I had spent a long time silencing my conscience. Thieving with Papa, becoming a boy, lying to my masters. With this new desire to be honest with Master Wendyn, it felt like my conscience had awoken for the first time in a long time. When the master came down the staircase a few minutes later, the weight of guilt upon my shoulders for the lies I had told—or, to be more precise, not told—felt like a boulder on my back.
“I’m ready.” Master Wendyn carried a bundle of things tied up in a knapsack.
“What’s all that?” I eyed the bundle.
“Just a few things. Clothes.”
I knew they were his silly silk shirts, but I didn’t criticize. Where did a lying murderess-to-be get off criticizing a man’s silk-shirt obsession? “We’d better get back.” I held the tapestry aside for him. Nerves ran through me as I thought about everything waiting for us at the Hall. When should I confess that Bastian and Cailyn were there?
He said the spell that opened the wizard’s door and then turned the handle and swung it inward. Musty smells floated on chilled air. I followed him through, unable to make out much in the dark room, and swung the door closed behind me.
Dim light flickered and shimmered from door-shaped rectangles lining three walls, casting strange shadows on the stone floor. Wizard doors. I counted seven of them, including the one we had just come through.
We had arrived somewhere, but I couldn’t say where. It was too dark to see much of anything. Damp crawled along my skin, and I shivered.
Master Wendyn muttered an illumination spell, and several candles ensconced in wall holders flickered to life, throwing the room into focus. Wooden crates and casks lined the one wall void of doors. “We’re in the cellars.” He strode across the room, toward the only door that didn’t glow. “That’s why it’s so cold.”
“So this is where you hide your wizard doors? Master Hapthwaite kept most of his in the attic.”
“Yes, I remember.”
I gave him a questioning glance which he didn’t see. “What do you mean, you remember?”
“Hmmm?” He didn’t even seem aware of what he had said. “Oh. Never mind that.”
He opened the new door, revealing a dingy hallway. He muttered another illumination spell, and the hall brightened to a less dingy version of dingy.
“You can’t say something like that and just expect me to forget it. Besides, you’ve been talking Master Hapthwaite down ever since I first came here. What’s your connection to him, anyway?”
He gave a short burst of a sigh and stopped in the middle of the hallway. “This isn’t the time—”
“I’m leaving tomorrow, doomed to spend the rest of my life wondering why you hate him so much. Just take five seconds and answer the question.”
Another short sigh. “Fine. I'll tell you—if only to stop you from going back there to beg him to become your master again.” He swung around to face me. “When I say he’s a baboon, I’m speaking from personal experience. Hapthwaite was my first master.”
My mouth opened, closed, and then opened again. “But I thought Uphammer was your master. You had two?”
“Unfortunately. I spent four years with Hapthwaite, the idiot.”
“Did he disapprentice you too?”
He laughed, a dry, mirthless sound. “I wish I’d been that lucky. If he’d disapprenticed me, I might’ve gotten somewhere with my training sooner.”
I could feel my brow puckering. “What did he do that was so awful?”
“It’s what he didn’t do. Didn’t teach me, didn’t let me sit for trials, didn’t give me access to spell books. I was only eight years old when I was first apprenticed, a child. Hapthwaite was up for a position on the Council that year. When he didn’t get it, he blamed Grandfather and took it out on me.”
He became absorbed in straightening a candle that had gone askew in its holder. “Whenever I tried to tell my parents what was going on, they put it off as homesickness and told me apprenticeships weren’t meant to be easy. Grandfather warned me not to disgrace him. I thought the problem must be me. So I stayed—for four years.” He hefted the knapsack higher under his arm, and something made a clanking noise. There was something more than shirts in there. “Things didn’t get better.”
“What happened?”
“We grew more antagonistic toward each other. I began calling him ‘the baboon,’ which always got a rise out of him, and he’d rage at me for being an imbecile. At last he agreed to let me sit for the first trial, even though he’d taught me nothing, not in four years. I think he believed it would humiliate grandfather, the PMW, for his grandson to fail so publicly. And that’s pretty much how it happened.”
