Arcturus spent most of the day attempting to improve his living conditions, taking spare sheets and broken furniture from the storerooms, creating a makeshift blockade for the window and adding another few layers of cloth to his threadbare blanket. He was exhausted and hungry by lunchtime, but fortunately food was brought up by a waspish Ulfr, who dumped the tray unceremoniously in the room and left without a word.

The food was plain lamb and potatoes, obviously prepared for the servants rather than the nobles, but it was far better fare than Arcturus was used to at the inn and ambrosia compared to the slops he had eaten at the workhouse. There was even a bowl of mincemeat for Sacharissa, which she gulped down with relish and then nosed the bowl for more.

As instructed, he went searching for Obadiah in the afternoon, but was swiftly herded back to his room by one of the dwarven servants. It turned out that the Provost had been called away earlier than expected, and was no longer at Vocans. This was fine by Arcturus. He wasn't sure if he liked the man.

They spent the rest of the night practising with wyrdlights, delighting in the way they floated aimlessly around the room, as if they had lives of their own. Sacharissa would snap at them in the air, leaping and diving to catch them, while Arcturus tried to nudge them out of the way. Whenever she managed to touch one, her look of complete bafflement at its disappearance and the fresh darkness entertained Arcturus no end.

When night fell, his room was considerably warmer than the previous night, with no cutting draft to chill his bones. He was lulled to sleep by the gentle rise and fall of Sacharissa's chest, pressed against him among a tangle of blankets.

"Wake up, you're late!"

The banging on the door jerked Arcturus from his slumber. The room was still dark, a consequence of his improvised window shade. He had no idea what time it was.

"Wassat?" he mumbled as Sacharissa whined at the noise.

"Summoning lessons started five minutes ago. Rouse yourself, or stay and face the consequences!" Ulfr's voice came from outside the door. His footsteps echoed down the corridor as Arcturus's sleep-addled mind processed the words.

"Oh, no!"

Arcturus was glad that he had slept in his uniform, for he was pelting past Ulfr and down the stairs ten seconds later. Sacharissa ran ahead, punctuating each leap forward with a low pant.

He found her nosing at the summoning room doors, but he paused and composed himself before they entered.

"Not a great first impression for Lord Scipio. Plus we've missed breakfast." Arcturus groaned, preparing himself for the worst. He turned the handle and stepped inside.

The other students stood in a circle, but they ignored him as he tiptoed into the room. The group were surrounding a low, round table, but Arcturus could not see what was on it. The nobles did not attempt to make room for him, so he looked over Elaine's shoulder, as she was the smallest of the group.

The table was made of pure white marble, polished to be smooth and round as a river pebble, but it was the object embedded in the center that took Arcturus's breath away: an enormous gem, the size of a large carriage wheel and as black as ink, shone up at him like volcanic glass.

"Nice of you to join us, Arcturus," a voice said from behind him. Arcturus turned, an apology already forming on his lips.

A man stood in the center of the room. He was powerfully built, with lambchop sideburns and curly hair the color of chocolate. He stood with his arms crossed, but the smile on his face showed Arcturus he did not mind his tardiness, so he cut his apology short. His gold edged officer"s uniform left no doubt as to who he was: Lord Scipio.

"I was just going to go and collect you, when you ran right past me," Scipio said, before turning back to the open door he had come through. He gave a brief, sharp whistle. The hairs on the back of Arcturus's neck stood up as he heard a yowl from outside, then a demon bounded through the door, its tail lashing the air.

Sacharissa growled, her hackles raised at the sight of the new demon. It looked like a snow leopard, with a dusting of black spots on a thick white pelt. It had two long canines that poked out on either side of its mouth like twin sabers, below a set of four fierce green eyes, not unlike Sacharissa's. Strangest of all, it seemed to walk like a jungle chimp, crouching on two legs and resting on its front paws, almost bipedal, but not quite. It was agile, for it slunk swiftly around the room, its eyes never leaving Sacharissa.

"Calm down, Kali, you'd think you've never seen a Canid before," Scipio laughed, as the Felid arched its back, snarling at Sacharissa. "You'll have to forgive her, Arcturus. She's a bit afraid of them."

Scipio winked conspiratorially at Arcturus. As if she understood him, the Kali froze, then sat back on her haunches. She proceeded to lick her paw, completely ignoring Sacharissa.

Scipio walked over and held his hand out for Sacharissa to smell. She gave it a cursory sniff, then licked it once with her pink tongue to show her approval.

"Canids and Felids, there's always been a bit of a rivalry there. Must be something to do with competing for food sources in the ether."

