"Alys," Hollis said one morning in early January as he came into the kitchen where Athena and I were having breakfast, "I have an errand I need you to run."

I looked up, surprised by how grave he looked and sounded. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head and went to the stove, where Elsie regularly kept a kettle of hot water on for tea, and began to make a cup for himself. "Nothing's wrong per se. But as you know, I have at least five projects going on at any given moment. Two of them have come to a head at the same time. Both are of equal urgency and need to be dealt with as quickly as possible. So I need you to go and take care of one, while I handle the other."

"All right," I nodded. "What's the scoop, boss?"

"I need you to go to Edinburgh," he said as he sat down at the table with us, "And pick up a package. The package is currently in the hands of a wizard I studied with in my youth, Patrick MacMullan." He leaned forward over his cup of tea and caught my eyes with his own. "I need you do this with more caution than you may feel is necessary. The package contains a five hundred year old Aztec dagger that was used extensively in magical rituals involving human sacrifice."

Athena, about to take a bite of her oatmeal, looked up and set her spoon back down in the bowl. I felt a shiver run up my spine.

Hollis nodded. "It is a powerful focus of dark magical energy, one which I intend to destroy. I've made a study of destroying such things safely, and it's some of the most important work I do. All I need you to do is get the package from MacMullan and bring it back here."

"Why don't I think it'll be that easy?" I asked rhetorically.

"Because it probably won't be," Hollis agreed. "Items like this have a way of attracting precisely the sort of people we want to keep them away from. Be on your guard."

"I always am," I said simply.

"Be more on your guard than usual," he said gravely. "I've had a sending from Jonathan about your potentially prophetic dreams."

"Oh?"

Hollis rubbed his nose for a moment. "Evidently, no record was made of a prophecy regarding you with the Prophecy Records Commission. The PRC is usually very comprehensive about that sort of thing, since prophecy can be a dangerous subject. That does not," he held up a hand in a gesture of admission, "Mean that they are infallible or that they receive or properly record a report of every prophecy that's made. Jon is especially concerned that the prophecy might have been made by a Druidic Seer, in which case they might not have reported it at all."

"Lovely," My response was so dry it could have caused water to evaporate. "He filled me in on what happened to split the Druids from the rest of the magical community."

"Ah," Hollis grimaced. "Well, I suppose it's good that you know. Be that as it may," he went on quickly, "He feels that if your dreams are truly prophetic in nature, they're likely to be warning you of an event in the near or immediate future. Considering the content of your dreams, please be more cautious on this trip than usual."

I frowned slightly. "You think something's going to happen now?"

He shrugged. "I think bad things happen every day. I know you're going to be transporting a ritual object that's likely to draw the attention of bad people. Two plus two equals what?"

"Four," I said with a sigh. "Point taken. We'll be extra careful, won't we?"

Athena nodded. "Even more so than usual."

Artemis mrowled her agreement from under the table.

"Good," Hollis pushed himself to his feet and picked up his cup of tea. "Well, I'll contact the station and get tickets for you on the 23:30 train to Edinburgh. Come to my study after dinner and I'll have them ready for you."

"We'll see you then," I confirmed as he left the room, then looked at Athena. "Let's get packed."

She nodded and rose, "Mistress, if I may suggest..."

"Always," I rose with her.

"Put on the leathers you bought, the ones like what I usually wear," she said. "Remember, they're light armor. Just in case."

I smiled. "All right, Athena. It's a good idea."

Thirty minutes later I was less certain of that fact.

"It's very tight," I said as Athena finished showing me how to secure the bodysuit. Its high neck felt almost like a collar, and the stocking-like leggings felt stiff at my thighs, shins and calves; but the whole thing was flexible enough for me to bend and stretch with relative comfort. Looking in the mirror, with Athena standing beside me, I blushed. "We look more like twins than usual, but I'd never have the nerve to wear this in public."

Athena giggled. "I can't imagine you doing so. But I'm glad you'll be wearing them anyway."

Shaking my head, I turned and dressed in my usual traveling clothes. As the shop-owner had promised, the leather outfit beneath remained comfortable and cool even once I was wearing trousers, boots, a shirt and sweater over them. "There is definitely some magic woven into these," I said to Athena as I finished lacing up my hiking boots. "I expected to be sweating by now."

She shrugged. "I wouldn't know, Mistress." She was busy putting our clothes into my bottomless bag and paused. "Staff in or out?"

I considered for a moment, then said, "Out. Ordinarily I'd pack it, but since we're going out armed and armored, I might as well be ready for anything."

Every Wizard makes (or buys) numerous magical tools and gewgaws during their lifetime, but a staff is by far the most common. A Wizard's staff is like a multi-tool, designed to do lots of things well enough to get by, but not to do any one thing really well. As a generality, they were the most commonly used magical tool for gathering, redirecting, channeling and focusing Anima, which made them extremely useful for...well, pretty much every type of spellcasting. Their appearance varies as wildly as the Wizards themselves.

