A shame Penny isn’t someone worse, Nanette thought. It would be a lot easier to set her up to take the fall.
The thought bothered her. She’d have had no qualms about landing Ophelia in the cesspit. Framing the girl for something awful would’ve been fun. She’d have deserved it, even if the deception hadn’t lasted long enough to get the girl in real trouble. But Penny ... wasn’t so bad. She was an aristo, and haughty enough to deserve some comeuppance, but she wasn’t an outright villain. She might even have been a good friend, if things had been different.
Lillian wouldn’t agree, Nanette reminded herself. A person can be both hero and villain at the same time.
She started to work through the spellwork, wishing she could write her work down. She didn’t dare. The rooms weren’t closely monitored, but someone - perhaps even Penny - would wonder why she was writing out scenarios that would inevitably lead to disaster. She wondered, briefly, if she could do the work outside the school, then dismissed the thought. The risk was simply too great. She’d just have to improvise.
Penny stepped out of the washroom, towelling herself off. Nanette glanced up and stared. Penny was stunning. Stripped of her uniform, her hair hanging in ringlets over a perfectly-toned body, she was ... Nanette looked away, hastily. The mission was too important to risk any sort of emotional entanglement. She concentrated, pushing the feelings into a small box and locking them away. Penny was going to hate her, when all was said and done. There was nothing she could do about that, not now. She’d been manipulating the girl from day one.
“I was thinking we’d start with a basic series of loops,” Penny said. Her voice was muffled as she pulled a new dress over her head. “And then go into a flying dance routine.”
“So I see.” Nanette didn’t dare look up until Penny was properly dressed. “You’re going to be dancing on air.”
“And teasing the boys with a chance to look up our dresses,” Penny said. “They’re going to be disappointed.”
Nanette gave her a sharp look. “You have a filthy mind.”
“You’ve never seen the way some boys look at you?” Penny smirked, as if she’d realised something important. “They can’t help it.”
“So they say.” Nanette kept her face expressionless, even as alarm bells went off inside her head. It was quite easy to manipulate someone who was attracted to you. It was how she’d manipulated Penny. Was it a coincidence or was she hinting she’d realised what Nanette was doing? “All the blood flows out of their heads and goes somewhere else.”
Penny’s smirk grew wider. “Have you seen a naked boy?”
“No.” Nanette pretended to be shocked. “I’m not supposed to see a naked man until my wedding night.”
“I suppose they wouldn’t want you to get scared and run away,” Penny said. “That would be awkward, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Nanette had to smile. She hoped someone took the time to explain the facts of life to Nadine before her wedding night. The mundane aristocracy liked keeping their daughters in ignorance for reasons that made no sense to her. She’d once read an anatomy textbook that concealed more than it revealed. And one glance at the diagram had been enough to tell her the writer was an idiot. “I suppose it would upset people.”
She studied the parchments for a long moment. “You work on precisely what you want to happen, then we’ll check and recheck the spells before putting them together,” she said, as the dinner bell rang. “Are you meant to stay here?”
“Outside class, yes. They’ll bring my dinner on a tray.” Penny shook her head. “They didn’t say I’d lose my badge, but ...”
“Make it up to Lillian,” Nanette advised. “I’ll talk to her, convince her to help. You can make everything up to her and show you’ve learnt something.”
“Fine,” Penny said.
Nanette gave the girl a hug, then turned and left the room. The corridors were still deserted, only a handful of students hurrying through the dorms. The majority of the older girls were eating in Pendle or practicing their flying for the display. Nanette snorted at the thought as she made her way down the stairs and into the dining room. She didn’t really blame the older girls for eating out. The school’s food wasn’t bad, but it was bland.
Lillian came over to her as she sat down. “Can I get you something?”
“Just a regular tray, please,” Nanette said. The younger girl looked fully recovered. Her classmates wouldn’t mock her for being hexed by an older girl, not when there was no way any of them could have done better. “And I need to talk to you afterwards. Meet me in the library.”
