The Black Knife Read online

  “Oh, Emily,” Hind breathed. Up close, there was no mistaking her resemblance to her mother. Emily’s still form mocked her. She reached out to touch the statue and then yanked her hand back, hard. Whatever had petrified her and turned her into marble might still be around…and, without her Sight, it was going to be hard to face it. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”

  A faint glow seemed to appear from deep within the pool, illuminating the scene. Emily was naked, standing within the pool as if she had intended to bathe, before she’d been transformed and killed. Hind studied her face, puzzled; the girl hadn’t been in agony, but almost in wonderment. What had she had in her hand, she wondered, that had made her so happy in the seconds before she had been transformed? She looked back and swallowed a curse under her breath. The trees were definitely moving closer.

  She took one last look at Emily, fixing the girl’s memory in her mind, and turned to go. A flash of light from behind her caught her attention and she turned back, just in time to see a small figure standing on Emily’s stone hand. For a moment, Hind felt some of the sense of wonder that had to have gripped Emily as she took in the tiny, but perfect figure. It was a naked woman, barely larger that her finger, with a pair of gossamer wings. Hind had seen fairies in Apothecary stores, where their wings had been clipped and used for alchemical experiments, but this was the first time she’d seen one in the wild. The tiny creatures preferred to have as little to do with humanity as possible, knowing that they were feared and hated by the human race. She smiled at the tiny creature…and then she saw the wand it clutched in one hand.

  The fairy took to the air and came right at her. Hind ducked sharply, feeling unreasoning panic bubbling through her as it swung its wand towards her. Even with her Sight so badly damaged by being so close to a wellspring, she could sense the danger and knew what had happened to Emily. The fairies had colonised the wellspring and were using its magic to defend themselves against all intruders. Why not? Humans had tapped wellsprings for their own use before. The fairy’s face twisted in hatred as she took another swing at Hind, trying to touch her with its wand. Hind risked a tiny spell and raised a ward in front of the creature, only to see it punch through the ward as if it wasn't there. Hind wasn't entirely surprised. The ward hadn’t been designed to do more than stand off a threat. Any half-way competent magician could have broken through with a little effort.

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” she said, as the creature seemed to drift in front of her face. It was a marvel…and it would be too easy to allow herself to become distracted. She used one hand to undo her cloak while keeping her eyes on the tiny creature. “I really don’t want to hurt you…”

  If the fairy heard her, or understood her, it gave no sign. Instead, it just lunged at her again, lifting the glowing wand towards Hind’s face. Hind lifted her cloak and yanked it down over the creature, trapping it inside the cloak. A second later, the cloak started to turn to stone and she dropped it on the ground, smiling inwardly as the fairy trapped itself. Unless it had other tricks up its sleeve, it wasn't going to get out of the stone wall it had grown around itself.

  She turned…and the ground shook beneath her feet, hard enough to send her stumbling to her knees. The trees had suddenly moved in, pushing her up against the pool. The waves of wild magic were growing stronger, taunting her even though she’d closed her Sight down completely. There was something within the pool; something old, powerful and hungry. Hind saw the waters bubbling and felt something’s presence, just under the surface. The light was growing brighter, yet it was a sickly light, heralding the arrival of something corrupt and unthinkably evil. She recoiled from its mental touch, unwilling to face such a coldly malevolent force. It wanted to take her and eat her and…

  Emily’s stone form seemed to waver, just for a second, and then toppled and fell into the pool. Hind felt, more than heard, the roar of triumph from the creature in the pool, the mocking delight of a creature that existed solely to cause pain and suffering. She thought she heard Emily cry out before her soul was devoured, but she could have been imagining it. She hoped that she had imagined it. Wild magic transformations were permanent and Emily had been dead, or as near to death as a human could come without stepping into the darkness. The light grew brighter and Hind turned to flee, suddenly aware that even looking upon the creature could be lethal. There was a gap in the trees and she ran towards it, silently praying to all the gods that she would escape before it was too late. The trees seemed to lash towards her…and then a root sprung up right in front of her, sending her crashing to the ground. Other branches reached out like demented arms, wrapping around her wrists and pulling her to her feet. She struggled desperately, but it was impossible to break free as vines lashed around her legs, rendering her immobile. She was trapped.

