Read A Little Taste of Poison for Free Online

Isaveth, loosening the knots inside. Whatever Mistress Anandri or anyone else thought of her, there was at least one person at the college who still cared. She smiled up at the window, tucked the paper into her pocket, and walked on.
    *  *  *
    Compared to the drama of that morning, Isaveth’s afternoon was almost pleasant—except when she discovered that Betinda Callender, the girl who’d accused her of showing off in Common Magic, also sat behind her in Calculation. She pretended not to notice, but she could feel that hostile stare drilling into her, and when the bell rang she was glad to get away.
    In the shadow of the bell tower, with the wind whipping past and little eddies of snow whirling about her boots, it was bitterly cold. Isaveth rubbed her arms and hopped from one foot to the other, wishing Esmond had picked a warmer place to meet. Where was he, anyway?
    â€œPsst!” The voice came from above, like the dart that had summoned her. Startled, Isaveth looked up—and saw him leaning out of the tower window, a lanky blondboy with a glittering lens over his left eye. “In here,” he said. “Quick!”
    Sure enough, the door at the base of the tower was unlocked. Isaveth glanced about to make sure no one was watching, then opened it and slipped in.
    It was dim inside, and almost as chilly as the open air. But when Esmond came bounding down the wooden staircase and seized Isaveth’s hands in welcome, joy warmed her from head to toe. She hadn’t realized, until now, how much she’d missed him.
    â€œHow did you get in here?” she asked. “You aren’t one of the ringers, are you?”
    If he’d really been Quiz she wouldn’t have bothered asking; she’d assume he’d picked the lock or a ringer’s pocket. But she was still learning what this new boy, the Sagelord’s son, would do.
    â€œNo,” said Esmond, his blue eyes—one real, the other glass-framed illusion—wickedly bright. “But I’m glad to see you again. May I kiss you now?”
    She should have known it was coming; he’d made the same joke in every letter he’d written her, after all. Once she’d got over being shocked, flabbergasted, then embarrassed as she realized that he must have been teasing her all along, she’d worked up the courage to fire back.
    Sorry, I’m taking a dogsled to Borealis, she’d repliedin her first letter, and since then she’d thought of several more witty comebacks so he’d never catch her unprepared. Not today, I’ve got the Antipodean lip flu. Maybe, if you bring me the moon in a teacup.
    It was different hearing him ask her in person, though, and she had to look away as she replied. “Not until you’ve grown a beard,” she told him. “A long woolly one, like Father Frost. And you still haven’t answered my question.”
    â€œFilched the spare key from the porter’s office.” Esmond started up the staircase, beckoning her to follow. “Thought it would be a good place to talk without Eryx’s telltales spotting us.”
    Of course Eryx had spies at the college. With her luck, Meggery was one of them, and Isaveth would have to be even more wary of the housekeeper than before. “I saw Eryx this morning,” Isaveth said. “He was giving a speech in Founders’ Hall.”
    Esmond glanced back at her, surprised. “Really? What about?”
    Isaveth told him.
    â€œSo that’s his plan, is it?” His eyes narrowed angrily, all whimsy gone. “He’s still trying to punish you for finding out the truth about him. Well, he can talk all he likes about his precious relief scheme, but he isn’t Sagelord yet.”
    Esmond stalked up onto the landing, and Isaveth climbed after him. The place was far from cozy: just a bare wooden platform stretching the width of the tower, with the bell rope dangling above. But he’d built