Chapter 185. The Die Is Cast

There was only darkness.

Total, utter darkness.

Adom sat cross-legged on something soft—a cushion—and tried not to think about how this was already going poorly.

"Diviners," Beth's voice came from somewhere to his left, "usually need to sit and meditate in order to reach a state of flow good enough to perceive the threads of time. To see the billions of possibilities woven within them."

Adom had tried this sort of meditation before. A few times. His most successful attempt had been when he'd wanted to determine whether his future sibling would be a boy or a girl. He saw a boy. Sort of.

Said sibling, Ada, was a girl.

Which said enough about Adom's best attempt at divination, and that had been some five years ago.

"Focus," Beth said.

He was focusing.

"Stop thinking about things."

Adom opened his eyes—not that it mattered in the darkness. "How do you stop thinking about things?"

"You forget about everything."

Right. Simple. Except it wasn't.

"I'll try," Adom said.

He closed his eyes again. Tried to empty his mind in a way that would let no thoughts enter. A certain state. That's what the books called it. A certain state of awareness. Very helpful, those books.

Beth was behind him now. He could hear her breathing. Then she coughed—a small, wet sound.

Something shifted. His focus felt... sharper, somehow. Like Beth was helping direct it with magic.

She coughed again.

"I can heal that, you know," Adom said.

Something tapped him on the head. Hard.

"Hush, boy!"

Adom came out of whatever half-meditative state he'd been approaching. "I have to ask, is it a wording thing or something? Because I know meditation. I've read about divination. Nowhere does it say you need to literally empty your mind. That's impossible. Even dead people think—"

He stopped himself.

Beth was quiet for a moment. "You've read the common texts. I am a prodigy. My methods are unconventional."

A prodigy and humble, apparently.

Birds started singing outside. The sound filtered through whatever walls surrounded them, distant but clear. Morning birds. Which meant—

"Oh my," Beth said, like she'd just remembered the time.

Light flooded the room.

Adom blinked, squinting as the curtains parted. All of them at once. Beth had waved her hand, and now natural sunlight poured into her house.

The interior was... cozy. That was the word. Warm wooden floors worn smooth by decades of footsteps. Bookshelves lined two walls, stuffed with volumes that looked older than Adom's grandfather. A fireplace sat cold and clean in one corner. The furniture was simple but well-made, chairs with embroidered cushions, a low table with tea stains, rugs in faded reds and golds.

It looked like a place where someone actually lived. Not a shrine to magic or mystery. Just a home.

Beth smiled at him. "This was a good start for today. You can go now."

Adom stared at her.

Beth turned around, walking toward her kitchen area. She paused. Didn't look back. "You're going to ask 'that's it? After one hour?'"

"That's exactly what I was going to say, yes."

At this point, he wasn't even surprised anymore.

Beth moved to her kitchen, began arranging something on a shelf. "As I said, it will require time before you get the gist of it. Patience, child."

"Did you see that in the future as well?"

"Why yes, of course."

Adom decided to try his luck. "What else did you see? What's to become of me?"

Beth chuckled. Actually chuckled. "Did you not get it still?"

"Get what?"

"A diviner must manipulate events to reach the suit of events they want." She glanced at him over her shoulder. "My telling you a thing might make you choose what I'd not like you to."

"Ah." Adom nodded slowly. "So you do know. How far have you seen?"

Beth waved her hand.

The world lurched.

Adom stumbled, catching himself against—

A wall. An exterior wall.

He was outside. In the street. Beth's door was closed in front of him.

He looked up.

Beth stood at her second-story window, looking down at him with that same slight smile.

"Lesson's over for today, Magus," she called down. "I believe you have a lot of other things to do in this fine morning. Do not let this old woman take up more of your time."

His mage robe and pointy hat floated down from the window. Levitated gently to land in his arms.

"Tomorrow at dawn," Beth said. "Same time."

She closed the window.

Adom stood in the street, holding his robe and hat, staring up at the now-empty window.

Well, Zuni said from Adom's pocket. She just kicked us out.

"I noticed," Adom muttered.

Do you perhaps think she knows everything? About what's going to happen?

"I think," he said slowly, "that if she does know everything, she's not going to tell me. Because telling me would change what happens. And apparently, she wants specific things to happen."

That's...

"Terrifying?" Adom suggested.

I was going to say 'controlling,' but terrifying works too.

Adom put on his robe. His hat. Started walking toward the main street.

His mind was already spinning with questions. About the Halls of Time. About Beth's gift. About how far she could really see, and what she'd already arranged to happen.

