Evastany

8 IV

8 IV

I am not precisely sure why Llandry sent Ori to me.

It is not that I object to his presence! Not at all! He is a dear boy and delightful to have around. But since the problem she set me is entirely Lokant-specific, I am not sure what to do with our Lord Draykon.

I can well believe he was reluctant to be separated from Gio, and vice versa, which was probably reason enough. Llandry wishes to see both of them happy, I am sure of it, and would not lightly divide them.

Nor would I. But while Gio is preparing himself to turn teacher, and indeed holding classes, what is poor Ori to do? He looks to me, blithely expecting that I shall produce a task for him at any moment — something worthy of his scintillating brain, something challenging.

I, however, have not the faintest notion of what that might be.

I am reluctant to admit it, for am I not supposed to be infallible? So I stalled by taking Ori with me when I went to see Angstrun.

That’s Darae, Lord Angstrun, High Sorcerer of Glour and an old friend of mine. He was more than a friend, once, and that is the other reason why I wanted Ori with me. I will not admit to using the poor man as a human barrier between me and a former flame who is not so delighted with the former part, but if you want to draw that conclusion on your own, far be it from me to stop you.

Taking Tren with me would serve the same purpose, of course, but the outcome might be fractionally different. I am too wise to risk it.

I found Angstrun at the Sorcerer School, which fell in line nicely with my hopes. The circumstances were ideal: professional surroundings, the student I wanted to thieve conveniently close by, little chance of being shut up long with Angstrun. I wanted to give him as little as possible to object to about my request, and no time to find things to complain about. A precision operation, conducted with the utmost efficiency.

It is not that Angstrun is especially hard work — or at least, not significantly more so than most men. But it is better not to leave things too much to chance, do you not agree?

Of course, despite one’s best efforts it is still possible to be taken by surprise from time to time.

‘Lady Glostrum,’ said Angstrun politely when I entered his office, Ori in tow.

‘Darae,’ I responded. Formality be hanged. ‘This is Orillin Vance.’

Ori made a casual bow. Angstrun sat in his favourite chair with his feet on the table, and did not trouble himself to move, merely inclining his head to my guest. I thought he would guess why we had come, but if he did, he gave no sign of it. He sat with an expectant expression, looking from me to Ori and back with a creditable appearance of mystification.

‘Is there a reason you have brought the Lord Draykon of the Daylands to see me?’ he enquired, when I did not immediately speak.

‘No, because I haven’t. We are here about Susa.’

‘Oh?’ said Angstrun. He folded his arms and grinned at me, looking pleased about something. Maliciously so.

It isn’t that Angstrun objected all that much to my breaking off our largely casual arrangement. The problem is, I did so in order to marry one Lord Vale, a man rather older than myself, and thoroughly eligible. All the right everything, you know. But instead of following through with that unobjectionable plan, I fell in love with Tren.

Tren is a former aide of Angstrun’s. If you were not already aware, he is also somewhat younger than both of us, untitled, and the owner of no property. If one were to view the matter in purely pragmatic terms, he has no equitable claim to marrying me, not by way of either fortune or status. In Angstrun’s opinion, I threw aside Angstrun and Vale in order to wed someone younger and more handsome than both of those two gentlemen put together.

Well, if dear Darae can believe me to be so shallow as all that, I am not disposed to waste my life worrying over his good opinion.

I crossed my own arms and gave him my best cold stare. If he would make me spell it out… ‘You must be aware of my endeavours by now. The new bureau proceeds apace, and we are ready to enrol students. I need you to release Susa to me, at least for part of each week.’

Lord Angstrun blinked at me and his eyebrows went up. He looked, much to my displeasure, as though I had lost my mind. ‘What are you talking about?’

A question which left me at a loss, for I could not have spoken more plainly. ‘Pray do not make difficulties, Angstrun. Tell me at once what the problem is, and I dare say it can be solved.’

‘The problem,’ said Angstrun slowly, ‘is that you have lost your wits. Or perhaps you are here to complicate my day, for some mischievous reason of your own. You must know that I referred Susa to you two days ago. Is she proving unsatisfactory? If you cannot manage her, I invite you to hand her back at your earliest convenience.’

