Nika paused, thinking. “The Master of Mages and the Elder Mari are known to be wise. What lies in the next dream? It is said you have been there.”
“This one does not know,” Alain said. “This one once had visions of something beyond, but saw only the illusion of that dream. It was the same for Elder Mari. The form of the next dream could not be grasped by one still tied to this dream.”
“Perhaps this one will learn those answers before the Master of Mages,” Nika said, and this time Kira caught the faintest hint of amusement in Nika’s voice. “This one will wait in the illusion of Larharbor. When the Master of Mages knows of a ship to the empty lands, this one will be there, waiting.”
Mage Nika paused again, her hand now held at waist height with the palm facing downward. Kira tensed as she felt a spell forming, her hands tightening again on her pistol.
Sparks fell downward from Nika’s hand in a shower of brilliant light, winking out before they reached the floor.
She turned and walked out of the house.
Kira realized that she had been holding her breath for the last several seconds, and finally exhaled. “What was that? That thing she did at the end?”
“Go make sure the security patrols don’t stop her or try to fight her,” Mari told Alain. “You might also see if they know how she got to us without being spotted. That’s happening way too often lately.”
Kira’s father nodded and left quickly.
Her mother looked at Kira, sighing heavily and running one hand through her hair. Kira realized how tense her mother had been while Nika was here. “What did you say, dearest? Oh. The light show at the end. It was sort of… an apology.”
“An apology? From an old-school Mage?”
“Yes,” Mari said. “Sort of. But also a gesture of regret, even though Mages like Nika don’t know that word. And also a sign that her spells would not be turned against us again.”
“For people who deny emotions, they sure pack a lot into one gesture,” Kira complained. She finally safed her pistol, ejecting the cartridge from the chamber, reloading it in the magazine, and setting the safety before holstering it. “Do you believe her?”
“Your father would have seen any falsehood in her. And if Mage Nika had meant us harm, this house would have been hit by lightning powerful enough that I don’t think the lightning rods would have grounded it all.”
“You guys know her? But she’s a bad guy? A dark Mage?”
“Not a dark Mage,” Mari said. “I’m glad you didn’t say that while Nika was here. She’s not one of those who accepted your father’s wisdom, but she’s not a mercenary dark Mage with no interest in wisdom. She’s been a tough opponent on more than one occasion since the war with the Great Guilds.”
Kira’s mother sat down heavily, running both hands through her hair this time. “Our enemies must have some well-placed spies to already know that you and Jason are going to Altis, and were planning to travel by Roc. I need to tell Sien. One of her trusted aides is either playing for the other side or is talking too much to the wrong people.”
Kira dropped into a nearby chair, staring at the spot where Mage Nika had been standing. “If she hadn’t warned us… ”
“You and Jason might both have died,” Mari finished, her mouth tight with distress. “She’s very powerful, and very skilled. As your father and I learned more than once in the past.”
“Maybe you guys ought to share some of those stories with me?” Kira said, exasperated. “You know, stuff about deadly enemies you’ve fought in the past who might try to kill me now?”
“You’ve been warned your whole life about that.”
“Not with specifics! Like, Mage Nika. Lightning. Mage Ivor, also lightning. Why do lightning Mages hate this family so much?”
“They don’t,” Mari said, looking at Kira again. “Only Ivor. Now, dragon Mages, they do all hate us. So do troll Mages. But to Nika, her tangles with us were always part of a job. Ivor really wants us all dead, though.”
“If I’d known about him before I went to Kelsi, he might not have been able to almost kill me there!”
“You weren’t supposed to be running around Kelsi on your own!” her mother shot back. “Wasn’t there something in there about running away?”
“I did not run away! I was on a mission to help Jason stop that plot by his mother and save millions of lives!”
