The Wizard and the Void - Chapter Nine

Author: Milady Dragon

Daisy loved Gateway.

She could feel the Deep Ways thrumming through the city, like an extra heartbeat in her chest. The place was bathed in that primordial magic, and every time Daisy arrived after being gone, even for a couple of hours, it felt as if she'd regained a part of herself that she didn't know was missing until it was there again.

She'd said goodbye to her Dad and had used the Teleport spell that every student had been granted to return to Gateway, claiming that she'd wanted to go back to the school first instead of leaving directly for the Stark Barony of Ferrous and Mistress Pepper's manor. It hadn't been a lie, really…only one of omission, because she wasn't about to explain to her Dad that she was hoping she'd be able to help in some way, and going to Barony Ferrous would defeat that purpose. Daisy wasn't sure how yet, but then that was what her friends were for, to help her come up with some sort of plan.

Although, her Dad's friend, Clint Barton, seemed to have guessed she was up to something, judging from the wink he'd given her just before she'd teleported back to Gateway.

Judging from the subtle glances her Dad was giving the Elf though, Daisy had to wonder if they really were more than just friends. Not that he'd ever admit such a thing to her.

All students were required to arrive in the approved areas, to avoid people popping in and out of places they shouldn't be. That area was on the lowermost floor of the appropriate student dormitory, next door to the Wizard's Tower itself. The student spell on the pendant that Daisy wore kept her from accidentally teleporting into someone else also arriving, so she knew she was safe, but at the same time there were horror stories of those who's merged with others who were also teleporting into the large chamber. That sort of death was always described as horrific.

No one was waiting for her, but that was to be expected. Daisy hadn't actually contacted any of her friends to let them know she was coming. Still, at this time of day – it was early evening at Gateway, due to the time difference between Shield Keep, where it had been late morning, and here – most everyone would have been in their dorm rooms, with class over for the day, if this wasn't one of the two free days all students had every week. The dormitory would have been mostly empty, with the kids taking the time to visit their families.

There were times when Daisy was curious about how everyone had dealt with having to stay there year-round before the advent of the individual teleporting spell. From what she'd learned, back then the students would stay in Gateway for nine months out of the year, returning home for three months and then returning for more classes in the fall. Sometimes it would take them weeks to go to and fro.

Now, students could actually leave the school for overnight visits home. Most didn't really do that sort of thing, preferring to stay in the dormitories during the week and then head home for their days off. She could only imagine it must be so much easier on the teachers as well as the students and their families, for them to have the freedom of Teleporting magic.

Daisy left the arrivals room, Skye perched on her shoulder, taking the stairs up to her floor. This particular building was for the Cardinal students; there were two other dormitories, one for Great Wizards and the other for Voids. Daisy didn't care for the fact that they were all so segregated, especially since it seemed to cause wedges between the three orders, but there wasn't a lot she could do about it except to join some of the protests that took place about the issue.

She was quite the enthusiastic protester. As were her friends.

Since there were so few Cardinal students in Gateway, Daisy was actually able to have her own room. The Voids were the same in their own dormitories. But the Great Wizards often had twice as many students, and rooms were shared.

It hadn't escaped Daisy's notice, that disparity of magic. It was even in her group of friends. She was the only Cardinal Wizard; Trip, the only Void. Jemma and Leo were both Great Wizards, as was Lincoln, the guy Daisy was sort-of dating. There'd been another Void Wizard at one point, but no one talked about Grant Ward, not after what he'd done.

She hadn't told her Dad about what had happened. She'd been afraid that Dad would hunt Ward down and kill him. Although, she suspected he knew something had happened, since Ward had never come home with the group again. And she wouldn't have put it past Mistress Pepper to have said something, either, just because she was responsible for Daisy's well-being. She'd also had to testify at Ward's tribunal, and there was no way Dad didn't know something about that.

Depositing her bag down on her bed, Daisy then left her room, making certain the wards were up and functioning. It wasn't that she didn't trust her fellow Cardinals – alright, maybe she didn't – but there were those who were particularly fond of practical jokes. Daisy had got caught once with molasses in her sheets. It wasn't going to happen again. Dad had taught her these wards, and they were really good ones. They'd already caught three juniors trying to sneak into her room for nefarious purposes.

