by Jasmine Walt
Over the protestations of the doctor, Annia led me back to my quarters, flagging down a servant to bring me food along the way. Stretched out on the couch, I devoured a huge platter of chicken wings, followed by a small mountain of pork ribs, and filled Annia in on Director Toring and his mission to find Thorgana. I also told her about his history with Fenris, and that he’d been a hand’s breath away from making an arrest before the accident today at the school. My entire body seemed to ache with grief as I retold the circumstances of Fenris’s death, and how I’d passed out while trying to unearth his body, but I didn’t cry this time. My eyes burned, but my tear ducts had nothing left to give.
“I’m so sorry, Naya,” Annia said, tears in her own eyes. She scooted closer to me on the couch, then put my head in her lap so she could stroke my hair. “I can’t believe he’s gone. I wish I’d gotten here sooner, so I could have seen him one more time. I wasn’t close with him like you were, but we did go through our own adventures together while rescuing Iannis, and in Osero.”
We sat in silence for a long moment, simply relishing each other’s company. Despite the restlessness I could sense in Annia, and the shadows in her eyes, I could tell she was happy to be back home again. Even if home had somehow turned into hell.
The door banged open, and Iannis rushed in, still soot-stained and disheveled. From the way his hair was flying about him, and the flush in his cheeks, I could tell he’d used his super speed to get here.
“What happened?” he demanded, kneeling by my side. His worried gaze searched my face as he felt my forehead. “Are you all right? Why aren’t you in the infirmary?”
“I’m a lot better,” I said, taking his face into my hands to get his attention. “My magic is back.”
Iannis went completely still, and I could feel his magic probe me, much more gently than that damned doctor. “How is that possible?” he asked, wonder in his voice. “You should have been out for days.”
“I’ll explain later,” I said, pushing myself upright. “We have more important things to worry about.”
“Indeed,” Iannis agreed. He sat down on the couch next to me. “I gave orders to cordon off the ruins of the Mendle Mansion, and to set up wards so that no mages or shifters can come near it. Why do you suspect the Magic Eraser is in there?”
The door flew open again, and Director Chen and Garrett hurried in. “Where is Thorgana?” Garrett demanded, his eyes bright and hard. He looked around the room, as if expecting her to materialize in my suite.
“I don’t know,” I said. “She could be dead, or she might have escaped when the mansion collapsed. But I’m pretty sure she’s been staying with the Mendles. Don’t you remember how sick the butler was when we came to visit, and how the wife was sick, too?”
“Yes.” Garrett frowned, taking a seat along with the others. “But what does that have to do with the Magic Eraser? They were humans.”
“Father Calmias said that the team developing the Magic Killer all died from some mysterious illness,” I reminded him. “What if the Magic Eraser isn’t just harmful to mages? What if it emits something deadly that gradually kills humans? Thorgana might have brought it into the Mendle household unaware of its effect, and ended up slowly poisoning them with it.”
“That would be quite ironic,” Director Chen said, “as terrible as that sounds.”
“And quite problematic, too,” Iannis said. “If neither humans, shifters, or mages can get near it, how are we to safely dispose of it?”
“I think humans can get near it,” Annia said, drawing all eyes to her. “They can probably risk small amounts of exposure without being affected too badly. I ran across a primitive tribe in Southia with a similar object,” she explained when Garrett looked like he was about to argue. “The tribe kept it in a sacred cave far away from the village, and the men they set to guard it watched it from a distance. They would bring it out only if they were attacked by another shaman, which was very infrequent as they’d developed quite a reputation. I managed to get into the cave and have a look at the object—it was about the size of a melon, and metallic looking. Absolutely nothing grew in or around that cave. Nothing,” she repeated gravely.
We all fell silent for a moment. I wondered if it had been Garalina, rather than Annia, who’d had this experience. Did that mean her kind of magic was safe from the stone’s effects, or just that she had not lingered long enough? How long ago had that been, and could it be the very same stone?
“And you experienced no adverse effects?” Iannis asked.
Annia shook her head. “No, but the object did give me a very bad feeling. I don’t think anyone should remain around the Magic Eraser for long, but a team of humans should be able to go in and get it out. I volunteer to lead it.”
