Freedom, Humanity, and Other Delusions (Death's Handmaiden Book 3) by Niall Teasdale (best summer reads txt) 📕

power away. I used ancient magic, not modern sorcery. Something I found in their lair. When I was freed, I could barely work a spell unless it was a real emergency. If my life is threatened or something, I can undo the seal and access my full power.’

Nodding slowly, Nava gave the impression of really considering Carina’s words. She did give it some consideration, just not for the amount of time she appeared to. Ancient magic and elder gods trapped outside of reality, and a secret organisation bent on bringing ruin to the universe. It read like a bad Gothic horror and Nava would have entirely dismissed it if she had not known about the Harbingers. That ancient race had imprisoned a serial killer in a magical trap. They had transcended physical reality. Maybe they had somehow walled one of their worst criminals up within the Q-field, outside the world. She could not say it was impossible…

‘But they still want you,’ Nava said. ‘Why? And how do you know?’ Something touched on the edge of her consciousness as she asked. Something that made her stomach flutter for no reason.

‘Well, the seal isn’t perfect, apparently. It… leaks. I’ve got more powerful, even though all my power is supposed to be locked away. With the seal, I’m nothing like what I am without it, but I still have enough capacity to get into SAS-squared. I think they’re watching me because they believe they can break the seal, or that it’s going to break on its own. No, I know they’re watching me because I’ve seen them. Trudy has too, so it’s not just me.’

‘And what do they look like? Any distinguishing features?’ The stomach flutter subsided as though it had not been there, but Nava had felt it, and it was making her think along some unpleasant lines.

‘They’re almost always men, but… Well, they’re just people. They use sorcery to stay hidden. Invisibility. Illusion. They must use Escape Detection and Scryguard too, because whenever I’ve caught one in the open, there’s never been any evidence that they were there. I don’t see them often, but I see them. I’ve been seeing them more since I came here. It’s either that they’re worried that I’ll join up with you, or they think being here will break open my seal.’

‘I see.’ So, Carina’s watchers were human. But there was that feeling and… ‘Who exactly is Trudy? She’s not a student here, I assume?’

‘No, she’s…’ Carina’s cheeks coloured. ‘She’s my invisible friend. She turned up after the kidnapping. No one else can see her or hear her, but I know she’s not just in my imagination. She’s taught me sorcery! How can she teach me spells I’ve never seen before if she’s just my subconscious? No one believes me.’

Nava stared at the girl for a second. ‘Let’s say I do. Or that I accept the possibility that she might be real. What does she look like? What does she talk to you about? Aside from sorcery.’

Carina regarded Nava as though she did not entirely trust what she was saying, but she answered. ‘She’s a girl, maybe thirteen or fourteen from the look of her. One hundred and sixty-three centimetres tall. Slim. Long legs. She’s got a lot of blonde hair that she always wears in twin pigtails. Blue eyes. She’s cute. Really cute. A-and she always wears this sort of rainbow-coloured outfit with a two-tiered skirt and a hoodie. The, uh, hoodie has ears on it. And she wears blue pumps with high heels.’

That was about as far from a description of a Harbinger as Nava could think of. Then again, it also did not seem like a description of the majority of young women these days. ‘That’s certainly a little unusual,’ Nava said. ‘Then again, I could possibly imagine Mel in an outfit like that.’

‘Oh, no. Trudy has a really unthreatening chest and Melissa… Uh, anyway, she talks about all sorts of stuff. I mean, what I’ve been doing during the day. She likes to talk about people. I mean, like, um, what people do. The way they behave and why. I think she spends a lot of her time watching people. She looks fourteen, but she talks like someone a lot older. She used to help me with my history homework. The clan history stuff, you know?’

‘I didn’t grow up in a clan. I never had to study clan history.’

‘Oh. Well, I did. Trudy would help me with some of it and she’d talk like she was there sometimes. She’d say things about the people in the history texts that just aren’t in the texts. She’d make them sound like people instead of some old guy that died before I was born. She’s really good when it comes to the animals and plants on Grimalkin. It’s like she knows them right down to their genes. She knows just how they’ll behave in any situation.’

Nava tilted her head a little, affecting a quizzical posture. ‘Grimalkin has indigenous life forms? It was a Harbinger colony?’

‘You know about the Harbingers?’ There was an extra spark of interest in Carina’s question. ‘Trudy knows loads about the Harbingers.’

‘This school is tasked with examining a lot of Harbinger artefacts,’ Nava replied. ‘My old metaphysics teacher was an expert in them and those who created them.’

‘I guess you could say the same about Trudy.’

That was very interesting. ‘Hoshi took over from him when he had to leave the school last year. Perhaps she’d be willing to show you some of the artefacts they’re working on, if you’re interested.’

‘Wow! Yeah. Of course. I think Trudy would like to see them too.’

‘Mm. What does Trudy have to say about the Key to Darkness?’

Carina’s brow creased and she pouted. ‘She doesn’t think they’re real. Or, she says she’s seen some of the watchers, but she doesn’t think they’re what I think they are. She’s tried to talk me out of it a couple of times. Well, she did, early on, but she’s kind