The Right Side of History (Schooled In Magic Book 22) Christopher Nuttall (elon musk reading list .txt) 📖

“Emily,” Lady Barb shouted. She threw something at Emily, who caught it instinctively. “Get out of here!”

Emily looked down. The amulet - the teleport amulet - glowed with magic. Lady Barb hadn’t used it... of course she hadn’t . Void growled as he cast a spell of his own, aimed at Lady Barb. He missed... Emily blinked in astonishment, then realized Lady Barb was far too close to the spellware surrounding the nexus point. If Void hit the wrong thing, he might blow up the entire country. It had happened before.

“Get out of here,” Lady Barb repeated. “Now!”

“Don’t,” Void snapped. “Stay here!”

Emily reached for her magic, then cursed as she realized just how badly drained she was. Everything was catching up with her at the worst possible time. She scrabbled for the library card as Lady Barb and Void exchanged blows, picking it up and staring down at her face. It was part of her past, an important part of her past... she grasped what magic she could and incinerated it. Her childish face caught fire and burned away, breaking the spells Void had put on the card. She felt almost as if she’d destroyed part of herself.

The magic grew stronger as she reached for the nexus point, only to have it fade into nothingness. Panic shot through her - if they’d snuffed out the nexus point, the interior dimensions were going to collapse again - before she realized he’d blocked her link. He wouldn’t want her cutting him out, let alone taking back control. She cursed under her breath as she scrambled for her dagger... her missing dagger. Leaving it behind had been a mistake.

“Emily, go,” Lady Barb said. “Hurry!”

Emily wanted to stay, but... she turned and ran. Void’s power reached for her as she left the chamber, only to fade away as Lady Barb slammed into him. Emily could feel their power billowing around them, fighting it out at knife range... she hoped and prayed Lady Barb would win. The school seemed to open up around her as she hit the stairs and fled upwards, back to the hall. Whitehall wouldn’t want to hurt her. Void might have some problems removing her from the wards completely. He’d presumably used some of her blood, if not the card itself, to take control.

She heard someone behind her and saw Lady Barb, tossing spells back towards the nexus chamber as she ran. Void had to be in hot pursuit... Emily saw him, reaching out with his magic to grab hold of Lady Barb and yank her down. Lady Barb spun around, sinister green light crackling around her hands as they clashed together. For a moment, Emily saw Void’s wards start to break under the spells and hoped... Lady Barb stopped dead, a pulse of green light bursting through her back. Emily stared in horror as Lady Barb screamed...

... And died, her body blown to bloody chunks.

Emily forced herself to keep going, even as the stairs started to collapse under her feet. She thrust out with her mind, trying to gain at least some control. The corridor was closing in on her... Void might not want her dead, but she was in deadly danger. Whitehall might be more than a little confused about which one of them was actually the real Emily. If it crushed her into a bloody pulp...

Lady Barb is dead, Emily thought. It had happened so quickly. She... she had no time to mourn. Lady Barb is dead and...

She drew on what power she could from the school and hurled herself up the stairwell, out into the great hall. The door slammed closed behind her, although she doubted it would slow Void for more than a second. Jan stood in front of her, trying to wake Master Lucknow. Emily ran past him, catching his arm as she cast a handful of revival spells. The ground shook as Void blasted through the door, pieces of debris flying everywhere. Emily yanked Jan out the far door and up the next flight of stairs, hoping the spells she’d cast would free the other sorcerers. Void would have to stop and deal with them, if he didn’t want them to escape. Hell, they might pitch in and fight him, too.

They can’t win, she thought, numbly. The wards were gathering power. There was no way the other sorcerers could stand against Void, not here. Void had turned the school into his place of power. Gordian had been locked out... assuming, of course, he hadn’t been killed in the crossfire. She hadn’t sensed his death, but that was meaningless. He’s too strong to fight here.

Jan pulled himself free as the ground shook again. “Emily! What’s happening?”

“Void’s gone crazy,” Emily said, curtly. She could sense flashes of magic from below. She hoped the other sorcerers would have the sense to flee. “We have to stop him.”

Her mind raced. She was no match for Void, not in raw power or magical skill. He wouldn’t give her a free shot at him, not now. He’d already killed Lady Barb. And he owned the nexus point. Given time, she was sure she could undo whatever he’d done - her link to the nexus point dated back nearly a thousand years - but he wouldn’t give her the time. Of course not. Void was no fool, whatever else he was. He was certainly not a necromancer, who’d let her lead him into a trap. She couldn’t think of anything that would slow him down, except perhaps... her fingers lingered on the bracelet. Death Viper venom might kill him...

The thought pained her, even after he’d killed Lady Barb. She didn’t want to kill him. He was the closest thing to a father she’d had, a father who actually cared... she didn’t want to kill him. She really didn’t want to. And yet, she might not have a choice.

“Emily,” Jan said. “The wards are shifting.”

Emily gritted her teeth.