Taken

chapter 8

I caught Luna up on what she’d missed, and we separated at Camden Town. She had classes the next day and we wouldn’t see each other until we met at the White Stone opening in the evening. I headed home and crashed.

I woke up the next morning starving and light-headed. Obviously the effects of Anne’s spell hadn’t worn off. I had to eat everything in my flat and make a trip to the supermarket for a second breakfast before I was feeling human again.

Sonder rang just as I was finishing up. “Hey,” I said into my phone, carrying the plates to the sink.

“Alex?” Sonder said. “Those men who were after you and Anne? I found them.”

* * *

The block of flats was in Stoke Newington, not close to where the attack had happened but not all that far either. It was a border area between a run-down council estate and a nicer street of semidetached houses; the sort of area you’d find students, immigrants, and anyone who wanted a place with more-or-less affordable rent and not too high a crime rate. The flats were dark brick, spread wide, and three storeys high, and they were quiet. It was late morning and most of the people living here would be at work or school.

The weather had clouded over and a chill wind was gusting down the street. I ducked into a doorway next to Sonder, taking what meagre shelter we could from the cold. “Which flat?”

“Second floor, number three twenty-nine,” Sonder said. He was shivering.

I concentrated and path-walked, watching my future self cross the street, make my way into the flats, and navigate to the door. I kicked the door down. . and the future dissolved into a chaos of combat and gunfire. I pulled back, the future fading away instantly. “It’s them.”

“I told you.”

“How did you find them?”

“How do you think? I followed the route here.”

“Were they in a car?”

“Yes.”

“And you traced them on foot-”

“Yes.”

“I’m guessing it took a long time.”

“Yes.”

“All right,” I said. “Thanks. I know it wasn’t an easy job.”

“I’m freezing,” Sonder said. He was still shivering. “What are you going to do?”

I studied the block of flats. “I’m going to go in and have a chat.”

“Then I’m coming too.”

“Sonder-”

“You always try to leave me behind,” Sonder said. “I’ve been doing this for five hours. I’m not turning around and going home.”

I hesitated. It’s not that Sonder’s incompetent. Several times he’s managed to accomplish things on his own that I think are pretty impressive. Just because he doesn’t specialise in combat doesn’t mean that he can’t look after himself; he can react surprisingly fast and he knows some uses of time magic that are very useful in a tight spot. I’d rather have him at my side than most mages twice his age.

The problem is that Sonder is basically nice. He doesn’t fight except in self-defence and he avoids hurting people whenever he can. I on the other hand am not nice. The reason there were two people in the flat ahead of us rather than three was because I’d stabbed the third one to death. And if necessary I was quite willing to do the same to the other two. Sonder would never think of doing something like that. I’ve never been sure whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but I knew the difference in approach was likely to cause trouble.

But Sonder had earned the right to come along, and I could use the backup. “You don’t come into the flat until I tell you it’s clear,” I said. “Got it?”

“Got it.”

We crossed the street, cold wind whipping our clothes. A fine drizzle had started to fall, chilling my skin and damping my hair. The entrance to the flats was sealed with a security door; I studied the panel for a second and pressed the button for a first-floor flat. We waited for a second and the speaker buzzed. “Hello?” a female voice asked.

“Delivery for flat seventeen?” I said.

“Delivery?” the voice said doubtfully. “I thought they said tomorrow. . Just a second. .” The door beeped as the unlock light came on and we ducked inside.

“Why didn’t she ask why you weren’t using the tradesman’s bell?” Sonder asked as we started up the stairs.

“No idea.”

The stairwell was concrete, and cold. We were on the first-floor landing when something pinged on my precognition. I stopped, Sonder doing the same, and in the silence I heard footsteps descending above us.

I moved quickly to the doors, pulling Sonder through them and letting them swing closed behind me. Sonder started to ask a question and I raised a hand for silence. The door had a small wired-glass window and I watched through it.

The echoing footsteps kept coming, muffled through the wood and concrete, and then through the window I saw a man descend into view wearing the uniform of a London policeman. Black vest, webbing belt, conical hat. He crossed the landing, his hand twisted oddly on the banister and his back to us, and disappeared from view without showing us his face. His footsteps faded away.

I waited a minute, then pushed the door open an inch. There was no sound from below. “What was he doing here?” Sonder asked uneasily.

“I’m not sure.”

“Do you think he was here to see those guys?”

“Maybe,” I said. Something about what we’d just seen was nagging at me. One lone policeman. . “Sonder? Don’t police usually go in pairs?”

Sonder sounded doubtful. “I’m not sure.”

If it was just a routine enquiry. . but if it was a murder investigation. . “Come on,” I said, going up the stairs two at a time. Sonder hurried after me.

I gave the second floor a quick visual check as we emerged from the stairwell. No security cameras. I walked quickly and quietly to number 329 and looked into the immediate future of going through the door. No movement. I pulled out my tools. “Cover me,” I said, going down on one knee. Sonder stood above me, looking nervously from side to side.

Being able to see the future helps with a lot of physical skills and lockpicking is one of them. You still need to know how to use the tools, but with my divination magic I can see at a glance if a lock’s beatable and if so how. Conscious of how exposed we were, I worked fast.

After twenty seconds there was a click and the door swung open to reveal a plain corridor, open doorways leading into rooms ahead of me. I signalled to Sonder to stay back and slipped inside. I was already scanning the futures, looking for the flurry of combat I’d seen before. Nothing on the ground floor, nothing on the first floor-that didn’t make sense, I should be seeing a fight. I checked again. Living room, bathroom, bedrooms-no combat. I wasn’t in any danger at all.

