He gave her a nasty smile. “Don’t worry. The day after tomorrow, you’re going straight back to work. And I won’t be going easy on you.”
“I believe you,” Emily said.
Chapter Twenty-Two
EMILY COULDN’T HELP FEELING A TWINGE of fear, two weeks after the teleport experiment, when Void called her to another party. He’d worked her hard over the last few days, forcing her to practice everything from dueling to mental arts and what he called focused intimidation. She had the nasty suspicion, as he poured her a glass of dark blue liquid, that she was about to be thrown into the deep end again. The drink seemed harmless, but that proved nothing. There were ways to slip drugs past a sorcerer’s spells if one was careful.
She met his eyes. “Is this another test?”
“Yes.” Void didn’t bother to deny it. “But it’s also a little more than a test.”
He took his seat. “Sit. Eat. The cook will be very unhappy if you don’t.”
Emily scowled at him. “You could tell me what’s in store now.”
“Etiquette demands I feed you first,” Void said. “And I don’t want to upset the cook.”
“I’ve never seen your cook,” Emily said. She knew she was acting poorly, but she found it hard to care. “Do you cook for yourself?”
Void lifted an eyebrow. “Do you think I have time?”
Emily sat and eyed the table. The cook — whoever she was — had prepared roast lamb, roast potatoes and all the trimmings. It was something she would have expected to eat at King Randor’s table, although she’d never liked eating in front of an audience. The king had needed to lay a good table, she’d been told. He couldn’t afford to look poor. And yet, he’d wasted enough food to feed the starving in the city below. She hoped Alassa was doing better.
“No,” she said, finally. “You hired a good cook.”
“I’m easy to please,” Void said. “She was quite happy to hear you were coming. She seems to think you have a more refined palate.”
Emily shook her head. On Earth, she’d learned she couldn’t afford to turn her nose up at anything. It didn’t matter if it was tasty or disgusting beyond words. It was food. She had more options on the Nameless World, but she still knew better than to reject something just because it wasn’t fancy. Commoner food was still food.
“I can eat anything,” she said. She took a slice of meat and helped herself to potatoes and gravy. “I’m not fussy.”
She glanced at him. “Can I ask a question?”
“You can ask any question you like, as I believe I’ve told you before,” Void said. He served himself meat and potatoes. “I don’t promise to answer.”
“I’ve been to a few other magical households,” Emily said, carefully. “They compete to serve the fanciest food, the most expensive wine... they’ll shun anything that isn’t worth its weight in gold.”
“Your weight in gold isn’t that much,” Void pointed out.
Emily ignored the comment. “But you don’t. You eat well, but everything you eat is very plebeian. Very basic.”
Void cocked an eyebrow. “Are you feeling deprived?”
“No!” Emily colored. “I’m just puzzled.”
“There’s no great secret,” Void said. “My father was not well-liked by his family. He had a lot of magic, a great deal of imagination and a complete lack of scruples when it came to asking what would happen if he did... well, anything. By the time my brothers and I were born, he was practically isolated by the rest of his clan. Our clan. We weren’t poor, nothing like your friend Frieda, but we weren’t rich either. We simply couldn’t afford the lifestyle.”
“You and your brothers?” Emily was curious. “You have family?”
“It’s just me now,” Void said. “Why do you think I gave you that ring?”
Emily looked at the family ring on her finger. “What happened to them?”
“Father died in one of his experiments,” Void said. “No one was remotely surprised. Mother died shortly afterwards. Two of my brothers died in an experiment of their own, the third... died later. I’m the last.”
“I’m sorry,” Emily said, quietly. Something was nagging at her mind. Something she’d heard... it refused to come into focus. “I...”
“Don’t be,” Void said, dryly. “It wasn’t your fault.”
He turned his attention to his food, effectively ending the conversation. Emily tested her food, just to make sure it wasn’t drugged, then started to eat. The lamb and potatoes were cooked to perfection. She felt a stab of pity for the cook, who clearly enjoyed her work. Maybe she could ask for something special... she shook her head. She might be an apprentice, but she was only a guest in the tower. She couldn’t give orders to the staff unless they’d been assigned to her specifically.
Void glanced up at her. “Have you made any plans for your next day off?”
“No, sir,” Emily said. She hadn’t really thought about it. She’d been too busy. “I don’t have anything planned.”
“Good,” Void said. “You would have had to cancel them.”
Emily blinked. “Sir?”
“I have a job for you,” Void told her. “A mission. A test too, in a sense. I’d hoped it could be delayed, but time is not on our side. You may be able to handle it.”
Emily frowned. “What is the mission?”
Void met her eyes. “I am not going to tell you.”
“Pardon?” Emily looked back at him, as evenly as she could. “You’re not going to tell me what you want me to do?”
“Figuring out the mission is part of the test,” Void said. “You have to figure out what I want you to do... what you should do... and then do it. And you may have a time limit.”
Emily scowled. That didn’t sound very reassuring. “I may?”
“You may,” Void said. “The mission depends on things beyond my control. There are too many factors involved for me to predict the outcome.”
“And you won’t tell me what you want me to do?” Emily shook her head. “Why...?”
