Night of The Eye

suspended bracelet crumpled, then fell to the cold granite floor.

Belize looked at her coldly. 'You know, of course, that I could rip any information from your skull with a spell. However, I shan't waste another moment on Guerrand DiThon. He's no more a threat to me than those demented creatures in the laboratory.

'Speaking of them,' the mage said, wagging his finger, 'take warning, if you wish to live through this day. I'll not tolerate any more defiance from you. I should slay you right now for loosing my experiments to rise against me. That little battle cost me precious time-' he touched his cheek '-not to mention blood.'

'I didn't need to inspire those pathetic things,' snapped Esme. 'Is it any wonder they hated you after what you did to them?'

Belize cocked a brow. 'I should feel chastened by a common spy?' He touched an alcohol-soaked patch of cotton to the cut on his face, then threw the swab away. 'Perhaps I should describe to you the punishment I normally mote out to spies and thieves. It's been compared to being turned inside out, though I suspect it is actually much worse.'

Belize turned with an evil grin from the pile of personal papers he was sorting. 'But I've thought of a new punishment for you. Since you seem to have such sympathy for my experiments, perhaps you'll appreciate sharing their unfortunate experiences. I'll be sending you through my magical gate first, to clear the path of any foul debris accumulated over the centuries. I had thought to use my apprentice, but I haven't been able to find that useless dandy, so I suppose I must thank you for saving me time.'

'Justarius will bring you up before a full conclave when he finds out you've kidnapped me,' she hissed.

Belize regarded her with lazy-lidded contempt. 'After tonight no mortal mage will be able to touch me. I'll be beyond the circles of the universe.'

Adding the last of his things to the chest, Belize slammed its heavy lid shut. 'Time to go,' he announced. Scratching his goatee, he said, 'I really must think of a more convenient way to travel with you.' Belize abruptly snapped his fingers, nails clicking. 'I have it!'

The mage reached toward Esme and slowly closed his fingers. 'Ligir.'

Esme screamed as her bones began to contract, snapping and popping in protest. Her heart thundered like the steps of a giant in pursuit, then reversed its pace and steadily slowed. Beyond the excruciating pain, she felt her pulse's last terrified, fluttering beats as the world grew larger, then silent as snow.

When Belize uncurled his fingers, on his pasty palm lay a ceramic statue of a golden-haired woman in trousers and tunic.

Castle DiThon was as near the magical plinths as he could get through the mirror world. Guerrand had no idea if he was walking into the middle of a siege, or even if the castle still stood. Assuming it did, Guerrand knew instantly which mirror to summon to mind. He instructed Zagarus to stay inside the mirror until he called him forth, knowing the bird's presence would only make the meeting he anticipated more difficult.

Standing knee-deep in the pastel mist, Guerrand recalled a polished cherrywood, freestanding frame. Dried heather and wild geranium, treasures of happier days, were slipped between the frame and the silvered glass of the mirror. Guerrand took a step, and the mist gave way.

Kirah's room looked virtually unchanged since last he'd seen it-frilly feather bed, milk-paint armoire, unused dollhouse — reassuring him that somehow the Berwick threat had been prevented. To his greater relief, Guerrand saw his sister at the window seat, gazing through the leaded windowpanes at the weed patches where gardens once grew. It was late, past the middle of the night, judging from the angle of the moonbeams that framed Kirah's golden hair. Her face was colorless and wan. She was dressed in the palest of yellow, a hue that only emphasized her pallor, and her hands lay thin and lifeless in her lap. If she heard his entrance, she made no sign.

'Hello, Kirah,' he said softly.

Her head swung around slowly. Kirah looked first stunned, then annoyed. Guerrand could see the great effort it took her to resume an impassive expression. 'Hello, Guerrand,' she said at last, her unusual use of his full name cutting him to the bone. 'You've come too late with your grown-up beard and mage's red robe.'

Guerrand could stand the distance between them no longer. He rushed across the room and dropped to his knees beside the window seat, taking her cool, limp hands in both of his. 'I'm sorry I didn't come sooner.' She shrugged disinterestedly.

Guerrand gripped her frail shoulders and shook them gently. 'Be angry if you must, I deserve that, but please talk to me. Tell me what's happened here.'

'Oh, nothing much.' Kirah arched one brow listlessly. 'The Berwicks attacked the castle.'

He frowned. 'Didn't Lyim get here in time to warn you?'

'Oh, yes,' she said, a spark of life just beginning to show in her eyes at the mention of the apprentice. 'He's the reason I'm still in the castle, along with the rest of the family. Without him, the Berwicks would have captured it, and who knows what would have happened then.'

'Is everyone-' Guerrand began haltingly 'is everyone else… all right?' Kirah nodded, and Guerrand heaved a huge sigh of relief. He was suddenly struck with a distressing thought. 'Where is Lyim? He wasn't hurt, was he?'

Kirah shook her head. 'He left for the coast yesterday, or was it the day before?' She shrugged again.

Guerrand twisted to search her face. 'I expected you to be mad, but why are you acting like this, Kirah?'

A glimmer of her old fire sparked. 'You expected me to be angry, so that, as usual, you could protect yourself in a cloak of guilt. Well, I won't make it easier for you to avoid responsibility for what you've done.'

'What I did was follow your advice to run away before the wedding and study magic!'

'You have a selective memory,' she accused. 'The advice included taking me with you, so that we could both escape this prison.'

Guerrand felt the weight of her accusations. He reached a hand to her cheek. 'You're the one who said we can never stay mad at each other.'

Kirah slapped the hand away. 'Things have changed, Guerrand. You changed them.' Her eyes narrowed with remembered pain. 'Mother, Father, Quinn… then you.' Tears welled and sparkled against her lashes, making her look even younger than she was.

'I'd hoped my note would explain…' Guerrand's voice trailed off.

'A note is a poor substitute for a brother.' Kirah pulled the much-folded piece of parchment from the sleeve of her butter-yellow frock and fanned herself with it. 'Lyim said you were unable to leave your master.'

'Apprentice mages aren't supposed to have families,' Guerrand explained bitterly. 'When Lyim offered to come here in my stead, I thought maybe I could have it both ways.'

Kirah's bitter expression eased momentarily at the mention of the other apprentice. 'So why are you here now?'

'The world is a lot different, a lot more difficult than I'd thought.' Guerrand stood and ran a hand through his hair, turning away. 'I was wrong not to come myself before. I was wrong about a lot of things.'

He turned back to her, his shoulders set with determination. 'But I've come to put things right.'

'Does that mean you're back to stay?'

'I can't, Kirah. You know it's too late for me here.'

Kirah took the news with a bowed head. 'I hoped… but I knew,' she said at last.

Guerrand's gaze wandered above Kirah's head to the window, where bright Solinari and murky red Lunitari moved ever closer to each other. Invisible Nuitari could not be far behind. When the moons rose again, a half day hence, they would align on the Night of the Eye.

'I need your help, Kirah.' Guerrand cleared his throat and put up a hand to still the protest he knew would come. 'I know I've forfeited the right to expect it, but before you say no, realize I don't ask for myself. There's another person I pray I haven't lost, but I need a horse to get to Stonecliff immediately. Please, do me this one last favor.'

Kirah threw up her arms in disgust. 'Stonecliff! That's what's caused this pain from beginning to end. I'm sick to death of hearing about that land! No wonder Berwick was willing to give it back in the first place. I think Cormac is right about those pillars being created by pagan magic-they make people crazy!'

What insanity did Belize have in store for Esme at Stonecliff? Guerrand had asked himself that a hundred times since he'd left the mage's lab.