“I might have become like Hestor in time,” Barra said softly. “I was on that path. I knew Faron was going to hurt you, yet I still told him where to find you. All to, as you say,
gain favour
. You wouldn’t have done that.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Timo said. “I’ve had my mother and Rorik protecting me ever since I was born.” And he’d never once considered what that must have cost them—what it eventually
did
cost them both. “And I have my sister. Two years ago she gave me hope that there was a safer place for me, that I could make different choices. You didn’t have that.” He paused. “And when Mole started visiting I didn’t feel so alone. You didn’t have that either.”
“I did,” she said. “A little. Hestor tried to protect me as much as he could. I knew he was doing it because he was hoping for more than friendship, but he never pushed me. But the other? Hope for a different sort of life? No, I did not have that.” She was silent for a few moments. “Do I have that now?”
“Yes,” Timo said. He was absolutely certain that Barra would be welcome on Old Rillidi. “I’ve been told that Santos wants more Mages to teach. Besides, Mole has decided that you’re coming with us. I’m not willing to cross him, are you?”
THEY TRAVELLED FOR
another two hours before Mole decided that it was time to head down to the docks.
“If we get too far from the centre we run the risk of not finding a usable boat,” Mole said.
“I think we should try nearer the shore,” Yash said. “Won’t there be fishing boats?”
“Not tied up,” Mole replied. He stared at a set of double doors that were set halfway down the hallway they were crouched in. “Not around here, anyway.”
“There must be,” Wuls said.
“No,” Timo said. “You don’t understand the Guilds. Fishing is not a Mage Guild task. Someone else does that. They may fish in the waters around Mage Guild Island but they won’t be Mages, and they won’t live here.”
“I wouldn’t fish near here if I wasn’t a Mage,” Yash said.
Timo had to agree with him. The view of Mage Guild Island he’d had when he’d taken the ferry had unnerved him. It seemed so much more unnatural than Arts Guild Island, though the same magic sustained them both. He wouldn’t come anywhere near this island if he didn’t have to, and he didn’t think fishermen would either.
“Wait here,” Mole said, and he slipped towards the doors. He opened one side and seemed to sniff the air. After a moment, he closed the door and scurried over to Timo and the rest.
“I smell the sea,” Mole said. “And it’s quiet. I’ll go in. If I’m not back in twenty minutes you’re to keep going. Find another way down.”
“What?” Timo said. “No. We won’t leave you behind.”
“You will,” Mole said. “If I’m not back it means I’ve been caught or I’m dead.”
“Then take me with you,” Timo said. “I’ll make myself invisible. I can watch for any magical traps and use magic to stop any Mages.”
“No,” Mole said. “I won’t risk you. I’ll take one of the Seyoyans. They can see any traps.”
“But they can’t undo them,” Timo said. He leaned in to whisper in Mole’s ear. “Besides, I’m not sure they fully realize the danger we’re in.”
Mole frowned and looked past Timo to the Seyoyans. “All right,” he said. “But stay close. Remember, I won’t be able to see you.” He turned to the others. “Timo’s coming with me. Stay here until we return.”
“What if you don’t return?” Wuls asked.
“Then may Gyda’s luck be with you,” Mole said.
Timo spelled himself invisible. Wuls looked angry, and poor Barra looked scared. He reached out and patted her shoulder.
“We’ll be back,” he assured her, and she nodded. Then Mole was off down the hallway, and Timo had to hurry to keep up.
Mole slid to a stop in front of the doors. He sniffed. “You stink,” he said without turning around. “And you breathe heavy. I’ll be able to find you if you stay back a few paces.” He eased the left hand door open and squeezed through, Timo right behind him.
Shutting the door cut off the light from the hallway, and Timo had to rely on the glow from the mage mist that enveloped them. Mole stood still, so still that Timo wondered if he was even breathing.
