The Zero Blessing

by Christopher Nuttall

  ... Isabella had just been kicked off the netball team.

  Sandy dropped me to the ground. “Turn back,” she ordered, as she strode over to Isabella and released the spell. “Now.”

  I twitched. I couldn't release the spell. And I didn't know how long I’d have to wait until it broke. It wouldn't happen quickly enough to suit her.

  “She can’t,” Isabella said. “She’s a zero. No magic!”

  “Be silent,” Sandy ordered. She snapped her fingers in my direction. “Get up!”

  I allowed myself a moment of relief as the spell unravelled. My entire body felt battered, as if I’d been pummelled from head to toe. I picked myself up carefully, catching sight of Rose behind me. Someone had frozen her ... Zeya? Or Sandy? I tried to shoot her a reassuring look, but it was hard to fake it. Sandy looked murderous.

  “Tell me,” Sandy said. “What were you trying to do? Kill her?”

  Isabella glared at her. “Did you hear what she said?”

  Sandy looked back at her, her gaze cold. “Do you think it matters? What do you think would have happened, if you’d stamped on her? You would have crushed her!”

  “It doesn't matter,” Isabella snapped. Her voice rose. “She’s a zero!”

  “And you’re on the verge of being expelled,” Sandy said. “Do I have to watch you all every second of every day? Do I have to tie you to your beds and stun you to sleep? Do I ...?”

  “No,” Isabella said. She darted a finger at me. Expecting a hex, I jumped aside. “I claim Scholar’s Rights!”

  Sandy took a step backwards in astonishment. “A honour duel? You would challenge Caitlyn to a honour duel?”

  My head spun. A honour duel? Was she mad?

  “Yes,” Isabella said. Her voice was almost hysterical. “She lied about me. She ... she ... she ... tricked me. She ...”

  “You’re a firstie,” Sandy said, coldly. “First years are not supposed to engage in any form of duelling.”

  “That’s a tradition,” Isabella said. She sounded very sure of herself. “It isn’t actually a rule.”

  She lowered her voice. “I looked it up. A first year student can issue the challenge, if she feels she has cause. And you have to honour it.”

  I swallowed, hard. I hadn't bothered to look up the rules, but I suspected Isabella was right. Once the challenge was out in the open, it could not be denied. No one, not even a teacher, could deny her the right to demand the duel. And that meant ...

  “If you won, you would have the right to insist that Caitlyn left the dorm,” Sandy said, coolly. I couldn't tell what she was thinking. “But if you lost, Caitlyn would have the right to insist that you left. Do you really want to take the risk?”

  “I will not lose,” Isabella said.

  Sandy studied her for a long moment. “And you really want to explain the duel to your family?”

  “They will understand,” Isabella said. She eyed me. “Do you accept my challenge?”

  I forced myself to think. Sandy would have told Isabella that she couldn't do it ... if, of course, she couldn't do it.

  “I don’t know the rules,” I said, playing for time. I knew the adult rules, but I couldn't imagine schoolchildren being encouraged to exchange death-spells. “How does it work?”

  “It’s very simple,” Sandy said. “The two of you go into a warded circle and fight, exchanging spells until one of you can no longer continue. At that point, the winner gets to gloat a lot while the loser is put back together by the upperclassmen.”

  I paled. “Don’t worry,” she added, encouragingly. “The worst that could happen is that one of you has to go sleep somewhere else.”

  “I hear the janitorial staff have spare beds,” Isabella put in, nastily. “Soaking wet, shared with frogs and their spawn ...”

  “Shut up,” Sandy said.

  I looked at her. “Are there any other rules?”

  “Neither of you are allowed to do anything that might kill the other,” Sandy said. I couldn’t help feeling relieved, although I knew that accidents happened. “You can bring a wand if you like--” Isabella snorted “--but not a dagger or any other form of charmed blade.”

  She cleared her throat. “The challenge has been issued. Do you wish to accept or decline?”

  Common sense told me I should decline. I wasn't a match for Isabella, even if I brought a dozen charged rings to the circle. And I might have been wrong when I’d accused her of betraying us. And yet, if I did decline, what would happen? I’d have to leave the dorm ... I’d have to leave Rose. I couldn't leave her alone, not when the entire dorm would be against her.

  And I didn't want to back down, not now. I’d come so far ...

  “I can take anything I like into the circle,” I said, “as long as it won’t actually kill?”

  “Correct,” Sandy said. “Do you accept?”

  Isabella smirked at me. And I knew I was going to accept. Perhaps it was stupid, perhaps it was dangerous, but I was going to accept.

  “Yes,” I said, flatly.

  “Very well,” Sandy said. “I will make the arrangements for the duel. Until then, I expect the pair of you to behave yourselves. No arguing, no fighting, no hexing ... I’ll hex the person responsible into next week. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, Sandy,” Isabella said, sweetly.

