Schooled in Magic 5 - The School of Hard Knocks

by Christopher Nuttall

  But she didn’t want it. The MageMaster had never been able to leave Mountaintop permanently, just as the Grandmaster was tied to Whitehall. Part of her would be happy, reading books in the library and inviting the tutors to give her private lessons, but she was no longer the bookworm she’d once been. She knew there was a wider world outside, a world she wanted to explore. And change.

  In the distance, someone cried out in shock. Emily cursed, remembering Frieda, and pulled herself to her feet. Her legs felt hideously unsteady as she stumbled towards the edge of the chamber and threw herself through the door, just in time to avoid more falling bodies. The school was no longer drawing power from its living batteries so carefully, she realized, as the key throbbed its protest below her fingers. Instead, it was trying to suck their power too quickly for the former students to recover, then dropping them when they died. It no longer had a living mind to tell it what to do.

  It’s flailing out of control, Emily thought, as she heard another dull roar in the distance. She ignored it as she pulled herself towards Frieda’s chamber. It won’t be long before it runs out of power completely.

  The light globes high overhead flickered as she stumbled into Frieda’s chamber. Her Shadow–her former Shadow, she suspected–was sitting upright, staring around wildly. Emily managed to stumble over to the table and hugged Frieda as tightly as she could. Her Shadow’s eyes were wide with astonishment, relief, and something Emily couldn’t bring herself to study too closely. Frieda had known, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was doomed.

  “Emily,” Frieda said. The lights dimmed again. This time, they remained dim. “What happened?”

  “I’m not sure,” Emily said. She replaced the key around her neck before helping Frieda to her feet. “How much do you remember?”

  “They took me after the feast,” Frieda said. “They just told me that they were invoking my oaths, that I would spend the rest of my days feeding the school... then I just blanked out and the next thing I remember is waking up here. What did you do?”

  “Won your freedom,” Emily said, shortly. Several of the light globes snapped out of existence; the remaining ones grew brighter for long seconds, then started to fade again. “I think we’d better run.”

  She allowed Frieda to cast a light globe to illuminate their path as they made their way back towards the hidden door. Her magic wasn’t responding to her will. The subtle magic protecting the door was still in evidence, Emily discovered; Frieda couldn’t even see the door until Emily pulled her into it. Outside, she saw several proctors, lying on the ground. Their bodies were already decaying into dust.

  And then there was another, louder, roar.

  “I think the monsters are free,” Frieda said, nervously. “And angry.”

  Emily shuddered. She still had no idea why Mountaintop had gathered the monsters, but it hardly mattered. The light globe Frieda had created would draw the creatures–the smaller ones, at least–to them like flies to rotting meat. She briefly considered going back into the hidden chamber, but there was no guarantee that they would be any safer there. Instead, she looked at Frieda, then unwrapped the Death Viper from her neck and placed it on the ground.

  “That... that’s a Death Viper,” Frieda said, staring at the creature in horror. “I...”

  “It won’t bite you,” Emily said, drawing on the bond to make sure the snake–she’d have to pick a name for it, someday–did as she said. “Just don’t try to pick the snake up or you’ll lose your hands. At least.”

  The snake sniffed the air. Emily closed her eyes, allowing herself to see through its senses. There were quite a few creatures nearby, some of them smart enough to be deterred by the Death Viper, others too stupid to realize that they should be afraid. At least the Death Viper could see in the dark... it crossed her mind, suddenly, that that little detail hadn’t been in the books she’d read, after taking the viper as her familiar. But then, no one else had been stupid or desperate enough to try to form a familiar bond with a Death Viper.

  “Aurelius would make a great name for the snake,” she muttered. “Or is that too cruel?”

  Beside her, Frieda snickered.

  “Keep your magic at hand,” Emily said. She knew her own was far from reliable. “As soon as you see a creature, use fire or light to scare it away. Only try to kill it if it comes too close. Understand?”

  Frieda nodded.

