Free Fear's Touch: A Darkworld Novella (The Darkworld Series) by Emma L. Adams Page A

the two tall figures on either side of him. One was a blonde woman of around forty, her suit crisp and her manner cold. The other was an older man with steel-gray hair and a stooped walk.
    My mind raced. Were these the Inner Circle members? Surely, they wouldn’t come to arrest me here. Though we outnumbered them five to three, I felt the presence of a hundred-odd others, centuries of tradition coming down on us.
    They stopped a meter or so away from our group. The man spoke first.
    “Which of you is Claudia Delaney?”
    Crap. Here goes.
“Me,” I said, meeting his pale eyes.
    “You are an unregistered magic-user, daughter of Lloyd and Francesca Delaney, are you not?”
    I nodded.
    “A disturbing allegation has been made against you, Miss Delaney,” he said, jerking his head in Jude’s direction. “Do you know what this is?”
    I had to clear my throat a couple of times before I could get the words out. It felt like my heart was jammed somewhere in my windpipe.
    “Yes. I used magic, in self-defence.”
    “Explain. I have heard Jude’s version of events, but I would like to hear it from your own perspective.”
    I swallowed.
So long, freedom,
a cynical voice whispered in my ear.
    “Right. Well, long story short, my friend and I got attacked in Redthorne last night. I used magic to fight off the shadow-beasts, and Jude tried to get me arrested. His partner”–Crap, I never did get Biker Guy’s name —“told him to back down. But he was acting shady. My friend saw him in the club the same night. I asked him about it this morning, and he hinted he’d done something to manipulate her into walking into the shadow-beasts. I got angry at him, and he used an illegal restraining spell on me. He left me there, on campus, and came back here.” My confidence grew the longer I spoke, and I glared at him. “Whatever lies he’s told you, it’s not true. And my parents had nothing to do with it.”
    Silence. The woman on Jude’s right didn’t look too convinced. Her lips were pursed as though she’d swallowed something sour. But the older guy looked at me, thoughtfully.
    “I see,” he said. “If that is the case, then we will not pursue this matter further.”
    “
What?”
Jude turned on him, pure anger making his eyebrows even more intense. “Does my word count for nothing? Why believe
her?”
    “She has our support, too,” the fortune-teller cut in. “These other students can also confirm she speaks true. They saw the effects of Jude’s spell. And this one,” she added, indicating Berenice, “can give a fuller account of what illegal work Jude may have done last night. If he wants to press the case further, I’m sure he’ll not object to subjecting himself to a reading, as, I’m sure, these young people will also be happy to do.”
    The colour had drained from Jude’s face.
    “That is what I thought,” said the older man. “To make a complaint of this level to the Inner Circle, one man’s word is not enough. You would all need to be tested to ensure you speak true.”
    Jude’s expression twisted, his eyes all but bugging out. “I understand, sir,” he choked out.
    “Then you will let the matter drop?”
    Jude nodded, stiffly. “Yes.”
    “That is all?” said the woman, who still regarded me with cold eyes.
    But that didn’t stop the relief flooding through me.
    “Yes,” said the fortune-teller.
    I nodded.
    “Then I wish you well.”
    As one, the three of them swept away. It was almost comical how they walked almost exactly in line, like a group of robots or something. Still, I waited until they were out of earshot before I laughed.
    “What a total moron,” said Howard, snickering. “Even I knew about their creepy mind-reading rule.”
    “Wait, what?” I said. “You
knew?
”
    “Um, I think my guardian told me about it, too,” said Cyrus. “They—well, I’m glad we didn’t have to go through with it. Having one of them break into your mind isn’t pleasant.”
    “
Mind