“Because, in some ways, you are the perfect choice for the mission,” Void said. “In others, you are a weaker choice... but I’d be a weaker choice still.”
Something clicked in Emily’s mind. “This is what you were discussing with Master Lucknow, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Void nodded. “He wanted me involved.”
Emily stabbed at a piece of meat. They’d said the King of Dragora was a fool, if she recalled correctly. But they hadn’t discussed any real details in her hearing.
She nibbled her food thoughtfully. “Why? I mean... why does he want you involved?”
“Master Lucknow and I — and a handful of others — have been... involved... with protecting these lands since well before your birth,” Void said. “We share notes. We compare our thoughts. When we have no choice, we act. I was operating on their behalf when I spied on Shadye. I don’t think that ended too badly, do you?”
“No.” Emily frowned. “A quarrel? Like those at Mountaintop?”
“More like an association of like-minded friends,” Void said. He smiled, rather humorlessly. “Friends might be too strong a word. We don’t all get along, but we do understand the value of gritting our teeth and working together.”
“I see, I think,” Emily said. “And you’ve decided to turn their request into a test for me?”
“Yes.” Void took a sip of his drink. “I can kill three birds with one spell.”
Emily lifted her eyebrows. “Three birds?”
“There are some uneasy rumblings along the border,” Void said. “Shadye’s old territory has been claimed by another necromancer. There are hints the newcomer, whoever he is, intends to force the Craggy Mountains and invade Whitehall. Now you’ve left the school...”
“They weren’t that scared of me,” Emily protested.
“They were.” Void grinned, savagely. “A magician with barely a few months of training, beating a necromancer who was around for fifteen years or there
abouts? They were scared. Of course they were scared. You shouldn’t have been able to win.”
His grin widened. “And then you killed three more,” he added. “They became terrified.”
“And now they’re threatening Whitehall?” Emily looked down at her hands. “Should I go back?”
“Not yet, I think,” Void said. “Let me assess the threat, while you handle the mission and your test.”
Emily scowled. “I don’t like working blind.”
“No one does,” Void said. “And you don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, sir,” Emily said, sullenly.
Void chose to overlook her tone. “I’ll teleport you to your destination tomorrow morning, after breakfast. Silent has already packed a bag for you. Anything else you need, you should be able to get there. She’ll also lay out your clothes overnight. I want you dressed formally at all times.”
Emily winced. “Dress robes?”
“Not quite that bad,” Void said. “But you will be dressed for the role.”
He smiled at her. “Silent will accompany you, as your maid. She’ll take care of you during the stay. She doesn’t know what you’re supposed to do, so don’t try to force it out of her.”
“I don’t need a maid,” Emily protested.
“You do,” Void corrected, bluntly. “And I would be happier if you were traveling with a small army of servants. You are a very important person.”
“One maid will do,” Emily said, flatly. “I don’t need hundreds of servants to look after me.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Void said, blandly. “Once you’ve completed your mission, come back here for debriefing. I’m sure we’ll have a lot to talk about. And one other thing?”
Emily frowned. “Yes, sir?”
“You are not to contact anyone who isn’t already there,” Void said, flatly. “No writing to Lady Barb for advice. No writing to anyone without an extremely good excuse. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.” Emily tried not to groan. “I understand. And I will obey.”
“Good.” Void’s eyes bored into hers. “Lives are at stake. You do not want to make a mistake.”
Emily shook her head in disbelief. “If lives are at stake, shouldn’t you deal with the problem yourself, rather than sending me...?”
“You are the best choice for the mission,” Void said. “And, like I said, there are limits to how openly we can intervene. You represent a third option, instead of either meddling openly or doing nothing. And” — his eyes were suddenly hard — “the situation represents an excellent chance to test you without a safety net. I won’t be holding your hand, Emily. I won’t be ready to catch you if you fall.”
“And you’re leaving lives at risk,” Emily said, flatly.
“Those lives are already at risk,” Void said. “And you might be the only one who can save them.”
Emily rubbed her forehead. “I see,” she said. Void had put Lady Barb in a very dangerous position, one that could have easily gotten her killed — or worse. Now... he’d put her in a position where lives depended on her, without knowing what she had to do. “And I...”
She met his eyes. “What happened between you and Lady Barb?”
Void looked back at her. “I thought she told you.”
“She told me part of it,” Emily said. Lady Barb hadn’t wanted to talk about her brief apprenticeship. She hadn’t even made it clear, at first, that it was an apprenticeship. “Why?”
“There was a sorcerer who was experimenting with dangerous magics, forbidden magics,” Void said. “Rumor claimed he had a way to make necromancy practical. An insane necromancer can be handled, if only because they’re too mad to think straight. They have vast power, more even than me, but lack the skill to use it. We feared what might happen if someone managed to actually make it work. A sane necromancer might be unstoppable.
“His fortress was heavily warded, so heavily that even I couldn’t get inside without setting off the alarms. I had to send Barb into the fortress as a spy, charmed so completely that even a full mental probe wouldn’t reveal her true nature. The enchantments were borderline slave spells. We had no choice. She knew the risks.”
