“Turned up at the arena, demonstrated his magic and then put his name into the pile of candidates,” Daria said. “The touts don’t know what to make of him either. He never even went to the Peerless School. As far as anyone can tell, he never had any formal training at all. And yet he thinks he can become Grand Sorcerer.”
Elaine frowned, puzzled. It wasn’t impossible to get a magical education outside the Peerless School, but anyone who wanted real power should definitely have gone to the Golden City. And yet...if Prince Hilarion was the heir to Ida, maybe his father had hired a wizard to train his son rather than have him go to the Peerless School and end up sucked into the political struggles that ranged through the Golden City. But how could he feel that he could compete with the mighty magicians who were going to face one another for the greatest prize of all? Unless he thought that he might have an ace in the hole...
The thought struck her like a blow between the eyes. Maybe he
did
have an ace in the hole, Elaine herself. What could someone who hadn’t sworn the Mage’s Oath do with the knowledge loaded into Elaine’s head? The thought was terrifying. He could boost his power, push himself into a position that matched the Witch-King himself...and then win the contest. But the Inquisitors would act, wouldn’t they? Unless they couldn’t – how could they when they were sworn to uphold the orders of the Grand Sorcerer?
Daria leaned forward. “Are you all right?” she asked. “Does he sound familiar to you?”
“I was reading about Ida,” Elaine said. Daria had provided the piece that linked the puzzle together. Duke Gama might not have been a magician, but his nephew definitely was. He could have enchanted the book Elaine had opened and then waited for her to emerge from hospital...complete with the knowledge he needed to make himself the most powerful sorcerer in the world. “I think I definitely need to go visit the kingdom.”
“But the action is
here
,” Daria protested. “Think about our chances of winning money...”
I could clean up the Blight and win money
, Elaine thought, sourly.
If I dared risk exposing myself like that...
“I have to go,” she said. “
Someone
needs to follow up on what Duke Gama did to the book that stunned me – and besides, I don’t want to be anywhere near Millicent when she returns to normal.”
“I suppose there is that,” Daria said, reluctantly. “You go if you want. I have to stay here and try to make money.” She grinned. “Do you want to place a bet? If Prince Hilarion does become Grand Sorcerer, anyone who bids a hundred Crowns will win a million from the touts.”
“If I had a hundred Crowns, I’d find something better to do than place bets,” Elaine said. “I’d prefer to bet on the Administrator myself...”
She broke off as there was a furious knocking on the door. Daria walked over and opened the door while Elaine cringed, certain that it was an Inquisitor intent on asking her precisely what had happened to Millicent. Instead, it was a tall footman wearing a bright red uniform that made him look faintly absurd. No one would have risked laughing openly at him, not with the gold braid that denoted his mistress.
“Magician Elaine No-Kin,” he said, as he marched into the room. His voice boomed through the tiny apartment, the voice of a man who was used to getting his way. “You are commanded to present yourself before the Lady Light Spinner. Attend on her or face the consequences.”
Elaine and Daria shared a look. “Maybe,” Elaine said, finally. “And maybe not.”
Chapter Ten
The footman stared at them. Whatever he’d expected, it hadn’t included open defiance.
“My mistress summons you,” he said, returning to his instructions. Elaine caught sight of the jewelled collar around his neck and shuddered. He wouldn’t have any choice but to do exactly as he was told. The enslavement charms worked into the collar would see to that. “She insists that you attend upon her...”
“Very well,” Elaine said, tiredly. There would
definitely
be consequences for what she’d done to Millicent, no matter how much the bully had deserved a nasty shock. “I will come with you.”
Daria caught her arm. “Do you want me to come with you?”
The honest answer to that was
yes
, but Elaine shook her head. If Lady Light Spinner had decided to punish her personally, Daria would just be caught up in the crossfire. “I’ll be fine,” she said, slowly. “You stay here and I will be back soon enough.”
She allowed the footman to lead her down the stairs and into a gaudy carriage that was waiting outside the door. The two horses in front of the vehicle snorted as Elaine climbed into the cabin, and then started to pull the carriage down the street. They didn’t have to worry about the crowds on the roads, not with the sigils on the carriage marking it as belonging to one of the most powerful women in the world. And besides, anyone who tried to block its path would probably wind up tasting the coachman’s whip.
