“It’s Callub,” Elman said. “Let him go.”
“Elman,” the new man, Callub said. “I’m sorry.”
Timo joined the group in time to catch the look that passed between Reo and Kara.
“Sorry for what?” Timo asked.
“He’s reported us,” Reo said harshly. “Despite his promise not to.”
“Callub, what have you done?” Elman grabbed the other man’s shoulders and shook him. “Why?”
“I didn’t think it was really you,” Callub said. “Heard you been missing and when this one said your name I thought he’d killed you.” He looked at Reo, his eyes wide. “Why else wouldn’t you have been the one to approach me?”
“Who’d you tell?” Elman asked. “Did you just report it to the minor Mages?”
Callub looked to Elman and then nervously back at Reo, who still held him by one arm.
“I went to, but one of them council Mages were there,” he said. “He weren’t too happy about me interrupting, and he didn’t seem to be in any rush. That’s why I came back, to keep an eye out like.”
“You saw where Reo first exited,” Timo said, his heart sinking. This man could lead a council Mage to the tunnel. The tunnel full of power so pure that a council Mage wouldn’t be able to keep himself from using it. “Did you tell him?”
“Ah, Callub,” Elman said. “Why couldn’t you just wait ’til I got here?”
“Sorry,” Callub said. “I thought you was dead.” He glared at Reo.
Timo couldn’t blame the man, really. Reo looked like what he was—dangerous. If he’d seen him appear out of nowhere, in the dark, asserting friendship with a missing man, he might have assumed the same thing. He sighed.
“This changes things,” Timo said.
“No,” Kara said sharply. She grabbed his arm and spun him around to face her. “This changes
nothing
. We need to move as quickly as we can and get off this island.”
He looked at his sister, at the stubborn set to her jaw, the way she’d squared her shoulders and balled her hands into fists, and he shook his head. She knew. She already knew what had to be done, what only
he
could do to keep them safe, to keep Mage Guild from finding—and using—the pure power.
“You know this changes everything,” Timo said softly.
Kara’s arm dropped from his. A sob broke free from her throat, and Timo almost faltered. Reo looped an arm around her and drew her to him.
“I have to destroy the guild,” Timo said. His voice was calm, much calmer than it should be considering his heart felt like it was beating fast enough to jump right out of his chest.
“No,” Kara said. “Please. We can leave.”
“It won’t help,” Timo said. “They’ll have the power to destroy Old Rillidi.”
“Because Santos is dead,” Reo said flatly. “You think we won’t be able to keep Old Rillidi safe.”
“We won’t,” Timo said. “But not because Santos is dead. With
this
source they’ll have more than enough power to destroy Old Rillidi—and they’ll do it. Now is our best—maybe only—chance to destroy Mage Guild.” He looked over at Elman. “But I’ll have to destroy the island as well.”
“We can come back,” Kara said. “When we’re better prepared. The Mages won’t regain their power for weeks, maybe months.”
“We don’t know that,” Reo said. “Not for sure. That’s what happens to the clammers, who you say have little magic to start with. We don’t know how long the effects will last for powerful Mages.”
“Especially if they find this source of pure magic,” Timo said.
“You can’t go destroying Mage Guild Island,” Elman said. “Thousands of people live here, folk who have no say in what the council does. You’ll kill them too.”
“I know that!” Timo shouted. He
hated
that he would be responsible for the deaths of innocents. “I probably care more about those people than any single Mage on the council does. But what do you think will happen to them when—not if—but
when
the council discovers that there is a way to use another’s power without going mad?” The hole that led to the tunnel was partially filled in, but finishing the job wouldn’t help, not when a council member knew where to look.
Elman looked at the hole in the ground. His shoulders drooped and he seemed to shrink in on himself.
“Callub,” Elman said. “Go ring the warning bells. People need to leave the island.”
“But,” Callub said. “I . . . I can’t just walk into the tower room and start ringing the bell.”
“You have to,” Elman said. “I promised to help these people get home, and I’m going to keep my promise.”
“I won’t do it,” Callub said. “You’re gonna kill thousands.”
“Most of them will die anyway,” Elman said, sadness etched into his face. “Once the Mages realize that they can use the workrooms to feed their own power, they’ll use up anyone with a spark of magic.” He spat on the ground. “At first they’ll tell us it’s to fight Mage Guild’s enemies. Old Rillidi will fall first, then the other guilds.”
“Warrior Guild will be next,” Reo said flatly.
“Probably,” Elman agreed. “But it won’t much matter
here
because anyone with magical power who’s not strong enough to keep themselves out of the workroom will be used up. Their energy will be sucked up until they die. The council will destroy every guild they think is a threat. Which is most of them.” He looked at his fellow guard. “Callub, you know they won’t stop there.”
“No,” Callub said. “Then they’ll do what they’ve always done. They’ll turn on each other.”
“They’ll kill each other off, like they’ve always done,” Elman agreed. “But this time it’s us—the poor, the weak, the untrained—who will power their fight. And we’ll die doing it.”
Timo held his breath when Elman paused and stared down at his feet. If they could at least warn the Guildsmen, at least give some of them time to flee to safety, his heart would be a little lighter.
“I know how I’d rather die,” Elman said. “Up here in the open, fighting to get away.” He spat on the ground again. “Better than sitting unconscious in the dark while someone drained the life out of me.”
“Gyda,” Callub said. He rubbed a hand across his face, smearing the glint of tears away from his eyes. “I’ll go ring the bell.”
Timo grabbed a hold of the guard’s arm, preventing him from turning away from him.
“How long,” he asked. “From the time you ring the bell to when we can expect most people to be on their way, how long will that be?”
