Kevlin stood in a corner of the now-crowded council chamber. Sentinel Felix, along with the ambassadors who made up the ruling council, sat around a table that had been brought in for the meeting.

Maps and charts and dozens of other documents that seemed to serve no purpose lay scattered across the table. Kevlin watched in growing amusement as a steady stream of aides delivered the unused documents only to replace them with yet more documents a few moments later.

It was nice to have something to distract him, even something so small. The discussions at the table were more than a little disturbing.

When everyone first arrived, the emperor announced that the company including Gabral, Kevlin, and his swordbrothers were to be added to his personal guard. With so many of the guard killed or disabled by the curse, it made sense. The ambassadors seemed pleased, particularly the Einarri ambassador, Garitt Talamantez, Drystan's uncle.

Then discussions turned to improving security without triggering riots in the streets. Kevlin learned that the inner city gates had not been closed in decades, and there was evidence that major repairs would be needed before the gates could be made operational.

The emperor insisted that a full legion of imperial guard patrol from the inner wall down through the upper city to the outer wall. The original city of Tamera once fit inside that outer wall. Now only upper-class mansions fit there, separated from the rest of the populace by the ancient wall.

Suggestions were made to increase the token police force that currently guarded the outer city wall. That sparked arguments about how many forces, which kingdoms would provide them, and who would pay the bills.

The immensely fat ambassador from Meinarr, the bald Duke Gwyre, immediately proposed increasing various taxes to pay for the expected rise in expenditures. That sparked additional arguments about budgets and percentages that soon left Kevlin's head spinning.

It soon became apparent that some of the ambassadors argued only to guarantee they didn't agree with certain other men around the table. Other times, they suggested proposals that were clearly absurd only to then offer a compromise that seemed to provide unfair benefits for their kingdom. It didn't look like they would accomplish much of use today.

Leander leaned against the wall next to Kevlin and whispered, "They'll be at this all day."

"At least," Kevlin agreed with a wry smile.

"Come with me," Leander said.

Kevlin followed him to the door and slipped out. No one challenged them or called them back in. Leander paused a dozen steps down the hall and Kevlin asked, "Shouldn't we stay in there?"

Leander chuckled, "Perhaps, but you heard the emperor. Our assignment is to ferret out traitors. Your post as his guard is just a cover. I think it's time to begin the hunt."

"What do you have in mind?"

Leander started walking and Kevlin fell into step beside him. He recovered his weapons at the security checkpoint and followed Leander back to the main hallways. He even recognized some of the landmarks this time.

Only then did Leander say, "The emperor let slip that Bajaran's quarters haven't been searched yet."

"How is that possible?"

Leander shrugged. "It's a big place. Details are easy to overlook, but I think it's a good place to start."

He eagerly followed Leander back to the Great Dome and out the main gate. They took the central boulevard around to the south. As they walked, Kevlin studied the palaces of the various kingdoms.

Just south of the airy Freyarr Palace loomed the blocky Meinarr Palace. The granite walls were fairly plain, with little ornamentation. The building sported fewer entrances than the other palaces, but they were heavily used.

Leander said, "The major mercantile trading house is located in the Meinarr palace. Takes up the entire second floor." He chuckled. "Don't let the somber look fool you. More money changes hands in that palace in an hour than in all the other palaces combined in a week."

South of the Meinarr Palace, across the wide avenue of the Iron Spoke, stood the Donarr Palace. Kevlin wasn't surprised to find it was really a fully functional castle, complete with outer wall, guard towers and portcullis. Looking at it, he could imagine himself back in Donarr during his mercenary campaigns. Those were some of his happiest days, right up until Chayah betrayed and tried to murder him.

South of the Donarr Palace stood the simple rectangle of the Hallvarr Palace. Its clean, straight lines and tasteful ornamentation seemed out of place amidst the opulence of much of the rest of the inner city. Although Leander assured him all the palaces were allocated the same amount of space, this one appeared somehow smaller than the others.

