The Assassins of Altis

Chapter Ten

Alain heard the little-girl sound in Mari’s voice, her use of the child’s term for her mother, and knew that an eight-year-old girl was finally speaking again to the mother she had lost more than a decade before.

The woman froze, then drew in a ragged breath. She looked up, hope warring with disbelief in her expression, finally gazing directly at Mari’s face. “Mari? Is it really you?”

“Mommy!” Mari gasped again. She threw her arms around the woman, who after only a moment’s hesitation gripped Mari with equal fervor, sudden tears wetting her face as Mari managed to speak a few more words. “Oh, Mommy, I’m so sorry.”

Seeing tears running down Mari’s own cheeks, Alain took a step away. His work was done and he thought this was what Mari would call a private moment. “I will keep watch outside while you—”

“You’ll do nothing of the kind!” Mari interrupted through her tears, taking one hand away from her mother long enough to drag Alain back. “You’ll come inside and share this joyous moment you caused to happen!”

Joyous? Alain wondered, seeing the amount of tears flowing from both women. But he yielded to Mari’s grasp, coming along as her mother led the way inside.

Once the door was closed, the two women stood looking at each other. Mari’s mother reached out one hand to touch her daughter’s face. “It’s been so long.”

Mari’s face twisted in misery. “They lied to me. I was too young to know what they were doing. I thought you didn’t care. I never got any letters. You never got any of my letters, did you?”

“You sent letters?” Her mother’s eyes spilled tears again. “I knew it. I knew you must have tried to send letters. For ten years I have believed that and now I know I was right.”

“How can you ever forgive me?” Mari whispered. “I didn’t know what they had done, but I should have tried to talk to you before now. I am so, so sorry, Mommy.”

“Did you think I couldn’t forgive my own daughter? Even if you had been at fault?” Mari’s mother wiped tears from her face with both hands. “And I believe you that you weren’t at fault, that you didn’t know what they had done.”

“I thought horrible things about you. I thought… I thought…” Mari shook her head, quivering with sobs. “I’m so sorry.”

“Come sit down, Mari.” A smile lit her mother’s face. “How long have I dreamed of saying that again? And here you are at last.”

Mari and her mother walked a short distance to the left into a front room with a couch and chairs. Alain followed, even though he felt at the moment as if he were using his invisibility spell, so thoroughly were the two women focused on each other.

Mari and her mother sat close to each other, their knees almost touching. Mari took a shuddering breath. “Can you really forgive me?”

“Of course I can, Mari.” Her mother sighed. “Just to be able to say your name and not feel an ache of loss is so wonderful. I see you are a Mechanic now, and I know you can’t spend much time with common folk, but—”

“No!” Mari leaned forward, her face working with emotion. “You’re my family. I was lied to and deceived into thinking the Guild was my family, but now I know how terrible a lie that all was, and I will never reject you again.” Mari wiped her nose. “I must look like a mess. I’m sorry. We had a very difficult trip here, what with fighting the Mages and their troll in Palandur and then having to jump off the train and evade Imperial patrols and police, and then my Guild captured us and we had to just about sink the ship to escape and steal a lifeboat to get to this island.”

Her mother just stared at Mari, then shook her head. “It seems we have even more catching up to do than I had expected. Wait. We.” She finally looked at Alain. “My manners. I’m Eirene, Mari’s mother. But you already know that, don’t you?”

Alain inclined his head toward her. “I am Alain. Alain of Ihris.”

Mari leaned in toward him and held Alain’s arm. “I wouldn’t be here if not for Alain. He’s the one who realized that my Guild had deceived me about you, and he gave me the strength to come here despite my fears. And… well, he’s also saved my life a few times. I mean, literally, he’s saved my life.”

Eirene turned a wondering look on Alain. “How can I ever repay you?”

Mari laughed. “That’s one of the first things I said to him, too. Oh, Mommy… Mother. I need to call you Mother. Is that all right? There’s been so much I need to tell you about.”

“The journey here seems to have had enough to talk about for days,” her mother replied. “Mages? Trolls?”

“One troll,” Alain said.

“I knew Mages hated Mechanics, but I didn’t know they still attacked them.” Eirene frowned. “But you also said your Guild captured you. Are you in trouble with your Guild?”

Mari bent her head. “You might say that.”

“But you’re a Mechanic.”

Alain spoke again. “A Master Mechanic. The youngest one in the history of her Guild.”

