“A Death Viper,” Daze breathed. “Your Death Viper?”
Emily gasped for breath. It was hard to keep her thoughts in order. He’d hit her ... no, he hadn’t hit her. He’d hit Aurelius. And yet, her ribs felt as if they were about to crack ... no, they had cracked. She felt the bond waver as Aurelius fell into unconsciousness. It was luck—sheer luck—that Daze hadn’t killed the snake. Emily wasn’t sure what would have happened then, but she was fairly certain it would have thrown her into unconsciousness for a while too ...
Daze reached out and caught her by the neck. Emily fought to muster her magic, but only a tiny flicker answered her call. It was hard to gather more, let alone shape a tiny spell in her mind. His power was crawling over her skin, checking for defenses ... she tried to push him away, but she couldn’t even move her arms. A spell flickered on the edge of her mind ...
... And she had an idea ...
“There’s no point in trying to cancel my spell,” Daze said, as she cast the spell. His eyes bored into hers. “Even if you did succeed, I could just cast another one.”
Emily spat, aiming for his face. Daze’s face darkened with anger. She braced herself, expecting him to hit her. Fulvia would hardly complain if Emily was black and blue when she was handed over. But at least it would keep Daze focused on her. She hadn’t aimed the spell at him ...
“You are remarkable,” Daze told her. Perversely, he sounded admiring. “But the game is over.”
His magic pushed forward. Emily braced herself for the final struggle ... then jerked backwards as Frieda slammed a deadly spell into Daze’s back. Emily allowed herself a moment of relief as white lightning flashed over Daze’s body, silently thanking all the gods of the Nameless World that Frieda was on her side. Daze hadn’t realized that Emily had aimed to free Frieda, not cancel his spell. It had been a deadly gamble, but there had been no choice.
Daze fell to the floor, his body smoking. Emily fought the urge to cover her nose—she’d never grown used to the smell of burning flesh—as she looked at Frieda. Her friend was staring around wildly, her eyes flickering from side to side as if she was on the verge of bolting. An incoherent keening escaped from her mouth, drool dripping down to the floor ...
... And then Frieda’s hands shot to her own throat and started to squeeze.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
EMILY STARED IN NUMB HORROR, THEN pushed herself forward as Frieda’s grip tightened. She pulled at Frieda’s hands, trying to get them away from her neck. Daze must have programmed a suicide trigger into Frieda’s mind, she realized as she struggled to save her friend’s life. He’d wanted to be sure that no evidence remained behind, if something happened to him. And if Frieda killed herself, no one would know the truth.
“Let go,” Emily said. She’d known Frieda was physically strong—good food and healthy exercise had worked wonders—but she hadn’t realized just how strong. Her arms felt immoveable. “Frieda, listen ...”
Frieda lashed out, throwing a punch into empty air. The second blow caught Emily in the shoulder, sending both of them falling to the ground. Frieda hit out time and time again, throwing punches in random directions ... as if she thought, deep in her mind, that she was fighting a whole mob of people. Emily struggled to raise the magic to freeze her, or to stun her, or to do something, even as she tried to avoid punches that would do real harm if they hit home. Frieda was on the verge of tearing herself apart.
Damn him, Emily thought, as Frieda shoved Emily over and climbed on top of her. Frieda drew back her fist, as if she was about to start beating Emily into a pulp, then threw the punch into the air. What did he do to her?
Emily tried to think of a plan as Frieda waved her fists around frantically, her eyes flashing from side to side. She didn’t have the strength to subdue Frieda—either magically or physically—and it was only a matter of time before one of Frieda’s blows struck Emily hard enough to stun her. Whatever was going through Frieda’s mind, she’d clearly lost all touch with reality. Emily wasn’t sure there was anything she could do ...
He cursed her mind, she thought, numbly. And that means ...
A thought struck her. It would get her in real trouble, if someone chose to take a dim view of it, but it was the only thing that came to mind. She owed it to Frieda to take one last gamble before letting her friend kill herself. Besides, Gordian was probably planning to expel her already. She’d made so many blunders over the past few weeks. What was one more?
She reached up and caught Frieda’s arms, yanking her down. Frieda struggled, fighting with terrifying force as Emily pulled her close, then pressed her bare hands against Frieda’s cheeks. The last scraps of her magic rose up within her, allowing her to form a link between her mind and Frieda’s. Samra would not have approved, Emily thought as she pushed her mind forward, but she couldn’t think of an alternative. She had to remove the curse before it was too late.
Frieda’s body jerked, violently. Emily wrapped her legs around Frieda, silently thanking Melissa for staying still while Emily probed her mind. Breaking contact might snap her back into her own body, according to Samra, or it might leave her consciousness trapped in Frieda forever. Magicians hadn’t really wanted to experiment, Emily had been told. She didn’t blame them for being wary of the dangers.
The maelstrom rose up and tore at her as she pushed her way into Frieda’s mind. Emily braced herself as she was assailed by a dizzying array of memories and emotions, some close enough to hers to be confusing, then held herself steady. Frieda wouldn’t welcome the intrusion, even from Emily. Her mind would fight to defend itself against what it would see as rape. Emily hesitated, repulsed by the thought, then pushed on. If Frieda decided to hate her afterwards ... well, at least it would be her decision.
Melissa’s mind had been a nightmare, but Frieda’s was far worse. Emily peered through the hailstorm of thoughts and memories and saw... a dark lattice, woven through Frieda’s subconscious mind. Merely looking at it made Emily’s skin crawl. Daze had planted a seed in her mind, one that had steadily grown into a monster. Frieda hadn’t known her thoughts and feelings weren’t hers ... in a sense, they had been hers. Daze had used her own magic against her. Emily swallowed as she realized just how hard it was likely to be to prove that it had been outside interference. The bracelet might not be enough proof to satisfy Gordian.
Because she made it, Emily thought. She gathered herself, then pushed onwards. Daze might have told her how to make it, but it was Frieda who carved the runes.