Trial By Fire (Schooled in Magic Book 7)

by Christopher Nuttall

  Or he just wants to stomp me into the ground, she thought. I...

  Master Grey stepped forward. Emily braced herself, and aimed the first set of transfiguration spells at him. She saw his eyes go wide with astonishment, then anger, as the spells glinted and broke against his wards. He had to think she was mocking him. The prank spells would be devastating against a mundane opponent, but any magician worth his salt would be able to counter them with ease. Emily smiled, and launched the second set of spells. One of them was different, aimed at the air around him. Lady Barb had missed it, when she’d tested the concept, but would Master Grey...?

  She smiled savagely as the air turned to pure oxygen, then threw the fireball. Poison gas - even something as simple as carbon monoxide - would have triggered his wards, but oxygen was safe. Master Grey jumped backwards as the air seemed to burst into flame, mundane flames. Wards designed to shatter spellware into nothingness weren’t able to stop fire. It was a weakness Emily had noted years ago and kept to herself. Wards capable of stopping physical objects were much harder to build and far more draining to keep in place.

  Master Grey snarled, and threw back a series of fireballs of his own. They struck the pure oxygen in the air and exploded just outside his wards. Emily saw him grimace in pain, and fire off a lethal combination of ward-killing spells. She cast a counterspell through her staff, allowing the spells to latch on before she killed the wards herself.

  Master Grey threw a second set of fireballs, then a tongue of flame that lashed out towards her. Emily ducked back as fire crackled around her wards, and muttered a summoning spell. Water droplets manifested in front of her, quenching the flame, just as a wave of magic struck her and sent her flying back into the wards. Master Grey was resorting to brute force. She hastily altered her own wards, deflecting rather than absorbing the spellwork. She hadn’t been sure it would work, but it seemed to; the magic crackled around her, rather than falling apart.

  Gritting her teeth, she cast the next set of spells, aiming a makeshift laser at him. His wards flared, suddenly overloaded; clearly, he’d modified them after her trick with the fire. She followed up with blinding light, but it didn’t seem to slow him down. Blinding someone through light was such an obvious trick, she realized, that someone had to have thought of it in the past.

  She darted to one side as Master Grey fired off a set of spells she didn’t recognize, and threw another set of transfiguration spells at him. This time, the air became gunpowder; the explosion threw Master Grey back, snapping one of his arms as he slammed into the wards with terrifying force. Emily hesitated, unsure if she’d won...

  The moment of hesitation almost killed her. He slammed something into her wards. It was another ward-killing spell, but grossly overpowered; it flared from ward to ward, breaking them down before she could cancel them herself. She had no choice but to cancel all the spells and rebuild them, giving him time to heal himself and come after her.

  Master Grey pulled himself back upright, his dark eyes glowering. He’d expected an easy win, Emily realized, feeling a flicker of pride. Even if he won, he’d know he’d been in a fight. He stared at her for a long moment before hurling yet another set of fireballs at her.

  Emily tightened her wards before she pushed one at him. The fireballs splattered against it, vanishing into nothingness rather than burning through her defenses. She countered with fireballs of her own, and followed up with a pressure spell. Master Grey dodged it, countering the spell even though he couldn’t have been sure of what it actually was.

  She threw a disintegration spell at him, allowing it to trail along the floor. Unfortunately, the wards holding them within the circle refused to allow it to tear up the stone. He cancelled the spell before it could rip him into dust, and waved his hand at her. Jagged flashes of lightning flickered out of nowhere and tore into her wards, brilliant flickers of light tearing them apart, the feedback screaming into her mind.

  Emily stumbled back, caught between two fires; if she cancelled the wards, the lightning would kill her, but if she didn’t cancel the wards they would eventually shatter anyway.

  She forced herself to hold on, thrust the staff forward, using a kinetic spell to hurl it towards him at blinding speed. His wards weren’t prepared for something thrown at him; she’d seen enough stones stop in midair and fall to the ground to know that most kinetic spells didn’t actually impart velocity, merely pushed the objects forward. Lightning flared around him as the staff slammed into his arm, ripping it off. The staff shattered. Emily caught the dust with another spell and threw it at him, following up with more fireballs of her own.