Of all her friends, she could guess where Jemma and Leo would be with the most certainty. They never went home on their days off; Leo didn't get along with his dad and, while he hadn't come out and said anything, Daisy could guess that the elder Fitz was an asshole of monumental proportions who was always on Leo's back for something. Coming to the Wizard School had been Leo's escape from that toxic situation.

Jemma, of course, wouldn't let him be alone. It was horribly cute. She'd invited him to her own home often, and he'd gone a couple of times, but Leo was just self-effacing enough that he felt he was intruding. So, she'd stay around when Leo did, and her family understood even though they were missing her.

Chances were, the pair of them would either be in one of the laboratories or the library. Daisy started with the lab, since Jemma had said something about practicing her Enhancement potion for their next exams.

And it turned out she was right.

Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons were Elves. As such, they both looked incredibly delicate, with their large pointed ears and graceful hands and, well, she was confident enough in her own sexuality to think they were both gorgeous. Looking in through the glass window into the lab, she found herself comparing them to her Dad's friend, and found she couldn't. While Clint Barton had also been Elven, he'd been all muscle and solidness and with a face that looked as if it had lived a lot in his life. Jemma and Leo hadn't really been outside their own Elven Enclave before coming to the school, and were still innocent and soft.

Leo noticed her standing there, and waved for her to come in. The pair were leaning over a cauldron, which was positioned on a tripod in order for it to dangle over a small flame. Potion ingredients were laid out in orderly rows on the long laboratory bench, the stone surface of which had been warded against most catastrophic damage done by eager young students.

She was greeted by their dragons, Professor and Turbo; Professor was all shades of yellow and about as large as a hunting dog; while Turbo was gray and black and small enough to be able to ride on Professor's back. Skye got in on the dragon-love action, and the three dragons curled up together away from what could very well become chaos at the lab bench, if what Daisy was noticing was true.

"You should be probably using the malas root instead of the orcis," Daisy commented as she came into the lab.

Jemma huffed, straightening up from her hunched position over the cauldron. "Well, damn. I thought I'd gotten the malas." She removed the protective glasses she was wearing, giving Daisy a tired smile. "I'm never going to get this right."

Jemma was a genius. Daisy – and pretty much everyone else – knew this. However, the potion she was attempting was a Master-level magic, so Daisy felt she shouldn't be so hard on herself…and she said so out loud.

"I know," her friend sighed, gently removing the pile of shaved orcis root from its place on the bench. "It's just that I really wanted to learn this spell. It would get me extra credit on exams if I can make it."

"I'll get the malas for you," Leo volunteered, as Jemma replaced the orcis in its leather bag.

"It isn't like it's marked on the bag or anything," Jemma snarked, the barbs aimed squarely at herself. "The last I checked, I was quite capable of reading enchanted embroidery."

"You'll get it," Daisy said confidently. It wasn't false confidence, either.

Leo rummaged around in the cabinets that lined one wall of the lab, finding what he was looking for and bringing it back to his partner. Jemma thanked him, and Leo nodded, collecting the bag of orcis root and taking it back to where it belonged. It wouldn't do to get them mixed up again.

"At least you caught it before I'd actually added the wrong ingredient. How did you know, anyway?"

"My Dad's made it before, and I watched him do it." Her Dad was always teaching her things, spells and such that she could use without the taint of the Void on them. She wouldn't have been able to use that sort of thing anyway; Cardinals couldn't use Void-infused spells, and vice versa.

"Speaking of your Dad," Leo commented, rejoining them, "we thought you were going to be spending your days off at home."

"I was. But something came up."

Glancing around, Daisy took in the wards on the lab. She reached out with her own magic, adding a little of the Deep Ways into the mix, and strengthened the Silence spell enough where no one would be able to overhear. When she turned back to her friends, both Elves were staring at her in surprise and curiosity, with a generous dollop of awe thrown in.

Daisy found herself blushing a little. She wasn't shy about her magic, but it still threw her off when anyone reacted like she was something special, when she really wasn't. "I didn't want anyone to listen in," she explained, sounding a little defensive.

