Fallen Magic

And so it begins. Edward and I take turns explaining what happened, each filling in details the other missed and answering Lord Blackthorn’s questions. If he’s angry at us for meeting with Edward’s mother, he doesn’t show it, though he does ask for exhaustive details about where and when that happened. We tell him everything, because we’re not foolish enough not to at this stage.

Most of his questions are about Isabelle. And the only time he really shows surprise is when we eventually get to what she said just before leaving. The messages she asked us to pass onto him.

“She compromised… damn her,” he mutters.

“What do you know about her?” I ask, taking advantage of his pause.

“She was, until recently, working as a research alchemist in a Sirgalese military facility. Our agent in that facility – Sam Dubois – was in regular communication with her, and raised the possibility with me of her defection to Rasin. I was seriously considering that operation, but then she left for unknown purposes. Well, known now, I suppose. But if she knew…”

“She asked us to tell you something else,” Edward says. “That she wants to know about… Fox and Tiger, was it?”

“Yeah,” I confirm. “Individuals known by those names, at least.”

The words have an effect on Lord Blackthorn like nothing so far has. He tenses immediately. “How did she know those names?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t give any context.”

“You’re certain? Both of you?”

We nod. I don’t quite dare ask what they mean.

“Very well. Go on.”

We describe what happened next: she swallowed the orb and vanished just before Lord Blackthorn and Electra arrived. Neither of us mention that she gave us orbs as well. It isn’t really a conscious decision, at least on my part. Edward is the one speaking when we come to that part of the story, and he just skims over it. And I realise that he must be doing that deliberately, and decide not to interfere with whatever he’s up to.

If I had to guess, it’s because he wants the option. Even if it’s a terrible one. He wants to have one thing his father doesn’t know about, one way of escaping. So at least he has some meaningful choice about his own future.

I can’t blame him. I feel the same, at least a little.

It’s not too much longer, after that, before we’re done.

“I expect you have questions for me, also?” Lord Blackthorn asks.

Who are Fox and Tiger?

Do you want to make one of us your Mage-King?

“Who knows about Cyrus’s Tomb?” Edward asks.

“Too many people, clearly. The only people who should are the King and the Royal Magicians.”

“Electra, how did you find out? Could someone else have replicated that?”

Electra has barely said a word throughout the interrogation. “Unlikely,” she says now. “I found it because when I first started teaching here, I decided to map out the tunnels as a personal project. And then I triggered the ward that protected it.”

“There’s an elaborate alert ward set around the entrance to that cavern,” Lord Blackthorn explains. “It’s supposed to alert all five Royal Magicians if anyone tries to enter. No-one’s ever triggered it since I’ve been a Royal Magician. Electra is the only recorded one in the last century.”

“That doesn’t rule out unrecorded ones,” Edward notes. “Or knowledge passed down from over a century ago.”

“It does not. But being capable of deactivating that alert ward… I’d have to think it almost impossible without first-hand knowledge of its workings.”

“Or,” I point out, “the help of a sensitive.”

“That can’t be right, though,” says Edward. “If – that woman – had been down there before, she would have seen Electra’s ward then.”

“Not necessarily. I only set that ward in the New Year. It might be that she went down before that happened.”

“But the most likely explanation,” I say, trying to piece things together, “is that the backer is a Royal Magician. Right?”

“Right,” Lord Blackthorn confirms.

“And… that’s bad?”

“It means they’re very good indeed at covering their tracks. And they know a lot of the Kingdom’s secrets. So… yes, Tallulah, it is bad. I can’t decide whether they’re a bigger threat than Isabelle, and that’s saying something.”

I don’t believe Isabelle is much of a threat to the Kingdom of Rasin. Oh, she could be if she wanted to be, but I’m fairly convinced that she just wants to be left alone to work on tracking down the other Tombs and replicating Esteral now.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

But Lord Blackthorn will only see how dangerous she could be. And I can’t entirely blame him for that.

“Further questions?” he asks.

I still have the same two burning questions. I’m still too afraid to ask them. “I – not right now.”

“Me neither,” says Edward.

“Good. In which case I have further work to do. I’ll be back in touch most likely tomorrow once I’ve dealt with the most urgent crises.” He’s gone almost before he finishes the sentence.

I breathe out.

“May I leave?” Edward asks. “Please?”

Electra looks him up and down for a long moment before replying “If that’s what you want. Tallulah, do you…”

I partly do, but I also think Edward doesn’t want me around right now. And besides, I think it would be helpful to talk to Electra. “If it’s okay, I might stay a little longer. There’s some things I want to ask you.”

“Stay if you’d like,” says Electra.

Edward gets up and walks out. It hurts a little, watching him go.

Electra watches me. I wonder if she’s going to comment on Edward, but she doesn’t.

“You and Lord Blackthorn know each other, don’t you?”

“We have worked together to make sure Edward can learn here safely and securely.”

“That’s not what I meant. And I think you know that.”

I’m not far off the point Edward was at earlier, of just wanting Electra to stop playing games and give me a straight answer for once.

Electra sighs. “Lord Blackthorn would not be happy with me if he knew I was telling you this.”

