CHAPTER EIGHT
by Qwi-Xux
Paloma was very good at meditating. Sandry was impressed. She's only done this once, with Pasco? I wonder if she ever saw Haman do it. Part of her couldn't believe she now had Paloma as a student, all because Pasco had discovered her magic. She thought that someone else-Lark, or maybe Daja- would take Paloma as a student, but neither had had a chance to offer. Right now, though, Paloma was her responsibility. One more thing to add to everything she was dealing with right now.
It was precisely because so many things had happened to her in the last few days that she could believe she had another student to teach.
Trying to put this all out of her mind, Sandry took a deep breath and sank into her own meditation. She had just gotten very calm and relaxed- something she had not been able to achieve since her uncle died-when a frantic voice suddenly called in her mind. Sandry!
Sandry snapped out of her trance in an instant. Briar! she answered. Something was wrong. She could feel it. Without thinking twice, used their connection to peer out through his eyes and saw a dimly-lit room. Briar was surrounded by people. A sailor stood in the doorway, pointing an accusing finger. Sandry realized almost instantly what had happened. Briar had gone to investigate the merchants, as Daja had said he was going to. And he had been caught. Oh, Briar, Sandry thought at him, terrified and despairing, Why didn't you stay off of the ship?
How would I have learned anything then? Briar asked sensibly as the merchants and the sailor began to close in on him. She recognized the head of the merchants from her negotiations with him. Listen to me, Sandry. The head of the merchants is planning on framing you for your uncle's death. And the merchants were talking about going militant and rioting if you don't 'make concessions.' You have to be ready for it, he said urgently.
Still looking through his eyes, Sandry saw knives flash in front of Briar's face, and realized he was holding them. The merchants and the sailor hesitated. Briar! What could she do? She had to help! How could she, though? She was stuck in the stupid Citadel and would never reach him before he was killed or captured.
Stay where you are, Briar said, as if sensing her thoughts. You have enough to deal with. I'll get out of this.
Leave him to these vultures? What kind of friend did he take her for? Struck with an idea, Sandry quickly reached inside herself for the center of her magic. Hurriedly, she grabbed onto it, then magically jumped into the thread linking her to Briar, flowing her magic along it. She saw the city of Summersea pass in a blur under her, and then she was at the harbor, and streaming into a ship. She joined with Briar, who by now had been caught. The merchants were holding him down-but Sandry saw several bloodied arms and faces. Briar's knives had done quite a bit of damage.
Feeling her magic, Briar immediately stopped struggling against his captors. If his body died, while Sandry's mind was in it like this, she might die too. What are you doing? I told you-
Honestly, Briar. Would you have thought I would do anything else? Before he could answer, Sandry's magic surged out to surround the merchants and the sailor. As if taking on a life of their own, their clothes tightened, parts of them unraveling and weaving back together. As Sandry worked, Briar's voice cut through her mind.
Sandry! Stop! You can't do this!
I will not leave you to them, she replied fiercely. If I do, you will be dead by morning. They won't take you for another trial, Briar. If the mobs who hear about this don't kill you before you reach the jail, then you'll be executed without further ado. Her next words were filled with emotion. And I can't deal with that. I won't deal with it.
By now, everyone around Briar was wrapped tightly in their own clothing, lying on the floor, unable to do much more than squirm. Their mouths were all stifled by cloths wrapped around half of their faces. Now get out of there! Not staying to see if he listened, Sandry pulled her magic away from the scene, flowing back to through Summersea, back to her own body.
Paloma was still in her meditative trance, and Sandry left her there, but she had a rather disturbed look on her face. Sandry guessed that the girl had probably felt Sandry's magic surging, but was so deep in a trance that she hadn't quite known what to make of it. She stood up and paced the protective circle she had put around the two of them so Paloma's magic wouldn't leak out.
Minutes later, Briar's upset mental voice was back. Sandry-
Are you off the ship?
Yes. Evvy and I are headed back into hiding.
Relief flooded Sandry. Good.