“So how did you end up with Uphammer?”
“Hapthwaite’s plan backfired. While it made Grandfather look bad, for the first time he listened and realized I’d been telling the truth. My apprenticeship ended, and he found me a new master.”
I stared at him in fascination. “This is why you brought me home from Bramford that day, isn’t it? Did you think you were saving me from Hapthwaite?”
He sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I suppose, yes. I wasn’t thrilled to have you foisted on me, but I knew I couldn’t send you back to Hapthwaite. Your lack of self-control seemed like further proof he wasn’t giving you the attention he should have—just as he did with me.”
I shook my head. “Master Hapthwaite wasn’t like that. He was boring and concerned about appearances, but never vindictive. Not with me.”
He nodded. “Then you were lucky.”
I couldn’t stop myself from asking one further question. “Did you try to get Hapthwaite to disapprentice me, hoping it would bring scandal on him?”
After a pause he answered, “Don’t think it didn’t cross my mind. But it didn’t take encouraging at all. Once he knew you’d been brawling in the streets, he was through with you.” He pushed off the wall and straightened. “Underwi—I mean, Mullins. I—I feel I should say this now, since you’ll be leaving. I’ve been hard on you, and I know it. Thank you for trying to help my family, despite my...prickliness, shall we say?”
Heat suffused my face. “Oh. You’re welcome.” I felt worse than ever about my lies.
“Now. Let’s go find grandfather and take care of Matt.” He continued down the hall and tossed over his shoulder at me, “I’ll try his bedroom, and you check his other favorite places—the library and the kitchens.”
“Er...maybe we should do it the other way around, because...” I followed him up a winding stair. “Because Master Wendyn, there’s something I have to say too.”
He glanced over his shoulder at me and then continued the climb. “I don’t like that tone in your voice. That’s your I’m-about-to-confess-something-bad voice.”
“It’s not bad, exactly—well, all right, maybe it is...” Maybe I should start slow, with the least bad confession.
“Well, tell me already. Get it over with.”
I chewed on my lip. “Listen. Remember the carriage ride home from Bramford? After we saved that girl?”
“You mean when I found out—” He cleared his throat.
“Yes, that one. Before that we got to talking. You said you weren’t in love with Cailyn anymore. Remember that?”
He looked back at me again, his mouth turned downward in a scowl. “That’s none of your business. I never should have—”
“Yes, well, you said it, and you can’t unsay it now.” We reached the main floor and rounded a corner into the front hall.
“Well, please just forget it. It’s none of your business. Why bring it up now, of all times?”
“It’s just that...well, if you were telling the truth in the carriage that day, you’ll want to remember what you said. It’s about to become very pertinent.”
Master Wendyn came to an abrupt halt and swiveled to stare at me. “What did you do?”
I held my hands out in front of me. “Nothing! I'm innocent here.”
The kitchen door swung open. Bastian strode into the hal
lway and stopped when he saw us.
“They came here all on their own,” I blurted, my voice low. “Nothing to do with me at all.”
“They?” he repeated, staring at Bastian.
“Ah, Garrick. You’re back.” Bastian’s voice sounded very like Father Wendyn in that moment. “I knew you could track him down for us, underwizard.” Bastian strode forward and clapped Master Wendyn on the back, apparently oblivious to the master’s stiff shoulders and frozen expression.
Master Wendyn fixed me with an accusing expression. “‘Track him down’?” he repeated.
“Don’t be too mad at the boy, Garrick. We asked him to find you.” Behind him the kitchen door swung again, and Cailyn emerged. She stopped short when she saw us, one hand on her belly. “But since we are here, maybe you’d consent to talk? Just for a few minutes?”
Master Wendyn’s jaw worked, but his expression turned from anger to resignation. “Ah. Talk. How nice.” Once more his eyes flashed to my face, his jaw worked, and then he looked back to his brother. He sighed. “Fine. I’ll just say this now, then. I’ve forgiven you. Truth is, I just...never found the right time to say it.”