"It must be fairly important then," Jemma replied in understanding, that expression gone and replaced by straight curiosity.

So, Daisy explained about what she'd overheard back home. About Master John Garrett showing up on their doorstep, and his reason for just showing up without any warning or invitation. Him mentioning this Hydra group, and their wanting to recreate the Deathless. It all sounded melodramatic as she told her friends the story, but it had really happened and she could only hope that the Elves would believe her.

Both Jemma and Leo were downright staring by the time she was done. Daisy mentally crossed her fingers at their reaction.

"Someone really wants to make another Deathless?" Jemma exclaimed, but not in a disbelieving way. It had Daisy heaving a sigh of relief.

"Who would want to do something like that?" Leo demanded. "Are they mental?"

That had Daisy laughing. "Apparently they are."

"What did your father say?" Jemma asked.

"He went along with it, and then reported to Uncle Nick." She didn't elaborate on just who Uncle Nick was. They were very well aware of who Nicholas of Triskelia was to her. "He's planning on spying on them."

"That's certainly very brave of him," Jemma said.

"Or stupid," Leo muttered.

She would have hit him for that, if Leo wasn't actually right. So many things could go wrong, and Daisy wasn't ready to lose her Dad just yet.

Who was she kidding? She never wanted to lose him.

"Leo!" Jemma shouted, scandalized.

"No, he's right. It's dangerous, and Dad isn't a trained spy."

Daisy didn't mention anything about her Dad being the Dark One. It wasn't her story to tell and, besides, if he'd wanted anyone to know he wouldn't have faked his death then settled down in the mountains of Triskelia. She was certain he'd be able to take care of himself, but there was that tiny voice in the back of her head that kept whispering that it had been years since Dad had needed to use his magic in an offensive manner and that he was getting in way over his head.

Jemma gave Daisy a smile that was supposed to be comforting, but failed miserably. "I'm certain the Baron will do everything in his power to help."

"He sent someone to watch out for Dad while he's undercover. I met him, and I think he'd do everything he could to make sure Dad's not hurt." Or worse. Daisy didn't want to even consider worse.

"And I'm sure Baron Nicholas will inform the Heads of Orders," Leo pointed out. "They'll be on the hunt as well."

He had a point, but would Uncle Nick risk that sort of thing? What if someone close to the Head of Void Order, Master Gideon, was involved and word got back to the conspirators?

"I'm not sure he would," Daisy said slowly. She explained her reasoning.

"Could this have got so high in Void Order?" Leo wanted to know.

"I have no idea. But Uncle Nick is really paranoid. I'm not sure he'd trust many people with my Dad's safety."

"But he did send someone he trusted."

Daisy nodded. "An Elf named Clint Barton. I got the distinct impression that my Dad knew him really well…if you know what I mean." She gave them a saucy wink.

Leo was the one who blushed the brightest. "Daisy!"

"You should have seen the looks. Which didn't make sense because Dad never mentioned him before. Melinda thinks it has something to do with something that happened in the past." And that was all she could say without mentioning that her Dad was a wanted criminal who had faked his own death. "But yeah, Dad trusted him and he seemed competent enough."

She began to pace. "The thing is, I don't know what to do. I want to do something to help Dad, but I don't have any clue about what that would be. He's gonna walk into some secret hideout belonging to a bunch of Voids who want to play around with immortality."

"But we all know the stories about the Deathless," Jemma said, "and from what everything written claims, it's impossible."

"Master John made it seem like it wasn't, though."

"You know who John Garrett's Novice was, right?" Leo asked softly.

Of course, she did. "He dropped Ward as his Novice as soon as it got out what that bastard did to you and Jemma."

It had been a fairly major scandal at the time. Grant Ward, student Void Wizard, had trapped both Jemma and Leo within a particularly nasty spell, a Confinement spell that had been hermetically sealed. They could very well have suffocated if not for the fact that Ward had only been in training and the magic hadn't been as powerful as it would have been if he'd been a graduate. Grand Master Ianto had broken the spell apart – something Daisy hadn't known was possible, a Cardinal picking a Void powered spell apart like it was a knitted scarf – and Ward had been expelled.