Elaine tried to calm herself as the coach rattled its way through the streets, concentrating on exercises she’d learned at the Peerless School. They didn’t really help, not when she knew that a very unpleasant interview awaited her. Who knew how Millicent’s aunt would react to what had happened to the bully? Even if she disliked Millicent and everything she did, she would certainly not take her forced transformation into a statue very lightly. It would only give her enemies ideas. She caught sight of a pair of gates outside the carriage before it rattled to a stop in front of one of the oldest mansions in High Tory. At least Lady Light Spinner couldn’t afford a garden of her own. Perhaps she’d buy Lord Howarth’s when it became clear that he needed a large infusion of cash. If she waited long enough, she’d probably get it very cheaply.
The door opened and the footman helped her down onto the pavement. A pair of dark-skinned maids awaited her, wearing fancy uniforms – and collars around their necks. Absurdly, Elaine found herself wishing that she’d worn something a little more formal than her dark shirt and second-hand trousers. If she’d known that Lady Light Spinner wanted her to call on her...of course, if she’d known, she would have taken more care to hide herself. The Inquisitors weren’t the only ones who’d want answers from her.
She smiled as she was led into the building and up a long flight of stairs that seemed to stretch upwards into infinity. Like the Great Library, and the Parade of the Endless, the building had been tied to a pocket dimension that allowed it to be far larger on the inside than on the outside. It was a testament to the power and wealth of the bloodline that had produced Millicent – and Lady Light Spinner. What they couldn’t do for themselves they could buy on the open market.
A long corridor, decorated with paintings that seemed almost alive, opened up in front of her. Elaine was impressed, despite herself. It took serious magic to create soul figments that would live on after the person in the painting was dead. Lady Light Spinner could call upon all the knowledge and wisdom of her ancestors, something that reminded Elaine that
she
had no ancestors. Her family was still as much a mystery as ever. The maids escorted her into a small sitting room and pointed to a chair. Lady Light Spinner entered a moment later, still wearing the black garment that hid everything but her eyes. It was difficult even to get a sense of the outline of her body.
Something crashed down beside her and Elaine jumped. The statuette lay on the table, with Millicent’s stunned and frozen eyes staring at her. Elaine felt herself shiver again as she saw her rival’s helpless form. Lady Light Spinner and all the other magicians in Millicent’s family had clearly been unable to reverse what Elaine had done...
...If it were
possible
to reverse it. There were spells in her mind that touched on wild – and chaotic – magic, using it to cause permanent transformation. She
thought
that she hadn’t done that to Millicent, but she’d been so dazed that it was impossible to say for sure what she’d done that night. Had it really only been yesterday that she’d faced and beaten Millicent for the first time? Whatever happened to her, it was difficult not to feel a certain pride in what she’d done. Millicent would never think of her so lightly ever again.
“You transformed my niece into a statue,” Lady Light Spinner said. Her voice was cold, almost emotionless. “You will undo the transformation. Now.”
The old Elaine would probably have done as she was ordered, at once. But the new Elaine had different ideas.
“Millicent treated me badly ever since we first met,” she said, trying hard to keep the pain out of her voice. But what had she done to deserve such a powerful tormentor? “Why did you allow her to treat anyone like that?”
“Millicent needs to learn certain lessons for herself,” Lady Light Spinner said. “You will undo the transformation now.”
Elaine felt cold rage bubbling up within her. How
dare
the woman lecture her like that, or try to force her into doing anything against her will? “She turned me into a frog for a week,” she said, remembering all the humiliations that Millicent had forced upon her. “Why shouldn’t I leave her like that forever?”
“Because if you do, I will be forced to deal with you,” Lady Light Spinner said. She held up a single gloved hand and clicked her fingers. Elaine felt her body suddenly frozen helplessly, just as Millicent had done to Bee. The charms she’d used to shield herself had failed completely. “And you will not enjoy that experience.”