No, Sandrilene, it's not good! Briar intoned. Sandry could sense his mixture of anger and gratefulness. Look, I know you got me out of that mess, but Sandry, I just told you that you're going to be accused of conspiracy to kill the Duke! And the merchants aren't stupid. Dorbin, the head merchant, is in on this whole thing. How many thread mages are there in Summersea? Not many! How many have a connection to me that the whole world seems to know about? One. And their clothes just wrapped them up like neat little packages. What are they going to say? That they caught me and that a thread-mage-you-helped me get away.
Sandry's heart sank. In her desperation to save Briar, she hadn't even thought of that. Oh.
That is now actual proof they have that you're conspiring with me. They'll call for harrier-mages, and the mages will find your magic there. I still haven't been proven innocent.
But we still have Paloma. She knows the truth, Sandry said with conviction.
I don't even know what proof she has. No one's told me yet, Briar reminded her.
Sandry gave him the run-down of what Paloma had said.
Haman uses the magic of mages he's met? When did I ever meet him before? Briar wondered.
Lark mentioned something, just as I was taking Paloma to meditate. She said she thinks he came to Winding Circle just as you were getting ready to leave on your travels. Tris and Daja had already left. She said things were rather hectic, though.
Sandry felt the wariness sweep over Briar. At least if Tris and Daja were gone, he didn't get their magics-but what about yours?
I don't know. He might have my magic. I don't know how his magic works. Paloma said he can only use a tiny bit of it before it's used up, though. I think it might be a one-use thing. I think it might be that he can absorb as many magics as he want, but can only use them once.
I don't like that. If he has your magic, and he hasn't used it, just think what he could do with it. And who knows what other magics he has.
Yes, but he can only use a little bit, Sandry reminded him.
Well, a little bit of my magic went a long way, didn't it? Briar asked bitterly.
The memory of what Sandry had seen in her uncle's room the night he had been murdered came back vividly, and she drew her breath sharply. Almost instantly, she sensed Briar's regret. Sandry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean-
It's all right. I know what you meant. And you're right. But...well, even...we don't know what kind of control he has. We spent years learning to control our magics and work them. We had to learn the how and the why of our magics. If he can use a bunch of magics, he probably doesn't have the discipline over it that we do.
Briar was quiet for a moment, and then he asked, If we suppose he has your magic, why didn't he frame you, then? You said he was planning on framing Pasco in the beginning. Why not just frame you, and then you might be tried and executed?
Because he thought I would be murdered with Pasco's magic. He was going to kill two birds with one stone-kill me, and put Pasco in a bad light. Don't you see? He hates ambient magic. He wanted to get rid of as many of us as he could.
Can you prove what Paloma says, though? Briar asked. I mean, you know it's true, and I know it's true...but do you have actual proof? Because they're not going to take the word of a twelve-year-old girl over that of a respected truthsayer. And Haman is the highest-ranking truthsayer in Emelan. Niko's higher, 'course, but he's not here.
Sandry especially wished that Niko were here. When Haman supposedly cast his truthsaying spell and had Briar answer questions during his trial, everyone had to take his word that it was the truth. When Niko cast a truthsaying spell, every time someone told a truthful answer, a white light sprang up around them. Different truthsayers had different ways of doing it, but Niko...Niko could prove Haman wrong.
But Niko wasn't here. We're working on that, Sandry told Briar wearily, the tiredness she had been trying to stave off finally sinking in.
Briar must have sensed her exhaustion, because his voice gentled, and he said, Go to sleep, Sandry. You need it.
I don't have time. I need to talk with the others and come up with a way to prove you're innocent and that I didn't conspire to kill my uncle. And when I prove that Haman did it... Sandry couldn't even begin to describe her struggle to keep from hating Haman. Sandry wasn't the type of person to hate. It just wasn't in her nature. But this man...he had single-handedly managed to turn the merchants against her, murder her uncle, try to murder her, accuse Briar of the death, ruin Paloma's life, and set Emelan on its head.
For any and all of that, he would face justice. And she would do it without hating him. If she hated him, she would be giving into him. She refused to do that.
:-:-:
Briar and Evvy crept through the streets, heading to the nearest Hole. Evvy had been extremely relieved to see him-she had felt something go wrong, but had been unable to do anything. "There were no rocks near you! I couldn't help you at all!" she whispered as they crept through a side alley.