Eirene’s face lit with pride. “That’s my girl. But why would your Guild—?”

“Mother, I am not exaggerating in the least when I say that if I told you why my Guild is angry with me, if I told you the things I have learned, it could result in your own death.” Mari clenched her fists, staring at the floor. “It’s not my Guild now.”

Her mother reached out to clasp one of Mari’s fists in her own hand. “Whatever has happened, you are family. Your father will be so happy to see you again. He won’t get home until sunset, but—”

Mari gave her mother an anguished look. “We can’t wait that long. Not nearly that long. It would be far too dangerous for you.”

“It’s that bad?” Eirene asked. “It’s fortunate that I wasn’t teaching today, if your visit must be short. But if the danger is so great, maybe we shouldn’t tell Kath about this.”

“Kath?”

“Your little sister. Kath was born the year after you were taken from us. I was already carrying her when you were taken, though I didn’t know it yet.”

“My little sister?” Mari seemed ready to cry again. “I have a little sister? I never knew… where is she?”

“At schooling. She should be home soon. But if it’s so dangerous…”

Mari turned a pleading look on Alain. “It would be all right to see her, wouldn’t it?”

“I believe so,” Alain answered. He had his doubts about the wisdom of bringing Mari’s newfound little sister in on the secret of their visit, but Mari obviously wanted very badly to see her.

Eirene sighed again, heavily this time. “Mari, you need to know that Kath doesn’t think much of her big sister. Kath believes you abandoned us. She has taken that very hard.”

“I don’t blame her for that.” Mari shuddered with anger. “I’m going to change things, Mother. I don’t know all of the details yet, but once I get some more data I’m going to make some decisions and change things so no more little girls or boys get torn from their families. Not ever again. The Great Guilds will not be allowed to continue that, or a lot of other things. I’m going to stop them.”

Her mother’s face reflected amazement. “Stop the Great Guilds? Mari, you sound like the daughter of—” The door slammed open.

Mari was on her feet and had her pistol out in a heartbeat, leveling the weapon at the door.

Alain had stood, his right hand before him, already preparing to draw power for a spell, his left hand gripping the Mage knife he had drawn from beneath his jacket.

A young girl stared back at them.

Eirene got up slowly, her hands out in a calming gesture. “Kath, please close the door. Don’t say anything. It’s all right. Just close the door quietly.”

The girl’s stare went to her mother. Then she nodded, turned with slow movements and closed the door softly.

Mari, looking embarrassed, had returned her weapon to its place under her jacket. Alain relaxed himself, returning the Mage knife to its sheath under his coat, then stood waiting.

“Kath, come here,” Eirene said gently. “Do you know who this is, Kath?” she asked, gesturing toward Mari.

The girl stared at Mari and her face hardened, going from anxiety to anger. “No. She’s just some Mechanic.”

“This is your big sister, Kath. This is Mari.”

“I don’t have a big sister!”

Mari took a step forward, her face working again with emotion. “Kath—”

“Don’t you say my name!” Kath yelled furiously. “You have no right! Not after what you did!”

Eirene came forward, too, her voice soothing. “Kath, please listen—”

“Listen? Mother, I’ve spent my entire life watching how sad it made you whenever anyone mentioned her, or whenever you thought about her. I’ve spent my whole life listening to how sad you and Father were whenever you talked about it. This… this… Lady Mechanic hurt you! How can you even let her in our house?”

Mari tried again. “Kath, I didn’t know—”

“I thought Mechanics knew everything! Well, you don’t! There’s a lot you don’t know, and when the daughter of Jules gets to Caer Lyn I hope she—”

“Kath!” Eirene’s voice cut across the room like the crack of a whip and Kath finally subsided, looking worriedly at her mother. “You know you are never to speak of such things, you know how dangerous it is to talk about them, especially in front of a Mech—” She bit off the last word. “I’m sorry, Mari.”

“No,” Mari replied. “You’re right. Saying that in front of a Mechanic, another Mechanic that is, would be very dangerous. Please, Kath, listen to your mother…” Mari gave Eirene a stunned look. “I mean, listen to our mother. I don’t want you to be hurt.”

“Then why—” Kath began, anger rising again.

“Quiet, young lady!” Eirene ordered. “You will listen now. Mari was eight years old when she was taken from us, just a little girl younger than you, and that Guild lied to her and deceived her and made her believe that we had cut her off. They kept all of our letters from her and they kept all of her letters from us. Mari has spent ten years believing that we wanted nothing to do with her. We are not the only ones who were hurt.”

