Small Magics (43 page)

They moved away from the crowd and followed Benjamin towards the church. The large building was surrounded by an even larger garden. It was quiet and pleasant, and obviously meant as a refuge for the students. A few were taking advantage, talking quietly or reading on one of the stone benches, or walking slowly through the garden, voices low as they debated amongst themselves. Benjamin led them through the garden to the hedge that bordered the southern end. There was a low iron gate in the middle of the hedge. Benjamin opened it and guided them into the cemetery beyond.

The cemetery, like the church garden, was immaculately maintained, though unlike the garden there seemed to be little order to the arranging of the stones. Some stood alone, others were clumped together in groups. Some were simple rectangles of stone, others had statues or images or strange designs carved into them. The narrow path weaved among the graves, moving in loops and curves through the length of the cemetery.

“Who’s buried here?” asked Eileen.

“The keepers of the Academy,” said Benjamin. “Priests, professors, philosophers, and principals. They’ve been buried here since the place was built three hundred years ago.” Benjamin picked a row of stones and led them down it. “No one comes in here,” he added as he sat on the ground.

“Too afraid one of them will rise up and lecture them to death,” said Thomas.

“That’s a blasphemous thought, Thomas,” warned Benjamin.

“It wasn’t blasphemous,” countered Thomas. “It was the truth.”

“It was unnecessary, and we need to talk before I have to get back.” Benjamin settled himself against a rather ornate gravestone with the constellations carved into it. “I talked to those who are serving in the bishop’s house.”

“And?” asked Thomas.

“They know nothing. He isn’t back yet.”

“For this you brought us out here?” asked Henry, startling them all. He grinned as they glared at him, and leaned against a tall, thin gravestone carved as a tree-trunk. “I think you could have imparted that in the middle of a theology lecture and no one would have noticed.”

“True enough,” said Benjamin. “What did you come up with?”

“An idea.” Henry tilted his head towards George and Eileen. “Are you aware that those two aren’t allowed to be here?”

“Can you say it any louder?” asked Thomas. “I’m sure someone in the observatory didn’t hear you.”

“I’ll try harder next time,” Henry sat himself on the grass next to Benjamin.

For a long moment no one said anything, then Benjamin sighed. “All right, Henry. What’s your idea?”

Henry smiled. “We sneak in and steal the books.”

Benjamin’s eyes bulged. “What?”

“We steal them.” Henry repeated. “There really is no other way.”

“Are you mad?” asked Benjamin. “It’s my college! And the books are forbidden to begin with.”

“I know.”

“I can’t do that!”

“Would you be willing to borrow them for a while?” asked Thomas.

“It’s not borrowing if you don’t ask!”

“It’s not stealing if you don’t get caught,” said Henry. “Besides, no one will miss them.”

“It’s against the laws of the High Father!”

“So is murder,” said Thomas, allowing some of the anger that had been burning inside him for days escape with the words. Benjamin opened his mouth but Thomas’s glare made him close it again without speaking. Thomas measured his words carefully as he kept his eyes locked with Benjamin’s. “The bishop’s already killed at least two people, Ben. Probably more. I can’t tell anyone, and I can’t prove it. All I can do is try to stop him.” Benjamin bit his lip, almost looking ready to protest. Thomas drove on. “His men tried to kill me and they cut open Alex there. The bishop has control of my father and managed to get us accused of murder and witchcraft. I need to stop him and the answers on how to do it might be in those books. Now, will you help me?”

“I don’t know,” Benjamin sounded very unhappy. “It goes against everything I’m supposed to stand for.”

“Can you at least not talk about it to anyone?” asked Henry.

Benjamin bit his lip again and stared at the ground. Thomas waited as the man thought it through. “Aye,” said Benjamin at last. “I can do that.”

“Good.” Thomas clapped his friend on the shoulder. “So, we sneak into the grounds, we sneak into the Theology building, and open up the room.”

“Three problems,” said Henry. “How do you sneak in, how do you open Theology, and how do you open the room itself?” He turned to Benjamin. “I assume it’s locked.”

Benjamin, still looking at the ground, nodded. “Aye, it is.”

“Who has the key?” asked Eileen.

“The Master of Theology. On his belt.”

