Its not the hall, she replied. She didnt argue with anything else, because all of it was true. Its the door. Lifting her arm, she pointed toward the room at the halls end. There, against its closed door, was a sigil, an echo of the identity of the mage who had cast the spell. She frowned as she drew closer. There was an obvious sigil, but around it, or beneath it, lay a far less distinct mark.
She recognized them both. Shed seen them before, in her apartment, just after her home had been destroyed by an Arcane bomb.
* * *
The door looked ordinary, for the fiefs; it was old and slightly warped. The hinges were, of course, on the other side, but Kaylin didnt expect them to be in perfect repair, either. She approached the door with care, noting how utterly silent the rooms to either side were. It was possible they were entirely emptyit was the right time of the day for thatbut she felt her heart sink a yard, regardless.
Severn nodded as if shed spoken, and opened a door to their right. Kaylin paused and watched him enter. The door wasnt locked, but frequently, doors in buildings of this nature werent. A lock guaranteed violence if someone actually wanted to enter; it didnt keep them out. People in the fiefs understood squatters rights: the stronger person had them. Kaylin and Severn had moved several times, with very little warning, in their early years in Nightshade, but theyd moved unharmed. Theyd put up no fight, because the result of a fight was a given; in return, the people whod kicked them out simply waited for them to walk through the door.
Maybe that had happened here.
Severn returned. Its empty.
No sign of whos occupying it now?
None. He walked straight across the hall and opened the opposite door, entering more quickly. He left more quickly, as well. Empty.
He then backtracked down the hall. Kaylin turned to look at the door at the end of the hall, and at the familiar sigils that sat in its center. When Severn returned, she said, Theyre all empty. It wasnt a question.
Yes. The downstairs wasnt. Whatever happened upstairs didnt make a lot of noise.
Kaylin nodded. Or it happened more than a week ago.
Strong magic?
She shook her head. Weak now. Whatever it was meant to do, it didbut the mages left signatures.
Michael wasnt working alone, then?
She frowned. One of the sigils is almost illegible, its buried so far beneath the other. The frown deepened. Ive seen a lot of sigils. The stronger one looks normal, to me. The weaker one She shook her head.
You recognize them.
Im not likely to forget them; theyre what the Arcane bomb splashed across what was left of my home.
His jaw tensed; he didnt. Dont touch the door.
Wouldnt dream of it. Tiamaris is an Imperial Ordertrained mage. He might see something here I dont.
* * *
The good thing about an enspelled door was it forced Tiamaris to let go of his Dragon form; he couldnt fit through the entrance to the building otherwise, unless he planned to make a much larger hole in the supporting wall. His eyes had shaded to orange, but it was an orange that was very close to red. Tara, in gardening clothes, still sported obsidian eyes. They entered the building with Kaylin; Severn chose to scout the ground floor while Tara listened in. She could do that and move.
The stairs creaked ominously under Tiamariss weight; expecting it, Kaylin waited until hed cleared them before stepping onto them herself. A fall like this wasnt likely to cause a Dragon trouble, but it wouldnt do much good for her.
Tiamaris strode straight down the hall and paused a yard from the closed door. You didnt open it? he asked without looking back.
No.
Is magic now active?
As Kaylin had magic detectors built into her skin by default, she shook her head. Her skin didnt hurt. When Tiamaris repeated the question, she said, Not that I can sense.
He did something that was definitely magical in response.
Thats you?
It is. He reached out and opened the door.
Kaylin cried out in shock and pain, half expecting the door to explode outward at the sudden force of magic she felt. It didnt. It was still in one piece, still attached to its hinges. It didnt appear to have harmed Tiamaris at all.
But it hadnt opened into a normal room, either, even by fief standards. It opened into fog and gray, dark shadows. Or smoke without the obvious fire to cause it.
Tara said something sharp and harsh in a language Kaylin didnt understand. The door flew shut before Tiamaris could take a step into the room itself.
