“Understood.”
“Good,” Dr. Shirland said briskly. “I understand you’ve been trying to find Anne and Variam an apprenticeship with a Light mage or a Light-leaning independent?”
“Yes.”
“In my judgement the chances of your succeeding in doing so are very low, with one exception.”
I was silent. “Well, I’d hoped for better,” I said after a moment, “but I guess I’ll take what I can get. What’s the exception?”
“I think Variam might have a future as a Council Keeper.”
I stared at her. “You’re kidding.”
“Not at all.”
“Vari hates Keepers!”
“So he told me. I understand he and Anne came under investigation last year.”
“If by ‘came under investigation’ you mean ‘were arrested,’ then yes. And Vari had issues with them before that. He thinks the Council abandoned them both and he’s . . . pretty much right. He’s got a giant chip on his shoulder about mages in general and Light mages in particular, and if there’s one group you’re going to blame for what Light mages do, it’s the Keepers.”
“I understand, but all the same I think that’s where his abilities would be best appreciated. He’s a fighter and he’s determined, and he’s an essentially active personality who needs work to do. He’ll always have some difficulty with discipline, but the Council have employed fire mages before, you know. The Keeper orders are where they traditionally put them.”
“And the fact that he’s associated with a Dark mage?”
“In my opinion, that’s the strongest reason to recommend it. The Keepers are the only arm of the Council who deal with Dark mages on a regular basis. Firsthand knowledge of Dark culture without being a Dark mage would be a selling point to them. If Variam can convince them he’s what he says he is, there’s a good chance they’ll give him the chance to prove himself.”
I thought for a minute. “Did you have someone in mind?”
“I gave Variam the contact details of a Keeper who I think might be a good match. The decision has to be his, of course.”
I turned it over in my mind and shrugged. “Well, I still think it still sounds weird, but I guess it could work. What about Anne?”
“Anne is going to be more difficult.”
“Why?”
“Well for one thing, she’s a life mage.”
I frowned. “Why’s that a problem?”
“Because life mages can do more than heal.”
“They can do the opposite, I know.” I’d seen Anne do it, though only twice. “I don’t see how it matters. Pretty much every mage can kill you one way or another.”
“From your point of view, perhaps,” Dr. Shirland said. “But most mages are rarely threatened, and when they are it’s usually in a way they can understand and deal with. And if they’re an elemental mage, then of course they have their shields. A powerful protection, at least against most things.”
“Life magic goes through shields?”
“As if they weren’t there. I’ve never seen it myself but I’ve spoken to people who have. Just imagine how frightening that would be. Always to have been in a privileged position, safe and powerful, and to have that suddenly taken away. A life mage who can touch another person can do literally anything they want to them.”
“But if you’re looking for an apprentice—” I began, then stopped.
Dr. Shirland nodded. “Typically in a master-apprentice relationship, all the power lies with the master. But with a life apprentice, every time the master comes within arm’s reach he places his life in her hands.”
I thought about it, then shook my head in frustration. “It still doesn’t make sense. Okay, I can see why that would make some mages jumpy, especially the paranoid ones. But they can’t be like that all the time. I mean, mages get life magic treatments, don’t they? They have to let life mages get close sometimes.”
“Ones they trust.”
“And they wouldn’t trust her,” I said with a sigh. Now I saw what she was getting at. “Because of Sagash and Jagadev and the murders last year.”
“Yes,” Dr. Shirland said. “They’d consider her—potentially, at least—touched by darkness.”
I brooded over that for a moment. “Could you change their minds?” I said.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I think they may be right.”
I looked up in surprise. Dr. Shirland was looking steadily at me. “What do you mean?”
“Anne was held by Sagash for a period of nine months,” Dr. Shirland said, “beginning almost four years ago and ending a little over three years ago. Has she spoken to you about what happened over that period?”
“She doesn’t talk about it.”
Dr. Shirland nodded. “During our conversation, Anne spoke freely about her life since she and Variam moved in with you. However, the closer we moved to that time, the more reticent she became. I could feel it casting a shadow over everything she said.”
“Yeah, but . . .” I raked my fingers through my hair. “The whole reason Anne got involved in all this was because Sagash kidnapped her. And the reason Vari got involved was because he went to try to rescue her. They’re the victims in all this. It’s not fair to blame them.”
“It’s not a matter of blame. If I approached anyone to refer Anne as an apprentice, the first question they’d ask would be whether she was potentially dangerous. And I wouldn’t honestly be able to answer no.”
“That’s ridiculous,” I said. “Anne’s probably the nicest person I know. She won’t even kill flies. She might be powerful, but she’s not dangerous. She’s . . . I don’t know. Innocent.”
Dr. Shirland gave me a look. “I don’t think she’s quite so innocent as you believe.”
I started to answer and then stopped.
Last winter I was called in on a missing-persons case. A contact of mine from the Council had noticed that apprentices were going missing but didn’t know who was doing it or how, and he sent me to find out. I found out. It led to me and Anne being trapped in a room stacked with dead bodies, being hunted down by a once-human creature called Vitus Aubuchon. I’d distracted Vitus and Anne had killed him. Don’t get me wrong, it had been more than justified—not only had Vitus been the one responsible for all those dead bodies, he’d just cut Anne’s throat and had been in the process of trying to kill me too.
But looking back on it, I had a disturbing thought. Getting good with spells takes time and effort. When apprentices try something new they usually spend ages fumbling around before they can make it work, and even then they’re clumsy. Anne hadn’t been clumsy. She’d ripped Vitus’s life out of his body in a single action. It had been very quick and very efficient.
I looked up to see that Dr. Shirland was watching me. “What happened to her when she was with Sagash?” I said.
“Anne did not volunteer details.”
“Did you find some out anyway?”
“You mean by entering her mind?”
I gave a nod.
Dr. Shirland looked at me with raised eyebrows. “You’re asking me if I entered her mind to search her memories and feelings without her consent—an action that not only would be a breach of trust but which would also add further psychic damage to what was clearly already an intensely traumatic experience?”
“Pretty much.”
“No.” Dr. Shirland’s tone made it clear the subject was closed.
“Sorry,” I said. “Just checking.”
There was a pause. “So is there anything you can do?” I said.
“With finding her a master?” Dr. Shirland shook her head. “I don’t think there’s anyone I could recommend in good conscience until this is resolved. I invited her to come back and talk further, but she gave me a very polite refusal.”
I sat in silence for a little while. “Well,” I said at last, “thanks for the help. I appreciate the effort.”
“You’re welcome. Call me if you’d like to talk again.”
I spent the journey home thinking, and was still thinking as I walked through the shop and started up the stairs to my flat. As I climbed I heard a thud from above, followed by another thud five seconds later.