Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Magna was cold, hungry and wet.

He had grown used to feeling like this in the months since his attempt at the Magic Knight Entrance Exam, but he was not going to let it put him off. Seihi had said getting into a squad was going to be hard for a peasant from the sticks, but if Magna could bear the hardships a squad would take him on eventually. So, unlike most of the other failed candidates, Magna had stuck around the city on the lookout for ways to improve his magic for next year’s exam.

But he had not considered how cold the winter could be and how tricky it was to get food without the help of a neighbour or auntie when things were lean.

Last week he had worked in the docks with the crew of the Flying Gull. He had enjoyed a roof over his head and two hearty meals a day in exchange for his help caring for the aging boat. The Captain had asked him to join them in their journey upriver because he had the knack for firing the boiler without overloading the creaky pipes.

But his full belly had made him forget how uncomfortable things had been before the job and he had declined their invitation. He was sure something else would come up with the chance to learn a bit more about controlling his fire magic.

That had been a week ago. He had become soft with the warm accommodation and hot food. And now he was cold with no prospect of anything to eat except the leftovers in the bin at the Wild Broomsticks.

He could have survived that if he had not been so wet. He was a fire mage. He did not like being wet.

He pulled out a fragment of uneaten pastry from the trash and resolved to do something about the situation. He would go back to the docks and try for work tomorrow, but unless he slept somewhere dry tonight, he was going to be so cold as to be useless.

The Wild Broomsticks was near the Fishers’ Gate area of the city. This was a wild area of expensive houses tucked up against disreputable establishments and rundown doss-houses. Magna guessed the big houses belonged to the owners of some of these businesses. In the months he had hung around the Inn, he had learned which houses were likely to be unoccupied at what times. Some were more lax about their security than others.

He had scoped this particular house out weeks ago because there was a decent sized window open into the basement. It was probably for ventilation, and Magna was not fool enough to think that the security in the rest of the house would be anything other than tight given its size and expensive stained-glass windows. But Magna was not interested in going upstairs. He only wanted to stay somewhere dry. Tomorrow he would be on his way.

As he jogged through the heavy rain, he worried that the window might be closed tonight, so it was a relief to find it open as usual. It was easy to reach inside and release the catch all the way to allow it to swing open. He glanced around before entering. The upper floors of the building were in darkness as they always were on a weekday. He slipped in, then pulled the window back onto its catch so that no one would see anything different from outside. He let a small fireball dance in the air so he could get his bearings.

He had hit gold. There was a large warm furnace tucked beside the window. It would keep the building above warm and the basement almost cosy. He put his hands out towards it and let the heat soak into his joints.

He was so distracted that he missed the sound of movement behind him. It was only when he recognised the sensation of being watched that he turned around.

There was a boy sitting on a stained mattress in the shadows. He had light brown hair and a worried expression. It was hard to guess an age in the poor light, but Magna would have said not any older than himself.

Shit, he thought. There was a chain attached to the wall that ran to a metal cuff on the boy's ankle.

His first thought was that he needed to get out of here. He knew what the City Watch would do if they found him in a noble's house at this time of night. No one would accept that he was there for a dry place to sleep. It would be the dungeons, then prison as a thief. He did not want to go to prison, even if it would be drier with better food that he was used to at the moment.

Then he realised that the boy was not calling for the City Watch. If anything, he looked more afraid than Magna felt. Magna did not have a chain around his ankle.

Stop and breath, he said to himself. There was something going on here and he needed information.

He put out his hands with the palms up to show he was not holding any weapons. "Hi," he said. "Kinda wet out tonight."

There was no reply. The boy glanced at the little fireball still dancing in the air. Magna was going to snuff it out, in case it was perceived as a threat on its own, but he hesitated. There was no other light in here except the faint glow of the furnace and the fireball. Before Magna had come in, the basement had been in darkness. Why was a kid chained up in a basement with no light?

Magna felt sick. He knew the answer could not be good. He should get out of here. He had dropped into something complicated and probably dangerous. If he climbed out the window now he could pretend that he had not seen anything.

But he did not move. What kind of Magic Knight did Magna want to be? Was he going to be the kind that walked past people in need? What would Seihi have said about that?

Magna was not that kind of person, and he would be damned if he became that sort of Magic Knight. Time to get involved.

“Are you okay?" he asked. He took a couple of steps forward. He let his little fireball dance above their heads.

Still no answer. Now that the light was higher he could see signs of bruising on the boy’s face and red irritation around the ankle cuff.

"My name is Magna." Two steps closer. The boy still did not speak, but he did not try to retreat either.

"What's your name?" Now they were close enough to touch, the boy pulled back towards the wall. "Why are you here? Do you need help?" Although the boy's eyes never left Magna's face, it looked like he did not understand the questions.

A piece of coal spat in the furnace and Magna jumped.

The boy scrambled even further back. His breathing was suddenly faster and he looked, if possible, even more scared. But Magna thought it was his reaction that had panicked the kid. He never looked at the furnace. Could he hear? Another two steps and Magna could crouch down near the mattress. The boy watched.

Time to test the theory. Without looking away from the kid's face, Magna snapped his fingers behind his back. The boy did not react. It was not definite, but Magna decided that his working theory for the moment was that the boy could not hear.

Who the hell chained a deaf kid in a basement?

To try to answer that question, Magna sent a new fireball towards the roof. With the improved light he could see a small box containing food and water. At the furthest limits of the chain was a bucket with a wooden lid.

He could see the injuries better too. The facial bruising was mismatched and probably came from different blows days apart. The boy had a black eye on the right side and burst blood vessels turned the white of his eye red. Magna said, "How long have you been here? What happened to you?" He did not expect, nor get, an answer.

The boy tipped his head to one side as though trying to understand what Magna was saying. Another point to the theory that he could not hear.

Then he seemed to make a decision. He crept forward on the mattress. It was such a cautious movement that Magna sensed the boy was ready to startle back to the wall at any sudden change.

He put out his hand and touched Magna's wet shirt with his fingertips.

"Yeah, like I said. It's wet out."

Without taking his eyes off Magna, the boy rummaged around behind him and pulled out a blanket that he handed over. It was coarse, but well worn and dry. He looked like he might remember being cold, even though the room was warm now. Magna took the blanket. "Thanks." He pulled off his wet coat and wrapped it around his shoulders. "I take it you don't expect company soon."

Still watching Magna, the boy shuffled towards the box with the food. He was hampered by the cuff and the leg was stiff. He pushed the box towards Magna. There was less food in it than Magna had for one meal when working on the Gull, but at the moment it looked like a feast. He held back. "Not that I'm not grateful, but I think that's for you." The boy frowned harder and nudged the box again.

"I can't eat your food," Magna said. But his mouth was watering at the thought of the cheese and bread.

The boy pulled out a small loaf. He ripped it in half and handed one to Magna, then started to eat his own.

Magna sat on the edge of the mattress with him. He ate the bread. It was a little hard, but compared to the leftovers from the Broomsticks, it was divine. He could feel the boy's eyes on him. It made sense, he thought. If the kid could not hear, and someone had given him those bruises, no wonder he wanted to keep an eye on anyone within striking distance. Magna took care to move deliberately.

Once he finished, the boy brought out the cheese and split it as well. Magna ate that faster than the bread. He had finished and the boy had not started. This time he did not refuse when he was offered the uneaten part.

It only took ten minutes, but once Magna had eaten he felt better than he had for days. He was warm, dry and had eaten food that was not coated in the slime of discarded beer. It was almost pleasant. Again the boy put out a hand to touch. This time he gave Magna a nudge towards the window. "Yeah, I get it. It's time to go."

The boy pushed him again.

"Okay. But we have to decide what to do with you..."

He stopped. There was the noise of a door opening from the house above. The boy reacted as well, but it was a second too late. He was reacting to Magna and not the sound.

"Shit. Someone's upstairs." The boy glanced at the fireball dancing in the air, and Magna cursed. Of course. Anyone outside could see the light in the usually dark basement. Maybe someone was keeping an eye on the building. Maybe it was the person who had hurt the boy. He shoved Magna towards the window. He was frantic, almost terrified again, but he was afraid for Magna this time. He knew what the noise upstairs meant, even if he could not hear it.

Decision time, Magna thought. Time to decide what kind of Magic Knight he was going to be.

Another door opened on the floor above, and now there were the sounds of muffled voices. It must have shown on his face, because the boy became more agitated. He pulled himself up to stand. There was something wrong with that leg, but it did not prevent him using his full strength to haul Magna up and shove him towards the window.

He could go. The boy was begging him to leave. Maybe he would come back later to check the kid was okay, but right now he should get out of here.

He looked at him, terrified and hurt. He had shared his food and given Magna a blanket. No one deserved to live like this, especially not someone kind. “No. I’m not leaving you. Come on, we have to get that off your leg.”

The boy pushed Magna again.

“No. Move out the way.” Magna knelt down and put his hands around the two links in the chain closest to the cuff. He’d been working on his fine control with the crew of the Flying Gull. The metal would transfer the heat to the cuff, and it might hurt, but he needed the left over chain to be as short as possible. Magna's grimoire fluttered as he cast his spell and the links started to glow red under his hands.

The boy had frozen again. He was staring at Magna as if unsure what he was doing.

Another door banged upstairs, and now the voices were clear enough to understand. Two men. They did not sound like they were in a hurry.

"Think they've left?"

"Well, you make enough noise for a fucking regiment. Anyone down there's going to be well gone. We just need to go check his toy is where he left it."

"Can we rough it up a bit? We could say the trespasser did it."

Magna concentrated on not reacting to the words. He needed the boy to stay still.

But his anger boiled underneath. They were talking about the boy like he was an object. Magna poured his fury into the spell. He needed the metal to split.

"We’re not allowed to damage it, but we could say it was the intruder. The boss is getting careless with it anyway. One day we're going to come down here to feed it, and it'll be dead."

Don't react. Just concentrate on the spell. There were heavy footfalls on the stairs.

"He's going to be angry when that happens. He said it’s got good magic. Think it could use it to escape?"

"Not when the boss has its grimoire." They were at the bottom of the stairs.

Magna could not help his reaction. The links were expanding, but they were not soft enough to break yet. Even if he did get it off, there was no way they could get to the window before the men came in. The boy knew what Magna's reaction meant. He looked at the door too, so they both saw the handle turn. Magna took his hands off the chain. His magic was primed.

The door opened, and two unremarkable men stood on the other side.

One said, "Hey, want to play little Fin..."

Magna's magic swelled into the biggest fireball he had ever made and he launched it at the two men with all the force he had. The heat flared as it hit them dead on. They never had time to raise their hands in defence. As one, they tumbled back through the doorway and lay still. Smoke rose from their clothes. Oh shit.

It felt like ages before Magna could breathe again. The air was heavy with smoke and the smell of burning flesh.

The boy started to move first. He grabbed Magna's hands even though they were still crackling with fire magic and pulled them down to the glowing chain. He did not touch the chain itself, but the meaning was clear. Magna needed to finish the job he had started.

His magic was quick to respond. He poured heat into the chain, and felt it buckle under his hands. The boy shuddered but stayed very still.

Come on, Magna thought. Separate.

The metal softened the way the pipes of the Gull did when the heat was high enough. It was malleable under his hands. He pulled until the chain snapped into two pieces in his hands. He let his magic fade.

The cuff had only one link still attached. It was cherry red with the heat.

Magna’s head was spinning. He had never used his magic like that before. He felt sick. He fell onto his knees and steadied himself on the ground with his hands. He needed to breathe, but everything felt tight and too hot.

He might have killed those men. He could smell skin and hair burning.

There was a cool hand on the back of his neck. Just breathe.

When he was ready to lift his head, the boy had a bottle of water. He pushed it into Magna's hand and then towards his face. Magna drank. It was lukewarm, but it settled the nausea a little. He looked up at the boy.

His gaze was flicking between Magna and the unmoving men at the door. Magna pulled himself upright. He could not leave the boy to watch. Magna was meant to be rescuing him. They needed to get moving.

"So," Magna said, mostly to help with his own equilibrium. "You're Fin. Nice to meet you. Want to get out of here?”

The boy did not answer, but he sensed that the worse had passed. He pushed Magna towards the window again.

But Magna knew what it was like out there. This basement might be a prison, but it was warm and dry. There was food. The last few months had taught Magna not to take those things for granted. He pulled on his almost dry coat and wrapped what was left of the food and water into the blanket he had been wearing. Then he pulled another one over the boy's shoulders. It would not do much good if it got too wet, but it was better than nothing. The boy watched.

Once Magna had made the preparations he glanced around. Was there anything else here that they could use? Maybe there was a key to the cuff on the boy's leg? If they could get that off things would be easier.

He dared not risk any more light than the small fireball. Maybe the boy knew where the key was. He tapped his arm to get his attention away from the men, then pointed at the cuff. He mimed twisting a key in a lock, but the boy stared in confusion.

“Can we get that off? Is there a key?"

There was no sign of understanding. Magna bent down to the cuff. Maybe there was a keyhole? He touched it, then pulled his hand back in horror. The thing was hot enough to burn. The skin beneath the cuff was raw and bloody. It was not all the hot metal, but it was not going to help.

"That's going to burn," Magna said. "We need to take it off."

The boy took Magna’s hands off the cuff and pushed him towards the window.

"But we have to..."

Another push and this time the boy took his own step forward as well. He stumbled as his leg refused to support him, but Magna caught him and made him sit. "Guess it's been a while since they let you up and about. First, let's cool this down. I'm meant to be rescuing you. Not hurting you more."

The boy looked frustrated. Magna shook his head and pointed at the ankle again. The boy held it out as if he accepted that Magna was not going to leave until he had finished what he wanted to do.

Magna took the bottle of water and poured it slowly over the heated metal. It hissed and the boy squirmed, but never made a sound. Once the metal was only warm to Magna's hand, he ripped a piece of blanket up and soaked it before wrapping it around the piece of metal as a makeshift bandage. He was just tying it off when the boy… no. The men had said his name was Fin. When Fin tapped him on the shoulder and indicated the doorway. One of the men was moving.

Now it was time to get out of here.

Magna hauled the boy... hauled Fin upright again and gave him a moment to get his balance. One of the men was beginning to moan, but he did not look like he was ready to jump up yet. The other was very still.

Shit. That was some fireball.

Fin caught his attention again and indicated the window. Yeah. Stay on task, Magna. Get out, then marvel at your magic.

