Read it from the beginning ~ Previous part

“Got something firing, Kasi?” Nayelle called across the patio one spring day.

“My main project for the season. If it goes right, I’ll know how I’ll do something on my final. What’s going on over there?”

“The tiles for King’s Keep. I did the spell on this batch, so Master Noler said I should watch it.” Someone at King’s Keep wanted to use tile for kitchen floors, probably because it was used in alchemy labs as the easiest thing to clean, but they wanted tile that wouldn’t get slippery with spills, which happened a lot in the busy King’s Keep kitchens.

“That’s Master Noler speech for ‘Get out of here before your hands wear out.’ The other junior apprentices are through the proving-they’re-hard-working phase.”

Nayelle shrugged. “I like being good at something.” She stood to the side and opened the peephole; when the flame was finished shooting from the side, she looked in and found the cones. “Of course it’s not done yet,” she muttered. “Then I could stop doing nothing.”

“When you’re a senior apprentice, you’ll wish for a chance to do nothing.”
“I’ll believe that if it happens.” She sat on the table to wait.

“Yes! This one’s done,” Kasi said, then knelt to unfasten the kiln door’s lowest latch.

A scraping noise, like the opening of a kiln door but smaller, caught Nayelle’s attention. It’s not a latch needing oiled–what is that? Nayelle tilted her head; it was from Kasi’s kiln, but it sounded higher than Kasi. But there’s nothing there –

A wobble at the top of the kiln caught Nayelle’s eye, but it was just one of the bricks. She’s not opening the door — how could it be moving?

The brick scratched its way to the edge and tipped — toward Kasi. Nayelle didn’t have time to think. “Kasi, look out!” she shouted, running over and jumping to catch the brick. She heard the hissing of the hot brick against her skin before she felt the burn, and before she could drop it, she hit the ground, with her hand between the floor and the brick. She screamed, then felt the sobs in the scream.

Kasi jumped up. “Nayelle! Spirits! Master Noler! Tafo, Aran, Sara! Get out here quick!” She knelt by Nayelle and held her arm still, then scooped the brick from Nayelle’s hand — if you could still call it a hand where the corner of the brick had almost gone straight through to the ground. “Shhh, Nayi, hold still. It’s okay, you’ll be all right.” She shouted again. “Will someone freaking get out here!”