The Ragnix Circle

School went on relatively ok, unless you count the constant scowls thrown my way. I had survived up until lunch time, most of it without the mysterious herbalist girl, Ashlan. As I headed towards the silver doors leading to the mess, as they called it here, I thought the day would be rather uneventful. But boy was I wrong.

“Hey. Newbie!” Alex’s voice rung out from behind me. I turned round to find only a handful of primly dressed kids walking behind me. “Over here Bennett.” I turned to my right and still nothing. “Too slow to see me pleb.”

I felt my stomach contract from the pressure of the blow. I doubled over almost collapsing onto the floor. I took several breaths, before standing up right. All eyes were on me in the hall way. I ignored them and started walking again, or so I thought. My mind wanted to but the legs just could not move. Come on, this aint a freaking parade.

“Move it filth,” some kid shoved me to the floor.

A howl of laughter erupted around me as I fell to the floor. I looked round for Alex and his cronies. I found them, right at the source of the evil laughs that were ringing all around me now. Something in their laughs, tagged at my core. I could feel the heat building up inside of me as I stared at Alex.

“Come on,” she was helping me up for a second time. “Let it go.”

“Come on Naira,” the girl in a pink sweater next to Alex squealed. I could see the pink dress and knee high boots as she smiled at me and then to Ash. “You’re spoiling the fun.”

“Give it a rest Ariel,” Ash said.

“Hey pleb,” some guy near us said. His spiky red hair made him look like he had a hedgehog on his head. He dropped his bag on the floor crossing his massive arms over his green clothed chest. “No talking back to those with magic.”

“Yeah tell ’em Peul,” another person on my side said.

“You’re worthless here,” Peul said. “Plebs are worthless.”

I was in his face, shoving him onto the wall before knowing what had hit me. I glared at him trying to scare him only to meet with humor. I was relaxing my grip when, a sharp pain erupted in my lower back. I dropped on my knees and clutched my back with my right hand. My left hand still lingered on Peul as I slid to the floor. He lowered his face level to mine and smiled cruelly.

“Never. Touch. Me.”

“Leave him alone,” Ash was at my side again.

“We can put you in on the joke Ashlan.”

“Leave her alone Alex,” my voice had grown deathly cold and I could feel the two tattoos burning my arms.

“Please Bennett,” Alex walked past us. “None of your kind is worth my time.” He walked up to me and I felt Ash tense up. He squatted and looked me in the eye. “This is my place pleb, just as it was my father’s. In time I will take over Ragnix and you and all your kind will have no place in the world.”

“Too bad the Michaels are stronger than you,” I whispered.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

“Good,” he smiled. His white teeth reminded me of the sly wolf stalking its prey before the kill. “Think of this as the beginning of your destruction.”

If only I could reap out his eyes. The pain in my back kept me on my knees and incapacitated for the time being. Peul smacked my hand away and headed for the mess. Somewhere inside of me, I felt two powers stirring at the same time, baying for blood. Keep it under control; I gave myself a pep talk as I continued to glare back at Alex. It’s only a little while.

“I won’t be so easy on you Naira,” Alex got to his feet and waited for his friends before turning his back on us.

The crowd begun disperse, leaving me to fight with my anger and burning upper arms. I heard the silver door at the end of the hallway slide open and shut as people resumed their normal pre-lunch time routine. Ash stayed with me as the hallway cleared up, leaving a few people walking towards the mess. They all looked at us and smiled cruelly. Freaking class divide. I heard the laughs and gags as they all disappeared.

“Why did you do that?”

“I don’t know,” I said through clenched teeth. The pain was slowly subsiding but I knew it would not be long before they returned.

“What happened here?” I heard Mr. Turner ask behind me.

“Principal Turner,” Ash begun stammering.

“Go for lunch Ms. Naira,” Turner commanded not letting her get a word out. “I’ll get Mr. Bennett the help he needs.”

“Sir…”

“I said go Ms. Naira.”

I looked up as Ash got up and picked her bag off the floor. The anger was blazing in her eyes as she turned to face the mess.

“See you on the bus then.” She seemed to change her mind and turned round and faced me handing me the damp hanky. “I think you’ll need this more than me.”

She headed away from the mess offering me sad glance back. I read her eyes instantly. She was sorry for me.

