The Zero Curse

by Christopher G. Nuttall

  “I’m sorry, Cat,” Rose said, as we walked back into the workroom. “I just couldn’t stop myself.”

  “I understand,” I said. I knew enough about geas spells to understand that resistance was pretty much impossible. A skilled magician might manage to break the spell from the inside, but Rose was only a firstie. The spell would keep her from even starting to resist. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “But you ...” Akin stopped dead. “I ...”

  I winced. He’d clearly wanted to say something the geas didn't like. An idea to get us out of the trap, perhaps? Or something cutting about our captors? I wondered, sourly, if I was truly as safe as I believed. If I was wrong about a geas making it impossible for me to work ... she might try to find out. I shivered at the thought. If I was wrong, it was over. I wouldn't have a hope of escape.

  But a geas won’t linger on me, I told myself. Goading her into enchanting me might be a possible way out.

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said, out loud. I couldn't risk sharing my thoughts with either of them. “We’ll just have to make do.”

  I heard a dull THUNK and turned, just in time to see the metal door open. A young man was standing there, carrying a large tray. I wanted to try to jump him, but I knew it would be pointless. Even if I could knock him out before he could cast a spell, Akin and Rose would freeze me at once. A desperate bid for freedom would only end badly.

  The young man showed no expression as he strode into the room. I peered past him and saw a long corridor, leading down into darkness. The walls were stone, as unmarked as the walls in the suite. And that meant ... what? Where were we? Somewhere that hadn't been designed for magic? Or somewhere that was so immense that no one had bothered to carve runes on the walls? I tried to think of a building in Shallot that might fit that description, but came up with nothing. I’d visited many halls, before my lack of power became apparent, yet I’d only seen the public areas. Our hosts had barred us from the rest of their halls.

  I turned my attention back to the young man. His features were ... indistinct, as if my eyes kept slipping over his face. A glamour, then. Oddly, I found that reassuring. Our captors were clearly not as confident in their security as Fairuza had implied. And yet ... she hadn't worn a glamour. Or had she? Someone who’d grown up in Shallot would know what her particular combination of features meant.

  “Here’s your dinner,” the young man said. His accent was pure Shallot, although there were hints of something different in the way he pronounced his words. Not Rolf, then. Maybe he’d spent time out of the city. “Bang on the door when you’re done.”

  “Thank you, sir,” I managed. It galled me to be polite to kidnappers, but Dad had warned me to keep a civil tongue in my head if I was ever taken prisoner. “May we ask what time it is?”

  “You may,” the young man said. I thought I heard a hint of resentment in his voice. I didn't understand why. “But I will not answer.”

  He put the tray on the workbench, then turned and strode out of the room. The door closed with an ominous thud. I listened carefully, but I didn't hear any locks. There must be wards on the far side, I decided, or bolts. They wouldn't hold a magician for long, but they would be more than enough to hold me. I couldn't cast a spell to save my life.

  “We’d better eat,” I said. Fairuza and her fellows might have slipped a potion into the food, but there was no point in worrying about it. They’d have no trouble forcing us to drink something, if they wished. “What do we have?”

  Rose inspected the tray. “Bread, butter, cheese and ham,” she said. “And a pot of tea.”

  Akin made a face. “Commoner food.”

  “Farmer food,” Rose shot back at him. “It may not be fancy, but it is filling. Make sure you eat plenty. You’ll need it.”

  I walked over to join them. The food was very basic, but there was plenty of it. I took a piece of bread and made myself a sandwich. Our captors had told us something important, I realised, as I ate the ham and cheese slowly. We were quite some distance from the city. A poor family in Shallot would eat fish, not ham and cheese. Did Fairuza realise what she’d told us? Or was she deliberately trying to confuse us? I had no idea.

  “It tastes good,” Rose said. She sounded more like her old self, now she'd had something to eat. I wondered, grimly, if Fairuza had bothered to feed Rose while she was asleep. “The cheese is definitely from a farm.”

  Akin snorted. “Where else would it come from?”

  “A dairy,” Rose said. Her voice suggested she thought it was a stupid question. But then, Akin had probably never been on a farm. “Farm cheese is richer, but it doesn't get sold very often.”

  I puzzled over it for a long moment. If someone powerful had taken us from Shallot ... were we on a country estate? Surely, they’d be searched ... wouldn't they? But Dad would have problems convincing aristocrats they needed to open their mansions. My heart sank as I started to make a second sandwich. Searching the city alone would take months. Searching the entire country would be impossible.

  “If it doesn't get sold,” I said slowly, “where does it go?”

  “The farmer’s family eats it, normally,” Rose said, dryly. “My father has an arrangement with the local innkeeper to supply him with milk and cheese, but we don’t sell it any further.”

  “I’m sure your cheese is better than this,” Akin said. He didn't look as though he was enjoying his food. And yet ... he finished his sandwich and looked around. “What are we going to do?”

