Abbee felt stunned. She wouldn’t remember? But she’d learned so much about herself. What she was. Something new. An inverted conduit. She didn’t have to feel ashamed about how she couldn’t heal others. It wasn’t how her talent worked, how it was supposed to work. She’d been whole all along.

Marin rolled her eyes at Ilo. “I was wondering if that was what you were thinking of doing. What if it doesn’t work? Her gift threw off your body lock. What if it decides that tampering with her memory is an injury? Repairs the damage?”

“Hmm,” Ilo said.

“And I’m guessing you forgot the very real chance of it causing permanent brain damage,” Marin added. “Seeing as that was the reason you used when you convinced the Quorum to avoid using the same technique on Vani Brattle. They didn’t want to risk ruining a Class Five Mover.” She grunted. “Would’ve saved us loads of trouble had they ignored you.”

“You knew Vani Brattle?” Abbee asked. “Did she really demolish the Council House because of a lovers’ spat?”

Marin chuckled. “No. Well, she did wreck half the building, but she was saving Ilo’s life. Along with Parn Trippers. I understand he’s a Council member himself these days.”

“I would’ve gotten out,” Ilo said.

Abbee hadn’t realized that Ilo and Parn knew each other. Or that Vani had saved Parn’s life, for that matter. The first constable never spoke about Brattle in a positive light, and to hear him tell it, all of Akken’s problems were the mover’s fault. “What happened to her? How did she die?”

“No idea,” Ilo said. He picked at one of the loose threads poking out of his coat. “I heard she went into the Tower and never came out.”

“Nobody’s seen her since Towerfall,” Marin said, “and we should count ourselves lucky for that.” She looked at Ilo. “You can’t tamper with her memories.” She sighed. “We’ll have to give it to her.”

“Give me what?” Abbee asked.

Ilo looked at Marin in surprise. “Oh, so you want to help her now? You’re on board with sending her on my little errand?”

“What errand?” Abbee asked.

“I thought I’d made peace with exile here,” Marin said. “I convinced myself that I didn’t care anymore. But I do. I want to know what Ipsu was doing, how he showed up at the right time, right when she presented. Why was he with Juna? I’ve always had my suspicions about her little clique. There are more efficient methods of keeping wizards in jail—you don’t have to dedicate your entire life to mastering those silly staves. Her description of the telepath, it’s … And I don’t like that the hunters are involved. And then there’s Joor. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that he set up shop there.” Marin stood up. “I’ll go get it. Let me know when you’re done.” She walked over to the far wall and gestured. Flat stone rippled, and a doorway appeared. Abbee saw a dark tunnel. Marin walked in, and the wall returned behind her.

“Where did she go?” Abbee asked.

“To fetch something that will help you,” Ilo said, “and to avoid bad memories.”

“What errand? Who’s in Joor? Who are you talking about?”

“My brother, Kai. He and Marin have a history. It pains her to speak of him.”

Abbee recognized the name. The gray wizard had mentioned Kai in the conversation Abbee had overheard while in Graywall. “Was she with your brother at one point?”

“Not the way she wanted,” Ilo said, “and if you want to keep your head on your shoulders, don’t ever mention it to her. I don’t talk about it either, if that helps convey the seriousness of my warning. Don’t bring it up, Annie.”

“Abbee.”

“What?”

“My name is Abbee. Not Annie.”

“Oh.” He squinted at her. “You sure?”

“Very. Is your brother a wizard too? Can’t wizards talk to each other over long distances?”

“Yes, in the old days,” Ilo said, “but not now. We all shield our minds to ward off detection. If I tried, I wouldn’t get through, and I’d end up broadcasting my own location.”

“Who’s listening?”

“There’s at least one wizard working with the Veronna network,” Ilo said. He gestured at the repeating bolt thrower. “They’re the ones making magical weapons for the hunters.” Ilo’s face clouded. “I’d like to do some permanent things to them. Whoever they are, I hope they die a slow and terrible death.”

“How do you know it’s not your brother?” Abbee asked. She knew it was the gray wizard. Knew it in her bones. She asked, anyway, just in case.

“Because he hates the hunters and network more than anyone else alive. Even more than I do, which is a lot.” Ilo picked up the silver ring. “This is Kai’s. It was the first ring he received as a Ringer. I used to wear one like it, and so did Marin. The fact that Ipsu was carrying this means that Kai gave it to him.”

“How do you know who that belonged to? If they’re all the same.”

“Well, they’re not exactly the same. The runes are different. This was Kai’s. He was always clever with the runes that seem to go on forever.”

“How do you know your brother is still alive? Maybe … maybe Ipsu killed him and took the ring.”