“Alex?” Sonder whispered from behind me. I waved to him to stay back. There was something odd about the air in here, a strange smell. Coppery.

I switched from a focused scan to a wide one. Instead of looking only for combat, I looked into the futures of entering the rooms ahead of me just to see what would happen. . and suddenly I knew what that smell was.

“I-” Sonder started to say.

“Stay there,” I said harshly and walked forward.

The men who’d tried to kill Anne two nights ago were in the living room. One was sprawled across the sofa on his back, eyes staring sightlessly up at the ceiling. His throat had been torn open with such force that it had almost severed his head, and blood glistened over his fingers and in a gory spray around his body. The second man was sprawled against the wall, greyish intestines strewn around his shredded stomach. The rich scent of blood filled the air.

I stood quite still, not going any farther into the room. My eyes took in the details. Furniture overturned where the men had fallen, but nowhere else. Coffee mugs on the table with a TV remote. A thread of steam was rising from the coffee and the blood was still fresh.

Sonder was trying to get my attention from outside, but I wasn’t listening. My heart was pounding from the adrenaline and I looked into the future of searching the bodies, being very careful not to move. Wallets, phones, keys-and weapons. Both had been carrying guns, but they hadn’t taken them out. Their hands were empty.

I thought back over my movements. I hadn’t stepped in the blood. Had I touched anything that could have left fingerprints? No, I’d been careful. But any second now someone could show up. We had to get out of here.

All the same, I hesitated. These two had been alive when I’d checked five minutes ago. Someone had been here between now and then-

The policeman. The one who’d been alone. I turned and walked out, brushing past Sonder. “Move.”

“Wait, what-”

“We’re leaving.” I hurried downstairs, searching through the futures for signs of movement. There were people about in the flats, and I altered our course to make sure we wouldn’t meet them. I did not want any witnesses placing us at the scene when this got reported to the police.

Once we’d made it back down to the entry area I breathed a little easier. I looked into the future for any sign of the policeman, searching for what we would find if we opened the door. Nothing but falling rain. “Alex?” Sonder asked. “What’s going on?”

I turned to Sonder, about to ask him to help me find where the man had gone. Then suddenly I stopped as I realised what I was doing. Whoever or whatever this guy was, he’d just ripped apart two trained gunmen. Did I really want to chase after him?

A door opened in the stairwell above and that decided me. “Come on,” I said, opening the door into the cold drizzle. “I’ll explain once we’re out of here.”

* * *

“

Did you manage to identify the man?” Talisid asked.

It was two hours later, and Talisid and I were sitting in a French restaurant in Holborn. The tables were widely spaced and Talisid had chosen one at the back where pillars made us hard to see from the street. The room had a high ceiling and was light and airy. The lunchtime crowd wasn’t too heavy, and the buzz of conversation around us was low.

“No,” I said.

“Didn’t you say Sonder was with you?” Talisid said.

“And I could have asked him to look back to see what happened and maybe follow the guy. Yeah, I know. I didn’t.”

A waiter appeared next to us. “May I take your order, sirs?”

“Moules a la mariniere followed by poulet a la moutard et au miel.” Talisid handed him the menu. “And a glass of the house red, please.”

I pointed at Talisid. “What he said.”

The waiter bowed and vanished as quietly as he had come. “I assume you had a reason,” Talisid said once the waiter was out of earshot.

“Three reasons. First, it was too dangerous. Sonder needs time to scan a location and every second we stayed made it more likely we’d be reported at the scene. And if we did manage to find where that guy had gone and chase him, there’s a good chance he would have tried to kill us. Second, it wouldn’t have told us anything useful. I already know what happened. That guy came to the flat and killed everyone inside.”

“And the third?”

“The third is they aren’t the guys we’re looking for,” I said. “Those three men and the guy who hired them aren’t the ones who’ve been disappearing those apprentices.”

“How do you know?”

“Because Sonder was able to trace them.”

Talisid thought for a second, then nodded. “No shroud.”

“No shroud. And something else-that attack on Anne was messy. It would have left her body, bloodstains, witnesses, you name it. The disappearances you set me to investigate are the exact opposite. Neat and clean, no sign of a struggle.” I shook my head. “Completely different MO.”

“So where does that leave us?”

“Not very far,” I said. “We still haven’t found any trace of whoever’s snatching these apprentices, but I wasn’t expecting to get quick results anyway. They haven’t lasted this long by being careless. I’m hoping we’ll find out more in Fountain Reach.”

“You think it’s there?”

“I think an awful lot of people seem to want me to think it’s there. If nothing else it’s the biggest gathering of apprentices in the British Isles. Seems like a good place to keep an eye on.”

Talisid nodded and handed me a sealed envelope. “Registration papers. Luna’s been entered as a competitor.”

“Thanks.” I tucked the envelope away just as the food arrived.

Lunch occupied us both for a while. It was good. I tend to be pretty casual with the food I eat and it’s rare for me to go out somewhere nice like this. “I had someone take a look at those halls of residence,” Talisid said eventually. “There were security cameras but unfortunately they didn’t show anything. The relevant sections of recording on all the cameras were blank.”

I looked up at that. “Huh.”

“It was a good idea,” Talisid said. “Pity it didn’t come to anything.”

“Yes it did. It tells us a lot.”