Lady? he said, turning toward her, as Kaylin said, Tara? They spoke with the same inflection.
Her eyes were obsidian; wings had once again sprouted from between her shoulder blades. Do not open the door, she told her Lord softly. It does not lead to any residence within the fief of Tiamaris.
Where does it lead, Lady?
To the outlands, was her soft reply.
To the Shadows? Kaylin asked. Outlands was not a word shed heard Tara use before. To the heart of the fiefs?
No. No, Kaylin. If there was such a place in my domain, I would know.
But
This is not the same, she continued. Not for the purpose for which I was created. It is, however, as much a danger to my Lords people. She didnt mean the Dragons.
Tiamariss eyes had shaded to a cooler orange; Kaylin was willing to bet that was as calm as theyd get today.
Do you know what she means by outlands? Kaylin asked.
No.
Tara, do you think its likely that the missing people walked through that door?
I think it very likely, Tara replied.
Where did it take them?
I do not know.
Is there some way to determine that?
Yes, she replied. Enter the room. It is clear the spell is still active. To Tiamaris, she added, I do not think they will return that way, but while the entrance exists, there is some possibility. Would you have me destroy it, Lord?
Yes warred with hope, and hope won, although it was close. Can you place a guard upon this door, and this building, to ensure that it is not used again without your knowledge?
Now that I am aware of it, yes. I cannot guarantee that there are not other points of exitor entrancewithin the fief.
Why? Kaylin asked.
Because such doorways did exist when I was first created; they were not, in and of themselves, a danger; they were a path between specific locations. Once, before the fall of Ravellon, such doors existed between the great cities.
Great cities?
Tara shook her head; her wings settled into a comfortable fold. They are gone now. Ruins remain, if that. They were not mortal cities, and against their height, Elantra counts as little. But I did not think to see such a thing again, she added.
I am not averse to the study of the ancient, Tiamaris finally said. I spent much of my youth in that endeavor, and it was not always considered either safe or wise. It is possible that Sanabalis may cede some of his mages to the study of this door, should I request it.
Would you?
I would not have you stand guard in thisbuildingindefinitely; if the Imperial Order assigns its mages here
Would you?
I would not have you stand guard in thisbuildingindefinitely; if the Imperial Order assigns its mages here
Do you trust them? Kaylin cut in.
They are not Arcanists, he replied. They are beholden to the Emperor.
They are, but the fief doesnt operate under Imperial Law.
True. But I believe it can be argued that the mages chosen will beambassadors for the Empire. Diplomats. He smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. It will prevent me from destroying them if they are overweening in their arrogance, but it will likewise diminish their self-importance.
I dont frankly see how.
Many of the mages are interested in the ancient and the unknown; the choice of those who are allowed to study here, of course, will be mine. If they anger, annoy, or bore me, I will send them home; if they attempt to remain, I will send them home in pieces.
Why let them come here at all, then?
Because there is some small chance they will discover what the purpose of this room isand wasand while they are here, they will defend it as if it were their personal belonging. Should the Barraniany Barraniattempt to access this room and this door from this side, we will know, and the mages will be better prepared than my own humble citizens. He turned to Tara and said in a quieter voice, It would be wisest, I think, to relocate those citizens who remain in the building.
* * *
There is a real Michael, Tara told them as they left the building and headed toward the Tower, which took longer because there was no portal and no angry Dragon to sit on. He is a citizen of the fief. He did not, however, approach Yvander in any way today.
Do you think the would-be kidnapper was someone who knew both Michael and Yvander?
Tara frowned and shook her head. I think Yvander supplied both the image and the words he thought he heard. What I do not understand, she said, is why Yvander was being led across the border, rather than to the building itself. If the room there serves as portal, why was it not used instead?
Im going to guess that the disappearances in Tiamaris arent unique. Its possible theyve also occurred outside the fief.
