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Chapter 17 – Searching
Numair was winging over the palace. He couldn't keep the black hawk shape once he found an open window. People would be suspicious if a hawk was seen flying around inside a building. But he was hoping for a little luck, if not the intervention of the Badger, to find Daine.
Lindhall and he had split up before leaving the ship. It was necessary that they not be seen together. It was bad enough that everyone knew they were old friends. If he were to keep Lindhall safe while searching for Daine the two would have to avoid being seen together. Lindhall was to move the simulacrum to a storage room in the basement. He would also ask any slaves he had been working to free to help them search. Numair hoped to search as much of the palace as possible before the mages found him. If the time came, he would give up his double to face the emperor's wrath and then hope that Ozorne first tried to keep Daine under friendly terms rather than captive. It was a risk, but there was no help for it.
He spied an open window in the wing that he knew to house Kaddar's family. Seeing no one around, he landed. Inside he turned into himself and set an invisibility spell. He would need clothing and though Kaddar was much shorter, he still was probably the closest match Numair would find. He would have to "witch" them to fit properly.
Spying a chest of drawers in a bedroom, he opened it. It was full of women's clothing. This must be Kaddar's mother's room. He closed it quietly and set off to search the house. A woman was sitting doing needlework in the next room. He was amazed at how much her features resembled those of Ozorne. But while Numair had come to think of Ozorne as ugly, the woman was beautiful. Her soft amber eyes were framed by dark curly lashes. Her light sienna skin looked soft, as if she spent little time outside. Her mouth was curved slightly at the edges as if she contemplated something pleasant and he could see the hint of a dimple in her girlish cheek. He thought ruefully that she looked like someone to shriek for hours over a mouse. Gods help him if she thought that a ghost had entered her house -- or worse, a fugitive.
The next room was clearly Kaddar's. Many of the jewels that littered the dressing table were those he recognized. Books on animals and vegetation were strewn across a small ebony desk. He also saw a handkerchief on the foot of the prince's bed that he knew belonged to Daine. Numair had bought it for her at a festival they attended in Corus a year ago. He couldn't imagine why the prince had it and found himself suddenly not certain how much he trusted the boy. He grabbed a clean pair of breeches, a tunic, shoes and socks and used a bit of magic to size them. Then he renewed his invisibility charm, picked up the handkerchief, and left.
It was probably innocent, he thought as he quietly exited the wing of the palace. Daine was always losing her handkerchiefs. More often than not, he would pull out one to offer if it seemed needed because she would be uncertain where she left hers. It was one of those charming idiosyncrasies the girl possessed. Otherwise, she was very organized and responsible. But it was also possible that Kaddar fancied Daine. They were close in age and seemed to have fun together. He thought back to what Kaddar had said to him in the University, "I had not realized that Daine was yours". He thought bitterly, Just like a Carthaki to think a woman was piece of property to buy and sell. Women are not possessions. They are human beings with souls and minds, meant to love and cherish, but never to own.
Numair was amazed to realize that he wasn't lost. The palace had changed some in the years since he lived there. But as a youth he had covered a great deal of it while running around with Ozorne. Now, his feet led him down the path that he had escaped from so many years ago. He was going to the dungeons. It was where he most expected her to be. This entrance had been the least guarded so many years ago. He had hidden in corners or used his gift to mask his presence as he worked his way out of the place. There was no doubt in his mind that Ozorne would have changed it some. He would have figured out that Numair had escaped this way and would have fixed the problem. He would have to slow down and be very, very watchful.
Around the next corner he spied the trap before he triggered it. Calcitrite magic detectors were set into the wall to recognize things like invisibility spells. He used a special counter-spell he had only learned of last year. The gems sizzled and popped for a moment and then returned to their normal color. He smiled to himself and continued on.
This passage, which was once the worst guarded, now appeared to be the best. Six soldiers were stationed in front of the door to the dungeon area. They weren't looking for trouble, but it would not be easy to open that door without anyone noticing. He figured he had two choices, try to lure them all away, or somehow convince them to open the door for him. Using his magical sight, he noticed that not one had the Gift. Though he had sworn never to use it on another human being, now seemed the time to try a sublinotal. It was a major spell and would use a lot of his energy. He picked the laughing soldier who seemed most open to suggestion. He whispered the words to the spell and broadcast the thought, There's a noise. Something is in there that isn't supposed to be.
It worked beautifully. The youngest in the group jumped as if reacting to a loud noise that the others couldn't hear. "D'ju hear that?" he asked. "Somethin' is in there what ought not be." The others looked at him suspiciously as he opened the door cautiously and crept in, sword leveled. Numair was right behind him. The cell block seemed empty. Wanting to investigate completely, Numair decided it was worth the risk. Black fire surrounded the guards and held them in place where they stood. It was the same spell he had used to stop Alanna from stepping on the mouse.
He looked into every cell, but she was not there. He wondered how many more magic canceling dungeons or cells the emperor possessed. He also wondered why there didn't seem to be a single prisoner. Perhaps Ozorne was exercising his temper on them.
And then he knew where Ozorne would be keeping her. She would be in that horrible room beneath Ozorne's suite which he called his laboratory – the same one where he watched the slave girl sucked dry of her Gift and then her life essence. It was going to be next to impossible to get there. He had given himself away by holding these guards. As soon as he let go the whole castle would be hunting him. If only he could make his gift appear another color – but that was impossible. He held them pinned as long as he could -- far past when he could see them behind him. But when he did let them go it was as if some explosion of activity took place. Whistles blew and drums warned. He had to go and fast.
Numair ran for the nearest exit. He was maintaining his invisibility spell, but running made sound. Mages seemed to come from every direction. They were looking for him using magical sight boosters. The adepts most likely wouldn't see him – his power was too great. But masters might just have the spells needed. And of all he knew he must watch out for, Chioke' and Ozorne were the biggest threats.
Down the winding walkway he flew, past the outer garden toward the courtyard. A blast of orange fire illuminated the area just in front of him but he had built up too much momentum to stop in time. Chioke' laughed, "Very powerful, huh. You seem like nothing to me."
Numair threw a black ball of fire which wound itself around Chioke's head, neck and chest and pinned him to the wall behind. Black fire rained onto the other mages in an acidic spray, leaving them howling in pain. He ran again. There was no point in expending the energy for the invisibility at this time. He could only use a basic shield spell and run.
He leapt a wall and headed for the city center and Mithros temple. The empty space where the statue of Zernou used to stand was suddenly swarming with soldiers and mages. Slipping behind one post of Thak's gate he decided it was time for drastic measures. He shifted to hawk form and set an invisibility spell simultaneously. It was a powerful drain, but it worked and saved his life. He flew to the university and in the window of Lindhall Reed's office. Too tired to shift from bird form, he shimmered back into sight and collapsed at Lindhall's feet.