“How do you mean?”

“If those security cameras were wiped, that means there was something on them they didn’t want us to see,” I said. “If they’d just gated into their room or something they wouldn’t have needed to mess with the recordings.” An image was starting to form in my mind: a shadowy figure walking in the front door, heading up to the room, knocking. .

“A mage, then?” Talisid said, breaking into my thoughts.

“I’m thinking that way,” I said. “And something else. I saw Morden last night at Tiger’s Palace and he told me Dark apprentices have been disappearing too.”

Talisid frowned. “Really?”

“Do you know if it’s true?”

“I’d heard some rumours, but I hadn’t known how accurate they were. Unfortunately the Dark mages don’t have a centralised organisation as we do. There’s no one representative we could approach to ask questions.”

“Who’s the closest?”

Talisid raised his eyebrows. “Probably Morden.”

“Do you think he’s really trying to stop these attacks? To boost his reputation amongst Dark mages?”

Talisid thought for a second, fork in hand. “It matches his past goals,” he said at last. “But I’m not sure it’s the whole story.”

“What else, then?”

“Well, I was surprised at Morden being at the Tiger’s Palace.” Talisid finished his meal and set down his cutlery with a clink, interlacing his fingers. “Morden and Jagadev are. . rivals, of sorts. The people you go to see if you want something that Light mages can’t do or won’t. They’ve been competing for years and I’ve always been under the impression there’s bad feeling between them.”

“So what?” I said. “You think the other reason Morden’s doing this is because he thinks it’ll hurt Jagadev?”

“That would be my guess.” The waiter approached, about to ask if we’d like any dessert, but Talisid waved him off.

I thought about it for a second then shook my head in frustration. “But both Jagadev and Morden were pointing me towards Fountain Reach. If they want opposite things, how come they’re sending me to the same place?”

“Good question,” Talisid said. “Any idea where to start?”

I tapped a finger on the tablecloth, staring off into the distance with a frown. “I’m going to stick around Anne and Variam,” I said at last. “I don’t know what’s going on with those two but I’ve got the feeling they’re tied into this somehow. Especially Anne. If someone takes another shot at her I’m going to be around for it.”

Talisid nodded and motioned the waiter over, taking out his wallet. “Good luck.”

* * *

I spent a few hours settling affairs in London. First I packed. My flat has a huge selection of equipment, tools, focuses, one-shots, gear, weapons, and miscellaneous stuff I’ve picked up over the years, most of which I never use. It looks like junk, and to be fair it usually is, but it’s worth keeping around for when I need something obscure, fast. That wouldn’t be an option in Fountain Reach-I’d have what I brought with me and nothing more. In the end I left the specialist stuff behind and took a selection of the general-purpose items I use the most-condensers, forcewalls, and a couple of weapons. I hesitated over my mist cloak. I don’t like to carry it unless I really need it-a lot of its effectiveness comes from the fact that most people don’t know that I have it or what it can do-but in the end it was just too useful to leave at home.

Next I wrote a sign saying that the Arcana Emporium would be closed for renovations and hung it in the window. It felt like I’d been doing that a lot lately. Now that I thought about it, between jobs, trouble, and Luna’s training, it’d been months since I’d put in a full week at the shop.

And after that I went to explain to Sonder that he wasn’t coming.

“But I can help,” Sonder said.

“I know,” I said. “That’s why I want you somewhere else.”

We were standing in the daylight outside the station. “You’re taking Luna,” Sonder objected.

“Luna’s protected. That’s the whole point of her curse.”

“I can take care of myself too,” Sonder said. He had a wounded look, like a dog that had been told it wasn’t going to be taken for a walk.

“Come on, Sonder,” I said. “You think I don’t know that? But every person we bring is an extra risk.”

“What if you need to find out what happened in the mansion?”

“You won’t be able to look into the past inside the walls anyway. Look, this job is investigation, not combat. What we need you for is research, and you can do that more effectively and with less risk from London. There’s a good chance I’ll need your help up there later, but not right now.”

Sonder sighed, though he still didn’t look happy. “What do you need?”

And finally I went to see Arachne.

* * *

Arachne’s home is one of the very few places I feel safe, and as I walked down the tunnel to her cave I turned off my mental radar and let myself relax. I wanted to take the chance to rest: Once I left for Fountain Reach I had the feeling safety was going to be in short supply.

I found Arachne perched over a table, working on something with her four front legs. I dropped down on a sofa with a sigh. “Hey.”

“Hello, Alex,” Arachne said. She didn’t stop working; Arachne never seems to have any trouble making something and carrying on a conversation at the same time. Either she’s had so much practice that it’s automatic, or she’s just really good at multitasking. “How was last night?”

“Well, it wasn’t boring. At least I got a good look at Jagadev’s place.”

“What did you think?”

I was silent for a moment. “Confusing,” I said. “I’ve been to mage balls, but this was different. I’m not sure what was going on.”

“Confusion is Jagadev’s way,” Arachne said. “Shadows and misdirection. Always he keeps his true aims concealed.”

“Do you know why he’d gather so many adepts?” I asked. “Or what he’d be doing with two apprentices like Anne and Variam?”

“No,” Arachne said.

I thought for a second. “Jagadev’s powerful,” I said. “And he’s a magical creature who lives in London.”

“Yes.”

“He must have dealt with the same problems you’ve had.”

“Yes.”

I looked at Arachne. “But you’ve never allied with him.”

