“She’s terrifying and for good reason. As for the other, you’re wise to be cautious, but you have many weapons to hand. You still have your coins?”
“Aye.”
“You remember how to keep grain from tipping out of buckets whilst simultaneously setting fire to annoying lords’ trousers?”
“I’m insulted,” she managed, “and you should be afraid I’ll set fire toyoursfor that ridiculous question.”
He patted her back. “I’m properly cowed, believe me. I’ve watched you at your work.”
“I think I like it better when you can use your magic.”
He laughed a little. “Now,thatis something I never thought to ever hear you say.”
She pulled back far enough to look at him under the lovely werelight he’d hung over their heads. “I’m not sure how we’ll do this.”
He considered, then pulled away and reached for her hand. He led her over to the kitchen table, lit a fire in the hearth with a spell she didn’t hear, then pulled out a chair for her. He waited until she was seated, gentleman that he was, then sat down facing her.
“We’ll give my horse a moment to have a proper nap there by the fire,” he said, “and discuss our strategy for a moment or two. Wine?”
“I’m not sure anything would help at this point.”
“Then I won’t offer you anything stronger,” he said with a smile. He leaned forward and took her hands. “I don’t know how it is with horses, but with mages there is a fine line to walk between killing them outright and allowing them to do themselves in, so to speak.”
“Would you slay him?” she asked faintly.
“If it came to a choice between your life and his? Without a second thought. But if I slay him, we will likely never know what spell he’s using presently, never mind what spell he’s still looking for. Leaving something like that out in the world—and believe me, I can hardly believe these words are coming out of my mouth—for some enterprising mage to simply pick up and tuck in a pocket would be rather disastrous.”
“You’d best be careful,” she said seriously.
He looked a little startled. “Why?”
“People are going to find out the truth about you and the quests will never stop.”
“Take that back,” he said, looking genuinely appalled. “Every last word of it.”
She smiled. “I won’t. So, where does that leave us?”
“It leaves me unnerved at what you’ve wished on me, but I’ll hide when any messengers show up at the front door and leave you to attend to them. As for our current business, I think we should see what Seannair’s library holds, then accept the inevitable.”
She supposed she didn’t need to be a mage to understand where he was going with that.
“You’ll have to face him,” she said quietly.
“And you’ll have to contain that bloody spell of death outside so I can,” he agreed. “Unless I can determine in the meantime how to destroy it.”
“But it has parts of your soul you’ve collected.”
He pursed his lips. “I’m not entirely sure my mother didn’t invent that on the spot just to annoy me, but I can’t deny what I’ve seen. I’m not sure what good those bits of myself will do me, but in the end it might not matter. Even if you can only hold off that spell long enough for me to do what needs to be done, it will be enough.”
She closed her eyes briefly. “And if I can’t?”
“I have a very useful spell of death in my pocket.”
“But you’d rather have answers.”
“I would,” he agreed. “Not only might he have other spells waiting to be nicked and used, he also likely knows how to reverse what those pools of shadow have taken, if that sort of thing is even possible. I owe Hearn at least an attempt to find that answer. Your grandfather as well, possibly.”
“And if he slays you?” she asked, forcing herself to speak calmly when what she wanted to do was weep. “I’m not thinking only of myself, though I am because I’m not sure what I would do without…well…”
