Necropolis (Royal Sorceress Book 3) Read Online Free Page B

truths, rather than revealed them – but the older woman looked too thin to ever have children. A nasty thought struck her, but a quick check revealed that Madame Constant was definitely female. Embarrassed, she ignored the coughing sound from Lady Fanny and straightened up. If she could pass for a man from time to time, why couldn’t a man pass for a woman?
    It’s harder to fool women than men , she reminded herself, sharply.
    “I think hiring her was a mistake,” she said, as she looked down at the dead body. “And your daughter is likely to carry the scars for a long time to come.”
    Lady Fanny blanched.
    Gwen ignored her as she turned back towards the fire. The firemen had intensified their efforts, yet the flames had neither faded away nor spread to the rest of the house. She fought down the urge to laugh as she realised the truth, then started to walk towards the flames, Lady Fanny scampering after her as if she didn’t quite believe what Gwen was doing. Up close, the heat was almost overpowering. Gwen felt sweat trickling down her back as she walked closer to the flames.
    “Stay here,” she ordered.
    Bracing herself, she pushed forward, closing her eyes and concentrating her mind. The heat grew even hotter, but it didn’t burn her flesh. Smirking to herself, she kept walking forward, feeling the heat fading away to nothingness. An illusion, she told herself, as she opened her eyes. Someone with more power than skill had created a small fire and an illusion of a very large one. There was almost no real damage at all.
    Outside, she heard shouting from the firemen, none of whom seemed to be able to believe their eyes. Gwen felt a moment of sympathy for them – they’d probably be blamed for soaking the house in their struggle against the illusory fire, once the illusion stopped affecting them too – then she stepped forward, into the schoolroom.
    Inside, she was greeted by a scene from hell.

 

    Chapter Three
    T he schoolroom itself wasn’t too different from the study Gwen had used when she’d been a child, working her way through an endless succession of tutors. There was a pair of desks, a larger desk for the teacher and a blackboard, which had been badly marred by the fire. A shattered cane lay on the floor, smashed into a dozen pieces. One cupboard lay smashed open, revealing dried food and bottled water. She looked over towards the shattered window and winced, inwardly, as she saw the blood and the mangled remains of Madame Constant’s arm. Her body had been blown right out of the window.
    Should have asked where they found the body, stupid , Gwen told herself, as she searched the room quickly and efficiently. There was no sign of where the children – both children – had gone, but someone could easily have taken a small amount of dried food from one cupboard and a bottle of water from another. It suggested that there had been no preplanning before they’d fled, Gwen noted, although it was impossible to say for sure. The whole affair might have been carefully planned in advance.
    Pushing the thought aside, she looked over towards the other door and realised that it led to a second room. Peeking through, she discovered the mangled remains of a Grand Piano – one that had probably cost more than Gwen made in a year – lying on the floor, ripped to pieces. It didn’t look as though it had been blasted by a Blazer, something that worried Gwen more than she cared to admit. If Susan was displaying more than one kind of magic, it suggested she was a Master Magician, just like Gwen. Finding another Master would be a relief, but it would also be a major problem. The elements within the Royal Sorcerers Corps that hated the idea of Gwen leading them would have a collective fit when they realised that her successor would also be female.
    And not a very patient one , she thought, remembering her own music lessons. Those hadn’t lasted very long. She simply hadn’t had the patience to learn to play