‘I what?’ Now it was my turn to stare in disbelief, and to doubt whether I had heard correctly. ‘Why would you do such a thing?’

‘Because you requested it of me.’ Angstrun took his feet off the table and sat up, his sardonic expression fading in favour of more genuine puzzlement.

‘I?’ I echoed, a feeling of foreboding uncurling in my stomach. ‘I did no such thing, for I have come here today for precisely that purpose.’

‘Where did you send her?’ interjected Ori.

‘Nowhere, especially. She left with you.’ Angstrun was looking directly at me as he said that, and I cannot doubt that he spoke the truth. Aggravating as he can sometimes be, I acquit him of any likelihood to torment me by fabricating such an alarming story.

‘Darae,’ I said in a voice of forced calm, ‘The last time I was here was weeks ago. We have had no contact in all of that time, until today. Tell me at once what happened, please, and in detail.’

Angstrun nodded. ‘What happened? You came in here just as you are doing right now, demanded that Susa attend upon you instantly for enrolment in your new school, and shortly afterwards left again, taking Susa with you.’

Hmm. ‘How did I appear?’ I asked. ‘How did I behave?’

‘You were wearing a new gown,’ said Angstrun. He looked me over and added in a bland tone, ‘At least, one that I have never seen you wear before. I remember thinking that it became you very well, though it was a trifle more daring than you would normally wear outside of evening engagements.’ He made a vague gesture at his own torso, leaving me in no doubt as to his meaning. ‘You were imperious, too — more so than usual. I concluded you were displeased with me.’

‘I knew your name, I suppose? I understood who you are?’

‘You addressed me by name.’

‘As Darae?’ I pressed.

Angstrun shook his head. ‘No, you called me “Lord Angstrun”. That is partly why I thought you were angered with me.’

I could not tell if the prospect of my dissatisfaction with him had troubled him at all, or whether he merely dismissed the possibility with a shrug.

Sideline. Focus. ‘That was not me,’ I reiterated. ‘Did this other me give you any clues as to where she might have been taking Susa?’

‘To your school,’ replied he. ‘That is what she said. Or you said.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘If that was not you, she was incredibly good at pretending to be so.’

I read the direction of his thoughts easily enough, and could not help rolling my eyes in frustration. ‘We appear to have a child missing, Darae. Now is not the time for suspicion. I assure you, I am the real Evastany Glostrum.’

His brows went up.

I gave a long sigh. ‘Close your ears, Ori,’ I ordered. The dratted boy looked at me like he had ceased to understand words in the last five seconds, so I did it for him.

While I had Ori so disabled, I proceeded to relate a few particulars of a most intimate character. Now, I am under no illusions about Angstrun. I have no reason to think that I was his only liaison all these years. But I do not imagine there are a great many women about who are as intimately acquainted with him as I, or as well informed about certain… details of his private life.

I was only halfway through my monologue when Angstrun began waving his hands in a cease and desist gesture, his cheeks turning faintly pink. ‘Very well,’ he said hastily, raising his voice to interrupt my flow of words. ‘Consider me convinced.’ He glanced at Ori in alarm, no doubt hoping that I had a good, firm grip upon the boy’s tender ears.

I delivered myself of one or two more choice facts before I stopped speaking — driven, no doubt, by some mischievous impulse for which I cannot apologise. What can I say. It was a pleasure to see Angstrun discomfited.

Then I released Ori, who gave me a smile of such angelic innocence that I was immediately convinced that he had heard every word.

So was Angstrun, which did not improve his temper. ‘So I sent Susa away with someone who was not you. How is that possible? Believe me, I would never have entrusted Susa to this woman’s care had I had the slightest suspicion that she was a stranger.’

‘Lokant,’ I said, and all mischief left me, for here was trouble indeed. ‘It is one of their talents. Or our talents, for I can manage it myself. If I wanted to persuade you that you saw something else at this moment, I could.’ I demonstrated this by implanting a vision in his mind of my own good self, splendidly naked. It is a sight he was once accustomed to, but has not lately seen, and I had the satisfaction of witnessing a distinct increase in discomfort in our mighty Lord Angstrun.

