Christopher Nuttall [Nuttall - Cursed

Cursed

(Schooled in Magic XVII)

Christopher G. Nuttall

Twilight Times Books

Kingsport Tennessee

Cursed

This is a work of fiction. All concepts, characters and events portrayed in this book are used fictitiously and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

Copyright 2019 Christopher G. Nuttall

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, without the permission of the publisher and copyright owner.

Twilight Times Books

P O Box 3340

Kingsport TN 37664

http://twilighttimesbooks.com/

First Edition, May 2019

Cover art by Brad Fraunfelter

Published in the United States of America.

C ABIRIA DIDNT WANT TO REMEMBER BEING sixteen. But she couldnt help herself.

She had always loved House Fellinis library. It was a monumental collection of books, all the more remarkable for the texts having been written, published and purchased well before the printing press had been invented and thousands of books had become available to all and sundry. Cabiria loved to stand by the shelves and run her hands over the books, yanking her hand away when charms and curses threatened her. As shed grown older, shed learned to read some of the oldest books in the world, ones that had been written by magicians whose names had passed into legend. She spoke five languages fluently and read three more, two of which were only spoken by a handful of scholars. It was easy to believe that all the knowledge of the world was concealed within the library stacks. She could have happily spent all of her life in the wonderful room.

But, as shed aged, shed come to realize that not all answers were found within the collection of aging books.

She had never doubted she would have magic, not until puberty had come and gone without even a hint of power crackling around her fingers. Shed muttered spells and chanted long incantations, drawn runes and performed rituals including some she wasnt supposed to know existed without summoning enough magic to light a candle. Her parents had told her, at first, that it was just a matter of time. Later, when theyd thought she couldnt hear, theyd fretted about their youngest daughters lack of magic. It wasnt uncommon for a child to have less power than her parents, particularly if her family had put bloodlines over breeding like so many magical families had before they discovered that it actually weakened the magic, but for a child to have no magic at all? It was almost completely unprecedented. Cabiria herself was the only known case within recorded history.

Not that her family was cruel to her, of course. Cabirias parents never even hinted at disowning her, despite hints from some of their more distant family members that perhaps Cabiria should be sent elsewhere. Her father had fought a duel with a distant relative after hed suggested, perhaps a little too loudly, that his wife had cheated on him. Cabirias sisters had protected her, as had her cousins. She still smiled at the memory of Cousin Alexi nearly killing one of his friends his former friends after the brat had played a particularly spiteful prank on her. But ...

Cabiria sat in the library, trying to remember the feeling of wonder shed once felt when shed gazed upon the bookshelves. She was sixteen, old enough to expect an invitation to Whitehall or Mountaintop or even perhaps Stronghold. But the invitation would not come if she couldnt draw even a spark of magic from her powerless bones. She would grow into adulthood and then ... what? She would never be a part of magical society, not without power. She would be forever on the sidelines, looking in. Her family would be good to her, she knew, but ... it wasnt what she wanted.

And my one hope of being normal , she thought, is to take a terrible risk .

She heard the door open, heard someone walk towards her. She didnt have to lift her head to know that it was Allophone, her eldest sister. Allophone was everything Cabiria wanted to be, a girl who had been favored with everything from good looks to powerful magic. And she wasnt even cruel . Allophone treated her young and powerless sister as if she were made of fine china.

Theyre ready, Allophone said, quietly. She placed a hand on Cabirias shoulder. You dont have to do this, you know?

I do, Cabiria said.

The words hung in the air between them. She had never told her sister could never tell her but she resented her kindness and decency more than she cared to admit. She wasnt a helpless child. She didnt need to be coddled, to be wrapped in protective spells and guarded every time she walked out of the mansion. And yet, she knew she was vulnerable. She was the blind girl in the kingdom of the sighted, forever at the mercy of those who could use magic. Better to take the risk of death or worse than spend the rest of her life without power.

Its risky, Allophone said. Uncle Alanson said ...

I know what he said, Cabiria snapped.

She caught herself, biting her lip hard. Uncle Alanson, Patriarch of House Fellini, had been even more driven than Cabirias parents to find a solution to her woes. It had been he, more than anyone else, who had drawn up the rituals to try to find, somewhere within her, a spark of power. Cabiria loved him for it. He could have pushed her parents to disown her. The hell of it was that he might have been right. House Fellini could not afford whispers about weak blood and powerless magicians. Too many people were already starting to talk.

Come on, then, Allophone said.

Cabiria stood, ignoring her sisters attempts to help her up. Gods ! She wasnt a cripple. Her legs worked fine. She didnt need a flying carpet to get up the stairs, or sneak down in the middle of the night for a snack. Allophone let out a faint sound Cabiria didnt care to wonder what it was and followed Cabiria as she stalked out of the room. The hallway felt ... cold, as always. Cabiria knew they were surrounded by powerful wards, spells that her family had been weaving for generations, but she couldnt feel them. There were parts of the mansion where she simply couldnt go without walking into danger. The last time shed triggered a trap, shed been frozen for hours before her parents had found her.

The spellchamber felt creepy, as always, as she walked into the underground chamber. Her uncle stood in the exact center, carefully drawing out a handful of chalk runes on the stone floor. Hed wanted to use iron, claiming that it would help channel the power, but Cabirias parents had said no. It was too dangerous, theyd insisted. Cabirias cheeks burned as she remembered the discussion. Allophone had been experimenting with more dangerous substances than cold iron well before shed gone to Whitehall ...

Cabiria, my favorite niece, Alanson said. He was a handsome dark-haired man, with a roguish smile that belied his kind nature. Hed never married, even though his family had expected it. Are you ready?

Yes, Uncle, Cabiria said, as she took her place in the circle. Uncle Alanson was the only person who treated her as if she was a living person, rather than a fragile doll. She loved him for that, too. He hadnt spent the endless rehearsals talking about risks. Im ready.

Be careful, Allophone said. She retreated towards the door as Uncle Alanson raised his wand. And good luck.

Cabiria felt a flicker of nervousness, even as she braced herself for another crushing disappointment. Her parents and close relatives kept trying, but ... she feared, deep inside, they were starting to give up. The mystery of her lack of power might never be solved, nor might she ever have magic.