Her mother paused, then nodded. “That’s true. All right. You know about lightning Mages. Their spells work like real lightning. If she’d thrown some at you while you had your pistol up, the pistol would’ve attracted the bolt, which would’ve run down your arm and through your body if you were grounded. But you probably wouldn’t have noticed because the bolt would’ve caused every round in your pistol to go off at once and done a serious number on your hands and your face and chest and other important parts.”
Kira flinched. “You see, this is the sort of motherly wisdom your daughter needs. Like, don’t overcook chicken. Make sure you’re wearing underwear that won’t embarrass you if you end up being seen by healers at a hospital. And don’t let the pistol you’re holding get hit by lightning cast by a Mage.”
“The underwear thing is really important,” Mari said.
“I know. The Northern Ramparts, remember? I’d had to wear the same pair for weeks. I’m glad I was unconscious by the time the healers were pulling them off me, because I do not want to know how they reacted.”
“What happened to that pair?”
“I think they burned them. I hope they did.”
Her mother smiled slightly. “The last few days at Dorcastle we were on the walls continuously. We fought and sweated and everything but I couldn’t change clothes. Then I got shot. But it was in my chest and I was doing the dying thing and then your father brought me back and I don’t think anyone noticed the state of my underwear.”
“You were lucky,” Kira said.
“Uh huh. If I’d been lucky I wouldn’t have been shot.”
“Mother, we’re sharing stories. When did you become someone I could talk to?”
Mari smiled at her. “I didn’t change.”
“I think you did,” Kira said. “I couldn’t have changed that much. Um, back on topic. So, what are we going to do now that we know what Mage Nika told us?”
Her mother frowned at the map of the world on one wall near her desk. “You’re not going to fly a Roc to Altis. Mage Ivor could be waiting anywhere along the route. And lightning Mages may be fairly rare, but he and Nika aren’t the only ones who might have been hired to kill you.”
“Mother?” Kira felt a thought forming. “Is this just about killing me? Or is it also about keeping me and Jason from getting to Altis and speaking to Urth?”
Mari raised her eyebrows at the idea. “That’s an important thing to consider, isn’t it? But if our foes know about those weapons and want them, they might know that we want to disarm them. They wouldn’t want Jason talking to Urth.”
“Which would mean it’s important that we go,” Kira said. “And get the answers we need.”
Her father returned, troubled enough that Kira could see it in him. “Get Jason,” Mari said. “I’ll fill your father in on what we’ve been talking about.”
Kira rushed up the stairs, expecting Jason to be alert. Instead, she found him sound asleep. “Wake up! You would’ve slept through the Siege of Dorcastle, wouldn’t you?”
“I’m just conforming to the biological norm for someone my age,” Jason protested as he pulled on his clothes. “What’s happened? What’s the big deal?”
“A lightning Mage who’s fought Mother and Father in the past snuck up to the house and warned us that someone tried to hire her to kill us when we flew off on Rocs and has hired other Mages to make sure we die if she failed.”
“Oh.” Jason didn’t ask any more questions before she hauled him downstairs.
Kira’s mother and father were looking at the map as Kira brought Jason into the front room, its lights now on
.
“At this time of year some nasty storms can brew up suddenly between Tiaesun and Edinton,” Mari told them. “And those pirates operating out of Syndar might go after a ship with you on it even if it’s one of Queen Sien’s warships. Pirate ships carrying Mages can be a serious threat to even the newest warships. Your father and I have jousted with pirates. It’s not fun. You’d be better off traveling by land.”
“Riding?” Kira said.
“No. You and Jason will take a train north. We’ll arrange an armored train with a large escort as far as Gullhaven, and then a Confederation warship to take you to Altis. You’ll be safely past the threat of pirates by then.”
“Armored train?” Kira asked. “Large escort? Warship?”
Her mother nodded. “I know you prefer not to make a big deal when you travel, Kira, but this will have to be an exception. Someone is gunning for you. If they tried to get Mage Nika, they’re hiring the best. We need the best defenses we can arrange against them.”
