City of Mages (Daughter of the Wildings #5)

by Kyra Halland

  Lainie bit back her retort at her mother-in-law’s unkind and unfair words. Lady Venedias certainly had her mind made up about Silas, but she didn’t know the real situation. “It isn’t the Mage Council, ma’am,” she said, trying to be calm and reasonable. “He’s been captured by a group of people who are working against the Mage Council. They’ve done something to him, like Stripping, only not really; they said it can be undone, but I don’t know how. They want to take over the Wildings, which I know is against what the Mage Council wants, and they also want to make sure the Mage Council can’t interfere with their plans. I think they intend to become more powerful than the Mage Council, and maybe even take over Granadaia too.”

  “Indeed.” For a moment, Lady Venedias seemed at a loss for words. “So that’s why Siyavas didn’t come himself. A bad business he’s gotten himself into.” She was silent another moment, her dark, gracefully-arched eyebrows drawn together in thought. Then she went on, her voice just as hard as before. “Regardless, his father and I disavowed the burden of caring what happens to him a long time ago. We will have nothing to do with this, or with either of you. Furthermore, I will say that I am glad that there is no chance that you and he will ever procreate and besmirch our bloodlines with his intractable nature and your obviously common background. You are dismissed.”

  Anger flared in Lainie’s heart. This was the woman who had given birth to Silas? Now, instead of marveling that he had left everything behind to go out to the Wildings, she wondered why it had taken him so long to leave. No wonder he had tried to run away when he was ten years old. She was wasting her time here. “You may have birthed Silas, ma’am, but you are no mother to him. I know it don’t matter to you, because you have another child, but if I was lucky enough to have a son like Silas –” she forced back a slight tremor in her voice “– and someone like Elspetya Lorentius got her claws into him, the world itself would have to end to stop me from helping him.”

  She turned on her heel to leave, but Lady Venedias said, “Wait.”

  Lainie turned back and looked at her. “Ma’am?”

  “Did you say ‘Elspetya Lorentius’?”

  “Yes, ma’am. She’s the leader of the group that captured Silas, that’s working against the Mage Council and trying to take over the Wildings.”

  Lady Venedias hissed a word that Lainie had come to recognize as a curse in the Island language. “That jumped-up little slut,” she added.

  She tapped her fingernails hard against the arms of her chair, then went on. “Elspetya Lorentius is the by-blow of a married mage who could not keep his trousers on around Plain females. He was an exceedingly powerful mage, from a family near as powerful as our own but not of Island blood. Though she is the illegitimate daughter of a Plain peasant woman and her gifts didn’t even develop until she was well into adulthood, she has spent the years since she was found trying to prove not only that she belongs with true mages, but that she is better than any of us. She even had the nerve to take a widowed highborn mage of Island descent, a member of the Mage Council, as a lover. And now you tell me she is plotting against the Mage Council and has captured and as good as Stripped my son.” She clenched her fists, which like her voice were shaking with anger. “Why my son?”

  “She took him to force me to help her.”

  One eyebrow went up. “You? What in the world would she want with you?”

  “Since I was born in the Wildings, I have powers that mages born here in Granadaia don’t have. And –” She hated having to admit to being related to Madam Lorentius, but she owed her mother-in-law the full story if she wanted her help. “And because I’m her granddaughter.”

  She went on quickly, cutting off Lady Venedias’s horrified response. “If you think that means I’m like her, you’re wrong. I want less to do with her than you want to do with Silas and me. She kicked my Pa and the rest of their family out of their home and took their land, and she’s caused a lot of other harm besides. My brother died because of one of her schemes in the Wildings. And she had two good men, mage hunters, murdered because they stood in her way. She also meant to have Silas murdered, but I killed the man she sent to assassinate him. And now she’s hurting Silas. She’s an evil, dark-hearted woman, and I will do whatever it takes to get Silas away from her and stop her from carrying out her plans.” She stared at Lady Venedias, silently challenging her to do something as well.

  Lady Venedias stared back, her lips pressed tight in a grim line. “Girl,” she finally said.

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “If you think of a way to free my son from that woman and her group, I will see that whatever help you need is provided. However, when it comes to the Mage Council, you and he are on your own.”

  Now it was Lainie’s turn to stand speechless. She had agreed. Lady Venedias had actually agreed to help. Even if it had more to do with her hatred of Elspetya Lorentius than love for her son, she had agreed. “Thank you, ma’am,” Lainie finally managed to say. “May I ask a question?” Something Lady Venedias had said in passing presented an answer to one mystery, something it might be important to know.

  “What is it?”

  “Is Madam Lorentius’s lover still on the Mage Council?”

  “He is. But he and that woman severed their connection in a very bitter and very public quarrel several years ago, and he has since remarried and fathered two more children. Disgusting at his age – Astentias is old enough to be his wife’s grandfather – but far better than that sordid, degrading affair.”