“Sure,” I mouthed at her.

The silence that followed was nerve racking, but useful. The pain in my back had almost completely vanished and I managed to pick myself off the floor. Turner hovered over my bag, looking at me with curious and concerned eyes. I felt like screaming at him to stop staring but there was nothing I could do but stare back. I took a step towards my bag and that was when the esteemed pleb principal of the school broke the silence.

“I can guess what happened here Tyler,” Turner said picking my bag off the floor. “You met Alexander Le Fay, Catrick Mayfair, Nina Ming, Caesar Georgian, Kaitin Hakar, Horas Lagba, Ariel Iuume and Connor Chulain. They are the kids of the true blooded families apart from you. Or at least they are part of them. Come on we have to get to my office.”

I followed him to his office, taking careful notes of the distinct marks and statues as we trudged along in silence. The principal’s office was located deep inside the school complex just behind the library. As I entered the generally small office space compared to the other rooms I had seen in this campus, I couldn’t help feeling at home. Turner’s office reminded of the forest with its calming effect over me. The windows were thrown open letting in a gust amount of wind. His table was not made of glass or some weird metal, but of pure wood. I could smell the wood polish from where I was standing. A large over sized chair stood at one end of the table with another set of smaller yet reasonably comfortable chairs on the opposite end. As I walked over to the window, the door clicked shut behind me.

“Nice view,” I said. “Do you like spying on hungry kids?”

“Not really,” Turner said. “I love cooking and sometimes the chef does a really good job.”

“So it’s for the scent huh?”

“Yap,” Turner went and sat in his over sized comfort chair. “Take a seat and we discuss how we are going to use your free periods.”

“Free periods?”

“Yes,” he affirmed. “You came in here as a pleb. The system has you as a pleb, so you cannot attend any of the classes specialized for true and pure lines. Only the other magical classes attend those minus those snobs. Plebs on the other hand, have free periods, where they usually study on their own or do some lousy subject like tool making or some rudimentary skill.”

“That sucks,” I said.

“Yeah but it won’t always suck Tyler,” Turner said confidently. “All it needs is a spark of genius and a few pure bloods like you.”

“From what my dad said,” I said sitting down. “All those pure families were wiped out leaving a really nasty bunch.”

“Yes that might be true,” the principal stroked his stubble filled chin. “But who knows what fate and the future holds for us. Some pure blood that shares your parents’ views could be hiding out somewhere in the world and all we have to do is find him or her.”

“More Ragnix crap.”

“Mind the cursing,” Turner laughed. “But back to the subject of you learning magic.”

“Yeah,” I smiled sarcastically. “What about it?”

“There is one teacher of magic your parents trust,” Turner said seriously. “She will alternate days in teaching you.”

“When do I start?”

“In an hour.”

“What about secrecy?”

“Your parents swore her to secrecy this morning.”

“How?”

“There’s a lot of good magic can do Tyler.”

“Well I don’t see it,” I snapped.

“Because you’ve grown up away from who you really are,” Turner leaned forward to peer at me more closely. “The two lines are meant to be one in you and you fight them.”

“That’s a lie.”

“It’s in your eyes Tyler,” Turner said. “I saw it there yesterday and I see it there today. You hate magic so much you’re willing to fight your very core to stop the power in you coming out. It will drain you Tyler, later on kill you.”

“You can’t blame me.”

“I can,” Turner said. “Anyway Tyler, that is your choice. Until the time is right all we can do is train and teach you to harness the great power inside of you for good.”

“My mind was made up long ago Mr. Turner,” I said evenly. “Magic is wrong. Just look at the way it has destroyed the world. You people in the capital are too satisfied to see the terror out there in the pleb villages. We are treated like rubbish, left to fend for ourselves with a large number of guardians to ensure we keep the capitals supplied beyond measure and that we can never hold a weapon against Ragnix. We starve and die without a whim and when we try to fight back, we are shipped off to the detention camps.”

“You forget I’m a pleb Tyler.”

“A pleb that works in Nodrid and lives like someone with magic.”

“So what?” he asked.

“It makes you one of them.”

“All valid points but let me ask you this Tyler,” Turner leaned back into his seat putting the tips of his fingers together in front of his face. “What would you be like if your parents had not made the choice they made?”

