Page 11 of The Study of Magic
“How old were you?” Valek asked. This hadn’t been in Janco’s file.
“Seventeen. I learned how to pick the complicated cell locks, figured out the best time to avoid the guards, forged the paperwork so Anders could relocate to MD-2, and packed him a travel bag. When the time came, I slipped past all five guards and unlocked Anders’ cell door. We were almost free when an alarm was raised. Next thing I knew, we were surrounded. Anders grabbed me, pulled a knife, aimed it at my throat, and threatened to kill me if they didn’t let us go. I thought he was pretending. The guards let us escape the jail. Once outside, I thought he’d release me, but I’ll never forget what he said.” Emotion gripped his voice and Janco paused. His flippant attitude gone, he stared at the fire, seeing into his past.
Valek exchanged a glance with Ari. Should they change the subject? Ari shook his head.
“Anders said, ‘Thanks for the help, kid. It’s amazing how someone so smart could be so stupid. I can’t leave you behind and I’m not taking you with me, so goodbye.’” Janco rubbed his neck. “He moved to slit my throat. I moved to get free. All I remember is standing over his prone form with his knife in my hand and my blood dripping on him. Instead of slitting my throat, he’d sliced half my ear off. He was arrested and sentenced to another twenty years. By the time I recovered from the injury, I was eighteen years old. As an official adult, I was given the choice to be sentenced to ten years in prison for my part in the escape attempt or to sign up for the Commander’s army for ten years. That was an easy choice. I figured the army had to be more interesting than sitting in a cell for ten years.”
Interesting. The Code of Behavior had strict sentencing for each crime. No deviations. No negotiations. No leniency for a first offense. It didn’t matter who you were or who you knew, everyone received the exact same punishment. Clearly, Janco’s judge didn’t agree with the Code of Behavior. In this case, neither did Valek. In fact, there were a number of cases over the years where Valek held the opposite opinion of the Commander regarding the code. Valek would never have met and fell in love with Yelena if he didn’t circumvent the Commander’s harshest sentence.
“How much time in the army do you have left?” Valek asked Janco.
“One year!”
“Are you planning to find another job?”
“Hell no. My army career isfinallygetting interesting. These past three seasons have been a blast. I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
Rogue magicians, plotting generals, poisonings, and black-market dealers weren’t what Valek would consider a blast, but he also appreciated a challenge.
“You almost died,” Ari reminded him.
Jancopished.
“Basic training must have been boring,” Valek said.
“It was. I started out as a private last class, or so it felt. I could either have fooled around and tried getting away with things again, or I could go all in. I found out pretty quick that I loved winning sparring matches. After that, there was no turning back. So, I went all in, practicing eight hours a day. I climbed the ranks and fought everyone until there was no one left at the MD-7 garrison who could beat me.” He grinned.
“Even the garrison’s Weapons Master?” Valek asked.
“Not even him. I received my promotion to lieutenant and transferred to the Commander’s castle soon after I bested him.”
“Now we’refinallygetting to the good part,” Ari said.
“Ha ha,” Janco deadpanned.
“How long did it take for you to reach lieutenant?” Valek asked.
“Seven years.”
That was remarkable. Most soldiers weren’t offered the chance to go from a non-commissioned rank to an officer during their entire careers.
“My first unit in the Commander’s garrison focused on teaching us special skills. We were all new and, on the first day, we were given a list of skills to choose from. I picked scouting. Sneaking around in the woods sounded fun and better than being in charge of supplies or guarding the treasury.Yawn! Then our captain wanted to test our fighting abilities. I naturally challenged the most impressive opponent in order to show off my superior techniques.”
“Naturally,” Ari said.
“You challenged Ari,” Valek said.
“Yup. Do you want to guess who won?”
Valek considered the two men. Ari had strength and speed. Janco was also fast, but he was more flexible. “It would depend on the weapon. If you fought with swords, you would win. If you fought hand to hand, Ari would win.”
Janco looked at Ari. “I should have picked swords. The big lout knocked me unconscious!”
“You wouldn’t concede the match,” Ari said in his defense. “Nor would you for the next five, nine, dozen…who knows how many more matches. Annoying. And to my increasing irritation I had also picked scouting.”
“What about my irritation?” Janco asked. “Paired up with the most boring and serious man in the world, who I couldn’t best!”
“And still can’t,” Ari shot back. He looked at Valek. “Even with swords.”
