‘But I wore the robe, the mask …’ whispered Clariel. She touched her forehead Charter mark again, and once more reached for the Charter. This time, she felt it, but far away. No great drift of marks fell upon her; they stayed as distant as the stars above, and just as out of reach. But even that far, momentary glimpse relieved Clariel. She had never really valued the Charter, neither understood it nor wanted to know more, but she felt its absence keenly.

It felt wrong, unnatural.

‘Mogget!’ she called.

The cat came back from the edge of the river, his paws and whiskers wet and a look of satisfaction on his face.

‘Mogget,’ said Clariel. ‘My Charter mark … something’s happened to it, and I can’t … I can’t reach the Charter. You told me the robes would protect me from the Free Magic.’

‘The Charter and Free Magic are antithetical,’ said Mogget. ‘When you use one, you cannot use the other. Binding Free Magic creatures, drawing on their power … it weakens the Charter within you.’

‘You didn’t tell me that,’ said Clariel.

‘I thought you knew,’ said Mogget. He examined his left paw, and licked off a tiny shred of fish. ‘Common knowledge among real Abhorsens.’

‘What will happen to me?’ asked Clariel, touching her forehead again.

‘The Clayr may See your future. I cannot make predictions.’

‘Mogget! Answer me properly, or I’ll … leave you behind.’

‘I really don’t know,’ yawned Mogget.

‘I can still feel the Charter, though it is distant,’ said Clariel. ‘Does that mean I might be able to … to find it again?’

Mogget didn’t answer, but continued to lick his paws.

‘Mogget! Please! I am an Abhorsen, even if I’m not the Abhorsen. Surely that counts for something.’

Mogget stopped licking his paws. The Charter marks on his collar grew brighter, and there was the faintest sound of some distant, disturbing bell. The cat squirmed and blinked his green eyes twice.

‘Free Magic and the Charter will struggle inside your body,’ he said slowly and reluctantly. ‘One or the other will win out. The more you draw the creature’s power within you, the stronger the Free Magic will be. There are healing spells, marks to cleanse the flesh of the Free Magic taint. Touching a Charter Stone would help, one of the Great Charter Stones most of all, of course.’

‘The Great Charter Stones?’ asked Clariel. ‘Kargrin spoke of them, beneath the Palace. So if I went there, I would be cleansed of this … this taint?’

Mogget looked away, his head lunging up as if he were snapping at a tasty moth. He spoke urgently, clearly compelled to speak. The marks on his collar shone brighter still, and once again the faint echo of a bell came to Clariel’s ears, making her shiver, and not with cold.