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Authors: Garrett Robinson
Tags: BluA
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close in Xain’s counsel, for he is a wise man and well respected at the Academy. Mayhap we can use Dasko to use Xain.”
“What?” said Kalem, straightening at once. “We will not use mindwyrd on Dasko to control him, but only to make him forget. Keeping his memory empty is one thing. Using him to accomplish our own ends …”
“I will not do it,” said Theren. She stormed up to the table and slammed her hands down on it. The heavy THOOM of the blow echoed around the hall, flitting about its many pillars. “I will not, and that is the end of it. He is like a puppet on strings, and I feel more of a monster every time I jerk them. Mayhap I do not suffer from magestone sickness, but this is its own kind of torture.”
“We will not use him for evil,” said Mako. His tone was gentle, as though he were persuading a wounded animal. “We will only collect information we cannot get ourselves. And that information could do great good. It could even save the life of the boy, Erin.”
“Erin could already be dead,” said Ebon. “He likely is. It has been weeks.”
“I know something of these matters,” said Mako. “One does not take a hostage if one does not intend to use them. And through Dasko, we could learn something that—”
“Stop saying that!” cried Theren. “Stop saying ‘we,’ when you mean me. We are not committing a crime—I am. We will not be put to death if this scheme is discovered—I will.”
“We are with you to the end, Theren,” said Ebon quietly. “We have been there every step of the way. If the King’s law learns of our dealings, we will not abandon you to die alone. And if you refuse this scheme, I for one will not argue against you.”
“We cannot do it,” said Kalem. “If we do, we are little better than those we hope to expose. Evil cannot defeat evil, but only strengthens it.”
Mako stood suddenly from the table, and his eyes had grown hard again. “This is not a council. My duty is to see to Ebon’s safety—and if you call him your friend, girl, then your duty is the same. The next time you use your power on Dasko, have him tell you what Xain knows of Yerrin, as well as anything he knows about where Isra went. I assure you, Dean Forredar will have been most earnest in his searching.”
Theren did not answer him for a moment, but looked to Ebon. He gave her a little shrug. “It is your choice.”
She sighed. “Very well. I will ask him—but I will not command him to go digging any further.”
Mako smiled. “Good enough, I suppose—for now. In that case, the three of you had better scuttle off back home. I have heard that curfew draws near.”
eight
THE STREETS HAD GROWN COLDER still, for the sun was almost gone. They hurried between the snowdrifts, moving quickly for warmth as well as for the lateness of the hour. Ebon waited until they had left the manor a few streets behind before he spoke to Theren.
“When I almost spoke of Lilith, you stopped me. Why?”
She gave a nervous look over her shoulder. “I wish you would not speak of her even now. I feel like that man has ears everywhere, even among us.”
“He is nowhere in sight, and I am no traitor,” said Kalem.
Theren sighed, and the frost of it whipped around her face as they hurried on. “I fear that if Mako knew of our closeness—well, my closeness—to Lilith, he might think of her as a target. Especially now that he is so interested in the doings of the family Yerrin. And I think that we have already put her through enough. We pursued her when she was innocent, and she was put to the question because of it. I wish to cause her no more harm.”
“I see that,” said Ebon. “Yet if Yerrin is truly a threat, and if they are behind Isra’s crimes, Lilith could be most helpful. She might even help us save Erin’s life.”
“You sound too much like your bodyguard,” Theren spat. “I thought you had no wish to be like the rest of your family, yet I hear their echoes in your
“What?” said Kalem, straightening at once. “We will not use mindwyrd on Dasko to control him, but only to make him forget. Keeping his memory empty is one thing. Using him to accomplish our own ends …”
“I will not do it,” said Theren. She stormed up to the table and slammed her hands down on it. The heavy THOOM of the blow echoed around the hall, flitting about its many pillars. “I will not, and that is the end of it. He is like a puppet on strings, and I feel more of a monster every time I jerk them. Mayhap I do not suffer from magestone sickness, but this is its own kind of torture.”
“We will not use him for evil,” said Mako. His tone was gentle, as though he were persuading a wounded animal. “We will only collect information we cannot get ourselves. And that information could do great good. It could even save the life of the boy, Erin.”
“Erin could already be dead,” said Ebon. “He likely is. It has been weeks.”
“I know something of these matters,” said Mako. “One does not take a hostage if one does not intend to use them. And through Dasko, we could learn something that—”
“Stop saying that!” cried Theren. “Stop saying ‘we,’ when you mean me. We are not committing a crime—I am. We will not be put to death if this scheme is discovered—I will.”
“We are with you to the end, Theren,” said Ebon quietly. “We have been there every step of the way. If the King’s law learns of our dealings, we will not abandon you to die alone. And if you refuse this scheme, I for one will not argue against you.”
“We cannot do it,” said Kalem. “If we do, we are little better than those we hope to expose. Evil cannot defeat evil, but only strengthens it.”
Mako stood suddenly from the table, and his eyes had grown hard again. “This is not a council. My duty is to see to Ebon’s safety—and if you call him your friend, girl, then your duty is the same. The next time you use your power on Dasko, have him tell you what Xain knows of Yerrin, as well as anything he knows about where Isra went. I assure you, Dean Forredar will have been most earnest in his searching.”
Theren did not answer him for a moment, but looked to Ebon. He gave her a little shrug. “It is your choice.”
She sighed. “Very well. I will ask him—but I will not command him to go digging any further.”
Mako smiled. “Good enough, I suppose—for now. In that case, the three of you had better scuttle off back home. I have heard that curfew draws near.”
eight
THE STREETS HAD GROWN COLDER still, for the sun was almost gone. They hurried between the snowdrifts, moving quickly for warmth as well as for the lateness of the hour. Ebon waited until they had left the manor a few streets behind before he spoke to Theren.
“When I almost spoke of Lilith, you stopped me. Why?”
She gave a nervous look over her shoulder. “I wish you would not speak of her even now. I feel like that man has ears everywhere, even among us.”
“He is nowhere in sight, and I am no traitor,” said Kalem.
Theren sighed, and the frost of it whipped around her face as they hurried on. “I fear that if Mako knew of our closeness—well, my closeness—to Lilith, he might think of her as a target. Especially now that he is so interested in the doings of the family Yerrin. And I think that we have already put her through enough. We pursued her when she was innocent, and she was put to the question because of it. I wish to cause her no more harm.”
“I see that,” said Ebon. “Yet if Yerrin is truly a threat, and if they are behind Isra’s crimes, Lilith could be most helpful. She might even help us save Erin’s life.”
“You sound too much like your bodyguard,” Theren spat. “I thought you had no wish to be like the rest of your family, yet I hear their echoes in your
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