Bookworm II: The Very Ugly Duckling by Christopher Nuttall

Author:Christopher Nuttall
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Action & Adventure, FM Fantasy, General, Fantasy, FIC002000 Fiction / Action & Adventure, FIC009000 FICTION / Fantasy / General, Fiction
ISBN: 9781908168382
Publisher: Elsewhen Press
Published: 2014-01-02T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Three

Admitting mistakes did not come easily to Duncan Conidian.

He’d made a mistake when he’d allowed Johan to be bullied by the rest of his family. He’d made a mistake when he’d treated Jamal like a prince, despite his increasingly unpleasant behaviour. And he’d made another mistake by thinking that it would be easy to mend bridges between himself and his second son. For Duncan, blood was everything; for Johan, it was little more than an awkward relationship with a family of monsters.

The remains of the table lay in front of him. There were spells that could cause that much damage, but they had to be spoken aloud. Johan, on the other hand, seemed to have used his magic to destroy the table with nary a word. Somehow, he’d managed to develop control of his magic far quicker than even Jamal ... as also evidenced by how quickly and effectively he’d frozen Jolie. The younger boy was still in shock. His despised elder brother shouldn’t have been able to just ... stop him. But Johan had.

Duncan had ordered the rest of the family to their bedrooms, leaving him alone. He had no time for his wife’s perpetual unconcern, or his daughter’s new habit of telling him the truth, no matter how hurtful, but for once he wasn’t sure what to do next. Johan seemed utterly unwilling to meet him halfway – and, indeed, Duncan knew that he had a point. Why should he be loyal? And offering him Marina had been another mistake. Johan had known that he would never have a magical wife, if indeed he was permitted to have a wife at all. A born magician would have jumped at the chance, no matter what Marina thought about it. Johan, on the other hand, had refused her.

There has to be something he wants, Duncan thought, desperately. Deferens, damn him, had been right about one thing. Johan represented a whole new field of study and the people that controlled access would have a chance to make themselves rich and powerful. Who knew how much wealthy mundanes would pay for access to magic? But what can I offer him?

He turned the thought over and over in his mind, but came up with no answer. Johan might not take the vault Duncan had offered him, but if he chose to make use of his new powers he would never lack for money. What else did he even want? Duncan could withdraw his objections to his planned career, but those plans had already been derailed by his sudden development of magic. Johan wouldn’t want to be a Civil Servant when he could be a Court Wizard ...

And if he chooses to enter the Peerless School he can apply for a scholarship if I refuse to pay. Duncan thought, grimly. Or one of the family’s enemies will offer to pay for him.

He opened his mouth to call for Charity – perhaps she could go and talk some sense into her brother – and then closed it again as a maid ran into the room, carrying a black-edged envelope.

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