Embers (Scales 'N' Spells 4)

“Sure, I’ll be glad to.” Tori encouraged them all to follow with a wave of his hand.

Nikki followed and stopped eyeing the door longingly. Really, Tori and Sora seemed to be alright people. They didn’t speak with the manipulative, greedy undertone Nikki was used to hearing. They seemed genuinely invested in the welfare of the people around them.

The verdict was still out, a little, but Nikki couldn’t help but think maybe these two, at least, were trustworthy.

Sneaking at night was the best.

Nikki had tried sneaking around the castle during the day once, and it had been a disaster. Everywhere they turned, a dragon or mage would pop up wanting to help them. How was a person supposed to be ninja-sly if someone was always there?

But at night, the long halls and winding staircases were empty. Only the shadows and the eyes of past Burkhard residents frozen in paintings saw them.

Well, the ghosts watched them too. A castle this old had to have ghosts. Nikki just hoped they were friendly dragon ghosts and not grumpy mage ghosts.

They’d made it several floors and an entire wing away from their chambers before needing to pause and sink into the deep shadows of a little niche. While most good little dragons and mages were in bed for the night, there were still a handful of guards roaming the various corridors and checking the entrances. A thick web of protective spells enveloped the entire castle, but the dragon guards remained. Not at all surprising considering four dragon kings—along with a horde of new mages—were in residence. As head of security for the Burkhard Clan, Baldewin was clearly taking no chances.

When the coast was clear again, Nikki darted out of their hiding spot, continuing on bare tiptoes around the final corner. Their heart raced with excitement, and smugness bubbled in their veins. No one saw them. No one even knew they were out of their chambers. In these dark hours, the castle was their domain and they were free.

But the real prize lay beyond that misty glass door. The greenhouse. A cornucopia of spell elements just waiting for them to pluck and snip them. The tour with Tori had given Nikki a much better idea of what all they could play with in the greenhouse. The anticipation proved to be too much for their fragile willpower.

They positively itched to try magic. Nikki had never had a vested means of doing so. Plenty of curiosity, sure, but never the actual means or theoretical knowledge to practice. Since coming to Burkhard, they had been questioned, poked, and coddled—all in the most caring ways. Lisette had been insistent on lessons, but she was more concerned with theory and math. She didn’t want to experiment. That was the fun way to do magic. Just slam a few elements together and see what happened. What was so wrong with that method? But she wanted to study and rationalize and…ugh…do math.

However, the more Nikki read, the more they found interesting spells, and they really, really wanted to put theory into practice. In particular, there was an interesting stun spell that would freeze an enemy dead in their tracks. That would be an excellent spell to know. They’d already grabbed some moonlight from a waxing moon out their window. All that was left was to grab some cow parsley and oleander from the greenhouse. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Particularly since they were smart enough to make a quick drawing of what cow parsley and oleander looked like.

Wrapping their fingers around the handle, they carefully pulled it down and opened the door a crack. There was just the smallest click of sound and then nothing. They waited, holding their breath. No one should be in the greenhouse at this hour, but they’d learned from years of stealth adventures around the Jaeggi compound that it didn’t hurt to be cautious.

Thick, moist air poured out the opening, assailing Nikki with the heavy green scent of leaves and dirt. They liked the greenhouse. It was peaceful. This place was becoming one of Nikki’s favorite night haunts. They were giving serious consideration to helping Tori in the greenhouse. Working with one mage wouldn’t be so bad and Nikki rather liked Tori.

With no sound beyond the distant drip of water onto paving stones, Nikki slipped inside and silently closed the door again. Moonlight poured through the windows overhead, painting the lush forest with silvery light. Nikki’s wilder imagination suggested there might be a fairy or elf ready to poke their head around a leafy fern and invite them to play.

A fantasy, nothing more, and Nikki wasn’t here to play anyway. They had already been away from their chambers for fifteen minutes. While unlikely, there was always a chance Gunter might come to check on them. Successful stealth missions also required speed.