had made an error in
her work yesterday – a single line out of proportion could spoil an entire
spell – and that today she would discover that Connery was actually on the
other side of the city or perhaps at the bottom of the river.
But no. Though she checked and rechecked her work several
times, the results remained the same. Connery was here, as good as directly
under her feet. It was either hidden in one of the neighboring buildings or
right here in the hotel.
Unfortunately, the spell was not precise enough to tell
her which. Location spells were broad by design; they could tell you that your
favorite ring was lost somewhere in the house but not in which drawer you had
left it. Thankfully, Nia knew another way. Just like in that horrible house,
there were bound to be spells protecting Connery here. True, she hadn’t sensed
any strange magic in the immediate vicinity and as far as she could tell,
neither had Arthur, but a skilled magician could make his spells undetectable
to the senses. The overly sweet magic in the house yesterday had been a
deliberate lure.
And a successful one, she thought with a light
sigh. I really do have to be more careful.
But even if the spells were hidden from eyes, ears, and
tongues, they could be revealed by a magical detection spell. Of course
detection spells were complex and required minute accuracy to function
correctly, making them difficult for even Illuminators to perform under
anything but optimal conditions.
Happily, conditions didn’t get much more optimal than a
quiet hotel room with warm morning sunlight – sunlight! It seemed the rainy
season hadn’t completed its conquest of the city yet – spilling through the
window.
Well, a cup of coffee would have been welcome, but Nia
wasn’t one to complain.
The spell took nearly three quarters of an hour to
complete, Nia stopping every few minutes to check her measurements with the
measuring tape she kept in her tool case. She did not want to have to redo the
entire spell because of a careless mistake.
When the spell was complete, she stretched her arms over
her head, pulling the stiffness from her back. For a moment, she considered
fetching Arthur and Gail before triggering the spell, but just as quickly
decided it against it. Better that she get a sense of what they were up against
first.
So, sitting back on her knees, she triggered the spell
with a tap on the center ring.
Nothing happened.
She scowled. What had gone wrong? She had drawn the spell
correctly; she knew she had. So what –?
Something warm fell on to the back of her hand. She
looked down and saw bright red blood running down between her fingers. Too
bewildered to be frightened, she lifted her hand close to her eyes, searching
for a wound. Maybe she had cut herself on one of her measuring tools and hadn’t
noticed?
Another drop fell from above her, plopping on to the
sleeve of her pale purple dressing gown. Slowly lifting her eyes, she saw a
familiar body suspended from the ceiling. Blood dripped slowly from the wound
in her mother’s chest, running across her neck and face before falling toward
Nia, striking her below her eye and rolling down her cheek like a tear.
“This –” was all she managed to whisper before her
mother’s head turned toward her, eyes growing wide as they found Nia’s. Then
her mouth opened and blood gushed from between her lips.
Before the blood could reach Nia, the lights died and she
went mad for a little while.
14
Nia Graves
Nia’s earliest memories were red.
There had been a lot of blood. Blood from the wound in
her mother’s chest, blood from Sophia’s mouth, blood that was all that was left
of other students. Nia had even tasted blood in the air, a thin vapor left over
from the students who had been closest to the spell, the ones who had been torn
into pieces too small to be seen.
There had been blood on Nia’s hands, blood on her dress
from when she tried to embrace her mother’s still body. She had gotten
her work yesterday – a single line out of proportion could spoil an entire
spell – and that today she would discover that Connery was actually on the
other side of the city or perhaps at the bottom of the river.
But no. Though she checked and rechecked her work several
times, the results remained the same. Connery was here, as good as directly
under her feet. It was either hidden in one of the neighboring buildings or
right here in the hotel.
Unfortunately, the spell was not precise enough to tell
her which. Location spells were broad by design; they could tell you that your
favorite ring was lost somewhere in the house but not in which drawer you had
left it. Thankfully, Nia knew another way. Just like in that horrible house,
there were bound to be spells protecting Connery here. True, she hadn’t sensed
any strange magic in the immediate vicinity and as far as she could tell,
neither had Arthur, but a skilled magician could make his spells undetectable
to the senses. The overly sweet magic in the house yesterday had been a
deliberate lure.
And a successful one, she thought with a light
sigh. I really do have to be more careful.
But even if the spells were hidden from eyes, ears, and
tongues, they could be revealed by a magical detection spell. Of course
detection spells were complex and required minute accuracy to function
correctly, making them difficult for even Illuminators to perform under
anything but optimal conditions.
Happily, conditions didn’t get much more optimal than a
quiet hotel room with warm morning sunlight – sunlight! It seemed the rainy
season hadn’t completed its conquest of the city yet – spilling through the
window.
Well, a cup of coffee would have been welcome, but Nia
wasn’t one to complain.
The spell took nearly three quarters of an hour to
complete, Nia stopping every few minutes to check her measurements with the
measuring tape she kept in her tool case. She did not want to have to redo the
entire spell because of a careless mistake.
When the spell was complete, she stretched her arms over
her head, pulling the stiffness from her back. For a moment, she considered
fetching Arthur and Gail before triggering the spell, but just as quickly
decided it against it. Better that she get a sense of what they were up against
first.
So, sitting back on her knees, she triggered the spell
with a tap on the center ring.
Nothing happened.
She scowled. What had gone wrong? She had drawn the spell
correctly; she knew she had. So what –?
Something warm fell on to the back of her hand. She
looked down and saw bright red blood running down between her fingers. Too
bewildered to be frightened, she lifted her hand close to her eyes, searching
for a wound. Maybe she had cut herself on one of her measuring tools and hadn’t
noticed?
Another drop fell from above her, plopping on to the
sleeve of her pale purple dressing gown. Slowly lifting her eyes, she saw a
familiar body suspended from the ceiling. Blood dripped slowly from the wound
in her mother’s chest, running across her neck and face before falling toward
Nia, striking her below her eye and rolling down her cheek like a tear.
“This –” was all she managed to whisper before her
mother’s head turned toward her, eyes growing wide as they found Nia’s. Then
her mouth opened and blood gushed from between her lips.
Before the blood could reach Nia, the lights died and she
went mad for a little while.
14
Nia Graves
Nia’s earliest memories were red.
There had been a lot of blood. Blood from the wound in
her mother’s chest, blood from Sophia’s mouth, blood that was all that was left
of other students. Nia had even tasted blood in the air, a thin vapor left over
from the students who had been closest to the spell, the ones who had been torn
into pieces too small to be seen.
There had been blood on Nia’s hands, blood on her dress
from when she tried to embrace her mother’s still body. She had gotten
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