Magic Below Paris Complete Series Boxed Set (Books 1 - 8): Trading Into Shadow, Trading Into Darkness, Trading Close to Light, Trading By Firelight, Trading by Shroomlight, plus 3 more

by C. M. Simpson

  “The raiders don’t have any of those.”

  “That’s good to know,” Master Envermet told her, “but they do have one of my men, and I want him back.”

  The girl gasped and fixed her eyes on something beyond Marsh. The smell of hoshkat reached Marsh just as Mordan did. She laid a hand on the big kat’s neck. “Stop scaring everyone!”

  Vi’s eyes shifted from the kat to Marsh’s face. “You’re a druid?”

  Marsh shook her head. “Not really. I can just talk to the kat.”

  “Amongst other things,” Roeglin murmured as the child on the floor woke with a startled shout.

  Vi was on her knees beside him. “It’s okay, Jens. They won’t hurt us.”

  Well, at least they’ve finally worked that out. In Marsh’s head, Master Envermet sounded relieved. Out loud, he said, “No, but you are coming with us until we can get you to safety.”

  Basil looked at his siblings. “They need to rescue someone.”

  “But that means going back...” Vi whispered, and Basil swallowed.

  “I know.”

  “Ma won’t be happy.”

  “I know.” Basil shot her a pleading look. “We can help.”

  “I nev—” Master Envermet began, but the girl glared at him.

  “If you think you’re getting into town without our help AND without getting caught,” she began, “you’ve got another think coming.”

  Henri gave an exaggerated sigh. “I’m finding some food.”

  “And some kaffee,” Izmay added, following him out.

  Marsh said nothing. She studied the three youngsters standing defiantly before them. The girl had long, light-brown hair, fair skin, and green eyes. Her older brother was dark-haired, brown-eyed, and as tall as Roeglin. The youngest brother was almost as tall as his sister, with fair hair and hazel eyes.

  Marsh saw him studying the adults in front of him, and ice formed around his fist. Before she had a chance to warn anyone, Basil grabbed the kid’s wrist.

  “Easy, Jens. They’re friends.”

  “They don’t look friendly,” the kid snapped back.

  “They haven’t killed us yet,” Basil told him, “and Vi did her thing and everything.”

  Jens’ eyes widened. “She did?” He looked up at his brother. “Did they wake her up?”

  From the hushed tone of awe, waking Vi was only done by the bravest or most foolhardy of souls, adults notwithstanding. The kid looked from one older sibling to the other. “So, are we going with them?”

  Vi gave Master Envermet a snarky look. “They’re not giving us a choice.”

  “I could leave you here,” he replied, making it sound like an offer, then added, “With the kat to keep you out of mischief.”

  Vi’s lip curled with scorn. “She wouldn’t be enough.”

  Master Envermet had an answer for that, too. “No, and that’s why I’d be asking the wolf pack to help.”

  “The wolf pack?” Vi looked almost frightened by the thought.

  “You can come and meet them if you like. I’ll get Aisha to introduce you.”

  The little girl appeared as if summoned by magic. “Hi.”

  “You talk to wolves?” Vi sounded like she didn’t believe it.

  “Uh-huh.” Aisha gave a happy wiggle. “You want to say hello?”

  It was one of the child’s more coherent sentences, and Marsh eyed her thoughtfully. Her speech really was improving.

  She’s growing up, Master Envermet told her, sounding like he’d invented the child himself. Marsh didn’t give him the satisfaction of an answer.

  Vi looked from the little girl to the adults. “You let a four—

  “Five!” Aisha corrected. “No, six!”

  Vi scowled. “A six-year-old go with you?”

  “She’s mine,” Marsh told her. “I’ve adopted her and her brother. They go where I do.”

  She couldn’t stop the look of defiance she shot Master Envermet, but he kept his expression bland. None of the children could hear the response he made in her head.

  Really?

  Sorry.

  “So,” Aisha challenged. “You want to say hello?”