"I wouldn't have wanted you to," Briar said firmly. "We're going to get this sorted out, but until we do, I don't need you to have your name sullied as well as mine."
"You're my teacher," Evvy said stoutly. "I don't care what anyone else thinks of me."
"I do. You're going to be a mage, and a good one."
Evvy flushed and stared at the ground as they walked.
"Anyway, Sandry and the others found a girl who knows Haman, and she said Haman's behind all of this. He's framing me. We just have to figure out a way to prove it before Sandry is taken off of the throne." Seeing her confused look, Briar explained that Haman was going to accuse Sandry of conspiracy. He didn't know when, but he was betting on as soon as possible. If she was said to be guilty, she would be removed from the throne, and according to Briar, some 'long-nosed stuffed-up puppet of a noble will be ruling.'
Haman, Evvy thought angrily. He's done this to Briar, and Sandry. She gave Briar a sideways glance. She might only be eleven, but she was very discerning. Living on the streets had taught her how to read people. And Briar...she could especially read him. It hadn't taken her long to realize that he loved Sandry. This stupid truthsayer-ha! Some truthsayer- Haman had hurt Briar in more ways than one. And Sandry-she was the most decent noble Evvy had ever met. She didn't know the thread-mage very well, but she didn't want to see her hurt, either. What if they couldn't find the truth? It wasn't as if Sandry could exactly go confront Haman on this. She was in this too deep.
Evvy was deep in thought the whole way to the Hole. When she and Briar entered, she carefully sat in the corner, comforted by the stone foundation that surrounded her. Their coolness and steadiness helped her clear her mind and think.
Briar sat facing her, his hands wearily pressed into his eyes. Evvy knew he was exhausted, but likely would not sleep.
A plan had formed in Evvy's mind, but it wouldn't work if Briar was awake. Keeping her eyes on him to make sure he didn't look up, she reached into her large tunic pocket, feeling for the bag Lark had made for her. She reached inside and felt around until she sensed what she was looking for. Pulling out a handful of amethyst dust, she blew it over Briar, bringing its potency to life as it settled on him.
As soon as it touched him, he looked up sharply. "Evvy, what-" Those were all the words he got out before his eyes rolled back and he slumped against the rock behind him.
Evvy jumped to her feet. "Sorry, Pahan Briar. It will only last for an hour or so." With a backward glance at him, the small girl exited the Hole.
The streets of Summersea were dark and unfamiliar, but Evvy had lived on the streets for a lot of her life. She knew how to stay invisible to the unsavory people who might be wandering the streets. Fortunately, it was still shortly after sunset, so once she got out of the mire, she ran across people out and about. She ran across harriers on duty, but they paid her no mind. Not many people knew Briar Moss had a student, and if they did, they had no idea what she looked like.
It wasn't hard to find her way uptown. She just followed the main road toward the Duke's-well, now the Duchess'-Citadel. She stopped when she saw an upperclassman helping his wife into a carriage. "Excuse me," she said as politely as she could, "but I wondered if you could help me?"
The man looked at her distastefully, and the woman raised her eyebrows. She knew she looked pretty bad. She had been stuck in a Hole in the ground all day, and she was covered in dust, dirt, and grime.
"What is it, child?" the woman asked.
"I'm looking for my father's friend. My father died and I have been sent here to live with him. His name is Haman, and he's a truthsayer. He lives in Summersea." Evvy crossed her fingers behind her back that they wouldn't call her bluff.
The man's eyebrows rose now, and the woman frowned. "Haman? But he-"
He's a noble, Evvy thought, and right now, I look like street rat.
"Please excuse my appearance," she said, with as much nobility as she could muster. "I just got in on a ship, and we ran into quite a few problems." She racked her brain to think of the problems that could have happened. "My escort abandoned me-they said there were too many problems with nobility in Summersea right now. And I'm afraid I tripped on the way here and..." She waved her hand to take in her dirty clothes. They'll be really thick if they actually believe me, she thought despairingly.
Now the man looked skeptical, but the woman was sympathetic. "Oh, you poor thing! Servants nowaday, honestly! Please, come here, we'll give you a ride to Haman's house. He lives just around the corner, on Namin Street."
