“It is; that’s why I’m telling you.” Liliane finally turned to face him, her mouth circular with her surprise. “I don’t know why you don’t believe me when I tell you these things—it’s silly. What could I possibly gain bylying?”
“The Veneno Conclave wouldn’t take a year to findme.”
“They are searching—there’s an entire committee dedicated to the cause.” Liliane pursed her lips as she studied her canvas—she had painted what looked like the outlines of a small goblin pack. She nodded, then dabbed her paintbrush in an ashen-green paint. “But I might be so bold as to say they won’t find you. I do not have green mages under me but rather seasoned professionals. The same cannot be said of theConclave.”
Evariste only half listened to her. The other piece of his attention was on her painting as he watched her minty green magic fall from her fingertips and latch on to the wet paint of the canvas. “Hmm.”
“Of course, your apprentice is searching for you on her own. But I expect she’s even less likely to find any hint of you than the Conclave.” Liliane filled in several of the goblin bodies with her green paint. “She may be powerful, but that hardly means she’scompetent.”
Evariste stood up straight, every muscle in his body tensing. “What do you know about myapprentice?”
Liliane smiled bemusedly. “To begin with, it was she we were aiming to capture. But this turned out much better. She’s young and green—so easy to crush in both mind and spirit even if she is not with us. It is a loss we cannot drain magic from her—our reports say she has a great deal of it. But then again, even I never dared to think we’d ever manage to capture you. And given that you’d likely be a nuisance to us over time, this really is the better arrangement.” She nodded as she filled in the last goblin shape, then dipped her brush in an earthy brownpaint.
Evariste rested his palms on the surface of the mirror and fixated on the one important thing out of Liliane’s chattering: Angelique was looking forhim.
I don’t know whether to be happy or terrified. If they capture her…He frowned as he mentally replayed Liliane’s explanation.And what did she mean that it would be easy to crushAngelique?
Evariste shifted as he thought about the best way to ask Liliane without making it obvious just how concerned he was for hisstudent.
“There, finished!” Liliane set her paintbrush aside and held her hand out invitingly to theimage.
Her magic flowed from her palm to the canvas until the painted image of the goblin pack was nearly obscured by the green of herpowers.
Several feet away, in the empty expanse of the chamber, Liliane’s green magic churned in a large circle—almost like awhirlpool.
Liliane cut off her magic and stepped around her canvas, watching her swirling powers with clearexpectation.
Her magic frothed and boiled, creating a cloud ofgreen.
Goblin cackles pierced theair.
Evariste flattened his face against the mirror surface as he watched, shocked, when the magic settled, leaving behind ninegoblins.
The goblins staggered a few steps—two of them fell flat on their faces, and several more plopped down on the stonefloor.
“Yes, yes, it’s very upsetting I know, but it was necessary.” Liliane spoke in a soothing voice. “Go, now, into the main chamber. Suzu is waiting with neworders.”
Evariste watched, shocked, as the goblins trooped through the chamber, passing into the hallway.She has teleportation magic? No—it’s more like summoning magic. And there must be limits to it, or she’d have just painted Angelique or myselfhere.
Evariste knew summoning magic existed, but it wasn’t as common as weather magic, illusion magic, or even craft magic. There were several mages in the Veneno Conclave who had differing variations ofit.
But he hadn’t expected ablackmage to have summoningmagic.
Liliane chuckled as she strolled closer to his mirror. “You look surprised. Did you imagine my magic was something dark andterrifying?”
Evariste looked past her to her canvas that still looked wet and glittered with fading sparks of her magic. “You’re Conclave trained,” herealized.
Liliane clapped politely. “I suppose I should say one should expect such observations from an enchanter, but frankly I’m surprised you didn’t realize itsooner.”
Evariste stared at her, unsettled by this new dimension of her powers. She didn’t have the mark that made her an exile, which meant the Veneno Conclave was unaware of what she reallywas.
She mentioned core magic—which implies she’s on the level of an enchantress. But there are no living enchantresses with summoning magic, nor have there been any in almost acentury.
“My husband thought it was a silly idea to attend Luxi-Domus, but I wanted to see how the Veneno Conclave taught magic. I expected too much of them, of course, but I was given all the painting lessons I wanted while I was a student.” She laughed and blushed prettily as she held up her hand to hercheek.
“You’re a registered mage,” Evaristesaid.
Liliane brushed her bangs. “I’m afraid my honesty must end there—for it would be terriblyboringof me to speak so much of myself. It is now your turn.” She clasped her hands together, intertwining her fingers. “Your apprentice is ever soearnest. Did you knowthat?”
