But could it really be so bad just to be marked by an Other who wasn’t of my same group? Avery had thought that the marking was justified and none of my coven had thought I would be expelled. Desperately, I looked at Headmistress Nightworthy.
All this time, the Headmistress had been standing silently by, her arms crossed over her chest, tapping her perfectly manicured fingernails against her upper arms. There was a frown on her face, as though she was considering the right thing to say and do. Now she finally spoke.
“Just a moment, Miss Latimer,” she said to me. “Do not pack your things. You will not be leaving.”
“What?” Winifred Rattcliff rounded on her, a shocked look on her face. “What did you say, Headmistress?”
“I said, Megan Latimer will not be leaving Nocturne Academy. She is not being expelled.”
“But…but breaking the Edict has always been an automatic expulsion offense!” the other woman sputtered. “Ever since I attended here myself when I was her age. It’s understood that—”
“Nothing in my school is understood or automatic,” the Headmistress interrupted her. “I judge each case on its own merits and I do not believe it would be in anyone’s best interests to turn a powerful witch out into the world with no knowledge of how to use or control her very formidable gift. It would be tantamount to throwing out a bomb, set to blow sometime in the near future instead of trying to defuse it. So no, I will not be expelling Megan Latimer from Nocturne Academy. It would be irresponsible in the extreme for me to do so.”
For a moment Nancy’s mother looked so angry I thought she might have a stroke. Her face turned the same color as her dress and lipstick, which made her strangely monochrome.
“Well at least find out who marked her!” she burst out at last. “And then punish them both—severely.”
I lifted my chin. “I’m sorry, Headmistress,” I said as calmly as I could, though my voice shook a little. “But I can’t tell you the name of the one who marked me. He was trying to protect me when I was in a dangerous situation. I can’t repay his kindness to me by betraying him.”
Headmistress Nightworthy nodded thoughtfully.
“I understand, Miss Latimer. Though I do not condone your actions, your loyalty to friends is commendable.”
“What?” Winifred Rattcliff burst out. “You’re not even going to make her tell his name? Well if you won’t, I will!” Turning to me, she pointed a finger straight at me and shouted, “Veratis!”
I felt the magic trying to work on me at once. Like a hundred prying fingers tugging at my brain…my mouth…my tongue. Trying to force me to say Griffin’s name—trying to make me give him up.
Tell…tell…tell…a hundred tiny voices buzzed in my ears. Tell…tell…tell…you must tell!
No! I fought it as hard as I could but I knew I couldn’t last long. Nancy’s mother was a senior witch—she had years of experience on me. Years of practicing magic and learning how best to craft and use a spell. Eventually her truth incantation would work on me—unless I could counteract it.
I did the only thing I could do. Steeling myself against the sharp pain, I bit my cheek as hard as I could and hot blood squirted into my mouth.
45
The moment I tasted the hot, coppery blood in my mouth, the prying little fingers dropped away and the buzzing voices fell silent. It was like they had been flies bothering me and I had swatted them all at once.
I drew in a deep breath, relief washing over me like a spray of cool mist on a hot summer’s day. I knew that somehow I had rendered Winifred Rattcliff’s spell useless and from the look on her face, she knew it too.
“You little…” she muttered and stopped, glaring at me with narrowed eyes. “How did you do that?” she burst out at last. “How did you deflect my spell without even a word of power?”
Luckily, I didn’t have to answer because at that moment, Headmistress Nightworthy stepped in again.
“I think the real question, Winifred, is why you attempted to lay a spell on my student in my office and without my permission!”
Her voice was low and controled but her blue eyes flashed angrily. Clearly she was in a rage. Once more, I was glad her fury wasn’t directed at me.
Winifred Rattcliff drew herself up, a look of self-righteous indignation written across her face.
“I had to!” she exclaimed. “You can’t have Others of different species breaking the Edict by marking each other—it sets a terrible example for the rest of the school! I for one, as a parent, do not intend to allow my daughter to attend an institution where such behavior can be not only gotten away with but condoned by the administration!”