I shrugged. “I’m on my way to meet a friend. If anything happens, she’ll get me some help.”
“Come on,” the spindly witch said to her companions. “We’ve got this lot to worry about.”
I pressed my back into the wall, letting them pass with the fallen males. As soon as they stepped through the door leading to the terrace, I darted into a stairwell and descended in a gallop. If things got worse, and someone became desperate enough to take Roseate’s accusations seriously, I didn’t want anyone to know where I was headed.
The library was a mess of upturned tables and books and scrolls strewn across the floors. Soft, blue light filtered in from the glass ceiling, reflecting the colors of the Great Lake.
I let my gaze wander around, over the bookshelves and into the alcoves for signs of Evolene.
A figure moved behind a shelf.
“Evolene?” I asked.
The bald, pockmarked head of the librarian poked out. “Cadet? Why aren’t you with the others?”
“The ones who collapsed?”
“Yes.” He stepped out, wiping his hands on the front of his brown tunic, smearing dust all over its front. “A group of boys fell ill with the dragon plague. A couple of them were the lot who usually come here with you.”
I blinked and wrapped my arms around my middle. The librarian had never acknowledged me before. “They’re all in hospital beds now.”
“Glad to hear it.” He placed a large tome back on the shelf.
“Why haven’t you been affected then?” I walked closer.
He puffed out his chest, leaning against a trolley of books. “I suppose it’s because of my healthy regimen of spring water and regular bleedings.”
I tried not to let my gaze linger on the red scars the leeches left on his hands. “Actually, I’m looking for a friend. Have you seen a small witch with reddish-brown hair?”
“You won’t find any witches in here. They all left to carry the males upstairs.”
I narrowed my eyes. I could imagine Evolene would leave to help Stafford, but since he hadn’t made it to the library, she would probably still be researching. There was no sign of her on the mezzanine, but I had an idea of where she might be. “I’ll check the archives room.”
“Hurry up, because the library is closing soon.” He bent over his trolley and picked up another book.
I hurried around the librarian’s desk and pushed open the double doors, letting out a gust of cold, dry air, and the faint scent of gas lamps. Evolene shrieked and staggered back against one of the floor-to-ceiling shelves. The scrolls jostled out of their places, creating massive clouds of dust.
“Sorry, I should have knocked.” I stepped into the darkened room and closed the door.
“I-it’s my fault.” She walked over to the long table in the middle of the room. “I’ve been here in the quiet so long.”
“Did you miss the commotion in the library?” I asked.
Her brows pulled together. “What happened?”
I told her about all the males I’d seen laid out on the lawn, lying in expanded hospital rooms, and being piled up and carried by witches. Evolene twisted at her hair and bit down on her bottom lip. When I finished, she swayed on her feet, not saying a word.
“Did you find anything out about dragons’ immunity to magic?” The question seemed redundant, now that the plague had spread to ogres.
“D-did you find Stafford?”
“Er… Yes.” I swallowed hard. Would she fall into a sobbing heap if I told her how I’d found him? Right now, she and the flying cat were the only allies I had in my quest to uncover the secret of the plague. “He’s resting in a nice cot in the same room as our classmates and the drogott team.”
She clapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh no! We have to help him.”
“The best thing you can do for him is research.” I guided her to the middle of the table and spread my hands over the scrolls. “Have you found anything yet? Roseate is telling the other witches I mutated the clearscale so it could affect ogre hybrids.”
Evolene’s lips thinned. “You can’t listen to anything Roseate says. She’s been vicious ever since she was jilted by the rider who got murdered.”
“The one Asproceros the poacher killed?” I asked.
“Yes. Since he dumped her, she’s been nasty to everyone.”
“She tried to get me captured.”
Evolene shook her head. “Anyone who works with Dr. Duclair would know dragons’ diseases would incinerate most creatures.”
“Huh?”
She ducked under the table, picked up a stool, and took it to the other end of the room. “I found a copy of a scroll one of the fairy doctors wrote about dragons and diseases.”
