Not long after Zabra and Kesra had left, taking Tammy with them, Ardek came to see me. “Welcome back, boss,” he said, tipping his head. “I’ve got good news.”

  “Yeah?” I said, perking up. “Some good news is just what I need. Go on.”

  “We’ve got the lord checker’s house,” he said, stumbling over the title. “Not like it was hard to find, just needed to do it without being obvious, you know? Nice place, big, on the cliff and near the wall in the high city. Getting him alone might be tricky, though. Always has plenty of security wherever he goes, lots of staff, and one of his maids swears he and his wife always go to bed at the same time. Guess you might be able to get him on the shitter, but Sorrows know. You’d just have to hang around and wait for an opening.”

  “I’m pretty good at that,” I mused. “Well done, Ardek.”

  He grinned. “Always happy to be of service, boss.”

  “How’s Kira, by the way?”

  His grin faded some, and he glanced toward the door. “Needing a lot of loving attention. I had some trouble following her, but I think she’s somehow got it in her head that she’s a bad person. We put her with the Lady’s Rest kids. That helped.”

  “Good thinking,” I sighed. “But I’m not surprised. And I won’t keep you from her. Just get Mak to fill you in on what’s got your girl down, all right?”

  “I will,” he said before leaving. “Thanks, boss.”

  I also met Jekrie and Tinir briefly that evening. The other adults from Lady’s Rest had wanted to come down and pay their respects as well, but Mak had nixed that, and I saw no reason to argue. It was mostly me asking if the trip to the city had been all right — it had — if they needed anything — Mak was taking great care of them, thank you very much — and how they were finding the city — crowded, dirty, malodorous, yet curiously exciting.

  The real conversation came the next morning, a few hours after sunrise, when Ramban the scholar arrived. The people of Lady’s Rest had mostly finished their trading, with a few things on order left to be picked up or delivered. There wasn’t more than that Jekrie and Tinir could stay behind while the others went out with Tam and Val. So, I ended up meeting with them, the scholar, Barro, and Mak. Herald would have been with us, but she had another lesson with Master Rasarian — her tutor in the craft and art of enchanting.

  The first words out of Ramban’s mouth were, “Oh, you must be the refugees! Mister Barro tells me you’re some sort of outlaws?”

  I’d expected Tinir to be angrier than Jekrie, based on what I’d seen of the two, but she didn’t seem to care much about the scholar at all. Jekrie, though, was furious.

  “What is that to mean?” he said, stepping up and jabbing a finger in the scholar’s chest.

  “Good sir, I merely—”

  “If you have an accusation, speak it! Or call your guards, if you dare not!” Jekrie advanced, and though he was shorter than Ramban, he must have had at least fifty pounds on the scholar. His finger pressed into Ramban’s sternum, forcing him back. I wondered if I should intervene when Barro slid smoothly in between the two, forcing them apart simply by being there.

  “Mister Jekrie,” the adventurer said, “if you would please let the man explain himself—”

  “All I meant was to ask about your story!” the scholar said over his rescuer’s shoulder. He sounded embarrassed and hurt. “I wish to know about the history of how you came to live beyond the reach of the City and of your return! That’s all! Unless you yourself were born in the city, I don’t give a slimy fig about what the law may or may not have to say!”

  That took the wind right out of Jekrie. His hand fell to his side and his shoulders drooped, but before he could say anything Tinir stepped in, putting her hands on his arms and leading him a few steps backwards. “Apologies for my husband, scholar,” she said. “This city does not best agree with him. Is that not so, husband?”

  “It is so,” Jekrie said apologetically, before turning to me. “Great Lady, it comes to me that you should know. We had some troubling meetings with guards yesterday, looking at us with suspicion and asking probing questions. For what reason, I do not know. But Mister Tamor and Mister Valmik told them that we are staying here, as guests of your House, and they wanted no more part of us. Still, it cuts a man to be treated so.”

  “Especially with your background,” I said. This was more annoying than worrying, but I understood completely if Jekrie was on edge. I just wished he’d told me immediately when we’d met.

  He bowed his head. “As you say.”

  “Well! If that’s cleared up: Ramban, this is Jekrie and Tinir. Jekrie is the… what would you call yourself, Jekrie? Chief? Headman—?”

