Mari’s sense of satisfaction, her pride in her work, turned instantly to ashes.
Chapter Four
“We’ll begin searching the entire city,” General Shi said. “With the entire army looking—”
“We must be dealing with Mages,” the middle-aged man interrupted. “They captured another Mage and killed your soldiers without creating enough disturbance to be noticed.”
“There have been no reports of unusual activity at the Mage Guild,” Shi insisted.
“Dark Mages,” Mari said. “It might be Dark Mages.”
“It might,” the man agreed. “Your Mage must still be alive, or they would have left his body with those of the soldiers. How can we find your Mage without a lengthy search that would give warning to those who hold him? They might kill him if they know we seek him.”
Mari buried her face in both hands, trying to think. If only that damned thread ran both ways… “Maybe it does,” she whispered.
“Lady?”
“I need to get back to my ship as quickly as possible. One of the Mages there might be able to locate Mage Alain.”
They rushed through hallways and down stairs, emerging into the open where General Shi flagged down a cavalry unit standing guard. “Two of you dismount and give your horses to Colonel Faron and this lady. Escort them to the waterfront. Do not delay and move as quickly as you can.”
Mari hoisted herself into the saddle of a cavalry mount, torn between her admiration of the fine horse and her discomfort at riding. The group thundered down the streets of Julesport, pedestrians and wagons dashing to clear the path and sometimes barely getting out of the way. A road blocked by heavy traffic caused the column to veer into an alley, gallop through a series of turns as they vaulted piles of trash, and finally come out beyond the stoppage. Fortunately, Mari didn’t have to guide her mount, which kept up with its fellow horses. She was fully occupied with trying to stay in the saddle.
At one point they raced past a corner where two Mechanics stood. Mari saw their faces only as blurs, impossible to recognize, but she thought one of the Mechanics looked indifferent to whatever emergency was causing commons to rush about. The other, though, seemed to gaze toward Mari as she and the cavalry passed by.
The column came to a halt at the quay, the horses blowing with exertion. Colonel Faron came to assist Mari, but she dropped from the saddle without help. As the cavalry milled about, Mari and Faron raced to the waiting launch. This time the rowers bent even harder to their task than before, the launch leaping across the water to the small clipper ship.
Mari jumped onto the ladder still hanging down the side of the Gray Lady and scrambled up it as fast as she could.
All of the Mechanics and Mages were waiting and watching her with visible alarm. “What’s up? Where’s Alain?” Alli asked as Mari caught her breath.
“He was taken,” Mari finally gasped out. “By Mages. Maybe Dark Mages. Mage Asha, is my beacon still there?”
Asha was actually betraying enough concern for Mari to see it. “It has never faded. But you do not wish me to speak of it.”
“Now I do. There’s a… Alain calls it a thread that connects him and me. He’s been able to use it to tell where I am. Can you sense that?” Mari asked desperately. “Can you track Alain through me?”
Asha paused for long enough that Mari felt like screaming in frustration. Then Asha said, “Try, yourself, to sense that thread, to feel where Alain is.”
“I don’t know how.” But Mari tried, pretending she could see the thread, thinking feverishly of Alain.
“I… sense something,” Asha said. She pivoted slowly, pointing into the city. “That way. It… feels like Mage Alain.”
Colonel Faron pointed in another direction. “The Mage Guild Hall in Julesport lies that way.”
“That is well,” Mage Dav said. “Any attempt to assault a Mage Guild Hall by those of us here would be futile. But if Mage Alain is held elsewhere, there is a chance.”
Faron pointed again, this time in a different direction. “That’s about where the Mechanics Guild Hall is. So he’s not there, either.”
“Let’s go,” Mari said. “Now.” She grabbed the Mechanics jacket that Alli offered, shrugging into it and then taking an offered rifle.
“Lady—” Colonel Faron began, alarmed.
Mari spun to face him. “I know. I also know that there’s likely to be some kind of fight when we find Alain. And a fight could spark the sort of unrest in this city that none of us want. But if the people of Julesport see that it is Mechanics and Mages involved, they won’t think it has anything to do with them.”
“Lady, if they see Mechanics and Mages working together they will know that only one person could be responsible!”
“Then… that should calm them, too, right?” Mari didn’t wait for an answer. “Who’s coming?” she asked the others.
Mechanics Alli, Bev, and Dav were already carrying rifles. Mage Asha and Mage Dav stood by the railing, clearly waiting to leave.
“Thank you,” Mari said. She spun toward the side of the ship, pausing as she finally noticed the captain of the Gray Lady standing not far away. “Get all the supplies you need aboard and do it as fast as you can. We may be leaving very quickly when we return.”
The captain nodded, as if hasty departures from port were routine for his ship. Then he spoke reluctantly. “There’s the matter of funds—”
“No, there isn’t!” Mari snapped. “It’s taken care of. Any supplies you need that haven’t shown up already should be here soon.”
With a resigned look, Colonel Faron led the way back down the ladder. The launch was slightly overloaded with everyone aboard, but made it to the quay without incident. “How could they have surprised Alain?” Bev asked. “He’s pretty sharp.”
“Concealment spells,” Mari said. “Mages can make themselves invisible to everyone.”
“Except other Mages,” Mage Dav advised. “We can see a Mage using such a spell. Not as the person they are, but as a pillar of light being reflected from the Mage. Mage Alain should have sensed another Mage using such a spell near him.”
“Maybe he got knocked out,” Mechanic Dav said, “before the guards were killed.”
“That would require one of the guards to have betrayed us,” Colonel Faron said, his mouth a thin, angry line. “But it is the best explanation we have at this time.”
As she pulled herself quickly up the ladder and stood on the quay again, Mari remembered something and gazed out across the harbor. “Has there been any extra smoke from that stack, Alli?”
“Not yet. The Senior Mechanics must still be oblivious.”
Colonel Faron was issuing orders to some of the cavalry, who dashed off in a rattle of hooves. “Some of the other shipping in the harbor is about to reposition,” he said. “The other ships will block the movement of that Mechanic ship if it tries to get underway.”
“Won’t that cause the Mechanics Guild to target you?” Mari asked as they walked quickly toward land.
Faron looked regretful. “For what? We’re just dumb, foolish commons who can’t do anything right.”
They paused at the place where the quay joined land, nearly a full troop of cavalry jostling nearby, the tips of their lances flashing red from the rays of the setting sun.
Mage Asha stopped and looked around. “I must focus,” she told Mari, the Mage voice sounding so strange in its lack of feeling. “We must walk.”
“Fine,” Mari said. “Let’s walk.”
Asha started off a fast pace that startled Mari. She caught up and tried to match Mage Asha, but after two weeks of idleness on the ship Mari found herself straining to keep up. For her part, Mage Asha walked without any sign of exertion.