At the time, Ward had denied he'd done it on purpose, but that hadn't saved him. In fact, no one had believed his denials, especially when Grand Master Ianto had testified as to the nature of the magic involved.

It still hurt. He'd been a member of their group of friends. If Daisy had to admit it, she still missed the old Grant she'd known, and not the cold bastard who'd emerged from their friend, like some sort of bizarre and twisted butterfly.

"I just wonder if Ward's involved in this somehow," Leo murmured. "After all, he's a Void. And I doubt Garrett would have let him go off on his own."

"Trip might know," Jemma insisted. "Garrett was Trip's teaching Master until he requested the change and started working under Master Jasper. That had been a personality conflict, even Master Gideon had agreed that Trip and Garrett had been a bad fit."

Antoine Triplett was just a generally nice guy. Daisy had never quite understood why such an obvious blowhard like Master John Garrett had requested Trip be his Novice. To be honest, it really didn't surprise Daisy all that much that Garrett was involved in something shady, and that was before that mess with Ward. A niggling itch in her head made her wonder if, somehow, Garrett had been somewhat responsible for Ward's fall from grace, to serve his own, Hydra, purposes…

"Did Trip go home?" Daisy asked. He usually did, to stay with his grandmother, and she wanted to confirm it.

Jemma nodded. "He did. But he's got his speaking stone with him."

One of the best ideas Lincoln had had was for them to all get speaking stones. They were a fairly basic enchantment, and it had only taken a little bit of study in the library to come up with a way to create them for each of the friends, in order to keep track of each other on their school breaks. Daisy could still remember how pleased Dad had been when she'd told him about hers, proud that she'd been able to cast such a spell on her own, without any sort of training. Well, she hadn't been alone, it had been a group effort, and when she'd informed her Dad of that, he'd told her he was proud of her and of her friends.

Dad really was pretty fantastic.

"Do either of you have your stones with you?"

She got a synchronous head shaking from both Elves.

Daisy patted down her pockets. "And mine is apparently with my stuff. Why don't I go back to my room and get it, and you can keep working on that potion?" She knew it was important to Jemma to get it to work, even though it wasn't something that was necessary at this point in their lessons. She just needed to be the best, to excel in whatever she tried, even though hers and Leo's teaching Master kept telling them to slow things down a little.

Daisy could understand it. She felt the same way, the need to be as best she could, if only to make her Dad even prouder of her. She loved the warm feeling that gave her, knowing that she'd done something that made him glad that he'd taken her out of that warzone and had made her his own.

Jemma gave her a smile. "I do need to finish this, but what you've told us is important, too."

"We need more information," Daisy pointed out, "and we can't decide on a plan until I speak to Trip, to see if he can't give us some background on Garrett. Why don't we meet up for dinner later? Oh, wait…I guess it would be lunch for me. I'm still on Triskelia time."

"It's just past the fourth hour," Leo answered. "So, dinner time here."

"Alright, then, why don't you both come up to my room once you're done? I doubt none of us will take all that long, and we can talk about what Trip tells me."

"Excellent," Jemma agreed. "We'll stop and get some snacks on the way. If we're working on some sort of plan after dinner, we may get hungry again."

"Sounds good."

With that, Daisy loosened of her grasp on the wards, letting them relax back to normal. She collected Skye on the way out, who only grumbled a little at being separated from Professor and Turbo, and then headed toward her dormitory once more.

She really hoped that Trip would be able to give them sort of insight into what Garrett might have planned. Daisy didn't think their friend would actually know anything about the Void's plans, but maybe he can let them know more about Garrett and what he might be thinking. Trip had requested a new teaching Master because he and Garrett didn't get along all that well; Trip might have been easygoing, but he wasn't a pushover, and he'd confided in them all that Garrett had done his best to control Trip in every aspect of his life. Trip hadn't been about to put up with that, so he'd left. He was a lot happier now with Master Jasper Sitwell, who was a half-Elven Master who could be tough when he didn't think a student was living up to their potential, but was always willing to listen to what Trip had to say instead of disregarding him and trying to force him into a role that just didn't suit. It also didn't hurt that Master Jasper was just plain nice.

