“I don’t know,” Timo said. “I shouldn’t have because now we can’t go to my mother’s.”
“Not after you told her,” Yash agreed.
“I have another place,” Timo said. “Follow me.” He set off the way they’d come. They’d have to chance Rorik’s quarters and assume that they hadn’t been sealed off. He’d taken half a dozen steps when he realized he didn’t hear anyone behind him. He turned to see that neither Wuls nor Yash had budged.
“Come on,” Timo said. “It’s just one corridor this way.” The two brothers exchanged a glance. Finally, Yash shrugged, and they headed in Timo’s direction.
Timo set off again down the familiar corridors. They were very close to Rorik’s quarters, the place he’d called home for much of his life.
He wasn’t sure why he’d stopped Barra. It wasn’t as though they’d been friends, at least not since Barra had helped him get into the Hall of Records and his mother had found out. Had he simply wanted to talk to someone he knew? He couldn’t undo what was done—all he could do was trust Barra not to tell anyone she’d seen him.
He ducked through a doorway and headed up the stairs, the Seyoyans silently following him. There was no trace of mage mist on the familiar wooden door at the top of the stairs and cautiously Timo pushed it open.
He paused. The house was quiet. Had the Server left after Rorik’s death and his own disappearance? Leaving the two Seyoyans standing on the stairs, he squeezed through the door.
How long had it been since he’d been here, since Rorik’s death? He counted back. Five nights—it seemed like so much longer. He glanced through each doorway off the entrance hall. The sitting room furniture had been disturbed. Who would have investigated Rorik’s death? His mother for one, and probably Inigo. Which meant Hestor had been here—Inigo didn’t go anywhere without his Journeyman. He paused. Hestor was a full Mage now; would that make him a more powerful ally for Inigo?
The door to Rorik’s workroom was open, and carefully he peered in—the room was in shambles. The chair where Rorik had died was on its side, and Timo rubbed his eyes, trying not to see Rorik, struggling for air, as the spell closed his throat.
“Are we safe?”
Startled, Timo spun to face Wuls. The Seyoyan gestured towards the hallway.
“Will there be food?” he asked.
“We should be safe,” Timo said. “Food? I’m not sure.” Wuls’ face fell, and Timo remembered that he’d been held captive for days by Inigo. Had he even fed his prisoner? “Let’s see,” Timo said. He led the way towards the kitchen.
There was a promising trace of mage mist circling the cold storage. Timo opened it slowly. A large block of cheese and an urn half-filled with milk were nestled inside. He picked up the cheese—it was cool to his touch. He tossed it to Yash, who caught it and grinned. Timo sniffed the milk. It was sour, too sour to drink. He closed the cold storage cupboard and opened the one beside it. Apples filled a small basket. He pulled it out and put it on the rough worktable.
“That’s it, plus water.” Timo gestured to the pump that sat along one wall of the kitchen. Wuls pumped it a few times, and Timo was relieved to see fresh, clean water flow from it.
“This is all?” Yash asked. “I expected a Mage to have more.”
“The Mage who lived here died,” Timo said. “Fish and bread were brought in every morning.” He looked around the room. “There will be tea somewhere, but we can’t risk a fire to heat it.”
“Water will do.” Yash grabbed an apple and bit into it. “We’ll be leaving at dark anyway.” He chewed slowly. “You are sure that this Mage is dead?”
“Yes,” Timo replied. “I’m sure.” I watched him die—
I killed him
—was what he thought but didn’t say.
“Huh. There is no glory in stealing a boat from a dead Mage.”
“As long as there’s a boat to steal,” Timo said quietly, hoping that the dock underneath was as forgotten as Rorik’s quarters were.
TIMO SLEPT IN
his own bed, something he’d never expected to do again. It was only for a few hours and it was daytime, but after everything that had happened in the past week his bed felt foreign. Wuls woke him when it was his turn to stand watch. The Seyoyan then joined his brother in Rorik’s chambers. At first, they hadn’t felt comfortable sleeping in the dead man’s bed, but Timo had assured them that it wasn’t where he’d died.
In the kitchen, Timo pumped some water into a mug. Like most things on Mage Guild Island, the water flowed by magic. Once, when he’d first become his Apprentice, Rorik had taken him to see how water was provided to the island. At first he’d thought it was some elaborate scheme his mother and the Primus had fabricated in order to keep him studying hard.
Rows of Mages brought sea water in through the base of the island while others purified it with magic. Still more sent it through the pipes that spider-webbed through the island to all the pumps and fountains and bathing rooms.
Rorik had told him that this was where Mages with minor talents were placed. They were part of the machinery that allowed those with real abilities to undertake the important work of managing the guild.
Other stations with similar purposes dotted the lower levels of Mage Guild Island, all doing their part to keep the island aloft and supplied with all the necessities—water, air, lights, heat. Timo had thought it a waste of Mage talent. Wouldn’t it be easier to live on dry land where rivers naturally ran with clear, cold water? He hadn’t said that to Rorik, of course. His mother would have been told and Timo would have been lectured yet again on how fortunate he was to have such a powerful mother and mentor and how he should be applying himself to his studies.
He walked from the kitchen to the eating area and peeked through the curtain. It was dusk outside—they should get ready to go. He left the mug on the table and headed for the door to the dock below, reinforcing his invisibility just in case anyone was below. He, Yash, and Wuls could all see each other despite the spell so it seemed sensible, though he was worried about using too much of his power. But it wasn’t an issue so far and his short nap had re-energized him.
Timo unlocked and opened the carved, wooden door that led to the dock. The smell of sea water wafted up from the dark as he stepped onto the stairs and closed the door behind him.
