Mage

*****

I could feel that distinct pinprick of magic coming from that Wyatt kid. I kept looking at him trying to get a feel for what kind of magic he had, but it felt like it was buried. Like when you throw a couple thick blankets over a flashlight. You can still see the light, but you can't even begin to tell how bright it is.

"Savannah," Christine spoke up behind me, "It's your turn."

"Oh," I smiled briefly as I rushed forward to take my place in the shooting line.

I wasn't bad with a gun. I just didn't like the feel of them in my hand. I much preferred my fire over guns. I just wasn't that strong of a mage despite my father's careful tutoring. I fired my shots at the still targets than the slower ones, and quickly reloaded the little white practice weapon.

Handing it off, and heading for the back of the line. Stopping only to pause, and look at Wyatt. Who was also watching me with that cold blue eye of his. I dropped my gaze, and headed to the back of the line. I started trying to get a feel for Wyatt's magic again, but the only thing I could figure out clearly was that he wasn't a fire mage.

I'd been feeling pinpricks of magic since I'd gotten to this academy, but since they were in the boys dorm when the magic spiked I had just dismissed it as coming from the other mage in this school. Now I was sure that Wyatt had magic as well, but he wasn't registered as an Archaic, and his magic was so low right now that I'd barely been able to feel it across the room. The way he'd moved in the simulation had just raised her suspicion further. His movements weren't practiced, but the strength behind them was obvious. Marksmanship clearly wasn't his strongest trait.

It was just the only one he willingly showed off. He shot like he had years of practice. Firing at faster, and faster targets with each shot as he walked up to shoot again. It was as if he was getting better at shooting right now as I watched him. There was no way in hell he was just a level two.

Maybe he'd infiltrated from the faction. He could also be a disguised Archaic creature of some sort. Both were extremely dangerous possibilities. If he was a mage from the faction than he was an extremist that thought Archaics were the destined rulers of the universe. If he was a Archaic than he could have infiltrated so that he could open a rift into this school or maybe somewhere even more dangerous.

He didn't seem to notice my magic though. That made the likely hood of him being some sort of spy low. It was one of the first things taught to any mage. How to sense another mage. The more I thought about it the more questions came to my mind.

Did they send in a poorly trained mage? What if I'm wrong, and I'm just sensing a magic item on him? What if he doesn't actually know he's a mage, and is just channeling his magic into his body to make him fight better? I really needed to watch this Wyatt guy longer so I could figure it out. I needed more evidence than a feeling to expose him.

The fact that he actually wanted to be in this club interested me as well. It wasn't a well known fact, but kids that studied under Goliath usually survived in real combat. Not many of them became big names, but very few of them actually died. The death rate of kids in Goliath's club was less than half of the other clubs, but because only a miniscule number of those students became big names while the other clubs would crank out at least one big name a year no one joined it willingly. I tried expanding my mana sense out to get a better feel for Wyatt's magic.

Wyatt flinched, and his eyes snapped my direction. Not looking directly at me, but definitely my way. I sucked in my mana sense, and hoped he hadn't caught onto me. Wyatt handed the gun off to another student. He seemed to know I was watching him, but I didn't think he'd picked up on why.

*****

I'd felt something earlier. My body hadn't liked it at all. It felt almost like being groped, but more like magically groped. I hadn't liked it. There had to be another magic user close by. It had only been for a second, but I had definitely felt it.

I looked around the room slowly with my eyes narrowed. I couldn't tell who was a mage, and who wasn't. Then a thought hit me. What if the reason the person had been trying to mess with my magic? What if they knew I had magic? I sat down off by myself.

I was done shooting for now. I had leveled up my marksmanship again so that was enough for now. I was tense from the thought of being detected. Goliath halfway knew what I was already, and that made me squirm enough as it was. The fact that he was fine with it was my only saving grace right now, but he was clearly keeping an eye on me.

It was going to be that much harder to keep my secret with yet another person watching me. I noticed that girl Savannah kept throwing me glances. She wasn't a danger to me directly, but if she was the mage she could have someone big backing her.

"Alright," Goliath stopped the targets, "That's enough for today. You can spend the rest of the day however you wish, but if you want to continue practicing in here just ask."

I could feel that sinking feeling that came with being hungry starting to dig into me. I stood up. Heading for the door without talking to anyone even though there were a few kids that clearly wanted to talk to me. I shoved through the doors, and headed for the cafeteria. The tension that ran through me right now from the possibility of being discovered made me feel more antisocial than usual.