“I can try,” Emily said, carefully. “What can I do for you?”
“I’ve been asked to investigate a growing crisis,” Lady Barb said. “And I cannot leave Miles for very long, not now.”
Emily shivered. “I thought... how is he?”
“Not great,” Lady Barb said. “The battery misfire - whatever really happened, back in the Blighted Lands - did some damage to his mind. He’s normal most of the time, but... he’s had fits of rage and other problems that require a skilled magician to keep him in check. Gordian is already making noises about finding a replacement, if Miles doesn’t recover in the next few months. He might have a point.”
“I’m sorry,” Emily said. The words felt so useless. Sergeant Miles had trained her for six years - she’d even been his apprentice, for a short period - and she’d counted him a friend as well as a teacher. He didn’t deserve to be lingering on the edge of madness. She felt guilt - she’d designed the batteries - as well as helplessness. She couldn’t think of anything she could do to help. “I wish...”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Lady Barb said, sharply. “He knew the risks. We all knew them.”
Emily flinched at her tone. Sergeant Miles might have known the risks, but... it had been her plan that had dragged him into the war and her innovation that had almost killed him. He could lose everything he valued in his life, from his sanity to his magic and physical strength, if his condition didn’t improve. She couldn’t help feeling responsible. It was no comfort to remember he’d understood what they’d been doing was dangerous.
Lady Barb unslung her bag and sat in one of the armchairs, her eyes fixed on Emily’s. “There is a crisis brewing at Laughter Academy,” she said. Her voice was clipped, as though she didn’t want to think about what she was saying. “A lot of weird incidents. Students misbehaving, often getting right out of hand. Some very nasty tricks played on the townspeople below the school. There’s no rhyme or reason, as far as anyone can tell. It makes no sense.”
“I see,” Emily said. She remembered her fourth year and shivered. “Did they check for demonic influence?”
“Yes.” Lady Barb smiled. It didn’t touch her eyes. “They checked for everything, once they realized they were dealing with more than the occasional schoolgirl spat. Potions? Subtle magic? Mental manipulation? Charms? They found nothing. A teacher did leave without explanation, but... if there’s a connection between her departure and the crisis gripping the school, it hasn’t been found. We just don’t know.”
She paused. “Whatever is going on, Emily, it’s getting out of hand. It has to be stopped.”
Emily nodded. “And there are no clues?”
“None,” Lady Barb said. “There have always been... problems... when magicians and mundanes meet and interact, as you know from Dragon’s Den and Heart’s Eye, but... this is worse. The students are starting to seriously misbehave, yet there appears to be no reason for their misbehavior or... anything. And I think...”
She let out a long breath. “Have you been keeping up with politics?”
“A little,” Emily said, carefully.
Lady Barb’s lips thinned. “The Allied Lands are in a mess. The White Council, which has been forced to leave the White City, is planning to call a conference to address all the issues that have started to get out of hand, everything that remained frozen while the necromancers were a threat. I think the bigger kingdoms and magical families will hammer out a compromise of some kind, then enforce it on the remainder of the Allied Lands. They’re trying to stop the defrost before the pressures for war get too strong to ignore. And they’re planning to hold that conference at Laughter.”
Emily blinked. The girls-only school had never struck her as particularly important. “At Laughter?”
“It makes a certain kind of sense,” Lady Barb said. “The school is politically neutral. No one can claim the Old Lady - the Headmistress - is beholden to anyone, save perhaps the school board. But rumors of trouble are already starting to spread. The conference won’t go ahead unless the problem is fixed, quickly.”
“And if the conference is repeatedly delayed,” Emily mused, “it might be unable to save the Allied Lands.”
“Yes,” Lady Barb agreed. “Didn’t Void discuss any of this with you?”
“Not really,” Emily said. “He insisted I should stay out of the firing line.”
“He hasn’t done you any favors,” Lady Barb said. “What you don’t know can kill you, and he knows it.”
