The Hidden Masters of Marandur

Chapter Nine

Calu stared at her, then grinned. “Mari? It is you. I kept looking at this girl, thinking she sure looked like Mari, and it’s you. What’s it been, three years?”

“About that. You must be twenty-one now, right? Look at you. All grown into a man and a full Mechanic.” Mari smiled, letting her hand fall away from her weapon, then glanced at Alain. “Calu is all right. We were apprentices together at the Mechanics Guild Hall in Caer Lyn.”

Alain, who had been watching tensed for action, relaxed a little.

“Apprentices together?” Calu smiled wider. “More like uncaught conspirators together. I heard you made Master Mechanic. Everybody was talking about that a while back.” His smile turned wry. “Except the Senior Mechanics.”

“Same old story,” Mari said.

“Yeah. I’d wondered how you were doing, since I hadn’t heard anything in so long, then I noticed you eating in there and wondered if it could be you. The other Mechanics thought I was checking out some common girl, but I just wanted to know if it was you for real.”

“Oh?” Mari frowned at him. The Calu she had known never would have forced a woman, but that had been three years ago. “And if she hadn’t been me? What would you have done?”

Calu smiled crookedly. “Asked her if she was your twin sister.”

“I would have mentioned a twin sister if I had one, Calu.”

“Maybe not if she was an evil twin sister. Blazes, Mari, you know me. I wouldn’t have done anything, except maybe tell her I was sorry for scaring her.”

Mari smiled, too. “You’d apologize to a common?”

“They’re human, too, right? That’s what you always said. You were always big on treating everyone with respect, and I didn’t forget that.” He gave her a curious look. “Why is there an alert out for you? Why aren’t you wearing your jacket?”

Mari looked around. “I can’t talk about it here, Calu. It’s too dangerous.”

“Dangerous? How can I help?”

She smiled again, despite her worry. Calu might be wearing a Mechanic’s jacket now, but he hadn’t changed in other ways since he was an apprentice. “Alain is helping me. I don’t want you being in danger, too.”

“Alain?” Calu nodded to the Mage, who nodded back stiffly. “Just Alain? Is he a common?”

“No…”

“All right, I understand. You can’t talk now. How about later?”

“Calu, you really shouldn’t get involved. Just don’t tell any of the other Mechanics here that you saw me and—”

Calu shook his head. “No way, Mari. I’m still your friend, so I’m involved. What do think Alli would do to me if she heard I’d seen you and not helped?”

“Alli? I saw her in Danalee a little while ago.”

“Lucky you.” Calu grinned. “We’re staying in touch but I can’t wait to see her again. We told you about us getting serious.”

“You did? When?”

“I know Alli sent some letters to you at the academy. We didn’t hear back much, but we figured you were just too busy.”

“No.” Mari took a long, deep breath. “I only got a couple of letters from you guys. I’m sure I would have remembered Alli telling me about you two. I wrote to you. Did you see my letters?”

“One,” Calu said. “Maybe two. Yeah.”

“I wrote at least ten. Why didn’t Alli mention that when I saw her?”

Calu shrugged. “We blew it off, Mari. We knew you were really busy, and how sometimes you’d get totally wrapped up in work and forget about everything else. We didn’t take it badly.”

“Thanks.” Mari frowned, thinking about the oddity that a number of letters hadn’t made it between Caer Lyn and the academy. Were lost letters part of the general breakdown of Guild functions that she feared? “Listen, if you’re that determined to talk to me, we’re on the top floor, in the last room. It’s kind of tiny, but it’s safe.”

“All right. I’ll come by tonight.” Calu hesitated, looking from her to Alain. “You’re both in there? So are you two together, or together?”

She reached for Alain’s hand. “Together. Really, really together.”

The grin was back as Calu looked at Alain. “Cool. You lucky dog.” He saluted Alain. “You must be something, if Mari feels that way. All right, see you tonight, Mari. I’ll tell my fellow Mechanics that I got a kiss from that common I was looking at.” Calu twisted his face in thought. “I’ll them you couldn’t resist me, but I had to stay true to Alli since she’s an expert shot. They’ll understand.” He winked and walked back into the dining hall.

Mari breathed a sigh of relief, then felt a stab of guilt. “I’m sorry, Alain. I shouldn’t have agreed to meet with Calu and everything without asking you first. You’re in this with me, so you deserve a say in things.”

Alain nodded. “You know this Mechanic and I do not. He will not betray you?”

“Not unless he’s totally changed in the last three years.”

“Then I have no objection. I accept your judgment that we can…trust him.” Alain frowned. “Trust. That is the right thing to call it?”

“Yes,” Mari said softly. “Trust. Like you and I share. Did you realize that we trusted each other? I’ve trusted you since Ringhmon.”

“I was not certain what it meant.” He nodded slowly, and she saw the ghost of a smile again. “I told General Flyn that I trusted him. It was the right thing to say.” Alain hesitated. “This Mechanic. He and you were friends?”

“That’s right.”

“Close friends?”

Mari couldn’t help grinning. “Trust and jealousy! I’m teaching you all kinds of feelings. Come on. Once we’re back in our room I’ll tell you about Calu and my other friends at Caer Lyn. And yes, he was only a friend.”