  Astentias. Lainie recalled the man on the Mage Council with the flowing white hair, who had declared how shocked he was at the idea of a traitor on the Council. And now she remembered where she had heard the name before; it was one of the families that had been competing to buy up all the cattle at the market at the Gap. That had been another one of Elspetya’s plans to gain power and control in the Wildings, no doubt. “Ma’am, this is just a gut feeling, but I’m sure as a hand of Dragons that breakup was fake, and that Madam Lorentius and Lord Astentias are working together.”

  “Ridiculous,” Lady Venedias said. “Astentias’s new wife is young and beautiful and of impeccable bloodlines. Why would he still want anything to do with that old bag? Besides, he has far too much to lose to risk being involved in such treasonous plots as you’ve described.”

  “These people don’t seem to care much that they’re committing treason. They think they’re doing what’s best for the mages. I know they have a contact on the Mage Council; Madam Lorentius admitted it herself, and me and Silas already figured out a while ago there must be a traitor on the Council. Even if you don’t believe me, or if you don’t believe it’s Lord Astentias, please don’t tell anyone on the Mage Council that I came to see you.”

  Lady Venedias pursed her lips for a moment. “Very well,” she finally said. “At least, not until you’ve rescued Siyavas. After that, as I said, I make no promises.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Lainie said earnestly. “I’ll let you know when I have a plan.”

  “I will wait to hear from you.”

  At that moment, seemingly without any signal, the servant man opened the door and stepped into the parlor. “Show Miss Banfrey out,” Lady Venedias said.

  Lainie followed the servant through the mirror-lined front room and out to the carriage, feeling more hopeful than she had in a long time. She had gotten what she came for, an offer of help from Silas’s family. Finally, she was getting somewhere.

  Now all she had to do was come up with a plan, and stay clear of the Mage Council.

  Chapter 10

  BACK AT THE hotel, Lainie changed clothes, then went up to the roof with her map. Today, in the chilly weather, she had the rooftop to herself. She spent a long time looking out over the city towards the warehouse district and comparing what she saw to what was on the map, refreshing her memory of the various routes between there and the hotel and trying to come up with a plan to get Silas out of Hidden Council headquarters.

&n
bsp; She had no doubt that the building, and Silas, were guarded at all times. So she couldn’t just walk in the door. Even if she could fight her way in, she had just barely gotten away from her grandmother’s mages that other time, and this time she would have a sick and injured Silas to worry about. He was scared, he seemed to know that he was in a bad fix, but whether he would be able to do anything to help himself, she didn’t know. She recalled his shuffling gait and stooped posture, and how he had sunk to the floor as soon as the men holding him had let go of him. Was he capable of any kind of independent movement? Or was she going to have to figure out how to carry him or push and prod him the whole way?

  The window on the upper level of the warehouse wasn’t very big, but it had looked big enough for a man to crawl through. The problem would be getting up there, and then getting herself and Silas down again. The drop was high enough to be dangerous if not necessarily fatal, and she couldn’t afford so much as a turned ankle, not if they were going to be hightailing it back through the city.

  She could use a ladder, but carrying a three-measure-long ladder through the streets on her way to rescue him wouldn’t exactly let her go unnoticed. A rope would be less noticeable and easier to carry. She could tie something heavy to one end and throw it up to the window, breaking the glass. She was a good cattle roper; she should be able to manage that. If she tied knots along the length of the rope, that would make it easier to climb up and down.

  The weight would have to be something that would catch and hold the rope in place. A rock might or might not work, but what about some kind of hook? She thought about where to get a good, sturdy, heavy hook. From where she stood on the roof, she could see several areas along the river and the bay where clusters of ships’ masts stood up like forests of naked trees, tiny in the distance. Towers stood near the ships, with wooden arms that moved up and down. Lifting cargo on and off the ships, she guessed. And for that they would probably have big hooks. If she went to the docks, maybe she could find a spare or discarded hook.

  So, now she had a way to get into the building and get herself and Silas out again, but what about the Hidden Council? She needed something to distract them and keep them busy while she rescued Silas.

  Something to keep them busy…

  An idea came to her, and it actually made her smile for the first time in days, since that brief moment when she had thought her grandmother was going to return Silas to her, before she learned the terrible truth. She could direct attention away from her and Silas, keep her insincere promise to the Mage Council to inform them of what she learned, and, if all went well, put an end to her grandmother’s plots. Killing three hisser-snakes with one bullet, her Pa would say. Feeling a rush of renewed hope and energy now that she had a plan, she folded her map and went down to her room.

  At the writing desk, she took a sheet of letter paper and inked a pen. Dear Grandmother, she wrote, I would like to meet with you on this coming Defender’s Day – that was three days away, a long time to wait, but she needed time to set this up – at the beginning of the third quarter of the day. I’ve reconsidered your offer and I’m ready to discuss it with you. Please let me know if this is agreeable to you. I can’t come sooner as I am feeling somewhat poorly at the moment. Yrs Truly, Lainie Banfrey Vendine.

