His mother’s smile chilled him.
“Then you are truly your father’s son,” Arabella said. “Because you used Barra and Hestor though all they wanted to do was help. Poor Barra. With this type of indiscretion it will be hard for her to find anyone willing to take her on as Journeyman, when the time comes. And it certainly won’t be me.” She glanced over her shoulder at Rorik. “Hestor could find himself placed in a small villa somewhere. Perhaps in the dung heap that I was born in.” Arabella swept out of the room, followed by Rorik.
Timo stared after them. With a wave of his hand, he sent mage mist flying towards the door. It slammed shut with a satisfyingly loud thud, and he flicked his hand again, letting the spell trace the door and lock it from the inside.
Let his mother and Rorik try to get through that spell, he thought. He was much more powerful than either of them even suspected. Then his fury drained away, and he had to place his hands flat on the desk to stop them from shaking.
Less than two years. That was all he had to wait before he could make his own decisions. Not even the Primus and Secundus of Mage Guild could circumvent the Guild Law that said that at sixteen, with talent, he was an adult. Let Rorik claim he wasn’t ready to be a Journeyman. That would only matter if he stayed here. He would have to trust that his sister—the only person who’d told him the truth about the death of his father—meant it when she’d said he was welcome. And he would have to trust that Santos really did want to teach him.
He sighed. He hadn’t meant to get Barra into trouble but he hadn’t worried about it either. Did that make him like his father, as his mother suggested? He didn’t think so. He was stupid and Barra had paid a high price, might even pay a high price for the rest of her life, but he hadn’t done it on purpose. He’d try to explain it to her. He doubted she’d give him a chance, but he would try. He doubted anyone would speak to him now. But it wasn’t as though any of the other Apprentices had been particularly friendly before this.
Timo leaned over his desk and flipped to the last page in his notebook. Ever since he’d met
her
, his sister, he’d been trying to work with his unmagic. When she’d described her talent, she’d said that she could tell if spells were benign or malevolent—and he’d seen her remove the curses from Rorik. Ever since, he’d been trying to teach himself how to do the same. Most of the time, he could remove small spells, and he’d had a few successes distinguishing between harmless and malevolent spells. But now he
needed
to be able to use his unmagic.
Barra wouldn’t be a threat, but Hestor? If he lost standing with Inigo, he would retaliate. Some Journeymen liked to humiliate Apprentices. They would set magical traps—pranks—that had no true ill will and caused no real harm. In order to keep his unmagic a secret, Timo had to walk into these traps. But Hestor might try to really hurt him. Would he try to kill him? At least if he could tell which spells were malicious, he could avoid them. He wanted to live long enough to make his own choice.
“
ARABELLA, YOU CANNOT
say anything.” Rorik softly closed the door to his workroom and sat across his worktable from her.
“Of course I can,” she replied. “I want to make certain that no one else helps Timo disobey me.”
“He won’t ask anyone else,” Rorik replied. “The boy has no friends and now will have few—if any—allies. Humiliating Barra, and particularly Hestor, could have serious consequences.”
“Like what? Will they make him trip or spill ink? I lived through worse.” Much worse—and it had made her work even harder in order to become someone they wouldn’t dare humiliate. It would do the same for Timo.
“Do you forget who Barra and Hestor call Master?” Rorik asked. “Inigo will use any means to hurt you, including allowing his Apprentice and Journeyman to harm Timo.”
“He wouldn’t dare,” Arabella said. “It’s against Guild Law to deliberately hurt a student. He would risk his own position if it was proved.”
“But it would have to be proved,” Rorik replied. “And Hestor might be willing to take the blame. In the meantime, Timo would be hurt. Or worse.”
“Rorik, I think you are making far too much of this,” Arabella said. “Timo’s life will not be in danger. He’ll have to deal with a few bruises and some shame, that’s all. Nothing he doesn’t deserve after going against my explicit direction.”
