The open fields of the raion came to an end when they reached a wide boulevard bordered on the opposite side from where they stood by a seemingly endless wall of buildings which rose up ten to twelve storeys, Macros said, ‘There. Over to the right is a servants’ tunnel.’ He glanced around. ‘Don’t let the silence mislead you. There are eyes behind every window and knives concealed at every hand. Right now at least a dozen Lessers are considering how dangerous we are – are we bold and powerful, or foolish and weak – and what their chances might be at an ambush. We must proceed cautiously. Once through Camlad we will reach the Grove of Delmat-Ama.’
‘Didn’t you suggest we circle to the outside of this precinct?’ asked Nakor.
Macros began walking. ‘We’ve lost too much time.’ Three times since midnight they had hidden, once for over an hour, to avoid confrontation with the Dasati.
Magnus asked, ‘Is there much magic in use today?’
Macros hesitated. ‘I’m not sure what you mean?’
‘So far we have been concealing our powers to prevent detection.’
‘Yes,’ agreed Macros. ‘We could have destroyed everyone in our path, but only Deathpriests on this world employ magic – at least only those sanctioned by His Darkness – and the presence of unknown practitioners of magic would certainly attract attention.’
‘But with Deathpriests and Hierophants among the roving bands, the presence of magic itself would hardly draw notice.’
‘What do you intend?’ asked Pug.
Magnus’s features, though Dasati, still revealed his mood to his father. Unlike his mother, Magnus was adept at holding in his feelings, even more so than his father at times, but when frustration reached a certain point, he took on a tone and a set of features that was familiar to Pug. Magnus was feeling frustrated.
‘I am not suggesting we cast off our guises, and boldly walk into the canton, defying all in our path. That would be folly. But can we not use our arts to fly above this madness and hide ourselves from view?’
Macros laughed. ‘The boy is wiser than both his father and grandfather. It never occurred to us to combine invisibility with flight—’
‘Because no magician we know of can do both at once,’ finished Nakor. He grinned, and the familiar expression, although in an alien visage, reassured everyone. ‘But we have more than one magician in this party.’
‘I can lift us all,’ said Magnus, indicating the three other magicians and the three Lesser servants – all of whom now revealed an apparent terror at the idea of flying.
‘I can shield us from scrying and other arcane detection,’ said Macros.
‘And I will ensure we are not seen,’ said Pug.
A brief discussion of how they would manage this feat was followed by the two older magicians chanting their spells, and then Magnus began his.
Soon everyone was invisible but voices out of thin air indicated that the three servants were unable to endure the experience silently. Pug realized it must be an unnerving experience for them to feel themselves picked up by invisible forces and be suspended above the ground.
Magnus directed them to where Macros had indicated the best route lay, and they began to speed over the city. Pug found looking down exhilarating, as much for the novelty as for the view; he couldn’t remember the last time he had flown without having to employ his own abilities. He didn’t much care for the experience, as it always left him fatigued and with a mild headache. But this time his son was doing all the work, and he was free simply to enjoy the journey. Macros had a harder task: concentrating on discovering any scrying magic and counteracting it as quickly as possible, but with Pug’s spell for rendering them invisible now in place, he had no work left to do.