The Zero Blessing

by Christopher Nuttall

  The magic tightened around me. My struggles were futile. It felt as though she really was trying to kill me ... I started to panic, trying to move, trying to call on the magic I didn't have ... nothing happened. The grip lightened, just for a second, as she flipped me over, leaving me hovering upside down in front of her. I was utterly helpless.

  Sandy glared at me. “Are you going to listen now?”

  I nodded, hastily.

  She flipped me over again, then dispelled the magic. I fell, landing on my backside. A faint titter ran around the dorm, only to vanish utterly as Sandy glared around the room. No one wanted to annoy her, after what she’d just done. She was so far beyond us that she was effectively untouchable.

  I rubbed my neck, feeling phantom fingers pressing against my skin. A reaction to the magic, I knew, but they felt real. My entire body was drenched in sweat ... I wanted to crawl away, yet I didn't have the energy. Had she drained me too ...?

  Sandy held out a hand. “Punishment Book.”

  My fingers refused to work properly. It took me two tries to pluck the book out of my blazer and hand it to her. She glanced at it, then turned it around so I could read it. Under the earlier set of instructions, there was a new set of words in bright red ink. DETENTION - POTIONS CLASSROOM - SATURDAY. Magistra Loanda had signed it, somehow. I wondered, just for a moment, how she’d done it, then dismissed the thought. A witch like her would have plenty of magic at her disposal. My punishment book was probably twinned with a central register somewhere in the building.

  “You will wash the bathroom every Sunday for the next month,” Sandy informed me, as she wrote in the book. “And you will turn in two hundred lines for me by Lights Out - I will not get my Dorm Head in trouble.”

  There was no point in arguing. “As you wish ...”

  Sandy eyed me, one hand clutching the pen. “Would you like to make it three hundred lines?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  “Good,” Sandy said. She shoved the book back into my hand. “Go to your bed.”

  She glanced at the clock. “You have two hours before dinner, more or less,” she added, nastily. “Why don’t you get started on your lines?”

  I groaned as I picked myself off the floor. Two hundred lines ... any hopes of going to the library with Rose were now gone. But I could take the book to the library and do the lines there, couldn't I? I didn't think there was a rule against it, as long as I was quiet. I could help Rose and complete my lines. I wasn't sure what would happen if I didn't hand the lines into her, but I had the feeling I didn't want to find out.

  Sandy raised her voice as I limped towards my bed. “And I suggest the rest of you remember this,” she ordered. “Settle your problems in the hall.”

  Hah, I thought.

  I was vaguely aware of her leaving the dorm as I sat on the bed. Rose was still lying on the floor, unable to move. At least she knew I couldn't come to her aid ... I gritted my teeth in bitter frustration. She’d said she’d stay with me, but it was hard to believe she would. I couldn't help her ... perhaps I should urge her to befriend Bella instead. Bella wouldn’t be that unpleasant to her.

  Sitting on the comfy bed, I placed the writing board on my lap and opened the Punishment Book. Someone had charmed the ink - or, more likely, the book itself. Sandy’s words looked unnaturally large, a reminder that I was running out of time. I reached for a pen and forced myself to concentrate. It was a shame there was no way to cheat, but if Dad hadn't been able to find a way to beat the system I wasn't likely to succeed. Besides, I was in deep trouble already ...

  “Hey,” Isabella said.

  I looked up. She was standing by the edge of my bed. “What do you want?”

  “Oh, nothing,” Isabella said. She jabbed a finger at me. I froze. “I just wanted to know if you could break my spell. You did it earlier.”

  I wanted to scream, but I couldn't move a muscle. Isabella had messed up her spell earlier, hadn't she? I should have been helplessly trapped until someone cancelled it or it wore off on its own. But it had broken ...

  “Come on,” Isabella said. “I don’t have all day.”

  She smiled, unpleasantly. “And neither do you. I really wouldn't let Sandy down.”

  I thought a number of words I didn't dare say in front of my parents. I had four hours - no, less than four hours - to write the lines. Sandy would be utterly furious if I failed to hand them in on time ... and I knew she wouldn't listen to any excuses. Being frozen wouldn't be enough to deter a real magician. I made a mental note to teach Rose the counterspell as soon as possible, then forced myself to calm down. Isabella would have her fun and then go away.

  But she thinks I did break her spell, I told myself. What if I did?

  It was a warm thought. I wanted to believe it. And that made me nervous. Dad had told us, more than once, to be careful what we believed. Older men and women had been tricked because they’d been told what they wanted to believe. But I had escaped her spell, hadn't I?

  I tried to think about it. I’d been angry at Isabella, just as I’d been angry at Great Aunt Stregheria. But I’d been angry before, when Alana had practiced her hexes on me, and nothing had happened. I tried to recapture that feeling now, thinking bloodthirsty thoughts about crushing Isabella under my boot heel ... nothing happened. No matter how angry I got, the spell remained firmly in place. I was trapped.

  “I knew it,” Isabella said, nastily. She walked around the bed and bent over to whisper in my ear. Her lips were so close I could feel her breath tickling me. “Zero.”

