The Alchemist's Secret (The Zero Enigma, #12) by Christopher G. Nuttall

Author:Christopher G. Nuttall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nuttall, Wizard School, Magic School, Revolution, Uprising
Publisher: Christopher G. Nuttall
Published: 2024-06-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-One: Akin

Cat was weeping, silently.

I wrapped my arm around her, heedless of who might see, as we stared at the remnants of the Meksect. The lower half seemed fine, but the upper carapace was cracked and broken, melted by the intense heat unleashed by the rioters. The incredibly precise collection of manipulators, from crude tentacles to tiny little tools that could take apart a Device of Power without difficulty, was gone, perhaps melted into a puddle of rapidly-cooling metal. There were hundreds of spells that manipulated fire, from simple firestarter charms to outright weapons of war, but I didn’t know anything that could produce such heat. It looked as if the metal itself had caught fire in places, the interior ruined so completely it was beyond all hope of repair.

“I ...” Cat shivered against me, though we both knew we were being watched. The guards and armsmen were pretending to mind their own business, but the aristos and broadsheet reporters weren’t even trying to hide their interest ... and I knew, deep inside, that we were probably being watched from a distance too. The majority of aristos had been taken home and cautioned to stay inside, forcing them to use magic to see the aftermath. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I said. “It wasn’t your fault.”

I rubbed my forehead, trying to force myself to step back and study the devastation emotionlessly. It wasn’t easy. All hell had broken loose, almost immediately after Louise had finished her speech, and we’d had to run. I’d been lucky Cat had been waiting for me – we had intended to visit Jude’s afterwards – and yet, I had come very close to putting her in immense danger. Cat’s Objects of Power could protect her against almost any magic, from the mildest of charms to the darkest of curses, but she could have been beaten up or killed or ... I groaned, inwardly. Her father was going to kill me. Perhaps literally.

My heart sank as I let my gaze wander along the cobblestones. There were bodies everywhere, mostly commoners. I tried to tell myself that most were merely seriously injured, but I couldn’t convince myself. A couple were literally forming at the mouth ... I felt sick, disgusted. The mouth-soaping spell was disgusting and thoroughly unpleasant – I’d had a nanny who’d been very fond of it – and it was quite possible for someone to choke themselves to death, if the spell wasn’t removed in time. And the poor commoners in front of me had ...

I swallowed, again, as I saw the prisoners, dozens of men and women lying face down on the ground, their hands bound behind their backs. A couple were clearly aristos ... I wondered, numbly, if they’d been part of the riot, or merely caught up in the chaos and found themselves unable to escape. It wasn’t impossible they’d been swept up by the guards deliberately. It was rare for a lowborn guard to have a chance to manhandle an aristocrat

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