And we found her when they didn’t want her found, he realized. They will know mages did it. And there are mages who will look into it, at the university and in Thak City. That’s why Sebo wanted those ugly magics. As evidence…
He must have drowsed, because the next thing he noticed was the lurch as the boat ground onto sand and stone. He nearly toppled onto the corpse. Preet flew up, shrieking, as Arram grabbed the rim of the boat to keep from falling on the dead woman. The two young crocodiles dropped their ropes and plunged into the river, while Enzi thrust the small craft higher up onto the shore. Suddenly the rain stopped.
Arram looked up. It was not the rain. Six mages on the riverbank had created a protective shield overhead, which now covered the boat. Yadeen came forward and gently lifted Sebo from the bow. Preet flew to him, chattering quietly. Four other mages stepped up with a litter; Chioké was one. Cosmas stood in the background.
One mage made signs to lift in a Gift that shone pale blue. Chioké called up his orange magic. Between them they raised the dead woman in the air and settled her onto the litter, along with the ball of magics.
I will thank you humans to keep your murders out of my river in the future, Enzi said. He turned and slapped the water hard with his tail. It drenched Arram’s back as he stumbled ashore. When he turned to shout at the god, there was no sign of him. The rain fell without letup.
“Come along, Arram,” instructed Master Cosmas. “We may not be as wet as you, but it is getting cold. I would like to shift this puzzle someplace private before people come to snoop.”
“Master,” said one of the mages now holding the litter up. “In front of the boy?”
“Arram can be trusted,” Cosmas replied mildly.
“But—” the same mage said.
“That will be all.” Cosmas’s voice was still gentle, but the man closed his mouth. “Sebo?” Cosmas asked.
“I will come now, if Yadeen will give me his arm,” the old woman said, obviously knowing what Cosmas wanted. “Let the boy go to bed. He’s done more than his share tonight, and without a word of complaint.”
“Sebo, Master, Masters, I’m fine,” Arram protested.
“Bed,” ordered Yadeen, and that was that.
After he took a searing hot bath, Arram joined Preet in his room and plunged into sleep. He regretted it. In his dreams he drifted in the river without protection, inhaling water, dropping to the bottom, and sinking into soft, lumpy mud. Several times he bumped into Faziy’s unwrapped corpse, chained to its rock. The last time he was her body. He was still alive, screaming, and drowning as he fought the chains. Lightning snakes darted everywhere, trying to free him, but they only passed through his bonds.
This time, when he woke, he knew it was a couple of hours until dawn. Preet, normally a sound sleeper, was perched on his chest, cheeping anxiously.
“I’m sorry, Preet,” he murmured. He looked over the edge of the bed. Sunstone was there as well. Arram had yet to figure out how the tortoise got into the room when his door was firmly shut. “I’m sorry, Sunstone. Bad dreams, that’s all.” The tortoise wandered out, grumbling to himself.
Rather than risk more dreams, Arram gathered up his things. “I’m going to take another bath,” he told Preet. “You can come with me and sleep there, or you can meet me at Master Yadeen’s.”
Preet hopped onto his book bag, choosing to come along.
—
Yadeen frowned when the wet-haired Arram arrived for his lesson. “I would have thought you’d bathed last night.”
“I did,” Arram said, heading for the teapot. Yadeen already had his large cup in his hands. “And again this morning.” The roll of distant thunder reminded him of lightning snakes, but he had more urgent questions. “Sir, did you find out what killed Master Faziy?”
Yadeen, caught in the act of drinking tea, choked slightly and lowered his cup. “I recall Sebo telling us you are never to mention this again.” He raised his free hand and wrote two signs in the air. Instantly Arram felt the tightening of his skin that meant Yadeen had enclosed his workshop in protections against eavesdroppers.
Reminded, Arram made a rueful face. “You were there. I thought it would be all right if I spoke of it to you.”
“You are braver than me,” Yadeen said. “I would not want the old woman angry with me.” He sighed. “Drink your tea. You look about to fall over.” As Arram obeyed, Yadeen said, “They will get nothing from Faziy’s body. The mages who killed her melted her brain before they sank her. Sometimes it’s possible to find the memories of the dead, but she was in the water for weeks. Any memories are a shot drawn at venture after so long. They made sure the shot would have nothing to strike.”
Arram couldn’t tell what was more fascinating, that memories could be gathered after the spirit had gone on to the Black God’s realm, or that the brain could be melted in its skull. “And there’s no way to untwine the magics in the wrappings, to see who belongs to what?” he asked, deciding to get all of his questions out of the way. “They were all blended together, so I couldn’t even tell what they were.”
“No,” Yadeen replied. “It was a very well-constructed plot.”
Arram chewed his lip. Three weeks ago the lightning snakes had not visited him when the great storm rolled over the university and struck Prince Stiloit’s fleet. If the storm had been a normal storm, nothing would have interfered with a visit from the snakes.
“Sir, do lightning snakes prefer storms when mages are mucking with them? Or are there mages who can trap lightning—including the snakes—and wield it deliberately? Make it go where they want it to go?”
“Why do you ask?” Yadeen leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Arram.
He told him what he’d told Sebo: how he’d called the lightning snakes and they hadn’t come.
Yadeen looked up as approaching thunder rolled. “Outside. Preet, stay here.”
Arram began to shed his robe in resignation. He was going to get wet again.
“Good idea,” said Yadeen. He stripped off his shirt. Arram did the same, even though his next class was with Cosmas, who would dry off the rest of him. Or perhaps this time Cosmas would teach him how to do it for himself.
Yadeen led him out to the practice area where Arram had accidentally shown lightning snakes to Chioké and Ozorne. They waited in silence as the thunder boomed closer and closer. Finally Yadeen said, “Call them,” and stepped away.