“Buzz will look after you,” Sergeant Miles said. He patted the horse affectionately. “He’s been through more campaigns than me. Just let him go when you get there and he’ll head straight home.”
Emily nodded as she scrambled into the saddle and braced herself. Buzz grunted, but didn’t seem inclined to throw her and bolt. Old warhorses tended to be sedate, as long as they respected their riders. Sergeant Miles clasped her hand briefly, then opened the stable door. Emily spurred the horse forward, into the darkness. The flickers of magic from the mountains were growing stronger. She cast a night-vision spell as Buzz picked up speed, heading down the empty streets and past a handful of makeshift encampments before galloping out of the town and up the road towards the school. Emily remembered Gordian pledging he’d have the road repaired, sooner rather than later. It looked as if he hadn’t bothered to keep his word.
She forced herself to focus her mind as the horse carried her up the dark road. The magic was growing stronger, suggesting... what? Void could be up to anything. He could even be trying to take control of the nexus point. It wasn’t impossible. He’d asked her all sorts of questions about how she’d tamed Heart’s Eye, then Kuching. And he might even have a vial of her blood. Emily had been careful - that habit had been drummed into her ever since she’d started learning magic - but he’d had plenty of opportunities to take a sample.
And Nanette was right next to me for eighteen months, Emily thought, grimly. It was hard, so hard, to wrap her head around it. Nanette - Nanette - had made her bed, washed her clothes, cleaned her room... it was terrifying. She could have collected a sample, too.
Buzz shifted uncomfortably underneath her as they reached the edge of the forest. Emily tried not to betray her unease, even though it had to be pushing midnight. Being outside after dark was asking for trouble, particularly well away from the urban areas. She knew there were things in the darkness, watching her as she galloped past. She’d heard all sorts of tales of people who wandered into the Greenwood and came out again centuries later, or changed, or simply never came out at all. Gordian had talked about destroying the Greenwood, about cutting down the trees and leaving the land barren and bare. The thought caused her a twinge of pain, even though she knew how dangerous the Greenwood could be. She didn’t want to destroy it.
She reached out with her mind, sensing the pulses from the school. Something was wrong. Something was badly wrong. She tried to process what she was sensing, but couldn’t make head or tails of it. Void was up to something... she pulled on the reins as the horse carried her out of the Greenwood and slowed as he neared the gatehouse. There should have been a pair of students on guard, even though no one had any reason to fear attack. She’d stood guard duty herself, all too aware she’d find herself in hot water if she fell asleep. But now there was no one. The gatehouse - and the low wall beyond - was empty.
Emily let out a breath as the horse stopped, then allowed herself to drop to the ground. Buzz eyed her placidly, then turned his attention to cropping the grass. He’d stay in the vicinity, she was sure, then go back to his master. She gave him a little pat, then turned away and headed to the gatehouse. The wards barred her. She cursed inwardly, then reached out with her magic. Void might have blocked her way, if Nanette had reported back to him. It was quite possible. He wasn’t the sort of person to curse the messenger. And Nanette hadn’t actually failed in her duty.
Unless you didn’t know him as well as you thought, her mind mocked her. She’d liked Void, but... it was clear she hadn’t known him very well. She should have listened to Lady Barb’s warnings. Just because he was kind to you doesn’t mean he was kind to others.
She scowled. Gordian might have keyed the wards to deny her entry. He’d disliked her even before he’d realized how much power she had over the school. And he had good reason to want to keep her out... she put the thought out of her mind as she inched through the wards, trying to prise them open long enough to get through rather than break them outright. She thought she could - the wards weren’t connected to the nexus point - but that would have set off alarms all over the school. She wondered, numbly, if she shouldn’t do just that. The school wasn’t on alert. Perhaps it should be. Perhaps it would distract him...
A sense of unease overwhelmed her the moment she stepped through the last of the wards and into the gatehouse. Craven fear washed through her mind, the force of the impact enough to drive her to her knees. She gritted her teeth, knowing the fear wasn’t real. It was still hard to stand and force her way through the sensation, inching towards the door. A mob of angry rioters would have turned and fled right into the Greenwood, if they’d walked straight into the charm. Emily kept her head up, somehow, as she walked up the road towards the school. Whitehall was normally glowing with light, casting an eerie radiance over the mountains, but now the school was dark and cold. The magical pulses were steadying... whatever he was doing, it was reaching its conclusion. She had to hurry.
Something moved, ahead of her. The two gargoyles by the door - the stone creatures she was sure moved when she wasn’t looking - stood and