"Oh, no, that won't be necessary. I don't want to dirty your carriage." No, the truth was that she couldn't show up at Haman's residence in a carriage! She would give herself away! Haman was certainly not expecting her.
"Nonsense. Beren, help the child into the carriage."
There was no way out of this except to do something Evvy did best-she turned and ran.
:-:-:
Sandry related the necessary details of her conversation with Briar to Lark, Frostpine, Rosethorn, and Daja. Paloma was upstairs in a room Sandry had supplied. She stared at them, daring them to tell her she had been wrong.
None of them said anything, they just exchanged glances, and Lark sighed and rubbed her eyes. "What are we going to do to bring Haman down? We could accuse him before he accuses you, Sandry, and get another truthsayer..."
Sandry was shaking her head. "Haman of Lightsbridge is the only truthsayer in the city right now. I don't know if it was something he planned, but I'm beginning to believe it is. Normally, there are three other truthsayers in Summersea. Captain Penmic was the one who suggested Haman the night my uncle was murdered, and it was that night that I also learned all of the other truthsayers were on travels."
Daja straightened. "Captain Penmic suggested Haman?"
Sandry frowned at her, puzzled. "Yes, why?" She remembered the morning after Briar's escape, when Penmic had told her of it, Penmic and Daja had exchanged glances, but she really had no idea what Penmic had to do with any of this.
"Nothing, saati," Daja said, but she still looked like she was thinking about something.
Sandry chose to ignore it for the time being. Daja would tell her if she needed to know, and she already had too much on her mind right now.
"Without a truthsayer, I could accuse Haman, but he would say I was the one conspiring. Then the merchants would come forward and say they captured Briar, but he escaped. The harrier-mages will be called, and find my magic on the ship." If she hadn't rescued Briar, she might have been able to accuse Haman, but as it was... "That's not going to work. Rosethorn, are you going with the harrier mages to the grain fields tomorrow morning?"
Looking very frustrated, Rosethorn nodded. "Yes," she said irritably. "They, at least, will be able to identify that Briar was there the night of the murder."
"Then we'll just have to wait for the harriers to have proof he was there, and that should prove his innocence, right?"
"If the harrier-mages are able to tell that he was there during the Duke's murder. And if they're worth anything, they'll be able to tell," Rosethorn replied.
Sandry nodded, not letting anyone see how nervous she was about the whole ordeal. "All right, then. We'll just have to wait for the harriers to have proof, and then I'll accuse Haman. Whether he's accused me already or not, we'll prove he's behind this, and any charges against Briar-or me-will be cleared."
A sudden scream in the distance made all of them spin their heads toward the door. "What was that?" Lark asked, on her feet.
"Paloma. It came from upstairs," Sandry said worriedly, running toward the door. She opened it, and saw Paloma running down the stairs. "Lady Sandry! You-I-it-"
"Calm down, Paloma," Sandry said soothingly. "What's wrong?"
"I did it...I don't know how!" Paloma wailed despairingly.
The careful hold Sandry had kept on her patience was wearing thin. "You did what?"
"I don't know how to explain!"
"Show me, then." Motioning for the others to wait behind, Sandry followed Paloma up the stairs. She stepped into Paloma's guest room right behind the girl, and froze. The quilt on the bed was in tatters-no, that wasn't right. Half of it looked like it had all come unsewn and unwound, and the other half was still sewn as it was supposed to be.
"You did this?" Sandry wondered.
"I don't know how!" Paloma repeated.
"This is thread magic," Sandry said as she walked toward the bed. "And..." Her eyes widened as she felt the magic. She looked at Paloma, baffled and grim. "It's my magic."
:-:-:
When Sandry disappeared upstairs with Paloma, a messenger entered the room. "Dedicates Frostpine, Lark, and Rosethorn, your presence is requested by Honored Moonstream at Winding Circle."
The three Dedicates stood up. "Knowing Moonstream, she's probably learned something of this. Or maybe she wants to know how everything is progressing. We'd best go. You'll tell Sandry?" Lark asked Daja.
Daja nodded. The three Dedicates left. While everyone was gone or distracted, Daja took this time to seek out Penmic -quickly. It was easy enough to find him, as he was captain of Sandry's personal guard. When Daja located him, she said, "Might I have a word, Captain?"
