I’d been following her for the better part of an hour now. Up rooftops, down gutters, through shaded alleyways and across busy thoroughfares. I guessed she was trying to shake someone, but I doubted it was me. She hadn’t made even the most cursory attempt to change her magical signature, which meant tracking her was as easy for me as it was for a bloodhound to find a butcher. That could only mean that someone of a less magical persuasion was after her, but she must have a better sense of these things than I did as I hadn’t seen anyone else after her. Perhaps another spell I’d never seen before had alerted her. I couldn’t wait to learn it.

Our trail had taken us in something of a looping spiral outwards from the Academy which sprawled across the city centre. I had to wonder why though—surely if she were looking to evade her pursuers she would hope to make it back to her rooms at the Academy. Perhaps she was ahead of me in her studies, though she looked my age. It would explain the strange spell craft I saw, and could mean she had a small workshop out in the city somewhere.

Once again she seemed to vanish into the crowd, and I began to worry about the calibre of individuals after her. Surely no-one without magic could track a person this slippery? Fortunately, I only had to glance down at the charm at my wrist to get back on the trail. It tugged in the direction of a minuscule alleyway, barely enough for two people to stand side-by-side. I hoped we were close to wherever she was headed, my feet were beginning to grow a little tired and a flight spell always felt like a needless expense of mana.

I watched my charm closely as I entered the alleyway. Despite its small size, it was a terribly convoluted space; entrances to other alleyways sprung out of the darkness, not to mention the several alcoves that were hewn into the sides or the variety of pipes and ladders leading to the rooftops. I sighed just thinking about them. If there was anything I’d learnt over the past hour it was that there were a whole lot more ways to make it onto a roof than the stairs, and none of them were comfortable. I ended up coming to a stop in a near-featureless part of the alley. The charm had begun to press… directly upwards? That was when she fell on me.

She pulled my head back by the hair and pressed a knife against my jugular. “Who are ye,” she whispered, breathing against my ear, “and how the fuck have ye managed to follow me for so long?”

My eyebrows scrunched together as I tried to think. Had she mistaken me for her pursuers? “Um, if you’re trying to ambush whatever non-mage was following you you’ve got the wrong person. I’m Camden. I’m, um, from the Academy. Like you, I think.”

“I’m not ‘from the Academy’ rich boy.” She poked a finger into my back. “I’ll ask again, how’d ye follow me?”

“I uh, just followed your aura. Did you forget to change it?

She remained silent, but the pressure on my throat subsided a little. After a beat, she said “No.”

“No? So, you did want me to follow you after all?”

“No! I mean, I don’t know how.”

“Don’t know how—I didn’t realise schooling was so bad in other academies.”

“How many times do I have to say it? I’m not from any stupid academy!” She pulled the knife away, slamming it into the ground next to my head.

In response, I tapped a charm hanging by my collar with my chin. She yelped as my body dissipated into a blue gas and then reformed standing before her. The knife sprang between us as she scrabbled backwards into a standing position.

“What the hell do ye want? Please, I’ll give the bread back if that’s what this is about. Gods know I don’t need a damn wizard on my arse.”

“Oh, so, you aren’t taking apprentices then?”

“A-apprentices?” She sputtered.

“Yes, I’ve never seen anyone cast a spell without a focus before. Back there in the market, that bread just flew right into your hand without you using a single focus. It’s incredible! Please, teach me what you know.”

“So, you’re telling me, that ye’ve been following me for the last hour not to rob me, or get the bread back, but because ye want me to teach you magic?”

I got down on my knees and pushed my head into the cobblestone. “Please!”

I heard the clatter of steel against stone as she began to laugh a huge, belly laugh. I glanced upwards. The knife was on the ground next to her as she rolled along the dirty floor, cackling all the while. “That’s—hahaha—that’s got to—haha—be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard!”

I flushed red. Of course, a master like her would never want some first year lackey like me. But this had been my last chance, really. Most of the professors already had apprentices. “I understand, I’m sorry to waste your time Miss.”

“No no, wait. First, don’t call me Miss. My name is Elenna. Listen, I’ll show ye how I do that trick in the market place. It ain’t anything grand like what you educated types can do, but if you’re that desperate to learn I suppose I can teach ya. But! In exchange, you gotta tell me about that aura thingy you were talking about. Deal?”

I nodded so fast I almost hit my neck charm again. She held out her hand, and I took it. It felt like magic.