Chapter 3

Jim frowned at Kat as they drank their kaffe.

“So what are we going to do with you? I’ll guess you’ll have to work for me until we can find a way to get you a magical item. I can’t see how to clear your name for the present. I’ll also need to find a room for Trae,” he told her.

Kat grinned, “You mean I finally get to meet the mystical protégée?”

Jim chuckled. “Yes, he is due here in a month. Hum, I have intended to clean out the old flat upstairs for some time. What say we make that liveable for Trae? You can move up there after he goes back if you wish a bit more space.”

The one-room flat above Jim’s store hadn’t had a tenant it since Trisha last used it. He hadn’t bothered fixing it up since Kat had lived downstairs with him when she came back. He’d found that tenants were often more of pain to have than a help and he had gotten into the habit over the years of storing his junk in the room, from when he went antique hunting.

Kat agreed that it was a worthwhile project for her to do. She was rather horrified when Jim took her upstairs to see the flat. She hadn’t been in it since her mother left. “Pater, where has all this stuff come from?” she asked him with surprise.

Jim shrugged, “I go to house sales and when I have time, I clean and fix the old items that I can sell in the shop. Some I meltdown for the ore and remove the gems. Some of it is junk because I have to take a whole box of items to obtain the piece that caught my eye.”

“Maybe I can look through the items, and I can make that part of my project, as it will be good practice for me,” she said thoughtfully. “We could put a wall up and divide off a bedroom area for Trae and leave this half as a workshop. Maybe Trae would like to help me.”

The flat was equal to half of the house area below. The other half of the area and the area over his shop was a set of offices that he rented to a firm of lawyers. Kimble’s were mostly into more business type law and they had been renting the offices for over sixty years. At least they were good tenants and went elsewhere at night.

A set of stairs gave access to the offices from the main street on the left of the building and then the apartment at the end of the open landing. You entered into the kitchen area that was built into the left corner. In the back left corner, from the doorway, was a modest bathroom. The double bed was set against the wall under a window, between the bathroom and the adjoining wall to the offices.

The junk took up most of the space left in the open plan room and even sat on the chairs and tables. A door between the kitchen and the bathroom led out onto the small balcony and a set of stairs that took you down to Jim’s home and the backyard where the stables and a carriage building stood.

Jim could see the advantage of providing a wall for the bedroom. There was a window over the bed, one on the landing and one in the kitchen that provided light for the main living area of the apartment. He may need to get a new electric light put in the bedroom but that was about all.

“I don’t see why not Kat, at least it will keep you out of trouble for a bit,” he told her.

Kat hugged him. “Sorry about all the trouble I’ve caused Pater,” she said as he hugged her back.

“Don’t worry Kat. I’m sure the truth will come out in the end. No one who truly knows you will believe you cheated. Started the fight, yes, but cheat, no.”

“You rascal,” she said with a giggle. “I didn’t start that fight either.”

“But, you finished it. Your cousin Mary was just pissed because she knew what Franz was like. He tried it with another girl after you left and this time the girl’s father caught him. The Shields slapped a cuff on him,” Jim reminded her.

“I wish I could have slapped a cuff on Dewar the lying bastard. Well, if the ring goes to anyone it will be him, not that he deserves it,” Kat said mournfully.

“Don’t bet on it, Kat. I’ve told you before; magical items for Mages and Novices have a mind of their own. If he cheated, it would know, and it won’t go to him. It may even pick someone who they least expect it to,” Jim informed her.

This didn’t help Kat, however, and now she wouldn’t be able to finish her studies either. She doubted moving to one of the other cities would help, as they would know why she had been expelled. It also seriously hampered her ability to get employment. She would have to stay and work for her Pater.

Not that she really minded, as she had learned more about magic from him than half of the stupid Masters professed to have. He did pick up the oddest items, and if she truly was meant to become a magician, she felt sure the magic item would find her, as it did for her Pater.

Kat surveyed the room and knew she would need the month to get it cleaned up and organised so Trae could use the space. Pater had told her about meeting Trae but she was normally studying for her exams when he came, so she hadn’t met him.

Maybe being expelled wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

The next three weeks were quiet but busy for the Cutter family.

They did get a visit from Baron Bart Beak. As far as they were both concerned, he was a pompous arse. However, he was basically honest, and he wore a Novice Energy ring. He just had a big blind spot when it came to his son.

He handed Jim a letter and informed him he was pay restitution for the medical bills due to his son’s injuries and the slur that Kat had placed upon his name by accusing Dewar of cheating.

“A mere girl is set upon by three young men, and you want her to pay for the privilege of being beaten up?” Jim replied sarcastically. “Have you been told of her injuries? She had two cracked ribs, a split lip and a black eye, thanks to your son.”

“She tried to steal, Dewar’s work!” Bart exclaimed indignantly.

“No, she didn’t. If anything, she stole mine. The spell she performed is one that I taught her but she modified it,” Jim informed Bart.

“That is preposterous, the spell was based on one that they were teaching at the University,” Bart scoffed.

“Yes, I must ask Master Aims when he asked me for permission to teach the spells that I taught him,” Jim responded. Jim walked around the counter and retrieved a book from his workbench. He flipped it open to the spell in question and showed it to Bart.

“See, the spell was entered into my book more than fifty years ago. You can check with your ring that it is authentic. I can give you a copy if you wish to check if they are they are the same,” Jim informed him.

Bart looked at the spell, and he did check it with his ring. Jim tried not to be offended by his actions. Bart replied, “This spell doesn’t use the same ingredients.”

“No, Kat swapped the metals as she believed it would work better on the different metal combinations, and be stronger,” Jim replied. “She has repeated the spell for me and I agree with her reasoning as the ward is stronger.”

