Cursed (Schooled In Magic Book 17), page 24
A middle-aged woman stepped into view. A servant ... Emily hoped to hell she was a servant, not another magician. She didn’t look like a magician. Emily pointed the gun at her, praying silently that the women would recognize the weapon for what it was. There was no point in trying to intimidate someone if they were too ignorant to recognize the threat. The woman paled, her eyes flicking nervously from side to side. Emily allowed herself a moment of relief. The woman did know what a gun was.
“Open the door,” Emily said. Her voice felt rusty, disused. “Now.”
The woman swallowed, hard. “The mistress ...”
“I’ll kill you if you don’t open the door,” Emily snapped. Jacqui was tougher than Emily had realized. Give her time to think, give her time to connect to the wards ... she could stop Emily in her tracks and keep her helpless until she was sold to the highest bidder. Or Jacqui could simply kill Emily and burn the body to ash. “Now!”
The woman shuffled forward and pressed her hand against the lock. It opened with a click, revealing a crowded street. Emily ran forward, realizing — a second too late — that the servant might have left the wards in place. But nothing snapped at her as she ran onto the street and hurried down it as fast as she could. It looked familiar ...
“Beneficence,” she realized. “I’m in Beneficence!”
She stopped as soon as she was out of sight, trying to get her bearings. It looked as though Jacqui had taken up residence on the edge of the magic quarter, which meant ... Emily hesitated, trying to decide what to do. She could go to the Bank of Silence, where Markus would help her ... if Markus was there. Melissa’s husband might be with her in House Ashworth, trying to help her reunite the two houses. She could cross the bridge to Cockatrice, except ... she would be a woman, traveling alone, without magic. It would be too dangerous, even now. And that left ...
Emily took a breath, then forced herself to keep walking. The crowds were getting bigger, suggesting that it was nearly sunset. It took her longer than she’d expected to pick her way through the streets, re-enter the magic quarter and find her way to Sienna’s house. Caleb’s mother no longer owed her a favor, but she’d help. Emily hoped she’d help. God knew what she’d do if she wasn’t feeling helpful.
She tapped on the door, glancing nervously back the way she’d come. Jacqui — or her servant — could have sounded the alert by now, giving the City Watch a pitiful story about a thief who’d wounded the mistress of the house, a story that would convince the watchmen to start looking for her. Not everyone in the city loved her, Emily knew. She’d played a role in both threatening and saving the city ...
The door opened. Caleb looked out. “Emily?”
“Thank God,” Emily said. She and Caleb were no longer lovers, but ... they were still friends, of a sort. “I need help.”
“Come inside,” Caleb said. He put out a hand to steady Emily as her legs threatened to buckle. “What happened? Why ... why are you here?”
“I was kidnapped,” Emily said. She explained, between gasps. “Jacqui ... Jacqui brought me here.”
Caleb gave her a sharp look. “The rumors are true?”
“I’m afraid so.” Emily took the glass of water he offered her and sipped gingerly. “I have no magic.”
“Crap,” Caleb said. He helped her to a chair. “What can I do to help?”
“I need you to teleport me back to Kingstown,” Emily said. She wanted to sleep, but she didn’t dare. Cat and the others had to know she was safe before they tore the town apart looking for her. “And then ... I don’t know.”
Caleb patted her shoulder, awkwardly. “I’m sure you’ll find a solution, somehow.”
“I have no choice,” Emily said. “Jacqui was the least of us, back at school, and if she’d been a bit smarter about it ... well, she would have been able to keep me. I have to find a solution or ... or I may as well fort up somewhere and hide.”
“You’ll find something,” Caleb said. His face reddened. “Do you want me to stay with you? I mean ... I can come now if you want.”
“Just get me back there,” Emily said. She was grateful for the offer, but she knew it would just lead to more drama. She was safe enough, as long as she stayed in the manor. “And then ... I’ll do everything I can do.”