  “Then we need to start running,” Emily said. She directed the snake to move ahead of them, sniffing for threats, then took Frieda’s arm. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  EVEN STICKING TO THE SMALLER TUNNELS, the walk back up to the gate was nightmarish. All sorts of creatures appeared out of nowhere, from giant centipedes to chimpanzee-sized creatures with sharp claws and sharper teeth, and lunged at them. They had to be deflected, deterred or destroyed. Fortunately, the Death Viper’s mere presence scared away enough of the creatures for Frieda to finish the remainder or narrowly avoid their desperate attacks. By the time they finally reached the gate, they were both tired, drained, and far too aware that the wards protecting the school were gone.

  Emily picked up the Death Viper and commanded it to hide under the remains of her shirt, then led Frieda through the gate and into the school. Absolute chaos greeted her eyes; Lady Barb and Master Grey stood in the midst of tutors and some of the older students, having a shouting match with their counterparts. The noise was so deafening that it was several moments before anyone noticed they’d made it back through the gate. Emily took advantage of the delay to close the gate and reseal the spells in place, leaving it firmly shut.

  “Emily,” Lady Barb said. “What happened?”

  Emily was surprised to see her, then remembered that she and Master Grey had been waiting near Mountaintop. They’d probably located the school as soon as the defenses collapsed.

  “She has the key,” Master Grey said. He glowered at her, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he saw. “And the school is falling down.”

  Frieda looked up at Emily, worriedly. “Is that true?”

  “The magic is falling apart,” Emily said. She knew the protective wards were already gone, but if they’d used magic to reinforce the caves, that magic might be about to come crashing down too. “I think it would be a good idea to abandon the caves.”

  “The students are already out,” Markus said, as the tutors turned to look at Emily. The Head Boy gave her a look that suggested he hadn’t forgotten or forgiven how she’d frozen him in place. “Where’s the Administrator?”

  “Down there,” Emily said. It struck her, suddenly, that she hadn’t sealed the hidden chamber below the school. For all she knew, Aurelius might be consumed by one of the creatures before he had a chance to wake up. “This was all his fault.”

  “The MageMaster is dead,” Mistress Mauve said. “And she has the key.”

  Emily looked down at the key, resting on top of her shirt. “Yes, I do,” she said. “And I have ownership too.”

  “Oh, Emily,” Lady Barb said, sadly.

  “We cannot allow you to keep the key,” Mistress Mauve said.

  “And I cannot allow you to keep using innocent people as power sources,” Emily snapped back. “Didn’t you know what was being done at your school?”

  She scowled at the tutors. Only Zed seemed bemused, staring at Emily through calm blue eyes. The rest had to have known; they’d just never been able to speak of it. Even if they hadn’t been told outright, they would have been able to deduce that something had happened to the expelled students, students who should have been held in the school until the end of term.

  “We must have the key, and ownership,” Professor Clifton said. For once, he didn’t sound drunk. “Name your price.”

  Emily looked down at the key. She could choose the next MageMaster herself. Whoever took the key–and ownership–would almost certainly take the reins of power in the school, for what it was worth. Now she knew Mountaintop’s secret, it was only a matt
er of time before common-born children were no longer allowed to go to the school. And then Mountaintop would be doomed.

  Unless they find a new source of power, she thought. She could complete her experiments with magical batteries, then show the tutors how to produce them themselves. Or they can try to talk to Red Rose. The nexus point there is wasted.

  “I will pass the key to a person of my choosing,” she said, knowing that she didn’t dare push them too far. They might just try to kill her and claim ownership through murder. She had no idea what the key would think of such an attempt. “In exchange, I want certain guarantees.”

  “Name them,” Mistress Mauve said.

  “I want you to release Frieda and anyone else who wants to leave from their oaths,” Emily said. She had a feeling that not many would want to leave, even with the threat of being turned into a living power source. Mountaintop was still superior to the homes many of the students had left behind. “And then I want you to let us all”–she nodded to indicate Lady Barb and Master Grey–“leave without further ado.”