“What? That was Dewar’s idea it was in his notes, I have read them,” Bart barked.

“Again this is not true. He stole Kat’s working set of notes, but not the original set. She still has them, and I have deposited them with Kimble’s upstairs for safekeeping should there be an inquiry. We don’t plan to push the issue.”

“I’ll tell you what. If the Ring on offer accepts Dewar, I will pay the restitution and place an apology in the papers. If not, you will do the same,” Jim told Bart reasonably.

“But the ring may not accept him if it finds another worthy,” Bart replied.

“True. However, if he truly did alter my spell, then he is very gifted. Why wouldn’t the ring accept him? Kat said that only she and he were believed to have enough potential to be accepted,” Jim responded in his most polite voice.

“No, that is still inconclusive. Just admit she cheated and I will let it rest,” Bart said magnanimously.

“No, Kat is happy to front a tribunal of her peers and even ask a cuff to prove her innocence,” Jim told him firmly.

Bart frowned at this. Dewar had not made such offer, and he’d not been happy that Bart planned to have any slur on his son’s name removed. Bart looked at the older Pix. Jim did have a reputation for his wards and his honest dealings.

Bart knew that Jim had been wearing his ring for over a hundred years. A ring won’t stay with a magician if they are dishonest. Bart couldn’t detect any interference with the spells on Jim’s ring, and it resonated as happy as when it had detected his ring.

Bart decided he needed to talk with his son again after he talked to Katrina. He asked Jim if he could talk to her. Jim called Kat down from upstairs. Bart wasn’t surprised that she scowled when she saw him. She, however, schooled her features quickly and greeted him politely.

“Please place your hand in mine,” he said to Kat. Kat did so without reservation to his surprise. “Did you create the ward that had you expelled?” he asked without preamble.

“I adapted one of Pater’s wards and it worked,” Kat said looking him in the eyes.

Bart got the feeling from his ring that she spoke the truth. “Did you set upon Dewar to get your item back?” he then asked.

“No, I spoke to him and demanded the item and my notes back. He laughed and threatened to beat me if told on him. I told him that I would tell, so he smashed me in the face. Felton and Walter tried to grab me, and Dewar hit me again. I managed to hook him before Felton knocked me down and then they started kicking me,” she told him in a tight voice.

He felt horror come from his ring. It also believed she told the truth and he could feel her tension and pain when her hand tightened as she retold of her beating. His family was more Burgis than Pix and Dewar would have stood over her by at least 22cm and outweighed her by 20kg. While she was tall for a Pix, she was still slender like one.

All the same, Bart was surprised that she had managed to blacken both of Dewar’s eyes and broke his nose. She must have hit him as hard as she could have. If she had hit in retaliation, she could well have found the strength, plus she was a potential Earth Novice.

He was still uncertain how to proceed. Katrina and Jim gave every indication that Katrina’s version was the truth. He knew that she had bested Dewar in many of the examinations that they had shared. He had even berated Dewar to do better.

He was now wondering if some of this was his fault for pushing Dewar to be better. Dewar did have a competitive streak, and he knew it was one of his failings. It had taken him many years to temper it and redirect his streak to good business instead.

Dewar was, however, an adult by Burgis standards. He was twenty-four and had been one for six years according to their culture. Whereas Katrina wasn’t an adult for another two years if she was classified as being a Pix. Even if she was considered a Shifter, as she appeared to be, she was just twenty-three and would have only been an adult for two years.

It also didn’t sit well with him for his son to have hit a woman in the face, even if she had started it. The report of her wounds indicated that they were not those inflicted by a man restraining a woman from hitting him. He was now certain that Dewar had not acted properly towards Katrina. He planned to question his son again.

“Thank you, Katrina,” he said politely. “I believe I must question my son again. There are inconsistencies between your stories and someone is lying to me.”

“I’m sorry, Baron Beak but it isn’t me. I hate to tell you this but it’s not the first time Dewar has cheated. I believe that he had borrowed my notes before but hadn’t stolen them as blatantly as he did the last time. I know he has been struggling with the advanced classes and resents me for being able to complete them,” Katrina told him sadly.

“I see,” Bart replied. “I shall be back.” He nodded his head before he turned and left.

“Well, well, wonders will never cease to amaze me,” Jim said softly as he watched the Baron leave. “I know he can be blind where Dewar is concerned but he has always struck me as an honest man. We will have to wait and see what happens, Kat.”

“He knew I was telling the truth. I could see it in his eyes. I’m sorry I have made him so unhappy,” Kat responded.

“We can pick our friends but not our relatives,” Jim answered.

Kat gave him an odd look, and Jim chuckled. “I have Raymond, remember,” he informed her.

Kat chuckled, “Yes, Grandfather can be rather obstinate.”

They got to work as Kat only had a week to finish getting the apartment ready for Trae.

Raymond was a worried man.

As much as he loved his current wife, his twin daughters were becoming a problem. Thanks to his wife’s money and his influence, they had gotten the girls into the University in Hilton City where he worked. Their first year had gone well and the girls showed great promise in their chosen fields.

They now stood over his 133cm height by 16cm, but they were not as tall as their mother was. He often wondered what she had seen in him. He knew he was a pleasant looking man and while he had managed to acquire a single gemmed Energy Novice ring and a job at the University, he didn’t think he was that clever.

His father had often commented that he had little imagination and that he was too rigid in his views. It seemed that the girls were finding his rules harder to live by. They had recently fallen into a crowd that spent more time partying than working at their studies.

He was becoming very worried by their lack of respect for him and Vera. He almost wished his wife’s last invention hadn’t proved so popular. She had enough imagination for both of them. The influx of money in the last three years had meant they could live in better housing and provide more luxuries for the girls.