  She shot me a look full of pure malice, combined with something I didn't care to interpret. I looked back at her, as steadily as I could. She thought I was a zero. She was right ...

  But that didn’t mean I was powerless. Or helpless.

  And Isabella, I promised myself silently, was in for a very nasty surprise.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  The first thing I did on Tuesday, as soon as we had finished breakfast, was to go to the library and look up the rules for myself. Sandy might have gotten something wrong, after all. But the rules were almost exactly as she’d said. One student could issue a challenge to another and expect to have it honoured. There were a handful of rules surrounding the challenge and the honour duel itself, but nothing I could use against her. She’d issued the challenge and, in theory, we were equally matched.

  Except she doesn't believe we are matched, I thought, sourly. Her obsession with proving I couldn't do magic was growing alarming. I couldn't help wondering if I should have been paying more attention to dorm politics. The McDonalds were firmly on Isabella’s side, but what about the others? Are they using me as an excuse not to side with her?

  Rose caught my eye. “Your sisters are coming over,” she warned. “Look busy.”

  I looked up. Alana was striding towards me purposefully, Bella looking nervous as she brought up the rear. They’d probably heard already. The challenge had been issued last night, giving plenty of time for the story to spread around the school. My dorm mates had probably told everyone at breakfast. I braced myself, unsure what to expect. Alana had to be worried about the prospect of me losing. Someone would probably wind up using my defeat against her.

  “Cat,” Alana said. She shot Rose a sharp look. “We have to talk to you.”

  Rose shrugged. “I’ll go find a couple more books,” she said, as she stood. “Good luck.”

  “See if you can find a book on duelling tactics,” I said. “And perhaps something on barely-legal hexes.”

  Alana’s eyes flickered as she sat down. “Cat ... are you mad?”

  “I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me for the past five years,” I said. It wasn't wise to bait her, but I was in a bad mood. Besides, classes started in twenty minutes. She didn't have time to do anything to me. “Are you well?”

  “My ears must be playing tricks on me,” Alana said. She made a show of rubbing them. “I have been informed by my spies that you accepted a formal challenge last night.”

  “Your spies are quite right,” I said, dryly. Alana probably didn't have any spies, although I wouldn’t put bribing one of my dorm mates past her. Someone had to keep an eye on Isabella for the family and
I wasn't doing it. “Isabella challenged me to a honour duel.”

  Alana met my eyes. “I ask again,” she said. “Are you mad?”

  She went on before I could think of a response. “Maybe you have magic now, I don’t know,” she said. “But Isabella has been using magic since her seventh birthday. You don’t stand a chance!”

  “Perhaps,” I said. I looked back at her for a long moment. “Are you worried about me or worried because you might be embarrassed by my fall?”

  Alana twitched. “The family honour is at stake,” she said, stiffly. “You cannot lose the duel.”

  “But you might,” Bella put in. “And what happens then?”

  “I get kicked out of the dorm,” I said. I held up the rulebook. “I’ll be forced to pack my stuff and find somewhere else to sleep.”

  “Which will be bad,” Alana pointed out. “All your friends will be somewhere else.”

  I snorted. Apart from Rose, I didn't have any friends. But Alana did have a point. The girls in the other dorms would have already made friends by the time I arrived. Patronage networks would already be well-established. I would be lucky if I managed to find a place for myself. Everyone would be resorted at the start of next year, of course, but even then ... I would be lucky if I found a friend or two in another dorm.

  “I don’t have anything to lose,” I said, instead. “You never know. I might wind up in your dorm.”

  Alana gave me a nasty look. I rather suspected that she’d make my life hell, if I did wind up sharing a dorm with her. It wouldn't take her long to notice that there was something wrong with my - presumed - magic. I was surprised she hadn't already commented on my new jewellery. She knew I hadn't been in the habit of wearing anything at home.

  “Fine,” she growled. “Do you want us to help you practice?”

  “No, thank you,” I said. “I can handle it.”

  Alana shook her head. “How long has it been since you started actually using magic?” She asked. “Three weeks? Four? You don’t stand a chance against her. And what will happen to the family then?”

  I laughed. “I’m sure the family is going to be ruined by two twelve-year-old girls exchanging hexes for an hour,” I said, sarcastically. “Do you really think Isabella and I can do real damage?”

  “It might,” Alana said. “If you are exposed as a weak link ...”

  “I have time to learn,” I said, trying not to show how much that comment hurt. “Alana ...”

  “I don’t want to see you hurt,” Bella put in. “Cat ... we do care about you.”

  I glared at her. “Who was it who thought it would be a funny idea to hex my birthday presents? Who was it who decided it would be amusing if I couldn't move a muscle on our tenth birthday? Who was it who openly said I’d be kicked out of the family simply for not having magic? Who was it ...”

  “That was then,” Bella said.

  “You have magic now,” Alana added. “I ...”

