by Karen MacRae
“Anna,” called Lady Braxton over Natalie’s chant, “on the count of three I’d like you to step into view, please. Then put this poor child out of her misery. Spider, be ready to catch her. One… Two… Three.”
As soon as Natalie saw Anna, she jumped out of her chair with her arms outstretched ready to grab the Shaper’s throat. Spider caught her, but the girl fought and screamed. All the while, the chant continued. Every part of her wanted the Shaper dead. Anna shook off her shock and pushed gently at the girl’s peach aura. She collapsed in Spider’s arms, out cold.
CHAPTER 29
L ady Braxton sat quite calmly on the chair opposite the reseated and apparently demented wannabe assassin. “Well, this is interesting. Did you see it Anna? No, you wouldn’t have had the time. We must do it again and you must try to grab the enchantment from her aura. Please put it somewhere it can be easily destroyed. You need to look for a small red discolouration in the area above her right eye. Ready everyone? She’s coming round… Hello, Natalie. How are you feeling?”
“I feel fine, milady, thank you,” said a small, bewildered voice.
Anna stepped into the room and kept her eyes firmly above the girl’s right eye. She caught a glimpse of a tiny, red spark that flickered and then disappeared into the girl’s head. The chanting started immediately then stopped abruptly as Anna pushed her asleep.
“Did you see it, Anna?”
“Yes, milady. Although I don’t think I would have if you hadn’t told me where to look. It moved so fast I would have thought my eyes were deceiving me.”
“Can you grab it?”
“I’ll do my best.”
It took four attempts before the red spark was safely stored in the crystal hanging around Anna’s neck. When Anna next stepped into the room, the girl winced and looked down, but there was no chanting and no attempt to kill.
“Hello, Natalie,” Anna said gently.
“Hello, Miss Northcott,” she answered politely, her eyes still down.
“You should know that Miss Northcott saved your life this morning, Natalie.”
The girl raised shocked eyes to Lady Braxton’s. “She did, milady?” her voice quavered.
“She did,” said Lady Braxton firmly. “Someone planted a wicked idea in your head and young Master Moretti and Miss Northcott managed to save the day.”
“A wicked idea, milady?”
“Tell me how you felt when you found out that you would be serving an Aura Shaper, Natalie.”
The girl squirmed in her seat, her cheeks flushing pink.
“You must tell the truth, Natalie. We must get to the bottom of this,” the spy mistress insisted.
“My uncle used to tell me all the old stories and I were right scared, milady.”
Lady Braxton held out her hand to Sy. He handed over a knife. “Have you ever seen this before, Natalie?”
“It looks like one of my mama’s, milady, but it’s just a cheap one from the market so there must be thousands around town. Hers does have a nick in the bottom of the handle like that, mind.”
“Thank you, Natalie. Now, I want you to stay here while I have a chat with my friends. Everything’s going to be just fine. You’re not to worry.”
Lady Braxton nodded to Spider and they left Natalie sitting obediently on her chair in the privy. “The only thing the girl’s guilty of is being superstitious. Her memory of whoever planted this Compulsion is long gone though.”
“It may not be related, but Luciado’s started having nightmares,” said Spider. “He hasn’t had one since before Alscombe so it looks like something or someone has triggered his memories of his time with Elona.”
Lady Braxton nodded. “It appears we have a significant spy at work in the castle. Anna, you need to continue as if nothing has happened. Seleste, your customary vigilance, please. It appears this person could Compel anyone to act without fear of them giving him or her away so you need to be alert for all and any threat. You’ll both be delighted to hear that you will be sharing a room until further notice. Spider, Sy, please liaise with my assistant. There can’t be many with a Compulsion gift. We must narrow down a list of suspects and identify any potential collaborators inside or outside the castle. The issue of how a spy came to be employed here in the first place you may leave with me. Anna, I need to warn you that we are going to have to protect Natalie and her family and there is only one way to do this. We need to make it known that she died in this morning’s attack. We’ll leave out Luciado’s part in it. We will simply say that you woke and had to defend yourself. Natalie and her family will be relocated for a day or two.”
