deLan, Kanick and the remaining cavalrymen strode across the grounds and into the main tower. The Enclave seemed more alive at this dark hour than it had the last time Bera and Kanick had visited, though the uncomfortably hot and stale air remained the same.

They reached the landing before the Magister's door and were waved into Edian's solar by one of his acolytes, not the serious-looking boy but a girl from somewhere on the Eastern continent by her looks. deLan bade his men to wait outside and followed Kanick into the office.

Magister Edian was sat behind his desk, his smooth features alert, his robes freshly pressed and not a hair out of place, despite the lateness of the hour.

"Master Kanick, Governor deLan," he acknowledged as they approached. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Kanick was taken aback by the question. His mind flittered over Jarron raving in the cells, the runes on the wall and the rush of heat in the cave as the flames surged forward. Tiredness washed over him, and he had to blink the sleep from his eyes.

"Last night a miller, Jarron, was found in the street, rambling and covered in blood," deLan began. The magister made a quiet, sympathetic noise, though there was no sincerity in it. Kanick thought Edian seemed bored and deLan must have picked up on it. "Master Kanick can elaborate," he turned to the mage and Magister Edian fixed him with his languid, unblinking gaze.

"Hm, yes," Kanick collected his thoughts. "Jarron Miller confessed to killing Regius, and also his own wife, whom he claimed was an undead creature raised by Regius."

That got Edian's serious attention. He stopped resting on his elbows and sat up in his high-backed chair. "So, you are saying Regius turned necromancer and this miller killed him in revenge?"

"No," Kanick answered, shaking his head. "Jarron's speech was... odd," he thought back. I killed that b-bastrd mage. "Repetitive. We had the man stripped and found a rune carved on his foot, a compulsion."

"A compulsion? So he did kill the mage?"

"The compulsion carved into the man was to kill his wife, not Regius. It merely compelled him to claim he killed Regius," Kanick explained.

"Where is the man now?" Edian's eyes flicked towards deLan, reflecting the heavy light from the braziers heating the room.

"Still in the dungeon, but under the care of my court mage," deLan answered.

"He is suffering from the effects of magic, I would feel it is in all our interests to have him here," Edian said, his voice soft but firm.

"With respect, Magister, this man has confessed to one grave crime and is the only viable suspect in another. The wheels of justice must turn and be seen to turn. Whether or not this man is sentenced for these crimes, must be decided but the question of his guilt or innocence is for the High King's justice, not yours." deLan kept his tone respectful but equally firm.

The heat and tiredness were making Kanick irritable, and this squabble about jurisdiction was already beginning to wear on him.

"We have much greater immediate concerns than who will cleave Jarron Miller from this world!" He declared, ignoring deLan's horrified glance. "There is dark magic in Woodbend, and the Miller is undeniable proof!"

"This indeed... concerning," said the Magister slowly, as though he was tasting the words. And yet, Kanick didn't feel Edian was taking it seriously enough.

"Just today, my apprentice and I were attacked in Regius's cave," Kanick added.

"Really? By whom?" Edian asked, his full attention now on Kanick.

"We don't know, but there were more than two attackers, and we suspect the Sons of the Prince," he replied.

"And what proof do you bring?" Edian asked.

"Our evidence is circumstantial," Kanick admitted after a pause. "But I can't think of any other group. Regius was working on a spell, I don't know it's true nature, yet, but I think it was a very powerful healing spell. For some reason, the Sons killed him for its secret."

"And what is your assessment?" Edian asked of deLan.

"We have been fortunate," the Governor began slowly, "that the Sons have been inactive this far north. My court mage tells me that other, similar towns have not been so lucky, so I ask myself why are we so different? Now that we know their dark magic is so readily able to infect our town, we have an answer. I believe the Sons have based themselves near Woodbend."

"I saw Jarron Miller with my own eyes," deLan continued, "and I have no reason to doubt Master Kanick's account of his attack. Now is the time to strike, Magister," at Edian's title something shifted on deLan's face. It passed like a cloud over the sun, a momentary darkness and the Governor picked up his thread again. "Together, with Battlemages and my soldiers, I think we can deal a serious blow to the Sons."

Edian leaned back and looked down at his desk. He turned his head as he addressed the pair. "You know where they are?"

"Before the war, the Union maintained an outpost near Woodbend. When we occupied the city, it was abandoned in favour of a garrison in the Keep. No one ventures there, I suspect hardly anyone knows it was ever there."

"One of our attackers was seriously wounded. Sons or no, they will have needed to go to ground," Kanick added.

"Very well, I propose we ride for this fort tomorrow... No, wait, it is after midnight... we ride for this fort tonight, if that is agreeable?" The Magister asked.

"I would prefer to move as quickly as possible-" deLan started before being interrupted Edian.

