Conjuring the Flesh Page 3

  A shiver ran down his back. “You didn’t feel it? It was like… a warning? But there were no words. Only alarm.”

  Thane glanced at Nicolai and Sorel. “I didn’t feel anything. Did you?”

  They both shook their heads.

  He turned back to Ander. “Maybe it was some kind of reaction. You’re new to the art. Your body might be sorting out the experiences you’ve just had. It’s confusing at first.”

  “Maybe,” Ander said doubtfully. “It felt real, though. It was almost—”

  His breath caught in his throat. A feathery voice whispered in the back of his mind: Danger…. Pella, here. The kei!

  “The kei,” Ander muttered, realization dawning. The ghostly whisper had to be Lucian, giving warning. “Come on! I don’t know how, but I think something’s wrong with the magic we worked.” He splashed out of the pool. The others were following before he reached the bottom of the steps. They sprinted down the corridor, water flying from their bodies, and rushed into the mirrored chamber.

  The energy manifestation still hovered above the leather cushion, but its color had changed to red streaked with black. A sense of imminence blossomed as they approached it. Nicolai cautiously raised a hand toward the spinning globe.

  Thane lunged against him and pushed him back. “Don’t touch it!” Spinning around, he grabbed one of the freestanding mirrors and pulled it loose from its support. It crashed to the floor and shattered, scattering sharp fragments. He grabbed a long piece, heedless of the sharp edges, and thrust it like a sword into the sphere.

  A banshee shriek made them step back, except for Thane, who closed his eyes to a squint. Ignoring the painful screech, he twisted the shard of mirror. The sphere began to expand and contract, then deform, and the noise became deafening. White beams of light lanced out like spears, streaking their bodies. Thane’s face was tight with pain, and blood trickled down his arm from the cuts on his hand, but he didn’t waver.

  The sphere flew apart in a blinding burst of red light. The banshee screech vanished, and a stench like burned meat filled the air. Thane staggered back and dropped the bloody shard of mirror. Ander caught him as he started to topple and lowered him onto the cushion.

  Thane was already recovering. He sat up and blinked, then rubbed his eyes. Sorel and Nicolai crouched next to them and touched Thane reassuringly.

  The mage turned to Ander and grabbed him by the shoulders. “How did you know? How could you feel what was happening when the rest of us didn’t?”

  Ander stared back, speechless. “I… I don’t know.” He felt miserable but was bound to secrecy by his oath to Lucian. “Maybe because my anima was in the sphere? Here, let me look at your hand.” He held Thane’s hand and gently pressed the fingers back. A long gash across the palm oozed blood, but the cut wasn’t deep.

  Thane sighed, his tension ebbing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to grab you. I’m just worried.”

  “It’s all right. Has anything like this happened before?”

  “No. But until last week, the zamindar didn’t know there are mages opposing him. He’s discovered a new threat. He didn’t waste any time coming after us.”

  Sorel nodded. “We should warn everyone who’s here at the lyceum. This attack came right after you and Ander used the art. Maybe the zamindar’s sorcerers are searching for disturbances in the kei.”

  Thane scrambled to his feet. “You’re right—we can’t let anyone enter the kei. Hurry!”

  Chapter 3

  THEY ran back to the bathing chamber, barely pausing to throw on their clothes before racing up the stairs. Crisp winter air and bright sun greeted them when they emerged into the courtyard. The buildings of the old fortress, long since modified to emphasize comfort over defense, spread around them. Thane led them across the courtyard at a trot. “Sorel, spread the word around the dormitory and greenhouse. Nicolai, you check the cabins. Round up Katy or somebody to cover the women’s side of the ravine. Ander and I will check the workrooms. Tell them to stop everything, at least until—”

  The clatter of hooves on cobblestones made them turn. A stallion galloped through the gate, carrying a rider with curly blond hair. He reined in the horse and leaped off its back, almost running into Thane. He was soaked with sweat.

  “A patrol is coming! We don’t have much time. It’s not as big as the last one, but—”

  Thane held up a hand. “Slow down, Skorri. Where did you see them?”

