Taken

From the notes it looked like the author had tried most of them. Some of the avenues were described in detail, others referred to only obliquely, but reading them I got the definite impression that they hadn’t been a success. Most longevity spells are based on life magic and it didn’t seem as though the mage who’d conducted the research had been able to use life magic at all. Instead he’d tried workarounds that had nearly all turned out to be failures. The more I read, the more I also got the impression that the notes were incomplete. There were references to experiments that didn’t seem to have been recorded . . . maybe because they were the kind you don’t want written down.

I finished the last stack of papers, thought a bit, then pulled out my phone and called Talisid. He answered after only a few rings. “Verus.”

“Hey, Talisid. Who used to live in Fountain Reach before Crystal? Say about sixty years ago?”

“Sixty years?” I could picture Talisid frowning in thought. “The Aubuchons, I would have thought.”

“Who were the Aubuchons?”

“An old mage dynasty. Fountain Reach was their family home. Although as I understand it, they tore it down and rebuilt it practically from the ground up.”

“When did they move out?”

“Died out, not moved out. The last living member of the family disappeared back in the eighties.”

“Huh.” I thought for a second. “How did Crystal get it?”

“Oh, that was a couple of years ago. She claimed to be the closest surviving descendant of the Aubuchon family, not that anyone really cared. The place was on the market at the time and she just bought it and moved in.”

“How did the White Stone end up being held here this year?”

“Crystal pushed for it. What are you getting at?”

“I’d just like to know a bit more about the place.”

“There’s absolutely no evidence that Fountain Reach is connected to the disappearances.” Talisid’s voice was firm. “I know you’re not fond of the Council but we’re not idiots. You think we’d agree to let Crystal house more than fifty apprentices in a place we weren’t confident in?”

“You’ve checked it?”

“Every one of the disappearances was cross-checked against Fountain Reach before the decision was made to host the tournament there. In every case we found absolutely no connection. In fact, the conclusion reached was that the gate wards would make Fountain Reach one of the safest possible locations in England. It was the principal reason that it was chosen.”

“What about Yasmin?”

“We’ve narrowed Yasmin’s disappearance to Kings Cross in London. She might have been at Fountain Reach earlier that night but she wasn’t there when she vanished.”

“Unless she was taken back.”

“Do you have any evidence that she was?”

I was silent for a moment. “No.”

“Verus, are you sure you’re in the right place?” Talisid sounded sceptical. “I didn’t question your plan to go to Fountain Reach but the majority of the disappearances have been in London and they aren’t stopping. We could use you here.”

“You got me for this job because you trusted my judgement,” I said. “No, I’m not sure. But it’s my best guess.”

Talisid sighed. “All right. If you want to keep following this lead, I’ll dig up what I can find about the last people to live in Fountain Reach and pass it on. I hope it leads you somewhere.”

So do I. “Thanks.”

*  *  *

Hours passed. I searched, but found nothing. There was an urgency to it now; I had the sense that I was running out of time. As seven o’clock drew near I went to the duelling hall.

The hall was packed with mages and apprentices: dozens of competitors and five times that number there to watch. To one side two apprentices were sparring with focus swords, the inactive weapons striking each other with a clack-clack-clack. An older mage was giving some sort of demonstration to a group of apprentices, an illusory duel painted in blue-white light playing out in the air between them, while the mages placed in charge strolled around importantly calling out names. The hall was filled with noise and energy and at the far end a board showed the list of matchups. The two duelling pistes had been cleared, and spectators had already started to gather around them.

Lyle appeared from the crowd as I crossed the hall, looking from side to side. I’d known he was at the tournament but it was the first time I’d seen him here. “Oh, Verus,” he said. He seemed distracted. “Have you seen Crystal?”

“Not recently.”

Lyle walked past. I gave him a curious glance and kept going.

Luna was standing alone in a corner. She was fiddling with her focus weapon, flipping the whip handle between her fingers without seeming aware of it, and she gave me a grateful look as she caught sight of me. “Who are you up against?” I asked.

Luna nodded past me. I followed her gaze to see a tall, strongly built, good-looking girl with blond hair tied up in a bun. She was carrying a slim staff about three feet long and she was listening and nodding to an unsmiling older woman who seemed to be giving her instructions. “Her name’s Ekaterina.”