During the last few moments of mutual silence, he and Brich had entered the Palace and were now descending to Falk’s office. He waited until they were through the checkpoint and Brich had taken his accustomed place at his desk before giving his orders.
“Call out the army,” he said. “Start…” Again he pictured the map. “They’re to start at Moose Leap and move northeast, questioning everyone they can find, adjusting their search as necessary based on whatever sightings of the airship are reported. When they find the airship, they’re to secure it and have it transported back here.”
“Here, my lord?” said Brich, who had been taking notes using pen and paper, as though he suspected the Commonermade text-stamper was not something Falk would appreciate at that moment. He was right.
“Yes, here.” Falk rubbed his forehead. “I may have use for it. Brenna, when they find her, is also to be brought here. The boy…” Kill him, he wanted to say, but all the reasons for not killing him remained valid. “Likewise.”
“It will be done, my lord.”
“And then, Brich, magespeak the manor. Tell Gannick to tell my men-at-arms they are to gently-gently, mind you, but firmly-insist to Mother Northwind that she, too, must come to the Palace. I need her talents.”
“Yes, my lord.” Brich’s pen quit moving across the paper. “Anything else?”
“Yes. Verdsmitt. Has he said anything to his interrogators?”
“Only,” Brich said dryly, “that he was sorry they did not appreciate his play and the next time he comes to the Palace, he promises to bring a musical comedy.”
Falk smiled tightly. “Davydd Verdsmitt,” he said, “believes he is untouchable because harming him will inflame the Commons. After what I have done this evening, Brich, perhaps he will understand that inflammation of the Commons no longer concerns me.”
“Shall we make more… intense inquiries?” Brich said.
Again, Falk was tempted to say yes, to let loose the torturers. But though torture had its place, he did not place much faith in the information he received from it. Men in agony would say anything to ease that agony, and sometimes they even convinced themselves they were telling the truth, their own memories warped by the pain… in which case, even drawing out those memories would be useless.
He did not want Verdsmitt’s mind warped. He wanted it crystal clear when Mother Northwind reached inside it.
“No,” Falk said. “Stop all inquiries. Let him sit in silence and contemplate his misdeeds… until Mother Northwind is here.”
Brich nodded. He didn’t know all of what Mother Northwind was capable of, but he knew enough.
“And Tagaza?” Falk said.
“The First Mage says he will speak only to you, and points out that he serves at the pleasure of the King, not you, Lord Falk,” Brich said. “He says you have arrested him illegally and are abusing your authority. The Council has, of course, learned of his arrest and is demanding you account for it at the morning meeting.”
“And so I will,” Falk said. “After I’ve had a little chat with my old friend. Issue my orders, Brich.”
“Right away, my lord.”
Falk took a moment to divest himself of his winter coat and boots in his office, pulling on his indoor boots and making sure every thread was in place on his gray tunic and trousers before heading down the hall to Tagaza’s cell… just across the hall from Verdsmitt’s, he noted with grim amusement. No doubt they would have had a lot to say to each other if not for the fact the cells were magically soundproofed to prevent any such communication… magically, so that the soundproofing could be easily removed if Falk judged it worthwhile to have the sounds from one cell heard by other prisoners.
There was a lot of magic at work in that dungeon. It made it cold enough in the hallway that Falk could see his breath. Some of it held Tagaza’s door closed. He reached out and adjusted the spell with his mind, then pushed the door open and stepped inside, closing and locking the door again with a quick magical flick.
The cell, eight feet wide by ten feet long, held a bed, Tagaza, a chamber pot, and nothing else. It had no window, the only light coming from a magelight in the ceiling. Reset once a day, it gradually faded as the day went along until it plunged the cell into pitch-blackness around midnight. Already it had dimmed far enough that the room seemed twilit. Falk gave it a quick boost, flooding the cell with harsh blue light.
“Falk!” Tagaza, tight-lipped, lumbered to his feet. “I have done nothing to deserve this. Have you gone mad? We’re only weeks from-”
“Mad?” Falk said coldly. “On the contrary, I believe I am seeing much more clearly than I have for some time.”