The air in the corridor by the doors was dank, and in the dim light, Timo thought he saw a dark patch of moisture on the stone blocks of the ceiling. That told him that they were in a part of the island where lesser Mages stayed. Such poor upkeep would never be allowed where the powerful Mages lived and worked. Here there must be fewer guilders for Servers and less magic to keep the structures pristine.
Mole moved forward slowly and peered around a corner. Timo flattened himself against the wall. The stone felt cool through his tunic and he shivered. When Mole disappeared around the corner, Timo leaned out to look.
There was an open door. And when Mole reached it, he paused and looked in. He turned his head towards Timo and shook it, then trotted towards a second door. He stopped, and Timo thought he saw him gesture to him so he rounded the corner, trying to make as little noise as possible. He reached the first door and was about to walk past it when he heard a noise and froze.
Mole was waving frantically and backpedalling towards Timo, so he reached out a hand before the smaller man bumped into him. Mole stopped, grabbed Timo’s hand, and pulled him into the room.
There was just time to register the cavernous size of the room before Mole forced Timo to his knees and shoved him against the wall. Somewhere out in the hallway a door was unlocked and opened. It was shut and relocked and footsteps headed towards them.
“I doubt they’ve made it this far,” a man’s voice said.
“Let’s hope not,” was the reply. “The son of the Secundus who was Apprenticed to the Primus? He’s like to have more power than both of us together.”
“The council wants him bad though, him and his companions. I never seen a Seyoyan before. Do they really have fins?”
“Nah,” replied the second man. “I seen one once, long time ago. He had real long white hair and dark skin, but regular arms. Asides, we’re not gonna see them. Patrolling is a waste of time.”
“But it beats being on the work crew,” the first man said. “Should we look in on them?”
The footsteps paused at the open doorway, and Timo held his breath. He could see Mole tense, ready to pounce if he needed to. There was a grunt from the pair near the door and then they left.
“Strange to see them like that,” one of the men said as they headed towards the double doors. “And stranger to think that it’s usually us down there too.”
“If we caught some of them fugitives maybe we wouldn’t have to go back to it.”
“Might be worth the risk,” was the reply. A door opened and closed, followed by silence.
Timo breathed a sigh of relief before he realized that Barra and the Seyoyans were in the path of the Mages.
He turned to Mole, but the other man clutched his tunic and motioned for him to keep quiet. Gently Timo turned around to face the room. And his jaw dropped.
Mage mist illuminated the huge room—rivers of it, in every colour of the rainbow, streamed down the middle of each of the four aisles and collected at the end, feeding into a wide, dark opening in the wall.
Each aisle was lined with long tables that were dotted with lumps covered in loose, dark cloth. One of the lumps moved, and Timo realized that they were people—lesser Mages—harnessed to draw out their magic to power the city. He’d seen a workroom before but it had been brightly lit with fresh breezes blowing in through high-set windows—not this dank, dark cellar. There the Mages had been alert, talking and laughing, eager to meet the Mage Primus and his Apprentice. Here the lesser Mages stared blankly across the tables at their workmates, or lay with their heads on tables. From each one a different coloured thread of mage mist streamed, pulling their energy out of them and merging into the thicker strands that exited the room.
There was a low current of sound, and Timo realized that it was the accumulated noise of laboured breathing interspersed with the odd snore or cough.
“We can get out through that hole in the wall,” Mole whispered, barely raising his voice. “You make sure they stay asleep.”
Timo nodded, and then realized that Mole couldn’t see him. “All right,” he replied. “Are you sure that’s a way out?”
“It has to go somewhere,” Mole said. “I’ll backtrack to get the others.”
He left, and Timo continued to stare at the scene in front of him, at the dozens of men and women who were literally being drained in order to supply Mage Guild Island with their magic.
Were they even aware? The two Mages who had looked in as they patrolled the hallways had said that they were usually in this room. They had that to look forward to, bleeding their energy so that others with more power, with better political ties, could have the comfort of whatever these people paid for. At least they couldn’t see the mage mist, at least to them it was simply a room full of people in a stupor.
