“You should have said so earlier,” Elman said. “I would have taken us somewheres else. Not sure we have enough time now.”
“Is there somewhere else?” Reo asked. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to board a ferry anyway. This crowd has its own idea of who’s leaving first.”
Kara peered over Elman’s shoulder. Reo was right. She’d assumed that the man who had taken hold of the woman with the two children had been a relative, but now he was passing her off to someone else ahead in the crowd. As she watched, the woman and her children were ushered to the front of the crowd. Kara lost sight of them when they passed through a narrow gate. When she scanned the crowd, she noticed more women and children being passed forward. There was a stir behind her, and she turned in time to see the mob surround a man at the edge of the crowd.
“Let me through,” the man shouted. “I’m a fully trained Mage. I take precedence over any of you.”
He pulled his hand back, and Kara watched in horror as mage mist enveloped his fist. Without thinking, she reached her own hand towards him,
pushing
his magic away. Greyish blue mage mist spiralled upwards. The man grunted, surprised. He flung his hand forward trying to activate his spell. Those nearest to him shrank away from him but when nothing happened, they surged forward, shoving the Mage towards the edge of the crowd.
Reo grabbed her hand, pulling it down.
“I’m glad you did that but we don’t want to expose what you can do.” He softened his words with a smile, and Kara tucked her hand down at her side.
Elman studied her and then looked over the crowd.
“We won’t get on this ferry or the next,” he said.
“And we don’t know if there’ll be time for another,” Kara agreed. “But there is another way?”
“Yes,” Elman said. He took her hand and started pulling her through the crowd, Reo trailing her. Once they reached the edge, they skirted the mob and headed east.
“There’s a boat dock,” Elman said. “For guards. Don’t think anyone ever used it—least not that I ever heard—but we had to check it, keep it ready. Me, I used to like the walk. Got me out in the air.” He smirked. “And away from Mages.”
He led them down a narrow laneway, pausing once to let a group of people pass.
“There’ll be boats there,” Elman continued.
“No one else would have taken them?” Kara asked. It seemed unlikely that desperate people would ignore the promise of safety the boats would hold.
“Nah,” Elman said. “The Mages don’t trust anyone. The way in to the boats is spelled. I used to have to take an amulet with me or the spell wouldn’t let me in.” He looked at her from the corner of his eye. “I figure you can get us past that.”
“Yes,” Kara said. She smiled for the first time since they’d left Timo. “I can get us past that.”
THE MAGE MIST
was thick—a sure sign of Mage Guild’s paranoia. Why would they care so much about these boats? Kara studied the mist—almost all of it a single, dull turquoise colour that pulsed up and then down the steps that Elman assured them led to the boats.
“This was done by one Mage,” she said. She waved the mist down the stairs but it quickly surged back up. “And they really wanted to protect these boats.” The spell wasn’t the most malevolent she’d ever come across, but would probably do something unpleasant to anyone who entered without protection. And it was extremely stubborn. She put more force into pushing it away but it recoiled to almost the same spot.
“Been here for years,” Elman said. “I think the Mage who done this is long ago dead. Had some notion of sending out trained Mage guards to attack Mage Guild enemies, from what I heard.”
A few people stopped in the street behind them—an elderly couple and three youths.
“Are you gonna get the boats?” the woman asked. “Can we come with you? We can’t make it to the ferry. Not with my husband’s leg.” She gestured to the man beside her. He leaned lopsidedly on a rough stick, his other side supported by a lad about Timo’s age.
“Elman,” Reo whispered. “Is there enough room in the boats?”
The guard nodded. “These boats were planned to carry an army. There’s lots of ’em and each one holds at least twenty men.”
Kara looked up from studying the mage mist. In just a few moments a small crowd had gathered, and she wondered where they’d come from and how they knew that the boats would be available.
“We should be able to take all of you,” Reo said. “Just as soon as we get the boats free from magic.”
Kara didn’t seem to be able to send the spell away so she stepped towards it and plunged her right hand into it, willing it to dissipate. It took much longer than she’d expected, but finally, the mist started to thin. In a few more minutes it was gone, at least at the top of the stairs. More mist swirled at the landing.
“This is a stubborn spell,” Kara said to Reo. “I need to get rid of it in stages.”
“I’ll keep the crowd back,” he replied.
Kara stepped through the door and onto the landing, once again plunging her hand into the mist.
It took three more passes before the mage mist was completely gone. She’d taken a few steps and now she was in a large cavern. Not far away she could see the edge of the island. Sunlight glinted on the waves of Pontus Bay.
Rows and rows of boats bobbed in the water, tied to long docks that jutted out towards the island’s edge. She counted twenty, thirty, fifty boats. That was one thousand people, if each one held as many as Elman guessed. More than ten ferries could carry, Kara estimated. The island shook, and she almost lost her footing on the bottom stairs.
She hurried back up the stairs. They were running out of time. She felt another tremor and refused to think about what that meant for Timo.
“Close to fifty boats,” she gasped as she dashed outside. “And the spell is gone. Let’s get these people down there.”
Reo nodded and faced the throng. Just as at the ferry, women with children were shepherded through the crowd to the front. Elman led them through the doorway and down the stairs.
“We need some men too,” Kara said.
“You there, go with them,” Reo said. He pointed at about a dozen men who had shuffled aside to let the women and children pass.
The men all shook their heads.
“No,” one said. “We look out for those who can’t.”
“They won’t be able to row the boats fast enough,” Kara said. “The first boats have to leave before the rest can move.”
The men hesitated, and she glared at them.
“There’s room for everyone here,” she said. “
We can
save everyone
. But not if the first boats can’t get out from under the island. Now go!”