Arachne didn’t answer. I wanted to know more, but I didn’t push. The only sound was the click and rustle of Arachne’s tools.

“He offered exactly that,” Arachne said at last. “A long time ago in your years, a short time in mine. He came here to propose an alliance, of information and assistance.” She paused. “I refused.”

I looked at her curiously. “Why?”

“Jagadev is a destroyer,” Arachne said simply. “He holds a grudge against humans. What he seeks is not creation but revenge.”

Arachne fell silent and I sat on the sofa frowning. If that was true, then what was going on between him and Anne and Variam?

“There,” Arachne said, her voice becoming cheerful. “All done!”

I looked over in interest. Arachne had set her tools down and was holding something out to me. I honestly couldn’t tell you how the tools work or what she’d been doing. By mage standards I’m an expert on magic items, but Arachne’s on a completely different level and I don’t understand even the most basic principles of how she can do what she does.

The item looked like a wand, fifteen inches long and slightly tapered so that one end was narrower than the other. A handle was built into the wider end and a small sphere was set at the base of the handle. It had the colour of alabaster or ivory but as I took it from Arachne its texture felt more like silk. “Huh,” I said, turning it over curiously.

“Now be careful when you test it,” Arachne said. “In fact, if I were you I’d make sure to be all the way out of line of sight.”

“I will.” I looked up. “Thanks, Arachne.”

Arachne waved a leg. “Don’t mention it. Just come back safely.”

* * *

Fountain Reach looked very different in the daylight. It was still cold but the sun had come out, taking off the worst of the chill. Puffy clouds floated in a blue sky, with the green hills as a backdrop.

The driveway was crowded with expensive-looking cars and two more pulled past us as we walked in, tyres crunching on the gravel. In the centre of the front courtyard was an elaborate fountain. Statues of young women poured a steady stream of water from a stone urn, while two phoenixes looked on. “What’s that?” Luna asked curiously.

“Fountain of Youth,” I said. “Old mage legend.”

We followed other people into the entry hall, handed Luna’s papers to one of the administrators, and set off into the mansion, up a flight of stairs and then down again. I checked my watch; the opening ceremony was supposed to be starting now. As we reached an intersection I could hear the buzz of activity from ahead of us but couldn’t tell exactly where it was coming from. “Which way?” Luna asked.

“Good question.” Fountain Reach’s wards were doing their work and I couldn’t effectively map out a route. I looked around for someone to ask directions from, but all of a sudden the corridors were empty. There was something weirdly deserted about the mansion. The ambient noise made it feel as though there were people all around you, but when you stopped to look you always seemed to be alone.

I picked a direction that I hoped was right and Luna followed. “What’s up with this place?” Luna asked, echoing my own thoughts.

“Not a clue,” I said. “It must have been built for something but I have no idea what.”

We turned a corner and the distant murmurs grew louder. To the right I could see a set of double doors and make out a voice speaking from behind it. More by luck than judgement I’d led Luna back to the same duelling hall in which I’d run into Onyx.

The hall was packed. Close to two hundred men, women, and teenagers were scattered around and I recognised dozens of mages in the crowd. Most were Light, some were unaligned, and a handful were Dark, but for every mage I knew there were two more I didn’t. Some wore ceremonial robes but most of the Light mages, especially those connected with the Council, wore formal business suits. The ones in robes and the ones in suits mixed freely, forming comfortable groups. Other mages. . didn’t. The ones wearing smart-casual streetwear or anything else unusual were scattered more to the edges of the crowd, away from the “power” groups, as did the ones who by their dress or manner obviously weren’t mages.

The apprentices looked much like their masters. There was a little more variety in how they dressed but not much, and it was surprisingly easy to match the apprentice to the mage. I picked out Charles, the apprentice Variam had been matched against two days ago, as well as Luna’s opponent, Natasha. Charles was wearing a blazer and standing next to a white-haired mage who looked exactly like an older copy of him, while Natasha was with another Asian girl. They looked as if they’d been talking but now were turned towards the stage at the end of the room. Following their gaze I saw Crystal on the stage, wearing an elegant-looking two-piece suit. She seemed to have just finished a speech, and now she was reading from a clipboard. “The first elimination round will begin at nine o’clock tomorrow morning,” she said, her voice raised to carry over the sounds of the hall. “The draw is as follows. Michael Aran and Charles de Beaumont; Vaya Merrin and Traysia Lacann; Dominica Soria and Fay Wilder; Stephen Jasper and Victor Kraft. .”

Luna was craning her neck looking around at everyone. “Do you think Anne and Variam are here?”

“Probably. Try and find them.”

“Gunther Elkins and Henry Smith; Desmond Yates and Variam Singh. .”

“There’s his matchup,” I said.

“There!” Luna said.

I looked where Luna was pointing and saw Anne and Variam behind the rows of chairs. Anne was talking to a younger girl and smiling, while Variam watched them both with a surly look and his arms folded. “Variam doesn’t look happy,” I said.

“Variam’s never happy.”

“Mikhail Baich and Zander Rhys; Natasha Babel and Samantha Vash. .”

I hadn’t stopped searching, and as I recognised one of the figures my heart sank. “Ah, crap.”

“What’s wrong?”

“We’ve got trouble. Wait two seconds, then look over your left shoulder. Under those paintings.”

Luna obeyed and saw what I’d saw: a thin figure dressed in black leaning alone against the wall. She sighed. “So we get to deal with him too.”

