The Spellbinder (Tom & Laura Series) (9 page)

Chapter 11
   
First Lessons

It is difficult to measure how much Military Magic has influenced the growth of the Empire. While the British Empire is certainly the fastest growing one since the time Alexander the Great carved an empire at the speed of a trotting horse, how much of this is down to Military Magic and how much down to technological change will never be known.

But it is certain that the Empire is larger than it would otherwise be. The war with the rebel Americans would have been lost. Perhaps the territories in
Canada
would have joined them within a short time.

Would the British have chosen to keep a foothold in mainland
Europe
without the ability of Farseers to predict future trouble and nip it in the bud? Who can tell? Nevertheless, the might of the
British Empire
is measured as much in the number of its Class A Spellbinders as it is in the strength of the Royal Navy. That is how important Military Magic has become.

       
- from A Short History of Military Magics by Sir Anthony Barrett

On their way to the first lesson, Burns pulled Laura into a ladies lavatory. The facility was modern to the extent that it was fitted with water closets. However, these were recent additions and when the changes were made the builders hadn’t patched the wall from the previous system. The result was a wind that whistled through the holes in the wall, making an eerie sound that was almost like someone wailing.

Burns pinned Laura against the wall like an overexcited puppy. Laura squirmed as the older girl pressed against her

“Can you really fix my hair? How long will the bind last? I don’t want it changing back halfway through the first lesson and my valise catching on fire.”

Laura smiled at the enthusiasm in Burns’ voice. She was sure that Burns would not be the slightest bit upset if her bag caught fire. The girl appeared incorrigible. Hobsgate was going to be fun with her around. Laura smiled and gently pushed the girl away.

“I’m very good at binds. I can make one last until the blue grows out if you want me too.”

“Good God! Pardon my French, you can actually do that? That means you must be a really powerful Spellbinder and we don’t get those at Hobsgate. They are far too valuable to use as spies. We get the rarer talents here and people good at languages and with the get up and go to want to show
Britain
’s enemies what they are up against.”

Laura wondered how someone who found it difficult to stop talking would get on as a spy. Burns was like a runaway train going downhill and it was proving difficult to get a word in edgeways. She decided to tell her the truth. It was bound to get out anyway.

“I’m a Class A”

Burns’ mouth opened in shock. Laura wasn’t surprised as that was how she felt when she first found out. For ten whole seconds there was only the sound of the wailing wind. Such silence could not last long with Burns in the room.

“Flaming hell! Why did they send you here; did you kill someone? Or is someone trying to kill you? That would make sense. You are safe from enemies out here because no one is supposed to know where we are. And everybody here has been super-vetted so you don’t have to fear us. Is Carter a Class A too? Why did you tell me? That could be a mistake; I’m not good at keeping secrets. You shouldn’t have told me. You really shouldn’t.”

Burns was bouncing up and down with excitement. Laura put a hand on the girl’s shoulder to calm her down.

“Let’s sort out your hair first. It’s probably best if I don’t answer your questions, except to say that Tom is a Healer, not a Spellbinder. Can we leave it at that?”

Burns started to speak and then stopped. In the internal struggle that followed it looked as if she was going to burst from trying not to speak. She turned away from Laura and banged her fists against the wall. Laura tried very hard not to laugh.

In the space provided by the silence, Laura took a sheet of military grade parchment from her valise and carefully folded and tore off a small strip. She thought it best to conserve her paper as best she could. It wasn’t as if she could go to a stationers to get some more.

“What color hair would you like?” she asked.

Burns turned to her and made a visible effort at self-control before saying “Brown would be nice, or maybe red, no brown. Make it brown.”

Laura completed the bind and Burns’s blue hair changed to auburn.

“It’s done. Have a look in the mirror.”

Burns was delighted as she checked herself out. There was no trace of blue anywhere in her hair. She reached for her bag and told Laura, “Time to add a scar, I think.”

Laura looked on in fascination as Burns took out a couple of thin waxy crayons from her valise and created a revoltingly vivid scar across her pretty left cheek. As she worked on getting it to look just right she began to talk, this time less excitedly as she had to concentrate and keep her head still.

“These crayons are made of greasepaint and they are used by actors in the theatre. You never know when a disguise will come in handy. One day when I’m spying on the Austrian Hungarian Empire this is going to save my life.”

Laura knew she could create a much more realistic scar by writing a few words on paper, but she was impressed with how realistic Burns’ finished product looked. The girl turned to her and became agitated all over again.

“Oh my gosh, we’ll be terribly late for our first lesson. The Trench, Mrs. Trenchard to you, won’t like that at all. She’s not one to take any nonsense from her students. We have to hurry up.”

Laura allowed Burns to drag her out of the lavatory and they ran down the corridor. Burns could run very fast and Laura had trouble keeping up with her.

Everybody looked round when they entered the room, especially the sour faced woman dressed entirely in black standing by the chalkboard. Laura found her face reddening under their gazes while Burns had changed her run to a stroll as they entered and acted entirely unconcerned.

