Emily saw disaster looming and started forward, but it was already too late. Frieda lunged forward, grabbed the caldron and tossed the boiling contents at Celadon. Emily reached out with her magic, but she couldn’t cast a shield in time. The liquid struck his chest, making him scream in pain.
Frieda screamed too, a sound of pain and rage and bitter hopelessness. There was something in the sound, something weird and alien and utterly wrong. But there was no time to analyze it. Frieda’s magic flared out of her, slamming into Emily with staggering power. The force picked her up and threw her against the wall, hard. She heard alarms ringing in her head as she fell down and crashed to the ground, landing badly. The screaming was so loud she could barely think ... the world went dark, just for a second. When she opened her eyes, there was no sign of Frieda.
Fuck, she thought, numbly. Her entire body felt battered and bruised. What happened?
The door slammed open. Gordian charged into the room, followed by Sergeant Miles and Master Tor. Emily barely registered his presence before he was casting spells over Celadon, trying to save his life. The shock of being drenched in boiling liquid alone might kill him, Emily thought numbly. She had no idea how hot the potion had been, but most brews had a boiling temperature well above water. And he’d taken the potion to the chest ...
A strong arm grabbed hers, hauling her upright. She found herself looking at Gordian.
“What happened?” Gordian asked. Behind him, she could see Sergeant Miles levitating Celadon out of the room. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure,” Emily temporized. Frieda had drenched Celadon in boiling liquid, then attacked Emily herself ... and yet, there had been that weird sensation in her magic. “I ...”
“Look around you,” Gordian snarled. He didn’t let go of her. “What happened?”
Emily forced herself to focus. The workroom was a broken mess, the walls cracked and broken, the floor covered with sawdust. She couldn’t see the table ... it took her several seconds, in her dazed state, to realize the table had been reduced to dust. Her wards were damaged too ... she’d known Frieda was powerful, but not that powerful. If she’d blasted Emily with the sort of power it took to damage the walls, Emily would have died.
“Damn you,” Gordian snarled. He slapped her face, hard enough to get her attention. “What happened?”
“Let go of me,” Emily said. He was too close to her, his anger all too clear. She shrugged off his arm, leaning back against the wall. Her legs still felt unsteady. “Frieda ... Frieda went mad.”
“Mad,” Gordian repeated. “What happened?”
Emily glared at him. She knew Gordian had used the wards to keep an eye on Frieda. Even if he hadn’t, the workroom was monitored. Had Frieda somehow disabled or destroyed the spells? She tried to reach out with her mind to touch the wards, but her thoughts were too unfocused to make contact. Frieda might have hit her harder than she’d thought.
“Celadon and Frieda had a fight,” she said. She forced herself to go through the entire story, despite the pain and bitter guilt. She’d failed both of them. Frieda would be expelled and there was nothing Emily could do about it. “Frieda ... where is she?”
“I don’t know,” Gordian said. “She isn’t within the school.”
Emily eyed him suspiciously. How long had it been since Frieda had blasted her? Had she blacked out for hours? No, that was clearly impossible. Celadon might not have survived if it had been longer than a few minutes. The wards would have sounded the alert the moment Frieda lost control.
She could have gone down to the tunnels, Emily thought. The wards don’t reach down there.
She dismissed the thought a second later. Frieda didn’t know the wards didn’t extend into the catacombs. And she knew she was being watched. Emily and Cirroc had drilled that into her head, time and time again. Frieda was no fool. She’d have known the only hope of escape was to get out of the school before it was too late.
And she can run faster than anyone else, Emily reminded herself. Straight down the stairs and out onto the grounds, then directly into the forest.
Gordian leaned forward, looming over her. “Where would she go?”
“I don’t know,” Emily said. Where would Frieda go? Dragon’s Den was the only settlement for miles. But Frieda could live off the land for quite some time, if she wished. She certainly didn’t have any of Emily’s qualms about catching rabbits and other small animals for food, or remaining unwashed for days or weeks. “She could go anywhere.”
She stepped away from the wards, thinking hard. Frieda couldn’t teleport, as far as Emily knew. She’d certainly burned up much of her power destroying the room. But merely getting a few miles away would make pursuit impossible. Frieda had been good at Martial Magic. She knew how to cover her tracks and throw pursuers off the scent. And if she reached a large city—or even crossed a border—she would be impossible to find.
“I should have expelled her,” Gordian said. His voice was angry, filled with bitter self-reproach. “When she hurt Adana ... I should have expelled her.”
“Something is wrong with her,” Emily said, quietly. “I ...”
Gordian’s face darkened. “Yes, there is. You should have given her a slap and told her to behave, or else. Her behavior was unacceptable. You should have drilled this home to her until she got the message or quit! Instead, you tried to help her.”
Emily tapped the badge he’d given her. “Isn’t that my job?”
“There are limits,” Gordian said.
He sighed, turning away from her. “I’m going to have to alert the authorities,” he said, softly. “She’s a rogue now, one who has to be hunted down ...”
“You can’t,” Emily said. “They’ll kill her!”
“Don’t let your feelings get in the way of what has to be done,” Gordian said, harshly. “A student lies at death’s door, thanks to your little friend. How many more excuses are you going to make for her?”
“There’s something wrong with her,” Emily insisted. “You have to listen ...”
“It’s too late,” Gordian said. “People will demand answers, Emily. Answers I will be unable to give them, because I didn’t expel Frieda when I had cause. Celadon’s family will not let this pass.”
“And you’re prepared to sacrifice Frieda to keep your post,” Emily said.
Gordian’s magic flared, just for a second. Emily stood her ground.
“If you weren’t one of my students, I would challenge you for that,” Gordian said. His voice was almost a hiss. “And as a probationary student, you can be expelled at any moment.”
“Fine time to remember that,” Emily snapped.
“Go see the Warden,” Gordian said. “And then go back to your room and wait. I daresay the inquest will consume all of your time for the foreseeable future. You might want to start working on your defense.”
He paused. “Oh, and if you happen to think of a place where your friend might be hiding, you should tell me. It will be taken into account during the inquest.”
Emily scowled as she headed for the door. Frieda could be anywhere by now. She didn’t have the slightest idea where to look ...