Free Cave of Nightmares by V. St. Clair

feat, by the way. It was then, at his worst, that he disappeared from the world on the day your house blew up, and his black prism was never found.”
    They sat in silence for a long moment before Asher spoke again.
    “I generally explain this in my first year class, because it is imperative that everyone understand the danger of imperfect prisms. Given the circumstances, and your personal connection to the tragic results, I thought it best to have this talk with you in private.”
    He turned towards Hayden and startled him by clasping his shoulders, staring hi m straight in the eye.
    “I don’t judge you based on your father’s actions, but on your own merit s. I see great potential in you; possibly even more power than I had at your age, and that was after two years of training. That’s why I hope with everything inside of me that if you don’t listen to anything else I ever say to you, that you will listen to this: never use a broken prism. You can’t control it, and it isn’t worth the sacrifice. Do not follow in your father’s footsteps.”
    “I understand, and I won’t,” Hayden said with absolute certainty. He was determined not to follow that path, not ever.
    “Good.” Master Asher released him and stood up, changing moods so rapidly that it was a little alarming. “Now that that’s settled, let’s see if we can scrounge up a class schedule for you so you can get supplies.”
    Hayden had no choice but to follow, his mind still spinning with thoughts of his mother’s face and broken prisms.

4
    Bonk
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    By the time Hayden got his schedule and supplies list he was beginning to understand why Zane thought he would need more money. It was true that most of the basic supplies were free of charge, but he had to have his own prism-holder custom-made to fit his head, which cost thirty credits all on its own. Then there was the magical tool belt that everyone here wore, though most of his primary slots were designed to hold different prisms instead of wands or powders.
    Roaming through the different shops that Master Asher had pointed out to him earlier, he began stocking up on the supplies that were listed on his schedule for e ach class. Emeric’s Wands was stacked floor-to-ceiling with boxes of different colors, wood-types, and lengths. He had to ask the owner for help locating level-one birch and cherry wands for Master Willow’s class.
    Next he went to Pinch’s Powders, a room full of open-topped barrels of different-colored powders and grains. These immediately made him sneeze, and Hayden eventually had to cover his nose with his sleeve until he scooped out a few bags of the ones he was looking for.
    It wasn’t until he entered Kly’s Elixirs that he saw another student, since most of his peers were in class right now.
    The girl looked even younger than him, with wavy blond hair that touched her shoulders and green eyes. She was holding up a phial of dark red liquid when he entered the shop, examining it in the dim light of the room. She turned at the sound of his arrival.
    “Hi,” Hayden said lamely , feeling instantly awkward.
    “Oh, hel lo,” she answered politely, looking at all the bags he carried. “Is this your first year?”
    “Yeah, it is. What about you?”
    “It’s my second. I turned eleven last month.” She smiled. “You look older than ten though.”
    “I’m twelve; j ust getting a late start.” He tried to smile but it probably looked like he had a toothache.
    “Oh, then welcome to Mizzenwald. I’m Theresa Wesley, but everyone calls me Tess.” She held out her hand, saw that his were too full to shake, and dropped it back to her side.
    “I’m Hayden Frost,” h e admitted. “I figured most people knew that by now, since they were all whispering about me last night at dinner.”
    Tess’s eyes widened slightly.
    “I missed dinner last night, and I don’t have a lot of—well, no one told me.” She colored slightly. “What’s your