Chapter Seven

Magus checked a handy weathervane to find a southerly direction and headed off in it purposefully, Alfador half-running by his side, matching the wizard's pace easily. He found that he didn't even need directions to find Tarreiz in the end, because he sensed fairly strong magic and just followed that. The door of the house at which he found himself was not locked. He let himself in, feeling perhaps slightly guilty, Alfador slipping nimbly between his legs to enter the house too.

The room beyond was bright. A girl sat at the table, fair-haired, pale-skinned, maybe a year or two younger than Lucca, and as she lifted her eyes to his he saw that they were dark with a knowledge and hardness far beyond her years.

She spoke in a faintly musical and confident voice. "Hello, Janus."

"I'm looking for Tarreiz," he responded with the caution and distrust anyone could hold for someone who had just named them unerringly.

"Yes. I know," she responded.

There was a long silence, broken only by Alfador's steady purr.

"You're Tarreiz, aren't you?" he said finally, making it more of a statement than a question. "For some reason I assumed you would be male."

"It's a mistake made by many," she replied.

"Your magic is strong enough to be sensed. That's rare. How did you know my name?"

"Strong enough to be sensed by those who are strong enough to sense it, in response to your first statement," Tarreiz told him calmly. "And I am, and have been, many things, Janus. Witch. Queen. Oracle. Prophet. Sorceress. You seek the sorceror Kelke and you require directions to Synalair, yes?"

"Um. Yes." Magus had posed as a prophet before joining the group; he had pulled it off because he had known what would happen. He was sometimes warned by the black wind, a kind of foreboding, but true knowledge of the future was beyond him.

"It is but a trick that can be mastered, Janus," murmured the girl who had to be far older than she looked. "I will lead you to Synalair. Kelke is a different, and far more difficult, matter. His castle is cloaked with enchantments that will cause the eye of the casual observer to slide away, unseeing. I can lead you to Kelke as well, although this is a breach of his privacy."

"We can't pay you," he told her honestly.

"I do not require payment," Tarreiz responded. "I will do this for the Eighth Mage, who travels with you for a reason of which even I am unsure."

"The Eighth Mage?"

"All will come to be explained in time, Janus. All I ask of you and the group that I will lead to Kelke is a favour. Not nearly a simple favour."

"What do you want?" If she could not only lead them to the place where they could get Marle back, but on to Kelke, then surely nothing she asked could be too great.

"When Kelke arrives in an attempt to stop me, and I know he will, his desire not to be found by any of you will be so strong that he will attempt to kill me. I ask that you find a way to prevent him from doing so."

"Oh. Well, okay."

"You wish to begin your journey as quickly as possible," remarked Tarreiz, rising and making her way over to him with an almost impossible grace. Alfador meowed at her. She glanced down at him and smiled with utter delight. "A cat! I love cats! May I hold him?"

"If he wants to be held by you," Magus responded, "then go ahead." Alfador tended to like only Schala and himself, but judging by the cat's ecstatic purrs when Tarreiz picked him up, he would more than tolerate her.

"You are staying at the Horse and Cart?" she queried, walking past him and onto the dark street, Alfador held in her arms.

"Um, yes." He closed the door behind them and followed her.

"Then that was the start of all your problems, Janus," Tarreiz shrugged. "Patrons, especially female, have a tendency to disappear from that particular place."

"Well, no one told us!" Magus responded irritably, flicking a jealous glare at Alfador. "Can I have my cat back?"

"Oh, of course." Tarreiz handed the cat over and led the way back to the inn.

Upon their return, Magus was pleased indeed to find that Robo had discovered a way to wake up the others. Crono looked worried and distressed, and Lucca was talking to him quietly. Everyone was aware of Crono's affection for Marle, and Lucca knew that they had a greater chance of getting her back if he didn't lose it.

"Everyone," Magus announced upon his entry to the room, "this is Tarreiz."

Lucca glanced up and glared. "Tarreiz the magician?"

"Yes, I could be called that," responded Tarreiz calmly.

The inventor demanded, "Magus, why have you brought her here?"

"Because she says she can not only lead us to Marle but take us to Kelke's castle," Magus answered, not understanding why Lucca was so annoyed about the magician's presence.

"You can help us get Marle back?" Crono demanded of Tarreiz.

"I can take you to the place where she would most likely be, Crono, but I cannot promise you her safe return," Tarreiz answered carefully.

"How do you know his name?" The question was from Lucca.

"I see many things, Lucca." The dark eyes flickered. "And you have no reason to be jealous."

"I am not jealous! Why would I be jealous of you?" There was no way Lucca was going to admit it, but she was jealous. Tarreiz was blonde and pretty and not only full-sighted but apparently had some kind of other vision and gave off a sense of allure and power and Magus had brought her back with him. Lucca had always been far too busy with her machines to bother about the opposite gender and, unsure of what to do to even express interest, saw Tarreiz instantly as a threat. Magus was hers, Lucca's, and there was no way she was going to let this magician steal him.

Tarreiz labelled her as utterly unreasonable and turned back to Crono. "If you wish to save Marle from her eventual fate, then you will need to be quick in reaching Synalair."

"Why? What is her 'eventual fate'?" Crono worried.

"Do you not know of Synalair?"

"No, we're from a universe that's alternate to this one," Schala explained.

"Oh. Forgive me, I had not thought to see that far into your origins," Tarreiz apologised (although they didn't really understand for what she was apologising). "You will indeed wish to hurry. The city of Synalair hosts the only public slave market."