Assumptions will get you very few places, but I do like to see all the guesses about what will happen. Some of them might even be right.

Next chapter: Solve

The Emperor's Mage
Chapter Twenty: Now

Lindhall Reed paced the small antechamber that had been reserved for the Tortallan delegation. Something was wrong, something was very wrong, and there was nothing that he could do. Daine had raced away from dinner, fire in her eyes, and she hadn't been seen since. Arram had followed soon afterward, and no one knew just what was going on.

Alanna was radiating magic. There wouldn't be any use in trying to calm her until Daine had been produced, but Lindhall was starting to think that might not happen. He never should have let Daine have time to blink without Alanna watching her.

Every last member of the peace talks had received a summons one hour after dinner was over. The emperor was waiting for them in the main chamber, but rumor had it that Ozorne was waiting for Arram to return before speaking his piece. The Carthaki nobles milling about in the hallways put on proud faces, but when they thought no one was watching they gathered in small groups and whispered animatedly. Lord Martin was furious, for all that he was remaining in his seat beside Duke Gareth, and Sir Gary was chatting with Alanna while leaving a good five paces between them.

When a speaking spell sparkled discreetly at Lindhall's ear, it was understandable that he reacted poorly. Harailt was sitting near Duke Gareth, and the mage's hands were clenched tightly enough that his knuckles were white. Alanna was settling only through Gary's concerted efforts. The spell was unexpected, and Arram's voice came through it in a whisper.

"Lindhall."

Lindhall turned away, which should have been enough of an answer, and stalked to a window. The spell followed him, making barely any light. If he wasn't mistaken, no one else would be able to see the small sparks unless they had a talent for finding any use of Gift.

"Lindhall, please. It's about Daine."

Lindhall Reed had never been a particularly powerful mage. He had done well enough in his chosen area. Daine had assured that he did have an excellent understanding of what it was that animals needed, but there had always been someone with more raw power at their disposal. Lindhall had been charged with Arram Draper's education for eleven years, and had been on the periphery of a young Ozorne's lessons. He had watched his innocent, charming student follow all too closely in the wake of Ozorne's ambition, and when Arram was twenty-one Lindhall had been forced to flee Carthak's university back toward the north, leaving only his assistant with the instructions on how to continue smuggling slaves safely out of the country.

He had managed to hold out hope for years, while surrounded with Jonathan's commanding presence and Alanna's hot-tempered brilliance and Harailt's casual displays of immense competence. Perhaps Arram hadn't known that Lindhall would have been executed on Ozorne's orders. Helping a slave to escape was a capital offense if done just once. Lindhall had helped hundreds on to safety. Ozorne might have kept the charges quiet so that Arram wouldn't object. There had been a chance, however slim, that his student was still innocent.

The last straw had been the death of Prince Kaddar. Lindhall had watched that friendship from afar, and had been pleased beyond measure that Arram had befriending someone with Kaddar's meticulous approach to understanding the world around him. The pair had been friends, until Arram killed the young prince at Ozorne's command.

Through all of it, Lindhall had been the rather harmless man that understood birds and reptiles far better than people. Daine was an entirely accidental student. He had found her in the menagerie, excitedly talking with Thayet about the changes to the animal enclosures Lindhall had recommended. He and the young girl from Galla had become friends faster than Lindhall thought possible, talking about birds and reptiles and the two-leggers that didn't understand them.

When the two of them had finally left the menagerie, they learned that Thayet hadn't been idle. She had already told Onua and Alanna that Lindhall would be an excellent teacher for working Daine through her studies into wild magic. Lindhall remembered the work that Arram had been doing all those years before, and all of his life had made sense again. All of the heartbreak with Arram had paved the way toward helping Daine grow from a skittish child to a confident, friendly young woman that could charm the world if she chose.

Arram would not harm Lindhall's second student.

Lindhall was unaware that his magic had spread about him in an uncharacteristically strong nimbus of power. His Gift was usually a dulled color, more like clouds than the lit brilliance of Alanna or Jon's fires, but it had served him well enough. As Lindhall turned slowly to face the speaking spell, his Gift blazed around him like moonlight.

Only a blink of time had passed between hearing Arram speak Daine's name and turning to face the subtle magic of Arram's spell. Lindhall's power pulled at all edges of the speaking spell, stretching it to a small plane of magic that showed Arram's face.

"Master Draper, you forget yourself," Lindhall said very quietly. "Mistress Sarrasri deserves a title in her own right, for all that she has politely refused all attempts at ennobling her. She also deserves far better than you."