  “They were just crossing the Battle of the Roses bridge. Around two dozen men, I think.”

  “Were they moving fast?”

  Skorri took a deep breath, starting to calm. “Just a canter. But they’ll be here soon.”

  Thane nodded. “Nicolai, Sorel, get going. Tell everyone to conceal what they can. And don’t forget to tell them to stop using the art. Skorri, you can help Ander and me in the manor house, after you get your horse to the stable.” They split in three directions, Ander staying close to Thane.

  “How long before they’re here?” Ander asked as they ran into the manor house’s entry hall.

  “About an hour. And that’s if they’re not in a hurry. Go to the tower workroom and tell Anna. She’ll know what to do. I’ll find some initiates and start to work in the library.”

  Ander turned and started running up the tower’s spiraling staircase. The lyceum’s largest workroom was on the uppermost floor, near Thane’s private room. He glanced out slit windows as he climbed, but it was impossible to see far into the thick forest. They wouldn’t have further warning before the patrol appeared at the gate. He burst out of the stairwell, startling two young women who were cuddling on a bench beside a window.

  “I have to see Anna. Can I go into the workroom?” The art worked differently for men and women, and each gender was scrupulous about not prying into the other gender’s secrets.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” one of the women objected. She left her seat and started toward him. “She’ll be done after lunch, if you’ll—”

  “A patrol is coming! Thane said to tell her now.”

  The woman blinked, then turned and pounded on the main workroom’s iron-banded door. It was always barred from the inside when delicate magic was in progress; the forces in play could be deadly if the mages working the spell lost control at a crucial moment.

  Ander fidgeted a few seconds, then joined in pounding. Moments later, the door opened a crack and a middle-aged woman peered out. Her irate expression changed to surprise when she saw him.

  “You know better than to interrupt—”

  “A patrol is headed our way. It could be here in a few minutes. Thane wants you to start getting ready.”

  Her mouth snapped shut, and she nodded. “I understand. Beth, you and Taborri spread the word.” She turned back to Ander. “Thane’s in the library?”

  “Yes. He said that’s where he’s going. And that you’d know what to do. You have a plan for visitors?”

  “Thane looks too young to be important, so when we get visitors, he plays a servant and I play the lady of the manor.” She gave Ander a quick appraisal. “You could pass for a kitchen boy too. You can help. That’ll make it easier for Thane to eavesdrop. But first we’d better clean up in here.” She opened the door the rest of the way and let Ander in.

  The workroom was littered with the paraphernalia of the art: jars of dried herbs, bottles of extracts and oils, assorted crystals, and soft leather cushions the mages favored for sex. A large pool carved from granite blocks dominated the middle of the room. Light poured through prisms set in leaded-glass windows and bathed the walls with rainbows.

  “Pile the cushions in the storeroom over there,” Anna said, pointing to a door on the chamber’s far side. “I’ll pull out the perfume bottles.”

  “Perfume bottles?”

  “We’re mages, but we still have expenses. So the lyceum sells wine and perfumes. And it helps us explain all the equipment and ingredients around here, when we need to.”

  Ander heaved cushio
ns into the storeroom while Anna removed magical apparatuses from worktables. The room soon looked like a perfumer’s laboratory, or at least it did to Ander.

  Anna surveyed their work carefully before nodding approval. “This should do if there’s a search. Now let’s get down to the library. Books and talismans have to be concealed.”

  They left the workroom and descended the tower. Voices and the sound of frantic activity came from the library.

  As they entered the room, Thane was just emerging from a door that had been concealed behind a tapestry depicting a boar hunt. “Good,” he said. “We need more help.” He pointed to a bookcase that was still filled with treatises on magic, and Ander joined the toiling initiates. When the last of the gramarye were hidden, Thane released the hooks holding the tapestry back and let it fall into place over the door.

  “Anna thought I might be able to help with the visitors,” Ander said. “She said you pretend to be a servant.”

