Then it struck him: maybe it was the burden of carrying a truth that no one wanted to hear that had made Lucius a scruffy old drunk.
A memory came back from that afternoon on the banks of Old Woman Creek—Lucius telling the story of Hanalea and Alger Waterlow.
She bent her knee for the greater good and married somebody she didn’t love. Meaning himself. Han shivered, feeling sorry for Lucius. But sorry went only so far.
“What’s all this got to do with me and Dancer?” Han asked, thinking of Bird, who’d be waiting impatiently outside, unless she’d already given up. The world was full of secrets, apparently, but maybe he didn’t need to know them all.
“You’ll see,” Elena said. There was no rushing a clan story. “As you can imagine, there was bitter disagreement about what to do with the demon’s gifted child, who might grow to be an extremely powerful wizard.
“The Demonai warriors still argued that the child should be killed, whatever Hanalea said. But the boy inherited something of Alger’s charm. There was something about the Waterlows—they had a way about them.”
Here it was again—people talking about the Demon King as if he were handsome, attractive, someone a queen could fall in love with. Instead of a heartless monster.
“In addition to Hanalea, it was Hanalea’s consort, Lucius Frowsley, who argued most persuasively for the boy’s life,” Elena said, looking at Lucius.
There’s no love between those two, Han thought.
“Because this child was brother to the princess heir, and a wizard, there was concern that he might align himself with the Wizard Council. He might even try to establish a line of blooded wizard kings, and prove a threat to the sitting queens,” Averill said.
“In the end, the elder council chose mercy. The decision was made to allow the boy to live, but to remove him from Hanalea’s care, to bind and control his magical gift so it wasn’t apparent. The boy’s ancestry was hidden from himself and everyone else in order to prevent them from using his line for their own ends. We’ve been watching over the boy’s descendants ever since, ensuring that they pose no threat to the queen.”
Averill shrugged. “Was that a good decision? It’s been a thousand years, but we still don’t know. But recent events have forced us to reconsider it. Given the threat from Arden, a protracted war between wizards and the clan might be the end of the realm.”
“For generations, our council of elders has tracked the descendants of the Demon King,” Elena said. “The magical trait has remained virulent when it manifests, but has appeared less and less often, perhaps moderated by those who married in. Right now, we know of only one living gifted descendant. A male child.”
“So . . . what? You’re going to hunt him down and kill him? Because of who his ancestor was?” Han asked. “Because he might join with the Wizard Council and somehow threaten the queen?”
Was that why they were here? Did they expect him and Dancer to help with that?
The question seemed to startle Averill. “Ah, no.” He looked over at Elena, who always seemed to take the tough questions.
“It occurred to the original council that there might be an advantage to a line of wizards, relations to the queen, who might support the throne in times of conflict. Particularly in a conflict with wizards,” Elena added delicately. “We’ve learned through bitter experience that green magic has its limitations.”
I’ll bet the Demonai warriors love that idea, Han thought.
“Therefore, we have required that each gifted descendant of the Demon King be fostered in the camps,” Elena said, “so that we can teach them about clan ways and, we hope, bind their fortunes and hearts to our own. For generations we have done this. The secret passes through clan elders. We have never had to reveal it until now. That is why we have convened this council.” She gestured at the others in the lodge.
And then Han finally understood: a truth that should have been apparent all along, despite the circuitous ways of clan stories.
The mysterious gifted descendant was Dancer; it had to be. Fire Dancer. It was an apt name for the get of a wizard. Dancer was gifted, and now the magic that had lain hidden so long was pouring out.
Han glanced sideways at his friend, who seemed to be deep in his own thoughts, oblivious to Han’s epiphany. Had Dancer known? Had he ever suspected? Was he really Willo’s child, or had they only pretended so he could be housed with the matriarch, the wisest woman at Marisa Pines?
Well, if they meant to target Dancer, Han would have his back, though he couldn’t say what help he could provide to a wizard.