"It will have to be tonight. I want to catch them napping, and besides," he nodded at Kanick, who's mind had drifted somewhat and was returned to his senses at the mention of his name, "Master Kanick looks fit to drop."

"A rest might be useful," Kanick admitted, running his hand over his short hair. "And I will need to have spells prepared."

"Very well," deLan relented. "We shall meet at the North Gate at eleven this evening."

Out on the landing, deLan was reunited with his soldiers and they descended the staircase together.

"I would be grateful if you could discuss this spell with my court mage," deLan murmured, when they emerged into the chilly night air.

"Of course," Kanick replied, concluding it would be rude to be accept a ride back to his rooms and refuse the governor.

"Excellent, I will see you tomorrow for lunch!" The Governor declared and ordered one of his cavalrymen to take him to the Black Crown. "I bid you a good night."

After checking on his apprentice, who was sleeping soundly, Kanick fell into a dreamless sleep so quickly that his brain barely had time to worry the puzzle pieces of the day together and consider how they fit into the larger picture. Instead, he woke to sunlight streaming through the windows and thought sarcastically at the seemingly glorious weather, Another day in paradise.

Stolen novel; please report.

He roused Bera, who, benefitting from a long and uninterrupted sleep, felt much better, though the colour had yet to return to his face. His slow deliberate movements as he admitted Kanick into his room showed he was not yet fully recovered from the exertions of the spell. It would pass, however, Kanick thought jealously, the boy was young.

"I am away to the castle," Kanick said standing in to doorway. "I have a meeting with the Governor and his court mage, but I need the notes on Regius's spell."

"Give me a moment to prepare, and I will join you," Bera said, starting for his robes piled on the floor, his sword and scabbard piled unceremoniously on top.

"Just the notes, please. I think you should stay here," Kanick told him. They boy opened his mouth to protest but Kanick cut him off. "I need you to stay here and prepare spells for me. We... I was unprepared for the attack in the cave, and I don't want to make that mistake again." Kanick gestured with his hands, the molten skin on display. "I can't do it, so I need you to trace any destructive mark you can find, either from memory or the almanac."

"Are you sure?" Bera said, almost a whisper. The trust Kanick was placing in him was not lost on the apprentice.

Kanick nodded. "I am sure. That spell in the cave was well crafted, and I would trust your runes as though they were my own."

Instead of the Governor's sparse offices or the main hall where Bera and Kanick had first met deLan, Kanick was ushered into the court mage's laboratories one level above the dungeons, though it was at least drier than that pit.

The main room was a confusion of workbenches and desks, piled high with glassware flasks, stacks of papers and thick hide-bound books. Kanick cringed slightly at the sight of so many books in close proximity to cauldrons and flasks full of liquid and thought back to the neat and well-ordered labs in Parras.

Two men were stood around a writing desk in the centre of the room, their heads bowed in study of something on the surface. Kanick recognised the thick, greying hair of the Governor, who looked up as Kanick was announced by the chamberlain. The large man in voluminous silk robes stood next to him was, presumably, the court mage.

deLan introduced him, "This is Valdez, my court mage. Valdez, Master Kanick from the order."

The creases of Valdez's lined face broke out into an easy smile as he extended a meaty brown hand. "Pleasure to meet you," he said, his greying stubble not quite hiding his extra chins. "Marque tells me you have a spell you would like me to examine?"

"Er," Kanick looked to deLan, momentarily taken aback by the reference to the Governor's first name. "Yes, I do," he dove into his satchel and pulled out Bera's diagrams of the scribbles in the cave, handing them over. The trio gathered around the desk, Valdez flattening out the paper over the map that had been on the desk. Kanick recognised it was a map of Woodbend and its environs.

The runes were written out as they had been on the wall, as each rune was reiterated and changed over time. "From these marks here, I think it's some kind of healing spell," Kanick offered.

"Oh, yes," Valdez licked his lips hungrily. "A very powerful one," he remarked, pointing at a mark partially obscured by a scribble. "The base marks for this rune are very similar to those for stimulating the heart... See the this character here?" Kanick nodded at the intersection of lines and his brain sparked with recognition.

"Lightning," they said in unison.

"Indeed, Master Kanick. These other marks temper it's power, but it requires a lot of concentration to perform the spell safely. Only the most skilled healers would attempt it."

"You know your spellcraft," Kanick said admiringly.

"I was a scholar within the order for many years. We are kin with the spell crafters, I think," Valdez explained. He turned back to the final rune, the most obscured. "There are even stranger marks here, less related to your usual healing spells but their... shape looks familiar to me. I don't know their specific role – the rune is too defaced – but this is certainly an incredibly powerful healing spell. If it could be recapitulated, I would fear it's power. It might save it's target, even from the very edge of death, but quite possibly at the expense of the caster's life."