The rest of the day passed very slowly. Mari spent part of it talking about her experiences as an acolyte. No, not acolyte, Alain reminded himself. Apprentice. Her Guild calls one who is learning an apprentice. As Mari talked, she went from happy to wistful, finally winding down until she went to her pack, pulled out the metal things she called tools, and began doing mysterious things with them.

Alain sat watching her, memories of his time as an acolyte coming back forcefully. I have no friends I can tell Mari about. I wish I did. Perhaps some of the acolytes from Ihris remember me, but how do they think of me? As just as a shadow whose path crossed theirs? How do I tell Mari more of my learning, of what I did and what was done to me? She would become sad, I think. I have seen her become sad when I mention some things about my training. And when I spoke of Asha before it bothered Mari. I cannot imagine why.

The wind outside had diminished to a low rushing sound against the walls of the inn. Alain went into meditation, wishing that he could check his ability to cast spells now that he and Mari had become even closer. By the wisdom he had been taught, seeing shadows as other people should make his powers wither and vanish. He did not feel that that had happened yet; indeed during the fight to save the Alexdrians, he had repeatedly found more power in himself than he had ever experienced. But a spell to test it would be impossible to hide from the Mages also staying at this inn, so he must wait.

The light leaking in through the storm shutters had long since faded when a soft knock sounded on the door to their room. Alain jerked himself back to full awareness, watching as Mari drew her weapon and, holding it ready in one hand, cautiously opened the door enough to see out. A moment later she relaxed, opening the door to let in the Mechanic Calu and then locking it again.

Calu gave Mari a surprised look as she put away her weapon. “You’re armed?”

“Yeah. I’ll explain why.”

“Can I see it?” Mari handed over the weapon without hesitating, and the other Mechanic turned it in his hands carefully. “This is a beauty. If Alli was here, she’d be drooling over it.”

“She saw it in Danalee,” Mari confessed. “I thought I’d never get it back from her. How come you two didn’t end up at the same Guild Hall? I thought the Guild liked it when two Mechanics were interested in each other.”

Calu handed back the weapon, looking annoyed. “I think it depends on the Mechanics. After you left Caer Lyn, most of the Senior Mechanics there seemed determined to break up what they called Mari’s gang.”

“You’re kidding. I had a gang?”

“It surprised me, too. But when you think about it, Mari, a lot of the apprentices did listen to you, even the ones not officially assigned to you as group leader.” Calu shrugged. “It sometimes seemed like some of the Senior Mechanics thought you were getting ready to start a revolution. Alli and I got tagged as part of your loyal band of revolutionaries, and we’re both sure that’s why we got sent to different Guild Halls.”

Mari made an angry noise, clenching her fists. “They punished you two just because you knew me.”

“It was our choice, Mari,” Calu reminded her. “And we did pull our share of pranks and unauthorized activities, usually following some idea you came up with. Remember moving that one Senior Mechanic’s entire office onto the roof one night?”

Mari grinned at the memory. “He was so mad. He deserved it, though, and we never got caught for that.”

“Right. Now, are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?”

“Do you want the short summary or the long story?” Mari asked.

“Short summary first.”

“Sit down.” Mari sat down on end of the bed as Calu sat on the other, then she took a deep breath. “The Guild is trying to get me killed.”

Calu just watched her for a long moment, then looked over at Alain. “What about you?”

“My Guild seeks my death as well,” Alain replied.

“Why?” Mechanic Calu’s question was directed at Mari again.

“I’m not sure where to begin.” Mari looked down at her hands. “The caravan? No. Ringhmon. What have you heard about Ringhmon lately?”

“Officially? The city is under a Guild Interdict for contract violations and scrambling to raise enough money to pay the fine and qualify for Mechanic services again.” Calu gestured vaguely. “There are rumors that Ringhmon was doing worse things than contract violations, and other rumors that the emperor wanted to take advantage of that to launch another expedition in the south, but the Guild told him to knock it off. Were you involved with any of that?”

Mari laughed in a way that held no humor. “I caused it, Calu. I discovered what Ringhmon was up to and I reported it to the Guild.”

“You also burned down the city hall,” Alain pointed out.

“You helped,” she retorted. Calu nodded, as if unsurprised to hear that Mari had burned down a building. “Contract violations?” Mari continued. “Do you want to know what Ringhmon was really doing? And before you say yes, I need to tell you that I’m under a Guild Interdict myself never to say a word of this to anyone.”

The other Mechanic’s expression was totally serious now. “If you think I should know it, I want to hear it.”

“Ringhmon was trying to reverse-engineer Mechanic weapons. They were trying to figure out how to make their own.”

Calu stared at her, his mouth dropping open. “They had the nerve to try that? But why? They could never succeed.”

Mari’s eyes were closed as she spoke. “Calu, do you remember something you asked Alli and me a long time ago? You wondered why, if commons can’t do Mechanic things, we have to keep what we do secret from them.”

“Yeah. I remember that night. Was that the first time Alli punched me, after I asked about that? I’ve wondered about it since then, too. What did I say? That it was like prohibiting us from teaching horses something.”

“Algebra.”

“Right!” Calu grinned for a moment before the happiness vanished into contemplation. “It still doesn’t make sense to me, but like you wisely advised me then, asking about that would be a one-way ticket to the cells in Longfalls.” He looked at her intently. “What all did you find, Mari?”

