The Princess in the Tower (Schooled in Magic Book 15)

by Christopher Nuttall

  “Emily? Jade?”

  “Alassa,” Emily said. “We’ve come to rescue you.”

  Alassa looked...different, Emily thought. Her eyes were wider, as if she were desperately tired; her stomach bulging slightly where the baby was growing. Emily glanced past her, sweeping the room for threats, but saw nothing. And yet, Alassa would have found it maddening. It was a very comfortable prison, but a prison nonetheless. A woman as active as Alassa would have found the enforced inactivity tedious beyond belief.

  Jade pushed past Emily and swept his wife into a hug. Emily looked away as the hug became a kiss, reminding herself that Jade and Alassa hadn’t seen each other for weeks...and, perhaps, they’d had reason to believe they would never see each other again. She took the scrap of cloth with Tam’s blood out of her pocket and performed a locator spell, then cleared her throat loudly as the kissing started to turn into something more passionate. It was hardly the time or the place.

  “We have to find Imaiqah,” she said, as the couple broke apart. “Alassa, do you know where she is?”

  “I haven’t seen anyone since I woke up here,” Alassa said, slowly. She sounded weak, her hand twitching uncomfortably. “I don’t know what happened to her.”

  Emily performed the locator spell again. This time, it produced a result. “This way,” she said, as another round of gunshots echoed up the stairs. “We have to hurry.”

  Alassa coughed. Emily glanced at her as they started to run, worried. Alassa would have been fed all sorts of potions to keep her magic under control. She was not going to have a pleasant time of it as she came off them, Emily guessed. Even with a Healer supervising, Alassa was in for a rough few days. And if she’d become dependent on the potions...Emily knew that Alassa was strong, with a lot of willpower, but there were potions that induced a permanent dependency in anyone unlucky enough to drink them.

  “I went after her,” Alassa managed. The building shook, violently. Emily glanced upwards as dust started to drift down from the stone ceiling. What was going on? “I...I got caught and...I’m sorry.”

  “You’ll be better after a good meal and a good night’s sleep,” Jade told her. He hadn’t let go of her hand. “We have to move”

  Emily nodded to herself as they rounded another corner and discovered another wooden door, with a pair of guards standing in front. The guards snapped up their wands, hurling fireballs down the corridor; Emily threw back a cancelling spell, then a force punch of her own. One of the guards had the presence of mind to grab hold of the door; the other was blasted down the corridor and straight into a wall. Emily hit the door with a blast hex, tossing the guard into the air as the wood shattered; Jade hit him with a series of spells before he could react, overloading and melting his armor. Emily tried not to listen to the screams.

  “Imaiqah,” she shouted, as she plunged into the room. “Where are...?”

  She stopped in horror. Imaiqah was lying on the bed, wearing a white dress. Her face was badly bruised, one eye clearly bloodied and her nose broken. It looked as though she’d been worked over by experts, time and time again. Emily could sense the traces of healing magic in her body, slowly mending the damage...she swallowed, hard, as the implications dawned on her. Randor had someone who was trained in the healing arts, but not bound by their oaths...

  “We’re here to get you home,” she said, although she knew it wasn’t entirely true. Where was Imaiqah’s home these days? “Can you walk?”

  Imaiqah shook her head, slowly. Emily frowned, then scanned Imaiqah’s body. There was a nasty looking hex on her tongue, making it impossible to talk. Her legs weren’t broken, but they were so badly battered that walking would be immensely difficult–and painful. Emily pulled back the dress and sucked in her breath. Imaiqah’s legs had been beaten, repeatedly, with sticks. She hadn’t seen anything like it outside the Cairngorms and...she dismissed the thought in a hurry. They’d have to carry Imaiqah to the portal.

  “Carry her,” she told Jade. A quiver ran through the air as the wards started to reform. “We have to hurry.”

  Jade nodded, passing Alassa one of his wands and then throwing Imaiqah over his right shoulder. It was an undignified position, but Imaiqah was in no state to care. Emily hesitated, then cast a sedation spell on her friend. Imaiqah would be annoyed at her later, she was sure, but there was no choice. Imaiqah was in no state to walk out under her own power.

