If Norrine didn’t escape, Erika wouldn’t either. Norrine had to escape. Not just for herself or for Phille and Santiole’s sacrifices, but for Erika.
How much further? Mud stung her eyes. She stumbled forward, blindly, trying not to make a sound.
Rough hands snatched her under the shoulders and lifted her from the ditch. She flailed about in her panic, trying to reach into her pocket for her penknife. She had to get away. She couldn’t do this to herself, or to Erika.
She had gotten them both killed.
Erika’s carriage arrived at the gates a few moments after Duke Nikslaus had left. Dominik pulled up just inside the gate and Erika took the stone steps to the top of the wall, ignoring a curious look from a blue-coated Adran soldier.
Nikslaus’ men were still out there. They searched in a circular pattern, working their way out, and the ditches were being examined once again. If they found Norrine now…. Erika didn’t want to think about it. She was safe enough in Adro, but her grandfather would suffer for it.
Erika was joined a moment later by the captain of the wall guard. She turned toward him, noting that he was alone. Perhaps she wasn’t as safe as she thought.
“Something wrong with my papers, captain?” she asked in Adran.
“Not at all, Lady Erika.” He settled with his elbows on the wall and watched Nikslaus’ searchers. “You have any trouble out there? We were about to send a company to investigate.”
“That wouldn’t have ended well,” Erika answered. “They were mage hunters. Best not to start an international incident on Kez lands.”
“Ah,” the captain said, eyeing her for a moment. “For the best, then. I’m glad you made it here safely. Could you have your man pull around to the side of the gate house, please? I have a package for you.”
“Excuse me?” What was this? Something else? Another trap?
“You best be on your way, I think. And someone has left you a gift at the gate. Pick it up on your way out.”
Something about her presence-or more likely the presence of the Longdogs just outside the gate-had the captain nervous.
“I will, thank you.” Erika glanced once more at the searchers and climbed back down the wall. She gave instructions for Dominik to pull around to the side of the gate house. They sat waiting for several minutes before the captain appeared at her carriage window.
“There you are,” the captain said, opening the door. It took a moment for Erika to realize the captain wasn’t talking to her. Norrine stepped into the carriage and settled into the seat across from Erika. Her jacket was gone, replaced by an old Adran military coat. The scarf that had covered her powder mage brand was also gone.
“She was a bit muddy when she came in,” the captain said. “We cleaned up her boots the best we could, but her jacket was a total loss.”
Erika struggled with words. “Thank you,” she said.
“Don’t thank me,” the captain replied. “Thank Captain Tamas. He comes around every few months with new boots and a bottle of port for each of us here on Budwiel’s wall. In return, we keep a lookout for…special…kinds of runaways. We’re glad to be of some service, my lady.” He tipped his hat and stepped away, closing the door.
“Are you all right?” Erika immediately asked Norrine. “Did they hurt you?”
Norrine shook her head. “They were very kind,” she said.
“How did you make it to the gates?”
“I did jump in the ditch, but I thought I should get away. I started along the bottom. There was a lot of water, so I shouldn’t have left any tracks. The soldiers on the wall saw me approach and came out and got me.”
Erika nodded. Very kind of them indeed. Powder mages might be legal in Adro, but they weren’t exactly welcomed either. Who was this Captain Tamas? And why did he care about Kez powder mages?
It was a mystery that would have to wait until another day. She felt her exhaustion overwhelming the adrenaline that had kept her going since she left grandfather’s manor. She sank against the wall of the carriage and nodded off, dreaming of a warm bed.
Voices brought Erika awake again. Voices and light. A panic set into her instantly, and she sat bolt upright, one hand searching for her sword.
The sword was gone, fueling her desperation. Her eyelids seemed impossibly heavy and her body sluggish as she sought desperately for a weapon. Strong hands took her by the shoulder and a voice called to her. She shook her head, trying to make sense of it all, before realization set in.
“Father?” she asked.
She shook violently, and the hands kept their grip until she was able to calm down. Lord Pensbrook, her father, eventually stepped away from her and she took the chance to look around. She was in the sitting room of the family’s Budwiel townhouse. Father stood beside her, wearing only his pajamas. He was a tall man with a broad chest and a neatly trimmed, black goatee.
“It’s me, my dear,” father said, taking her by the hand. “You’re safe.” The corners of his eyes wrinkled in concern.
“Your father carried you inside. You’ve been asleep there for two hours. You haven’t been out like that since you were a child.” Erika craned her head to find mother sitting behind her, leaning forward on the edge of the chaise. She was still wearing a crimson evening dress, her hair done up for a night of playing cards with her friends. She was a tall woman herself, but she looked small beside Lord Pensbrook.
Erika vaguely remembered noise and the sensation of movement, but she thought it a dream as the carriage drove on. “How did I…wait,” Erika said, trying to find her thoughts. “I thought you were in Adopest?”
“We were,” mother said, “We came down for one of Baron Ildal’s masquerades.”
“I was on my way to Adopest,” Erika explained. “Grandfather was going to put me on a ship in Norport, but then the harbor was closed and…” she stopped when she saw the odd look on her mother’s face.
“We know, dear,” mother said. “Dominik told us. He told us everything.”
“Everything?” Of course he had. Dominik wouldn’t lie to them.
She waited for a response from either of them and tried to come up with some kind of explanation. They exchanged a glance and then father went over to the door. He opened it, checked the hallway, and came back in and nodded to mother.
“The girl is safe,” mother said.
“Norrine.”
“Yes. Norrine is safe. I know of homes for children like that in Adopest. She’ll be safe from Kez mage hunters.”
Father looked at Erika with the face he usually reserved for scolding Jakola or Camenir. He remained silent, however, and gestured for mother to continue.
“We’ve made a decision,” mother said.
Erika shifted nervously, still trying to clear her muddled mind. “About what?” Were they going to keep her in Adopest? Or send her abroad? They might think of anything, and clearly father was not happy about what she’d done.
“With Santiole’s death, you need a new tutor.”
“So soon?”
“Yes,” father said, rather too gruffly.
Mother glanced at him, and then went on. “We’ve decided that for your own safety, you need to be trained as a powder mage.”
“That’s absurd!” Erika said, regretting it once the words had left her mouth. “I swore to the king!” An oath she’d broken many times by experimenting with powder.
“It’ll be done in the utmost secrecy,” father said.
“You’re only half Kez, you know,” mother said, glancing at father. “And you would keep your word while you are on Kez soil. But here in Adro, you will learn how to control your powers, and how to wield them. Dominik told us how you bested a master mage hunter. With the right training, there won’t be a man in Kez who’s a threat to you. And you’ll need that when you inherit your grandfather’s land and titles.”