“Very well,” Garrett said. “But since this concerns the Benefactor, I shall supervise.”
Iannis’s eyes flickered with annoyance, but he didn’t object—this was Garrett’s mission. He turned to Director Chen. “Can you find out if any of the Mendles survived, or if a woman matching Thorgana’s description has been seen in any of the shelter or hospital tents?”
“Yes.” Director Chen rose from her seat. “I will get on that immediately.”
“Good,” Iannis said. “Miss Melcott, go and pick a crew of five able-bodied humans you trust. They shall be well compensated. Director Toring and I will accompany you to the site, but keep at a respectable distance, to make sure that everything goes smoothly.”
“I’m coming, too,” I said, rising from my seat, but Iannis pressed a hand against my thigh, pushing me back down with annoying ease.
“You will do no such thing,” he said sternly. “You’re still too weak from your latest near-death experience, and I don’t want you going anywhere near an object that could potentially destroy your magic, or your ability to shift.”
“I love you too much to let you put yourself in harm’s way so soon after losing Fenris,” he said to me in mind-speak, his mental voice raw. “Please, Sunaya. Do me this favor and stay home. I need you well rested for what’s ahead.”
I sighed, letting out the anger that had instantly bubbled up inside me. “Fine. But you all had better come back safe and sound. I can’t afford to lose you either,” I told him. “If you weren’t the Chief Mage, I’d tie you to the bed and never let you leave.”
“Under normal circumstances, I would be very excited about that prospect.” Iannis pulled me against him for a brief kiss. “Send word if you need anything or have any other ground-breaking epiphanies.”
“I will,” I said, leaning back against the couch. Annia and Garrett made their goodbyes, then left along with Iannis. I closed my eyes, hoping to calm the anxiety bouncing around my nerves. As soon as I did, exhaustion hit me. Guess I was more tired than I thought. Mercifully, I slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep. I had good friends I could trust, and for just this once, I would leave the rescuing to them.
19
A few hours later, I was woken by a phone call from Dira. She informed me that Mr. Mendle had been found, and Iannis wanted to know if I felt well enough to sit in on the interrogation. I was still a little tired, but the food and sleep had helped a lot, so I washed up and changed out of my hospital gown, then went down to the Mages Guild.
“They’re in the conference room, Miss Baine,” Dira said when I walked in.
“Thanks.” I headed down the hall, then knocked on the door.
“Come in,” Iannis called. I opened the door to see Mr. Mendle, a rotund, middle-aged man, sitting in cuffs on one side of the table. His fine clothes were torn and soot-stained, and I noticed that beneath the dirt, he was sporting a sallow complexion and thinning hair much like his butler had been. Iannis sat on the other side, dressed in fresh clothing, and Garrett stood in the corner. His face was ashen, and such potent fury blazed in his eyes as he glared at Mendle that I had no doubt he was the reason the man was sweating bullets in his chair.
“Pillick was found unconscious, not far f
rom the mansion,” Iannis explained in mindspeak as I shut the door behind me. “He was helping those other mages with the excavation, and he ended up affected as well.”
“Oh.” I struggled to keep my expression calm even as I felt a strong wave of pity for Garrett’s assistant. I hadn’t liked him, but he didn’t deserve this fate. “Hello, Mr. Mendle,” I said aloud, taking a seat next to Iannis. I put the emotion aside and focused on our suspect. “You’re looking much better than the rest of your family.”
Mr. Mendle’s stiffened. To my surprise, tears rolled down his round cheeks. “My family is dead, you callous girl,” he spat. “Crushed when the house collapsed. They were too ill to get out.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, and I did mean it. “I’m sure your wife and children didn’t deserve to die, just like many of the other citizens who were crushed by buildings today didn’t either.” My heart clenched at the thought of Fenris’s body, squashed beneath the weight of that elementary school, and I had to shove the image away before I was overwhelmed by emotion again. That school, too, had been built by the man before me. His criminal greed had contributed to Fenris’s death.
