Taken

I had a feeling there was more to it than that but let it slide. I took a glance around. The fountain in the central driveway was visible over the hedges and people were in sight in the gardens. From outside, the mansion and everything around it looked normal, peaceful . . . but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was very wrong here.

“Jagadev sent you and Variam here,” I said. “What did he tell you?”

“He told us to help you.”

“But why here? What does he know about Fountain Reach that made him send us to it?”

Anne frowned. “Variam asked, but . . . I got the feeling it was something about the place, not the tournament.”

“What about the place?”

“He wouldn’t say.”

I thought for a second, then nodded. “Okay, I need to do something dangerous. Can you give me a hand?”

Anne hesitated for a second. “. . . All right.”

*  *  *

The corridors of the mansion were empty as we headed back. I could hear the buzz of voices from the direction of the central hall, followed by a roar. The first round of the tournament had begun. “He’s this way,” Anne said. “Um . . . there’s something you should probably know. Morden and Jagadev don’t get on very well.”

“So I gathered,” I said as we started down one of the corridors. “What’s up with that?”

“I’m not sure. But Morden once asked me if I’d leave and be his apprentice.”

I glanced sharply at Anne. “What did you say?”

“I said no,” Anne said. She sounded very definite.

We walked a little way in silence. Through the walls I heard a muffled cheer from the duelling hall, along with someone shouting something. “You don’t have to answer this if you don’t want to,” I said. “But what exactly is the deal you and Variam have with Jagadev?”

Anne sighed. “Everyone thinks it’s something really crazy. They think we’re being trained as his apprentices or we’re bonded to him or we go out and murder people on his orders or something. No one ever believes me when I tell them the truth.”

“What is it?”

“He gives us a place to stay,” Anne said. “That’s all, really.”

We reached an intersection and turned left down a long hallway. We were moving deeper into the mansion, and the sounds of the crowd were fading behind us. “But if you’re staying with him, you’re part of his household,” I said. “You might not be his apprentices but every mage is going to treat you as though you are.”

Anne was silent. “That’s it, isn’t it?” I said. “It’s for protection.”

“Jagadev . . .” Anne hesitated. “Mages . . . know about him. As long as we’re with him they won’t want to cause us any trouble.”

“Variam told you that, right?”

Anne glanced up at me, then back down at the floor.

“Was Variam the one who made the deal?”

Anne shook her head. “Jagadev came to us. It was when we were in London, after . . . He said he could make sure nobody else came after us.”

“And what does he get?” I asked. “What do you do for him?”

“Little things. Deliver messages, be around for gatherings. He’ll ask me for information but he won’t ask us to do anything dangerous.”

“Until now,” I said dryly.

Anne was quiet for a moment. “Jagadev didn’t make me come here,” she said at last. “I . . .” She stopped and looked in the direction of the wall. “He’s there.”

I glanced into the immediate future and confirmed it. “Okay,” I said and took a breath. “Let’s do this.” I walked through the doorway and into the next room. “Onyx,” I said, raising my voice. “Hi.”

Onyx moved like lightning. One moment he was standing facing the wall, the next he was turned towards me, slightly crouched, one hand extended towards my chest. A very faint hum sounded from his hand, and with my mage’s sight I could see the outline of the blade of force ready to be thrown. Looking into the future, I could see it streaking from his fingers and tearing through my chest in a spray of gore. I held quite still.

Then Anne stepped out next to me. Onyx’s eyes flicked to her but his hand didn’t shift. “Not going to say hello?” I said. My heart was racing and it took an effort to keep my voice casual.

Onyx’s eyes shifted between us but he didn’t answer. Dressed in black, he stood out against the old, musty room. Bookshelves made it look as though it had once been a library, but most were empty and the carpet smelt of dust. “Relax,” I said. I deliberately turned away from Onyx and walked to one of the shelves, taking Anne out of the line of fire. “I’m just here to talk.”

Onyx’s hand moved to track me, but he didn’t turn away from Anne. “Brought some protection?” he said.

“Protection?”

Onyx tilted his head towards Anne and gave me a thin smile. “I’ll kill her before she makes it three steps.”

I sighed. “Would you please quit the bullshit?”

Onyx held my gaze for a second longer, then lowered his hand, the force blade dissipating. “Okay, I’ll play. What do you want?”

“I figure you might be able to help me,” I said.

“Go fuck yourself.”