“Master Mechanic Lukas did not simply accept you as a leader,” Alain said. “Not until you had passed the tests he asked of you. And if anything goes wrong in Edinton, they know you have proven the ability to make decisions quickly under great stress.”
“You mean like in Altis, where my great decisions trapped us in a warehouse?” Mari said.
Alain shook his head at her. “Your decisions were not wrong. They should have worked. You did not know we were being perceived by that Mechanic device that betrayed our location. I will remind you that you kept making decisions despite the situation getting more and more desperate. You did not freeze in terror or indecision.”
“I came awful close, Alain,” Mari admitted.
“But you did not. You kept thinking and you kept acting.” Alain reached to rest one hand on hers where it lay in her lap. “You have two more important qualifications. One is that those who follow you believe in you. That confidence is no small thing in battle. Call it pure illusion if you will. You know almost as well as I the power that such an illusion can wield.”
Mari grimaced but nodded. “What’s the second thing?”
“You listen to those who know more and are willing to accept their advice, just as you have listened to me and are willing to accept that perhaps you are not so awful a leader as you fear. Perhaps you are even very good at it.”
This time her smile lingered. “What did I do to deserve you?”
“You did not kill me when first we met.”
“I’m never going to live that down, am I?” Mari closed her eyes and sighed. “I should try to get a little sleep. Would you mind lying down with me? When you’re holding me, it’s easier to keep the nightmares at bay.”
“I could be convinced to lie down with you and hold you,” Alain said.
“I’ll bet you could!” She smiled at him. “Thank you. Sometimes I think too much.”
“You will never be someone who thinks too little,” Alain said.
“That’s true. Every time I think you’re totally deluded about me and just seeing some perfect illusion of me, you say something that helps me realize you do know me.” She nodded to him. “Whatever happens in Edinton, I’ll do my best.”
* * * *
The Gray Lady and the Pride of Longfalls, both flying the flag of the Mechanics Guild, entered the harbor of Edinton just before midnight. A harbor police boat rowed up to the Pride, but before those aboard could issue any instructions Captain Banda called down to them in the arrogant and assured tones of a Mechanic. “Guild business!”
That was all it took to get past the harbor defenses, which had been strongly admonished not to interfere in any way with Mechanics Guild shipping.
Leaving behind the unhappy occupants of the harbor police boat, the Pride led the way through the harbor, past a variety of large sailing ships which carried out trade all over the Sea of Jules and into the Sea of Bakre as well as many smaller ships whose size, oars, and sails were suited for short voyages up and down the coast. Reaching an anchorage as close to the main quay as possible, the Pride tied up to the buoy and passed a line over to the Gray Lady so the smaller ship could tether to the larger one.
The boat from the Gray Lady and two much larger longboats from the Pride of Longfalls came alongside the boat landing a short time later. Crewmembers tied up the boats as thirty-one Mechanics disembarked displaying widely varying degrees of physical skill and agility. Alli arranged the armed Mechanics in front of the group, which produced an intimidating image. “We have as many rifles as two or three Imperial legions,” she commented to Mari.
A few city guards at the landing, previously bored as they endured the tedium of duty during a period of the day when little ever happened, were gaping at the Mechanics. Their officer came forward, looking as nervous as could be expected. “Honored Mechanics, may I request—”
Mari held up her hand to forestall questions she wasn’t going to answer. “This is an internal Mechanics Guild matter,” she said. “Neither the city of Edinton nor the Bakre Confederation is involved. Stay clear of us, do not interfere, and do not sound any alarms. No harm will come to your city.”
“But—” The officer’s eyes came to rest on the six Mages accompanying the Mechanics as the Mages walked into the light of the guard post lantern, and her jaw dropped. “I must…I must inform my superiors, Lady Mechanic.”
“Of course you must,” Mari agreed. “Feel free to notify your superiors. Just don’t sound any alarms and don’t get in our way.”
The officer’s gaze had shifted and was now locked on Mari. “Lady? Are you…?”
“Don’t do anything,” Mari said, giving the words all of the force that she could. “Tell the city leaders, tell your commanders, that they should not do anything. I will speak with them before I leave this city.”
“Lady, I must know. Have you come from Julesport?”
“Yes.”
The officer saluted, then hastily moved to one side. Mari waved her force onward and they walked past the common soldiers, who gazed at the procession with rapt expressions.
“A couple of those soldiers ran off once we were past,” Calu told Mari. “Taking the news to their bosses, I’m sure. A lot of commons in this city will be getting early wakeups this morning.”
“Just as long as none of the Mechanics hear about it,” Mari replied.
It was a long slog from the waterfront to the vast open plaza that surrounded the Mechanics Guild Hall of Edinton. Mari’s force labored along nearly deserted streets, the Mechanics soon feeling the exertion required to maintain the speed necessary to reach the Guild Hall in the hour before dawn. Edinton was pretty far south on the continent, and even at this hour the Mechanics grew uncomfortably warm in their jackets. But none of them would remove those signs of their status and their knowledge.