I followed her to the other side of the room. “The fairies released that information to the dragons?”
“Queen Cendrilla negotiated all the documentation as part of their release before the Great Dragon Revolution.”
“Oh.” I leaned my shoulder on the shelf. My tutor hadn’t gone into depth on this subject.
Evolene climbed the stool and stood on her tiptoes. “Dragon blood runs too hot, burning through ailments of all elements, including fire.”
“That’s why any disease a dragon can get would burn an ogre,” I replied.
She pulled down a couple of scrolls. “Dragons hold their resistance to magic all over their bodies. They were designed to be the ultimate weapon against the Queen of the Fairies.”
I stared down at the rolled up pieces of parchment. “But they’re sick.”
“Dragonsbane is the only thing that can affect their health.” She jumped down off the stool.
“But the wards won’t let that kind of thing into Mount Fornax.” I tapped my bottom lip. “But what if Master Jesper fed it to the largomorphus rex while they were in Tundra?”
“They would have digested it through the journey.” Evolene walked to the table and unrolled a scroll marked ‘DRAGONSBANE.’ Its author had drawn a picture of a dragon’s tail and front leg withering away. “And the wards wouldn’t recognize it as dragonsbane anymore.”
My eyes bulged. Master Roopal hadn’t yet told us what happened to the dragons after the defeat of the Forgotten King. But from the looks of the scroll, the high fairies had been trying to find a way to destroy the dragons.
I closed my eyes, shaking away those thoughts. The dragons needed help right now. “All right. I get that Master Jesper is clever enough to make everyone sick, but why give them clearscale?”
She clapped both hands over her mouth. “Invisible armor!”
My throat dried, as did any response. Some dragons shed their skin like snakes, leaving behind pristine hides they would gift to someone they admired. Magically resistant armor that rendered its user invisible could make a conqueror out of a dungman. “If we can get the dragonsbane out of the dragons, will their bodies burn away whatever’s causing the clearscale?”
She wrung her hands. “I-I think so.”
“Do you know how to do it?
She shook her head. “Maybe General Thornicroft can persuade Master Jesper to say.”
The knot in my stomach loosened, and I exhaled a long breath of relief. Evolene’s digested dragonsbane idea made sense enough to dissuade Roseate and anyone else from capturing me for my blood.
“Let’s go and tell the General!”
Several minutes later, I pushed open the doors to Master Fosco’s office. The air, thick with the scent of hot metal and burned flesh, made my nose wrinkle. General Thornicroft hunched in front of a chair, reaching for a vial of gray liquid laid out on the desk. My gaze landed on an array of iron pokers, some still red with heat, and others white with frost.
My feet froze, and Evolene bumped into my back. I’d known that Master Jesper would be tortured for information, but the sight of the implements made my stomach turn.
Couldn’t he read the troll’s mind? I shook my head. The Snow Queen had probably made them immune to mind-readers.
/> A rumbling moan filled the room, and my stomach vibrated with dread. I pressed my lips together and pulled back my shoulders. Master Jesper hadn’t shown mercy to the witches whose life forces it had plundered for magic, so why did I need to feel so sick on its behalf?
“General Thornicroft?” I stepped inside, shuffling my feet against the sandstone floor. “We know how Master Jesper caused the clearscale.”
He drew back, revealing Master Jesper, who fell forward and gasped. Leather straps wound around the troll’s body, securing it to the chair. Above them, bands of magic held the straps in place. My stomach dropped. Even though I couldn’t see what General Thornicroft had done, this kind of torture was too brutal.
Evolene whimpered and grabbed my arm.
The General turned cold, quicksilver eyes down at us. “If you have any ideas, I’m listening. This troll isn’t talking.”
Master Jesper grunted, making the sound of milestones grinding together. “I’ve told you a hundred times! I did not cause the clearscale.”
“But you could have,” replied the General.
