While they waited he and Seregil made use of their time examining the stricken people, looking for marks of any sort, or anything else out of the ordinary.
“Here’s something,” said Alec, kneeling by one of the little girls. “Look, someone’s cut a lock of her hair in the back. I saw that on another of the little ones over there, too.” He turned to the drysian woman. “Have you noticed that with any of the others who’ve come through here?”
“No. But we deal in illness, not hair.”
“Alec, look!” Seregil pointed to a child on the far side of the room.
It was the little golden-haired washerwoman’s daughter and her mother. The child still lived.
“That’s a few days longer than we expected,” Alec pointed out hopefully.
“We can’t take anything for granted,” Seregil warned.
The wizard and drysian arrived within the hour. The crowd had swelled but parted respectfully for Valerius.
Thero’s robe was rumpled and he looked rather hollow-eyed. He took in the room at a glance. “Your messenger told us a bit about what’s going on, but this? Look at all the little ones!”
“I’ve been talking with the priests,” said Seregil. “At least half of them were seen making trades with the ravens. I think this may be magic, rather than a simple illness. Or magic that causes the illness, at least.”
Thero nodded. “I’ll see what I can discover.”
The wizard moved among the sick, touching them, brushing their minds-or trying to. There seemed to be no mind to touch. The bodies were mere empty, breathing husks. All the same, there was the faintest hint of something else, something that made him vaguely uncomfortable, like a bad smell. He took his time at it, and when he finished he washed his hands.
“Did you find anything?” asked Valerius.
“I’m not sure. It’s not like anything has been laid on them, but rather something taken away, leaving just the faintest echo in its wake.”
“I sensed something similar,” Valerius told him.
“Taken.” Alec touched a little girl’s hand. “Like their khi?”
“Their soul, you mean?” Valerius shook his head. “They’d be dead if that were the case.”
“Only if the soul is the same thing as life,” said Thero. “Philosophers have been debating that for centuries.” He tapped his chin, thinking. “There is one last thing I’d like to
try, though. Help me move this older boy over to that clear place by the wall.”
Seregil and Alec carried the boy to the spot he’d indicated and then stood back with Valerius as Thero took out his chalk and began drawing an elaborate pattern of symbols around the stricken one. When he was done there was a solid circle around the boy, with room enough for Thero to sit inside with him on the floor.
He rested his hands on his knees, closed his eyes, and sat in concentration for over an hour before giving up. At last he stood up, scuffed the chalk circle, and walked over to where Alec and the others were waiting.
“Anything?” asked Seregil.
“Just a headache.”
“Didn’t you sense anymagic?” Valerius asked impatiently.
“No, nothing that I recognize as such.”
“Could it be some form of necromancy?” Alec suggested.
Thero gave him an affronted look. “I’m well versed in the various arts, Alec, as you very well know. That sort of magic always leaves traces and marks. If there is any magic to this, it’s too clean for necromancy. Nysander’s friend Teleus would have been the man to talk to about this, but he was killed when the Plenimarans attacked the Oreska House. He was the best versed in killing magic of any of us.”
“What about his successor, Miya?” asked Valerius.
“I think her studies have taken her in another direction, but she has all of her master’s books. I’ll speak with her.”
As they stepped outside they were met by a group of Scavengers being overseen by a score of the City Watch.
“What are you doing?” the temple drysian exclaimed in alarm as two Scavengers shouldered past him.
“Vicegerent’s orders,” the bluecoat captain informed him, handing him a scroll with the prince’s seal of office dangling from it. “As of now, this part of the Ring is being sealed off. All the sick ones you have there must go back inside.”
Looking past him, Alec saw a wagon loaded with boards and rocks, no doubt to build the barrier.
“But you can’t just toss them in there!” the temple drysian cried. “What will become of them?”
“They’ll be under your care, won’t they?” said Valerius.
The man looked at him with horror. “You expect us to go in there?”
“The Maker’s servants go where the need is greatest. They are your charges and you will attend to them. You, Captain!” He turned to the man in charge of the bluecoats. “Give my priests time to gather all they need and see that the sick are moved gently to some sheltered place. I won’t have you doing murder in the prince’s name and if you do, he’ll hear about it from me, understand?”
“Of course, Brother Valerius!” the captain assured him, cowed as most were by the sheer force of the imposing drysian’s will and presence.
Leaving Valerius to oversee the transfer, Alec drew Thero aside. “So what do you think?”
“I think that if this is magic, then a quarantine isn’t going to solve the problem,” the wizard replied. He paused, frowning. “I wonder if we have this backward?”
“How so?” asked Alec.
“What if it isn’t what these raven folk take away? What if it’s what they leave behind that acts as some sort of telesm? If so, then you may have put yourself in danger, buying that stone the other day. The boy who bought it has already been struck down.”
“May have?” Alec asked, suddenly uneasy. He’d had bad experiences in the past with strange magics.
“It’s just a theory. Do you have it?”
Alec took it from his purse and handed it to the wizard.
“If that’s the case, though, then now you’re in danger, aren’t you?” asked Seregil.
“I can seal it up so that it can’t be used by anyone from a distance.”
“The little girl we found in the temple had only been given a sweetmeat,” Alec pointed out. “And she ate it, so there was nothing left to work magic through.”
“What you eat becomes a part of you, doesn’t it?”
“Just how certain are you that sealing the stone away will work?” asked Alec.
Thero shrugged. “Reasonably certain.” Then, lowering his voice, “Can you find your way into the quarantined areas and look for more of these raven folk of yours tonight? I really need some item from them.”
“We’re hosting Archduchess Alaya, Princess Elani, and her mother at the Golden Crane, to see the new tragedy. Reltheus and his wife are coming, as well. By the time we get out of that, the ravens will probably have gone to nest. But tomorrow we’ll look into it.”
“Ah, I see. Then would you mind if I accompanied you to the theater?” Thero asked, surprising them both.
“You wantto go?” asked Seregil.
“I’d like to have a closer look at Reltheus, and also reestablish my acquaintance with the princess royal. I can discreetly ascertain whether magic is being worked on her by any conspirators, as well. This would be the most innocuous way to do it, given that I’m known to be your friend.” He paused and raised an eyebrow at them. “And perhaps you’ll stop hounding me about it, too.”
CHAPTER 34. A Light at the Theater
WHILE Thero had only come to the theater to meet Reltheus and Princess Elani, as he took his place with the others in the patrons’ box to await the royal arrivals, he had to admit he was impressed. The inside of the theater was beautifully done, with gilt, fine carvings, and an ornate proscenium.
“It is always a pleasure to meet a wizard of the Oreska House,” Reltheus said, extending his hand. “Allow me to present my wife, Duchess Palmani.”