Understand, it differs from the sorcerous arts in that I made no alteration whatsoever to my appearance. Ori continued to see me exactly as I was that day. It was in Angstrun’s perception only that I changed, for I ordered him to imagine that he saw something other than what was. It is an art well suited to a dictatorial personality like mine, and there can be no surprise that I excel at it.

‘I imagine you encountered some other Lokant,’ I continued calmly, allowing my compulsion upon poor Angstrun to fade. ‘Whether a partial or a full-blood I do not know, but clearly it was no trouble for her to persuade you that you were seeing me.’

‘Or him,’ put in Ori. ‘A man may just as easily manipulate Angstrun into believing himself in female company, no?’

‘Fair point,’ I conceded.

‘Someone who knows you, surely?’ said Angstrun. ‘For the impression was most convincing.’ He would be obliged to emphasise that point to save face, I realise, for he would not like any of us to believe that he is easily duped.

On the other hand, whatever Angstrun’s flaws he is not careless. I do believe he would not have dispatched Susa with this person had he had any suspicion it was not truly me.

‘Perhaps,’ I conceded. ‘I am acquainted with few Lokants.’ There is Limbane of course, and Andraly, a female Lokant from the same Library. Plus a handful of others.

‘Or not,’ said Ori. ‘You are a well-known figure, after all, and it does not sound as though this other you behaved to Angstrun as you normally would.’

‘True,’ said Angstrun with a sigh. ‘Your physical appearance would not be too hard to replicate, considering how many images of you are to be seen all over the bulletin boards every week.’ He looked chagrined as he said that, and I wondered whether my inescapability bothered him.

‘Someone was behaving as they imagined you would behave,’ said Ori. ‘Based on your public image. The imperious Lady Glostrum, not at all given to asking when she can command.’

That was not too far from the truth of course, and Angstrun knew it too. Neither of us enlightened Ori. ‘So it could be someone unknown to any of us,’ I concluded. ‘Wonderful.’ I frowned at Angstrun. ‘Did her parents have no objection to your sending her away with me?’

‘She has no parents. Orphan. She has been in the care of the school for the past year or so.’

I spent a little while in thought, considering the facts at hand.

- Someone had a reason to want Susa, urgently enough to engage in subterfuge and kidnapping in order to secure her.

- This enterprising person knew that I would be likely to feel an interest in the child, and that I had both a reason and a right to request her transferral to my school.

- This person may also have been aware that she had no parents to raise the alarm over her disappearance. Perhaps they thought it might be a long time before I swapped notes with Angstrun and realised her absence, or had they concluded that it might never come to pass at all?

Questions aside, we had a child missing and every reason to think that she was far, far away by now. Lokants do not live on our world at all. They settle in their “Libraries” — structures which exist independently of any particular world and are largely invulnerable to the passage of time. Structures which, worst of all for our purposes, can be absolutely anywhere.

There was a chance that the person who had taken Susa was only a partial Lokant, like me, and might not have taken her off-world at all. But not a great one, and even if that was the case: how to follow?

‘This matter of altering your perceptions,’ I said out loud. ‘It is extremely difficult to so manipulate more than one person at once.’

‘Somebody might have seen them leave,’ Ori agreed. ‘A white-haired person with a child? That might be memorable enough.’

‘I will enquire,’ said Angstrun.

Which he did, and sent the report after us a few days later. Susa had been seen in the company of a woman with white hair. One person described the latter as elderly, but the other said no, she was at most middle-aged. I think the second account is the more likely. When people see white hair, they tend to assume advanced age to go with it — unless they are paying close enough attention to notice the more subtle signs to the contrary.

Nobody saw where the woman and Susa went.

This lack of information was disheartening, but at least it confirmed one thing. We may not have received a clear enough description of the abductor to guess at her identity, but we can be fairly sure that she is female. I am afraid, though, that her traceless disappearance hints at her being a full-blooded Lokant. If she is, she has probably taken poor Susa far off-world to some Library or other, and the chances of our recovering the girl under those circumstances are slim.