Kath stared at Mari again. “You still could have tried.”

Mari nodded. “You’re right. And I should I have tried. But I was too scared,” she said in a small voice. “Too scared of what I might find if I came here. If it hadn’t had been for Alain…” She gestured toward him and smiled.

Off balance, Kath focused on Alain. “Who is he? Another Mechanic?”

It was Eirene’s turn to be uncertain. “I don’t know if he is or not. Mari and I were so busy talking to each other that I didn’t ask about her friend. I suppose he is another—”

Alain bowed slightly toward Eirene. “I am not a Mechanic.”

“Oh,” Kath said. “So you’re her servant? The great and wonderful Lady Mechanic can’t go anywhere without a servant to attend to her.”

“I am servant to no one.” Alain looked at Mari and saw her flinch, then nod reluctantly. “I am a Mage.”

The room went totally silent, Eirene and Kath gaping at Alain. He could feel no other Mages anywhere nearby, so Alain risked a tiny spell, creating a very small ball of heat and then on a whim pointing his finger at a candle on the table next to Kath as he directed the ball of heat to be there. The wick of the candle burst into flame and Kath flinched back, staring at the candle as if it were a snake preparing to strike.

Mari took a quick step toward Alain, seizing his arm. “Mother, it’s true that Alain is a Mage, but he is not—”

“A Mage?” Eirene asked, her voice dazed and dismayed.

“He’s not like other Mages, Mother!” Mari cried desperately. “He is honest, he is brave, and he is kind. I know this. I would be dead by now if not for him. I told you that. The first time we met he saved my life.”

Alain looked over at Mari. “I recall that you saved my life first.”

“Fine! We saved each other. The point is, Mother, this is a very good man. This is the most wonderful man I ever met, and he treats me with all of the respect and concern I could ever ask for. Please get to know him before you judge him.”

“Mari,” her mother said, “the way you’re talking about him. It almost sounds as if—”

Mari’s grip on Alain’s arm tightened. “I love him. He loves me. We haven’t exchanged promises yet, but we’re engaged to be wed.”

Eirene’s eyes widened, then she didn’t so much sit down as fall into the nearest chair. “A Mage?” she whispered. “You want to marry a Mage, Mari?”

“He’s different, Mother! Please get to know him, please trust me,” Mari pleaded.

Kath had finally taken some steps forward, gazing at Alain. “You don’t look like other Mages.”

Alain bowed to her. “I am not like other Mages. Mari has given me back my feelings, and my life.”

“Do you really love Mari?” Kath asked.

“Yes, I do.”

“Isn’t your Guild mad about that?”

Alain nodded. “My Guild seeks my death.”

“Oh, wow.” Kath looked at Mari. “What about your Guild? Aren’t the other Mechanics upset?”

“Yes, Kath,” Mari said dejectedly. “The Mechanics Guild is very unhappy with me. They’re trying to capture me. We narrowly escaped them on our way here.”

A big smile slowly spread across Kath’s face. “You’re on the run. Fleeing from your Guild because the man you love is a Mage. The two of you are giving up everything for each other! How incredibly romantic!”

Mari stared at her little sister in disbelief. “It is?”

“Oh, of course it is! You have to make sure they don’t stop you from marrying the man you love! I’ll bet you’ll get married in some hidden place deep in the Great Woods! Or maybe far Daarendi! Fleeing lovers go there all the time.”

Mari was laughing and Alain felt himself smiling, noticing Eirene watching him with wonderment. Mari looked from her mother and then back to her sister. “I haven’t really thought about where we’d get married, Kath. We just got engaged a short while ago.”

“The important thing is not to get caught,” Kath cautioned.

“I will remember that, Kath,” Mari replied, her lips quivering as she suppressed another laugh.

“What if they catch you? Can you defend yourself? You pointed something at me when I came in. Was it a Mechanic weapon?”

“Yes, Kath.” Mari smiled at Alain, then brought out the weapon slowly. “Would you like to hold it?”

“Mari!” Eirene cried. “Those are deadly!”

“It’s all right, Mother. I’ll unload it. It will be perfectly safe.” As Mari’s mother watched anxiously, Mari drew the weapon, did something that Alain had never been able to figure out which caused part of it to fall into her hand, pulled back the top and peered into it, then gave the weapon to Kath. “It’s called a pistol. A semi-automatic, clip-fed pistol. You won’t see many like this. Most Mechanic pistols are revolvers. Don’t worry. It can’t fire. I took the bullets out.”

