Dark Mirror by M.J. Putney Read Free Book Online Page B

wall has some ancient magic that makes bricks fall out of the holes if anyone tries to close them. The magic interferes with all forms of blocking as well as making it almost impossible to tear the wall down.”
    “So boys and girls meet and flirt.” Tory pursed her lips and estimated the thickness of the stone. “The wall is too thick to allow kissing, but fingers can touch. Notes can be passed.”
    “The wall is very romantic.” Elspeth’s voice was ironic. “On the other side are attractive members of the opposite sex who share the curse of unwanted magic. So near, yet impossible to do more than a fleeting touch of the fingers! Courtships aren’t uncommon, with students marrying once they’re released from Lackland.”
    Tory glanced up, thinking the spikes weren’t that great a barrier. “The viewing holes would make it easy to climb over the wall. They’re rather like a ladder.”
    “Ah, but the wall magic includes an invisible veil of power that causes excruciating pain if someone tries to climb over,” Elspeth said. “Or so I’m told.”
    “That sounds much more discouraging than spikes.” Tory’s gaze returned to her viewing hole. Her attention was caught by a tall young man with dark hair and a quick, athletic figure. She felt a strange flicker inside, rather like the flutter she felt when trying to float. “When students leave, do they go back to their old lives?”
    “No one ever leaves the same as when they came.” Elspeth’s soft words sounded like an epitaph.
    “Change is probably inevitable,” Tory said with reluctance. “But what happens to most students after they’re cured and leave Lackland?”
    “Most find a place lower in a social order than the one they were born to. Boys go into some profession like the army or navy, or perhaps they study law or become vicars. Girls look for the best husband who will have them. It isn’t uncommon to marry a well-off merchant who wants to be connected to an aristocratic family. If they can’t find husbands and their families cast them off, usually they become governesses.”
    Though Tory liked learning, she had no desire to spend her life as a governess. “What about those who embrace their power, as you do?”
    “We become mages and are disinherited by our families,” Elspeth said dryly. “Some move to the colonies, where magic is more acceptable.”
    “What do you hope to do?”
    “Go somewhere far from here,” Elspeth said with even more dryness.
    Thinking it was time to change the subject, Tory watched as the dark-haired young man raced down the field, expertly controlling the ball as he headed toward the goal. “Who is the tall fellow with the ball?”
    “That’s Allarde.” Amusement sounded in Elspeth’s voice. “You have a good eye. He’s the Marquis of Allarde and a second cousin of mine. As the only son of the Duke of Westover, he’s the most eligible male at Lackland.”
    “I thought students don’t use titles.”
    “Not usually, but there are exceptions.” Elspeth turned and continued on to a footpath that led away into a pasture scattered with sheep and ancient, half-ruined outbuildings.
    Tory was happy to move away from the stone heaviness of the abbey. Though walls enclosed the grounds on both sides, this green openness was a pleasant change from the school. She felt even better when she heard the cries of gulls and realized they were near the sea.
    A five-minute walk brought them to a cliff high above the English Channel. The port of Dover was only a few miles south, and Lackland shared the famous white chalk cliffs that Dover was known for. Tory inhaled the tangy air. “This is like my home. I grew up with the cliffs and the sea.”
    “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Elspeth’s flaxen hair whipped behind her in the stiff breeze. “We’re right on the Straits of Dover, the narrowest part of the channel.” She pointed. “See that dark line? It’s the French coast. Strange to think that Napoleon’s armies are