‘Further up,’ Krystal said when they reached the next floor. ‘Probably the next floor.’
They had to walk to the other side of the house to climb again, and then they were in another hallway where the decoration had survived far better. It was lined with doors, and behind one of them was Glinda.
‘Can you smell that?’ Trudy asked. Another thing about dracoform was that it gave you a better sense of smell, but even Krystal could smell something unpleasant in the air.
‘Something’s died,’ Xanthe said.
‘Where is she?’ Charlotte asked through gritted teeth.
‘Toward the far end,’ Krystal replied, and Charlotte set off toward the end of the corridor.
Charlotte was reaching for the doorknob of the last room when Krystal said, ‘Wait.’
‘What?’ Charlotte snapped, looking back.
‘She’s… She’s moved.’ Krystal turned around. ‘She’s behind–’
The door they had just passed burst open and Glinda emerged from it. Or what was left of her did. Naked, the damage to her body was obvious. There was a scar across her chest and a wide band of bruised tissue around her neck. Discoloured skin showed across her lower stomach and under her left breast. Her breasts were sagging, but then so was her skin, and her hair had turned grey. Most telling, however, were her eyes, which were a blank grey colour with a dull light showing in her pupils. She let out a groan and her voice rattled in her throat when she spoke. ‘Kill dragons… Kill all the dragons.’
‘Move!’ Charlotte snapped. She slammed the door in front of her open, grabbed Krystal, and pushed her through it. Trudy was already stepping in the way of the zombie that had been their friend and Glinda threw a fist at Trudy which missed. Trudy’s return blow did not miss, but it seemed to make no difference. Glinda’s second strike hit, but Trudy’s scales took the force out of it and Trudy hit back once before Charlotte grabbed her and yanked her back into the room, slamming the door in the zombie’s face.
‘Get that door,’ Charlotte said, pointing at an interior door which was hanging open and had to be how Glinda had managed to walk between the rooms.
Trudy rushed over to it and slammed it shut, leaning on it. ‘Someone raised her as a zombie?’
‘Looks like it,’ Charlotte replied. Her words were punctuated by Glinda slamming into the door Charlotte was holding closed. Xanthe and Jesse rushed over to add their weight. ‘The bastard she was dating, I assume.’
‘Yes, but why? What’s the point in turning her into… into that?’
‘I have no idea. I’m more worried about how we’re going to get out of here. The window’s out because Krystal can’t fly. Do you think we can put that thing down if we work together?’
‘I’ve got no idea. I’ve never fought a zombie before. I know they’re strong and they don’t feel pain. If she gets her fangs into us, she could do some real damage. I don’t know–’
‘Get out of my way.’ The voice was low, both in volume and pitch, but it was Krystal’s voice and the others turned to look at her, except that it was not exactly Krystal that they found themselves looking at. She had come out dressed for the late summer in Concordance in a T-shirt and jeans. The shirt was now stretched far more tightly over her chest than it had been and the jeans were short on her longer legs. Her hair now cascaded down to the upper slopes of her breasts in waves of blue and red and purple. She had her right arm raised, a ball of flickering orange light held in her palm, and the light danced on the iridescent, rainbow-hued scales covering her forearm.
‘K-Krystal?’ Trudy stammered.
Krystal spared her friend one quick glance, dreading what she would see there. Her lips tightened and she looked back at Charlotte, Jesse, and Xanthe. ‘Get out of my way,’ she repeated. The three girls pulled away from the door and a second later, Glinda slammed into it once more, bursting through into the room. She let out a hiss as she saw Krystal, took a single step forward, and then Krystal hit her in the chest with the ball of light. Fire blossomed over Glinda’s decaying skin, but she seemed oblivious to it. She took another step forward and then fell, collapsing onto the carpet while the flames consumed her torso. One hand reached out, but it stopped a long way from Krystal’s shoes, and then there was nothing but the stench of burning flesh.
Krystal stumbled backward, leaning against a wall. Pulling together the shape of the spell so fast had cost her. She was tired, aching a little, but she knew that there was almost certainly worse to come. Her hair fell across her face, masking it, but her skin was already shimmering as she shifted back to her normal form.
