The Right Side of History (Schooled In Magic Book 22) by Christopher Nuttall (top ebook reader txt) 📗

“She survived,” Nanette repeated. “And it was all the more convincing because of how close she came.”

“And yet, it allowed her to start unraveling our deception,” Void said, coldly. “Did it not?”

Nanette looked back at him, grateful she’d spent so much time developing her shields. Void could break them, if he wished, but he’d break her mind in the process. The thought chilled her, even though she knew it was the only thing keeping him from reading her mind. She could lie to him - it helped if the story was plausible - unless he decided to discard her completely. If that happened...

“You shouldn’t have let her go,” she said. She’d worked for him long enough to know that he appreciated straight talk. It was risky - he was clearly fond of Emily - but she saw no choice. “You’re her father, as well as her master. You could have simply forbidden her to go.”

Void said nothing for a long moment, long enough that Nanette feared she’d overstepped. She braced herself, wondering what form the punishment would take. He was already displeased with her, not without reason. A beating? A pain curse? A forceful transformation? Or... what?

“Perhaps.” Void leaned forward. “Master Lucknow’s escape is quite unfortunate. He is confused” - he glanced at a sheet of chat parchment, charmed so only he could read it - “and blames everything on Emily. He has put a price on her head. And that makes it imperative she be found and brought to safety before it’s too late.”

“She won’t want to come back,” Nanette said. She ignored the flicker of green-eyed jealousy at the back of her mind. “Whatever happens, she won’t want to come back.”

“No,” Void agreed. “And that is why you have to find her before it’s too late.”

End of Book 22

Emily Will Return In:

The Face of the Enemy.

Coming Soon.

Afterword

And so, we enter endgame...

This probably requires some explanation. When I devised this series - there were seven, then fourteen, then finally twenty-four books planned - I intended to do my level best to ensure that each of the books would stand on its own as much as possible. I didn’t think that many people would pick up Trial by Fire or The Broken Throne without having read the earlier books, but I generally dislike - as I mentioned earlier - endless ongoing series that neither stand on their own nor give the reader a pay-off. It’s simply not easy to balance the two requirements for an ongoing series and most writers lose their grasp as the series grows bigger and bigger.

And yet, as the overall arc came more and more into the light, I had to sacrifice much of the stand-alone concept to keep the overall story going.

We’re currently entering what I saw as the natural endpoint for the series as a whole - or, at least, this current arc. Little Witches was intended as a starter, to show how things had changed in the wake of Oathkeeper, before the landmines I’d been sowing for twenty books began to explode and everything changed. My intention is to write The Face of the Enemy in February - there’s a reasonable chance it will be drafted by the time this book hits your e-reader - followed by Void’s Tale, a novella, and ending with Child of Destiny. And then...

I have ambitions. The Cunning Man’s Tale will be expanded into a full novel, followed perhaps by two more - a trilogy, rather than an ongoing series. I’m still serializing Stuck in Magic on my blog and, while I’m not sure that will be canon or not, it might make an interesting change from the normal format. And I have several more novellas to write - Cat’s Tale, Frieda’s Tale, The Muckraker’s Tale... the series is far from over.

Not everyone is going to like the big reveal in this book, sadly. I’ve had it in mind for most of the series - I was surprised no one asked about the ‘gaping emptiness’ - and there’s more going on than immediately obvious.

As always, if you liked the book, please review it.

Christopher G. Nuttall

Edinburgh, 2021

About the author

Christopher G. Nuttall was born in Edinburgh, studied in Manchester, married in Malaysia and currently living in Scotland, United Kingdom with his wife and two sons. He is the author of more than thirty novels from various publishers and over fifty self-published novels.

Current and forthcoming titles published by Twilight Times Books:

Schooled in Magic YA fantasy series

Schooled in Magic — book 1

Lessons in Etiquette — book 2

A Study in Slaughter — book 3

Work Experience — book 4

The School of Hard Knocks — book 5

Love’s Labor’s Won — book 6

Trial By Fire — book 7

Wedding Hells — book 8

Infinite Regress — book 9

Past Tense — book 10

The Sergeant’s Apprentice — book 11

Fists of Justice – book 12

The Gordian Knot – book 13

Graduation Day – book 14

Alassa’s Tale – book 14.5

The Princess in the Tower – book 15

The Broken Throne – book 16

Cursed – book 17

Mirror Image – book 18

The Artful Apprentice – book 19

Oathkeeper – book 20

Little Witches – book 21

The Right Side of History – book 22

The Decline and Fall of the Galactic Empire military SF series

Barbarians at the Gates — book 1

The Shadow of Cincinnatus — book 2

The Barbarian Bride — book 3

Chris has also produced The Empire’s Corps series, the Outside Context Problem series and many others. He is also responsible for two fan-made Posleen novels, both set in John Ringo’s famous Posleen universe. They can both be downloaded from his site.

Website: http://www.chrishanger.net/

Blog: http://chrishanger.wordpress.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristopherGNuttall