The Conjuring Man by Christopher G. Nuttall

Author:Christopher G. Nuttall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nuttall, Wizard School, Steampunk, Magic, Revolution
Publisher: Christopher G. Nuttall
Published: 2022-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lilith sucked in her breath as she stepped through the portal. “Ow!”

Adam glanced at her, worriedly. “Are you alright?”

“I hate portals,” Lilith muttered. She looked dazed, ignoring the frantic motions from the guards ordering her to get out of the way before someone else stepped through the magic gateway and walked right into her. “They always make me feel sore.”

Adam caught her hand and pulled her gently forward, past the guards and waiting labourers. It was a sign of how badly affected she was, he thought, that she made no protest at this. Normally, she wouldn’t let him pull her at all. Her face was pale, her throat bobbing as she swallowed hard time and time again. The portal had affected her badly.

He turned, keeping one arm around her waist as he looked at the portal. It looked weirdly translucent to him, a shimmering square of magic that didn’t seem quite real. His head spun as a row of workers stepped through the gate, carrying heavy boxes down the ramp and into the city. The Levellers were already working hard, their section leaders – all elected, from what he’d heard – taking command and directing the workers to take their supplies to the depot. There was no escaping the grim reality that Farrakhan was preparing itself for war.

“Sorry.” Lilith straightened, pulled away from him and brushed down her dress. “It just got to me.”

“Overspill?” Adam had spent the last four days reading everything he could about magical overspill, trying to figure out if there was a way to ensure too much overspill would produce an explosive reaction. Or something. “Do you want to sit down?”

“No.” Lilith shook her head. “I just want to carry on.”

“Hey, you two,” Jasper’s voice said. “Guess what I’ve been doing?”

Adam looked up. Jasper looked surprisingly unmagical, having exchanged his robes for a tunic and shirt. He looked so different Adam had to admit he probably wouldn’t have recognised him if he hadn’t opened his mouth. The accent was unchanged.

“Um ...” Adam made a show of thinking about it. “Sitting on your arse, doing nothing while everyone else works?”

Jasper snorted. “No, I’ve been helping prepare the army and sort out the city,” he said. “Do you have any idea how much there is to do?”

Adam and Lilith exchanged glances as he went on. “Lots of things,” Jasper said. “I’ve helped boil water and sweep out sewage and go through old magical homes to see if there’s anything left, anything we can use. I’ve been very busy!”

He turned away. “You’re wanted in the park,” he said. “Come along.”

“Arnold,” Lilith muttered, her voice very low. “It’s Arnold. It has to be.”

Adam considered it briefly, then shrugged. Jasper had never struck him as particularly smart or insightful. Dalia and her comrades would have no trouble manipulating him, perhaps by showing a little breast or leg for everything he did. Or something ... he knew it was mean-spirited, to say the least, but Jasper had been unpleasant to him for months and it was too late to think of him as anything other than a prat.

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