Page 109 of Bonds of Magic
“My breath is caught,” Hans said huffily—but his words turned into a hacking cough as soon as Orlando’s hand left his chest.Still, he pushed away from Autumn and Orlando and used a chair to pull himself to his feet and look Isaac in the eye.
Isaac approached him and laid a hand on his shoulder. He murmured something so softly, I didn’t think anyone but Hans could hear it. Hans shook his head over and over as Isaac talked. I couldn’t tell if he was disagreeing with Isaac or answering his questions. I wished I could read lips.
Another minute passed, and finally, Isaac looked up at the rest of the room. Gesturing elegantly towards his throat and murmuring something inaudible, his voice suddenly filled the room.
“Alright, everyone. I understand there’s been a lot of excitement this evening. We’ve all had a shock. But worry and gossip accomplish nothing. Students, I expect you to bus your trays and leave the refectory as you normally would. Proceed to your Fifth Hour classes or rooms. Faculty, I’ll ask you to remain here a while longer. I thank you for your patience.”
It took a while for all the students to leave. Half of them wanted to get a look at Hans before they filed out of the room, and the other half didn’t want to leave at all. It took even longer for Isaac to speak with all of the faculty members present, pulling them apart individually to question them before sending them on their way.
Hans stood alone the whole time, his arms wrapped around himself. He shivered slightly, but I didn’t think it was from the cold.
I gathered that most of the professors had nothing to add, given how quickly Isaac dismissed them. Nat and Seb each spoke with him briefly, then motioned for me to follow them out of theroom. I shook my head. I needed to talk to Isaac, and we needed privacy. I had to go last.
Isaac spoke with Autumn and Orlando at the same time, getting a blow-by-blow of events. I did my best to appear inconspicuous, leaning against one of the brick pillars that held up the vaulted ceiling. It was interesting to hear them describe what had happened. Autumn sounded certain that Hans had choked on his food, but Orlando was equally as certain that he hadn’t.
“His windpipe was clear,” Orlando said. “I scried him. A yellow aura implies a system-wide poisoning, not a physical object.”
“Yeah, but a poisoning hex takes time to set up, and we would have seen someone cast it,” Autumn objected.
“Did you sense any enchantments on him?” Isaac asked Orlando.
Orlando shook his head. “No. If it was magic, then whoever did it knew how to cover their tracks better than I thought was possible. There was no spell residue whatsoever.”
He cast a glance at me, clearly wondering why I was still there, and why Isaac was permitting me to listen to this conversation. I looked back blankly. Simplest not to say anything.
Isaac nodded as if Orlando’s answer was what he’d expected. “Then we’ll have to assume it was a poison from the mundane world. We’ll need to determine what he ate.” He frowned at Orlando. “Do you have any sense of how fast-acting the poison was? Need it have been administered during this meal, or could ingestion have taken place earlier?”
“I don’t know.” Orlando spread his hands. “For all I know, it wasn’t even ingested. It could have been administered byinhalation or touch. I won’t know without examining Hans in greater depth.”
“No.” Hans’s voice rang out in the now-empty hall. He’d been leaning quietly against the table, watching the discussion, but now he spoke. “You’re not touching me.”
Orlando frowned. “Hans, I—”
“No one is touching me.” Hans’s eyes were wild. “I don’t trust you. I don’t trust any of you.”
“Isavedyou.” Orlando sounded both annoyed and amused.
“Only after I almost died. What are the chances you had the antidote on you anyway? Awfully convenient, don’t you think?”
“I always carry a general antidote substrate with me.”
“If you won’t let him look at you,” Autumn said, “how about we take you up to Cinda and let her examine you?”
“That’s ridiculous,” Orlando blustered. “Cinda is a perfectly fine nurse, but when it comes to forensic medicine, you want a world-class Healer. I don’t mean to brag, but I—”
“No.” Hans was even louder than before. “No Cinda, no you, no anybody. I’m sick of people touching me and poking and prying. I’m fine on my own.”
Even Isaac looked askance at this. “Hans, you’re undoubtedly entitled to time off to recover, but I insist that you allow a Healer of your choice to give you a thorough examination and clear you.”
“No. If you can’t accept that, you can fire me, but no one else is coming near me unless I say so.”
He glared at Isaac, then Autumn, Orlando, and even me. I blinked. What hadIdone to earn his wrath? I’d never gotten within ten feet of him tonight. Though I had been the one to find him in the woods yesterday. Maybe he still resented that—or thought that I’d poisoned him while I helped him back to the manor.
Eventually, Isaac accepted his refusal and sent him to his rooms to rest, then dismissed Orlando and Autumn. Autumn cast a worried glance in my direction as she walked away, but said nothing.
“I assume you wish to speak with me?” Isaac said as the other two left. “I have much to do yet this evening, so this will have to be quick.”
“Sheridan,” I said, stepping close to Isaac.