“All right,” Kira mumbled.
“Wait. A train?” Jason asked worriedly, having apparently just absorbed that information.
“It’s the safest way to travel,” Mari emphasized.
“Um… have you ever ridden on a train with Kira?”
“I have ridden on trains with her mother,” Alain said, his impassive voice somehow still conveying a wealth of concern.
“Our big, strong men,” Mari said. “What are you worried about?”
“I have thrown Jason off of moving trains a few times,” Kira admitted.
“Well, I never threw your father off a train. He always jumped on his own. When I told him he had to.”
“Yeah,” Kira said. “Jason, why can’t you just jump off a train when I tell you to? Then I wouldn’t ever have to throw you off.”
“You see?” Jason said. “This is why I’m worried. Why can’t we fly on the Rocs?”
“I told you! Because a lightning Mage is waiting to fry us somewhere along the way.”
Jason hesitated. “Getting shot down by a lightning Mage might be worse than a train.”
“Gee, ya think?” Kira demanded. “Hitting the ground after jumping from a train is bound to hurt a lot less than hitting the ground after falling from a Roc!”
“Um… ” Jason frowned. “Terminal velocity of a human falling through air is limited by drag, so if you stay face down that’s about, um, sixty meters per second which is about, uh, two hundred kilometers per hour. On Earth, and your gravity and atmospheric pressure aren’t that far off from Earth. So if you fell off a Roc you’d hit the ground at one hundred thousand lances per hour the way you guys measure stuff.”
Kira stared at him. “How do you even know that? How fast somebody falls?”
“I looked it up back on Earth. Your trains travel at, what, about eighty to one hundred kilometers per hour? So that’d be forty to fifty thousand lances per hour. Yeah, it would hurt a lot more to hit the ground after falling from a Roc. You’re right.”
“Jason,” Kira said, “how many times have we gone over this? You argue and calculate and consider and finally tell me I’m right. Think how much time you’d save if you just started assuming I’m right.”
“I’m still trying to teach your father that,” Mari said.
“Did Father find out how Nika got to the house?”
Alain nodded. “She showed me the path. With perfect timing as patrols passed, she was able to move in the dark from partly shielded place to place, and thus avoid detection. It would take someone as skilled and experienced as Mage Nika to repeat. I showed the commander of the guards the route. He was not happy to learn of it, but now the patrols will know where to look.”
“So she did us another favor by spotting a hole in our security,” Mari said.
“Yes.” Kira’s father brought out an envelope. “The commander of the guard had just received this and was about to deliver it.”
Kira’s mother took the envelope and opened it, drawing out the paper inside. “Hmmm. It’s actually about Kira. Her presence is requested by the Queen’s Own tomorrow. An escort will arrive early tomorrow to accompany her there.”
“The Queen’s Own?” Kira asked. “Why?” She knew her alarm and reluctance at the news must be obvious from the way the others looked at her.
“It’s a surprise,” Mari said. “What’s the matter? You were always proud and happy to be part of the Queen’s Own Lancers.”
“I was never really part of them" Kira said. “I was an honorary officer. That’s all. And when I was told my real name, that I was Kira of Dematr instead of being Kira of Pacta Servanda, I couldn’t even be that.”
“You have not been back since then?” Alain asked.
“No. It’s just… too weird.”
Her mother smiled at Kira. “Dearest, the first time you went to the Queen’s Own for training we had to drag you kicking and screaming. But after that it became the one thing in the world that your father and I knew you loved doing. Every time you wore that uniform you looked proud and happy.”
Kira ducked her head to avoid her mother’s gaze. “Things have changed.”
“Yes, and no. You’ll go tomorrow, won’t you?”
She looked up, surprised. “You’re not telling me I have to go?”
“It’s time you made decisions like that on your own,” Mari said. “But I hope you’ll go. Colonel Anders wouldn’t have asked for your presence unless it was important. And you know the place that the Queen’s Own holds in my heart.”