The troll shrugged. “It would be an interesting endeavor and one worthy of study. With enough time and resources, I could mutate a disease to affect dragons. Very few people in the world can combine magic and alchemy with such proficiency.”
I clenched my teeth at the chilling reference to having stolen witch’s magic. Any sympathy I had for the troll evaporated.
General Thornicroft’s lips turned down. “What is your theory, Bluford?”
“Master Jesper must have fed the largomorphus rex dragonsbane. That’s the only substance that can harm a dragon. And half-digested dragonsbane wouldn’t be recognized by the wards.”
His gaze flickered to Evolene. “Is that possible?”
“I-I believe so,” she replied. “A-and the dragons would eat the rabbits and become weak enough to succumb to any kinds of mind-control spells.”
The General bobbed his head up and down, as though considering all the options. “That explains the dragons’ strange loyalty to King Magnar.”
Master Jesper spluttered. “You can’t seriously accuse me of poisoning dragons just to change their allegiance?”
“Silence!” roared the General.
My spine jolted at the force of his voice, and I stopped breathing. I glanced at Evolene, whose lips twisted into a pained grimace. She was probably thinking the same as me. If Master Jesper wanted to harvest invisible dragon hide, it made no sense that the troll would alter their minds to be loyal to King Magnar.
“I will not stay silent!” Master Jesper’s shoulders shook, and the sturdy chair beneath it trembled. “You may accuse me of many things, and most will be true, but I have no reason to aid the Savannah Empire. Queen Cendrilla is a personal friend!”
“Where is the antidote?” General Thornicroft snarled.
The troll clenched its fists. “Give me some samples of the afflicted, and I will make one. This capture and torture is wholly unnecessary!”
I placed my hands on my churning stomach. Something was missing in this puzzle. Master Jesper had admitted to having the ability to infect a dragon with clearscale, but we still couldn’t fathom the reason why the dragons loved King Magnar.
White flames burst from General Thornicroft’s fists. “Nobody would give you samples after all the atrocities you committed against witches!”
“In my defense, the Snow Queen created me like this.”
“Enough excuses,” snarled the General. “Now, tell us how to make this antidote!”
An arrow flew in through the skylight and pierced the General through the spine.
“What the—” His eyes bulged, he arched backward, and fell onto his side.
Chapter 13
Another bolt shot through the skylight, grazing General Thornicroft’s shoulder. I raced toward him and grabbed his leg, trying to pull him out of range. My stomach and arms strained from the effort. How could a quarter-giant be so heavy?
The General rolled further onto his back and groaned.
“Don’t,” cried Evolene. “You’ll hurt him!”
My gaze darted to the skylight. Thick clouds covered the sky, obscuring the sun, but I thought I caught sight of a dark figure darting away. “I can’t let them strike at him again!”
Evolene raised her staff, lifting him a foot off the ground and pulled him away from the skylight. The General’s eyes scrunched shut and his face twisted into a mask of pain. She placed him on the floor by the wall, and he went limp.
My heart skittered several beats, pumping panic through every vein. “I-is he dead?”
Yellow magic shot of her staff, encasing him in a healing bubble. Evolene’s bottom lip trembled. “I-I think the bolt’s gone straight through his heart. I’ve stopped the bleeding, but we need Dr. Duclair.”
Another bolt shot down, and Master Jesper scooted its legs out, and pushed forward, shuffling itself out from under the skylight. “Children! Is there any chance you could release me, seeing as I’m the real target of the assassins?”
I rushed out of Master Fosco’s office to Evolene’s old receptionist’s desk and pulled the emergency lever. “Madam Maritimus or one of the security witches will join us soon.”
“Ouch!” cried Master Jesper, still shuffling backward despite a bolt in its arm. “I must protest at this disregard for my person!”
Evolene erected a yellow barrier over the skylight. “That should hold them off.”
Another bolt shot through her barrier, embedding itself through the troll’s leg. Master Jesper bellowed with pain. I glanced up, only to find a huge crossbow disappear from the skylight.
