She couldn’t help feeling a little intimidated, but she took the proffered hand and shook it, firmly. His hand felt warm, yet hard and calloused. Emily was mildly surprised, then mentally cursed herself for not realizing what it meant. Most magicians disdained mundane work, but combat sorcerers had to be skilled in physical arts as well as magical ones. Both Lady Barb and Sergeant Miles had the same sense of combining magic with raw physical strength and skill.
“I am Aurelius, Administrator of Mountaintop,” the man said, motioning her to a chair. “It is a great pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Emily.”
“Thank you,” Emily said. “I wish I’d expected to come here.”
Aurelius smiled openly, then returned to his desk. Emily took a moment to survey his office and fell in love at once. Every wall was lined with bookshelves, each one crammed to bursting with tomes of magic. Some were familiar from what she’d seen in Whitehall’s library, but others had only been mentioned in reading lists or were completely unfamiliar to her. She had to fight to resist the urge to rise to her feet and survey the bookshelves more closely, picking out titles and volumes she hadn’t read. She’d never been happy with anyone telling her there were books she shouldn’t read, no matter how dangerous they were. Ideas alone were rarely dangerous on Earth.
But that’s a temptation too, she reminded herself.
“Several of our more... experienced magicians were due to return from the White City,” Aurelius explained. “One of the portals was actually modified to allow them to return directly to Mountaintop and, unfortunately, you stepped through it and triggered the wards intended to keep out uninvited guests. The surge of magic knocked you out, but you arrived safely. I have to confess we weren’t expecting you.”
It sounded convincing, Emily knew. She might have even believed it if she hadn’t known to prepare herself for a possible kidnap attempt. Stepping through the wrong portal was more imaginative than simply knocking her on the head and transporting her to Mountaintop, with the added advantage of giving the Administrator plausible deniability if Void came knocking, demanding to know what had happened to Emily. They could simply swear blind that it had been a terrible accident.
“I wasn’t expecting to arrive here,” she admitted. “How do I get home?”
Aurelius smiled. “I have something of a proposal for you,” he said. “Are you aware that you have frightened a great many people?”
Emily nodded. There were too many question marks over how she had defeated Shadye for anyone’s peace of mind. They’d hailed Emily as a hero, but they’d also wondered if she was a budding necromancer herself. If she hadn’t been used to social isolation on Earth–and had Alassa and Imaiqah as friends–she might have found it more worrying. And then she’d defeated Mother Holly too. They thought she’d cracked Mother Holly’s wards, releasing her power in one burst. The truth was far worse.
“You’re the daughter of one of our most powerful–and eccentric–Lone Powers,” Aurelius continued. “As a young girl, barely schooled in magic, you defeated a necromancer, then made yourself a Baroness of Zangaria. You have introduced ideas that are threatening to reshape the world. They have responded by trying to slow your magical development and limit your training. You shouldn’t be held back by convention, Lady Emily, but encouraged to spread your wings and fly.”
He leaned forward. “We need you,” he added. “And so I am inclined to view your arrival here as a gift from the gods.”
Emily fought to keep her face expressionless. She’d never had a sense she was being held back, quite the opposite. Whitehall had pushed her into Martial Magic well ahead of her peers, as well as offering her private training from Lady Barb and other teachers. But she had to admit it was a good sales pitch for someone like her. If there was one thing she wanted, it was to know everything there was to know about magic. And to test the limits as much as possible. What could magic do if she combined ideas from Earth with the power of the Nameless World?
“We have actually tried to contact you before,” Aurelius said, seemingly unaware of her thoughts.
“You sent Lin to spy on me,” Emily said.
“Lin... is no longer here,” Aurelius said. “Her actions were dictated by... another faction.”
Emily didn’t believe him, but she held her tongue.
Aurelius went on, calmly. “It was strongly suggested we offer you a term at Mountaintop, where you could experience more of the world and explore your birthright,” he said. “You are a child of magical society, as much as I am or your Grandmaster. You should be learning with fellow magical children, not mundane aristocracy or common-born magicians. We could offer you that term, here and now.”
Emily frowned, trying to look hesitant–and yet tempted. If she’d actually been Void’s daughter, she knew she would have been very tempted. It might even have been the best thing for her. Magicians needed a wider base of learning than could be provided by one tutor, no matter how powerful. But she knew she couldn’t accept too quickly.
“I have obligations at Whitehall,” she mumbled. “And what of my studies?”
“We follow a similar curriculum,” Aurelius assured her. “You wouldn’t need much revision to re-enter Whitehall in Fourth Year, if that was what you wanted. Or you could stay here and complete your Fourth Year exams with us, then return to Whitehall later–or never, if you saw fit. We would be more than happy to have you stay with us.”
I bet you would, Emily thought, sourly. They looked very different, but there was something about Aurelius that reminded her of King Randor. Alassa’s father meant well–she was sure of that–but he also placed the good of his kingdom ahead of the good of his daughter, let alone Emily herself. To him, people would always be pawns first and people afterwards. Aurelius was probably much the same.