Fin limped badly on the cuffed leg, but at least he stayed upright with help. It was more than just the burn, or even the irritation of the skin. Magna put it to one side as well. He could marvel at his magic and find out what was wrong with Fin's leg when they were safe.

At the window Magna had to release his hold on Fin to open the catch. The window swung open with a creak and Magna cringed. Fin froze and scanned the room in panic.

"Just the window," he said and pointed at the rusted catch.

Fin looked unconvinced. He kept glancing back at the men. The one who had moved was lying still again.

"Come on, let's get out of here. You first, because I think you'll try to make me go on my own and that is not how this escape is happening."

Fin was watching the men, so he was not prepared for Magna to grip him under the arms and thrust him through the window. He tensed for a moment then took the hint. He scrambled out.

As soon as he was outside, he turned back to Magna. He put out a hand and Magna passed through the blanket with the food, then he climbed up himself. Fin helped, although Magna would have managed on his own.

One of the men groaned, then said, "Wha'? Where you goin'?"

Magna did not look back.

Chapter Text

Magna pulled himself out of the window. Fin was standing in the rain, staring at the sky with a relieved smile on his face. He was so entranced that he was not scanning their surroundings for the first time. To Magna the rain felt cold and wet, but maybe it would be different if he had not felt it for a long time. How long had Fin been down there?

They could not afford to hang about though, because that man could call for back-up at any moment. Magna guessed the kind of back-up they would call when the kid they were holding prisoner escaped was not the City Watch, but the kind of unscrupulous people that threw bodies into the river. "Come on," he said, and took Fin's hand.

Fin pulled his gaze away from the sky. He grabbed the blanket with the food from where he had dropped it and let Magna pull him along.

They needed a plan. Step one, get out of the rain.

He led Fin through the back alleys away from the lights of houses and the busier streets. He kept checking over his shoulder and listened for sounds of footsteps over the pounding rain. But there was nothing.

They needed to get out of Fishers’ Gate and away from that house. Magna knew where they needed to go. A week of working on the Gull had given him a good knowledge of the buildings tucked around the docks. With the eye of someone who did not always know if he would have a roof over his head tomorrow, he kept note of dry places that a boy could sleep if necessary.

The Gull crew had stored their unsold cargo in a warehouse before they went upriver, with the hope that market prices would be better on their return. The warehouse had more holes than wall and the roof was badly patched, so they had covered the cargo with tarpaulins to keep out the elements. Those tarpaulins had enough space to act as a tent for one boy, or two if they did not mind being tucked in close. From the outside, the building was so derelict that no one would expect people to hide in there from the weather.

But Magna regretted that it was so far away as they tried to hurry through the darkness. Fin was struggling to keep up after a short distance and he had to lean into Magna's support. His face was tight with pain. Magna took the bundle so that the boy could concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. He limped badly and he shivered.

Eventually, Magna pulled Fin’s arm over his shoulder and took most of his weight. They must look like drunks wandering home after a night in the bars. It was not a bad disguise. Fin did not resist but gritted his teeth and concentrated on trying to help. Magna wondered if it would be faster to carry him. He had been doing manual labour for months and Fin was too skinny.

Magna did not realise he was muttering reassurances until he caught himself saying, "It's not too far now, Fin. Once we get there, we'll get you dry and that'll warm you up. Tomorrow we'll decide what to do."

Fin did not react to his voice.

There was a loose plank on the west wall of the warehouse. The whole building was really made of unsecured boards, but this one could be shifted back into position from the inside. Magna ducked out from Fin's arm to lift the cover away. Fin wobbled as he leaned on the wall. His expression was glassy with pain and exhaustion and he was concentrating on just staying upright. When Magna tugged him onto his knees he almost fell.

Magna pushed Fin through the opening, then followed. He pulled the plank back into position before checking their surroundings. Wind whistled through the gaps and there was almost as much rain falling in here as there was outside. The cargo was still wrapped in its watertight tarpaulins.

"Fin. Not much further."

The other boy had not made any effort to get up. He was breathing hard and shaking so badly that Magna did not think he would be able to stand.

"Come on. I'll help."

It was a mark of how exhausted Fin must be that he barely reacted as Magna hauled him to his feet. The bad leg refused to hold his weight so Magna mostly carried him to the cargo bales then let him balance against the side as he slipped a hand between two tarpaulin sheets. He pulled them apart to show the dark space between.

Fin saw it and panicked as much as his exhaustion would allow. He tried to pull away. It must look like another black prison to him, Magna thought, but he could not risk a fireball so close to flammable bales of cargo. "Please, Fin. It's safe. We can't stay out here. I'll be with you. I won't leave, but you need to rest."

It could not have been his words, but something seemed to persuade him to let Magna push him into the space and out of the rain.

It was as cramped as Magna feared it would be, but it was dry. Fin crawled forward because Magna was shoving him from behind. He was shaking and it felt like as much terror as exhaustion now. "Just a little further," Magna said.

The tunnel opened into a gap between four bales large enough for them to sit side by side. The cargo sat on wooden pallets that kept them off the cold earth. It was dry and warm compared to the chill of the wind outside. It was completely dark.

Fin stopped moving as soon as Magna stopped pushing him, so Magna crawled alongside. He pulled the soaking blanket off Fin’s shoulders. His clothes were still dry underneath, but not enough for these temperatures. Magna pulled off his jacket and tucked it around the other boy.

Despite the chill, Fin's skin was hot to touch. Shit.

"Come on and sit for a minute," Magna said. He gave Fin's arm a gentle tug, but the boy stiffened. He was still panicking. It was too dark. Magna shuffled around so that he was sitting against the bale. Fin tried to pull away, but the space was too tight. He was breathing fast.

Well, of course he was afraid, Magna thought. All his information came from what he could see and feel. If you took one of those away, he was almost helpless. He was cold, wet, and hurt and probably sick too. He had trusted Magna this far, and now he was in a hole in the dark where anything could happen.

They needed light. Magna opened the bundle of food and pulled out the glass water bottle. He emptied it between the cracks of the pallet. When it was empty, he sent a small fireball into the bottom.

The fireball glowed inside the bottle and gave enough illumination for Magna to make out the extent of their space without setting light to the bales of cargo. He could see the terror on Fin's face fade to relief as he looked around. The space was tight and protected on all sides by the bales. Magna corked the bottle. He knew his fireball could last for half an hour without air, even though it would dim.

Fin crawled round and sat at Magna’s side. He held himself stiff at first, but he was unsteady with exhaustion. Magna held out his arm and the boy leaned into the space with a breath. Magna pulled him close, then tucked the driest blanket around him.

They sat like that for long enough for Fin's breathing to slow. The shivers did not settle, but Magna did not think they were due to the cold. Fin was too hot. Maybe Magna should have made him drink the water, although he had no idea how he could have explained that without the light.

The leg was the likely cause of the fever. Those red marks tracking up from the cuff had looked like infection even before Magna had superheated the metal. Dragging the boy on a forced march into the freezing rain would have made things worse.

Magna was so lost in his thoughts, that Fin's hand creeping up to his face made him startle. That made Fin hyperaware too. Magna was going to have to learn to regulate his reactions now that they were working for Fin too.

Fin tried again, and this time he put his hand on Magna's face. He moved Magna's chin to simulate his mouth opening and closing.

"You want me to talk?"

Fin took his hand away from Magna's face.

Magna was tongue tied. What was he supposed to say to a deaf boy? "I don't know what I should say."

Fin exhaled and leaned in close.

"This is kinda weird. Normally, it's shut up Magna, and be quiet Magna..."

As he spoke, Fin rested his hand on Magna's chest. It was heavy and clumsy. He was close to sleep or unconsciousness.

"You can feel me talking, can't you? And that's how you know everything is okay. You're relying on me to react to stuff that you can't hear, and if I'm talking, then I don't hear danger. Cool. You picked that up fast. Okay. I'll talk, and you need to go to sleep."

He paused as he considered what to say next. Fin's breath caught, but he was too drowsy to react properly.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm just thinking about what to say, you know. I mean. No one ever asked me to talk before. If you had any idea how many people used to tell me to stop talking when I was a kid. Right. Let's start with that. Umm. I was born in Rayaka..."

As he told Fin his life story, he felt the boy become heavy against him as he fell asleep.

Magna must have dozed too, because he was wakened by the sound of soft, mumbled words. It was so unexpected his breath caught. If Fin had been awake, he would have startled too. But Fin was deeply asleep and muttering.

It took moments for Magna to calm his breathing and for his heart rate to slow. He had known Fin for only a few hours, but he had become so used to his lack of speech that hearing him talk felt unnerving.

Magna could not make out the words at first, but they sounded gentle, like something you might say to a friend or sibling. Magna began to nod off again to the sounds of the mumbled words and the pattering of raindrops on the tarpaulin. Fin was too warm pressed against him.

Then the muttering changed to words that Magna could recognise. Fin sounded upset. "No. No, father. It was me. I did it. Not Langris. Please." He began to squirm.

Magna shook his shoulder. "Fin. Fin. You’re dreaming. Wake up." Fin did not respond to the words, but the shaking must have got through. His eyes opened and he looked around in panic.

The fireball had gone out, but there was enough grey light coming through their entrance that at least Fin could see something. Once he had scanned the area he looked back at Magna. There were tears in his eyes.

"You were dreaming," Magna told him. "It's just me. We’re safe and okay. You think you can go back to sleep?"

The answer was no. Fin pulled himself upright and tucked his arms around his legs. He was shivering again.

Magna sighed. It was just after dawn judging by the light, so now was as good a time as any to start working out a plan. Some food first. Magna always did better thinking if he had had something to eat.

He pulled out their little bundle of food and split the remains. They would have to find more, but that was a problem for the future. Now they needed to eat.

Fin tried to refuse, but Magna was insistent. The boy might look nauseous, but who knew when they might get something else. And if he was ill, he would need it more. Magna needed to see the leg.

Fin lifted his pants when Magna gestured at it. Even without taking off the rag that he had used last night, it was clear this was the problem. The redness that Magna had seen was worse. It stretched beyond the knee and the whole lower leg was swollen. It was hot and tender, even though the only way Magna knew was the slight grimace on Fin's face when it was touched. No wonder he could hardly walk.

Magna removed the rag from around the cuff. There was blistering from what he assumed was the burn. But more worrying was the ruined skin and pus oozing between the cuff and the ankle. He had no water to clean it and there probably was no point while the cuff was still in place. Magna wrapped it again, then put the back of his hand to Fin's forehead to check his fever. The boy seemed confused by the gesture but did not pull away. He was burning up. That was worse than last night too.

Shit.

His half-formed idea to leave Fin here for the day while he looked for work about the docks was a non-starter. Even if he could somehow explain to Fin what he was doing, and he had no idea how he was going to even attempt that, he could not leave him here when he was sick. They needed to do something about that infection, or Magna had rescued him from that basement to die.

Their options were narrowing. Maybe he could take Fin somewhere to get medical treatment? Maybe a Magic Knight squad? If Magna left him at the door, they would have to help him. The nearest base was the Purple Orcas, less than a mile away. Fin was a victim, injured, running a fever and afraid. They would have to help him.

Magna would need to vanish though. The men that he had attacked would be able to identify him, and he had a nagging worry that the one who had taken the brunt of his fireball might not have got back up again at all.

Magna sighed. It should be the right thing to do, but he felt uncertain. That house had been big, and those men worked for someone rich and powerful. A noble most likely. If Magna left Fin at a Magic Knight squad to be helped, who was to say that they would not take him back to that chain in the basement. Or worse.

So, no. Not that either. What did that leave?

Fin was watching him. His eyes were glassy with fever, but he was frowning as if trying to follow Magna's train of thought.

How can he trust me like this? He only just met me, Magna thought He would be better off with the Magic Knights. A proper Recovery Mage could fix up his leg in no time and then…

Fin tipped his head to one side as he watched. Magna’s decision was made.

And then they could put him back in that basement and call him a thing and hurt him because they were bored. They had his grimoire.

No. Magna would not risk it.

"I have an idea," he said.

Magna nudged Fin towards the exit. Without hesitation, Fin led the way. The bad leg was dragging, and he winced each time it touched the ground. Once he was clear, Fin pulled himself up to lean against the bale. Magna followed, pulling their meagre belongings behind him.

The rain had stopped, but the sky beyond the holes in the roof was grey and heavy so there was more on the way. The warehouse was full of standing water, and that meant they might be able to get some to drink. Magna took the bottle out and looked for somewhere to fill it. Some of the puddles on top of the tarpaulin were deep enough, but at this level everything was dark and full of mud. He did not fancy climbing up there in the wet. They would have to leave it until later, but Magna's mouth was dry and that was nothing to the boy with the fever.

Fin was watching him and followed his gaze to the top of the cargo bales. A mischievous glint came into his eye and he held out his hand. Magna handed over the bottle.

There was a small flare of mana and a dense shimmer appeared at Fin's hand. Without hesitation he put the bottle straight through the shiny thing. Magna swore, because Fin's hand vanished as though it had gone through a doorway. Magna spotted the bottle still gripped by the hand now on top of the tarpaulins and scooping up water from one of the puddles.

Spatial magic. Fin could use spatial magic! Magna's mind whirled. Sure, he knew it existed. He had once seen a portal from a distance. But this was rare and powerful magic and Fin was doing it without a grimoire.

Fin's grin when he brought the bottle back through the portal and handed it full of water to Magna was pure joy.

Magna waved a hand. "You first." Fin drank deeply then handed it over.

The water tasted of rubber, but it was cold and clean. Magna had drunk worse, and probably paid for stuff no better. He drank a couple of mouthfuls then handed it back. Fin looked like he might disagree, but Magna was insistent. He scowled but drank.

Fin had almost finished when suddenly, he stopped moving. His whole body froze, and his eyes went wide. The bottle slipped from his hands to shatter at his feet. He spun towards the north wall so quickly that Magna expected to see something there when he looked, but there was nothing. It looked like he had heard someone call his name.

He stared into the wall of the building and he was shaking so badly that Magna thought he was going to pass out. His lips were moving as though he was trying to reply to something that only he could hear.

Was it part of the fever? He did look worse. Magna grabbed his arm before he fell onto the glass on the ground and pushed him to sit down away from the shards. He remained fixated on the wall. Magna looked at the same point. There was nothing there. It was the docks beyond, then the city proper.

Fin squeezed his hands against his ears and rocked against whatever he was experiencing. Magna had no idea how to help, so he fell back on the things he learned as a child running around Rayaka with aunties and uncles and bigger cousins. He gathered Fin into his arms and held him.

