The Unmage (14 page)

Mole joined them. Now that they were out of it, Kara was the only one who could see the boat. She grabbed the rope attached to the bow and secured it to the dock.

“All right,” she said.

Reo headed up the stairs, Santos trailing him. Mole stood on the dock, scanning the area below the island. Kara touched his shoulder, and he twitched.

“Sorry,” she whispered. “Just going past.”

Mole nodded, his lip curled in a half-smile as she squeezed by him. When she reached the bottom stair, a slight breeze ruffled her skirt.

“They’re in,” she called to Mole. He nodded and took a step toward her.

“Three minutes,” Mole whispered. “Then we’ll follow them.”

Kara tried to relax while Reo and Santos made sure Rorik’s house was unoccupied. Worried that entering the house could trigger a spell, Kara had wanted to go with them, but she’d been outvoted. Santos didn’t think there was danger—it was possible Servers were still around so any spell they triggered would likely only notify the Mage who had set it, not attack someone entering. Once they were sure no one was there, then Kara would clear away any spells.

A small ball of grass green mage mist flew down the stairs and hovered in front of her for a moment before disappearing.

“There’s the signal,” Kara said. She touched Mole’s shoulder and headed up the stairs.

A mage light floated at the top, illuminating Reo.

“House is clear of people,” Reo said when she reached him.

“All right.” Kara edged past him and into a small vestibule. “I’ll take a look.”

She didn’t come across any spells as she wandered through the rooms, but there were traces of mage mist. Mostly tan—Rorik’s colour—and a few traces of her mother’s purple.

She opened a door. This must be Timo’s room. Mauve mist blanketed the walls, floor, and ceiling. She smiled at finally discovering the colour of his mage mist. Her smile faltered. He’d been worried enough that he’d barricaded his room with magic. She wished she’d realized earlier just how dangerous his life had become. She would have insisted Mole drag him out of here whether he wanted to leave or not.

She sighed and trailed a hand along the desk. She might have kept him safe, but she would have taken away his choice. He might not have appreciated that. She wouldn’t have.

She left the room and headed down a short hallway to one last closed door.

It was a workroom—most likely Rorik’s. Books littered the floor, and a chair was overturned. Tan mist covered every surface but traces of gold mage mist clung to the overturned chair. Kara moved to get a closer look.

Two years ago she’d removed a curse of this same colour from Rorik. She’d look for this Mage. Whoever he was, he had not been a friend of Rorik’s. She looked around the room. There was no more of the gold mist but there—at the top of the book case. She closed her eyes. The mist was still there when she opened them. She didn’t have to get closer to know that was Valerio Valendi’s mage mist. Now that she knew it was there she could feel the malevolence of it. She shivered and left the room to find the others.

“MOLE’S NOT BACK
yet?” Kara asked. Reo and Santos were in the parlour of Rorik’s home. They were no longer invisible so Kara swept the spell off her as well. Santos would need to replace it in order for them to get safely to Founders Day.

“Not yet,” Reo replied.

Kara nodded and sat down beside her husband. Mole was going to track down his contacts to see if any of them had information about Timo. Not only did Kara want to know if he was safe—they needed to have as much information as they could before they met with her mother.

She turned to Reo. “Should we be worried?” Just as she said that there were sounds from the hallway.

A moment later, Mole stuck his head into the room.

“Kara, come to the kitchen,” he said, then disappeared.

Kara met Reo’s gaze. He shrugged.

“It’s Mole,” was all he said.

The door to the kitchen was closed, and Kara knocked softly before entering the room.

Facing the door, Mole leant against a long table. A middle-aged woman with short dark hair sat beside him. When the woman looked up at Kara, surprise flitted across her face.

“I thought Annya should meet you,” Mole said.

“Annya. My name is Kara Fonti. You’re my mother’s—Arabella Fonti’s Server, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Donna,” Annya said. “I mean, I am Arabella Fonti’s Server. You look like her so it must be true, but I didn’t know she had a daughter.”

