Lisa Shearin - Raine Benares 02 (24 page)

I
held up a hand. “We know that and so do Mychael and the archmagus.” I
hesitated. “The law doesn’t care what we know; it only recognizes what can be
proven.”

Piaras
sat back down on my bed. “But we didn’t do anything wrong.”

“No,
we didn’t. But the law can see things differently. A lot of what was said in
that room about me was the truth. I did trick Sarad Nukpana into touching the
Saghred, knowing full well that the stone would take him as a sacrifice. I am a
Benares. I do know Tam—though I wouldn’t exactly call our relationship
‘intimate,’ at least not in the strictly physical sense of the word. I am
linked to the Saghred, though contrary to popular belief, I haven’t gone off
the deep end.” I paused, mostly for air. “My point is, the truth and the law
can be used against you—even if you didn’t do what you’ve been accused of.”

Piaras’s
eyes were solemn and calm as he sat looking at me. “You said you wanted to ask
me something. You haven’t done that yet.”

I
muttered the rarely used word again, this time to myself.

“All
of this will probably work out,” I told him. “You’ll go to school; I’ll get rid
of my link to the Saghred; our lives will go on as planned. But there is a
possibility that Mychael and Justinius won’t be able to keep the Khrynsani or
elven intelligence from using the law against us. If that’s the case . . .
well, some very bad things could happen.”

“We’d
be locked up.”

“For
starters. I can use the Saghred. You’re probably the most powerful spellsinger
since Mychael or Ronan Cayle. People like the Khrynsani or the agency like to
have powerful weapons like us.”

“I
would never be anyone’s weapon,” Piaras said vehemently.

“Sometimes
no one asks you what you want . . . and persuasion can take many forms.” I
stopped and just looked at him. He’d done a lot of growing up in the past two
weeks, and it’d all been my fault.

“I’m
sorry,” I said.

“For
what?”

“For
getting you into all of this. You’re in some serious danger and it’s all my
fault.”

“No,
it is not your fault.” His dark eyes met mine unwaveringly. “You didn’t ask for
any of this, and you have tried from the very beginning to protect me.” He took
a deep breath and carefully let it out. Any fear he was feeling was firmly
under control, and he was determined to keep it that way. “You said you had a
question. You still haven’t asked me anything.” His voice was quiet, but
resolute.

For a
few seconds the only sound was fire crackling in the fireplace.

“Do
you want to leave Mid?”

I
expected a stunned reaction from Piaras. He didn’t even bat an eye.

“Will
it be necessary?”

“Maybe
not. But it might reach that point. Soon.”

“How
soon?”

“Tonight.”

“But
if we’re convinced that the paladin and the archmagus can keep us safe—”

“Then
we will stay. I want to be rid of the Saghred.” I smiled a little. “And even
the best spellsinger in the world can still learn a few things at college.”

“How
would we leave?”

“I’ve
asked Phaelan to come here so we can work out the details. He should be here
anytime.”

“I
want to stay, but I won’t stay if that means being imprisoned for something I
didn’t do . . . and be used.”

“Me,
either.”

“If
we have to leave, how do we get out of the citadel?”

“We’ll
be going to the recital tonight. It’s closer to the part of the harbor—”

Piaras
blew his breath out and it almost sounded like a laugh. “The recital. I’ve
never sung for people who wanted to use me or lock me up.”

Or
both.

“Taltek
Balmorlan has heard you; he knows what you’re capable of,” I said. “I wouldn’t
be surprised to find out he was behind slashing the shields in the music room.
Anything you do tonight’s not going to make any difference to them.” I
hesitated. “Your gift is going to attract unwanted attention from people you’d
never want to meet.”

“The
same as you.”

I
frowned. “Exactly.”

“They’ve
already decided what they want to do with me—and with you.” Piaras’s voice was
solemn. “All they need now is an excuse to do it.”

“Pretty
much.”

Except
they didn’t need an excuse. The agency and the Khrynsani were like certain
members of my family. If they saw something they wanted, they didn’t ask; they
just took it.

Piaras
froze. “Raine, if we have to leave, who’ll find the kidnapped students?”

Crap.
I hadn’t thought of that. I hadn’t even tried to link with them today.

“Katelyn
said Megan has the most flawless soprano voice she’s ever heard,” Piaras said.

I
remembered something Carnades had said in the Scriptorium. Ailia Aurillac
studied mirror magic, alchemy—and spellsinging.

“Is
Ailia Aurillac one of Ronan’s students, too?” I asked.

Piaras
thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. But she could still be a spellsinger.
The college has an entire department for it. Maestro Cayle isn’t the only professor.
I’ll be taking a class with one of the other maestros next term.” He smiled
ruefully. “If I’m still here.”

I
wondered about the boy I’d seen in the room with Megan and Ailia. Was he a
spellsinger? I’d ask Mychael if Sedge Rinker had a missing-person name to go
with the description I’d given him.

Two
spellsingers in Banan Ryce’s possession could be a coincidence. Three
spellsingers was a collection.

If I
wouldn’t be here to find those students, I’d do everything to make sure Sedge
Rinker could.

I
went over to my bed and slipped my hand under the mattress until I felt the bag
with the hairbrush and locket. The last time I’d linked with Ailia I hadn’t
been able to see any more of their surroundings than I had before. I took out
the cloth bundle with Megan’s hairbrush and unwrapped it.

“Is
that Megan’s?” Piaras asked.

“Yes,
it is.” I sat in one of the chairs by the fireplace and held the brush in both
hands. The link took longer to establish than it had before. Maybe Banan had
strengthened the wards around them or . . . The connection came, sharp and
clear.

The
students had been moved. And I could see where they were.

They
weren’t in a room. They were in a cell, and the walls were solid rock. This
wasn’t anywhere in the city—it was under the city. I clutched the brush harder.
Now we were getting somewhere.

