Trial By Fire (Schooled in Magic Book 7) (29 page)

“You treat the two men,” Emily said. It wasn’t a thought she liked, but Lady Barb had taught the class a great deal about battlefield medicine. Someone so badly wounded would be a drain on very limited resources. Emily hated the thought, yet - no matter what she did - she couldn’t deny the logic. “You can save two men instead of one.”

“If the first man is not beyond all hope anyway,” Master Grey agreed. “Aloha...”

Emily watched him through narrowed eyes. It was impossible to be sure - and she knew she didn’t dare speak to anyone about it - but she was starting to wonder if Master Grey was bipolar. On one hand, he was a good if unpleasant tutor; on the other hand, he seemed determined to make her life as miserable as possible, dropping demerits and detentions at the slightest provocation. Did he really dislike her, she wondered, or was he trying to show her that life outside the school wasn’t fair? Or was he treating her more as an apprentice, someone who could spend all her time with him, rather than a student? She hadn’t exactly
volunteered
to study with him.

She shook her head as the session finally came to an end, Master Grey dismissing them both with some cutting comments about their homework. Maybe he was tired too, Emily considered, as they made their escape. He didn’t seem inclined to spend so much time telling them - or at least her - off as usual. She said goodnight to Aloha, slipped back up the stairs and through the door into the dormitories.

“Tonight’s the night,” Alassa said, as she entered the room. “Are you ready?”

Emily yawned. She wanted - needed - rest; a hot bath wouldn’t have been amiss either. But Alassa had been planning their feast for over a week, silently gathering the food and drink they’d need to have a good time. She really didn’t want to disappoint her friend, even though she wanted to sleep. At least tomorrow was a Saturday. She could sleep in if necessary.

“Just let me have a shower first,” she said. They’d need to wait an hour or two after Lights Out, just to be sure the tutors were asleep too. “Master Grey is still being a pain.”

“Tell the Grandmaster you don’t want to take his class any longer,” Imaiqah advised. “He’d listen to you.”

“Then I’d fail,” Emily pointed out. She had wondered why Lady Barb had told her there was a way out, if she wanted to quit...but that would be giving up. The last thing she wanted was to let Master Grey
win
. “I don’t want to give the asshole the satisfaction of watching me go.”

She removed her clothes, stepped into the shower and inspected herself in the mirror. This time, at least, there were no new bruises, although there were some marks around her shoulders and elbows. The skin must have been stretched further, she reasoned, as she turned on the water and washed away the dirt and grime from her body. The more she exercised, the easier it became...or it would have, if Master Grey wasn’t so good at adding more exercises, just to keep pushing her limits. He was
very
good at his job.

“Jade’s watching his parchment,” Alassa said, as Emily stepped back out of the shower. “I was telling him about your problems.”

“Thank you,” Emily said, rather sourly. She picked up her parchment and discovered, not entirely to her surprise, that whatever else they’d said to one another had been scrolled off the page. “I’ll ask him about his former master.”

It felt odd, writing her messages and seeing Jade’s words appear below them, but she was growing used to it. Jade had apparently had a hard time too, although
he
had volunteered for the apprenticeship. He wondered, gently, if Master Grey hadn’t realized that
Emily
was effectively a conscript. It made a certain kind of sense, Emily reasoned, as Jade outlined some of the more soul-crushing exercises he’d been made to do. If the Mediators needed the best of the best, driving away anyone who couldn’t live up to their standards might not be a bad idea. But she hadn’t volunteered for the training from hell...

“Time to go,” Alassa said, softly. Emily glanced at her watch and realized it was nearly midnight. “Say your goodbyes and then follow me.”

Emily yawned again, but nodded. Placing the parchment back in the drawer, she wrapped a cloak around her shoulder - Whitehall could be very cold at night - and then followed Alassa and Imaiqah out the door. The Gorgon, Song, and Pandora were waiting outside, their faces glowing with nervous anticipation. Emily felt a flicker of anticipation too; she’d been loath to admit it, but she’d always enjoyed sneaking through Whitehall at the dead of night.

“Cast a night-vision spell,” Alassa ordered. “We don’t dare show a light at night.”

