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

  Mordan and the kits were stalking the perimeter, ears twitching, as they snuffed at the myriad scents they found. The child was pointedly ignoring them, making smoothing motions with her hands as she repaired the walls.

  Gustav, Brigitte, and the shadow guards had fanned out around her, covering the cats and the two remaining exits. Henri stood back, crossbow unslung as he eyed the darkened entrances coming off the balcony running several meters above the floor. Vines crept over the walls, but the floor remained clear of vegetation. Rubble was another matter.

  “You couldn’t have tidied up in here, could you?” Henri demanded, and Aisha flinched.

  “Walls first,” she told him, her small voice serious. “I like it here.”

  “Uh-huh. You gonna ask Roeglin what he thinks?” Henri wanted to know.

  “Maybe.” It was as good as a no, but the guard didn’t argue. He looked around as Marsh and Roeglin stepped into the room. “You two took your sweet time.”

  Roeglin and Marsh ignored him as they picked their way through the fallen pieces of concrete and strewn rock.

  “What are you doing out here, Aysh?” Marsh asked.

  “Practicing,” Aisha told her, and Roeglin snorted.

  “Are too!” the child insisted, gesturing toward the wall. “See?”

  “Sure, you are,” Marsh replied, and put her hands on her hips, carefully surveying the area. “Now, tell me. What are you really doing?”

  “Practicing!” Aisha repeated in a determined voice. She turned to the stairs. “See?”

  Without waiting for an answer, she drew more stone from the ground, this time pulling the rubble into her construction. She kept one eye on what she was doing while warily regarding Marsh with the other.

  Dan? Marsh asked, reaching along their link.

  Others have been, was the hunter’s short reply. Human, a small pride… She paused. And Tok.

  At the mention of the mantid’s name, Marsh stilled. Is he still here?

  No. The kat looked around. But he is not far.

  “Search the area,” Marsh ordered. “We are being watched.”

  “Wanna give us a clue what we’re looking for?” Henri made it sound like she was being deliberately obtuse.

  “Wanna see what you can turn up?” Marsh snapped back.

  2

  Meeting Adjourned

  The wolves slipped around the crumbled staircase, finding another opening behind it and plunging deeper into the ruin. The kits and Scruffknuckle made a quick circuit of the chamber and its perimeter before vanishing back through the entrance.

  The shadow guards made their own check of the chamber and then looked up. Mordan followed their gazes.

  “You want to fix those stairs for me, Aysh?” she asked.

  The little girl crossed her arms and scowled. “Noooo.”

  “Well, will you do it anyway?” Marsh pressed.

  Aisha gave a huff of breath and stomped her foot. She unfolded her arms. “Fine,” she grumbled and began directing more stone from the rubble to move into the staircase.

  “It’s made of wood, you know,” she said as if Marsh should have been aware of how impossible the task was.

  “That’s never stopped you before,” Marsh reminded her and added, “and not all of it’s made of wood, just the railing. You can fix that, can’t you?”

  Aisha gave a helpless wave of her hands and sat down. “Can’t,” she replied. “Too tired.”

  “We definitely have to look upstairs,” Henri observed, and Aisha shot him a filthy look.

  Roeglin chuckled. “Definitely,” he agreed and walked to the deeper shadows at the foot of the stairs.

  Aisha sighed and picked up a fragment of rubble, tossing it at the staircase. “Cheater.”

  Mordan stalked to the base of the stairs and shot the child a questioning look.

  Aisha shook her head and stuck out her lower lip. “No.”

  The kat twitched her tail and leapt gracefully over the broken section to more solid footing.

  “Arschloch,” the child muttered.

  Henri walked over and stood behind her. He looked at Marsh. “You shadow mages go do your thing. Jakob and I will look after her.”

  “Can look after myself,” Aisha argued, and promptly pulled a dome of stone over herself.

  Henri stared at it wide-eyed. “Well, look who got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!”

