Disclaimer: I am not Tamora Pierce as you can clearly tell from my writings. The plot is mine but I suspect that some things that will be written here may appear in some of TP's future books, but not the same as I write them. Alexander Debegri is my character, as well as his parents, and anyone else you don't recognize. A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while! This chapter may be a little strange because I don't really know what to make them do next! Hopefully I'll get to update more often! I think I finally have a way to go!

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The Shakkan was a ball of twigs and leaves. It looked more like a bush now than a tree. But the good news was that it had stopped growing. Briar came to his senses shortly after the first bell of dawn. He felt very relaxed for some reason and decided to prune his prize plant. As he cut off the first branch he prepared himself for the pain this normally caused him. Nothing happened. Creasing his eyebrows he tried again, still not a tingle. Briar looked inside himself for his magic and found none. Not a trace of his surplus power. Still very calmly he stood up and walked out into the main room, looking as if he hadn't noticed a thing.

Sandry was sprawled along the couch her spindle in one hand and the Bijili in the other. Her face was beat red but she didn't seem to notice. Briar could almost see the heat waves coming from her body. Shaking his head he went back into his room for his mages kit. The cooling balm would be gone soon if he kept using like this. "Sandry, how are you feeling now?"

Sandry looked up, she hadn't noticed him enter the room, either times. "Briar! You're awake! How do you feel? What happened last night? Tris is furious."

"Here," he put some balm on her eyelids. "You're not using your magic are you?" Sandry shook her head. "Good. You need to rest, build it up. Do you have a headache?"

"No. You haven't answered my questions."

"I'm fine." He answered, his lying never worked on her.

"Briar this is no time to play strong now. Tell me."

"I don't have my magic." He said non pulsed.

"Well you used an awful lot of it last night that's understandable."

"No Sandry. I don't have it. There isn't anything. I can't even feel where it was." Sandry's eyes widened.

"How is that possible? Your magic can't up and leave you."

"I don't know. Remember what Daja told us? Before we all left?" Sandry gave him a look saying 'Yes... Daja only ever told us one thing!', so he continued. "About Frostpine as a child, how his magic was stolen from him when he was born and used by their village shaman?" Sandry nodded.

"You think someone stole your magic? Why would anyone do that?"

"Its either that they wanted to use it or prevent me from using it. The later is more probable. Think about it. We are the only four mages that can stop what is going on. He probably knows that, and he's probably heard the stories."

"He won't believe them if he has heard them Briar! No one does."

"Whether he believes it or not he is still going to stop us using the magic. He's smart Sandry, he won't leave any room for error."

"He already has." Tris was standing in the doorway to her room, an open letter with the remainder of the Winding circle seal on it. Where is Daja? We need to talk."

"I haven't seen her all morning. She won't still be abed. She never sleeps late." Sandry scrunched up her face thinking. "Oh I know. It's market day. She probably went to the forge of to look around for some more metal."

"Crap." Tris murmured.

"What is it?" Briar wondered.

"Keth just sent this." She put the paper down of the table and sat opposite Briar. The letter was not what Briar had expected.

-Dear Trisana, and friends. I hope you are well. This is very interesting news. I don't have the time to look into it quite yet. Niko is still not back to his old self. He keeps muttering to himself. What he says isn't pleasant. Everyone is hoping he isn't predicting the future. I'll go into this more in my next letter. Further more the seers are having a terrible time. Once we moved Niko from the hub and got him settled Lark and Rosie went back. The seers were all staring blankly at the floor where all of the seeing instruments had shattered. They say it all happened at once. We should have more information on that soon enough. Don't fret. Don't do anything that will make you stand out. The thing you want least is for whoever is causing this to notice your abilities. Enclosed are four necklaces. Wear them if this 'presence' bothers you. They are made from a very fine spun silk cord and the bead is glass. See if they keep the problem bearable. We don't want any more accidents, like that of Lady Sandriline's. I'll write soon. Keth.-

"Well that doesn't give us much." Briar said.

"It gives us an experiment. If this works then Keth will have something to build on." Tris said. Sandry nodded grimly.

"I hope it works. Can I see the necklaces? Oh! That reminds me. Tris put this on your arm." Sandry said holding out her yellow string. Tris took four black necklaces from her pocket and handed one to Briar and Sandry. The string was so fine that Sandry could only feel it because of her magic. The bead was cold and a deep blackish brown.

"I'm going to go write back to Keth." Tris said and she walked into her room. Sandry picked up her book and returned to spinning.

"Briar you should prune your Shakkan. You don't need magic to do it." He nodded, stood and went into his room.

