Talon’s grin was slow and lascivious. “Not literally, but they are impressive. Would you like to see?”
“I’ll pass, kid. It’s a thrill I’ll have to live without.”
“Anytime you want the thrill, just let me know.”
Mychael appeared at my side. “Talon, why don’t you go see your father.” He glanced over my shoulder. “Sedge?”
“I’ll lower the sound barrier on the ward so they can talk.”
“Thank you,” I told him.
The chief watcher sighed. “I really didn’t want to do this, Raine.”
“I know. We all have our jobs to do.”
“And sometimes they suck.”
“That they do.”
While Talon was reunited with Tam, I stepped up to Vidor Kalta.
“Well played,” I murmured. “You didn’t hear Nukpana say one word in that examination room.”
Kalta’s response was a brief upward twitch of his thin lips.
“And you knew exactly what he was going to do,” I said to Mychael in mindspeak.
“And approved.”
“The paladin and I—how do you say—got our story straight before we came in.” Kalta spoke while barely moving his lips, and his words didn’t carry past my ears. Nifty trick. “It simplifies so much. My conscience is quite clear. I merely countered one fabrication with another. Carnades cannot prove his claim; and he knows that I cannot prove mine.” His eyes were the flat black of a shark’s. “I know what is at stake if Sarad Nukpana succeeds. I will do whatever is necessary to prevent that from happening. And to prevent more innocent people from being infested by those who escaped with him.”
I glanced over my shoulder. It looked like Tam was giving his son a serious talking-to, and for once it looked like Talon might actually be listening. I wasn’t about to interrupt that. Besides, there was a question I wanted an answer to. That answer was probably going to creep me the hell out, but I wanted to know.
“Uh, Nachtmagus Kalta—”
“Vidor, please.”
“Okay.” I drew that word out. “Vidor. May I ask you a probably tasteless and possibly offensive question?”
His lips curled in a knowing smile. “About my calling?”
“That would be the topic.”
“Miss Benares, I have never been offended by sharing knowledge with those who sincerely want to know.” He paused meaningfully. “Nor by having the opportunity to dispel an unfortunate misconception.”
Just ask it, Raine. “Do you resurrect the dead?”
“No, I do not,” he replied simply. “However, there have been instances when I have prevented a soul from leaving its body.”
“But they were dead.”
“Their bodies, yes. But as long as the soul remains, true death is a technicality.” He gave me a quizzical glance. “You seem surprised that I do not resurrect the dead.”
“I thought that was what a nachtmagus did.”
“Once the soul leaves the body, it may linger for as long as a day, but usually it is only for a few minutes. After that the soul moves on. Attempting to summon a soul back to its original body is dangerous for precisely the same reasons you have experienced during the past few weeks.”
I had an unwanted image of Banan Ryce and Alastair Kratos. “Bad souls looking for any body they can get.”
“Precisely. There is no guarantee that the soul you summon will be the soul you want. And once that spirit takes possession of the body, what you have is no more than an animated corpse, a tool and nothing more for the spirit infesting it. And make no mistake, it is an infestation—and to any moral nachtmagus, it is abhorrent.” His black eyes sparkled. “Does that answer your question?”
“And then some.” I glanced down at my boots and then up at Vidor. “Thank you for what you did for us.”
“I was more than glad to be of assistance, Miss Benares.”
“Call me Raine.”
He looked genuinely pleased, almost happy at that. “Raine.”
I let out a wry chuckle and shook my head. “You made Carnades admit in front of a roomful of people that not only did you not lie, but that he was wrong. He’s not going to let either one of those go.”
“I would be stunned into insensibility if he did. Unlike Carnades, I trust the word of others. If you and the paladin say you heard it, you did. If Carnades doesn’t hear, see, or feel it himself, he believes it simply does not exist. The man has no intellectual curiosity whatsoever. Most unfortunate. I know Tamnais Nathrach from the goblin court, Raine. He was not responsible for this, and I will not stand by and watch while Carnades’s pigheadedness imprisons the innocent while the guilty go free and continue to kill. And as to the possibility of you and Paladin Eiliesor sharing some sort of bond, I believe that what is between two consenting adults should stay there.”
I said nothing, but inclined my head in gratitude.
