The Zero Blessing

by Christopher Nuttall

  Quick thinking, I conceded, ruefully. Too quick.

  Isabella let out a snarl and hefted her focusing device. I pulled my last Object of Power off my belt and held it up, just in time to catch the spell she hurled at me. This time, the magic was redirected right back at her, the spell reshaped into something different. Her Device of Power shivered in her hands, then shattered, pieces flying in all directions. Isabella screamed in agony. I saw blood dripping from the cuts on her hands and splashing on the floor. If she chose to concede now ...

  She didn't. Somehow, she drew her final wand and launched a spell at me. I adjusted the Object of Power, caught the spell and threw it back. Isabella threw up her bleeding arms, an instant before she shrank with terrifying speed. A moment later, there was a slug on the floor where she’d been standing. I blinked in astonishment. I really hadn't expected it to work that well.

  Silence fell. I was aware, suddenly very aware, of hundreds of eyes watching me. I’d bent - if not broken - an unspoken rule. Turning someone into a frog or a mouse or something that could signal was one thing, but turning someone into something that couldn't ... it was a duel, but still. I had a feeling I’d be made to pay for that, sooner or later ...

  I caught my breath. Sandy started to count, loudly. Isabella hadn't broken the spell. Perhaps she couldn't break the spell. And if she stayed that way for another twenty seconds, I’d win.

  “Twenty,” Sandy said. Others were starting to chant along with her, their voices shaking the hall. “Twenty-one ... Twenty-two ...”

  My heart pounded. Either I won or ...

  “Thirty,” Sandy said. The crowd went wild, screaming and shouting in delight. I wondered how long that would last when everyone who’d bet against me worked out how much they had to pay. “I declare Caitlyn the winner!”

  I sagged, feeling sweat pouring down my back. I’d won, barely.

  “Undo the spell,” Sandy ordered.

  I reached for the dispeller and pressed it against Isabella’s quivering form. There was a flash of light and she returned to normal, lying on the floor and looking stunned. Sandy helped her to her feet, taking the opportunity to give her a brief examination. It didn't look as though she was physically hurt, but she was clearly shocked. I almost felt sorry for her.

  “Well, Isabella,” Sandy said. “Do you have any words for Caitlyn?”

  Isabella looked at me. I saw a confusing mixture of emotions cross her face before she shook her head, once. She knew what I’d done, she knew what I’d made. There was no way the secret could be kept any longer, not now.

  “Very well done, Caitlyn,” Sandy said. “Do you wish to order Isabella out of the dorm?”

  I hesitated. Part of me wanted to put the boot in. Isabella wouldn't have hesitated to kick me out, if she’d won. And yet ... it would be cruel. Or would it be crueller to let her stay in the dorm, with everyone very aware she was only allowed to stay on sufferance? I honestly didn't know.

  “Leave Rose and me in peace,” I said, as Rose ran up to me. Alana and Bella were right behind her. “And you can stay.”

  Isabella nodded, wordlessly.

  Rose gave me a tight hug. Alana looked at me as if she’d never quite seen me before, as if she thought someone else was impersonating her sister. I wondered if she realised what I’d done. There had been so much light - and raw magic - that it was possible that she hadn't realised, not really. But Isabella definitely knew. Akin ... had he suspected my true nature? I had to speak to my father as quickly as possible.

  The crowd parted as the Castellan strode forward, followed by Magister Tallyman. I blinked in surprise. I hadn't realised that he'd be monitoring the duel ... although, in hindsight, that had been a little naïve of me. The teachers would have wanted to make sure the duel didn't get out of hand.

  Or any more out of hand, I thought, darkly.

  Magister Tallyman took the device I was holding and inspected it, briefly. “Young lady,” he said, sharply. “I think you owe us an explanation.”

  I sighed. There was no way I could fool him into thinking it was an ordinary Device of Power. He knew too much to be fooled. It was time to face the music.

  Again.

  Chapter Forty

  The Castellan’s office looked a little more welcoming this time, I decided, as I leaned against my father and sipped a cup of tea. Magister Tallyman and Magistra Haydon sat beside us, while the Castellan himself occupied the seat behind the desk. My surviving Objects of Power rested in front of us, one of them partly dismantled. It hadn't taken Magister Tallyman long to deduce the truth, and insist on summoning my father. I really didn't blame him.

  “Caitlyn,” the Castellan said. I put my tea aside and sat up. “Perhaps you could tell us exactly what happened?”

  “And why,” Magistra Haydon put in.

  I took a breath, then launched into a full explanation. The potions formula - and the explosion, the explosion that shouldn't have happened. The experiments - and how no spell had clung to me for very long. The fan I’d made - and the Objects of Power. The gemstones and rings and everything else I’d put together, then used in the duel.

  “Objects of Power,” my father breathed. “You made them.”

