The Right Side of History (Schooled In Magic Book 22), Christopher Nuttall [books to read romance TXT] 📗

Silent’s hands came free - she’d used a trick knot, Emily noted numbly - and wove into a pattern that spelt doom. Emily darted to one side, an instant before the curse blasted through the air. Silent was trying to kill her.

No, not Silent, Emily thought. The girl had used a skillful combination of glamors and makeup, but she couldn’t hide now. Nanette.

She threw back a spell of her own, all too aware she’d drained her power fighting Hedrick. Nanette had always been skilled as well as powerful, even when they’d first met six years ago. She’d sneaked into Whitehall in the guise of a transfer student and spied on her, unsuspected, until it had almost been too late. And then she’d been Head Girl at Mountaintop, trained by the Administrator himself. And... Emily gritted her teeth. Lady Barb had told her Void had a habit of recruiting useful people. It had never occurred to her that Nanette had been one of them.

Nanette caught the spell on her wards, then deflected it. She looked taller now as the last of the magic faded away. They stared at each other, their eyes meeting as they prepared their magic and tested their wards. Emily braced herself, knowing Nanette had to be taken alive and presented to the White Council. If she could convince them to intervene, if... the booming of the guns grew louder, much louder. It was already too late.

She played for time, all too aware Nanette would know she was stalling. “Why?”

Nanette’s face twisted with hatred. “You killed him.”

Emily blinked. “Killed whom?”

“Aurelius,” Nanette said. “You killed him.”

She lashed out before Emily could reply, throwing a tidal wave of magic into Emily’s wards. The sheets of fire danced around her, warded off by her protections... covering, she noted grimly, a set of more subtle attacks designed to sneak through the cracks in her wards and tear her to pieces. She blocked them as best as she could, then darted forward to slam her magic into Nanette’s. The ceiling started to collapse as their magics collided, each trying to break through the other’s defenses. Emily held up her wrist, revealing the snake-bracelet; Nanette jumped back, her eyes suddenly wide with fear. Emily shoved forward...

And Nanette shoved her back.

The floor started to shatter under their feet. Pieces of debris crashed from above. Emily darted back as a chunk of flooring - or something - smashed in front of her. The magic storm shook the house - she heard the windows shattering, fragments of glass crashing to the cobblestones outside - as it burned holes in the wards. Emily suspected Nanette was doing it deliberately. She might have hoped she could continue the pretense , she might have intended to claim Hedrick had tied her up before heading to the palace, but she knew her cover was thoroughly blown. It would be unlike her not to have a way out.

I didn’t kill him, Emily thought. She didn’t know who’d killed the Administrator of Mountaintop, but it hadn’t been her. Aurelius had been alive when she’d fled the underground school. It had only been later, much later, that she’d heard his body had been pulled from the wreckage. She’d always assumed he’d allowed himself to die. And she blames me...

A hot flash of anger ran through her. She didn’t have time to worry about Aurelius’s death, not now. She had too many other problems. If Nanette had been beside her for eighteen months, watching and waiting... what else had she done? If Void had recruited her and...

It was hard, so hard, to speak. “You... you put the book in Laughter?”

“Yes.” A shadow crossed Nanette’s face. “I did.”

Emily gritted her teeth. If she could keep Nanette talking... “ Why?”

Nanette held up her hand. “I needed help,” she said. “Your pet” - a flash of hatred was clearly visible, just for a second - “nearly killed me. I needed help.”

“And Void recruited you shortly afterwards,” Emily said. “Why?”

Nanette shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“Yes!” Emily stepped forward, picking her way across the broken floor. “What did you do for him?”

“This and that.” Nanette smirked. “I provided help and support to the rebels in Zangaria, to assist them in their bid to assassinate the king and his courtiers. Later, I tipped off that same king to your friend’s involvement in the plot against him. Later on... I arranged for you to be tested, to confirm you’d recovered your powers. And quite a few other tasks I’m sure you’ll learn about in due time.”

Her eyes darkened. “He wouldn’t let me kill you,” she added. “But otherwise... he wanted me to turn the revolution into a full-blown civil war.”

Emily touched her chest, where the bullet had entered her. “You came very close to killing me.”

“You have an awkward habit of surviving things that really should kill you,” Nanette told her. “I left it up to luck.”

“Luck.” Emily heard the guns booming, again. “How many people are about to die?”

Nanette shrugged. “Does it matter?”

“Yes,” Emily said.

“Yes,” Aiden echoed. “You... you triggered the revolution?”

Emily cursed under her breath. She hadn’t heard or sensed Aiden behind her. When had she come inside? The entire house was on the verge of crashing down, threatening to bury the three of them under the rubble. Aiden should have stayed outside, where she’d be safe... safer. Dater was throwing shells and projectiles into the city. There was no real safety anywhere. God alone knew who was in charge of the rebel forces now, but... Emily had a feeling they were hardliners. Jair had survived, hadn’t he? Hedrick hadn’t had a chance to kill him.

“Oh, look,” Nanette said. “You’ve made another friend.”

She jabbed her finger at Aiden. The girl threw up her hands in shock, an instant before she melted into a frog. Nanette laughed, unpleasantly. Emily didn’t hesitate. She gathered all the power she could and threw it at Nanette, slamming her back against the wall even as she mustered more subtle attacks and tried to break through Nanette’s