He shrugged. “Afterwards, she demanded to be released from her apprenticeship. I let her go.”
“You turned her into a slave,” Emily said, quietly.
“She knew the risks,” Void said. “I believed she had potential. I was wrong.”
Emily shook her head. “No wonder she hates you.”
“I know.” Void held her eyes. “I did what I had to do. Just like you.”
“I...” Emily wanted to deny it, but she knew there was some truth in his words. She’d put her own life in danger time and time again. And Caleb had dumped her because she’d put defeating the mad god-thing over his sister’s life. And... she sighed. She saw his logic. But she also understood Lady Barb’s anger. “Was it worth it?”
“We proved he wasn’t experimenting with necromancy,” Void said. “And he blew himself up shortly afterwards, without any help from us.”
“And it cost you an apprentice,” Emily said.
Void snorted. “It’s easy to say, in hindsight, that someone made a mistake. It’s easy to put idealism ahead of practicality when you’re a long way from the danger zone. Sometimes... you’ll put a lot of money and magic into something that turns out to be a complete waste of time. But, when literally everything is at stake, you must be practical. You cannot afford to put sentiment ahead of saving the world. Maybe they’ll hate you for saving their lives.”
He smiled. “At least they’ll be alive to hate you.”
“Yes, sir,” Emily said. She took a sip of her drink. It tasted slightly unpleasant, as if someone had salted blueberry juice. “I see your point.”
“Lady Barb did not,” Void said. “It’s what kept her from reaching the very highest levels of magic.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Tomorrow, have your breakfast first, then shower, dress and report to me at eleven o’clock. I’ll teleport you directly. Silent will follow later. And after that... good luck.”
“Thanks,” Emily said, sourly. “How long do you expect the mission to take?”
“I have no idea.” Void considered it for a few seconds, then shrugged. “Days. Weeks. Months, even. It depends on how long you take to figure out what you’re meant to do. If you come back early, you can stay in the tower until I return. The maids will take care of you. Or you can go see your friends.”
Emily stood. “I’ll see you in the morning,” she said. “And... I just don’t like working blind.”
“I could give you all the answers, if you like,” Void said. “But that would make it impossible for you to actually learn anything. What would that do to your studies?”
“Ruin them,” Emily said. Oh, she understood the logic, but... “When I get back, can we try the teleport spell again?”
“Of course,” Void said. “Just as long as you wait until I get back. Understand?”
Emily nodded, dropped a curtsy and hurried up the stairs. A blind mission... she scowled as she walked into her bedroom, thinking hard. She’d learned a great deal about the Nameless World in the six years since Shadye had kidnapped her, but she was painfully aware of her limitations. She wouldn’t know anything about where she was going, unless it was Zangaria... no, it wouldn’t be Zangaria. She had a feeling the first part of the mission would be to figure out the lay — the lie, as Sergeant Miles would have said — of the land. Void wouldn’t send her somewhere she already knew, which removed Zangaria from the list of possible destinations. It would be somewhere else.
Which leaves around twenty-three possible countries, she thought. And he was talking about Dragora.
Silent stood by the table, a heavy trunk resting beside it. “My Lady,” she said, as she opened the trunk. “I’ve packed everything for you.”
Emily glanced into the trunk. Dresses, all black; undershirts, underwear, nightgowns... Silent had done a good j
ob. She made a mental note to stuff her knapsack and chat parchments into the trunk too, before it was taken downstairs. Void had said she couldn’t communicate with anyone outside... outside wherever she was going, but she’d feel better if she had them. She’d sooner give up the apprenticeship than let people die when she could have saved their lives.
“Put some dried food in too,” she said. “I don’t know where we’re going.”
“Yes, My Lady,” Silent said.
“And I’m sorry you’re being dragged along,” Emily added. She told herself, firmly, that it was Void who’d given the orders. It wasn’t her fault. “I’ll try to give you time to see the world.”
Silent looked surprised. “It is my duty to accompany you, My Lady,” she said. There was a hint of excitement in her tone. “And I’m looking forward to it.”
Emily felt a twinge of pity. She understood the urge to travel, but she had a feeling Silent was going to be seeing the servant quarters and not much else. It wasn’t fair. The poor maid’s world wouldn’t be much bigger than her hometown. The next country might as well be on the far side of the world, for all she knew about it. Young girls without money, title or magic rarely traveled. They never went too far from home.
“Go take some time to see the sights,” she said. “And if anyone gives you any trouble, refer them to me. I’ll deal with them.”
“Thank you, My Lady,” Silent said. “Will you require anything else tonight?”
“No,” Emily said. She dismissed the maid with a wave of her hand. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
She headed into the bedroom and closed the door behind her, then undressed and climbed into bed. She’d have plenty of time to wash in the morning after breakfast, before Void took her on — her lips quirked — a magical mystery tour. She felt a thrill of anticipation, combined with apprehension. The last place Void had taken her had scared her on a very primal level. She told herself he wouldn’t expect her to carry out a mission there...
... But what was the mission?
I’ll find out soon, she thought, as she started to drift off to sleep. And then I’ll carry it out.
The Artful Apprentice Page 21