“Cillian deduced that the earliest books hidden away must have been the most important.Critical enough that Anciela thought to collaborate with a librarian wizard to hide the documents in a folded space to protect even the encrypted data after that disastrous meeting with the committee,” Han explained.He’d shown them the meeting minutes secreted in the folded archive, which indicated the explosive findings Anciela had brought to the Convocation: that familiars weren’t incapable of wielding their own magic and becoming wizards.And that Anciela had discovered some technique to make that happen.
“Amazing to think that all this time we assumed it was House Phel enemies who hid the archives,” Nic commented, “and not our own people preserving information for us.”
“Well, it’s difficult to know what the motives were for the initial concealment,” Han said thoughtfully.“We’re only guessing here.And we cannot overlook that our enemies did ultimately take over maintaining that concealment.House Hanneil went to lengths to keep Alise and Cillian from finding and removing that archive.”
“But did they know what was in it?”Nic asked.
“Maybe?”Han tapped a finger on his lip.“It seems the House Phel enemies had to have an idea that Anciela had discovered a method for removing whatever block keeps familiars from working magic—enough of a concern to want to stop anyone else from ever finding out.”
“It wouldn’t take much to give wizards a concern aboutthat,” Nic commented drily.“The entire power structure of the Convocation rests on that supposedly immutable fact.”
“But Cillian theorizes,” Illiana put in, “that the librarian wizard recruits who came along later didn’t know why they were hiding these materials.They just took any- and everything that referenced House Phel and stuck it in the folded archive.”
“Following orders with no thought or sense behind it,” Han said in bitter disapproval.
“How recently?”Gabriel asked.
Han and Iliana paused, clearly following his thought.“We’d have to ask Cillian,” Han said slowly.“He’d know for sure, with his library magic, but there is an index.”
“I worked on that for a while,” Iliana said, producing the stack of paper, “before I switched to looking for the key.Cillian started the index with the first books he extracted from the archive.”
Nic looked at the first page, then scanned the books stacked around the study on every available surface.“Where is this one?”She put her finger on the first entry.
“Ummm.” Iliana looked around, counting on her fingers, then walked to one of the neat piles.“Here.Cillian was upset that we stacked them this way, but this study has no shelves and we, of course, can’t let any of these books out of the room until we’re sure they present no danger.”
“Hidden traps and so forth,” Han explained.“Lady Harahel was insistent.”
Nic trailed a finger down the stack, checking the spines.“Several of these are recent publications,” she noted.“Within the last year.”
“My index includes the publication dates,” Iliana said, sounding a little put out.
Nic smiled at her.“Just being thorough.”She slid one out, deftly without disturbing the pile.“Here’s the Convocation record of your application to reinstate House Phel, for example.”She held it up, meeting Gabriel’s gaze.“You know what this means.”
He nodded slowly, soberly, and feeling a spark of keen excitement, an avenue to take action.“Whoever was most recently tasked with hiding documents is still working in the Convocation Archives.Or was, up until very recently.”
Iliana opened and closed her mouth in shock.“Why didn’t Cillian think of that?”
Han grimaced.“He did.I’ll bet you anything he did.”
“But house loyalty would prompt him to keep that quiet,” Nic said.
“Except he’d go to his house head, wouldn’t he?”Gabriel asked her.“He’d have discussed this with Órlaith Harahel.”
“Lady of his house and his grandmother,” Nic agreed with resignation.“Who insisted on keeping this project secret from the rest of her house and has, perhaps not so coincidentally, gone off to Convocation Center.”
“If it were me,” Gabriel said slowly, “I would want to find who it was from my house that was betraying their contract and endangering us all by risking the wrath of the Convocation.”
“Yes.”Nic sighed.“Looks like we need to go to Convocation Center.If we’re in luck, that’s where Alise and Cillian will go, too.”
“No haring off to Elal along the way?”Gabriel asked, just to be sure.
“As I have no wish to see my father and my husband battle to the death, no,” she answered acerbically.
“Will you worry about Bria too much?”
“No.Yes.”She looked unhappy but resigned.“You’re right.Bria is as safe at House Phel as anyone can make her.She’s safest there and we need to do this.”
“Han and Iliana?”Gabriel asked, letting that particular conversational thread die on its own.“Coming or staying?”