The door opened, allowing them to slip into the main corridor towards the stairs leading up to the battlements. Emily shivered - the school felt so different at night, as if it was a whole new world - and glanced around, seeing the shadows crawling around them like living things. The wards shimmered at the back of her mind: strong, powerful and somehow not quite right. And yet, the sensation faded the moment she tried to work out
why
the wards felt strange. Maybe she was just tired and imagining it.

Should have brought Caleb
, she thought. The idea of sneaking off to a classroom and kissing him was surprisingly attractive. There was no rule against bringing a boy to the bedroom, provided her roommates agreed, but she was too embarrassed to ask them.
Maybe if Alassa had brought Jade, I could have worked up the nerve
.

The thought faded as they slowly climbed up the stairs to the very highest level. Alassa went to work on the door at the top, poking and prodding at it with her magic until it finally unlocked, allowing them to step onto the battlements. It didn’t seem very secure, Emily thought, but anyone who tried to climb up the walls would be thrown off, while the wards would prevent anyone from flying into the school. Shadye’s army of monsters had made it up, yes, yet he’d had inside help. The nexus point ensured that Whitehall was impossible to take without it.

“We made it,” Alassa said, very quietly. “Make sure you jam the door open. We don’t want to get locked out here.”

“That would be embarrassing,” the Gorgon agreed, dryly.

Emily had to smile as Alassa opened her bags and laid the blankets on the stone floor. They wouldn’t be in any
danger
, she was sure, but they’d be caught in the morning and laughed at by the entire school. She sat down on the blankets and started to unpack the box of sandwiches, shaking her head in disbelief. Cheese sandwiches, cold chicken and ham, potato salad, lettuce and tomato, lashings of ginger beer...if she hadn’t known better, she would have thought that Alassa had been reading stories about the Famous Five. Her friend must have bribed one of the cooks to get so much food on short notice.

The Gorgon had the same idea. “How did you ask them for the food?”

“Told them we were planning a picnic after the games tomorrow,” Alassa said. “They were quite happy to provide what I asked.”

Emily frowned. She hadn’t planned to attend the games - she had far too much work to do - but Frieda would be there...wouldn’t she? Alassa would be furious if Frieda didn’t show up, particularly after working so hard to earn a place on the team. Emily wouldn’t have cared to be a Second Year with a Fourth Year mad at her. But then,
she’d
been a First Year who’d had students from both Fifth and Sixth Year mad at her.

Maybe I should go
, she thought. She could take an hour away from her work with Caleb, if he didn’t mind. She
needed
to talk to Frieda.
I could wait until the game had finished, then catch up with her
.

“Here,” Alassa said, passing her a piece of chicken. “You should try eating instead of thinking.”

Emily smiled, took the piece of chicken and began to nibble. It tasted heavenly: pure chicken, without any of the flavorings the cooks used for regular meals. She rose to her feet and strolled over to the battlements, peering out over the darkened countryside. The flow of magic around the school seemed stronger in the open air, but there were no lights beyond the wards. She looked towards Dragon’s Den, then up at the stars. Were they the same stars as shone on Earth? There was no way to know.

“I’m going to miss this place,” Alassa said, as she stepped up behind Emily. “I can be myself here.”

“You should stay,” Emily said. “You could do another couple of years, couldn’t you?”

“Father wouldn’t let me take any of the oaths,” Alassa said. “I am the Princess of Zangaria, Heir to the Throne. If I’d had a brother...”

She shook her head. “I have to go back after the end of term and learn how to rule,” she added. “Father says he intends to pass more of his duties to me, once I’m out of school. I’m not looking forward to it.”

Emily understood. Alassa would have power -
real
power - but she would also live in a gilded cage, even if she
did
have Jade as a husband and magic of her own. She would be forever imprisoned by her name and title. Jade might be able to leave - as a Court Wizard, he would be expected to deal with any magical threats to the kingdom - but Alassa would be trapped. How could
anyone
endure such an existence?

“I’m sorry, you know,” Alassa added. “You will come see me, won’t you?”

“Of course I will,” Emily said. She’d be busy at Whitehall for the next two years, but she
would
have holidays. It wouldn’t be hard to travel to Zangaria. “And you will have the parchments.”