Kath held the weapon awkwardly. “It can kill people?”

Mari flinched, then nodded, biting her lip. “Yes, Kath, it can kill people when it’s loaded.”

“Have you killed anyone with it?”

“Kath—!” her mother began.

But Mari gestured to her mother. “It’s all right. Yes, Kath, I have.” Mari’s voice was weighed down with sorrow. “I had to. I hope you never have to.” Kath swung her arm, pointing the weapon at Alain. “Wait, Sister! Never point a weapon at someone unless you wish to harm them, and I hope you never wish to harm Alain.”

Kath lowered her hand and stared at Alain. “You’re really a Mage? Have you ever rescued Mari from a dragon?”

Alain shook his head. “It was the other way around. Mari rescued me from a dragon. In the Northern Ramparts, after my battle with an Imperial legion.”

“You fought Imperial legions?” Kath asked, awed. “And Mari killed a dragon?”

Mari made a dismissive gesture. “It wasn’t all that big a dragon.”

“It was huge,” Alain corrected her. “The largest I have ever seen, and you killed it with one blow from your weapon.”

Kath stared down at the pistol in her hand with a dumbfounded expression.

“I didn’t kill it with that,” Mari assured her, gently retrieving the weapon. She put the smaller part back into the handle, pulled the top of the weapon backwards and let it slide forward again, pushed something on the side of the weapon, then returned it beneath her jacket. Only then did Mari notice how her mother and little sister had been watching her. “What?”

Eirene smiled. “You really are a Mechanic. Just watching you do that, I felt so proud of my little girl.”

“She is not a little girl,” Kath insisted. “She’s older than me, and I am not a little girl, either.”

“You tell her, Kath,” Mari said with a grin. “Anyway, I didn’t use my pistol to kill the dragon. It’s too small to hurt a dragon.”

“As we discovered at Dorcastle,” Alain agreed. “You had to slay that dragon using another Mechanic creation.”

“Right, but we killed that dragon, Alain.” Mari noticed Kath staring at her again.

“My big sister has killed two dragons?” Kath asked.

“So far,” Alain answered, earning himself a narrow-eyed look from Mari.

“Alain,” Mari said, “you’ll have my family thinking I’m dangerous.”

“You are dangerous,” Alain said. “You told me so yourself, and so did my Guild elders, though I think they failed to understand just how dangerous you can be.”

Mari shook her head and laughed.

Her mother gave Alain a questioning look. “I have never before seen a Mage smile, and now you not only do that, but you seem to have just made a joke.”

“He’s different, Mother,” Mari said once more.

Kath reached up tentatively for Mari’s hand. “Would you like to see my room?” Mari nodded and was instantly tugged along into another part of the house, leaving Alain and Eirene standing alone.

“Sir Mage,” Eirene began.

Alain held up one hand to halt her. “To the mother of Mari, as to her friends, I am Alain.”

“I’m glad you’re not wearing your robes… Alain.” Eirene shook her head. “This is all hard enough to accept as it is. I didn’t think that Mages liked other people.”

“Mages are taught that other people do not exist, that they are only shadows who merit no interest or concern.” Alain nodded his head in the direction which Mari and Kath had gone. “I met Mari, and it became clearer and clearer to me that other people were real, and that she was real, and that feelings should be accepted, not rejected. What I told Kath is what happened. Mari gave me back my life.”

Eirene watched Alain closely as he spoke. “She’s certainly done something. I’ve seen Mages converse, and it’s very strange because they seem so inhuman. But you’re far from that.”

“It has been difficult to relearn how to show feelings, to accept feelings. Mari sometimes calls me a long-term project.”

This time Eirene laughed. “Every man fits that description. I’m sorry I was so taken aback, but I hope you understand. There’s been so much in such a short time. It’s so wonderful that Mari is back with us, and that she’s grown into such a splendid woman, don’t you agree?”

“There is no other woman like her,” Alain said, earning himself a smile from Mari’s mother. “But Mari was right when she said that we cannot stay long. Mari did not wish to alarm Kath, but her Guild does seek her and wants to bring about her death. My Guild seeks to kill both of us, as do the Imperials.”