My staff was still sort of a work in progress. Most wizards have the same staff their whole lives, barring complications, and they tend to change over time, gathering ornamental and magical purposes alike. Mine was a simple oak shaft a little taller than I was, capped with plain steel at either end. It had the requisite Anima-manipulation runes carved into it at the top and bottom and a few more around the middle, but was otherwise quite plain.

Which wasn't unusual for a young Mage just getting started. It just didn't make for an exciting description.

It was also good for smacking things. But that goes without saying.

"Don't forget the quartz crystals..." I started to say.

"Five different sizes," Athena interrupted with a smile, "As well as a variety of other prepared precious and semi-precious stones."

"Potions?"

"General healing, anti-venom and anti-toxin, general-purpose poison antidote, invisibility, and a couple of energy drinks," she replied promptly.

I blinked and started to smile. "Ritual components?"

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Restocked with the most common items," she said, "Chalk, sand, salt, feathers, stones, blessed water, I took some holly and mistletoe from the garden, and Elsie located an extra tuning fork when I asked about one."

I started to laugh. "Is there anything left for me to do?"

She rose from peering into the bag and smiled, just a bit smugly. "No, Mistress. As it should be."

I gave her a hug as I got my laughter under control. "Thank you. Come on, let's go raid Hollis's stores and make sure we haven't missed anything useful. Then we can go do some target shooting and I'll help you clean your gear."

"Thank you, Mistress!"

I believe I've mentioned once or twice that I love traveling by train.

Heck, I love traveling period. But there's something special about the sound and feel of a train in motion. The click-clack of the wheels on the tracks, the gentle rocking motion...it's surprisingly soothing.

There have been several attempts over the past fifty years to move trains away from steam-driven engines. But for some reason, both passengers and train companies alike have resisted the urge to move to new technologies just for the sake of doing so. Magically-driven steam engines are efficient, environmentally friendly, and traditional.

Yes, I said traditional. I realize that that's a lousy reason to stick with a way of doing things, but in some cases tradition is both stronger and more important than change for the sake of change. Steam trains have been around for two hundred years without changing significantly (except for improvements in the steam engines themselves), and I hope they stay that way for two hundred more.

Train stations are another story entirely. If they could find a better way to handle ingress and egress, that would be a good thing.

Athena and I pushed our way through the crowded station, Artemis close on our heels. We were in better shape than most of the people we were struggling our way past, since the bottomless bag my mother had given me was more than able to hold all of our clothes and supplies. Thanks to that, we didn't have the sort of big trunks or bags most people were hauling behind them, which made navigating the crush of people a bit easier. And having my staff out to lead the way with - a solid length of oak does wonders to make people clear a path, even when you're not actively trying - but we still had an uphill battle getting to our train on time.

That was with us arriving an hour early. But that's King's Cross station for you. Unfortunately, the Caledonian Sleeper was one of the best ways to get from London to Edinburgh, and it ran out of King's Cross.

Oh, there were faster trains. Some made the trip during the day in just under five hours. But the eight hour trip on the Caledonian Sleeper was a lot more comfortable, and would enable us to arrive fresh and rested. Since Hollis wasn't able to give us more than nebulous warnings about possible dangers, getting started after a solid six or seven hours of sleep sounded like an excellent idea.

We were met by a conductor at the door to our car. He looked us over with a quick glance and said simply, "Tickets."

I handed him three. "Myself and two familiars."

He glanced at the tickets, punched holes in them at the appropriate spots, and handed them back to me. "First class sleeper car, very nice. Cabin six, up the corridor on your left."

I smiled at him. "Thanks." Hollis hadn't mentioned that he'd bought us first class tickets, and I hadn't noticed until we were already at the station. It would make the trip a lot more comfortable than I was used to, and would make security easier on the return trip. I made a mental note to thank him when we got back.

We made our way past the conductor, and a few minutes later were comfortably ensconced in a cozy little compartment with two fold-out beds (one above the other) and a padded bench with a small table. Athena insisted I take the top bunk and promptly leaned her sword against the bottom one, hanging her gun belt where she could reach it easily.

I raised an eyebrow, kicking off my boots and hanging my coat on a hook by the door. "Worried about being attacked on the train?"

She smiled wryly. "Sorry, Mistress. Some of what Mr. Ellister said has left me feeling kind of edgy."

Artemis hopped up onto the bench and stretched out facing the door. <>

"Really?" I finished changing into the sleep shirt and pants I had brought, leaving my leathers on as Athena had requested, and used the short ladder to climb onto the top bunk.

Athena nodded. "Yes, Mistress. Something's not quite right."

"That isn't very reassuring," I said dryly, but smiled as I said it. "Well, the door is locked. Anybody who wants to get in is going to have to make some noise. And I'm sure between the two of us, they won't get far."

