Eventually Winter picked up a gold-tipped quill from a shelf. ‘This will do,’ he muttered. He threw it towards me.

I didn’t even attempt to catch it; I simply stepped back and let it fall to the ground. I grinned. ‘Oops.’

‘Pick up the pen and try to take it through the front door,’ he commanded.

I shook my head. ‘No way.’

Winter smiled at me wolfishly. ‘You won’t get hurt. The final ward is … different to the others.’

I really didn’t like the sound of that. ‘I’m still not doing it.’ I ignored the prickle that ran across my skin again. This was becoming ridiculous. Winter could do it; it didn’t have to be me.

‘As I have to keep reminding you, Ms Wilde, I am in charge here. You will do as I say.’

‘Yesterday you said I wouldn’t have to do anything apart from follow you around. Less than a day later you seem intent on torturing me.’

He raised an eyebrow. ‘I thought you wanted this done quickly.’ He came over to me and picked up the quill. ‘I’ll do it. But I’m in no rush.’

I looked into his eyes. I had the impression that he’d happily hang around for hours before testing the ward, simply to make a point.

I muttered a curse under my breath and snatched the quill from him. ‘Fine. When I’m convulsing on the floor, you’ll be sorry.’ I twisted round and headed for the door. I was barely three feet away when the most god-awful shrieking started up. It was less like an alarm and more like a pack of harpies surrounding me, intent on making my ears bleed. I clamped my hands over my ears and kept going. A moment later there was a whoosh and I was surrounded by ten-foot iron spikes that sprang from nowhere. I was well and truly trapped.

‘All this for a damn quill?’ I screamed.

Beyond the ring of spikes, Winter shrugged. ‘Missing stationery accounts for a lot of the Order’s budget. It’s important to track every item to avoid unnecessary loss.’ He turned away.

‘Hey!’

Winter didn’t miss a step.

I shouted louder. ‘Hey! You need to let me out!’

‘I can’t. Only the librarians can release you. You’ll need to wait.’ He looked over his shoulder and smirked. ‘Don’t worry. Once I’ve questioned them all, I’ll send one over to get you out. Look on the bright side. This way we get some peace from each other.’

The plonker. He’d done this deliberately. I kicked at the nearest spike; it didn’t budge. I should have chosen prison. Anything would be better than this.

Chapter Eight

It took bloody Winter ages to send someone to rescue me. It got to the point where I tried to expend my own energy to break through the iron circle but the ward was far too strong. No matter what I threw at it, it stayed firmly put. I wasn’t big-headed enough to believe that I could beat down any magic thrown in my path but I wasn’t without ability. Whoever had got past this with the sceptre in their hand was definitely an incredibly powerful witch.