“Oh.”

“How does the door open?” asked George.

“Doors,” corrected Benjamin. “Double doors. You unlock them and pull the handles. Why?”

“You pull the handles?” repeated George, a speculative look coming into his eye.

“Aye.”

“Then I can get us in,” George said with certainty. “I’ll need some tools, but I can get us in.”

“And you’re an established housebreaker are you?” asked Henry, curiously.

“I’m a smith,” George said. “If the door opens out, then the hinges are on the outside, and if the hinges are on the outside, I can take the doors off.”

Henry nodded his approval. “I begin to like this one, Thomas.”

Thomas nodded. “So we can get into the room. Now, how do we get into the building itself? We can’t rob the Master of Keys, too.”

“Well, we could—” Henry started, but Benjamin cut him off.

“No we can’t! I’m not robbing anyone else. And I’m not letting you do it either,” he added before Henry could argue the point. “Besides, he locks his keys in the gatehouse with him every night.”

“But he doesn’t lock the gatehouse when he makes his rounds,” said Henry.

“He doesn’t need to,” Thomas said. “He has the keys with him.”

Henry grinned, the expression somewhat unnerving and feral. “Not the spare keys.”

“What spare keys?” asked Thomas.

“He keeps a spare set of keys in his desk in the gatehouse, in the top drawer.”

“And how do you know that?” demanded Benjamin.

Henry’s grin widened. “Because I’ve stolen them.”

“
What
?” cried Thomas and Benjamin simultaneously. Henry leaned back against one of the tombstones, smiling as he made himself comfortable. Thomas waited for him to elaborate, but Henry said nothing. At last, Benjamin leaned his bulk, as imposing as George’s, forward. “Henry…”

“You won’t do anything,” Henry raised a warning finger at his friend. “You’re on your way to being a priest.”

Benjamin leaned closer. “I’ll sit on you and watch to see if the High Father lets you keep breathing.”

“Oh, all right,” Henry said. “When I was a junior and still living in the dormitory, I met a certain young lady who lived in the town—”

Benjamin rolled his eyes. “Do all your stories start like this?”

“Of course.”

“Let him talk,” said Thomas. “Just keep the bragging to a minimum.”

Henry looked somewhat disappointed at that, but went on anyway. “She wanted to see the grounds, and I couldn’t very well toss her over the wall. So, I waited for the Master of Keys to be making his rounds, and I searched the gatehouse. He had extras and I borrowed them.”

“How did you get them back?” asked George.

“Waited until the next morning when he made his opening rounds, and put them back in his desk.”

“That’s clever enough to work,” said Thomas. Hope started to stir inside him, and he took firm hold of it. If the plan worked he might just have a chance of stopping Bishop Malloy. “I’m impressed.”

“As well you should be,” Henry said. He crossed his arms and looked down his nose at the four of them. “Now, who’s going to get them tonight?”

The others exchanged a look, then all turned back to Henry. He sighed. “I should have known.”

“Well, it was your idea,” said Thomas. “You should have the honour.”

“I’m sure.”

A bell began tolling, loud and insistent. It was not the class bell they had heard before, but a different one, sharper and louder. Thomas recognized it at once, and turned instinctively to the sound. Henry and Benjamin did the same. From beyond the wall of the cemetery they could hear shouts and movement.

“What is it?” asked Eileen.

“Call for a general assembly,” said Benjamin, standing up. “There wasn’t one scheduled.”

Thomas felt his stomach sinking even as he got to his own feet. An image of ships pulling into a town in the rain filled his mind.
If it was the bishop, there’s no reason he couldn’t make it here a day behind us.
“We should get out of here.”

“You think it’s about us?” asked George, also rising.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Henry scoffed. “The world doesn’t revolve around you, you know.”

“You care to lay any money on it?” Thomas felt his fear rising. He ran for the cemetery gate, Eileen and George on his heels. Benjamin and Henry followed a few steps behind. Thomas stopped just inside the gate and peered out around the bulk of the church. “You two go to the assembly and find out what it’s about. We’ll wait here until everyone goes in, then head back to the apartment.”

“You’re being paranoid,” said Henry. He stepped out the gate and stepped right back in. “There’s a coach coming.”