Penmic turned. "Of course."
Daja went straight to the point. "You told me to investigate a case Haman handled two years ago-which I have not had time to do, but intend to do tonight. Yet you were the one who recommended Haman as a truthsayer. Why would you recommend him if you are suspicious of him? Unless..." She left the sentence unfinished.
A small smile crossed Penmic's face. "I assure you, I am not part of any foul play on Haman's part." The smile disappeared, and he sighed. "I wish I could tell you in depth right now, but I'm afraid I can't. I cannot speak of it now, but soon, I will explain everything. Trust me." He looked deeply into her eyes. "I would never hurt Duchess Sandrilene."
Daja wasn't sure if she should believe him. He seemed like a trustworthy person. Even so, she would be keeping an eye on him.
Daja? I need to talk to you. I mind-spoke with Lark, and she said Frostpine says you have something that can show peoples' magic? Sandry mind-called.
"I'll talk to you later," Daja assured Penmic, giving her best stare. "Right now, I have business to attend to."
:-:-:
"What is it?" Paloma asked nervously, looking around the group in the sitting room.
Sandry was turning a mirror over in her hands. "You made this with your living metal," she said, nodding at Daja's hand.
Paloma noticed Daja's hand for the first time, and gasped. Brass covered parts of it, running between the smith-mage's fingers.
Daja took the mirror out of Sandry's hands. "I used it determine the magics of my two students," she explained. "And now, we're going to look in it and see if we can figure out what yours is doing." She set it on the middle of the table in the room. "Come look into it," she told Paloma.
Paloma nervously crept forward. She stepped in front of the table and peered down at the mirror, gulping in anxiety. What would they see? Why did she keep showing all these different magics?
Sandry and Daja looked over her shoulder. Paloma watched as a flash of fire shot up in the mirror, then a flash of dancing, and a flash of a quilt unweaving...but then all she saw were colors and shapes. She couldn't quite make out anything in particular.
Daja and Sandry pulled away. "How strange-but something of what I expected," Sandry said. The same things played over and over again: fire, dancing, quilt...
"Paloma," Sandry asked, "When you danced earlier-what were you doing just before that?"
"Meditating with Pasco," Paloma replied.
"That's what I thought," Sandry said absent-mindedly. "Paloma, do you ever remember exhibiting any kind of fire magic?"
"No," Paloma shook her head.
"Paloma, if you don't mind, I'd like to do a spinning of your magic-I'd like to examine it, to see what's going on with it," Sandry said.
Paloma had no idea what this meant. She was scared. She wasn't even sure she could trust these people, but she thought that if she couldn't trust Haman, she might just be able to trust those he said were enemies. She felt like crying. "Um...all right."
"We'll do that tonight. I think I might know what's going on with you. Why don't you go up to your room, and I'll be there in a minute."
:-:-:
Once Evvy was on Naman Street, it wasn't hard to find Haman's house. The base of all these houses were built with rocks, and stones lined the steps to the houses. She just used her magic to listen to the rocks. They knew who tread on them all the time.
As soon as Haman's house was identified, Evvy crept slowly up to the front gate. All of the windows on the house were unlit. It appeared that no one was home, but Evvy, of all people, knew that appearances could be deceiving.
She crept up the walk, then around the side of the house. There was a low window toward the back. She walked up to it and stopped, crouching on the ground. She pulled a handful of azurite crystals out of her pouch and set them around the window. This was a spell that she and Briar had devised on their way back to Emelan. It was just the type of practical thing that Briar would teach.
Calling her magic to the stones, Evvy watched as a soft red light surrounded the window. Just as she had suspected, Haman had a really good spell keeping anyone from breaking in.
A small grin crept over her face. Anyone but a stone mage taught magic by Briar Moss. Evvy pulled out a crystal point and placed it on two of the azurite crystals. Calling her magic into it, she pressed it against the anti-thieving spell. With a quick flash, the red light was pulled into the stones. Evvy tucked her stones back into her pouch, then pushed against the window.
It opened smoothly, and Evvy choked back a laugh. Wasn't it typical of a noble to employ an anti-thieving spell, but to forget to lock the window?
