The School for Good and Evil 3-book Collection: The Camelot Years (Books 4- 6)

“Tedros is riding into the Woods?” Agatha asked, bolting straighter.

“The Lion is meeting him?” Sophie asked, perking up.

“Where?” the two girls overlapped, then glanced at each other, frowning.

“Sherwood Forest,” said Professor Dovey. “It’s the only safe space near Camelot where the Snake can’t get to Tedros—”

“Mmm, not so safe anymore,” said a voice.

Agatha, Sophie, and Dovey raised their heads.

Dot held up soggy parchment, stamped with the Sheriff of Nottingham’s seal. “Since Agatha hasn’t been using her courier crow, I sent Daddy a note after the Four Point telling him I was safe. He’s sent back a letter saying those eely, snaky things were spotted around Nottingham last night. They haven’t attacked anyone or done anything bad, but they’re slipping in and out of people’s houses as if they’re searching for someone. If the Snake’s in Nottingham, that’s next to Sherwood Forest, where Tedros and the Lion are meeting.”

Sophie blinked at her. “You eavesdropped on everything we were saying?”

“Eavesdropped? You were yelling,” said Beatrix, looking up.

“About the Lion,” said Anadil.

“And the kiss,” said Nicola.

“And how you don’t know his name,” said Hort, stonefaced.

“Sophie kisses Rafal, Sophie kisses Tedros, now Sophie kisses Lion with No Name,” said Kiko. “My mother said kiss too many boys and you turn into a snail.”

“Preach,” said Hester.

Sophie pursed her lips.

Dovey suddenly looked worried. “Scims in Nottingham? Girls, there were over a dozen Good and Evil leaders at the Camelot summit. All of them know Tedros and Lancelot are riding to meet the Lion in Sherwood Forest tonight. One of them could be a spy for the Snake. If so, the Snake might try to attack Tedros in Nottingham before he loses him in the Forest!” Dovey cast open her Quest Map, inspecting it. “Looks like Tedros is already close to the Nottingham border. A message won’t reach him in time. And Merlin hasn’t answered any of my letters so I don’t even know where he is. If Tedros is ambushed, it’ll fall on Lancelot alone to protect him!” She swiveled to the girls. “But your crew has the advantage of numbers. It’s our only option. You must find him before he meets the Lion and warn him he may have been betrayed—”

“We’ll set our course to Nottingham at once,” said Agatha nervously.

“We can’t let him be attacked!” Dovey pressed.

“We’ll save the Lion like he saved us—” Sophie breathed.

“She means Tedros, you idiot!” Agatha shot back.

“Right. Of course,” said Sophie tightly.

“Get to Nottingham, girls! Quickly!” said Dovey, the image of her face starting to fade. “Keep Tedros safe and bring him to Camelot. You must not fail! My crystal ball resets at midnight, so I’ll—”

She vanished midsentence like a ghost.

“Really, that crystal ball is a menace,” said Sophie.

Agatha whirled towards her. “We need to talk—”

Sophie was already standing. “We’ll do a nice catch-up over tea and those vile chocolate cookies you love,” she said, hustling away. “But you need to set the ship’s course and Kiko is desperate to speak to me, so it’ll have to be another time. …”

Tedros riding into the Woods … Tedros meeting the Lion … the Snake looking for him …

Agatha’s heart hammered as she hurried onto the deck and gripped the captain’s wheel. She had to get to Tedros before the Snake did—

“Fly to Nottingham!” Agatha commanded.

The ship rocked backwards, knocking her off her feet.

She heard screams from the galley as the Igraine pulled out of the sea, the ivory sails catching the wind, and launched straight upwards, like a balloon cut from its string, soaring up, up, up, until it leveled off, surrounded by puffy sunlit clouds. The Igraine pivoted west, as if setting its course, and zoomed into the horizon with smooth, comfortable speed.

Agatha lumbered off the floor, hearing groans and shouts inside the ship.

“You could have warned us!” someone hollered.

“Good job, Captain!” heckled someone else.

Agatha ignored them, watching the Igraine plow out of the cloud tunnel and into open sky. She should go and check on her crew—that was the Good thing to do—but her nerves were frayed, her body exhausted, and all she could think about was finding her prince.