Were the lesser Mages in this room tired and lethargic after they completed their task? Would they rouse at dawn to go to whatever homes their power bought, and would a second group sit down and be drained of their magic? He leaned out into the corridor, looking towards the double doors. They were shut tight. There was no sign of Mole or the others. Had they run into trouble with the two Mages who’d been patrolling?
It was too early to go looking for Mole. Besides, the Assassin would be able to manage the two Mages—he was invisible, he had an element of surprise, and he not would hesitate. Not like Timo. He’d never killed or even seriously hurt anyone. He wasn’t sure he could do it unless someone was trying to hurt him.
He looked out over the workroom. Time to make sure these Mages didn’t wake up any time soon. He studied the flow of magic for a few moments before deciding what to do.
Timo held one hand out in front of him and concentrated on the threads of power that were being drawn from the Mages. One at a time—using their power to conserve his own—he sent the mage mist towards its owner, wrapping it in a small spell to send each one deeper into sleep. Half the Mages were now spelled. He peered out of the workroom door and looked at the double doors again. There was still no sign of Mole.
He sent a few more Mages to sleep, and the river of mist flowing towards the hole in the wall slowed.
Suddenly the mage mist in the aisles reversed direction. But instead of reversing towards the lesser Mages it swept up towards
him
. The mist swept past him, through the door and out into the hallway. The door to the room slammed shut, and he pressed against the wall. The dozen Mages he had not yet put to sleep looked around in confusion.
“The alarm went?” said one Mage close enough for Timo to hear. “Why’d the level drop?”
“Hey, I can’t wake up Lennat.” The shout came from the far end of the room. “Nor anyone else.” Other Mages tried to wake their neighbours, their panic rising when they couldn’t rouse them. A few jumped from their seats and fanned out along the aisles, warily scanning the room, wisps of mage mist clinging to their fingers.
Timo huddled by the door, hardly breathing, worried that the lesser Mages had enough skill and magic to cast spells. He didn’t dare open the door to try to escape—the lesser Mages in the room would notice. Besides, he’d triggered an alarm. Guards were probably on the way. He might not be able to evade them in the narrow hallway.
And worse, Mole and the others were at greater risk of being caught. Would they leave, now that Timo had tripped some kind of magical trap? They should, he hoped they did. Mole could still get the others out to safety. Timo would have to do the same for himself.
He slunk towards the farthest corner of the room, away from the door. Suddenly mage lights appeared, and Timo squinted. Reinforcements were on their way. He had to find a place to hide, quickly.
In the bright light, Timo spied a rickety wooden shelf along the back wall. He gingerly climbed to the top shelf and stretched out across it, pressing himself against the stone wall. He concentrated for a moment, creating a barrier of mage mist in the air in front of him. Invisible, no one could see him, and now any reaching hands would meet what felt like the stone wall. As long as anyone searching didn’t pay attention to the depth of the shelf, he should be safe.
After finding no immediate threat in the room, the lesser Mages had relaxed. Some of the others had started to wake despite Timo’s spells, and they huddled in the aisles talking in hushed and nervous tones.
They were waiting for something, Timo thought. There was a sound from out in the hallway. The mage mist around the door faded and it swung open. A guard entered with his sword drawn. He was followed by a Mage who Timo recognized from the council. Medium height and big-bellied, he cupped reddish-brown mage mist in his hand, ready to cast a spell.
“What’s happening here,” the council Mage said, his voice booming across the now silent workroom. “Why has the work been interrupted?”
“We’re not sure, Master Mage,” one of the men said. “The alarm went off.” He looked nervously around the room. A few lesser Mages had not yet woken up. “Some of us didn’t wake up right away.”
“And no one saw anything?” the Mage asked. He frowned. “Of course not, you’re entranced here, aren’t you?” He turned to the guard. “Check the room. Perhaps it’s the fugitives we’ve been looking for.”