“I hope you’re right,” Rorik said. “I believe Inigo will do almost anything to get what he wants. He cursed me, after all.”
“So says the non-Mage I gave birth to.” She didn’t believe any curses were removed from Rorik despite what he thought. Kara Fonti had put on a good show but
she
hadn’t been fooled.
“I believe her,” Rorik said. “She made a difference to how I feel and think.”
“I know you believe that,” Arabella said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s true.”
“I am worried about Timo,” Rorik continued. “Perhaps I should have accepted another Apprentice or Journeyman. They would have offered the boy some protection.”
“More likely they would have helped him break more rules,” Arabella said. “It would have been more difficult for me—
for us
—to manage him.”
“Making this public will make things even more difficult and dangerous for him.”
“A few pranks will be played on him and in a few weeks it will be forgotten.” Arabella stood to leave. She had some reports to read before the next council meeting.
“If you’re wrong?”
“I am not wrong,” she replied.
“But if you are?” Rorik paused. “You might want to consider Santos Nimali’s offer to train Timo. He would be safe with them, you know it.”
“What?” Arabella couldn’t believe it. “Are you suggesting that I send Timo to Old Rillidi? Never! Timo will be
my
Journeyman,
not
the mad mage’s. You will not suggest that ever again. Not to me and especially not to my son. Are we clear?”
She glared at Rorik until he nodded his head and looked away. How dare he make such a suggestion! He
knew
what she wanted for her son. Had the girl somehow meddled with his mind? Was that what she’d done when she claimed to be helping him?
She wrenched the door open and strode out into the hallway. Rorik was investing far too much importance into this one small lesson she was giving her son. He would see—Timo would suffer wounded pride along with a few bruises, and in a few weeks all would be forgotten.
“
THEY’VE REFUSED OUR
request again, of course,” Santos said.
Even though she’d expected it, Kara’s shoulders slumped in disappointment. She, Santos, and Reo were in Santos’ study. A mage light hovered overhead, softly lighting the cluttered desk they sat at.
Reo reached over and grasped her hand, squeezing it gently. Kara closed her eyes for a moment and sighed.
“Nothing we weren’t expecting,” she said. “Gyda even knows why they let us visit Timo two months ago.”
“Because Arabella thought only Santos was coming,” Reo said. “And despite what she would like to think, even she can’t ignore a request from the true Mage Guild Primus indefinitely. My sources are limited but so far there is no indication that our visit has caused either Rorik or Arabella any political problems.” He paused. “At least no more than usual.”
“Inigo?” Santos asked.
Reo nodded.
The Mage pursed his lips. “I barely knew him. He was just an Apprentice when I was Primus, and because he didn’t have an extraordinary talent, he was never brought to my attention.”
“I’d say his talent is political manipulation,” Reo said. “From what I’ve been able to learn, he controls the council. I wish I knew what was going on inside those doors.”
“I wish I knew what was going on with Timo,” Kara said. “Although he’s apprenticed to the Primus, he appears to have only minor magical abilities. And he can see spells but tried to conceal it. He didn’t want anyone to know.”
“I still think Rorik and Arabella are hiding his true abilities, including his ability with unmagic,” Reo said. “Why else would he be the only Apprentice to the Primus and the Secundus has neither Apprentice nor Journeyman? Nothing else makes sense.”
“No,” Kara shook her head. “If Rorik could have had Timo remove those curses he would have.” She shuddered. “One was almost as bad as the curse Valerio put on Santos—the one that almost killed him when I tried to remove it.”
“I have to agree with Kara,” Santos said finally. “If Rorik knew Timo could see spells, he would have known he had been cursed, even if the boy couldn’t remove them. Rorik doesn’t know Timo has unmagic. Which means Arabella doesn’t know either.”
“Why not?” Kara asked. “Timo knows.”
“Maybe he’s been hiding it,” Reo said. “Or maybe, like you, he didn’t know what he was seeing.”
