Feeling momentarily faint, Magda had to lean against the side of the sliph’s well. Merritt saw her fading.
“Look, Quinn, we have to go. After you heal her, Naja will explain about the walking dead and the half people. She can fill you in on everything.”
“Walking dead?” Quinn blinked. “Does that have to do with the murders down here? Is that what you’re talking about?”
“That’s right,” Merritt said. “The enemy is animating the dead with magic and using them to assassinate important wizards. If you see a dead person walking, use wizard’s fire.”
Quinn wiped a hand across his mouth. “This fits with some of the pieces I’ve already put together.”
“You hear a lot of talk from wizards and officials using the sliph,” Magda said. “Have you heard anything that would give you any idea who the traitors or spies might be?”
Quinn gestured toward the table at the back of the room. “Let me go through some of my notes and entries. I’ve talked to a lot of people. Now that I have a better idea what I’m looking for, I might be able to pull out some important details. After I heal Naja, of course. I’ll let you know tomorrow if I find out anything meaningful.”
“Good.” Merritt stepped closer to his friend. “Listen to me, Quinn, this is all very dangerous. We’re not sure who was torturing Naja, but they are surely the same people responsible for killing so many of our friends and fellow gifted. I don’t want you taking any chances. You need to keep this all secret for now.”
“I understand,” Quinn said as he gestured out the doorway. “There are empty rooms up off the tower. My relief watch is due down here soon. I’ll take Naja up to one of those rooms right now to keep her out of sight. As soon as my relief shows up I’ll go heal her. From the look in her eyes, it will likely take all night.”
“Thanks, Quinn. You’ve got it all right. Naja will fill you in after you heal her. We’re going to need your help, then, to get to the bottom of things and catch the traitors before they kill us all. There are a lot bigger things going on than you realize.”
“I’m glad you came to me,” Quinn said. Magda could see in his eyes that he meant it.
Merritt turned to Magda, putting a big hand under her arm. “I need to get you up to your room. You need rest to recover.”
“Recover from what?” Quinn asked. “I meant to ask what happened?”
“We’ll tell you tomorrow when we talk again,” Merritt said as he started Magda toward the door. He obviously was getting concerned by her fading strength.
On the way to the door, Naja stopped them. She squeezed Magda’s arm. “Thank you both. I’m going to return your confidence in me, I swear. I’m going to help you.”
Magda smiled and touched Naja’s cheek. “Thank you, Naja.”
Out in the immense, round tower outside the room with the sliph’s well, only a few torches burned higher up on iron landings at intervals in the stairs curving up around the stone walls. The openings at the top revealed a night sky clouded over to hide the stars and the moon. Magda looked up at Merritt in the near darkness.
“What is it that you need to do? You told Quinn that you needed to work on something.”
“I need to work on a way to stop the dead and the half people. We don’t have any time to waste. When I get you to your room I need to have another look at the cloth hanging that you took out of Isidore’s maze. I need to see the specific alterations she did to the keeper spells.”
“Because it stopped the dead?”
Merritt nodded. “Because it stopped the dead. I need to do some experiments and try some things.”
Chapter 79
Shadow meowed and came running when Magda opened the door. The black cat rubbed against her leg, and then against Merritt. Magda leaned down and briefly scratched the cat’s back.
“Have you been a good girl, little one?”
The cat answered, as if she had understood the question, with a long mew.
“I guess that neither one of us has had dinner.”
“You need to eat,” Merritt said as he waved an arm, lighting the lamps in the apartment, “but it can wait until tomorrow. Right now you need to sleep more than you need food.”
Magda put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, Merritt. As terrifying as everything seems right now, it’s comforting to have you on my side in all of this.”
Merritt smiled. “Thanks to you, we now have the key. That’s a monumental achievement that is going to be a great asset, and I couldn’t have done it without you. It’s all the better for having your strength.”
Magda let out a sigh. “It certainly did seem to have taken my strength. I can’t believe how weak I feel.”
“It’s the sword borrowing your life force. As soon as you get some sleep to finish your recovery you’ll feel a lot better, I promise.” He gestured off into the apartment. “Before I leave you, I need to see the cloth from Isidore again so that I can work on some things tonight while you’re resting.”
Magda nodded and went back through the white, carved double doors into her bedroom. The bed looked inviting. She retrieved the silky cloth and hurried back out with it. Merritt was gazing around at the place in wonder. She often forgot what a beautiful retreat the apartment really was. She was eager to move, though, because it was going to be Lothain’s place, now.
“Do you want to take it with you?” she asked as she handed him the folded fabric.
Merritt unfolded the long cloth, holding it up to get a good look at the symbols. “No. With you in a deep sleep, I’d feel a lot better knowing that you have this over you, warding off any of the monsters Naja told us about.”
“So far as I know, all the murders have been down lower in the Keep. Do you really think that the dead would come all the way up here?”
Merritt stretched the cloth out, looking at it as he spoke. “Your life isn’t worth the risk. I’m the one who gave Isidore the basic keeper spells. I just need to check some minor details about the modifications she did to them—make sure I have it right in my memory. With something this critical, I don’t want to get it wrong.”
