Seiren sighed. It was hard getting Kori and Professor Febland out of her head. The thoughts of 'Perhaps I should have...' or 'If I had only...' wouldn't vacate her mind.

Even Loren couldn't have healed a boy like that, Seiren. Be sensible. Stop beating yourself up over it.

She sat back, resting her head on the wooden walls of her Benover rented room. At least with a steady income now that she had several completed quests under her belt, she didn't need to cramp herself in some dodgy hostel for the night. This room wasn't much grander or larger, but at least she had a window that looked out on the streets where predators didn't prowl. She couldn't help but think of Loren's airy flat that overlooked the market square. Perhaps once Seiren achieved full mageship, she'd move to somewhere like that.

She shifted, her legs going numb in her cross-legged position.

I need to practise. Give me some space?

Sure.

Seiren took off Madeleine and rested the necklace on her pillow, the stone glowing a soft crimson. Seiren emptied her mind with even breaths; it was almost second nature to her, now. Rowan was right -- she grimaced at the thought of her tutor being proven correct yet again -- she just needed practice, and practising without Madeleine distracting her was the best way to ensure she progressed with burst magic.

She clapped her hands together. The magic congregated in her mind and thrust out. She sucked in a breath, reining in the power before it got out of control. A spark leapt from palm to palm, swirling in a white ball of fire. The burst of heat lifted her hair off her forehead. The flames disintegrated within seconds.

From studies, burst magic tended to manifest as the four elements, not unlike orange runes, although there were always exceptions. Famous burst mages would hone on those skills until they were experts -- some combined air and water to create ice, others focused on air to create lightning. The powers could sometimes exceed that of flash mages in the hands of experts. Although Seiren was comfortable enough with runes, she supposed she should practise until she reached the stage of consistency before ceasing. She tried again. Each burst was more or less the same power now, but still weak. She couldn't help but feel a flicker of irritation that she promptly pushed away in case it affected her rush of magic. She had to be well-rounded, yes, but it still felt unnecessary when she'd only progressed from a flatulent poof to a small fireball in two months.

Dawn broke. After having breakfast, Seiren made a trip to the Council of Mages to check for her next quest. Her inbox was empty; not unusual, given how she'd completed her task in less time than she was allocated.

She pushed open the gilded doors to exit the task room and, standing on the other side, was a brown-skinned, black-haired mage in a rainbow-lined cloak that barely covered his portly figure. He raised bushy eyebrows at the sight of her.

"Ah, little baby mage." The corners of his eyes crinkled and his mouth turned up in a smile, beneath the moustache, but his eyes remained empty and icy. Seiren fought back a shiver. "How are you?"

"Fine, thank you," said Seiren stiffly. Madeleine's presence shivered in the back of Seiren's head.

"Have you practised much in burst magic?" He grinned, showing pearly white teeth. Seiren swallowed a wave of irritation. She remembered their last encounter well, especially his snide compliment about her attempt at burst magic.

"Yes, as a matter of fact." She maintained a steady stare into those emotionless brown eyes. "I've much improved."

"I hope you've given my offer some consideration." His gaze bore straight into her soul. "Flash magic brings power that could truly make a difference, unlike all of the other branches of magic."

Seiren was sharply reminded of her helplessness before a dying Kori.

"Allow me to demonstrate." He held out a hand, long-fingered and callused. His eyes were endless pools of liquid midnight. Seiren took it. His hand glowed, not the soft pastel colours of activated rune magic, nor the warm white of chaos magic, but a sharp, piercing flash of all the colours of the rainbow, throwing black spots across her eyes. Seiren squinted. The shiver of pure, unadulterated power coursed through her body, far exceeding the spark she'd felt from Ebanon Fernard, sending shivers down her spine and making hairs stand up all over. She took in a breath and she could feel every particle of air bouncing down her airway and into her lungs, flooding them with life.

The power emanated from Portendorfer's palms and flowed back the same way. Seiren knew if she could grasp it, she could take down the whole council building in one swift explosion. Her ears rang; a distant voice called, but she couldn't hear their words.

Without warning, the image of the mangled dog she'd desperately tried to heal when she'd first landed in Benover flashed across her mind. She snatched her hand back with a gasp. Then, it was followed by the mutated faces and bodies of all the convicts she'd experimented on and failed.

Power without control, hissed Madeleine, fury coming off her presence in waves. Remember what happened the last time you overestimated yourself.

Portendorfer seemed to take her gasp and withdrawal as admiration, for he smiled with satisfaction, his teeth gleaming in stark contrast to his dark skin.