There
was still only Megan, Ailia, and the boy. Banan hadn’t kidnapped any more
students, or if he had, I couldn’t see them through Megan’s eyes. The bars of
their cell weren’t rounded as they were in more modern cells; these were flat
pieces of iron overlapping each other to form squares. These cells were old,
but apparently still in working order. They didn’t make them like that anymore.
Their age should make where they were easier to find. Megan and the boy were
holding hands. He was protective of her, but Megan looked like she needed it
less than she had before. Good. Ailia was pacing.

The
light was good enough for Megan to see outside the cell. There were two
Nightshade guards, and there was another cell across from theirs. A cell block.
That should be even easier to pinpoint. I broke the contact.

Mychael
needed to know what I’d seen.

Vegard
and Riston were on guard duty outside my newly replaced door.

“I
need to see the paladin,” I told Vegard.

“He’s
not here, ma’am.” He paused uncomfortably. “He and the archmagus had to go to
the elven embassy.”

My
stomach tried to do a flip. Taltek Balmorlan just wouldn’t give up. If Mychael
and Justinius had to go to the elven embassy in person, then the old man was probably
playing the last card in his hand. I hoped for my and Piaras’s sakes that it
was a good one.

I
took a breath and stood straighter. “Fine. Then I need to get a message to
Sedge Rinker—directly to him, no one else. Can you arrange that for me?”

“I can,”
Vegard said.

“Good.
I’ll just need a pen and some paper. And have the messenger wait for a
response. I need to know if Rinker has the name of the boy who was taken
yesterday. I also need to know if he’s a spellsinger. The two kidnapped girls
are spellsingers.”

Vegard
stood motionless. “Are you certain?”

“Positive.”
I smiled in grim satisfaction. “But if your chief watcher knows this island as
well as he should, he could be on the verge of finding them all.”

Vegard
left to deliver my note to a Guardian courier; he came back
accompanied by a swaggering vision in scarlet.

Phaelan
was wearing his on-shore-leave-and-getting-laid clothes. His doublet was
scarlet buckskin with matching breeches topped with high, black leather boots.
At his side was his favorite swept-hilt rapier, and a single ruby earring
gleamed in the lobe of one elegantly pointed ear.

I
looked him up and down. “Going out this evening?”

“Absolutely.
With you and Piaras.”

“You’re
going to the recital.” Piaras’s relieved smile was like the sun coming out.

Phaelan
nodded. “I thought I’d sample Mid’s cultural riches.”

I
raised a brow. “And?”

“And
what?”

“You
hate mages, you barely tolerate academics, and you told me once that highborn
elves give you a rash.”

“I’m
prepared to deal with the discomfort to ensure the safety of my family. That
includes you, too,” he told Piaras.

“Thank
you,” Piaras said earnestly.

“Don’t
mention it.”

I
approved of family-ensured safety. The Guardians would arrest first, ask
questions later. Phaelan would kill first, no questions asked.

“I’ve
told Piaras what we might have to do tonight,” I said.

Phaelan
nodded. “I know you don’t like it, kid. But trust me—the view’s a lot better
from outside cell bars. I speak from experience.”

“I
don’t want that experience,” Piaras said.

My
cousin grinned wolfishly. “That’s why I’m here. And that’s why I’m going to the
recital. Aside from my incomparable bodyguard services, there’s the
entertainment value of rich people clutching their jewels when I walk through
the door. You just can’t buy that kind of fun.”

“We
want you there,” I told him. “The question is, will Mychael let you?”

“My
presence is paladin approved.”

I
snorted. “Since when?”

Phaelan’s
grin vanished. “Since I told him there was no way in hell the two of you were
going into that hornet’s nest without me.”

“Thank
you.” And I meant it.

His
dark eyes were as serious as I’d ever seen them. “That’s what family is for.”
Then the rogue was back. “That and jailbreaks. Speaking of which, Tanik Ozal is
in port.”

I
swore silently. Next to our family, the Ozals were the second-most-notorious
criminal family in the seven kingdoms. What Tanik Ozal was doing here boded no
good for local law enforcement or anyone else. Anything he and Phaelan tried to
pull would come back to splatter on me. After today, I wasn’t in the mood to be
splattered.

“Phaelan,”
I said in warning.

My
cousin raised his hands defensively. “We’re not up to anything. Tanik wants to
help.”

An
Ozal promising help was like a shark promising not to eat you.

“Tanik’s
here to bring his son back to school,” Phaelan continued. “I told him about the
two of you getting hung out to dry, and he wants to help in any way he can.”
Phaelan’s grin was cheerfully evil. “And he said if it involves blowing
anything up, all the better. But for starters, I’ve asked him to keep an eye on
his neighbors. He’s docked in a prime slip; Mal’Salin and Khrynsani craft on
one side, and that elven intelligence agent’s yacht on the other. And if you
buy a lot of drinks for some of Balmorlan’s crew, you find out all sorts of
fascinating things, like their captain’s told them to be ready to leave fast.
They even have a pair of weather wizards on board to help it happen.”

I
swore.

“Yeah,
I thought it was interesting, too. And the Khrynsani ship has her bow pointed
toward open water. Tanik said they had to do a lot of maneuvering to get her
that way. Anyway, Tanik says he’ll keep watch for us.”

“Thank
him for me,” I said.

“I
already have. And if we do this thing, you’ll get a chance to thank him
yourself.”

I
frowned. “Phaelan, no. Absolutely no.”

“Cousin,
if we want to leave this island, it’s not going to be on the
Fortune
.
Stealth is called for, and the paladin has got my lady wrapped in cloaking
spells, and a few other things my men discovered when they tried to raise
anchor. Key word there is ‘tried.’ ”