"It's okay. I don't know what happened, or what you can see. Or hear. But it's not here. I promise. It's okay."

He continued to mutter reassurances as Fin rocked in his arms. He was too hot. Eventually whatever it was eased of its own accord and he slumped into Magna's arms. He let his hands drop. At first Magna thought he had cut them on the broken bottle, then he saw that the blood was flowing from Fin’s ears.

What the hell was going on?

He must have stopped talking because Fin raised his bloodstained hand, but he was so weak that it never got near Magna's face before it fell again. But the request was clear. Magna took the hand and put it on his chest and said, "It's done, whatever it is. I don't know what that was, or why your ears are bleeding, but I'm guessing it's not a good thing. Was it doing your magic?"

Of course, Fin could not answer. He was so heavy in Magna's arms that the only way that he knew he was still conscious was the hand resting on Magna's chest.

"We can take a minute to catch our breath, and then we should get out of here. Shit. I wish you could tell me what happened. I'll protect you. I promise. I mean, it's my fault you’re not at home in your nice warm basement. I said I had an idea about where we should go, but we'll have to walk. I don't know if you're fit to walk. You need to see a Recovery Mage.."

Fin's breathing was evening out, but the shivering had become worse. He tried to sit up, but Magna held him.

"Take it easy. You aren't ready yet, and we're going to have a long walk. I'd rather not carry you further than I have to," Magna paused as he ran out of things to say. Fin startled as if Magna had stopped for some reason that Fin could not hear and could not see because he was tucked in.

"Shhh. It's fine. I'm going to have to get better at filling silences. Your magic was amazing. That's spatial magic. It's rare. And to think I was impressed with my fireball last night. I mean, you did that and your... they... you don't have something," Magna stumbled. It was not as if Fin could hear him talk about the stolen grimoire, but it did not feel right to say it out loud. He continued quickly. "It's a good spell. Shame you can't do it again, but whatever just happened was linked to using your magic. I bet it wasn’t just a chain attached to the wall that they were using to keep you a prisoner." He patted him gently on the back.

Fin finally had the strength to push himself away from Magna. He was wide eyed and bloodstained. His reaction confirmed Magna's fears. They needed to get out of here. Something, or someone knew where they were.

"Right," Magna said. "Time to go. Do you think you can walk?"

Fin was already pushing himself off the ground. He could stand almost upright if he leaned into Magna's support, but his balance was shot. Perhaps it was whatever had happened to his ears. This was as good as they were going to get. Magna tucked the blanket back around his shoulders and led the way back to the loose plank.

It was still early enough in the morning that they could exit without being noticed. A few workers were about, but they were muffled in warm clothes and keeping their heads down. They were just about into the city proper when someone recognised Magna from his time on the Gull. He flashed a cheery smile and looked ready to come over to chat. He was one of the dockhands that worked on the cargo cranes. He had said that he would keep Magna in mind if any jobs came along. Magna shrugged and pointed at Fin as if he was a drunken companion.

The dockhand flashed a thumbs up and carried on his way.

"I think that was a day's work you just cost me," Magna said. "I can't remember his name, but he was always telling me to lighten up and enjoy myself. You might have enhanced my reputation."

Fin could not stop shivering. Magna was taking most of his weight already.

Magna was making for the Wild Broomsticks. It was a mile back towards Fishers’ Gate through nearly deserted streets. The few people they met were early workers who had no interest in a couple of kids coming home after a night of heavy drinking.

Fin managed to put one foot in front of the other at the beginning, but he became clumsier the further they went. He was dragging the bad leg on the ground and he stumbled more often than he had last night. He never uttered a sound. Magna had to stop talking and use his energy to keep Fin upright. The months of hard work in manual jobs had built up his strength, and Fin was too light for a boy of his height, but it was hard work.

They were just rounding a corner when Fin suddenly became a dead weight in Magna's arms. They stumbled and Magna had to catch himself before they both ended up on the ground. Fin was unconscious, his eyes closed and his face deadly pale. His shallow breaths were all that indicated that was still alive.

Magna cursed as he pulled Fin onto his back.

If anything, he was able to move quicker without trying to help Fin walk. He could feel each breath against his back, so he knew the other boy was still alive but there was no sign of him waking. Fin was still burning up and Magna was sweating with the heat rolling off him. The shivering was worse now that he was no longer conscious. They needed to get to the Inn.

Chapter Text

Magna was never so pleased to see somewhere in his life as he was to see the Wild Broomsticks at the end of the alley. The windows were shuttered and the door closed, but Rebecca Scarlet, the girl who helped out around the place when she wasn't looking after her young siblings, was sweeping down the steps outside. She looked up at Magna's arrival.

"Magna Swing," she said. "What have you been... Who is that? What happened?"

Magna ignored her questions and shifted Fin's weight on his back. "Where's Judith?"

"Inside." Rebecca pushed the door open for Magna. She followed him.

The bar was cool and dark. It smelled as it always did of stale alcohol and tobacco, despite Judith and Rebecca's careful attention to the cleaning. The tables were neatly stacked away as Judith mopped. She looked up as they entered, then bustled forward to help Magna lower Fin onto one of the wooden benches.

The boy did not move as they lay him down. Rebecca bundled up her scarf and slipped it under his head as a pillow. Judith put her large hand on the boy's forehead and hissed.

"What've you been doing, Magna?"

Magna had not actually considered what he would tell Judith. The landlady was short and round, with bad knees and a sour temperament. She kept control of the unruly clientele of the Wild Broomsticks with a sharp tongue and zero tolerance for bad behaviour. The bar might be quieter than some of its rowdier neighbours, but you could guarantee that at the Broomsticks you would not get stabbed for your winnings.

But she was cannier than her outward appearance would suggest. There was a reason that Magic Knight squad captains had been known to frequent the Inn.

On Magna's first nights in the city, she had made known that the funny little 'badger-kid' was under her protection. She had laughed at his grand plans of becoming a Magic Knight and his repeated refusal of work because he 'wouldn’t learn to improve his magic wiping down tables.' She was never offended and used to muss up his hair whenever she saw him. He suspected that when times were lean, there may have been more food in the bins behind the bar than usual.

If there was someone in the city that Magna trusted, it was Judith. And he was going to lie to her.

"I found him at the docks. He's sick."

"I can see that, boy. Why not take him to the charity ward at the infirmary? They've got Recovery Mages that'd set him right. If it's possible." She frowned at the unconscious boy.

"No... no. I said I'd stay with him. And you said you knew a Recovery Mage round here? Could they come and heal him?"

"Morven costs good money, little Badger. You got cash?"

"No. But I..." He hesitated. He had forgotten the charity ward at the infirmary. He could take Fin there and leave him. He could go back to the dock and get some work that would develop his magic for the exam next year.

Instead, he said, "Do you still have a job available?"

Judith looked at him with a penetrating stare that seemed to see through him to the truth.

"You'll work until you pay off your debt. And I'll deduct room and board from your wages."

He nodded.

"And if your friend survives, he'll have to work too."

Magna nodded again. He'd tell her that Fin could not hear once he was better.

"Good," Judith said. "Rebecca, run off to Morven and bring her here. Tell her there's a bottle of rum in it for her. And don't believe her if she says she's got customers. Drag her if you must. I think this lad needs her soonest. We'll be in room two."

Rebecca hurried out the door with her skirts held around her knees to help her run.

"Little Badger, carry your friend upstairs. If nothing else, we'll get him a proper bed. And we'll talk before Morven gets here."

Magna tried to see Fin the way that Judith must. The bruises stood out dark against his pale skin, and his breathing was harsh and rapid. There was dried blood around his ears and he was too thin. She was right to be suspicious of his story.

This time Magna lifted Fin in his arms and followed her up the stairs.

Room two was a neat little guest room with turned down sheets and a small posy of flowers on the windowsill. It was one of the better bedrooms. Magna placed Fin onto the bed.

"Now, show me the trouble."

Magna pulled up Fin’s pants to reveal the infection spreading up the leg. It was worse than it had been earlier. He hesitated before removing the rag but there was no other way. He was going to have to trust her. Without speaking, he untied the rough bandage. It was dirty with pus and blood and the cuff itself was sticky.

Judith frowned deeper and shook her head. "Magna," she said, dispensing with the 'badger' nickname for once. "What have you got yourself mixed up in?"

Magna did not answer.

"You need to tell me where he came from. I will help you. Both of you, if he survives. But I can't do that if you are not honest with me. I have to think of Rebecca and her family, and Sivert." She paused. "Well, not Sivert. He's a bastard. But Rebecca and those little brothers and sisters of hers."

"I found him chained up in a basement," Magna said. "I was looking for somewhere warm to sleep, and I climbed in a window. He was there, with that around his ankle. I melted the chain, but I couldn't get the cuff off. People came, and, well, I took him with me."

"And you didn't think to get the City Watch? Or maybe a Magic Knight?"

"What was I going to say to the Watch? That I found a deaf kid chained up in a basement while I was checking the property had its windows secured."

"Ha. Point, little Badger. But back up. He's deaf?"

"Yeah. At least I think so. He doesn't speak, and he's never reacted to a noise. I think his name is Fin."

"Fin." She was thoughtful. "And his magic?"

"He doesn’t have a grimoire. I think they took it.”

She growled under her breath. Grimoires were personal. No one ever touched another person’s grimoire. Taking one was a sickening crime.

“But his magic's good. He made a portal to get us water earlier, but then that happened." He pointed to the blood around Fin's ears. "He sort of went crazy, and then he could hardly stand."

"Magna. This is important. What house did you find him in?"

"The big one with the stained-glass windows. Next to the doss-house."

Judith was frowning even harder as she looked at Fin's ears. She took the neat little hand towel off the sink and soaked it. "Clean up the blood, Magna. Be quick. Morven mustn't see it." She handed him the towel. As he cleaned, she continued, "He's your brother. If anyone asks, you brought him with you to the city. You've hardly been apart in all your life. Understand?"

Magna nodded.

"You never went to that house. You've never even seen that house."

"Who..." he started to ask.

"I'll tell you later. Once Morven's been. Do you think you can get that off his leg now?"

"I burnt him when I took the chain off."

"There are worse things than a burn on the ankle, little Badger. Morven may be a drunk, but she's a decent Recovery Mage. If you can get it off, she'll be able to heal the damage. It's better than her seeing and making guesses. For her and us."

Magna nodded. His grimoire flickered open. He was about to cast the same spell as he had used on the chain when Judith interrupted. "Magna. You know he's really sick, don't you? It's possible that Morven won't be able to heal him, no matter how good she is. He might still die."

He nodded.

"If he dies, you still owe me my money."

"I know. I couldn't have left him there."

She sighed. "You'll make a wonderful Magic Knight. Now get that off him."

He pulled on his mana and poured it into the cuff around Fin's ankle. He could feel the skin hissing underneath the metal. He brought the temperature up faster than he had last night because he needed to be fast. The metal started to soften under his fingers. He only needed enough to pull it out of shape and away from the skin.

He forced his fingers underneath. No wonder it had caused such damage. The thing was rubbing to the bone. With a last burst of heat the metal stretched and he pulled it. Once it was free, he threw it into the sink. Judith turned on the tap to douse it and steam filled the room.

It was not just steam. The smell of burning flesh hit the back of Magna's throat and he gagged. He had done that. Oh god. He had burned Fin down to the bone. He turned and threw up in the sink.

"Good job, little Badger," Judith said and rubbed circles on his back. The water washed the vomit away. Once the cuff was cool, she lifted it and slipped it into the pocket of her apron. "That was a good job."

Magna lifted his head away from the sink and glanced at Fin. He had not moved.

There was banging from downstairs and the loud, querulous tone of Morven the healer. It was impossible to make out her words, or what Rebecca was saying to placate her, but soon there were footsteps on the stairs and the door burst open.

"You better have a reason for getting me out my bed, you hag," Morven snapped at Judith. "I had customers."

"Shut up, you old crone. You never have customers before the bars close. Magna's brother is sick. You're a healer."

Morven looked like she was going to argue again, but then she saw Fin. "Oh, Lordy, I'm about a week too late for this one. I'm not sure it's going to be worth my mana."

Magna was about to protest, but Rebecca put a cautioning hand on his arm. She gave a small shake of her head.

"Maybe be more in for you," Judith said. "I might be able to see to a half bottle of rum for your time and mana."

"Your girl already promised me a whole one."

"Two then. Or have you lost your nerve? Don't think you can do it? I could get Magna to take his brother to the charity ward. Maybe someone there could set him right. You don't really want that rum after all."

Morven cursed. "Two bottles. And I want paying too."

"Two if you heal him."

"He's about gone, Judith. I might not be able."

Her use of Judith's name worried Magna more than anything else.

"We'll pay you if he dies. The rum is only if he survives."

"You bargain hard, hag." She turned to Magna. "You hear, yes? I'm going to try to save his life, but I can't promise. And if it's not going to kill him, I haven't got the mana in my old bones to cure it. I'll try for that infection, it's the main thing. Now out of my way."

Her grimoire flickered open. "Mist Magic - Healing Vapour."

The room filled with steam again, but this time it carried the scent of the sea breeze and not burning flesh. It was so dense it was hard to see what the spell was doing. Morven continued to mutter.

Magna had seen recovery magic a few times in his life. At the Magic Knight exam there had been a blond lightning mage who had almost killed his combat opponent. The Recovery Mage on site had healed up the injured noble with fire magic. But Magna had never seen Mist magic used for healing. He knew that different magical attributes could be used to heal if the mage had the correct affinities. He could not judge how powerful Morven's magic might be. He needed it to be enough to save Fin's life.

He was not sure what to think when the muttering stopped. Rebecca must have noticed the same as she slipped her hand into his.

He should have taken Fin to the charity ward at the Infirmary. Or, he should have left him where he was. At least he had been alive there.

Judith leaned over and whispered. "Calm down. Morven's a cross old drunkard, but she knows her stuff. She's having to concentrate."

"I hear you," Morven snapped. "Stupid hag. I'm working. This isn't as easy as it was when I was younger."

"We could say that about many things, old crone. Is it working? So I can tell this kid to breathe."

"Of course it's working. You offered me rum, didn't you? Now shut up and let me finish."

Judith smiled at Magna. He took a deep breath that he had not noticed he was holding.

She spoke to Rebecca. "Take Magna downstairs and give him a couple of shots of the good whisky. And get three bottles of rum from the cellar."