‘You’re a r-royal?’ Jesse’s voice, her stammer returning.
‘I’m an orphan,’ Krystal said. ‘There’s nothing royal about me.’
‘But–’
‘You’re a royal,’ Trudy said, her voice hard, and Krystal flinched. ‘I’ll go out and get the guards. They’ll need to know there’s a necromancer in the city.’
Krystal’s hair was back to its normal length now and she saw the stiff posture in Trudy’s back as she stalked out of the room. Krystal had saved her friends, and lost one in the process. ‘I need to get outside too,’ Krystal said, her voice soft and weary. ‘That… hurt and the stench is making me feel sick.’
‘Yeah,’ Charlotte said. ‘I… I don’t want to be in here either.’ She spared the corpse on the floor one last glance, and then she followed Trudy out into the corridor.
~~~
Charlotte was holding herself together by sheer willpower. Krystal could see it and she wanted to do something to help, but she was busy answering questions.
The guardians had turned up in large numbers. First had come a couple of red dragons in the red tabards over leather armour which marked them as belonging to a foot patrol, but ten blue-clad dragons had flown in soon after, followed by even more red-clad soldiers who brought magi with them. Most of the guards were busy searching the other houses in the area to see whether any other undead were lurking, but there were still plenty of them standing guard over the girls.
Krystal had explained that they were from the school and had come in search of a missing friend, and a messenger had flown to the school immediately to bring back the headmistress. When Dean Scintilla Rainshadow had arrived, the questioning had started in earnest. She did not appear pleased.
‘What,’ Rainshadow said to Krystal, ‘would you have done if you’d come across the necromancer?’ For whatever reason, Krystal seemed to be facing the brunt of Rainshadow’s quiet wrath.
‘To be honest, Dean Scintilla Rainshadow,’ Krystal replied, ‘we came looking for a lost friend. We didn’t know we would find a zombie, so what to do about a necromancer was not something I, or any of us, had considered.’ No one had mentioned Krystal’s dracoform. Even Trudy, who was staying away from Krystal and flashing angry looks her way, was staying silent about that.
‘You should have gone to get the city guardians as soon as you realised where she was.’
‘She was my best friend,’ Charlotte broke in, her voice hoarse from suppressed emotion. ‘Since we were children. If she was in trouble, I was not going to wait until soldiers decided it was worth their time to investigate.’
Rainshadow gave a grunt, whether of acknowledgement or disapproval was not entirely clear, but she changed the subject quickly. ‘You used a fireball on the creature? Where did you learn that?’
‘The magus who came to the orphanage gave me the basic spell pattern,’ Krystal replied. ‘I probably could’ve worked it out myself. He said that a young lady needed to be able to defend herself and showed me a few spells for doing so. The fireball was supposed to be a last resort, but I thought, under the circumstances…’
‘Under the circumstances, a suitable weapon. You appear to know much about the undead.’
‘I grew up with nuns. I wouldn’t say I know “much,” but I suppose I know more than most. Mostly why they’re an abomination against the ancestors and some ways to destroy them. Fire is always a go
od choice. I might have attempted a dissolution, but that would be practising necromancy.’
A flicker of something like amusement passed briefly across Rainshadow’s lips. ‘Fire is, as you say, a suitable weapon in most cases.’ The dean turned to look at a red with more badges and insignia on his armour than the others. ‘Captain, have you further need of my students? Charlotte Cloudborn is in particular distress and the others have been through an ordeal. I should prefer that they return to their hall as soon as is practicable.’
‘We know where they’ll be if we’ve further need of information,’ the captain replied.
‘Good. Girls, please return to the school. You’ll all be excused lessons for this next week. Take the time to recover. You may not all feel it now, but you will need that time.’
~~~
Krystal was becoming intimately familiar with the wall above Trudy’s bed. She was sitting on her own bed, and that wall was in her line of sight, and doing anything else seemed wrong somehow. Even her books were not drawing her away from the contemplation of the cracks in the paintwork.
