The Spell of Undoing Read Online Free

not, repeat not, burglarising the Magicians’ Guild.’
    ‘Now, now, Tab –’
    ‘You know what they'd do to me if they caught me? Boiling in oil would be a lot more fun!’
    ‘Tab, my dear girl –’ began Fontagu, whose own voice was a squeaky quaver in the gloom.
    Tab stamped her foot. ‘Don't you “dear girl” me,’ she snarled. ‘You lied to me. You said it would be a walk on the pier – and I just remembered something about piers. They're dead ends!’
    Fontagu suddenly straightened and it was actually quite eerie what happened next. He seemed to change. His voice deepened, even sounded different somehow. It was as if he had just put on one of his acting roles. And of course that's exactly what he had done. It was a role he had played many times before: Bassardo the Brave, from the extremely popular play, Borrowed Trouble.
    As Bassardo, Fontagu tut-tutted. He now oozed confidence.
    ‘My dear girl,’ he began again. ‘Ordinarily I would be forced to agree. But there are three reasons why tonight that isn't so.’ And he ticked them off on his fingers. ‘First, between the war and the celebrations, most of the magicians are away … ’
    ‘Yeah, but some of them can fly pretty fast when they want to,’ muttered Tab.
    ‘Second, almost all the safeguards are designed to protect against other magicians. One like yourself, and a Dung Brigader to boot, who hasn't a speck of magic, has little to fear – you are as a flea to a dog, almost invisible to them.’
    Tab's heart sank. She didn't want to be invisible if that were the case.
    ‘And third, you will be wearing this.’ Fontagu produced a bronze bracelet which he clipped around Tab's thin wrist. It fit snugly.
    Tab eyed it suspiciously. ‘It looks like a market trinket. What is it?’
    ‘It is a talisman of great power, and will make you almost completely undetectable by their most powerful charms and spells.’
    ‘Why didn't you say that in the first place?’
    ‘Please, child, allow me my art. The greatest actors – the artistes – know best how to deliver an immortal line.’
    Tab eyed him. ‘So you're really just a plain out-of-work actor?’
    Fontagu drew himself up. ‘How dare you! There is nothing plain about my talent. I have played the greatest houses in Quentaris, I've been the talk of towns, admired by kings and queens. Plain, indeed. Why, once, I played the balcony scene in Much Ado About Everything. Besides, it's a well-known fact that actors make the best spies. Ask anyone.’ He lashed out and grabbed Tab as she headed off to do just that. ‘Some other time. Let us get back to the business at hand. Do you see that storm pipe outlet up there?’
    Tab nodded. ‘The one with water trickling out?’ The pipe in question was about eighteen inches in diameter.
    ‘That's … erm … run-off from the roof,’ said Fontagu quickly. ‘You must climb in there. Take the first right-hand turn in the pipe and you'll come out at the kitchen. Head for the pantry. There's a lever on the inside of the door. It's disguised as a bean grinder.’
    ‘How do you know all this?’
    Fontagu sighed. ‘The Archon's spies know the city's best-kept secrets. The Archon has known where his icefire gem has been stashed for many years. And he's decided that now is the time to reclaim it. With few people in the city there's less chance of anyone getting killed if anything goes wrong.’
    ‘Killed?’ Tab asked. ‘You never said anything about getting –’
    Fontagu managed a nervous little laugh. His persona was slipping. ‘Did I say killed? Silly me. I meant billed. That's an acting term. It means … erm … people finding out, knowing about you. Can't have that now, can we?’
    ‘Yeah, right.’
    ‘Well, come along now,’ Fontagu said quickly, shooing her towards the end of the lane and the drainpipe. ‘Oh, I nearly forgot. A fake wall will slide across when you pull the lever. You'll find the icefire gem resting on a pedestal. From the moment you