She arched her eyebrows skeptically.
«Well, personally I think it’s just bliss, but unlike me they have living hearts, they beat and hurt, they have human feelings, and they are not at odds with the burden of black talent that has fallen on them. You, for example, are not at all happy that fire lives inside you.»
She gave aВ silent gasp, though she should have realized long ago that he had guessed it. He could see insideВ her.
«And all because you’re used to living among people and thinking you’re a simple human,» he said, «you know you’re surrounded by simple vulnerable people, you’re used to feeling like them, you’re vulnerable like a fragile girl, and inside you lives such power. Too powerful even for a magical being, it burns through your graceful body. Never mind the broken feelings.»
«I wasn’t asking you about myself,» she reminded him.
«Oh, of course, there are the rules,» he continued to curl his fingers, more and more of them on his hand, as if new ones could grow at his will. «Create your own gold, and then you can create everything else, too,» he proclaimed, «No unelected tutors. No food but sorcery. No gratitude, nobody needs it here. No „thank you,“ no „goodbye,“ you just never leave here, because your soul will stay here, no matter where you go. The term of your training will expire, but the term of dependence on the magical forces you control will never, and believe me, one day you will stumble so that your own magic will destroy you itself. That’s when every student of the School of Witchcraft realizes that there was no one to thank and nothing to thank. He wove his own net and got tangled in it himself. And the victims that any disciple of this place can drag down, I don’t count anymore; there are always countless of them. You destroy yourself when you sign the contract with your blood, but you have no choice. The fragile human body, by a whim of fate, which holds a non-human talent, leaves the newcomer no choice. All the chosen ones come here, and here the same thing always awaits them. I think it’s very tragic to be born human and have non-human qualities. You’re like a moth tied to a candle in advance, you don’t even have to fly at it and you’ll burn anyway. And don’t look at me so accusingly, Rhianon, in your heart you know I’m right. With your unearthly gifts, you’re neither angel nor demon, though something in between, but you’re not human either, and thus you’re superfluous everywhere. That is why you think that your path lies with the School of Witchcraft. As a spirit I approve of you. It really is the only true path. It is better to perish after gaining a moment of your power here than to be an outcast for both humans and supernatural beings for a lifetime. For centuries I’ve watched humans discovering their magical powers as if from heaven, and I can assure you that a shelter here is the perfect way out for them. But you are different. You came here of your own free will, not because it’s time to improve your gift. So just remember one last rule. No gratitude. When a newcomer memorizes this condition as the last one, there is usually another one – someone’s shadow accompanying you. It will stay with you forever.»
Rhianon looked over her shoulder and saw no one. Orpheus had spoken his monologue with such self-confidence. She even flinched, though no one was followingВ her.
В«Is something wrong?В» He was already smiling mockingly.
В«Are you scaring me on purpose?В» She snapped back angrily.
«No, I’m just testing how brave you are.»
«You are idiot! I should have you thrown out like a careless servant. Though you may be a spirit, you’re no better than a lazy peasant who’s been admitted to the castle kitchen and doesn’t know what he’s doing.»
В«Hey, IВ merely said the general rules,В» he said defensively. В«You asked me to. Remember?В»
«Yeah, but I didn’t ask you to comment on all those rules, just to name them.»
«If you were really meant to be here, you’d know them by now, they’d be written in fiery letters on the walls, like tablets or right in your brain, but believe me, you wouldn’t be left uninformed.»
В«So why did they let me inВ at all?В»
«It’s a mystery to me, too,» he stepped away from her and looked around as if he were looking for something. It was unclear whether he was joking, or whether he was really trying to find some clue. Nothing was ever quite clear with him, and his mood was always changing. One minute he was serious, and the next he was bursting into laughter and making obscene jokes. Rhianon was tired of him, but she could not drive him away. For one thing she did not know how to do it, and for another she was afraid to experiment, that she might drive him away for good, and then she would need him again. While she was not yet on the throne of her country, she could tolerate his presence around her. And then we’ll see if she needs such an advisor, who can find out everything about everyone, or if she will chase him away for being garrulous. At any rate, it will not be soon.
«Think about it, seven years,» he said, as if he could read her mind. «Do you really want to stay in that dark mansion for seven years? It’s a dark place. Besides, you won’t learn anything useful here. It’s so uncomfortable and dark.»
В«But IВ can see light,В» she nodded at the rainbow rays dancing inВ the gap between the door and the lintel.
«It’s just an illusion,» Orpheus tried with all his might to influence her decisions, but so far he had failed, and he was beginning to get angry. It seemed that if he found the tiny humans now, he would crush them with his own fingers.