Trudy was in Charlotte’s room, comforting Charlotte. Jesse and Xanthe were there too, but when Krystal had seemed like she would also stay, Trudy had glared at her. Charlotte did not need the added angst. Krystal had left to contemplate the wall. That had been about an hour ago and Krystal was still staring at the wall, and there was no sign of Trudy.
When the door opened, Krystal almost jumped. Trudy stepped inside, frowned at Krystal, and then headed for the wardrobe. Grabbing a cloth bag, she began to put clothes in it. ‘I’m moving into Charlotte’s room for a while. She’s not taking this well.’
‘Oh,’ Krystal said. ‘No, I’d imagine she–’
‘You lied to me, Krystal Ward.’
‘I–’
‘How long have you known you were a royal?’
Krystal frowned. ‘I was twelve, but I’m not–’
Trudy rammed clothes into her bag. ‘I saw your scales.’
‘I’m an orphan, Trudy. I’m someone’s mistake. They threw me–’
‘You lied!’ Throwing her bag over her shoulder, Trudy marched toward the door. ‘I’ll see you… around, I’m sure.’
‘Yes,’ Krystal said, flinching as the door slammed shut, ‘I’m sure you will.’
16th Day of Autumngate.
The admin block for the school was on the north side of the main square and there was usually little reason for students to enter it. At the back of it was the tower which held, at the top, the apartments Celestina Nightsky spent much of her time in, but below them was the apartment and office of the dean. Charlotte and Krystal had been called to the dean’s office.
The office was the lowest of the dean’s floors, still two storeys above the admin block and eight below the top of the tower. It filled most of the level, the remainder being the stairs up and down, and the windows behind Rainshadow’s desk gave an excellent view out over the school. Krystal imagined the woman standing there, watching for students doing something against the rules, but right now she was sitting behind her large dark-oak desk in a huge wooden chair which did not look especially comfortable. She was dressed in a black blouse and, probably, slacks: it was the outfit she was seen in most often, when she was not at some school event.
‘Come in, ladies,’ Rainshadow said, waving them to take the seats arranged in front of her desk. Krystal sat down and, if her chair was anything to go by, Rainshadow’s was probably uncomfortable. ‘First, I’ve received no formal word from the city guardians, but I assume that means they have not uncovered the necromancer responsible for… for Glinda Starshimmer’s death. I’m sorry.’
‘Thank you, Dean Scintilla Rainshadow,’ Charlotte said, ‘but you’ve nothing to be sorry for.’ Krystal had seen little of any of the other girls that morning since she had stuck to her room the entire time, but Charlotte had seemed more angry than anything when they had walked over from the hall. Not angry at Krystal, it seemed, but angry at what had happened.
Rainshadow bowed her head in acknowledgement. ‘It’s kind of you to say so, Charlotte Cloudborn, but I have a duty of responsibility to my students which, sadly, I have failed to execute in the case of Glinda Starshimmer. The death of a young dragon with such potential is always a sad event. Under the circumstances, that death is even sadder. However, on to the reason I asked you both here. The city guardians have released Glinda Starshimmer’s body and her family have asked that you, Charlotte Cloudborn, accompany it back to Spinyard for proper rites.’
‘Of course,’ Charlotte replied. ‘I would be proud to. She was my oldest friend and I have a duty to her.’
‘Good. Arrangements have been made for the ten a.m. train tomorrow. The school is handling the expenses. It’s the least we can do.’
Charlotte nodded, but Krystal was puzzled. ‘If I might ask, Dean Scintilla Rainshadow, why am I here?’
‘The Starshimmers received the entire report on what happened, Krystal Ward. They have made a request that you accompany their daughter’s body as well. They would like you to attend the cremation.’
‘Oh! I– Obviously, I’d be honoured.’