  She could feel the monster behind her as it rose out of the pool. It was making a rough sound, a horrifying rasping sound, as if it were having problems breathing in the open air. She found herself wondering if it, as a creature of wild magic, was having problems as it pulled itself out of the wellspring, even though there was so much magic surrounding the pool. Perhaps, like dragons or gorgons, it needed magic to live and couldn’t survive long on a reduced diet. It hardly mattered, she realised, as the trees started to push her back towards its gaping maw. It would have plenty of time to devour her before it had to return to the wellspring and lie in wait for the next victim. Down in the stream of magic flowing into the world, it could wait for eternity if it had to.

  Something touched the back of her neck and she screamed, grasping at the magic surrounding her. Her instructors had warned her never to risk drawing on wild magic if there was any other choice, but she was trapped and helpless. Channelling the wild magic through her was hard – it felt as if her brain was on fire – yet somehow it worked. Flames burst out, burning the trees that were holding her…and then surging back to attack the monster behind her. She heard something screaming in agony – the entire forest was alive, she realised in horror – as her bonds loosened and allowed her to fall to the ground. Her entire body was aching, but she couldn’t stay there. The trees were burning down around her. It took all the concentration she had to channel the magic a second time, but somehow she made it, throwing a sheet wall of fire behind her towards the creature. Whatever it was, it seemed to hate fire; she heard it screaming before it started to withdraw back to the pool. She pushed the fire right at it, trying to kill it, but it seemed to be impossible. The creature could be hurt, but not killed. The flames were still spreading through the forest and setting fire to the ground. She found herself coughing as she breathed in smoke and realised that she couldn’t stay there any longer. The fire was already spreading out of control.

  She turned and fled through the forest, back towards the village. This time, the trees seemed to leap away from her, bending over to avoid catching her gaze. She saw some of the trees even uproot themselves and flee, heading away from the fire as fast as they could. It made her wonder if the forest had been alive, or merely part of a trap set by the entity in the pool, but there was no way to know for sure. The flames were starting to abate as the skies opened and rain poured down from the heavens, extinguishing the fires one by one. Hind smiled to herself as the rain started to splash through her hair, soaking her garments. It didn’t matter. She was alive! The noise of the thunderstorm high overhead suddenly burst in on her and she laughed. She was definitely alive.

  Hind was still smiling when she reached the edge of the forest and turned to look back towards the wellspring. The flames had all gone now, leaving only the faintest suggestion of burning wood hanging in the air. She carefully opened her third eye and peered into the forest, using her Sight to sniff out the magical currents flowing through the air. She was struck with the sensation that something was looking back at her, but she wasn't able to tell if it was the creature, or the forest, or something else. She ran her hands through her damp hair, feeling the bun she’d carefully constructed before she�
�d entered the forest coming loose, and sighed. She would have to write a report for the Grandmaster and he’d want details, lots of details. He’d want to know everything, starting with why she’d walked into a deadly trap with no back-up or even outside support. There weren't enough Master Magicians working for the Academy to risk losing any of them.

  She shook her head. The Grandmaster was minor nobility, his position secured only by his formidable magical powers. He wouldn’t understand risking his life to go after a commoner – a poor girl from a village so poor that no one outside the village knew its name – but Hind had been born a commoner herself. If the gods had decreed differently, it would have been her who had fallen into the pool and Emily who had tried to rescue her. The common folk had no protection from magic, apart from a handful of people like Hind. She wasn't going to abandon them because the nobility barely cared about their lives.

  “I’m sorry, Emily,” she said, and turned to walk back down to the village.