Morven cackled in delight.

Rebecca pulled Magna's hand and led him downstairs to the bar room. She deposited him on a bar stool before putting a glass of amber liquid down in front of him. He downed it in one. It burned, but it felt good. The heat hit the chill inside him like a burst of his own magic.

"She’ll add that to your debt," Rebecca warned.

"I guessed." He put his head down on the countertop and gave himself a moment for the room to stop spinning. "I thought he was going to die."

"Your brother? You said you found him."

"Judith says he’s my brother."

Rebecca frowned, but did not argue. "I'm going to get the rum. Don't steal anything."

Magna lifted his head when she returned and thumped three bottles onto the countertop. She was staring at him. How old was she? She did not have a grimoire, so younger than fifteen. She had her hands on her hips.

"Tell me about your brother."

"What?"

"Your brother. Upstairs. You remember?"

"I..." he started. "Why?"

"Magna," she said seriously. "Judith says he's your brother. It's got to be important for her to tell you that. You need to get your story straight. Tell me about your brother."

Magna nodded. He understood. She was right, and she was smart. Judith thought it was important that Fin became his brother, and there had to be a reason for that. He had to assume it was to keep Fin safe.

"His name's Fin."

"Good. Come on. How old is he? He doesn't have a grimoire, so I'm guessing less than fifteen."

How old was Fin? Older than fifteen for sure, maybe even older than Magna although he was small and underweight. "I don't know," he started to say, then waved a hand as Rebecca tried to object. "He's deaf Rebecca. He doesn't speak. I... I don't know if he has any magic," he lied. "I don't know if he would even get a grimoire if he was fifteen."

They stopped talking at the sound of the door opening then closing upstairs. Then there were heavy footsteps and Judith and Morven arguing.

Magna jumped up from his stool as they entered the bar. He wobbled a little, probably from the whisky on an almost empty stomach. He tried to judge from the two women's body language what had happened, but they were firing insults back and forward so fast that it was impossible for him to guess what that meant for Fin.

Judith glanced at him and gave a small reassuring smile. Then she said to Rebecca, "Go and sit with Fin. He's not likely to wake up, but if he does he's going to be frightened."

Rebecca scowled, but did as she was bidden. She glared at Magna on the way out as if it was his fault that she was being sent away. She closed the door behind her.

Judith handed a pile of coins to Morven, "There’s your money and there’s your ill-gotten booze."

Morven grabbed the money and squirreled it away in one of her many pockets. Then she grabbed the three bottles of rum from the counter and giggled to herself.

"Pleasure doing business with you, hag. Poker on Monday?"

"Watch I don't win that money back."

Morven's giggle turned into a full-throated laugh. "I'll have drunk it before then, you see if you don't."

Then she turned to Magna. "I fixed your 'brother's' fever." Her tone made it clear that she believed Fin was Magna's brother as much as Rebecca. "He's going to be in and out of consciousness for the next few days as the body recovers. It was close. If you'd waited another couple of hours, the infection would have killed him and even those powerful people at the infirmary couldn't have helped. You did right to bring him here. The infection came from the sore on the ankle and spread into his blood. I didn't have any magic to spare on healing the wound, but it's clean now and just needs to be dressed once a day. Probably best to keep it hidden too."

"The burns?"

"They were easiest. It was the months old open wound that was the issue. I can guess what made it, but I'm going to forget about it in a bottle of rum. But there was stuff I couldn't fix even if I did have the mana for it. I'm sorry." Her weatherworn face was sad. "Someone's been roughing up this kid for months. Probably years. It's a wonder he's still alive. The leg was broken and never set properly, so that limp is always going to be bad."

Magna nodded. He had hoped that the only thing wrong with the leg had been the infection, but what she said made sense.

"He's got a couple of broken ribs, and signs that others are not long healed. His jaw's been broken recently. Maybe at the same time as the ribs. There’s sign of old abdominal trauma, healed liver and kidney lacerations. He must have been peeing blood for weeks. The lungs are damaged from old infections. And he's had some serious head injuries. His skull was fractured at least once, and there had been bleeding underneath."

"None of this was healed?" Magna asked. He felt Judith's hand guiding him to one of the chairs and he let his legs collapse underneath him. "They left him like that?"

"There was some crude emergency healing. Probably even cruder than mine, and you're going to pay me in bottles of rum. I'm guessing that they only bothered when it looked like he was about to die. Whoever did this to him didn't care that he was in agony every time he breathed, coughing up blood and could barely walk. Although, that ankle says that they didn't want him walking anyway. He’s not been fed right, so he’s underweight. That’s probably why the infection hit him so hard." She spat on the floor. "Bastard scum."

Judith glared at the gobbet of spit but did not comment.

"I'm going to get drunk and forget I ever saw any of that. Kid, you ever need healing, you come to me. I'll give you a discount. Wherever you got your 'brother' out of was going to kill him before he got his grimoire."

She patted the bottles of rum in her long jacket. "Poker, Monday. See you then, old hag."

Judith nodded.

"Wait," Magna said. She had said head injuries. "Fin can't hear. Could it have been the skull fracture?"

She paused, thoughtful. "Well, I wouldn't have said so. It was a different bit of the brain, and it seems healed up now. They'd have to get a healer in to look at that one, probably because the kid was unconscious for more than two days if I can still detect the signs. But it's more in the visual centres if anywhere. If it was going to have long-term effects, I'd have said visual perception. He might find reading hard, judging depth, that sort of thing. But the brain's a tricky thing. Who knows how it works. Maybe it is why he can't hear. I didn't detect any damage to his ears."

Magna glanced at Judith. Morven had been thorough. How could she not have found evidence of what had made Fin's ears bleed?

She continued without noticing Magna's concern. "There's been powerful magic on him, that's for sure. But I’d expect that if he's had to be if healed from someone using him as a punching bag so often." She spat again. "Bastards."

She left, the bottles chinking as they knocked together in her pockets.

Chapter Text

Judith locked the door behind Morven, then checked that the door to the bedrooms was also closed. She reached behind the bar for the bottle of whisky that Rebecca had used and poured another two glasses that she dropped onto the table beside Magna. She pulled over a chair and sat. "You don't tell Rebecca any of this. This is dangerous. You heard what they did to the boy. They'll do worse to anyone who knows he's here. I'm an old woman, and I've outlived everyone I wanted to. But she's a child and she's got family. You put her in danger, and I'll have you and your 'brother' out of here faster than you can think. Understand?"

Magna nodded without speaking. What could he say? Judith was right. Morven's description proved the danger he had brought to this door.

She swallowed her whisky and waved at Magna to take his. "Your brother Fin is fourteen. He doesn't have a grimoire, maybe won't get one because he's never been able to speak or hear. He doesn't do magic because he's a bit simple. You brought him to the city with you when you did the Knights’ exam, and he stayed with a friend. But that friend threw him out, maybe roughed him around to explain those bruises. You're both stuck here saving to get back to Ryka or whatever backwater it is you’re from."

"Fin isn't stupid."

"I know that. He survived being tortured. He knew to trust you. But this is about keeping him safe because they are going to be looking for him. You said he has spatial magic and that's rare and powerful. No one's going to put a simple deaf kid working in a bar with a spatial magic user."

"Where is he from Judith? Whose house was that?"

"I don't know his name. He never comes in here and doesn't go in the other bars. People around here call him the Magic Knight."

Oh shit. That was a Magic Knight's house. Magna took his whisky and swallowed it straight. He had nearly left Fin at a Squad and whoever had chained him and nearly beaten him to death could have picked him up and taken him back and Fin would have…

"Breathe, kid. What's wrong?"

"I nearly took him to the Purple Orca. I thought they might have helped."

"Maybe they would. I don't know what squad he's in. Most of them are good people like you." She paused, then continued thoughtfully. "He doesn't come back very often now, but a few years ago he was there all the time. There are rumours about that house. Screams. People who go in and don't come out again. Stuff that never gets to the Watch. It's a bad place."

"What have I got you involved in? All of us. You, Rebecca, Morven? He could kill us." Magna felt on the edge of panic.

She cuffed him on the shoulder. "Little Badger. You saved Fin's life. He needs time to heal, then you decide what you do next. You could go back to that village of yours or go to the authorities. Maybe become a Magic Knight and clear out the scum who do this to people. But you never, ever doubt that you did the right thing. You could have walked away at any point. But you didn't. You're good people, Magna Swing." She paused and might have wiped a tear from her eye. "Now, before you let Rebecca back to work, clean up the mess that stupid crone left on my mopped floor." She pointed out the two gobbets of spit.

Magna mopped up the mess to Judith's satisfaction, then hurried upstairs. She shouted to his back. "You get today to rest, little Badger. Tomorrow you work."

Rebecca was sitting on the chair in room two when Magna entered. She was knitting from a bag of wool at her feet. Magna could not tell what she was making, but it looked like a complicated process with too many pointing needles.

"Magna," she said in greeting.

"Thanks for sitting with him. What're you making?"

To his surprise, she blushed. "Socks. I don't suppose you got a chance to bring many things of your brother’s with you from Rayaka. I've seen your clothes. He can't be wearing your stuff. You've got muscles from working in the docks, and he's too thin."

Magna was touched. "Wow. Thanks."

"Judith says it’s no good sitting with idle hands. I need to work, and my Da's sick so I've got to look after him and the kids when I get home. But I'll try to finish them for him."

Magna grinned. He sat on the floor beside the bed and took a deep breath. He was going to have to try the story out on someone. "Fin's my brother. He's fourteen. He can't hear and can't talk. I brought him with me from Rayaka, and he was staying with a friend when I did the Magic Knight exam. But they roughed him up, so I brought him here. And now I'm working to save money to get us back to the village."

"You're a bit stilted. But better. Keep practicing."

"Yes ma'am. Judith said you had to get back to work. Tomorrow I can help you."

She tutted. "I’ll have to teach you, you mean." But she smiled.

She had her hand on the door handle to leave before she asked, "Did Morven say that he was going to be okay? He's been very still."

"Yeah. She said he was going to be in and out for a few days, but she fixed the infection, and he isn't going to die. There were other things that she couldn't fix."

"Like the bruises on his face. And his hearing."

"And more. Broken ribs. His jaw was broken. And there were older things from... before."

She nodded. "I'm glad you're both here. There's a bathroom with a shower at the end of the hall. You can get cleaned up there. I'm guessing your clothes are still under the bricks behind the middle bin. I'll bring them up because you're filthy. I've got old clothes in the back that Fin can use if he wakes up. The clothes he's wearing should be burned."

"Thank you."

"Hmph. You can thank me by learning quickly."

The room was quiet when she left. Sleet pelted the window and the wind rattled the glass, but it was warm and dry inside. Fin was fast asleep and his breathing deep and regular. Magna lifted the blanket to check his leg. The redness had vanished and there was a clean bandage about the ankle. Now that infection had gone, it was clear how badly the limb had been swollen. The badly healed fracture was an irregular lump just below the knee.

There would be no outward signs of the other injuries that Morven had found, so Magna replaced the blanket and settled back onto Rebecca's chair.

She returned just as he was beginning to doze. The chair was more comfortable than the cargo bales last night, and the back of an alley the night before.

"You should get yourself washed before you fall asleep," she said. "I can make up the futon for you. You haven't been looking after yourself very well, have you?"

Magna wanted to disagree, but he was too tired and comfortable. "I've had better weeks."

"Go, get washed. I'll build up the fire too."

He grabbed his spare clothes that she had brought and went to find the bathroom.

The luxury of warm running water and being clean was something he had forgotten. It took a long time for it to run clear, and he used more soap than he had for a month. It was wonderful. Rebecca had been right. He had been filthy.

He was just enjoying his last rinse when someone banged on the bathroom door.

"Hey. Bastard. Rebecca wants you."

Magna threw on his clothes without drying himself and was out the door before the man that had knocked had moved away. He recognised Sivert, the Broomstick’s barman. He was a few years older than Magna with scarred features and an unpleasant sneer.

"Your room," he said lazily. "She sounded upset."

Shit. Magna did not take time to reply but ran to the room and threw the door open.

Fin was awake and crouched on the corner of the bed. His eyes were wide in panic and he was breathing too fast. Rebecca was as far back as she could manage with her hands held out. She did not look around as Magna entered, and Fin was so fixed upon her that he did not turn either.

"What took you so long?" she hissed. "He's been like this for ten minutes."

"Sivert just got me. Look at me Rebecca. He'll follow."

Rebecca turned to glance at Magna, and Fin followed her. His expression shifted from sheer terror to something like relief and he made a lunge off the bed. Magna had to catch him, or he would have ended up on the floor.

He was trembling badly. Gently Magna lifted him and let him curl up close. Fin put his hand back onto its customary place, so Magna said, "You're okay. It's okay. We're with friends. This is Rebecca. She's nice. You'll like her. We're at an Inn called the Wild Broomsticks, and I may have got us a job. But we're warm and dry. I think they might feed us too. You think you can go back to sleep? Because you were sick. Or have something to drink. That might be a good idea. Maybe Rebecca will pass me a glass."

Rebecca interrupted. "Why are you talking if he can’t hear you."

The pause had been enough to worry Fin and he struggled to pull himself up so that he could see the room. "Shh. It's fine. I told you. Rebecca's talking. She doesn't know what I'm doing, but I'll explain it to her. I think he can feel the vibrations of me talking. He's always looking for danger. But if he can't see because he's like this, or trying to sleep, he can't watch too. I think he's decided that I'll stop speaking if there's something he needs to worry about. Can you pass me some water?"

She passed the glass. Fin had responded to the pause in the words, so it was easier to show him the glass. He used both hands to hold it but needed Magna's help to keep it steady. He drank greedily, but his eyes were closing. When his hands were ready to drop, Magna removed the glass and handed it to Rebecca.

Once he was sure Fin was asleep, Magna positioned him back on the bed.

"He was so frightened," Rebecca said. "I tried not to make it worse."

"He's fine. Look," he pointed to the relaxed features as Fin slept. "No harm. He's going to have to get used to you too. And I feel better. I probably smell better too."

"Yeah. You do. Do you want me to make up the futon? Or you could lie on the other side of the bed. He might feel better if you were nearby? It works when my little brothers and sisters are afraid of nightmares. They never looked as scared as that though."

Magna held out his arms and she came for a shy hug. "I didn't mean to frighten him."

"Lots of things are going to frighten him for a while. And he's not well. He'll be following you around soon enough."

