them who had turned down the street they were currently on and she felt her shoulders slump slightly before she turned back to Philippe, who was still frowning. "I'm focusing on shields right now because there's a rogue in town."

"A... a rogue?" Philippe said, eyes widening. "Here? Well, focusing on your shields then is a good precaution."

"It's almost like my master knows what she's doing," Warren replied sarcastically. "Almost like we're not the first students she's had."

He was ignored. "Have you seen this rogue then?"

She made a face, wishing the two of them could get along a bit better. Every so often they weren't bad, but then one of them said something and... She sighed. "No. But Selena says they're at least half an offensive specialist. That's why she wants me to get my shields as strong as we can get them. She's not sure if the rogue will move against us directly, but if they do, I need to be able to handle whatever this person can dish out."

Philippe froze, stopping right in the middle of the sidewalk. "Forgive me, but did you just say that you would be handling an offensive mage?"

Cora nodded. "I'm good at defensive. Selena says if she fights the rogue stuff will get destroyed and it's not likely either of them will win, and Warren needs time to be able to break spells, so if I draw the rogue's attention we'll be able to deal with them easily. Or at least a lot more easily than the other options."

"No. Absolutely not," he snapped. "I won't allow it."

"She's not your apprentice," Warren said, crossing his arms over his chest. "You don't have any rights to be able to forbid her from doing anything."

Philippe's blue gaze should have melted Warren like one of Selena's spells. "Do not attempt to school me in what I can and cannot do, apprentice."

Warren flushed then glared. "You're the one who's been interfering with someone else's apprentices, not to mention basically insulting my master to my face. By rights I could have called you out for a duel long before now."

Seeing the expression on Philippe's face darken, Cora stepped between the two of them. "Enough, enough! You two need to stop this! Look," she said, staring down Philippe. "Selena might have come up with the idea, but I agreed to it. I'm participating willingly."

Then she turned to Warren. "Should you really be wasting your energy on picking fights with people when there's a rogue in town?"

He flushed again while Philippe sighed heavily. "I don't like this. It puts you in far too much danger."

"Well I like the idea of this rogue person attacking my friends and family a lot less, so you'll just have to deal with it," she said, her hands dropping to her hips.

"What we're doing is only precautions," Warren added. "Master Van Der Walt has already put out a call through the communication mages she knows to get us a fully trained defensive mage. We're just not sure how quickly one can be found and then get here. That's why Cora's being rushed through shield training."

"Then I will speak with your master about this," Philippe said, his jaw tight. "If a distraction is what you need, I may be of use. And if it's a choice between putting Cor or myself in the path of this rogue, I insist it be me there."

Cora rolled her eyes. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

"But you are an apprentice, and a new one at that. A full mage like myself will be far better equipped to handle this sort of situation. No," he said, seeing her open her mouth. "Don't argue with me anymore. I will speak to this master of yours."

Warren snorted. "Well she'll be happy to talk to you. And good luck with her. A piece of advice, she's real big on politeness and the last thing you want to do is piss her off."

"I'm quite capable of dealing with other mages."

Cora and Warren exchanged glances, hers worried, his bordering on gleeful. Without another word the three of them continued on to Selena's house.