they will have to be more than that.”
“You are planning to put a Class A at risk, Ernest. If anything happens to her you will be lucky to escape the noose.”
Trelawney hit the mantelpiece with his clenched fist. “All of our Class A’s are in jeopardy if there is a traitor amongst us. She will be safer inside the system than outside it on her own.”
Chapter 8 Setting the Bait
Children of Britain are first tested for magical ability at the age of seven and testing continues once a year until the age of thirteen. Those identified as having any of the seven talents are dispatched to schools to be trained at government expense. There is some resentment among the poor as this almost always means their children being taken away to a boarding school, but this is considered a small price to pay when the future of the Empire is at stake.
A ten year service period follows schooling, normally from the age of seventeen to twenty-seven. Some students are selected for special training at this point and are sent to special academies, which means they do not finish their formal education until the age of twenty-one, or in some cases twenty-four. In these cases their military service period begins at the age they finish training.
It is known that MM3 selects its agents at the age of seventeen and that there must be facilities where these young agents are trained in the arts of espionage. However, no official document exists to this effect, though there are dark rumors that the training process is so rigorous that some students die before graduating.
- from A Short History of Military Magics by Sir Anthony Barrett
Next morning Tom and Laura were present with an immense breakfast of pickled herrings and kipper followed by bacon and eggs, Lincolnshire sausages, and toasted bread. Laura began to wonder if her figure could survive living like this. Tom tucked in without a thought for his waistline, much to Laura’s annoyance.
Once they were finished, they were ushered down to Trelawney’s office by his secretary, a woman who introduced herself as Belinda Mann. Tom thought she looked kindly and she reminded him of his mother.
“Have you been with Mr. Trelawney long?” Laura asked.
Belinda smiled at her. “I’ve been in this post with Sir Ernest for nearly fifteen years, but we first met long before that, when I was a field agent.”
“You were a spy?” Tom asked in surprise.
Belinda nodded, “I served in Vienna when I was a young woman. Sir Ernest was my contact at the British Embassy.”
When they entered the office, they found Trelawney deep in conversation with the short man with the large moustache who had been so hostile to them in the park.
“Those are my orders, James,” Trelawney said firmly.
“I shall record my protest in writing. They are both too young to be sent to Hobsgate and the girl’s final classification is still far from certain.”
Trelawney nodded. “Do what you must, Saunders, but my orders stand. See about that other matter too. I was impressed by the man during his interrogation.”
“Very well,” Saunders said and briskly left the room.
“He always seems to be in a hurry,” Laura said.
Trelawney looked over at them and smiled.
“He’s my Director of Operations, James Saunders. A good man who I’d trust with my life, but we often have arguments on operational matters. It’s the nature of the job.”
Trelawney beckoned them in to sit down where they’d sat the previous day and Belinda closed the office door behind them. He looked at them with great seriousness.
“The man behind Carmichael is Dominican Snood. He tutored Carmichael in the Spellbinding arts at his school.”
Tom was not surprised. He had met the man and taken an instant dislike to him. There was something more than a little creepy about him.
“Behind Snood, there must be a nest of spies or perhaps criminals leading back into this organization. I am telling you this in
“You are planning to put a Class A at risk, Ernest. If anything happens to her you will be lucky to escape the noose.”
Trelawney hit the mantelpiece with his clenched fist. “All of our Class A’s are in jeopardy if there is a traitor amongst us. She will be safer inside the system than outside it on her own.”
Chapter 8 Setting the Bait
Children of Britain are first tested for magical ability at the age of seven and testing continues once a year until the age of thirteen. Those identified as having any of the seven talents are dispatched to schools to be trained at government expense. There is some resentment among the poor as this almost always means their children being taken away to a boarding school, but this is considered a small price to pay when the future of the Empire is at stake.
A ten year service period follows schooling, normally from the age of seventeen to twenty-seven. Some students are selected for special training at this point and are sent to special academies, which means they do not finish their formal education until the age of twenty-one, or in some cases twenty-four. In these cases their military service period begins at the age they finish training.
It is known that MM3 selects its agents at the age of seventeen and that there must be facilities where these young agents are trained in the arts of espionage. However, no official document exists to this effect, though there are dark rumors that the training process is so rigorous that some students die before graduating.
- from A Short History of Military Magics by Sir Anthony Barrett
Next morning Tom and Laura were present with an immense breakfast of pickled herrings and kipper followed by bacon and eggs, Lincolnshire sausages, and toasted bread. Laura began to wonder if her figure could survive living like this. Tom tucked in without a thought for his waistline, much to Laura’s annoyance.
Once they were finished, they were ushered down to Trelawney’s office by his secretary, a woman who introduced herself as Belinda Mann. Tom thought she looked kindly and she reminded him of his mother.
“Have you been with Mr. Trelawney long?” Laura asked.
Belinda smiled at her. “I’ve been in this post with Sir Ernest for nearly fifteen years, but we first met long before that, when I was a field agent.”
“You were a spy?” Tom asked in surprise.
Belinda nodded, “I served in Vienna when I was a young woman. Sir Ernest was my contact at the British Embassy.”
When they entered the office, they found Trelawney deep in conversation with the short man with the large moustache who had been so hostile to them in the park.
“Those are my orders, James,” Trelawney said firmly.
“I shall record my protest in writing. They are both too young to be sent to Hobsgate and the girl’s final classification is still far from certain.”
Trelawney nodded. “Do what you must, Saunders, but my orders stand. See about that other matter too. I was impressed by the man during his interrogation.”
“Very well,” Saunders said and briskly left the room.
“He always seems to be in a hurry,” Laura said.
Trelawney looked over at them and smiled.
“He’s my Director of Operations, James Saunders. A good man who I’d trust with my life, but we often have arguments on operational matters. It’s the nature of the job.”
Trelawney beckoned them in to sit down where they’d sat the previous day and Belinda closed the office door behind them. He looked at them with great seriousness.
“The man behind Carmichael is Dominican Snood. He tutored Carmichael in the Spellbinding arts at his school.”
Tom was not surprised. He had met the man and taken an instant dislike to him. There was something more than a little creepy about him.
“Behind Snood, there must be a nest of spies or perhaps criminals leading back into this organization. I am telling you this in
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