  “We have to do as Fairuza says,” I lied. I’d have to come up with the escape plan on my own, then carry it out. And then I’d have to find a way to free them from the spell. “We appear to be trapped.”

  Rose poured tea for the three of us as I inspected the door. It was solid metal, firmly held in place. I pushed at it experimentally, but nothing happened. It didn't budge at all. Locked in place by magic, then. I allowed myself a grim smile. The more I knew about our prison, the more planning I could do. And who knew what I could do, given time and tools?

  The tea tasted odd, too. I sipped it, wondering if I’d been wrong about our captors putting potion in the tea. But nothing happened ... it just tasted different. Perhaps we were in another country after all, or perhaps ... we were just drinking a different blend. My father and most of the nobility wouldn't drink cheap tea if their lives depended on it. And yet ... coffee shops and teahouses had been all the rage in Shallot after explorers brought home coffee beans and tea leaves. Everyone drank tea.

  “I’m going to have a lie down,” I said, putting my mug back on the tray. “You can stay here, if you like.”

  “I have to come with you,” Rose said, dully. She shook her head. For a second, I saw terror in her eyes. She was helpless and she knew it. “Cat ...”

  “I understand,” I said. I wasn't going to be alone, was I? “Akin, you start looking at the reference books. See if you can figure out what they want us to make.”

  What they want me to make, I thought, as we walked into the bedroom. Rose followed me, standing so close that I wanted to push her away. They wouldn’t have gone so far if they hadn't had a reason to snatch me.

  There was no second bed, I noted. Perhaps Rose and I were expected to share. I cringed at the thought and made a mental note to ask for a second bed - or at least some blankets. I could sleep on the floor, if necessary. I’d sooner sleep on hard stone than share a bed with anyone, even my closest friend. Rose sat down on the chair and watched me as I puttered around, her eyes hard and wary. The geas had to be pushing her hard.

  I lay down on the bed and tried to think. We would have access to tools, wouldn't we? And I knew more about Objects of Power than anyone else. I should be able to improvise an escape, right? And if I couldn't ... I gritted my teeth. How much did Fairuza actually know? There were details I hadn't told anyone apart from Dad and Rose ... my blood ran cold as I realised the implications. Fairuza had Rose under a spell. All she had to do was interrogate her ...

  I j
ust have to hope she doesn't think of that, I thought. Rose was a commoner. An aristocrat wouldn't think much of her. But would Fairuza make that mistake? Or trying to extract answers from me by force, either.

  I closed my eyes. My thoughts ran in circles. Someone had done this, but who? I couldn't think of any suspects. They’d somehow convinced Rolf and his friends to throw their lives away, for ... for what? I couldn’t think of anything - money, power, patronage - that would make the risk worthwhile. Perhaps Rolf had a patron too ... it would make sense, him being a merchant’s son. Dad would find out, given a chance. It wasn't as if anyone would dare stand in his way.

  And Akin’s father will be looking too, I told myself. Who would dare to hide from both of them?

  Slowly, unwillingly, I drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Cat,” Rose said. She shook me, not gently. “You have to get up.”

  I groaned as I fought my way back to wakefulness. Rose was shaking me harder now, driven by the geas. I suppose I should have been grateful she didn't simply blast me out of bed. She didn't look good either, I discovered as I opened my eyes and peered at her. Dark rings lined her eyes, suggesting she hadn't slept a wink. I wondered, sourly, just how long the geas would keep her from resting. She’d collapse eventually, geas or no geas.

  “I’m coming,” I managed. My throat was dry. “What happened?”

  “She’s outside, waiting for you,” Rose said. It took a moment for me to realise that Rose meant Fairuza. “She wants you outside now.”

  I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood. The lanterns seemed dimmer somehow, although I knew it could be just my imagination. I hadn’t slept well. I’d dreamed ... I couldn't recall my dreams. But I knew they’d been bad. My legs felt wobbly as I tottered towards the door, Rose walking behind me and jabbing her fingers into my back every time I slowed. I knew she didn't want to do it, but I still felt angry. And yet, there was nothing I could do about it.

  Fairuza was standing by the workbench, wearing a long black dress and looking surprisingly imperious with her hands clasped behind her back. She looked striking, I had to admit. She would have been the belle of the ball in High Society, if her family lineage had been well-established. Instead ... her eyes tracked me as I made my way towards her, feeling as though I hadn’t slept a wink. Akin stood by the wall, unnaturally still. I’d have thought he’d been frozen if I hadn't seen him breathing.

  “Good morning,” Fairuza said. “I trust that you had a pleasant sleep?”

  “No,” I said, stiffly. “Rose and I require more blankets.” I tugged at the nightgown. “And we also require more clothes.”

  “They will be provided,” Fairuza said. I’d expected an argument. Maybe she’d just been waiting for us to complain before she found newer and better clothes. “Are you ready for your first assignment?”

  I glared at her. “Do I have a choice?”

