“Yeah,” Gennady said. “We’ll get him for it.”
The corridors felt oddly empty as they hurried to the dining hall. Housemaster Fredrick had made it clear that anyone who didn’t get to dinner during dinnertime would go hungry, unless they had a very good excuse. Older students might get some leeway, but junior students wouldn’t. Gennady felt his stomach rumble as he headed to the stairs. He wanted—he needed—to eat before it was too late. And ...
“Well, well, well,” a voice said. Charlus’s voice. “What have we here?”
Gennady froze. Charlus was standing ahead of them, one hand raised in a casting pose. One of his friends stood next to him, his arms crossed over his chest. Gennady knew, without having to look, that Charlus’s other friend was behind them. An ambush. It was an ambush and they’d walked straight into it. Fear gripped him, once again. Hogarth was strong and brutal, but Gennady knew what to expect from him. Charlus, on the other hand, could do anything.
“Get out of the way.” Lyndred’s voice shook. “We have to get to dinner ...”
“You don’t belong here,” Charlus said. “Base-born brats with no magic ...”
“We do have magic.” Gennady forced himself to speak. It was hard, so hard, to break the habits of a lifetime. Cold logic told him he was probably stronger than Charlus, but it was hard to believe. He’d dealt with too many bullies who’d only grow worse if he tried to fight back. “We belong here ...”
“We do,” Lyndred agreed. She took a step forward. “Get out of our way.”
“Little slut,” Charlus said. “Let’s see you, shall we?”
He made a gesture with his hand. Lyndred yelped in shock as she was yanked into the air by an unseen force, then flipped upside down. Her robes fell, revealing her bare legs and her underwear ... Gennady stared in helpless shock, torn between a surge of desire and shame, hating himself for daring to look. Lyndred was a decent woman. She didn’t deserve to be exposed like that, not against her will ... not ever. Charlus leered at the poor girl as she tried to cover herself, manipulating her body so her robes kept her arms trapped. She couldn’t break free, let alone hide.
Simon yelled and threw himself at Charlus, fists raised. Charlus’s friend cast a spell and Simon froze, as if he’d run straight into a brick wall. Gennady swallowed hard ... anger burned through him as he tasted, once again, the bitter pill of humiliation. The anger turned to fire, raging through his mind. He drew on it, feeling his magic pulsing around him. The rage was directionless, yet ... he forced himself to throw it at Charlus. Red light flared as raw magic blasted the aristocratic boy ...
Gennady staggered, flames pulsing at the corner of his eye. He suddenly felt tired, very tired. His vision blurred. His legs buckled. He blinked hard, convinced—as his vision cleared—that he’d forced Charlus and his friends to run. And then he saw them, laughing at him. The corridor was scorched and pitted, but the aristocrats were unharmed.
“Is that the best you can do?” Charlus snickered. Gennady was starting to really hate that sound. “An unfocused blast of magic? Really?”
Gennady had no time to say anything before he felt his body lurching forward, his hands hitting the ground as he prostrated himself against his will. He struggled against the compulsion, but it was no use. The power was just too strong. He couldn’t even lift his head as he heard Charlus approaching.
“That’s how I like you,” Charlus mocked. “On your knees.”
Gennady heard Charlus turn and walk away. His entire body felt utterly exhausted, as if he was too tired to go to sleep. He tried hard to break the spell, but his headache grew worse and worse every time he tried. People were laughing at them. He was sure people were laughing. The exposed girl, the frozen boy, the prostrate boy ... he wondered, briefly, what would happen if he reported Charlus to Mistress Irene. She’d punished him once already, but ... Charlus had taken his anger out on the three of them. Who knew what he’d do if he got in trouble again?
“And what,” a cold voice said, “are you doing?”
Gennady felt a surge of magic, spinning through the air and brushing against him. The spell broke, leaving him sagging against the floor. Beside him, Simon’s body hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. Lyndred was luckier. She was lowered to the floor by an unseen force. Gennady tried not to look at her underclothes as she fought desperately to conceal herself, rolling over again and again until her robe was back in place. She stood, tears glistening in her eyes. Gennady forced himself to stand too, despite his tiredness. She was his friend. She needed his support.
“Answer my question,” the voice repeated. “What are you doing?”
Gennady turned suddenly to see an older student standing behind him. He wore fancy robes, with a golden badge on his breast. The Housemaster had said something about a Head Pupil, hadn’t he? Gennady found it hard to remember. A pupil with tutor-like authority? It sounded like a recipe for disaster to him.
“We were practicing spells,” Lyndred said. She sounded as if she was searching for an excuse. “And things got out of hand.”
“Really?” The Head Pupil didn’t sound like he believed her. “What sort of spells?”
Gennady felt himself flush. Lyndred had every reason not to talk about what had happened. The rules might be different here ... or they might not. Admitting what had happened to her would weaken her future prospects, whatever they were. He wanted to tell the truth, but ... what would happen if he did? Nothing, at best. Gennady felt a surge of bitter hatred, mingled with grim determination. He was going to study hard, he promised himself again and again. He was going to study until he gained the power to make Charlus suffer, then he’d make him suffer. And Hogarth and everyone else who’d ever mocked him ...
“I’d advise you to learn protective charms,” the Head Pupil said. His eyes never left Lyndred. “There are spells you can cast on your robes, wards to protect you against all sorts of spells. The library has thousands of them.”
“Yes, sir.” Lyndred was flushing bright red. “Thank you, sir.”
Gennady felt for her, more than he’d ever felt for anyone before. The thought of Primrose in such a state ... he felt conflicted, then ashamed of himself. He shouldn’t think of Primrose like that. She was a decent woman. And he’d never do that to anyone.
“And you might want to make sure you’re never caught alone,” the Head Pupil added. His voice was very cold, yet ... there was a hint of dispassion in it, as if he were talking about something as mundane as the weather. “Worse things can happen.”
Gennady swallowed. He had a feeling the older student was right.
Chapter 6
Gennady had never really believed things could get worse, but they did.
Charlus was a thoroughly unpleasant roommate in so many ways. He bossed Gennady and Simon around, handing out tasks as if they were servants—or slaves—and he was the untouchable master. The three of them were expected to clean their room, but Charlus made Gennady and Simon do all the work. He’d have his friends come to visit at all hours of the day and order his two roommates to leave, when they weren’t being used as targets for his spells. He even had the nerve to gloat about how his roommates were helping him practice his magic.
It didn’t get any better in classes. Charlus was a past master at doing tricks without being noticed—and the tutors, damn them, seemed to give him a pass, the few times they caught him being a bully. Gennady hadn’t understood, at first, until he’d worked out that Charlus’s family was very powerful. The tutors were afraid to berate him because his family could—and would—make a terrible fuss. Gennady found it hard to keep up with the rest of the class, if only because Charlus was constantly damaging his work or disrupting his concentration. He knew, all too well, that he was at the very bottom of the class. His tutors were already talking about forcing him to repeat the year.