“. . and that concludes the pairings,” Crystal finished. “All apprentices not named in those pairings will go through to the second round.” She looked around. “Thank you all and good luck.”

“Wait, did she say my name?” Luna said.

“No,” I said. “Let’s see if we can get out of here before Onyx starts something.”

We started towards one of the exits, moving through the crowd. I recognised the odd mage, but not many; I don’t go to these kind of events often. “Aren’t I on the list?” Luna asked.

“It’s single elimination. There are more than thirty-two entries but fewer than sixty-four, so not everyone is fighting in the first round. The others get-” I stopped with a sigh.

“Going somewhere?” Onyx asked, stepping out in front of us.

I watched Onyx carefully, keeping a close eye on the futures ahead. We were surrounded by the buzz and chatter of conversation and at least twenty people had a clear line of sight to us. I didn’t seriously think Onyx would start something with this many witnesses but got myself ready anyway. “Onyx,” I said. I glanced over at the wall he’d shredded yesterday, then back again. “Seems they’ve made repairs from your last visit.”

“Going to tell them why you were here?” Onyx said. He was wearing a black coat and trousers, not modern but not in line with traditional mage gear either. He was smiling and might even have looked friendly if you weren’t paying attention.

“Not just yet,” I said. “Well, it’s great Morden’s sent you here to help but we’re kind of busy. See you around and-”

“Not so fast,” Onyx said, stepping closer. His eyes glittered as he watched me. “You haven’t entered.”

“The tournament? Not my thing.”

“Scared?” Onyx asked softly.

“Are you going somewhere with this?”

Onyx stared at me for a second, then raised his voice. “Bear witness!” he shouted. “The mage Alex Verus has caused me loss and harm, and under the ancient code”-he locked eyes with me-“I demand satisfaction.”

Conversation around us fell silent as everyone turned to watch. Looking into Onyx’s eyes, I felt a nasty sinking feeling. “You’re challenging me to an azimuth duel?”

Onyx gave a cold smile. “No. Old style. Three days from now, Verus. I’ll be waiting.” He turned and walked out.

Slowly the buzz of conversation started up again. Everyone on this side of the room was watching us and I could see people whispering. “Let’s get out of here,” I said to Luna.

I ran the gauntlet of stares out of the hall and into one of the corridors. Luna hurried after me. “What just happened?”

“Pretty much what it sounded like,” I said, thinking hard. How the hell was I supposed to win a duel against someone like Onyx?

“What’s an ‘old style’ duel?”

“Like an azimuth duel, but no shields.”

“Wait, no shields? So if you get hit-?”

“They’re done to first blood or to submission.”

“He’s not going to be doing it to first blood, is he?”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” I said. We came to a four-way junction and I shook my head, putting Onyx out of my mind. The duel wasn’t for three days and I’d cross that bridge when I came to it. “We need to find Anne and Variam.”

“He didn’t even accuse you of anything,” Luna said. “He just said ‘loss and harm.’”

“Probably he’ll send that part in a formal letter.” Anne and Variam had left the hall while we’d been dealing with Onyx, but I hadn’t seen where they’d gone. I took a guess and headed down a corridor that I hoped would lead us into the bedroom wing, Luna following.

“And he can just do that?” Luna said. “Fight you in a duel and try to kill you without anyone stopping him?”

“Pretty much.”

“This is such bullshit!” Luna said. “How can he just walk in here? What about what he did in the spring at the British Museum? He should be the one getting accused of stuff and having to defend himself!”

“There were never any formal charges made about that, remember?”

“He tried to kill us! Everyone knows he did it. We saw him!”

“And it’s covered by Council secrecy.”

“He tried to kill you yesterday!”

“Which I can’t accuse him of without admitting that I was here when I wasn’t supposed to be.”

“And all those men he killed at the British Museum?”

“None of them were mages.” I led Luna down a flight of stairs and through a sitting room. A pair of mages were standing talking; they glanced at us, and both Luna and I fell silent as we walked by. “Onyx is Morden’s Chosen,” I said quietly once we were out of earshot again. “Accusing Onyx would be the same as picking a fight with Morden. No one on the Council wants to do that.”

“I can’t believe this,” Luna said. “How can the mage world be so screwed up? I go to classes and everything seems fine, but-Mages like Levistus and Griff and Belthas and Morden and Onyx, they do all this and everyone just pretends like nothing’s happening!”

“Remember how I kept telling you it was dangerous to get involved in my world?” I said. “And how you never listened?”

Luna glowered down at the floor. We walked a little way in silence. “What are you going to do?” Luna asked.

“Wait for his formal challenge,” I said. We’d come into a long corridor with no doors leading off it. It didn’t look anything like bedrooms. “By the way, I think we’re lost.”

* * *

Getting unlost and finding our way to the bedroom wing took us twenty minutes and by the time we got there Anne and Variam were somewhere else. It took us the best part of an hour to find them and when we finally did someone else had gotten there first.

Variam and Anne were in the dining hall, along with the girl who’d been talking to Anne earlier. Standing opposite them were three apprentices. Two I recognised as the ones I’d seen back in the duelling class: the blond-haired boy with glasses, Charles, and the round-faced girl, Natasha. There was another girl with them too; like Natasha she looked Pakistani or Bangladeshi. To a casual glance they seemed to be just talking, but there was something about the way they were standing that didn’t look all that friendly. “. . let you in here?” Natasha was saying.

“They let you in, didn’t they?” Variam said.