  “Headman, Great Lady.”

  “Right, the headman of Lady’s Rest, a small village where your camp used to be by the excavation. Jekrie, Tinir, this is Ramban, the scholar I mentioned. I’ve agreed to let him explore and investigate the tunnels behind the gate. I would like you to extend your hospitality to him, to Barro, and possibly one other. Ramban, is… what’s her name? Your colleague. Is she coming?”

  “I believe Tavia is coming, yes. But I won’t know for sure until it’s time to go, I’m afraid. She’s been troubled since we all met.”

  “Right.” I couldn’t blame the woman. I’d sort of promised that I’d be watching her from the shadows, ready to wreak vengeance upon her if she so much as thought about my mountain again. “Well, make sure that she knows she’s welcome.”

  The rest of the conversation was mostly everyone but me hashing out what Lady’s Rest could provide, and what Ramban needed to bring with him. And what he could do for the village — they all agreed on the importance of reciprocity. I mostly tuned them out. I didn’t have anything to add, and when they wanted my opinion or permission for anything, they simply asked.

  When it was just me and Mak in the cellar again, she asked me, “When is your mother expecting you back?”

  “We didn’t really talk about it,” I said. “She said to take the time I need.”

  “So she won’t come and demand that you return?”

  “Well…” I thought about it. “It’s based on trust, I suppose. I can stay away as long as I want, as long as that isn’t too long. That sort of thing.”

  “I see.”

  “Yeah. Why are you asking?”

  Mak rubbed her neck then brought her braid around front to fiddle with it. “I… You barely speak with Avjilan. I was worried that you were ignoring him, or forgetting about him, maybe. And he has this magical Advancement— I told you how we used the scale Herald brought to keep track of your mother already? I thought if you saw him use it, he might become more important to you.”

  “Mak,” I said playfully. “Were you trying to manipulate me?”

  She looked down, chagrined, but when she spoke it was through a smile. “I suppose I was.”

  Gods and Mercies, it was so nice to be able to talk to someone and just have them be honest with you! And since she knew for sure that I wasn’t upset with her, there was no risk of misunderstanding in either direction.

  Perverse as it was, there were times I wondered if Mak betraying me, and the fallout of that, was the best thing that ever happened to me. Though not to her, Conscience whispered. I mentally shooed her away, and she didn’t insist.

  Something occurred to me. “Mak, were you worried for Avjilan?”

  “I was, yeah. He’s doing well, fitting in and all. The other staff love him — a little too much in the case of some of the girls, if you ask me. But I know that he wants to speak with you more often — or just spend time around you. We all do.”

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  I nodded, but that wasn’t what I was after at the moment. “You worried about Tammy, too, and you’d only just met her.”

  “I suppose I did. The poor woman was skin and bones!”

  “What about Barro? Ardek? Jekrie?”

  “Not Kira?” she asked, adding to the list. “It’s not hard to see what you’re getting at.”

  “Please, I already know that you love Kira. Of course you worry about her. But the others?”

  “I— yes. I worry about everyone who belongs to you, whether I like them or not.” She paused for a moment, frowned, then sighed and relaxed again. “Even Zabra! I can only assume that it has to do with how I bound myself to you.”

  “Well, thank you for worrying,” I said, nuzzling her head. “You know, I’ve thought of you as my Chief of Staff for ages now. I didn’t realize it was so literal.”

  She laughed, reaching up to rub my cheek. “Chief of Staff for a dragon? A girl could do far, far worse.”

  “She really could. But go on — bring Avjilan and Mother’s scale down here. I don’t think we need to keep track of her right now, but you’ve got me curious.”

  When Mak brought Avjilan down, the man was remarkably upbeat and all smiles when he saw me. I thought about the last time I’d actually seen him, much less talked to him, and realized that I wasn’t sure when that had been. Two weeks earlier, perhaps? Before Herald’s birthday, I knew that much.

  I thought about what Mak had said, about how he wanted more time with me, and felt like an ass. I hadn’t even listened to him sing, which was the excuse I’d used to bring him into the fold — though now I was pretty sure that was just me trying to justify feeling protective of a man who’d tried to kill me. And, yes, there was that: the man had tried to kill me no less than four times. He couldn’t exactly expect much from me. But then I’d gone and made myself the center of his world, and he was nowhere near as bad as Tammy. Occasionally acknowledging his existence was the least I could do. I hadn’t even done that.