  Magister Tallyman leaned forward. “How?”

  “I’m a zero,” I said, simply. “I don’t have any magic of my own, not even a hint of magical sensitivity. But that means that I don’t have any magic to disrupt the Objects of Power as they’re put together. And that means that their magical fields are not disrupted right from the start.”

  “I see, I think,” Magister Tallyman said. “But why didn't they write this down?”

  “They may have thought it was obvious,” I said. I’d guessed as much, back when I’d worked out the truth. “And the term zero has changed its meaning over the last few centuries. Back then, it referred to ... well, to someone like me. Now, it means anyone with low magical potential. But someone with low potential still couldn't produce Objects of Power.”

  “Clever,” Magister Tallyman said. “Why didn't you tell me?”

  I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. “I wanted to tell my family first,” I said, finally. “And then events got a little out of control.”

  “A little,” the Castellan repeated. “You’ve had a very eventful year, Caitlyn.”

  He looked at my father. “How do you intend to proceed?”

  “I will have to give it some thought,” Dad said. “Obviously, it’s now clear that Caitlyn will never be able to pass most of the traditional classes. But her true talents need to be developed too. It may be better for her to be trained somewhere else.”

  “There are few places safer than Jude’s,” Magister Tallyman said. “You do understand the implications, sir?”

  My father nodded, stiffly. “I am aware of the potential dangers,” he said. “However, allowing Caitlyn to remain at Jude’s brings its own dangers. Exploding potions may be the least of them.”

  “We can alter our classes for her,” Magister Tallyman said.

  “At some cost,” the Castellan countered. He looked at Dad. “The decision must be yours, sir.”

  “And hers,” Dad said. He smiled at me. “With your permission, I would like to speak to my daughter before we come to any final agreement.”

  “Of course,” the Castellan said. He met my eyes. “I don't think I have to tell you, young lady, that you were very lucky.”

  I nodded, eyes downcast.

  “Try not to get into another duel,” the Castellan added. “It would be most awkward.”

  My father rose. I followed him through the door, past the grim-faced secretary and down the corridor. Isabella was standing at the bottom, talking to a pale-skinned man with a nasty scar on his face. Her father, I guessed. He gave my father a sharp look, which became calculating when he looked at me. I wondered just what Isabella - and Akin - had told him over the last hour or so. He knew what I was ...

  I half-expected my father to challenge him, right there an
d then. Instead, the two men merely glowered at one another before heading onwards. Isabella glanced at me, her face pale. I wondered just what her father had said to her, while I was explaining what I’d discovered. I didn't think her father would be pleased she’d fought the duel and lost. Despite myself, I felt sorry for her. Her father was clearly a very unpleasant man.

  “You shouldn't have fought that duel,” my father said, once we were in a private room. “It could have ended very badly.”

  “I couldn't back down,” I said, stiffly.

  “You really should have contacted me at once,” Dad added. “Your gift ... Caitlyn, your gift is unique. Do you know that?”

  “I don’t think so,” I said. “My gift might not be noticeable if I’d been born to a commoner family.”

  “Perhaps,” my father agreed, after a moment. “We will certainly be looking for other true zeroes.”

  He sat down, heavily. “Right now, you’re probably the single most important person in the kingdom,” he added. “Even the king himself may be less important. Your gift will allow us to produce dozens - perhaps hundreds - of Objects of Power. There will be trouble when the story leaks - and it will.”

  I swallowed. “Dad ...”

  “I should take you home right now,” Dad added. He looked concerned. “Jude’s is supposed to be politically neutral, Cat, but ... but someone might decide it’s worth running the risk of starting a war just to get at you. You are important, and you are vulnerable.”

  “I know,” I admitted. “I wish ...”

  “I know you wanted to fight,” Dad said. “And I am proud of you.”

  I smiled. I’d wanted to hear those words for a very long time.

  “I suspect you were meant to craft weapons for your sisters,” Dad added, after a moment of thought. “The triplet triad would have worked, if we'd understood your true nature from the start. Alana and Bella could have wielded Objects of Power you created. Now ...”

  He sighed. “I understand that you have been getting along better with your sisters?”

  “Just a little,” I said. It would be hard for Alana to claim I was useless after I’d beaten Isabella, even if I still didn't have any magic. “Dad ... it isn't easy for me to trust them.”

  Dad looked regretful. “I know,” he said. “I’m sorry, Cat. I have failed you.”

  “At least you taught me what I needed to know,” I said. “And ... things will be different now, won’t they?”

  “Yes,” Dad said.

  He met my eyes. “Do you want to stay at Jude’s?”

  I looked back at him. “Is it not the safest place?”

  “It depends,” Dad said. “On one hand, the school is heavily defended; on the other, a student could hurt or kill you without being stopped until it was too late. And while I doubt someone would try to take you from the school, they might well try to have you killed. Your mere existence upends the balance of power between the king and his rivals.