"Well, that would explain the half-burned papers we found – remnants of the spell," Kanick said, looking deLan and Valdez in the eye.

"Indeed, such a spell would require wooden tablets specially treated. Perhaps stone," he added after a thought. "But wood takes these preparations better, though it's an arduous task over many weeks."

Kanick's mind was turning over this new information. Valdez had confirmed what he had suspected... Even from the very edge of death. Valdez's words mixed with Jarron's. She was already dead... "Valdez, do you think... This spell could bring someone back from the dead?"

He half expected the large mage to burst out laughing, but instead a thoughtful look came over him and he scratched at his stubble.

"Hmm," Valdez looked down at the runes. "Such a thing should be impossible," he said. "Attempts at using magic to create life often meet with unhappy results. The body is just too complicated; nerves, blood, bone... each one of those elements infinitely complicated... but then," Valdez looked at Kanick and deLan, "this spell is also very complex."

"What are you thinking, Master Kanick?" deLan asked.

"Regius was a spell crafter before the war. He then became a healer," Kanick ticked off the points on his fingers as he speculated. "But I knew him, and he never saw a magical discipline that he didn't think he couldn't improve. So, Regius starts crafting a healing spell, more and more powerful, more complex – we see this in the multiple iterations of the runes." Kanick turned to deLan. "Then Marron suffers her accident is brought to Regius. She's dying, possibly dead. Regius uses his spell, and she is restored full and whole – I can vouch for that." Kanick was feeling more reassured now that he back on the solid ground of facts.

"But how does this get him killed?" deLan asked.

"I don't know," Kanick admitted. "But someone was willing to kill to stop us investigating. It makes sense to assume it was because of this spell. But why would the Sons be interested in a healing spell?"

"Such a spell would be incredibly useful in a war," Valdez offered. "I assume." deLan nodded in agreement.

"I don't think so. I've seen a fair bit of battlefield magic." Kanick countered. "It needs to be quick, and you don't want your own spells to kill your healers."

"Could Regius have been targeted specifically?" deLan asked. "Maybe it has nothing to do with the spell at all?"

"But who would target Regius, other than the Sons of the Prince?" Kanick finished. "Either he was killed for the spell, and very dark magic has been employed to cover it up – suggesting the Sons. Or, he was targeted, again, suggesting the Sons." Kanick gathered up the papers, revealing more of the map underneath. "Are you sure of this fort?" Kanick asked deLan.

"It is the only place I can think of that could hide a large group like that." deLan explained. "We broke the walls and the keep, to stop it being used against us, but it is still, probably, the most defendable position near the city. If I needed a base, away from the law, that is where I would choose." There was a pause before deLan added. "I assume the Magister will bring battlemages with him... I admit I was surprised he wanted to ride with us."

Thinking on it, Kanick was also surprised. The Magister had shown a breath-taking lack of initiative in the investigation of Regius's murder and had shown no inclination towards action. "The arch-mage considered him a bit useless too, and slow to act," Kanick said, realising the Magister had yet to pass on the notes from the examination of Regius's body.

"I had simply assumed him to be an old man," deLan said.

"Old? He looks younger than I do," Kanick said. "Admittedly he's looking well for it, since we must be of similar age."

"How can that be?" Asked Valdez, puzzled.

"After the war, the enclave here was reorganised under the leadership of Magister Edian. He must have been young to be a Magister, but the war killed so many, including the previous magister." Kanick told them. "I would have thought you would have been told."

"Kanick," deLan started, "The man we saw today is the same Magister who has always led the enclave, since I was a child."

A feeling of cold dread slowly slipped through Kanick's stomach. "You must be mistaken," he told the pair, "the previous Magister died fighting with Palregon and was replaced."

"All I know is that I saw that man on his way to the keep, wearing the robes we saw today, when I was a boy."

Kanick remembered what Areonis had said about the previous Magister, he had been old, and his wits addled when he rose with the rest of the town. Some of the older Magisters and High Mages began to act like kings over their Enclaves and temples, forgetting they were part of a larger order. The previous Magister had been very old, even then. As best they could tell he had died on the Scar with many of Palregon's retinue.

"The previous Magister, Gonian was his name..." Kanick couldn't piece it together. How could the old Magister, who had apparently died, turn up at the gates and simply resume his post?

"Well, I never knew his name." Answered deLan. "As now, the Enclave kept to itself back then. I doubt there was anyone outside of the Keep that had dealings with the Order... Or rather, the Magister... And the Lord and most of his retainers were all hanged as traitors twenty years ago."

"But he looks no older than thirty," Kanick said. Then he suddenly remembered the ship from Aaton, that felt so long ago and, with a rising feeling of hopelessness, he understood. The phrasing of Agents of Chaos and their Binding came into his mind, the only defence against revanants; Fire, and sunlight.