  The inn was lit up, she realised when she walked through the ward guarding the village against supernatural vermin. It wasn't a very good ward, but the village only had one witch and she would have barely qualified as a magician at all, had she been tested by the Academy. Hind had tested it when she had arrived and found it wanting. She had been thinking about ways to politely suggest improvements when Emily had vanished. The inn itself was the largest building in the village and, as she reached it, she realised that someone had parked a horse right outside the building. The beast itself glowed with the faint light of high magic, suggesting that it was far more than it seemed. A normal horse would have been placed into a stable, but this one had been left outside. It eyed her with disconcertingly intelligent eyes and then tossed its head towards the entrance. Hind smiled and followed its instructions. Only one kind of person would ride such a horse.

  “Mistress Hind,” the innkeeper said, as she stepped through the doors. The innkeeper was short, fat and remarkably friendly. If he’d had doubts over playing host to a magician and an unmarried woman, he kept them to himself. “You have a visitor.”

  Hind followed his gaze to the man in the corner, who stood up and saluted her with one armoured hand. He wore no armour – it had been placed on the table, where he’d been clearing it carefully – but she saw his shield and the golden emblem that marked him as a Knight of the Golden Order, the Emperor’s Own. He had a rough, but pleasant face. The innkeeper would have found him a surprisingly decent guest. The Knights of the Golden Order held themselves to very high standards.

  “Mistress Hind,” he said. He had the faint, yet firm accent of a native of the Golden City. “I have orders to escort you back to the Academy and then to the Golden City.”

  “I see,” Hind said, her mind racing. Her tour of the outer lands wasn't supposed to end for another year. There should have been no reason to call her back early, unless one of her earlier reports had interested the Grandmaster and the Emperor. “Might I ask why?”

  “I have not been vouchsafed that knowledge,” the Knight said. “The Prince merely wishes to see you as soon as possible.”

  Hind blinked. The Prince? What did Prince Eric want with her?

  Chapter Two

  The Academy was perched on top of the highest mountain in the land and surrounded by ashes. Centuries ago, during the Necromantic Wars, a force of Necromancers had used their powers to attack the Academy, generating awesome and terrifying forces to crush the centre of resistance to their advance. The forces they had unleashed had scorched the surrounding land, leaving nothing, but dust and ash for miles around. Hind had heard that the Academy had tried to encourage people to settle and reclaim the lost land, but nothing had worked. There was no way to grow anything in the wrecked soil, or make a living from the land. Only magicians and those who had business with them travelled through the wastelands.

  She pulled her horse to a stop and covertly massaged her thighs. She’d learned to ride at the Academy – horses were rare outside the nobility, traders or wealthy farmers – but it was something she had never truly liked. Her horse had been a gift from the Grandmaster, yet Hind had the private suspicion that the Grandmaster had been trying to rid himself of a liability rather than make a gift to her out of the goodness of his heart. Magic could be used to heal away the pains, but when one was riding for several days, even magic had its limitations. She caught her breath and scowled in the direction of Sir Pellaeon. The Knight of the Golden Order hadn’t shown any sign of having his own aches and pains.

  He’d been an interesting, but demanding travelling companion. It had taken seven days to travel from the village to the Academy and, every night, he’d insisted on spending only a few hours asleep before they returned to the road. Hind actually had the feeling that she was the one holding him back and, without her, he might have just kept riding, without any concern for anyone else. His enhanced horse could probably have just kept galloping along for weeks before it needed to take a rest. Hind’s own horse wasn’t as capable.

  “Don’t worry,” Sir Pellaeon called, as he cantered back towards her. “We’re nearly at the Academy and you can take a rest there.”