Anna gaped at this woman who coldly rattled out instructions and talked about destroying people’s lives. “Milady, they and I will be vilified.”
“Trust me, Anna. I know what I’m doing. Spider, Sy, stay with Natalie until my assistant arrives and then follow his direction. He’ll be along shortly.”
Lady Braxton swept out of the room leaving behind an open-mouthed Anna. The more experienced operatives took it all in their stride.
“We’re going to be late for our appointment with Lord Witheridge, Anna. We need to go,” said Seleste.
Spider tried to reassure the Shaper. “Don’t worry, Anna. Vixen really does know what she’s doing. You just focus on training and keeping yourself safe.”
“Vixen?”
“Lady Braxton’s alias. She’s the boss; the most senior member of the King’s Circle. If Vixen tells you to do something, you do it. It won’t always make sense at the time, but she never lets us down. You can trust her.”
Anna looked at Sy and Seleste. They both nodded their agreement with Spider.
“The woman is astonishing,” Sy said.
“We’re lucky to have her,” added Seleste. She held Anna’s gaze until she saw the uncertainty replaced with a grudging acceptance. “Lord Witheridge will forget we’re coming if we don’t get a move on, Anna. We’ll have to run. Sas… Spider, we’ll be having lunch in the mess at twelve.”
Lord Witheridge had indeed forgotten his appointment with the Shaper and her constant companion. He’d been distracted by some reports he’d just received. When the two women arrived, he was halfway up a stepladder marking a map he’d hung on the wall. “Ah, Anna, Seleste!” he exclaimed. “What perfect timing! Come and help me get these places properly logged. Isn’t it fascinating?”
All Anna and Seleste could see were blotches of colour spread over a map of The Kingdom. “I’m afraid we don’t know the key, Lord Witheridge,” Anna pointed out.
“What? Oh, yes, yes… I sent birds everywhere. Asking for samples to be taken, you know? I’ve used the spectrum to code the replies. Red is high content, lilac is low content. I’m still waiting on a few returns, but it’s most interesting.”
“Samples, milord?”
“Crystal, Anna, crystal! See, the whole west coast is rich with it, especially around here and in the north, but it’s sparse in the south east. I’ve yet to have returns from all the islands and further afield, but The Kingdom used to be joined to the continent so I expect Mastra and Iliyeth to have similar levels to the south east and Vilencha to be alike to the north east. I’m most excited to learn of Shae and Ionantis, but I don’t expect to hear from them until tomorrow at the earliest. What’s most interesting is that the map correlates particularly well with the known incidence of gifts. Which, I have to say, makes it even more interesting that you come from Straton, Anna. That area had one of the lowest readings. Are you sure you were born there?”
It took a few moments for Anna’s brain to catch up with the Scientist’s excited rambling and his extraordinary question. “My mother never told me otherwise, milord,” she answered.
“Hmm…” murmured Lord Witheridge, scribbling on his ever-present notepad. “Well, no matter. The occasional outrider does not disprove the theory. Now, I’ve been studying these beads of yours. I’m certain they’re the same machnamhach striatic stone referenced in some of my older geology volu
mes, but there is only one way to be sure. Here, put them back on, please, and come through to my laboratory. We shall experiment!”
An hour and a half later, Anna had destroyed the grass potted in hundreds of small pots that had been arranged in lines on the laboratory benches by some, probably disgruntled, gardener. Lord Witheridge had had her use crystal alone and then various combinations of crystal with peristone. “Indubitably, they magnify and focus. Excellent! I can cross those off the list, but we must try to get larger samples to see how scale effects performance. The books claim that the smaller, the stronger, but I would prefer to be sure. How exciting would it be if Shae can confirm they have white stone for us to add to the mix too?”
