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

put you first, to have someone who came to your rescue when you found yourself in a mess you couldn’t handle... she wanted, suddenly, to give him a hug. He’d saved her when...

She gritted her teeth. There were at least eight other magicians facing them. She was in no state to continue the fight. Void was extremely powerful and yet... she didn’t know if he could fight off eight magicians long enough to escape. And even if he could... the town was going to be devastated. She forced herself to stand up, brushing down her dress. Better to run then kill hundreds, perhaps thousands, of innocent people.

Master Lucknow stared at Void. “The White Council has commanded...”

Void cut him off. “The White Council has an obligation to inform the patrons and allies of anyone charged with a crime,” he said. His voice was mild, but Emily could sense the roiling anger under his tone. “In this case, the... accused... is an apprentice, which adds a certain requirement to inform the apprentice’s master as well. There is a process to demand the apprentice be surrendered, that the apprentice be formally disowned and cut off from her master’s support. The process has not even been started.”

His lips curved into a smile. “Believe me, I know.”

“She was condemned by a special committee,” Master Lucknow said, coldly. “In times of emergency, normal procedures can be suspended.”

“A special committee can only be formed with the clear permission of the White Council,” Void countered. Emily wondered, suddenly, if he was stalling. Stalling for what? “Again, the council was not informed that a committee was being proposed. It certainly did not grant approval.”

“The special committee was formed to handle the post-war chaos,” Master Lucknow snapped. His eyes slipped to Emily, who stared back as evenly as she could. “The remit is wide enough not to require any further authorization.”

“Indeed?” Void seemed unimpressed. “I was unaware that your remit included snatching an apprentice, an apprentice with ties to some of the most powerful magicians and aristocrats in the Allied Lands, off the streets. The council is unlikely to accept such a precedent.”

“The charges are quite severe,” Master Lucknow said. “I believe...”

“You never listed the charges,” Emily said, sharply. “And you refused to show me the warrant.”

“He doesn’t have a warrant,” Void said. “Presenting one’s warrant is a legal requirement.”

Master Lucknow drew himself up to his full height. “The special committee has the legal right to summon anyone it wishes for questioning,” he said. “And when it believes the subject will decline to appear, it also has the right to compel their attendance.”

“And it has the obligation to make a good faith attempt to invite the subject to appear first,” Void said. “You certainly should not have shown up at her table and tried to place her under arrest.”

“Really?” Master Lucknow seemed oddly amused. “I seem to recall you snatching someone off the streets, twenty years ago.”

“Someone who was trafficking in the darkest of magics,” Void said. “Are you accusing my apprentice of doing the same?”

Master Lucknow didn’t rise to the bait. “I am doing my duty,” he said, stiffly. “I am defending the Allied Lands against those who would threaten them. We have been allies in the past, when it comes to protecting our people. Please do not stand in my way now.”

“And am I not obliged to protect my apprentice from those who would do her harm?” Void shrugged. “This... process... is not legally justified. Standard procedure was not followed.”

Void leaned forward. “Very well. We’ll have a hearing. An immediate hearing. I assume you have Resolution Castle prepped for her arrival?”

“The inquiry must proceed...”

Void smirked. “Is that a no?”

“The White Council is currently scattered,” Master Lucknow snapped. “I intended to place her under arrest before the full council was recalled.”

“An interesting legal twist,” Void observed.

“Time is of the essence,” Master Lucknow insisted.

“And that is why we will have an immediate hearing,” Void said. “Emily and I will make our way to Resolution Castle. You will arrange for someone to tend to her wounds, while recalling the council and preparing the charges. I dare say you should be able to arrange matters so we can hold the hearing in a couple of hours. If not... we can do it properly. We will await the formal summons with great interest.”

Emily frowned as Master Lucknow looked from Void to her and back again. She didn’t quite follow the legal arguments, but she was fairly sure that whatever Master Lucknow had done here wasn’t particularly legal. At best, Master Lucknow had tried to arrest her before getting the warrant, in hopes of presenting the council with a fait accompli. At worst... had he been trying to get her tried, convicted and punished before anyone realized what he’d done? If Jan hadn’t gone for Void, she would have lost the fight and been dragged away. Void wouldn’t have known anything had happened until it was far too late.

She felt a sting of betrayal. Master Lucknow had fought beside her, only a few months ago. The batteries had unnerved him... she wondered, morbidly, if she’d accidentally convinced him she was a deadly threat. She supposed he might be right, from his point of view. The batteries - and gunpowder - were shaking the world. The guns that had stopped an orcish charge could, just as easily, tear their way through a magical estate. And, combined with the runes she’d had carved on the bullets...

“She is a flight risk,” Master Lucknow said, breaking into Emily’s thoughts. “We have to ensure she cannot escape.”

“Are you suggesting I cannot keep her in my tower?” Void didn’t move, but his presence seemed to grow. “Or that I would deliberately let her go?”

The words hung on the air for a long moment. Emily tensed, readying herself to drop to the ground if the sorcerers started hurling curses at each other. Master Lucknow had crossed a line. The suggestion a master couldn’t control, and discipline, his apprentice was a deadly