As worried as she was about her Dad walking into some sort of disaster waiting to happen, Daisy couldn't disregard the fact that she was in Gateway. The city wasn't the original one that had been on the site; that one had been practically destroyed by the Nameless Demons from the north, swarming down into the warmer lands. It had taken Lady Rose Tyler to stop them, using a spell that should never have been used in order to stop them by draining their lifeforce.

Even now, Gateway thrummed with the Deep Ways. It was in every breath she took, everything she ate and drank, and Daisy had had to ask one of the Master Void Wizards – it was actually Master Jasper, who was a really nice guy, if a little too hung up on food – how they stayed there, when the magic that permeated the place was directly in opposition to the Void. Master Jasper had explained that, just because the Cardinals and Voids were diametrically different, that didn't mean they couldn't co-exist. Then he'd asked her how she could live with her Dad, since he was a powerful Void in his own right, and Daisy had told him that it was easy, because it was a part of him and she loved his magic as much as she loved him.

Master Jasper had laughed and said, "Exactly." He'd also booped her on the nose, which had had her laughing, but then she'd been thirteen at the time and he'd probably thought she was being adorable.

Daisy had heard that the Greats had wanted to create their own school, away from such a powerful source of the Deep Ways, but the Grand Masters had put their collective feet down about it, even the Grand Master of Great Order at the time. It had happened quite a long time ago, and she'd only known because Lincoln loved to research history when he wasn't busy training to be a healer.

If Daisy had to admit to herself, she did have a bit of crush on Lincoln. They were currently giving dating a try, and so far they just seemed to click. There were quite a few Greats who didn't like the idea that Lincoln was seeing a Cardinal, and they'd gotten hassled about it, but it wasn't anything that the two of them couldn't handle, and had done so easily. Now, other students knew not to mess with them.

The path back to the dormitory was fairly empty this part of the day, and on one of the student days' off as well, so she found herself alone as the building came into view. It was four stories tall, made of the same white stone that Gateway was known for, and it did feel a little like home did to her.

Although, wherever her Dad was would always be her true home. That would never change.

Skye chirped at her as she curled about Daisy's neck, and she reached up to scratch the nearest patch of scaly hide she could reach. It was obviously a good place, from the contentment that hummed through their link.

The Wizard School wasn't a large campus, but then it didn't need to be. It took a special person to be a Wizard, and there just weren't that many out in the world. From what Daisy had heard from her own teaching Master, Mistress Pepper, there were 126 students at the school this semester, and the Testing would be held later on in the year. Gateway had become the premier school in the world, with only a couple that were much smaller in other countries, including the one on Genosha which was only really open to Genoshan students. Although, from what Daisy had noticed, there were quite a few Genoshan natives in Gateway, wanting to experience the world instead of staying on their island.

The path she was on wound through some trees, cutting the sunlight a bit with their thick canopies of green leaves. This little bit of park was the central hub of the campus, with the Wizard's Tower, the three dormitories, the laboratory and the library all forming spokes jutting out from that hub. This was where students would often come between classes when the weather was good, to just sit on the grass and relax before their next class began. Daisy and her friends had often gotten together for picnic lunches there.

It was quiet, though, with the majority of the students gone home, the only sound the wind that rustled the leaves and soft birdsong that was soothing to her ear.

Daisy didn't mind the quiet. And it meant she could hear a branch breaking off to the side of the path, behind a hedge that had been planted to give the path a little privacy along this section, letting her know that she wasn't alone.

She didn't even pay attention.

She should have.

In front of her, the hedge ended, and a man stepped out into the path, his wand upraised.

For a moment, Daisy didn't even register the man's sudden appearance. When she did, it was after she'd taken half a dozen more steps toward him, and she found herself recognizing him a heartbeat later.

Well, speak of one of the devils and they shall appear.

It was Grant Ward, surrounded by the five tiny dragons that he'd called Hive.

Daisy didn't even have time to react before a spell hit her. Darkness closed over her, accompanied by the sweet scent of lavender.

She wasn't even aware of hitting the ground.