The group of men looked at each other. One stepped back and pointed to a younger man behind him.
“I hurt my arm last year, and it never quite healed up right,” he said. “Let someone more able go first.”
The younger man stepped forward and followed the rest as they headed through the doorway.
Kara shook her head in disgust. An island full of the best healers in Tregella and this Guildsman hadn’t been healed. Why did Mage Guild treat its own people so badly?
The island trembled, and she clutched Reo’s arm to steady herself. That’s what Timo was doing—making sure Mage Guild couldn’t steal power from its people to fuel even worse atrocities against them.
She turned to help people down to the boats. The island shuddered again, and she closed her eyes for a second. Timo had promised to give them as much time as possible—but he’d also promised to follow them off the island. Could he keep both promises or would he be forced to choose one? Kara knew which one she wanted him to keep. She desperately wanted her brother safe and sound, living a happy life on Old Rillidi—or anywhere he wanted, really. But his only chance at that meant Mage Guild must be weakened or completely destroyed.
TIMO HUDDLED NEAR
the opening to the tunnel. Invisible, he’d been carefully filling the hole in, leaving just a narrow shaft that he could squeeze down if he needed. Or draw more power through. A thin stream of mage mist led to him and a pool of power lay just beneath the earth. He could actually
feel
it, almost as though it was calling to him. He hoped that was because he had unmagic—that he was the only one who could feel this pure source of power—and use it. Although it was possible it had been discovered—maybe by a minor Mage in a workroom—but been kept a secret. Or did a Mage have to be powerful already in order to use this pure power?
There was a shout and half a dozen guards ran through the park area, cutting through the bushes that surrounded the grassy area. One stumbled and fell, cursing. His curse turned into alarm when he realized he’d tripped over something. It was the barely visible Santos.
Timo settled onto the ground. Callub had said that the council Mage hadn’t been in a hurry, but he would come now. One guard headed back the way he’d come while his companions hurried towards the sound of the bells.
A shrub grew just a few feet from the entrance to the tunnel and Timo crawled over to it, taking deep breaths to calm his breathing. After a few moments he felt more stable, almost ready to face whichever council Mage would be arriving.
Footsteps pounded across the lawn and two guards ran up to where Santos’ body was still tucked into the hedge. One guard peered around the open space while the other reached around and found Santos.
“It’s a body,” the guard said over his shoulder. “Like I told you.”
“But whose?” a voice said. Then Jinaro stepped into view.
Timo sucked in a breath. The Mage stopped a few steps away from Santos’ body, warily eyeing his surroundings. A blanket of white mage mist ghosted around him. He flicked a wrist, and white mage mist covered Santos, and Timo’s spell faded until Santos was completely visible.
He knew! Jinaro knew about the pure power—he’d tapped into it already! Timo clenched his fists. There was no choice now, no more uncertainty—he had to destroy Mage Guild Island. Jinaro might not have shared his discovery but it was only a matter of time before someone like Inigo questioned his ability to create spells after Timo took away his magic.
“Santos Nimali,” Jinaro said. He stared at the body. “I suppose this means Inigo truly is Primus.”
“I don’t see any intruders,” said the guard as he scanned the area. “What should we do?”
“Take the body to Inigo,” Jinaro said. “He’ll want proof that his little trap worked.”
One of the guards gripped Santos’ arm and tugged him, still floating, towards the far end of the garden.
Jinaro stepped closer to the remaining guard.
“You and I will take another look around,” the Mage said. He flung a hand up, and a large mage light appeared. Jinaro moved a finger, and the light floated above them, lighting the dark night. At a signal from the Mage, the light headed out into the garden. Jinaro and the guard followed.
Timo left the shelter of the shrub. He might be invisible, but the branches disturbed by his body weren’t. He’d rather be out in the open anyway, in case he had to run. Silently he trailed Jinaro as he searched the garden. The Mage and guard passed a small building. Timo was still a few steps away from it when he felt the tug of pure power. A tendril reached out towards Jinaro, who paused and took a deep breath. The wisp of mage mist was absorbed by the Mage, who smiled and continued after the guard.
Did Jinaro even know where his power came from?
Timo skirted the building, pushing the mage mist away from him. He certainly knew he had the use of magic—he’d created the mage light.
Suddenly the bells stopped ringing.
“Finally,” Jinaro said. “Now I can think. What was that, a signal?”
“Warning bell,” the guard replied. “The call to leave the island.”
“Ah, very devious,” Jinaro said. “Trying to get the workroom Mages to leave their posts.” He turned to the guard. “See that whoever rang the bell is taken to Inigo.”
“Yes, Master Mage.” The guard nodded and headed off across the park.
“They wanted me to be without all the lovely magic,” Jinaro said to himself. Then he giggled.
Timo closed his eyes, and his shoulders drooped. The Mage
did
know where the power came from. But had he shared his secret?
Jinaro flung a hand up, and the mage light spun up into the sky. He chuckled and reeled it towards him and continued to search.
Jinaro was a few steps away from the hole in the ground when he stopped. A smile split his face, and Timo knew that he could feel the power just below the surface.
“Here’s where you came out,” Jinaro muttered. He knelt on the grass and swept a hand out in front of him. Dirt and small pebbles, hidden by Timo’s invisibility spell, skittered under the Mage’s hand. He swept the ground again, and a stream of power snaked through the small hole left in the earth and headed for Jinaro.
Timo moved a little closer, pushing the power down into the ground. Jinaro frowned and held his hand out. Even the pure power that enveloped Timo strained towards the Mage. Timo clamped down on it, hard.
How was he doing that? Drawing the power to him?
Timo took a step back and the pull from Jinaro decreased.