A sense of déjà vu swept over her. Because last night she was sure she’d found her prince. When that masked Lion freed her, she’d felt so relieved and protected, back in her true love’s arms. But it wasn’t her true love and instead she’d watched the boy she thought was hers … kiss Sophie.

The shock of the Lion pulling off his mask and not being Tedros had left her reeling. Yet instead of being thankful to this so-called Lion or comforted that he’d saved them when Tedros hadn’t, Agatha wanted nothing to do with him. Why? Why wasn’t she happy that Sophie had found a new romance and their team a new ally? Why was her blood boiling as if this boy were a villain instead of a friend?

Was it because Sophie was back to her old princessey self, mooning over boys she barely knew? No … that wasn’t it. Sophie hadn’t sought out this Lion like she’d once sought out a prince. This boy had dropped into their story and kissed her out of the blue.

Maybe that’s what was irritating her: that some boy would kiss her best friend as his reward for a Good deed. No … that wasn’t it either. Most Everboys claimed to do Good for Good’s sake, but in the end, let’s face it: it was usually to get a girl.

No, deep down, Agatha knew what was really bothering her.

It was that Sophie was right.

The Lion had done Tedros’ job: not just last night, but now the Lion was heading off the Snake in other kingdoms. He’d swooped in like a hero and beat back the enemy, like she’d tried to—only, unlike her, he’d actually succeeded.

He’d been Tedros’ champion better than she’d ever be.

What would Tedros think of this boy who so effortlessly did what he hadn’t done? What she couldn’t do either? What must Tedros be thinking, going to meet him?

That it’s time he act like a king, the voice inside her retorted. But it’s too late.

No, it’s not, Agatha fired back. He is king. And I’ll help him prove it.

Once she and Tedros were reunited, everything would be fixed. They’d fight the Snake at each other’s side just like they’d once fought Rafal. They’d be a team again, stronger together than apart.

And as for this Lion … well, he could fight with them too.

Because having three people in your story always works out well, the voice inside her said.

Agatha squashed it.

Just get to Tedros, she told herself.

“Where are we going to land?” a voice asked. “Nottingham’s landlocked.”

Agatha turned to see Nicola striding purposefully onto the deck, the necklace with Sophie’s gold vial dangling off her fingers.

“We’ll figure it out when we get there,” said Agatha. “Sorry about the takeoff. Everyone okay?”

“Willam puked again and we had to put him down for a nap, which he probably needs since he keeps insisting that he can use tarot cards to communicate with the dead. Meanwhile, Bogden’s creepily sidling up to people and asking everyone if they saw the Lion’s face and whether he’s handsome, as if that matters. Think those two had a little too much lemonade at lunch. Rest of the crew is fine, though a bunch of them are too injured from their quests to come ashore in Nottingham; we’ll have to leave them on the ship. But forget all that,” said Nicola, breathless. “I found something. …”

She opened the gold vial on the necklace and poured out its contents, forming the magical Quest Map.

“See anything different?” Nicola asked.

Agatha peered at the Quest Map and its fourth-year figurines, spread across the kingdoms. At first, her eyes went to CHADDICK and MILLICENT, both crossed out and dripping with blood.

TEDROS, meanwhile, was streaking out of Camelot, and was only a short distance from Nottingham, the gateway into Sherwood Forest. His name was red, the way it had been since the first time Agatha had seen the map. The names aboard the Igraine were red too, including AGATHA and SOPHIE, which was no surprise, since the Snake was still at large—

Agatha’s eyes widened.

“Hold on,” she said. “Why aren’t these teams red?”

She pointed at GRONK’s quest team in Mahadeva … FLAVIA’s team in Foxwood …

“More of the Snake’s attacks have been foiled by the Lion in Mahadeva and Foxwood.” …That’s what Dovey had said in the dining room.

There was another team turning blue now, before her very eyes … JACOB’s group in Pifflepaff Hills, a kingdom west of Mahadeva and Foxwood … a kingdom adjacent to Nottingham. …

“Look closer,” said Nicola.

Agatha saw it and gasped.

A figurine separating from JACOB’s quest team, headed towards Nottingham.

A figurine in a Lion mask.

But that wasn’t all.

There was a name beneath it.

RHIAN.

“His name is … Rhian?” Agatha breathed.

“That’s what you’re focused on? His name?” said Nicola. “Not the fact this Lion boy has suddenly appeared on our school’s Quest Map?”