The Scientist didn’t wait for Anna and Seleste to reply, instead moving on to the next item on his agenda. “Have you read Siskin yet? No? He talks about striped stone being used to shape energy, but he gives an unacceptably poor level of explanation. There is one particular illustration that is intriguing, however. See? The white in the middle, the colours arranged around, the energy linking all nine? He has to be talking of peristone. The properties won’t have changed over the years, only the name. And no wonder, eh? Machnamhach striatic stone is a bit of a mouthful!” The old man’s smile sagged. “It’s a shame we don’t have any white stone. Black too, but I suppose that wouldn’t be much use to us, not having a Black Shaper.” His face brightened again. “We are making inroads, though. Yes, we are indeed. Right, where were we?”
“Sorry, milord, but Anna is due in Lord Edevan’s office in less than an hour and we have to eat first.”
“Is it that time already? Goodness. Off you go then. I’ll see you tomorrow. The map should be almost complete. I’ll have cross-referenced it with the gifted lists too. Right back as far as they go. It’ll be so exciting…”
Anna and Seleste escaped without the Scientist even noticing they’d gone. “His brain works so fast, it’s a wonder his feet are on the ground,” Anna laughed. Seleste gave a small smile in return: the equivalent of a belly laugh from her brother. Anna wondered how on earth the two could be related, never mind twins. Still, she was grateful for Seleste’s company, even if rather stilted.
Spider and Sy were in the process of clearing an enormous mound of lunch when the women arrived at the mess. The place was beginning to thin out from its peak service, but a host of guards ate, talked and laughed loudly over the sound of clattering cutlery, crockery and serving trays. At the far end of the huge room, staff called to each other over the hubbub, seemingly immune to the steam, smoke and the smells of today’s options flooding the kitchen.
Anna and Seleste filled plates and joined the men. They’d managed to get the one table in the room that offered an oasis of relative quiet. The noise would cover their conversation, but they’d be able to hear each other.
“Our privy guest and family have been relocated. All’s well there,” Spider reassured the women. “We’ve found two possibilities from Vixen’s records, but there’s almost nothing known about them other than they’re both men. All they need to do is touch and speak, but they can only work on one person at a time. We think there might be other limitations, but there are conflicting reports. The upshot is that you need to trust absolutely no one. We’ll catch up with you this evening and tell you what else we’ve found.”
“We noticed a sign up at the gate when we were passing, by the way,” Sy told the two women. “Everyone’s to report to the outer bailey at nine tomorrow for a special announcement. It was signed by General Braxton, Lord Cassidy and Lord Edevan so that’s a three-line whip for every member of staff and every guard no matter their shift. There’ll be more posters up soon, I would think.”
“It has something to do with this morning?” asked Anna.
“Almost certainly,” said Spider.
Seleste stood with her empty glass. “I’m going to get some more berry juice. Would anyone like one?”
Anna nodded and waved her thanks, her mouth too full to reply. The men shook their heads. Anna watched as Seleste weaved through the tables and milling customers, avoiding every obstacle with ease. “Why is Seleste training alongside me?” she asked. She saw Spider’s aura whirl with red. Sy’s was calmer, the stone wall still solid.
“To keep you safe,” he said.
“But what’s her true gift? She can only Read in simple terms. She has to have another.”
Spider’s answer was a surprise. “She’s a Dancer. Or she was. I haven’t seen her Dance in years. These days, she uses her physical skills in other ways.” He anticipated Anna’s next question. “There is no one better at martial arts or better with a blade,” he whispered, just as his sister returned.
Anna said an abstracted thanks for the fruit juice, her brain busy processing the truth about Seleste and the real reason she went everywhere with her. She swallowed a mouthful of meat and vegetables and reached out for her glass to help wash it down. Just as she lifted it to her mouth, Seleste lurched across the table and knocked it out of her hand with a painful swipe. The glass smashed on the floor, berry juice spilling like blood. Seleste slid to the floor, her eyes rolling, her lips blue.
