Eva was not mollified by this. ‘It’d better be a brief meeting. I never will have anything more to report on the matter if I’m not given enough time to find the information.’
‘Oh yes? It’s not going well then, I take it.’
‘Not swimmingly.’ She recounted the progress - or lack thereof - that she and Tren had made, dwelling on the disappearing books and Tren’s uninvited visitor. Vale frowned as she reached this part, tightening his grip on her waist.
‘Did she hurt you?’
‘I wasn’t even there.’
‘Oh? Where were you?’
‘Out. She didn’t hurt Tren either, thanks for asking. Apparently all she did was take the book and leave.’
Vale pondered this. ‘That is a huge problem for city security.’
‘Maybe,’ Eva mused. ‘It depends what she’s after.’
‘Books, apparently. I’d better place some wardens in the city library.’
‘If there was anything in there she was interested in, Eyde, I imagine it’s already gone.’ There was a thought. Had she and Tren failed at the library because the relevant books had been removed? If so, why?
Vale shifted in his chair. ‘Didn’t you say that Ana did the same thing? Vanished like that?’
‘I did. That thought occurred to me, too. Tren said the book thief’s method looked similar. An instant of translucency before she actually vanished.’
‘If we could only get hold of her,’ Vale mused. ‘Seems the best place to go for answers.’
‘Yes, but hard to catch,’ Eva replied dryly. ‘Any progress with Ullarn?’
‘None yet. I’ll let you know.’
Eva nodded and moved to stand up. He gripped her harder.
‘Eyde, I have work to do.’
‘Don’t let this distract you again, Eva. Please. You’ll be there?’
There meant ready and waiting in a wedding gown at the appointed time, only a few short days away. Eva ignored the tightening sensation in her stomach and gave a smooth reply. ‘Of course.’
He smiled at that. A smile sat oddly on his usually grim face, but Eva had always liked to see it. ‘Good. Don’t work too hard. I want you awake for our wedding.’
Eva slipped off his lap and brushed down her skirts. ‘I didn’t see anything in the reports to suggest that the draykons hurt anyone. I’m not worried about Llandry, but her companion... have you heard anything?’
‘To the best of my knowledge, nothing more untoward happened than the two of them flying over the city. No fire breathing, anyway.’
Eva smiled slightly. The old stories attributed that ability to the draykon race, but she hadn’t seen any evidence of it so far. When the blue draykon had attacked Griel, he’d done so with his teeth.
‘Good,’ she murmured. ‘Let’s hope they stay peaceful. I dread to think how much damage that thing could do if it really got riled up.’
Chapter Ten
For an awful moment Llandry thought that Devary had set her up. The timing was so neat that any other explanation paled in contrast with the horrible idea that Devary had betrayed her. But she could see sincere horror written over his face; more importantly she could feel the dismay and guilt radiating from him.
‘You weren’t asking me to find Llandry,’ he said at last, bitterly. ‘You were using me as bait.’
‘We took the liberty of installing a tracer when we put you back together,’ the man admitted comfortably. ‘Your loyalties have never been where they ought to be.’
Devary’s emotions changed suddenly to anger. ‘Where should they have been? With you? Who are you? You’re no countryman of mine. And what do you want with Llandry, that I should help you instead of her?’
The man merely gazed at Devary thoughtfully. ‘You were suggested as a candidate for promotion, but I think not. You would go the way of our last partials.’
This speech made no sense to Llandry, and apparently it made little to Devary either. He frowned, radiating confusion.
But the man’s attention shifted back to Llandry. ‘Don’t try to Change,’ he said.
She tried it, but his words acted like a binding on her. The part of her that attempted the transformation was relegated to a tiny corner of her mind; the rest obeyed his command with alarming docility. Panic fluttered at the edges of her constrained consciousness. What had he done?
She gathered her will. Pensould, she cried. He was far away but at her call she felt him come hurtling towards her.
Minchu?
She tried to answer him but most of her will had gone, taken over by the pale-haired man that stood at her elbow. She felt herself move closer to him, taking his hand. Devary stared at her as if she had gone mad.
It’s not me, she tried desperately to tell him, but he couldn’t hear her the way Pensould could, and her lips would not speak for her. That discreet gateway opened again and she was pulled into it.
... or only half in, as Devary lunged forward and grabbed her free arm, pulling her back. ‘No,’ he said. ‘Llan, no! You have to fight.’
She wanted to, but her will slipped away as she grasped at it and she could only stand, immobile, as Devary and his enigmatic employer fought over her.
Then Pensould was upon them. He dropped out of the sky almost on top of them, radiating extreme anger. He plucked the pale-haired man off the ground and lifted him, digging his talons into the man’s flesh. Pulled away by Devary, Llandry fell unharmed to the ground. They watched in awe as Pensould carried the man into the skies, moving so fast that his prey had no time to react.
Pensould dropped him.
The man hurtled towards the ground, bleeding and cursing. Llandry felt him slash a hole in the fabric of Iskyr, opening a gateway with none of his former precision. He fell through it and vanished.
Nobody spoke for a long moment. Enraged Pensould, deprived of his prey, circled furiously above, clutching at the air with his wicked claws as though doing so would bring Llandry’s attacker back.
