"Father has always said we have two faces: the one we show to the world and the one inside. He said never to let anything of the inner face show on the outer unless it's to the family's advantage. And offending people with whom we do business is almost never to the family's advantage." Tavia flopped down on her bed and kicked off her shoes. Elunet took them and set them on the floor. "And I try and try but I can never separate the outer face from the inner one. Sometimes I can pretend well enough to fool people, but I can never stop feeling the things that I feel. Father says feelings aren't really real, only the things that we can see and touch, but... that's one of the reasons why I've always wanted to do magic, because it can make the things inside me become real on the outside."
Elunet wished she could tell Tavia the truth. She wished she could speak of the iron control she had established over her own display of emotions and the elaborate lies she was always having to concoct and remember. Of how rarely she could relax and how seldom she could allow anyone to see what she truly felt and thought. "I understand exactly what you mean, my lady. What you—what we said, after the soiree, about wearing a mask."
Tavia sat up and looked at her, eyes round, and one hand went to her mouth. "I'm sorry. You would know. A maid isn't allowed to—to go off to her room in a snit by faking illness. Or she'd be in dire trouble if she were caught. A maid has to smile and pretend to be cheerful and obliging and work when she's angry or worried or heartbroken or has a headache and... and she has to take confessions from a silly spoiled girl like me and be sympathetic and kind and not gossip."
"You aren't spoiled, my lady. A truly spoiled lady wouldn't give my feelings a thought."
"I really am sorry. You can... well, you can go off and do whatever you like until this evening. Tell Almara and Father that I'm sick but not dangerously so and desperately want privacy. Invent whatever unpleasant symptoms you wish." Tavia rubbed both hands over her face, then grinned wickedly. It wasn't an expression Elunet had seen on her before, and she liked it. "I am going to practice my magic."
"Magic?" Elunet raised her eyebrows. "I've never seen magic before, my lady, not real magic. I'd very much like to stay and watch or help if I can... if it's all right with you."
Tavia blinked. "Oh. Yes. It is, as long as you don't disturb anything." She started taking supplies from the shelves: chalk, marbles, compass and drafting square, vials, ink, and the thick brown leather notebook containing her research notes. "I'm not working with anything particularly dangerous, but you really shouldn't touch the circles I'm going to draw."
"Oh, of course I won't, my lady. I'd just be interested to watch is all." Elunet settled herself in a blue padded armchair embroidered with white lilies. She didn't need to feign innocent curiosity. While it was untrue that she'd never seen magic, she hadn't seen much of it, and the only two mages she'd known more than very casually had been aloof as stray cats. Watching magic done by someone who might actually answer her questions was a new experience.
"First I meditate to prepare myself and call my power. Sorry, it's boring to watch. I promise it gets better." Tavia set out three votive candles in blue glass on the bare wood portion of the floor and lit the wicks with flint and steel, then sat cross-legged, her back to Elunet, her head slightly bowed and her hands palm-up on her knees. Elunet looked around the room in silence, mentally noting every detail: a portrait of a pretty blonde woman who was probably Tavia's mother, the pewter ewer and basin with the shapes of running deer in bas-relief, a Harvest Goddess carving with crops and flowers springing up from beneath the wide hem of her gown.
Fine hairs on Elunet's skin began to lift. The room was no warmer, but felt like a summer night before a thunderstorm. She looked back at Tavia. Tavia raised her hands slowly, then unfolded to a standing position. With a stick of chalk, Tavia drew one circle on the floor before her, then a second several paces behind, and then drew the glyphs. She worked quickly but precisely, as if she'd traced these same shapes many times before. Elunet had seen them in Tavia's notebook, but they were far more beautiful when Tavia drew them in front of her. With powdered silver, Tavia drew small circles at the center of each glyph; she placed an oak twig halfway to full leaf just barely outside each silver circle, the two twigs pointing toward each other, and sprigs of rosemary beside them. Finally, she took a porcelain cup painted with daffodils from her nightstand and placed it in the center of one silver circle, stepped back, and stood still, hands raised in the air as if conferring a blessing, murmuring in a language Elunet did not recognize.