She shook her head. “Emily, I was asked to investigate. I was supposed to take the place of the missing teacher - a junior tutor - and educate students, while finding out what was happening quietly. I can’t go, not now. There’s no way I can keep Miles with me at the school and no way I can leave him alone. Gordian will have him sent to the Halfway House before I get back.”
Emily nodded as the pieces fell into place. “You want me to go.”
“Yes,” Lady Barb said. “Lady Damia has agreed to accept you in my place, if you’re willing to serve. I don’t promise it will be easy - you’ll find it hard to adjust to teaching - but you have the skills and reputation to do it. We need answers, quickly. What has gone wrong, and why?”
“And you checked all the obvious answers,” Emily said. “Did the school call upon outside help?”
“So I’ve been given to understand,” Lady Barb said. “They were certainly willing to ask me to investigate. But I think you would be wise to leave no stone unturned. If there is some force involved beyond normal student obnoxiousness, it needs to be uncovered.”
“I understand.” Emily felt her heart sink. She’d been looking forward to getting back to her apprenticeship. Void was not going to be pleased. “I think...”
Her thoughts churned. She owed Lady Barb. She owed the older woman a great deal. Did she owe her enough to risk her apprenticeship? She hadn’t sworn the normal oaths - Void hadn’t asked for them, claiming they would damage her magic - but she was uneasily aware he could kick her out at any moment. The promise of learning secrets the rest of the world had forgotten was tantalizing, as was the prospect of pushing her magic into greater and greater realms. And yet... she looked down at her hands. She owed Lady Barb and Sergeant Miles. She couldn’t leave them when they needed her.
“I’ll go,” she said. She mentally started to compose her arguments. “When do they want me there?”
“As soon as possible,” Lady Barb said. “They wanted me to start in a couple of days. If you can get there tomorrow, I’d suggest you do. Reading between the lines, I think they’re a little desperate. The conference could make or break the school’s reputation. They have to put a lid on the crisis before it’s too late.”
“I’ll do my best,” Emily said. “What about Penny? Did you intend to take her with you?”
“Right now, Penny is staying in Kuching,” Lady Barb said. “Cat”- her lips twisted in something that could have easily been a smile or a sneer - “agreed to take over her apprenticeship, for the moment. I did ask her if she wanted to return, when I got the first letter from Lady Duchene, but she was reluctant. I don’t think she was happy there for her final two years.”
“I heard the story,” Emily said. “Or one version of it.”
“Yes.” Lady Barb frowned. “You can ask her, if you like, but I doubt she’d agree. And the school might refuse to have her back so quickly, well before everyone who knew her as a student graduated and left for other climes. It is never easy to make the jump from student to teacher, Emily, and it’s harder still when you’re only a year or two older than your students.”
She picked up her bag and opened it. “There’s a handful of documents here for you,” she said. “A brief description of the school and the senior teachers, the ones who have served long enough to earn a place on the board. A bunch of reports written by the teachers, plus the headmistress’s - Lady Duchene’s - official letter to me. And a couple of other things you might need. Read though them carefully before you
go.”
“I will,” Emily said. She took the papers and placed them beside her, making a mental note to read them as soon as possible. She’d learnt the hard way that it was impossible to know what piece of knowledge might come in handy - and perhaps even save her life - until it did, and by then it was often too late. Void had taught her the value of studying everything. “I... can I ask a question?”
Lady Barb nodded, curtly.
“I was wondering...” Emily braced herself and started again. “I was wondering why you came here, instead of visiting the tower. You could have contacted me at any moment and I would have replied.”
“I wanted you to decide for yourself if you wanted to go,” Lady Barb said. “Your master might have refused to forward the message, or simply forbidden you from going. I... it had to be your choice, I thought.”