Mr. Mendle clenched his bound hands, but said nothing. What else was there to say when you knew you were responsible not only for the deaths of your fellow citizens, but your family as well?
“I understand that you were in your office during the quake?” Iannis asked, bringing us back on track. His face was expressionless, his tone businesslike. “Do you spend much time there?”
“Nearly all of it,” Mr. Mendle confirmed. “Running a successful business is very time consuming.”
“That explains why you’re not as sick as the rest of your family was,” I said.
Mr. Mendle glanced sharply at me. “What do you know about my family’s illness?”
“Director Toring and I passed by your home a few days ago to question you and your wife,” I said. “You were at the office, and Mrs. Mendle was too sick to receive us. Your butler looked ill too—exhibiting the same symptoms you are now. And I overheard you and your wife, at Captain Galling’s farewell reception, talking about the hair loss afflicting your whole family.” I leaned in closer when Mr. Mendle said nothing. “I know that you’ve been harboring Thorgana Mills in your home, Mr. Mendle, so don’t try to deny it. Did she bring a strange object into your house at any time?”
“I’m not sure,” Mr. Mendle said, looking taken aback. “She did receive a mysterious package a few days after her arrival, not long before she became sick. Are you saying this package is what made my family ill?”
“Yes,” Iannis told him. “It is a special weapon called the Magic Eraser, and it looks like it harms humans as well. Shifters have been affected too—a bear-shifter volunteer who helped excavate your home can no longer change out of his human form.”
Fuck. Shock and anger filled me at this unexpected announcement, and Mr. Mendle cringed as I glared at him. “I assume Thorgana was ill, too, possibly even sicker than the rest of you?”
“Yes.” Mr. Mendle’s lips thinned. “If she hadn’t been crushed in the quake along with my family, she probably would have been dead within a few weeks. Even the finest doctors, who I brought to the house in secret, couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her.”
Relief and disappointment swamped me all at once as Mr. Mendle confirmed my suspicion—that Thorgana had died. I would have liked to look her in the eye one last time, to let her know that despite everything she’d done, she hadn’t beaten me. But it was better this way. There would be no more arrests or escape attempts. She was gone for good.
Garrett took command of the conversation then, and extracted the names of the doctors and other accomplices. Mr. Mendle was too broken to resist, and it didn’t take much effort to get him to agree to sign a full confession. He didn’t bother begging for clemency—the man had to know he only had a swift trial and execution to look forward to, at best. With nothing more to be gleaned from Mr. Mendle, Iannis had him escorted to Prison Isle, then left for a meeting with the Council and Director Chen. Before he left, he informed me that Annia was at home with her mother—she and her crew had successfully retrieved the Magic Eraser from the ruins. It was being held in a building on the outskirts of the city, well away from the Mages Quarter and Shiftertown. Iannis and the Council were going to put their heads together to figure out the best way to destroy the thing without getting close enough to it to compromise their own magic. And Rylan was still out in the city, helping in Shiftertown now. I didn’t see any reason to call him back—with Thorgana dead, Father Calmias no longer spouting evil nonsense, and the city so thoroughly distracted, I doubted I was in any particular danger behind the Palace walls.
Back in my room, I stripped off my clothes and changed into a simple silk robe, then grabbed a novel off the shelf to read. My mind was too restless to sleep—I needed a distraction. But before I could settle down with it, someone knocked on my door.
“Garrett?” I asked, catching his scent immediately. What the hell was he doing here?
“May I come in?” Garrett asked, for once sounding quite hesitant. “I won’t take too much of your time, I promise.”
I scowled, tempted to turn him away. But my heirloom ring remained cool to the touch, a signal that he meant me no harm, and besides, I was curious as to what he had to say.
“Make it quick,” I said, opening the door. “I was about to take a nap.”
Garrett stepped inside, barely bothering to glance at me. He sank into one of my armchairs, looking absolutely defeated, and dropped his head into his hands, startling me. I’d seen him angry plenty of times, but never despondent. What was going on?
“I thought you’d be happier,” I said, sitting down on the couch, “now that Thorgana has been taken care of, and the Magic Eraser found. Isn’t that what you wanted?” Aside from arresting Iannis and Fenris, I thought bitterly, but I didn’t say it aloud.