  He grunted in pain, and threw something back at her. The world seemed to shimmer around her and her stepfather appeared...

  Not again, she thought, dispelling the Nightmare Hex. Cold rage flared through her mind. How dare he throw that at her? That won’t work anymore.

  But it had won him time.

  She had no idea how he managed to heal himself - she’d been warned never to try to heal herself unless she was completely out of options - but he managed to stop the bleeding and even start repairing his arm. And she was reaching her own limits...she had to stop to gather herself, no matter what he did.

  She saw his eyes glimmer with suppressed amusement and triumph - it struck her, suddenly, that part of him was enjoying the challenge - and felt her temper snap. Magic flared around her and she threw it at him, not trying to shape it into a spell.

  He held up his remaining hand, deflecting the magic into the wards, and cast something back at her. The air seemed to turn to ice, trapping her in place. She hastily cast a counterspell, to no avail. It took her a long moment to realize he’d effectively duplicated her trick. There was no magic in the ice to dispel.

  He marched towards her, eyes dark and shadowed.

  Emily felt panic snapping at her mind; she summoned fire, lashing out with it to melt the ice. Her clothes were suddenly drenched in warm water as she stumbled back and turned the water to steam. Master Grey strode through, his face showing no sign of pain, as he fixed his eyes on her face. He’d tightened his wards, but it wouldn’t be enough.

  She turned the puddles of water into acid, forced herself to move back. He grunted in pain, and cast a spell of his own, throwing the acid towards her. She barely managed to deflect it before the liquid scarred her face permanently.

  Moments later, he slapped her across the face, sending her stumbling back against the wards. Pain flared through her head, again, but somehow she managed to cast another fireball. It smashed into his wards and vanished.

  You can’t fight him hand to hand, she told herself, urgently. If she’d had the snake-bracelet, she might have dared him into closing with her...she briefly considered trying to summon the snake anyway, before dismissing it as too dangerous. Lady Barb couldn’t touch the snake without being poisoned. Maybe if I...

  He slammed a wave of magic into her, hammering her body against the wards. Emily tried to counter the spell, but she couldn’t focus her mind any longer. She was sure she felt a couple of bones break, yet she was too dazed to feel any real pain. Her body staggered and fell to the ground, half-leaning against the wards.

  Master Grey advanced, looming over her, already drawing back his fists to beat her to death. Emily threw caution to the winds and reached out with one of the soul magic spells she’d learned at Mountaintop. Master Grey froze, his eyes going wide with shock. But she was too drained to press her advantage.

  And then he shook it off and slapped her again. She’d made him mad.

  She tasted blood in her mouth as he caught her by the shirt and hauled her to her feet. If she’d been mad at the Nightmare Hex, he was mad at her reaching into his soul and confronting him with his darkest fears about himself. It was worse, far worse, than a Nightmare Hex...he shook her, violently, and tossed her right across the circle.

  She landed on her arm, which snapped under the force of the impact; she hastily cast a numbing spell, even though she knew
it was pointless. There was no way she could heal herself before he beat her to death.

  And then it struck her.

  She gathered herself, feeling blood trickling down her shirt, as he reached for her, bringing their skin into contact. The forbidden spell glittered in her mind; the moment they touched, she cast it.

  Master Grey’s skin rapidly started to bruise, as if she’d beaten him to within an inch of his life. His eyes went wide with horror, but he couldn’t hope to counter the spell in time. There was a very good reason why it was not only considered forbidden, at least to non-Healers, but buried. It was tearing him apart, cell by cell.

  Burn the body, her thoughts yammered at her. Destroy it before they find out what you did!

  She cursed softly as he stumbled backwards, falling to his knees, and summoned the last traces of her magic. Master Grey’s body caught fire, the blaze roaring through decaying skin and wiping out the evidence; she pushed it forward, setting his very bones on fire. The smell of burning flesh made her retch...she wondered, dully, if his body was going to fall on her. It would be only just, after she’d killed him in such a horrifying manner...