  “Did not,” came as a muffled echo from the dome. Marsh figured the child had left enough of a gap to listen through. She was going to be just fine.

  Now to see what the little rat is hiding, she thought, studying the balcony above.

  Roeglin and Mordan were moving cautiously along it from the end closest the stairs. Marsh looked at Brigitte.

  “Other end?”

  “Other end,” the shadow mistress confirmed, and they headed for a deeper patch of shadow.

  “Guess we’ll take the center,” Izmay declared, nodding at Zeb.

  The gauze band she wore to protect her eyes from the sun was in place, but she still squinted against the sunlight coming in through the stone gaps above.

  The balcony was in surprisingly good repair, Marsh noticed and racked her brains, trying to work out which of the nearby ruins it might be. There were some buildings that had weathered the passage of time better than others. The patrols used them as landmarks to guide them through the Devastation.

  When it didn’t come to mind, she focused on where she was searching. The balcony led into a long corridor with multiple doorways on either side. The chamber they’d come through was probably a huge entry hall. For what, she couldn’t imagine.

  Either way, it gave them more to search, and they didn’t have all day. She glanced at Roeglin and he shrugged, moving toward a large block of stone that partially blocked the balcony. When he stopped and cocked his head, and Mordan sank to her belly and began creeping around the other side of the boulder, Marsh called a sword and buckler to her hands.

  Beside her, Brigitte did the same. Izmay and Zeb had already moved into one of the corridors and were cautiously approaching the first door. Izmay glanced back and saw them arming. She tapped Zeb and jerked her head in their direction.

  Zeb nodded, and the pair of them drew weapons from the dark. He and Izmay moved away from the door, and they backed up so they had a wall behind them while they watched what was happening. Marsh dipped her head in acknowledgment and got ready to defend Roeglin if she needed to.

  Mordan chose that moment to pounce, then Roeglin surged forward, and Marsh tensed.

  There was a startled squawk, and Mordan tried a midair pivot to turn back on herself. At the same time, a small figure dove away from the back of the boulder. Roeglin skidded to a halt, jerking his blade up and away.

  “Tamlin!”

  Mordan landed with a thump and rumbled a protest, stalking past.

  “Tamlin?” Aisha’s piping voice was part question and part outrage.

  Marsh released her blade to the shadows and walked over to the boy. “Care to explain?”

  He gestured toward his sister. “Someone has to keep an eye on her. You know what she’s like!”

  “Hey!” Aisha protested. “I’m right here.”

  “I know,” Tamlin replied, “and you’re a pain in the ass.”

  “Hey!”

  “If the shoe fits,” Roeglin put in, dispelling his sword.

  Marsh cocked her head. “So, what’s your sister really been doing here?”

  Before the boy could reply, the soft sound of movement rustled in the corridor opposite. They all pivoted, weapons appearing from thin air as a tall, thin shape moved out of a darkened hollow to where they could see it.

  “Tok!”

  The mantid twitched its eyes, and an apologetic shudder rippled over its body.

  I am sorry.

  Tok! Aisha’s squeak of alarm was a dead giveaway.

  Marsh walked to the edge of the balcony and looked from the child to the mantid.
r />   “Care to share?” she asked, knowing the bug would pull the meaning out of her head anyway.

  “Practicing.” Aisha still sounded sullen. She folded her arms and gave Marsh a rebellious look.

  “Practicing what?” Roeglin wanted to know.

  We are practicing mental magic. Tok intervened. She grasps the concepts quickly, and her mind-walking required supervision.

  Marsh didn’t ask how the bug had discovered that.

  We did not ask permission to help, just as we did not ask permission to guard your mind while you slept, Tok explained.

  “I beg your pardon?” Marsh snapped, cutting him off before he could go any further.

  When you sleep, Tok added by way of explanation.

  How do you know that?

  Your cries echo through the ruins.

  Marsh shot Roeglin a look of alarm.

  He nodded. They do. He frowned. Or they did.

  He regarded Tok with mild curiosity. Your sleep has been undisturbed since two days after you returned.