  Fairuza shrugged. “Not really,” she said. She tapped the workbench, indicating a sheet of paper. “I want you to forge this for us.”

  I took the paper and inspected it. I’d seen the design before, several times. A wardcracker ... a powerful wardcracker. I didn't think there was a single ward that could stand up to it, if the wardcracker was shoved into the spellform. There were Devices of Power that were designed to knock down wards, but they tended to shatter if the magician using them didn't get the spells exactly right. I’d heard stories about incompetents who’d blown off their own hands while trying to rob magicians.

  “It will take some time,” I said, carefully. “And I will also require tools.”

  Fairuza’s eyes narrowed. “You have tools,” she said. She pointed at the selection on the table. “Is this not sufficient?”

  “I need better tools,” I told her. “I’ll have to forge them for myself.”

  “Really,” Fairuza said. She looked at Akin. “Is that true?”

  “... Yes,” Akin said. His voice was curiously flat. The geas was in full control. “Her tools are designed to assist in forging Objects of Power.”

  Fairuza looked back at me. “And you can forge these tools here?”

  “Yes,” I said. It wasn't hard, given the right materials. The real question was what she’d do with them, when I wasn't working. I could do more with my homemade tools than outsiders might realise. “That will take a couple of days, then I can start work on the wardcracker.”

  “Very good,” Fairuza said. She eyed me, sharply. “What else do you need?”

  Privacy, I thought. But I wasn’t fool enough to say that out loud. I have to ask her for things I can justify.

  “My spectacles, if you kept them,” I said. “And any of the other tools I was carrying when you kidnapped me.”

  “They weren't brought here,” Fairuza told me.

  I winced. I thought she was lying, but I wasn't sure. She’d be unwise to just give them to me, in any case. The dispeller alone would have been worth its weight in gold. She would certainly have wanted to ask more questions before letting me have them.

  “Then I have to build some of them too,” I said. I did my best to pretend to be cooperative. “But after that, I can get started on the wardcracker.”

  Fairuza never took her eyes off me. “Why do you need them?”

  “I can't sense magic,” I reminded her. I was fairly sure she knew that already. “And if I can see the magic, it’s easier to forge.”

  Whatever else Fairuza was, I decided as she bounced question after question off me, she was definitely a trained forger. I’d had vague thoughts about forging a suit of armour and breaking out, once I managed to find a way to put it together without my friends noticing, but Fairuza was too well-trained to miss what I was doing. Anything I built would have to be more subtle. The thought made me smile. I could do subtle.

  “You may as well start now,” Fairuza finished. “Unless you have something else you need?”

  Her tone suggested, very clearly, that I better hadn’t. I made a show of looking around the room, then shrugged. I’d need more materials - and potion ingredients - sooner or later, but I didn't have an excuse to demand them now. I made a mental note to come up with a list, the more outrageous the better. It would be interesting to see what Fairuza could and could not provide.

  “I need them to keep their distance,” I warned, slowly. Akin and Rose could help, of course, but they couldn't do the work for me. “If they get too close, the spellform will be distorted.”

  “Really,” Fairuza said. Her voice was biting. “And do you think I’m going to let you work unsupervised?”

  “They can watch from a distance,” I said. I would have bet my share of the family inheritance that she had the suite under constant surveillance. There were plenty of ways to spy on someone, particularly if you knew where they were. “But if they stand too close, the spellform will not take shape.”

  “And nor will the Object of Power,” Akin said. I wondered if he was trying to help. Maybe he was. He’d be helping her too, on the face of it. “I wasn't able to help her build a simple Object of Power.”

  “I see,” Fairuza said.

  “They can brew potions for me,” I said, quickly. I didn't want her thinking that Akin was useless. “They just can't stand too close when I’m working.”

  “Very well,” Fairuza said. She waved a hand at the cupboard. “You can start making your tools now. If you need anything else, just tap on the door.”

  So someone is right outside, I thought. Fairuza was the second person to tell us to knock on the door. Unless ...

  I watched as she turned and left the workroom. Was there only one person? The waiter could easily have been Fairuza, her face hidden under a glamour. But ... Rolf and his three friends were also involved. Fairuza probably wasn't alone. I simply had no way to be sure.

  “Akin, take one of the cauldrons and start brewing a cleansing potion,” I ordered. I doubted I could get either of them to make something dangerous, but combining two otherwis
e innocuous potions could have interesting effects. “Rose, brew an etching solution and ...”

  Rose’s face went blank. “I have to watch you,” she said. “I ...” - she stumbled as her face returned to normal - “Cat, I can't ...”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said. I pointed at the wall. “Just stand there and watch.”

  I was going to have to be careful what I said to them, I reflected, as I walked to the cupboards and started to gather my supplies. They’d do whatever I said, as long as it didn't interfere with their standing orders. I didn't know if Fairuza wanted to give me servants or give them incentive to be angry at me, but it didn’t matter. I’d have to be very careful indeed.