to me instead, with the understanding that in the course of fulfilling it, I might come across certain of her visions. I had permission to read those: she charged me to look after her son and I must have the necessary knowledge.”
Titus’s brows shot up. “You never told me that—that she gave me into your charge.”
Dalbert bowed his head. “It was a conscious choice on my part, sire. Her Highness had been too trusting by nature. Knowing the mission she had set out for you, I felt that you must hold your cards close to your chest—trust no one, if possible.”
Titus gazed, flabbergasted, at this man he had known all his life. Not so much at what Dalbert said, but because all at once he saw Dalbert’s influence on him, something he had been unaware of until this moment.
Trust no one. He had always believed that he had become as suspicious as he was simply because of his circumstances. But no, there had also been Dalbert’s unobtrusive sway at work.
Together they had reinforced his isolation. In isolation there was safety. In isolation no one could betray his trust. He wondered now what Dalbert thought of the companions he had gathered along the way.
And the one he had left behind.
As if he had heard Titus, Dalbert said, “One must be careful to remain alive and free. But the point of staying alive and free long enough is to tackle the great task—and that cannot be accomplished alone. For that I am beyond grateful that Your Highness has found a fellowship of common purpose.
“I’ve known for many years that Your Highness has been charged to find the great elemental mage of our time. Like everyone else, I couldn’t be entirely sure whether Your Highness had indeed found her. But like Atlantis, after the events of the Fourth of June, I also suspected that Lady Callista might be involved in some way.
“When I heard Atlantis had at last pried information from Lady Callista that she had long hidden about the elemental mage, I wanted to warn you in person, but couldn’t as I didn’t have authorization to take your personal translocator out of the Domain. When news came that you had disappeared and your belongings had been confiscated, I managed to get that go-ahead by arguing that someone from the Domain should also be on the scene.”
“I’ve been wondering, Master Dalbert,” said Kashkari, “when you arrived at Mrs. Dawlish’s that day, how were you able to tell that I was a mage? Did you recognize my curtain as a flying carpet?”
“No, I’m sure I didn’t, Master Kashkari. What caught my eye was the small altar in your room. You had the usual accoutrements of oil lamps, ghee, and spices. But instead of vermilion, the small heap of red powder on the plate was ground fire moss.”
“Oh, I took it from home. I thought our altars were exactly the same as our nonmage neighbors’.”
“They look quite similar, but ground fire moss is of a slightly different texture—and a more pungent scent, if one places a pinch close to the nose. So I chose to give the message concerning Lady Callista’s confession to you. I didn’t know whether you would be able to pass it along to His Highness, but it was a better chance than entrusting it to anyone else in that house.
“As I was leaving, I was detained by agents of Atlantis. Fortunately, I had the authorization, so I could honestly report that I’d simply been following orders. But still, half a dozen agents of Atlantis accompanied me on the way back.
“When I realized that they meant to interrogate me under truth serum, I made a getaway. I had anticipated trouble of the sort and had already removed my end of the message conveyor from the castle. Unfortunately, matters accelerated faster than I’d foreseen, and I hadn’t yet had the opportunity to retrieve certain crucial items from the monastery—both the castle and the monastery have been under heavy guard by those in Atlantis’s pay since the beginning of the summer.
“That’s what I’ve been doing for the past few days. Getting into the monastery wasn’t hard, but getting out proved quite a hassle. It was only last night that I succeeded in leaving undetected.”
He took an item out of the bag he carried and placed it on the dining table. Titus almost rose out of his chair. “Hesperia’s wand.”
Which had also been his mother’s.
Dalbert nodded and then brought out something else: The monastery’s copy