But one thing was clear: Beth was playing a much longer game than anyone realized.

And for some reason, she'd decided Adom needed to be part of it.

He started walking, thinking about Beth.

Should I be worried about this?

It didn't feel exactly good to have your destiny be known by a person. If you couldn't make your own choices, and if Beth was really in the know of what he was going to do, were they really his choices?

This only made him want to learn divination more. His petty side refused to have others make choices for him. No matter who they were.

Which was... perhaps hypocritical of him.

After all, he'd come back from the past, and had been actively trying ever since to change the direction the world would be taking. He was doing, in a way, the very same thing Beth was doing.

Still didn't sit right with him. Hypocritical or not.

Where are we headed in this fine morning? Zuni asked from his pocket.

I have a mission to prepare soon, Adom said internally. A spying mission. To uncover the proofs I told you about the other day. The ones about Morgana's case.

Ah, yes. The operation.

We should hurry, actually. I have classes to give later today, then a magi reunion with the other magi and the Archmage, and I also have to go see Fili, then Cyrel, then go for a reunion with Cass about Wangara's next quarter and new ventures, then go to Biggins to work on the Order, and then... He paused. Then on a hunt in a dungeon with my father for a little talk.

How remarkably busy.

I know, right?

Adom glanced around. The main street was starting to fill with early morning traffic. Merchants setting up stalls. A few bleary-eyed students heading toward the Academy for breakfast.

No one was paying him much attention. The hat helped. The way it shadowed his face. And he'd pulled his robe's collar up higher than usual.

He reached into his inventory.

The flying sword materialized in his hand. Sleek. Now blue-silver. About as long as his arm from shoulder to fingertip.

He stepped into an alley between two buildings. Checked that no one was watching.

Then he stepped onto the sword.

The world dropped away as Adom rose into the air. Slowly at first. The sword hummed beneath his feet, responding to his mana. He'd gotten better at this over the past few weeks. Much better. Though he still wasn't doing any fancy acrobatics.

He cleared the rooftops.

The city spread out beneath him. Arkhos in the early morning light. Smoke rising from chimneys. The new artificial river cutting through the eastern district like a silver scar. The Academy's towers in the distance.

Beautiful, if a bit cold. The wind up here was sharp.

Adom angled the sword north. Toward the warehouse district. One of Valiant's warehouses specifically. The one they'd been using for the more... delicate operations.

He picked up speed.

The sword cut through the air with barely a whisper. Below him, the city moved. People like ants. Carts like toys. He passed over the market district, over the residential areas, over the industrial zone where the forges were already burning hot.

The warehouse district came into view. Rows of large, blocky buildings. Most of them owned by merchants or trading companies. A few by noble families who needed storage for their various enterprises.

Valiant's warehouse was in the middle. Nondescript. Gray stone. Flat roof. Two stories. Nothing special about it from the outside.

Which was the point.

Adom descended. Aimed for the roof. The sword slowed as he approached, responding to his intent. His feet touched down on the flat stone surface with barely a sound.

He stepped off the sword. Sent it back to his inventory.

The roof access hatch was right where it should be. Locked, but that was fine. He had a key. Valiant had given him three keys to various entrances. Said something about trust and delegation and not making him knock every time like some kind of errand boy.

Adom unlocked the hatch. Pulled it open. Stepped down onto the ladder inside.

The interior of the warehouse was dark. Quiet. But not empty.

He could hear voices below. Muffled. Coming from the second floor where they'd set up the planning room.

Good. They were already here.

Adom climbed down the ladder. His boots hit the second floor landing with a soft thud.

The voices were clearer now. One of them was definitely Valiant's—high-pitched, rapid-fire, the kind of excited tone that usually preceded him launching into a tangent about something completely unrelated to whatever they were supposed to be discussing.

But there was another voice too. Deeper. Unfamiliar in its current register, but with an odd quality to it. Like someone doing an impression.

Adom walked down the hallway toward the planning room. The door was slightly ajar, light spilling through the gap.

"—no, no, you're not getting it!" Valiant was saying. "Do the ears again! The ears were perfect!"

"I told you," the other voice said, patient but strained, "maintaining fine details like that requires—"

"Just a little longer! Come on, I want to see if you can get the whiskers right!"

Adom pushed the door open.

And stopped.

Valiant stood in the middle of the room, bouncing on his toes with his hands clasped together. His large round ears twitched with excitement, and his tail swished back and forth.

