Mari sighed. "Another night sleeping among the clouds. That's not nearly as restful as it sounds," she told the others. "Alain, are we sure we should draw attention to Ihris?"

He tried to put into words what he was feeling. "I have a sense that we will be needed there. Soon."

"Then we're going to get there, as quickly as we can."

* * *

As Petr had predicted, it was fairly easy to slip unnoticed through the bustle of the livestock market. Between the herds of cattle and horses and mules, and the buyers and sellers and herders moving and arguing, two more figures weren't noticed making their way to the edge of the market to join the intermittent stream of people between there and the city.

Kira didn't see any of the papers with Jason's face on them, so she had him lead the way through the city gates, keeping him between her and the guards. The guards, though, didn't seem particularly alert, relaxing and talking to each other. Nor did there seem to be anyone lounging about watching for them as there had been at the gate in Kelsi.

Any comfort that brought vanished as Kira was alarmed to "feel" a Mage somewhere. If she could feel one, another might feel her. Her Mage skills seemed to be changing and growing in erratic spurts. That wasn't how her father had described his own skills growing slowly and steadily with time and practice.

Kira did her best to focus on the drills that Alera had taught her, trying to ensure that no other Mage could feel her presence. Such a Mage might be friendly, or might be one of those still enraged by the fall of the Mage Guild and the loss of the impunity with which Mages once treated other people as less than nothing.

By the time they made it inside the city, it was late morning and the streets were fairly crowded. Horse- and mule-drawn wagons filled the streets, along with riders. Ihris, like much of Dematr, had prospered in the years since the overthrow of the Great Guilds. The Peace of the Daughter had kept conflicts to a minimum, so trade had flourished. And the freeing of technology had given new vigor to every city, even though not many changes had worked their way into everyday life yet.

"Where exactly are we going?" Jason asked, keeping his voice low so that passersby couldn't hear his accent.

"We're looking for a good hotel so we can get a room," Kira said.

To her surprise, Jason laughed. "Do you know how long I have dreamed about a beautiful girl saying that to me?"

"I really don't want to hear about those kinds of dreams, that is not why we are getting a room, and I'm not beautiful."

"It's my illusion and I'm sticking to it," Jason said. "Do you have any idea which way we should go?"