  She took a breath. “And I want you to find a new source of power,” she added. “The one you have is unsustainable.”

  Mistress Mauve exchanged glances with Professor Clifton, who nodded. But the Charms Mistress didn’t look convinced.

  “You said you will choose the next keyholder,” she said. “Who?”

  “One of the staff,” Emily said. “I will choose.”

  She briefly considered passing the key to Markus, but she had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to keep it. He might have been Head Boy–and she had no complaints against him–yet he was also the Ashfall Heir. If Aurelius had been considered a danger with that much power in his hands, what would they think of the Ashfall Patriarch also being the MageMaster?

  “Be careful,” Lady Barb warned. “You may find yourself regretting the choice one day.”

  A dull rumble ran though Mountaintop. Emily touched the key and sensed that a section of spells holding the ceiling in place had finally collapsed, starting a cave-in. She hoped there were no students left in the hall. If there had been, they would have been crushed under the falling rock. Perhaps some students had been in detention when the alarms sounded and no one had thought to order them to the surface.

  She clutched Frieda’s hand and waited.

  “We accept your terms,” Mistress Mauve said. She glanced at her tutors until they had all nodded in agreement. “We will honor your requests.”

  Requests, Emily thought, sardonically. The key thrummed against her chest, demanding that she either use it herself or pass it on to someone else. It wouldn’t be long before Mountaintop was completely beyond recovery. As if they had a choice.

  “Do it now,” Lady Barb advised. Another shudder ran through the school, followed by the sound of crashing masonry. “Hurry.”

  Emily hesitated, then made up her mind. She took the key from around her neck, silently bid farewell to the magics surrounding the wrought iron, then tossed it neatly to Zed. The Alchemist stared at her in disbelief, but managed to catch the key before it fell to the floor.

  “I give the key to you,” Emily said. An odd pressure–a weight she hadn’t realized was there until it was gone–vanished from her mind. Moments later, she felt new thoughts washing out into the wards as ownership passed to Zed. “And please let me be the first to congratulate you.”

  Zed tossed her an unreadable look as he pulled the chain over his neck, one hand holding the key as if he didn’t want to ever let it go. He didn’t thank her. But, somehow, she hadn’t expected it.

  Emily sighed, feeling tiredness threatening to catch up with her again, then turned to walk towards the exit. The remaining tutors looked oddly relieved by the arrangement, although it didn’t stop them from glaring daggers at Emily. But they didn’t try to curse her and that was all that mattered. Lady Barb fell in beside her as she walked, eying Frieda curiously.

  “You could have made a better choice,” she said, as soon as they were out of earshot. “Why Zed?”

  “It felt like the right thing to do,” Emily said. It did feel like the right thing to do, but she honestly wasn’t sure why. She’d have to sit down and think, hard, about why she’d dropped the key to the kingdom–literally–into the hands of a man who disliked her. “And it was my right to make the choice.”

  “Yes, it was,” Lady Barb said. She generated a light globe. “I will have to stay here and settle matters, Emily. This light will lead you to the way out.”

  She paused, studying Emily closely. “Can you and your... friend make your way out of the caves? We’ll meet you outside and take you home.”

  Emily nodded, then started to trudge up the passage that led to the main entrance. The school was badly damaged; a number of classrooms had been blown open by the protective wards snapping out of existence, and there were cave-ins everywhere. A faint smell in the air, wafting from the Alchemy section, suggested that several bottles of rare and expensive supplies had been smashed. She silently prayed there wouldn’t be a spark before they were out of the caves.

  She’d been stunned when she’d been brought in through the main entrance; this time, she was actually able to look around as they walked. There was nothing of the grandeur of Whitehall, merely a long tunnel lined with carved statues of strange, semi-human creatures. Emily couldn’t help thinking of Easter Island, although the statues seemed to be even less human than the weird sculptures she remembered from TV documentaries. And they came to an end long before they finally reached the cave entrance and stepped outside, into the light.