Tom and Tompkins had kept two desks spare alongside them and Laura sat down gratefully. Burns made sure that everyone in the room saw the scar on her face by turning a slow full circle before finally sitting down to a smattering of applause from her fellow students.

“Very good, Miss Burns,” Mrs. Trenchard said dryly, “If only your written work was as good as your make-up you would undoubtedly be getting A’s instead of your usual dismal D’s. In addition, may I congratulate you on the removal of the dye from your hair? The sight of which has been giving me a severe headache.”

Mrs. Trenchard stared at the class and they fell silent.

“We welcome today two new members to this training academy, Miss Young and Mr. Carter. Miss Young is a talented Spellbinder and Mr. Carter is a Healer. While they are unusually young to be here I hope you will make them welcome. They have already been subjected to an enemy attack in
London
and…”

At the mention of the attack the room filled with the sound of whispering. The students had heard about the poison gas accident in
London
and were busy putting two and two together.

“If I can get your attention please!” Mrs. Trenchard said loudly. The noise died down. “They have been moved to Hobsgate for their own safety…,”

“Not to mention the safety of Londoners,” an anonymous voice put in from the back of the room

“…and I expect you to help them adapt to their new environment.” Mrs. Trenchard continued. “Don’t disappoint me in this matter, ladies and gentlemen.”

“For the benefit of our new puppies, my name is Mrs. Trenchard and I am the deputy head of this establishment. I teach strategy, though how much of it gets into the thick heads of my students is entirely another matter.”

“Today we are going to consider the Empire’s relationship with
France
. One of the first uses of military magic was to extend the Empire to include the previously French
province
of
Brittany
. As the name suggested, over the centuries this land has been under the control of English on and off since William the Conqueror conquered
England
in 1066.”

Laura was surprised when Mrs. Trenchard then took what appeared to be a very negative view of the Empire. They were told about massacres of innocents, betrayals and how, even today, the majority of the people in
Brittany
thought of themselves as Frenchmen held captive under foreign rule. This contrasted with history lessons from her school where much had been made of the heroic actions of the Empire’s soldiers against the swarthy republican French hoards in the taking of the province.

“So we British are scum then?” A voice asked sarcastically from the back of the room. “All those brave soldiers who fought and gave their lives for Queen and country were nothing but murderers and rapists?”

Mrs. Trenchard smiled at the interruption. “A good question, Damon. I am giving you a balanced view, so you will understand why people fight against the Empire, and why the French are still our enemies, though we are not currently at war with them.” Mrs. Trenchard looked over her glasses at her pupils, “If you do not learn this, you would be identified as a spy the first time you opened your mouth in
France
, no matter how good your French accent.”

She paused while they absorbed that lesson. “I believe in the Empire, we have brought order and stability to large portions of the globe, we build schools and hospitals and treat all our subjects as equals. Nevertheless, we have done this by destroying their original methods of government and by killing many good people who fought against us
for their country
. Our job now is to hold the Empire together until these things are forgiven and the good that the Empire does can be seen and understood.”

Mrs. Trenchard turned to the blackboard and began to write copious notes onto the board. This included
Brittany
’s population size, split into its cities and towns, local religions and numbers of churchgoers, regions and disputed lands. It soon became clear that politics in
Brittany
was a complex matter.

Tom wondered what exactly they were being taught. He had always thought strategy was about deciding when to deploy your cavalry in a battle. Mrs. Trenchard seemed to think it was about getting one group of the enemy mad with another so they never banded together to rebel.

When the lesson finished he made his way to the door carried along by the crowd as Laura and Burns stayed by their desks caught up in some discussion. Tompkins had gone ahead with the rest of the class and Tom hung back outside the door until the corridor was empty of staff and students. The corridor turned a right angle a few yards ahead and he had no idea where the other students had gone after that.

He was getting a bit nervous, just standing there, and he wished Laura would get a move on and join him. The Burns girl did not seem to be a good influence on her.

A muffled voice called to him from around the corner, “Carter, come quick. I need your help.”

Tom looked into the lecture room and saw that Laura and Burns were still talking. The voice called to him again, this time more urgently.

He hurried down the corridor and turned the corner into a vicious impact of a fist into his solar plexus, bending him over and knocking the air from his lungs. A knee drove into his chest and ribs. He heard one of his ribs crack as he was lifted into the air by the force of the blow.
 
He fell back into the corridor he’d come from. The last thing he saw was the tip of a boot being driven at his head.

Laura noticed that Tom was no longer standing at the door and for some reason it disturbed her.
Cam
,
‘it’s short for Camilla’
Burns was talking about disguises and wanted to know if she could fake an accent using a bind. Laura hadn’t been able to get away, but she was sure that Tom wouldn’t have gone on without her. She left
Cam
in mid-sentence and ran to the door. Looking along the corridor she saw Tom’s body slumped on the ground, blood pooling around his head.

When she reached him, she dropped to the floor and cradled his head. He was breathing, but unconscious.
Cam
arrived at her side and spoke in an unexpectedly commanding manner.

“You stay here and look after him. I’ll go and get the doctor.”

Cam
dropped her valise and ran down the corridor as fast as she could go.