“I found evidence, Calu. A far-listener not made in any Guild workshop. A steam boiler without any Guild markings on it, operated by commons. And I was told, ordered, by the Senior Mechanics never to say a word about any of it.”

“A boiler? You found an entire boiler? Full scale? With commons running it?”

“Yes,” Mari said. “Did you hear anything about Dorcastle a few months back?”

“Just something about a Mage plot to blame our Guild for some extortion scheme.” Calu jerked with surprise. “It wasn’t a Mage plot?”

“No, it was these guys I call Dark Mechanics. I don’t know who they are, but they can do Mechanic work, Calu, and even knowing they exist is apparently very dangerous for any Mechanic. The Mages didn’t have anything to do with the plot in Dorcastle, though some Dark Mages helped put an end to the plot and almost put an end to Alain and me.”

“Dark Mages?” Calu glanced from Mari to Alain. “Aren’t all Mages kind of dark?”

“Not all of them!” Mari looked embarrassed by the force of her denial. “I mean, Mages aren’t supposed to believe in anything, but they actually do believe in something they call wisdom which is supposed to help them gain more power. I mean, personal ability to do their spells. Dark Mages don’t worry about that, instead doing anything that brings them money.”

Calu was staring at Mari again. “How did you learn stuff about Mages?”

She gave him a helpless look, then turned her gaze on Alain. He knew what she was asking, and nodded to her. “You trust this Mechanic,” Alain said. “I will trust him as well. I have seen no falseness in him.”

“Huh?” Calu seemed baffled by Alain’s words, then looked at Mari as she placed a hand on his arm.

“Calu, Alain is a Mage.”

The Mechanic’s eyes flared with worry as he stared at Mari, then shifted his gaze to Alain. “I saw him smile. I know I did. Is this some kind of sick joke, Mari?”

“Mari would not lie to a friend,” Alain said, forcing himself not to tense in readiness at the suspicion and fear on the Mechanic’s face. “She has saved my life more than once, and I will never harm her nor allow any other to harm her as long as I can fight to protect her.”

Some of the tension left the Mechanic, then he looked at Mari. “I’ve heard they can control people.”

“No,” Mari denied. “They can’t do that. Alain told me.”

“Then he wouldn’t object to leaving you and me here alone? Going as far away from us as he can so I can see how you react when he’s not around?”

Mari gave Alain an embarrassed look. “Do you mind?”

Alain shook his head, standing with slow, casual movements, aware of the watchful way Calu was eyeing him. The Mechanic’s suspicion of Mages was justified, after all. “Do you wish me to leave the inn, friend of Mari?”

Calu hesitated. “No. That would attract too much attention, with the storm still going on. How about down one floor and to the far end of the hall?”

“I will do this. How long do I wait?”

“Until I come and get you.”

Alain looked to Mari, who nodded. “Please, Alain. I’ll be safe here with Calu.”

“I know this, or I would not leave.” Alain left the room, closing the door carefully behind him to avoid making too much noise, then walked to the stairs, feeling for the presence of the other Mages in the inn. They were all on the ground floor, on the side opposite from where Alain had been sent by Mechanic Calu, and he could sense no spells being prepared by those Mages.

Alain reached the end of the hall one flight down from the room and waited. A small window gave a view of darkness shot by occasional swirls of white as blown snow was illuminated by the lanterns providing dim light in the hallway. Alain watched the snow, trying to calm his mind.

He was not sure how much time had passed when he heard the sound of Mechanic boots thumping on the stairs. He turned and saw Mechanic Calu coming toward him, wary but no longer fearful. Calu stopped directly in front of Alain, eyeing him. “You didn’t say that you’d saved Mari’s life a number of times.”

“She is my friend.”

“According to Mari, she’s a lot more than a friend.” Calu shook his head. “I owe you a lot for saving her, but how can I trust you?”

“Mari once asked me the same thing.” Alain met the Mechanic’s eyes. “I will tell you what I told her then: that nothing I can say will make a difference. You must judge my actions.”

“She’d be dead now if not for you. That’s pretty easy to judge. But what do you hope to get out of this? It’s not like everything I’ve heard about Mages.”

“My actions are not what Mages are taught. My own Guild is seeking my death because they believe that Mari has corrupted me.” Alain had to think about the answer to the Mechanic’s question, trying to put words to feelings which were still unfamiliar to him. “I hope to help Mari, to protect her from those who would harm her. Did she tell you who she is?”

“I know who she is,” Calu said. “Do you mean, besides being Mari?”

“If she did not tell you, I should not,” Alain said.

“Mari said something about fixing things,” Calu said. “About how she needed to do it even though it might change the world.”

“Changes to the world,” Alain said. “To make it…right.”

“People tend to have different ideas of what will make things right,” Calu observed, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “But I’ve never heard anything from Mari that I disagreed with after I thought it through. It sounds like you feel the same.”

“I do,” Alain said. “But for me it is more than doing the right things. It is…is it a privacy thing to speak to you of how I feel about her?”

“Uh…no,” Calu said. “Mari told me how she feels about you.”

“Mari makes me happy. I want to be with her.” He looked directly at the Mechanic Calu. “I had forgotten how to feel that way, and then I met her.”