Han was so involved in his own thoughts that he didn’t quite follow when Elena began speaking again in the rich cadence of the matriarch.
“This council calls forward Hunts Alone, whose flatland name is Hanson Alister.”
There was a long moment of silence while Han waited for someone else to answer. “What?” he said stupidly. “What did you say?”
“It’s you, Hunts Alone,” Willo said, taking his hands in hers. “You are Waterlow’s only living gifted descendant.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Gifted
“No!” Han said, pulling his hands free. “What are you talking about? I’m not gifted. You want Dancer.” He looked at Dancer for support, but his friend had the same look on his face as everyone else—mingled wariness and hope.
“But you are gifted,” Willo said. “Even at birth, you manifested so strongly that your mother nearly died in childbirth. I tended you both. I called in Elena Cennestre.”
Han shook his head, backing away until he came up against the sleeping bench. Elena came and stood in front of him. He felt cornered even though he towered over her.
“I made your bracelets,” she said, touching his silver cuffs. “They absorb magic—your own as well as any used against you. They protect you and also prevent you from using magic yourself, accidentally or on purpose. They keep you from giving off the aura of magic or storing it in an amulet. All of the gifted descendants of Waterlow have worn them, from that first child of Alger’s.” She paused, then added, “His name was Alister.”
Han lifted his arms and stared at his cuffs as if he’d never seen them before. He remembered when Gavan Bayar had jinxed him, and the flames seemed to flow into his cuffs and disappear. He recalled how the demon assassins in Southbridge had attacked him with magic, and it had seemed to roll off him. How despite Micah Bayar’s warning, he’d picked up the serpent amulet, feeling its sting but remaining otherwise unharmed. That same amulet had thrown the Southies against the wall.
Han Alister—streetlord of the Raggers, a wayward hustler with blood on his hands and a grudge in his heart and too many enemies to count—Han Alister was also a wizard who could shoot flame out of his fingers and fling jinxes and bend others to his will.
Han Alister was the descendant of a madman who had ravished a queen and broke the world. Or he was the final representative of a love that had defied convention, and those who paid the price for it.
Shiv’s words came back to him. What is it about you? People can’t stop talking about you. Telling stories. It’s all I hear about. Cuffs Alister this, Cuffs Alister that. It’s like you’re golden.
But Han didn’t come from royal blood. He was the son of a laundress and a soldier.
“Your grandfather wore the bracelets also,” Elena said, as if she’d read his mind. “He was fostered at Escarpment Camp.” She paused, and a flicker in her eyes said she was covering over a secret. “The gift did not manifest in your father. He died never knowing about his lineage.”
“What did you tell my mother?” Han found himself ask-ing. “Did she know what the cuffs were for?”
Elena shook her head. “We told her you had been possessed by a demon while still in the womb. That the cuffs would protect you. That she couldn’t tell you the truth because it would make you vulnerable to evil.” The matriarch said this with no trace of apology.
Han stared at her, horrified. It was no
wonder Mam had always seemed convinced that he would fall prey to the siren call of the streets. Even when he left the life, she always questioned it, never believed he’d reformed. That lie had been a barrier between them. He recalled one of their last conversations. “You’re cursed, Han Alister,” she’d said, “and you’ll come to no good.”
“We arranged to foster you each summer at Marisa Pines,” Elena went on. “We paid your mother a small stipend.”
“So . . . you paid my mother to let you take me?” Han said, his voice cracking. “She didn’t ...ask any questions?”
Wouldn’t Mam have wondered why the clan was interested in him?
Not if it brought in a little money. People with nothing don’t have the luxury of asking questions.
“Your mother hoped it would be good for you to get out of the city,” Willo said. “She hoped it would keep you out of the street life, that you might learn a fresh-air trade. That it might protect you from that early . . . damage.”
Han felt under siege as he never had in the camps before. They had always been a place of safety, of refuge. And here it had all been just another game of slide-hand. Willo and Elena and the others were nothing more than grifters in clan garb.
He’d been made a fool of—stung like a loaded mark on the streets of Ragmarket.