  Thane looked doubtful. “Anna and I have a sign language we’ve worked out. But you don’t know the signs, and you’re not experienced with our business dealings.”

  “I could still help. I’ve served refreshments at Lady Tay’s; I’m good at it. You’ll be more free to listen.”

  Thane thought a moment, then nodded. “With your charms, you could walk on a customer’s toes and spill wine on him, and he’d still be happy. But maybe you’re right. If they’re distracted with food and drink, maybe they won’t look as closely at the lyceum.”

  “It’s decided, then. Let’s get out of these leathers. We look a bit too rough for house servants.”

  They went to Thane’s room and changed quickly, coming back downstairs wearing brown cotton pants and loose white shirts. Anna was already in the library, dressed in a simple but finely made gown. She stood anxiously by a large window that faced the central courtyard.

  “They’ll be here soon,” she said. “Do you think they know what happened to the last patrol?”

  “They know it was destroyed by sorcery,” Thane said. “But not that we’re responsible. If they knew, they wouldn’t be approaching the way they are. It’d be a full-out attack.”

  “I hope you’re right.” She shivered at the recollection of their recent encounter with cuirassiers, which had nearly ended in the lyceum’s capture. “They did more than enough damage the last time. It was too close.”

  “No warning last time. We’re better prepared—”

  “They’re here!” Ander said. A patrol rode into the courtyard, led by a dour officer who looked around impatiently.

  Anna nodded to Ander. “Go invite their captain in. Remember to act like a servant.”

  Ander ducked his head, then trotted outside. The column had already come to a halt, and the captain glared at him, his battle-scarred face scowling beneath a closely trimmed black beard. “We’re here on the zamindar’s business. Where’s the master of the estate?”

  Ander bowed smoothly, his expression calm. “That would be Lady Anna, sir. I’ll show you to her study.” He glanced at the rest of the column, twenty men on armored horses. “I could have the kitchen prepare a meal for your men, if that would suit you.”

  The captain swung down from his saddle. “You’d best not let their minds wander from their duties. We’ve been in this damned province a week, and they’re restless.”

  Ready to rape and plunder, he means. Ander nodded politely, then stepped back and gestured toward the manor’s door. “This way, captain.”

  The officer signaled for his second in command to accompany him, then followed Ander inside. His strong odor made it plain he had told the truth about their time in the field.

  Ander ushered them into the library. Thane was sitting at a writing desk, bent forward over a ledger and holding a quill as if making entries. Anna stood by his side. She turned and tilted her head as they entered.

  “Pour our guests some wine,” she told Ander. “Then you and Thane may attend us while I see what we can do for our visitors.” Thane put down his quill and stood up, moving a short distance from her side.

  The captain scowled. “There’s no need for escorts, Lady. We’re here on the zamindar’s business. You’ve nothing to fear as long as you cooperate.”

  Anna bowed her head demurely. “The zamindar’s household holds us in high regard, captain. His concubines are fond of our perfumes. I merely want servants on hand should we require refreshment.”

  The man snorted, then accepted a pewter goblet from Ander. He downed the wine in a gulp. “Suit yourself. I’ve no time to waste. We’ve had reports of evildoing, and I’m looking for the source. Has anything unusual happened here in the last week or two?”

  Anna blinked slowly, a puzzled expression on her face. “Unusual? I suppose it’s been colder than normal this winter. Is that what you mean?”

  The captain held out his goblet for more. “I’m not searching this damned backwater to talk about the weather.” Ander refilled the goblet, and the captain took another drink before continuing. “Has there been anything strange? Sounds in the night? Lights in the sky?” He drained the wine, then slammed the goblet down on a table. “We’ve been searching for a week, and I want to get this job done. Don’t try my patience.”

  Anna held up a placating hand. “I assure you, captain, we’ll do nothing to delay you.”

  “No. You won’t.” His suspicious gaze swept the library. “This is a strange little estate. You’re secluded, out here in the forest. You have comforts that bandits might covet. I’ll have my men look around, for your protection.”

