The elder brightened with a brief, relieved smile. For some reason it appeared that he thought it would have been more difficult. The council seemed to have formed an opinion of her that was based to some extent on accusations about her.
“Thank you for understanding, Magda. So you will take the appointment, then?”
Magda had no intention of taking such an appointment and leaving the Keep. There was something going on, something that threatened the Keep, threatened their very existence. She seemed to be the only one who understood that the threat was real. She was not going to abandon her search for answers just to make life convenient for the council.
That search for answers was a mission that Baraccus himself had given her, both as her husband and as First Wizard.
At the same time, she didn’t want to get into a battle with these men. That would only back them into a corner and make her search for answers all the more difficult.
“I appreciate the generous offer, Elder Cadell. I will certainly give it my most earnest consideration. But in the meantime, I would like to give over the First Wizard’s apartments. I have modest needs and will have no trouble finding a place. I know that there is space under the southern ramparts.”
The elder blinked. He was left momentarily speechless. The quarters under the southern ramparts were the least desirable in the Keep, so there was always room there. As much trouble as she was to them, even the council would think that such quarters were beneath the widow of the First Wizard. It reflected poorly on them that they would force her out of her apartments to live beneath the southern ramparts.
Magda didn’t really care where she slept. She was only concerned with finding answers before they were all killed the way she was nearly killed by a dream walker, or as Isidore had been killed by that walking nightmare.
Before Elder Cadell could say anything, she asked, “Have you selected the man to become First Wizard, then?”
Sadler leaned back in his chair. Hambrook and Clay shared a look. Weston and Guymer showed no reaction to the question.
Elder Cadell cleared his throat. “We have had discussions and have someone in mind.” He smoothed his bushy brow. “We will reveal our choice at the proper time and in the proper manner.”
In other words, he wasn’t about to tell Magda what they had decided. She hoped it was one of the men Baraccus had worked closely with. There were good men among them.
“Of course, Elder Cadell. I am sure that the council will choose wisely. They certainly did the last time.”
With the war going badly, they needed someone strong. Someone like Baraccus. Once the man was selected, she had important information to convey to him.
He would need to know what she knew, what she had dared tell no one.
It seemed to her like Baraccus was already just a figure in their history, lost to the advance of time.
The world was moving on. It was up to her to convey knowledge from that past history.
But only to the right person.
Magda dipped a quick bow and departed before they could insist that she accept the post they wanted her to take.
As she was pushing closed one of the heavy double oak doors to the council’s private chambers, she heard footsteps. Turning, she saw Prosecutor Lothain and a dozen men of his personal guard. Magda stepped to the side to make way for them.
“Lady Searus,” Lothain said with a smile. “I hear that you have been at the center of yet more trouble.”
“Shouldn’t you be down in the lower portions of the Keep searching for a killer to prosecute?”
The menacing smile remained in place. “I don’t believe that the threat to our security is confined to the lower portions of the Keep. I think dangers to our cause are closer than most people think.”
She knew what he was getting at, but she didn’t want to be distracted by Lothain any more than she had wished to be drawn into arguing with certain members of the council. She had to get back to her search.
“I’m afraid that you would know about such threats better than I would. If you will excuse me, I have things to do.”
His smile returned. “Such as finding new quarters?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
“Rather sad that with a new First Wizard soon to be named you have to give up such luxurious apartments.”
Magda wondered how he seemed to already know all about it.
“It’s not sad at all. It is just a place to sleep. I am joyous that a new First Wizard will soon be named. The people I care about are what really matter to me, not an apartment.”
“And which people are they, Lady Searus, that you really care about?”
“The innocent people of the New World who are being slaughtered in the name of a cause.”
Before he could say anything else, Magda started away. He caught her arm, stopping her. His grip was hurting her arm but she didn’t give him the satisfaction of showing it.
“No need to be in a hurry to move your things, Lady Searus. I may be able to help you out with an accommodation so that you can remain where you are comfortable.”
Magda’s only answer was a brief, noncommittal smile before she pulled her arm away and marched off. She kept her eyes straight ahead and didn’t slow for the wall of men in green tunics blocking her way. The prosecutor’s big personal guards stepped back at the last moment and just enough to let her pass.
She couldn’t imagine what Lothain was talking about and she wasn’t particularly interested in coaxing it out of the man. She was sure that was what he had wanted her to do. When she glanced back she saw him vanishing into the council chambers.
Magda wondered what business Lothain had with the council that he would be seeing them in a private session.
Chapter 43
It was apparent to Magda that the city of Aydindril, though as busy and active as ever, was on edge. Concern weighed on every face. People in small groups eyed passing strangers as they talked in low, worried tones.
Every day brought new stories of enemy advances, of bloody battles, of the numbers of men lost, of cities that had fallen, of innocent civilians being slaughtered by the approaching forces of Emperor Sulachan. She knew that some of the stories were nothing more than rumors and gossip. She also knew that the truth was far more gruesome than most people knew.
Glancing up between spaces in the tightly packed, two-story buildings as she made her way down the crowded cobblestone street, Magda could see glimpses of the lush forests covering the foothills and lower sweep of the nearest mountain. Higher up, the pines and spruce thinned as they reached granite ledges at the base of sheer cliffs. Beyond a few passing wisps of clouds and flocks of birds that lived in the stone face of the mountain, the massive cliffs supported dark, soaring stone walls of the Keep. Above the walls, even at this distance, she could see ramparts, bastions, lofty spires, and towers joined by high bridges.
For as long back as Magda could remember, the dark shape of the Keep had loomed over the city, at once protector and threat, the magic it embodied both guardian and target.
Magda had always had mixed feelings about living in the Keep. She loved the vibrancy of Aydindril, so with a soon-to-be-appointed new First Wizard needing the apartments, she had given thought to moving back down to the city. But she couldn’t do that until she found out what was behind Baraccus’s death and the other things that were happening at the Keep.
While no one seemed to believe her, Magda was sure that everyone at the Keep was in danger. She couldn’t leave the Keep until she knew that the people living there were safe. While people were focused on the distant war, no one but her seemed aware that the enemy was already closer than anyone thought.
Magda knew, the enemy was already slipping in among them.