"The ether?" Arcturus asked, his curiosity piqued.

"You'll find out soon enough," Scipio said, looking behind Arcturus at the others. They had been watching their exchange with interest.

"Make room for Arcturus, ladies and gentlemen. He shouldn't have to crane over young Elaine's head. Charles, Damian, there seems to be some room in between you. Budge up," Scipio ordered, shooing them with his hands.

The two boys stared daggers at Arcturus, who shuffled forward and wedged himself between them. They leaned in, digging their shoulders uncomfortably into his own.

"For the benefit of Elaine and Arcturus, I shall give a basic run-through of what we are going to learn here over the course of this year. It will act as a good refresher for those of you who have neglected your studies since last we met."

There was an audible groan from the others and Arcturus frowned apologetically. Edmund mouthed, "It's fine," at Artcurus and gave him a smile.

"Now, this stone in the center is the largest scrying stone ever discovered, otherwise known as the Oculus. Are you aware of what a scrying stone does?" Scipio said, pushing between the Queensouth twins and pointing at the stone.

"Yes sir, when a demon touches it, the stone will show everything that a demon sees," Arcturus said, remembering his brief lesson with Obadiah Forsyth. Elaine nodded in agreement.

"Very good. It will keep showing it for several hours, or until the scrying stone is touched once again. Now, Kali here will demonst—"

Before he could finish speaking, a draft ruffled the hair on Arcturus's nape as the Felid soared over him. It landed with its paws around the stone, before nudging it gently with its nose.

"Ahem ... yes ... well done, Kali," Scipio said, as the stone flickered with color. A moment later Arcturus was staring at a close-up of Charles's face, for that was where Kali was looking. The detail was incredible –

Arcturus could even see the pores in the boy's nose. It was not a pretty sight.

"Felids have better eyesight than others. Most summoners prefer to use a Mite to scout the ether first, but Kali is quick enough to jump back through if there's any trouble."

Arcturus's curiosity quickened as the ether was mentioned again. Jump back through what?

"And, do you know what infusion is?" Scipio asked.

"Yes, sir." Arcturus said, still mesmerized by the image as Kali switched her gaze from one face to another.

"Good. I shall teach you how to infuse a demon next week perhaps, your demon seems well behaved enough to not distract you in lessons."

"Thank you, sir," Arcturus said. He felt far safer with Sacharissa by his side, and knew that if he were taught to infuse her, she would not be allowed out for most of the day. Still, he was curious about what it felt like to have the demon within him. He almost didn't believe it was possible.

"Now, I shall use one of the keyed pentacles on the floor beside us. Who can tell me what a keyed pentacle is?"

"A keyed pentacles has a symbol on each corner of the star. They act as coordinates that will open a portal to the ether," Baybars Saladin replied.

"Good. I shall now do so. Pay attention everyone," Scipio said, kneeling on the ground. He laid his hands on the floorboards, then grunted as his fingertips began to glow blue. There was a low hum in the room, and slowly but surely the lines of the pentacle Scipio was facing shone with the same electric light. The symbols on each corner pulsed. A pinprick appeared in the air, expanding slowly into a spinning orb the size of a man's head. Still, it grew, doubling in size over and over, until it was larger than the table they stood around.

Scipio's face was red with effort, the veins on his neck bulging. He lifted one hand, causing the pentacle to crackle, before removing a wooden spike, attached to a roll of leather from his back pocket. He rammed it into the floorboards, then stood, panting, the leather strap gripped firmly in his hand. The fingertips remained blue, and Arcturus could tell he was powering the pentacle through the connection.

"There's got to be a better way of doing this," Scipio muttered, stepping back into his place at the table. "Kali! You know what to do."

The Felid yowled with excitement, before leaping over their heads once again. Kali landed in a crouch, then leaped into the orb, disappearing as swiftly as a disturbed wyrdlight. But Arcturus's attention did not remain on the orb for long. The image on the stone had changed. Scipio smiled at him as his mouth dropped open.

"Welcome ... to the ether."

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Thanks for reading Chapter 10. What did you think of the lesson? Better than algebra?

Did you know that ORIGINS continues with a full novel called THE OUTCAST? You can read ALL of Arcturus's story in May, 2018, coming to a store near you or available online in all the usual places! 

The sequel to this book, THE NOVICE, is out RIGHT NOW all over the world! You can pick one up in most bookstores including Barnes and Noble and Waterstones. It's also available online on Amazon, Kindle, iBooks, Kobo, Nook and Google Play, to name but a few!