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In the morning the road swung away from the coast. Daine watched with disappointment as trees blocked her view of the sea. Her discontent grew when Numair rode over to her around noon and indicated an upcoming fork in the road. “Well, time for us to leave the pack,” he said briskly. “See that tower?” She could; it was tall and dark, and rose up above the trees, maybe ten miles away. “That’s where I live, when I’m here. And there’s someone there I want you to meet.”
“I have to stay with the horses,” she protested.
Onua, coming up on her other side, said, “Yes, she does have to stay with the horses. She is still my assistant, Numair.”
Numair gave Onua a wide-eyed, pleading look. “You can spare her for one afternoon, surely,” he wheedled.
“Not when we’re getting the horses settled in to a new stable,” Onua countered. “She has better things to do than being poked and prodded by a pair of unsocialized wizards. And what makes you think Himself would be interested in anything outside his precious books?”
Her tone was teasing, but the words were harsh enough that Daine tightened her grip on Cloud’s reigns, glancing anxiously back and forth between her friends.
“He’ll be interested in her, I’m sure of it,” Numair argued. “She proves my theories about wild magic are right!”
“And he’ll be so happy to be proven wrong, I’m sure,” Onua said. “Besides, I would have thought you’d want a few hours to yourselves.” Numair frowned at her. “Not having seen him for six months and all…?”
“Oh,” Numair said. Daine was fascinated to see him flush. “Well-”
Onua snorted, and burst into laughter. Daine relaxed a little. “You’re so smooth with the ladies at court,” Onua said, “but with another mage all you can think about scoring points in some old argument.”
“That’s not- I- oh, Goddess bless.” He drew up tall in his dignity, and said, “I shall see you soon, magelet,” to Daine, and then he turned Spot off down the fork in the track.
“What was that all about?” Daine asked Onua, a little more quietly than she might have, still feeling unsettled.
“Oh, I was just teasing Numair,” Onua said cheerfully. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Who was the other person you were talking about?”
“Numair never told you?” Daine shook her head. “Of course he didn’t. Absurd man. He lives with Master Thom, when they’re in the same corner of Tortall, which isn’t often.”
Daine frowned. “That name sounds familiar.”
“So it should. He’s the Lioness’s brother.”
Daine stared. “Her brother the sorcerer? The greatest mage in the land?” He only appeared in one of the Lioness stories, but it was one of the most famous ones. “I thought he was dead!”
Onua chuckled. “Not dead, just hiding in that tower, except for the occasional few months when the King manages to drag him to the Palace to teach the pages, and then he hides in his rooms there. Not a terribly sociable fellow.”
“And he’s friends with Numair?”
“Well, they mostly argue,” Onua said, “but they both seem to enjoy it.”
They rode along in silence for a bit, listening to the calls of birds and the chatter of the trainees, before Daine asked, “Why doesn’t he come to the castle to meet Lady Alanna?”
“He will later, I’m sure,” Onua said. “He’s not fond of crowds.” She twisted a little in her saddle, to look at Daine more directly. “Look, Daine- when you meet him, don’t let him bother you, all right? He’s a little strange, but he’s a good man.”
She’s worried he might not like me, Daine thought, and swallowed. Bad enough having to meet a living legend, but clearly he was someone important to Numair, and the thought of a good friend of Numair’s disliking her made Daine’s chest tight. Well, don’t worry about it now, silly goose, she told herself, with the inner voice that most sounded like Cloud. But she couldn’t stop herself from glancing up at the dark tower as she rode.
So it wasn’t until a day later, when hoofbeats clattered into Pirate’s Swoop’s stableyard and Numair’s voice yelled out, “Daine?” that she got her first view of the realm’s most notorious sorcerer. Spot was sweat-soaked, clearly having run fifteen miles at a sprint while carrying two men. Daine wasn’t sure what she’d expected a master mage to look like, but it wasn’t a bearlike red-haired man who clung to Numair’s waist with the determined misery of one who obviously did not enjoy riding.
