Which was why he should have known Alex wasn’t a sorcerer.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
“Kegan,” the child said.
Gavin studied him, trying to gauge an age. Maybe twelve. Thirteen. Similar to Alex. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m hiding. You said the constables were there?” The boy looked past Gavin, peering beyond the border of the sorcerer’s lair.
“Hiding from what? It can’t just be the constables.”
“They would take me away,” the boy said.
“The constables are searching for people who use magic,” Gavin said. Of course, the boy was exactly what the constables were looking for, based on what Gavin had experienced of his power. Only, he couldn’t imagine if the constables expected to find somebody this age.
They would’ve anticipated facing off against a sorcerer, someone of power who posed a real danger to them. That had to be why they brought three constables to bear.
“Are you going to bring me in?” Kegan asked.
“I don’t care about magic,” Gavin said.
“You don’t?”
“I’m not a constable. Now, what I do care about is you attacking me the way you did.”
“I thought you were one of them.” He took a step off to the side, and in the pale light of the dagger, he looked beyond Gavin. He was watching the space outside of the lair, searching for something on the other side.
“They’re unconscious. For now. I don’t know how long they’ll stay that way. Unless you give me some answers, they might start to come back around.”
“Who are you?” Kegan asked.
“My name is Gavin Lorren.”
The boy’s eyes widened. He recognized the name, though Gavin wondered if he knew him as the assassin or from the rumors that had spread. If it was the latter, then the boy wouldn’t be afraid of Gavin. If it was the former…
“What are you doing here?”
“I came looking for the constables.”
“You’re attacking them?”
Gavin glanced behind him for a moment before turning his attention back to Kegan. “Not as a general rule, but they have something I need.”
“What do they have?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Gavin looked around the room. He watched Kegan out of the corner of his eye, though he kept his focus on the rest of the room, searching for signs of somebody else here.
“How long have you been here?” Gavin asked.
“Not long.”
“Where’s your master?”
Gavin didn’t really know what sort of arrangement the sorcerers had, but he suspected that there was a master and apprentice type of role. Gaspar had said that there’d once been an attempt to have a sorcery school within Yoran. Gavin couldn’t even imagine such a thing. In all the places that he’d visited, there’d been nothing like that. Most places were willing to accept sorcery as a necessary evil, but they did view the people who used it as something dark. They didn’t care for sorcerers. He had enough experience with them and with their magic to agree with that sentiment.
“He is going to return soon,” the boy said.
Gavin smiled. “Then we’ll wait.” He motioned for him with the dagger. “Why don’t you step out here? I don’t need you to attack me again.”
“How were you able to endure it?”
“Your little punches? You need to work on the intensity of your blows if you want to do any real damage.”
“You shouldn’t have been able to tolerate it,” Kegan said.
“I think you’re giving yourself far too much credit. I don’t know much about magic, but I have the sense that you have some potential. Still, you need to perfect it.”
“Perfect what?”
“How you’re attacking. You need to focus it. A lot of those small blows could be honed into something more tightly controlled. If you did that, then you might’ve been more effective harming me.”
What was I doing telling the boy this?
He didn’t need to help develop a sorcerer who knew how to use their power. Of course, this boy didn’t have enough strength to be able to harm Gavin. Yet.
“I’ve used it before, and it works.”
“On constables?” Gavin asked.
The boy stared at him. “Yes.”
“Only constables?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, I figure somebody like you would need to practice. And if you’re practicing only on constables, then you aren’t learning what you need of your power.” Gavin shook his head. “Trust me. I’ve had plenty of training, and I know you need a diversity of challengers to ensure that your techniques are effective.”
“What do you know about magic?”
“Nothing.” He jabbed with the dagger again. “Get out here.”
Kegan eyed him for a moment before heading through the doorway. He stayed away from Gavin. He looked young, though there was still something about him that wasn’t quite young. It was a strange feeling that Gavin couldn’t put his finger on. Maybe the boy was older than he appeared. There were plenty of children who looked younger than they were. He hunched forward as he walked and glanced at Gavin. Wide set eyes glowered at him.
The dagger started to glow more brightly.
“If you’re going to try anything…”
Kegan shook his head.
Gavin swore under his breath. He wasn’t alone.
He darted off to the side and moved just in time. Something swirled past him. He suspected a magical attack, rather than anybody managing to creep up on him. Still, the idea that Kegan—or whoever he was working with—had surprised him was worrisome.
Gavin was equipped well enough to handle those sorts of things. And somehow, the boy had surprised him. No, distracted him.
He tapped on his enchantment. “Be ready. There’s a boy coming your way who has some potential, but he isn’t alone.”
“What
