Bookworm

by Christopher Nuttall

  And yet...it seemed a risky plan, one rife with uncertainties. What if the Inquisitors had realised what had happened before Elaine left the hospital? Or what if she’d gone to them and confessed to what had happened? Or what if the curse had killed her outright? The druids had said that Elaine had come very close to death. Someone with more power might have been killed as their magic was tapped to fuel the curse.

  She closed the book with some irritation and looked over at the next one. Somehow, Ida had escaped having the normal thousands of volumes of books written on her history. But then, Ida had simply never been very important. Apart from the Court Wizard – a fellow named Trebuchet, according to the latest guide to magicians and their families – there seemed to be no magicians of note living within the mountainous kingdom. Ida seemed to like to keep herself to herself, although perhaps that wasn’t so surprising. The advantages that had kept the kingdom as free as any other state in the Empire wouldn’t allow it to build an empire of its own. On the great plains below the mountains, Ida’s soldiers would be cut to ribbons by the armoured troops of the nearby states. They could raid, but little else...

  ...and none of that now that the magicians ruled the world.

  A crash from below, followed by footsteps coming up the stairs, announced Daria’s arrival in the apartment building. She came in through the door, holding a set of papers, and smiled cheerfully at Elaine, before taking the seat opposite her and picking up one of the books.

  “This doesn’t look like a guide to protection spells,” she observed. “What do you think you are doing?”

  “Researching,” Elaine said, crossly. She’d borrowed the books from one of the smaller libraries, borrowing everything she could find on Ida and its ruling family, which hadn’t really been very much. “I don’t have time to think about guys.”

  “There’s never a better time to think about guys,” Daria said, putting down the book. “I thought you liked Bee.”

  Elaine snorted. “Do you think about anything else?”

  Daria smirked. “By the gods, I do believe I don’t,” she said, deadpan. “Naughty Daria. Very naughty Daria.”

  “I’m thinking about paying Ida a visit,” Elaine said. “You want to come with me?”

  “I thought of a way we could make money,” Daria said. “You know that there are thousands of touts in the city, right?” Elaine nodded. “So why don’t we join them in betting on who will be the next Grand Sorcerer?”

  “It’s only been a day since the funeral,” Elaine said. It was strange how it felt much longer, but then the funeral had been a minor event compared to accidentally turning Millicent into a statue. Had she even been transformed back into a bitch yet? “Don’t they have any decency at all?”

  “They have a week to register before they actually begin the competition,” Daria said. “Rumour has it that some of the senior wizards actually dropped out of the contest before their names were even listed. Do you think that that is remotely likely to be true?”

  “I don’t know,” Elaine said. Putting one’s name forward as a possible candidate meant accepting the rules of the contest, as laid down by the first Grand Sorcerer. He’d been the most powerful survivor of the Second Necromantic War and no one had dared to dispute too openly with him. And yet, there was no rule against withdrawing from the contest. “Maybe someone is just trying to fiddle the odds.”

  “No doubt,” Daria agreed. She picked up a sheet of paper and glanced at it. “Ready?”

  Elaine blinked. “For what?”

  “First on the list of declared candidates is Administrator Mentor, our old master from the Peerless School,” Daria said. “The touts like his chances; he was the old Grand Sorcerer’s friend and he has access to all the books stored within the Peerless School. And don’t forget that he played a role in directly shaping the last few generations of magicians. And if he wasn’t powerful, he would never have been able to hold his post...”

  Elaine, whose only close contact with Administrator Mentor had been when she’d been punished for one of Millicent’s pranks, shrugged. “He didn’t really shape me, did he?”

  “He certainly helped shape Millicent and the others like her,” Daria pointed out. “They probably owe him a few favours, if only for covering things up and even protecting them from the wrath of their families. Millicent’s family might not care what she does outside of their houses, but others would certainly be very angry with their children if they knew the half of it. The Administrator certainly has a very good chance.”

  She smiled. “The next person on the list is Count Lucas, who is supposed to be the illegitimate son of the Duke of Randor,” she continued. “Unlike most of the parents of bastards, the Duke of Randor saw to it that his son got a good education and eventually went to the Peerless School. He graduated with high honours two years before we went into the school and...since then, he doesn’t seem to have done much. But he could have been doing anything even if he didn’t build a proper reputation.”

  “The name is familiar,” Elaine said. She grinned as she put it together. “He used to go to the Great Library – probably still is going to the Great Library while I’ve been off work. I think he was studying rare magical hybrids from the outer continents.”

  “Or maybe he thinks he has the power to defeat all comers in the arena,” Daria agreed. “The touts aren’t sure what to make of him. He doesn’t have the reputation of the Administrator or most of the other senior wizards, but surely he wouldn’t put his name forward unless he was fairly sure that he could back it up. Or maybe he’ll just back out before the contest actually starts.”

  She leant forward. “I don’t suppose his recent fields of interest taught you anything about his aims?”

  “Nothing,” Elaine said. Despite herself, she was getting interested. “Who’s next?”

