Legacies (Mercedes Lackey) - By Mercedes Lackey Page 0,22

year when he’s seventeen because Gareth graduates then, damn him. What a slacker. But there’s one proctor for each ten students, so right now there are ten of us. I’ll tell Gareth to find you after you’ve finished your tests and make sure you know who the proctors are for your side.”

“Thanks,” Loch said.

“I know the first few months here can be rough,” Kelly said, and now she was talking to both of them, “but there isn’t anybody here who hasn’t been through at least some of what you have. If you don’t want to talk to the teachers, talk to somebody, m’m kay? Okay, end of lecture.” She got to her feet.

“Wait,” Spirit said. “Are you—? I mean—”

Kelly smiled at her. “One of those wizard guys?” She snapped her fingers, and suddenly a flame was burning on the end of her thumb. She folded her thumb into her fist, and the flame was gone. “Fire Witch. It’s the commonest Gift; nobody really knows why. Gotta go. I’ll see you later.”

Spirit watched her as she strode—she already had the idea that Kelly strode everywhere—from the Refectory. Loch’s touch on her arm made her jump.

“I think we’d better go,” he said when she looked at him.

It was strange how the Entry Room already seemed like a familiar place. There was still a fire burning in the fireplace—or maybe that was “again”—and Spirit wondered if they kept a fire burning there 24/7. Then another thought struck her. Maybe there isn’t any fire there at all. Maybe it’s just an illusion. The thought was so sudden and so disturbing—this time yesterday she hadn’t even known that real magic existed—that she tripped on the perfectly smooth tile floor.

“Steady,” Loch said. “How bad can it be?”

“I don’t know,” Spirit said, keeping her voice level with an effort. “What if we flunk?”

From the look on Loch’s face, the thought hadn’t even occurred to him.

There was a different blonde woman behind the Front Desk this morning. She was just as glossy and groomed as Ms. Corby had been, and wearing a Bluetooth headset; when Spirit peered over the edge of the vintage-looking counter, everything behind it was twenty-first-century modern, with enough keyboards, touchpads, and display screens that she ought to be able to launch the whole school into space.

“Ms. Smith will be with you in just a few moments,” the blonde woman said. She regarded them with the same distant haughtiness that Ms. Corby had yesterday, as if she couldn’t imagine why they were here at Oakhurst at all. Spirit was tempted to offer to leave, but fortunately Ms. Smith arrived before she could.

“Hi. I hope you weren’t waiting long,” she said, glancing at her watch. “I’m Jane Smith. Come on, I’ll take you to the testing rooms.”

In contrast to the blonde receptionist, Ms. Smith looked friendly and like an actual human being. She was wearing the school uniform, but with pants, not a skirt, and her long brown hair was pulled back into a casual ponytail. She was holding a clipboard cradled in one arm, and she had a pen tucked behind her ear.

Spirit and Loch followed her through a doorway and along a corridor. The corridor was carpeted, and the framed pictures on the walls were all old-time photographs of railroad things that had probably belonged to the house’s original owner. Spirit hadn’t been here long enough to get a real sense of the layout of the main house, so she was lost very quickly. Ms. Smith stopped in front of a door and opened it.

“Go right in and take a seat, Mr. Spears. Doctor Ambrosius will be right with you,” Ms. Smith said with an encouraging smile. “Relax. This isn’t the kind of test anybody flunks.”

Loch gave her an unconvinced smile in return and walked into the room. Spirit wanted to see what was in there, but Ms. Smith was already moving down the corridor. They passed a few more closed doors, then she stopped and opened another one. “And here we are,” she said brightly.

Spirit walked in hesitantly. The room was surprisingly small—a little smaller than Spirit’s new bedroom—and gave her the feeling of an old-time schoolroom. The ceiling was high for the room’s size, at least twenty feet. There were windows, but they were completely covered by blackout shades made of black fabric, and the light came from lights in the ceiling.

There was nothing in the room but a large heavy wooden table and two heavy wooden chairs. Spirit walked over to