“Good.” Caleb looked, just for a second, as if he wanted to hug her. She was torn between being relieved and saddened that he didn’t give into the impulse. “I’m glad to see you haven’t given up.”
“I can’t give up,” Emily said. She told herself, firmly, that it was no longer an option, that it had never been an option. “There are too many people who would stick a knife in me if I did.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
“EMILY,” CAT SHOUTED, AS SOON AS he saw her. He looked relieved. “What happened? Where did they take you?”
“Not they,” Emily corrected. “Just Jacqui. And her alone.”
Cat blinked, his eyes moving from Emily to Caleb and back to Emily. “Jacqui?”
“The former Head Girl,” Caleb explained. He’d brought Emily back to the Faire, then insisted on staying with her until Cat and Frieda arrived. “She was never one of Emily’s fans.”
Frieda coughed. “Jacqui kidnapped you? Jacqui?”
“Jacqui.” Emily felt her cheeks redden, again. “It was her.”
“And perhaps not her alone,” Cat said. “Did someone put her up to it?”
“I don’t know,” Emily said. Her mind raced. Had someone else pushed Jacqui into taking a shot at a powerless Emily? Tobias? Nanette? Someone who she’d never met, but hated her regardless? “She was talking as if she was acting completely on her own.”
She glanced at Caleb. “What was she doing in Beneficence, of all places?”
Frieda snickered. “I heard she couldn’t get an apprenticeship, after ... after everything that happened. I bet her family gives her money as long as she stays away from them.”
“And she was at the Faire because it was her best chance to find someone who might take her,” Cat mused. “I’ll alert the authorities. You did leave her alive, didn’t you?”
“I shot her,” Emily said. She tried to remember what she’d seen, before she’d run for her life. Jacqui’s left breast had been covered in blood. If she’d been shot there ... she wasn’t going to have an easy time of it, but there was no reason to think she was actually dead. A decent healer would have no trouble removing the bullet, repairing the damage and sealing up the wound. “I think she’s still alive.”
“Get back to safety first,” Caleb said. He looked at Cat for a long moment. “Make sure she gets back first, before you do anything else.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Frieda said. She gave Caleb a rare nod of approval, then took Emily’s hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Cat fell into position beside Emily as they started to walk back to the manor. “The locals were rather unhelpful,” he muttered. “They seemed to disbelieve everything I said until Cabiria told them to listen.”
Emily frowned. “What happened?”
“We were suddenly surrounded, there was a flash of light ... and you were gone,” Cat said, sourly. “Jade is never going to let me hear the end of it.”
“You’re not a very good bodyguard,” Frieda pointed out. There was a sharp — and nasty — edge to her voice. “Emily had to be saved by her old boyfriend, not ...”
Cat clenched his fists. “If you want to meet me in the dueling chamber,” he said sharply, “by all means do continue.”
Emily put out her hands to keep them apart. “Leave it,” she said. “She took me by surprise, too.”
“Jacqui,” Frieda said. “What was she thinking?”
“She said she wanted to sell me.” Emily shivered. “But I think she wanted a little revenge.”
“She has nowhere to hide,” Cat vowed. “I’ll hunt her down and kill her.”
Frieda smirked. “Aren’t you meant to be watching Emily’s back?”
“Be quiet, both of you,” Emily snapped. She rubbed her forehead. She could feel a dull ache starting to pound behind her temples. She wanted — she needed — a hot drink, a good meal and a decent night’s sleep. “We all made mistakes.”
Cat lowered his voice. “How do you know Cabiria’s family didn’t tip Jacqui off?”
Emily glanced at him, sharply. “They invited me to their house ...”
“I’m not saying they wanted you dead.” Cat snorted at the thought. It was vanishingly rare for a sorcerer to deliberately hurt an invited guest, unless the guest had come under false pretenses. Even darker sorcerers would hesitate to break that taboo. “They might have hoped that stress and shock would unlock your magic.”
