Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal, #1)

by Zen Cho

“Why, as to that, the low magics may produce spells as intricate and exacting as anything by the name of thaumaturgy,” said Zacharias. “One witch, a Mrs. Hudson, showed me a spell which ensured her cooking never burnt, the principle of which was as philosophical as any thaumaturge could wish. The spell bound together time and the ideal, compelling both to meet at the desired point. An ingenious receipt, one she learnt at her grandmother’s knee. I took a copy of it.” He rose to look for the receipt among his journals, but it was not among the books he had spread out upon the table and floor. Zacharias reached for his luggage, which sat in a dark corner of the coffee-room, but as he did so he stumbled over an obstacle he had not perceived before. “Pray do not step on my case,” said a small, clear voice. Zacharias realised three things: Sir Stephen had vanished. At his feet was a worn old valise, which was not his. On the floor sat a young woman. She rose, moving stiffly, as if she had been sitting for a considerable time. The room, lit by the dwindling fire in the grate, was full of soft dark shadows, and the lamp on Zacharias’s desk threw only a small circle of light. But his visitor had not relied upon the dimness of the room to conceal her presence. She still wore the rags of an invisibility enchantment, that Zacharias had torn by treading upon it. It was a cleverly worked spell, surprisingly original in design, but it would not have so practised upon Zacharias’s senses i...