“We’re not Dark apprentices working for a monster,” Natasha’s friend said sweetly.

The younger girl I’d seen talking to Anne made a slight movement, trying to get behind Anne, but it only drew attention. “Why are you with them?” Natasha’s friend said. “Do you want us to report you to the Keepers? Go on, get lost.”

The girl gave a frightened glance back at Anne and scurried away. I watched her vanish down a corridor.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Anne said quietly. She was looking steadily at Natasha’s friend, and for the first time I got the impression she might be angry.

“Oh, what are you going to do about it?” Natasha’s friend said. “It’s not like you even entered-”

“Hi, kids,” I said, walking up to them.

Charles, Natasha, and Natasha’s friend stopped abruptly and turned to me. “Hello, Mage Verus,” Natasha said.

“Hi,” I said. “Anne, Variam, could you come with me please?”

The other three looked satisfied. Variam’s face darkened, but Anne stepped forward with a nod.

I led Anne and Variam back around the corner to where Luna was waiting. As soon as we were out of sight of Natasha and the others I shook my head. What was it about the apprentice program that made so many of the people in it act like they were still in high school?

“We didn’t need your help,” Variam said.

“I was under the impression,” I said, “that Jagadev asked you to help me.”

Variam scowled and looked away. “Hey, Anne,” Luna said with a wave.

“Hi. Thanks for coming in, Alex.”

“I said we didn’t need it,” Variam said. “Why are-?”

“Anne, did you enter?” Luna interrupted. “The tournament, I mean.”

Anne shook her head. “No.”

“You know, maybe if you’d actually fight once in a while I wouldn’t have to keep chasing those idiots off,” Variam said.

Luna looked from Variam to Anne. “You know why I don’t fight duels,” Anne said patiently.

“Maybe it’s about time you started.”

Luna glared at Variam. “Maybe you-”

“All right,” I said, cutting off the argument before it could start. “I assume you two know why Luna and I are really here?”

“Yes,” Anne said, just as Variam said “No.”

I looked between the two of them.

“You’re trying to find out what’s happened to the apprentices who’ve been disappearing,” Anne said.

“That’s what Jagadev thinks they’re doing,” Variam said sharply. Anne looked at him in surprise.

“Well, Jagadev’s right,” I said.

“What’s the plan?” Luna asked.

We’d gotten away from the noise and the chatter into a quiet corridor. Luna and Anne were already waiting for my answer and even Variam turned to watch me suspiciously.

“For now I want you to protect yourselves,” I said. “Keep your eyes open and follow up on anything you see, but your priority is to stay alive. Onyx is here, and he’s not the only one-something tried to attack me last time I was here and I don’t know what it was but I don’t want any of you running into it. And finally there’s whoever or whatever’s going after apprentices.” I looked from Luna to Anne to Variam. “And all three of you qualify. So while you’re here in this mansion, I don’t want any of you going anywhere alone.”

All three of them looked back at me, puzzled. “All of the disappearances that have happened so far had something in common,” I said. “The apprentice was always on their own when they vanished. Anne, are you sharing a room with anyone?”

“Ah. .” Anne said. “I was supposed to be, but-”

“You are now. Luna, you’re moving in with her.”

“I think we were supposed to be assigned rooms,” Anne began.

“Just find one that no one’s using and take it. If anyone gives you any trouble, tell them it’s on my orders and for them to come to me, but odds are they won’t.”

“Wait a minute,” Variam said. “We don’t need-”

“You aren’t going to be keeping an eye on her all the time, Variam,” I said. “Not unless you’re going to follow her into the bathroom.”

Variam scowled. “What about you?” I asked him.

“What?”

“Are you sharing a room?”

“Why do you care?”

“If you’re not,” I said mildly, “then I think you should start.”

Variam looked me up and down. “Are you in charge of us?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not our master,” Variam said. “Is there some Council rule that we have to do what you say?”

I hesitated. “No, but-”

“Okay, then we’re going,” Variam said. He glanced at Anne. “Come on.” He turned and walked away. Anne gave us both an apologetic look and followed.

I watched the two of them disappear down the corridor. “You know, that guy is beginning to get on my nerves.”

“You think he gets on your nerves?” Luna said. “I have to take classes with him.”

“I’m starting to sympathise.” I shook my head. “Who was that apprentice Anne was talking to?”

“In the dining hall?” Luna shrugged. “I don’t know her name. The younger apprentices really like Anne. They tell her everything.” Luna looked at me. “You aren’t sure what to do, are you?”

I always have trouble hiding things from Luna. “I think we’re in the right place,” I said. “But we still don’t know what to look for.”

“Are you sure there’s anything here?”

“No, but it’s my best guess. Everyone’s been pointing me to Fountain Reach. I don’t know what’s going on but I know there’s something.” I gave Luna a glance. “I want you to keep an eye on Anne. Stay with her if you can and if you can’t then make sure she’s not alone. Someone tried to kill her only a couple of days ago and I don’t want to give them an easy shot.”

“I will. You think she’s in danger here? In the middle of everyone?”

I looked around at the walls of the mansion for a moment before answering. “Yeah, I think she is.”

* * *

I was sick of getting lost and so I spent the time until dinner exploring the mansion, keeping to the populated parts and trying to build up a mental map. The more I explored the weirder the layout seemed and I made a note to find out what the story was behind this place. It felt as though it had been designed to be hard to navigate. There were plenty of mages around, some of whom I knew, but I avoided them.