She put her hand over his, drawing his gaze. “Merritt, what are we going to do about all this? How are we going to go about putting a stop to it?”
Satisfied with his inspection, Merritt handed her back the cloth as he showed her a brave smile. She thought that it was a nice gesture of him to pretend for her sake.
“Tomorrow, Magda. Sleep, get the rest you need, and tomorrow we’ll worry about it. You’ll be able to think more clearly after you get the rest you need to finish healing. We have Quinn working with us now. He’ll be a big help, as will Naja.”
Magda smiled at the memory of the stunning sorceress.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a woman that beautiful.”
Merritt’s eyes searched hers. “She’s not nearly as beautiful as you, Magda,” he said in a quiet voice that surprised her with not only the words themselves, but the sincerity in his tone.
Merritt caught himself and looked away. “I’m sorry, Magda. I should never have said that. You are wife to Baraccus.”
She laid a finger along the side of his jaw, turning his face back to hers. “Baraccus is dead. We’re not.”
“Still . . .”
“It’s all right, Merritt,” she said as she took his arm and walked him to the door.
Merritt bent and scratched the top of the cat’s head. “You watch out for your mistress, will you? Watch over her.”
Shadow pushed her head against him as she squeezed her eyes closed in contentment. Magda was glad to see that Shadow liked him. The cat was a good judge of character.
“Where will you be?” she asked. “Where will I be able to find you?”
“I’m going to go back to my place down in the city. I have some ideas. I need to try some modifications to Isidore’s spell-forms and then I want to run some integrity checks on them.”
“You’re going to try to make something to keep the dead
in their place?” Magda guessed.
“It’s not that simple. Sleep. I’ll come back to the Keep tomorrow. I’ll wait for you with Quinn. When you’re rested we can talk about it tomorrow. Maybe by then we’ll know what the big event is for tomorrow afternoon. By then Naja will be healed, too. She’ll be able to help. We’ll start fresh in the morning.”
Magda held the edge of the door and leaned against it. “All right.” As he started away, she called out to him. “Merritt, who do you think is responsible for all the trouble at the Keep?”
He turned back and looked at her for a long moment. “I have my suspicions.”
Magda did as well, but she couldn’t be positive. She didn’t want to make a mistake in something so important. Getting it wrong could cost all of them their lives.
“Sleep,” he said, pointing back at her in command before starting away down the dark hallway. It made Magda smile.
She went to a cupboard and checked inside. She was thankful to find some pieces of salted, dried fish in a jar where she thought she remembered seeing them. She was so sleepy that she could hardly stand, but she was also starving and feared that if she didn’t have a bite to quell her grumbling stomach she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. She tore a piece of fish off with her teeth and chewed as she went to a sideboard that held a pitcher and a washbasin.
Shadow followed her, looking up, tail high in the air, meowing the entire way. Magda sucked the salt off a chunk of the fish for a moment and then bent and gave it to the cat. Shadow looked as ravenous as Magda felt. While the cat crouched over her meal, Magda poured a glass of water and washed down the salted fish. She drained the entire glass. It felt good to have some food in her stomach, even if it wasn’t much.
When she looked up at herself in the mirror, she was mildly horrified by what she saw. Her face was dirty and her hair, even though it was short now and easier to manage, was still a mess. She hadn’t realized that Merritt had seen her looking so disheveled and dirty. He must have thought she looked like an urchin. But he had said she was beautiful. Such a compliment felt good coming from a man as handsome as Merritt. Still . . .
Magda dunked a washcloth in the basin and wrung it out. Her face felt grimy from her trip down to the dungeon. She saw that her hands were dirty with rust from the iron railing down there. She reminded herself of Naja’s condition and then felt rather foolish for worrying about the way she looked.
As she washed her hands and face, Shadow jumped up on the sideboard, hoping for another handout. Magda smiled and after sucking the salt off, gave the hungry cat another piece of the fish.
Sitting on the sideboard, Shadow hunched over her second helping. In the middle of chewing the fish, she jerked her head up. She dropped the fish as she stared at the door.
The cat rose up on her tiptoes, back arched, tail puffed up. Fangs showing, Shadow hissed.
Magda stood frozen, eyes wide.
Chapter 80
Someone knocked.
Magda stood frozen at the sideboard. Her heart pounded. The black cat was still hissing.
Magda couldn’t remember if she had thrown the bolt on the door. When the handle turned and the door started opening, that answered her question. She backed up a few steps, wondering where she could run. There was the balcony in the bedroom. It was several stories off the ground, though.
When he strolled into the room, Lothain swept out an arm, lighting a few more of the lamps, all the better to see his bull neck, short wiry hair, and his black eyes as they fixed on her.
Fists at her side, Magda stormed toward where he stood at the door. “How dare you enter without permission?”
“I knocked,” he said casually, dismissing her objection.
