An Apprentice Without Magic, page 10
part #2 of Magic Missing Series
The man grinned. “Sword or swordsman?”
“Either,” Kened said. “Stop talking and begin.”
Both of the fighters nodded. Sam touched his blade to his forehead as he was taught with the apprentices and his first match began. Unlike the trial the previous day, Kened didn’t keep the other matches going. Everyone looked on, making Sam a little nervous, but if he did well enough, the teasing that was sure to come might be curtailed.
The constable attacked and attacked again, pushing Sam backward. The cutlass pushed his sword out of the way. Sam wondered if the advantage of reach was offset by the weight of the other weapon and the strength of the user. He might have known such a thing had he not been a little more than a season away from his first lesson. Harrison had pushed him hard, but his quick learning was at the cost of varied experience.
Sam immediately found he was quicker than his opponent, so he concentrated on being where the constable’s blade wasn’t. A blow got underneath Sam’s guard, slamming into his ribs, making him gasp. He realized he was thinking too intensely and not trying hard enough.
The cutlass barely missed his ribs, but this time Sam reacted with a swing underneath the cutlass, and he didn’t turn his blade in time and struck the constable on top of his hip. The man collapsed to the ground, moaning.
Sam stood over the man. He didn’t know if the man’s action was a ruse, so he let Kened check him out.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit him with an edge. Instincts, I’m afraid.” Sam had his hand to his ribs, without thinking. The constable didn’t flatten his blade either.
The man rose to his feet and extended his hand. “I didn’t think you could move that blade so fast. A fair match, but I won’t underestimate you again.”
Sam looked around at the other constables. Unfortunately, neither would the whole group. He took a breath, and the pain stopped him.
“Let me take a look at that,” Kened said as soon as two constables helped their peer to his feet and off the floor.
Sam looked down and saw red skin.
“That will purple up nicely,” the instructor said with a smile. “I thought that you would collapse like Waters did. You are not only fast, but also tough. Very rough around the edges, I might add. Your opponent is definitely not one of our best, but you did well enough to stay.”
Sam nodded. “I don’t think the healer has anything to help with this.”
“See him anyway. There is a poultice that draws away some of the pain. Don’t make it difficult on yourself. However, I want you back at it tomorrow if that rib isn’t broken.”
“I will,” Sam said.
He felt a knot where the sword hit, but it didn’t feel like he had fractured his rib. His breathing began to ease up a bit, but the healer gave him a pot of the promised poultice.
“Slather it on freely, lad. It doesn’t cure; it only makes the wound feel less of one. It wouldn’t hurt to put some on your bruised arm.”
Sam nodded as he headed to the commissary. He didn’t bother to change his exercise clothes before he walked into the room. His opponent sat at an angle on the bench of a table across the room. Sam had an urge to join him, but it might look like he was gloating, so he joined Mark at the apprentice table.
“How did it go?” Mark asked.
Sam glanced at his opponent’s table to see the man looking his way.
“I got this for my trouble.” He lifted up his shirt to display the angry bruise on his side, in full view of the constable.
Mark winced. “You lost, eh?”
“We were both marked,” Sam said, smiling.
“Marked, eh? I had nothing to do with it,” Mark said with a grin. “Do you think you will stay with the constables?”
“Maybe,” Sam said. “I don’t know if Kened wanted to show me how men fight before sending me back where I belong.”
Mark laughed. “I don’t think that is his intent. One of our trainers said that Rider has sent apprentices to train with the constables enough in the past. Some do return, but most don’t. It made some of the grumblings cease.”
“Grumbling?”
“There is still a strong strain of jealousy amongst us. Kened promoting one of us is a lot more common than promoting the only snoop apprentice,” Mark said. “How much longer will you be sleeping in the dormitory?”
“A day less than a week,” Sam said. “My brother is already living in our house. I’d like to get Emmy from the stable.”
“Your dog is as much an oddity as you are.”