Ilo snorted. “Ipsu is many things, but he’s not strong enough for that. Kai is … let’s just say that he’s the most resourceful person I’ve ever known. If anyone could catalog all the methods you might survive death, he’s the one who’d try them all.” He smiled. “I’m not sure if he’s still alive. But if he is, you have to try to find him. Last I knew, he was somewhere near Joor.”

“Somewhere near … You don’t know exactly?”

“No. You’ll have to find him. And he does not want to be found. But you have to try.”

Abbee realized Ilo wanted her to go to Joor to find his brother. “No.” When Ilo’s eyebrows shot up, she added, “I’m never going back to that city.”

“Why?”

Abbee pushed away her nightmare. Her memories. “I was captured and tortured there. I’m not going back. Ever.”

“Tortured?”

Abbee felt a prickle between her shoulder blades and rubbed her back on her chair. “I’m not talking about it.”

“Well, you won’t have to go into the city itself. Kai won’t be there.”

“How do you know?”

“You know that big shield around the monastery outside the city?”

“Yeah.”

“It makes wizards sick. We don’t know why, but if we get too close to it, we get horrible migraines. Kai won’t be in the city. He’ll be at least three kilometers from the monastery grove. Last I checked, that’s outside the city proper.”

Abbee relaxed a little. If she didn’t have to enter the city … But still. Joor. She didn’t want to go. But if Ipsu had gone there … Abbee wanted to know why Ipsu had abandoned her, where he’d been all these years. She wanted to know his reason and if it had been worth leaving her alone. She needed to know what was so damn important. “Why do I have to search for a wizard in hiding?”

“Because our interests are aligned,” Ilo said, “and I’m not wasting the opportunity.” He stood up and stretched. Groaned. “Don’t ever stop stretching,” he advised. “Everything sticks together as you get older.”

“What interests?” Abbee pressed.

“Wizard interests,” Ilo said.

Abbee didn’t like that Ilo was suddenly being cagey. He’d babbled all sorts of information at her this whole time, and now he was clamming up? “Who attacked me on the train? The telepath. Marin seemed to recognize the description.”

“Did he have a beard?” Ilo asked.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“I didn’t see his face, but I saw that much. Yeah, and it was blond.”

Ilo nodded. “Yes, I think I know who that was. Interesting. They think you’re dangerous.”

“He thinks I’m dangerous? Who is he?”

“Not just him. If he was sent to deal with you, it signals how serious this is. It’s bigger than a couple of exiled wizards. Marin is right. We have to help you.”

“You’re being irritatingly vague.”

“It’s a wizard thing,” Ilo said. “But it’s also for your protection.”

Abbee preferred having all available information so she could avoid danger, but she doubted she’d get what she wanted from Ilo. She hadn’t personally known any wizards growing up, but she’d heard the stories. They were mysterious on purpose. And deadly even if they seemed pleasant. “The two of you were going to kill me because I’d found you,” Abbee said. “So you want me to go find another wizard who doesn’t want to be found? Sounds dangerous.”

“If you want to know where Ipsu has been, it’s a risk you’ll have to take. You have to go to Joor—near Joor, sorry—and ask my brother.” He rubbed his face. “Kai’s older than me. He’s in his nineties, and the last time I saw him, he had a long beard. Scraggly. He’s about as tall as I am.”

“Where around the city am I supposed to look?” Abbee asked.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” Ilo said. He picked up the silver ring off the table. “If you show him this, be sure to tell him you’re a friend of Ipsu’s, so he doesn’t kill you on the spot.”

“You’re really selling this,” Abbee said. “What do you want me to tell him? I’m assuming you want me to give him a message.”

“You’re the message,” Ilo said.

“I’m going to need more than that.”

Ilo looked at the wall where Marin had gone. It rippled and revealed the dark tunnel. Marin walked out of the doorway, and the wall reappeared once more. “You’re done?” she asked.

“We’re done.”

“No, we’re not,” Abbee said. “He didn’t tell me anything.”

“Good,” Marin said. She walked over and handed Abbee an irregular stone fragment. Squarish, gray, and flecks of teal around the edges. It was almost identical to the artifact chip Parn had given Abbee over a decade ago. “That’s an artifact chip. It will—”

“I’ve seen one of these before,” Abbee said. “I know what it does.”

“Great,” Marin said. “Then you know that chip also makes you a bigger target. If a telepath tries to scan you, and they know you’re not a telepath yourself, they’ll realize you’re blocking them. The chip protects you, but given how rare artifact chips are now, it also puts you in danger.”

“How do you still have one?” Abbee asked.

