True Magics Read Free Page B

you owe me money.”
    Keith growled in disgust, but pulled out his pouch and after some fussing, tossed some coins on the table.
    Eileen stepped forward. “I’m sorry you thought it was a dirty trick,” she said. “But we had to do it. We had to make a case for girls in the Academy if I’m going to get in.” She held out her hand. “Friends?”
    “Get in?” Keith’s eyes went wide. “You’re not getting in! You won’t even be let in the grounds after Festival.”
    “That’s for the Headmaster to decide,” said Thomas.
    “No it isn’t! Girls don’t go on the Academy grounds!”
    “This one does,” said Henry. “By invite of the Headmaster, in fact.”
    “But she can’t go back! She doesn’t belong!”
    “She is going back,” said Eileen, her smile gone and a sharp edge on her words. “And she will be taking the exams and going to the Academy if she passes.”
    “We’re doing petitions starting after Festival,” said Charles. “Will you be signing?”
    Keith’s face alternated red and white for a pair of moments, then he turned and stalked away.
    “He took that well, didn’t he?” said Henry.
    “By the Four, are they all going to be like that?” asked Eileen.
    “Some,” said Thomas. “Not all of them.”
    “He’s just sore,” said Graham, who was still standing there. He handed over coins to Thomas. “And so am I. That was a dirty trick you pulled and you and Henry should be ashamed of yourselves.” He turned to Eileen and stuck out his hand. “Good debate.”
    Eileen, bemused, shook it.
    “See?” said Thomas as Graham went back to his table. “Keith will come around, I hope.”
    “He’d better,” said Eileen. “I’ve come too far to stop now.”
    She took off her coat and cloak and laid them on the bench. She was wearing her green skirt and bodice with a white blouse beneath.
    “You do look better as a girl,” said Jonathan.
    “But we’ll all miss the sight of you in pants,” said Henry, earning a swat. “Now, hands up everyone that won a bet on this.”
    Every member of the company raised his hand.
    Henry grinned. “Then let’s celebrate in style!”
    ***
    Five hours later, the midnight bell rang and the students spilled out of the pub, filling the streets with laughter and song. Plans and promises to meet on the beach were shouted back and forth as they split up to gather their supplies. Eileen and Thomas, hand in hand and smiling, with Henry right beside them, went to Thomas and Henry’s apartment. They fetched blankets and a basket of food and wine that Henry had organized that morning. Then they walked through the city, across the harbour and out the land-gates.
    They followed the curve of the bay that protected Hawksmouth from the ocean down to the mile-long gravel beach. The path to the beach had been lined with torches, and hundreds of people were already walking to the shore, their lanterns and torches making a twinkling procession. Beyond the beach, the water rolled in small, foam tipped waves that reflected the lights of the fires and the lanterns. The breeze coming off the ocean was strong and cold and wet.
    For Thomas, who could also see the inner lights of the people on the beach, it looked like a thousand small lights were dancing in the wind.
    “Thank the Four it isn’t raining,” said Henry. “Or snowing. Remember two years ago? We nearly froze before we even got to the water.”
    “I still don’t understand why you have to go in,” said Eileen. “We never did this back home.”
    “You weren’t by the ocean back home, were you?”
    “Thomas! Henry! Here!”
    Michael was beside one of the many beach fires, jumping up and down and waving his arms. A great store of wood was put away every fall for the Festival of Rains, and fires had been built down the length of the beach. The students from the Academy traditionally gathered by the royal pavilion to show their support and respect for the king. Nearby, a stage had been set up for the