The Draykon Series (1-3)

Lokant: Chapter Twenty-Three

When Eva arrived at the tower in the Lowers, it had the unpromising air of abandonment about it. Not a whisper of sound or movement reached her as she walked around the base of the narrow building. Her heart thumped oddly with suppressed anxiety at the thought that Tren might not be here after all.

It still hadn't developed a discernible door, so she took the other route. Her practiced fingers sank easily into the stone; working it like clay, she moulded the first few rungs of a ladder in the side of the stonework. To a strong magical practitioner like herself, it was a simple matter to reform parts of the realm of Ayrien according to her needs, though it was only recently that she had begun to learn how far it was possible to take the technique.

Urgency lent her speed, and she was up the side of the tower and through the window at the top within a matter of minutes. Inside she found the round chamber that she'd visited before, only it didn't look the same. Someone had tidied up. She wondered who; had Ana been back here?

That prospect made her wary in spite of the silence. Finding a door partially hidden behind a curtain, she eased it open and listened for a moment. Nothing. She stepped softly down the stone stairs that wound down into the depths of the tower. Finding another door halfway down, she went through it.

Light-globes flared into life as soon as she stepped into the room. The sudden flash made her blink, and for a few moments she couldn't see. She stood still until her sight cleared. The presence of the charged globes suggested that somebody still used the tower, and she didn't want to blunder into Ana.

The room proved to be empty. It appeared to be a reading chamber, and for a single occupant. A lone wing-backed chair was placed before a cold, dark hearth. Rugs covered the floor to ward off the chill, and bookcases lined the walls. Eva gave them a cursory perusal, but no titles caught her eye as significant.

She returned to the staircase and descended another storey. The next chamber down was some kind of laboratory. Eva lingered here rather longer, examining the instruments that sat atop the high counters. She recognised tools for magnification among them, but most were beyond her comprehension.

The stairs went on and on, descending further than seemed possible given the apparent height of the building. Eva was standing with her hand on the doorknob of the next room down when she caught the sound of slow footsteps coming towards her. She froze, her heart picking up speed. The stairwell was bare of hiding places; her only option was to conceal herself in the room ahead and hope to remain undiscovered.

But then a voice began speaking and she realised that her presence was already known.

'It's only recently that I have taken the trouble of installing wards in this building. I never needed to before, because your kind tend to be shy about wandering about down here and the Others never took much interest in Ayrien. But here again, more of you.' The voice was female, low in tone and authoritative. And unmistakeably annoyed. It was certainly not Ana's voice.

'Then again, you're a bit more elusive than some of the others. Harder to pinpoint your location. And that's unusual.'

Eva turned to face the stairs. The woman's legs appeared and then the rest of her, not quickly for she apparently did not think it worth hurrying her pace. She was wearing trousers, Eva was interested to note; not absolutely unheard of but certainly uncommon in Orstwych and Glour. She had abundant chestnut hair and an ageless face. Her expression was annoyed, but when she saw Eva it changed to something closer to shock.

'Ah,' she said after a moment. 'That explains it.'

Eva blinked. 'What?'

'Lokant heritage,' the woman replied with a speculative smile. 'Trained, it would appear, which must mean you're one of Theirs.' She circled Eva, her posture full of menace. Her fingers closed around Eva's wrist in a harsh grip.