“Truly, Garrick?” Cailyn asked, stepping closer.
“Yes, truly.”
I couldn’t seem to hold back my smile. A feeling I couldn’t quite put a name to worked its way up the back of my throat. Was this...pride?
When the master looked back at me, his expression turned annoyed. “Mullins, go find Grandfather. I’d like the three of us to meet in my study in ten minutes, and don’t forget that what we have to talk about is time sensitive. In the meantime, I'll have a chat with my brother and sister-of-the-law.”
“All right.” I backed away and then turned and headed up the stairs.
It touched my heart to see the master soften toward his brother. He’d learned to forgive, and just in time. He’d need that skill when I was gone and Oscar told him what I’d done.
***
By the time I reached the landing at the top of the stairs, the plan had solidified in my mind. I’d wake Oscar, grab what belongings I could, and then take the door to the Conclave. I didn’t think they locked the entrance there until midnight, so I should be able to pass through into the city of Hampstone without difficulty. There in the big city I would begin my new life.
I turned the corner and saw Oscar’s door ahead—and then paused.
Could I really just leave? Flee the scene of all the trouble I’d caused, like a coward? Hope that everything would somehow right itself?
I reminded myself of someone I despised—Papa. Fleeing the scene of Gavin’s impending death, because it was too much to take. How was that any different from what I was about to do?
If only I knew how much time I had, really had, before Kurke put his plan in motion. But then, even if I knew how much time I had, what could I do about it?
My fingers grasped the doorknob.
Time.
I froze again, staring at the door but not really seeing it.
When the time is right.
That’s what Kurke said when I asked him about the timing of his revenge. When the time is right. Or was it...when the Time is right?
Master Wendyn had seemed very certain that Kurke would be otherwise occupied for a few days. Could it be possible that today was the anniversary of his family’s death? Their Time?
It would make sense for Kurke to carry out his revenge now.
I withdrew my hand from the doorknob. This question couldn’t wait. No matter how rude, I’d have to interrupt the master and his brother to find out the answer.
But before I could even step back, a yank pulled me backward by the collar. I collided with something solid and man-sized. When I craned my neck up and back to look, I met magnetic blue eyes.
“I hear Oscar’s returned. Five whole hours he’s been back, and yet I didn’t hear it from you.” Kurke jerked on my collar again so it cut into my windpipe.
My fingers scrabbled at my neck, trying to loosen the fabric there. “Been...busy,” I said, my voice little more than a grunt as I struggled to speak.
He loosened his grip, and my choking eased. “Well, no matter. You’re here now. You know I couldn’t do this without you.”
“Do what?”
“Carry out our oath, of course. It’s time.”
Cold dread rushed through me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Not a single defense spell came to my mind. I stood paralyzed by fear.
Kurke propelled me forward with one hand and then reached past me to jerk the door handle and shove it open.
Ivan looked up. He sat next to a still Oscar on the bed, holding a spell book in his hands. He smiled, and then his glance went beyond me. The smile slid south.
“Ah. The fool.” Kurke rested a hand on my shoulder. “He’s no use to me. What do you suggest I do with him, Avery?”
“With Ivan?” I clarified. “Nothing. He’s harmless.” I stood with my back to Kurke, so it was a simple matter to gesture at Ivan. Run.
But Ivan didn’t run, although I could tell he understood, judging by the concerned quirk his brow took on. He came to his feet, the book falling to the floor.
“Harmless or not—” Kurke said and raised one hand, sending a spell at him. Ivan tried to duck too late. The spell tumbled him into the chair, which then tipped backward to the floor. He sprawled on his back in the alcove, half on the chair and half out of it, unmoving.
“Why did you do that?” I scrambled closer to Ivan and knelt, looking him over for injuries. He lay pale and still, despite the lack of any visible blood.
Kurke didn’t apologize or explain or even anything close to it. He took several steps forward, surveying the room and Oscar snoring in the bed. “You gave him a sleeping potion,” he said, delighted. “For me?”