Emily said nothing for a long moment. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. She wasn’t even sure how she felt. She would never have turned down Lady Barb’s request for help. Besides, the older woman was desperate. Emily knew Lady Barb well enough to know it had cost her a lot to admit she needed help. She’d built a reputation on being one of the most capable combat sorcerers in the Allied Lands. To ask for help, even from her former student and a friend...
“I won’t let you down,” she said, quietly. “What do you think is happening?”
“I don’t know,” Lady Barb said. “It’s possible someone with more power than common sense started leading the rest of the students to the dark side. Pranks and jokes can get out of hand very easily, as you know as well as I do. It could easily have started as a set of dares that grew and grew until everyone involved was too deeply implicated to back out. Or... Laughter has always had a slightly antagonistic relationship with the Allied Lands and the latest generation of students thinks they’re fighting to uphold the school’s rights.”
Her lips twisted, again. “Or... it’s possible that the tutors, who are desperate for the conference to come off successfully, are seeing a pattern that isn’t there. It’s very easy to put together a narrative that binds a dozen events together, then become convinced the narrative is true even though the events are unrelated. That’s how conspiracy theories get started.”
Emily nodded. No one in the Allied Lands believed the official story about anything. Kings lied. Aristocrats lied. Magicians and merchants and everyone lied. Even now, with broadsheets carrying news from across the world into every home on the continent, very few people believed what they heard or read. It was no surprise that conspiracy theories thrived. It was difficult, if not impossible, to trust anyone to tell the truth.
“I’ll find out,” she said. “I wish” - she shook her head - “I did want to be a teacher, didn’t I?”
“A terrible profession,” Lady Barb said, deadpan. “I cannot imagine why you want to teach.”
She scowled. “More seriously, remember you’re not a student any longer,” she added. “That always causes trouble. Lots of students don’t really grow up until they’ve spent a couple of years out of school, and going back always leads to problems. You have to draw a line between yourself as student and yourself as teacher... which should be easier, at Laughter, as you were never a student there. I don’t think you know anyone who goes to Laughter.”
“No,” Emily agreed. “Well, apart from Penny, but she graduated.”
“Write to her, if you like,” Lady Barb said. She stood, brushing down her robes. “And Emily...?”
Emily looked up. “Yes?”
“I’m sorry for springing all of this on you,” Lady Barb said. “It wasn’t how I wanted to handle the matter.”
“I understand,” Emily assured her. “Even if you did come at an awkward time.”
There was a glint of her old self in Lady Barb’s eyes. “That bad a time? I hope you remembered to use protective spells.”
Emily flushed. “We didn’t get that far.”
“I’m sorry,” Lady Barb said. She turned, then stopped and pointed at the papers. “Read them first, as I said, then make sure you send a reply. There’s teleport coordinates for the bottom of the peaks included. You’ll have to walk or ride up the road to Pendle, where you’ll meet Lady Damia. Traditionally, new staff and students walk to the school.”
“It’s been too long since I had a proper walk,” Emily said. She’d been walking in the Blighted Lands, but... it hadn’t been the same. She missed the Craggy Mountains near Whitehall. “And thank you.”
“Thank you,” Lady Barb said. She gave Emily a quick hug, then headed to the door. “If this causes you any trouble, I’ll do whatever I have to do to make it right.”
Emily frowned as Lady Barb left, closing the door behind her. The wards shimmered. She didn’t have to look round to know Jan was coming. Her mind raced, torn between pulling him back to the sofa to finish what they’d started and the grim awareness she needed to talk to Void as quickly as possible. Her master wasn’t going to be pleased. Emily knew she hadn’t sworn oaths to obey him, which would have made it impossible to leave against his will, but... she let out a breath. He should understand what was at stake. He should understand...
“She’s gone,” she said, without turning. “I’m sorry.”
Jan wrapped his arms around her, kissing the back of her neck. “It’s fine.”
No, it isn’t, Emily thought, as she turned to kiss his lips. His hands slipped down her back, threatening to slip into her waistband. I’m going to have to convince Void to let me go...