“Given the sentiments that Mari expressed, I’m proud but not surprised that the Mechanics Guild is unhappy with her. The Mages and the Imperials also want to kill her and you?” Mari’s mother took a deep breath. “There have been a lot of rumors lately among the common folk, stories claiming that someone like no one else has appeared. You heard Kath, what she started to say. Have you heard of the daughter of Jules, Alain?”

Alain hoped his Mage training successfully hid his reaction to the question. “I have heard of the prophecy.”

“The rumors say a young woman has been seen, in the Northern Ramparts, one who has the heart of a common person, the soul of a hero, and the skills of a Mechanic, and who is traveling with a Mage.” Mari’s mother speared Alain with her gaze. “That’s an odd coincidence, isn’t it? A Mechanic traveling with a Mage. Who would have expected two such pairs in the world at the same time, and both of them not long ago in the Northern Ramparts, especially since no such pair has ever before been seen?”

“It is amazing,” Alain agreed in as noncommittal a voice as he could manage.

“And the rumors say this woman slew a dragon with one blow. They also say the woman was called Mari, something that struck me as a painful coincidence when I heard it. Moreover, a ship came in late yesterday from Landfall, with the passengers claiming that Mechanics had captured the daughter of Jules and taken her to their ship. They also named her Lady Mari and said she was a Mechanic.” Mari’s mother looked away, closing her eyes and showing distress. “I cannot imagine how you escaped. You have tried to spare my feelings as well. Mari must be in incredible danger.”

“As are you,” Alain said in a low voice. “If either of the Great Guilds should suspect that she has reconciled with you and once again cares for you, then you will be their next target. You must keep this hidden, must not let anyone know that Mari once again accepts you and you accept her.”

“That is wise advice.” Mari’s mother let out a long, slow sigh. “You are protecting her?”

“I will die before I let harm befall her.”

She looked at Alain again and smiled slightly. “I believe you. Is Mari actually going to try to overthrow the Great Guilds?”

Alain struggled for an answer he could tell her. “I cannot speak of that.”

“I know that Mari is my daughter, Sir Mage. But according to legend the children of Jules were scattered and hidden after her death to protect them from the Great Guilds, because already the rumor was spreading about her daughter. Now no one knows who carries the blood of Jules. Do you believe it is Mari?”

Alain stared at the floor, unable to think what else he could say. “I am bound not to speak on this matter.”

“Why not? Something to do with your Guild?”

“I have made a promise. Not to my Guild.”

Eirene studied him, then smiled in a tight-lipped way. “I see. A promise to Mari?”

“I am not even certain I can confirm that,” Alain said, “without being called to account.”

“Oh. Mari has a temper?”

“In the same way that the sea has water, yes.”

Eirene grinned. “She got her temper from me, you know.”

“I would not wish to offend either of you, then.”

This time Mari’s mother laughed. “Oh, yes. Now that I’m over the shock and have had a chance to speak with you, I think Mari did choose well. You are a very different Mage.” The levity died. “But I won’t put you in the position of being torn between my questions and your promise to her, even if it seems I will be your mother-in-law someday.”

Alain felt one more small smile form. “Her temper is not all that Mari got from you, it seems.”

“You are good, aren’t you? And another smile for a moment. I wish I could meet your— You spoke of the memory of your parents. Are they dead?”

“Yes.” Here, surrounded by another family, that should have hurt more, but instead it seemed to make the past easier to bear. “Both my mother and my father died six years ago, at the hands of raiders from the shores of the Bright Sea. I have seen their graves and I know this did happen.” He paused, then blurted out, “I was not there when they needed me.”

Eirene eyed him, then nodded in sympathy. “Sir Mage—”

“You must call me Alain.”

“I’m sorry, Alain. You’re about Mari’s age, I guess. Yes? So, six years ago you would have been twelve? And you’d been taken by the Mages just as Mari was taken by the Mechanics, locked up in their Guild Hall? Alain, you may be powerful now, but six years ago you could have done nothing.”

“I could have tried.”

“Alain, listen to a mother.” He met her eyes, and Eirene nodded again. “Your mother would far rather that you lived, instead of that you died trying to defend her and your father without hope of saving them. Your father would feel that way, too, I think. You could have done nothing then. But now you are strong, and you may be doing something very great. I know I would be proud of you, and glad that you lived.”

He stared downward again, then forced out the words. “But I am a Mage.”

“You have a Mage’s powers,” she replied softly. “You may call yourself a Mage and you may have been trained as a Mage. But you are not a Mage when it comes to your heart. That much is already very clear to me. Now you are a man who I believe will make my daughter a good husband, and that is something any man could take pride in. If your parents can somehow see you now, they will be happy with you. I do believe this.”

