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be about that boyfriend thing.”
    “It is not,” he said. “When you mentioned the west gate of the city. Great peril awaits us there now.”
    Mari grimaced. Alain’s foresight. “All right, then, maybe if we take the south gate — ” Alain’s alarm grew visibly. “That, too? How about the north gate? Back to the east gate? Are you saying that there’s great peril awaiting us at every gate out of this city?”
    Alain nodded. “Very great peril. Someone watches for us to leave the city. In the time since we entered, something has happened.”
    She took a deep breath, calming herself as she thought. “Did the other Mages sense that you’re here?”
    “I am confident that they did not. If my presence could be detected, the Mages in Palandur would not be watching the gates. They would be coming to attack me.”
    “All right. That’s a good point. But we can’t stay here. We have to get out of this city.”
    Alain shook his head, his face grim enough for Mari to see the emotion. “I agree, but we cannot leave today. Mari, I have never seen such a dark warning from my foresight. It warns not just of peril but of death. We should not have come to Palandur, I think. This city is a trap.”

     
     
     
     
     
     
     

Chapter Four
     
    Mari resisted the urge to punch the nearest wall in frustration. “I wish your foresight had told us that before we got here. It’s not like we had much choice. Every road in this region converges on Palandur, and the Imperials insist on everyone passing through the city security checks. Is there any hope that the threat will be less tomorrow?”
    “It may be. I do not know.”
    She stood looking around indecisively. “There are two other ways out of the city. We can try a boat or ship down the river — ”
    Alain shook his head. “Great danger.”
    “ — or we can take a train.” Mari paused, but this time Alain only looked concerned. “No warnings from your foresight about that?”
    “No. But Mechanic trains worry me for other reasons.”
    “I know. Alain, someday we’ll take a trip on a train and actually get where we’re going without being attacked or blown up or something. Why wouldn’t the Mages here be watching the train station?”
    He thought about that before answering. “Even though some Mage Guild elders know I used a Mechanic train at least once, on the occasion when they sent a Roc to attack us, it is likely that here they simply did not think of the Mechanic trains when considering ways to leave the city. They have guarded all the ways in which they believe that a Mage would leave the city and do not realize there is another way available to me.”
    Mari grimaced, brushing back her hair. “It never hurts to have an opponent with blind spots, but I don’t want to try the train here unless we absolutely have to. There are way too many Mechanics in Palandur who can recognize me and could easily be passing through the station. It wouldn’t be as dangerous as fighting our way out past Mages, but it wouldn’t be safe, either.”
    “Perhaps one night in Palandur would not be too dangerous, compared to the risks of leaving.”
    “Yeah,” Mari agreed. “I was thinking the same thing. Palandur is a big city, full of people, and with lots of places to disappear. We can go to ground and stay quiet. We spend the night here in one of the cheap hostels where we can get a room, no questions asked, then see how bad things look tomorrow.”
    Alain looked past her, his gaze slightly unfocused. “All I can tell from my foresight is that your plan does not make things worse,” he finally said.
    “Gee, thanks.”
    “You are welcome.” He hesitated. “Was that your sarcasm?”
    Despite everything, Mari couldn’t help smiling. “Yes. And a plan that doesn’t make things worse is probably the best we can hope for.”
    Alain didn’t try to smile back. “I should have foreseen the danger of coming here.”
    “Your foresight is unreliable, Alain,” Mari