“Ah,” said Pug with a smile. “Don’t let it be a distraction.”

“Unless the librarians are pretty young women wearing no clothing, Richard,” he said, using Pug’s false name, “I think I shall be fine.”

Pug laughed, but his eyes were still searching every inch of the room. They assumed they’d be spied upon as a matter of course, but didn’t know to what extent. It could be something as simple as someone at a listening post in a nearby room, overhearing what was said through a simple sound chamber, a tiny tube of metal behind a tapestry or a decorative plant, or it could be a very complex magic scrying spell. That was what Magnus was attempting to determine.

Pug looked at his son, who opened his eyes and shook his head once. No magic they could detect was at play. “I think I’ll lay down for a while,” said Magnus as he stood up and moved to one of the nearby doors.

Pug nodded agreement and went to another. Opening the door, he found a small but well-appointed room with a simple free-standing closet, a clean bed, one window looking down on a tiny patch of flowers, with a window opposite—another guest apartment from what Pug could tell. He saw no movement through the window and assumed that apartment was empty.

Pug closed the door and lay down, gathering his thoughts.

Since Miranda’s and Caleb’s deaths, any attempt at reflection seemed to plunge him into morbid introspection. He had fought certain battles within his entire life; losing Nakor had begun the struggle, but the death of his wife and son had defeated him.

Still, there was work to do and he had to pull himself back from a deep cauldron of self-pity and rage toward the gods that shackled him. He had made this bargain, he reminded himself for a countless time; he could have left this life after battling Jakan, the demon disguised as the Emerald Queen, but elected to return and continue the struggle. His price was to watch all he loved die….

He sat up. Something tickled the edge of his mind.

Standing, he hurried to the door leading into Amirantha’s bedroom and quietly knocked. When the Warlock opened the door, Pug held up a warning finger before his lips, then motioned the Warlock to follow him to Magnus’s door. He knocked lightly again, and when his son answered made an encircling motion with his hand. Magnus nodded and motioned for them to enter.

Once in the room, Magnus motioned again for the two other magic users to stand close to him. He closed his eyes a moment, then said, “We are shrouded. It is a very weak enchantment, as it might alert anyone watching closely.”

“We’re being spied upon by magic?” asked Amirantha.