“He knows now,” Santos said. “I do think it safer if he keeps it a secret.”
“I don’t think he’ll tell Arabella,” Kara said. “He didn’t seem very happy with her.”
“She and Rorik have kept a lot from him,” Santos said. “Maybe Timo’s retaliating by keeping secrets from them?”
“He is fourteen,” Reo said. “A rebellious age. If no one finds out about his unmagic, he should be safe enough until he turns sixteen.”
“Yes,” Kara said. She ran a hand through her long dark hair. “I just wish we knew that he
was
safe.”
DISTRACTED, KARA LET
Reo lead her through the manor house to the kitchen to gather their children, Lisha and Nando, before heading home to the cabin.
Reo teased her about collecting people, surrounding herself with those who felt like family, but when it came down to it she couldn’t protect Timo, her own flesh and blood.
Reo stopped so abruptly that Kara bumped into him.
“You can come out now, Mole,” Reo said. “I know you’re there. You’ve been spying on us all evening.”
Mole stepped out from a shadow and grinned. “What gave me away?”
“Nothing obvious,” Reo said. “But I am the one who taught you.”
Mole shook his head and shrugged. “The clammers are here.”
“How long?” Kara asked. “Have they been here the whole time we were with Santos?”
“Close,” Mole said. “Pilo sent me to fetch you.”
“She’ll be furious,” Kara said. Pilo hated the clammers. She made them stay outside rain or sun until Kara dealt with them. She glared at Mole. “You left her alone with them so you could spy on us?”
“You were having an interesting conversation,” was all Mole said. He shrugged again and headed in the opposite direction.
Kara paused. Mole wouldn’t tell anyone what he’d heard. As a boy he’d never talked much. Then he’d spent hours following Reo around, soaking up everything he was willing to teach him. But Assassins needed to be able to talk—to lie—convincingly, which took practice. So Mole learned that as well.
He wasn’t a true Assassin since he wasn’t Guild, but he’d had all the training, as well as a few Guild commissions. They could put his training to use.
Reo tugged her forward. “Let’s deal with the clammers so we can go home,” he said.
Kara gripped his hand and nodded, following him to the kitchen. Later she’d talk to Reo about sending Mole to watch over Timo. But first, the clammers.
“They’re all here?” Kara asked.
“Mole says yes,” Pilo replied. Her fists were clenched as she stared out the kitchen window with narrowed eyes.
“Good,” Kara said. She only wanted to do this once. She followed Pilo’s gaze to the group of dirty men and women sprawled on the back lawn. Getting even this close to the clammers made her skin crawl. “You stay here with the children.” She smiled at four-year-old Lisha and six-year-old Nando. “Reo and I will handle this.”
Reo nodded before preceding her out the door and into the garden. Kara shivered when she stepped outside, despite the warm evening.
Over twenty pairs of eyes turned towards her all at the same time, and Kara shivered again. The clammers, with matted hair and clothed in filthy rags, all sat up a little straighter. Kara felt Reo’s hand on her shoulder, and she took a deep breath.
This was one of her least favourite tasks. Every six months the clammers came for her help, and she gave it willingly with the understanding that they would stay on their part of the island and not harm anyone who stumbled into their midst. But it still made her skin twitch.
“It’s time,” one of the clammers said.
Kara nodded. She wasn’t sure if the man who was their leader was one of the clammers who’d captured the docks all those years ago. She thought it might be, but if she dwelt on the past, on the terror of their escape from the clammers, she might not be able to do what she needed to do.
She straightened up and lifted her head. “I’m ready.” Kara took a deep breath and raised her hands towards the group then
pulled
at the magic with all her might. Slowly at first and then faster and faster, wisps of mage mist were drawn out of the clammers until streams of multi-coloured mist circled the lawn. Once all the magic had been drawn from the clammers, Kara concentrated on dissolving the mist. Soon there was nothing left but a blank patch of grass.