Arcannen rapped on the door sharply and then opened it, looking from one to the other. “What are you whispering about in there? Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

Like they were children. Reyn shook his head. “We were just discussing ideas on how I can get better at bringing images to life. Lariana helped me before; I trust her.”

Arcannen looked at her. No words were spoken, but something passed between them. The boy saw it clearly. An understanding, a shared insight, something—it was there. It made him wonder about what she had just told him. Was she really in any danger? Or was this all part of a game?

The sorcerer turned away, pulling the door closed again. “A few more minutes,” he called over his shoulder.

The boy and the girl sat quietly again, facing each other, saying nothing. Lariana’s hands still held his, squeezing and relaxing, over and over.

Be careful, she mouthed. Promise me.

He nodded. Then he leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek, his head turned away from Arcannen, his lips close to her ear. You be careful, too.

Her hands squeezed his even harder and did not let go.

TWENTY

“BOY, WAKE UP!”

Hands were shaking him, bringing him out of the dream he was having. In the dream, he was with Lariana. They were flying over a countryside filled with flowers, the hues forming an intense pattern beneath where they stood at the bow of an airship. The colors were brilliant and lustrous, shimmering in the sunlight, an endless blanket covering of the earth below. He was smiling as he looked at Lariana, and she was smiling back at him with such love, such desperate want, that he could barely believe how lucky he was.

“Reyn! Now! Get up! They’re here!”“

The dream vanished, and he opened his eyes, his vision blurry and dim. The room in which he had been sleeping was still mostly dark, lit only by a single candle in one corner. He sat up slowly on his sleeping mat and looked across the room to where Lariana, occupying the bed, was just waking, as well. The whole experience had a surreal feel to it.

“Who’s here?” he asked.

“Who do you think?” Arcannen snapped, turning away, heading for the door. “Be quick!”

“What is he talking about?” Reyn muttered, blinking rapidly.

“Those men sent to kill us. They’re here.” Lariana was sitting on the edge of her bed in her nightdress, looking over at him. “Remember?”

He did, although he hadn’t thought about it much in the days he had been training to master his use of the wishsong. “They’re here?” he repeated, not quite awake yet.

“Get dressed,” she told him, rising to snatch up her clothes before moving into a shadowed corner. She turned away from him and stripped off her sleeping garments.

He looked down self-consciously, although it didn’t seem to bother her that he was in the same room. Turning away, he began pulling on his own clothes. Those men sent to kill us. What was he supposed to do? What did Arcannen expect of him?

He worried about it as he finished pulling on his boots and found a fully dressed Lariana standing in front of him, waiting. “Ready?”

To do what? But he didn’t ask. Instead, he simply nodded, rose, and followed her from the bedroom to the central living quarters of their underground lair, where Arcannen was waiting for them.

“They were here last night, testing to discover if we were in residence, and apparently they decided that we were. They believed themselves quite clever, coming at us from the ocean side, thinking I would not bother putting up wards on that approach. So they tripped them, as I had intended they should, but they don’t realize we know this.”

He moved close to them, his eyes intense. “Now listen carefully. These are dangerous men, and they will not hesitate to kill any of us if they have the chance. I am quite certain they’ve killed before and more often than once. They know exactly how to carry out an assignment of this sort, and they are probably confident that we will not be able to stop them. But their confidence is misplaced. They are overmatched here. We will show them a quick finish.”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone!” Reyn blurted out in dismay. “You promised me!”

Arcannen took a moment to study him. “I know what I promised. And I know how to keep my promises. I will do what needs doing to rid us of these vermin. But remember, boy. Sometimes things don’t work out as you intend. No matter how good your intentions, they aren’t always enough. Promises can get you only so far. If one of these men gets past me or behind me, what are you going to do? Stand there and let him kill you? Or worse, kill me?”

He waited for Reyn’s answer. The boy shook his head. “No, but I don’t want it to come to that. If I don’t stop hurting people now, I probably never will.”

The sorcerer sighed. “How confident are you that you can control your magic? Is your confidence solid enough to tell me you can? No exceptions or excuses?”

“I can control it.”

“Good. Then I have a plan. But it depends on you being able to make your magic work the way you did last night. Can I depend on you?”

Reyn nodded. “What sort of plan?”

“A simple enough one, really. Simple plans always work the best. You will create images and bring them to life. A series of them, if you can manage it. You will point your creations against these intruders to distract them, and while they are busy fighting off shadows, I will dispatch them. You needn’t do anything to help with that.”

He turned to Lariana. “I want you to remain here, inside. This fight isn’t for you. You would distract the boy, and he doesn’t need that. What you can do is keep an eye on the rear entry, just in case one of them finds an opening and comes through behind us.”

He handed her an arc flash, one of the newest of the new breed of handheld flash rips. She took it, studied it a moment, and looked back at him.

“Can you use it?” he asked. “Do you know how?”

She nodded. “But I think I should go with Reyn. He’s used to me being there when he uses the wishsong magic.”

“That may be true, but it is also true that you cannot always be there. Especially in situations like this when you would be at as much risk as he will. So you will remain here. Are we clear?”

“He’s right,” Reyn told her. “I would feel better knowing you are safely away from whatever’s going to happen outside.”

She gave him a look, but nodded wordlessly. He could tell she was upset and worried, but he didn’t want her with him when he left with Arcannen. He looked back at the sorcerer. “Where are these men now?”

Arcannen tightened his cloak about his shoulders and gave him a wink. “Let’s go find out.”

They departed the room through the heavy protective door and stepped into the hallway that led to the outside of their safehold. Arcannen took the lead, moving swiftly and confidently. No trace of concern over what might happen was evident from his face. When they reached the outer door, he extinguished the smokeless lamps at the opening and turned to Reyn.

“I will leave this door unlocked. If things go wrong or become too dangerous for you to remain outside, come back through here. Throw the locks on this door and the one leading into my home. If I don’t appear within the hour, take Lariana and go out through the rear door. Make your way south to the village of Corrin’s Kirk. It’s no more than five miles down the coast. Don’t bother looking for me; I won’t be coming.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Reyn said at once.

“You will if I tell you to, and I am.” The sorcerer’s face was carved in stone. “Don’t argue with me; I am better able to make these decisions than you are. I don’t think any of this will happen, but you need to be prepared if it does.”

“Lariana won’t leave you, either.”

Arcannen smiled. “She will do what you ask of her; just as you will pretty much do what she asks of you. I see what’s happening between the two of you. A blind man could see. So do what I say. Go, and take care of each other afterward.”