She knew the family wanted her alive, for they coveted her power, if only for breeding purposes. That made capture their objective, rather than death. She, on the other hand, had no such limitation, though she must be careful not to have herself arrested for murder. A woman forced to defend herself, she was sure, was sufficient justification for a killing blow if necessary, but she preferred only to injure them if possible, sending the word back that she was a difficult target.

The problem, from her point of view, was that she was a powerful spellcaster. Natalia had been taught, from her earliest days at the Volstrum, to release her full power, a skill she had mastered. Now, however, she saw the wisdom of holding back her capabilities, though she had no idea how that might be accomplished.

Continuing down the street, she stopped to look into a jeweller's window, using the reflection in the glass to spot her pursuer. He was still there, occasionally looking to another individual. She entered the store, pretending to be shopping, but glanced out the window from time to time. The man's accomplice was easily spotted, and she suspected there might be others. How many opponents must she deal with, she wondered?

Stanislav had told Natalia stories of rogue mages. They were often improperly trained, at least according to the Volstrum, and had to be removed from the streets for the safety of the common folk. Early in his career, the old mage hunter had made a living from this work, in addition to finding new potential mages, like herself, but he had employed a team to assist him. How many people would they send to capture her? She was a powerful caster, and they would doubtless be armed with magebane, and yet how many would there be? The obvious answer, to her mind, was no more than three or four, for she felt any more would draw too much attention.

Could magebane be administered through a tipped arrow or crossbow bolt? Natalia had no idea, but decided that if she saw such an attacker, he should take priority. In her mind, she worked through various scenarios and then decided that it was time for action. She would face down the bounty hunters on her own terms, not theirs.

She had taken several shortcuts before, darting between buildings to cross to another street, and now she kept her eyes out for just such an opportunity. Spotting the cobblers, she made her choice. There was an alley that led down the right side of his shop, then turned, cutting across the back. It provided only one path, one that she could depend on, and yet allowed her to use the corner to her advantage.