There was no response, of course. Emily gritted her teeth, silently promising herself that she’d make Fulvia pay. There was nowhere in the Allied Lands she could hide. Melissa might have been disowned, but she still had a blood-tie to Fulvia ... and if she didn’t, she wasn’t the only Ashworth who owed Emily a favor. She’d track Fulvia down and use the nuke-spell on her hidey-hole, turning it into radioactive ash. They’d say the land was cursed for a hundred years.
Emily gathered herself, then cast the levitation spell. The effort tired her, even though it was a simple spell she’d mastered five years ago. Frieda floated into the air, wobbling unsteadily as Emily turned and guided her towards the door. It was unlocked, surprisingly. Or perhaps it wasn’t that surprising. Stripped of her magic, Emily knew there was no way she could have untied herself in time. She felt the wards grow stronger as she levitated Frieda into the corridor, but they refused to help her locate Daze. It was impossible to tell if she just didn’t have the energy to make contact—or if Daze had subverted them already—but it didn’t matter.
I need a nexus point, she thought. And there’s one at Heart’s Eye.
The thought kept her going as she slowly slipped down the corridor, Frieda floating behind her. Heart’s Eye was safe, secure ... and hers. She could take Frieda there, then turn the former school into an impregnable fortress. Fulvia couldn’t get to either of them there. And she could continue with her plans ... invite Caleb to open the university, invite Melissa and all the others ... build a community of her own, away from the Allied Lands. Who knew? It might grow into something great.
And then she heard someone clapping.
She froze. Daze was standing by the door, looking impressed. His smile—his creepy smile—was almost welcoming. And yet ... another string of Melissa’s memories rose up from the back of her mind, screaming a warning even as they threatened to overwhelm her. Emily forced them back, concentrating her mind. She was in no state for a confrontation, but she had no choice. Daze wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
“I am impressed, Lady Emily,” Daze said. “There are fully-trained magicians who wouldn’t have escaped.”
Emily felt the snake, hidden in her sleeve. Perhaps Daze would come close enough for her to shove Aurelius into his smug creepy face. Or ... she gritted her teeth, realizing how badly Melissa’s memories had affected her. Melissa hadn’t just disliked Daze, she’d found him thoroughly unpleasant and sinister. She forced herself to keep an eye on the older magician as she lowered Frieda to the ground. She’d need all of her power to fight.
“This is my place of power,” she said, as defiantly as she could. “You can’t fight me here.”
Daze smiled, rather thinly. “I’ve taken the opportunity to examine your wards,” he said, holding up a hand. Dried blood was clearly visible, forming a rune. “They are very well crafted indeed, but incapable of differentiating between Frieda and me. And you don’t have time to reprogram before it’s too late.”
Emily cursed under her breath. He was right. She’d used the same trick herself.
“I don’t know how you managed to recover your magic and escape,” Daze said. “But if you could kill me, you’d have done it by now. Why don’t you walk back to the cell and wait?”
“Because you’d kill me,” Emily snapped. She tried, desperately, to think of a plan. She’d lose a straight fight and he was too far away to be certain of getting him with the snake. And if she failed to get him, he’d curse her into next week. “Or warp my mind for your mistress.”
“I can always let your little friend go,” Daze offered. “You are a far more valuable prize.”
More than you know, Emily thought. She considered, briefly, offering to share what she knew, but she doubted he’d trust her. He’d want to control her, just to be sure. And that would be the end. What the hell do I do?
She stalled. “How do I know you’d let her go?”
“I could offer you an oath,” Daze offered. “Her freedom for your surrender.”
Emily winced, inwardly. It wasn’t much of an offer. Frieda would still be mentally damaged, still be hunted by the authorities ... she’d certainly never get the healing she needed to prove her innocence. Emily didn’t think Daze could do anything about that, even if he wanted to. Frieda would walk out of the house, straight to her doom, while Emily remained to face hers.
She gritted her teeth. If she could get to a battery ... it wasn’t much of a plan, but it was the only thing she could think of that might give her a chance. She’d have to focus the magic manually too, channeling it through her mind rather than using a valve. Too many things could go spectacularly wrong. It might even drive her mad. And yet ... she couldn’t think of anything else.
“No.” She gathered herself. “Walk out of here and I’ll let you go.”
Daze made a gesture with his finger. Emily barely had a second to react before an invisible force slammed into her, knocking her past Frieda and up the corridor. She gathered herself, then dispelled the magic a heartbeat before it would have thrown her into the wall. Daze walked past Frieda and advanced towards Emily, his magic crackling at the ready. She saw an unholy anticipation on his face and cursed, again. Melissa had been right. Daze was creepy as hell.
“You haven’t recovered all of your magic,” Daze said. Emily threw a hex at him, but he deflected it with a wave of his arm. “I imagine that whatever you did to purify yourself wasn’t perfect.”
He cocked his head. “How did you do it, by the way?”
“None of your business,” Emily snarled. She tried to cast a series of wards to protect herself, but she could barely muster the magic to secure them in place. “That’s my secret.”
Daze seemed unconcerned. “I’ll take it from your mind, once I’ve broken you,” he said, calmly. His magic beat on the air, pressing lightly against Emily’s makeshift wards. “I look forward to understanding how it was done.”
“You’ll never be able to do it,” Emily managed. “It’s my secret.”
She tightened the wards, but she was grimly aware that they wouldn’t hold for long. Daze was pushing his magic forward, seeking out and exploiting gaps in her spellwork. It would have been a mistake if she’d been at full strength. As it was, he’d done precisely the right thing. He’d break down her wards without causing significant injury.
“We will see.” Daze sounded as calm as if he were ordering dinner, not slowly breaking down her protections. “I’ve often found it amusing how many exclusive spells can be reworked for others to use.”
“Fulvia will use you and then discard you,” Emily said. The pressure was growing stronger as her wards started to crack. “Do you think she’ll reward you?”
“I think she’ll pay through the nose to get her hands on you,” Daze said. “Do you not?”
Yes, Emily thought. Fulvia would shell out her entire fortune just to get her hands on me.
Her wards shattered. Daze reached forward, magic crackling around his hands. Emily braced herself, then thrust the snake at him. Aurelius hissed, loudly; Daze froze for a split second, then jumped back in shock. A moment later, a wave of force slapped through the air, knocking the snake into the wall. Emily screamed as her bones shattered ... no, Aurelius’s bones. The familiar bond worked in both directions ...