Bookworm II: The Very Ugly Duckling (18 page)

Closing her eyes, she started to meditate.

The nightmare had been intense, but little more than a cluster of jumbled images that didn’t seem to make sense, no matter how hard she tried to concentrate on them. She knew too much about history – even the history that had been carefully removed from the official textbooks – to separate out the past from what might be the future. It was hard to realise that the Witch-King had once been a great hero, that the man who’d won the First Necromantic War had gone on to be the leader of the enemy in the Second Necromantic War. As far as she knew, Elaine was the only living person who had access to that knowledge. Light Spinner could delve into the Black Vault at any time, but she’d never done so. There was just too much else for the Grand Sorceress to do.

Images flickered in front of her mind as she posed questions to herself, feeling the answers popping up inside her skull. But none of them answered the
real
question. Where was the Witch-King now? And how had he managed to remain alive – or undead – for so long?

There were rituals in the Black Vault that extended one’s lifespan, provided that one was willing to sacrifice other lives and make bargains with dark creatures. Elaine had been tempted until she’d realised that granting herself an additional hundred years would have required her to sacrifice someone she actually
liked
. And there were probably other dangers; the writers of the ritual hadn’t been too clear about the costs, but there were other books that added stern warnings of the dangers of dealing with demons. It could cost someone their life, or their soul, or even their sanity. Had the Witch-King made such a bargain?

It was a possibility, she had to admit. His conduct as a hero had been very different from his conduct as a villain. Had he surrendered his soul and, as a soulless monster, lost the ability to tell the difference between right and wrong? Had
that
allowed him to tap into magic that other magicians knew to leave well alone? Or was she following the wrong path?

It doesn’t matter
, she told herself.
All that matters is that we have to find him
.

She pulled herself out of the bath, despite part of her mind suggesting that she could sleep in the water. She’d done it once, back when she’d first moved into the Great Library, and it had been embarrassing, even though no one knew apart from her. The wards would have prevented her from actually
drowning
; they were configured to protect the books and their mistress, in that order. But what protection would they offer against another of Johan’s overpowered spells?

It was not a pleasant thought. Johan had damaged the wards in both the hospital and the library – and he’d destroyed her protections. Elaine knew that it had been an accident, that he hadn’t meant to do it, but it suggested that he might manage to do
real
damage. It might be a good idea to find somewhere else to continue his training, even if she would have to build up more analysis wards ... or find someone else to do it for her.

Maybe we should use Howarth Hall
, she thought, as she used a spell to dry herself.
I wouldn’t care in the slightest if the building were to be burned to the ground – and his creditors would be delighted. The empty ground would be worth far more than a stripped building
.

She smiled at the thought, then walked over to stand in front of the mirror. Her body looked normal, if slightly thin; Daria had always nagged her to eat, but Daria was away on a mission for the Inquisitors. And there were her red eyes ... somehow, in the night, the glamour had come undone. Bee had taken one look and fled from her, unable to meet their stare. Elaine still felt a little hurt whenever she remembered that, although it was hard to blame him. Any sort of permanent change to a person’s body could indicate that person had been playing with dangerous magic.

And it was strange to realise that she had actually been quite lucky. And so had Light Spinner.

She rebuilt the glamour, then walked naked back into the living room and sat down on the carpet, focusing her mind. Her protections had taken weeks of effort to put in place – and Johan had destroyed them in a split-second. A more powerful magician could have built them quicker, but no magician would ever truly trust another to protect him. Closing her eyes, Elaine started to cast the first protective spell, followed rapidly by the second. They were of her own design, capable of warding off threats from many more powerful magicians ... but she doubted they could stand up to Johan. Even the analysis charms woven into the library’s wards hadn’t been able to provide a clear explanation of what he’d done.

“Better not let
that
get out,” she muttered to herself as the third protection spell fell into place. “There will be panic in the streets.”