  Vi shrugged, then stepped forward and held out her hand for the child to take. Her brothers followed, but Basil stopped when he reached Master Envermet. “There are a few things you need to know about the town.”

  The shadow captain nodded, and the boy continued. “This man of yours. When would he have arrived?”

  “Yesterday or today,” Master Envermet replied, and the boy relaxed a little.

  “Then he still has some time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Izmay returned before he could reply. “We can discuss this over kaffee.”

  Master Envermet cocked his head and gestured toward the door. “Come and meet the rest of my team.”

  18

  Of Assassins and Mules

  Master Envermet led them out to the main living area and then through. His brow creased as he noticed that Izmay and Henri were the only ones there.

  “We sent the others outside,” Izmay explained, catching his look. “There’s not enough room in here, and it’s well-hidden. There’s a garden out near the stable entrance.”

  There was a stable entrance? Marsh caught the question on Master Envermet’s face. Izmay laughed, then grew serious. “This is a really good set-up. It makes me wonder how many more of these the Idris family have set up.”

  She glanced at Basil. “If we hadn’t found them, these kids would have disappeared completely.”

  She didn’t add that they would have been dead and no one would have been the wiser, and she didn’t say what would have happened to the mules trapped in their stables.

  “Maybe they have a redundancy system,” Master Envermet suggested. “Some way of checking in on each other.”

  It wasn’t an entirely stupid idea. When she thought about it, Marsh realized there had to have been some way for the rest of the family to have discovered Idris had died and that she was responsible.

  “Are they mind mages?” she mused, and Master Envermet froze.

  “They have abilities that are similar, and their shielding is exceptional,” he replied, “but mind mages? That is not something I had considered.”

  “What do you mean?” Marsh asked, remembering that Roeglin’d had difficulty trying to locate the assassins, the way their life forces were masked.

  Master Envermet caught the direction of her thoughts and frowned.

  “Some multiples—twins and triplets—are linked in a way that alerts the others when they are hurt, or sick or injured. When they die...” His face turned bleak, and he took a breath. “When they die, their siblings feel that death.”

  He paused as though considering whether to continue. When he did, the words felt personal and the pain all too real. “Sometimes they catch a glimpse of what their brother or sister sees in their last few moments.”

  His face twisted, and he abruptly turned away. “The rest is something for another time.”

  Like how you can find them? Marsh thought but kept the question at bay.

  Master Envermet’s reply came as a surprise, reminding her he was still in her head. Yes.

  It made her wonder who he’d lost.

  A brother. The reply was short, the pain of that loss still clear. Without the shadow master, I’d have been lost.

  Marsh saw when he pushed that thought away and forced himself to pay attention to Basil. The boy had been watching their exchange with curious eyes.

  “You’re both mind mages?”

  Marsh shook her head. “I am only an apprentice mind mage.”

  He frowned. “But you’re a shadow mage, too.”

  “Yes,” she answered brightly, following Master Envermet to the door. “I’m a shadow mage, too.”

  “And a druid.” The boy was nothing if not persistent.

  “Not really.”

  “But the kat answers to you.” He paused. “What kin
d of kat is that, anyway? It’s not a leopard or a cougar.”

  “No,” Marsh replied. She hadn’t heard of either of those. Maybe they were local to the Devastation. She decided to stick to the question rather than ask. “Mordan is a hoshkat. They’re fierce hunters in the caverns.”

  “I haven’t seen one before.”

  Master Envermet walked out and took an abrupt right, stepping through a narrow gap between the old tree and the house wall. A narrow trail lay concealed there, and they followed it along the wall to a sturdy wooden gate.

  It had been painted the same color as the wall, and vines stretched over it from the stones. The vines grew up and over a metal framework, concealing it and providing dappled shade for the hidden space beyond.

  Looking up, Marsh noted how a lattice of wires guided the vines’ growth, so the garden was concealed from any overlook. Mirrors caught the sun and shone it into the darker parts of the garden, or they would have if someone hadn’t covered them with linen.

