Taken

“Now check the time the last apprentice disappeared,” I said. “Vanessa. Same deal, the period immediately after she went missing.”

It only took Sonder a minute this time. “It’s the same,” he said. I couldn’t make out his expression, but he was looking at me. “Alex, this means—”

“Check them all.”

*  *  *

It was the same with all of them. The disappearances of all the missing apprentices matched up with a period of shrouded time in the back of Fountain Reach. By tracing the exact activation of the shroud, Sonder was able to figure out that the person using it had come from the woods to a little-used side door set into the mansion, half hidden by the bushes. Backtracking, we found that all of the routes led back to one of a pair of clearings a few minutes into the trees, where they stopped.

“But where did they come from?” Luna asked once we’d withdrawn back to the campsite and had warmed up again.

“A gate spell,” Sonder said. “It has to be.”

“Why didn’t they just gate into the mansion?” Variam said.

“They couldn’t,” I said. “The wards over Fountain Reach stop you from gating inside. But they don’t stop you from gating nearby and walking in. It’s how half the guests have been getting here.”

We sat around the fire in silence for a minute. “This means it’s Crystal, doesn’t it?” Luna said at last.

“We don’t have any proof of that,” Sonder said.

“It’s her house.”

“Yes, but all we know is that someone used a shroud,” Sonder argued. “I know it’s suspicious but it’s not enough to bring to the Council. Anyway, we don’t have a motive.”

“Harvesting,” Variam said instantly.

I shook my head. “It was one of the first things I thought too, but it doesn’t fit. Harvesting is incredibly dangerous. Even doing it once is likely to kill you. To do it over and over again you’d have to be suicidal, and Crystal isn’t.”

“But how could it be Crystal?” Anne asked.

“Why can’t it be?” Luna said.

“That missing girl,” Anne said. “She disappeared back when the house still belonged to Vitus Aubuchon, thirty years ago. Crystal is . . . thirty-four?”

“Thirty-five,” I said.

“So Crystal couldn’t have done it,” Anne said. “She would have been five years old.”

“So maybe that was some other mage,” Variam said.

“Come on,” Luna said. “Two different mages just happen to kidnap a victim of the same age at the same place?”

“What do you think?” Sonder asked me.

“It can’t be a coincidence,” I said. “But if I had to guess, I’d go with Luna. I think it’s Crystal who’s been doing this.” I looked around the four of them. “Something that’s been bothering me from the start is how neat all these disappearances have been. The victims never seem to fight back—it’s as if they just walk out the door. Well, maybe that’s exactly what has been happening. A mind mage like Crystal can overwhelm someone fast, especially someone young and inexperienced. And it would explain why we’ve never had any witnesses. Wiping memories is well within her range.”

“But what about the girl from thirty years ago?” Anne asked.

“Before I met Crystal I did some digging,” I said. “She’s never taken an apprentice or taught any classes. In fact, until this tournament she’s never shown any interest in apprentices at all. I think it stems from when she came to Fountain Reach.”

“Isn’t it supposed to be her family home?” Sonder asked.

“Yeah, and I’m pretty sure she was lying. You heard Anne’s story. If Crystal was really the heir to the Aubuchons, why didn’t the house go to her when the last two members of the family died?” I shook my head. “I think Crystal found something here, something hidden. And whatever she found was the reason she bought the house and arranged this tournament.”

“But why the tournament?” Sonder said.

“That’s the bit I can’t figure out,” I said. “Because until now the kidnapper has gone to a whole lot of trouble to keep these disappearances away from here. Yasmin was right here on the grounds, but they waited to grab her until she was all the way away in London.”

“Why?” Variam said.

“To draw attention away from Fountain Reach,” I said. “But if that’s the case, why hold the tournament?” I shook my head again. “There must be something they think is worth the risk . . .”

“What do you think’s happened to the apprentices?” Anne asked.

“Nothing good.”

We talked for another hour. Although everyone agreed Crystal was the most likely suspect, it was clear we didn’t have enough to go before the Council. Sonder thought we should go to Talisid and report what we’d found. Variam didn’t trust Talisid or anyone else from the Council and wanted to keep it a secret. Luna wanted to investigate more, and Anne stayed quiet and didn’t volunteer an opinion either way.