Tavia brought her hands together, and a chill jolted through Elunet as the cup vanished from the first circle and appeared in the second a moment later.
Tavia raised her hands back into their former position, turned around once, and let her hands fall to her sides. Some kind of visible tension went out of her, and the charged feeling in the room dissipated. She bent down and picked up the cup, and an exultant smile lit her face.
Elunet's guess had been correct. "You moved it by magic, didn't you, my lady?"
"I did!" Tavia bounced a little. "Nobody's known how to do that since the fall of Sujal and I did it!"
Elunet wanted to run over and hug her. She settled for running over and clasping her hands, careful to avoid the glyphs. Tavia's warm skin made Elunet as tingly as the magic had.
"Or... if anyone's known they haven't recorded it." Tavia laughed. "The Elder Masters won't believe this. I'm going to have the best examination research spell in my class. I'm actually looking forward to writing the treatise on it when I get back and have access to all my notes."
"If you don't mind my asking, my lady, could you move larger things with it? Or move things further?"
"I'll have to keep testing, but I'm pretty sure yes. If the circles get much bigger I'll need more silver, and I'll need to draw the glyphs bigger, but the rest of the modifications are minor changes to wording and energy patterns." She began to clean up, sweeping the silver powder back into its vial, putting away the oak and rosemary, and erasing the glyphs with a woolen rag. "I'd have to change more things if there were a long time between when I made the first circle and the second, but maybe I'd be able to establish long-term glyphs if I got the materials right, and then..." She looked at Elunet and grinned. "Then we wouldn't need to haul around any saddlebags."
Several interesting threads of speculation began to spin themselves out in Elunet's head. "It sounds as if it could be useful for shipping, my lady."
"It would. I'd have to travel to wherever the goods originated, then back here, but after the first trip..." She dabbed a little oil on the rag and rubbed harder. "We'd never need to hire a ship again. Just a mage on each glyph."
"Begging your pardon, but the sailors won't be happy about that."
Tavia's face fell. "You're right."
"Could you send people through?"
"Maybe. In Sujal they could. I suppose I'd have to test it on spiders or mice or something."
Elunet fidgeted. "Well, it seems to me, my lady, that there would be good and bad. You and his lordship wouldn't need to hire many ships, but... sometimes ships are lost, and sometimes people die at sea. I don't know anything about magic, but this might be less dangerous than sailing."
"The Sujali literature is sparse, but there's no evidence of any problems with whatever they did." Tavia bit her lower lip. "So I'd be saving lives, but destroying livelihoods. Well, someday, if I refine this. And if Father likes the idea." She looked doubtful.
"He might. His lordship seems a... practical sort, my lady."
"He's never thought my magic would be much use to the family. Oh, it's fashionable now to have an educated heir, but he's always wished I were more like him." Tavia finished rubbing away the first glyph and started on the second. "He's barely spoken to me about anything other than business in all the years since Mother and my brothers died. Or to anyone else. Sometimes I feel sad for him about that, but... I'm not sure if he remembers how to feel sad himself."
"I'm not su
re if that's a pity or a blessing, my lady. Or if it's only his outer face you ever see."
Tavia stopped cleaning away chalk for a moment, and her eyes met Elunet's. "I don't know, either."
They were silent for a time. Then Elunet said, "If you'd like to keep practicing, my lady, I'd be happy to watch. Or to mend and press your things over here, if that won't disturb you."
Tavia smiled. "I'd like that."
Tavia opened the doors to the balcony on the outer wall and called wind with dried rushes and a glyph full of curlicues. Brisk breezes flapped the curtains and ruffled both women's hair. She marked the boundaries of a warding spell with smooth river stones and drew a glyph of chains; she and Elunet could not pass through the unseen barrier it made until Tavia dismissed it by slashing a break in the glyph. After each spell, Tavia wrote in the fat leather notebook, lit the votive candles, and took several slow meditative breaths. Unseen power surged and ebbed as Tavia worked spell after spell, building a slow fire of wonder and desire in Elunet. It was strange, beautiful, and eerily sensual.