“If so, it didn’t work.” Emily didn’t think that either of Cabiria’s sisters would take the risk, although she had to admit that their father or their uncle could have done so without telling them. “I tried, hard, but the magic didn’t come.”
She wanted to collapse — or to take a break — but somehow she kept walking until the manor came into view. Boneka was standing just inside the gates, his inhuman face somehow managing to look grim without moving a muscle. Emily tensed, one hand reaching for the pistol before she could stop herself. She had no idea what protections might have been cast on the homunculus, but it hardly mattered. A single bullet was unlikely to do real damage to the creature.
Boneka lurched forward as soon as they stepped through the gate. “Come.”
Emily frowned as the gates slammed closed behind them. “We need to ...”
“Come now,” Boneka said.
“We’d better do as he says,” Cat said. “We don’t know what he can do.”
The homunculus turned and led them straight to the house, passing through the entrance hall and straight into a small office. Malabo sat behind a desk, studying a sheaf of paperwork that had Whitehall’s sigil on the top; Cabiria stood in front of the desk, her pinched face suggesting that she had borne the brunt of her uncle’s displeasure. Emily wondered, as Boneka stepped to one side, just what had happened to Hoban. He’d been with them, too.
“Take a seat,” Malabo ordered, stiffly. “What happened?”
Emily took a breath and recited the entire story, starting with the kidnapping and ending with her safe return to the Faire. Malabo listened silently, his face so composed that Emily knew he was agitated. Jacqui hadn’t taken Emily out of his house, but Emily was still under his protection. The whole affair would make his family look very bad.
Not that it matters, Emily thought. If I don’t get my powers back, there will be another kidnapper — and another, and another — until I run out of tricks.
“I must ask your forgiveness, Lady Emily,” Malabo said, when Emily had finished. “It did not occur to me to forbid you from going to the Faire.”
Cat leaned forward. “You do not have the right to forbid us from going anywhere.”
“Technically, Emily is one of our patients.” Malabo gave Cat a reproving look. “And she should not have gone down to the Faire without a proper bodyguard.”
“I ...” Cat cut himself off before he could protest that he was a proper bodyguard. “We had no reason to think that anyone would break the rules in such a manner.”
“No, we didn’t.” Malabo didn’t sound pleased. “But, given the prize” — he nodded to Emily — “we should have assumed the worst. And we didn’t.”
He met Emily’s eyes. “Please don’t leave the grounds again, not without a proper escort.”
Emily looked back at him for a long moment, her thoughts churning helplessly. She hated the idea of being trapped, of having to wait on someone else before she could leave the grounds; she hated the idea of being under anyone’s thumb. And yet, she knew Malabo was right. She was the prime target for all kinds of people, from noblemen who resented the innovations she’d brought to magicians who feared her power. Not that they needed to fear any longer, she thought. Jacqui had brought her low with a spell the average first-year student would have been able to counter ...
“I understand,” she said, carefully. She didn’t want to commit herself to anything. “I’ll be sure to take someone with me when I go outside the grounds.”
Malabo gave her a sharp look that suggested he knew what she was really saying. Emily winced, inwardly. Malabo might not have children of his own — she couldn’t remember if he had children; she certainly hadn’t been introduced to any — but he definitely had young relatives. He would be aware of the loophole she’d given herself. She wondered if he’d feel the urge to push things, to make her say she wouldn’t leave the grounds. The hell if it was that he might be right.
“Very good,” Malabo said, finally. He looked down at his papers. “I will, of course, be filing complaints with the authorities — and with House Ashworth. I have no doubt they will be outraged at Lady Jacqui’s actions and seek to ensure that her house compensates us, in full, for the trouble they caused us.”
Cat snorted. “What about the danger they caused Emily?”
“We will have to see what happens.” Malabo shrugged, expressively. “Jacqui herself is no longer important. Her family, on the other hand ...”