  I cut her off. “Would it have made a difference,” I said, “If I had had magic back then?”

  Alana opened her mouth, then closed it again. I knew the answer. If I’d had magic, real magic, things would have been different. I would have been able to trade hex for hex, rather than relying on trickery and dumb luck to keep myself afloat. They’d treated me poorly because I didn't have magic, but that didn't make me any less of a person. And I found it hard to care what they wanted, now. They didn't deserve anything from me.

  “You know plenty of spells,” Alana said, finally. “But you don’t know how to cast them effectively. She’ll wipe the floor with you.”

  “And I’m sure you will enjoy watching,” I snarled. The bell rang. “You can tell everyone your old story about the foster child. I’m sure they’ll believe you.”

  I rose and stalked away from the table. Rose joined me as I walked through the door, expecting a hex to strike me in the back at any moment. But nothing happened as I walked down to class, save for a handful of eyes following me. Everyone seemed to be staring, even upperclassmen. Word of the duel had clearly spread from one end of the school to the other.

  Rose caught my arm. “What did they want?”

  “Nothing important,” I said. I forced myself to calm down as we joined the line outside Practical Charms. “They just wanted to make sure I didn't lose.”

  “That’s not a bad thing,” Rose said. “Is it?”

  I sighed. If my sisters had cared about me - me personally - I wouldn't have minded. It would have been nice to feel that someone was looking out for me. But I knew they didn't really care about anything, but their reputations. If Alana was right and Isabella did wipe the floor with me, their reputations were going to suffer too. Alana might be challenged herself by an emboldened enemy ...

  Which will give that enemy a very nasty surprise, I thought. Alana had been practicing since her seventh birthday. Her remarks about Isabella applied just as much to her. I’m sure she’ll give anyone who tries to hurt her a bloody nose.

  Classes were as boring as I’d expected, although Magister Grayson seemed to have trouble keeping his eyes off me and Magistra Solana insisted on running through the basic principles of a honour duel, before subverting them ruthlessly by telling us just how many ways there were to cheat. Isabella said nothing - tradition demanded that she didn't even acknowledge my presence until Saturday, when the duel would be held - but her cronies kept glancing at me and sniggering. I think they expected her to wipe the floor with me too. They’d have kept their options open if there was the slightest doubt.

  It was almost a relief when classes came to an end and I could make my way down to the workroom. Akin was already there, fiddling with something that looked like a clockwork monstrosity. I made sure he kept his distance as I set up my supplies, including the sole bottle of my formula. If I survived the duel, I told myself, I really would have to think of a proper name. I couldn't be the only person who could use it safely, could I?

  Probably not, I told myself, as I started to put together a dozen Objects of Power. But finding another genuine zero might be tricky.

  I would have enjoyed myself, if it wasn't so serious. Watching a protective ring take shape - I planned to wear it on my toe, hidden under my sock - was fascinating. So too was the brew that took a potion’s magic and infused it into a gemstone. It wouldn't be quite as effective as a real potion - I had the odd feeling that some of the magic was leaking - but it would suffice for the duel. A cluster of interlocking rings - some worn around my neck, others on my wrist - would give me an unexpected advantage. And the wands ...

  If this works, I thought grimly, there will be no going back.

  I’d considered simply getting Rose to help me charge up a dozen rings. But that wouldn't be enough, not against Isabella. She already knew there was something odd about my jewellery, even if she didn't know precisely what. The ancient textbooks open in front of me provided other options, some of which could pass for Devices of Power as long as no one looked at them too closely. Isabella hadn't objected to me taking Devices of Power into the ring. I rather assumed that meant she’d been taught how to handle them.

  And if my work survives the coming duel, I reminded myself, someone will insist on taking a very close look at them.

  The thought was enough to make me shiver. I’d planned to tell my father the truth, over the winter hols. Now ... now, he was going to find out after the duel. I had no idea how he’d react, when he found out about the challenge ... let alone the Objects of Power. Would he want me to back down, to grovel rather than risk revealing the truth? Or would he expect me to uphold the family's honour? I had no way to know.

  “Caitlyn,” Akin called. He was bending over his workbench, putting together a focusing device. It looked remarkably fragile - a set of carved lenses, held together by silver wire - but I knew that was an illusion. Done properly, the device would remain intact until the stress crumbled it into dust. “Can I have a word?”

  I strode over to his workbench. I really
didn't want him taking a close look at some of my work. Akin was knowledgeable as well as smart. He might figure out, ahead of time, that there was definitely something odd about my devices. Some of them - the rings, in particular - had lasted much longer than they should.

  “I suppose,” I said. I looked down at his focusing device for a long moment. “That’s for her, isn't it?”

  “Yes,” Akin said. He didn't look particularly embarrassed. I wasn’t sure why that bothered me. “She wanted a few Devices of Power of her own.”