Arram looked away from the newly-formed window that passed through all space between them. "Very well. Master Reed, I cannot recite the entirety of the Scholar's Oath, but if you would accept—"

Lindhall had no patience for charm and sincerity. Ozorne could fake them better than anyone Lindhall had ever known, and the emperor had taught his mage all manner of useful tricks. "No, Draper. I want nothing from you, save your assurance that my student will continue to be safe from you."

Arram's lips thinned. "You would do better to ask for safety from his majesty."

Lindhall snorted in disgust. Perhaps it had been a blessing to lose his student, the boy who had been like a son to him. Without that push, he never would have gone to Tortall. He never would have served monarchs that treated him as an equal, and he never would have met Daine. "I won't ask for anything that you cannot supply. You killed Kaddar in cold blood, Draper, and that boy was—"

"Do you think that I don't know?" Arram's control was gone, as well as the measured quality of his earlier words. The adapted mirror of the spell showed that the man's eyes were wild, and there was an unusual tenseness to his brow. "I'm risking treason just speaking to you. Do you think that it's so easy to escape Carthak's dungeons, Lindhall? Do you think that cell doors open with a push and guards all sleep at their posts while a Gift-powered boat rests in the side harbor?"

Lindhall hesitated, remembering all the strange details of his lucky escape to Tortall, but Arram was still speaking.

"I don't have time for this. Speak with Musenda Ogunsanwo when you get back to Tortall. He'll know that it's time." Arram's hand raised, as if to cancel the link between them, but Lindhall forced the spell to remain. He was dimly aware that both Alanna and Duke Gareth were feeding him power. There was no other way that Lindhall Reed would have been able to fight Arram's Gift.

Lindhall's voice was even. "You mentioned Daine."

Arram's voice was not even; he was past control. Draper bit off every word, only occasionally glancing back into the mirror, and didn't remain still for more than a moment at a time. "There's no time, Lindhall. Say your prayers if you want to help the girl. That's the only thing that might help her."

Lindhall Reed would never be a strong mage. The combined Gifts were too much, even with Alanna supporting him against the effects, and he still had to face whatever Ozorne was pulling. He stepped back, gasping, and let Arram end the spell with a strong push of magic. It was only after the spell had ended that Lindhall realized that he had seen familiar sites as Arram had moved swiftly through the halls of the palace. Arram was heading for the audience chamber, but he hadn't been anywhere near the aviary when he sent the speaking spell.

Alanna's arms were supporting him moments before he felt the weakness creep in. Gary quickly took over for her, holding Lindhall erect while Alanna felt for his pulse.

"I'll give you a jolt that should last the rest of the night," she murmured. "I wasn't feeding too much power into you, just enough to surprise Draper. His Grace was kind enough to take the brunt of the drain."

"You'll be alright?" Lindhall asked, feeling the effects of his small tantrum. Duke Gareth looked as unruffled as he always did, and Alanna only looked concerned. Sir Gary, still keeping Lindhall from falling to the floor, might have held mages on their feet every day of the week. Lindhall would have been embarrassed if he had the energy, but every spare bit of feeling was devoted to worry for Daine. "I don't want to drain our strongest mage."

"I'll be fine." Alanna reached up to Lindhall's temples, the tips of her fingers edged with violet light, and moments later his head cleared. Lindhall clapped Gary on the back and managed a partial smile for Alanna as thanks, and drew himself up with all the pride he could muster.

Lord Martin cleared his throat. He had been standing in the doorway that led to the larger room, waiting for them to finish. "They've just passed along word that we're all to assemble in the main hall. I have informed the messenger that Mistress Sarrasri was last seen moving toward the aviary, and that Master Draper would have seen her last."

Alanna's small hand was very strong when she took Lindhall by the wrist. Her other hand was gripping the ember token that she was never without. "He said to pray, Lindhall, and that I can do. The Goddess has a special sort of attention for strong young women like our Daine, and she's Weiryn's daughter." Alanna's voice was fierce, though her words were nothing more than a whisper, and she looked too angry to be bothered with such things as the listening spells scattered all through the palace. "She's a god's child. If Ozorne hurts her, this entire country may just meet a bad end. The children of gods and mortals aren't born often, and they aren't born easily. We'll all be standing about with nothing better to do than listen to Ozorne's speeches. Pray."

Lindhall looked toward the grand audience hall, seeing the glimmer of Ozorne's gilding even at that distance. Daine wasn't gone yet. For all that they knew, she was somewhere out in the gardens safe from all of this commotion. If she were already gone, or already taken, then Ozorne would be much more relaxed on the elaborate throne.

Daine had a chance, still, and that might be the best that the world could give her. There was nothing that he could do to help, nothing except to call on his background as a boy that had grown hearing the huntsmen speak of Weiryn. Alanna may yet have the Goddess's ear. Lindhall would do his part.