  “Millicent’s auntie, Lady Light Spinner,” Daria said. “She’s supposed to be an initiate into the Elysium Mysteries as well as one of the Peerless School’s most powerful graduates in the last thirty years. Unsealed, which is interesting given her breeding. Maybe she couldn’t have children or maybe she just had the power to tell her family to go to hell. She served in a couple of minor roles before becoming Court Wizard to the Empress of the South after the scandal broke about how the last wizard had been seduced by the Empress. And apparently she hasn’t even resigned from that post even though she’s competing in the arena.”

  Elaine snorted. Senior wizards loved their status. “She’d have to resign if she became Grand Sorceress,” she pointed out. “And what do the touts say about her chances?”

  “Second, under the Administrator,” Daria said. “It doesn’t hurt that her family is connected to many of the more powerful magical bloodlines. I have no doubt that they will bring pressure to bear on her opponents if necessary. But there’s only ever been one other female Grand Sorcerer and that wasn’t the best experience the Empire ever had.”

  She smiled, humourlessly. “Countering her is Vlad Deferens, one of the more...politically outspoken sorcerers in recent years,” she added. “You’ve probably heard of him.”

  “Yeah,” Elaine muttered. “The one who keeps claiming that female magicians are unnatural and should be allowed to serve as nothing more than breeding stock.”

  “What do you expect from someone who grew up in Gor?” Daria asked, wryly. “Half of their magic – and their culture – is based around keeping their females properly respectful to the males. Even ten years in the Peerless School and then the Golden City hasn’t convinced him that women are more than baby-factories on legs. Let him have the power of the Grand Sorcerer and there will be riots in the streets. Every female magician in the world will stand against him.”

  She shrugged. “But he has power and one hell of a reputation for squashing magicians who break the rules,” she added. “Rumour has it that he was the one who suggested that your boss should be enslaved rather than killed outright. The touts think that he has a good chance, unless some
kindly magician kills him before the contest begins. Or maybe he will be killed in the contest. Deferens isn’t the kind of person to back down if challenged.”

  “The gods help us if he does get into power,” Elaine said. “Who else is there?”

  “Wizard Kane has decided to join the contest, but he’s not a particularly well-known candidate,” Daria said, checking her list. “No great achievements, no great political relationships...he may decide to back out quietly rather than go into the arena as a contestant. And then there’s the final contestant, the really strange one. Prince Hilarion of Ida.”

  Elaine stared at her. “Of Ida?”

  “Of Ida,” Daria confirmed. “Do you know him?”

  “Only through reputation,” Elaine said, picking up one of the books. Prince Hilarion was, if she recalled correctly, the heir to the throne. What was he doing serving as a magician? Come to think of it...was he even a magician? “How...how did he get in?”

  “Turned up at the arena, demonstrated his magic and then put his name into the pile of candidates,” Daria said. “The touts don’t know what to make of him either. He never even went to the Peerless School. As far as anyone can tell, he never had any formal training at all. And yet he thinks he can become Grand Sorcerer.”

  Elaine frowned, puzzled. It wasn’t impossible to get a magical education outside the Peerless School, but anyone who wanted real power should definitely have gone to the Golden City. And yet...if Prince Hilarion was the heir to Ida, maybe his father had hired a wizard to train his son rather than have him go to the Peerless School and end up sucked into the political struggles that ranged through the Golden City. But how could he feel that he could compete with the mighty magicians who were going to face one another for the greatest prize of all? Unless he thought that he might have an ace in the hole...

  The thought struck her like a blow between the eyes. Maybe he did have an ace in the hole, Elaine herself. What could someone who hadn’t sworn the Mage’s Oath do with the knowledge loaded into Elaine’s head? The thought was terrifying. He could boost his power, push himself into a position that matched the Witch-King himself...and then win the contest. But the Inquisitors would act, wouldn’t they? Unless they couldn’t – how could they when they were sworn to uphold the orders of the Grand Sorcerer?

  Daria leaned forward. “Are you all right?” she asked. “Does he sound familiar to you?”

  “I was reading about Ida,” Elaine said. Daria had provided the piece that linked the puzzle together. Duke Gama might not have been a magician, but his nephew definitely was. He could have enchanted the book Elaine had opened and then waited for her to emerge from hospital...complete with the knowledge he needed to make himself the most powerful sorcerer in the world. “I think I definitely need to go visit the kingdom.”

  “But the action is here,” Daria protested. “Think about our chances of winning money...”

  I could clean up the Blight and win money, Elaine thought, sourly. If I dared risk exposing myself like that...

  “I have to go,” she said. “Someone needs to follow up on what Duke Gama did to the book that stunned me – and besides, I don’t want to be anywhere near Millicent when she returns to normal.”

  “I suppose there is that,” Daria said, reluctantly. “You go if you want. I have to stay here and try to make money.” She grinned. “Do you want to place a bet? If Prince Hilarion does become Grand Sorcerer, anyone who bids a hundred Crowns will win a million from the touts.”

  “If I had a hundred Crowns, I’d find something better to do than place bets,” Elaine said. “I’d prefer to bet on the Administrator myself...”