An open dome sat at the close end of the roof and seemed to be heavily used. Leander explained it was an observatory run by the Pemburu Stalwarts and frequented by university students.

South of the Hallvarr Palace, across the avenue of the Port Spoke, Kevlin expected to find the Einarr Palace. Instead, he found an open expanse of gardens, mature trees, and small fountains surrounding half a dozen widely scattered low buildings. In the center of the space stood a giant tent that reared three stories high and looked far more permanent than any tent should.

Leander noted his gaze. "The Einarri don't like big, blocky structures. They house a lot of their administrative functions belowground, although most of their staff manage to work in the buildings you see there."

"Their palace is a tent?"

"Only the ambassador's offices." Leander pointed beyond the palace. "They've turned the entire southern edge of the plateau into a cavalry training ground. Most of the time when I need to find an Einarri official, I go there to look."

Kevlin filed away that piece of information for the next time he needed to find Drystan. He followed Leander to the far southern edge of the central palace compound where a tall tower made of white granite stood flanked by a wide, low building fashioned of gray stone.

"The Sentinel Tower," Leander said.

Kevlin studied it as they approached. It was very wide and simple, unadorned. When they reached the open main floor, they passed many white-robed Sentinels. Singly or in quietly chatting pairs, they moved about their business with a more sedate pace than most of the people Kevlin had seen scurrying about the main palace. A wide stair of white marble ascended along the outer wall to their right, and an identical stair descended to their left.

"Most of the classrooms are on the lower floors," Leander said. "While the offices and living quarters of the senior Sentinels are above. The bulk of them live and work in the next building, which also houses the university.

Leander led the way through the tower into the university building, through a wide central hall. After almost one hundred and fifty paces, he turned down a side hallway, descended one level and turned yet again. They entered a simple hall of whitewashed stone.

Kevlin looked for the brass plaques that marked hall addresses, but saw nothing similar here. "How do you know where you're going?"

"Non-actinopathic folk can't see the signs. It's a way to ensure only Sentinels or their guests access these areas."

After three more turns, Leander finally stopped near the end of a hall, in front of a simple white wooden door. It looked exactly like every other door they'd passed on this level.

"Not big on individuality here, are they?" Kevlin asked.

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"The palace is too big for that. This way, it keeps costs down." Leander smiled. "At least that's what the bureaucrats say."

The old Stalwart glanced around to ensure they were alone in the hall, then snapped his fingers. His enchanted war hammer popped into his hand and he grinned as he hefted it.

He smashed the door off its hinges.

Kevlin caught a glimpse of the room. A large, canopied bed, several book cases, and a trunk at the foot of the bed. Then the entire room exploded into flames that engulfed it and roared into the hall.

The heat blistered his skin and carried a sickly smell, like burning oil. Kevlin retreated from the fire.

"What did you do?"

Leander stood in the door and ignored the flames pouring out of the room and washing over him. As a Stalwart, he was immune to magical harm.

Magic. The sight of so much of it triggered the Trembling Madness. It crashed through his mind before he could form his mental shields, shattering his self-control. He lunged past Leander and into the room. The amulet grew hot against his chest as it sucked in the magic of the fire that engulfed him.

Kevlin laughed aloud and spun in circles, arms thrown wide, in an effort to capture as much magic as he could. As it poured into him, he changed it and gloried in its power.

What had he been waiting for? Why hadn't he forced someone to give him this much magic sooner? The memory of the torrential flood of magic he'd controlled while at the keep of Il'Aicharen returned and he ran around the room, trying to scoop up flames with his hands.

"Kevlin, stop," Leander shouted from the doorway, but his words were drowned by the roaring of the fire. Kevlin ignored him and whirled faster. He had to take as much as he could before Leander interfered.

Leander rushed into the room and began pawing around the burning furniture, looking for something. Kevlin kept an eye on him. If the old fool tried to take the magic for himself, Kevlin would throw him out of the room. He could make his own. This was Kevlin's.

Magic roared through Kevlin's limbs, filling him with power, although it was still but a pittance compared to what he'd controlled in Il'Aicharen. Kevlin threw back his head and laughed through the flames.

