“And he’s dead. The people killed him. Girdish—all yeomen of a local grange. The yeoman-marshal led them, said it must be done.”

“Killed … a child? What had the child done?”

“Made light with his hand, this says. And attacked the yeoman-marshal who held him. The light was true mage-light and hot; the man claims a painful burn.”

Arianya clenched her jaw on the first words that came to her.

“There’s more,” Kerivan said. “They blamed the child’s mother—she’s not from there—so they beat her and drove her away.”

“And what did the Marshal do?” Arianya asked in as level a voice as she could manage. From the glance Kerivan gave her, he was aware of her anger anyway.

“Marshal Sofan was away, he says, but he feels the actions were justified under the circumstances, as use of magery has always been considered evil, an offense punishable by death. He adds that he warned the child’s father against marrying an outlander and that he always knew no good would come of the Marshal-General’s new policies.”

A second wave of anger roared through her. Arianya waited until the crest had passed and folded her hands, making sure not to clench them. “Did Marshal Sofan bring this himself or send it?”

“Sent it, Marshal-General.”

“That’s a mercy. For him.” She could not sit still; she rose and paced her office. “So: we know nothing about the family except that the father was bred there and the mother not. We know nothing about the child except he made light. Gird’s cudgel, paladins make light! Surely these people know that!”

“A child isn’t a paladin.”

“But paladins were once children,” Arianya said, following that trail instead of the one that had a Marshal blaming her. No, she must deal with the real issues, and quickly. “I need to know exactly where this place is—we’ll need maps—and everything about their Marshal you can find out. He’ll have to be replaced, of course, and the yeoman-marshal as well. And we need to find the mother, if she’s alive and not dead in a field.”

“I’ll send a patrol—and someone to the grange there?”

“Yes. Six knights. I want the Marshal and yeoman-marshal under guard here as quickly as possible. Perhaps I should go—” She stopped, considering. “If magery returns here—if it already has—have there been other children killed? I must send word to all the granges—”

“To … to let mages go?” His brows rose.

“To kill no more children, at least,” Arianya said. “I’ll write: you get those knights on the road and make sure they understand they’re to bring the Marshal and yeoman-marshal here under guard.”