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."Is he… still following you now?""No.Once I knew to be aware of it, I was able to protect myself from his spells.It was a sorcerer of some kind—no doubt working for the palace.""No doubt.""Have you had anything strange happen lately?"Korov flinched a little; he tried to hide it, but Demetrius still saw."No," said Korov hastily."Nothing of particular note.Things are… always strange, of course, but such is the life of a sorcerer.There is nothing I would call suspicious.I am assuming that is what you meant.""It is," Demetrius acknowledged."Perhaps we should speak inside," Korov said.His eyes roved the empty street again, but he stepped aside to allow Demetrius to pass.Inside, everything was still in the white light of morning.Dust motes danced in a sunbeam.Demetrius trailed Korov down the same hall as before, but instead of turning right to go into the parlor, Korov took him left.The door through which they passed led to a small, cluttered office of some kind; a paper-covered desk took up most of the space, though there were a few bookshelves pressed to one side and a portrait of a smiling girl hanging on the wall.Korov went immediately to his desk and sat down, but Demetrius lingered before the picture, taken with it."Is this your wife?" She looked thirteen or fourteen, far too young to married, but perhaps it was Korov's wife before they met.Korov blinked at him."No," he said eventually."My… It is my sister.Natalia.""Does she live in Dania?" Demetrius asked, and then the blood rushed to his face and he wanted to crawl into a hole and wither away."High Father, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…""It is nothing," Korov said quietly."A simple error."Demetrius' face was still on fire."I shouldn't have said anything."Korov looked at him peculiarly."Perhaps you should tell me why you came here," he prompted.Grateful for the safer subject, Demetrius sat down across the desk from Korov and explained his theory.Korov's eyes widened as Demetrius spoke, and by the end of it he seemed at once astonished and appalled, though at least he did seem to believe what Demetrius was saying."I wanted to ask you if you knew anyone with such a talent," Demetrius concluded."I don't know anyone who can change his appearance like that, but I wasn't… I've never been very well-connected.You were more popular than me in High Academy… And your work has something to do with sorcery, isn't it?""I work in the Office of Sorcery Affairs," said Korov thickly."Yes.This is true.""Do you know who might be doing this?""I…" Korov trailed off and shook his head.There was something queer about the way he was acting.He was anxious and distracted, uncharacteristically shaken.It confused Demetrius and then he understood: Korov was still having trouble with his son.Amory Korov would throw any father off-kilter."I do not," said Korov.He rubbed his temple."I do not know who this person might be.I have never heard of one who can imitate others in such a way.I am sorry.""It's all right," Demetrius assured him, ignoring the mild disappointment that settled over his shoulders."I knew it was unlikely, but I thought I would ask anyway.""Yes.I understand.""I'll take my leave, then.I'm sorry again for showing up here so early, uninvited.""No," said Korov, mumbling more to himself than to Demetrius, "it is good.I… Yes, thank you for informing me, Fallon.I do appreciate it.Please drop by any time."He rose and extended his arm.Demetrius rose as well and obediently shook Korov's hand, which was clammy and trembling slightly.Either the situation with Amory Korov was affecting him even more than Demetrius had realized, or he was scared of trouble with the palace.Either way, the last thing he wanted was Demetrius hanging around his home, invading his space, asking about his dead sister—by the Six, Demetrius wished he could take that back—and generally making a nuisance of himself.Demetrius would leave him be.He turned, and got three steps toward the office door—And staggered, nauseated, as pain rushed through him.He fell into the bookshelf and only half-managed to pick himself up again before a new rush of pain made his knees buckle.When the second wave subsided momentarily, he looked up, and found Korov standing over him.Above Korov's head was a spell circle chalked onto the ceiling.It was common protection among sorcerers—Demetrius had a similar circle above his bed, just in case—but somehow he hadn't noticed it.If he had seen it, or been faster, he could have prepared—he could have responded—It's a trap, Demetrius thought, half-sensate.He's trapped me, I can't—and then Korov cast another spell and there was no more room for thinking.Someone was crying out in a hoarse, ugly voice.Darkness rose to fill Demetrius' vision, and he fell gratefully into that cool, painless black.His last thought, a final flicker of light in the void, was, Of course Korov didn't really reform, and then nothing.*~*~*When he awoke again, he was in a small, shadowed room, his mouth dry and dusty, his hands bound behind his back by manacles that hummed with magic.His head ached as though someone were battering it with a hammer.Korov was nowhere to be seen, but two other figures were, standing side-by-side perhaps five paces away from Demetrius.One of them was Lukas Barresyn, and the other was Lord Abernathy.Chapter ThirteenThe first thing Demetrius noticed was that Lord Abernathy was dressed in an outfit absolutely unlike any of the others he had ever worn: plain brown trousers and a simple white shirt.He had on no jewelry, no feathers, no frills or lace or trimming.His only accessory was a belt with a dagger.Even his hair was pulled back into a practical horsetail.These things seemed significant beyond the obvious.It meant something, Demetrius knew, that Lord Abernathy was dressed like that, but his mind was still too hazy to figure out what.He moved slightly, his shoulders and arms aching from the strain.The action drew the attention of both Barresyn and Lord Abernathy, who were speaking in low voices together; they turned as one to look at him [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]