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There is not much to tell, Vladimer said, but his terse, sickened manner said otherwise. Bal
remembered the reports of the effect of glazen on their victims, and what Telmaine had sensed from
Tercelle Amberley. Even a libertine would be shocked to be so used, and Lord Vladimer had the
reputation of being deeply private, and a celibate.
He considered probing deeper and decided against it; now was not the time. If you are able to give
your agents a description, it would help trace the woman s movements backward from your meeting at
least, if not forward, since we are dealing with a shape-shifter. He hesitated slightly, but this he could not
defer, whatever its effect on Vladimer s hidden wounds. The woman who was with you four nights ago,
the man I met as Lysander Hearne, and the man on the floor behind us are almost certainly one and the
same.
Ishmael cleared his throat. My lord, he s right. I ve told you that magic is sustained by the vitality of
th mage. You woke once it was dead, which suggests that it did this t you. And we know already
they ve a great liking for magical firetraps, but nothing has happened, which may mean any trap died with
th mage.
We may be wrong in assuming this particular Shadowborn to have fathered Tercelle s twins, since
Telmaine described hearing the woman talking to a man who sounded like me, Bal said. It may have
been another one with the same gifts, using the same semblance of my brother. Who I presume, at some
point during his exile, strayed into their territory. He felt a surprisingly sharp pang at the thought that he
must count Lysander dead and at the same time, it lifted a burden on his own heart. The little boy in him
who yearned for a brother to adore could still keep faith that his brother had gone out into the world and
become a good man.
They waited, while Vladimer considered. Abruptly, he swept sonn over Ishmael. Do you remember the
discussion we had, last time we met?
Ishmael cleared his throat. Aye, my lord.
I want you to leave for the Borders by the express train this evening. Dr. Hearne will accompany you. I
will commission an express for Minhorne for myself immediately. I will get Sejanus to issue a ducal order
that you muster forces in the Borders to resist a possible Shadowborn incursion. Once you are satisfied
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you have done that, and if no such incursion has materialized if they have not come to us you will
scout the Shadowlands, as we discussed. Dr. Hearne, your part in this is to prepare Baron Strumheller to
enter the Shadowlands. I know of no better agent for this task than he, but he has previously been
wounded by Shadowborn, been . . . ensorcelled by them . . . An expression of profound unease came
to his face, and he stopped.
Ishmael rasped, Vladimer, if they d laid the Call on you, you d know it already. Hearne, if you re
willing, I m willing. Telmaine told how you were able to steady her; y might be able to do it with me. If
I ve got to go into the Shadowlands, your help would make it more likely I d come back.
I will do whatever I can, Bal said, though he would not have needed to be a mage to hear Telmaine s
horrified, silent, No, no, no , voiced in only a tiny throat-sound of protest.
So be it, said Vladimer. I will also take that scheming apothecary of yours into my service. I have
worked with enough men of negotiable loyalty to trust that I can use him well.
Ishmael murmured his thanks. Balthasar said, What about the charges against Baron Strumheller, and
the fact that, at present, he is believed to be dead?
Vladimer waved a hand. Leave those to me.
Ishmael said, There may be some difficulty over the inheritance. M younger brother s been waiting a
long time for this.
Settle it, Vladimer said tersely. Anyone who hampers your work, I ll have up for treason.
Ish dipped his head. Aye, m lord.
Lord Vladimer, Balthasar said, what about my wife?
Vladimer waved a dismissive hand. I have no doubt that my dear cousin is sitting there furious at me for
sending her husband away; it cannot be helped. She is free to return to her children.
Ishmael chewed a moment on his temper. Don t be a fool, m lord, was what escaped. Y need to be
guarded, and she s the best possible guard y can have: a mage who can sense our enemies, who can
move through society at your side, and who is, above all, loyal.
You advise this, Strumheller? Vladimer said dangerously softly.
I most strongly advise it, m lord. We know there s at least one more out there, and whatever else y can
do, you ve no defense against their magic.
That was, Bal thought, more bluntly put than he would have dared phrase it himself. Vladimer drew a
thin breath, his face chill with anger and, Bal feared, revulsion. But when he spoke, it was to accede. So
be it. She may accompany me. He rose. Say your farewells; we will be leaving immediately the train is
readied.
Do you mean this seriously? Telmaine demanded of Ish, as the three of them were shown into a side
room for a final moment of privacy.
Very seriously, Bal answered for him. For the moment, you are the one remaining here who knows
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the stakes and the score of this game, and it is progressing both swiftly and lethally. We can only hope
the danger lessens once Vladimer has had a chance to broaden our defense.
You re a mage, and Vladimer trusts you, she said to Ishmael.
He shook his head and said heavily, Even if he d not ordered me south, I d be scant use t him now.
Telmaine raised a hand, hesitated, and then tentatively laid it on Ishmael s chest. How much has it hurt
you, to push back the flames? she said in a low voice. Tell me truly.
There was a long silence; then he said, reluctantly, Th magic may come back, it may come back partly,
or it may not come back at all, Magistra Broome says. Time alone s going to show.
Oh, sweet Imogene, Ishmael, I am so very sorry. I know how important your magic is to you. She
reached up to brush his face gently with her gloved hand, as she had Bal s on the concourse. Bal
wrestled once more with an intense but for the moment private ache of jealousy.
Aye, well. I d been warned often enough. I don t regret it going this way, if gone it is.
I do, she breathed. I m so afraid, Ishmael.
I wish I could tell you the fear goes. Y learn to use it, though. Everything you survive teaches you more.
And you ll not be alone. You can still speak t me t us. He drew a deep breath, its self-consciousness
at odds with his jesting of days only days ago, and stepped back. Lord Vladimer ll not be long. I ll
be leaving you. Hearne, I ll meet you on th platform for th express.
His footsteps, leaving, were inaudible beneath the industrious clatter of the reawakened household.
Neither of them heard him close the door.
I don t believe this, Telmaine said in a low voice. I don t believe Vladimer has ordered you to do this,
and that you re doing it. Bal did not answer; he hardly believed it himself. Promise me you ll come
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