«It’s all an illusion,» Rhianon corrected him. «You said yourself that magic is all there is. Magic is the only thing that can help me.»
«You’re exaggerating. There are many other ways to get back what you want,» he trailed after her, a gruesome look on his face. Rhianon shrugged, feeling the chill of his breath on her shoulders. He himself remained motley and bright, but it seemed to her that his sighs might freeze with ice.
В«It is like picking up aВ companion spirit,В» she teasedВ him.
«Well…» Orpheus didn’t find something to say, probably for the first time in all eternity, and so he looked bewildered.
She was glad. So it was possible to surprise or offend him to the point where he would stop talking. Or maybe she should just not answer him so he’d shut up. His chatter would soon give her a headache. Rhianon sighed and reached for the opened door. Was the light really an illusion, or was a rainbow sheltering beyond the threshold? Her fingers touched the doorjamb, her movements unsure.
«You don’t have to follow me if you don’t want to,» she muttered, and involuntarily dropped her gaze to the hem of her dress. It was stained. There weren’t many red stains from blood drops, but they stood out sharply against the pale blue fabric.
«You don’t have your uniform yet,» someone said behind her, but not Orpheus. The voice was clearly that of a woman. Rhianon turned around and spotted the same couple at the end of the dark corridor. Strangely, their black outfits instead of blending into the darkness stood out sharply against her. She only recognized them by their clothes, though if black outfits were the uniform for everyone here, then the lady and the gentleman might not have been the ones she’d seen at the masquerade at all. They could have been other students of the School of Witchcraft dressed exactly the same. Yet something told her it was them. She liked the lady’s dress, which exposed her shoulders and was embellished with puffy trim, but she herself would have preferred men’s clothing. She was tired of dresses. She would have felt more comfortable in velvet breeches and a black camisole than in a corset that restrained her.
As soon as she looked away from the strange couple and glanced at herself, everything changed. There was white lace stretching across her breasts inВ place ofВ the dainty cleavage. On her hands she noticed dark lapels and puffy cuffs. Diamond cufflinks gleamed slightly. Gold thread was gracefully woven into the white lace.
«It’s a privilege,» Orpheus remarked, «it’s obvious you’re special.»
Rhianon examined her black camisole. Just the way she wanted it. The wall next toВ her, which had been dark until recently, suddenly showed her aВ mirrored reflection. The costume looked good on her. The black was such aВ shade for her golden hair and pale skin. For aВ moment Rhianon studied the mirror reflection, tinged with aВ light haze. It was as if she did not know it. Who was this girl? Was she the perfect student ofВ the School ofВ Witchcraft? No, it was as if she was already standing on her way out ofВ here, though she was still wearing her uniform, there was something childish or boyish about her, but it was immediately obvious that she was aВ seductive beauty.
The wall went dark again, and Rhianon turned away from her. And then, despite Orpheus’ protests, she opened the door and stepped into some room. At first she thought it was quite small, but in a moment she realized that she had miscalculated. In only a second it seemed to have grown in size, and it was already an entire miniature universe. Behind the huge windows stretched a starry night. For some reason only the heavens were visible, as if the earth was far away, and the hall itself was high above the Earth’s expanse. Rhianon was only confused by the bleachers placed there in a circle instead of the desks. They left vacant only a large circle in the center, as if a performance was being prepared here. One of the stands at the end of the hall seemed very much like a pulpit set up for a teacher or a judge. Somehow she found the latter suggestion absurd, but she couldn’t shake the intuition that it was not only a place of teaching and performance. There were also trials. Who and why would be tried in a place whose mere existence was probably against the law. If people found out about such a place, they would come here with a crowd of inquisitors and executioners. Yes, it is, and the supernatural beings seemed to be against humans being likened to them here. Rhianon could not understand the purpose of the strange objects in this hall. She ran her fingertips over the lid of some desk, shooting golden sparks out of the walnut wood.
В«What is this place?В» She asked Orpheus, when her own attempts toВ guess were inВ vain.
В«It is the corner ofВ the School ofВ Witchcraft,В» he looked around enigmatically, В«it is an assembly or courtroom, they too have their own problems, inventions, and laws.В»
He shrugged indefinitely, and it was clear he had nothing more toВ say.
«I wonder if that’s how you learn magic and pay for it.» She ran her slender fingers over the desk once more, almost shooting out a flame, but she jerked her hand away just in time.
«And your magic is stronger,» Orpheus remarked, as if casually. «Students can’t use their charms in this room, but you can. Perhaps you have great power.»
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