  Anger flared, again. I wanted to lash out at her. I wanted to slam my fist into her. But I couldn't move. My body was frozen, utterly helpless. Nothing worked. I even tried to think of the counterspell - all the best wizards could cast the counterspell without needed to move - but nothing happened.

  Isabella patted my head, then drew the drapes around my bed. Sandy wouldn't think twice about it when she returned, I knew, as Isabella winked at me. She’d think I was asking for privacy while I did my lines. Instead ... Isabella was powerful. Powerful enough to keep the spell in place until dinnertime?

  I would have cried, if I could. There had been so many ups and downs that I just wanted to lie down and think. Instead ... I was trapped, utterly helpless. And facing a worse punishment, when Sandy found out that I’d skipped dinner and not done my lines. I wanted to make Isabella pay - I was going to make Isabella pay. But how?

  If nothing else, I thought, I have time to think of something nasty.

  It felt like hours before the spell finally broke. I slumped forward, feeling aches and pains everywhere. Isabella hadn't just frozen me. She'd cast the cruellest freezing spell I knew, the one that locked up muscles. And now ... I needed a bath, just to work the kinks out of my body. But I knew that wasn't an option. Bracing myself, I peeked out of the drapes. No one was in sight, apart from Rose. She was still lying on the floor, helplessly frozen. I was honestly surprised that Sandy’s spell had lasted so long.

  She must be powerful, I thought, as I hurried over to Rose. And very well trained.

  But it made sense, I supposed. Students had always played practical jokes on one another, testing themselves against their rivals. It was a long tradition - each student would always have a rival. The staff wouldn't want the firsties to start playing pranks on their supervisors, would they? Sandy had to make it clear that she was a long way ahead of any of us. And that anyone stupid enough to try to hex her would regret it.

  “I can't break the spell,” I muttered. I knelt down next to Rose, resting my hand on her shoulder. I knew she could hear me. “You have to unfreeze yourself.”

  Nothing happened. I wasn't surprised. Casting the counterspell without using hand movements wasn't easy - and Rose didn't even know the counterspell. I forced myself to think, hard. The Device I’d ... taken from Forgery wouldn’t do more than report the presence of magic, while the Casting Chalk would merely give her a fright. I might be able to get something more usefu
l from the Forgery classroom, but that would take time ... even assuming I could get in. Magister Tallyman wouldn't have set the wards to allow me entry yet ...

  My blood ran cold. What if he’d changed his mind about allowing me to help him?

  The door opened. I looked up as Henrietta Maria entered the dorm. I vaguely recalled her from one of Alana’s birthday parties, but she hadn’t made much of an impression. I’d spent most of that party hiding in my room, hoping to escape the inevitable game of ‘last guest in human form.’ Needless to say, the winner hadn't been me.

  “Isabella was saying you’d be frozen until dinner,” Henrietta commented. I tensed, but she sounded amused rather than malicious. “Did you break her spell?”

  “Yes,” I lied. I had no idea why the spell hadn't lasted, but I wasn't about to admit it. “I can't break Sandy’s spell.”

  “Sandy was proper raging,” Henrietta told me. Her voice was oddly accented. If I recalled correctly, she actually lived some distance outside the city. “We should probably count ourselves lucky she didn't turn us all into pigs.”

  “I suppose,” I said. I’d have to teach Rose how to signal that she was a transformed human, preferably before someone tried to turn her into a frog again. “Can you try to break the spell?”

  Henrietta frowned, stroking her chin. “What’s it worth?”

  I winced. “What would you like?”

  “Help with my homework,” Henrietta said, after a moment. “I don’t want to turn in a bad potions essay.”

  “Me neither,” I said, although I had a feeling it was too late to make a good impression. “If you can break the spell, I’ll help you with your homework.”

  Henrietta cast the counterspell. Rose slumped forward. I caught her a moment before her head could hit the floor.

  “Thanks,” I said, seriously. “I think she must have keyed it to resist my magic.”

  I did my best to ignore Henrietta’s doubtful look. Keying a spell to make it impossible for a specific person to unravel was very difficult. Sandy would have gone to a lot of trouble for no real gain. But it was better she believed that Sandy had put in the effort, instead of looking for other explanations. It wouldn't take her long to put two and two together and come up with four.

  Or zero, I thought.

  Rose sagged against me. “Are you all right?”

  “Sure,” I lied. “I’m fine.”

  I helped her to her feet, then glanced at the clock. We had another hour until dinner. It should be enough time to finish my lines, if I worked hard. My hand was going to be aching tonight ... I sighed. It couldn't be helped.

  And I could get a potion to soothe the ache, I thought. But getting it from the healers might be tricky.

  “I’ll meet you in the library tonight,” Henrietta said. She touched my shoulder. I almost flinched. “Bring your books.”

  “There’s copies of everything on the shelves,” I assured her. Some of the rarer books were actually chained to the shelves, just to make sure that absent-minded students didn't walk off with them. “We’ll see you there.”

