“I need your help.” I shrugged. “But if we don’t do this my way, I’ll find another. You’re right that I don’t easily surrender, Brahm. You’ve seen my powers and what I can do. You can take what I’m offering, or you can reject them, but it’s the only option I’m offering you and your sister.”
“Le Poing Fermé only offered one option too.” Brahm pushed his plate aside and frowned. “Funny how you made that work in your favor.”
“That remains to be seen.”
I suspected Brahm could find ways to make my agreement work in his favor, too, but that was a problem for another day. One more debt added to an ever-growing pile. One more vulnerability I hoped to avoid. I’m not sure I’m starting out on the right foot, but I don’t know what else to do. Le Poing Fermé is holding my country hostage, and I can’t defeat them on my own.
I can’t tell you what to do, Grandfather said. But whatever path you take, I’ll be with you the whole way.
Like you have any other choice.
He chuckled. Nothing gets by you, does it?
“Meet me in the stables in a half hour.” Brahm stuffed his folded newspaper under his arm and stood.
“Does this mean we have an agreement?”
He paused, narrowing his eyes at me, analyzing. Whatever he was looking for, he must have found. His face cleared. “We do.”
“What about Hannah?” Malita asked. “Will she agree?”
His lips thinned. “Leave my sister to me.”
***
I found Brahm standing in the wide doorway of stables grand enough to put many of the fine homes on Inselgrau to shame, including my own. Built of heavy stone blocks and rich mahogany beams, the stables kept the Shulzes’ horses housed in luxury. Brahm, however, clutched the reins of a moth-eaten old horse that looked like he’d prefer to be doing anything else, such as quietly succumbing to old age in a nice sunny pasture, rather than standing in the courtyard, wearing a saddle and bridle. Adaleiz, also in full tack, waited next to him, shaking her head as if to say she thought this to be a bad idea. Examining the stables’ dark interior, I hoped to catch a glimpse of Gideon’s father and confirm he was being well cared for, but if the elder Faust was anywhere around, he kept out of sight.
Brahm tugged on a ragged flat cap that looked as old and tired as his horse. He had also changed from his suit into workman’s clothes. “Is there any chance you’d let me undertake this task on my own?”
“I’m to trust you to choose a Magician for me without my input?” I scoffed. “I don’t think so.”
“We may not even find your Magician today. The first thing I must do is talk to my connections and discover what they know. That would go easier if you weren’t there. They don’t trust outsiders.”
“I’m going, like it or not.”
“Without your friends?” He gestured toward the house. “Don’t you want their protection?”
What I wanted was to keep them safe as much as possible, and I believed it was safer for them to stay behind. “Haven’t I proved myself capable of protecting myself?”
He said nothing but merely snorted.
“Where are we going, anyway?” Thankful for the riding pants I wore—another hand-me-down from Hannah—I hitched my foot in Adaleiz’s stirrup and threw my leg over her saddle.
Brahm mounted his own horse and urged him into a shambling walk. “Into the heart of the city.”
A chill slithered down my spine. “You’re not worried about running into Daeg or one of his men?” I wore my Thunder Cloak in anticipation of that possibility but was reluctant to share that fact with Brahm. If he knew nothing about my Thunder Cloak and its abilities, then I preferred keeping that knowledge to myself. Secret weapons worked best when they remained a secret.
Brahm glanced over his shoulder. His smile made him look jaunty, carefree, but I’d glimpsed the brain beneath his façade and knew better than to underestimate him. He presented whatever disguise suited his needs, and I trusted none of them. Not completely.
“That’s a chance you’ll have to take if you want your Magician.” He shifted, his saddle creaking. “Although I suppose you could trust me to undertake this task on my own.”
I barked a derisive laugh.
He sniffed. “Didn’t think so.”
“Do you have someone in mind already?” We rode side by side, following the Schulzes’ wide drive, which wound between tall beeches and broad oaks. Sunlight illuminated the leaves, transforming them into glowing bits of brilliant green like stained glass.
“I don’t, but I know who we need to talk to. When we get there, remember, I’m not an heir of the Schulze empire, and you’re not the Queen of Inselgrau or the Lady of Thunder. Let me do the talking.”
Biting back a protest, I nodded. If I’d wanted to take the lead on this endeavor, I wouldn’t have asked for his help. Steinerland was Brahm’s territory, his home city. I’d defer to his expertise. But I’d also keep both eyes wide, both ears open, and the storms near at hand.
Closer to the city’s center, the traffic increased. Pedestrians, carriages, wagons, and riders on horseback clogged the streets and sidewalks, everyone intent on getting somewhere in a hurry. Street vendors shouted, and coachmen yelled insults at each other. Manure, soot, and the pong of unwashed crowds wafted past me, a discordance of urban stench. I scanned our surroundings, searching for signs of threat or trouble.
Deeper into the city, where dilapidated brick buildings rose high enough to block the sun, Brahm turned onto a side alley leading to a back street that twisted behind the buildings like a secret pathway into the Shadowlands.
“Are you sure you know where we’re going?” I whispered harshly.
“Trust me, Liesl.”
Clenching my jaw, I shot him a dark look but kept my doubts to myself.
After reaching what seemed like a random doorway, Brahm halted his tattered old horse and dismounted. I glanced at our surroundings, at the rows and rows of brick walls, searching for a clue that might indicate what was special about this location as opposed to all the other dark, dank, doorways. Nothing stood out, no signs, no markings. I gave him a questioning look.
“If I asked you to stay here with the horses,” he said, “would you?”
“Depends.” I nodded at the nearest doorway. “What are you going to do in there?”
“Just talk to someone. I’m afraid if we leave the horses unattended, they’ll be gone before we get back.” A shadow of worry flitted across his face. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but it’s easier to speak with these people on my own. They know me. If I bring you in, they’ll be less inclined to talk.”