The Mechanic looked back, then grinned. “Either you’re the best liar the world of Dematr has ever known, or you’re sincere. She really believes in you. I’m going to be honest with you. That’s what decided me. Mari is no fool. If she trusts you that much, enough to give her heart to you, then I have to trust you, too. But don’t you ever let her get hurt.”

Alain was not sure what to say, so he spoke carefully. “Thank…you. I will not ever hurt her.”

“That’s a bit different. Mari told me that you’re trying to relearn a lot of things about people that your Guild tried to drive out of you, so as one guy to another, let me tell you that sooner or later you’re going to hurt her somehow, no matter how hard you try not to. Just do your best so she’ll forgive you when that happens. Let’s get back to her room before somebody spots us out here.” Calu gave Alain a curious look. “Why did you trust me?”

“I can tell when someone lies. You did not. You show strong feelings for Mari.”

“Oh, uh, not that kind of feelings,” Calu hastened to explain as they started up the stairs. “She’s sort of like a sister to me. Has Mari talked about another Mechanic named Alli?”

“Yes. Alli is the one who is very skilled in the making of Mechanic weapons.”

Calu laughed. “That’s Alli.”

“Did Mari tell you that she killed a dragon with a weapon that Mechanic Alli built?”

The Mechanic stopped walking for a moment, staring at Alain. “When did that happen?”

“About a week ago. It was a big Mechanic weapon, as long as Mari is tall, and with it Mari slew a very large dragon.”

“Did she really?” Calu shook his head. “I saw a dragon once, not too close, fortunately, and my fellow Mechanics told me to forget I’d ever seen it. But I couldn’t forget something like that.” His grin came back. “And something Alli built killed one of those? That’s my girl! It’s a good thing Mari had that weapon, I guess.”

“She knew she might need it,” Alain explained. “After the difficulty we had slaying a dragon in Dorcastle.”

“Dorcastle? Where she found the boiler? You killed a dragon there, too?”

“Yes. Mari…” Alain shook his head, unable to describe what Mari had done. “There was something on the thing you call a boiler, and Mari used rope to tie it, and the boiler became very loud and hot, and then destroyed everything around it.”

Calu stared at Alain. “She tied down the relief valve. That must have been what she did. Mari tied down the relief valve on a boiler. Oh, I cannot wait to tell Alli about that. You helped her?”

“I found rope,” Alain said. “But I cannot understand, cannot do, anything that Mari can do.”

“Huh. Interesting.”

Mari had a relieved smile on her face when they returned. “Satisfied, Calu?”

“Yeah.” Calu pointed an accusing finger at her. “Why didn’t you tell me that I’d won the bet?”

“What bet?” Mari asked, looking baffled.

“Several years ago, while we were studying steam, you and I got into an argument over which one of us would be the first to make a boiler explode. Remember?”

Mari looked embarrassed as she laughed. “Oh. That bet.”

“And now I hear that you made a boiler blow up in Dorcastle. Pay up!”

She made a helpless gesture. “Calu, I can’t remember what the stakes were.”

“Something about the loser running naked through the courtyard of the Guild Hall.”

“What? I didn’t—” Mari bit her lip. “That was the bet, wasn’t it? Calu, you’re not going to…?”

Calu sat down, making a magnanimous gesture. “Because of our friendship, and because Alli would whip my butt if she found out I’d tried to insist you do it, I will simply accept victory as my reward. I was not the first to blow up a boiler. Mari of Caer Lyn was!”

Mari bowed toward Calu. “I admit it.”

“I’m a better Mechanic than you are,” Calu continued.

“The blazes you are! I blew up that boiler on purpose, not by accident.” Mari looked over at Alain. “Do you have any idea what we’re talking about?”

“No,” Alain said. “But you are both clearly enjoying this. This is a friend thing, is it not?”

“It is,” Mari agreed.

Calu looked from her to Alain and smiled. “We always said Mari could fix anything. All right. Now I know what’s going on. What can I do, Mari?”

“Calu, keep your head down, stay quiet—”

“Let me clarify,” Calu interrupted. “What can I do for you?” He looked over at Alain. “For you and, uh…Sir Mage Alain?”

“You may call me just Alain, if a friend of Mari’s can be a friend to me also.”

Mari was looking into a corner. “Calu, I’m on my way to talk to a Master Mechanic who I trust. She was one of my professors at the Academy. I need to find out more about what’s happening to me and why, and get her advice on how to handle it. Maybe she can get this whole mess turned around and I can start working with the Guild again, instead of trying to avoid getting killed by it.”

“If the Senior Mechanics were willing to send you into Tiae, I wouldn’t hold my breath on some grand reconciliation happening. Are you going to take Alain in to see her, too?” Calu asked.

“Yes, because I want to see what she says about him and what he can do.”

Calu studied Alain again. “Are you willing to talk about that? How you do that stuff? Or is it a Guild secret for you?”

“It is a Guild secret, but my Guild no longer can demand I keep its secrets. My loyalty now is…” He paused, trying to think that through. Who or what did he owe allegiance to, now that his obedience to his Guild no longer bound him? None of his training had offered guidance on that. The only alternative he had ever heard of was the Dark Mages, and he would not follow their path. He would need to make a new road.

Alain’s eyes came up and focused on Mari. Of course. I will follow her. She will show me a good road to walk. “My loyalty is to my Lady Mari. To the right thing she seeks to bring about. What she asks, I will do.”