His question startled me. I had not thought about it that way before. How would I have turned out if my folks had kept me in this city? I probably would have been preying on all the plebs with Alex and his gang. Somehow I had to get their reasons for making me grow up in a place where I was not meant to be. I looked up, afraid to show Turner my confusion.

A knock at the door broke my line of thought. Thank you.

“Enter.”

A big caramel colored lady walked into the room. Her large brown eyes swept through the room homing in on me. Her coal black hair was tied in a tight bun at the back of her head. Her light blue floor length dress was a breath of fresh air from the fashions of the city. She reminded me of my dad in his chill out clothes yesterday.

“Is this the boy?” Her voice was like an iron whip through the serene atmosphere of the principal’s office.

“Indeed he is Anne.”

“Yes. Yes, I now see the resemblance,” she said coming to a halt behind me. Her huge shadow unhinged me a little. “I still can’t believe they made me swear with magic.”

“Those two were always a team to reckon with.” Turner smiled at me. I think they were talking about my parents. “It’s a shame that we can’t let the world know that team is alive.”

“Yes a shame Turner,” she said. She paused and a steady silence filled the office. Out of the blue she took it upon herself to break it. “Well introduce yourself child.”

I turned round to meet her stare and almost flustered my words. Her gaze was piercing and steady all at once. I swear I almost got lost in her large brown eyes. “I’m Tyler Bennett.”

“And?”

“The boy is still new Anne.” Turner said sharply.

“Old habits Turner,” she said apologetically. “I’m Anne Kasiman, not a true blood thank God. Your lot is a little too tedious for my liking. Just call me mentor Anne.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“You won’t be saying that by the end of this,” she smiled. “As for you Turner, seeing as we are going to use your office, I suggest you make yourself useful. Move your antiques to the walls and create space, this might get messy.”

“Do I need to call the school alchemist?”

“No,” the lady said happily. “This is all magic and magic can handle anything thrown at it.”

After I had helped Turner move his chairs and table out of the way, Kasiman paced in the huge space. I waited patiently wondering what she was up to. Her thin eyebrows were furrowed giving her a fierce countenance. Turner pulled out a long cigarette and begun smoking. Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into half an hour of waiting for the woman to halt her pacing.

“What do you know about magic Tyler?” she asked suddenly.

“Oh…I…”

“Stop stammering boy,” she stopped on the spot. “There’s no hesitation when it comes to magic Bennett.” She came towards me crowding my space. “Hesitation means weakness, and weakness means death. With magic, it’s all about flexibility, precision, speed, conviction, concentration and fitness.”

“Sorry.”

“Never say sorry unless you mean it,” she snapped. “Stop smoking Principal Turner, you’re clouding my thoughts.”

“Oh sorry,” Turner mumbled as he stomped the burning cigarette.

“Back to you Tyler,” Kasiman held my face in her massive hands. Her excessively applied perfume almost intoxicated me. “You’ve the most powerful magic in you, but a very weak head. Magic is all about the head. I’m sure your parents told you that magic is everywhere around us, flowing through this very thin air and the ability to manipulate it, differentiates us from the other classes. There are no limitations to what you can do with magic. Your imagination is the only limitation if you know what I mean. Take this for example.”

She turned from me, walked over to the windows and before I knew it, roses and lilies filled the floor. I looked round surprised and as soon as I attempted to touch one of the roses, it became a solid red rope that bit into my wrists. I turned and looked at her confused.

“Knowledge,” Kasiman said. “It is all knowledge Tyler. Who would think to make flowers such traps? With magic anything is a weapon. Learn that well and you will be a little better than a charmed one.”

“I guess I see your point,” I said as the flowers disappeared.

“How flexible is your mind Tyler?”

“I don’t know.”

“That is a very good answer,” she smiled. “Better than any I’ve heard in this school.”

“Please Anne,” Turner said bored. “Get on with it.”

“Don’t be corky principal,” she warned.

“It’s our job to see Tyler learn magic.”

“That is why he should ensure that he reads a lot.”

“I hate books,” I muttered.

“Learn to love them boy.”

“Perhaps I should get out of here,” Turner said.

“You should,” Kasiman said. “I will get nowhere with him if you stick around, blowing fire and brimstone at the pace I’m using.”