Elunet watched, fascinated, until the scent of roasting lamb in spiced wine drifting in through the window told her dinner was being served and Tavia dropped into an armchair with a heavy sigh. "Ugh. I'm exhausted. And hungry. And starting to regret telling Father I was ill."
"I'll find a way to sneak you up a tray, my lady," Elunet said, and allowed herself a mischievous grin. "I'm good at sneaking."
Tavia seemed startled by Elunet's expression, and Elunet guessed she knew why: she had broken character. She had let the mask slip, and Tavia had been surprised, again, by Elunet showing her something genuine. It was a risky move, and Elunet scolded herself for it. But the look Tavia gave her was not one of suspicion, nor was it merely an employer's gratitude to her maid. Elunet felt heat rise to her cheeks. She held Tavia's gaze until Tavia looked away, then curtsied properly and went down the back stairs to smuggle up some dinner.
*~*~*
Sharing Tavia's magic eased the awkward silence that had fallen between them, but not the feeling that the two of them were iron and a lodestone held an inch apart and struggling to come together. Elunet went about her tasks always aware of Tavia across the room, Tavia's clothes or hair or skin against her fingers, and she knew by Tavia's eyes and the color in her cheeks that she felt the same attraction but would not give in to it. Elunet reminded herself to focus on her duty to Chal, and she observed and memorized things that might be of use to him, but Tavia had told her many things she felt guilty about revealing. She would tell Chal only what was absolutely necessary about her, she decided, and keep most of it to herself.
The rest of the month passed, during which they spoke in private whenever they had the chance. By the fifth day, Elunet started hauling her pallet out of the vestibule and into Tavia's room, where the two of them lay long awake in their separate beds, sharing secrets like small girls. Elunet revealed real things about herself strategically, things that were safe to reveal: her early childhood, her three brief love affairs, real incidents from her life in service, her love of music. Tavia told of her family and her perpetually disappointing attempts to socialize with the Auragan elite, about realizing years ago that she was giddy about women the way other girls were giddy about men. Mostly she told stories of the Collegium, explaining magical theory, academic rivalries, the drunken escapades and ever-shifting romantic and sexual entanglements of some of the more notorious students, and what a student riot looks like when the students in question are mages. Tavia began retiring earlier and earlier when she could, to spend more time whispering with Elunet in the dark, and their nightly confidences became Elunet's favorite time. Each night, Elunet gazed at the shadow of Tavia's bed, willing away the distance between them, but they never touched.
Elunet assisted Tavia with whatever she was doing—attending social functions, practicing spells, copying multiple versions of her meticulous research notes—until her appointment with Chal arrived. She claimed to be out of thread for mending, and asked Tavia if she wanted anything at the market; Tavia requested cherries again, and gave Elunet an extra silver penny to get something for herself. Elunet kept going past the market, as before, and knocked four times fast and twice slow at the door of the safehouse.
Chal beckoned her in. "So, anything to report?"
"The soiree with Galatan was well attended. Irivina Daliar and Jerras Savara spent much of the evening together; it wouldn't surprise me if they end up married, which would link Daliar and Savara closer. That Telarian spy rumor about House Amarin wasn't quite true; there was a spy in Rivilan, which is a minor House that's good family friends of Amarin. Last I heard he was in the Guardhouse. Lord Kenar is trying to set up a trade deal for Tevarati mink and Arangari lambswool with a Janagiri sea captain. He's offering figs and possibly to connect artists to Janagiri patrons, not to mention a remarkable tolerance for the captain's lewd behavior toward his daughter."
"Kenar Mellas is, from everything I've heard, a highly mercenary man," Chal said. "How'd she take that?"
"Not well."
Chal smiled. "Are you getting along well with your new mistress?"
"Quite well. She treats me generously. And I've even gotten to see the magical research she's working on. She's learned to transport objects between one point and another without crossing the intervening space, which as far as she knows—or I know—no one's known how to do for two thousand years."
Chal's eyebrows twitched upward. "Impressive."