Then the captured magic bucked against his control. It reared inside of him in a single, convulsive thrust of pure power driving toward his brain. His defenses were already breached by the Trembling Madness, so the unruly magic poured into his mind like a savage horde of Makrasha.

Kevlin collapsed to the floor, clutching at his head and screaming from the agony tearing through his skull. The insane craving for magic burned away, but his mental fortress was already breached.

Magic tore at his mind, attempting to shatter it so it could burst free of his control. He writhed on the floor, his thoughts scattered, unable to rebuild his shields. The flames of the room coated his mouth with the taste of charred grease, and pain pulsed through his head like a thousand drums. His fingernails scraped against the smooth stone of the floor as he tried to hold onto reality.

Then the pain vanished and silence dropped over him like a shroud.

Kevlin blinked and sat up. Everything around him seemed frozen in time. Leander, not two feet away, hung in mid-air, caught in the act of dropping to his knees beside Kevlin. The flames were stuck in mid-flicker. The air smelled crisp and carried a hint of clover.

He looked to his left and scrambled backward in surprise. Akillik lay on a tongue of fire, using it like a hammock. The youthful god laughed when he saw Kevlin, a rolling exclamation of pure joy.

"Good to see you again, Kevlin." He lay on His head back and used His spinning wheel as a pillow. It didn't slow, but He didn't seem to notice. "Lucky amulet you have there."

Kevlin clutched his shirt where the amulet lay hidden, and a sudden fear blossomed in his chest. Would Akillik really target the amulet? He couldn't imagine anything more disastrous.

Akillik laughed again and lifted his wheel for Kevlin to see. It began to slow.

"No!" Kevlin shouted. "Keep your luck." He forced his eyes closed, forced the image of the wheel away.

His body trembled with the effort of not looking. He gritted his teeth against the overpowering urge to look. If he allowed Akillik to play His game, if the Wheel came up against him, he'd die in a heartbeat.

"Spoilsport," Akillik said. Then He laughed again. His voice spoke close beside Kevlin's ear, a whisper that crawled into his mind and shook him with its power.

"Next time we meet, the test will not be so simple."

Pain ignited again in Kevlin's mind as time resumed. He welcomed the deadly struggle against the unruly magic. If he lost this, he'd only die. The struggle against Savas had made it all too clear that stumbling into a god's power would cost his very soul.

Kevlin laughed against the terror that made him want to curl up on the floor and surrender. He threw all the insanity, all the fear, all the pain he possessed into the laughter as the Tai Pari threatened to crush his mind.

He sounded like Akillik.

Then Leander arrived, his mind a bulwark of strength. He poured peace across Kevlin's thoughts, like a wave of reinforcements driving the invaders from Kevlin's mind. The respite gave Kevlin the seconds he needed to rear high the mental shields he'd practiced on the ship.

In seconds, he stood atop his fortified mental battlements and screamed defiance against the torrent of uncontrolled magic. Let it come, and he would dominate it this time.

Very good, Leander's mindvoice said. You've made excellent progress.

I saw him again. Akillik.

We'll talk about it later. I need to try to salvage . . . something.

Kevlin groaned as he opened his eyes and sat up. Magical flames burned all around them, obscuring everything in the room. He coughed, and then coughed again.

"Hurry," Leander said through a cough of his own. He ran to the wall where a bookcase burned, but when he reached for the books, he yelped and backed away.

"What is it?" Kevlin called through another cough.

"We have to get out of here. Real fire's taking over. And real smoke."

The two supported each other as they staggered toward the door, but Leander fell to one knee, coughing so hard it was a wonder he didn't spit out a lung and a few other organs.

Kevlin lacked the strength to lift him. There didn't seem to be any air left in the room. He noticed for the first time the intense heat. It beat against him, sucking his strength. He sank to the floor next to Leander.

Kevlin started to crawl. His fingers scraped the smooth stone as he dragged himself toward the promised salvation of the doorway. His other hand clutched Leander's collar, dragging the still-coughing Stalwart along.