She allowed her frown to deepen. “But wouldn’t Whitehall object?”
“They’d have no choice but to comply if your father honored your wishes,” Aurelius said, dryly. “You could write to him and request permission to stay here. Or you could simply write to them directly and explain you want to stay here for at least part of a term.”
He smiled at her. “There is a great deal we could teach you,” he offered. “And there are a great many contacts you could make within magical society. Whitehall, for all of its best efforts, simply lacks the students who could help further your future career. There are even tutors who might be interested in advancing your studies privately. No one is held back here.”
She was tempted, Emily had to admit. Under other circumstances, without the awareness they wanted to seduce her, it might have succeeded. There would be nothing for Aurelius to gain by holding her back, not if he wished her to join magical society. If nothing else, she would have the chance to further her studies and read about fields of magic denied to her at Whitehall. And she would learn much more about the magical side of the Allied Lands, as well as trying to figure out just what was going on at Mountaintop. She couldn’t do that without accepting their offer.
But she couldn’t accept too quickly.
“I would be happy to stay, at least for a term,” Emily said, slowly. “But I don’t know how well I’d fit in here.”
“Everyone has that problem,” Aurelius assured her. He gave her a smile as he rose to his feet. “And, in light of your acceptance, I have a present for you.”
He led her through a side door into a small library. Just like his office, the walls were lined with books, most completely unfamiliar to her. A small table sat in the middle of the room, surrounded by comfortable chairs. Another door was set within the far side of the compartment.
“This is my private library,” Aurelius said, simply. “I personally own seven hundred volumes of books on magic. There are books here that aren’t even in the main library.”
Emily stared at him, her mouth opening in shock. Seven hundred volumes, all produced before she’d introduced the printing press to the Allied Lands, were a staggering display of wealth. Even if t
hey’d probably been passed down through the ages, with each custodian adding a handful of new volumes, it was still astonishing when each book had had to be produced individually.
He smiled at her reaction. “You may come here whenever you please,” he said, motioning towards the other door. A quick spell granted her access to the compartment. “There are books here, I believe, that even your father would be unable to find. You may read them at your leisure.”
“I...” Emily stumbled. Aurelius had given her a gift beyond price. Magicians hoarded their knowledge jealously, keeping what they knew to themselves. For one magician to allow another free access to his private library was almost unprecedented. If she hadn’t been warned about seduction, she suspected she would have fallen at that moment. “Thank you.”
“You are more than welcome,” Aurelius assured her. He led the way back into his office, then opened the other door. “Nanette will show you to your dorm and help you with settling in, Lady Emily. I shall expect great things from you, I think.”
“Thank you,” Emily said. He hadn’t asked her to take the oaths. Why hadn’t he asked her to take the oaths?
“And try to make friends,” Aurelius added, as Emily stepped through the door. “You’ll find true allies at Mountaintop if you know where to look.”
And other surprises, Emily thought. But she kept that thought to herself.
Chapter Six
“YOU SEEM TO HAVE PLEASED THE Administrator,” Nanette said, as they made their way through another series of darkened corridors. “Will you be staying with us for a term or two?”
“I think so,” Emily said, reluctantly. She didn’t want to talk, but Nanette seemed determined to make conversation. “Where are we? Precisely?”
“Somewhere in the old Dwarf Caverns, deep below the ground,” Nanette said. “No one knows precisely where we are.”
Emily blinked in surprise. “Dwarves?”
“Most of them were driven out or exterminated during the Faerie Wars,” Nanette explained, as they reached another pair of stone doors. “The remainder burrowed deep underground and were never seen again, at least not by us. And that is all that mattered.”
That wasn’t a surprise. The Nameless World had no conventional racism, in sense of black against white or vice versa, but it hated magical creatures with a passion. Gorgons, werewolves and dwarves... none of them could expect anything more than reluctant tolerance at best, outright hatred and extermination at worst. They’d been created, she’d been told, as weapons of terror during the wars. The terror lived on even though the Faerie were long gone.
Nanette opened the door and led Emily into the chamber. There were a handful of light globes hovering high overhead, casting their usual radiance over a barren room with nothing more than a handful of doors set within the walls. They were all marked in the complicated script the Allied Lands had used before Emily had introduced English letters, the script she could barely read more than a few hundred letters from. One door had the image of a raven overflying the markings, the others were blank.
“Welcome to Raven Hall,” Nanette said, as she opened the raven door. “This will be your home for the next six months.”
Emily nodded.
Nanette held up a hand. “There are rules,” the older girl said, “some of which are taught to students as soon as they enter Mountaintop. You may not invite anyone into the dorms without permission from the other occupants–and you may not invite anyone male into Raven Hall itself, ever. You will be caught and you will be punished.”
“I understand,” Emily said, slowly.
“There are study rooms and spellchambers to either side of the hall,” Nanette continued, pointing towards the other doors. “They are assigned on a rota basis, although you may swap with other students if you need to use them outside your designated study period. Right now, you will have near-complete access to them, as you are the only student here, but that will change in a week. The others will arrive in the hall then.”