“Yes,” Kira said, her voice gone soft. “All right. I’ll go. For Major Danel’s memory.”
“Thank you, dearest.”
“Jason can come, can’t he?”
“I don’t see why not.” Mari looked at the deep night outside the house. “You two had better get back to bed and try to get some sleep. A ride out to the Queen’s Own and back tomorrow will make for a long day.”
* * *
Mari wished that she was able to take her own advice, but after the events of the evening she could only lie awake, hoping that sleep would come. Her nerves on edge after Mage Nika’s surprise visit, the baby restless inside her, Mari kept hearing faint noises that normally would have meant nothing but tonight conjured up visions of more enemies sneaking close.
She felt relieved when Alain finally came to bed. “Are you all right?” she whispered.
He nodded, the movement shadowy in the dimness. Sitting down on the bed, Alain reached out one hand to her. “I was thinking,” he said, “that perhaps I should accompany Kira and Jason. To ensure they were safe.”
“Alain—”
“But I cannot.” He turned his head to look at her, his words carrying unusual emotion. “I saw something a short time ago. Foresight.” He paused. “I saw myself riding a Roc, approaching the city of Pacta Servanda. It was late at night. But suddenly a great flare of light filled my vision, and when it faded much of the city was gone.”
She struggled into a sitting position in the bed and stared at him. “Someone will set off that bomb?”
“Someone might. If I am not here.”
“Alain, I know you want to protect Kira, but she’s a young woman now. We have to let her go.”
He didn’t answer for a long moment. “I have seen visions of Kira as well. Like shards of mirrors all looking upon different scenes. Her possible futures are growing in number, yet in pieces, as if something of Kira herself was not whole. Look into her eyes and you see a struggle being fought, though I cannot tell what is fighting inside her or why.”
“You’re saying that you think we have to keep her here?”
Alain shook his head. “No. What I have felt from those visions was that Kira must find the means to heal herself. I cannot do it. No one else can. She must confront what troubles her. If she stays here… I do not foresee her finding that answer.”
“She thinks that Jason will help her find that answer,” Mari said, trying to make herself believe that as much as her daugh
ter did.
“Yes. He is important,” Alain said. “The visions in which he is with her have hope. When Jason is not with her… the visions are not pleasant ones.”
“He won’t leave her,” Mari said, and this time didn’t have to work to convince herself of the truth of that. “Not as long as he’s alive.”
“That is so,” Alain said. “He is perhaps a bit too much like me in that respect, just as Kira is perhaps a bit too much like you. But both Kira and Jason are not either of us. They have their own strengths, and their own knowledge. We must trust in that. I wish she had not developed Mage powers.”
“They did save her life,” Mari said.
“I fear now they may cost Kira her life,” Alain said. “Jason does hold some key in this, but he may face terrible trials.”
“Along with our daughter.”
“Yes. But I must also think of you, and the young one you carry.”
“Remember when all we had to worry about was the fate of the world?” Mari asked. “Who knew that would be easier than worrying about our daughter and the young man she wants to marry.” She reached out to hold Alain, and they lay that way together for a long time.
* * *
Woken up early, Kira grumpily wolfed down breakfast, going light on the coffee since she had a long ride ahead. Jason looked as weary as she did and ate only a little before going back up to his room. Her mother and father had the appearance of people who’d stayed up worrying all night. That left her feeling guilty as well as cranky.
As she got up from the breakfast table, her mother spoke firmly. “This is a formal occasion,” Mari told Kira. “Dress appropriately.”
“Formal? What’s going on? Why does the Queen’s Own want me there? Is this going to be embarrassing?”
“Yes. I can’t tell you. I can’t tell you. Probably,” Mari replied. “But you will smile and be polite and be a good representative of this family.”
Kira glowered at her mother. “Life was lot easier for me when I could throw a tantrum and get out of stuff like this.”