Athena nodded and settled onto the bottom bunk. "Very true, Mistress."

I had to admit as I laid back on my bed that I was a bit unsettled myself. What Hollis had said about expecting trouble and the nature of the package we were collecting had obviously set all of our nerves on high alert. But to be attacked on the train going there? I had been imagining that anything that happened would occur on the way back, after making the pickup. Or even as soon as we arrived in the city, assuming our errand was known to someone we didn't want to know about it.

Was I being naive? Or were my familiars being paranoid?

Bottom line, was their caution a bad thing?

No. Not at all.

"Well, stay alert," I said finally, folding my arms under my head and looking up at the compartment's ceiling. "But don't let it keep you from getting some sleep. I doubt anything's going to happen before we’ve picked up the package, and I need you both fresh when we get there."

"Yes, Mistress," Athena said, and I heard her shift around a bit beneath me.

Across from us, Artemis yawned hugely and put her chin down on her paws. <> she said. <>

I smiled. How many times as a little girl had I tried to sneak up on one of the cats that lived in town? Now that I thought about it, I had never once succeeded. "Good. Sleep well, kittens."

Artemis made a contented sound and closed her eyes. A similar sound drifted up to me from the bottom bunk, followed by Athena's whispered, "Sleep well, Mistress."

It took me a few minutes to find a comfortable position. I wasn't used to sleeping in what amounted to light armor, even if it did look like some sort of kinky lingerie. No matter how comfortable it was - and it was comfortable enough that I'd forgotten I was wearing it several times already - it was still an unusual thing to wear to bed. But I felt somewhat reassured knowing that even if we did get attacked in during the night I would be prepared for it.

I woke once in the middle of the night and rolled onto my side so I could see out the window. There wasn't much to see, just the darkness and the occasional blur of a tree as we went whipping past it. The sounds of the train and the gentle swaying motion were both soothing to me, as were the soft sounds Athena and Artemis made when they slept.

After a few minutes, my eyes slid shut again, and I let myself drift back to sleep.

We arrived in Edinburgh a little after 8:30 in the morning, slightly longer than the expected duration of the trip. We'd eaten a quick breakfast in the dining car, finishing just as the train slid into the station with the hiss of its brakes echoing all around us.

It was cold enough out that Athena and I both wrapped ourselves in heavy cloaks over our coats, and it was just starting to snow again as we stepped off the train. So I was very glad to see a heavily cloaked and hooded figure holding up a piece of paper with 'Kinnear' written on it.

<> Athena murmured as we headed in that direction.

<> I replied, <>

The closer we got to our contact, the more I was glad she had reminded me. From a distance, the person waiting for us hadn't looked particularly out of the ordinary. As we got closer, however, I realized that it was close to seven feet tall with broad shoulders and - to judge from the breadth of the cloak - solidly built.

We slowed and looked up at him - or her - as we came to a halt. "I'm Alys Kinnear," I said quietly. The hooded head bent and I saw two gently glowing yellow eyes peering out of its shadowy depths. I tightened my grip on my staff and called up my Anima, ready to start throwing spells.

"Welcome, Mage Kinnear," a stilted, genderless voice said. "I am RB-102, chauffeur to Wizard MacMullan. He asked me to collect you and bring you to his home."

"I'd like to see some identification," I replied quietly.

"Of course, Mage Kinnear," it said, and one of the most amazing arms I'd ever seen emerged from under the cloak.

Said arm was made of what appeared to be a mix of stainless steel and copper making up the bones and supports. They were held together by bands of rubber and strips of leather. The fingers were works of art, more steel and copper with textured rubber pads between the joints and on the palms, all of it broken up by so many points of articulation that they probably had better manual dexterity than a normal human hand.

Between its thumb and first two fingers it held a slip of metal about the size of a business card. It shimmered with colors as it moved, and I took it cautiously. As I touched it, the colors swirled around my fingertips, then coalesced into small, finely printed text.

It read, 'Mage Kinnear, you may trust this automaton, named RB-102, to bring you to my place of residence.' It was signed with both a name, Patrick MacMullan, and a Wizard's sigil that glowed with a soft blue-white light. I relaxed immediately. It was incredibly illegal to falsify a Wizard's sigil, a law that was often enforced - instantaneously - by magic associated with the sigil. Often lethal magic.

As I've said before, Wizards take their personal sigils very, very seriously.

But an automaton...that explained the height and build, metallic arm and artificial voice. I looked up at it in awe, never having seen one in person before. Automatons were amazingly rare, requiring tremendous skill, both mechanical and magical, to build.

They were also completely trustworthy. If one had been sent to collect me, with the sigil of the Wizard I was here to meet, I could trust it to perform its task unfailingly and unquestioningly. They were very strong, very intelligent, and not the least bit self-aware, without any motivation beyond whatever instructions their creator had given them.

"Very well," I said finally, handing the metal card back to it. "Take me to your master."