After dinner I went looking for Luna and Anne’s new room. I found it quickly and turning in to the corridor I saw the door open with their voices coming from inside. Luna was laughing-not something she used to do, but a sound I hear from her more often these days. I slowed, and as I did I saw that Variam was about to arrive from the other end of the corridor. I stepped back behind a corner and watching with my divination I saw Variam turn in to Luna and Anne’s room. Luna and Anne’s voices fell silent. Variam said something, his tone harsh and accusing; Luna answered. Variam gave her an angry reply; Luna gave him one back. Anne tried to intervene and Variam told her to be quiet.

I kept my distance. Footsteps sounded and Luna emerged from the room, turning towards me. She was walking fast and sounded angry. “Problems?” I said as she walked past.

Luna jumped and whirled. When she saw it was me she sighed. “Don’t scare me like that.”

“I told you not to go off alone,” I said.

Luna covered her eyes. “Crap. Sorry, sorry. Variam just pissed me off. .”

With my mage’s sight I could see the silver mist of Luna’s curse writhing around her, tendrils curling outward like angry snakes. Luna’s curse is tied to her emotions; she can control it fairly well when she’s calm but it’s a really bad idea to be around when she’s upset. “Well, might as well take advantage of it,” I said. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Luna asked as she fell into step a few paces to my side.

“When I get annoyed I find a workout helps,” I said. “Let’s see if it’s the same with you.”

* * *

The hall was much smaller than the one in which Crystal had read out the matchups, but it was just barely big enough for a set of azimuth duelling focuses, and it was empty except for us. “What’s this place?” Luna asked.

“Practice room,” I said. “Tomorrow you’re going to be fighting in the tournament and you’re going to need a weapon.” As I spoke I reached into my coat and took out the wand Arachne had given me that afternoon. “I talked to Arachne and she came up with a design that she thought would fit.” I held it out to Luna. “This is for you.”

Luna looked at the wand curiously as I held it out to her by the tip. With its pearly colour and tapered design, it looked more like a decoration than a weapon. “Really?” Luna said. Hesitantly she reached out and took it by the handle. “Thanks.”

As soon as Luna took it I stepped back. To my sight Luna’s curse had been curling lazily around her, the silver mist pulsing softly. She’d pulled it back to take the wand from my hand, keeping the lethal stuff away from my skin, but she couldn’t stop it from soaking into the item as soon as she touched it.

Luna’s curse works on objects as well as people, although nowhere near as strongly. Usually I can tell if something belongs to Luna by looking for the silver aura. As her curse touched the focus, though, something different happened. Instead of sticking to it the mist was drawn in, being absorbed. “It’s attuned to you,” I said. “It draws in your curse and uses it.”

“Okay,” Luna said. She was holding the thing by the handle but still looked a little puzzled. “What does it, um, do?”

I was about to tell Luna to try it and see when I remembered Arachne’s warning. “Wait a sec.” I walked out of the room and into the corridor, then put my back to the wall and leant into the doorway so that the only part of me visible from inside the room was my head. “Try it now.”

“Uh,” Luna said. “Okay. So I’m supposed to-”

Luna’s curse poured into the focus and it activated. A thin tendril of mist snaked from the tip, extending to ten or twenty feet long. All of a sudden Luna wasn’t holding a wand but a whip, the thong made from the silver mist of her curse. To anyone who couldn’t see Luna’s curse it wouldn’t have looked like anything at all, but I could see the whip curling around her. “Hey,” Luna said curiously. “It’s doing something, isn’t it?” She lifted the handle to look at it, turning it back and forth.

The whip slashed outward, zigzagging across the room, its length amplifying the small movements of the handle. I ducked behind the door frame as the end of the tendril lashed into the corridor. “Okay, it’s working!” I shouted through the doorway. “Turn it off!”

I felt the effect shut down and peeked my head cautiously around the corner. Luna was standing at the centre of what looked like a spiderweb of silvery lines. Glowing trails of invisible silver mist traced lines along the floor, walls, and ceiling. Luna was looking at the handle with new interest. “Invisible whip,” she said. “Cool.”

“Arachne based the design off an Australian stock whip,” I said, walking back out. “The long handle’s for balance, but since the whip’s weightless it doesn’t take any strength to use.” I glanced around at the glowing lines on the walls. “On the downside, the whip’s weightless and doesn’t take any strength to use. We’re going to have to work on your aim.”

“It feels. .” Luna said, frowning down at the focus. “Strange. Not in a bad way. Natural, I guess. Like it fits.”

“Arachne designed it for you,” I said. “The thong of the whip is formed from your curse. If you hit someone with this whip it’s as if you’d touched them. It’s just as subtle and just as lethal.” I locked my eyes on Luna. “This is a weapon, not a toy. You can use it on an azimuth piste safely. But never use it anywhere else unless you’re intending to kill whoever you point it at. I’m trusting you with this. Don’t make me regret it.”

Luna nodded. “I understand.”

“Good.” I walked to the end of the azimuth piste and activated the shield. “Let’s give you some practice.”

I worked with Luna late into the night, and she picked up the basics of attack and defence very fast. Both the whip and her curse seemed eager to do their job, striking out at targets and protecting her in return. The problem was control-the whip didn’t want to hit just one target, it wanted to hit everything, and only the azimuth shields kept me safe. By midnight we were both exhausted. I dropped Luna off at her room and checked that Anne was there before saying good night. I wanted to sleep, but this was a good chance to get a look at the deeper parts of Fountain Reach.