“I need to get a private one to share with Jade,” Alassa said. “He was promising he’d visit, at the end of the second term. We can make one then.”

“Good thinking,” Emily said.

Alassa nudged her. “And how are you and Caleb getting along?”

Emily blushed. “Very well,” she said. “It’s...different.”

“I suppose it would be,” Alassa said, wistfully. “At least you weren’t threatened with a chastity spell.”

“Your father actually threatened to cast a spell on you?” Emily asked, shocked. “A
chastity
spell?

“I told him I’d leave if he tried,” Alassa said. “How could I learn self-discipline with a spell keeping me in line?”

She stared into the darkness, shaking her head. “It isn’t easy,” she admitted. “But if father hadn’t been able to ask questions...”

Someone cleared her throat, loudly. Emily jumped, then spun around. Mistress Irene was standing by the door, scowling at them. Her pinched face didn’t look remotely pleased.

“Lights Out was nearly three hours ago,” she said, into the aghast silence. “Why are you up here in the middle of the night?”

Emily winced as she was beckoned forward to stand next to the other girls. They’d been caught...the unspoken rules prevented the staff from using the wards to track them, but they
had
left the door open. Maybe Mistress Irene had walked down the corridor and felt the draft. Whatever the cause, it hardly mattered. They were in deep trouble.

“I’m waiting for an explanation,” Mistress Irene said, patiently. “Why are you up here?”

Alassa stepped forward. “It was my idea,” she said. “I brought them up here.”

“I see,” Mistress Irene said. Emily didn’t dare to even
breathe
. “And you, a Dorm Monitor, decided to break the rules you are charged with enforcing?”

“Yes, Mistress,” Alassa said. “It was my fault. I should be punished, not them.”

Mistress Irene eyed them all for a long moment. “And so you shall be,” she said. “You will come with me, now. The rest of you” - Emily cowered under her cold gaze - “will return to your bedrooms and report to your advisers in the morning. Go.”

Emily caught sight of Alassa’s pale face before hurrying down the stairs and back to their bedroom. Alassa was in deep trouble, but she wasn’t the only one. Emily knew...

She caught herself as a thought occurred to her. Alassa had taken her duties seriously, even though she’d had little power. And now she’d thrown them away...or had she? Had she
meant
to be caught?

By the time Emily woke up to discover that Alassa hadn’t returned to the room, suspicion had hardened into certainty.

“T
HAT WAS DELIBERATE, WASN’T IT?
”

Lady Barb lifted her eyebrows. “There are more polite ways to enter a room and start a conversation, you know.”

Emily winced, but refused to be deflected. “That was set up deliberately,” she said. “I don’t think Alassa would have thrown away her position
accidentally
.”

“People do make stupid mistakes,” Lady Barb observed. “You’ve been known to do quite a few stupid things yourself.”

“This isn’t about me,” Emily said. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t even had breakfast. “Why did she...just throw it away?”

Lady Barb met her eyes. “Why do
you
think she threw it away?”

“We were caught out of bounds in Second Year,” Emily said, sharply. “We were sent to the Warden, caned and then dispatched back to bed. I was not asked whose idea it was...”

“You wouldn’t have been,” Lady Barb said.

“And no one tried to confess,” Emily continued, ignoring the interruption. “I don’t think it would have mattered if someone
had
confessed.”

Lady Barb shrugged. “You do know that Alassa won’t be returning after her Fourth Year?”

Emily nodded. “Alassa said as much,” she said. “Is it wrong of me to wish otherwise?”

“Not really,” Lady Barb told her. She hadn’t taken her eyes off Emily. “Alassa...has good reason to conceal the true scope of her abilities. Being caught luring six students into mischief - and she a Dorm Monitor, no less - will be enough to get her placed into indefinite suspension. To all intents and purposes, she will have been expelled.”

Emily felt as if she’d been punched in the chest. “You
can’t
expel her!”

“She will complete the rest of the year, along with the exams, but her grades will not be made public,” Lady Barb said, as if Emily hadn’t spoken. “It will be agreed, after some
secret
negotiations that will
unaccountably
become public, that she will be spared the humiliation of actually being expelled, as long as she doesn’t return to the school after Fourth Year. King Randor will, of course, accept this punishment without making a fuss.”