“As long as she’s not around.” Lillian seemed astonished at her own daring. “Where is she?”
“Grounded.” Nanette allowed herself a tight smile. “She was heavily punished.”
“Good.” Lillian retreated, then returned with a tray. “I’ll see you afterwards.”
Nanette nodded, then started to eat. The meat pie was bland, as if the cook had forgotten to add salt or any seasoning to the mix. She ate it anyway, rolling her eyes at the students muttering complaints about the food. There were plenty of spells that could be used to change the flavour, if they thought to try. It wasn’t as if the pie was charmed against transfiguration. They could change the flavour effortlessly ...
And no one ever thought to try, she mused. Why the hell not?
She mulled it over as she finished her meal, put the tray to one side and headed for the door. Laughter puzzled her. It was familiar enough for the differences to be disconcerting. The lack of boys gave vent to everything from boyish behaviour to student pashes that were both harmless and deadly serious. And the girls were encouraged to think of themselves as sisters, standing together against a hostile world. Nanette snorted in irritation. In her experience, sisterhood - and brotherhood - only lasted as long as it was convenient. Penny wouldn’t hesitate to sell her down the river if she thought she’d come out ahead.
They say the Sisterhood is the secret power behind the thrones, she reminded herself. She’d studied the legends, while her wrist was being repaired. The Sisterhood claimed immense power and influence, but ... if that were true, she was sure she’d have seen more signs of its presence. It was far more likely it was simply a quarrel writ large, an association of magicians who just happened to be female. But does it really have enough influence to matter?
The librarian gave her a sharp look as she walked into the library. Nanette did her best to ignore it, although - as soon as Lillian arrived - she took the younger girl back down the corridor and into a deserted classroom. There was no point in irritating the librarians, not when she needed access to the library. She didn’t think she could be banned from the chamber completely, but there was no point in taking chances. She was all too aware she was running out of time.
“I didn’t realise she’d do that,” she said, when they were alone. “How are you feeling?”
Lillian grimaced. “My dormmates were full of sympathy. It was ... unreal.”
“They’re smart enough to know you didn’t stand a chance,” Nanette said. “What she did was cruel.”
She patted Lillian’s shoulder, awkwardly. She couldn’t think of any firstie who could beat a fifth-year student in combat. Emily had beaten her - she admitted it was true, even though she didn’t want to - but she’d cheated. What sort of person would turn a Death Viper into a weapon? And besides, there were only three years between Emily and herself. There were at least five between Lillian and Penny.
But Emily did kill a necromancer, she reminded herself. Necromancers were dangerously insane, yet extremely powerful. I wish I knew how she did it.
“I know.” Lillian looked up at her. “Are you still going to mentor me?”
“Yes,” Nanette lied. The die would be cast on Saturday. She’d flee the school on Sunday, win or lose. “And Penny is going to help you too.”
Lillian tensed. “Help me? Her?”
“She has to make it up to you, somehow,” Nanette pointed
out, patiently. “And giving you some extra help will go a long way towards it.”
“And what happens if I refuse?” Lillian sounded reluctant. “I don’t want anything from her.”
Of course not, Nanette thought. She knew how she would have reacted if someone suggested she play nice with Ophelia. The wretched girl hadn’t tried to kill her. Penny nearly killed you.
“She does have quite a bit to offer,” Nanette said, instead. She felt a pang of guilt, which she ruthlessly pushed aside. “And you could ask for something you want in return for letting her help you.”
Lillian frowned. “Like what?”
“She could teach you how to duel,” Nanette said. “Or she could teach you how to fit into society. Or she could simply introduce you to powerful people who could do favours for you.”
“Really?” Lillian didn’t sound convinced. “I had the impression she wasn’t that important.”
“She’s Deputy Head Girl and will be Head Girl next year,” Nanette said. She rather suspected that wouldn’t be true. “No matter her origins, being Head Girl will open doors for her. She’ll have an apprenticeship, she’d graduate ... and she’ll be in position to help you by the time you graduate. And she’ll be grateful if you let her kiss your ass a little right now.”