  They hurried out of the room, just in time to hear a line of approaching men. Emily pushed Jade and Alassa forward, hoping that Jade would have the sense to keep going with the former captives, rather than turn to fight. She glanced behind her as the guards came into view, a set of men in charmed armor. Emily shaped a force punch and threw it at them, but she wasn’t entirely surprised when it was deflected harmlessly. The men were completely covered in armor.

  “Stop,” the leader shouted. He brandished a wand. “Now!”

  Emily braced herself, then mustered the most powerful blasting spell she could and directed it down at the stone floor. It shattered under the impact, the stone collapsing rapidly. The guards fell, their armor suddenly turning into a liability as they tried to grab onto the walls to save themselves. Emily heard them crashing down behind her as they fell, the building shaking again. She blinked as she followed Jade and Alassa...was that her fault? She didn’t think the blasting spell had done that much damage.

  Should have transfigured the floor into gunpowder, she thought. Or...

  “Shit,” Jade swore, as they passed Alassa’s former cell. “We’re cut off!”

  Emily looked past him. Another line of soldiers was advancing towards them, already lifting their weapons. She cursed under her breath, realizing her mistake; she’d left a hole in the floor, making it impossible to get past and around the guards. They would have to go through the guards or...

  “This way,” she snapped, starting to lead them into the cell. If she was right–if she understood the interior dimensions correctly–they should be able to blast through the wall and go into the next cell, working their way back to the portal. “Hurry!”

  We could teleport, she told herself. But, in her state, would Imaiqah survive?

  She cursed under her breath, sweat running down her back. In truth, she had no idea...

  ...But she was all too aware that they were running out of time.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “THEY’RE TRYING TO PUT THE WARDS back up,” Jade said, as they slammed the door closed and locked it. The locking charm wouldn’t hold for long, but it would buy them a few additional minutes. “Once they do, we’re trapped.”

  Emily nodded, mustering another blasting spell and directing it at the far wall. It exploded outwards, revealing another cell. It was empty, as far as Emily could tell. She hurried forward, wishing that Alassa had her magic or Cat had stayed with them. Jade only had one hand free. She considered, briefly, transfiguring Imaiqah–and possibly Alassa–into something smaller and easier to carry, but there was no guarantee that Imaiqah would survive the experience. Randor might not have been willing to physically abuse his daughter–he hadn’t even bothered to provide any parental discipline when she was a child–yet it was clear he’d had no such compunctions about hurting Imaiqah. God alone knew how far he’d gone.

  We’ll find out, she promised herself, as she heard the sound of the door being broken down behind them. And we will make him pay.

  The next door was carefully designed to make sure the occupant of the cell couldn’t open it from the inside. Emily blasted it down without a second thought, privately admitting that whoever had designed the lock had done a reasonably good job after all. There was no way out without magic. She didn’t think it was possible for one man, no matter how strong, to break down the door.

  She peered out into an empty corridor, glancing from left to right as she reorientated herself on the portal. It was clearly visible in her mind’s eye, a source of power so bright she suspected it could be sensed from halfway across the city. Rand
or’s sorcerers would be tracing the far end already, trying to track down the warehouse. She listened for a long moment, hearing the sound of shooting and men shouting in the distance, then inched her way out of the room. The others followed her, carefully. Alassa held her charged wand at the ready.

  “This way,” Emily hissed. Behind her, she heard men crashing into the cell. “Hurry!”

  She motioned for Jade to take the lead as she cast a pair of confusion hexes behind her. They wouldn’t last for long, but they might slow down pursuit a little. She’d take anything she could get. The sound of men shouting grew louder; she hoped–prayed–that the hexes took effect. She was starting to feel as though she was running short on magic. She’d planned to eat more and recharge before they punched their way into the Tower.

  I should take Imaiqah, she thought. Let Jade do some of the fighting.