  Hind scowled at him, sitting up in the saddle. The Knight was right, of course, but she was still hurting. She had spent part of the trip composing her report to the Grandmaster, before Sir Pellaeon had pointed out that she didn’t have to actually write it, not when she could deliver it in person. She’d spent the rest of the trip wondering just why Prince Eric wanted to see her. It had been four years since she’d last met him in person, back when they’d graduated from the Academy and burned their green Apprentice robes. She’d gone on to become a Journeywoman and eventually reach Master rank. He’d gone back to the Golden City and started his duties as Crown Prince. They’d exchanged a handful of letters since then, but neither of them had much time for writing.

  Eric had been the same age as her, she remembered, when they’d first met. They’d been partnered by the Academy and had learned from each other. She’d actually found him rather thoughtful for a Prince, although he’d been a born warrior, and had come to enjoy his company. Unlike some of the noble children at the Academy, he hadn’t automatically dismissed every common-born girl as a slut or a whore. He hadn’t been strong on book-learning, but she’d assisted him and, in turn, he had assisted her. She had been sorry when he’d left the Academy, even though she had understood. Unlike her, or some of the lesser nobility, he couldn’t afford to turn magic into a career.

  She looked up towards the Academy as Sir Pellaeon led her up the single road. It was a cluster of golden domes perched on the mountain, surrounded by enough wards and magical defences to deter anyone from committing an act of aggression within the area. The Academy was neutral ground and a succession of Grandmasters had ruthlessly enforced that law, preventing the nobles from bringing their blood feuds and petty scrabbles into the Academy. Where everyone else had to pick a side, the Grandmaster remained above the fray, tutoring pupils in magic and – more importantly – control. A magician who failed to learn control was a danger to everyone around him. Not every magic-user went to the Academy, but all of the truly powerful ones had, at one point, passed through its gates.

  It grew larger in front of her as they started to pass through the wards. Her hair stood on end as the wards seemed to consider them before allowing them to pass through towards the gates. Some of them would merely repel any intruder; others, more dangerous, would hold the intruder helpless until the guards arrived to decide what to do with him. The statues surrounding the outer walls bore stark testament to what happened to those who tried to break through the wards. The Academy had pressed the intruders into service as inner guards.

  She felt a shiver running down her spine as she took in the statues, remembering Emily and how she had died in the pool. The statues guarding the Academy were never seen to move, but rumour had it that they moved when no one was looking, changing position with terrifying speed. Blink…and you would miss it. She met
the cold stone eyes of one of the statues and shivered again. If they’d somehow broken through the wards, those cold eyes would be the last thing she saw before she died…or joined them. The massive gates swung open and she urged the horse forward. The less she saw of those statues, the better.

  “I will wait for you in the guardhouse,” Sir Pellaeon said, breaking into her thoughts. “I believe that the Grandmaster has arranged room and bedding for me.”

  “Thank you,” Hind said, as the gates swung closed behind them. She slipped off her horse and drew on the local magic field to heal herself, before passing the reins to one of the servants, who took it gratefully. Her entire body hurt, but as the magic filtered through, she felt better and stronger. “We’ll complete the rest of the journey tomorrow.”

  She nodded to one of the guards and walked through the inner gates, feeling the wards testing her before they allowed her to pass. Inside, she saw the lawn and a dozen Apprentices practicing magic on the grass, moving their hands in a series of careful patterns. Master Usthin, the Head of Alchemy, was watching them critically, calling out suggestions to some of the new magicians. Hind, with the perspective of age, understood what the Head meant, but some of the new magicians clearly thought that it was a waste of time. Her lips twitched in private amusement. Eric and Hind had thought the same when they were both Apprentices. She walked on into the next section, where some of the advanced classes were practicing more complex spells, and winced inwardly when she caught sight of a girl trapped halfway between a human and a bird. Human transfiguration was complicated and sometimes very dangerous – and self-transfiguration was the most dangerous of all - but the girl was refusing all assistance as she struggled to either complete the transformation or change herself back to normal. The sight brought back unhappy memories. The Academy, like any school, had its fair share of bullies and magic added a whole new dimension to bullying. The Tutors believed that it taught magicians to adapt and react quickly. Hind had never believed that claim.