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I sat on the floor in the middle of my magic tower. Flicking a finger I set the wood in it's central hearth on fire. My seeing crystal was on a low table next to me as well as all the ingredients for my spell. Throwing a handful of spelled sand into the flames I began to chant a power spell.

When the smoke filling the enclosed room was charged with magic I ended my chant and began meditating, again to raise power, but a different kind. Calling on my patron God Baion, (A/N: The Namronese God of ice, cold and death... I looked at Tammy's web site and tried to find out if there were any evil God's like there are in the Tortall series but this was the closest I could find... And I didn't have any ideas for a new God. Also the Namronese think kind of works with what I'm going to write next. PS. Should I tell who the bad guy is in upcoming chapters or not?) I prayed for the power he gives to those in his service. The room turned cold, to cold for someone who was only wearing breeches, but I couldn't interrupt the magical working for anything.

The spell to create the presence is fairly simple if you know what you're doing. Putting such a large area under for hours on end takes large amounts of energy and magic. It must be done in fragments and renewed every three days.

Glancing in my mirror I see the Lady Sandriline tie a piece of string around her neck. There was a pale black bead on the end... Looking closer I mumble a word and the image in the mirror widened so that all I can see is the bead on it's string. Not good I thought. The bead shimmered in the dimming light it appeared to be crystal. No, not crystal, glass. I thanked Qunoc Mother Goddess. The glass bead would hold of the presence's magic but only for a short while. As soon as the glass was used to the force being exerted on it, the force was allowed through.

That brat Trisana was getting close to my fault, the thing that I could not fix. She had yet to see the resemblance from glass to crystal though. With my help she never would. I began to chant as I formed the spell. The goddess' magic swarmed around me. Reading the words out of an ancient book I added in a bit of my own spell. Crafting it to surround Sandry the past time I realized that would do no good. Sandry was strong, but what could a stitch witch do? This time I aimed the spell at Trisana who had control the weather. If the stories were true... And of course from what I saw at Winding Circle the stories have to be true... If the stories were true I would have a lot to handle with this one. With only months of training, weeks maybe, the girl crafted a whirlwind to attack a group of merchant boys.

Briar was now out of the question. I held his magic in a crystal container on my desk. It wouldn't be used, and he would therefore not be harmed, but he couldn't use it against me either.

The other boy. No wait the girl. Daza or something? The dark skinned girl the one with the staff. She would be no problem. It seemed that she had a very small magical ability. Plus with most of the palace being made from stone and wood there would be little for her to harm me with anyway. Turning back to my spell I finished lacing the last bits together before I fell asleep right where I was.

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Briar finished pruning his Shakkan. He hadn't done a very good job. It seemed that his magic helped him focus on his task and a few times Briar caught himself right after he cut off a large branch. He had been daydreaming.

Standing he placed the shakkan on the windowsill where it would get light before he walked out into the common room. Tris was seated in an armchair reading. Daja who had returned earlier was peeling living metal from her hand. Tris had briefly explained what Keth's letter said and the four decided they would try the beads tonight. There was nothing more they could do after that besides wait for Keth's next message. Sandry's face was shiny with sweat again. Briar gave her another glass of willowbark, but didn't expect it to work. She relaxed on the couch stretching her legs out. Sitting down to read some of his plant book Briar stopped paying attention to his surroundings. Eventually he began to hear a dull murmur and he realized that someone was talking.

"Does everyone else have a feeling that something bad is going to happen?" Tris asked. Briar and Sandry nodded.

"I know something is going to happen. I just have no idea what. The presence can't just be here to agitate us. What could He want?"

"Usually riches, the Fief perhaps." Briar answered.

"But that makes no sense. Wouldn't he attack the Count and Countess then? He targets those with magic. The rulers have little magical power. Perhaps less than Alex but not a lot. We are the only ones who truly feel the weight of the presence."

"I agree." Sandry said shocking them. "Well I learned a lot living in the Citadel. We need to find out more about the Fief. What we know already won't lead us anywhere."

"Tomorrow then." Tris said. "We can go to market, the library perhaps. Talk to some of the merchants. Maybe even some of the nobles." The others nodded their agreement and went back to their tasks.

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A/N: Sorry Daja fans. I know that Daja isn't weak and has just as much magic as everyone. I plan to prove Him wrong somehow but I don't have any ideas so if you do feel free to share! Kind of short chapter. I don't care. It's been almost a month since I've updated! I feel terrible. I can't believe I left it so long. I've begun another story but not and CoM one. It comes directly after In the Realms of the Gods, the last book in Tamora Pierce's Immortals series. I haven't put it up yet though! Read and review please! It's appreciated. Like I said before, even flames!