Sy was there first, pulling Seleste to rest in his lap, looking to the Shaper for orders. Spider leapt over the table to kneel by his sister’s side, horrified by the thought of losing his twin. Anna was only moments behind. She looked on the blackness spreading through her friend’s aura and knew some sort of poison was burning from her throat and stomach to every organ of her body.
“Don’t let her die, Anna. Please, don’t let her die,” Spider begged.
Anna reached for her dagger only to remember she’d put it to one side when Lord Witheridge had insisted she use only rocks. She’d left all her crystals in his office. She put her hands on the floor and sent her gift into the ground. She felt no response. Something blocked its path. “Outside, quick!”
“Get out of the way!” yelled Spider, knocking tables and people over in his rush to make a path for Sy. The onlookers made way then filtered behind the group of four.
Anna heard, but ignored the comments.
“Light! What’s wrong with the Peyton girl?”
“Did she choke? What’s going on?”
“It’s the Shaper. Has she killed again?”
The last made her heart sink, but there was no time for distraction. As soon as they reached the small grassy area outside the mess, Anna bent to touch the ground, searching for crystal, searching for a response. The power came at her with a rush. She told Sy to put Seleste down and crouched beside her to cross auras. She focused on the blackness eating at Seleste’s aura and imagined her calm grey breaking through, forcing the blackness to give way, persuading it to escape through the portal she’d opened for it: a channel deep into the ground.
It took nearly a minute of intense concentration to rid Seleste’s aura of the poison. As the last of it fled into the ground, Anna’s companion drew in a deep breath and her eyes opened, the blue gone from her lips. A pale grey shimmered around her, calm and controlled once more.
“Thank you, Anna. The juice was poisoned.”
Spider burst into loud, relieved laughter. “Only you! Light, only you! You’re brought back from sure death in a different location with dozens of people watching and all you say is, ‘Thank you, Anna,’ without a glimmer of emotion.”
“But what else would I say?” asked a confused Seleste just before her brother enveloped her in a crushing hug.
“Don’t scare me like that again, all right?”
“I’ll do my best, Sas… Spider,” she smiled, genuine happiness briefly transforming her face and aura.
Anna had come to accept and even enjoy Seleste’s unReadable nothingness. She wondered for the first time if it was natural, if the grey was a learned or even contrived face to the world.
Spider, unaware of his effect on his sister, was looking for Sy. He was nowhere to be seen. His absence brought Spider to his senses. He muttered, “The juice,” and push
ed through the crowd towards the mess.
“I think we might be needed inside, Anna,” Seleste said calmly, getting to her feet and standing over the Shaper, her hand out to help her up. The whispers followed the two as they ran back to the mess.
“She saved her.”
“Poison? Did someone mention poison?”
“The Shaper Healed her.”
“If she’s so powerful, why’d she have to kill poor Natalie?”
CHAPTER 30
S y couldn’t help but smile as he looked down on the large woman who’d used her ample girth to pin the suspected poisoner to the floor. “I think you can get up now, mistress.”
Her hat askew, her cheeks a fetching shade of pink, she shook her head resolutely at the King’s man. “I’ll just sit here a while longer while you search that bin, young man. I saw him put something in it after serving your friend.”
Sy opened the bin to see discarded food wrapping and scrapings, empty cartons and broken glassware. He did not relish the thought of putting his hands in it. “Are you quite sure?”
“Certain. Something small.”
Spider slid to a stop before the unusual scene. His first thought was how anyone could still be breathing under the cleaning supervisor’s weight, but the captive’s feeble slap to her leg put that fear to bed. He slid a blade from his belt and bent to the man’s pale face. “Did you poison my sister?” he asked menacingly.
“No!” came the affronted reply. “Get this fat…” A whoosh of air indicated that the rest of the sentence might not be immediately forthcoming.
“You watch your mouth, you lily-livered, scrawny excuse for a man or I’ll do that again.”
Anna and Seleste arrived to see Sy hold a small, blue vial aloft with a gunk-covered hand. “Got it!” he called happily.
Rather than be pleased that her observation had been correct, the woman burst into tears. “Oh, John, what have you done?”