Mychael answered him before I could. “It is the only way we know at this time. If there is another way, we will find it.”

“And Balmorlan has a reason for not wanting you to find a cure.”

I looked at Markus. “Apparently.”

“The three of you in an umi’atsu bond proves that the Saghred’s power can be distributed between more than one person at a time,” Markus said. “Mychael, I have to ask: have you experienced any side effects from being linked even tenuously to the Saghred?”

“None whatsoever.”

“Which is precisely what Balmorlan is hoping for. He believes that the more people the Saghred’s power is divided among, the less chance for mental instability.”

My voice came out thin. “Power without paying the price.”

Markus nodded. “Balmorlan has recruited some of his favorite agency mages. They have been arriving on Mid for the past week. He appealed to their racial pride to make the sacrifice. Balmorlan plans to keep presenting mages to the Saghred until it selects those he deems suitable for his purpose.”

“What do you mean ‘presenting mages to the Saghred’? The thing’s locked up in the citadel.”

Phaelan stiffened. “What purpose?”

“The Saghred wants to be wielded,” Markus said. “Balmorlan wants to use that power against the goblins.”

Horror and panic choked my words. “There’s no way in hell anyone else is joining our bond.”

“Did the Saghred ask you when it bonded you with Tamnais Nathrach?” Markus asked. “Or Mychael?”

I felt sick. “No.”

The Saghred had bonded Tam and me when we’d joined forces to save kidnapped spellsinging students. The rock had taken Mychael when he’d linked with me to attempt to slow the progression of my bond with Tam.

“Proximity and magic are all that’s needed,” came Mychael’s voice inside my head.

“There’s no way we’re getting anywhere near Balmorlan’s pet mages.”

“You’ve heard about the cells Balmorlan is constructing in the elven embassy,” Markus said quietly.

“I’ve heard.”

“Level Twelve wards, detainment spells layered for strength, and magic-depleting manacles bolted to the walls.”

I knew what that meant. Suddenly there wasn’t enough air in the cabin.

If Taltek Balmorlan got me in that cell, he could throw anyone he wanted in with me. Mychael’s touch had been enough for the Saghred to bond him to me. I wasn’t letting any of Balmorlan’s mages touch me. Suddenly I wanted to run and keep running. Chained to a wall with magic-depleting manacles, I wouldn’t have a choice. I’d been locked in those kinds of manacles before; they were used to keep mages from using their powers. The Saghred would still be free to act.

I would be helpless to stop either it or Balmorlan’s pet mages.

I didn’t know which would be worse: to be slowly drained of life by Sarad Nukpana or helpless to stop the Saghred from bonding mages to me that would wield it.

And when they used the Saghred, they’d be using me.

I felt Mychael’s strong hands on my shoulders.

“Raine, it won’t happen. I won’t allow it.”

My breath was coming quick and ragged. Slow down, Raine. You’re going to pass out. Balmorlan wants you terrified. You will not give him what he wants. I took a deep breath and let it out. It only trembled a little. “Markus, is Taltek Balmorlan reporting to anyone right now?”

“No.”

“Is he working with anyone?”

“Yes.”

“Are they vital to his operation?”

“At this point, very much so.”

“I want names.”

“Raine, I—”

“I want names,” I snapped. It took every bit of self-control I had not to scream those words.

I think Markus knew that. He listed three names. One had a title; two had military ranks.

All three had just become a Benares family project—along with their boss.

“Raine, I can help,” Mychael said.

I stood. “This isn’t within the law, Mychael. Your Guardians can’t help me.”

“I wasn’t referring to my Guardians.” His blue eyes were glacier cold.

“You know people?” Phaelan asked him.

“I do. Me.”

Chapter 17

The sun was coming up, birds were singing, and the breeze from the harbor didn’t stink yet. Most people would consider this to be the start of a good day.

I wasn’t most people, but I was determined to make today go my way for a change. I’d crammed my terror of elven prison cells into a dark corner of my mind. We were about to free Tam, and Markus was still on my side. Those two things, plus the vision of a financially and professionally ruined Taltek Balmorlan, were enough to put a smile on my face. It was probably a smile that most people would run from, but for a Benares, it meant we were happy.

“Thinking violently vindictive thoughts?” Mychael asked from beside me.

“I am.” I inhaled the harbor air as if it were a bouquet of flowers. “And enjoying myself while doing it.”

Mychael smiled slowly, a dangerous sparkle in his eyes. “You’re a bad girl, Raine Benares.”

“I do what I can.”

We gave any patrols and early risers the slip, and arrived unseen at Mychael’s basement hideaway. He didn’t mind his men seeing him, at least not once he was back in uniform and not wearing something a highwayman would be apprehended in. I was beginning to wonder if the real Mychael Eiliesor was someone in between.

Mychael closed the door behind us. I waited until he’d locked it.

“The only thing better than a ruined Taltek Balmorlan would be you telling me how you can help make him that way and be the paladin at the same time. I don’t see you tossing the law aside, even if it means getting Balmorlan.”

“I won’t be tossing the law aside; it has always dictated my actions.”

“Like your actions last night? The man I was with wasn’t the upright, law-abiding, and proper paladin. You handled Karl Cradock like a pro, and I don’t mean a Guardian.” I tossed my cloak on the bed. “Listen, your life is your own, so you don’t owe me an explanation, but I’d—”

“I want to give you one.” Mychael hesitated, his eyes focused on the closed door. “I protect those who need it by arresting or taking down those who deserve it. That is the intent of the law.”

“But not the letter of the law.”

“Sometimes the two aren’t the same,” he agreed.

“Don’t get me wrong—I approve completely of what you did last night. Hell, even I was impressed and I’ve seen some slick con men at work.” I took a deep breath and pushed on. “I’m going to need all the help I can get—legal and otherwise. But I’d never thought that someone who went to the Conclave college, became a Guardian cadet, then raced up through the ranks to paladin could be an ‘otherwise’ kind of man.”

“I didn’t go to school here; I’ve never been a cadet, so I didn’t race up through the ranks.”

I just stood there in stupefied silence. “What?” I finally managed.

“I didn’t—”

“I heard what you said. I just—”

“Assumed.”

“Apparently a hell of a lot.”

“Raine, I’ve never lied to you. You never asked.”

“How long have you been paladin?”

“Almost four years.”

“And you weren’t a Guardian before then?”

“No.”

The consummate Guardian, the proper paladin, had never even been one before. My thoughts ran around in confused circles, bumping into each other and getting nowhere fast.

“Doesn’t the paladin have to at least have been a Guardian at some point?”

“It’s the way it’s always been done—but not in my case.”

“But you said you were a student of Ronan Cayle.”

“Ronan sees a lot of already trained spellsingers. It helps our voices stay in shape.”

“Then who taught you?”

Mychael watched me in silence. “Is that what you really want to know?” he asked quietly.

I stood there, looking up into those sea blue eyes. Eyes that met mine unwaveringly. They were the eyes of an honest man, or so I thought.