Alain squeezed his eyes shut tight to hold back tears, then nodded. “It is odd how destiny works. I brought Mari here so that she might find peace with her past, and I too have found something of that here.”

“Would it be all right if I touched you, Alain? I have heard how Mages are… “

He nodded silently.

Mari’s mother came closer and held Alain for a moment. He had to force himself to relax at the contact, feeling a different kind of peace from that which he felt in Mari’s arms. “Keep my daughter safe, Alain,” Eirene murmured. “She’s going to need someone like you beside her, and if you need a mother still, I will always have enough room in my heart for someone who loves her.”

“Thank you.”

“She taught a Mage to say thank you?” Mari’s mother laughed as she stepped back. “What a girl I have.”

A short time later, Mari and Kath returned. Kath was wearing the Mechanics jacket now, the overlarge garment hanging on her smaller frame in a way that Alain found to be oddly touching. “Are you two getting along?” Mari asked in outwardly light tones, but Alain could sense the worry beneath them.

“If I wasn’t married to your father, I’d try to steal Alain from you,” her mother teased. Then Eirene’s expression saddened as she caught sight of Kath in the jacket. “Dearest, I know that’s meant well, but…”

“I’m sorry.” Mari hastily took back the jacket. “I know how you must feel about my having been taken by the Guild.”

“I couldn’t bear to have Kath taken as well. There’s been more than one nightmare about that in the years since you left.” Her mother gazed at Mari. “When were you going to tell me about the daughter of Jules thing?”

Mari stopped moving, then her expression turned furious as she glared at Alain. “You told her?”

“No,” Alain denied.

“I guessed,” Mari’s mother added. “Your man here did his best not even to let me know that I’d gotten warm. He still won’t tell me anything because of a promise he made to someone.”

“He told you about the promise, then,” Mari grumbled, her anger shading into stubbornness.

“I had to pry that out of him, too. Let him tell me, Mari.”

“No! It’s not safe! The less you know—” Mari’s face reddened. “The less you know, the more danger you might be in. I’ve been so angry at Senior Mechanics for hiding the truth, and here I am trying to keep the truth from my own family.” She looked from her mother to her little sister, then exhaled in frustration. “Fine. Tell her.”

“I have seen that Mari will bring a new day to this world,” Alain said. “I have seen that she is the daughter of the prophecy. A great storm approaches which will endanger all of this world, but she can stop it.”

Mari’s mother sat down again, breathing deeply. “I still see you as my little eight-year-old, Mari. But you’re grown, with a man of your own, and it seems your fate is to be the person this world has long awaited.”

“Mother.” Mari knelt by her mother, her face anguished. “Please. I’m your daughter.”

“You’ll always be my daughter,” her mother agreed, once again touching Mari’s face gently. “But perhaps Jules is back there in our ancestry as well.”

“Mother, I know that must be true, but I really cannot deal with that. I’m just me. I’m trying to fix things. And I will, if I can.” Mari lowered her head. “I didn’t ask for this. I don’t want it. But I have to try. I have to succeed.”

Kath came up beside them, her mouth still open in surprise. “Mari? You’re the daughter of Jules? Oh, my stars. My big sister is the daughter.”

Eirene spoke harshly. “And that is the very last time you will say that, Kath. To anyone. If you do, it may mean the death not only of you, but of me and your father as well. Many powerful people do not want the daughter to succeed. They will kill her if they can, and anyone else who they think is helping her.” Kath gazed wide-eyed at her mother, horrified. “Not one word, Kath. Not to anyone.”

“If I caused harm to come to you,” Mari said, “I couldn’t endure that. Please listen to Mother, Kath. Mother, sooner or later Mechanics will come here, trying to find out whether I’ve contacted you. You have to pretend you never heard from me, that as far as you’re concerned I’m no longer part of this family. Give them their own lie back to them and they’ll believe it.”

“I will, Mari.” Eirene let fury show. “I won’t have trouble seeming to be angry when they ask about you. Those other Mechanics may think that I’m enraged at the thought of you, but I’ll be aiming it at them.”

Alain nodded. “Do the same if Mages ask of Mari or me. Mages can tell when a common person lies. But if you form the lie right, they can be misled. Tell them you hate Mechanics and would not help them. Tell them you have not seen a Mage, and think of what you said about me, that I am not any longer what they would consider a Mage.”