The Mages, wearing their robes, walked as if they could hold the same pace for days without pausing. As far as Mari could tell, none of the Mages had even broken a sweat. She wondered why she gained an impression of smugness even though they were revealing no feelings at all.
The few commons they encountered hastily sought shelter in the nearest open building or side street. Whatever an armed group of Mechanics was doing at this predawn hour was not anything any smart common would want to get involved in. And if the commons spotted the Mages among the Mechanic jackets, that only offered further grounds for avoiding the group.
“We are being paced,” Alain said to Mari. “Cavalry and some soldiers on foot.”
Mari glanced over as they passed a side street, seeing a couple of mounted soldiers a block down riding parallel to the progress of the Mechanics. “What do you think they’re doing?”
“Watching,” Alain said. “There are far too few to threaten us. The city leaders of Edinton are taking the wise course of waiting to see what we do.”
“Good.” She cast an annoyed look at him. “Why are you keeping your eyes on the street so much? You’re looking down as though you expect to see something.”
“I am studying the surface,” Alain said.
That was an ambiguous statement at best, but she remembered Alain telling her that Mages needed to know the details of the “illusion” of the world so they could effectively change that illusion in the ways they wanted. “All right. Sorry. I’m nervous,” she half-explained, half-apologized.
“The other Mechanics are far more nervous than you are,” Alain said, keeping his voice low. “They have far less experience with risking their lives.”
Mage Asha walked a little faster to catch up with Mari, Mechanic Dav staying right by her side. “I sense a Mage in that direction,” she told Mari and Alain, indicating a low hill crowned by the trees, shrubs, and ornamental structures of a small park that loomed off to their left. “I feel that she is aware of us, but only watches for now.”
It was a very odd feeling to be walking down the empty streets knowing that so many hidden eyes were observing your progress. Mari had to suppress an u
Consumed by those concerns, Mari was startled when they finally reached the large plaza that separated the Guild Hall from the surrounding common buildings. The group, still concealed from the Hall by those buildings, stopped to rest while Mari studied the familiar lines of the Guild Hall with new eyes.
From the outside, the first floors of the Guild Hall presented the walls and slit windows of a fortress. Mari knew those walls were thick and strong.
“Has anyone ever broken into a Guild Hall before?” Mechanic Dav asked.
“Yes,” Mari said. “At Marandur.”
“Oh, yeah, of course. What was that like? The Guild Hall, I mean.”
Mari paused at the memory. “Haunted. Everything collapsed on top of everything else. Rusted tools and equipment, spilled chemicals. Old, broken bones. Dead. It was pretty awful, Dav.”
“I wonder if my ancestor died at the Guild Hall?” Dav said, crouching to look across the plaza. “Or somewhere else in Marandur during the battle?”
“Somewhere else,” Mari said.
Dav turned a surprised look on her. “How do you know?”
“I saw his grave, Dav. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to tell you much, but someday I will. I will tell you, right now, that he was a hero, and an ancestor you can be very proud of.”
“Thanks,” Dav said with a smile. “Do you think he would approve of what we’re doing?”
“I know he would.” Mari looked at Alain. “Any warning?”
Alain shook his head. “My foresight provides no warning. Which does not mean there is no danger, given how unreliable foresight is.”
Mari pointed at the windows of the Guild Hall. “The guards posted inside the front entrance can’t see us from this angle, but the security watches that rove through the building are supposed to look out the windows as they pass and make sure no one is on the plaza during the night,” she explained to Alain and the other Mages.
“Five minutes,” Alli said, checking her watch. “Right, everybody? The roving watches should pass by this side and give us a small period of time when it’s unlikely anyone will see us coming.”
“If they’re following the routines,” Master Mechanic Lukas cautioned. Sweat was still running down his face from the long, fast walk. “But this is Edinton. They might have increased their alert status. Or they might have let the roving watches get sloppy.”
“Maybe,” Mari agreed. “We’ve all walked those watches when we were Apprentices. At this moment, every one of those on duty will be thinking about how tired they are and how much they wish they were back in bed, how they’ve got more than an hour left before being relieved, what they’ll have for breakfast—”
“Everything but their watch responsibilities,” Lukas agreed dryly. “It’s still a substantial risk to go out there. Even a single Mechanic spotted on that plaza would be grounds for a roving watch to sound the alarm.”
“Then we’ll have to hope that doesn’t happen.” Mari looked at Alli. “How much longer?”
“One minute. Let’s get ready to head out, everyone.”
At Alli’s signal, they began walking again. Mari had considered running, to minimize the time they were out on the plaza, but running Mechanics would certainly signal trouble to anyone who saw them. Whereas walking Mechanics might look like an unusual but not threatening group arriving to check in at Guild Hall at an odd hour.
Hopefully. Mari put one hand on her pistol as she walked, trying to breathe steadily, watching the windows of the Guild Hall as they approached it, wondering whether someone would look out at any moment and see them, whether weapons inside were already being pointed toward her and the others.
She had never realized just how wide this blasted plaza was.