Mari’s face flushed even as she smiled at that, leaving Alain confused as to whether he had upset her or pleased her. But Mechanic Calu nodded. “I don’t need to give you any advice when it comes to that, do I?”

“I do not know, Mechanic Calu. But I will answer what you asked me. The Mage arts are based upon the understanding that nothing is real, that all we see is an illusion.”

Instead of appearing annoyed as Mari always did when he said that, the other Mechanic looked shocked. “Nothing is real?”

“Nothing is real,” Alain repeated.

Calu turned to Mari. “Nothing is real!”

She glared at them. “It’s bad enough when Alain keeps saying it. Why are you both saying it?”

“Mari,” Calu answered eagerly, “did you get the letters where I told you that I’d been allowed to take those advanced physics courses but hadn’t been allowed to pursue Master rating in them because of strict quotas? Yeah, I know it sounds weird that I’d be going for advanced physics when I had trouble with the simpler stuff, but something just clicked when I hit the high-end theories and models. And do you know what it all rests on? When you get down below the atomic level to the quantum level? It comes down to nothing is real.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mari said. “Mechanic physics says that?”

“At the fundamental level, yes.” Calu pointed to Alain. “He said everything is an illusion. That’s kind of what quantum theory says, that what we see and experience through our senses is just the way our brains organize things so it’ll make sense to us. Can you believe it? The theoretical foundations of the Mechanics and the Mages are the same! We must go in totally different directions from there, taking completely dissimilar approaches to how we deal with the universe.”

Mari shook her head. “That doesn’t make any sense, Calu. How can arts like engineering be based on the idea that nothing is real?”

“No, it’s the foundation, Mari. It’s what explains how everything works, like electricity and light and friction and everything else. Engineering follows the rules it does because of the way the universe is organized.” Calu grinned again at Mari’s baffled expression. “I know how weird it seems. It’s actually a whole lot weirder than it sounds when you get down to quantum level. I think if the Mechanics Guild had its way the whole thing would be banned, but it’s considered too important to completely suppress, so only a very few Mechanics are allowed to learn about it.” Calu frowned in thought. “But where could the Mages get the energy to do anything? The human body doesn’t contain enough to create rapid changes like that. Mechanics get our energy from sources like electricity or magnetism. Is that what you use, Alain?”

Alain shook his head. “I do not know these words. We draw on the power which exists everywhere in greater or lesser amounts around us. A Mage can sense and channel this energy into a spell to change the world illusion. It also requires some energy from the Mage, so that creating spells quickly tires any Mage.”

“Wow. Something like…heat transfer. Mari, remember those old plans for geothermal heating we found?”

“The ones the Senior Mechanics confiscated?”

“Right! There’s heat in the ground, everywhere, and with the right equipment you can use that heat. So the Mages can make use of some other kind of energy, I guess. I would so love to research this stuff.”

Alain studied the Mechanic, trying to understand Calu’s enthusiasm. “Mechanics are so much in and of the world,” he said. “Everything about it fascinates you and Mari. I was taught to ignore the world, but I find myself wishing I could feel so excited about what I saw and what I learned. I would…like to discuss these things more with you some day, Mechanic Calu.”

Another grin. “If you’re just Alain, then I’m just Calu.” The smile went away. “But there’s no way the Senior Mechanics would permit it. We’re not allowed to learn new things, do new things, build new things.”

Mari looked at Calu. “Maybe that should change,” she said.

He looked back at her, and Alain could sense the sudden tension. “Seriously, Mari? Alli told me something about you years ago. She said ‘Mari is going to change things some day, Calu.’ And a little while ago, Alain told me that’s what you were out to do. Change things. If anybody can, you can.”

She gave them both aggravated looks. “Everybody expects me to do it! This is too important to start without having some kind of…of blueprint. And to have a blueprint, I need to understand exactly what’s going on and why. I’m relieved that you two are getting along, but don’t gang up on me. I wonder if Professor S’san knows anything about this quantum stuff? Calu, I might as well tell you what I can about our plans. Alain and I are heading for Severun.”

“That means you’ll have to go through Umburan and Pandin,” Calu observed. “The Imperial road net always converges into a few big roads that go through the cities so the Imperials can track everyone’s movements.” Calu pointed to himself. “I’m at the Guild Hall in Umburan. Have you got Imperial identity papers?”

“Yes. Fake ones, of course.”

“Good. From what I’ve seen since I got here, the Imperials regard any common west of Umburan as especially suspect. Once you get to Umburan and onward south and east, Imperial security will relax a little.” Calu leaned back, furrowing his brow in thought. “We’ve got a coach taking us back to Umburan. How are you getting there?”

“Walking, I guess.”

“You might be able to get a horse.”

Mari flinched. “Don’t talk about riding a horse, please.”

Calu looked puzzled, so Alain explained. “Riding a horse hurts Mari’s butt.”

She flinched again. “Alain! Social skills! You don’t talk about my butt to anyone else!”

Mechanic Calu seemed to be having difficulty, covering his mouth and coughing even though he was smiling. “Um…all right, then. I’ll be in Umburan a few days before you two. That will give me time to see what I can find out.”

Mari scowled at him. “Calu, do not put yourself at risk by asking around about me.”