I frowned. “It was an unfortunate coincidence.”
He chuckled. “Either way, your timing couldn’t be better. Come over here and help me.”
I pushed to my knees, slow and stiff, my thoughts racing as I tried to come up with a plan. I’d like to snap him in half for hurting Ivan, if only I knew a spell for that. Stupid of me to just now realize Kurke meant to carry this out on the anniversary of his family’s death. Of course that would be when he’d want to do it, blaming Oscar as he did.
No one would die today. No one would die today. I repeated it to myself over and over, a mantra I hoped upon hope would come true.
All I had to do was get away from Kurke long enough to alert the others in the house what was going on. Then Master Wendyn would take care of the rest.
Yes, I was certain it would be that easy.
Unless it wasn’t.
“What do you want me to do?” My voice sounded far more compliant than I felt.
He fished in his knapsack and handed me a trammel. “Put this on Oscar.”
I stared down at the metal device he’d left in my hands, while Kurke fished in the bag and moved away from me.
Bones. He meant to incapacitate Oscar completely.
But I had a better idea for the trammel. Either I was about to do the dumbest thing I’d ever done or the bravest.
Kurke turned his back to me. Quickly, before I could think better of it, I sent a freezing spell at him. He stopped where he stood, leaned over the knapsack he kept fishing in. Stuck in place.
I stepped nearer and circled the trammel around his neck. It shut with a click, and I moved in front of him to insert the key.
Kurke’s foot moved.
Blast it all, he was unweaving my spell! I fumbled with the key, haste making me clumsy. I shoved it into the locking mechanism at the same moment Kurke’s knapsack dropped to the ground with a thunk. His arm darted out and knocked me aside before I could finish with the lock. I stumbled backward and fell on my backside.
Dumbest thing I’d ever done. Definitely.
He reached up and plucked the key from the lock around his neck, then clicked the trammel open. “Maybe I didn
’t make myself clear, Avery. You can help me kill Oscar, or you can die. Those are the only two options.”
The ground fell away beneath me, and a choking pressure crushed my throat. Kurke held me in place with the point of one finger, floating above the ground, touching nothing, clawing at the invisible hand around my neck. “You and I are supposed to be in this together. You swore the oath, and might I remind you, willingly. Now what’s your choice? Will you help me, or shall I kill you now?”
“I’ll...help...” I choked out. All at once I dropped to the ground in a heap.
“Good,” Kurke said, his voice filled with disgust. “Now go put that trammel on Oscar like I asked you to. And if you dare to spell me again, I will kill you.” He tossed the metal mechanism at me, and it clanked at my feet.
I retrieved the trammel and rubbed at my neck. It took everything in me not to spell Oscar awake as I stepped closer to him. But I’d drawn enough ire from Kurke for the moment.
“Now,” Kurke muttered halfway to himself, “to tie him up.”
My hands trembled as I lifted Oscar’s head, his snowy white hair tickling my fingers. I circled the trammel around his neck. The key turned in the lock, and I slipped it into my pocket. “You’ll need rope,” I offered. “There’s some in the stables. Shall I get it?” I hugged my arms around myself, trying to stop myself from trembling.
“No need.” He pulled his hand out of the bag, rope clutched in his fist. “Hand me the key and then go get rid of the staff.”
I pulled the key out of my pocket and handed it to him. “Get rid of them?”
“Yes. Tell them they’re not needed today. I’d hate for them to get in my way.” He tossed the key in the air and threw a spell at it. It exploded into nothing, leaving behind an ashy, sooty smudge on the wooden-planked floor.
It didn’t take much imagination to know what happened when people got in his way. “That’s a big job. It will take me more than a few minutes.”
“This isn’t that difficult, Avery. Tell them they’re dismissed and say it with authority.”
I moved toward the door.
“And bring Garrick back with you,” Kurke continued. “But don’t tell him I’m here. I’d like to surprise him.”
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