Sam counted Mark as a friend, but even he didn’t think Sam was a normal person. What did it take to be normal?
~
Sam’s rib felt better the next day when he descended the stairs for tea and biscuits. The constables teased him, but Sam couldn’t detect anything malicious. He even asked how his former opponent was feeling. The man was to take it easy for a week.
The day started with an opponent who was on a different level from Sam. The man didn’t try to punish him like the constable on the first day, and Kened joined him in critiquing Sam’s style.
The constables didn’t fight at all like the apprentices. Some were even less disciplined than Sam, and after a week, training with the older men seemed normal.
Dickey mired Sam in all kinds of paperwork, making reports for the other snoops while his partner spent more time at the Royal University.
“See how Antina Mulch is coming with the pollen spray. I have to leave,” Dickey said.
Sam was eager to leave after the dullest days so far. The sword training was the only bright spot. He found that the attendees changed from session to session. He was the only one who came every morning, as far as he could tell.
Antina Mulch’s shop smelled like it always did.
“Your new spectacles aren’t quite done,” Antina said.
“I didn’t come for those. Two pairs are enough.”
“Then are you checking up on me? Did your trainer put you up to your visit?”
Sam shook his head while he touched a unique-looking lamp. “Did you make that?”
“I did. It burns a combination of pollen and oil in such a way to burn brighter than either. It’s an invention of mine.”
“Really! I suppose you could sell a lot of those.”
Antina gave Sam a sad smile. “Not me. I can’t do anything other than sell curios. If I manufacture, the king will put me in prison.”
“No! Really?” Sam said. “How can he do that?”
“The king has put all kinds of restrictions on foreigners, although I was living in Baskin before you were born. Being a woman activates other restrictions.”
“But you can speak the court language!” Sam said.
“Everyone speaks court language where I am from. The language isn’t the point, it is the pedigree.”
“I’d like to learn how to speak it anyway.”
Antina’s eyes flashed. “You would? Could I teach you?”
Sam smiled. “Of course. I can’t understand what nobles are talking about when Constable Nail and I visit them. I just tag along and do what he tells me.”
“Is there a problem doing what your training tells you?”
“Not exactly, but it is easier knowing the why, isn’t it?” Sam said.
She smiled indulgently. “Indeed it is. How much time do you have?”
Sam frowned. “I never know from one day to the next how much time I’ll have.”
“Wait here.”
Antina left Sam alone in the shop. He examined the lamp and tried to figure out what went on inside, but he would probably be wrong about how it worked. He didn’t understand pollen well enough. He put his spectacles on, but everything went on inside the metal lamp.
The woman appeared with two books. “Here are primers. I used them to learn the language spoken in most of Holding, but you can do just the opposite. This one is a dictionary, just for words and meanings, and the other explains how grammar differs between the two languages. I suggest you write a list of the words you use the most and learn the Polistian ones, and then spend a little time looking at sentence structure. The order is different.”
“Back to school,” Sam said.
“Is there something wrong with that?” Antina asked.
“No. I liked school. Since I wasn’t distracted by learning how to use pollen, I was one of the better students,” Sam said. “Now, how are you coming with a pollen spray? I have to report our meeting to Dickey.”
Antina pursed her lips. “Not as far as I’d like. I can make pollen that will spray, but it isn’t the same as the pink pollen. I’m still working on it. I am looking through some Polistian books. Perhaps you’ll be able to read them sometime.”
“So you are making an effort, but it isn’t successful yet.”
“Right!” Antina said. “We will keep each other apprised of the progress of the other. Will that work?”
Sam nodded. “It will for me. I will be moving to my house tomorrow. Do you see Tru very often?”
Antina gave him a non-committal shrug. Sam left her with a wave, with the two books tucked underneath an arm. He now had a secret project.
Dickey was sitting at his desk when Sam returned.
“A short visit?”
His partner nodded. “The person I intended to see went to Cherryton, of all places.”