“’Bout an hour,” Callub replied. “Maybe two. Folk know what the bells mean. Most will run with what’s on their back.” He sneered. “It’s the Mages who’ll think they have time to pack.”
“Good,” Timo said. “I should be able to hide for at least an hour or so.” He let go of the guard’s arm, and Callub loped off into the night.
“We need to go,” Reo said. “Kara, Elman, and I.” He peered off to his left. “Someone’s coming.”
“Then go,” Timo said. “I’ll come when I can.” He clasped Reo’s outstretched arm and was surprised to be pulled into a hug.
“Yes,” Reo said. “You have to. She’ll never forgive you—or herself—if you don’t.”
Reo stepped aside, and Timo was engulfed in Kara’s arms. Tears tracked down her face but she didn’t make a sound. She kissed him on the forehead and then let Reo lead her away.
Timo sighed. Alone, as he’d always been. He stepped back towards the hole in the ground. A quick spell made both him and the disturbed earth invisible. Now it was time to see which council Mage was investigating. And whether they had any magic left.
“I JUST FOUND HIM
,” Kara whispered.
She crouched behind Reo, Elman behind her.
“I know,” Reo said. He gently pushed Santos’ body beneath a hedge.
They had to leave Santos behind. To Kara it felt like one more betrayal, but as much as she wanted to deny it, Timo was right—things had changed. She said a silent goodbye to the Mage who had befriended her so long ago. He’d been more than a friend over the years. He’d given her a home and helped her learn about her talent with unmagic. She would miss him. But he of all people would tell them to do everything they could to save themselves. And that meant letting Timo try to destroy Mage Guild.
Because Timo was right about that too. The Mages
would
find out how to use that power source. And they
would
destroy Old Rillidi. That was the only reason she hadn’t fought to change his mind. All was lost if Mage Guild wasn’t shattered.
Reo half-turned to her. “If anyone can do this, Timo can,” he assured her.
She gave him a half-smile. “Yes,” she agreed. But did that mean he really had a chance?
“Remember what Mole said,” Reo said. “Timo’s hard to kill.”
“I know,” Kara said. She wished he hadn’t had so much experience dodging spells meant to hurt or kill him.
“And he has plenty of power to fuel his spells,” Reo said.
“Yes,” Kara said.
Reo backed away from the bushes, keeping low, and Kara and Elman followed.
But that worried Kara too. Timo had access to a lot of power but it was not unlimited. If the Mages realized that Timo’s power came from the workrooms they could cut off his source of power. Timo knew that as well—he’d need to act soon, before the Mages could interrupt him.
He had one chance to destroy Mage Guild and he would take it. That was why he was staying behind. And he would use all of the power he had available. Would he assume he could not survive—would he
plan
on not getting out alive?
Reo gestured to her, and she nodded, scanning the park in front of them. Once past this park, Elman would lead the way to the nearest ferry. They hoped to be there before the bells rang. Once the alarm sounded there would be chaos. It would be easy to lose themselves in the crowd, but much harder to be sure that they had safe passage off the island.
Reo sprinted across the grounds, not pausing until he reached the far side. Kara waited until she saw his raised arm before running towards him, keeping low.
She reached his side and sat, breathing heavily, as she waited for him to signal Elman to join them. Without Santos and Timo, they had no magic on their side. They would have to rely on Reo’s considerable skills and Elman’s knowledge to get them to safety. Kara shook her head. For a woman who’d spent the early years of her life lamenting her own lack of magic, she’d become incredibly used to having access to it. Mage mist ghosted close to Reo, and absently she waved it away. Even she’d become reliant on magic—but once Mage Guild was destroyed everyone would need to learn how to live without it.
THEY WERE STILL
ten minutes away from the ferry when the bells started to ring. Elman picked up the pace, and Kara had to jog to keep up.
People came out of their houses and milled in the streets, worriedly looking at the sky, obviously wondering what was happening.
Kara caught up to Elman, who had been slowed by a crowd thronging the mouth of a small alley. Reo wedged in beside her, one hand on her elbow. He leaned over her shoulder, closer to Elman’s ear.
“How much farther?” Reo asked.
“Another few blocks,” Elman said. He grunted as he shouldered his way past a burly man in a tattered robe. “Stay close.” The guard pushed past another group, this time a family hurrying in the same direction as them—two small children were being towed by a sombre man and distraught-looking woman.
Elman turned into a quieter street. A few people hurried from the side door of a manor house as a well-dressed man, obviously the owner of the house, stood on the steps, hesitation on his face. He recognized Elman’s uniform and called to him.
“You! Stop and tell me what’s going on,” he said. “Why is everyone running?”
“It’s the bells,” Elman replied. “The alarm to get off the island.”
“Get off . . .” the man started to say, then he stopped talking and shook his head. “No, I’ve heard no such thing. My sister’s husband’s cousin is on the council. I would have been warned.”
“Then stay,” Kara muttered as she followed Elman past the man. As they turned into another street, Kara looked behind her.
The man still stood on the top step, looking up at the sky as though the pealing bells would give him a different answer, one he liked better. Kara shook her head and then she was around the corner.
People thronged the area around the ferry docks. Kara bumped into Elman’s back where he had stopped at the edge of the crowd. Reo made his way to her side.
“Can we get on?” Reo asked.
“Should we?” Kara replied.
A woman struggled past them, one baby on her hip and a young boy clutching her hand. A man a few steps ahead spotted the woman and grabbed her hand, towing her closer to the ferry.
“These people have nothing. Can we take space on the ferry from them?” she continued. “From their children?” She looked around at the crowd. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it wasn’t this seething mass of people trying to escape. She supposed she’d thought more people would react like the man at the fine house had—with skepticism and disbelief.