  “The entire school is here,” Frieda said, as they walked out of the cave and saw the gathered students. “What will they do if the school falls apart completely?”

  “Go to Whitehall, perhaps,” Emily said, absently.

  Below them, students were milling around, supervised by the Sixth Years. Emily looked for Nanette, but saw no sign of her. Had she been found and taken for healing–or had one of the creatures found and devoured her before anyone could save her life? There was no way to know. She looked up and saw barren mountains in the distance, long since swept clean of life. The sight reminded her of the mountains she’d seen during her journey to Whitehall, years ago. Had she flown over Mountaintop back then without knowing it?

  She sat down on a stone and motioned for Frieda to sit next to her, rather than go and join the other students. God alone knew what they would say to her; they might be pleased, viewing the damage she’d inflicted, or they might be horrified. And they’d all sworn oaths to protect the school–and its secrets. Master Grey, in the end, hadn’t been able to tell her anything useful, apart from a single warning.

  The quarrel must have been another form of temptation, she thought, ruefully. It was odd, being courted by a group of older students, but it wouldn’t have happened if she hadn’t been famous. I wonder if they truly wanted me, or if the Administrator pulled strings on my behalf.

  She touched the Death Viper below her shirt, then carefully worked the spell to return it to its bracelet form. As soon as it was harmless, she placed it over her wrist and sighed. It was a useful secret weapon–and she enjoyed playing with it, when she had the time–but it might not be a secret any longer. Anyone who took a look at Nanette’s arm would know what had happened to her. Maybe they’d think it was just her very bad luck...

  “Well,” a deep voice said. The sound of students chatting cut off abruptly. “You do seem to have turned the world upside down–again.”

  “Void,” Emily said.

  She looked up. The sorcerer looked younger than she remembered, with long dark hair falling over an angular face. He wore a cloak, not unlike the proctors, although the hood was pulled down to show off his appearance. In his hand, he carried a device that looked like a small compass. Emily had a feeling it didn’t show true north.

  “The MageMaster remembered you,” she said, softly. “I think he missed you.”

  “He should never have come here,”
Void said. He tossed the device into the air and caught it, neatly. “The power of the MageMaster isn’t worth giving up one’s freedom.”

  Emily frowned. She had never seen the Grandmaster leave Whitehall.

  “He can’t leave for very long,” Void said, when she asked. “He carries the wards with him, Emily. They cannot be put aside on a whim.”

  “But there’s the Warden,” Emily protested.

  “He’s not human,” Void said. There was a hint of disgust in his voice. “And besides, they rely on him too much for anyone’s peace of mind. You can never trust a being formed of magic, Emily. They sometimes have their own agendas.”

  Emily sighed and changed the subject. “I think I messed up,” she said. She looked at Frieda, her form utterly unmoving. “I nearly got her killed.”

  “We all make mistakes,” Void said. He didn’t sound as though he considered Frieda’s life very important. But then, she’d never heard him express concern for anyone, not even Emily herself. “Did you learn anything interesting while you were here?”

  “I saw hints of the future,” Emily said, miserably. “Should I share them with others?”

  “Depends,” Void said. “Do you think they have a right to know what you saw, even knowing that the demon will have presented it to you out of context?”

  “I don’t know,” Emily confessed.

  She sighed, wanting nothing more than to go back to Whitehall and sleep. Context was important; she’d learned that on Earth. It was quite possible that the demon had shown her the visions to confuse her, or to make them come true by forcing her to act on them. Should she tell her friends she’d seen what could very well be their final days–or would the mere act of telling them ensure that the future she’d seen became reality?

  “Then make up your mind and, if you want to tell them, tell them,” Void advised. “But remember this, young lady. If you tell them, you will no longer be in control of the information. The Royal Brat will have an obligation to tell her father.”