Evvy slipped through the window as quietly as one of her cats. She seemed to be in a guest bedroom. Treading softly, she made her way to the door and opened it slowly, peeking out. There was a hallway here, and in a room across the hall, a faint light glowed. That room must be at the back of the house, since I didn't see any light coming through the windows in front or on the sides of the house, Evvy thought. She quietly stepped out into the hallway and looked around. The front door was off to the side. There had to be somewhere in here that was Haman's private study...probably where he conducted business.
Creeping down the hallway, Evvy stopped when she saw the door directly facing the front door. It was ornately decorated, and had several magical symbols on it. And that would be it. Evvy thought with satisfaction.
It was harder to break the spells on the door, but Briar had taught her well. Haman had no idea what he had gotten himself into. Framing a great mage who had once been a thief was a dangerous business, especially when that great mage had a former street rat student who didn't like nobles that messed in decent people's business. It took less than a minute before Evvy was inside Haman's private office with the door shut behind her. It was dark. Evvy traded the stones that had allowed her to break the magic to get into the office for a crystal that burned brightly.
She walked along the walls and frowned. There was information about Briar and his friends all over. In fact, if Evvy didn't know any better, she would say Haman was obsessed.
Turning her eyes away from the walls, Evvy focused on the desk. There were neat stacks of paper in one corner. She stepped over to the desk and rifled through the papers. Her eyes lit on the contents of one of the pieces of paper, and she grinned in triumph. This was it! She skimmed the paper, then quickly tucked it into her pouch. It was time to get out of here.
Evvy retraced her steps out of the office, and released the magic of the anti-thieving spells that had been called into her stones. The magic flowed back in place on the door. She entered the guest bedroom, closed the door, and went to the still-open window. She pulled herself through it, then released the red light of the magic back to the window. Satisfied that everything was as it had been, Evvy turned and snuck back out off of Haman's property.
She had to get this directly to Sandry.
:-:-:
Daja wanted to go to the Summersea Hall of Public Records, but it was sure to be closed, as it was already after midnight. "I'll have to wait until morning," she sighed.
Sandry was just about to go upstairs to talk to Paloma when Captain Penmic himself approached her. "Your Eminence, the young girl who arrived with Dedicate Frostpine and Mage Daja has returned, and is requesting to see you. She is in the front hall."
Sandry frowned. The girl-oh! Evvy! "Of course." She turned and headed for the hall. Sure enough, Evvy stood there, looking very dirty. If Sandry hadn't been so tired, she would have laughed. Evvy had been here for perhaps five minutes and the little black cat, Moss, who had been freely wandering the Citadel, had already found her.
"Pahan Sandry!" Evvy cried, standing up from the stoop she had been in to pet Moss. "I have to give you this!" She ran forward, pulling a parchment out of the pouch that Lark had made for her.
Sandry took the parchment that was being shoved in her face, then looked at Evvy. "Evvy, what are you doing here? Where's Briar?" She hadn't heard anything from Briar about Evvy coming to see her. She hadn't heard anything from Briar at all.
Evvy looked at the ground sheepishly. "Umm..."
Sandry blinked. "Evvy, where is Briar?"
"He's safe! I promise! He's...sleeping."
"Sleeping." Sandry narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"Well, I, um..."
Sandry groaned. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. "I don't think I was this bad when I was a student. I didn't go around putting my teachers into magical sleeps," she muttered, sure this was what Evvy had done. "He's going to be very upset with you," she told Evvy sternly.
Evvy looked like she didn't know whether to look embarrassed or excited. "Not once he sees this!" She jabbed her finger toward the paper in Sandry's hand, and settled for looking quite pleased with herself.
Sandry finally took the time to look down at the parchment, and her eyes widened. "Evvy," she breathed. "Where did you get this?"
"Umm..."
"Right, I probably shouldn't ask," Sandry sighed. "Come in. You're staying here tonight."
"But I have to get back to Briar!" Evvy protested.
"Oh, no, you don't. I'm not letting you wander around Summersea at this hour. You're going to come get bathed, have something to eat, and sleep here, and I'll tell Briar where you are. As soon as he wakes up," she said pointedly.