“And so . . . you took me because you thought I might go insane and break the world like Alger Waterlow?” Han wanted to sound cold, matter-of-fact, indifferent, but he was having trouble keeping the tremor out of his voice.
“Alger Waterlow was not insane,” Lucius growled, startling Han, who’d forgotten he was there. He glared sightlessly around the lodge. “I don’t care what you all say.”
Ah, Han thought bitterly. I should be reassured because crazy Lucius Frowsley says my ancestor wasn’t crazy?
“Hunts Alone, you’ve been like a son to me,” Willo said. “Maybe it began as an obligation, but now . . .”
“You’re not my mother,” Han said, indulging a cold, mean place inside of him. “I had a mother, and she’s dead.”
Averill, at least, had the grace to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry. We know this is too much to take in all at once.”
“So what’s this all about?” Han said, anxious to get it over with, to get out of their presence so he could deal with it on his own. He was beginning to worry that his street face would fail him. “Why are you telling me this now, after all this time?”
“We believe that these are the most dangerous times since the Breaking,” Willo said. “Gavan Bayar represents a grave threat to the queen and the royal line. The power of the Wizard Council is growing, and they very nearly married one of their own to the princess heir.”
“What does that have to do with me?” Han asked.
“We have told you this because you have a choice,” Elena said. “We will leave the cuffs on, and you can continue much as you have been. If you would like to stay at Marisa Pines, Willo will teach you the art of healing.”
“What about Demonai Camp? Could I go there?” Han demanded, knowing he was testing Elena’s patience.
“That depends,” Elena said, looking over at Dancer, “on how well this secret can be kept. If you are known to be a wizard, your life will be in danger at Demonai, even if you wear the cuffs. Above all, no one must know whose blood you carry.”
Han looked into her hard warrior face and wondered,
Does she mean the Demon King’s, or Hanalea’s?
“So the Demonai warriors don’t know about me?” Han asked, thinking of Bird. And Reid Demonai.
Elena shook her head. “None except Lord Demonai and me. If you decided to keep the cuffs on, it’s best if they don’t.”
Han massaged his forehead. His cup of tea had gone cold. “You said I had a choice.”
Elena looked him in the eyes. “We will remove the cuffs, Hunts Alone, on the condition that you go to Mystwerk House at Oden’s Ford with Fire Dancer and learn to control and use this gift the Maker has given you. We will sponsor you, provide your amulet, and pay your master’s fees and board. When you complete the courses, you will come back here and use your skills on behalf of the clan and the true line of blooded queens.”
Han stared at her. “So wizards are all right as long as they’re working for you?”
Apparently so, he thought, since they all shrugged and looked away.
“Why me?” Han said. “Why not Dancer? He’s a wizard, and he’s not likely to go mad on you.” Just then he was rather taken with the notion of going mad, of breaking things. It seemed like a good out.
“If Gavan Bayar has been able to break the binding placed on him when he was elevated to High Wizard, he must have used old magic,” Averill said. “We’re worried about what else the Bayars have hidden away. If they have access to old amulets, they can use them to win other wizards to their side. We’ll need someone very powerful to oppose them. More powerful than Dancer.”
“What makes you think I’m so powerful?” Han asked. “I’ve never done anything magical.”
“I put the cuffs on you when you were just a baby,” Elena said. Her expression said it was an experience she wouldn’t care to repeat. “I know what you’re capable of.”
Lucius broke into a high wheezing laugh. “The thing is, ever’body knows what young Alger Waterlow could do, boy,” he said. “They’re hoping you take after your many-greats-grandpa. Except for the destroying the world part. They’re hoping to keep you on a tighter leash.”
“So,” Han said, “you’re looking for a magical sell-sword? A mercenary.”
Elena Demonai shook her head. “We are looking for a champion. Someone who will support the camps against the Wizard Council, should the need arise. We cannot wait to see what the Bayars have planned. You need training, and that takes time.”