He pulled back. “How did she find you here?”
“I think she must have spotted me in Celeste,” Emily said. The mystery nagged at her. How had that happened? Lady Barb might have been watching the tower or... Void might have told her, except that couldn’t be true... or... Emily couldn’t think of any other possibilities. “I don’t know.”
Jan shrugged and leaned forward to kiss her again. Emily kissed him back, all too aware she would have to go soon and talk to Void. It wasn’t going to be a pleasant discussion...
... And she wasn’t looking forward to it at all.
Chapter Five
“ABSOLUTELY OUT OF THE QUESTION.”
Emily stood in front of Void, hands clasped behind her back, struggling to keep her face completely expressionless. She’d gotten back later than she’d intended and stowed the papers in her chambers, then had a quick shower before requesting a formal interview with her master. That might have been a mistake, she conceded ruefully. She’d never paid much attention to the formalities, any more than Void himself. Requesting a formal interview had probably worried him.
“You are not fully recovered,” Void said, flatly. “You are constantly tiring yourself out. You are sleeping poorly, when you are sleeping at all. And you need to get back to your apprenticeship. We lost a considerable amount of time when you went off to fight in the war. And now you want to go off again?”
“Yes.” Emily met his eyes, as evenly as she could. “It needs to be done.”
“And Lady Barb didn’t see fit to contact me directly?” Void looked thoroughly displeased. “She should have put the request through me, not sneaked around and waited for a time to speak to you alone.”
Emily hesitated. “Would you have forwarded the request to me?”
“I would have warned you of the dangers,” Void said. “The situation is grim and...”
“You didn’t even tell me there was going to be a conference,” Emily said. “Why didn’t you keep me informed...?”
“Neither you nor I have been invited,” Void said. There was a hint of anger in his tone, although it didn’t seem to be directed at her. “There may not even be a conference, Emily. Half the people who have been invited have a vested interest in the conference not actually going ahead. They’re still arguing over the shape of the conference tables and social ranks and precedence and nonsense like that. I think they’re just hoping to run out the clock before they start binding themselves to agreements they have no intention of honorin
g.”
Emily let out a breath. “And that means they’ll go straight to war?”
“There’s already been a bunch of brushfire wars,” Void said. “Small engagements, really, but it’s just a matter of time. The Allied Lands were held together by the threat of the necromancers, and now that threat is gone. Add the chaos caused by the problems in the White City and the entire continent is sitting on top of a destabilizing potion. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
“You didn’t tell me anything about the White City,” Emily said. “What happened?”
Void seemed to look into the distance. “There was - there is - a nexus point under the White Palace. It came back to life, as you know. The magic is spreading into the city, following patterns laid down a long time before the Faerie Wars. The wards set up to protect the city are melting like snow in the glare of the sun. Right now, the city has been largely evacuated, rendering the White Council effectively homeless. Its authority has been shattered at the worst possible time.”
He snorted. “There was some talk about sending you into the palace,” he said. “I believe it was vetoed before they made a formal approach to me.”
Emily felt a flash of anger. “You don’t own me.”
“You are my apprentice,” Void said, with a hint of exasperation. “I have first call on your... services. I also have a duty to protect you from potential enemies, both mine who see you as my heir and your very own impressive stable of enemies. I may not own you, as you say, but I have responsibilities towards you. And yes, those sometimes include forbidding you to do something dangerous.”
His face twisted. “They were scared of what you might do, in the palace. Or, perhaps, what you might find.”
“They don’t have to be scared of me,” Emily said, hotly.
“Emily, as far as they are concerned, you are an agent of change and chaos,” Void said. “They don’t know you. Even the ones who’ve met you don’t understand you. They just know your reputation. You have a talent, a very strong talent, for turning the world upside down. Yes, they’re scared. For all they know, you might be the lost Heir to the Empire who will take the throne and change everything. Again.”
Little Witches (Schooled In Magic Book 21) Page 5