Next to him stood... Valiant.

A human-sized Valiant.

Same ears. Same tail. Same general features, but stretched to about five and a half feet tall, standing awkwardly like someone wearing a costume that didn't quite fit right.

Adom blinked.

"Oh," he said.

Both Valiants turned to look at him.

The small one's face lit up immediately. "Adom! You're here! Look, look—the changeling can turn into me! Well, sort of. The height's giving him trouble, but—"

The tall Valiant's form shimmered. Rippled. Like water disturbed by a stone.

Then it collapsed inward, contracting rapidly until a young man stood there instead. Average height. Brown hair. Unremarkable features that would blend into any crowd.

Keth-sil smiled, a bit sheepish. "Magus Sylla. Good to see you again."

"I told you," Adom said, moving further into the room and letting the door close behind him, "you can call me Adom."

Keth-sil's smile became slightly more genuine, but he still looked uncomfortable with the informality. "It doesn't feel right, Magus. You saved my family. I owe you—"

"Yeah, why are you being so reverent?" Valiant interrupted, hopping up onto one of the chairs and sitting cross-legged. "I mean, sure, he's a magus and all that, and he's got the whole serious thing going on, but I've known him since he was a kid. Trust me, he's not as stern as you might think. One time when he was twelve, he—"

"Thank you, Valiant," Adom said.

"Don't mention i—" Valiant's eyes went wide. His ears flattened against his head. "Oh my god. The quillick."

Zuni emerged from Adom's pocket, stretching languidly. His blue quills caught the light from the magical lamps overhead, and he made a small, satisfied chirping sound.

Hello everyone, he said pleasantly.

Valiant pointed at him with one tiny finger, his voice pitching higher. "Why did you bring the quillick?! I don't have any nuts! He's going to eat all my nuts! Again!"

Zuni chirped innocently.

"You ate three of them last week!" Valiant continued, his tail lashing.

Another chirp. Higher pitched this time.

"They were in my private stash!"

Zuni made a series of rapid chirps that sounded suspiciously like laughter.

"You broke into my—"

"Let us be serious for a moment here," Adom said.

The shift in his tone was immediate and absolute. The air in the room changed with it.

Valiant's ears perked up. His bouncing stopped. Zuni settled onto Adom's shoulder, going still. Keth-sil straightened, his expression shifting to something more attentive.

Adom looked directly at the changeling.

"Do you remember my promise?" he asked. "That I would help free your brother?"

Keth-sil's eyes widened slightly. His hands, which had been hanging loose at his sides, curled into fists. Not aggressive. Just tense. Like he was bracing himself.

"Yes," he said quietly. "I remember."

The room felt smaller suddenly. The magical lamps seemed dimmer.

"Good." Adom paused. His gaze didn't waver. "The time has come to fulfill that promise."

Keth-sil went very still.

Even Valiant had stopped moving entirely. His tail hung motionless. His ears were forward, focused.

"I'm going to need your help," Adom continued. "Yours and your brothers'. For an infiltration. Proof gathering."

Keth-sil's breathing had changed. Faster. Shallower. Like he was afraid to hope but couldn't stop himself from hoping anyway.

"The target," Adom said, "is someone at the Emperor's court."

The silence stretched. Keth-sil swallowed once. Hard.

"Who?" he asked. His voice came out rough.

Adom held his gaze.

"The High Chancellor," he said. "Lord Mephtilem."

Keth-sil's face went pale. Then flushed. Then pale again. His hands trembled slightly before he clenched them tighter.

"The High Chancellor," he repeated, barely above a whisper. "You want us to infiltrate the High Chancellor's operations."

"Yes."

"He's..." Keth-sil's voice cracked slightly. "He's the one who holds Sil-keth. He's the one who runs the entire intelligence network. He's the one who—"

"I know who he is," Adom said quietly.

Valiant finally found his voice. "Erm," he said slowly, carefully, "that's... that's not just dangerous. That's—"

"Necessary," Adom finished.

He looked at Keth-sil again.

"I made you a promise," Adom said. "I intend to keep it. But I can't do this alone. I need people who can become anyone. Who can go anywhere. Who have personal stakes in seeing this through."

Keth-sil was breathing hard now. His eyes were bright. Too bright.

"When?" he asked.

"Soon," Adom said. "Very soon."

Keth-sil straightened fully. His hands unclenched. His jaw set.

"Then we're ready," he said. "Whatever you need. We're ready."

Adom nodded once.

The die was cast, it seemed.