  “And yet, keeping you at the hall will cause its own problems,” he added. “There will be no major incidents if you are kidnapped there.”

  He sighed. “What do you want to do?”

  I honestly didn't know. Jude’s had been a very mixed experience for me. I’d found a good friend in Rose and discovered my talents, but ... but I’d also faced attack from other students and now everyone knew what I was. I wanted to keep working with Magister Tallyman - and potions, now they knew what I could do - yet I didn't want them to make too many accommodations for me.

  And yet, if I left, Rose would be alone. Dad wouldn't even consider taking her as an apprentice until she graduated.

  “They’ll have to make some allowances for me,” I mused. “Won’t they?”

  “We can work out the details,” my father said. “You probably won’t be able to graduate - not in most of your classes - but I don’t think that matters. You can set your own price for Objects of Power.”

  I smiled. Repaying my debts to Robin would be easy.

  “But there is another point,” my father added. “You’ve made an enemy of Isabella Rubén and ... and that will cause you problems.”

  “I know,” I said.

  “And you’ve been working with her brother,” Dad said. “What do you think of him?”

  “I think he’s a nicer person than his sister,” I said, after a moment. “He isn't a bad guy.”

  “He’s a Rubén,” Dad warned. “And cannot be trusted completely.”

  He paused. “Do you remember what I told you, back when I picked you up from school?”

  I nodded, slowly. “That Carioca Rubén is trying to take our place in Magus Court.”

  “Yes,” Dad said. “But now - as long as we have you - our position is secure. He may do something drastic when it sinks in.”

  “But not at Jude’s,” I said. “Right?”

  “Perhaps,” Dad said. He held up a hand. “Never underestimate what a desperate man will do. Your mere existence shatters all of his dreams.”

  I groaned. I didn't want to think about it. I’d been raised in a magical family, but I’d never expected to inherit anything beyond the name. In hindsight, it had given me a freedom that I’d never really appreciated. But now ... now I wished I knew more. It would have prepared me ...

  My heart sank. On one hand, I was important now. It was what I’d wanted. No one could deny that, not now. But, on the other hand, I was still vulnerable. Very vulnerable. I’d traded one kind of prison for another. Dad had good reason to want to keep me under firm control. So did anyone else who understood what I could do.

  “I’m going to take you home for the weekend,” Dad said. “Under the circumstances, the Castellan can hardly deny me that. Your friend Rose can come too. But ... after that, you’ll have to make a choice. And whatever you choose, you will be stuck with it.”

  I nodded, stiffly. Did I want to stay at Jude’s? In truth, I didn't know.

  Rose needs me, I thought. It was an answer, of sorts. And I can try to mend fences with Alana and Bella.

  “I’ll stay,” I said, finally.

  “Very good,” Dad said. He didn't look pleased or unhappy. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. “Cat ...”

  He paused. “I wish I’d known more, right from the start,” he added. “I know you didn't have an easy time of it at home ... and I even encouraged it, in the hopes it would bring out your magic. I didn't want to consider the possibility that you wouldn't have magic. It certainly never occurred to me that that might prove an advantage.”

  I swallowed. My father had always struck me as infallible. He’d always been a reassuring presence in my life - in our lives. Strict, but fair; authoritative, but reasonable. Even when he’d insisted that I had magic, that I had to have magic, he'd had a reason for it. Now, his quiet admission that he'd been wrong hurt. I would have traded almost anything if it meant I would never to have to hear him say those words.

  “I understand, Father,” I said. “All is forgiven.”

  “I doubt I can ever forgive myself,” my father said. He rose, holding out a hand. “I am proud of you, Cat. Very proud.”

  I took his hand. “Shall we go?”

  My father smiled. “Why not?”

  The End

  Afterword

  You may be interested to know some of the story behind this novel (and possible trilogy, if sales hold up.)

  Back in late 2014, I had a brilliant idea for Schooled In Magic. It would, I reasoned, allow me to avoid one of my pet hates - ancient artefacts of power that are superior to anything in the modern world - by giving said artefacts a very good reason to exist. There was just one minor problem ... I couldn't fit the story into Schooled In Magic. By then, I was writing Love’s Labour’s Won ... Book VI of the series. It couldn't be changed enough to work without either rewriting the series (which was obviously impossible) or a great deal of reworking (which would cost me the original concept.) And so I put the idea aside for later consideration.

  A couple of yea
rs later, I went through my list of ideas and dragged this concept back out into the light. I wanted to expand my reader base and explore some ideas that couldn’t be included in Schooled In Magic. Once separated from SIM, the idea expanded rapidly into a complete backstory - some of which is mentioned here, some of which will be explored in the next two books - and a universe of its own. Eventually, I had to write it.