He hadn’t been down to this dock in a while. Rorik rarely went anywhere by boat and Timo had never been allowed to set foot off the island—and certainly not alone. The steep stairs seemed to go on forever, and Timo clutched at the railing as he slowly descended. A stumble could not only send him plummeting to the bottom, but the noise could also alert anyone in the area below Rorik’s quarters.
With his feet even with the underside of the island, he crouched to look. When he accidentally looked straight at a mage light he blinked, his eyes watering. There were muffled voices so he eased down another step for a better view.
Boats bobbed in the water and thankfully one was tied up at the dock below. He stared out towards the sounds of voices. There were people on a dock a little way off. It wasn’t close enough for a good view, and he squinted, trying to identify them, but they were too far away.
As far as he could see, there was only that one group below the island. Timo froze—and why was that? The few times he’d ventured down he’d been surprised by all the activity: boats filled with people gliding in the water; Servers cleaning docks; fishermen bringing their catch in to sell. But not today. Other than the one group he could see no one—no boats, no people. Was it this quiet because it was the day after Founders Day or did it have something to do with the tremors from last night?
He crept back up the stairs. He’d discuss this with the Seyoyans, but even invisible, he’d felt far too exposed to leave by boat when it was this quiet. The feeling that something wasn’t right returned, and he shivered even though he wasn’t cold.
“I THINK WE
should go,” Yash said. “There is a boat—that’s all I need to know.”
They were at the dining table. Pieces of wax from the cheese and a few apple cores littered the scarred wood of the table they sat around. Half a dozen apples remained in the basket, and Yash grabbed one and bit into it.
“Besides,” he said around the apple. “We don’t have enough food to last another few days.”
“I know,” Timo said. “But it makes me nervous. Even invisible there will be signs of us and our boat.”
“And no one to see them,” Wuls said.
Timo wasn’t surprised the younger Seyoyan sided with his brother. It was a wonder they’d been separated long enough for him to be taken by Inigo in the first place. He didn’t have a lot of experience with siblings. None of the Apprentices with brothers or sisters had acted like these two—like they were a team, looking out for each other—like they really cared about each other. Was this normal? Was this why Kara wanted him to live with her? Yash had risked his life to save his brother—Timo
thought
that Kara would be willing to do the same for him. Would he do that for her? Or Giona?
“What if they’re looking for you?” Timo said, and Wuls looked up, startled. “I know the man who was keeping you prisoner and he’s not going to give up easily. He has people, lots of people, including Mages, who do what he tells them.” The entire council, Timo thought, but didn’t say. He’d expected Inigo to search for Wuls magically, though, not by physically watching docks and boats. Except Inigo knew that Wuls could see magic—he might assume he could avoid magical traps.
“We can’t let him find us,” Wuls said. He looked at Yash. “I think he’d rather have me dead than let me go. You as well.”
“This man, would he kill us?” Yash asked Timo. “Even if he could ransom us, would he kill us?”
“Yes.” Timo nodded. “The only reason I’m still alive is because he doesn’t know I can see the traps he’s had set for me.”
“Then we should wait,” Yash said finally. “Until we can find out who is watching the docks below, we should wait.” He looked from Wuls over to Timo. “Can we get more food? It might be a few days. Maybe we can steal some from a house?”
“That’s too risky,” Timo said. “We might be invisible but we still need to open doors to get in and out.”
“Can you ask your mother?” Wuls asked.
“No,” Timo said. His mother had never helped him before; he couldn’t assume she would now. “I can talk to Barra again, the girl I met last night.”
“If you think it’s safe,” Yash said. “If you think you can trust her.”
“I think so,” Timo said when what he meant was he
hoped
so. It was a chance he’d have to take. He needed more information. Something was wrong and he needed to know what. “I’ll send a spell to find her then I’ll talk to her.”
KARA STARED OUT
across the bay. The more distant Guild Islands were mere smudges against the sparkling blue of the water, while on the closer ones she could make out buildings.
Timo was on one of them—alone—probably frightened. They couldn’t assume Mole would be able to track him down. Annya had given Mole a description of Timo in disguise but what if he had changed the way he looked once he left the ferry? They had no way of knowing what or who he looked like.
“Are you ready?” Santos asked.
She nodded and stepped closer to the railing of the loggia. The sun was just about to set. They would try to locate him now, while there was still daylight, and then again once dark fell. An exact location wasn’t possible—they weren’t high enough to see every island clearly—but they would get a general direction.
Santos reached up and over the railing, and a large bubble of grass green mage mist flowed from his outstretched fingers. It hovered in the air for a moment before it sped off. Kara watched it recede until it was just a speck. When she could no longer see it, she shaded her eyes and scanned the sky.
There—a flare of green mage mist list up the sky above . . . no, it couldn’t be.
“I think there’s a problem with the spell,” Kara said. “It’s over Mage Guild Island. Can you try another one?”
“It should have worked,” Santos said. “It’s not a complicated spell. I’m basing it on you, his sister. I’ll try to refine it.” He created another bubble of mage mist and stared at it intently before it rushed off.
The second flare of mist joined the first. “It’s over Mage Guild Island again,” Kara said. She frowned. “Could the amount of magic on the island be attracting your spells?”
“It never has before,” Santos replied. “We’re sure Timo actually left the island?”
“Annya was certain,” Kara said. “She told Mole that when she left him he was in line for the ferry. If he’d been discovered she would have heard.”
“Not if Inigo kept it quiet.”
“There were dozens of Servers,” Kara said. “I doubt even Inigo could keep news from spreading within Server Guild. Besides, you spelled him to tell the truth. Try again, please.”
REO POKED HIS
head up through the stairwell. “Did you find him?”
“No,” Kara said.
“Yes.”
Santos met Kara’s eyes. “We’ve been at this for an hour. Every spell shows the same location. Before and after Giona was included in the conditions.”