“Their bolts are made of gravestone!” snarled the troll through clenched teeth.
“Evolene, can you move Master Jesper, too?”
White magic encased the troll, lifting its chair and pulling it out from under the skylight.
“Thank you, dear child,” it said between panting breaths. “Now, would you kindly release my bonds, so that—”
“So you can join your friends who put a bolt through the General’s back?” I snapped.
“They aren’t.” It huffed. “Can’t you see they were trying to kill me?”
Blood roared in my ears, and I stuck my trembling hands under my arms. Had General Thornicroft been shot to deprive Mount Fornax of its temporary leader?
“Are you listening?” asked Master Jesper. “They are trying to kill me!”
Swallowing hard, I glanced at Evolene for ideas. Her blank expression told me she wasn’t sure if Master Jesper was the ally of the attackers or their victim. The troll pursed its lips, as though trying its best to stay polite under such dire circumstances.
Master Jesper sighed. “All right, then. If all the warriors are indeed falling ill with clearscale, it’s only a matter of time before General Thornicroft also succumbs. With that injury, he will surely die. But I have a way to keep him alive.”
“Can you do healing comas?” asked Evolene.
The troll gave her an eager nod. “I am capable of all magical enchantments.”
I pinched my lips together. How many witches’ lives had gone into giving the creature such power? Had it stolen the magic from witches in Steppe, or from the women kept farmed by the Snow Queen?
Evolene turned Master Fosco’s desk to its side, using it as a barrier. Then she pulled Master Jesper’s chair to safety. “The bolts won’t go through this.”
“Ah, I see…” Master Jesper glanced up at the skylight. “Using furniture to create a defensive wall has merit.” Then it swung its gaze to a skylight at the other end of the room, “But it only protects our north perimeter.”
I sent the troll my filthiest glower. Was it trying to be sarcastic? “I don’t know about that… you’re blocking attacks coming from the south.”
“Do you want me to put the General in a healing coma or not?” it snapped.
“How do we know you won’t kill him?” I asked.
“Becaus
e that would prove to you my culpability in all that has befallen Mount Fornax, and you’ll no doubt get me arrested and appropriately punished by the authorities.”
My eyes narrowed. Was that comment a dig at how I’d reported it to Albens? “But if your people are outside trying to kill us, none of this will matter.”
It huffed. “Poor Jesper has no allies.” Another bolt embedded itself through the wood. “This table won’t hold out for much longer.”
“I don’t think my healing spell worked,” said Evolene. “General Thornicroft is turning white.”
“I know why!” An edge of glee laced the trolls’ voice. “You failed to account for the internal bleeding, and now he has mere minutes to live.”
“Oh, no!” Evolene bathed the General in white light.
My breath caught, and I knelt beside the yellow bubble of healing magic encasing General Thornicroft. He lay immobile, chest barely rising and falling. A fist of trepidation clenched my heart. Evolene had tried her best. She was an untrained witch, who only knew what she’d learned from books.
I glanced up at Master Jesper. The troll stared back at me with calculating, gray eyes. It had to know we’d run out of options for saving General Thornicroft.
Evolene let out a choked sob. “Tell me how to put him in a healing coma. Please!”
“Such an enchantment would take hours if not days to teach,” replied Master Jesper. “Untie me and return my staff. I promise not to attack.”
She turned to me, her eyes brimming with tears. I didn’t need mind magics to know she wanted me to release the troll.
Blood rushed past my ears with a loud swoosh, and my pulse throbbed, sending its reverberations across my face. Could I risk General Thornicroft’s life on the word of a lying troll? Everything about the troll, from its past reputation to its creepy behavior, made it seem guilty. If we freed Master Jesper, I had no power to stop it from taking revenge on General Thornicroft.
“H-how can we trust you?” I asked.
“Do you think Queen Cendrilla would have let me live if she thought I would hurt others?” it replied.
Dragon Mage Academy Box Set Page 56