  They reached a locked door, barring them from going any further. Jade put his fingers against the metal and muttered a spell, his voice too tired to be loud. The door exploded inwards, revealing a vast chamber. Emily could see an immense debris field, too large to be explained by Jade’s spell...and, beyond it, a faint blue light. The portal. It had to be the portal. Her heart started to beat rapidly. They were nearly home.

  “Hurry,” Jade ordered.

  Emily nodded and led the way across the giant room. It didn’t seem to have any use, as far as she could tell; it was easily big enough to be a dining or dance hall, yet there was no sign of tables or chairs or a podium for the musicians. She glanced from side to side, feeling suddenly unsure of herself. The Tower of Alexis was a prison. What would it need a giant hall for?

  The king might have regarded it as a fallback fortress, she thought. The Tower of London had served that role, once upon a time. Maybe it’s a throne room.

  She reached the edge of the debris–what had once been a wall–and sucked in her breath, astonished. It looked as though a bomb had gone off in the Tower. The stairwell was gone, leaving a gaping hole plunging down to the bottom level; the stone was scarred and pitted by a terrible force. She could see a handful of people staring up at her, one levelling a flintlock; she jumped back, sharply, as a bullet pinged off the stone above her. The building appeared to have been devastated.

  “We’re going to have to go around to get to the portal,” she called. She could see Cat, standing next to the portal. “Jade, you...”

  A surge of magic caught her attention. She spun around, just in time to see a cloaked figure striding into the room. A flash of déjà vu shot through her–Shadye had worn a cloak too–a moment before she sensed the magic boiling around the figure. Shadye had been powerful, but his magic had been uncontrolled; this man was powerful, yet it was clear his magic was under tight control...

  Her eyes narrowed as something clicked in her mind. A man? No, the gait was all wrong. A woman. Her features were hidden under the cloak–and a glamour–and her clothes were as loose as Emily’s own, but she was a woman. Emily was sure of it. A woman and a sorceress and...and what?

  “There is no escape,” the woman said, quietly. Her voice was laced with magic, enough charm to make Emily’s knees wobble. She had to grit her teeth to remain upright. “You broke into the Tower, somehow, but you will not get out.”

  Emily reached out with her senses, studying the woman carefully. She reminded Emily of Lady Barb...a flicker of panic ran through her at the thought of facing the closest thing she had to a mother, before it dawned on her that the mystery sorceress was too short to be Lady Barb. And yet, it was clear she was very well trained. There was barely a scrap of wasted magic around her. She’d masked her presence very well. Emily suspected, as she felt her heart sink, that she’d stayed hidden in hopes the regular guards could round up the intruders without her direct intervention.

  Jade found his voice. “Who are you?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” the woman said. Her voice grew stronger. “Surrender. You cannot escape.”

  That’s what she wants us to believe, Emily thought. She bit her lip, hard, to help her concentrate. She wouldn’t be trying to charm us if she thought we were trapped.

  “Jade, take them out of here,” Emily said. “I’ll hold her off.”

  The woman sucked in her breath. Emily mentally kicked herself. The woman hadn’t recognized Jade...and he hadn’t recognized her either. That meant...she cursed herself as she realized her mistake. The woman now knew who Jade was, which meant she had a pretty good chance of guessing who Emily was too. How many other young sorceresses would come to Alassa’s aid?

  “No, you won’t,” the woman said. “Lord Jade, consider...”

  Emily snatched a fireball out of nowhere and threw it at the woman. She deflected it with a casual spell, then tossed a freeze spell of her own back at Emily. Emily lifted her eyebrows at the trick–it was something she’d expected from a schoolgirl, not a combat sorceress–and then stepped aside, avoiding the spell. There was nothing to be gained by wasting magic deflecting it.

  The woman muttered a word under her breath, then jabbed her finger at Emily. A bolt of magic–no, a steady stream of magic–slammed into her wards, shoving her back as if it had physical force. Emily gritted her teeth, realizing that she was being dared into a pushing match...a pushing match she was too tired to win. She altered her wards desperately, deflecting the magic away from her, then hurled back a set of wardcracking spells Lady Barb had taught her. The woman dodged them, thankfully stopping her assault on Emily...