Tara hesitated, and Kaylin marked it. The Avatars eyes once again lost the semblance of normal eyes, becoming black stone instead. My Lord gives me permission to discuss this. He gives you permission to discuss it as well, but asks that any official discussionwith your Sergeant or with the Lord of Hawksbe referred to him.
I believe the building I was studying in the hall of perception might somehow be involved, but if the Arcanists attempted to create a portal that is similar to the one you discovered, they would find it much, much more difficult beyond the bounds of the fiefs.
Why?
There is a reason that the Towers were built and a reason they were built here. Beyond the borders of the fiefs, the type of power required would be much, much more significant. If they were very lucky, planned well, and made use of the magical storms that engulfed a large part of the City itself, yes, there is every possibility such a gateway exists in the City proper. The magical storms, however, were not predictable, and I consider their use in this case unlikely. It is not just a matter of poweralthough power is necessarybut also a matter of precision.
But they could build gateways like this in the other fiefs?
Tara nodded. They are most likely to be found near the border zones; a singularly powerful but unwise mage might attempt their construction within the zone itself.
What is it about the fiefs that make it easier or simpler here?
Tara shrugged, a gesture that looked, in all details, as if it could have come from Morse. It probably had. The same thing that allows Ferals to hunt in the streets. The Ferals dont cross the bridge.
You dont think they can.
No.
If Michael were leading Yvander across the border to Nightshade, its likely that a portal exists in Nightshade.
Tara nodded. We have been far more vigilant than Barren was capable of being. Given the recent difficulty with the borders, the ongoing threat posed by Shadows that managed to enter the fief during the period of instability, and the necessity of reconstruction, it is more difficult to conduct large-scale and illegal magics without the possibility of detection.
You didnt detect this door.
Not immediately.
They reached the Tower. Our apologies to the Halls of Law, Tara said softly. I do not think the missing boy will be found.
The doors rolled open; Kaylin remained on the outside. If people are disappearing, there has to be some reason. The people Tiamaris listed as missing are all human, but they span age and gender. Ive seen many ways humans can be bought and sold, but their value is entirely dependent on age, gender, and appearance. None of those require something as complicated as the portal. None of them require any level of magic. But magic clearly was used.
The victims arent, as far as you know, in the city anymore. They had to be sent somewhere.
They were sent to the outlands, Tara replied.
Tara, where are the outlands? Are they even in the Empire?
Not in the sense Elantra is, no. But if you mean to ask me why those victims came from the fief, I believe it to be because such a portal could be opened here.
Could it be opened in Ravellon?
Perhapsbut there is little chance, in my opinion, that the ones who opened the portal would survive the opening.
So it had to be here. What purpose would random victims serve?
There was once a theory, Tara replied, that mortals were malleable because they had no True Names and therefore no confinement. They are not fixed in shape.
They are, Kaylin replied sharply. If you attempt to break their shape, you generally damageor killthem. But as she spoke, she thought of the Leontines and their story of origin and fell silent.
The Ancients did not perceive life the way you do, Tara finally said. I have not heard the voices of the Ancients for so long, Kaylin. Nor do I hear them now, in this; it is too small, too precise, and too secretive. My Lord will speak with the Imperial Order, but I think it unlikely that the Imperial Order will offer enlightenment. It is possible that the Arkon may have information that is relevant.
Yvander was being led to Nightshade, Kaylin said. The words were sharp and heavy. In Nightshade, no ones likely to care.
Tara frowned. If something is preying on his people, he will. If he does not have sympathy for the individuals who have gone missing, she added, he is nonetheless Lord in his domain, and he cannot afford to overlook such predations.
He didnt give a damn about the Ferals, was the sharp reply. And there were certainly brothels like Barrens, where predators from the City were welcomed.
He did not turn a blind eye to the latter, was Taras cool reply. He profited from it, in a fashion of his choosing.
Kaylins hands bunched into instant fists. Shed learned, on the other hand, to keep still when she was in the grip of a sudden, unexpected anger. She met Taras steady gaze and saw that the Avatars eyes were no longer obsidian.
I have angered you, she said.