  She broke off as there was a furious knocking on the door. Daria walked over and opened the door while Elaine cringed, certain that it was an Inquisitor intent on asking her precisely what had happened to Millicent. Instead, it was a tall footman wearing a bright red uniform that made him look faintly absurd. No one would have risked laughing openly at him, not with the gold braid that denoted his mistress.

  “Magician Elaine No-Kin,” he said, as he marched into the room. His voice boomed through the tiny apartment, the voice of a man who was used to getting his way. “You are commanded to present yourself before the Lady Light Spinner. Attend on her or face the consequences.”

  Elaine and Daria shared a look. “Maybe,” Elaine said, finally. “And maybe not.”

  Chapter Ten

  The footman stared at them. Whatever he’d expected, it hadn’t included open defiance.

  “My mistress summons you,” he said, returning to his instructions. Elaine caught sight of the jewelled collar around his neck and shuddered. He wouldn’t have any choice but to do exactly as he was told. The enslavement charms worked into the collar would see to that. “She insists that you attend upon her...”

  “Very well,” Elaine said, tiredly. There would definitely be consequences for what she’d done to Millicent, no matter how much the bully had deserved a nasty shock. “I will come with you.”

  Daria caught her arm. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  The honest answer to that was yes, but Elaine shook her head. If Lady Light Spinner had decided to punish her personally, Daria would just be caught up in the crossfire. “I’ll be fine,” she said, slowly. “You stay here and I will be back soon enough.”

  She allowed the footman to lead her down the stairs and into a gaudy carriage that was waiting outside the door. The two horses in front of the vehicle snorted as Elaine climbed into the cabin, and then started to pull the carriage down the street. They didn’t have to worry about the crowds on the roads, not with the sigils on the carriage marking it as belonging to one of the most powerful women in the world. And besides, anyone who tried to block its path would probably wind up tasting the coachman’s whip.

  Elaine tried to calm herself as the coach rattled its way through the streets, concentrating on exercises she’d learned at the Peerless School. They didn’t really help, not when she knew that a very unpleasant interview awaited her. Who knew how Millicent’s aunt would react to what had happened to the bully? Even if she disliked Millicent and everything she did, she would certainly not take her forced transformation into a statue very lightly. It would only give her enemies ideas. She caught sight of a pair of gates outside the carriage before it rattled to a stop in front of one of the oldest mansions in High Tory. At least Lady Light Spinner couldn’t afford a garden of her own. Perhaps she’d buy Lord Howarth’s when it became clear that he needed a large infusion of cash. If she waited long enough, she’d probably get it very cheaply.

  The door opened and the footman helped her down onto the pavement. A pair of dark-skinned maids awaited her, wearing fancy uniforms – and collars around their necks. Absurdly, Elaine found herself wishing that she’d worn something a little more formal than her dark shirt and second-hand trousers. If she’d known that Lady Light Spinner wanted her to call on her...of course, if she’d known, she would have taken more care to hide herself. The Inquisitors weren’t the only ones who’d want answers from her.

  She smiled as she was led into the building and up a long flight of stairs that seemed to stretch upwards into infinity. Like the Great Library, and the Parade of the Endless, the building had been tied to a pocket dimension that allowed it to be far larger on the inside than on the outside. It was a testament to the power and wealth of the bloodline that had produced Millicent – and Lady Light Spinner. What they couldn’t do for themselves they could buy on the open market.

  A long corridor, decorated with paintings that seemed almost alive, opened up in front of her. Elaine was impressed, despite herself. It took serious magic to create soul figments that would live on after the person in the painting was dead. Lady Light Spinner could call upon all the knowledge and wisdom of her ancestors, something that reminded Elaine that she had no ancestors. Her family was still as much a mystery as ever. The maids escorted her into a small sitting room and pointed to a chair. Lady Light Spinner entered
a moment later, still wearing the black garment that hid everything but her eyes. It was difficult even to get a sense of the outline of her body.

  Something crashed down beside her and Elaine jumped. The statuette lay on the table, with Millicent’s stunned and frozen eyes staring at her. Elaine felt herself shiver again as she saw her rival’s helpless form. Lady Light Spinner and all the other magicians in Millicent’s family had clearly been unable to reverse what Elaine had done...

  ...If it were possible to reverse it. There were spells in her mind that touched on wild – and chaotic – magic, using it to cause permanent transformation. She thought that she hadn’t done that to Millicent, but she’d been so dazed that it was impossible to say for sure what she’d done that night. Had it really only been yesterday that she’d faced and beaten Millicent for the first time? Whatever happened to her, it was difficult not to feel a certain pride in what she’d done. Millicent would never think of her so lightly ever again.

  “You transformed my niece into a statue,” Lady Light Spinner said. Her voice was cold, almost emotionless. “You will undo the transformation. Now.”

  The old Elaine would probably have done as she was ordered, at once. But the new Elaine had different ideas.

  “Millicent treated me badly ever since we first met,” she said, trying hard to keep the pain out of her voice. But what had she done to deserve such a powerful tormentor? “Why did you allow her to treat anyone like that?”