“Can I move in tomorrow?” Sam asked.
Dickey looked at the clock high on the wall. “Why don’t you spend the rest of the time and move in today? I came back to finish up your paperwork, but it seems you beat me to it.”
Ha! A compliment, Sam thought. He raced up to an empty apprentice dormitory and gathered his clothes. Sam had added his exercise clothes and a uniform. It wasn’t enough to fill up the constabulary-issue duffel bag that he dragged downstairs.
Sam could get his possessions to the curb, but he would have to pay cash for a carriage to lug the stuff to his house. A constabulary carriage pulled up to the front of the building.
“Constable Smith?”
Sam looked up to see the constable he had defeated on his first day sitting next to the driver.
“Do you need help with your moving?”
Sam grinned. “I do. Can you help me?”
The constable nodded. “I’ll get your bag on board while you grab your dog.”
Sam hadn’t told the man about Emmy, but he guessed he was better known than he thought. Emmy bounded into the carriage after Sam let the stable staff say goodbye. It felt good to sit next to his dog.
It didn’t take the carriage long to get to the house. The two men driving wouldn’t take a tip, but they said that Sam could pay for drinks sometime. Tru didn’t appear to be home, so Sam let Emmy out the back and climbed the stairs to his bedroom.
Everything appeared to be in order. He lugged his duffel bag to his room and unpacked. He lay back on the bed. His bed, in his house, he thought. He bounded down the stairs. His rib gave him only one slight twinge. Emmy ran to Sam and nearly knocked him down.
“Easy, girl,” Sam said. He scratched behind her ears and went inside to find some treat for her.
Tru didn’t have any food for the dog, so Sam patted Emmy on the head. “I’ll bring something back for you when I get off work.”
He whistled on his way back to the constabulary. Dickey Nail was documenting something.
“All moved in?” his partner asked.
“Do I have to report my move to anyone?”
Dickey nodded. “Duty sergeant, and I’d check in with Faddon Bentwick. A thank you would be in order, I think.”
Sam nodded and informed the duty sergeant, who entered Sam’s new address in a ledger he had never seen before. The Chief Constable was in, so Sam knocked on Bentwick’s door.
“Come in,” the chief said. Bentwick stood when he recognized Sam. “Sit down. Tell me how life as an apprentice is going after a few weeks on the job. I know some of it.”
“By my own hand,” Sam said. “I’ve done well enough, other than the injury and the near-beating I had when I got lost.”
“Lost? I didn’t hear about that.”
Sam told Bentwick of his adventure exiting into the dock area on the run. The man laughed as Sam told the story. It didn’t seem funny at the time, Sam thought.
“I finally moved today,” Sam said. “Thank you for helping my brother and me find such a nice place.”
“You are paying what it is worth, less than that due to your negotiating skills,” Bentwick said with a smile. “What are your plans now?”
Sam shrugged. “Make it a nice place for Emmy. I may bring her back to visit the stable.”
Bentwick nodded at the comment. “Emmy has a way with horses. She calms them down. Has the same effect on Issak Bolt, I’ve heard. You know who he is?”
“Justice Minister,” Sam said. “I think he’d like to buy Emmy, but she’s not for sale.”
“Nor should she be,” Bentwick said. “Be firm with Bolt, Sam. The man is formidable, but Emmy should be looked at as part of your family.”
“She is,” Sam said. “I’ll bear in mind your advice.”
Bentwick stood. “I have an appointment to attend to. Thank you for letting me know how you are doing.”
Sam rose, as well. “I hope I have been meeting your expectations.”
Bentwick laughed. “You have. You have. Go and help Dickey write up his report. Yours are much more readable than his.”
Sam left the chief’s office and returned to Dickey’s desk.
His partner growled. “I hate this. See if you can make sense of my notes. I can’t.” He left the room.