“We don’t need to use it,” Ilo explained. “We’re wizards. We can block telepaths without using a chip. Artifact chips fade with both use and time. Use wears them out faster. An unused chip lasts a lot longer than twenty years.”

“Go back to why you want me to go to Joor,” she said, ignoring the warning look from Ilo. “I know why I’m going, to get answers about Ipsu. But I need more details than ‘you’re the message.’ I need to know more about your interests beyond ‘wizard interests.’”

Marin frowned. “Are you a wizard?”

“Well, no—”

“Then you don’t need to know. And knowing why would make us go back to the memory-erasure plan. Do you want that? Because we can do that.”

“No, no,” Abbee said. “Please don’t.”

“Then take the chip and shut up about it.”

Abbee didn’t like it, but she liked having her memories more. She pointed at her belongings piled on the table. “I’m going to take all that, yeah?”

Marin nodded. “Yes. Except the bolt thrower. It stays here.”

Abbee felt ill at the idea. She folded her arms. “That thing has saved my life several times since I got it. If you want your message to get to Joor safely, I need it.”

“You appear to heal any injury,” Marin said, “so I’m unsure how it’s saved your life when your gift does that just fine.”

“It’s prevented my mauling by a bear, a wolf pack, and it definitely saved me from getting captured by the Murder Guild.”

“Oh?” Ilo asked. “They aren’t in the capturing business. What did they want with you?”

“I never found out. They died first. They had a mover and a torch with them, so I wasn’t interested in making friends. And the third one was probably a telepath. Yes, my gift heals me, but it doesn’t make me invincible. I still get hurt and overwhelmed in a fight, and I don’t go looking for fights either. They find me. I need an offensive weapon. You want me to get to Joor in one piece? I need that bolt thrower.”

Marin grunted. “Fine.” She scooped up the weapon and handed it over. “Don’t make me regret this. And don’t point that thing at me either.”

Abbee took the bolt thrower and strapped it on with a surge of relief. The wizards moved away from the table so she could retrieve the rest of her belongings. The thumb light and ring went into her belt pouches. The message rod, gems, and the quartz-tipped stick went back into her jobs case. Abbee donned her coat. She situated everything and bobbed on her feet a few times to ensure nothing rattled or pulled her off-balance.

“Why do you have that pouch on your back?” Ilo asked at one point.

“I did courier work in Akken,” Abbee replied. “Helped to have a pouch nobody knew to search.”

“Ah.” Ilo looked her over. “No knife?”

Abbee shook her head. “It’s the first thing a mover grabs when they fight. I’ve had too many blades turned against me.” She raised her bolt thrower. “They seem unable to grab these bolts, so it’s safe to carry.” Abbee realized she hadn’t even spent one night in Kiva yet. She’d been on the road for almost a month. She’d been looking forward to a bed. “Can you warp me to Joor?”

The old wizard shook his head. “Neither of us is going, so we’d have to warp you by yourself. Doesn’t work well over a long distance. You’d end up in the ground or up in the sky or something. Don’t worry. We’re not going to make you walk. We’ll send you by train. As luck would have it, there’s someone in the train yard right now who can take you. Someone we trust to keep quiet.”

“You know, you never said what you’re doing here.”

“You’re right. We didn’t. You’ll stay here and leave in the morning.”

“A bed sounds wonderful.”

“We can do that,” Ilo said.

“And another bath?” Abbee asked, still covered in her own blood and gore.

Marin sniffed. “Yes, please.”

***

Ilo took Abbee to the train yard in a covered carriage in the morning, at first light. Marin stayed behind and didn’t say goodbye. Abbee didn’t even see her, and she wondered if the wizard lived someplace else. Abbee watched the city roll past out the carriage’s window. She wished she’d been able to stay longer, but she figured she’d be back. Kiva seemed like a good place to live, now that Akken had grown too dangerous. It even had a couple of wizards who might come in handy.

Abbee frowned as the carriage turned a corner before the train yard. She peered out the window and realized they were in an alley. “What are we doing? Where are we?”

The carriage door opened, and Thad climbed in. He saw Abbee and said, “No,” and climbed back out.

“Wait!” Ilo called.

“Don’t bother,” Abbee said. “I’m a no too.”

“Why? Thad, stop!”

Thad turned around in the doorway. “I’ve already thrown her off my train once. Find somebody else.”

“He was one of the two?” Ilo asked Abbee.

She nodded. “He thought I was a hunter.”

Ilo turned to Thad. “Well, she’s not. So you can take her to Joor.”

“I don’t have to take her anywhere,” Thad said, “and so I’m not.” He held up his hand. “No. I know I said I’d do favors for you, but not this one. And no amount of money will change my mind, so don’t bother asking my price.”

