Bloodrage - Helen Harper Page 0,6

that there was a small gathering of people awaiting our arrival. A stone statue of some be-robed man stood majestically over everyone, watching with sightless eyes. In front of the statue was a small altar and the Dean, holding a large worn-looking book in his hands. There was an element of surprise in his eyes as he looked at me, making me wonder if he’d thought that I would turn tail and run after our little chat the day before. He wasn’t going to get rid of me that easily. Still, he beckoned me over to stand beside him.

“We meet here, next to our founding father, to welcome a new initiate into our midst,” he intoned.

I wasn’t convinced that ‘welcome’ was quite the right word for him to use, but I managed to keep my mouth shut.

“Initiate Smith, place your hand onto the book, and then repeat after me.”

I began to rest my palm onto the tome that he was holding and then immediately snatched it away. It felt as if I’d received an electric shock. The Dean’s eyes narrowed at me, so I tried again, this time trying to ignore the painful buzz the book was giving off. I hoped that this was normal and wasn’t something to do with the fact that I wasn’t really a mage and shouldn’t really be here.

“I, Mackenzie Smith,” he began.

“I, Mackenzie Smith,” I dutifully repeated.

“Do swear to uphold the rules and traditions of the Ministry of Mages.”

“Do swear to uphold the rules and traditions of the Ministry of Mages.”

“I shall not abuse my power but shall instead seek to fulfill the precepts of the mage covenant of altruism, benevolence and compassion.”

I almost choked at those words – where was the altruism, benevolence or compassion as far as Mrs Alcoon was concerned? However, I managed to get them out of my mouth without drawing too much attention to myself. The Dean continued on, laying out a range of rules and concepts that I was now bound to follow. The majority seemed to involve making sure that I followed orders. I sighed inwardly. I probably wasn’t going to be particularly good at that part.

The sky was lightening with just the merest tinge of red in the east, when he finally finished and lowered his head. “Congratulations, Initiate Mackenzie.”

“Thank you,” I replied automatically.

His lips curled almost imperceptibly for a moment, and then he brushed past me, heading back towards the school building. His entire entourage followed.

Mage Thomas stayed behind and raised his eyebrows at me. “Well, well, well.”

“What?” I snapped. I think up until this point I’d been hoping that someone would jump out from behind a bush and tell me that they’d made mistake and they’d let me off. Now that I’d taken the oath, there was no turning back.

“I believe it’s time for breakfast. I will show you to the dining room, and then you should prepare for your first lessons.”

My soul lightened immediately. At least if I could get some coffee down me then I’d start to feel a bit more human. Human probably wasn’t the right word, but I didn’t dwell too long on that part, instead I just followed (again) quickly at the mage’s heels.

*

The dining hall was already busy when we arrived. Mage Thomas dumped me as soon as he could, without making any apologies or further explanations, so I headed straight for a large welcoming looking urn and poured myself a beautifully thick and gloopy mug of caffeine, then picked up a muffin and sat down.

I was just savouring the bitter coffee when someone shouted in my ear.

“Oh my fucking founder! What the hell have you done to your hair?”

It was Mary.

“What do you mean?” I asked cautiously.

“You’ve shaved it all off! Jeez! Is it, like, some kind of protest? I mean, I know you didn’t really want to be here that much but it was so beautiful!”

Several unpleasant slots clicked into place. “So I don’t have to be bald to be an initiate, then?”

“What? No! Who the…?” Her voice trailed off suddenly, and her gaze fell on that bastard Thomas who was at the other side of the room in deep conversation with someone else. “Oh.”

I carefully put the coffee down on the table in front of me. The flames inside were roaring, licking their way up through my intestines and seeping out through my skin. My vision was darkening, but I was still dimly aware of flickers of green flame sparking at my fingertips. I stood