  ...And Jade slammed a spell into her back. Emily had never seen anything like it–it made a sound like a thunderclap when it struck home–but it was effective. It threw the woman right across the room, straight into a wall. The wall crumpled under the impact, but the woman’s wards held. She seemed to hang in the air for a second, surrounded by a bubble of pure magic, then land neatly on the battered floor. Emily couldn’t help wondering just how long it would be until the entire building collapsed.

  “Go,” she snapped to Jade. Cat was too far away to help and she had no idea what had happened to the Levellers. “Hurry.”

  The woman was advancing towards them. Emily braced herself, grimly aware that she was about to throw most of what she’d been taught out of the window, then started to walk across the floor, straight towards the woman. She’d lost her glamour, part of Emily’s mind noted; she was roughly the same height as Emily herself, with a sour pinched face and an expression that suggested she was sucking a lemon. And yet, she carried herself like a noblewoman. It was hard to tell where she’d been trained–Emily didn’t think the woman had been trained at Whitehall or Mountaintop–but it was clear that her trainers had done a good job. She was a good fighter.

  “You know who I am,” she said, trying to buy time. “Who are you?”

  The woman lunged forward, stabbing a wave of magic at Emily. Emily shoved back with all the power she could muster, slamming her magic into the woman as hard as she could. Raw magic crashed in all directions, cutting into the floor and ceiling. Emily heard pieces of stone crashing to the ground, the entire building shaking a moment before the floor gave way. She hastily cast a levitation spell as she fell, but the woman cancelled it a second later. It was all Emily could do to land safety.

  “Emily,” Jade called.

  The woman snapped off a nasty-looking spell at him. Emily glanced up, just in time to see the spell miss Jade and tear into the ceiling. She blinked in surprise–surely, Randor had given orders that Alassa was to be unharmed–and then threw herself at the woman, magic billowing around her. It was a poor technique, but it seemed to catch the woman by surprise; she stumbled back, almost falling. A second later, something caught hold of Emily and yanked her up and back. She landed neatly beside Jade.

  “I told you to go,” she said. “I’ll get back to the portal in a minute.”

  Jade looked at her. “Emily...”

  Emily looked back at him. He was still carrying Imaiqah, her sleeping body resting on his shoulder. Alassa was nowhere
to be seen, but Jade would have been freaking out if she’d been hurt. She’d probably been sent back to the portal. It would kill her, Emily knew, but without magic she was just dead weight. They would lose everything if she died while they were trying to rescue her.

  “Go,” she ordered, keeping a wary eye on where the woman had to be. They didn’t dare run to the portal together. Turning their backs on the woman would be the last thing they’d do, ever. “Tell Cat to go too. I’ll jump through the portal as soon as you’re clear.”

  “We’ll leave it open,” Jade said. “I...”

  “Go,” Emily repeated. The woman hadn’t been beaten. Emily rather doubted she’d tasted the woman’s full power. She might just have decided there was no point in continuing the fight if Alassa was already gone–or dead–but Emily didn’t think they would be so lucky. No, the woman was considering her next move. “Now.”

  Jade hesitated for a second, then turned and hurried back to the smashed floor and the portal beyond. Emily heard his footsteps retreating, hoping he’d have the sense to keep going rather than just pitch Imaiqah through the portal. He’d hate himself for leaving her behind, if only for a minute or two; he’d feel as though he’d abandoned her, he’d feel...

  ...Another surge of magic leapt through the air, aimed at the portal. Emily spun around and saw the woman, standing on the far side of the hole in the floor, making odd gestures towards the portal. She gasped in pain as the portal twisted, starting to spin out of shape; she thought she saw, just for a second, the entire building starting to fall in on itself. Horror ran through her as she hurled a blasting spell at the floor under the woman’s legs, trying to force her to save herself; the woman jumped up, running along the ceiling as if gravity had suddenly reversed itself. Emily glanced back as the magic surged again, just in time to see the portal collapse in on itself and snap out of existence. Jade and Imaiqah had escaped just in time.