  “My lady,” he said when he stood before me, and his voice could have made a dead woman blush. “It’s a true pleasure to see you. Lady Drakonum tells me that you would like me to demonstrate my tracking magic.”

  “I would, yes,” I said. It could have stopped there, but I found myself searching for an excuse to make him talk. “How have you been since last we talked?”

  “Very well, thank you, my lady. Though I have missed being in your magnificent presence, I believe that I am finding my place both among the staff and as a servant of your House. Miss Kira has forgiven me, and I am, I hope, making some progress with Lady Drakonum.” He turned a questioning look to Mak, who forced a small smile from her face and wiggled her hand in a so-so gesture. He gave her a sad smile in return. “Miss Herald, though… Who can say? She has accepted my apology, and perhaps one day she will forgive me. If so, that day is far off. Not that I can blame her.”

  “Stay true and be kind to the others, and I’m sure she’ll come around,” I said. “But, yeah, you’ve got a tough climb ahead, getting into her good graces. She was pretty rattled when you nearly made her fall off me. Not to mention how protective she is of me. Which is a downer to think about, so let’s get to your magic, shall we? How does it work?”

  Avjilan brightened considerably at that. “Well, my lady, like most magic it’s quite simple and completely impossible to explain. I take a focus—” he unwrapped my mother’s scale, which he’d been carrying wrapped in a length of cloth, “and then I concentrate on a time in the future when I wish to meet the target, while I channel my magic into it. The focus will pull in the direction I need to go to meet the target at the desired time.”

  “That sounds tricky to use,” I said. “What if the target is far away or very fast?”

  “You’re right, my lady. It’s difficult to use well. But I have quite a lot of practice, and I can always recast the spell, adjusting the desired time. By doing that, and having a general idea of how fast the target can move, I can get a general idea of how far away the target will be at any given time. Or, I can use the time ‘right now’ and cast it every so often to get the same information.”

  “Clever,” I said under my breath, nodding appreciatively. Ajvilan practically oozed with satisfaction at my praise. “So it’s a kind of fortune telling? Looking into the future?”

  “Divination of some sort, most certainly, yes! Although limited… and not entirely reliable. I’ve had situations where something unpredictable happened — an earthquake, in one memorable case — and it threw everything off. I would say that it gives me the most likely future. Good enough in most cases but with a margin of error. It’s still served me well for decades.”

  “As a big game hunter, yeah?”

  “As you say.”

  “Does it work on humans?”

  Avjilan looked suddenly uncomfortable, but I’d asked, so he answered. “It does,” he said. “It works with human hair or nail clippings as well as the fur, horn, scale, or claw of an animal or monster. But I’ve never been that sort of hunter. I will, of course, do anything you wish of me, but I would ask that you not use me as such, unless absolutely necessary.”

  I had to think about that. It was one hell of a useful ability if we could get the materials. “I don’t think I can promise that,” I finally said. “But I do think I can promise to seriously consider your feelings before I ask you.”

  Avjilan bowed his head in acknowledgment. “I am grateful for anything you give me, my lady.”

  “Great! Now, then. How about that demonstration?”

  “Of course, my lady! May I sit?”

  “Yeah, sure! Wherever you want.”

  “Thank you,” he said, and sat down cross legged, right where he’d stood. “Do you have a time in mind?”

  “I do, yeah. How many times can you do this?”

  “A good dozen, I should think, my lady. I am well fed and rested.”

  “All right! In that case, let’s start with sunrise, tomorrow.”

  “As you wish.”

  With that, Avjilan placed the scale flat on the palm of his right hand, then placed his left on top so that only the fingertips were touching it. He gathered magic, just like anyone I’d seen, and channeled it through both hands into the scale. Then it got interesting. At first the magic spread out evenly in the scale. Then it quickly drew together into a tight, bright point, at what I would bet good money was the scale’s center of gravity. From there, without warning or any visible acceleration, it shot out of the scale in the general direction of Old Mallin. When it hit the edge of the scale it was like it hit a physical barrier, and the whole thing jerked in the direction the magic had been travelling, as the magic itself dispersed into a plume that faded and vanished.

