Asha stood up beside her, the cowl of her robes back, her beauty making her look spectral in the light of the fire. “She is the daughter. It has been foreseen.” The Mage voice, loud but completely unfeeling, echoed among the suddenly silent crowd.
And in that silence a single person could be heard sobbing, crying softly. “At last. At last.”
Mari tried to sound calm and determined. “I have to go now. I have to leave Julesport in order to protect you. The days of the Great Guilds are numbered. Believe that because it is true. Together we will bring a new day to this world. Stay safe until then!”
Judging the moment right, Colonel Faron spurred his mount forward, the cavalry with him taking position around the carriage as its driver flicked the reins at the two horses hitched to it. The carriage began rolling toward the nearest edge of the crowd, which reluctantly gave way, everyone straining to see Mari as she sat down again. Mari held her hand before her, staring at how badly it was shaking.
Colonel Faron leaned down to speak to her. “I’ve sent for healers to meet us at the quay for the injured Mage Alain. There are reports that Mechanics are vanishing from the streets of the city, all withdrawing into their Guild Hall.”
“Wh—” Mari swallowed and managed to speak again. “What about the Mages?”
“There are small groups of them out. They don’t seem to be converging on any point. They’re just out.”
Mage Dav went to the edge of the carriage. “I will seek some of them.”
“Is that not dangerous?” Mage Asha asked.
“Yes.”
Mage Dav stepped down from the slow-moving carriage, vanishing almost immediately into the crowd, while Alli, Bev, and Mechanic Dav stared after him. “You Mages take some getting used to,” Alli finally said. “No offense.”
“Why should I care what you say?” Asha asked.
Alli’s mouth dropped open for a moment, then she looked at Mari. “Tell me again just how you got to know Alain?”
“We were running for our lives,” she said, holding Alain with one arm while she tried to suppress the nervous shakes that still shivered through her. “We didn’t have any choice. And yes, if the circumstances had been any different, it would have been very hard to get to know him enough to understand why he said things like that. It’s not an insult. Mage Asha isn’t trying to make you upset or angry. She’s just asking why she should be upset by anything you say, and that’s literally all she means by it.”
“If you say so.” Alli looked at the crowds on either side of the carriage. “Just how did Mage Asha help us find Alain anyway?”
“It’s my… beacon,” Mari admitted.
“Oh, yeah. You haven’t talked about that since Altis.”
“I don’t want to ever talk about it,” Mari mumbled.
Asha spoke again. “When Mari developed feelings for Mage Alain, and I learned to see Mari as not just a shadow, I began to sense her presence from afar. Whenever she thinks of Mage Alain, it is as if a distant bonfire lights for me.”
Alli didn’t answer, and when Mari looked at her she saw that Alli was trying desperately not to laugh. “That must be… really… embarrassing,” she finally got out.
“It is,” Mari said, trying to sound as cold as a Mage.
Mechanic Dav was giving her a funny look. “Does that happen every time a Mechanic and a Mage, uh…”
“You’ll have to let me know,” Mari said, which at least shut down further questions from Mechanic Dav.
The crowds were thinning as they reached the edges of the throng, the carriage horses trotting along streets where more and more soldiers were in evidence. As the carriage neared the quay, a cavalry soldier came riding up and saluted. “Colonel,” she called. “There is a group of Mechanics down there. They claim to be friends of the daughter.”
Faron turned a questioning look on Mari.
“Did they give any names?” Mari asked.
The soldier shook her head. “One of them said to tell Master Mechanic Mari that the next time she is in a blizzard to remember that nothing is real.”
“What?” Colonel Faron demanded. “What does that mean?”
“I know what it means,” Mari said, laughing with relief. “Alli, you might want to run ahead and meet those guys.”
“Why?” Alli asked. “Hold on. Blizzard. Isn’t that when you met—?”
“Sure was,” Mari said, smiling.
“Wooo!” Alli jumped out of the carriage and ran ahead.
“I guess it is all right,” Faron said, motioning the carriage to move on. “Lady, may I ask a question before you take leave of us?”
“Sure,” Mari said, feeling totally worn out again and wondering just how much longer this day and night could last.
“What reward do you seek?”
Mari looked at the colonel. “Reward?”
“Yes. What will you gain?”
“Everyone will be free. The Storm won’t come. The Great Guilds will no longer control this world.”
“But, for you,” Colonel Faron pressed.
“I…” Mari spread her hands in confusion. “I have Alain. I’ll be able to practice my Mechanic skills freely. My friends will be free. Isn’t that enough?”
“I would think so,” Faron said. “Good luck, Lady. I must go to ensure your ship has a clear path out of the harbor.” He flicked his reins and rode away, quickly vanishing into the dusk.
The carriage rumbled to a halt and Mari roused herself to get Alain out, feeling an irrational resentment that he wasn’t helping more.
“Four more Mechanics,” Bev commented. “No, wait. Five. Alli is glued to one of them so it looked like they were just one.”
“Hi, Calu,” Mari called, realizing her hail sounded breathless.
What looked like the silhouette of one broad Mechanic separated into two, Alli leading Mechanic Calu. “Hey, Mari. Still causing trouble, huh?” He spotted Alain as the others tried to get him down from the carriage. “Alain’s hurt?”
Calu rushed to help, talking as he did so. “I’ve got four friends with me. When the Guild Hall supervisor ordered everyone into the Hall for a lockdown, we were outside and figured it was time to make a break. We planned to try to find you, but you were a lot closer than we expected. So you’re the daughter now, huh?”
“She’s already power-mad,” Alli commented to Calu as they got Alain down. “That’s why we had to rescue this guy. Alain is the only one who can control her.”
“He’s a better man than I am, then,” Calu observed with a grin. But the grin faded into a look of concern. “What’s the matter with him?”
“Drugs, we think,” Mari reassured Calu. “He’ll be all right,” she added, trying to convince herself.
“There are a couple of healers here. I guess they got sent to help him.” Calu tried to take more of Alain’s weight on his own shoulder. “Can I take over here? You must be beat.”
“I am beat,” Mari admitted, “but Mage Asha and I will get him the rest of the way.”
“Mage Asha? Another Mage?” Calu glanced at her, then his eyes widened as Asha’s beauty struck home. “Wow. I mean—”
Alli intervened, punching Calu in the shoulder. “We know what you mean. Behave yourself. She’s a Mage and she’s got a knife.”
“And I’ve already got a girl,” Calu said. “I’ve got to fill you guys in on what’s been happening.”