“They don’t allow coaches in here,” Benjamin stepped forward and looked out, “unless it’s a visit from the king or the—”

Thomas knew the alternative. He grabbed George and Eileen and pulled them down behind the hedge. They stayed there while the other two watched the coach go by.

“You wanted to know when the bishop was coming back,” Henry said, not looking down. “That would be him.”

Thomas cursed silently and forced down the urge to curl into a ball against the earth. “How many men does he have with him?”

“Ten on horse. His personal guard.”

“Any ideas?” asked George. His eyes were wide, and sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead.

“Hide here?” suggested Eileen, her voice higher than normal and her breath coming fast.

“Won’t work,” Henry said. “Not if they come searching. Better to move now. You can hide in the crowd.”

Thomas knew Henry was right, even as the thought of stepping out into the open sent shivers through him. “Let me know when he’s gone past.”

“Wait… Now.”

The three fugitives got to their feet and followed Henry and Benjamin across the garden and out into the open. Students were coming from every direction, pouring out of buildings and rising from spots on the grass. Others came running in through the main gates. All headed for the meeting hall. Thomas took over the lead, angling for the dormitory. Professors were emerging from buildings looking peeved at the interruption of their lectures even as they shooed the students toward the meeting hall.

“You lot!” boomed a large voice, ringing through the grounds.

Thomas looked and cursed. “Of all people…”

It was the fencing master, standing at the door of the gymnasium. He was looking directly at them, face stern and arm pointing back towards the assembly hall.

“Maybe he won’t recognize you,” said Benjamin, his voice low.

“Maybe the sun won’t rise,” muttered Thomas. “I’m his best student. If he gets close enough, he’ll recognize me.”

“You there! Go to the meeting hall! At once!”

“Any chance he’s not speaking to us?” Eileen asked.

“Not one,” said Henry. “And I was his best student.”

“Any clever ideas?” asked Benjamin.

“Yes,” Thomas hissed, his nerves starting to jangle. “Do as we’re told until we can think of something.”

The group turned and headed for the assembly hall, moving slowly.

“We can’t go in there,” Eileen said, panic rising in her voice. “If the bishop sees us…”

“I know,” Thomas kept his voice even, kept his breathing slow and willed himself to stay calm. Beside him, George’s face was a tight mask of worry. Thomas could see the big man’s hands clenched into fists, and could almost feel him shaking, though they weren’t touching. “We have to leave.”

“Wait for a moment,” Henry said. “There’s a crowd coming.”

Thomas saw another wave of students coming from the buildings around them. It was a long nervous moment before they were overtaken, but soon the group was engulfed in black robed young men talking querulously about the sudden summons. They quickened their pace, keeping with the group.

“Wait until we’re opposite the dormitories,” said Henry, his voice low. “Then run.”

The walk took forever. The bishop’s guards, instead of staying at the assembly hall, had turned and were casually riding back along the road. Thomas risked a glance behind them, saw the fencing master starting to head their way.

“We’re here,” Henry said. “Run.”

They didn’t wait to be told twice. Thomas led the three in the dash, expecting to hear the fencing master’s bellow, summoning them back. It didn’t come. Several students looked their way, but no one called after. George cast a glance over his shoulder. “No one’s following.”

“Good.” They reached the door to the baths and ran down the steps. Thomas barely managed to get the latch open before George bashed into the door with his shoulder. The three dashed into the bath hall. Thomas shut the door behind them, and hissed out, “Wait!”

“What for?” demanded George, though he dropped his voice to match Thomas.

“It’s slippery, the tiles are loud, and if anyone spots us, we’re dead. Keep to the wall, and keep an eye out for Masters.”

“All right,” Eileen hissed. “Just get us out of here!”

Thomas led them as quickly and quietly as he could. Every footstep on tile echoed through the room, seeming certain to bring discovery. Thomas led them across and to the stairs, then moved up to the top and peeked around the courtyard. It was empty. He gestured sharply, and he and his friends made the quick dash to the short passage. It was empty, the gate unguarded. Thomas breathed a sigh of relief.

“Now what?” asked George as they headed down the narrow lane.

“We go back to the apartment and wait.”

“What if they come looking?” demanded Eileen.

“Then we run away.”