  He raised an eyebrow. Did you do that?

  The mantid inclined its head. We have assigned guardians to ensure she is undisturbed.

  Marsh stared at him, open-mouthed. “Why would you do that?”

  After all, it wasn’t like her cries were keeping the mantids awake.

  “Yes,” Henri asked from the ground floor. “What makes her so special that she needs her sleep protected?”

  Izmay cleared her throat, and he glanced up at her.

  “Not that the rest of us don’t appreciate it,” he hastily added. “I like sleeping through the night.”

  Marsh hung her head, and Roeglin chuckled. Tok’s thoughts reflected amusement.

  Gustav cleared his throat. He was staring up at Tok from beside Aisha, his flame-wreathed sword in his hand. “Someone want to introduce us?”

  Marsh arched an eyebrow. “You don’t remember?”

  Gustav shook his head.

  “These guys helped rescue us from the remnant that attacked just before we arrived.”

  Gustav’s eyebrows rose, and he shuffled back a couple of steps so he could get a better view of the mantid. Tok stepped forward into a ray of sunshine, and the guardsman gasped.

  Marsh watched tension run through his frame, and watched as he assimilated the idea that the monster standing in the upper balcony might be a friend. After a minute, he glanced at Roeglin and cleared his throat.

  “So, Shadow Master, when were you going to introduce them to the rest of us?”

  Roeglin’s jaw dropped, and he glanced at Marsh.

  She managed a tight smile and a shrug. “Maybe sooner would be better.”

  Gustav stared at her. When he saw he’d gotten her attention, he glared. “Darned right it would be better. We’ve all heard about the battle, and we’re all pretty frustrated that the people who were there keep avoiding the answers.”

  He looked at Tok. “No offense. I can see why they might, but we’ve all heard about the rescue, and there’s more than a few of us as would like to say thanks.”

  No offense taken. Your reaction and the frustration expressed by your nestmates are similar to views expressed among my people. Tok’s answer came as a surprise.

  The mantid’s eyes swept forward to focus on Marsh and Roeglin.

  We need to let our peoples meet. I believe the meeting will be less stressful than we at first believed.

  Again, Roeglin’s gaze slipped toward Marsh. What do you think?

  Again, Marsh shrugged. I don’t see the harm.

  “Very well,” he said aloud for everyone’s benefit. He looked at Tok. “Will three days from now suffice? You and I change the time if it is not.”

  “Your place or mine?” Henri whispered sotto voce and snickered.

  Izmay groaned, but Roeglin laughed, and Tok clattered his mandibles to signify amusement.

  I believe it would be better if we were to visit you, Tok replied. You would be better able to control the area and keep your people safe.

  And you? Roeglin asked. How do we guarantee your safety?

  The risk will be ours, Tok assured him. If things go wrong, we will flee.

  Marsh shivered. I do not want things to go wrong.

  Your people have forgiven much worse than a different appearance, Tok reminded them, and Marsh had to agree.

  I will speak with you, Roeglin promised.

  And I with you, Tok agreed, although that is not the matter of most concern.

  “It isn’t?” Roeglin sounded like Marsh felt.

  Unfortunately, no. You see, I coordinate the child’s morning lessons with my return from delivering our trade, and today I would have had to speak to you since your trade is not present, Tok explained.

  “It wasn’t?” Gustav broke in. “But I set it out myself.”

  Nevertheless, Tok reiterated, it was not present upon my arrival. I left our goods regardless but thought it best to draw the matter to your attention.

  “We’ll look into it,” Marsh assured him. She turned to Roeglin. “I’ll take Gustav, Brigitte, and the apprentices and report back to you. We’ve kept you from your duties long enough.”

  He was going to have to call those from the caravan together, along with the other community leaders who hadn’t been present—and he would probably need to show the leaders the kind of guest they were expecting. She wasn’t equipped to do that.