Emily kept her thoughts to herself. If Jacqui had been disowned, her family would have already washed its hands of her; if not ... she probably would be disowned, as soon as her family learned what had happened. Jacqui hadn’t just threatened a dispute with House Fellini, she’d threatened one with House Ashworth also. Melissa wouldn’t be pleased when she heard what had happened. Emily had no doubt that Jacqui was in for a very hard time.
“You can go,” Malabo said. “I’ll see you at dinner, if you wish to join us.”
Emily glanced at Cabiria as soon as they were outside the office. “I hope he wasn’t too hard on you.”
Cabiria shrugged, dismissively. “It isn’t the first time he shouted at me, Emily. You should have heard him after I was suspended for a year. People on the other side of the world probably heard him.”
“Ouch,” Emily said. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“I should have stayed with you,” Cabiria said. “If I had ... I might have been able to stop her from taking you. Or the authorities might have taken the whole affair a little more seriously if I’d been involved from the start. Speaking of which ... I’d better send a message back to Kingstown. Hoban can stop lighting a fire under their bottoms now.”
Emily had to smile. “He was getting them to help?”
“He was getting them to search for you,” Cabiria said. “I thought it was the best use of his talents.”
“He’s a good fighter,” Frieda said. “Is he going to become a combat sorcerer?”
Cabiria shot her an amused look. Behind them, Cat snorted.
“Who knows?” Cabiria winked at Emily, then sobered. “Do you need any treatment?”
“Not really,” Emily said. “I just need a shower and a quiet sit down.”
Cabiria led her back to her room. “Dinner will be served in a couple of hours,” she said, as she opened the door. “I’ll see you there.”
“I’ll stay here.” Cat’s voice brooked no contradiction. “Emily and I have to talk.”
“I can stay, too,” Frieda said. “Emily?”
Emily hesitated. She and Cat did need to talk, but ... she didn’t want to talk. And yet ... there was no point in putting it off. They had to talk, they had to face up to their problems, before ... before what? She wondered, briefly, if he’d give her time to shower before they had their talk. Or even change into a clean dress. God alone knew if Jacqui had taken advantage of Emily’s brief imprisonment to do something to her clothes. She’d been a mistress of sneaky hexes at school, even working devious little spells into her victim’s underwear. It was the sort of jest that seemed extremely funny to everyone, save for the victim. Emily had never liked them.
“It’s okay,” she said, finally. “We’ll see you both at dinner.”
She pushed the door open and stepped inside. The portrait’s eyes were still following her, sending a shiver down her spine even though she knew it was just a trick of the light. It made her wonder how Cabiria had managed to spend most of her life in the room ... she frowned, remembering that the portrait probably hadn’t been painted until after Uncle Alanson had died. Cabiria probably had a copy in her current room.
Cat closed the door behind him, then cast a privacy spell. “You’re bruised.” His voice was low and urgent. “Are you really unhurt?”
Emily glanced in the mirror. There was a nasty mark on her face, as if she’d been slapped. It ached when she touched it, but otherwise ... she guessed she must have bumped into something during the escape, when she’d been too desperate to keep running to notice the pain. Or maybe it had happened when she’d been a frog and she hadn’t noticed it until he drew her attention to it. Or ... Jacqui might have hit her before turning her into a frog ...
“Yes,” she said, firmly. “I’m fine.”
Cat rested his hands on his hips. “You should ... I don’t ... you ...”
Emily felt a hot flash of anger. “You think I should have stayed with you? I was with you!”
“I know,” Cat snapped. “I know and ...”
“It was your idea to go to the Faire,” Emily reminded him. “Not Cabiria’s idea. Not Malabo’s idea. Not ...”
“I know that.” Cat’s face darkened. “I know I took you there. I know ...”
Emily sagged. “I don’t blame you,” she said. “None of us expected her to pose a threat.”
“I should have expected something,” Cat said, ruefully. “Frieda was being a little brat, but she was right. I am a lousy bodyguard.”
He shook his head. “Things aren’t what they used to be, are they?”
“No.” Emily ran her hands through her grimy hair. “When we ... when we became lovers, things were different.”