Evvy had the grace to look embarrassed. "All right," she said grumpily, scooping up Moss.
"You can stay in the room that you were given when you first arrived. Not that you stayed in it at all," Sandry said. "If you remember where it is, I'll have someone fetch a bath for you."
"I remember."
"Good. You go up and I'll be there in a little while."
Evvy disappeared, and Sandry found a maid and asked her to get Evvy a bath. Daja?
Yes?
I need a favor. There's a paper here that needs investigating.
Sandry felt Daja's confusion, but the Trader replied, Certainly. I'll be right there.
Daja found Sandry within moments. Sandry passed her the parchment Evvy had brought. Daja's eyes widened when she saw it, and she said, "Honored Moonstream should see this. Tonight." She hesitated. "I should be back by morning to go to the Hall of Public Records. I'm going to get my horse and go to Winding Circle. You can manage here?"
"Of course."
Daja quickly left the Citadel, and Sandry had just turned to head upstairs when a voice interrupted her. "Duchess."
Sandry tried to keep from rolling her eyes and turned again. One of the castle scribes stood at the foot of the stairs, looking nervous. "Yes?" she asked with exaggerated patience.
"I need your signature on these papers, Your Eminence."
Sandry took a deep breath, counting to seven, and told herself that she was not going to lose it. She thought that for the scribe to bother her so late into the night-or rather, early morning-he must have been trying to get a chance to speak with her all day. "Please put them on my desk in my study. I'll sign them first thing in the morning."
"Yes, Your Eminence."
As soon as she had turned around and taken two steps up the stairs, another voice said, "Sandry-"
"What?" she snapped, half-turned before she realized who had said her name. "Oh. Pasco," she said tiredly. "I didn't expect you back tonight. You spoke with Yazmin?"
"She said if anyone comes asking about Paloma, she'll pretend Paloma's still there, and any other instructors will do the same. I also tried to tell her that Briar is innocent, but she's too intent on her grief right now to think about it."
"Thank you, Pasco. You look like you could use something to eat."
The boy nodded. "I'm hungry."
"Good. The servants are setting up dinner for another student we have here- the rest of us already ate. If you wait a few minutes, they'll have it all ready and you can eat."
Sandry finally made it up the stairs without distraction. She stopped by her room and grabbed a basket full of colored thread, then headed for Paloma's room. She knocked on the door before entering. She found the girl sitting, knees tight against her chest, in the window seat. She looked nervously at Sandry. "This...weaving thing you're going to do...will it hurt?"
"No," Sandry managed a smile at the girl. She sat down beside Paloma and set her basket of thread between them. "What I'm going to do is attach a bit of your magic to this thread, and do a very quick magical weaving to show when your power first manifested, if I can. You just need to sit there."
Concentrating, Sandry did just that. She reached inside of Paloma for the illusive magic that flitted here and there. It was hard to grab a hold of, but she finally managed to catch a bit of it and pull it to her thread. Then she simply commanded the thread to weave itself.
Paloma watched in awe as the thread jumped up, floating in the air, and began weaving in and out, working its way together. It was about halfway finished when Sandry was startled by Briar's mental voice. Sandry? I just woke up and Evvy...I traced her magic close to you...
She's here, Sandry quickly told him.
She has some explaining to do, Briar thought, half-cross and half- exasperated.
She's staying here for tonight. You just take care of yourself, Sandry said.
Briar withdrew from her mind, and Sandry continued her work. Within a very short time, a picture began forming...then a bit more of it. After about twenty minutes, the thread stopped moving. Sandry released Paloma's magic and let it flow back into the girl, to disappear once more.
"Well," Sandry remarked, looking at the weaving. "That explains the fire in the mirror." She touched the image of a little girl peering into what appeared to be a bakery. The image inside the bakery showed a man with fire coming out of his hands. The next picture on the weaving showed fire shooting between the furnace in the bakery and the little girl.
"It appears," Sandry remarked, "that when you were a little girl, you saw some kind of fire mage do something, and then you were able to use fire magic. The same thing seemed to happen with Pasco, and then with me. It seems to me that you can use other mage's magics."
"But...but...that's Master-I mean, that's Haman's magic," Paloma said timidly.