Sam had some trouble with Dickey’s notes, and it was late when he finally finished the report. Every snoop had gone home. He could hear voices rise and fall in the front. Sam unsuccessfully tried to stifle a yawn as he turned off the lamp and stretched. He grabbed his wand and spectacles and said goodnight to the duty sergeant and a few of the other constables. He now knew them better than his fellow apprentices.
Chapter Twelve
~
S am stepped out into the cool air of the evening and headed home for the first time since becoming an apprentice. He wished Emmy would be by his side, but she was at the house. He nodded to a few friendly people, who seemed better behaved in the evenings than during the day when everyone scurried about minding their own business.
Sam turned a corner and passed an alley. He heard scuffling sounds. He drew his wand in time to dodge a blow from a pollen rod. From their shapes in the dim light, they looked like youths, but they covered their faces. Could the attackers from days ago when Sam became lost have found him?
He didn’t have time for another thought before he had to concentrate on deflecting the blows. Sam yelled for help as a rod was poked into his stomach. He took another blow on the head, and that was enough. Sam struck out. His metal wand would hurt them more than the pollen rods would. As he began to go on the offensive, the yells from his attackers increased.
He noticed that one of the attackers stayed in the rear, so he fought only three. It seemed like forever before constables’ whistles were heard. Sam slammed his wand on the fingers of one of the assailants before the four turned and ran.
The wall seemed to hold him up as he leaned back assessing the pain. He ran his hand on his head, feeling a few bumps. His breath finally returned as two constables held him up.
“Attacked?” one of the asked. The man squinted in the dim light. “Smith?”
Sam could only nod. He didn’t think he had suffered any broken bones. His hands were fine, but he would have some facial bruises in the morning that would show. The rest would be covered.
“Did you get a good look at them?” the other said.
Sam took a deep breath and shook his head. “They wore masks. I gave as good as I got. One of them will probably be sporting splints on his fingers. I didn’t have time to see how I hurt them except for that.”
“Do you need help back to the constabulary?”
Sam shook his head. “My home is a bit closer. I wouldn’t mind an escort.”
The constables peppered him with more questions than he could answer as they walked along Baskin’s streets. They reached Sam’s front door. A light showed through the curtains. Tru would be home.
“Thank you. I’ll try to be at practice tomorrow morning.”
“No, you won’t,” one of the constables said. “I’ll show up and tell Rider about your evening stroll. Take a morning off. It’s not compulsory.”
“Not for an apprentice?”
Both of the men laughed. “Even for an apprentice. Good night, Smith.” They turned away. Sam unlocked the door and stepped in.
“Sam?” Tru said from a reclining position on the couch in the front parlor.
“It is. I am home for the first time.”
And it was true. Sam had been evicted from his childhood home by his brother Mark and his mother. During the summer, he had traveled with Harrison Dimple, an increasingly mysterious healer, and after his adventures on the road, he had journeyed to Baskin, living in the apprentice dormitory.
“Welcome to your home. Emmy will be glad to see you. I’m not so sure we are great friends yet. For a female, her growls are very deep and very menacing,” his brother said with a smile. “Did you get something to eat?”
“I had a quick meal from the constabulary commissary. I need to sit down.”
Sam did so gingerly. He was developing more aches and pains from his bludgeoning.
“Are you hurt?” Tru sat up. “You are. Your face is red and beginning to swell. Did someone beat you up?”
“I’ll be all right,” Sam said. “I was accosted by a gang of four. I think I know who they were, and I’ll find out tomorrow, for sure.”
“You’ve already run across brigands?”
Sam managed a smile. “A few times, Tru. Baskin isn’t the safest town.”
Tru nodded. “I suppose not. Can I get you some hot water to wash your wounds?”
“That would be nice. I don’t think I’m bleeding. They used round pollen rods.”
Sam leaned back while Tru heated some water on the stove. His face began to throb, and his right cheek was very tender. He wanted to greet Emmy, but Sam didn’t think the dog would take his injuries into account. There was always tomorrow.