Light Spinner was the most powerful magician known to exist, although that didn’t automatically mean that she
was
the most powerful magician. But she wasn’t all-powerful; several lesser magicians, working in concert, could probably bring her down. Johan, on the other hand, seemed ...
different
. If he could break Elaine’s protections, what could he do to another magician? The irony would have made her giggle, if it hadn’t been so serious. If the Empire accepted the concept of might making right – and it did – it would have to accept that Johan might be the mightiest of them all.

She cursed Zacharias under her breath, then focused on the fourth spell. If he’d kept his mouth shut, they might have had more time to examine Johan before his father started demanding to see his son. But he hadn’t ... and who could blame him? He had close links to Johan’s family, after all. His oaths had not been violated by going to the father, even if his motives had been less than pure.

A fifth ward fell into place, then a sixth ... Elaine stopped, gasping for breath. Even her own spells required magic to work and she was draining her reserves. Concentrating, she checked that all six protective spells were working properly, then stood upright. The remainder would have to be done once she had recovered.

She felt a quiver running through the wards and smiled.

Johan had awakened.

Chapter Fifteen

Johan felt oddly relaxed as he opened his eyes, although he wasn’t sure why. He was in an unfamiliar room ... and then it struck him. Jamal couldn’t slip into this room and hide an unpleasant surprise among his possessions. He was safe. And the room had a selection of
interesting
books on the shelves.

There was a quiet tap on the door, barely loud enough to be heard. Johan checked that he was decent – Elaine’s maids had provided him with a selection of nightclothes, allowing him to choose the most suitable – and called for the visitor to come in. It was a young girl, barely older than Johan himself, wearing the grey robes worn by most of the library’s staff. He couldn’t help a flicker of envy as he saw the wand at her belt, despite what Elaine had told him.

The girl bowed. “Master Johan, the Head Librarian would like the pleasure of your company in her quarters,” she said. “If you wish, I will escort you there.”

“I wish,” Johan said. He swung his legs out of bed and stood upright. “Or should I dress first?”

“I think that would be a good idea,” the girl said, with a smile that made Johan’s heart flip-flop. “She won’t mind waiting if you dress quickly.”

She turned her back, revealing that her robes were designed to be tighter around her buttocks than strictly necessary. Johan stared, then forced himself to look away as he felt a stirring in his loins. He’d ogled the maids, of course – Jamal had done a great deal more than ogle – but they’d never condescended to share his bed. What favours could
he
do them? But, even now, this girl was a magician. Staring at her might have unpleasant consequences. Charity still boasted of the day she’d hit an unwanted admirer with a hex far beyond her tender years.

Cursing himself, Johan found a pair of clean trousers and a shirt in the wardrobe and hastily pulled them on. Glancing at himself in the mirror, he had to admit that he looked very different. They weren’t magician’s robes, but they suited him. He coughed, then indicated to the girl that she could lead him to Elaine. Somehow, he managed to keep his eyes on the back of her head, despite the seductive rhythm of her hips.

“In here,” the girl said. “And good luck.”

“Thank you,” Johan said. He hesitated, then worked up the nerve to ask. “What is your name?”

“Jayne,” the girl said. “Jayne of House Rendang.”

Johan nodded, thinking hard. House Rendang was one of the minor houses, if he recalled correctly; he’d never paid close attention to his father’s lectures on who was who. It wasn’t as if the other Great Houses would ever want to know that he existed. But now ... he found himself staring after Jayne as she walked away, then forced himself to turn and enter Elaine’s quarters. Elaine herself was sitting at a table, reading a broadsheet.

“Come in,” she called, lowering the sheet so that he could see her face. “How did you sleep?”

“Very well, thank you,” Johan said, as he sat down facing her. “It was a safe place to sleep.”

“Back at the Peerless School, there were rules that stipulated that no pranks were to be played in a person’s dorm or bedroom,” Elaine said. “I assume your father didn’t make such rules?”

Johan shook his head, mutely.

“You may stay here for as long as you like,” Elaine said. She passed him a menu. “Choose what you want, then I’ll order it for you.”