  Anna was looking past the captain. Glancing sidelong at Thane, Ander saw the mage make a series of subtle gestures. Anna’s eyes flicked back to the officer.

  “Thank you for the offer, captain. But that won’t be necessary. Our hunters keep a close watch on the forest. We’d know if there were bandits around.”

  “I insist.” The flat tone of the officer’s voice left no room for argument. He turned to his aide. “Split the patrol into four squads and get them started. Tell them to be quick about it. We have another hamlet to search before nightfall.” The aide raised a clenched fist in the zamindar’s salute and left.

  “I’ll look around in here myself,” the captain said as he walked over to a bookcase. He pulled out a volume and flipped it open, squinting at the handwritten manuscript, then dropped the book on the floor and reached for another volume. Thane’s jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed to slits, but he remained motionless near the door. The captain moved past the bookcase and opened a chest beneath a window.

  “I assure you there aren’t any brigands hiding in the library,” Anna said sharply. “I appreciate your concern for our safety. But this is hardly necessary.”

  The officer ignored her as he rummaged through the blankets and foot warmers that filled the chest. He let the lid fall with a bang and turned to Anna with an irritated scowl.

  “You might sell perfume to the zamindar’s concubines, but he won’t be interested in your complaints. Neither am I. Something evil is loose in the land, and we’ve got orders to find it. You’d best stay out of my way.”

  Anna wavered, realizing the officer couldn’t be deterred. She glanced at Thane, who looked alarmed.

  The captain returned to his search, flinging books aside and jerking drawers open as his irritation increased. Ander could see how tired he was, how the days of fruitless searching had worn him thin. After the officer had gone through all the drawers in the desks and cabinets, he glared at Anna belligerently.

  Anna glared back. “Are you satisfied? I hope you realize I’m going to send a letter to the prefect about this.”

  The officer’s mouth twisted in a snarl. He strode over to Anna and towered above her. “Send letters any damn place you want. If I don’t find what the zamindar seeks, he’s likely to have my head.” He paused, breathing hard. “And I’m not satisfied.”

  He spun around and encompassed the library in a sweeping gesture. “Half these bookshelves are
empty. What happened to the books, Lady?”

  Anna paled but stood firm. “We have little need for books, captain. I thought you were looking for bandits. Perhaps if you’d tell us what you’re really after, we could help you find it.”

  He ground his teeth together. “I’m looking for sorcerers. For their tools and their secrets.” His fist slammed down on a table, making a heavy pewter candlestick wobble dangerously. “I was told to look for anything unusual. So I’ll damned well look!” He strode to the nearest wall and yanked a tapestry down, ripping the delicate stitching along the top of the panel.

  He turned and started toward another tapestry, the one covering the chamber where gramarye were hidden. Thane moved silently toward the table that held the pewter candlestick.

  Events were racing out of control. Ander caught Anna’s eye, looking for inspiration, but she stood frozen in horror as the captain stalked across the room. As Thane reached for the candlestick, Ander saw the captain’s aide in the foyer outside the library. Even if Thane managed to subdue the captain, the aide would see everything. His heart pounded. It would be disastrous if Thane attacked the officer.

  “Uh, captain? You’re looking for anything unusual?” Ander shuffled from foot to foot, his mind racing.

  The captain wheeled around, gazing intently at Ander. At the same moment, Thane saw the aide entering the library and diverted his reach, picking up a goblet instead of the candlestick.

  The officer regarded Ander impatiently. “What is it?”

  Ander cleared his throat, then coughed nervously. “Well, I wasn’t feeling too good last night and decided to take a walk in the forest. The fresh air helps. It was, um, unusual.”

  The captain grimaced. “Unusual how? What did you see?”

  Ander spread his hands, extemporizing wildly. “Well, it’s hard to say. I mean, it was so strange. There were these lights in the sky. Colors…. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain. Um, they were moving.”

  Although the officer stood as if frozen, his eyes burned with excitement. “What colors? Was it dark outside, the sun had already set?”