The flames intensified and the skin of his face cracked under the heat. He couldn't breathe, couldn't see. He closed his eyes and kept pulling, but the truth dawned on him with terrifying brutality.

They weren't going to make it.

A shadowy figure appeared in the doorway. Through a gap in the smoke, Kevlin recognized the white robes of a Sentinel. More gathered in the hall behind. He pulled Leander another agonizing inch forward, clinging to hope while trying to hold his breath. The Sentinels could put out the fire.

The flames surged into a firestorm far more intense than it had been before. Furniture vaporized and the very walls started to melt.

Kevlin covered his face with an arm, but he felt his shirt smoldering. The heat could not be survived for long. He collapsed to the ground beside Leander, his burning lungs trying to draw another breath. The air singed his throat and sucked every bit of moisture from his mouth. It tasted like a charnel house, the foul stench gagging him.

Beside him, Leander mumbled something, but Kevlin couldn't hear over the roaring of the flames. The hairs of Leander's beard were curling, blackening under the heat.

Then the fire winked out.

Kevlin sprawled on the floor, but the stones were searing hot instead of refreshing as he had hoped. So he staggered to his feet and helped Leander rise.

Sentinel Felix stood in the doorway, arms still raised. He laughed when he saw Leander. "Only your Faith could withstand Rogue Fire, my friend."

Then he frowned. "Kevlin? What are you doing in there?"

"Trying not to burn to death," Kevlin croaked.

Felix stepped into the room. "How did you survive that firestorm? You're no Stalwart."

"No, he's not," Leander said. "He's not nearly disciplined enough." He clapped Felix on the shoulder. "Thank you. Another few seconds and you would have had to scrape what was left of us off the floor."

"I'm not joking," Felix said. Behind him, several other Sentinels crowded into the doorway, listening.

Kevlin was still too shaken by the recent Tai Pari, the Trembling Madness, and the vision of Akillik. He couldn't think of a plausible explanation, but didn't plan to reveal the secret of the amulet.

He glanced at Leander, who looked equally stumped.

"Let me through so I can explain."

Indira pushed through the crowd and her voice caressed Kevlin's ears, bringing the first real relief. She wore her green Healer robe and it was spotted with blood. She looked tired.

Kevlin moved to her side as the tiny archer Adalia joined Indira and took her arm. "Careful. Ye kin hardly walk, Indira."

Felix made a little bow. "Healer Indira, you're always welcome. How can you explain this?"

Indira faced Felix, her chin high, her hair brushed back from her face.

Leander spoke before she could. "This is a matter that should be discussed in confidence."

Felix waved the other Sentinels away. They grumbled as they drifted off, but none of them openly protested.

Leander said, "Indira has recently discovered a previously unexplored aspect of her gift."

Indira nodded. "I can shield others with my power, even when not actively healing them." She glanced at Kevlin. "Although standing in that fire guaranteed you needed my help."

"I'm very impressed," Felix said. "After you've had a chance to rest, I'd love to hear how this works."

He headed for the door but paused. "Leander, I want to know what was going on in here. Soon."

After he left, Kevlin took Indira's hands.

She asked, "Are you all right? What were you thinking?"

"I'm fine, but you lied? For me?" Her integrity was a major reason anyone still played cards with her. If word got out that she'd lied, no one would believe her fantastic skill with cards was completely honest.

A little color rose in her cheeks. "Well, you weren't helping. You looked like your thoughts had all melted. Besides, it wasn't exactly a lie. I mean, I didn't actually tell him I shielded you. I just sort of . . . implied it."

Kevlin laughed, and Leander joined him. "You're the queen of justification."

"Well, you're very welcome," Indira snapped. She turned and marched off.

Adalia shook her head. "Ye coulda handled that better." Then she trotted after Indira.

Leander clapped him on the shoulder. "Are you going to chase her?"

"Should I?"

"Don't ask me. I've lived a century longer than you, my boy, and I still can't understand women."

That didn't help.

Kevlin started to run.