“Thank you,” Johan said, scanning the list of food. It wasn’t very long, but it all looked good. “I’ll have the steak sandwich with eggs.”

Elaine cocked her head slightly, communing with the wards, then nodded. “Done,” she said. “It will take some time, though.”

Johan nodded, unsurprised. “Why does the Great Library have a kitchen anyway?”

“There are plenty of students who come here for the entire day,” Elaine said. “So they go to the canteen to eat when they’re feeling hungry, then go back to their studies. I have to watch them carefully to ensure that no food is consumed within the library itself. That would earn them a public whipping.”

There was something in her voice that told Johan she wasn’t joking. Charity had said that the Peerless School had firm ideas on discipline, but she hadn’t gone into details. It sounded worse than their father’s strict ideas on how to bring up children. But then, no matter how dire the punishments, they hadn’t done much for Jamal. He had graduated as annoying and obnoxious a bully as he’d started.

He changed the subject. “What’s going to happen to me now?”

“That will require a long discussion,” Elaine said. She stood up, picked up a jug of something hot and black from a side table, and poured two mugs with practiced skill. “Would you prefer to wait until after breakfast?”

“I would just like to get it over with,” Johan admitted. He took the mug she passed him and sipped it, grimacing slightly at the taste. “What
is
this stuff?”

“Students call it Study Muck,” Elaine said. “It helps them wake up in the morning after a hard night spent partying.”

Johan took another sip. “I suppose the shock value would help,” he muttered. “It tastes foul.”

“I can order something else if you’d prefer,” Elaine said. “But most students do drink that, although they often add milk to soften the taste.”

“Oh,” Johan said. He closed his eyes for a long moment, then opened them and stared at her. “What happened last night?”

Elaine took a breath. “There was some debate over the precise way to handle your case,” she said. “You may never be able to go to the Peerless School.”

Johan felt a strange mixture of relief and disappointment. Most magicians went to the Peerless School – it allowed them a chance to make contacts as well as develop their magic – but from Charity’s descriptions he wasn’t so sure that he wanted to go. Jamal was bad enough; having hundreds of students practicing their hexes on him would be far worse. But at the same time, it
was
where future careers were made.

And Jayne went to the Peerless School, he was sure ...

Stop it
, he told himself, savagely.
You barely know the girl
!

“Your powers are just too different,” Elaine admitted. She placed her fingertips together, contemplatively. “On one hand, they might be able to hurt you; on the other hand, your odd spells might be able to hurt
them
. It isn’t something that the new Administrator could tolerate. Even with the new ideas I have for teaching you control, you don’t have the right level of skill to be allowed to join classes.”

She took a breath. “And I don’t think that you will ever be able to master potions or several other magical arts,” she added. “Your powers are ...”

“Different,” Johan interrupted. “So ... what
was
decided?”

“There’s also a legal issue,” Elaine added. “Your father has a claim on you, a claim he has yet to renounce. You would find yourself bound to him unless that claim was superseded.”

She leaned forward. “I would like to offer you an apprenticeship, with me,” she said. “It would solve many of our problems.”

“It would,” Johan agreed. From what little he knew, parents surrendered custody of their children to their new master, who would serve in their place until the apprenticeship was finished. “I will ...”

Elaine held up a hand. “You need to enter this with full awareness of what you’re getting into,” she warned. “Your case is far from normal.”

Before she could continue, two plates drifted into the room and landed on the table in front of them. Johan’s sandwich looked good, but Elaine’s plate was piled high with bacon, eggs and potatoes. It seemed a lot for such a slight girl, Johan thought, before realising that she probably needed to consume plenty of calories to power her magic. Charity had been much the same as she grew into maturity.

Johan hesitated, then muttered the traditional blessing – old habits die hard – before picking up the sandwich and biting into it. The steak had been cooked to perfection, he realised in delight; they’d even cut off the fat, leaving it pure meat. It was so close to how he liked it that he couldn’t help wondering if someone had contacted the family’s cooks and asked about his favourite foods. Or it might have been a coincidence.