“Then I’ll make sure he doesn’t find out,” I say, though internally I’m cursing at the thought of yet another secret to keep.

“Thank you,” says Electra, and then after a pause. “We were… colleagues, I suppose. Maybe friends, to the extent that either of us are capable of friendship.”

There’s only one organisation they can both have worked for. “You were… a spy?”

“Sort of. I was on one of the Birds teams. The same as he was.”

The Birds are the Ministry for Intelligence’s special magical operatives. And Lord Blackthorn was one of them. I blink. “How did he…”

Electra laughs. “He never told me. But I rather suspect he blackmailed at least one person.”

I don’t quite know what to say. “What was it he called you?” I ask after a moment. “Mags?”

“Yes. It was a false name I used for a while around that time. A sort of inside joke.” She considers me for a second before saying “Short for Magpie.”

“Why would you be…”

She shrugs. “We called ourselves the Corvids. Because ravens have long been associated with his family, and another of our team was surnamed Crow. And I like shiny things.”

I wonder if there’s more to that story than meets the eye. Magpies are known as thieving birds, after all. But I probably shouldn’t try and get Electra to confess to theft.

“Why did the two of you quit?”

“He did because his brother died. And that made him the Blackthorn heir, which even for him made fieldwork a little impractical. And I quit because… well, I ran out of teammates. The other two… one of them was a Crow, as I’ve mentioned. Eve Crow. And the other was my brother.”

I remember what she’s told me about her brother. That she doesn’t know whether he’s dead or alive. “What happened to them?” I ask.

“They were sent together on a deep cover mission to Sirgal. They never came back.”

“They got caught?” I guess.

Electra shakes her head. “Worse. They betrayed us.”

Betrayed their country, she means, joined up with the Sirgalese. Except, I’m beginning to see, it was also a very personal betrayal.

“It broke us both, really. We’ve found our ways to go on – duty, mostly, duty and obligation – but neither of us have ever healed.”

“I’m sorry,” I say. “I know that means nothing – but I’m sorry that happened to you. To both of you.”

I wonder who Edward’s father would have been if that betrayal hadn’t happened.

“That’s… appreciated,” Electra replies. “One other thing: what codenames do you think the Sirgalese used to refer to them?”

It hadn’t occurred to me to ask that question. But the only reason Electra has to bring it up is that there’s an answer that will mean something to me. And there’s an obvious candidate for that: “Fox and Tiger,” I say.

She nods.

That explains Lord Blackthorn’s reaction to the names. They must be like the ghosts of the past betrayal, ghosts of people he once considered… not friends, exactly, but perhaps something close. And Isabelle bringing them up… that must have seemed to be – and quite possibly was – a power play. I know your secrets, she might have been saying. I know your weaknesses.

Stars. No wonder he thinks she’s so dangerous. Quite possibly, she is.

“How did she find out about them?” I wonder aloud.

“She’s known to have worked with the Sirgalese government, so the simplest explanation is that someone there told her.”

I shake my head. “That doesn’t… doesn’t fit. She wanted to escape them.”

“The only evidence we have for that is her own word. And to assume someone like that is being completely honest with you – “

“I find it hard to believe any government would endorse the risks she took. She put her life in our hands.”

“That’s true. But the reward – just a fraction of your trust. That could be enough that you wouldn’t oppose her at a crucial moment. That could be worth the stakes.”

The orb she gave me feels heavy in my pocket. It could be a trap.

I ought to tell her about it. Or Lord Blackthorn. Not keep crucial information to myself like this.

But telling them now would be betraying Edward. Even more than – in his eyes – I already have. I owe it to him to at least talk about it first. Well, if he’ll speak to me.

“Maybe,” I mutter, unconvinced.

Electra sits back and studies me. She’s contemplating something. I wish I knew what it was. “Are you okay, Tallulah?” she asks.

I’m fine. It’s an obvious lie, so I don’t waste my breath telling it. But… considering everything I’ve been through? I’m not physically injured. I haven’t had an active episode. Maybe that’s enough to make me okay. “As much as I can be, considering the circumstances.”

“I thought so. You’re more resilient than you give yourself credit for.” She sighs. “I ought to have some mysterious advice, or at least some vague hints that will lead you in the right direction. But in truth, I’m rather lost myself.”

It feels strange, hearing her admit that. And terrifying. As if I were staying afloat, and those words made me realise just how far out of my depth I was.

“All I have to offer, then, is something to reflect on. And a promise. Your decisions, starting with those you’ve made today, will have consequences. Not just for you and those you care about, but quite possibly for the whole country. That is a burden, but it is also an opportunity. Make the most of it.”

It seems a lot more burden than opportunity to me right now. But maybe that will change over the next few days, as things begin to feel more real.

“As for the promise… everyone is playing their own game, Tallulah. Even your friends. They may care about you, but they also care about how you can get them what they want.”

I grimace, trying to convince myself that she’s wrong. It’s not an easy task.

“So what I promise you, Tallulah, is that I am not. What I want is for you to survive – no, thrive. To wield your power without being consumed by it. And to find happiness. And I will do whatever I can to make sure that happens.”

I blink. “Why should I believe you?”

Electra laughs. “Oh, you shouldn’t.”