  And then the darkness rose up and she knew no more.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  PAIN.

  It was all she could feel, endless sheets of pain cascading through her body. She floated in and out of awareness, crying for her friends, screaming as she saw the faces of her enemies peering down at her. Shadye’s inhuman face, Mother Holly’s desperate snarl, the Mimic switching from shape to shape as it loomed over her...she thought, dimly, that she might be in hell. Someone was laughing in the distance...

  And then she opened her eyes.

  She was lying in the infirmary, staring up at the white ceiling. Her body felt numb, as if someone had cast a painkilling spell on her or forced potion down her throat. She tried to raise her hand, only to discover that it was tied down. Was she a prisoner? Her head sparked with pain when she tried to look up, but she forced herself to move. If she was trapped, she had to escape.

  “Lie still,” a familiar voice said. “You are lucky to be alive.”

  Emily blinked. Void?

  The Lone Power came into view, standing by the edge of the bed and peering down at her with sparkling dark eyes. His long black hair was tied into a pony tail, drawn back to reveal the shape of his cheekbones; the long dark robes he wore marked him as a sorcerer of consequence. She hadn’t seen him since Mountaintop, over a year ago, but she couldn’t help feeling relieved to see him now. He’d cared enough to come for her.

  “Don’t try to use magic,” Void said, firmly. “You drained yourself almost completely. It will take time - weeks, perhaps - for your powers to regenerate. You may have to retake the entire school year.”

  “No,” Emily croaked.

  “You will have difficulty completing your exams without magic,” Void pointed out. He reached for a bottle of water and held it to her lips. “And they will have to get a replacement for Master Grey.”

  His lips quirked. “They may have some problems,” he added, as she sipped the water. “I don’t know how many tutors would be eager to take on an apprentice who killed a master.”

  “Oh,” Emily said. It was hard to talk. “You...you could teach me.”

  “I’m a lousy teacher, as I believe I told you,” Void said. He pulled the bottle back, then capped it and placed it by the side of the bed. “You wouldn’t learn the right lessons from me...and far too many of the wrong ones.”

  Emily groaned, forcing the matter out of her head. It was too hard to think clearly, as her head was starting to pound. She tried to move her hands, only to rediscover that they were tied to the bed. Void gave her a long, considering look before he reached down and undid the straps, one by one. Her hands, when she brought them into view, showed the telltale signs of having her skin regrown. They were almost inhumanly pale. Beside them, the snake-bracelet - Lady Barb must have returned it - looked odd. It would take time for her skin to return to its natural color.

  “You were trying to gouge out your own eyes,” Void said, dispassionately. “I have strict orders from the Healers to freeze you if you start trying to blind yourself again.”

  Emily flushed. “I wasn’t...”

  Void shrugged, then reached for a mirror and held it up in front of her. Emily started in shock; her pale face was covered with scratches and scars, some dug so deep into her skin that it was clear they might well become infected. The Healers had stopped the bleeding, but they hadn’t repaired the surface damage. Given how badly she’d been hurt, they might not have had the time. They wouldn’t have wanted her to carry the scars if she’d been so badly out of it she hadn’t known what she’d been doing.

  “Shit,” she said, finally.

  “You were pushed right to the limit,” Void said. “Your life has hung in the balance for days.”

  “You said,” Emily muttered. She tried to sit up, but couldn’t. Her memories were all jumbled. How many of them were real and how many were nightmares? “The Grandmaster is dead, isn’t he?”

  “Yes,” Void said. His voice was completely flat, betraying no trace of emotion. “And so is Master Grey. You were very nearly the third to die.”

  Emily nodded, trying to sort out her thoughts. “And the demon’s victims? The people the demon touched?”

  “Alive and well,” Void said. “They’ve been trying to see you - or they were, until the Healers chased them out.”

  Emily felt an odd flicker of déjà vu. “How long was I out?”

  “Two weeks,” Void said. “The Healers had to work hard to save your life, Emily. There were times when they almost lost you, before they healed up most of the damage. And then they felt it would be better to leave you to rest, rather than allow you to wake up. This was the earliest moment they thought they could wake you.”