"Very. She's working on moving larger and larger objects, and interested in working the spell over larger distances. Possibly even attempting to transport living creatures, even people. She talked about how it could replace a lot of shipping, and is excited about the possibility of making travel safer, even if she is worried about possibly putting sailors out of work. She's also well aware that this could make House Mellas a lot of money." Even if talking about the nature of Tavia's research was fairly impersonal, she felt sick about revealing it. Tavia is going to share this knowledge with the world sooner or later, she reminded herself; Chal is just getting to know it before everyone else.
Chal chewed his lower lip for a few moments, which he did when he was thinking. "Any other foreign dealings on Mellas's part?"
"Not with Telar. A letter to the Duke of Varnos offering condolences on the death of his son. An agreement with the Ilaran family in Emerac for reciprocal use of harbor berths for ships."
"Emerac? They anticipate more trade with the northwest?"
"Presumably."
"Anything else to report, Mockingbird?"
"The Dowager spent lunch yesterday complaining about how she thinks House Corellis has convinced the customs house to charge our ships extra, and dinner complaining about how House Valen has lured away her favorite goldsmith. In two days, Tavia is attending a banquet at House Amarin, and I'll probably get to escort her and play chaperone. Things are mostly quiet at House Mellas, but I'll try to unearth whatever I can."
"Oh, things sound interesting enough. Thank you, as always. I'm proud of you." His smile was warm.
Elunet headed back to the market, her pleasure in Chal's recognition vying with uneasiness.
*~*~*
"That was the first banquet I've been to where one of the host's dogs has tried to pull off the tablecloth, my lady," Dennel the guard was saying as he escorted Tavia and Elunet home. Only the crescent moon and a few lamps in windows lit the city; this late, the broad boulevard they were taking down from the Amarin estate on Redstone Hill was empty. Tavia nodded a little as she rode, visibly sleepy; Elunet trudged along on foot beside her, and Dennel rode a short distance ahead.
"Oh, that's Hammer. He does that sort of thing, but Lord Amarin is absurdly attached to him and insists on having him in the room with guests because otherwise 'he'll feel left out'." Tavia smiled.
Dennel whistled. "Remind me never to feed him, my lady."
"Probably wise. He once tore Elsana Valen's skirt halfway off her bodice. Brocade,
too, and very expensive." Tavia looked down at Elunet, and quirked an eyebrow. "I've made sure never to wear anything too nice to House Amarin ever since."
A wet thunk sounded just ahead of them, followed by a strangled sound. Elunet turned toward it. Dennel teetered, and fell out of the saddle. A knife handle protruded from his eye. Time froze in an instant of horrific unreality.
"Get down!" Elunet yanked at Tavia's stirrup. Tavia's eyes went wide with shock and confusion, but she jumped free, landing nearly in Elunet's arms. Elunet pulled her to the ground, and crouched low beside her, right hand at the top of her boot where one of her knives was concealed.
Elunet listened and looked for possible sources of danger. Ahead, in the direction where the knife must have come from, two figures emerged from an alley. Behind, she heard footsteps.
"Come with us quietly, Lady Tavia, and no one gets hurt," said a voice ahead of them.
Elunet reflected grimly that it was a little late for that.
"Elunet. Chal sent me," said a voice behind. Time froze again, and the world seemed to fall even further apart. She knew that voice. It was Hennic, another street kid Chal had discovered, five years her senior. Chal preferred that each of his agents knew few others, and she was not sure how many he had, but Hennic was one of the four she'd met, and they had sparred a few times over the years.
"What? Why?" Her voice was too high, too scared.
"You know why. With what she knows, House Mellas will take over the city."
She pitched her voice lower. "So Chal sent you to murder an innocent man who doesn't even know what the hell she's doing." The thought sickened her. Chal wouldn't. Chal was a spymaster, not a master of assassins. He'd trained her to fight, expecting she would face danger sooner or later, but he'd never sent her to kill anyone.
Hennic scoffed. "You expect us to face down an armored guard with a sword?"
"Chal's going to have your heads for this." Elunet turned so that she could see Hennic to her right and the two others to her left.
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