Way of The Wand

Chapter 13

Jira returned home sore and satisfied. Sore because she’d let Daila win their little spar and satisfied because she learned the identity of the second champion. She needed more background information to evaluate how much of a threat he posed to Tomi.

But who would tell her what she needed to know about Korath?

One name came to mind, but it was someone she didn’t want to talk to, someone she’d shunned for three years like her family had shunned her.

To be fair, it wasn’t her fault. This person had let her down when she needed him the most.

Jira repeated Korath’s name in her head several times, as if that would automatically reveal everything there was to know about him.

After another hour of going back and forth with herself, Jira made a choice. This wasn’t about her, it was about her pupils. It was about all the witches in Edoh. She had to get over herself and do what needed to be done.

She fetched a small bowl fashioned from calabash and filled it with water. Then she went over to her cabinet of potions and magical ingredients, picking a pinch of spirit salt from a gourd.

She sprinkled the spirit salt into the water in the “connector calabash”, as Edoh citizens called it, and whispered under her breath, “Chidi.”

Nothing happened, and Jira couldn’t figure out whether the call hadn’t gone through or whether Chidi had just refused to answer.

If it was the second, that would be perfectly understandable. It would mean he had moved on, and good on him for that.

She took the small calabash in her hand and swirled the water inside before dropping it back on the centre table of her sitting room.

“This is pointless,” she told herself and threw her head back, sinking down into her old sofa.

Many times over the years, she’d been tempted to call Chidi and had resisted the temptation each time. She’d ended their relationship for a good reason, and though her heart ached for him on several lonely nights, she found herself quite unable to get over his betrayal.

If she went ahead and called him now, what would she say? What would her voice sound like? Would it betray her and reveal how much she’d missed him? Or would it sound angry and reveal how bitter and hurt she still was by his actions.

These were questions to which she didn’t want to find answers. Yet, as for the answers she did want about Korath, this was the only place she would get them.

She took another pinch of spirit salt and poured it into the connector calabash.

“Chidi,” she whispered.

The water in the bowl bubbled upwards, forming into a person’s face.

“I never thought I’d hear from you again.”

Chidi’s voice stirred up some old feelings in Jira. Just one sentence, and that was enough to pump her heart full with old emotions.

She pinched herself to remember the purpose of this call wasn’t to rekindle an old flame.

“Chidi, I need your help.”

The face of water contorted into a constrained smile. “Silence for more than three years and now straight to business.”

“Are you going to help me or not?”

Chidi laughed. “I’ll have to hear what you need help with first.”

“Information. On an Airad student named ‘Korath’.”

Chidi’s face tightened. “This is for the tournament, isn’t it?”

Jira shrugged. “Yeah, you have a problem with that?”

The face of water turned from side to side. “You do realise you’re asking an Airad student for information on another Airad student? Information that would give you an edge for the next task.”

Jira’s heart dropped. She was wrong to call him. Chidi had shown before in the past where his loyalties truly lay, and it was with Airad.

Why did she think anything would have changed?

They’d fallen for each other at Airad. Everyone knew they were dating. Kalinda, Kano, Daila, the whole school.

It was a big deal because Chidi came from a long line of witches and had gained a scholarship to study wizardry at Airad.

Everyone had thought if Jira, one of the “heirs of Airad”, would date anyone, it would be someone from a notable wizard family.

Jira believed she had a lot of things in common with Chidi. He’d bucked his family tradition to study wizardry, and Jira was secretly nursing a similar desire, to buck her own family’s tradition to go study witchcraft.

She trusted him more than anyone else and so broke the news to him first. He was supportive and encouraged Jira to let her mother know.

Jira argued her mother would never support the decision, as she, like most other wizards, believed witchcraft was less powerful than wizardry.

Chidi promised he would help convince Jira’s mother that such ideas were mere ignorance.

Yet, just two days later in Kalinda’s office, when JIra needed him to reiterate that same notion to Kalinda, to affirm the equality of both forms of magic, he’d faltered.

He denounced witchcraft in Kalinda’s presence, denounced Jira’s decision and warned her that leaving Airad would be the biggest mistake of her life.

He’d turned on her in fear of Kalinda’s wrath.

Jira sighed. “I get it. You can’t betray your school.”

She was about to cut the call when Chida told her to wait.

“Look, I would tell you everything you want to know about Korath, but honestly, I don’t think he’s that much of a threat to your champion. Korath’s four years ahead of me but I know him well. When he started at Airad he was very smart and creative. But Airad has all but killed that creativity. You know how it is here. He was constantly berated for resorting to cheap tricks to beat his opponents and was told that he was ‘a wizard not a witch’. So, trust me, Airad hasn’t let his creativity flourish and it will count against us on the day of the task for smarts. I’m sure.”

The balloon of pressure inside Jira deflated on hearing what Chidi said. Nevertheless, Jira would still make sure Tomi prepared hard for the task. Just because Airad had discouraged Korath’s creativity, it didn’t mean Tomi was going to cruise to victory.

“That said,” Chidi continued, “it’s the final task you need to worry about. I mean, Daila hasn’t been shy about what she’s going to do to the poor soul who faces her in the task for strength.”

Jira bit the inside of her lip. She’d been thinking about how she could prepare Timi for his fight against Daila and had so far come up empty on ideas.

How do you prepare a young witch for a battle with Airad’s most powerful student wizard?

Jira pushed back the calabash on the table and reclined into her chair, worry sinking into her posture. “You know I was with Daila earlier tonight?”

Chidi opened his mouth in surprise. “You and Daila were in the same place at the same time and the world didn’t end?”

Jira allowed herself to smile.

“You look beautiful when you smile.”

Her smile curved into a frown. “And now? Do I look ugly?”

“Gods, way to put me in the spot,” Chidi replied, his voice shaky.

Jira waved him aside and continued talking. “We had a fight.”

“And?”

“She knocked my ass to the ground.”

Chidi hissed through his teeth. “Wish I could say I’m surprised.”

“Yeah,” Jira agreed. “I can’t continue to deny how powerful she is. How do I make sure my champion wins?”

Chidi remained silent for some time. He went through a list of ideas in his head, and when he thought he got a good one, he let it out.

“I might be able to help with that. I could come over to your place tomorrow, spar with your champion. Experience fighting a wizard would be helpful, don’t you think?.”

Distrust spread across Jira’s face. Knowing how loyal Chidi was to Airad, why would he even be interested in helping, except this was a trap.

“You can trust me,” Chidi said, reading her expression. “I can sneak out of Airad in the morning and be back before anyone even knows I’m gone.”

“Why are you so willing to help me all of a sudden?” Jira asked.

“Let’s be honest. We both know I owe you one for what happened between us.”