Trial By Fire (Schooled in Magic Book 7) Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: Christopher Nuttall
felt clammy against her bare skin, but whatever had drained the light globe didn’t seem able to drain the Hand of Glory. Emily held it high and looked around, frowning in puzzlement as she had a good look at the chamber. It was bare and barren, as if it had been abandoned long ago; pieces of debris lay where they’d fallen from the roof, while dust lay everywhere. Shadye had never bothered to hire housekeepers, the irreverent part of her mind noted; indeed, he’d clearly not been concerned with his personal comfort. It couldn’t have been a very pleasant place to live.
“This way,” the Grandmaster said, leading her through the door at the end of the chamber. It led to a cold stone corridor, as dark and silent as the grave. “Keep a sharp eye out for traps.”
Emily nodded, feeling ice spread through her body as the darkness rose and fell around them. The walls were bare stone, but the floors were covered in skeletons. Shadye’s servants, she asked herself, or the remains of his victims? Some of them looked to have been kneeling, in the last moments before they died, while others had been broken and smashed, pieces of bone lying scattered on the stone ground. How had they decayed so quickly?
She hesitated, then asked the Grandmaster a question. “Why was Shadye expelled from Whitehall?”
“Crimes against his fellow students,” the Grandmaster said, shortly. “We caught him torturing First Years and expelled him.”
He didn’t seem inclined to say anything else, so Emily kept her mouth firmly closed as they walked through another empty chamber, then a third. Shadye hadn’t been a packrat, Emily noted, nothing like herself. For all of his power, his life had been consumed by the desperate quest for sustenance. He’d lurked in the Dark Fortress, raided the Allied Lands for people he could drain to keep himself alive and...nothing. If he hadn’t been a mass murderer Emily might almost have felt sorry for him.
He made his choices , a voice in her head said. It sounded very much like Lady Barb. And he had to live with the consequences.
But if he hadn’t , Emily answered, mentally, I would never have come to the Nameless World .
She felt a twinge of guilt at the thought, which she pushed aside as they walked into another corridor. This one was long and dark, but at the end there was an eerie green glow. A crystal hung from the ceiling, casting light over the scene. The Grandmaster started to walk towards it, but stopped. Moments later, Emily felt her head swimming and she walked straight into the wall.
“An interesting trick,” the Grandmaster observed as she stumbled back. “Not a particularly subtle one, but effective. We can’t walk up without having our senses scrambled, which will send us straight into the walls - or worse. And we can’t dispel the charm without being a great deal closer.”
Emily nodded, and tried to walk up the corridor again. This time, she found herself falling to the ground, so dizzy she could no longer remain upright, before crawling back to the Grandmaster on her hands and knees. She had the feeling she would have been fine, if she’d kept her eyes firmly closed, but she couldn’t do that without leaving herself vulnerable. And yet...
“You could destroy the crystal,” she said, slowly.
“It would provoke a reaction,” the Grandmaster said. “Probably...”
He hesitated, then looked at her. “I could steer you through the charm, if I used your body as a puppet,” he said. “I’d be steering you from the outside...”
“No,” Emily said, flatly. Shadye had used her as a puppet three years ago, and the experience still gave her nightmares. To have someone moving her arms and legs without her control...she trusted the Grandmaster, but she wasn’t about to let him be her puppeteer. “I...”
She stopped as a thought struck her. “I could dispel the charm if I was much closer, right?”
“Standing next to it,” the Grandmaster confirmed.
Emily nodded,
“This way,” the Grandmaster said, leading her through the door at the end of the chamber. It led to a cold stone corridor, as dark and silent as the grave. “Keep a sharp eye out for traps.”
Emily nodded, feeling ice spread through her body as the darkness rose and fell around them. The walls were bare stone, but the floors were covered in skeletons. Shadye’s servants, she asked herself, or the remains of his victims? Some of them looked to have been kneeling, in the last moments before they died, while others had been broken and smashed, pieces of bone lying scattered on the stone ground. How had they decayed so quickly?
She hesitated, then asked the Grandmaster a question. “Why was Shadye expelled from Whitehall?”
“Crimes against his fellow students,” the Grandmaster said, shortly. “We caught him torturing First Years and expelled him.”
He didn’t seem inclined to say anything else, so Emily kept her mouth firmly closed as they walked through another empty chamber, then a third. Shadye hadn’t been a packrat, Emily noted, nothing like herself. For all of his power, his life had been consumed by the desperate quest for sustenance. He’d lurked in the Dark Fortress, raided the Allied Lands for people he could drain to keep himself alive and...nothing. If he hadn’t been a mass murderer Emily might almost have felt sorry for him.
He made his choices , a voice in her head said. It sounded very much like Lady Barb. And he had to live with the consequences.
But if he hadn’t , Emily answered, mentally, I would never have come to the Nameless World .
She felt a twinge of guilt at the thought, which she pushed aside as they walked into another corridor. This one was long and dark, but at the end there was an eerie green glow. A crystal hung from the ceiling, casting light over the scene. The Grandmaster started to walk towards it, but stopped. Moments later, Emily felt her head swimming and she walked straight into the wall.
“An interesting trick,” the Grandmaster observed as she stumbled back. “Not a particularly subtle one, but effective. We can’t walk up without having our senses scrambled, which will send us straight into the walls - or worse. And we can’t dispel the charm without being a great deal closer.”
Emily nodded, and tried to walk up the corridor again. This time, she found herself falling to the ground, so dizzy she could no longer remain upright, before crawling back to the Grandmaster on her hands and knees. She had the feeling she would have been fine, if she’d kept her eyes firmly closed, but she couldn’t do that without leaving herself vulnerable. And yet...
“You could destroy the crystal,” she said, slowly.
“It would provoke a reaction,” the Grandmaster said. “Probably...”
He hesitated, then looked at her. “I could steer you through the charm, if I used your body as a puppet,” he said. “I’d be steering you from the outside...”
“No,” Emily said, flatly. Shadye had used her as a puppet three years ago, and the experience still gave her nightmares. To have someone moving her arms and legs without her control...she trusted the Grandmaster, but she wasn’t about to let him be her puppeteer. “I...”
She stopped as a thought struck her. “I could dispel the charm if I was much closer, right?”
“Standing next to it,” the Grandmaster confirmed.
Emily nodded,