Rainshadow gave a nod. ‘I was told your manners were excellent and expected that you would agree. A ticket has been purchased for you too. You can both collect the necessary documents from my secretary. And… Please remember, and if you would pass this on to your friends I would be grateful, if any of you need to talk about what happened, I can make time to see any of you. Celestina Nightsky has been told what happened and wishes me to pass on her… horror that such an end should come to one of our students. She is taking a personal interest in the investigation. The person responsible for Glinda Starshimmer’s death will be found and prosecuted to the full extent of the law.’
‘Thank you, Dean Scintilla Rainshadow,’ Charlotte said. ‘I’ll pass that on to Glinda’s family when I see them.’
‘Thank you. You’re both dismissed.’
‘Are you… okay with me coming with you?’ Krystal asked as the two girls descended the stairs.
‘Of course I am,’ Charlotte replied without a pause. ‘Look, I know Trudy’s grinding her teeth about this whole… secret thing, and I don’t understand why you’re keeping it secret, but you put Glinda to rest and that’s all that matters to me. That and seeing the bastard who did this to her burn.’
‘Thanks, Charley.’ Krystal gave her friend a timid smile. ‘That means a lot. I just hope Glinda’s family feel the same.’
‘They do. Why do you think they’ve invited you to the cremation? They want to thank the person who put their daughter out of her misery. Everyone knows a dragon can’t be properly laid to rest with their body walking around. You found Glinda, and you gave her a true death. Her ancestors will welcome her now and that’s all that matters.’
‘Yes,’ Krystal said, ‘that’s all that matters.’ But assisting Glinda on her way to her ancestors had cost Krystal so much. She had to believe it was worth it. She had to, but it was a hard thing to believe.
Hillgate, Concordance, 17th Day of Autumngate.
The town of Hillgate lay on the very edge of the Great Spine, a mountain range which sat, somewhat incongruously, on the western side of Concordance as though it was clinging to the island and worried it might fall off. Draconian mountain ranges tended to be worn down, weathered by millennia of wind and rain, but they were still an effective barrier to railway lines: the locomotives simply could not handle the slopes. So Hillgate had grown up at the end of the westbound railway line as a staging point between Spinyard, the city in the mountains, and the rest of the island.
Hillgate was, despite its somewhat industrial beginnings, an attractive little town with clean, well-kept buildings and cobbled streets. The marshalling yard for the trains and the airstrips used by the airships were kept out of sight of the town itself thanks to the hilly topology. The passenger station was a grandiose affair featuring a large waiting room and a sign over the door leading out
into the town which proclaimed, ‘Welcome to Hillgate, Gateway to the Great Spine.’
The six-hour train journey had left Krystal with little energy for sightseeing, however, and she was thankful that Charlotte knew where she was going. They arranged for the casket containing Glinda’s remains to be moved to one of the airstrips for transport up into the mountains in the morning and then Charlotte led the way to the town’s main square and the inn where the two girls would be spending the night.
‘Did it take you two days to get to Concord City when you came to school?’ Krystal asked as they walked into the Great Spine Inn.
‘The scheduling’s different on the way back,’ Charlotte replied. ‘The train leaves at five in the evening. We won’t get to Concord City until about eleven, but it means it’s easy enough to do the whole trip in one day. They won’t run airships into the mountains this late, so we have to stay in Hillgate until morning. That’s pretty much why this place exists.’
The school had arranged for a room for them at the inn. It had a double bed, because that was what the inn had available on short notice, but neither girl was particularly worried about that eventuality: Charlotte had already seen Krystal’s pyjamas, so that was the worst of it over with. Also, because it had been a last-minute booking and all that was available, the room was quite large and it had a balcony with a good view of the mountains. They had arrived at four p.m. with a couple of hours before sunset, and Krystal walked out onto the balcony to look up at the green-and-purple peaks.
‘Do you know what the Weather Bureau has scheduled for the next few days?’ Krystal asked when Charlotte walked out to stand beside her.
‘Uh, clear skies. Temperatures should start falling over the next week, but not excessively. The view will be better when the sun gets lower. The light coming over the peaks turns them all sorts of colours around dusk.’
Misfit Magic (Misfits Book 1) Page 10
