Masques (Sianim #1)(42)

"Astrid is dead." Wolf pitched his voice so that it carried to everyone in the room without echoing. "I found her remains us well as those of the horse that Aralorn was riding. I found no trace of Aralorn's body. I suspect that she is a prisoner of the ae'Magi." He could tell from their reaction that most of them hadn't realized that this attack too had been engineered by the ae'Magi. He couldn't work up the effort to care. "He will concentrate on her until he finds out where we are now. To break Aralorn, he will have to do the questioning himself; she is too well trained for conventional methods to work. He will probably not consider this an urgent matter - he is too busy ferreting out the locations of other magic-users in Reth. He may give Aralorn enough time to find a way to kill herself."

He paused and continued in a disinterested voice, this time speaking directly to Myr. "My advice is for you to stay here for now. It is probably quite safe for you to go out for a while yet. The ae'Magi won't expect you to be this close to the original camp. If I am not back in a fortnight it would be best for you to move on." Wolf started to leave but turned back. "I would find a way to block off the paths that I didn't map for you so that no one is hurt or lost. You could follow these caves for a hundred miles if you wanted to." He left then, as quietly as he came in.

* * *

HE KNEW ALL THE AE'MAGI'S CASTLES, EVEN THOSE ACQUIRED after he'd left. He had made a point of exploring each of them, partially to see if he could, but also because he might find that he needed the knowledge. Even as he had done so, he'd been amused that Aralorn's passion for information had passed on to him. Now he was grateful for the habit.

First he went, traveling by magic, to the Archmage's Castle since it was the ae'Magi's preferred residence as well as the closest one to the camp - about four days' ride. He took the time to see if the ae'Magi was in residence, not that it would have kept Wolf out if he had been. He searched the dungeon twice, certain that she would be there, but he didn't see her among the pitiful captives of the ae'Magi, He looked through the castle, even the stables, but saw no sign of her anywhere. Then he continued on to the next hold.

He searched through the night and all the next day, even the royal palace of Reth and the small cottage in which the ae'Magi had been born. Finally he had to admit defeat. He thought that she must have been able to kill herself, because he found no trace of her anywhere that the ae'Magi was remotely connected with. For lack of anything better to do, he returned to the caves.

* * *

ARALORN TRAVELED OUT OF THE NORTHLANDS ON THE BACK of the Uriah who had captured her - she would not think of it as Talor. The smell of the thing at this close range was debilitating, and she was glad enough for the cold that stuffed up her nose. She had been stripped of her weapons with ruthless efficiency and bound hand and foot. The constant jostling of the thing's shoulder in her midriff was giving her a headache that made it difficult to think clearly.

They stopped when they were out of the mountains and dumped her ignominiously face-down on the ground. By turning her face to the side she could see them moving restlessly, snarling irritably at each other. For the most part they ignored her, but she received enough hungry looks that she tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. She tried shapechanging once when nothing was paying attention to her, but the pain in her head kept distracting her.

She was concentrating for another attempt, but this time the distraction came in the form of a thud originating just out of her field of view. One by one the Uriah dropped to the ground; only the glitter of their eyes gave indication that they were not asleep - or dead.

"Sst. Filthy things. Why he uses them I cannot imagine," The voice was a light tenor, speaking Rethian with a high-court accent. Her position on the ground limited her field of view, but she could see the elegant shoes topped by the embroidered stockings of a true dandy.

"So," the soft voice continued, "you are the prisoner the ae'Magi is so anxious to get." She was pushed over on her side by a magical shove and got her first look at the magician. His face was handsome enough, although overpowered by the purple wig he affected. She didn't, know him by sight, but his ability to immobilize an army of Uriah and his dress let her put a name to him: Lord Kisrah, a minor noble whose abilities had been invaluable to Myr's grandfather in the last war. Her father told her once that he was a competent tactician and diplomat, high praise from a man who despised the courtier type.

"Not very much of you, is there? From all the fuss the ae'Magi is putting up over you, I had expected more - although you would clean up well enough, I suppose. It is too had that you chose to attack the ae'Magi in such treasonous fashion." He shook his head sadly at her, and she noticed with shock that his eyes were kind. "Get set now. I'm going to transport you to the ae'Magi's castle. I don't like transporting humans, it's too hard on them. But the ae'Magi is concerned about Prince Myr. It's not right to take advantage of a man whose mind is turned by grief, and we need to get to him as soon as possible." He rubbed his hands together a minute in preparation. "The ae'Magi is much better at this thing than I am, but he is busy with other matters, so I will have to do."

His magic hit her body with enough force that she almost passed out. She hit a hard stone floor, sweating and coughing. If she wasn't careful she was going to die of lung-fever before the magician could get his hands on her. She laughed at the thought, bringing on another fit of coughing.