  I met Rose’s eyes. It was going to be a very long evening.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The rest of the week went surprisingly quickly, much to my relief. Isabella gave me an odd look when she realised I’d somehow escaped her spell, but otherwise she left Rose and I alone while we studied in the library. Alana even thanked me for distracting Magistra Loanda from her potion. For once, she didn't even try to hex me.

  But I couldn't help feeling nervous as I crawled out of bed on Saturday and headed down to breakfast.

  Normally, according to Sandy, students were allowed to sleep in over the weekend. It made up for having to get out of bed at seven-thirty on weekdays. But I had strict orders to report to Magistra Loanda for detention and that meant I couldn't stay in bed. Sandy had practically tossed me out of bed almost as soon as the bell rang. Rose had offered to come with me, to breakfast if not to the classroom, but I’d told her to get some rest. We’d be working in the library as soon as Magistra Loanda let me go.

  I braced myself as I reached her classroom and knocked on the door. I’d only managed to eat some toast and tea for breakfast, but it still sat heavily in my stomach. Sandy had entertained us by telling gruesome stores of dangerous detentions over the last few days and while I thought she was joking, it was hard to convince myself of that. Magistra Loanda’s door felt more ominous than ever before ...

  It opened, revealing a darkened classroom. Magistra Loanda sat at her desk, looking incredibly prim as her eyes fixed on me. I resisted the urge to run - again - as I forced my legs to carry me into the room, coming to a halt in front of her desk. She looked me up and down without speaking, her dark eyes cold and utterly unforgiving. I was, I realised, in deep trouble. She looked as though she wanted to cut me up and use me in a number of highly-illegal - and definitely dark - potions.

  “Miss Aguirre,” Magistra Loanda said. “Do you know why you are here?”

  I nodded, shortly.

  “Speak up, girl,” Magistra Loanda snapped. “I don’t have all day.”

  “Yes,” I said. “I know.”

  “I have five storerooms in this section, all reachable through that door,” Magistra Loanda said, pointing a finger towards the rear of the room. There was indeed a door there, one I hadn't seen before. She must have charmed it to make it harder for people to see. “I want you to go through the store, piece by piece, and make a list of any bottles or jars that are less than half-full. As you are a mere firstie” - she spoke the word as though it was an insult - “you may use ladders to climb up and down. Do not use magic in my storerooms or it will be the last thing you ever do.”

  “Yes, Magistra,” I said. Some potions ingredients were volatile, very volatile. A loose flare of magic could set them off, easily. It was why Mum had banned my sisters from the storeroom back home. “Do you have paper for me?”

  Magistra Loanda nodded, producing a large sheet of paper and a pen. “Make sure everything is clear,” she ordered, shortly. “I want to be able to read it without having to use deciphering spells.”

  I took the paper and headed towards the door. It opened easily, revealing a massive storeroom that dwarfed the one we’d used earlier. There were hundreds of shelves, each one lined with jars and bottles ... a number were covered in dust or protected with nasty-looking runes. I recognised enough of them to know that touching the jars with my bare hands would be a dangerous mistake. The eerie green light floating down from somewhere high above didn't help. I knew enough about preserving ingredients to understand that it was part of the store’s defensive system.

  “Try not to upset some of the spices,” Magistra Loanda called. I hoped I was imagining the dark amusement in her voice. “They’re very unhappy souls.”

  I swallowed as I reached the end of the first storeroom and found the corridor to the next. It was massive, a section of the school that I had no idea existed. Four additional storerooms, a couple of hidden workrooms ... Magistra Loanda had more potions ingredients in one place than anyone else, even Mum. Judging by the dust, a number of ingredients hadn't been touched for years. The charmed bottles would have preserved them, I thought, but most brewers would have preferred fresh ingredients. A little potency was lost if they were stored for the long-term.

  And there are so many cobwebs around, I thought, that she’s probably breeding spiders.

  “I don’t hear writing,” Magistra Loanda called, loudly. “Do I have to take more stringent steps to enforce your obedience?”

  “No, Magistra,” I called back.

  I hurried back into the first storeroom, found a ladder and leaned it against the uppermost shelf. If I was lucky, I could scramble up, check the bottles and then make a list of empty ones. I could hear Magistra Loanda talking to someone outside as I climbed the ladder, feeling nervous. I was only twelve, but the ladder creaked loudly enough to suggest I was a grown man. It didn’t feel safe at all.

 
You can be healed, I told myself, as I reached the top. Let’s see what’s missing.

  It was easy enough, thankfully, to read the names without sneaking closer. Most of the bottles and jars were nearly full, although there were some exceptions. I wrote their names down - and then added the location, as Mum had taught me. Magistra Loanda might have been waiting for me to make that mistake before she dropped a hammer on me. The next shelf was just the same, followed by the next ... it was easy to tell which ingredients she used regularly. Shiny new jars sat next to bottles that were so old I didn't know if the contents were still safe to use. I made a note of some of the more odious ones, even though it wasn't part of my duties. Magistra Loanda might be glad to hear of it.