Elena looked him in the eyes. “We will remove the cuffs, Hunts Alone, on the condition that you go to Mystwerk House at Oden’s Ford with Fire Dancer and learn to control and use this gift the Maker has given you. We will sponsor you, provide your amulet, and pay your master’s fees and board. When you complete the courses, you will come back here and use your skills on behalf of the clan and the true line of blooded queens.”

Han stared at her. “So wizards are all right as long as they’re working for you?”

Apparently so, he thought, since they all shrugged and looked away.

“Why me?” Han said. “Why not Dancer? He’s a wizard, and he’s not likely to go mad on you.” Just then he was rather taken with the notion of going mad, of breaking things. It seemed like a good out.

“If Gavan Bayar has been able to break the binding placed on him when he was elevated to High Wizard, he must have used old magic,” Averill said. “We’re worried about what else the Bayars have hidden away. If they have access to old amulets, they can use them to win other wizards to their side. We’ll need someone very powerful to oppose them. More powerful than Dancer.”

“What makes you think I’m so powerful?” Han asked. “I’ve never done anything magical.”

“I put the cuffs on you when you were just a baby,” Elena said. Her expression said it was an experience she wouldn’t care to repeat. “I know what you’re capable of.”

Lucius broke into a high wheezing laugh. “The thing is, ever’body knows what young Alger Waterlow could do, boy,” he said. “They’re hoping you take after your many-greats-grandpa. Except for the destroying the world part. They’re hoping to keep you on a tighter leash.”

“So,” Han said, “you’re looking for a magical sell-sword? A mercenary.”

Elena Demonai shook her head. “We are looking for a champion. Someone who will support the camps against the Wizard Council, should the need arise. We cannot wait to see what the Bayars have planned. You need training, and that takes time.”

“And if I refuse, you’ll send Dancer against the Wizard Council on his own.”

Elena nodded. “We’ll have no choice.”

The clan elders were focused on Han, intent on persuasion. They kept talking about Dancer like he wasn’t even there. Which irritated Han.

What if they removed the cuffs, and it turned out Han’s powers were a flash in the pan, a spark that burned out almost immediately? He would have all his same problems and lose the protection the cuffs provided. The next time Gavan Bayar flamed him, he’d go down.

Besides, he knew better than to make a deal when he didn’t know all the details.