Lillian blushed. “Kiss my ass?”
“Old saying,” Nanette said. “The ass you kick on the way up may be the one you have to kiss on the way down.”
“Oh.” Lillian giggled. “I don’t think she’ll kiss my ass.”
“Not literally,” Nanette agreed. She leaned back in her chair and spread out her hands. “It’s like this. She screwed up, big time. It’s knocked her down a peg or two. She may continue to fall unless she finds a way to slow and stop the fall. If you let her help you now, showing she’s learnt her lesson, she’ll reward you when she’s climbed back up again.”
“I see, I think,” Lillian said. “And how do I know she’ll reward me?”
“Because it’s in her self-interest to reward you,” Nanette said. “If she cheats you, everyone will know she cheated you. They’ll never trust her again, no matter what she offers. She might not care about you, one way or the other, but she’ll care about her reputation. She’ll want to repair it ... she does want to repair it.”
“And you think she can do it by kissing my ass,” Lillian said. “It doesn’t make sense.”
“That’s because you’re not thinking like her,” Nanette said. “Or the greater community.”
She grinned. “Look at it this way. There’s a man - a handsome man - who’s married to a friend of yours. He cheats on the friend with another friend and gets divorced. You think he’s really handsome, but would you marry him? Of course not. A cheater who cheats is always a cheater, a betrayer who betrays is always a betrayer ... it’s not easy to like a betrayer, even if he betrays in your favour. You’ll always be wondering when it’s your turn to get betrayed.”
“And you think they’d care if she betrayed me?” Lillian snorted. “I’m a commoner.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Nanette assured her. She could tell Lillian hadn’t done much socialising outside her dorm. “They’ll look at patterns of behaviour. A person who betrays once, whatever the motive, might betray again. Safer to deal with someone who hasn’t betrayed anyone. And believe me, Penny knows it.”
“Very well.” Lillian held up a hand. “But I want you to be there too.”
“Of course.” Nanette grinned. She’d happily play messenger if it meant she got to rewrite the messages a little. Neither of the other girls would suspect anything until it was far too late. “I’m sure it will work out for you.”
She chattered to Lillian until Lights Out, then returned to the bedroom. Penny was already asleep, tossing and turning under the blanket. Her desk was covered with parchments, each one outlining part of the planned flying display. Nanette studied them for a moment, then undressed and clambered into bed. She had a week - just under a week - to finalise her plans, then place a knife in Penny’s back. She regretted it, even though she was fairly sure Penny would escape blame. The investigation would reveal the truth. And she’d have to be well away from the school by the time the penny dropped.
And if this goes wrong, she thought as she closed her eyes, I’m dead.
10
“You have to give the papers to Betty,” Nanette said, calmly. “And make sure she understands she’s to use them.”
“I understand,” Lillian said. “I won’t mess up.”
Nanette nodded, dismissing the younger girl. The last week had been hectic, the student body consumed with a growing sense of excitement as the time for the flying display drew ever nearer. Penny might have been grounded - and Nanette was banned from the display anyway - but that didn’t keep her from running around like a headless chicken, constantly checking and rechecking her spellwork until the final hour. Nanette hadn’t expected it to be quite so hard to make the tiny changes, before convoying the documents to Lillian. She’d had fewer problems caused by people who actually were trying to stop her.
She smiled, coldly, as she made her way back to the bedroom. The morning had been spent in the hall, watching a series of speeches from former students who’d become important after graduating. Some of them she knew by reputation; others were complete strangers. She had no way to know if they really were as powerful and influential as they claimed, but it was quite hard to fool magicians. A person who lacked competence would reveal herself very quickly. Even the least amongst the teachers was an expert in her field.
Penny was lying on her bed when she entered, trying to look nonchalant. “Did they mention me?”
Nanette shook her head. “No. Were they meant to?”
“No, but ... you never know,” Penny said. She waved a hand at the stone walls. “Out there, they’re heading down to watch the display. And they won’t know my team is following my plan.”