Llandry, though, kept her eyes fixed on Devary.
‘Tell me you didn’t, Dev.’ She wanted to trust his word, but the tale he’d told her dampened her faith in him. He was obviously capable of long-term deception if he felt it worthwhile.
‘I swear, Llan. I came here to warn you, to help you if I could. I would never have willingly brought him to you.’ He stood downtrodden, shoulders slumped, his face a picture of dismay and guilt.
‘All right,’ she said, still feeling wary. Was it an act? ‘He said he “put you back together”. Is that how you healed so fast?’
‘I suppose so,’ Devary replied. ‘I was at your mother’s house. He appeared... gave me a choice. If I would consent to find you, he would heal my wounds. If I didn’t... well, I would be killed, and someone else would be sent after you.’
‘That’s dramatic. People don’t make a habit of killing their employees, that I know.’
Devary spread his hands. ‘This is not a normal contract of employment. I have not been allowed to retire when I chose. I have been threatened more than once, and abducted. And they are displeased with me. I have not cooperated as they feel I should. Do I believe they would kill me? If they thought I was no longer useful, perhaps they would.’
Llandry flexed her left arm, wincing. She had landed on that arm when she fell, and the wrist felt sprained. ‘How did you fail to cooperate?’ She sent a silent communication to Pensould as Devary formulated his reply. Pensould, calm down. All is well.
‘I was selected for surveillance on your mother’s house - on you - because I was already acquainted with the family. But I did not report anything to them.’
Llandry folded her arms and glared at him. ‘And you told all this to my mother, but not to me?’
Devary blinked. ‘How do you know that I told your mother?’
‘Because I was listening. And besides, nobody rational would deceive Mamma for long.’
‘You were listening?’ Dev looked faintly scandalised.
‘You�
�ve kept me under a false impression since we were first introduced, so don’t try to moralise with me.’
‘You knew, then.’
‘Knew? Not really. I heard you tell Mamma that you’d been sent by somebody, and I gathered that there was some bad business between the two of you before. But that was it. I never guessed that you... that you would... spy on my parents.’
Devary winced. ‘That is a harsh construction. I am not a spy, not really. I am merely placed in situations where I might happen to learn things that my employers might find useful.’
Llandry shook her head. ‘I can’t believe she forgave you for that.’
‘Perhaps she has not.’
Llandry grinned. ‘You think not? She left you in sole charge of me for actual days. ’
Devary smiled, a little hesitantly. ‘Is that the test? Very well, then. We will assume that your mother is generous enough to overlook my youthful indiscretion in, er, eavesdropping on her family. But you?’
Pensould’s rage was finally cooling. Llandry felt him coming up behind her, and a moment later his hand - human now - came to rest on her arm. She gave him a brief smile over her shoulder.
‘I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me.’
‘Because it ruined my relationship with your mother. It took her more than twenty years to forgive me. I did not want you to resent me as well.’
Llandry mulled that over. Devary looked so hang-dog that it was impossible for her to harden her heart against him entirely. She elected to trust her mother’s judgement. If she had forgiven him for his earlier betrayal, she must have done so with good reason.
She surprised herself by awarding Devary a hug. ‘It’s okay. Just don’t keep secrets from me anymore. Please.’
Devary returned her embrace a little awkwardly. ‘Agreed.’
Hands grabbed Llandry from behind and jerked her out of Devary’s arms. She turned to find Pensould alternately glaring at her and casting suspicious looks at Dev. She patted his arm soothingly.
Mine, he told her.
Not yours.
MINE.
Llandry sighed. Pensould alternated between endearingly affectionate and violently possessive with alarming frequency.
Not his anyway. All right?
Pensould relaxed slightly, though he didn’t take his eyes off Devary. Dev wisely backed away.
‘We need to get away from here,’ Llandry said. ‘Dev, if you know anything at all about those people you need to tell me. Why do they want me?’ She spoke the words calmly but internally she was deeply unsettled. She had undergone similar experiences recently when she was hunted for the draykon bone; now that the bones were no longer under her control she had hoped she would no longer be a target. Apparently she was wrong. She tried desperately to repress the flutter of panic that rose in her at this thought, but to no avail; her breath grew short and her hands began to tingle as anxiety gripped her. And the tonic she usually took to calm herself was back at her mother’s house...
Pensould cast her an alarmed look and then wrapped his arms around her. Suddenly she was flooded with cooling, soothing energy, mixed up with Pensould’s affection and protectiveness. Her anxiety melted away instantly.
‘Um. Thank you.’ She stared at Pensould, startled. How had he done that?
Pensould kissed her neck. See, there are advantages to being mine. You are safe.
Llandry couldn’t believe him, not quite. She remembered too well how easily Devary’s “employer” had immobilised her. Could he do the same to Pensould?
Devary watched Pensould’s actions with an expression of puzzlement. ‘I know little about these people, Llandry,’ he said after a moment. ‘I have met only the man we saw just now, and one other person. I do not know their names. The power they wield is entirely beyond me. And I do not know why they are looking for you.’
Llandry swallowed. ‘Where can I go to evade them?’