“And if I refuse, you’ll send Dancer against the Wizard Council on his own.”
Elena nodded. “We’ll have no choice.”
The clan elders were focused on Han, intent on persuasion. They kept talking about Dancer like he wasn’t even there. Which irritated Han.
What if they removed the cuffs, and it turned out Han’s powers were a flash in the pan, a spark that burned out almost immediately? He would have all his same problems and lose the protection the cuffs provided. The next time Gavan Bayar flamed him, he’d go down.
Besides, he knew better than to make a deal when he didn’t know all the details.
“What if you take the cuffs off and I refuse to carry out my end of the bargain?” Han asked. “How do you know I’ll go to Oden’s Ford? How do you know I’ll side with you against the wizards, if it comes to that?”
“Hunts Alone,” Willo said in a rush, “of course you’ll keep your word.”
Lord Averill raised his hand. “No. The boy needs to know.” The patriarch faced Han. “If we remove the restraints and you fail to do what you promised, we will hunt you down and kill you.”
I bet Reid Demonai gets that assignment, Han thought, his neck prickling with unease. Even though he’d been hunted his whole life, he’d always been able to take refuge in the camps when things got hot. This time that sanctuary would be closed to him.
The Demonai matriarch stepped in close to Han, her deep-set eyes fixed on his face as if she thought he might be wavering. “Willo tells us you have lost your family at Lord Bayar’s hands,” she said. “This could be your chance to take your revenge.”
“Elena Cennestre,” Willo said. “Revenge never satisfies the way we think it will. You know that.”
Han stayed fixed on Elena. “What if I change my mind? Can you put the cuffs back on?”
Elena shook her head. “It was hard enough the first time. You’ll be much more powerful now than you were then. I won’t be able to bind the magic again.”
“Take a few days to decide,” Willo urged. “You can come to any of us for counsel.”
Like any of them but Willo would talk him out of it. Han had to admit, the clan reputation for being
skilled traders was well earned.
He knew what Mam would say. Keep the cuffs, stay with Willo, learn a trade, make an honest living. Stay out of the Bayars’ way. Play it safe. That’s what he should do.
But what was he risking, really? Mam and Mari had already paid the price for his stupid mistakes. He’d made a mess of things. That couldn’t be undone.
But he wasn’t the only one to blame. The High Wizard and the queen and her Guard had played a role. The only way he might make them regret what they’d done, might make them think differently about the price of a life—the only way he might make a mark on the world big enough to catch their attention, was to take a chance himself.
At that particular moment he didn’t really care what happened to him. Which was a good thing, because when he looked ahead, he couldn’t really see how he could win this thing.
He extended his hands toward Elena. “I’ve already decided. Take them off.” He glanced over at Dancer as he said it, and saw the relief mingled with pain and regret on his friend’s face.
“Hunts Alone, wait!” Willo said. She turned to the others. “This boy has lost his mother and sister within the month. He is in mourning and he needs time to heal. We should not force him to decide this now.”
“We haven’t much time,” Elena said. “Dancer leaves for Oden’s Ford day after tomorrow, and it would be safer if they traveled together. The term begins in a month, and it will take time to travel there, even if they don’t encounter trouble along the way.”
“I just don’t want him to make a decision he’ll regret later,” Willo said.
“It’s all right. I’ve decided,” Han said again, louder. “Who’s going to do it?” He looked from Elena to Lord Averill.
“Sit down,” Elena said abruptly, not looking at Willo. Han sat on one of the sleeping benches. She brought her carry bag and sat beside him. “Bring the torches closer,” she said, and Dancer and Averill obliged. The acrid smoke stung Han’s nose.
Digging deep into her deerskin pouch, Elena produced a small parcel. She unfolded the leather covering, revealing a set of delicate silver-working tools. Choosing a hammer and chisel, she pressed Han’s arm down across her bony knees and motioned to Willo. Willo knelt next to them and gripped his right hand hard, holding his wrist steady and looking into his eyes. He looked back, struggling to keep his face blank.
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