A Crystal of Time. Soman Chainani

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ “bad gifts” . . . “warned him” . . . “should have listened” . . .

      No one else spoke for a long while.

      “Things could be worse,” said Hester finally.

      “How could it be worse?” Hort shrieked. “The boy we thought was our savior and new best friend turned out to be the most Evil scum on the planet.”

      “We should have known. Anyone who likes Sophie is bound to be horrible,” Kiko wisped.

      “I’m not one to defend Sophie, but it isn’t her fault,” said Dot, failing to turn the ribbon in her hair to chocolate. “Rhian tricked her like he tricked all of us.”

      “Who says he tricked her?” said Reena. “Maybe she knew his plan all along. Maybe that’s why she accepted his ring.”

      “To steal Agatha’s place as queen? Even Sophie isn’t that Evil,” said Anadil.

      “We just stood there instead of fighting back,” said Nicola, despondent. “We should have done something—”

      “It happened too fast!” said Hort. “One second the guards are parading the Snake’s dead body and the next they’re grabbing Tedros and slamming Merlin over the head.”

      “Did anyone see where they took them?” Dot asked.

      “Or Guinevere?” said Reena.

      “What about Agatha?” asked Bogden. “Last I saw, she was running through the crowd—”

      “Maybe she escaped!” said Kiko.

      “Or maybe she was beaten to death by that mob out there,” said Anadil.

      “Rather take her odds than be stuck in here,” said Willam. “I’ve lived at Camelot most of my life. These dungeons are immune to magic spells. No one’s ever gotten out.”

      “We don’t have any friends left to get us out,” said Hort.

      “And given that we serve no use to Rhian anymore, he’ll probably cut off our heads by dinnertime,” Beatrix scorned, turning to Hester. “So tell me, wise witch, how can things possibly be any worse?”

      “We could have Tedros in our cell too,” Hester replied. “That would be worse.”

      Anadil and Dot cracked up.

      “Hester,” a voice said.

      They turned to see Professor Clarissa Dovey thrust her head through the bars of the next cell, her face clammy and pale.

      “Tedros and Merlin might both be dead. The true King of Camelot and Good’s greatest wizard,” the Dean of Good rasped. “And instead of thinking about a plan to help them, you’re making jokes?”

      “Difference between Good and Evil. Evil knows how to look at the bright side,” Anadil murmured.

      “Not to be rude, Professor, but shouldn’t you be the one thinking of a plan?” said Dot. “You’re a Dean and we’re technically still students.”

      “Hasn’t been acting like a Dean,” Hester groused. “Been in that cell the last ten minutes and didn’t say a word.”

      “Because I’ve been trying to think of—” Dovey started, but Hester cut her off.

      “I know fairy godmothers are used to waving away problems with pixie dust and magic wands, but magic isn’t getting us out of this.” Hester could feel her demon searing hotter, her frustration turned on the Dean. “After teaching at a school where Good always wins, maybe you’re in denial that Evil actually won. Evil that’s made itself look Good, which is cheating in my book. But win it did. And if you don’t wake up and face the fact that we’re fighting someone who doesn’t play by your rules, then nothing you ‘think’ of is ever going to beat him.”

      “Especially without your broken crystal ball,” Anadil seconded.

      “Or broken wand,” thirded Dot.

      “Do you even have your Quest Map?” Hort asked Dovey.

      “Probably broke that too,” Anadil snorted.

      “How dare you talk to her like that!” Beatrix blazed. “Professor Dovey has dedicated her life to her students. That’s why she’s in a cell to begin with. You know full well she’s been ill—gravely ill—and that Merlin ordered her to stay at school when the Snake attacked Camelot. But still she came to protect us. All of us, Good and Evil. She’s served the school for”—Beatrix glanced at Dovey’s silver hair and deep wrinkles—“who knows how long, and you speak to her like she owes you something? Would you speak to Lady Lesso that way? Lady Lesso, who died to protect Professor Dovey? She would have expected you to trust her best friend. And to help her. So if you respected Evil’s Dean, then you better respect Good’s Dean too.”

      Quiet stretched over the cell.

      “Come a long way from that Tedros-loving twit our first year,” Dot whispered to Anadil.

      “Shut up,” Hester mumbled.

      Professor Dovey, on the other hand, came alive at the mention of Lady Lesso’s name. Tightening her bun, she pushed through her cell bars to get closer to her students. “Hester, it’s natural to lash out when you feel helpless. All of us feel helpless right now. But listen to me. No matter how dark things seem, Rhian isn’t Rafal. He’s shown no evidence of sorcery, nor is he protected by an immortal spell like Rafal was. Rhian has only gotten this far because of lies. He lied to us about where he comes from. He lied to us about who he is. And I have no doubt he’s lying about his claim to the crown.”

      “Yet he managed to pull Excalibur from the stone,” Hester argued. “So either he’s telling the truth about being King Arthur’s son . . . or he’s a sorcerer after all.”

      Professor Dovey resisted this. “Even with him pulling the sword, my instinct tells me he’s neither Arthur’s son nor the true king. I haven’t proof, of course, but I believe there’s a reason Rhian’s file never crossed my desk or Lady Lesso’s as a prospective student, when every child, Good or Evil, has a file at school. He claims he went to the Foxwood School for Boys, but that could be a lie, like all his other lies. And lies will only take him so far without skills, discipline, and training, all of which my students possess in spades. If we stick to a plan, we can stay one step ahead of him. So listen carefully. First off, Anadil, your rats will be our spies. Send one to find Merlin, the second to find Tedros, and the third to find Agatha wherever she may be—”

      Anadil’s rats sprang out of her pockets, elated to finally be useful, but Anadil squashed them down again. “Don’t you think I thought of that already? You heard Willam. The dungeon is impenetrable. There’s no way for them to— Ow!”

      One of the rats had bitten her, and now all three were scampering through her fingers, sniffing and searching the cell walls, before they squeezed through three different cracks and disappeared.

      “Rats always find a way. That’s what makes them rats,” said Professor Dovey, craning to see СКАЧАТЬ