* * *

The outer rooms of the mansion were busy despite the late hour. Apprentices were still up and chatting in each other’s rooms, excited about their first night at the tournament, while their masters talked over drinks in the lounges. I prowled the corridors, a silent shadow in my mist cloak. My cloak doesn’t make me invisible-good light or movement makes it possible for a watcher to spot me, and both together make it almost certain. But when I combine it with my divination magic, watching for the areas where people will look and avoiding them, there’s not much that can find me if I don’t want to be found.

As I went deeper, the background noise died away. It seemed most of the guests had been housed around the edges of the building, and as I walked the halls I could see why. There was something oppressive about the inner mansion-the ceilings felt too low, the architecture too alien. Most houses are designed as places to live and they’re meant to be comfortable for the people who use them. Fountain Reach didn’t feel like that. It was as though it had grown for its own reasons; the people inside were just trespassers. All around I could sense the thrum of the wards, limiting my vision, and it felt as though the mansion were looking for me.

Turning in to a corridor I heard a muffled voice from ahead of me. The corridor was old and crooked, the floor age-darkened wood. Animal heads were mounted on the wall, gazing down with dead eyes: deer, leopard, buffalo. I stood still and listened. The voice came again: a woman. It was coming from a door a little farther down. I moved forward, placing my feet softly on the bare planks.

As I drew closer I recognised the voice as Crystal’s. She was arguing with someone, but for some reason I couldn’t hear the other half of the conversation. “. . take some time,” Crystal was saying.

A pause, then Crystal spoke again. “The end of the tournament, obviously.” Another pause. “That’s impossible. You’ll just have to wait.”

It sounded like she was on the phone with someone. I sized up the corridor and decided to take the risk of getting in close. A stag’s head was mounted above the door, antlers reaching almost to the ceiling, glass eyes staring at the opposite wall. I put my ear to the door and listened.

“No,” Crystal said sharply. The door looked like it had been well crafted, but it was warped from long neglect and there were gaps between the planks that let sound through. “Absolutely not.”

Silence, then Crystal again. “I don’t care. It’s too risky.”

Something was odd: I could make out Crystal’s voice clearly but I couldn’t hear anything else. If she was on a phone or speaking into a headset I should be able to hear something, even just a buzz. I looked into the future in which I opened the door to peek inside.

The room within was a bedroom that looked like it had been abandoned for years. A four-poster bed was piled with dust, the hangings moth-eaten. Old and darkened pictures hung on the wall and Crystal was standing in front of one of them. The angle caught her in profile, showing off the beauty of her features and making her gold hair shine against the murky background. She was frowning, though, and she wasn’t talking into a phone or headset. She seemed to be talking to the wall.

“The whole point of this plan was so we didn’t have to keep picking at random,” Crystal said. “There’s virtually no chance we’d get someone who’d meet-”

Crystal cut off. Looking again into the immediate future, I saw she was staring at one of the pictures. “Then wait,” she said abruptly. “We’ve been preparing for months and you’d risk it all for this?”

There was no answer but Crystal threw up her hands. She was acting as if there were someone right there talking to her. “I don’t care! It’s too dangerous.”

I tried to figure out what was going on. Mind mages can communicate by telepathy but that didn’t explain why Crystal was saying her half of the conversation out loud. She was speaking as though to someone in the same room. I tried looking into the future and focusing with my mage’s sight, searching for someone cloaked or invisible, but all I could make out was the background noise of the wards.

Crystal had gone still all of a sudden. When she spoke, her voice was quiet. “Are you threatening me?”

Silence. I couldn’t hear any movement; we were alone in this part of the mansion. “Remember our agreement,” Crystal said. A pause, then she let out a long breath. “All right. But this is going to be the only one. Understand?” Whatever answer she got seemed to satisfy her. Footsteps sounded from the room, heading for the door.

Even forewarned, it was a near thing. I made it to the next door and slipped inside just as Crystal stepped out into the corridor. Holding the door shut, using my divination magic to watch Crystal, I saw her turn away and head down the corridor without a backward glance. The clack of her heels on the wooden floor grew quieter and quieter until there was silence.

I gave it three minutes just to be safe, then stepped out, looking after where Crystal had gone. I hadn’t checked to see what her exact reaction would have been if she’d discovered me there but I was pretty sure it wouldn’t have been positive. She’d been careless, letting me eavesdrop like that. Probably she’d assumed that no one would be able to sneak up on her without her sensing their thoughts, and to be fair, most of the time she’d be right. But it’s never a good idea to rely too much on your magic, no matter how powerful it is. My mist cloak had kept me hidden and given me some interesting little snippets into the bargain. It seemed like Crystal had been making a deal with someone. But who?

I entered the room in which Crystal had been talking and gave it a quick once-over. Like all the inner rooms of Fountain Reach it was windowless: The only illumination was the glow of the electric lights. I couldn’t sense any signs of life, in either the present or the future. It looked as though the room had been dead for years.

Crystal seemed to have been talking to one of the pictures, and I took a closer look. It was an old portrait done in oils, its gilt frame dusty. It showed a man in his late middle years, thin and stooped with sunken, commanding eyes. I studied the picture but found no magical aura, no special devices. The painting had no name or signature either. The man looked out of the portrait with a fixed stare, his gaze following me.

I searched a little longer but found nothing. Tired and weary, I finally retraced my steps to my room. I hung up my mist cloak, set a few basic safety measures, and was asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.