'You said they talked about a large city and a festival,’ Lia begins and I nod.
‘Well, there are obviously plenty of cities in the Light Realm, and all of them have festivals,’ Dane explains, ‘but?—’
‘But,’ Lia’s eyes sparkle as she leans forward again in excitement. ‘There was mention of altering memories, isn’t that right?’
I nod slowly. ‘Yes, but Fiana is a mage. It would be easy enough to work a conjure to make them forget.’
Like I did.
‘Then why hasn’t she done that before?’ Lia asks.
I stop for a moment, thinking.
‘Because she hasn’t needed to?’ I guess. ‘They take caravans, hunting parties, so that people simply disappear and no one knows what happened to them.’
‘But has that been by design,’ Dane interjects, ‘or by necessity?’
‘I don’t follow,’ I say, glancing between the both of them.
‘We think that Fiana hasn’t taken a bigger settlement, or a city because she hasn’t been able to. It’s my belief that she can’t work a conjure so large in the Light.’
‘But the Underhill are adamant that she’s very powerful, and very skilled,’ I argue.
Dane and Lia glance at each other.
‘It’s in some’s best interests for decisions in the Underhill to be made out of fear,’ Lia says. ‘But, also, Varrik used the Dark Realms to make himself powerful. If Fiana is doing the same, she may not be as strong in the Light Realm. Gaila, the First, made many changes to keep the Light safe when she closed the Breach. Power based in Dark Realm magick isn’t as potent here. The god, Ceres, the Second, was lured here so that she could defeat him while he was weakened.’
‘True,’ I mutter, remembering the story of Gaila and my lessons in Dead City. ‘There are some who were truly powerful in the Dark, and yet could barely do a basic conjure in the Light.’
‘Fiana has skill with magick, yes,’ Dane allows. ‘But she tended to keep her conjures small as one of Varrik’s Elites, relying on her reputation and cruelty more than casting. She may not be as formidable as the Underhill would like everyone to believe, especially not here.’
‘So, then what’s different this time?’ I ask.
‘Exactly!’ Lia exclaims. ‘We think the city is Kitore.’
‘The First City?’ I ask.
‘Yes, it’s known for its festivals,’ Dane begins and I frown a little.
‘You said yourself that all the cities in the Light have festivals. Why Kitore?’
‘Because of the city wards,’ Lia interjects. ‘You know about them, yes?’
‘Everyone knows about them,’ I mutter. ‘Jak wants to go to the Great Library to research. Luckily, I’ve been able to delay him for now, but I wouldn’t set a toe through the fucking gate if I didn’t have to. The wards are too unpredictable to nonhumans. They’ve even been known to meddle with the residents of the city and I’ve heard they’ve become even more precarious of late.’
‘So they say,’ Lia nods. ‘It’s also said that many of the fae that were taken from the Underhill who went missing there were forgotten. No one recalled them ever being there after a time though they were seen. Of course, some of that was to do with the mage who had possession of the ward key, but we believe that Fiana might have a way to alter the wards how she sees fit, or she’s found some conjure that makes it possible on a large scale.’
Dane stands. ‘We think the plan is to attack Kitore during a festival and use the city’s own wards to make the people who are left behind forget about the ones they take. No alarm will be raised, and they can keep going back, time after time. Thousands live in that city, Locke, and Fiana would have access to them all.’
I give them both a dubious look. ‘Do you have any proof?’
Lia lets out a long breath. ‘Not enough for the Council Five to act. But we're going to send a bird to the Great Library today. News shouldn't be too long in coming now that it's spring.’
'And the wards will let birds in?'
Dane nods. 'We've sent birds before and received replies. Vivienne, the First Scholar, is an ally. She's corresponded with us before, and Jak knows her quite well.'
I nod. 'Yes, he spent time in the Great Library during his travels in the Light. But if the First Scholar is on our side,perhaps it would be faster to simply go there.Ifsafe passage in the city was assured. Jak could travel there via the Breach. Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.’