“Well,” Ilo said, “it’s a good thing I’m neither asking nor paying you. You’re taking her to Joor.”

“No.”

“How’s that new clutch working out?” Ilo asked.

“It’s great,” Thad said, looking suspicious. “Why?”

“Marin wants to improve the design,” Ilo said. “She needs it back.” He folded his arms. “I’ll wait here while you get it.”

Thad sucked in a breath. “You can’t be serious. It’s saved me a fortune in repair costs since you gave it to me.”

“And we only gave it to you, remember? Maybe it’s time we branched out. Maybe make a deal with Polan’s Linens. They seem to have deep pockets and—”

“No, no, no, you can’t do that.” Thad glowered at Ilo. He swore. “Fine.” He gave Abbee a hard look. “You give me trouble again, and you’re off the train.”

“I didn’t do anything the last time,” Abbee said. “I want your word that I can inspect my own belongings without you having a tantrum.”

“I did not have a tantrum,” Thad declared.

“You thought I was a hunter and freaked out,” Abbee said, “when a hunter wouldn’t have hidden themselves in the first place. They announce themselves and scare you into doing things. Speaking of which, if you thought I was one, how were you going to avoid repercussions if I’d lived?” She gestured at Ilo. “Is that why you’re still here? He’s offering you protection?”

Ilo nodded. “And now he doesn’t need it, so he can return the favor by taking you.”

Thad swore again. “But just to Joor, yeah? We’ll drop her off and be on our way.”

“Agreed,” Ilo said. “Keep her safe from prying eyes and ears.”

Thad considered Abbee. “She’s got that kind of attention, yeah?”

“She does. And I want you to help her avoid it.”

Thad frowned at Ilo. “Does that attention involve where she got that bolt thrower she was carrying? Oh, she still has it. Great. You let her keep it. You know, that says a lot about the danger you think she’s in. Which you’re now putting my train in.”

“This is important, Thad,” Ilo said. “I wouldn’t trust this to anyone else.”

Thad grunted. He sighed. “Fine. I’ll keep her presence on the train under wraps as much as I can.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Abbee asked.

“Well, my crew knows about you,” Thad said. “You’re all they’ve talked about for several days now. The mysterious hunter we threw off—moving, by the way, so now they’ll want to hear how you survived that. Any telepath that comes looking for you will know you’re on board. But we’ll not say anything on purpose, and we’ll try to keep your presence secret at the escarpment tunnel checkpoint, but no guarantees.”

“Oh,” Abbee said. “That’s fine.”

“Anything else?” Thad asked.

“I want a proper passenger room,” Abbee said. “Not the gear cart.”

“I don’t carry passenger carts,” Thad said.

“You do now.” Abbee remembered the wealthy lady from the lift. The one complaining about the smell and talking about a first-class lift. She’d arrived in a suite cart. “I want a suite.”

Ilo shook his head. “The whole point of this is to avoid notice.”

“Well,” Thad said, “an economy passenger cart with a single passenger will draw more attention than a suite cart. They move the suite carts around all the time. There aren’t that many of them, and sometimes a wealthy client will use one for a one-way trip.” He arched his brow at Abbee. “How did you know there was such a cart here in Kiva? And that it needs to go back to Morat? It just rolled in yesterday.”

“A hunch,” Abbee said.

“Right.” Thad looked at Ilo. “I’ll do this and take her in the suite cart, but only if you promise to stop using the clutch as leverage.”

Ilo frowned. “Why would I do that?”

Thad grunted. “I’m assuming you want me to take her as soon as possible.”

“If you can,” Ilo said. “Speed is essential.”

“Fine. We’ve got enough time to make Mindge by nightfall, even factoring in the cart transfer.” He gestured at Abbee. “It’ll take a couple hours to arrange the suite cart. Will you deign to wait on our gear cart in the meantime?”

Abbee gave Ilo a considering look. “Why are you letting me go? I know you’re here in Kiva. Two wizards from the old days. Seems—”

Ilo smiled. “Because I put an enchantment on you on the ride over here,” the old wizard said. “If you talk about wizards or Marin or me, I’ll know about it. If you write it down, I’ll know about it.”

Abbee wondered if her gift might eat his enchantment like it had eaten his body lock. “You’ll find me and put me to death?”

“Something like that,” Ilo said. “You said you feel all the pain. It will be a lot. It won’t be quick. So kindly keep your mouth shut.”

“You’re not very nice.”

“Never said I was.” He gestured at the door. “It was a pleasure to meet you, but I hope you take this the right way when I say don’t come back.”