“Lillian will tell them.” Nanette had a feeling Penny was going to regret everyone knowing her name. “Don’t worry about it.”
She glanced at the clock. The display was scheduled to begin precisely at two o’clock. Half an hour to go. Her mouth felt dry. She didn’t dare start until the school was nearly empty. Once she started, she was committed. She snorted. She’d been committed from the moment she’d turned Nadine into a goldfish and taken her place. There was no way she could play the innocent, if she were caught. People would want to know how and why she’d done it.
“I do worry about it.” Penny stood and paced the room. “I ... how can you be so calm?”
Nanette patted the bed beside her, inviting Penny to sit. “It doesn’t matter that much to me,” she said. “You did all the work.”
Penny eyed her, darkly. “Do you really think it doesn’t matter?”
“There’s nothing you can do about it now, is there?” Nanette smiled, dryly. Outside, she could hear feet pounding down the corridor. “All you can do is wait and see.”
Penny sat, reluctantly. “I suppose you’re right,” she said. “I just wish I could see.”
Nanette wrapped an arm around her shoulder, feeling the girl relax as the seconds ticked on. She understood Penny’s frustrations, although she didn’t share them. Lillian could try to tell the guests that Penny had prepared the spells, but it wouldn’t be the same. Her teammates would steal most of the credit and there was no way to stop it. And afterwards ... her lips quirked. Penny might be better off not being credited with anything.
She felt another pang of guilt as she ran her hand down Penny’s back. She didn’t have to put the plan into action, did she? She could run and hide, but ... there was no point. Cloak had her over a barrel. And even if he didn’t ... she wanted - needed - revenge. She’d do whatever she had to do, betray whoever she must, if it gave her a clear shot at Emily. She wouldn’t just kill the girl. She’d burn down everything she’d created and dance on the ashes before cutting her throat.
Penny shifted. “I’m sorry you’re trapp
ed with me.”
“I’m not.” Nanette turned her head towards Penny. “I like being with you.”
Their lips touched, lightly. Nanette felt a flush of pleasure as Penny’s arms went up and around, holding her close. It was tempting, so tempting, to just relax into the touch, to spend the next few hours making out instead of doing something - anything - else. But time was rapidly running out. The diversion was about to go into effect. And ... if she was caught in the school, after the chaos faded, she was dead.
Penny sighed, pressing against her as Nanette triggered the spell. Her body seemed to soften, then sag to the bed. Her eyes were open, but glazed. Nanette breathed a sigh of relief as Penny succumbed to the compulsion. She’d steadily - and subtly - weakened Penny’s mental defences over the past few weeks, but it had been impossible to tell how well she’d done until she tried to take control. Now ... Penny was hers. The entranced girl favoured her with a pleasant smile, her mind elsewhere. Nanette hoped she was happy, wherever she was. She wouldn’t enjoy her return to the real world.
Time to go, she thought, as she glanced at the clock. The school was silent. The entire population would be in the arena, watching the display. There’s no point in hanging around.
She opened her trunk, removed her knapsack, checked to make sure the second copy of Lamplighter’s Lines was where she’d left it and looked down at Penny. The girl’s lips were twitching, as if she were kissing an invisible face. Nanette smiled, trying to ignore the gnawing guilt. The first time she’d used the spell, she’d had a volunteer. Now ...
“Stand up,” she ordered, quietly. In her entranced state, Penny shouldn’t be able to resist. “Come with me.”
Penny moved like a drunkard, her arms swinging around as if she were trying to dance or fight. Nanette took her hand and guided her to the door, then into the empty corridor. She listened for a moment, just to make sure she couldn’t hear anyone, before steering Penny down the corridor and up the flight of stairs. Penny seemed to glide through the air, unbalancing with every third or fourth step. Nanette started to tighten her grip before she caught herself and cast a levitation spell. If she squeezed too tightly, if she brought Penny out of the trance, she’d know something was wrong.
Fantastic Schools: Volume 2 Page 37