Agatha goggled at her, understanding. “But that means he’s a student at the School for Good and Evil. … That means he’s a fourth year. …”

“If there was a fourth year in your class named Rhian, wouldn’t you know who he is? Wouldn’t everyone on this ship?” Nicola asked. “Hort and I asked the whole crew. No one’s heard that name before.”

“But how else could he be on the Quest Map if he’s not a student at the school?” said Agatha.

“Well, whoever he is, the Storian recognizes him. Plus, he’s fixing students’ quests,” said Nicola, watching RHIAN streak away from JACOB’S team, which finished turning blue. “Are you sure you’ve never heard the name before?”

Agatha shook her head, stumped. “‘Rhian’ means nothing to me. Nothing at all.”

“Well, maybe it’ll mean something to his new girlfriend,” said Nicola.

Both of them looked towards the galley, hearing lovedrunk humming from a cabin below.

Agatha thumped on the door.

“Pretend to be talking to me!” she heard Sophie whisper inside. “Maybe she’ll go away!”

“But we don’t even like each other!” Kiko protested.

“Shhh! Just talk!”

“About what! Willam was going to read my tarot cards—he said he could communicate with Tristan from beyond and then you grabbed me and told me you had to show me something in your room—”

“Tristan? Sounds lovely. Tell me about him,” Sophie simpered.

“He’s dead!”

Agatha kicked in the door. “Get out, Kiko.”

“She kidnapped me!” Kiko peeped, fluttering away.

Sophie backed against her bed frame, sheets wrapped protectively around her, the Lion’s rose in her hair. “I know you’re mad he kissed me, Aggie—”

“Tedros is about to meet this Lion, and the Snake may be about to kill them both. I’m not mad about kisses. I want answers,” said Agatha, occupying the edge of the king-sized bed. She scanned the aggressively masculine chamber with a leopard-skin rug, dark wood finishes, and old maritime relics, which now smelled of sweet lavender and was crammed with Sophie’s dresses, beauty creams, and vast array of shoes. It was supposed to be the captain’s quarters, but both Agatha and Sophie knew from the moment they saw it that even if Agatha was captain of this ship, it was Sophie who would be staying here.

“Tell me what he said to you,” Agatha ordered.

“It’s private,” Sophie snipped.

“Well, so is my room, so how about I move you in with Hort?”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Wonder what he sleeps in since you stole his frog pajamas.”

Sophie threw a pillow at her. It missed.

“Look, he said he knows about me from our fairy tale and hasn’t been able to stop thinking about me,” Sophie boasted, tightening her ponytail. “He came to protect me.”

“And that’s all?” said Agatha.

Sophie hesitated.

“Maybe Beatrix has room in her bed,” said Agatha.

“And they call me the witch,” Sophie retorted. “He also said he’s a humble servant of Camelot, come to protect its king and his princess, and that he would fight until his dying breath to make sure the rightful king weds his rightful queen. Happy?”

Agatha stared at her. “He said that?”

Sophie picked at a loose thread in her caftan. “He wants to be Lancelot to Tedros’ Arthur. He wants to see you and Teddy married. That’s why he really came to save us, okay? Because of you and Teddy. Everything is always about you and Teddy. I’m just the girl he has a crush on at the moment.” Sophie balled her knees to her chest. “There could be a thousand other girls like me, for all I know, Aggie. A thousand other roses in a thousand other kingdoms. One for his every Good deed.”

Agatha could see the anxious pink spots on Sophie’s cheeks … the way she was curling into herself like she used to their first year at school, whenever Sophie talked about her future prince. …

“You really like him, don’t you?” Agatha said, surprised.

Sophie sighed. “I’m completely happy on my own. I don’t need a boy, so don’t make it sound like I do. Nor do I believe in love at first sight anymore or even true love for that matter. Not after Teddy and Rafal taught me that loving any boy only leads to them disappointing you once you realize that they’re boring or immature or an axe murderer. But this boy came out of nowhere when I least expected it and even though he didn’t say we’d meet again, I keep thinking about how nice it’d be to have a proper date where he picks me up and I wear my furs and boots and we dine on coq au vin so I can ask what his father does for a living and what he does when he’s not saving people and why he liked me in our fairy tale when I behaved quite badly most of the time, but …” She sank into the pillows. “I can’t really like him. I don’t even know his name.”

“Rhian,” said Agatha.