Numair’s tight expression relaxed a little when he saw her. “All right, let go of me,” he said to the red-haired man, who sat like a sack of potatoes on Spot’s back while Numair dismounted. Numair put his hands on his companion’s waist and helped him get down off the horse, which made Daine wince- the other man was nearly as tall as Numair and had to weigh more than him.
“Daine, come on, we have to find the Stormwings,” Numair called.
“Stop yelling,” the red-head complained, sounding like a petulant child. “Did we have to gallop all the way here?”
Daine shaded her eyes to look up at Numair. “What d’you mean? Aren’t they just sneaking behind their little clouds? And aren’t you going to introduce me?”
He blinked. “Ah. Yes. Daine, this is Master Thom of Trebond. Thom, this is my student Daine. Daine, the Stormwings have vanished. Come on.”
And he strode off towards the castle wall, not even pausing as he retied his sweaty hair with one hand and adjusted his tunic with the other.
“Well!” Daine said. She looked shyly over at the red-haired man. “A pleasure to meet you, Master Thom,” she said, wincing as she heard her own voice squeak a little.
He scowled at her so fiercely that Daine gasped and looked away. “He wouldn’t shut up about wild magic last night,” Master Thom said. “I blame you. Although, is it true you can speak to an animal several miles away?”
Daine stared at the ground, wide-eyed and disconcerted. “Er- yes. Sometimes.”
“I’ve never been particularly interested in animals, but I’d like to see that. It would be interesting to compare with different long distance communication methods-”
“Come on,” Numair shouted from the wall, and Thom let out a loud angry sigh, and turned away from her.
Daine hurried to catch up to Numair. Master Thom walked unhurriedly next to her, each one of his steps as long as two of hers. Daine looked him over, deeply curious. He wore a plain black robe that contrasted dramatically with his flaming red hair, which was even longer than Numair’s and hung loose around his shoulders. His face was very pale and freckled, and Daine could see that he was undeniably the Lioness’s twin; he had the same violet eyes, the same stubborn mouth, the same delicate nose. It was odd to see those same features on a body so different, tall and soft where the Lioness was small and hard. He was frowning so fiercely that whenever Daine thought he might look over at her she made sure to look away, concentrating on climbing the steps up to the castle ramparts.
All the way up they went, to the observation deck at the top of the tallest tower. Daine was out of breath by the time they reached it. Master Thom was gasping too, but like Numair, he hadn’t slowed down at all the whole way up. This was clearly urgent.
The Lioness was waiting at the top, leaning against the stone wall. When she saw them she smiled and stepped forward. Master Thom’s frown disappeared. “Sister dear,” he said, and ran forward to lift her up and swing her around in a hug. Daine thought it was lucky for him Alanna wasn’t wearing any armor. “It’s been too long.”
“It has,” Alanna agreed. “Put me down, you idiot.” But she was grinning, just as happy as when she’d been reunited with her husband and children the previous afternoon. “Want to tell me why the four of us are up here?”
“The Stormwings have vanished,” Numair said direfully. “We have to find them.”
“Oh,” Alanna said. “Damn.”
“I know how much you love scrying,” Master Thom said, and Alanna elbowed him.
They all sat down on the warm flagstones and tried to get comfortable. Numair produced a round crystal from a worn leather pouch. The twins took out small hand mirrors. Alanna’s had stars painted on the back; Thom’s had roses, which Daine might have been tickled by if she hadn’t been so intimidated by him.
He saw her looking, and laughed himself, a short sharp bark of a laugh. “It’s not my taste,” he said. “My sister’s eldest, Liam, decided they’d be lovely birthday presents. This one was for Alanna originally, but she wanted to swap.” His mouth quirked ironically. “Can’t imagine why.”
“Well, they make good scrying tools, anyway,” Alanna said.
