The Face of the Enemy by Christopher G. Nuttall

Author:Christopher G. Nuttall [Nuttall, Christopher G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, sorcerers, Alternate world, Magic, New Adult, Magicians
ISBN: 9781606193952
Publisher: Twilight Times Books
Published: 2021-04-16T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One

EMILY FROWNED AS SHE SPOTTED THE maid outside the sergeant’s bedroom. The young girl looked terrified, as if she’d made a terrible mistake. Emily feared she had. If she’d gone into the room, she might have woken the sergeant and... she dreaded to think what might have happened, if the sergeant had awoken from his nightmares to find himself in a strange place. The maid’s apparent harmlessness might not have saved her. Sergeant Miles knew, all too well, that the world’s deadliest people often looked completely harmless.

“Go fetch some food and leave it outside,” Emily ordered, tersely. The poor girl wasn’t to be blamed. She’d probably been ordered to clean the rooms, without realizing there was someone in the bed until it was far too late. Hell, maybe she’d been ordered to do her duty regardless of the man in the bed. “And then leave this room strictly alone.”

She ignored the maid’s hasty curtsy as she pushed the door open and stepped into the darkened room. The lantern lay on the floor, dead and cold. She cast a night-vision spell, bracing herself for trouble. The room was a terrible mess. Paintings had been knocked from the walls, the wardrobe and chest of draws looked as if someone had smashed them with a hammer... Sergeant Miles was tossing and turning, his magic crackling around him as if he were having a nightmare. Emily had seen younger magicians having nightmares, to the point they lost control of their powers, but never someone significantly older than herself. She’d always been told that magicians either kept their powers under control, even when they were asleep, or they were woken by the threat of losing control. And yet...

Emily hesitated, then cast a lightspell. Sergeant Miles’s eyes snapped open, looking around frantically. His power sharpened on the air, brushing against hers... his eyes stared at her, his hands moving in a pattern she couldn’t follow. An invisible force crashed into her, picking her up and slamming her against the walls. She barely had a second to cushion the blow. Emily forced herself to hold still as he sat up, staring at her blearily. She feared he wasn’t quite awake. If he was trapped in his nightmare, if he thought she was a threat... she readied herself to break free, if he threw something nasty at her. She didn’t relish the thought. Sergeant Miles had always been one of the strongest magicians she’d known.

“Barb?”

Emily’s heart almost broke. “It’s me,” she said. “Emily.”

“Emily?” Sergeant Miles stared dully at her, then waved a hand. The force holding her in place vanished. “What... what happened?”

His eyes sharpened. “What did you do?”

“I put you to sleep,” Emily said, flatly. “How are you feeling?”

“You...” Sergeant Miles stood, glaring at her. “What the hell were you thinking?”

Emily forced herself to meet his gaze. She knew she would have been angry too, if someone had put her to sleep - if someone had rendered her helpless - without her consent. She knew she wouldn’t have taken it lightly, she knew she would have taken it as a breach of trust.

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