She smiled. “A night’s rest did me wonders.”

She glanced at the well, but the sliph didn’t emerge to take a look at the visitors. Magda couldn’t say that she was unhappy about that. The sliph was probably off traveling.

“How are things going?” Quinn asked.

Merritt rested the palm of his left hand on the hilt of his sword. “I talked to General Grundwall this morning. Overnight the Home Guard captured most of those named by Lothain. They should soon have the rest in hand. Magda will have to use her Confessor power on some of the worst of them in order to get them to confess the details we otherwise would have gotten from Lothain had he not died. That will enable us to be sure we’ve rooted out all of the traitors and collaborators.”

“What about the councilmen, Weston and Guymer?” Quinn lifted a finger toward the sliph’s well. “Lothain told us that they used the sliph to travel to the South to collaborate with Emperor Sulachan and his officers.”

Quinn’s task was to guard the sliph to make sure that the enemy didn’t use her to secretly slip into the Keep to do them harm. It had been Baraccus who had asked Quinn to take up the duty after they’d had some unfortunate penetrations by dangerous people. Now anyone unauthorized and not a friendly force would not live long enough to climb out of the sliph’s well after using it to try to sneak into the Keep.

In the beginning, Quinn had killed a number of the enemy gifted who had thought they could slip into the Keep through the sliph. After a while, they realized it would no longer work and such incursions ended, but Quinn or one of several others always stood guard over the sliph to make certain they didn’t decide to try it again, especially with a weapon created out of a person.

It was a personal outrage for Quinn, who guarded the sliph to prevent the enemy from using her, to know that two of their own people, trusted councilmen, were actually traitors who had used the sliph for a deadly purpose and no one knew it.

Magda leveled a meaningful look at Quinn. “I am looking forward to hearing the truthful confessions of those two. They have caused great harm. A lot of innocent people died because of them. I’m sure they have a lot to tell, and they are going to tell it all.”

Quinn smiled. “Having a Confessor is going to be a tremendous help in our efforts, just as Merritt had always argued before the council. How ironic that the two men who so steadfastly stood against the creation of a Confessor are now going to be confessing the truth about their treason because of that power.” He turned his attention back to Merritt. “What about the dream walkers?”