  Emily ran her hand through her hair. It felt greasy, as if she hadn’t washed it for weeks...which was true enough, she supposed. Healers washed the bodies of those in their care, Lady Barb had taught her, but it was always very basic. They rarely had time to do more than wipe a patient with wet cloths before moving on to the next patient. She hoped she’d be allowed a shower soon, even if she wasn’t permitted to leave the infirmary.

  She sighed, suddenly. “Can I speak to them?”

  “If you feel up to it,” Void said. He winked at her. “Your young man was quite persistent, even with me in the room.”

  Emily blushed, furiously. “What did you say to him?”

  “Told him to wait,” Void said. His face twisted into a dark smile. “Oh, and a set of graphic threats of what would happen if he mistreated you.”

  “I hope you’re joking,” Emily said. “I...”

  “Maybe a little,” Void said. He cleared his throat. “All jokes aside, be careful what you do over the next few weeks. You are not in a good state.”

  “I know,” Emily said.

  “Trust me on this,” Void added. He met her eyes, warningly. “Using magic now will hamper your recovery significantly. And any form of...strenuous physical exercise will do the same.”

  It took Emily a moment to realize what he meant. When she did, she blushed again.

  “He said he was planning to Court me,” she admitted. “Are you going to act as my Guardian?”

  “If you wish,” Void said. He rose to his feet. “You have no obligation to make up your mind quickly, Emily, although it would be...unkind to lead him on if you are set against it. Take your time, meet his family and decide if you want them as your family. And if you can’t handle them, tell him so and leave.”

  He paused. “I believe Lady Daniele wishes to speak to you first,” he said. “I’ll inform her that you are awake and aware. After that...well, your friends can visit if they wish.”

  “Wait,” Emily croaked. “Are you not going to stay?”

  “I need to discuss your future with Mistress Irene,” Void said. “For the moment, you and I have been assigned a suit
e of rooms on the upper levels. You will stay with me for some weeks, mainly to keep you safe. Master Grey...might have blackened his reputation a little, but he still had friends and allies who will not be pleased about his death. Luckily, the formal rules of a challenge prohibit anyone from trying to extract revenge.”

  “Great,” Emily said, sourly. She had no doubt there would be people who wanted to extract illicit revenge. “And after that?”

  “We will see,” Void said.

  He nodded to her, and stepped out of the room.

  Emily leaned back, forcing herself to relax despite the growing pain in her head. Lady Daniele was the last person she wanted to see, but she had a feeling she had no choice. She’d been Master Grey’s second, after all, no matter how little she’d wanted the role. And she’d once been his apprentice.

  She braced herself and forced herself to sit up, despite the pain, as the door opened. Lady Daniele stepped into the room, wearing a long white dress that clung to her body, leaving very little to the imagination. If she hadn’t carried a sword and a wand at her belt, Emily would have mistaken her for a noblewoman, someone just waiting for the arranged marriage that would cement her family’s place in the local power structure. Instead, she was a powerful magician, a Mediator. And formidable...

  “Lady Emily,” Lady Daniele said. She bowed formally, and peered down at Emily. “As Master Grey’s second, it is my duty to concede the duel to you. My congratulations on your victory.”

  Emily would have laughed, if her head hadn’t been throbbing. Master Grey had died in front of her; no, she’d killed him. The duel had been won and lost the moment he’d died. She didn’t need Lady Daniele to tell her it was over. Hell, it wasn’t as if there were any rules for either of them to break, so the results could be dismissed on a technicality. She’d won and that was all that mattered.

  “Thank you,” she said, finally. It wasn’t Lady Daniele’s fault that Master Grey had been an ass.

  “As the victor, you have a claim on everything he owned,” Lady Daniele continued. “I have prepared a list of his possessions and will hand it over to you, once you have escaped this room. You will have a month, from that moment, to take possession of anything you want, after which the remainder will be distributed in line with his will. Certain items will need to be registered with the White Council, but we will go over that if you wish to take them.”