She waved a hand dismissively and Elaine found that she could move again. “At least you’re not trying to pretend that Millicent is somehow a good person,” she said, after a moment. She wanted to yell and scream, but she had the feeling that that would be pointless, perhaps worse than pointless. “Why did you allow her such freedom of action?”
“You know as well as I do that it is power that determines a person’s place in society,” Lady Light Spinner said. It was hard to be sure, but she sounded reluctant to talk openly. “Millicent will discover that even her power has limits – and on that day, she will discover her true place in society. Those who are weak are the servants of the strong.”
And
that
, Elaine knew, probably explained why Prince Hilarion had been so desperate to learn magic. As a King, even of an isolated state like Ida, he would still have had to defer to the magicians. His Court Wizard wasn’t just the power behind the throne, but the person who would stop him if he tried to get above himself. And if he’d managed to gain a proper education without ever having to swear the Mage’s Oath, who knew what he might be capable of doing? Maybe he’d already enchanted and enslaved his Court Wizard, who should have warned the Grand Sorcerer if his charge was developing formidable abilities.
“Millicent is a bitch, plain and simple,” Elaine said. It felt
good
to finally let it all out, all the hatred and resentment she’d been forced to feel over the years. “Why should I do
anything
for her?”
They stared at each other for a long moment. “I can offer you power and wealth beyond anything you could obtain for yourself,” Lady Light Spinner said, finally. It was clear that she had limits on how far she could push Elaine. But then, magical compulsions worked poorly on magicians, at least if their mistresses wanted them to perform actual magic. “Or I can ensure that Millicent never bothers you again.”
It was a tempting offer. “Very well,” Elaine said, finally. “If I can free her, you will have to swear an oath that you will keep her away from me – and that you will pay me one thousand Crowns in payment for helping her return to normal.”
She’d expected Lady Light Spinner to haggle and was disappointed when she merely nodded slowly. “Very well,” she said. “I
swear
that I will keep Millicent away from you and that I will pay you for your services, once she is free of your spell.”
Elaine nodded. She knew that most magicians who swore oaths
had
to keep them, if only for fear that their magic would rebound upon them. Lady Light Spinner wouldn’t have become so powerful without swearing the Mage’s Oath, would she? But Prince Hilarion clearly thought that he could gain power without attending to any of the obligations, such as they were.
She reached over and picked up Millicent’s stony form. It had been years since she’d studied transfiguration – and enchantment – at the Peerless School, but the knowledge forced into her head told her that this wasn’t an ordinary statue. What would happen when the magic finally faded away? Millicent should have returned to normal, yet whatever Elaine had done hadn’t been a remotely normal spell. Maybe her awareness would just drift away into nothingness, like some of the unluckier victims of the Blight.
Magic crackled along her fingertips, yet it seemed curiously reluctant to slide into Millicent’s form. Elaine closed her eyes and concentrated, dragging up spells she’d never used outside the Peerless School, but nothing happened. Had she
killed
Millicent outright when she’d transfigured her? It was possible.
“Undo the spell,” Lady Light Spinner said, remorselessly. “Now.”
“I don’t know
how
,” Elaine burst out, in frustration. “I don’t...”
As if her outburst had triggered a thought in her mind, she felt new spells coming to the forefront of her awareness. She hadn’t really used a single spell on Millicent, but hundreds of tiny spells...all of which were now rebelling against her conventional attempt to free Millicent from her bondage. It would need something similar to undo the spell...she kept her eyes firmly closed and concentrated, muttering the words under her breath as they came into her mind. And Millicent’s form started to shift...
Elaine threw her away and watched as she hit the floor. The statue was vibrating, stretching in and out of conventional reality as magic contested with the counter-magic she’d shaped in her mind. And then there was a loud
bang
and Millicent lay on the floor in front of them, breathing heavily. Her clothes were all torn and bedraggled by the magic that had warped her form into a tiny statue.
“You’re free,” Elaine said. The look of absolute fear on Millicent’s face felt surprisingly good after the years of torment, though part of her was appalled at what she had done, even to a girl who had treated her terribly. “Welcome back to flesh and blood.”