Daine meditated, and listened up and down the coast, and the Gifted mages scried their hardest; but none of them found any sign of the stormwings. “Nothing,” Daine said, opening her eyes. The mages were all shaking their heads and sighing. The baron had appeared; he crouched down to be on their level.
“So our friends have given us the bag,” he said. “Any way to nab one of these beasties for questionin’, should we find one?”
Numair frowned. “If we can kill them, I assume we can capture them… you know, it’s moments like this that I really miss the university library.”
“What,” Alanna said in mock surprise, “there are books out there that Thom doesn’t have crammed into that drafty tower yet?”
“You’d be surprised,” Numair said.
“Well-” Alanna said, “how about the Golden Net? It was in that book I borrowed from Thom five months ago.”
Numair’s face lit. “You know, with a few adjustments-”
“The scale would be the main problem, of course-”
“Maybe with the algorithm from Dagani’s Triangle-”
Master Thom cleared his throat. “Easy,” he said. “Just use wind instead of water. They’re both fluids.”
There was a pause, and then Numair’s furrowed brow relaxed, and he actually leapt up in joy. “Yes! Perfect! Brilliant! You are a genius as always, darling.” And theatrically, gallantly, he kissed the other mage’s pale hand. Daine felt her mouth fall open.
Thom flushed, his white face going dramatically scarlet. “You do have a tendency to overlook the obvious.”
“My lords and ladies.” A man in the livery of a castle servant had come up to the deck. “We dine in half an hour.”
“Let’s discuss it over dinner,” Alanna said. “I assume you’ve read the book, Thom.”
“Memorized it my first year at the City of the Gods,” Thom said. Numair was still holding his hand. “Help me up, young one, my ancient bones are creaking.”
“Of course, venerable master,” Numair said, in the tones of one completing a longstanding private joke, and pulled Thom to his feet. They followed Alanna to the stairwell, and the three of them descended out of sight together, arguing about spells.
Daine stared after them. She ought to shut her mouth, she knew, before flies flew into it.
Someone was watching her. She turned her head, and saw the baron observing her.
“Numair and Master Thom?” she whispered, feeling dazed. She wished Alanna were still here instead of her husband. She didn’t know George of Pirate’s Swoop, wasn’t friends with him yet. But maybe it’d be more awkward, asking Alanna about her brother.
“Oh aye,” the baron said. “It was a happy day for all of us, when my brother in law met your teacher eight years ago. You think he’s grumpy now? He was full of misery, afore he met Master Numair, and made the rest of us miserable too. Master Numair got him interested in life again.” The baron shook his head. “I’d be in a world of trouble if I flirted with Court ladies the way Master Numair does, but our Thom doesn’t seem to mind.”
It wasn’t like she was shocked or anything, Daine told herself. She’d already known people round here disregarded lots of the rules of two-legger society that had dominated Snowsdale. And if Numair was happy, she was happy, except- “I think he hates me,” she blurted out.
George Cooper burst out laughing. “Oh, no, lassie,” he said, once he’d stopped chuckling. “If ye knew the way he treats those he truly hates- no, you’re fine.”
Daine wasn’t sure she found this reassuring, but she tried to smile. “What’s it like, living next to a legendary sorcerer?” she asked, curious.
“Not like you’re imagining. He doesn’t do much fancy magic nowadays. Doesn’t like doing magic much at all, exceptin’ scrying and other such ephemerals.” Something in his face and tone changed, his eyes growing distant as he looked into the past. “There was one time. Raiders attacked whilst my children were outside the castle walls. Thom was with them. There’s a chunk of the bluff missing now, you can see it from the towers.” He blinked, came back to the present. “Let’s go to dinner,” he said, offering Daine his arm. “Don’t tell anyone I was gossipin’.”
“No, sir,” Daine said with a smile, and took his arm, and went with him down the winding narrow stairs, trying to forget about missing stormwings and master sorcerers maybe not liking her.