Masques (Sianim #1)(51)

Transporting people wasn't easy, and it was as hard on the passenger as it was on the magician. It was difficult enough that most magicians preferred travel on horseback or coach rather than by magic, even in the spring when the roads were nothing more than a giant mud puddle. Transporting someone into the Northlands, where human magic had a tendency to go awry, was madness, but the cave where he had brought the merchant was far enough outside the effect of the Northlands that it should be possible. That would leave them with only one day's ride to their camp. Concentrating on the shallow cave, he pulled them to it, but something caught them and jerked them on with enough force to stun Wolf momentarily ... He landed on his knees on the hard stone floor of his library.

There was no time for wonder. Aralorn was unconscious. He set her down gently on a leather couch that he used occasionally for sleeping and stroked back the sweat-matted hair, loose from its usual braid. He covered her with his cloak to protect her from the normal chill of the cave and set his claw-footed staff beside her so she would have light if she awoke while he was talking to Myr.

* * *

IN THE CASTLE OF THE ARCHMAGE, THE AE'MAGI SAT GENTLY drumming his fingers on the burled wood of his desk. He was not in the best of moods, having tracked an intruder from castle to hold trying to discover who would be foolhardy enough to trespass and powerful enough to get away with it.

The room that he occupied was covered in finely woven carpets. Great beveled windows lined the outside wall behind the desk, bathing the room with a warm golden glow. On the opposite wall was a large, ornate fireplace that sat empty in deference to the warmth of late summer. In front of the fireplace, the pretty blonde girl who was the Master's newest pet combed her hair and looked at the floor. She trembled a bit. A month as his leman had made her sensitive to the ae'Magi's mood, which was vile today.

Facing the desk was one of the dungeon guards; he held his cap deferentially in his hand. He spoke in the low tones that were proper when addressing someone in a position so much higher than his own. He was starting to feel nervous, as the ae'Magi had been silent for some time.

Finally the ae'Magi spoke. "You saw Cain take one of the female prisoners?" he asked, gentle-toned.

"Yes, Lord. I remembered him from when he lived here, but I didn't realize who it was until he'd already gone. Last time I saw him he were all scarred up, but I 'membered meself when he were a tyke he looked a lot like you, sire." The old guard fell pleased with himself for bringing the matter to his lord's attention for, as he told his wife this morning, "My Lord is the best of masters, he's not one to punish a man for a common mistake. It always was difficult to tell the father from the son. Most likely I'll get a promotion for noticing something amiss at all." His wife had spent all that night darning his best uniform for his audience with the Lord.

His wife wouldn't have to darn his uniforms again.

"Clean up the dust and leave me."

Shuddering, the twelve-year-old silk merchant's daughter swept the ashes of the guard into the little shovel that was kept near the fireplace. She left quickly, grateful that someone else had taken the brunt of the Magician's wrath this time.

Alone he sat at the table in his study and tapped at the table even more gently than before.

"So it was Cain helping the boy king. The bitch lied. There are few other sorcerers who could have taken Edom and none that could walk into my dungeon and steal from me. What is worse is that I had the bait to call him into my trap and didn't even know it. He must care greatly about her to risk traipsing in and out of my demesne."

Moodily he took the stopper off the crystal decanter which sat on a corner of his desk and poured amber wine in a glass. He held it up to the light and swirled the liquid, admiring the fine gold color - the same shade as Cain's eyes. He tipped the glass and drank it dry.

"There are, however, some compensations, my son. I know that you are actively working against me. You cannot remain invisible if you ready yourself to attack, and I will find you. Maybe you have already made that mistake. I know that you have a weakness for this girl, and I do have a source of information on her. She will make it possible for me to use you for my purposes."

He whispered a minor summoning spell and waited only a short time before he was answered by a knock on the door. At his call, the Uriah who had once been Talor entered the study.

"You told me that you were familiar with the girl you look from Myr's campsite," the ae'Magi said.

The Uriah bowed his head in assent.

"Tell me about her. What is her name? Where do you know her from?" The problem with Uriah, the ae'Magi had found, was that communication was not all that it could be. Information could only be gotten with detailed questions, and even then a vital fact could be left out.

"She is called Aralorn - I knew her in Sianim," it replied.

"What did she do in Sianim?"

The Uriah shrugged carelessly. "She taught quarterstaff. Trained horses. She did some work for Ren, the Spymaster, I don't know how much."

"She worked as a spy?" The ae'Magi pounced on it.

"She never came out and said so. Most of us did some work for Ren the Mouse at one time or another, but I think, from the number of her unexplained comings and goings that she worked for him more often than most."

"What was she like? What were her strengths and weaknesses?"