  “You little beauty,” I said, and despite myself, despite my desire to remain regal and superior before my servant, my voice was a touch awed. “That sure was something else. Can you do an hour later?”

  “Of course, my lady!” Avjilan sounded pleased as anything at my praise and repeated the process with the same results. Either my mother would be travelling in a straight line toward us, or she’d be right where she’d been at sunrise. Sleeping, most likely.

  I had Avjilan try at three hours to noon, then noon and then three hours past noon. The first gave the same result, the second a tiny change toward the east, though at that distance it probably meant that my mother would be miles and miles out to sea, for whatever reason. At three past noon, though, the direction changed to roughly northwest. Very close, I noted, to the direction of my mountain. Another few attempts, moving up an hour each time, showed her in the same general direction, moving around only a little.

  I thanked Avjilan and sent him back to his regular duties with a promise that I’d try to speak with him more often, if only to make use of his magic. He didn’t seem put out at all, telling me, “I am only grateful to be of use to you, my lady. I await your summons.”

  With him gone, I turned to Mak. “Looks like Mother’s coming for a visit,” I said. “How’d you like to meet her?”

  “I’m less terrified of the idea than I was before Herald returned,” she answered honestly, “but I won’t pretend that the idea doesn’t scare me.”

  “Oh, don’t worry! She likes Herald, so you know she’s got great taste in people. I’m sure she’ll love you!”

  “I wish you’d have phrased that differently,” Mak said through a wan smile. “But if you think it’s a good idea, I’d be honored.”

  “That’s decided, then! And I’m sure it’ll be great — you’ll learn to understand her a bit, and she’ll be less worried for my safety, once she gets a better idea of the kind of people I’m surrounded by. Everyone wins!”

  “Especially us,” Instinct added, and it was impossible to miss how pleased she was at the idea. Of course, in her case I got the sense that she was excited to show Mak off, like a prized possession. Not something I was comfortable with, no matter how close to reality it might be.

  “Why is she going to the mountain, though?” Mak said thoughtfully after a few moments. “She can tell where you are, can’t she?”

  “She can. Maybe she’s going to do as I suggested and find a lair somewhere closer to the city? I certainly wouldn’t mind. If she finds somewhere near my mountain it would make it easier to keep the old girl happy, while still being close to you all.”

  “It’s only a short flight there,” Mak mused. “We would all appreciate having you nearby.”

  “The feeling’s mutual. It‘s just a shame she couldn’t wait another day or two — I was planning to make sure that Jekrie and the others get back to Lady’s Rest safely, so I was going there anyway. Now that I know she’s coming, though, I figure I should fly out and meet her.”

  “Out of politeness? Or to keep her away from the city?”

  “To keep her away, mostly. I don’t care much for the Council at the moment—“

  Mak scoffed. She was angrier with them than I was.

  “—but to say that things are rocky between us would be an understatement. One councilor has sent thugs after you, and another openly despises me. Until I grab Soandel, I really don’t want to have to worry the rest of them more than necessary, you know? And seeing my mother in the sky might help keep our enemies in line now, but it might also do more harm than good in the long run. We don’t know who’ll be filling those empty seats.”

  “It would make the lord hierophant louder, if nothing else,” Mak said, her voice dripping with derision. “I can’t believe that man is on the Council.”

  I laughed. “Yeah. But no, as much fun as it would be to make the lords hierophant and exchequer piss themselves, them and whoever else might be plotting against me, the smart move is probably to go and spend some quality time with my mother in the mountains, instead of above the aforementioned lords’ heads. There’ll be time enough for that if things escalate once we’ve dealt with that treacherous little rat.”

  “That little bastard,” Mak agreed. “I swear, he has something to hide his intentions from me. I never got so much as a hint of hostility or deception from him.”

  “Yeah. But don’t you worry, Mak. We’ll get him, and then he can tell you all about it. In fact, I have an idea about how to do that, and I’ll need to go sleep on my hoard to put it into action. How do you feel about coming with me to the mountain tonight?”

  Mak’s eyes widened. “And see your hoard? Stay there with you, overnight?”

  “Yeah! Just the two of us, I thought.”

  “Dear sister,” Mak said, and her face shone with a smile that just brightened my whole day. “I would love nothing more.”

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