Dwayne woke up to hunger gnawing at his stomach and thirst desiccating his throat. He turned his head to the stairs where the girl in the cracked mask was dozing in a chair as the cabinet’s gears and springs ticked away next to her. It was warmer and brighter than last time since braziers, each filled with what Magdala had called salamander stones, he’d asked her how they worked and received a barrage of inscrutable alchemical detail, had been placed around the room.

  Magdala had to be worried, Mei, Lady Pol, Rodion too. They wouldn’t abandon him, not if they could help it, although it was still galling that they hadn’t checked the Tower. To be fair, it wouldn’t be the first place Dwayne would look, but it had been days. Still, if he understood Magdala’s lectures on tactics, it was best he tried to help himself.

  So, where to start?

  Sitting up, Dwayne closed his eyes and watched the ripples run across his eyelids. With the tytumber still active, he couldn’t cast, but the ripples seemed weaker somehow. Let’s start with an experiment then. When he tried to cast Ri’a’tha, the ripples increased, and when he stopped, they decreased and seemed weaker. If that was true, then he could drain the tytumber.

  Something clicked.

  “You’re awake.” Dwayne opened his eyes. The girl was approaching with bowls and spoon. “How long?” she asked.

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  “Not long.” Dwayne accepted the bowls. “Keep the spoon.”

  The girl blinked then blushed. “Oh, right.”

  “Thanks for cleaning me up.” Dwayne scooped porridge into his mouth with his fingers. “That was you, right?”

  “Yes, uh, you’re welcome? I…” The girl scurried away.

  When the girl returned, Bruce was with her. Keeping both hands behind her back, the dean asked, “Have you considered my proposal?”

  “I have.” Dwayne met her eyes. “I don’t see any reason why I should comply.”

  “I see.” The dean pulled out her left hand and opened it to reveal a small purple pill. “Administer it.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The girl took the pill out of the dean’s hand and approached Dwayne, hesitating for just a moment.

  Dwayne nodded and opened his mouth. The girl put the pill on his tongue, watched him swallow, then retreated.

  “That could have been poison,” said Bruce.

  Dwayne shrugged. “It could have been, but you need me to make a Ri core. Unless you want to take on the Ri consulate.”

  “That’s an option that may become available later.” Bruce smiled at Dwayne’s alarm. “However, I concede the point and will offer you something.”

  She revealed what was behind her back. It was a large tome, bound in leather covered in arcane symbols and weathered from adventure. The first time Dwayne had seen it, it had fallen into the dust beside a carriage. The last time he’d seen it, it was being carried away by Delma Lo Duca.

  “Accept my proposal and I’ll return this.” Bruce hid it behind her back again. “Don’t and… well, you’re cunning. You know what.”

  “I,” lethargy made Dwayne stagger, “see.”

  “I have a prior arrangement that cannot wait.” Bruce went over to the cabinet and stood on its other side. “So we’ll conclude this next time.”

  Dwayne fell into the dark.