The Zero Equation (The Zero Enigma Book 3)

by Christopher Nuttall

  “You can stay there too, until I release you,” Sandy added. She reached into my pocket and removed the punishment book, dumping it in my lap. “Perhaps you can start by doing your lines.”

  I scowled after her as she turned and started to pace the room, daring someone - anyone - to speak. No one dared. Sandy had changed in the past month ... and, in truth, I couldn’t blame her. Any hopes and dreams she’d had were gone now. I wondered if my father could help, but ... I knew he wouldn’t. Sandy wasn't important enough for him to expend influence saving her career.

  And besides, she’ll have a reasonably complete education, I thought. She can just go to another city or even leave the country altogether.

  I glanced at Rose, helplessly frozen, then bent my head over the punishment book. Sandy was right. I might as well get on with the lines. There wasn't anything else to do. The book I’d wanted to read was out of reach and I couldn't summon it to me. No one else would risk the wrath of Sandy by passing it to me ... my blood ran cold as I realised what Sandy had actually done. She'd shown everyone in the dorm a way of getting around my protections.

  I’ll have to improve the design, I told myself, although I wasn't sure how. Perhaps if I ...

  I worked my way through it, slowly. Something powerful enough to cancel spells so close to me would also poke holes in the school’s protections. Or simply cancel the light-spells that illuminated the building. Or ... I wasn't sure what I could do. There was no point in trying to use the dispeller on the transfigured floor because there was no spell to cancel. Perhaps I’d be better practicing jumping out of my shoes at a moment’s notice.

  “Get on with your lines,” Sandy snapped at me. “Unless you want detention for the rest of the day?”

  We’re already in detention, I thought, sourly. How much worse can it get?

  I pushed the thought out of my mind as I wrote the lines, one by one. My wrist was aching uncomfortably by the time I’d finished, reminding me that I really didn't want to have to do more lines. But ...

  The bell rang. “ALL STUDENTS ARE TO REPORT TO THE GREAT HALL,” the Castellan’s voice said. “ALL STUDENTS ARE TO REPORT TO THE GREAT HALL.”

  Sandy unfroze Isabella and Rose, glared Isabella into silence when it looked like she was going to say something, then marched to the front of the room. I didn't see her cast a spell, but my feet came free a second later. It puzzled me, if only because I had no idea what she’d done. I could think of a dozen spells that would turn the floor into a trap, but ... I promised myself that I’d go to the library and do some research, later. Or maybe ask her when she was in a better mood.

  “Follow me down the stairs, crocodile formation,” Sandy ordered, curtly. “And be quiet.”

  I swallowed my indignation as I rubbed my aching legs. How old did she think we were? Five? We weren't little babies. She’d want us to hold hands next. But there was no point in arguing. We followed her down the stairs, feeling alarmingly ridiculous until we saw that everyone was following their Dorm Head like baby ducks following their mother. Even the upperclassmen were walking in lines. At least we weren't alone.

  “Take the benches at the front,” Sandy told us, as we entered the Great Hall. “And then sit down and wait.”

  I rolled my eyes at Rose, then looked around for Akin. He was sitting with a couple of other boys, his back turned to us. I wanted to go over and chat with him, but Sandy would probably just take it as an excuse to give me more lines. She wasn't the only upperclassman in a bad mood, either. They were all snapping and snarling at their charges. I supposed it was a sign of just how serious things had become.

  Rose elbowed me. “I thought Isabella wasn't allowed to rag on you anymore.”

  “Me too,” I said. I’d won the duel. Technically, Isabella wasn't allowed to give me a hard time until we were resorted into different dorms at the start of next year. If, of course, I was allowed to return to Jude’s for another year. Isabella was right about one thing. There wasn't much point in me attending most of the classes. “You think I should make an issue of it?”

  Rose looked at Sandy, then shrugged. “Maybe not.”

  Silence fell, abruptly. Rose shivered. Someone had cast a mass silencing spell. I looked up, just in time to see Castellan Wealden step up and onto the stage. He looked to have aged ten years over the past few days. I’d once thought he was too young to run a school. Now ... he looked old enough to pass for my father.

  “I have grim news,” the Castellan said. “There was an explosion at the warehouses connected to Brendan Docks.”

  I shuddered. Brendan Docks was my family’s territory. An explosion there meant ... it had to be a deliberate attack. I didn’t think we were shipping anything explosive through Brendan and, if we had, it certainly wouldn't have been stored there. The warehouses were meant to store goods briefly, not for days and weeks on end. And ... my blood ran cold as the implications slowly sank in. Had anyone been hurt?

  “As yet, the cause of the explosion is unknown,” the Castellan told us. “However, I must caution you against doing anything stupid. Jude’s is neutral ground. Your families will agree with me on that. Behave yourselves.”

  I wished, just for a second, that I could confer with Bella. Or even Alana. But they were both out of sight. Isabella was looking smug ... no doubt she’d worked out that the explosion harmed my family more than anyone else, even if no one had been killed. People would ask questions about just what had been passing through the docks. Maybe they’d even accuse us of shipping untreated dragon scales without taking proper precautions.

