Taken

“The rebuilding of Fountain Reach,” I said. “That was when those wards were put up, wasn’t it?”

Sonder nodded. “That’s something I was able to find out. The reason he was doing that rebuilding was to build the wards in with the house from the ground up. Basically all of Fountain Reach is one giant focus. Lots of people were curious because it seemed like such overkill. I mean, everyone has wards, but those ones are about five times as strong as they should be.”

“Did they figure it out?”

“Not really. The best guess was that the wards were acting as the skeleton for an envelopment focus.”

“What’s that?” Luna asked.

“It’s a large-scale focus that acts as a magnifying effect,” Sonder said. “As long as you’re within the area you can use the energy to power spells that are much more powerful than normal, or ones from a different type of magic than you should be able to use.”

“If they’re so good, why doesn’t everyone use them?” Variam said.

“Well, an envelopment focus only works within the physical area it covers. And the spells that run it are unstable, so they need a lot of maintenance. Basically it makes you more powerful, but only as long as you stay in one place.”

“Why didn’t any other mage take Fountain Reach for himself after Vitus disappeared?” I said.

“They couldn’t get the wards to work,” Sonder said. “Vitus had attuned them to himself.”

I nodded. “And if it had been built in with the physical design of the place, it would have been more trouble than it was worth to change it.”

“If those mages couldn’t get Fountain Reach to work for them, how did Crystal do it?” Luna asked.

“Guess she figured it out,” Variam said.

Sonder frowned. “But the mages who investigated the wards after Vitus’s disappearances were . . . Well, I actually know two of them and they know more about focus magic than almost anyone else in the country. If they couldn’t reattune the wards I don’t see how she could have.”

“Who cares?” Variam said. “Maybe she just didn’t bother.”

“But that would have problems too. Even if they aren’t directly designed to defend the location, living in a place where you don’t have any control over the ward layout is—”

“Okay, look,” Luna said. “What about that missing girl? It has to be the same thing, right?”

Anne and Sonder looked at each other. “I’m not sure,” Sonder said. He looked troubled.

“I am,” Luna said. “Alex, do you think if we went looking we’d find a bunch of other people going missing there?”

I thought about it for a second, then nodded. “Maybe not obviously . . . but yes.”

“I don’t know how they missed this,” Sonder said. “Fountain Reach was investigated—”

“Fountain Reach was investigated for disappearances involving mages,” I said. “But I’ll bet you the Council never looked into what happened to normal people who went there.”

“But it still doesn’t make sense,” Sonder objected. “It’s the apprentice disappearances we’re trying to solve, and there’s still no connection—”

“About that.” I got to my feet. “Come with me for a second. There’s something I’d like you to check.”

*  *  *

Fountain Reach was a cluster of light against the winter darkness. Stars twinkled down from above, and from the mansion dozens of windows glowed. We were at the edge of the woods bordering the gardens and even across the lawn we could hear the chatter of voices through the thick walls. Everything else was black.

“What are we doing here?” Sonder asked, shivering. Away from the warmth of Variam’s fire spells, his breath was a pale shadow in the cold air.

“What you just told us was useful,” I said, “but it wasn’t why I asked you to come down. When’s your best guess on when Yasmin went missing?”

“About one o’clock this morning.”

“I want you to look back into the past over the period immediately after that. Let’s say a three-hour window.”

“Look, even if it was here, you know the wards would stop any—”

“The wards prevent scrying inside the house,” I said. “I want you to search the grounds around the house.”

“For what?”

“Nothing,” I said truthfully. “See what you find.”

Sonder sighed and closed his eyes. Behind him Anne, Variam, and Luna were half hidden by the trees, though only Luna was shivering. “Do you want me to look around the front?” Sonder asked.

“No,” I said. “The farther out of view the better.”

Sonder fell silent. The only noise was the murmur of voices drifting across the gardens. I kept my arms folded against the chill, trying not to show how tense I was. Minutes passed and I forced myself to stay patient. I went over the reasoning in my mind, checking it for holes. It all hung together. Sonder ought to find . . .

“Huh,” Sonder said, interrupting my thoughts. “That’s funny.”

“What?”

“There’s an empty patch.”

“A shroud?”

“Yeah. One-fifteen to one-eighteen.”

“Okay,” I said, making sure to keep my voice calm. “Is it the same shroud? The same as when—?”

“Yes,” Sonder said. He was looking at me. “The same one that was used at Kings Cross and all the others.”