Chapter 18 #2
“By the Ur-God,” Annia said, pity in her voice. “They look like they’re ready to be embalmed.”
“No kidding.” If not for my keen nose, I would have thought they were dead, too. “Where were these mages found when they collapsed?” I asked the doctor.
“They were excavating a building in Maintown somewhere.” He picked up the clipboard sitting on the side table next to one of the pages, scanned the sheet there.
“The Mendle mansion, actually.” His lips twisted in a mockery of a smile. “That is some cruel irony—you would think the Mendles would have quake-proofed their own mansion, at least.”
“By Magorah.” Icy horror filled my veins, sending a burst of adrenaline through me, and I whirled toward the doctor. “We need to send a message down there right now. No other mages should go near that mansion, or shifters, for that matter!”
“Naya, what’s going on?” Annia asked urgently. “What have you discovered?”
“Hang on,” I snapped. “Iannis!” I called, using my magic to boost my mindspeak signal.
“Iannis, I know where Thorgana and the Magic Eraser are!” There was no answer, and I gnashed my teeth.
He was too far away. Drawing on Fenris’s knowledge, I conjured three ether pigeons, then sent them off to Iannis, Chen, and Garrett—with the message I knew where Thorgana was, that I needed to see them immediately, and that they needed to keep mages and shifters away from the Mendle Mansion at all costs, because I strongly suspected the Magic Eraser was in there.
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Annia demanded when I’d sent the pigeons off.
“Yes,” I said tiredly. “But let’s head back to my room. I’d rather not have an audience.”
Over the protestations of the doctor, Annia led me back to my quarters, flagging down a servant to bring me food along the way.
Stretched out on the couch, I devoured a huge platter of chicken wings, followed by a small mountain of pork ribs, and filled Annia in on Director Toring and his mission to find Thorgana.
I also told her about his history with Fenris, and that he’d been a hand’s breath away from making an arrest before the accident today at the school.
My entire body seemed to ache with grief as I retold the circumstances of Fenris’s death, and how I’d passed out while trying to unearth his body, but I didn’t cry this time.
My eyes burned, but my tear ducts had nothing left to give.
“I’m so sorry, Naya,” Annia said, tears in her own eyes.
She scooted closer to me on the couch, then put my head in her lap so she could stroke my hair.
“I can’t believe he’s gone. I wish I’d gotten here sooner, so I could have seen him one more time.
I wasn’t close with him like you were, but we did go through our own adventures together while rescuing Iannis, and in Osero. ”
We sat in silence for a long moment, simply relishing each other’s company. Despite the restlessness I could sense in Annia, and the shadows in her eyes, I could tell she was happy to be back home again. Even if home had somehow turned into hell.
The door banged open, and Iannis rushed in, still soot-stained and disheveled. From the way his hair was flying about him, and the flush in his cheeks, I could tell he’d used his super speed to get here.
“What happened?” he demanded, kneeling by my side. His worried gaze searched my face as he felt my forehead. “Are you all right? Why aren’t you in the infirmary?”
“I’m a lot better,” I said, taking his face into my hands to get his attention. “My magic is back.”
Iannis went completely still, and I could feel his magic probe me, much more gently than that damned doctor. “How is that possible?” he asked, wonder in his voice. “You should have been out for days.”
“I’ll explain later,” I said, pushing myself upright. “We have more important things to worry about.”
“Indeed,” Iannis agreed. He sat down on the couch next to me. “I gave orders to cordon off the ruins of the Mendle Mansion, and to set up wards so that no mages or shifters can come near it. Why do you suspect the Magic Eraser is in there?”
The door flew open again, and Director Chen and Garrett hurried in. “Where is Thorgana?” Garrett demanded, his eyes bright and hard. He looked around the room, as if expecting her to materialize in my suite.
“I don’t know,” I said. “She could be dead, or she might have escaped when the mansion collapsed. But I’m pretty sure she’s been staying with the Mendles. Don’t you remember how sick the butler was when we came to visit, and how the wife was sick, too?”
“Yes.” Garrett frowned, taking a seat along with the others. “But what does that have to do with the Magic Eraser? They were humans.”
“Father Calmias said that the team developing the Magic Killer all died from some mysterious illness,” I reminded him.
“What if the Magic Eraser isn’t just harmful to mages?
What if it emits something deadly that gradually kills humans?
Thorgana might have brought it into the Mendle household unaware of its effect, and ended up slowly poisoning them with it. ”
“That would be quite ironic,” Director Chen said, “as terrible as that sounds.”
“And quite problematic, too,” Iannis said. “If neither humans, shifters, or mages can get near it, how are we to safely dispose of it?”
“I think humans can get near it,” Annia said, drawing all eyes to her.
“They can probably risk small amounts of exposure without being affected too badly. I ran across a primitive tribe in Southia with a similar object,” she explained when Garrett looked like he was about to argue.
“The tribe kept it in a sacred cave far away from the village, and the men they set to guard it watched it from a distance. They would bring it out only if they were attacked by another shaman, which was very infrequent as they’d developed quite a reputation.
I managed to get into the cave and have a look at the object—it was about the size of a melon, and metallic looking.
Absolutely nothing grew in or around that cave. Nothing,” she repeated gravely.
We all fell silent for a moment. I wondered if it had been Garalina, rather than Annia, who’d had this experience. Did that mean her kind of magic was safe from the stone’s effects, or just that she had not lingered long enough? How long ago had that been, and could it be the very same stone?
“And you experienced no adverse effects?” Iannis asked.
Annia shook her head. “No, but the object did give me a very bad feeling. I don’t think anyone should remain around the Magic Eraser for long, but a team of humans should be able to go in and get it out. I volunteer to lead it.”
“Very well,” Garrett said. “But since this concerns the Benefactor, I shall supervise.”
Iannis’s eyes flickered with annoyance, but he didn’t object—this was Garrett’s mission. He turned to Director Chen. “Can you find out if any of the Mendles survived, or if a woman matching Thorgana’s description has been seen in any of the shelter or hospital tents?”
“Yes.” Director Chen rose from her seat. “I will get on that immediately.”
“Good,” Iannis said. “Miss Melcott, go and pick a crew of five able-bodied humans you trust. They shall be well compensated. Director Toring and I will accompany you to the site, but keep at a respectable distance, to make sure that everything goes smoothly.”
“I’m coming, too,” I said, rising from my seat, but Iannis pressed a hand against my thigh, pushing me back down with annoying ease.
“You will do no such thing,” he said sternly. “You’re still too weak from your latest near-death experience, and I don’t want you going anywhere near an object that could potentially destroy your magic, or your ability to shift.”
“I love you too much to let you put yourself in harm’s way so soon after losing Fenris,” he said to me in mind-speak, his mental voice raw. “Please, Sunaya. Do me this favor and stay home. I need you well rested for what’s ahead.”
I sighed, letting out the anger that had instantly bubbled up inside me. “Fine. But you all had better come back safe and sound. I can’t afford to lose you either,” I told him. “If you weren’t the Chief Mage, I’d tie you to the bed and never let you leave.”
“Under normal circumstances, I would be very excited about that prospect.” Iannis pulled me against him for a brief kiss. “Send word if you need anything or have any other ground-breaking epiphanies.”
“I will,” I said, leaning back against the couch.
Annia and Garrett made their goodbyes, then left along with Iannis.
I closed my eyes, hoping to calm the anxiety bouncing around my nerves.
As soon as I did, exhaustion hit me. Guess I was more tired than I thought.
Mercifully, I slipped into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I had good friends I could trust, and for just this once, I would leave the rescuing to them.