  “No one is to leave the school for the rest of the day,” the Castellan said. His voice was very firm. I didn't think anyone would dare defy him. “Lights Out tonight is at nine o’clock, for everyone--” he ignored the rustle of dismay “--and anyone caught outside the dorms afterwards will have detention for the rest of the month. This is not a game.”

  No, I agreed. The upperclassmen were very proud of their later bedtimes. They weren't lowerclassmen who had to go to bed early! This is really not a game.

  The Castellan dismissed us and stepped off the stage. Sandy ordered us to wait until the upperclassmen had departed, then allowed us to go. Isabella made a beeline for Akin, leaving the rest of us behind. I looked after her, then winced as someone grabbed my arm. It was Alana. She pulled me away from the others, leaving Rose to trail us like a lost fawn.

  “That was no accident,” Alana growled, casting a privacy ward. She glared at Rose until she kept her distance, despite my annoyance. “That was the first shot in the war.”

  I swallowed, hard. I hoped she was wrong ...

  ... But I feared she was right.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alana, it seemed, was not the only one to believe that the explosion had been far from accidental. Everyone seemed to be convinced that war was going to break out at any moment. Students went around in groups, even in the library, looking ready to fight at a moment’s notice. Everyone cringed when someone dropped a book on the floor or cast a spell without warning. It was almost a relief to be able to eat dinner, then go straight to the dorms, where Sandy was marching around like a bear with a toothache. No one dared say a word as we climbed into our beds and went to sleep.

  Matters didn't look much better the following morning, as we showered and went down for breakfast. Isabella was talking quietly to the Macdonald sisters, her words concealed behind a privacy ward. Clarian Bolingbroke and Gayle Fitzwilliam seemed to be on the verge of hexing each other once again, deterred only by the presence of Sandy, while Yolanda was glancing from face to face as if she didn’t know which way to jump. I couldn't help feeling sorry for her. Her family was too weak to stand alone, yet too strong to avoid notice if a real House War broke out.

  The boys didn't look much better, I saw at breakfast. A handful bore wounds from being hexed, while a couple even had black eyes or walked with limps. The idiots probably didn't want to go to the healers for such minor injuries, although I suspec
ted it was more to do with the shame of actually being hit than being macho. Magicians weren't supposed to settle their disputes with physical force. I’d caught Isabella by surprise because the thought of me simply punching her in the nose had never crossed her mind.

  “All the upperclassmen are glaring at each other,” Rose muttered, nervously. There was so much tension in the room that I honestly considered skipping breakfast, even though we had a potions class due to start in half an hour. Magistra Loanda had been cranky ever since Bella’s accident. “What are they doing?”

  “Forming alliances,” I muttered back. I knew most of the older boys by sight, although none of them would admit to knowing me. Or they wouldn't have admitted to knowing me, before my talents became public knowledge. Taking notice of someone five years younger than themselves was unseemly. “They’re all linked to the Great Houses in some way.”

  I gritted my teeth as I felt a number of stares aimed at me. Jude’s was meant to be safe, or as safe as a school of magic ever got, but I knew all too well that that wasn't true. If I could be kidnapped once, I could be kidnapped twice ... or worse. The wards were supposed to prevent permanent harm, but ... I knew they were starting to leak. It wouldn't take much to hurt me if they removed my protective Objects of Power.

  Or even just pushed me over the battlements, I thought, grimly. I’d spent some time in the library, but I hadn’t found the spell Sandy had used. Perhaps she’d invented the spell herself, once she’d seen a need for it. No one else needed to use a transmuted floor to hold someone in place. There were plenty of other spells to keep someone immobile. They just wouldn't work very well on me. I need to keep my eyes open.

  I chewed my breakfast as quickly as I decently could, then looked around in hopes of seeing Akin. There was no sign of him. Or Isabella, for that matter. Normally, I would have seen that as a good thing, but right now I wanted Isabella where I could see her. I hoped Akin was alright, wherever he was. A couple of his dormmates were sporting bruises on their cheeks.

  “We’d better go,” I said, glancing at my watch. We had fifteen minutes until class, but I’d be happier away from the watching eyes. “Do you want to run to the library before class?”

  “We’d never get back in time,” Rose said, ruefully. We could go to the library and then to class on time if we ran, but we’d probably be caught running in the corridor and given more lines. I didn't think Rose had had time to do the lines Sandy had given her yesterday. Sandy wouldn't forget she’d assigned them, either. “But we could sneak past the gardens.”

  I shook my head. I’d avoided the gardens since we’d been kidnapped ... and besides, I didn't want to be too far away from the school. Who knew what would happen if we ran into the wrong group of students in the gardens. Technically, older students weren't allowed to attack younger students, particularly firsties, but feuding in the corridors was also forbidden. I had the feeling that it was only a matter of time before someone bent the rule so hard it snapped.

  And we still don’t know who set the trap in the abandoned corridors, I thought. I was tempted to go back, just to see if I could get past the trap, but I didn't want to expose Akin and Rose again. Or who blew up the warehouse.