Sophie bolted back up. “What?”

“His name is Rhian.”

Agatha drew Sophie’s vial from her pocket and deployed the Quest Map. Sophie followed Agatha’s fingertip to the Lion-masked figurine, riding towards Nottingham. Sophie turned sickly pale—

“That can’t be his name!”

“So you have heard it,” said Agatha, eyes flaring.

“Professor Sader mentioned that name once,” Sophie said quickly. “Rhian was the name of Rafal’s twin brother!”

“The School Master’s brother? The Good one?” said Agatha. “He’s …”

“… alive?” Sophie said.

The two girls gaped at each other.

“Impossible,” said Agatha. “We saw the Good School Master’s ghost take over Professor Sader’s body our first year. They both were destroyed. Professor Sader and Rhian. Forever.”

“Unless Rhian’s ghost came back somehow and took a younger form,” said Sophie. “Like Rafal.”

“But Rhian can’t come back. Just like Rafal can’t come back,” said Agatha, shaking her head. “Not even the strongest magic could do that.”

“So maybe this Rhian is the Good School Master’s son? Dads name their sons after them, don’t they? Narcissistic ones at least.”

“His son? If the Good School Master had a son, don’t you think we would have known about it before now? Wouldn’t he have helped us fight Rafal?”

Sophie shook her head. “So it’s just a coincidence.”

“Must be … ,” said Agatha skeptically.

“Igraine landing! Nottingham ahead!” Nicola’s voice echoed above.

“Hurry! Rhian and Tedros are meeting soon. We need to find Tedros—” said Agatha, yanking Sophie off the bed.

“And I need to find out who this Rhian is that’s going around kissing girls and not writing them the next day,” Sophie puffed.

“After we help Tedros,” Agatha growled.

The Igraine hit land with an earth-shaking crash—

Agatha seized Sophie in her arms, hugging her tight as debris and clothes and shoes showered over them and the ship tremored until, at last, the room went quiet and still again. They could hear the commands and bootsteps of crew preparing to disembark.

“Come on,” said Agatha, pulling Sophie towards the door.

“Aggie?”

Agatha turned.

“Maybe it’ll all work out. You with Teddy, me with Rhian, whoever he is. Our own versions of Arthur and Lancelot, with Camelot great again,” Sophie breathed hopefully. “What if that’s our Ever After? What if that’s our perfect ending?”

“Well, for one thing, Arthur and Lancelot finished with Lance betraying Arthur and Arthur wanting him dead,” said Agatha, dragging Sophie behind her. “And if there’s one thing I know, Sophie … it’s that you and I don’t get to have perfect endings.”

23

THE COVEN

The Sheriff’s Daughter

When it came time to land, the Igraine didn’t have a port to dock in and its captain was below deck, so the ship made its own decision and thumped down in front of Nottingham Prison, crushing a statue of a fat, bearded Sheriff beneath its hull.

A few pigeons scattered.

No sounds came from the jail.

“Daddy won’t be happy,” said Dot, blinking over the rail.

Hester took in the deserted scene. “Where is everyone? You’d think flying ships land here every day.”

“Jail’s pretty empty,” Dot explained. “Daddy and his men are so focused looking for Robin Hood that anyone else they put in there usually escapes.”

“Good Sheriff,” said Anadil, her rats snickering.

“He’s caught Robin before. He’ll catch him again,” Dot defended. “When he caught Robin, Dad was so happy. He told me I was pretty, bought me cakes and dresses, and didn’t have a care in the world. But then when Robin escaped …”

Her eyes clouded over.

“But how did Robin escape?” Anadil pushed.

“Oh, look! Bertie!” Dot said, waving over the rail. “Hi, Bertie!”

She beamed down at a filthy old man who’d rushed out the door of the jail to check on the commotion. He had no shirt, his pants were falling down, and he was sucking on a lit cigar.

“Any Robin sightings lately?” Dot asked cheerily.

The old man cursed at her and went back inside.

Dot smiled. “He’s such a good friend.”

A few minutes later, the crew gathered before their captain on sandy dirt, the Igraine in shadow behind them. A soft rain fell, the cloudy glow over Nottingham draining fast. Still, they could see downhill to the quiet village below, bounded on the north side by the rich greenery of Sherwood Forest.