  As much as she wanted to, her ability to communicate mind to mind was limited, and she had yet to master the ability to weave memory and shadow to recreate events that had already passed. That and Roeglin didn’t need her presence.

  Nor could he be in two places at one time.

  “Agreed.” Roeglin nodded toward her and then shadow-stepped to the ground floor.

  He knelt in front of Aisha. “You and I and Shadow Mistresses Petitfeu and Leclerc are going to discuss your training.”

  “And Tams,” the girl told him, folding her arms and pursing her lips.

  Roeglin hesitated. “Fine, and Tams.”

  Marsh heard the boy’s sigh of relief.

  I will return to the nest, Tok told them. We have crops to harvest and must work to expand the growing caverns.

  Mordan gave a grunting rumble, and the mantid cocked his head.

  Your friend is impatient to investigate, and I am reminded that my people would also like to thank the creatures that assist our hunts and supply the meat you provide in trade.

  He looked at Roeglin. I will return now, but my mind will be open to your contact.

  “No fair!” Aisha wailed. “We’re not done!”

  The mantid hesitated, then leapt over the balcony’s edge to land lightly beside Roeglin and the child. Marsh noticed that Henri’s and Gustav’s hands dropped to their weapons but stopped and rested there.

  I am afraid we must be, Tok told the little girl. There are other matters that require our attention, and I have introduced you to the skills you need to master. I expect you to practice them before the dawn.

  Aisha cast a sly glance toward Marsh and Brigitte. “But they aren’t supposed to know.”

  I think they know now, and you will have to show them what you have learned so they can know it, too. You will have to show them.

  Aisha’s face lit up. “Really?”

  Marsh, Brigitte, and Roeglin all nodded solemnly.

  “After lunch,” Roeglin informed her. “I will meet you in the Great Hall, and you will show us then.”

  “And only us,” Brigitte added. “We need to see what you are learning so we can decide if we should ask Master Tok for help with our training.”

  Roeglin sighed. “I will add it to the things we need to speak about,” he told the mantid, and Tok’s amusement rippled through their minds.

  The mantid inclined his head in farewell before taking several steps back and turning toward the entrance.

  Until then, Shadow Master.

  3

  Missing Items

  Marsh, Tamlin, an
d the shadow guards watched the mantid leave and then descended from the balcony. It was nothing for them to step from the shadows there to the shadows on the ground floor.

  “I need to return to the Library,” Roeglin admitted.

  His face was troubled as though he hated not following through on the investigation.

  “I’ll report back as soon as we have an idea what’s going on.”

  “Do you think it’s remnant?” Henri asked, and Marsh shook her head.

  “No, Tok would have said.”

  “Well, we hope he would have said,” Henri corrected sarcastically. “Who knows what those things deem worthy of reporting?”

  Marsh couldn’t tell if the man was joking or serious, but Izmay groaned and slapped his arm.

  “Don’t be difficult, Henri. You know he would.”

  Henri turned to her with raised eyebrows. “Do I?”

  “Ugh. You know you would.”

  Roeglin looked from them to Gustav and Brigitte. “Go with her.”

  He shifted his attention to Marsh. “Take the kids, kats, and Scruffknuckle.”

  Marsh nodded and turned toward the entrance. “Dan!”

  The kat had settled on the balcony, but she raised her head and rose to her feet. As Marsh walked out, Aisha and Tamlin in tow, she leapt gracefully down to join them. The kits and Scruffknuckle emerged from the shadows and wove around them before leading the way out of the ruin.

  This is a useful space. Roeglin’s voice reached her along their link.

  Agreed, Marsh replied. What do you want it for?

  I don’t know, but winter is coming, and it would be good to have a place for the mages to practice that isn’t under everyone’s feet.

  He meant a place where the mages couldn’t break anything or accidentally target a civilian with lightning or a stone shard, and they both knew it. Still, he had a point. The hall would be an ideal space for them to practice in, and the smaller spaces on the upper floor would be good for other classes.

  We’ll discuss it when I get back, she told him.