His lips twitched again. “And I would never pass up an opportunity to antagonize Carnades, as I have since we were boys.”
“You two knew each other as kids?” I whistled. “I hope your parents hid the knives. He hates your guts.”
“Then that would make our relationship unchanged since childhood.”
Mychael glanced over at the cells. “Vidor, will you stay here overnight with Tam?”
“Of course.”
I looked from one of them to the other. “You expect Sarad Nukpana to come after him?”
Mychael shook his head. “That would be too risky. There are Sedge’s watchers and wards to contend with, and I will be posting a few Guardians here as well. They’re trained to recognize and counteract spirit activity of any kind.”
“Won’t someone tell Carnades that you have Guardians protecting Tam?”
Mychael held up a finger. “Guarding Tam. And if they want to tell Carnades, they are more than welcome to. Carnades claims that Tam is the most dangerous man on the island. My men routinely supplement Sedge’s watchers whenever we have a high-risk prisoner.”
“Your boys are just doing their job,” I said. “And protecting Tam.” I hesitated. “Is it safe for me to speak to him?”
Mychael knew what I meant. Would having lowered the sound barriers on the ward covering Tam’s cell reveal our bond if we got too close? There were still plenty of watchers in the squad room. On an island full of mages, watchers who could sling spells of their own went a long way toward keeping the peace. Some of them probably had enough on the ball to recognize the umi’atsu bond between me, Mychael, and Tam.
“It won’t be a problem,” Mychael assured me. “Tam will be able to hear us, and we can hear him—just sound, no magic spillover.”
I took a breath and blew it out. More than enough had gone wrong tonight; a change would be nice.
With the sound barrier down, the wards on Tam’s cell glowed orange instead of red. It wasn’t a warm, welcoming glow; it was an angry “one step closer and I’ll toss you across the room” kind of glow. Mychael and I stopped about two feet from the cell.
“Entertaining exchange,” Tam drawled. “That’s one thing I can always depend on from Carnades—he’s never boring.”
I blinked. “How did you—”
“Lipreading. A useful trick I picked up at court. I got most of what was said. By the way, thank Vidor Kalta for me.”
“You can thank him yourself,” Mychael said. “He’ll be staying with you for the rest of the night. If all goes as planned, you’ll be out of here by tomorrow morning.”
Talon froze. “Do you think he needs protection?”
“No. But I’m not taking any chances. A few of my men are specially trained to deal with specters.” He paused. “And Kontar and Garai are on their way here.”
I recognized the names. They were goblin dark mages. Tam called them friends and colleagues; our family would have called them high- priced, out-of-town talent. They were powerful, and dirty was the only way they knew how to fight.
Tam snorted, a short of laugh. “Only two?”
“Unfortunately, those are the rules.”
Talon’s eyes flashed in fury. “What rules? Why can’t they all be in here?”
“Two personal guards qualify as protection,” Tam explained. “Any more than that is a jailbreak waiting to happen.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“A jailbreak means Tam would be a fugitive,” Mychael told Talon. “A confession from Sarad Nukpana’s accomplice makes Tam a free man.”
“You’ve got him in custody?” I asked.
“I plan to by morning. And if Sarad Nukpana strikes somewhere in the city again tonight—”
Tam indicated the bars of his cell with a rueful smile. “I’ll have a literally ironclad alibi.” He shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve certainly spent the night in worse accommodations.” All signs of humor vanished. “Mychael, take care of Talon for me.”
“I’m staying right here,” Talon told us all.
“Talon, I—” Tam began.
“What if they come back?” he shot back vehemently.
I knew who he was talking about. Carnades and Balmorlan.
“They won’t,” Mychael assured him. “You’re staying with Piaras for tonight.” He looked out into the courtyard, where five minutes ago Carnades’s coach had been. “I’ll be having you both stay in the archmagus’s apartments.”
Talon was incredulous. “I’m spending the night with an old man? Like a babysitter?”
I knew what Mychael was doing and thought it was a damned fine idea. Piaras and Talon had become close friends, and Justinius would obliterate anyone or anything that threatened either one of them.
“He’s an old man who’ll kick your ass at cards and drink you under the table,” I told Talon.