“I’ll be back after an hour or two,” Turner said. “Make that two.” I think he added the last statement after seeing Kasiman’s raised eyebrow. He left us in the office.

“Now that he is gone, I can get serious with you.”

“You were not being serious?”

“A flash trick of flowers is far from being serious child. Your mother told me of the little she taught you on your way here so please you’re too far behind,” she said. “Get across the room, now.” I walked across the room until I was standing opposite her. “Now use your mind and try to get me to sit on this floor.”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Open your mind Tyler,” she said. “You’ll feel it around you along with the strings on my mind and a billion others.”

I sighed closing my eyes. A sharp pain swept across my cheeks. “Hey not fair?”

“Never close your eyes when you’re using magic,” she said sharply. “You’ll exhaust yourself to a point of death. Besides, how will you see what your enemy is planning?”

“Oh I dint know that ma’am,” I said.

“Get on with it.”

I took a deep breath and opened my mind up. The numerous strings shouted at me to reach them but this time they were not alone. It was as if there was something new in the air. Something silvery and white floating their calling to whatever was in me because at that moment the two tattoos on my shoulders begun to burn. The burns were not as painful this time, just gnawing pain, begging to be unleashed. I refused to give in and tried to imagine an animal trap before Kasiman. It appeared like a shimmering ghost at her feet but it disappeared.

“Weak and useless but good,” Kasiman said. “But remember what I told you, concentration.” At that moment the very trap I had nearly conjured up appeared in front of me. It sprung shut like a hissing snake’s jaw. I jumped back as I felt the wind whisper past my foot from the closing jaws. “That is intent and concentration. Try again and remember what I’ve told you concentrate.”

We spent the next hour conjuring up things. Mine were still flimsy and every time they appeared something took my concentration away. It was not the shock of seeing me doing such things, but the internal fight I was waging against the power inside of me. Every time I tried to use magic, the power rebounded inside me clawing for release. But I still managed to fight it off and let my mind work hard to best Kasiman’s mind.

After failing for what I thought was the thousandth time, I refused to get up. I lay on the floor, sweat drenching my face. Kasiman walked all the way to me and poked me with her sharp boots. I almost lost it at that moment and I reached for the magic around us. A flaming rope appeared at her throat, clasping both her hands around her large neck. My eyes blazed green and I could feel it tightening.

But the rope stopped tightening its grip and vanished. Three spears came at me from thin air and I rolled to the side ignoring the burning tattoos and raging skirmish inside of me. I glimpsed the shinning boots of Kasiman as I rolled. I smiled causing them to be covered with ice and dust. However, that dint last for long as the ice shattered into a million pieces that stood in the space before flying at me. What the hell am I supposed to do?

The ice particles stopped just inches from me and I turned to look at Kasiman. She smiled and waved her hand in the air. The ice turned brilliant white flying insects I had never seen. They encircled me in their brilliance before heading for the window and flying away.

Kasiman clapped her hands enthusiastically. “You’re good, if you could stop fighting with the magic in you.”

“That was good,” I said confused. “I froze at the end.”

“Like I said,” she continued clapping her hands happily. “It is about flexibility and fitness. I want you to give me essays on the elements of nature along with essays on Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Marcus Aurellius and Elizabeth II.”

“But that is history,” I argued shocked.

“That you will not learn from this school,” Kasiman said. “There were all rulers and there’s a lot you can learn from them. I want it in two weeks time otherwise we are done here and shall meet again tomorrow.”

“Come…”

She was out of the office before I could even argue with her. I stared round the office. The walls were all dusty and wet from the little exercise we had just been engaged in. Crap, Turner won’t like this one bit. I picked up one of the fallen chairs.

You’ve magic, a voice in my head said. Use it Tyler.

“Why not?” I said to myself.

I cleaned up the office in a lazy way using magic and was amazed at how I enjoyed using magic.

“You cleaned up,” Turner walked in as I placed his chair in its former place. “You dint have to do that Tyler.”

“Felt like it.”

“Ok,” Turner said. “Get to your bus stop before the bell rings.”

“Sure,” I said walking out of the room.

“And Tyler…” I stopped in the doorway, turning to face the principal. “…keep it secret. Very many people would not like to know the Aperdian and Merlin line still exists okay.”

“By many people you mean Alex and his crew?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m not daft sir.”