Devary smiled sadly. ‘The first thing you must do is get far away from me.’
‘You aren’t coming with us?’
He shook his head. ‘You heard him, Llan. He has put a tracer on me. I do not know how this thing operates, but it is clear that he was able to find me and travel to me without any difficulty. I must get this “tracer” removed, somehow, and in the meantime we must ensure that I am not again used as bait to get to you.’
Llandry nodded, feeling heavy at heart. ‘Where will you go?’
‘I don’t know. But, listen carefully, they will send others after you. They will be much less sympathetic than me. You must be careful. Now, please, you must leave me before somebody else is able to use my tracer to find you.’
‘But - but wait, what will you do? We can’t just leave you.’
‘I will find my own way home, Llandry, you must trust me. Please, go now.’
He is right. Pensould’s voice in her heart gave Llandry no comfort. It hurt to walk away from Devary and leave him alone, deep in the realm of Iskyr without aid, but after another brief embrace she did just that. She took one last glance at him, looking suddenly small and powerless by himself, before she changed into her draykon form and followed Pensould into the sky.
***
Devary watched as the two draykons ascended into the heavens and began to recede, their forms growing smaller and smaller until they vanished. He stood for a moment, feeling curiously lost. The one thing he most wished to do was to protect Llandry; he owed her that, her and her mother, after failing her so badly before. She had almost been taken because of him. She might have been killed.
But that was the one thing he could no longer do. He had to stay far away from her. How then could he help her?
He thought of the question she’d asked him, her eyes revealing the panic she was trying to suppress. Why do they want me?
He felt that he should be able to answer that question. He had not been given any information, but finding information was his job. He was good at it. He had been a successful agent of Draetre’s university for more than two decades, and his speciality was uncovering peculiarities in the practice of magics. Sorcery and summoning... and, perhaps, whatever form of magic his employers were using.
The source of it all was the university. He knew it was a small establishment, officially dedicated to the study of magical history. And so they were, but alongside that they studied the more obscure branches of magic, including feats, practices and artifacts that were not understood - in some cases, not even believed in - outside of their faculty. And their methods were not always considered ethical within the academic community.
It was this university that had turned Devary, at a young age, into an agent of discovery. A spy, Llandry had called him, and she wasn’t entirely wrong. He had always been good at making people like him, getting them to trust him, encouraging them to confide in him, and this he supposed was why he had been recruited.
He had never yet turned his abilities against the university itself. But something about it was wrong. The university’s methods had grown steadily more ruthless, ever since his superiors had changed from the likes of Professor Indren Druaster - a woman who could be harsh and ambitious, but never amoral to his knowledge - to the pale-haired man they had narrowly escaped. If they were now turning the force of the faculty against individuals like Llandry, then his scruples meant nothing.
He would find out why they wanted her. He would find out who they were and how they were able to perform feats that were impossible even for the most powerful sorcerers. And he would find a way to extricate Llandry from whatever scheme they had in mind for her.
And the logical place to start must be the university itself.
Having decided on this, he felt much better. Gathering his focus, he began the task of opening a gate back to the ordinary world. He had no idea where in the Seven he would emerge, but he would find his way to Draetre somehow.
Chapter Eleven
Tren tapped lightly on the door of Mrs Geslin’s cramped house. Through the flimsy wood
he could hear the squabbling voices of her young daughters and a clattering of metal. He guessed that Mrs Geslin was cooking.
He knocked again, louder. When he still received no response, he tried the door. Finding it unlocked, he ventured inside.
Three young female faces looked up at him in surprise as he entered. He smiled reassuringly.
‘It was open,’ he explained. ‘Hello, Mindra. Larrin, Kaye.’
‘Tren!’ Mindra came up to him immediately. She was the oldest of the three, almost thirteen, and quite forthright. She took charge of him at once, shutting the door firmly behind him and towing him towards the kitchen.
‘Ma’s making dinner,’ she said. ‘You’ll stay, of course.’
‘Er, if it’s all right...’
‘Of course it is. Ma always makes enough for you, just in case you turn up.’
Mindra’s mother stood at the sink in her tiny kitchen, managing a series of large pans with ease. ‘That’s right,’ she said, smiling at Tren. ‘I won’t have you starved when you’re good enough to come to us.’
‘I’m sorry I couldn’t come last week,’ he apologised.
‘Workaholic.’ She smiled at him again. Deep lines were graven on her face and her eyes were shadowed with pain, but today she sparkled with life. Tren hadn’t seen her in such a good mood since... since before her son, Tren’s friend Edwae, was killed.
‘Is everything well?’
She put down the pan she was holding and crossed the room to give him a kiss on the cheek. She had always been more affectionate with him than his own mother had ever been. ‘Come and eat,’ she said. ‘I’ll tell you all about it.’
As usual, Mindra made sure that Tren sat beside her at the meal. She tended to address a constant flow of conversation to him; very little of it was of much interest but he paid her the courtesy of his attention anyway. Mrs Geslin indulged her daughter for a time, but at last she interrupted.
‘Hush now, Mindra. Tren wants to hear about our good fortune.’
‘Can I tell him?’
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