Rebecca smiled. "I had better get back to work. Sleep well, Magna."

Magna took her advice. He did not feel so bad lying on the sheets now that he was clean and his clothes did not smell of sweat and the docks. He climbed over Fin and lay close to the wall and let his eyes close.

He woke to what felt like early afternoon. The rain was still battering against the window, but it was warm in the little room with the fire freshly banked and the curtains drawn. Either Rebecca or Judith must have come in and sorted things as he slept. His dirty clothes had been removed and freshly laundered clothes had been left out for Fin.

In the shadows, he could see Fin's eyes wide open and watchful. There was more awareness in them this time.

"Hi," Magna said. "How are you feeling?"

Fin may have understood the idea of the question because he reached down to lift the blanket and showed Magna the healed leg.

"A healer came. I'm in debt, but she sorted out your leg."

Fin pulled himself up to sit and touched the clean bandage. Magna said, "We have to change it tomorrow."

Fin seemed satisfied. He reached to touch his face, where the fractured jaw had not been healed.

Magna shook his head, then pointed at his ribs. "You never even told me about them." Fin touched the right side of his chest and winced.

Whoever had set up the room had left a flask of soup beside the fire. There was sliced bread with butter and Magna's mouth started to water as soon as he saw it. He climbed past Fin to grab the food. Fin scrambled up to sit on the bed.

He took the small cup of soup that Magna gave him in both hands and waited. Magna took a swallow first. Fin copied, and grinned when he brought the cup down. It was good. Fin's hands were wobbly before he finished so Magna steadied the cup, then took it from him when he finished. But instead of going back to sleep, he scanned the room looking for something.

Magna was at a loss. Looking for what?

Fin swung his legs out of the bed and hauled himself up to stand. Magna offered an arm that he ignored. He looked frustrated.

"I don't know what you want," Magna said. "You aren't in a state to be exploring at the moment, but I'll come with you."

Fin limped towards the door. He was as unsteady as he had been before. Magna stayed close.

Judith was bustling on the stairs in such a haphazard way she must have been listening for movement. Fin stopped. He made a grab for Magna's hand without taking his eyes away from the newcomer. "It's okay," Magna said. "This is our landlady. And our new boss."

Judith smiled her crooked smile. "Little boy’s room is next door," she said and pointed.

So that was what Fin was looking for. Idiot, Magna. Fin dragged him to the indicated door and left him outside. Magna took the opportunity to grab the clean clothes that had been left out. When Fin opened the door, Magna handed them over and Fin grinned and gathered them into his arms with more pleasure than they warranted. Although, if Magna thought about it, clean clothes that didn't smell like that basement might be important.

"He's calmed down then. Rebecca said he was frightened," Judith said from the stairs.

"He's more awake this time. He had some soup. Thanks. It was good."

"You'll work for it tomorrow."

"Yes, Boss."

Judith was about to speak again when there was a thump from inside the bathroom. When Magna opened the door Fin was on the floor in a tangle of pants, shirt and frustrated tears. He looked up at Magna and for a moment he looked more furious than Magna had seen him. Then his face crumpled. "Fin. Fin. It's okay. Let me help."

Judith said from outside, "You need any help, little Badger?"

"I think I'm good. He got tangled in his pants."

Magna helped Fin to stand. He tried to be mindful of the broken ribs this time. Once Fin was steady against the washbasin and supporting himself, Magna pulled up the pants and fastened them. He was blushing, but he was too weak to manage on his own. As if this could be worse than carrying him through the city.

Once he finished buttoning the shirt, Magna pulled Fin's arm over his shoulder and half supported, half carried him back to the room. Fin spotted Judith again and tried to pull away, but was too weak for it to be anything but a token protest. Judith helped by stepping back down the stairs and he calmed.

Magna deposited the boy on the side of the bed. He was shaking and could not take his eyes away from the door even though Magna had closed it behind them. Something had spooked him. Maybe it was the combination of new building, new people and new clothes as well as the pain and exhaustion.

This time Magna took Fin's hand and put it on his chest. "I promise we're safe. No one is going to hurt you here. These are good people and they're going to look after us. They fixed up your leg. They've given us food and a bed. I don't know when I last slept on a bed. Come on, lie down and sleep for a bit. I won't go anywhere."

But Fin kept his eyes locked on the door. He was more upset than any time since the basement. Finally, Magna clambered around behind him so that the boy was between his legs and his back against Magna's chest. He wrapped him in his arms and then was at a loss how to calm him. In the end he fell back on the lessons from his family in Rayaka. He began to sing.

Perhaps the vibrations felt different, or Fin was just too exhausted to fight any more, but he quickly became heavy in Magna's arms and was asleep before the second chorus. He lay Fin down on the bed and covered him with the blankets again.

Judith was watching from the doorway. "Good job, little Badger. I'm going to make tea. I'll bring you some."

When she returned Magna had settled himself at the end of the bed with Fin's feet tucked against his legs. She handed over the mug of hot tea. "He's going to have to get used to me and Rebecca if he isn't going to have a heart attack. Tomorrow, you'll stay with him, and we'll see if he'll let us any closer. Hell of a job getting out of cleaning tables."

Magna said, "I don't mind working. I can..."

"Oh, I know you can. And you will. But if you're not in the room, Fin is going to panic. And this isn't his fault, so we have to be patient with him. Sivert won't be pleased because he thought he was going to get a newbie to boss around tomorrow, but he's never pleased, the unpleasant bastard. I swear this place is nicer when he isn't around, but he's good behind the bar."

Magna recalled the man who had got him from the bathroom. He had not hurried for help when Rebecca and Fin had needed him. Magna decided that he wasn't keen on Sivert.

"Sleep now. It's going to be busy tonight, but we can handle it. Fin'll be better rested tomorrow and maybe he'll let you out his sight for longer than just bathroom breaks."

Once Judith left, Magna lay down on the bed again. He worried at questions for a long time. What had happened to Fin? Who was the Magic Knight that lived in that house? Why did doing magic make Fin's ears bleed like that? Was he going to be okay? Were they safe?

He had no answers and fell asleep to the sound of the rain and Fin's quiet breathing beside him.

He only woke once to Fin's muttering. Magna listened for recognisable words, but it was only the gentle sounds of a quiet conversation. Fin was calm too, and there was no sign of another nightmare.

But Magna spent time worrying over the words Fin had said yesterday too. Who was Langris? Fin had been trying to convince his father that Langris had not done something. It took longer for Magna to fall back to sleep trying to decode the mystery of this other person. It was the only name he could link to Fin. Magna could not be sure that the boy asleep beside him was even called Fin.

Maybe he should try to find out who Langris was. He fell asleep trying to work out how he could do that.

Chapter Text

The rain had stopped by the time Magna woke the next morning. The sun was bright and reflected off the wet rooftops into the room through the gap in the curtains. He checked Fin first. The boy was tucked into a small ball, asleep. He might have woken through the night, because his hand was on top of Magna as though confirming that he was still there.

Magna tried to move the hand, but Fin's eyes flicked open as soon as it was touched. He stared at Magna.

"Morning," Magna said unnecessarily. "Are you feeling better today?"

Fin stared at him.

It was strange how fast this had stopped feeling uncomfortable, Magna thought. He felt easy with Fin watching him in a way he had not expected. It felt safe.

He got up and splashed water on his face from the sink. When he put his hand on the door handle Fin scrambled out of bed to join him. He was steadier this morning and did not need Magna's assistance to stand. His first steps were painful and relied on the furniture, but Magna resisted the urge to help. Fin had been frustrated in the bathroom last night because he wanted to do things on his own.

Magna realised he was going to have to get used to peeing with a spectator for a bit when he opened the bathroom door after sorting himself to find Fin backed into a corner, wide eyed and tense as he watched every sight line. He was calmer when it was his turn, but he positioned Magna in front of the door before he closed it.

As they finished up Fin considered the closed doors with a cross between fear and curiosity. He was nervous again, but it was not the wide eyed terror from yesterday. Magna wondered if he might actually be a little interested. How long had he been trapped in that basement with nothing but four walls to look at?

Instead of exploring, Magna made Fin come back to the room. There were fresh clothes laid out, and Magna wanted to relight the fire for later because he had appreciated being warm. Fin managed the pants, but the sweater looked like it was going to defeat him. Probably the ribs, Magna realised. He went to set the fire. By the time that task was completed, Fin had worked out the puzzle. He winced as he pulled the top over his head, but his grin of triumph made it worthwhile.

Magna grabbed their dirty clothes and last night’s tea cup. Perhaps they could find the laundry, and if Fin stayed like this Magna could do a little bit to help before he crashed again.

Fin looked at the stairs with more trepidation than Magna had yet seen, but he gripped Magna’s hand and the bannister for support. Magna guessed he had never tried stairs with the injured leg before. There were scary moments and more wobbles than a flight of stairs had any right to cause, but by the time they reached the bottom, Fin had another grin on his face. Magna smiled back. They had done it. They had conquered stairs.

“Good job,” Judith said from a stool behind the bar. She was smoking a cigarette and drinking tea.

Magna had not seen her, and it seemed that Fin had not either. He panicked, but it was a low burst of anxiety this time rather than a full flight response. Magna only noticed because of the wide eyes and the sudden trembling pressure on his hand.

Judith shifted some papers across the bar. She was moving with slow, deliberate motions for Fin’s benefit. “You any good with accounts, little Badger.”

Magna glanced at the papers covered in words and numbers. “Sorry, boss. Reading and arithmetic wasn’t really a thing in the village.” This was not quite the truth. It had not been a thing for a tearaway delinquent with so many sympathetic aunties that he could always find somewhere else to be when he was meant to be at lessons.

She sighed. “Damn. One day I’ll employ someone who steals things out the trash that can do number work. How’s your shadow this morning?”

“I think he's good this morning. We learned stairs.”

“So I see. He looks better. Do you want breakfast?”

Fin’s grip on his hand had not loosened, but the trembling was easing. Judith leaned backwards into the kitchen and grabbed a tray. It was already set up, and Magna marvelled at her preparedness. There were two small bowls of yoghurt and small pieces of fruit, then a soft roll with cheese to spread on it. “Coffee’s not long brewed or I can make you tea.”

She left the food on the bar. Magna waved a hand to Fin to indicate he could choose where to sit, but the boy was too close to the edge for that level of understanding. So Magna led him to a seat with good sight lines of the room and nudged him to sit. Fin shuddered when he dropped Magna's hand, but did not resist.

"We're making progress," Judith said as Magna collected the food. "Tea or coffee? Or should I just make both?"

"I don't know what Fin likes. I'll have coffee."

"Good. Drink up. Sivert should be here in an hour to spoil our morning. It's Rebecca's day off."

The food that Judith had provided was soft and cool. Magna was half way through his portion when he realised that she had been thinking about Fin's jaw when she had made the choices. Even the roll was softer than any Magna had eaten before, and hardly needed to be chewed.

Fin was appreciating it too. He had waited for Magna to start and kept an eye on Judith, but once he dug his spoon into the yoghurt he was convinced. He finished before Magna.

"Tea and coffee," Judith said and placed them on the bar. Fin was eating the roll, and eyeing up Magna's half finished yoghurt. He was still watchful, but there was a flicker of interest underneath the fear. Magna collected the tea and coffee things and brought them to their table.

He poured himself a mug of black coffee. Fin was watching with only occasional glances towards Judith. "You can have some if you want," Magna said, and poured a little in the second mug.

Fin took the mug and took a sip. His face crumpled in disgust so quickly that Judith laughed.

"Put milk in it, barbarian," Judith said. "And sugar. I bet coffee wasn't something he got a lot of."

So Magna added the milk and sugar. Fin was fascinated by the process, but was warier when he drank this time. His nose crinkled but it was more acceptable. After experimenting, they decided he preferred tea, with milk and sugar. He sat with his hands clamped around the mug and watched as Magna finished his breakfast.

Afterwards, Magna would curse himself for being distracted. There was a noise from outside and he glanced around to look out of the window. Fin followed his gaze, so they both missed Sivert entering the bar. It was only a couple of steps to where Fin was sitting, and Fin was looking the wrong direction.

Sivert put both his hands heavily on Fin's shoulders and said. "Hey."

Fin almost hit the roof. He dropped his mug and nearly tipped the table in his panic to escape.

Magna was up and standing too. He rounded on the man. "What do you think you're doing?" he yelled. Sivert had a good half a head in height on him and the longer reach, but right now, Magna did not care. He was ready to take him on.

Sivert growled, but he stepped backwards from Magna's fury. "It was a joke, shit."

"No one is laughing," Magna said and took another step forward. He had learned at home that men settled their disputes with their fists and not their magic. He was ready to teach this bastard a lesson.

"Magna. Stand down," Judith said. "I'll not have brawling in this Inn, even if it is justified. Come over here and calm your brother down. Before he has a heart attack."

She sounded calm, but there was no doubt that this was a woman who had broken up more bar fights than Magna had eaten hot dinners.

Magna took a step backwards and let his fists drop. "You leave him alone," Magna hissed. "Understand."

Now that the threat of violence had receded, Sivert regained a little of his bravado. "You can't be with him all the time."

"You just watch me."

"Magna," Judith said. "Leave it. Come here now." Her voice now held concern as well as instruction.

It was hard for Magna to turn his back on the threat, but he trusted Judith to keep him covered. She was worried about Fin.

Fin was tucked against the wall deep in some kind of panic. His eyes were flickering around the room as if he could not decide where the next threat might come from. His breathing was short and rapid and his lips were tinged blue. Judith was nearby, but had not gone any closer.

"Calm him down before he passes out," Judith said. "Morven's going to be annoyed if she has to come here again."

Magna put himself in front of Fin so that he could see him. The flickering gaze kept trying to look around him, but Magna did not move. He stepped closer and then crouched down so they were on eye level. "Fin. It's okay. He's not going to hurt you."

This was the same panic as last night. Magna was going to have to work out how to calm him when he reached this state or he was going to hurt himself. Those ribs were not going to like all the movement and panicky breathing.

As if to reinforce that, Fin coughed and his hand came away from his mouth bloody. Well shit. Maybe they were going to have to get Morven to see him. Did Judith have enough bottles of rum?

Magna decided that slow and deliberate was the best way. He thought of the way that Judith had been moving her papers this morning. As smoothly as he could, he placed his hands on Fin's arms. He did not try to pull away. "Can you be calm? Slow breaths, yeah. Like this." He made an exaggerated inhalation. Fin did not copy, but at least his breathing was not going any faster.

