The Evermen Saga 01 - Enchantress Read Online Free Page B

a member of the court, to say you are of good character, or from a priest at the sky temple, to say you completed your studies." He looked Ella up and down. "I’m guessing in your case it will be the latter. Which temple did you complete your studies at?"
    Ella had left the sky temple years before; she never finished her studies and would never get a letter to say she had. How could she let this happen! Why hadn’t anyone told her!
    "I… I don’t have my letter with me," Ella said.
    "Well, you had better go and get it then. Perhaps you should return home and come back tomorrow. Enrolments close in a week, so you have plenty of time to deposit your gilden with one of the lenders and come back a little more prepared, eh?"
    Ella nodded and turned away. It didn’t take her long to realise there was only one chance left to her. A member of the court, the clerk had said. Lady Katherine!
    A woman entered the market square where Ella was searching every face in hope. She looked up, and Ella’s breath caught. Then she slowly released it — it wasn’t her.
    For the last six days, Ella had waited in hope, searching the market for Lady Katherine from morning to night. And now the week was nearly up — tomorrow, enrolments would close.
    If Ella didn’t see Lady Katherine today, she decided, she would go to the Crystal Palace, no matter what trouble it got her into. With a letter of introduction from the High Lord’s wife in hand, Ella would at least get her chance to sit the entrance examinations.
    Nevertheless, the idea of presenting herself at the Crystal Palace and demanding to see the High Lord’s wife filled her with dread. Please, let her come today!
    A thin man with a ragged beard and a hooked nose came up, pawing through Ella’s flowers with one hand while his other hand held a mug of steaming coffee. His name was Harry Maloney and he was a buyer — someone who didn’t hold any of his own stock but sourced stock when other merchants had particularly large orders come in. He was a notorious gossip, and seemed to spend as much time in taverns as he did working in the market.
    "Ho there, Ella. Anything good today? You’ll need to step up, I should say, what with the funeral. Let me add that I’ll buy all you’ve got and all you can get." He put down his mug, examining Ella’s wares with both hands now. "I’m sure you’ve heard the news. Good for the flower business, funerals are," he chortled.
    "News?" Ella interrupted. "What news? What funeral?"
    "You haven’t heard? The High Lord’s wife, Lady Katherine. A ferryman found her body in the Sarsen, late yesterday evening. She drowned, still in her bedroom slippers. The funeral’s tomorrow. It’s a big job but there’s going to be a lot of gilden in it."
    Ella didn’t hear Harry’s next words. She sat down heavily on a crate, staring into nothing. Lady Katherine wouldn’t be coming today.
     

2
     
    The artificers use lenses of curved glass in their work. This enables them to draw runes so tiny they can hardly be read.
    — Diary of High Enchantress Maya Pallandor, Page 356, 411 Y.E.
     
     
    E LLA stood high on the Tenbridge, leaning out over the water. She stared into the turbulent river far below and imagined the sensation of falling — flying through the air, as light as a bird for an instant, before the icy water slammed into her body and drove the air out of her lungs.
    She caught a strange look from a passing man and realising how she must look she straightened, looking away from the river and up at the rising sun, amazed that such a sad day could be so full of promise. She considered her options. She needed a letter from a priest or a noble, but she didn’t know any nobles, and Father Morton would never help her. They hadn’t parted on the best of terms, he’d thought she was foolish to give up her studies and it seemed he was right.
    Looking down at the Sarsen one final time, she saw the water splash against the ferry boats, knocking them