“She prefers not to acknowledge me,” Kara said. She shook her head. “I cannot help her rise in the Guild.”

Annya pursed her lips. “Yes, that would be like Donna Fonti.”

“Do you know where my brother is?” Kara asked. “I understand he’s staying with our mother.”

“No, Donna Fonti,” Annya said. “He left the day Rorik died.”

“She helped him,” Mole said. “He took a ferry disguised as a Server.”

“Thank Gyda,” Kara said. Timo was off Mage Guild Island. That meant he was still alive. “The day Rorik died?”

“Yes, Donna,” Annya said.

“Thank you for helping my brother.” Kara met the other woman’s gaze. “In return we will help you if you want to leave Mage Guild Island.”

Annya’s shoulders slumped, and she sighed. “I will accept.”

“I’ll take care of her,” Mole said. “Let Santos know that Inigo and your mother are now allies.”

Startled, Kara looked at Annya. The Server nodded.

“That is why I will go,” she said. “I have been in Donna Fonti’s household for years but now that she is allied with Master Mage Inigo, I fear for my life.”

“He has a very bad reputation among Servers,” Mole said. “Come Annya, let’s get you off this polluted rock.” He turned to Kara. “Give me half an hour.”

Kara headed to the parlor.

“We’ll be late for Founders Day,” she said when she entered the room. “Mole has another errand.” She sat down on the settee. “And I have news. Timo is not on Mage Guild Island and my mother is allied with Inigo.”

“Hmm.” Santos nodded. “Interesting.”

“More like unbelievable,” Reo said. “According to Mole, Arabella and Inigo are enemies. What’s changed?”

“Nothing,” Kara said. “They are using each other to go after another target.”

“Us,” Reo said. “That’s why Santos has been invited tonight. Arabella hasn’t been able to kill us on Old Rillidi.”

“So she enticed us to leave it,” Santos replied. “Well, we didn’t think this would be easy.”

“No,” Kara replied. “At least Timo is safe. We only need to worry about the four of us surviving.”

“I think it’s the other way around,” Santos said. He stretched out a hand. He closed it into a fist and mage mist pulsed. “They need to be worried about surviving the four of us.”

TIMO OPENED THE
door to his room and sighed with relief as he stepped inside and pushed the door closed. It was his last night here, the last night he could afford a safe place to sleep.

“Do not make a move,” a voice said from the darkness.

Timo sucked in a breath and spread his arms wide, his palms facing up. He readied a spell and mage mist illuminated his hands.

“Don’t try it,” the voice said. “I’ll kill you if you use magic. Now turn around.”

They knew he was a Mage. He let the spell swell as he turned around.

“Release that spell and you’re dead,” the voice said. “I mean it. Now light the lamp.” Timo raised his hand to light it with magic but a harsh “No,” stopped him.

“Use the flint.”

The only light was the one his mage mist cast. How had the intruder known he had a spell ready? Or that he was going to light the lamp magically?

Nervously, Timo headed towards the small table. The oil lamp and flint were clearly lit by mage mist. It took a few tries but eventually he got the lamp lit.

“You magic users,” the voice said. “Can’t even do simple tasks.”

The glare from the lamp made Timo blink so it was a moment before he could clearly see the Seyoyan who was speaking.

“What do you want from me?” Timo asked.

The Seyoyan perched casually on the bed, a knife balanced in one hand.

“I told you that we could help each other,” the Seyoyan said. He eased off the bed in a single motion, an echo of how Mole moved. “At least
you
will help
me
.”

“Why should I?”

“Because otherwise I will take you to a bridge and hand you over to the Warriors and Mages who are looking for you.” The Seyoyan stepped close to Timo, staring into his eyes, the knife pointed at Timo’s chest. “You don’t want that, do you?”