Behind him, Judith was saying to Sivert, "You fucking idiot. You careless, stupid bastard. We'd just got him to calm down."

"What's wrong with him," Sivert grumbled.

"He can't hear. Someone beat him up. You can see that. You thought a jump scare would be all fun and giggles. You are stupid, aren't you."

Sivert's grumbles continued but Magna could not make out the words.

Fin's gaze had settled onto Magna at last. With it, his breathing seemed to settle, so Magna took the cue to move closer. He considered wrapping him in a hug again, but he was too tense.

"If we have to get the healer out to him again, it comes out of your wages," Judith said to Sivert.

He whined. "Hey, no, that's not fair. It was just a joke."

"Maybe it'll teach you to keep your jokes to yourself."

"You can't dock my pay, Judith. My brother. There was a burglary where he works a couple of nights ago. Something really valuable got stolen and the burglar burned him in the face with a fireball. The Recovery Mages say he's going to be blind in one eye. He thinks his mate died. So me ma's already paying for one set of Recovery Mages. I can't pay for more for a stupid kid."

Magna felt his own body tense. Shit. In the face with a fireball. Shit.

Fin sensed his anxiety and his eyes started scanning for the threat. His breathing became faster and there was that blue tinge to his lips again. At this distance, Magna thought he could hear a wheeze in his chest. "Shh. Fin it's fine. Please calm down. Then we can go upstairs back to the room."

Fin found Sivert and his gaze locked on the man. There was something different now. The tension in his muscles was not only fear. It was readiness. He had located the source of threat, but rather than shrink away, he was steeling himself for action. Fin had worked out that Sivert was worrying Magna and he was getting ready to protect him.

"Judith. Can you make him go away? Just for a bit. I'll get Fin upstairs, but I don't think I can get him to move if Sivert is still here."

"Hey," Sivert said. "This isn't my fault. I shouldn't be punished..."

Judith said, "Go, kitchen. Start the washing up. And it is your fault, stupid bastard. If you don't do what you're told your ma's going to have two unemployed feckless sons to look after. Your brother is worse than you. Go now."

There was more grumbling, but judging by the way Fin's eyes tracked across the room towards the kitchen door, Sivert was doing as instructed. Magna heard the door open, then close and the snip of the key turning.

Fin brought his gaze back to Magna and this time some of the tension leaked away so that Magna could wrap him in a hug. The hand on his chest was familiar after only a couple of days. "Shh. It's sorted. He isn't going to hurt you. I won't let him. Understand. Judith won't either. You think you're ready to give the stairs another try? See if you can do them in both directions?"

Now that the adrenaline was wearing off, Fin was heavy against Magna. He had to lift the boy to his feet, and he leaned into the support when he was upright.

"He gonna be okay?" Judith asked.

Magna looked towards her, and Fin followed his gaze. He frowned and pushed himself away from Magna.

Magna had no idea what he was doing as he stumbled to the table where they had been sitting. Most of the crockery was still there, but the cup and the one of the spoons were lying on the ground. Fin picked up his bowl. He was unsteady, but did not look like he was going to fall as he limped to the bar. Judith was on the customer side now, her paperwork long forgotten.

With great care, and a few glances towards the locked kitchen door, Fin reached her and passed her the bowl. Judith stared at him.

Fin was ready to come back for the rest, when Magna figured out what he was doing. He grabbed the rest of the breakfast dishes and brought them to the bar.

Fin gave a tired smile. He turned to Judith and, so gently that the movement could have been an accident, he brushed a finger against her hand.

"I think that means thank you," Magna said as he put down the other dishes.

Judith watched the boy. "I think so. We'll call that progress, despite the disaster. At least you've met Sivert now. He's stupid, malicious and feels like the world is due him something it doesn't. But he turns up to work on time. Best to stay out of his way."

Magna nodded. Fin was gripping his hand. The trembling was back.

"Now, take him back to bed before he falls over. God knows this place is already in a mess. I'll bring up some of the laundry and you can learn to fold sheets while he sleeps."

Going up the stairs was only a little less terrifying than coming down. This time Fin was as wobbly with fatigue as he was with the damaged leg, and Magna had to carry him the last two or they would never have made it. Once in the room, Magna sat him on the side of the bed and nudged him gently to lie down. Fin had no energy to protest, but kept his eyes open and fixed on the door.

"I'm never going to get any work done at this rate," Magna said to himself, but he climbed on the bed beside Fin and took his hand. He guided it to his chest and said, "I mean, we're going to have to work out some other way for you to go to sleep that isn't just me talking until I'm hoarse. Not that I mind talking. You're a pretty good listener for a deaf kid, I'll give you that." It only took ten minutes of Magna's aimless chat for Fin's eyes to close and for his body to relax into sleep.

Magna did not speak about what was on his mind though. Sivert had said a burglary and that something valuable had been stolen. He glanced at Fin. The valuable thing had been a spatial magic user, Magna was prepared to bet his life on it. And that meant that Sivert's brother had been one of the men that had been coming into the basement. He remembered their words. 'Want to play, little Fin.'

Sivert's brother thought his mate had died. If he had, that made Magna a murderer. His fireball had killed someone. Someone that had been about to attack Fin just for the fun of it, so someone that Magna thought deserved to die. He just was not quite sure he was ready to be the one who did the killing.

He felt sick. Being a murderer was bad enough, but what if Sivert's brother recognised him? He would recognise Fin if he'd been in the basement before. Should they try to get away? Magna thought he could get back to Rayaka with a broom and his own wits, but Fin was in no state to do that. He wasn't well enough.

Magna had to shake himself. He needed to be sensible. Sivert did not know what had been stolen. It did not sound like his brother was welcome in the Wild Broomsticks. Even if he was, Magna would bet that the only person who could have seen him well enough to make an identification was the first man through that basement door. That was the one who had taken the full power of the fireball to the face and probably never got up again. For the moment, Fin was safe. He was Magna's deaf, slightly simple brother from Rayaka. He had been beaten by the person he was staying with while Magna did the Magic Knight exam. They were saving up to pay off their debt, then to get back to Rayaka.

No one was going to put that together with a burglary of something valuable.

Judith brought up a large basket of clean laundry. She was explaining how to fold when she realised she was whispering. "Don't suppose I need to keep my voice down in case I wake him," she said and pointed at Fin.

"He talks in his sleep. It's the only time I've heard him make a sound. I don't think he was always like this."

"Maybe it was those head injuries after all. Now, enough chat. You fold the sheets this way. Towels go like this."

It was a lot to remember, and she was fussy about the results. "That's a sheet, not the clothes you shuck off for the bath, little Badger," she said. But Magna was a quick study and he had learned so many new things recently that folding sheets seemed like just another skill to acquire.

When Judith was satisfied that she could leave him to carry on, she patted him on the shoulder. "You're already better at that than Sivert. I can't trust him with the laundry. I knew first time I found you rummaging in the trash that you were too good to leave out there. I'll bring you the next batch."

"I'd like to come and get them myself," Magna said. "Fin's going to have to get used to me being away. This room is the place he knows best. If you're okay to wait, I can bring this down when I'm finished and bring the next load up."

Judith looked at the sleeping boy. "Okay. Bring that load down when it's ready, and I'll have the next lot on the bar for you. Do you think you can do the fires in rooms three, four and seven? Seems a shame to have a fire mage and not use him for something. It's not quite as stimulating as keeping the Gull's engine running, but it'd be a help. Coal buckets are full."

"No problem. Thanks."

Fin slept until lunchtime. He did not respond to Magna's absences to collect more laundry, or to light the fires in the rooms ready for their guests tonight.

Magna was working through a pile of pillowcases when he became aware of the familiar feeling of being watched. It was strangely reassuring, and he finished the first pile before he caught Fin's gaze.

There was more colour about the other boy's face. He smiled at Magna, and it was such a warm smile that Magna could not help his own. "You want to get up? It might be time for food soon."

Fin curled up under the blankets and closed his eyes. But he was still smiling. "Yeah, okay I get it," Magna said. "I'd want to stay in bed too."

Then Magna realised that it was the first time he had seen Fin close his eyes without being in physical contact. He was almost helpless without his sight and he was making himself vulnerable to make a joke. It was a level of trust that made Magna freeze.

When Fin opened his eyes again, he saw Magna's worry. He scrambled up to sit and scanned the room for the threat. Magna had to come close and tried to explain. "It's okay. It's just. You closed your eyes. You can't see if you do that. Damn. Obvious, Magna. You can't... you know never mind." He patted Fin's hand.

Fin was still as confused, but accepted the reassurance.

"Shall we go and see if there is something to eat? Seeing as we are champions at stairs."

Magna stood and put a hand on the door handle and waited for Fin to pull himself out of bed before he opened the door.

Fin's anxiety was back, but he was less clumsy on the stairs this time. He seemed to have found a kind of stumbling lurch that did not look safe, but only needed the bannister's support and not Magna's hand as well. He did not smile at the bottom this time, but scanned the room. Magna knew who he was looking for. He was doing the same.

The bar was empty. Judith heard their entrance and bustled in from the kitchen. She took in Fin's scanning of the room.

"Sivert's out back getting ready for the lunch rush. I don't think your brother's quite ready for that."

Fin's hand was twitching in Magna's. "No. I don't think so."

"Hang on for a second, I'll grab you something that you can take upstairs. Keep those sheets clean. No crumbs. Normally room service costs extra. Actually, scratch that. Room service doesn't exist," She was speaking as she bustled away into the kitchen, and returned, carrying a flask and two bowls. "Soup’s probably easiest with those bruises."

She placed the food on the bar and Magna was ready to drop Fin's hand to fetch it. But this time, Fin took the lead. He did the same small brush against Judith's hand again, and this time it was less fearful and more deliberate. Magna took the flask.

"Definitely a thank you," he said. "I think he likes you."

"You boys. It's always about whoever feeds you." But she looked at them fondly as they went back to their room.

Once they had eaten, Fin gathered the plates together and stood, ready to take them back. But Magna was hesitant. He could hear the sounds of customers downstairs. It did not sound rowdy. The lunch rush was usually regulars nipping in during their work, and no one had much time for alcohol. But it was more people that Fin had seen here yet.

Magna did not know how to explain it, so he decided that they would have to give it a try and see what happened. It could not be worse than Sivert this morning.

Fin let Magna lead down the stairs, and he was picking up on Magna's caution as he opened the door into the bar. At least he was prepared for a change to how it had looked earlier. Magna could have predicted the panicked freezing and the wide eyed fright at so many people.

There were only seven or eight customers, and they were sitting at tables eating and chatting. Magna tried to see it the way Fin must. That was seven or eight potential threats spread out where they could not all be watched at one time. Any one of them could attack without warning. Magna tapped his hand and pointed to the bar with the empty flask.

Fin dropped Magna's hand and pulled back to the wall. No one was going to do the same as Sivert had this morning.

"Oh, hi. Magna, isn't it," a cheery older man in overalls said as Magna manoeuvered his way through the room. It was the dockhand who worked the cargo cranes. "I was surprised to see you a couple of days ago. I thought you'd gone upriver with the Gull."

Magna hesitated. This man knew him. Knew he'd been with the Gull. He knew he was going to try out for the Magic Knights. Knew that he....

"You've met my newest help then," Judith said as she took the flask and bowl out of Magna's stunned hands. "Something came up, didn't it kid."

"Umm. Yeah. My brother..." He looked at Fin. Fin was as still as an animal in a trap. "He... he came with me from home."

"He was staying with a friend wasn't he," Judith prompted. "And there was an incident."

The man looked at Fin. "You were with him that morning weren’t you. No wonder you didn’t want work on the cranes. Let me guess, your friend isn’t a friend anymore if he did that to your brother?"

"No." Magna said simply. "Judith's letting us work and we'll save up to get home."

"Can he work? He looks terrified to me?"

"He's deaf."

"We had to get the healer to him,” Judith said. “Seems Morven has something of the old power even if it's pickled in rum nowadays. But we think the kid's traumatised after the beating. Magna. Go and take Fin upstairs before he panics any more. Now."

Magna retreated back through the bar room. The man continued talking to Judith, "There's that family near the Market, they're deaf. They do that hand-speaking. Think he knows that? There's good workers in that family."

This time it was Fin who pushed Magna upstairs, then limped up behind as fast as he could manage. He shoved Magna into the room and closed the door behind him before leaning up against it and breathing hard. He scowled at Magna, as if it was his fault that the bar was not as empty as it had been expecting.

Magna shrugged. "She needs to make money. She can't keep feeding us and giving us a place to stay if she doesn't have customers."

Fin looked like he was considering Magna's words, then he gestured at the pile of unfolded pillowcases. He was still frowning. Magna wondered if he had figured out that they were staying in a business and that Judith could not take care of them for nothing. He held out his hands the way that Magna had when he folded the pillowcases and mimed the actions that he had made. He was easy to teach and picked up Judith's preferred technique quicker than Magna had.

He recovered from the shock of the people downstairs faster than he had up to now. He looked like he was concentrating hard on the task, so that Magna had to tap his hand to indicate that someone was knocking at the door. Fin pulled back towards the wall as Magna opened the door.

Judith looked concerned, but lightened when she saw Fin with a pillowcase in his hand.

"He's okay. Good," she said.

Fin gave her a small smile and folded the pillowcase and placed it neatly with the others. He picked up the second last, then the last and folded them as expertly as if he had been doing it his whole life.

Judith laughed a great belly laugh of delight. Rather than retreat, Fin's own smile widened.

"To think I didn't know what to do with you," she said in delight. "You might even be quicker than Rebecca."

Fin stayed awake the rest of the afternoon. Judith brought them the rest of the laundry and chuckled at how easily Fin picked up the instructions from the 'ham-fisted barbarian.' Fin had no idea what she was saying, but her joy was infectious, and Fin felt safe enough in their little room to appreciate it.

Magna offered to take the last basket himself. The noises from downstairs indicated that the afternoon lull had finished and customers were beginning to pile in. Judith had nodded. "I'll get you some dinner. Think he'll be okay on his own?"

"He's got to get used to it, I suppose. It'll only be a couple of minutes."

She nodded, then reached into her apron and pulled out a pocket watch. It was large and clumsy. Although not valuable, it was worth more than six months labouring in Rayaka. She ripped a sheet from her notepad, and drew a crude watch face on it. She marked the time on the paper five minutes ahead of the time now.