The door squeaked open behind her. Seiren whipped around, tense.

Rowan Woodbead stood there, his eyebrows rising to his hairline before his cheeks coloured and his eyes burned with hatred.

"Step away from my student, Portendorfer."

"Oh?" Portendorfer's grin got bigger. "I don't get a Mage from you? Who taught you those manners?"

"Respect is earned, not a prerequisite." Rowan's voice trembled; his hands curled into fists.

Portendorfer didn't acknowledge Rowan's words. Instead, he turned to Seiren and nodded to her before sweeping away, leaving her wordless.

"What the hell were you doing with him?" Rowan demanded.

His accusatory tone ignited Seiren's irritation. "What has that got to do with you?"

"I told you. Tahir Portendorfer is a dangerous individual--"

"You're not my mother. I can judge for myself."

"If your common sense isn't telling you that he's a predator having sought a prey, then you're more naive than I thought."

"My common sense is telling me there's a sore student who is bitter he was too much of a coward to reach anywhere near his tutor's potential!" Seiren exploded, seeing red. She didn't wait to see his reaction. Fire coursed up and down her back and for a moment, she was tempted to blast the door behind him down, but settled for kicking it until it swung back with a bang and storming out. Mages turned at the noise, but she didn't care. She rushed past them, her vision turning into a tunnelled black hole centred on the large wooden main doors.

I'm going to strangle him!

Ideally after you get your certification, said Madeleine in a dry voice. Seiren, calm down.

I'm going to set his ass on fire!

You do that, but you should also calm down.

Seiren's cloudy vision cleared eventually. Just like the last time Rowan had infuriated her, all she wanted was to get away with him, even if it meant climbing across fences and swimming across monster-infested waters. She wasn't quite sure where she was. Carefully-carved shrubs -- probably by runes -- lined one side of the road; the other overlooked the harbour.

A clock tower stood in front of her; a set of stone steps descended down its side, still overlooking the waters. She took the path down, enjoying the gentle waft of chilly wind that cooled her sweaty, scorching skin and slowed her pounding heart. She ran her fingers over the coarse, salt-covered surface of the metal rails above the stone wall. The blue water was dull behind the grey mist and beneath the overcast sky. The salty air filled her lungs with tranquility, reminding her of the peaceful state her mind had been in when she'd used chaos magic under Loren's tutelage on Bonsie, her fat fluffy cat.

Seiren had a mental image of the lazy feline lying belly-up in the sunshine, its long tail swishing slowly, a low rumble in its chest, its green eyes half-closed in bliss.

Until a piercing scream, horribly familiar, shattered the picture. Seiren's blood ran cold. She turned; the shriek echoed, but it was nearby.

Below us, said Madeleine. Seiren took off at a sprint, her heart racing once again, but her blood turned to ice.

It can't be. Hannans? Or--? Her mind flashed to the mages who had been attacked by the rogues, to the mystery woman who'd stabbed her in the rain -- Halen Ashworth. The rogues were still loose; her weeks in the Finberry manor kept her separated from current affairs and she'd almost forgotten the dangers of being alone.

Her feet flew over the remaining steps until she almost smashed into a wooden fence. Without a thought, she fished out a red rune from a side pocket and slammed it on, leaping back and snapping her fingers. The rune glowed crimson before withdrawing into itself and the wood collapsed in a pile of shards, revealing an overlooking balcony, empty except for three figures.

"Stop!" Seiren yelled. She didn't expect them to stop. One, a tall, broad-shouldered figure, had already turned away, his hooded head not even turning at the sound of her voice. The other, a young blonde woman with metal jewellery decorating her nose and ears, turned to her, a manic gleam in her eyes. She threw out a hand, crossing her fingers.

The temperature of the air around Seiren plummeted. She could see tiny ice shards forming in the air she breathed out. She hitched a breath, her eyes widening; this was magic she'd never seen before.

The tall man clamped a hand over the blonde woman's, halting her magic. The woman scowled up at him.

"Don't forget what we're here for," he growled. Seiren thought she recognised the silky deep voice. "Our job is done."

"She looks just like her," hissed the woman.

"And you want to kill her?"

Seiren didn't hear the response. She clapped her hands, throwing out as much magic as she could from her palms. A jet of fire shot from her hands straight at the two. The man didn't even move. He made no gestures to focus his magic, but white steam poured from all sides, creating a misty wall. Her fire hit, dampened to nothingness in the face of water.

Seiren darted across the balcony to chase the two racing up the stairs when she heard a gurgle.

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