Timo stared at the Seyoyan for a few more moments, but he saw nothing but determination in his face. “No,” Timo said. “I don’t want that.”

“Good.” The Seyoyan took a step back but kept the point of the knife trained on Timo’s chest. “And as I said, I can help you as well. You want off Arts Guild Island without going past the Warriors, and I have a boat. Once you’ve helped me, I can take you anywhere you want to go.” The Seyoyan grinned. “I can even arrange for passage on a ship to somewhere other than Tregella, if you desire. Do we have an agreement?”

“All right,” Timo said. “But I’m not sure I can help you.”

“I am sure you can,” the Seyoyan said. “You are a Mage, yes?”

“I’m a Mage Apprentice,” Timo said. “I have not yet completed my training.” He looked down at the knife and then up to the Seyoyan. “I will not use magic on you.”

The Seyoyan laughed and let the knife drop to his side. He sat down on the edge of the bed. “I would see it coming if you did.”

“You would see it coming,” Timo repeated, trying to sound surprised. He’d thought the man had seen something in the square. Did he know Timo could see magic too?

“Yes,” the Seyoyan said. He leaned back on the bed and casually waved the knife in the air above him. “It is a trait some Seyoyans have. It’s very useful.”

“Yes, it would be,” Timo agreed. “I’ve never heard that Seyoyans could do that.” Timo leaned against the wall. Should he tell this Seyoyan that he knew Reo? That Kara Fonti was his sister? Would he help him?

“You wouldn’t,” the Seyoyan said. He grinned again, and Timo realized that he wasn’t much older than he was. “We’ve worked hard at keeping this knowledge secret.” The smile on his face faltered, and when he spoke again the determination was back. “Which is why I need your help. Someone must have uncovered the secret and now my younger brother has been taken.”

“And you want my help finding him,” Timo said. “Magical help.” He nodded. Finding someone was relatively easy—he just needed something that he owned. Or a blood relative.

“I
know
where he is,” the Seyoyan said. “I need your magical help in freeing him.”

“All right,” Timo said. “I can be of help in that as well.”

“Yes,” the Seyoyan smiled again. “You can. But we need to leave now, tonight. It’s our best chance of getting to him without being noticed.”

“Now?” Timo asked. “Where is your brother being held, and why must we go tonight?” Even as he asked the question, Timo knew what the answer would be. And by the look on the Seyoyan’s face there was no chance Timo could talk him out of going. Or not making Timo go with him. If he
was
willing to help Timo find Kara and Reo it wouldn’t be until his brother was safe.

“Mage Guild Island,” the Seyoyan said. “We can slip in while they are celebrating Founders Day.” The Seyoyan sat up, aware now of Timo’s distress. “Do not worry. I know you have no wish to be noticed by Mages. I assure you that neither do I. You will protect us magically, and I will protect us from physical threats. It’s a perfect combination.”

“YOU NEVER TOLD
me your name,” Timo said. The Seyoyan’s small boat cut through the water silently, its dark sail blotting out the view of Gyda, the guiding star. “I should know who I might die helping.”

“I am called Yash Samma,” the Seyoyan said. “And my brother is Wuls. And we are not going to die, at least not tonight.”

“And I am Timo,” Timo said. He wished he had Yash’s confidence, but he was only partly trained, and he knew what Mages were capable of. “Do you know where your brother is being held?”

“Yes,” Yash replied. “He is being held by a Mage called Inigo.”

“The head of Mage Council,” Timo said softly.

“You know him.”

“I know him,” Timo said. Should he tell Yash Samma that he was sailing with one of Inigo’s enemies? Would it matter?

“Good. So you’ll be able to counter the spells he has created,” Yash said. He sounded confident even though he was talking about an Apprentice besting the head of the Mage Council.

“I’m not sure I can,” Timo said. He hadn’t been able to disable the curse Inigo had put on Rorik, so there was no reason to think he’d have better luck with spells Inigo had set up to protect his home.