Fin was watching her curiously. When she handed him the pocket watch, he looked at her in confusion. She brought the watch and the illustration together. Still Fin had no idea what she was doing. The uncertainty was making him nervous again.

Judith stood and took Magna's hand and indicated the door. Fin looked more worried, but clutched at the pocket watch as if that was the clue he was missing. "Come on Magna. Bring that load of laundry you've already done. You can take the rest later."

"But."

"He knows when you'll be back now. Come on," she said as she closed the door on Fin in the room.

Magna had never run up and down a flight of stairs so fast in his life. It probably took him half of the five minutes that Judith had drawn.

Fin had not understood the purpose of the watch and the drawing at all. He was agitated and upset when Magna opened the door again.

"Silly," Magna said when he had gathered the other boy into a hug. "Look. Judith's watch tells you when I'll be back. He drew another watch face on the paper, and marked the time as it was now. Then he drew the minute hand advanced five minutes.

Fin scowled angrily at the watch and the pictures, then took the pencil from Magna’s hand. He added the digits from the watch face onto the picture then sat back and watched the minute hand advance.

Had he never seen a clock before, Magna wondered. He stuck by his assertion to Judith that Fin was not stupid. He would get the purpose of the pocket watch, but it was as if he had never seen one keep time before. Then he thought about what Morven had said. If the skull fracture had left any long-term effects it would be to visual perception. Maybe he was struggling to understand the watch face and the numbers helped.

It was as good a theory as anything.

Fin kept checking the pocket watch as they worked, as if assessing its progression forward. He slowed his folding as he reached the bottom of the basket as though he knew what was coming next. He tried to hold the pocket watch away from Magna, but Magna was insistent. He drew a time five minutes ahead again, and did not look back as he left with the laundry.

He felt awful.

He manoeuvred through the tables full of drinkers to the bar and dropped the basket off. Judith was serving drinks, which meant that Sivert would be preparing the simple food that they offered in an evening. "I think he hates that watch," Magna said. "Do you have food?"

Judith pulled out two covered bowls with stew and mashed potato. Magna took them and ignored all attempts to engage him in conversation on his way back.

Fin was furious when he returned. He nearly threw the pocket watch in anger. But perhaps Magna's expression went some way to conveying how he felt about it, because Fin took a breath and stuffed the watch back into Magna's hand. "I don't know what else to do," Magna said. "We can't stay in here all the time. And there are too many people downstairs for you yet. I'm open to other suggestions."

Fin crossed his arms and scowled. But he ate the stew and mash. When they finished he handed over the bowl, and then put his hand back out. His expression was sulky and for a moment Magna had no idea what he meant. Fin had to push Magna's hand towards the pocket with the watch.

Fin's expression did not lift as Magna drew the clock face again with the numbers in place. He advanced the time ten minutes to give himself more time to negotiate the busy bar room floor.

The same man was there from lunchtime. He greeted Magna happily. "I spoke to a friend at the warehouse. He's going to speak to one of that family that knows hand-speaking. You've probably not got anything like that in the villages. It's like a whole language and they chatter away like birds with it. But my friend says that if you're going to be around for a bit, maybe you and your brother would like to learn some. He says just because someone can't hear, it doesn't mean that their brain doesn't work."

Magna nodded. Anything that could help Fin communicate would be great. The man invited him to join him for a drink, but Magna declined, aware of the time ticking down. "I should get back to him. He gets nervous on his own."

"You're a good big brother, kid. He's lucky to have you." The man hit him on the back hard, and Magna stumbled, but smiled in thanks.

Fin was shaking and staring at the door when Magna re-entered, but he was calmer than before. Perhaps there was something in the watch technique. This time he put the watch face down on the drawers.

It was not until Fin scratched his ankle that Magna remembered Morven's instruction that the dressing needed to be changed. There was a small box with clean bandages underneath the sink, so Magna pulled it out and opened it. It was enough to bring Fin out of his sulk. He saw what was there and made the connection. He pulled up his pant leg to expose the bandage.

The bandage was mucky and bloodstained, but Magna was still impressed by the absence of that redness. Fin poked the bandage with one finger and wrinkled his nose. "Don't knock it. It's way better than it was."

At this distance it was easy to see the ingrained dirt on Fin's skin. Magna doubted that washing facilities had been provided in that basement.

He took Fin's hand and tugged him up to stand. When Magna put his hand on the door handle, Fin glanced at the pocket watch. Magna squeezed his hand in the hope that Fin realised this was a team exercise.

The corridor prompted a brief flare of panic, but it settled as soon as Fin was satisfied that there was no one else there. Magna guided him to the same bathroom with the shower that he had used yesterday. Fin followed a little uneasily, but Magna thought he might be curious too. He had been interested in the doors earlier.

Magna let Fin see the shower first. He was cautious, but unafraid. The water coming from the sprinkler set up near the roof made him pause, but he copied Magna's action in putting his hand under the warm water. Magna mimed climbing in, and Fin was about to copy before Magna grabbed him and pointed out his pants and sweater.

Fin grinned at Magna's smile. He stripped off his pants and pulled his sweater off one arm at a time, then over his head one handed to protect the injured ribs. It was only now that Magna could appreciate just how skinny the boy was. Every rib was prominent, to the point that Magna thought he could see the ones with the old fractures. There was an nasty scar from a burn on his back, and a similar one on his arm.

Fin was suddenly self conscious and wrapped his arms around his body. Magna forced himself to smile and point towards the water already flowing. "Judith's going to be cross if we use all the hot water."

Fin climbed in and shivered with delight. He grinned at Magna. The water flowed black off his skin and hair. When had he been clean last? No wonder his leg had become infected.

He was not keen on the shower curtain, but Magna was equally not a fan of getting splashed by the water. They compromised by Magna removing a shoe and sock and sticking his foot round the curtain so that Fin could see him without soaking him. Fin worked out the soap and soon the washroom was full of steam and the smell of the floral bubbles. He handed out the used dressing once it fell off.

After twenty minutes Magna thought he had better finish up before they used all the hot water. He tapped Fin's hand through the curtain, then put his hand on the tap. Fin managed to drag out another five minutes before Magna turned the tap off.

Magna handed him a towel from the radiator and Fin wrapped himself in it before pulling back the curtain.

The boy who emerged looked completely different than the boy who had gone in. His hair was much lighter in colour and stuck up in spikes as it dried. His skin was pale but looked far healthier now that it had been scrubbed with soap. If anything, he looked younger. Magna might believe he was only fourteen even though he knew he must be older. He was grinning as though he had never done something quite so wonderful.

"You approve?"

Fin climbed over the sill of the shower and wrapped the arm not currently holding up the towel around Magna's shoulder in a quick hug.

Fin was yawning by the time they got back to the room. Magna had to help him into a clean shirt, and he lay on the bed without any prompting. His eyes were drifting closed as Magna applied the new dressing to the clean wound. Fin winced a little but did not protest. Once it was done, he held his hand out to Magna.

This time Magna sat on the floor at the side of the bed, and Fin draped his hand over his shoulder. Magna picked up his life story about the time he learned to fly a broom and crashed into the lintel of his front door. He did not object to telling Fin the real story, rather than the fanciful versions he usually invented to explain the scar on his head.

Chapter Text

Magna had figured out the curtains last night, so this morning he was not woken by the sun shining in the window. Fin had slept through, and if he had spoken, it had not disturbed Magna.

Fin woke as soon as Magna moved his hand. He was probably going to have to get used to that. He was pulling himself up as Magna climbed out of bed, and they were both dressed at the same time. Fin had got the hang of working around the broken ribs while dressing. If Morven had not mentioned them, and Magna had not seen the evidence last night, he might have assumed the only injury Fin had was the bruising about his face. He wondered if Fin had been in pain for a long time to be able to ignore it like this.

Magna guessed Fin was hungry by the fact that his hand was on the door first. Hungry was good. He needed a bit covering on those bones as Magna's aunts would have said.

The stairs were easier too. The leg still caused problems, but it looked like he had more control. There was the inevitable hesitation at the door to the bar, but Magna was starting to realise that was how Fin entered a room. Check who was there, check the escape routes and then the best way to avoid the first and maximise the second. Judith was sitting with her papers again, but she stood at their entrance. "Morning," she said. "Ready for a day of hard work?"

"Breakfast first?" Magna asked. "And is Sivert here?"

"Breakfast is prepared. Sivert isn't in until after lunch today. Rebecca should be here soon."

Fin glanced at their table from yesterday morning and then nudged Magna towards the bar so they could sit alongside Judith instead.

"See," Magna said. "I said he liked you."

Judith was smiling as she handed Fin another plate made up like yesterday. "And I said it was my food he loves. It's the same with all the boys."

Fin pulled his seat so that he could see the door, and he kept a careful eye on it. But neither Magna nor Judith was prepared to let anyone enter this time without Fin being aware. Fin relaxed a little as he ate. It was the best they could hope for.

Like yesterday, Fin was finished before Magna, even though he waited for Magna to start and he had the larger portion. Judith believed in covering your bones too.

"I was wondering if you think Fin would be able to cope with being down here with you this morning. I could do with someone to clean up. Rebecca can do the kitchen work, but it's too much for her to do the tidying here too. Last night's customers were disgusting pigs, like they always are."

Magna agreed as he inspected the bar in the morning's light. There were beer spills on the floor, every table looked like it had been used to eat from and some of the chairs were tipped. He could see that this was a job for a few hours and not something that could be tacked on after working in the kitchen. Fin should be able to tolerate being in here for a couple of hours as long as he was not surprised the way he had been yesterday. He might even enjoy it.

He glanced at Fin and saw to his surprise he was inspecting the papers Judith had scattered across the bar. There was an expression of intense concentration on his face like the pocket watch had caused yesterday.

"What's he doing?" Judith asked.

Magna shrugged. "No idea."

The movement must have caught Fin's attention and he glanced around when he realised that he had been distracted from his constant surveillance by the papers. Magna was fascinated. He glanced at Judith, then put his hand on Fin's and said, "It's safe for the moment. I'll keep watch. Carry on with what you were doing. I can keep talking for a bit. Although it's kind of odd doing it because I'm wanting you to concentrate on something that isn't me."

"Are you doing that thing that Rebecca told me about? He can feel you talking?"

"I think he knows that I’ll stop talking if something happens. I used to get told to stop talking so much as a kid this is the weirdest thing."

"Do you think it would work with me?" Judith asked. Fin had looked up as soon as Magna stopped.

"We could ask?"

But Fin was one step ahead of them. With a determined expression, he reached for Judith's hand and put it beside Magna's. He gave her a shy smile as if checking that this was acceptable.

"Hey, Shadow. If it's okay with you it's okay with me."

He turned back to the papers as Judith said, "So, we talk among ourselves?"

"That's how it works when he wants to go to sleep."

"You do this when he goes to sleep?"

"Well, yeah. I think he's afraid of closing his eyes sometimes. Like anything could happen to him and he wouldn't be prepared for it. It sort of makes sense, I mean those things happened to him and he couldn't hear them coming, or worse, like with Sivert yesterday, he couldn't see them either. I think he's been scared for almost forever, and this is the only way he knows to be ready for things."

"He’s putting a lot of trust in you, little Badger."

"And you too, now."

"Fair, but he's not using me to put him to sleep. What's he doing?"

Fin had picked up Judith's nub of a pencil and was scribbling at the bottom of each column.

Magna grinned at her. "I think he's doing your numbers."

"Well, damn. Would you look at that? He is, isn't he. He's adding up the columns, look."

"Don't ask me to check, Judith. My arithmetic ended with one to ten. I'm going to trust you."

Magna felt a surge of pride in Fin as he worked through each column of figures on the paper. When he finished one, Judith would pass him the next, until they were completed with neatly handwritten digits at the bottom. Judith kept uttering little pleased sounds of delight, and Magna had to fill her gaps with nonsense so that Fin would not lose his concentration.

Rebecca came in the door as Fin moved onto the second last sheet. Judith said, "Don't you dare distract him, Rebecca Scarlet. He's nearly done. I've been trying to get my head around this for a fortnight. And don't speak. I don't care if he can't hear you."

Rebecca nodded silently and sat at one of the tables.

Judith continued as she slipped Fin the final page. "Now I need him to add these two columns, here and here." She grabbed the pencil from her little notebook and scrawled out some of the numbers on the back of one of the completed sheets. "You keep talking, little Badger."

"I think Judith's pleased with your work. She's being quite threatening, so it would be good if you could finish off those other sums that she's got for you. And then she'll not throw us on the street. She might give you extra breakfast if you keep this up. And maybe not ask who used all the hot water last night."

"That was you. You do look a lot cleaner today, and smell better, little Shadow. You finish this off for me, and you can use all the water you want. I'll make Magna heat it for you. Good, good. Right last sum."

Fin completed her last handwritten calculation, then looked up with a wary smile, as if unsure if he had done what was needed.

"Would he panic if I hugged him?" Judith asked Magna.

"Maybe. That's easy to ask."

She held out her arms and Fin stepped forward to accept her hug. She kept it short and his smile was genuine now.

"Can I come over?" Rebecca asked. Magna and Judith looked towards her and that was enough for Fin to spot her as well. He froze, but checked Magna's reaction and relaxed.

"Don't make sudden moves," Magna said. "But I think you're good now he knows you're here."

She approached and inspected Fin's work. She was impressed. "He did this in his head? Look, he's done hardly any working. I don't know many people who could do that." She paused, then said thoughtfully. "Do you think he can read? Because that's complicated numbers he's keeping in his head."

Magna had wondered the same. But he'd known Fin for three days and he had never made any attempt to communicate by writing. Surely if he could read and write, it would have been one of the first things he would have tried when Magna met him. Maybe not in the basement, and probably not in the cargo bales. But since they had been at the Broomsticks he had never attempted to take Judith's ever-present pencil and notepad.

"He's never tried," Magna said. "But he's been sick. Maybe that's why?"

Judith picked up one of the papers and turned it to the blank side. She wrote 'my name is judith' in blocky childlike letters.

For a second Fin stared at the words. There was no doubt he knew what they were. Perhaps Rebecca was right. This was going to make things so much easier. They could explain what was happening, maybe they could find out who Fin was…

Fin's quiet scrutiny dissolved into sudden fury. He took the pencil he had been using and scored through the writing again and again until it was obliterated. The paper ripped under the pencil and he did not stop. Judith took her hand back in surprise, then gathered the other papers out of the way.

This was more than anger, Magna realised. Fin was distraught and there were furious tears in his eyes. He threw the pencil across the room and flinched away from Magna's hand. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay," Magna said, even though he knew there was no way to reach him like this.