  “Too bright,” Henri told her, catching up with a tray of cups and seeing her studying the dulled glow of the nearest mirror. “I like seeing Izmay’s eyes.”

  It was sweet enough to set her teeth on edge.

  The garden was full of orderly plantings and centered around an open cobblestone circle surrounded by low benches. The guards were seated on the benches, relaxing for the first time since their journey had begun.

  Izmay slapped the big man on the shoulder. “Be honest, Henri. The Deeps-be-damned thing caught you full in the face when you first came through and you lost your temper.”

  “I didn’t lose my temper.” Henri indicated the mirror. “See? It’s still in one piece. No temper involved.”

  “You taught the girl a few new phrases, though,” Izmay scolded, and Marsh caught a half-murmured “Dark-assed sons-of-the-Deep benighted moron” from where Vi was sitting beside Mordan.

  Izmay turned to Henri. “See? She’s still practicing it.”

  The big man chuckled. “Well, she’d have learned it sometime.”

  “Yes, but she clearly doesn’t need your help.”

  Henri set the mugs down on a side bench, and Izmay put the pot of kaffee and ladle beside it. When everyone had served themselves, Master Envermet began to speak.

  “So, there is at least one more assassin,” he began, “but we will know for sure when we reach their home. You will also note we have added three more members to our family.”

  He indicated the three teens. “This is Vi, Basil, and Jens. They will be joining us for the next leg of the journey, and then we will be taking them back to the Grotto until their family decides where it wants to settle.”

  The children had bristled at his words until he added that last piece. Master Envermet ignored them.

  “And that brings me to what we need to do next. While I would prefer taking them back now, they can help us get into the town where Gustav is being held.” He turned to where the trio was sitting. “Basil, can you tell us what you know about what happens to the prisoners?”

  The kid flashed him a startled look, his face going from red to white to faintly flushed. He looked around at the men and women seated around the circle. “Uh, okay.”

  They waited quietly, letting him gather his thoughts, and sat patiently as he began. “First thing that happens is they get taken to the cells. Those are in what used to be stables, but it’s now just a big hall divided into little rooms. Everyone is separated.”

  He swallowed, his face paling with memory. “Even the children.”

  He cast an involuntary glance at his siblings, and Marsh noticed that Vi had taken Jens’ hands. Basil continued, “Everyone gets tested. It takes about a week, and no one knows what is going to happen next.”

  His voice cracked, and he took a hasty sip of his kaffee. “That’s probably a good thing. After the testing, they move us to the prison quarters. It’s a group of cottages surrounded by a wooden fence on the other side of the Library.”

  From the way he said it, Marsh could hear the capital letter...and the terror the building held. She was tempted to try to get a better look at it through his memories, but he kept speaking.

  “When everyone’s been tested, they put us to work. The non-magical ones, or the ones they think they can control, all work in the fields or kitchens. Anyone they don’t think they can control is kept in the cells.”

  He stopped, his face turning white. “After we’ve had time to settle, they start taking people. Some go to the auctions, but many are taken into the Library. Anyone who goes in there stays. We never see them again.

  “The first ones to go are the ones who are strongest in magic. They’re usually the ones who tried to use it to escape on the journey. They get taken out in ones or twos.”

  “How do they stop them from using their magic while they’re waiting?”

  “I don’t know, but I think it might be something to do with these guys.” He gestured angrily at the house, and Marsh understood.

  From the stockpile she’d seen inside the cabinet, she could easily imagine the Idris family being the main supplier of sedatives for unwilling mages.

  “So he could have two weeks, then,” Henri interrupted, and Basil nodded.

  “Unless they decide he’s particularly interesting,” Roeglin countered, his eyes turning briefly white, and Basil nodded again.

  Vi glared at the mind mage from across the courtyard. Marsh couldn’t blame the girl, given the experience she’d had with mind mages.

  “If he’s tried escaping, he’ll have even less time, whether he has magic or not,” Basil added.

