Invincible by Dawn Metcalf Read Free Book Online Page A

“You’re hurt.”
    â€œI am well aware of it,” he muttered, releasing her slowly with
each of his hands.
    â€œBut how can I convince Maia when I can’t convince Ink?” Joy
said, looking at the lightening sky. “And I can’t leave you here. What about
Stef? My Dad—?”
    â€œCalm yourself,” the Bailiwick said. “You know your father’s
whereabouts, and your brother is in the company of the satyr lad. Both your
family and your friends are still protected under the Edict as long as no one
else discovers what we suspect. Your secret must remain safe.”
    Joy avoided looking at him as she thought, Which one? Joy had a number of secrets that would likely get her
killed. Graus Claude knew at least two of them, but there was still one more
that he did not— the Red Knight —and Joy doubted that
he’d still be helping her if he knew that she could erase Folk out of existence.
She was the Twixt’s worst nightmare, the Tide’s proof of human evil.
    â€œAs for Mistress Inq,” the Bailiwick continued, “she will
remain incapacitated for some time, given what we know of Master Ink, and he
will wisely be avoiding you until we come up with a credible solution.” Graus
Claude tapped the side of the bed. It lacked the satisfying click-click-click of thick nails against his mahogany desk. “He
should avoid all contact with the Folk, especially those on the Council. I
suspect they are already overly eager to extract news of you and I.” He nodded
to himself. “Let us pray that the Scribe’s bravado and chivalry do not eclipse
his common sense. If he’s smart, he’ll busy himself by working in the field. He
accrued an impressive backlog of assignments while he lay unconscious those few
days.”
    Joy frowned. “ You’re the one who
knocked him unconscious.”
    Graus Claude looked pained. “Needs must, Miss Malone,” he said.
“To be fair, he was going for my throat.”
    And it had all started with Joy accusing Graus Claude of being
a traitor to the Twixt. She decided to drop the subject. “So what do you want me
to do?”
    â€œIt would be wisest to remain within the wards,” he said.
“However, when have we limited ourselves to pursuing only the wisest course?”
His browridge quirked. “Instead, I propose you visit Councilex Maia with all due
haste and secrecy—thus requiring that you go without either Master Ink, Mistress
Inq, young Filly, myself or the like—then report back here and we shall endeavor
to concoct a well-researched strategy of next steps.”
    â€œBut how am I supposed to do that without Ink?”
    Graus Claude grinned with his many teeth. “Magic, Miss Malone.
Observe.” He lifted his four hands before the door-length mirror and twisted
each one just so—the image of Stef’s empty bed and bare wall shifted slightly, a
warp in the aluminum that rippled like a tickle of a pond. The giant amphibian
eased himself forward, hesitant to touch the glass, but his fingers disappeared
as he rummaged around inside the quicksilver before extruding a familiar-looking
velvet bag.
    â€œAh!” he said as the mirror solidified into a single sheet. He
untied the strings and rolled a set of familiar chalky-yellow knucklebones into
one of his left palms.
    â€œHow—?” Joy stared at the mirror, then at Graus Claude and the
bag.
    â€œThe bottom of the stained glass box is mirrored,” he
explained. “In case of such an emergency.”
    Joy juggled realities in her head. “I thought you said you
weren’t a spellcaster.”
    â€œI’m not,” he said, inspecting each die with a jewel cutter’s
eye. “I used Water magic. Mirrors are reflections, which is an inherent property
of the thing itself and thus under our domain. That is not a spell . That is magic intrinsic to our House.” He
sniffed austerely.