Free Brave Men Die: Part 3 by Dan Adams Page A

never been one to frighten easily, but the information she knew would get her killed if she revealed it to the wrong person.
    It had taken her two days to decide who to share that information with. Laura had to weigh up her options. By revealing her hand now she thought it would put her in good stead for later with whomever she told.
    The choice of Elder Sectin had ultimately been quite simple. She was known for her reclusive nature, her unwillingness to share with the other Council members, and she knew the excavation site extensively. If there was anything beneath the ground in Firadon she would know what it was and how it worked. Laura’s only concern was one of the final sentences in the missive she had intercepted on her shift in the Academy’s mail centre. It had been addressed to “a mage” with no name attached. As far as she was concerned, she was a mage and therefore it was meant for her. The news in the letter that made her act quickly was, ‘Captain Finn Strom had sent for his cousin, an acolyte named Rigel, and was told to bring his pet mage along.’ Clearly the writer had no idea that it was the mage in charge and the acolyte was subject to her whim. But worse, more inherent than the man’s stupidity, was the fact that there was only one acolyte at the Academy named Rigel — notorious and skilled — and worse, he belonged to the Seventh Circle mage, Carina.
    Carina had a reputation everyone was in awe of. The blonde was ferocious, intelligent, and cunning. Her movement through the Circles had been fast and brutal and the testers had remained cagey about the details, which in turn made her a celebrity in her own right. In recent times only Ara had risen so quickly but not under the same circumstances. Carina was ambitious and ruthless, Ara patient and talented — but both brilliant.
    Laura had never been in a class with either of them, she’d started after both and had never accelerated at the same speed. She had only seen Carina in action once, casting in the yard as everyone stared open-mouthed as the spell was nothing like they had seen before.
    Elder Sectin had a similar reputation to Carina — that fierce attitude that scared the crap out of the lesser-ranked magi. Elder Sectin specialised in magical artefacts, the kind that would be buried underneath the ruins. She was intimidating, centuries old and wise beyond that, and stunned all the others into silence. Laura had never spoken to her, had even avoided her in the halls, but when forced to walk past her she even kept her head down and scurried on by.
    But Laura had swallowed her fear and some part of her pride when she learned of the discovery of an untouched chamber beneath the ruins. It was the largest find in centuries and countered the common knowledge that those ruins had been cleared out centuries ago by the Council. This discovery could bring back some of the forgotten magics lost in the breaking. Laura wanted to be like Carina, wanted to be pushing the boundaries, to become stronger than the Council. Being in on the ground on this discovery could mean access to anything they pulled out of it, it could mean she would be one of the first to learn.
    As she stepped out into the south side courtyard the wind whipped through the branches of the only two trees present, shaking a flurry of bright green leaves to the ground below.
    Laura thought of the situation in Firadon and wished she was down there. With no one there but Carina, she would keep all the discoveries to herself. There was no doubt in her mind that unless she was there or a member of the Council then there would be no inventory and things would just go missing. Like all the good things. Especially if it had anything to do with Carina’s field of study.
    She paused in the shadows of the largest trunk and waited. She knew she was early but she didn’t want to be tardy, Elder Sectin despised tardiness and she didn’t want to start on a back foot.
    The moonlight illuminated every