“Not halfway close to how disappointed I am in you. When I was a kid, I read stories where the white wizards were all good and moral. Do you have any idea how depressing it was to find out what the Light Council was really like?”

“Enough.”

Levistus didn’t speak loudly, but there was something in his tone that made me fall silent. When I didn’t speak for a few seconds, he went on. “You appear to be under the illusion that you have some level of choice. That this is an option that you are free to take or leave.” He regarded me steadily. “You claim that I have been your enemy. This is false. You are, at most, an inconvenience. Should you continue to work against me, that will change. For the first time, I will devote significant resources to your removal. I will not do so out of any personal grudge. I will do so because, as an active tool of Morden and of Drakh, you are a sufficient threat to warrant it.” Levistus’s voice was quite normal, and he looked at me steadily as he continued to speak. “You will be placed under siege. Your allies will be driven away or killed. Your bases of operation will be attacked. The process will not necessarily be swift. It is possible you will survive for months or even years. However, given enough time, the end is inevitable. You will be destroyed. And when you fall, there will be no one left to mourn your passing.”

I looked back at Levistus, and as I saw the expression on his face I felt a chill. It wasn’t so much the threat. I’ve been threatened plenty of times by mages, often in quite graphic and unpleasant ways. This was something different. I think what scared me the most was the matter-of-fact tone of voice. Levistus didn’t think he was bluffing. He had absolutely no doubt that he could do what he promised, and it shook me more than I’d really expected. For the first time I had a real, almost tangible sense of just how dangerous the man standing in front of me was.

I didn’t have an answer. Levistus turned and walked away. His footsteps echoed and faded into the background noise of the corridors, and I was left sitting alone by the pool. I looked down at the fish swimming in the water and wondered what I was going to do.

A few minutes later I heard footsteps and a woman in mage robes walked through the rock garden. As she saw me she paused. “Hello.”

“Hi.”

She gave me a doubtful look. “Should you be here?”

I took a moment to think about it. “I’m not really sure,” I said at last. I rose to my feet and walked out the way I came.

chapter 10

It was a couple of hours later when Haken reappeared on the Belfry floor. He was frowning down at the stone and didn’t look up as he made his way over. “How did it go?” I asked.