  She sealed the note and wrote Madam Elspetya Lorentius on the front, spelling it the way she had seen it in the newspaper article about the dinner party. “Lorentius” looked and sounded a little like Island names like Venedias and Astentias, though the stresses were in different places. Knowing what she knew now about her grandmother, Lainie guessed she had chosen that name in imitation of highborn Island names. Lainie didn’t know where to address the note, but she was sure the messenger service would know where to find the notorious Madam Lorentius. She took the note downstairs to the desk clerk and paid for the delivery, and left instructions that if an answer came it should be brought to her immediately.

  * * *

  THE NEXT MORNING, a hotel maid showed up at Lainie’s door with a sealed note. Lainie thanked her, tipped her a gilding, and tore open the note. It was from her grandmother; Madam Lorentius and her associates wished Lainie a quick return to health and would be pleased to meet with her on Sunderer’s Day, at the beginning of the third quarter of the day, to discuss the proposed agreement. They would send a carriage for her.

  Sunderer’s Day. Tomorrow; a day sooner than Lainie had planned. Her excuse of not feeling well hadn’t bought her as much time as she had hoped. Sunderer’s Day was also not an auspicious day for a rescue; the Sunderer was the god of separation and of death by violence. She considered pleading continued ill health and asking for a delay, but if Madam Lorentius refused, more time would have gone by in waiting for her answer and Lainie wouldn’t have enough time to set up the rest of her plan.

  Lainie wrote a quick response to her grandmother, agreeing to the meeting on Sunderer’s Day, then wrote a second note, to Silas’s mother. Honored Lady Venedias, Please tell the Mage Council that the leaders of a group of traitors will be gathered at their headquarters tomorrow, Sunderer’s Day, at the beginning of the third quarter of the day. The Mage Council should be prepared to deal with at least two dozen enemy mages. She added a quick map and description of the warehouse’s location.

  She paused, trying to work out how to keep Madam Lorentius’s Mage Council contact from finding out about the trap and warning the Hidden Council. Also, she added, I’m certain Lord Astentias is Madam Lorentius’s contact on the Mage Council. But even if you don’t believe me, please warn Lord Yeredon that there’s a traitor on the Council and he should make sure that only Council members who he knows for himself are completely trustworthy find out about this. And please don’t tell them Silas is there, or that you got this message from me. I know you said you won’t help us against the Mage Council, but at least I hope you’ll let us get a running start. Very much obliged for your help, Yrs Respectfully, Lainie Banfrey. She decided she’d better not risk annoying her mother-in-law by insisting on the marriage that Lady Venedias found so offensive.

  She addressed and sealed her response to her grandmother and the note to Lady Venedias. Then she made sure she had her gun and plenty of ammunition with her and some extra money in her duster pocket. She left the messages at the front desk to be sent out right away, then headed out.

  It was another chilly day, with gray storm clouds coming in off the bay. This weather didn’t bode well for being able to get through the Gap before it was closed by snow. Even if a natural snowstorm didn’t strike, the presence of cold weather and so many clouds would allow a group of mages skilled in weather-working to summon up a magical storm to block the pass. It was just as well she was being forced to act a day early; every day could make a difference in whether or not she and Silas could make it through the Gap back to the Wildings.

  She hired a carriage to take her to one of the places where the ships were loaded and unloaded, and the driver dropped her off at the waterfront somewhat south of the warehouse district where the Hidden Council had its headquarters. Long docks made of wood and stone extended out into the water; several of them had ships floating next to them. Lainie stared at the enormous ships, rising high and proud out of the water, their tall masts hung with rolled-up sails the size of giants’ bedsheets. Ropes hung from the beams of wood like big fat spiderwebs. She had thought the riverboats on the Dostra were big, but these ships made them look like rafts.

  She was in luck; a ship was being unloaded right then, so there were plenty of workers around. These men looked rough, but no rougher than the cowhands she had grown up with. She moved her mage ring to her wedding ring finger; for this errand, it would be better to go as a married Plain woman than as a mage. Then she walked over closer to where the workers were unloading the ship.

  Now she could get a better look at the contraptions she had seen from the hotel roof, that were used to lift cargo on and off the ships. Near the top of a tall stone tower, a long wooden beam was movi
ng up and down and side to side. A ladder ran up the side of the tower; at the top was an open room with a man in it, who must have been operating the beam. Half a dozen long ropes hung down from the beam, all of them tied together to a big iron hook. The beam dipped and lowered the hook to a giant wooden crate, a full measure or more tall and wide and deep, bound with more ropes, on the deck of the ship. Workers attached the hook to the ropes around the crate, then the wooden beam raised the crate.

  A mage stood nearby, wearing sturdy work clothes that were still finer than those of the Plain workers. A web of shimmering pale blue power extended from his outstretched hands to the dangling crate, helping it move smoothly and steadily as the beam brought it over to the dock. As the crate was being transferred, the mage called out directions, which another man conveyed with hand signals up to the man in the tower. Finally, the wooden beam set the crate down gently onto the dock.

  Workers swarmed over the crate, detaching it from the hook and untying the ropes from around it. They swung open one of the sides and began unpacking the contents, which looked like bolts of fabric wrapped in heavy canvas. A line of wagons hitched to teams of sturdy horses stood nearby, waiting for the ship’s cargo to be loaded onto them.