  Master Envermet’s lips thinned. “That decides it,” he said, “because I can’t imagine Gustav going easily.”

  “Especially not if he’s found people to protect,” Roeglin added, and the shadow captain groaned, “but even if they arrived late yesterday or sometime today, we should still have one day, perhaps two.”

  Master Envermet glanced at Basil. “How far are we from the town?”

  “I’m sorry, but you’re at least a full day on foot.”

  “And with mules?”

  “A half-day?” the boy guessed, and Master Envermet nodded his acceptance of the answer.

  He glanced at Aisha. “Can you get Scruffy and Perdemor to bring the mules?”

  The little girl shook her head, her blonde hair bouncing. “Mules are scared of them.”

  Master Envermet sighed. “Jakob, Marsh, and Roeglin, I need you to find the mules and bring them back here. Ask Mordan to guide you.”

  “I’ll go, too,” Aisha pleaded, but Master Envermet shook his head.

  “No, I need you here.”

  “Do not,” the child argued.

  “Do, too,” he told her. “I need you to help Vi, Basil, and Jens make bandages in case Gustav is hurt.”

  Aisha studied him carefully to see if he was joking, but Master Envermet turned to Izmay. “Can you supervise?”

  The shadow guard nodded. “I can do that.”

  Master Envermet looked at Brigitte. “They’re also going to need packs and gear. Can you, Gerry, Obasi, and Henri, head back to our last camp and see what you can find?”

  The four of them nodded, drained their cups, and rose.

  “Go with Marsh. I think they pass that way. They’ll come back to you when they have the mules. The rest of us will join you there. There isn’t enough room here.”

  He had a point. The assassin’s hideout, although comfortable, did not have enough space for them. The raiders’ camp did.

  “I suppose that means we’re on cooking duty again?” Henri complained, and Master Envermet smiled.

  “Now that you mention it...”

  Gerry reached over and clipped Henri upside the head. “Merci beaucoup...”

  “It’s not like he wouldn’t have thought of it,” Henri tried, but Zeb walked past him, shaking his head.

  “Meet you out front.”

  Henri glared at Marsh. “You owe me.”


  Marsh shook her head. “Not for this, Henri. This one you dug all by yourself.”

  “I don’t suppose you could ask the kat if she’d mind hunting up a decent deer, could you?”

  Now that Henri suggested it, Marsh realized it was a good idea. Something fresh would be a nice change. “What’s it worth to you?”

  “Just ask the kat,” Master Envermet interrupted, sounding tired, and Marsh decided it was best not to argue.

  “Yes, sir.” She drained her cup and crossed to Aisha and Tamlin. “Be good. Don’t give him a bigger headache than he already has.”

  “Yes, mama,” Tamlin replied before going back to his coffee.

  “I’m going to ration you to nothing if your attitude doesn’t improve,” Marsh told him, and he glared at her over the cup.

  She pretended not to hear his muttered, “You and whose army?” as she slipped her hand through Roeglin’s arm and stepped through the gate.

  “I swear he gets worse every day,” she told the other mage as they emerged from behind the tree.

  “Do not,” Henri argued, and Marsh rolled her eyes.

  “Not you, but if the boot fits...”

  “Ha-ha. Where’s this kat of yours?”

  Mordan appeared at the edge of the bushes and gave a jaw-cracking yawn.

  “She says it’s about time we were ready,” Marsh told him, making it up on the fly.

  The kat gave her a filthy look and turned around. They followed her into the ruins.

  “Are you sure that’s what she said?” Henri asked when he found the kat waiting, and Marsh nodded. Apparently satisfied with that, Henri asked the other question that had been bothering him. “And did you ask her?”

  Ask me what? Mordan wanted to know.

  If you would hunt for us, Marsh told her, sending her feelings of apology for having to do so. The kat was unconcerned.

  It is an honor to hunt for the pride, she replied. There will be sufficient meat.

  We’re camping at the raiders’ cavern, Marsh informed her.

  That thought was met with approval. Good. There is more space there, and it smells better.