Out the doorway, in the hall, Magda could see a large contingent of his personal guard in their green tunics. She was puzzled to also see about a dozen women in their midst. Magda realized that they were some of the staff.
“This is a poor time to come to claim your apartment,” she said. “I told you, I would move as soon as I could.”
With his eyes still fixed on her, he smiled. “I haven’t come to claim my apartment, I have come to claim my wife.”
“Your wife?” Magda’s jaw clenched as she felt her rage build. “Get out!”
When Lothain gestured, two of the big guards stepped into the room and seized her by the arms, one man on each side. Magda struggled only momentarily, quickly realizing that it was only liable to entertain them all to watch her struggling, helpless to do anything about it.
“In here,” Lothain said to the women out in the hall. “Bring your things in here.”
Magda was surprised, when the women filed in, to see all the women carrying things: sewing baskets, small chests, rolls of lace, and dozens of bolts of cloth of every color.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Magda asked Lothain.
He followed Magda’s gaze to the women. “Seamstresses. They’re here to make your wedding dress for tomorrow’s ceremony. I’m to be named First Wizard, so I thought that would be the appropriate moment for us to be wed. It will settle matters, reassure people, and bring everyone together in support of me.”
“You’re crazy if you think—”
“That’s enough,” Lothain said in a dangerous tone. “It’s time you learned your place.” He gestured with a tilt of his head to the two men who were holding her as he turned and went out into the hall. When he was sure that they had her well in hand, he marched off down the hallway without further word.
Magda had to walk swiftly to keep from being dragged by the men who had her arms in a firm grip. At least another dozen soldiers followed behind them, while even more waited back at her apartment.
“Where are you taking me?” she demanded to his broad back.
Lothain glanced back over his shoulder. “I’m taking you to a place where we can discuss my marriage proposal. I need you to see something before you say no to my offer of marriage. I think it will put you in mind to be agreeable. Our marriage will be for the good of the Keep and the good of our cause. I’m going to show you one of the great benefits of your agreeing that it is best for all if you agree to marry me.”
Magda decided not to waste her energy telling him that there was nothing that could make her agree to marry him. She tried not to fight the men dragging her along. Several times she stumbled but it didn’t slow them.
She didn’t fight them. She needed to conserve what strength she had. If she could ever get to her knife, she was going to need her strength.
Lothain took several turns as he led them down a series of halls to a service area. A utility room where supplies and provisions were kept in the back also had a space for staff to gather for instructions before going about their duties. Without pause, Lothain opened a door and went inside, going through an outer gathering room where more of his guards in their green tunics waited. He went through an open door in the back into a darker inner room.
There, tied in a chair, sagged a weeping Tilly. She was a bloody mess. Guards towered all around her.
“Tilly!”
Magda broke from the guards and rushed to the woman, falling to her knees before her. Tilly’s terrified gaze met Magda’s.
“Tilly, what’s going on? What have they done to you?”
Before Magda could say another word, or Tilly could answer, the men snatched Magda’s arms again and hauled her back up and away from the woman in the chair.
Tilly’s hair was matted with blood. It looked like some of her teeth had been knocked out when her face had been pounded. Her nose looked crooked and her eyes were blackened. Blood dripped in thick strings from her chin, soaking the front of her dress.
Filled with rage, Magda turned her eyes to Lothain. “What is the meaning of this outrage?”
A humorless smile widened his mouth. “The meaning of it is to help you make up your mind to do the right thing.”
“The right thing? You do this and talk to me of the right thing?”
 
; The last piece of the puzzle had just fit into place for her. She now knew.
“Yes, the right thing. You see, whether this friend of yours lives or dies is up to you, Lady Searus. If you make the right choice, then she lives. If not . . . well, I believe you get the point.”
Lothain turned and gestured to one of the guards. Without hesitation, he pulled Tilly’s arm out straight. She screamed “No! No! No!” over and over, but to no avail.
With one powerful blow, the man broke Tilly’s arm.
Magda jumped in shock at the loud crack when the bone snapped.
Tilly screamed and struggled wildly. “Please! Please! No more! Mistress! Please! Make them stop!”
The guard stuffed a wadded rag in her mouth to silence her.
Magda panted in fury, tears streaming down her face as she struggled in vain against the muscle holding her.
“Now,” Lothain said, “this is the way it’s going to be. If you agree to go through with the marriage tomorrow afternoon before the council and gathered dignitaries as I am installed as First Wizard, and don’t in any way cause a scene, but rather act in a gracious manner that will help bring our people together under the rule of their new First Wizard, then Tilly here will be freed.”
“And if I refuse?” Magda asked, already knowing the answer.
His smile returned. “Well, of course you know that it will go very badly for her until she eventually dies. I will take you to visit her every day as she is tortured. And then . . .”
When she didn’t ask what he meant was next, he leaned a little closer. “And then, there are a number of your other friends who are going to pay the same price. We have a whole list. Your friend who used to be on the council? Sadler?” He arched an eyebrow as he held out a hand and folded a finger down. “Sadler will suffer a similar fate, all because you refuse to do the right thing.