"Yes," Sandry said darkly. "And I think I might have the answer for that. I need to speak with Frostpine. Are you hungry?"
Paloma shook her head.
"All right. You try to get some rest, all right?" Patting the girl on the arm, Sandry stood and went to find Evvy.
Evvy and Pasco weren't quite sure what to think of each other, so they both busied themselves with eating. Sandry made sure they were settled, then headed for the sitting room so she could have somewhere quiet to sit and think for a few minutes.
She was nearly there when she heard voices and footsteps heading from the entrance of the Citadel. A loud, angry voice said, "You cannot do this!"
The sounds of scuffling, and a loud "oomph!" reached Sandry's ears.
Penmic, Sandry thought worriedly. She turned and headed toward the noise. She stopped dead in the front entry, not quite believing what was happening. Captain Penmic and the rest of her personal guard were keeping Haman himself, and a bunch of harrier-mages, at bay. A thought of Paloma flashed through her mind, and she hoped the girl did stay in her room.
"What is the meaning of this?" Sandry demanded, though she thought she already knew. She hadn't expected it in the middle of the night, though!
"We just received a report from the head of the merchants. Apparently, his ship was boarded by our escaped assassin, and apparently, you helped him avoid capture on the ship," Haman announced, looking down his long nose at her. "The harriers have already identified your magic. The harriers of this city know your magic well, Your Eminence." Haman spat the word like it was dirty. "You are officially being accused of aiding and abetting an escaped felon, and furthermore, with conspiracy to kill Duke Vedris IV of Emelan."
This was what Briar had said to expect, but it still stung. How could anyone think she would help kill her own uncle, especially after she had worked so hard to help and protect him, to keep him in good health? She lifted her chin. "I did not conspire to kill my uncle."
"Yet you do not deny that you helped Briar Moss escape the merchant ship," Haman stated.
Sandry said nothing. She couldn't help but wonder if, even now, Haman was learning her magic somehow, so he could imitate it. The thought made her feel dirty, and she pulled her magic around her like a blanket.
"This is nonsense," Penmic snapped. "You will-"
"We will take Duchess Sandrilene fa Toren to be held in a safe place until we can hold a trial tomorrow," Haman cut in.
Yes, a trial as rushed and false as Briar's, Sandry thought bitterly.
There was nothing anyone could do as Sandry was taken away. Pasco, Evvy, and Paloma didn't even have time to realize she was being taken. She wasn't even to be held in the Citadel. Haman and his guard put her in a carriage and took her to the cells attached to the court building, which was a block away from the Citadel. Sandry guessed this was because Haman wanted her close by, but not actually in the Citadel. She was glad it was the middle of the night, so that the citizens of Summersea were mostly at home, and didn't witness this. It was all very undignified and very rushed, and Sandry guessed that Haman meant it to be.
The harrier-mages led her underneath the court building and opened a door. "This will keep you from using your magic to escape," one of the harrier- mages told Sandry, prodding her forward.
Sandry stood, frozen, staring into the cell. It was underground, and furthermore, there were no lights inside. No windows. No bars on the cell door. If she went in there, she would be in utter blackness. She had gotten over much of her fear of the dark, and she didn't have to use her light- crystal anymore, but being in a small cell in complete darkness, with no access to her magic...no, no, no. She couldn't. She couldn't!
In her terror, she reached for the only two people she could reach for. Daja was too far away to help...she was on her way to Winding Circle. Briar...
Too afraid to think clearly, Sandry reached for Briar and magically clung to him like a lifeline.
Sandry? Briar thought, startled at her presence.
"Don't let them put me in there I don't want to go not in the dark!" Sandry babbled, not sure if she was speaking aloud, or to Briar, or both. She felt Briar move to look through her eyes, and then the harrier-mages had shoved her through the door. Her magic cut off in an instant, and when the door slammed shut, she was in inky blackness. "No, no, no!" she screamed, beating against the door, panic overwhelming her. At this moment, she felt very unlike a duchess or a great mage, and very much like a terrified little girl. Weeping, she slid down against the door and rocked back and forth. "Please...please, not the dark," she whispered.
No one could help her. She was all alone.