“Tedros and Lancelot are heading towards Sherwood Forest to meet the Lion,” said Agatha. “According to the Quest Map, Tedros will soon reach Nottingham on his way there. But scims were spotted here in Nottingham last night. Surely it’s because the Snake sees a chance to attack Tedros before he gets to Sherwood Forest, where the Snake can’t follow him inside. Sophie and I will use the Quest Map to find Tedros before the Snake does—”

“And the Lion,” Sophie chimed in. “We’ll look for him too.”

Agatha glared at her. Sophie pursed her lips.

“The rest of you search Nottingham for scims,” Agatha continued. “If the Sheriff spotted those eels last night, that means the Snake is here somewhere. If you find him, cast your glow into the sky as a signal. Don’t try to fight him on your own.” Agatha scanned the group. “Understood?”

The questers dispersed. Ravan’s team went with Vex’s to explore the hill around the jail. Beatrix, Reena, and Kiko teamed up to search the area bordering Sherwood Forest. Bogden and Willam took the Nottingham school, Hort and Nicola headed towards the outer cottages, and Hester and Anadil followed Dot into the center of town.

“Daddy will know where the scims were. We have to get to my house,” said Dot as they passed a billboard with a flattering painting of the beefy Sheriff chasing an ogrish-looking Robin Hood, about to snare him in a big, gray sack. The sign read: “WELCOME TO NOTTINGHAM, LAND OF LAW AND ORDER.” “Can’t wait for you to meet Daddy. I’ve told him all about you.”

“Since when are you so chipper about ‘Daddy’?” Anadil scorned. “The way you talk about him, calling you a failure and a loser, he sounds like a demeaning, belittling mope. And that’s coming from me.”

“Well, he appreciates me more now,” said Dot cryptically.

Hester tuned out whenever Dot talked about her dysfunctional relationship with her father. (She had no patience for parental issues, which she thought most kids used as an excuse for mediocrity and avoiding real responsibility). Instead, she was unnerved by how dead this town was as she took in the square’s empty streets, stagnant fountain, and closed shopfronts.

“Um, sorry this isn’t Ravenswood or Bloodbrook, with bird-bone temples and man-wolf raves,” Dot said, seeing her face. “It’s Robin’s fault, to be honest. Robbed all the rich people to give to the poor, so the rich people left. But then the poor got rich from all Robin’s stealing, so then he started robbing from them and they left too. So the only people here are neither rich nor poor and there ain’t too many of those in this world. So yeah … it’s a sleepy town.”

“This isn’t sleepy. This is zombie,” said Hester.

“No thugs running around wreaking havoc either,” said Anadil. “If the Snake’s here, where are the attacks?”

A spooked villager rushed towards them, carrying an axe.

“Get inside, you fools! Eely things flyin’ around all last night! They’re huntin’ for someone!” he spat, blowing past them. “If you’re idling about, they might come back!”

The witches watched him flurry towards the cottage lanes.

Hester frowned. “At least we know why the streets are empty.”

“Hold on. Last night? Dot’s father said the scims were looking for someone last night too,” Anadil pointed out. “Last night. Long before Tedros even left his castle. So the Snake can’t have been looking for Tedros. He must be looking for someone else in Nottingham.”

“Someone he wants to kill?” said Hester.

“Or it could be someone he needs,” said Anadil.

“Someone he needs in order to take Camelot … ,” Hester mulled.

“You’re soooo overestimating this town,” Dot quipped.

Anadil’s eyes roamed the clear sky. “Well, we’ve been here a while and haven’t seen a thing. So either the scims gave up … or they found who they’re looking for.”

Hester noticed the news and sundries shop they were passing, the Sheriff’s Blotter, covered in WANTED posters of Robin Hood, which had a cartoon of an executioner chopping off his head. In the window, Hester glimpsed the latest edition of the Royal Rot—

BANISHED FROM CAMELOT?

LADY GREMLAINE SPOTTED

IN HOMETOWN OF NOTTINGHAM!

Isn’t that Agatha’s steward? Hester thought. The one she’d complained about? It was suspicious that she’d be back in Nottingham just when Camelot needed her most … but then again, the Royal Rot claimed that Agatha and Sophie were secretly sisters, which was the most preposterous thing Hester had ever heard. Still, she’d ask Agatha about Gremlaine just in case. …

But now Hester was distracted by the row of local Nottingham newspapers next to the Rot—