Marked by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #4)(35)

Yeah, Elnos was right. Humans might be a bit scarier when they were toting guns, but they were still no match for magical warfare. The thought made me more certain than ever that the only way to get the mages to change their ways was through reason, not violence.

By Magorah, I thought, shaking my head a little. Who would have thought that Sunaya Baine would be advocating the use of words instead of fists? And they said people couldn’t change.

The phone lines were still working, so we were able to call and arrange transport back to the Palace, in the form of more black steamcars. An entire fleet of them, in fact, filled with more mages to act as a guard for us. Even so, the ride back was silent and tension filled, and I braced myself for another attack from the Resistance. I didn’t relax until we were safely behind the warded protection of the Mages Quarter.

I half-expected Iannis to be waiting for us – after all, his apprentice and his closest friend had nearly been killed – but he was tied up in yet another meeting. Trying not to look too disappointed, I headed down to the kitchens with Fenris, who had turned back to human as soon as we’d arrived, to grab some lunch. They had prepared some kind of creamy pasta with chicken, and I wolfed down a mountain of the dish, refueling and drowning my disappointment in food. Yes, it was childish, but I wanted to see Iannis again. He’d left me on Hawk Hill with the promise that we’d finish what we started, and here I was, having to deal with the heat all by myself. Besides, I wanted to talk to him about mobilizing the jobless shifters and humans in order to keep them from defecting to the Resistance.

“Come to the side entrance,” Fenris called. He’d finished eating long before me and had gone to arrange transport. “We’re ready to go check on that factory.”

Fenris was waiting for me there, but he held up a hand as I made for the double doors. “Hang on,” he said. “We can’t go outdoors without a disguise. It’s entirely possible the Resistance has shifters watching us from the air.”

“All right.” I crossed my arms. “I was thinking we’d come as tax inspectors from the Finance Secretary’s office. Does that work for you?”

“Yes,” Fenris said, a slightly amused expression crossing his face. “Perhaps we should have brought the Finance Secretary himself along.”

“Yes, I’m sure he’d just love to stop what he’s doing to come on a field trip with us,” I said dryly, then placed my hands on his broad shoulders. In short order, I’d turned him into a reedy mage with dark hair and spectacles, dressed in dark blue robes, and myself into a severe-looking strawberry blonde in pale pink. Both of us had the Mages Guild emblem stitched onto our breasts, and we were sporting clipboards, so I was sure we’d appear to be very official.

“What are the chances we’re going to get attacked again?” I wondered as we descended the steps and headed for the steamcar awaiting us.

“We can’t rule out the possibility,” Fenris acknowledged. “To be on the safe side, I had the car warded against bombs and bullets. It’s not foolproof – there’s little we can do if they blow up the bridge while we’re on it, for example, but the car should be relatively safe to travel in. Besides, we won’t be going as Sunaya and Fenris. We are Zane and Tanita from the Mages Guild.”

I groaned at the name Fenris had chosen, but before I could complain, he went around to the driver’s side of the car.

I stared. “Wait a minute. You’re driving?”

“There is little point in endangering a driver,” he called as he shut the door, and I yanked mine open so I could hear what he said next. “And before you ask, no. You can’t drive on the way back.”

“How the hell do you get off on saying that?” I demanded. “I didn’t even know you could drive.”

“I’ve been practicing new skills,” Fenris said lightly as he put the vehicle into gear.

Half an hour later, my fingers were twitching with the need to grab Fenris by his collar and shake him. “Do you think you could go any slower?”

Fenris raised an eyebrow. “I’m going at the suggested speed limit for non-residential roads,” he said, pointing to the dashboard.

“There’s a reason it’s a suggestion,” I retorted with a growl. “At the rate you’re dawdling, the factory will be closed by the time we arrive. Get moving, or I’m tossing you into the backseat and taking over.”

Fenris scowled, but he increased the speed until we were going at a clip that would actually get us there at a decent time. Timbran’s Gourmet Foods was located about forty minutes north of Turain, according to the map I was looking at – still a good hour and a half from here – so I settled into the passenger’s seat for a nap. After all, the car was warded, and there was little I could do unless we were actually under attack.

Please, please, don’t let there be another attack. The last thing I needed was to be stranded on a road many miles away from Solantha and any sort of shelter.

“Sunaya.” Fenris’s voice woke me, and I sat up, startled. I felt like I’d barely fallen asleep, but as I looked around, I realized that Fenris was taking us down a winding dirt road that led to a factory building just a few hundred yards ahead. It was situated right at the water’s edge – which made sense, since many of their shipments and supplies probably came and went by boat. “We’re here.”