“Yes,” Garrett admitted, lifting his head. “But I cannot help thinking that if we had gone inside the Mendle Mansion that day instead of leaving them alone, we would have apprehended Thorgana sooner. Poor Harron wouldn’t be lying in a hospital bed, his magic stripped from him.”
“Oh.” My insides squirmed with guilt—I’d completely forgotten about Pillick. “I’m sorry about your loss, Garrett,” I said after a moment of tense silence, in which I was certain Garrett was harboring blame-filled thoughts about me. “But we have no idea what would have happened if we’d entered the mansion that day, especially since we didn’t even know about the danger. It’s very possible the Magic Eraser would have stripped both of us of our magic while we were waiting to talk to Mrs. Mendle. We could very well have ended up on those hospital beds instead of your assistant.”
Garrett’s lips thinned. “I suppose we’ll never know either way.” His eyes glittered with a combination of self-loathing and grief that made him more human than I’d ever seen. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to him,” he finally said. “He will no longer be able to work in my office now that he is not a mage.”
“Why the hell not?” I asked, my annoyance rising. “It would be ridiculously unfair of you to fire him, especially since he was injured on duty.”
“Do you think I don’t know that?” Garrett threw his arms up in the air. “I just don’t know what to do with him!”
“Here’s a thought,” I said, suppressing my dislike of Harron and forcing myself to be objective. “Why don’t you create an elite squad of human agents and put Harron in charge of them? The biggest problem our country is facing, as evidenced by how easily Thorgana was able to turn humans and shifters to her cause, is that you mages keep looking down at the other races as inferior, excluding them from important positions even though this is their country, too. Harron might not have his magic anymore, but he still has all his knowledge, and his nose for scandal.” Garrett opened his mouth, but I kept talking, my enthusiasm growing for the idea. “It might be easier for a human uni
t to liaise with the various Enforcers Guilds across the Federation than for mages. Remember how Captain Skonel reacted to you when we visited him? And speaking of sharp noses, why not have a shifter unit too? The Garaian Emperor employed an entire unit of lion shifters as his personal guard. I’d be surprised if they don’t also serve as an informal spy unit.”
“That all sounds very unusual,” Garrett said, looking bemused. “But unconventional ideas might just be what we need right now. And you are right—it would be a shame to put Harron out to pasture when he could still be of use. I will consider it, and discuss it with the Minister.”
“Great. Let me know if you need my help.” Not that I particularly wanted to keep working with Garrett, especially in light of his recent actions. But I was beginning to see that it wasn’t always possible to crush your enemies outright—sometimes you had to work with them. And if Garrett could convince the Minister to bring more humans and shifters into government positions, it would be a huge step forward for the Federation.
“Very well.” Sighing, Garrett sat back in the chair. “I am sorry, too, that Fenris did not survive,” he said somberly. “I know he was a good friend to you. But perhaps it is best that he did not—I meant it when I told you that I was very close to arresting him. I have strong evidence that he was likely not Fenris at all, but Polar ar’Tollis, the former Chief Mage of Nebara. Their interests and knowledge were far too similar, and eccentric, for me to write it off as simple coincidence. But,” he added with another sigh, “there is no way I will ever be able to prove it, now that Fenris is gone.”
A burst of anger filled me at Garrett’s callous pronouncement, but icy fear followed on its heels. Fenris might be gone, but Iannis was not. If Garrett did find a way to prove that Fenris was Polar, he could still go after Iannis for performing that illegal transformation spell.
While Garrett stared bleakly at the grate, lost in his own thoughts, I quickly sifted through Fenris’s memories, searching for something I could use to deflect suspicion. Images of the two of us talking rushed past, of spending nights by the fire out in the wilderness of Mexia, and of fighting Resistance soldiers. I forced myself not to get caught up in them. I could feel Fenris’s fond regard of me, his almost fatherly affection, and my heart ached for the loss once more. Thankfully, his earlier memories of Polar were quite different, and I was able to put my emotions aside and sift through the events that had gotten him exiled in the first place.