“I can be careful!” Calu said. “There’s a Guild alert out for you, and that’s a perfect reason to ask. ‘I was at Caer Lyn with her, so maybe I help the Guild figure out where she is.’”

“I don’t want you lying like a Mage!” Mari winced. “I’m sorry, Alain.”

“For what?” he asked. “I have heard the saying, though it is not accurate. Those who believe truth does not exist cannot actually be lying.”

“He’s got a point,” Calu commented. “Mari, when we were apprentices you used to say that we were all in this together. We still are. There’s a bookstore about five hundred lances north of the Mechanics Guild Hall in Umburan. I’ll be there around noon each day, starting a week after we leave here. It will take you at least that long to get to the city. Meet me in the bookstore and I’ll tell you what I found out.”

Alain could see Mari wavering. “I believe it would be wise to accept the offer, Mari. We must know as much as possible about what our opponents are doing if we are to reach Severun safely.”

She nodded in defeat. “All right. Please be careful, Calu.”

“Trust me. The blizzard is almost over. They’re talking about us maybe leaving tomorrow, if the road is clear enough.” Calu stood up, looking toward Alain. “You keep your eyes on her, okay?”

“I will.”

Mari made a derisive noise. “He doesn’t need any encouragement to look at me.”

After the other Mechanic had left, Mari sat gazing at the door. “You are sad,” Alain said.

“More worried than sad.” Mari shook her head. “I keep getting other people drawn into my troubles. First you, now Calu. I don’t have any right to do that.”

“Mari, you say that you trust Mechanic Calu and that you trust me. Does that not mean you trust our ability to make decisions? You did not order us to do anything. We choose to walk the same road, to be your allies.”

She thought about that for a while before shaking her head again. “You’re right, but I still feel guilty. I know I’m always pushing people to do stuff, but why do they follow me?”

“Because of who you are,” Alain said.

Mari rolled her eyes. “I just hope what I told him doesn’t get him in trouble. I keep doing things that cause other things to happen. I just don’t want anyone to be hurt.”

“Those who wish to kill us may move against your friends in time anyway. It is best that they be warned. And if you do not keep trying, the storm will sweep away all.”

This time, Mari glared at him. “Alain, have you ever heard the expression ‘no pressure’?”

“No.” Alain listened for a moment to the small sounds of the wind outside. “It is very late. We should sleep now in case travel is possible tomorrow.” Alain moved to spread his blanket upon the floor.

“What are you doing?” Mari scowled at him and pointed to the bed. “I want you here, next to me. With your clothes on, and watch where you put your hands. I trust you and I want you close, but let’s not press our luck.” She put out the lantern, then held Alain close as he laid down beside her.

He had almost fallen asleep when she whispered softly to him. “Alain, if Professor S’san says I have to leave you in order to make peace with the Mechanics Guild, I won’t do it. I just want you to know that. You’ll never be alone again, Alain. Not while I live.”

By morning the sun was shining in a cloudless sky of brilliant blue, reflecting off the white snow in blinding glory. Temperatures were rising quickly. From the small window of their room Alain could see people walking past on the road, carrying their coats as they waded through the rapidly melting snow.

They waited until the Mages had left, three robed figures walking alone, the crowd separating to give them a lot of space. Then the Mechanics departed in a large coach with a common driving the horses as they plunged through the diminishing snow. Finally, with most prying eyes gone, Mari and Alain went down to see the innkeeper.

The innkeeper calculated their rate for the tiny room and the food they had eaten, adding in a “storm fee” which made Mari mutter something about profiteering. But they could scarcely complain, since the innkeeper had taken them in without knowing whether they would be able to pay anything. The healer was staying another day to help a mother who had given birth during the storm, and she accepted Mari’s offering of payment gratefully. “Good luck,” the healer called after them as they left the inn, “and may your parents see wisdom!”

Alain looked at Mari. “Our parents?”

“We’re eloping,” she explained.

“I had not known.”

Mari laughed. “How long have you been hiding humor behind dry statements like that? Anyway, eloping is a good cover story. And you did propose to me. I don’t intend to let you forget that.”

Alain noticed his own spirits lift as he saw her happiness in being out of the inn and on the road in good weather. Mari was looking around at the melting snow drifts and the clear blue sky. “It’s clearing almost as fast as it hit. Amazing. It’s almost like that storm was aimed at us.”

“Perhaps it was,” Alain suggested. “To bring us to that inn, to come to some more understanding between us, to meet your friend Calu.”

Mari seemed to be torn between more laughter and disbelief. “Oh, yes, destiny. I’d forgotten. Alain, if destiny chose to create that great big storm while we were walking across the plains a few days ago just to get us into bed together, then all I can say is that destiny engaged in some serious overkill of its own, though I’m sure the male in you regards that event as being of huge significance.”

Alain shrugged. “Our sharing your bed may have been a minor step along the road we are to follow.”

“Oh, yes, it was also so we would meet Calu!” Mari laughed. “I think that could have been arranged with a little less effort.”

“You can be hard to direct at times,” Alain suggested.

Mari shook her head, grinning. “Aren’t you the diplomat?” Her grin faded, and she gave him a serious look. “That reminds me of something I’ve been meaning to ask. From what you’ve said of Mage schools, it’s everyone for themselves there. Who taught you to be a gentleman? Way back when, the first days we were together, why didn’t you start grabbing at me as soon as I was within reach?”