Chapter Nine
“I swear that Guild Hall is receding from us as we try to get closer,” Alli muttered, fingering the rifle she held in both hands.
“It’s not much farther,” Mari encouraged everyone.
The group finally reached the outside wall of the Guild Hall, everyone pushing up against it to minimize the chance of being seen from any windows overhead. “I can’t hear any alarms sounding inside,” Calu commented.
Several of the Mechanics studied the wall they were at, looking up and around to orient themselves, using their hands to trace lines on the blank surface. “The alarm line should run along here, right?”
“A little higher.”
“There ought to be a junction about…there.”
“Where’s the internal floor level?”
“There’s a dividing wall inside. Is that…no…here. Right?”
Eventually, one of the Mechanics looked at Mari. “This is where we need a door, Master Mechanic.”
“Trace it for Mage Alain,” Mari said.
The Mechanic ran his forefinger along the wall, outlining a squat rectangle.
“Any problem?” Mari asked Alain.
“It should not be,” Alain said. “But once I use this spell, and the other Mages with us begin using spells as well, the Mages in Edinton will know we are here and may be able to identify some of us.”
Alain took on the intense concentration familiar to Mari, while most of the Mechanics looked on skeptically.
The opening appeared. “Do not take too long,” Alain said, keeping his eyes on the spot.
Mari and her friends hustled the rest of the Mechanics inside, everyone ducking to get through the low opening, while Mage Dav ensured that the Mages entered. The walls here at the base were so thick that the opening was much more of a tunnel than a door. Alain came last, relaxing once he was inside and slumping back against the once-more solid wall. “Are you all right?” Mari murmured.
“Tired,” Alain said. “Is it what you call ironic that the area around us has a good supply of power to use?”
“Power for Mages around the Mechanics Guild Hall? Yes, that is ironic.” Mari looked around. With the illusion of a hole in the illusion of the wall gone, the group was crowding a hallway so dark it took a few moments for their eyes to adjust. “Are we where we’re supposed to be?”
“We need light,” someone complained.
Mari brought out her portable light, as did Bev and a few other Mechanics. As they switched on, Mage Hiro moved close to Mechanic Ken and gazed closely at the light. “How is this done? You are changing the illusion of dark to that of light, but there is no power being used.”
“We’re using power,” Ken assured Hiro. “These have batteries.”
“Different power,” Mari told Ken. “It’s so different from what the Mages use that they can’t sense it.”
“That makes me feel better,” Ken said. “Sir Mage, after seeing one of you Mages make an instant tunnel through more than a lance-length of reinforced concrete and masonry, it’s nice to know that some of our Mechanic skills impress you.”
“This one is…interested…” Mage Hiro said without feeling or expression. “Not…impressed.”
“He means that well,” Mari whispered to Ken. Then, more loudly but still quietly, “Isn’t this hallway on the roving watch route?”
“Sure is.” Alli checked the time. “But the watch won’t be by here for half an hour.”
“The armory is this way,” another Mechanic said. They went down one of the narrow hallways that ran next to the outer wall, passing an armored emergency exit with thick steel bars locked in place across it to protect against anyone breaking in. “We need to go up to the next corner, then left.”
Just short of that corner, Bev held up a warning hand. “Hold it! I heard something.”
The group shuffled to an irregular halt. Once they did, the sound of footsteps became clear. Whoever was walking didn’t seem to be in any hurry, but was coming their way. “I know that slow, dispirited shuffle,” Calu commented in a whisper. “That’s an Apprentice on roving watch.”
“Either they’re off-schedule or the schedule here at Edinton has changed!” Alli whispered back.
Mari realized that everyone was looking at her, waiting for her to tell them what to do. Could she convince the Apprentice that this was just some routine group of Mechanics who were out at an odd time?
“Wait,” she murmured. “If we were a regular group of Mechanics…”
“Mari?” Alli questioned.
“Everybody else stay here.” Mari gestured the others back, then came around the corner.
Partway down the hall, an Apprentice was making his rounds, meandering along in the bored fashion Mari remembered from her own days having to fulfill such duties. Despite the fact that he was supposed to be watching for trouble of any kind, the teenage Apprentice took a while to notice Mari wearing her dark jacket in the dim hallway. Finally he did, stumbling to a sudden halt.
Mari saw that unlike the security patrols she was used to, this Apprentice was equipped with a pistol in a holster on one hip. She beckoned imperiously, adopting the worst kind of Master Mechanic attitude. “Get over here.”
Even in the dimly lit hallway she could see the Apprentice’s worry as he doubtless wondered what this full Mechanic was about to chew him out for. He hastened up to Mari. “My pardon, Lady Mechanic, I was—”
“Never mind that,” Mari interrupted harshly. “Let me see that revolver.”
“Lady Mechanic, my instructions are not to remove the revolver from the holster unless—”
“Did I ask you what your instructions were?” Mari broke in, letting her voice grow even harsher. “Don’t you think I already know what your instructions are? Hand me that weapon for inspection!”
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