Maximilian quickly did the rounds of his friends’ minds, telling them the same thing he’d agreed with Effie. He also got an update from Raven and Lexy and relayed what had happened in the library back to Effie. The friends telepathically decided not to say anything else until they knew more. They definitely didn’t want to be left out of whatever was happening.

Lexy was still feeling unhappy, however, and didn’t really care a great deal either way. When Maximilian went into her mind he found something he’d never encountered before—a sort of deep-purple fuzzy haze over most of her recent memories. Something had happened that she didn’t want anyone to know. This was usual in most people’s minds—but it didn’t usually look so, well, horrible. Maximilian could also tell how tired Lexy felt, and sensed her lack of energy and enthusiasm for fighting the Diberi at the same time as Lexy herself realized she didn’t even want to go home to make remedies. She just wanted to go to sleep for a really long time.

“Did you hear something in the library?” Dora Wright asked Raven. “We were trying, but I think we came too late.”

There was a pause.

“I think we were too late as well,” lied Lexy. “We didn’t really hear anything. Just something about them looking for books, but we didn’t hear which ones.”

Raven was grateful for her friend stepping in. Healers find it a lot easier to lie than witches do. Every time a witch lies, a tiny bit of their M-currency drains away. But healers have to lie as part of their service to others. Without the placebo effect most healers would be completely lost.

Lexy soon started to yawn and didn’t say anything else.

“We need to let these poor children go,” said Frankincense. “They’re getting tired.”

“We’re not that tired,” said Effie, glaring at Lexy.

“What do you need us to do?” said Raven. “We really do want to help.”

“We arranged for you to be in the university this week for a reason,” said Mrs. Beathag Hide. “We need you to listen and learn. The Diberi know about most of us, and we don’t think it’s a coincidence that members of the Gothmen are being systematically bound by the Guild.”

“Bound?” said Maximilian. “As in a binding spell?”

Maximilian had been reading about the spells available to higher level scholars just recently. Although the Spectacles of Knowledge had left him with no doubt that if he wanted to become a higher-level scholar himself he’d have to stop all this dangerous mage business and focus properly on learning and research.