Alain felt the memories rushing in upon him, memories of solitude among many. “You are right. I was not taught to care for others in the Mage schools. I was taught that the wishes of others did not matter at all. Had I followed my teachings, I would have simply done what I wished with you and cared not for your feelings or whatever hurt it might have inflicted.”

She gazed at him somberly. “More than one Mechanic takes the same approach when it comes to commons, though I never let it happen if I could intervene. I never thought it was right to treat commons, or anyone else, poorly because I always believed their feelings and their dignity mattered. But you were taught those other people didn’t even exist, so what kept you honest?”

More memories of long ago, of animals and fields, of people he had spent years trying to put out of his mind. “My parents. My Guild tried to make me forget them, tried to teach me that they were only shadows, but always they stayed with me. Eventually, so strongly did the elders teach me to reject all that brought up feelings in me that I saw this as a weakness in myself, that I could not cease to care about them.” Alain had to pause, breathing deeply. His eyes felt strange and watery.

Mari’s hand gripped his arm and squeezed lightly. “Your parents must have been great people.”

“They were.” He whispered that, then looked up and spoke the next two words loudly before lowering his voice again. “They were. I will never try to forget that again. My father taught me to respect others, my mother taught me not to hurt others. It must have hurt them…so much…when I was taken by the Mages.” He felt tears leaking out and rubbed them away.

Mari’s hand left his arm and her own arm wrapped around his waist so that she held him as they walked. “I’m sorry, Alain.”

“No. You should never be sorry, for if not for you I would have kept those memories out of mind. I would have continued to reject my feelings.” He worked at it and managed to smile at her. “I think they would have liked you, Mari.”

Her own eyes seemed watery before Mari looked away. “I hope so. Do you have anybody else? A brother or sister? Aunt or uncle?”

“No brother or sister. I had an aunt, my mother’s sister, but I do not know what has become of her.” Alain kicked at a mound of snow, knocking pieces along the road, enjoying the feeling of release from acting on his pain. “My grandmother will have nothing to do with me. She looked upon me and saw only a Mage.”

“Maybe if she saw you now—”

“No. Her mind is fixed. I saw this. It hurt even when I would not feel hurt.” Mari stayed silent, and Alain felt questions coming to him. “Mari, your mother—”

“We will not talk about my mother.” Her voice had gone sharp and abrupt in an instant’s time.

“Do you…hate her?” He had to know whether or not that was so, whether this was part of Mari.

He felt her arm tighten on him, not affectionately but with tension. “I told you I won’t— No, I don’t hate her. I can’t. I tried, for years I tried to hate her, but I couldn’t. My father, too.” After a moment she spoke again, the words coming in a rush. “I just don’t understand. I’ve never understood. How could they do that? How could they pretend that I’d never existed? How could they cut me out of their lives like that?”

“Perhaps—”

“No! Don’t defend them!” Mari shook her head. “All the common parents did it when we were apprentices, just stopped writing and stopped caring. We were all so hurt and ashamed that we never wanted to talk about it. Now it doesn’t matter why. I don’t care about my parents anymore.”

It was obvious that she was lying. “Can I help?”

“You can stop talking about them.” Mari’s arm tightened around him enough to hurt for a moment, but she did not seem to be aware of it. “I’m sorry. Just drop it, please. It’s not your problem.”

“Your problems are my problems now. Is that not so?”

Another tightening of Mari’s grip, though this time it felt affectionate. “Thank you. But it’s not really a problem. It’s over, is all.”

“May I ask if you had a brother or a sister?”

There was a long pause, then he heard the loss in her voice. “No. Just me. Just as well, don’t you think? They couldn’t do to any other child what they did to me. Now, not another word about that, Alain. Please.”

He focused on the road, paying attention to the places where melting snow had exposed mud or the snow still lay drifted and must be walked around.

They reached a crossroads, traffic from the other road joining theirs, the surface under the snow now gravel, the snow itself packed down by the tread of many feet. Alain studied the snow, then spoke softly to Mari. “Part of a legion has traveled this way already. The boot marks are clear.”

“A legion?” Mari looked down at the road worriedly. “I’ve seen legionaries at drill. I don’t mind saying they scare me.”

“They scare me as well. We must respect the threat from them.” Alain looked back in the direction the legionaries must have come. “These were somewhere closer to the mountains, south of where we came.”

It took her only a moment to understand. “They’re part of the force that attacked you?”

“It seems likely, but that was a larger force than what I see traces of here.”

“What does that mean?” Mari’s eyes widened. “Some of them are behind us?”

“Yes.” They sped up a little, but not by much because they knew they would be walking all day and because the growing density of foot travelers and horse or mule or oxen drawn carts, carriages and wagons made it hard to push faster than the flow of traffic. Alain found himself fighting down annoyance, and having to avoid showing his reaction when he was occasionally jostled or blocked by other people.

He looked around at the commons, some of them showing exasperation at the traffic, others just resignation. Beside him, Mari was doing a slow burn and plainly trying not to snarl at everyone and everything around them. “We have only been receiving the special treatment granted to members of the Great Guilds for a short time, and already we expect it,” he told her. “How would this feel if we had been living with special privileges for many years?”

“Even more aggravating,” Mari grumbled.

