1 - Tales of the Nameless World by Christopher G. Nuttall

Author:Christopher G. Nuttall [Nuttall, Christopher G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Tales of the Nameless World#1
Publisher: Christopher G. Nuttall, T.O.
Published: 2023-08-09T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

It was a relief, Gennady found when they made the long trek back to Whitehall the following morning, to discover that his roommates were a pair of aristocrats who’d never paid any particular attention to him. They seemed too wrapped up in their family affairs to change that, as far as he could tell. One was a close friend - or crony, more like - of Charlus, yet he didn’t seem inclined to pick a fight with Gennady. Gennady was sure that would change, sooner or later, but he’d take what he could get. He certainly wouldn’t have felt safe keeping the stolen book in his old room. Who knew if Charlus would have started pawing through Gennady’s possessions?

He concealed the book within his drawer, then met up with his friends and went to class. It was just as hard as he remembered, with the students hitting the ground running. There was very little time for a private meeting, even after classes formally came to an end. Gennady had to spend the first few evenings in the library, just to catch up with the rest of the class. He had to wait until the weekend - and then reserve a spellchamber - just so he could have a proper chat with his friends.

“So,” Simon said, once they’d cast privacy wards. “What’s the big secret?”

“You’ve been dropping hints all week,” Lyndred added. She smiled warmly, her eyes lingering on Simon. It was clear they were steadily growing closer. “What is it?”

Gennady felt a hint of dull resentment. He didn’t want Lyndred. She was pretty, but she wasn’t Primrose. And yet, he envied Simon for growing closer to a girl. He wanted to do that too. He wanted ... he shook his head. He didn’t have time. He wanted - he needed - to get them to help him.

He opened his knapsack. “I found this book,” he said. The journal tingled against his fingers as he brought it into the open. “It has a handful of spells we can try.”

Simon sucked in his breath. “Where did you get that?”

“I found it,” Gennady repeated. Simon hadn’t grown up with the knowledge he might be killed at any moment, that sometimes one needed to steal to survive. Simon wouldn’t understand the truth. “It belonged to an older student who left Whitehall years ago.”

“Found it,” Simon repeated. He didn’t sound as if he believed the story. “Where ... where did you find it?”

Gennady scowled. “The point is, the book includes a handful of rites and rituals we can use to boost our powers,” he said. “We can jump up a level or two overnight, if ...”

Simon and Lyndred exchanged glances. “That’s dangerous,” Lyndred said, finally. “We’ve been warned not to try ...”

“Of course we have.” Gennady felt a rush of anger. She didn’t understand. She really didn’t understand. “They don’t want us to boost our powers.”

“If that was true,” Simon said reasonably, “why would they teach us magic in the first place?”

“They’re making sure we never catch up with Charlus and his band of merry bastards,” Gennady snarled.

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