Mari’s mother listened intently. “We can do that. Right, Kath? And of course your father will be able to say that he never saw you and not be lying at all.”

“Mother,” Mari said helplessly. “I don’t want to leave. Not ever again. But every moment we are here is a mortal danger to you.”

Eirene stood, reaching to rest her hand on Alain’s arm. “I know you must go, but remember that we’re now your family too, Alain. Assuming that Mari doesn’t change her mind about marrying you, but women in this family tend to be a bit stubborn when they’ve decided upon something, as you may have noticed.”

He looked down at her hand, feeling something fill him as if he were drawing on power. The sensation staggered Alain for a moment. Then he smiled at Mari’s mother. “Mari has brought me many things, but I did not expect this. Thank you.”

Mari grinned as she hugged her mother. “Now I have to marry him, don’t I?” Her smile went away. “Take Alain’s advice. If anybody asks you what my plans are, you can honestly say that you don’t know. Oh, stars above, if only Father had been here. But Alain is right, we need to be gone as quickly as possible.”

Eirene glanced at Alain and sighed. “I wish your father could have met Alain. A Mage in the family may be a hard sell for your father, Mari. Kath and I will work on him, though.”

“Father really doesn’t like Mages,” Kath agreed. “You should hear him.”

“Wait here, Mari and Alain, and say your goodbyes to Kath,” Mari’s mother instructed. “I’ll be right back.” She dashed off deeper into the house.

Mari turned to Kath. “Hey, little sis. You take good care of Mother and Father for me, all right?”

“Yes, Lady Mechanic.” Kath smiled. “I’m glad you came back.”

“Thank you. I only wish I had done it years ago. I’m very glad to know I have a sister, and I’m very glad she’s you.”

“Are you still really a Mechanic, Mari?”

She thought about that before answering. “Yes. I’m a Mechanic in terms of what I know and what I can do. I’m still proud of that. But I’m not a Mechanic in the other ways, thinking that I’m better than anyone else and that I can do anything I want to other people.”

“Good.” Kath smiled at Alain, too. “Can you teach me Mage things someday?”

“It is very difficult,” Alain said. “Perhaps someday we can try.”

Eirene came back into the room and shoved a bag at Mari. “Here. Take this, you two. We didn’t have much in the way of prepared food handy, but what we did have is yours. Wherever you’re going, I’m sure you’ll need food. You’ll be able to find drink, I trust. Oh, and there were some cookies which Kath hadn’t eaten yet, so I put those in, too. Sorry, Kath.”

“Cookies?” Mari’s face crumpled up at the word, and she looked like she was about to cry again. “It’s been… so long.”

“Too long,” Eirene agreed, tearing up as well. “I know you have to go, but don’t let’s wait another ten years before we see you again, young lady.”

Mari hastily changed out her coat again, concealing the Mechanics jacket in her bag, then checked her weapon. “Kath, remember you have to lie about seeing us and about still hating me. You have to help protect Mother, Father and yourself.”

“And not one word about you being… you know who.” Kath nodded and gave Alain a serious look. “Take care of my big sister. Mari is depending on you.”

Despite his growing sense of urgency, Alain took a moment to bow to her. “I will do my best to follow your advice, Lady Kath.”

Kath bowed back to him. She gestured to Mari, then leaned up to whisper something to her.

Mari nodded back quickly, then faced her mother, visibly bracing herself. “Mother, there’s a chance we’ll never see each other again. I may not live long enough for that. Know that I will be thinking of you as long as I live, and that I never stopped loving you, even though for far too long I tried to pretend to myself that I had.”

Eirene reached out to give Mari another embrace. “My hopes and my love go with you, dearest Mari. I’d be lying like a Mage—sorry, Alain—I’d be an awful liar if I said I wasn’t worried, but I’m also very proud. Be careful. Alain, take care of my little girl, and help her do what she must do.”

“I will,” Alain promised as Mari’s mother led the way to the back door.

“You’re going to the harbor?” Eirene asked. “Head south along the alley a little way until you reach the access going east, then take the road where it comes out and follow that to the southeast.”

“All right.” Mari hesitated. “Alain? What’s wrong?”

He looked out toward the front of the house. “I sense a warning. There is some danger in that direction.”

“Mages?”

“I do not sense other Mages.”

Mari turned a stricken look on her mother. “Mechanics. Coming here already.”