“I’ve been working with you for twenty years to bring down the Barriers,” Tagaza said. “At the solstice that work will be done. How on earth can you believe I would sabotage two decades’ labor this close to its culmination?”
“People change, Tagaza,” Falk said. “I have noted for a long time your distaste for the sacrifices we must make to bring down the Barriers. You have grown inordinately fond of both Brenna and our faux Prince. And though you have always claimed you share the goals of the Unbound, you have never shared our reasons. You’ve claimed to believe that magic is running out, and will fail entirely if we don’t bring down the Barriers. My guess is that you have realized you were wrong about that-as I’ve always said-and so you’ve decided to sabotage the destruction of the Barriers to save the lives of Brenna and the King. But did you really think I would not put two and two together when I discovered Commoners had found a way to pass through the Lesser Barrier and kidnap the Prince? Only a master magician, steeped in the lore of the Barriers, could accomplish such a thing. Only you, My Lord First Mage.”
Tagaza’s jaw and fists had clenched, as though he wanted to physically attack Falk. I’d like to see him try, Falk thought contemptuously as he glared at the First Mage’s broad face. “That’s. .. ludicrous,” Tagaza said at last, voice tight with anger. “You have no evidence any of that is true. And I do not doubt my belief, Falk. The magic lode beneath this Palace cannot sustain both the Barriers and still meet the needs of the Mageborn forever. In a few more years, if the Barriers stand-”
“No evidence?” Falk snarled. “How many times have you told me the Lesser Barrier is impenetrable? And yet it has been penetrated.” Falk stepped closer to the First Mage, who squared his shoulders and glared back. “And there is more. You have long argued for giving the Commoners more say in governing this kingdom. I have heard from more than one source that you have even expressed a wish that there were some way Commoners could use magic, too. And now, it seems, Commoners can. Somehow they have gained access to enchanted weapons, and a key to the Lesser Barrier. Some mysterious, powerful mage has been providing the Common Cause with magical help. That is clearly sedition. It is clearly a threat to Public Safety. And therefore, clearly, the Minister of Public Safety has the authority and duty to arrest that mage. You.”
“Falk, listen to yourself,” Tagaza said. “Why would I help the Common Cause assassinate the Prince? You just said I had grown too fond of him!”
“But they didn’t assassinate him, did they? They spectacularly failed to assassinate him. You claimed it was incompetence on the part of the mage who crafted the weapons. But no one could be that incompetent. I believe rather than a sign of incompetence, it is a sign of great competence, by a master mage who knew exactly what he was doing, whose goal was not to kill the Prince but to disrupt plans involving the Prince… my plans. My Plan.
“And then the ‘kidnapping.’ The Prince left his room on his own, took a boat, rowed it across the lake, and exited the Lesser Barrier in the company of unknown Commoners. Almost as if it weren’t a kidnapping at all. Almost as if the Prince had been told to flee… by someone who knew what was about to happen.” Falk took another step closer, staring down at Tagaza with cold fury. “Confess, Tagaza. Confess willingly, or when Mother Northwind gets here, you will confess unwillingly.”
Tagaza held himself very still, eyes searching Falk’s face. And then, to Falk’s surprise… and fury… he had the gall to smile. “Bring her,” he said softly. “Bring your pet mindreader, Falk. I welcome her to look inside my mind. In fact,” his voice grew stronger, “I demand it. I have nothing to hide! ”
“Nothing?” Falk said. “You will have no control over what she gleans from your mind, Tagaza. Do not think that, because you are First Mage, you can stand against her. I have seen her work. You may be a master of hard magic, but she is the master of soft. You will not be able to keep anything hidden from her, Tagaza. Anything. Even if you are innocent of my specific accusations, is there nothing you are guilty of? Is there nothing hidden away in your head that you do not want known by me?”
And still the First Mage didn’t quail. He met Falk’s gaze and said, firmly and clearly, “Nothing.”