She paused to gather herself, then led the way into Raven Hall. Emily hadn’t been sure what to expect, apart from the ever-present light globes, but the hall surprised her. It was far larger than her room at Whitehall, with ten large beds arranged along the walls. Each of the beds looked large enough to sleep three or four people comfortably, but only two looked to be made and ready for someone. The Administrator, she thought, must have been very certain that Emily would accept his offer.
Up close, the beds looked odd. There was one large bed and another, smaller one at the foot of the larger bed, as if someone else would be literally sleeping at her feet. The smaller bed was barely large enough for Emily herself, let alone someone bigger. She frowned and turned to Nanette to ask, but the older girl was already striding down towards the end of the room. Emily sighed, mentally filed the question away for later study, and followed Nanette through another set of doors. Inside, she saw showers, toilets, mirrors and washbasins. They all looked far cruder than what she was used to at Whitehall.
“The showers operate on a first come, first served basis,” Nanette said. She pointed towards a pair of doors set within the rear of the compartment. “The bathtubs inside are operated on a rota basis too, just like the study rooms. You get to fight over them on weekends.”
She smiled, rather humorlessly. “You can find soap, towels and everything else you might need in the cupboards,” she added. “I assume you know how to deal with blood?”
Emily flushed, but nodded. The last thing she wanted was to leave samples of blood lying around at Mountaintop. After Shadye had used her own blood against her, she’d mastered several spells for breaking the connection between herself and any blood she happened to spill, and used them religiously. She made a mental note to check herself for any unexplained pinpricks that might have suggested they’d taken blood, then she followed Nanette back into the dormitory. It didn’t look any better than it had when they’d first stepped inside.
She cringed as she realized what the beds meant. At Whitehall, she’d shared a room with two other students–one other, after Lin had made her escape. Here, she would be sharing with nine other students, perhaps more. There would be almost no privacy at all, even if they were all girls. The thought was upsetting, even now. But there was nothing she could do about it, unless she wanted to risk asking for a private room. She had a feeling, somehow, that it wouldn’t be granted.
Desperately, she sought something else to fix on. “How are students selected for the dorms?”
“It’s random,” Nanette said. “Every year, the students are resorted into different dorms, forcing them to get used to new roommates. Not too different from Whitehall, Emily, but just on a larger scale. Most of your new roommates will know one another, I think, yet they won’t have shared quarters before. You only get to choose roommates when you reach Fifth Year, while Sixth Years either supervise dorms or get private rooms.”
Emily looked at her. “And which do you have?”
Nanette pointed towards one of the beds. “That’s my bed there,” she said, “right at the edge of the room. If you want to sneak out at night, you’ll have to sneak past me–and I’m a very light sleeper.” She smirked. “By tradition, I’m not allowed to say anything if you do manage to get past me and into the corridor, but you’re still not safe from the proctors or wandering staff. Try not to get caught.”
Emily had to smile. Sneaking around at night was an old Whitehall tradition–and, it seemed, one that Mountaintop shared. Trying to roam the corridors undetected, avoiding teachers on the prowl, perhaps even breaking into classrooms or having a midnight feast... Alassa had been particularly fond of it. Emily had gone along with her a few times too.
But there hadn’t been any older students supervising them in their rooms.
“This is very different from Whitehall,” she mused. “What else should I know?”
Nanette shrugged. “You’re not allowed to fight in the dorms,” she said. “If you do, I have to stop you and that won
’t be pleasant for anyone. You can play pranks, but if you manage to keep someone from getting to class you will both be punished. And that will make me look very bad. I will not be happy.”
Emily understood. The prefects at Whitehall had the same problem. They were meant to help the teachers maintain order, but anything that got so far out of control that the teachers noticed would almost certainly cost the prefect his or her position. Someone failing to turn up for class because her roommate had turned her into a frog would make the hall’s supervisor look either lazy or incompetent.
Nanette jabbed a finger at the far corner of the room. “That’s the Silent Corner,” she said. “If I tell you to get in there, you will get in there without any backchat. And you stay there, without speaking to anyone, until I tell you that you may leave. No one is allowed to speak to you either.”
Sent to Coventry, Emily thought.
“So try to get along with your fellows,” Nanette added. “Or, if you must fight, keep your disagreements verbal.”
“I’ll do my best,” Emily assured her. She cast around for another subject to discuss. The Head Girl would be a goldmine of information if Emily could only figure out what questions to ask her. “What are the teachers like?”
Nanette smiled. “You’ve already met the Administrator,” she said. “He’s strict–very strict–but fair. He doesn’t take many classes though, only a handful of students who require advanced tutoring of one kind or another. You may be one of them. If you are, remember not to ask stupid questions. He hates that.”
Emily nodded, wordlessly. Lady Barb was just the same.
Schooled in Magic 5 - The School of Hard Knocks Page 6