Merciful ancestors, he actually thinks I’m dumb enough to fall for that.
Ra’meth couldn’t come after our family now that the election had begun, so instead he had sent his sons after Ferius. Not only could he get revenge for her interference last night, he could also show everyone that allies of the House of Ke weren’t safe. Of course, pointing that out wasn’t going to get me anywhere.
I gave a laugh which I hoped didn’t sound as fake to everyone else’s ears as it did to mine. ‘You think Ferius Parfax is a spy? She’s no spy. A card-playing swindler, maybe, but nothing as grand as a spy.’
‘Oh really?’ Ra’fan said, removing his hand from my shoulder so he could push me with it. ‘A card player who just happens to show up at an initiates’ duel? Who just happens to save your life and then spends the night at your father’s house?’ He pushed me a second time. ‘Who attacked a lord magus under cover of darkness?’
My heart was starting to beat too fast for my chest. Meanwhile, my mouth was as troublesome as ever. ‘Really? That’s what you’re going with?’
Ra’fan pushed me again, sending me stumbling backwards. ‘Wouldn’t it just serve that fat Daroman king perfectly if he could keep our clan weak by preventing a true, strong prince from rising up?’ He turned to the initiates standing guard at the entrance. ‘They fear us, those Daroman cowards. Even with all their military might and all their war machines, they fear our magic! That’s why their spy threatened Ra’meth’s life yesterday.’
I turned to the initiates at the entrance, hoping that at least some of them had figured out how ridiculous this was. All I saw in their faces was a mixture of gullibility, foolish pride and perverse excitement. They’d all convinced themselves this was some kind of noble defence of the Jan’Tep people. Even Panahsi, when I caught his eye, said, ‘Fair’s fair, Kellen. The Daroman shouldn’t be interfering in clan business.’
‘It’s time,’ Ra’fan said.
I turned and saw them lining up in front of the circle holding Ferius.
‘Wait, what are you doing? If this is a trial you have to—’
Tennat laughed. ‘We already held the trial, Kellen, before you got here. We found her guilty of conspiring against the Jan’Tep people. Now it’s time for her punishment.’
‘It’s okay, kid,’ Ferius said. ‘Go on home.’
At first I thought she wanted me to go for help. The problem was, that wouldn’t do any good: I’d never find anyone in time, and even if I did, I doubted they’d care. Nobody was going to stick their neck out for some Daroman gambler or Argosi wanderer or whatever she was at the risk of angering the family of the man who might be the next clan prince. I looked back at Ferius, trying to signal that going for help wasn’t going to work, but then saw the uncertainty in her eyes, which I hadn’t noticed before were a deep green. When she said, ‘Go on, I can take these three,’ I knew she was lying.
‘Go home, Kellen,’ Ra’dir said. He held up his hands and they started smouldering with a red-and-black glow. Even without his casting a spell, his will was strong enough for me to feel the heat. ‘I promise, if you keep your mouth shut about what you saw here, nothing bad will happen to you.’
Nothing bad will happen to you. Sure, except that just about every bad thing that could happen to me already had.
‘It’s time,’ Ra’fan said.
Ra’dir smiled. ‘Come on, Kellen. Let’s be friends about this. Our houses don’t have to quarrel. What do you say?’
There was something ironic about the fact that, if I was going to find some way to recover my magic, it was probably going to require the use of forbidden spells and rituals. I would need people to help me – people willing to do dark and terrible deeds for their friends. People like Ra’dir.
Which was a shame, because the one bad thing that hadn’t happened to me so far was my own death, and that was thanks to Ferius.
‘I say … you’re just about the biggest, dumbest oaf I’ve ever met, Ra’dir, and if you want to get to Ferius Parfax, you’re going to have to go through me first.’
His eyes went wide right before he made a grab for me. I ducked under his arms and raced forward, pushing past Ra’fan and diving towards the circle holding Ferius. If I could break the spell, she’d be free. I didn’t have a knife or anything else with me so I just dug my hands as hard as I could into the dirt and gravel and felt for the copper wire. I felt someone kick me in the side just as my fingers found it. The wind got knocked out of me, but I managed to break the wire, and as it came apart, so did the spell it held.
I scrambled awkwardly back up to my feet to see Ra’dir and his brothers spread out a few feet away from me, looking unsure of what to do next, or, more likely, choosing which spells to use against us.
‘Thanks, kid,’ Ferius said. ‘That whole binding thing was starting to bug me.’
‘Nothing’s changed,’ Ra’fan called out. ‘It’s three mages against two magic-less fools. We’re ready for your dirty smoke trick this time.’
Ferius ignored him. She turned to me and said, ‘Don’t suppose you brought a weapon?’
I pulled her deck of cards out of my pocket. ‘Just these.’
‘Keep ’em,’ she said. ‘I’ve got my own.’ She slid a hand into her waistcoat and when it came back out she was holding another deck of cards. She fanned them out. ‘Here, kid, pick a card, any card.’
Not knowing what else to do, I took one from the middle. That was when I felt the cool metal surface and discovered that these cards weren’t anything like the pack I was holding.
‘Four of clubs?’ she said, looking down at the card in my hand. ‘That’s the best you can do?’
‘You said any card,’ I replied, my eyes glued to the strange weapon in my hand.
‘Ah, I guess it’s okay,’ she said, and turned back to the others. ‘Always wanted to try my hand at a Jan’Tep duel.’ She fanned out the deck in front of her so everyone could see the razor-sharp edges of the thin metal cards gleaming under the soft light of the moon. ‘So, who wants it first?’
11
The Deck
The red glow coming from Ra’dir’s hands reflected menacingly off the surface of the fanned-out deck Ferius was holding. ‘You think you can fight a war mage with a deck of cards?’ he scoffed. His fingers were bunched together, pressing against each thumb, the somatic form that would unleash a ball of wildfire once he spread them apart and said the spell.
‘For you I just need one,’ Ferius replied, and a single card slid up from the fanned deck, which she took and held between the thumb and forefinger of her left hand. ‘In case you’re wondering, this isn’t your lucky card.’