The Sultan's Spy

Chapter 18: Mages

The second floor over the cobbler's shop was cool and dark, only the window at the end of the wood floored hall letting light in. Eliska turned to her left and the single door there, knocking firmly. The door to the right stood open, the washerwoman inside keeping a careful eye on her as she scrubbed at the clothes in her tub, an older girl helping. Eliska offered them a smile and a nod as the door in front of her opened.

She was ushered quickly inside by a boy dressed in layers robes rather than a kaftan and trousers, the voluminous material practically enveloping him. The room they were in was well lit though small, a desk, chair and bookshelves the only furniture. "The master will see you," he said, voice cracking.

He flushed and led her towards the door opposite the one they'd just come through. He opened it for her and waved her in, shutting it firmly behind her. Eliska glanced around the place, ignoring the elaborately robed figure for the moment. Blue tiled walls were interspersed with windows that had heavy silvery grey curtains hanging from them, blocking out the bright sun of the day. Only a single dim lamp in front of the mage provided illumination, a contrast from the previous room. The sweet scent of incense filled the room and provided a thin line of smoke from where it burned on the table.

Enthroned on a wide, heavily carved chair, the mage's face was shrouded in darkness. Eliska moved so she could take the seat across the table from him, not bothering to wait for the invitation. She wasn't terribly impressed with the set-up and the obvious theatrics of the whole thing. Magic was enough in itself, it didn't need to be dressed up.

"What brings you to me, my child?" came the deep rumble of the mage's voice.

Eliska raised her eyebrows. "Something of deep concern for both of us."

When he said nothing, only continued to watch her, she sighed. Eliska shoved the sleeves of her shit and kaftan up, revealing the tattoos on her left arm. "Now, will you please turn the lamp up so I can see and talk to me properly?"

The mage stared for several seconds at her arm, until she recovered it. "Oh. Yes, yes, I'll see about some light," he said absently, fumbling with the lamp. He turned the wick up so that the room was as well-lit as the entrance had been. It also showed the well embroidered robes and veil the mage wore, a contrast to the slightly dingy curtains.

"It's not often I get another mage as a visitor, especially not one as...accomplished as you," he said, after giving her a quick once over. "You wouldn't be offering copies of your spell rituals, would you? I'm always interested in expanding my repertoire."

Eliska crossed her arms over her chest. "No, that's not why I'm here," she said, leaving quiet the fact that she wouldn't give up any of her rituals. Each one was considered a family secret.

"Pity. What does bring you here during my business hours?"

She didn't miss the undercurrent in her voice though she chose to ignore it. "I'm here to see if you've noticed anything unusual lately. Has anyone had a sudden change in attitude? Have you had anyone that just felt off to you?" She left blood mage unsaid. If he knew of them, he'd know what she was asking about. If he didn't, she wasn't about to introduce him to the fact that there were horrific shortcuts to magic. Even mages practicing properly could be seduced by the thought of easy magic.

She couldn't tell with the veil, but the way his voice sounded made her think he was frowning. "No, no one has that I can think of. What's this about?"

"An investigation into someone misusing magic. If you don't mind me asking, what's your speciality?"

He straightened, smoothing out his robes. "Well, that has nothing to do with me. And I am a master of concealment spells. I can shield money from the eyes of thieves, help lovers meet in secret, keep everyone from noticing any unfortunate blemishes on your wedding day, and even help keep someone sweet-smelling no matter how long ago their last visit to the hamam was."

That had her attention. She made a note to let the family know about him and see about buying copies of his rituals off him, while outwardly she nodded. "Have you had anyone come in looking for anything unusual? Or did you have anyone come in who was different from your usual customers?"

The mage drummed his fingers on the table for a moment, frowning. "Well, I did have one person. His request was a bit different and so was he. I don't typically get people from the palace. His name was-"

He broke off choking, hands scrabbling at his neck, odd broke gasping sounds coming from him. Eliska had barely taken a step towards him when he collapsed onto the table. A red pool began to form by his open mouth as she hurried to him, even as she knew there was nothing she could do.

Eliska checked him, but didn't find a pulse or anything that would outwardly explain what had just happened. Not that she wasn't perfectly aware of what was going on. It would be too much of a coincidence otherwise, and if she'd been taught anything, it was not to trust coincidences.

Glaring at the corpse like it would summon forth whoever had been responsible, Eliska inhaled sharply, knowing what she had to do even as she hated it. She threw her head back and screamed, dropping to the floor and hugging herself as she did so. The sudden thump and sound of running footsteps came in answer.

The mage's apprentice threw the door open. "What's-" The boy broke off as he caught sight of his master's slumped body and the shivering form of Eliska.

"He just started choking and collapsed," she fake-sobbed, rocking back and forth. "I didn't know what to do. I-I think he's dead."

She felt for the poor boy, who blanched and turned to stare at his former master. If she could have kept her cover without resorting to this she would have. But she really didn't have any other options.

He stepped over to the body, hand shaking as he reached out to touch it. She could see the way his face crumpled up as he realized his master's death. Guilt ate at Eliska's stomach. She knew it wasn't her fault he'd been spelled for death, but it had been her questions that had triggered it. She'd get the family to look after the boy, to find something for him so he didn't suffer. He was innocent in all this.

Slowing in her fake sobs, Eliska sniffed when the boy didn't say or do anything. "S-should we go find the guards?"

The boy looked at her, blinking for several seconds before he slowly nodded. "Yes. Yes, I'll go get the guards," he said, voice strengthening from a whisper by the end. "You wait here and I'll bring them. They'll get this sorted."

"Alright," Eliska sniffled, watching the boy hurry off now that he had purpose. She waited until she heard him racing down the stairs before she straightened, face and eyes dry. She carefully brushed off her dress before heading back to the entrance room.

She glanced over the open ledger, but it had no names, only dates, spells performed and money paid. Eliska glowered having hoped for a written record of whoever had spelled the mage, but it was never that easy. There was no help for it then. There was nothing else she could learn here that wouldn't be in the guards' report, and she certainly wasn't going to get herself tangled up with all of that.

With her head up and the slow, confident steps of someone who has somewhere to be but is in no hurry, she left. Only the washerwoman watched her go, but Eliska was careful to make her face difficult to see on the way out to keep the guards from looking too hard for her. She had enough trouble as it was, and with a fresh body on her hands, it wasn't about to get any easier.