“That, I cannot say. You might, provided you live long enough. We never stop learning, in truth. You study here until your Surge, then you rejoin the world outside as one of us, and you grow older and more powerful and more accomplished... And if you’re lucky, you see out your life back here, speaking these same words to some other young girl or boy, hundreds of years from now.” He laughed when he saw her expression. “I assure you, it is a lot more rewarding than it sounds.”

“If you say so.”

“Let us return to your lesson, then. Enough idle talk from an idle fool. Put your foot up on the wall. First you learn to stand sideways. Then you learn to stand upside down.”

Quoneel was not the only master to teach her. Sometimes the girl was introduced to sorcerers whose task it was to teach her one single thing in a day. Sometimes a week. Sometimes a month. Sometimes an hour. It wasn’t just magic or combat, either. There was a man who taught her forgery. A woman who taught her carpentry. She was taught about engines and astronomy and how to pick pockets. There was a woman who taught her everything about women and a woman who taught her everything about men. And then there was a man who taught her about locks.

His name was Audoen, and he was a Wall-Walker. He asked her to open a door and she tried, but it was locked. She told him so and he nodded, then pressed his hand to the lock and it clicked open.

“How did you do that?” the girl asked.

Audoen smiled. “You have undoubtedly heard the phrase ‘branches of magic’, yes? Picture a tree. Elemental magic is one branch. Necromancy is another. So-called Energy-Throwing is yet another. There are many, many branches on this tree. With me so far?”

“Yes,” the girl said. “I’m not stupid.”

He laughed. “On each of these branches there are, shall we say, twigs. Because these ‘twigs’ are so low-key and in most cases passive, learning one or two of them does not interfere with your chosen discipline. For Wall-Walkers, the ability to open locks and seal doorways is a twig you can either ignore, or take advantage of. Because of the work we do, having such a talent can benefit us greatly.”

“Can you teach me?”

“Are you sure? It may only be a simple twig on the tree of magic, but even so it will take time to master, and you have a lot of work to do.”

“Teach me,” the girl said. “I can handle it.”

11

etting to Germany? Simple.

Finding Johann Starke’s house? Easy.

Breaking into said house? Not a problem.

Breaking into said house while remaining undetected? Surprisingly difficult.