  We walked past the broadsheet table - each headline struggling to be more dramatic than the last - and out into the corridor. More students were gathered in small groups, talking quietly in low voices. I could see some of them holding spellcasters, even though they were technically forbidden outside the classroom. Most magicians preferred not to risk getting dependent on them. I’d used them - I’d forged them - but I was a special case. Focusing devices worked better for mundane magicians.

  Rose caught my arm as we passed through a door and strode onwards, away from the maddening crowd. “What are we going to do?”

  “Keep our heads down, I suppose,” I said. I couldn't think of any way to calm matters down, short of finding a way to hand over the sword without losing too much face. Perhaps I should just let Isabella steal it and not make too much of a fuss afterwards. “I don’t know what else I can do.”

  We were halfway to potions class when I heard footsteps behind me. I tensed, pulling Rose into an alcove and praying she’d have the sense to keep her mouth shut. Very few people came down to the potions department ahead of time without a very good reason. We were alone, far from help ... I reached for my spellcaster as the figure came into view. An upperclassman ...

  I blinked. “Robin?”

  Robin Brandon smiled at me. He was still tall and lanky - he’d changed a lot in the years since I’d known him - but there was a grimness to his face I didn't like at all. He’d been looking at an apprenticeship with my father, like his brother, when he’d graduated. He’d also been kind to me when we’d met, although I liked to think the two facts weren’t related. Last year, everyone had thought I was useless.

  “Cat,” Robin said. He sounded nervous. “Can I have a word with you?”

  “Of course,” I said, wondering how I should approach him. He’d taken a risk coming after us, knowing that he might be seen. His peers would mock him for asking a firstie for a favour, although that hadn't stopped many others from doing the same. I was the sole source of new Objects of Power and everyone knew it. “What can I do for you?”

  Robin glanced at Rose, who flinched back. “Rose is trustworthy,” I said, stiffly. Rose was also common-born, just like Robin and his brother. “She won’t tell anyone about you.”

  “Fine,” Robin said, after a moment. He didn't sound remotely happy. “Cat, we need you to produce ... items for us.”

  My eyes narrowed. “What sort of items? And who’s us?”

  “Supporters of your family,” Robin said. “The House War has already started.”

  Rose gasped. “It has?”

  “That warehouse exploding was no accident,” Robin said. “And nor was the attack on a couple of apprentices, making their way home after an evening’s ... ah, an evening’s fun.”

  “Ah,” I said. I didn’t know precisely what the apprentices did when they went out on the town, but I’d overheard enough of their conversations to have a pretty shrewd idea. Dad would not have approved, if he'd known I’d listened while I was forging. “What happened?”

  “They were attacked by masked men,” Robin said. “One of them is still in the hospice.”

  I swallowed, hard. Shallot was supposed to be safe, although Mum and Dad had told me - in no uncertain terms - that I was not allowed to leave the hall without an escort. And yet, very few people would risk attacking the apprentices of a Great House, let alone its scions. The City Guard would spare no effort to find the people responsible and put them in jail. If someone had decided to break that taboo ...

  “It’s going to get worse,” Robin added, grimly. “Janelle was hexed this morning by Orion Palladian. She’s in line for an apprenticeship when she leaves school.”

  My throat was dry. Janelle came from a client family, someone who supported my family in exchange for protection. And the Palladian Family were clients of House Rubén. If Orion Palladian was allowed to get away with it - if my family didn't seek to punish him for his conduct - we’d look weak. Robin had every reason to want a little revenge.

  “We need an edge,” Robin said. “We’re outnumbered.”

  Rose cleared her throat. “Why are you outnumbered?”

  Good question, I thought. Give me time to think.

  “Because ... there’s some dispute over who should have the sword,” Robin said. “And that means that many of our supporters are sitting on the fence.”

  “A year ago, the sword was nothing more than junk,” I snapped. “And that’s true of the rest of their collection of broken Objects of Power!”

  “I don’t suppose it matters,” Robin said. “They can be repaired now.”

  I glared at the floor. It was a joke. A bitter joke. I could repair one sword, but could I repair others? And what about the far more advanced Objects of Power? I had no idea where to even begin
fixing a Teleport Gate. The entire network had apparently crashed the day the Eternal City fell. Crystal Balls? Spying Mirrors? They were so fragile that when they broke, they were unfixable. There was a good chance that half the junk I might be asked to repair would stay junk.

  “We’re outnumbered,” Robin repeated. “We need an edge.”

  His eyes bored into mine. I looked down, all too aware that I didn't look remotely commanding. He was older than me, but I was his social superior ... wasn't I? I certainly outranked him in the patronage network. And yet ...

  “I don’t know,” I temporised. What would Dad say? What would he want me to do? I couldn't decide if he'd want me to support the family’s clients or stop pouring enhancement potion into boiling cauldrons. “I could make you some things ...”

  “Anything,” Robin said.

  I shook my head. “A protective amulet would keep you from being able to cast spells,” I told him. There was a reason Rose didn't wear the one I’d made for her. “I’d have to give the matter some thought.”