His eyes lingered on riders passing by, their progress a little easier because the crowds had to part before the horses.

Mari must have noticed his gaze. “If you really, really want to ride, we can try to get some horses.”

“Your voice tells me that you do not really wish to do that,” Alain said.

“I’d put it up with riding for your sake, but no, I wouldn’t be happy. It’s not that I don’t like horses,” Mari continued. “I mean, I like looking at them, and watching them run and everything. They’re beautiful. But when I get in the saddle it’s like I’m a misaligned part. I can’t get comfortable or adjust right to the way the horse moves or anything. I think some horses laugh at me and others take pity on me, while some are just plain mean, but the truth is that I’m not a natural rider and probably will never be good at riding a horse. I’d rather walk for now.”

“I was just thinking that we should continue walking,” Alain said.

“That’s what you were thinking while you were looking at those riders?” Mari asked skeptically.

“Yes.”

“Liar.”

“Like a Mage,” Alain said, wondering if that was the right way to form a humorous response.

It must have been, because Mari laughed and wrapped her arm about his so that they walked side by side again.

They took a break around noon, standing to eat since there was nowhere to sit off the road that was not covered in snow or soaking wet. As they shared food and drink from Alain’s pack, he felt a warning sensation. “More Mages are approaching,” he whispered to Mari.

Her head came up in alarm. “Which way?”

“From the way we came. There are at least six.”

“Can you hide from them?”

“I think so.”

Mari frowned at him. “Get behind me. You should also physically hide yourself without being obvious about it. I’m not big enough to hide you, but maybe you’ll be less noticeable that way.” She took another look down the road. “I see some kind of banner.”

The brass notes of horns sounded down the road, and Alain understood what the banners foretold. “The rest of the legion is coming. The Mages must be with them.”

They could see commons hastily moving off the road now, going either right or left to clear the route for the oncoming legionaries. The speed and concern they showed made it clear what would happen to any common who was still in the way when the soldiers arrived. Walking was impossible now with the shoulders of the road packed with commons and their wagons who had left the road, so Mari and Alain waited, he feeling exposed with Mages coming, even though Mari had positioned herself between him and the road. A sudden realization struck him then. If they came for me, Mari would keep herself between them and me. She would be my shield. The insight was both frightening and heartening, knowing that Mari cared enough to sacrifice herself for him but knowing that he could never allow her to be hurt. At such a moment, her status as the long-prophesized daughter mattered not at all. It was only because she was Mari. Alain redoubled his efforts to hide his presence from other Mages.

Cavalry led the column, but not very much of it. Alain, familiar with the makeup of Imperial forces from his schooling in the wars of common folk, wondered why more cavalry was not present. It was only as the first ranks of horsemen trotted past that he realized from the bandaged wounds on many of them that this was the same force which had ambushed and pursued the Alexdrians. This is partly due to me. Their ranks are thin because I helped kill or seriously injure many of their comrades. The pain that idea brought made Alain wish for a moment that he could still deny emotion.

Behind the cavalry came a long column of foot soldiers, the legionaries marching in ranks which filled the entire width of the road. The Imperial soldiers moved past, banners hanging almost limp in the mild breeze, silent except for the rattle of equipment, the clop of horse hooves, a drum pounding out cadence for the marchers and the sound of feet striking the road in endless repetition. The faces of the legionaries were weary, tired from the fight and from the march.

Alain could not help comparing the Imperial legion to the Alexdrian soldiers he had fought with, thinking that the Imperials seemed both grander and more lethal than the Alexdrians, with bright insignia and armor glittering in the sun and a practiced discipline to their movements. For the first time, he realized just how lucky he and the surviving Alexdrians had been to escape from these soldiers.

Then he felt a chill as two enclosed carriages came into view, their occupants screened behind curtains that completely covered the windows. The presence of the Mages inside the carriages glowed to Alain’s Mage senses as he concentrated on hiding his presence from them. Those other Mages were not bothering to hide themselves, a good sign that they were not concerned enough to be alert for any signs of Alain’s presence. These Mages were doubtless certain that he had died under the talons of the dragon.

Alain kept his eyes on the carriages, sensing that the first carriage had only two people in it, both radiating the power of potent Mages. Lightning and Dragon, surely, Alain thought, and both elders from the feel of them. He felt a moment of irrational pride that his Guild had felt it necessary to use two such powerful Mages against him.

Perhaps that moment of pride, the moment of distraction, betrayed him.

The second carriage held the six other Mages Alain had guessed at, those who had taken out the Alexdrian scouts without allowing them a chance to cry warning. As Alain watched that carriage pass, he felt a familiar presence among them.

The curtain over one window twitched open and a Mage looked out upon the crowd, her eyes going straight to Alain. He saw long blonde hair, blue eyes, and a familiar face of surpassing natural beauty. Asha. Her eyes met his, but her face remained impassive, as that of a Mage should. Alain stared back at her, knowing that she must have sensed his presence, as he had hers, perhaps because of his familiarity to her. She must have recognized his face. What could he and Mari do when Asha called out an alarm? With all of the Imperial soldiers at hand as well as at least seven more Mages, neither Alain nor Mari would stand a chance. Perhaps I can draw all of the attention onto myself and Mari can escape. It will be her only hope for survival. He tensed, ready to run away from Mari the moment Asha acted.