He did not look at the other people in the room before he fled. Magna followed. Behind him, he heard Judith say to Rebecca. "Safe to say he can't read then."

Fin had not even attempted the stairs. He was sitting on the bottom step with his back to the wall, sobbing angry tears. Magna sat across from him and put a hand on his knee. Fin lurched forward and Magna found his arms full of the other boy.

Judith came to stand at the door. "You're a mystery, little Shadow, aren't you? You can do complicated sums in your head like it's nothing, but you can't read."

"He couldn't work your drawing of the watch yesterday until he put the numbers on it," Magna said. "Do you think it's what Morven said about the head injuries? That they could have caused perception problems. She said he might have problems reading."

"Maybe. But he could read and write the numbers. And I'll bet he used to be able to read. That was the reaction of someone who knew exactly what he was supposed to be able to do with those letters but couldn't. And he knows what it would mean to him. Oh, Fin. It's like you've been locked in a box and someone has thrown away all the keys."

Magna felt himself shudder. Fin was too upset to notice, but Judith put a hand on his shoulder. "Do you think someone did this to him?" Magna whispered.

"I don't know. Maybe not. Morven's right. The brain is a tricky thing. Maybe that head injury mucked up his hearing and his ability to read and write. But if someone wanted to keep you prisoner, what better way than to take away all your ways to communicate?"

"It wasn't only a chain around his ankle keeping him locked up, was it?"

"No. Whether by accident or design."

"We've got to help."

"We are. But it's not simple. We need to find the right people."

"Who?" Magna felt his eyes becoming wet with tears.

"I don't know yet. But we don't tell anyone about what just happened. He's never learned to read and write and he doesn't know any numbers. The safest thing for him to be is a simple deaf boy. Nothing else."

Magna nodded.

The sobbing stopped eventually, and Fin pushed himself up to sit on his own. He looked at Magna and seemed surprised to find tears on his face too. With great care, he wiped them away. He climbed to his feet and accepted a hug from Judith too. "Little Shadow. I don't think we can understand. But it's okay. Apology accepted."

When Fin wriggled free, he reached for Magna's hand and pulled him up to stand. Then he took a deep breath, and not for the first time Magna wished he knew what he was thinking. If he had to guess, he thought Fin was brushing himself off, putting aside the things he had no control over, and getting ready to keep going. How could he do that?

Fin gave him a small smile. He indicated back to the bar. Judith laughed, and Fin relaxed a little more. "I think your shadow is telling you that you've got a room to clean. He's done my accounts for the month. You're going to have to work hard to beat that."

Fin sat at the bar and watched Magna work. Judith gave him cups of tea, and every time he tried to offer to help, she would point back to the seat and give an exaggerated frown. It had made him fretful, but Magna waved him back too. Once he understood he was quite happy to sit back and point out bits that Magna had missed.

Judith found this hilarious and would laugh at the two of them as she bustled between the kitchen, the bar and the rooms upstairs.

Once the bar room had been cleaned to her exacting standard, she sent them to set up the rooms for the new guests. It was the slow season, but there were always one or two rooms filled with workers or people visiting family. During the summer, Judith explained, she could book up every room twice if she wanted. In the winter, the bar kept the coffers filled.

It was a complicated process and Judith was as precise about it as she was about folding sheets. Fin watched carefully, and by the third room he could manage most of the procedure on his own. Changing beds made him wince, but he did not stop until Judith touched his arm and pointed at Magna. "Get the barbarian to do those bits, little Shadow." Fin looked relieved, but a little ashamed until Magna gave him the spray bottle of cleaner and a cloth.

They made a good team, because Magna was never going to be able to remember all the ways that he was supposed to do this and Fin needed help with the manual tasks.

Judith decided that she would get them to do all eight rooms for practice, so left them to manage the rest while she went to prepare for lunch.

Magna was as physically tired as he had been working on the Gull by the time they finished room eight. Fin was wobbly with exhaustion, but grinning. Perhaps it was as good a time as any to try lunch with other people in the room.

The bar had the same scattering of patrons as it did for yesterday’s lunch. A couple looked up as Magna opened the door, but the rest were concentrating on their newspapers or food. Fin was worried, and he clutched Magna's hand hard, but he was calmer and almost determined. He kept his back to the wall so he could keep scanning the room, but he followed Magna to a table. Judith brought them soup and soft bread. Fin waited until Magna had tasted his before he started to eat, but like breakfast, he was finished first. So he was watching the room when the door opened and the man from the cargo cranes entered with a small woman. He sought out Magna and Fin and waved when he spotted them.

Fin froze as they approached their table. Magna was about to ask them to wait, when the woman put her hand on the man's arm. "He's very nervous. We can sit here."

The man grinned and nodded. He pulled out a chair at a nearby table. "Magna, this is the friend I told you about yesterday. Her family's mostly deaf, so she can do that hand-speaking thing I was telling you about."

She was very earnest as she watched Fin. Fin on the other hand had gone back to scanning the room. His hand was gripping Magna's.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," Magna said. "He was upset by something this morning, and he's only just getting used to the people. Well. Not really used to it." He indicated Fin's hand squeezing his.

The woman nodded. She was still watching Fin, but it must have been non-threatening enough that he was more interested in the rest of the room. "I don't just do hand-speak. I help with all kinds of communication. It's such an important part of being a person, being able to share with others."

Magna thought of how much easier it would be if Fin could tell him easy things like he needed to pee.

"You're right, he's not in a place to learn if he's nervous and experienced a recent trauma. I can see that. But I can learn a lot by watching." She brought her hands out and began to use them along with her words. Her face became more expressive too. "My name is Alys. You said that Fin didn't use any kind of hand-speak when you were at home?"

"We'd never heard of it," Magna said truthfully.

Fin had realised that Alys was the focus of Magna's attention. He watched her too, but was too distracted with the rest of the room to be able to give her much focus.

"My grandfather and grandmother taught me. Some of my siblings are deaf. It's like any language, in that it's easier to learn when you're a child, but most people can pick up some of the signs we use. Even people like this guy." She knocked the cheery man on the shoulder. He grinned wider. "Everyone has a need to communicate. We just have to find the right key."

Magna felt his heart drop. That was what Judith had said. 'Someone had thrown away the keys to the box.'

Alys noticed his discomfort. "Don't worry, Magna. I won't force anything. Look, he's not watching my hands at all. I don't think he's even realised that I'm using them for communication. And he isn't watching my mouth." She looked thoughtful. "How long has he been deaf? How does he communicate with you? A shake of a head, or a nod? That's the most basic sign that people use."

Magna felt his own anxiety spike. She was asking questions that someone who had known Fin all his life might know. But they had only been together for three days. "He's been deaf as long as I've known him," he said to fill the silence.

She nodded. "That makes sense. He isn't watching my hands or my mouth. Most people who lose their hearing, even as children have a basic understanding that hearing people’s language is related to their mouths. If someone becomes deaf later in life, it's possible to learn to read lip movements. But he isn't even trying that."

"He had a bad head injury. He was unconscious for two days. The healer said his skull was fractured and that it might have affected bits of the brain."

"Yes. That might explain some of his difficulties. Communication is more complicated than just hearing the words or seeing the hand signs. You need to be able to perceive that it's an attempt to transfer information first. Perhaps that was damaged, or it may have never fully developed."

Fin was picking up on Magna's worry now and he localised the threat as Alys. He tightened his grip on Magna's hand and all his focus was now on her.

"Something changed. He's watching me now. Why?"

Judith put soup in front of Alys and the man. "You're stressing Magna out," she said. "He told you Fin was upset this morning. I don't think either of them are in the right headspace to do this now."

Alys looked at them both and seemed to confirm Judith's assessment. She smiled. "See. He can communicate. He's picking up on Magna's body language. And that glare is nothing if not communication. We just have to find the right way to help him."

Judith scowled at her. "You can come play teacher another time. Magna. Take Fin upstairs before he hits someone on your behalf."

Magna could not contain his fear even when they were inside their room and the door was closed. Fin was just as agitated, but he was feeding from Magna's feelings and had no idea of the cause. He fidgeted as he watched Magna pace the little room.

Finally, Magna took a deep breath and said, "Hey Fin. It's okay. It's fine. It just put me on the back foot." He forced himself to sit and slow his breathing. "I mean. It sounded like she might be able to help. She worked stuff out quicker than anyone. She's right. I've never seen you nod or shake your head, even when it would help. I think the bit of you that recognises that it's communication is broken. Or... or the key has been thrown away." He did not want to think that this was something deliberate. His mind jumped to Fin's missing.... no, his stolen grimoire. He put the thought away. There was nothing they could do about that now.

Fin patted his hand gently. It was an unmistakable gesture of comfort. That woman was right. Fin could communicate. Maybe they would be able to find the key.

There was a knock at the door. Magna stood and opened it to Judith. She looked frazzled. "Damn, that woman can talk. I only got away. I wonder if her family went deaf because it was the only way to get any peace from her."

Magna stepped back to let her enter. Fin had climbed on the bed until he was against the wall. He was cautious, but calm.

"I can't stay. I only wanted to check you were okay." She gave them both a quick visual inspection that must have been satisfactory before she continued. "I think that woman can help Fin. She had all kinds of ideas to try. I told her he couldn't read, but she was talking about picture cards and lights and simpler hand signs. She's exhausting. I think she might have decided Fin's a project. Now," she waved her hand at Magna, "don't get your hackles up. I mean she thinks there might be ways to help Fin communicate more complicated things than 'I'm going to hit you if you make Magna upset'. But she knows he has to be calmer for it to work. She's going to come back in a few days, before we open. And we go very gently. She thinks it's going to take a long time because part of the brain that handles communication doesn't work properly. She doesn't know if it was the head injury, or he was born like this and we aren't going to help her work that out. But she knows he's been hurt and frightened and that's going to affect how well he can learn things. Maybe she's got a point when she says that he would be less afraid if he could tell us what he's feeling."

Magna nodded. "She's right. He never shakes his head or nods even if it's obvious."

"But he is also very good at your body language, little Badger. And he can read a room. You were right when you said he isn’t stupid. It's not just the numbers. He's using every scrap of information he can get. Now, do you think you can get him to have a nap before he falls over?"

Fin was staring at them with wide eyes. He was losing a battle with exhaustion, but he was not ready to concede while Magna and Judith were talking.

"I could do with your help downstairs. Sivert's being an ass and decided that he's going to be in the kitchen today. Do you think if Fin falls asleep, he'd know to come and find you when he wakes up?"

Looking at the other boy, Magna thought it likely that he would sleep for a couple of hours. "When he goes to sleep, I'll leave the watch out so he knows when I'll be back, but maybe if the door’s open he'll know he can come and find me if he wants to."

"Sounds good. Don't be too long."

Fin's eyes were almost closed, and his head was nodding, so it only took five minutes of Magna's life story for him to drift off. Once Magna was sure that he was asleep, he set the pocket watch diagram for fifteen minutes ahead and left it where Fin would see if he woke up.

Fin slept for a couple of hours as Magna worked downstairs tidying up the same tables and chairs as that morning. This was almost as monotonous as trying to keep the Gull's engines working. Sivert kept out of his way, but Rebecca kept popping through, and once checked on Fin and readjusted the pocket watch picture while Magna was being scolded about mopping underneath chairs and not just around them. Rebecca had given him a sympathetic smile.

Fin appeared at the bottom of the stairs as customers were beginning to arrive for the afternoon. He was fiddling with the pocket watch as if he was unsure if he was meant to stay in the room, or if he was allowed to come out on his own. He spotted Judith first and some of the anxiety waned, but it was not until he saw Magna balanced on a stool to clean the lampshades that he truly relaxed.

Fin sidled towards a chair at the wall again. The few people in the bar were also watching Magna's acrobatics. Judith brought him tea.

Once Magna had finished the task to his boss's satisfaction, he took Fin upstairs. Fin had been antsy, but not ready to bolt. Most of the customers ignored him. Word had got around the regulars about the deaf kid and the 'wanna-be' Magic Knight that Judith had taken in. Judith reminded people that Fin was to be left alone. The bruises on his face reinforced the message that if he was afraid, he had good reason.

Magna was relieved to escape before the evening rush. Sivert had taken up his position behind the bar and Magna could see him glare every time he thought Fin was not looking. Magna decided to keep Sivert away from Fin.

Fin tugged Magna's hand towards the shower rather than their room. Magna agreed that he probably needed it after the dirt and grime on the bar-room floor. Who knew how it could collect so much after one lunchtime? Magna collected the bandages and used the same procedure as last time as he let Fin soak himself for too long before they swapped.

Fin poked his foot beyond the shower curtain while Magna washed. Magna grinned. It was more reassuring than he thought it should be.

Once dry and back in their room, Magna changed the bandage. It looked less raw today, and the dressing was clean. Fin demonstrated raising his arm a little higher over his head to prove that the ribs were getting better too.

They spent a pleasant evening tucked in the room out of the way. Rebecca joined them for dinner and chatted about her brothers and sisters. Her father was ill, but he looked after the little ones when he could. She was glad Magna was there, because once Judith trained him, she could take more time with her father while it was possible. It was a tough life, but she was cheerful and upbeat. She was fascinated with Fin, and Fin was warming to her as well.

When she said goodnight, she gave Magna a quick peck on the cheek, then the same to Fin. The boy blushed so much that Rebecca giggled. "I like you," she told him seriously. Fin's panicky appeal to Magna made him laugh.

"She's just a kid. What does she know?"

Rebecca mock pouted. As she closed the door she said, “Goodnight Fin. Goodnight Fin's brother."

"I get the feeling that might be my life now," Magna said.

Chapter Text

It was remarkable, Magna thought the next morning as he ate breakfast on the barstool beside Judith, how quickly the routines developed. He had woken Fin by crawling out from under his hand, they had dressed in clean clothes and breakfast was in the empty bar. Judith had added porridge to the selection. Fin waited for Magna to take a spoonful of the new offering before clearing his bowl first. Judith smiled warmly at him. "It's nice to be appreciated little Shadow. We might get some meat on those bones yet."

This was Sivert's morning to work, but he skirted around the outside of the room and into the kitchen without speaking. He looked at Fin, but Magna glared back until the taller man ducked his head.

Judith provided them a job list again. Bar cleaned and rooms upstairs ready for the new guests. Fin tried to help with the bar, but he was so fixated on watching Magna that he was useless at anything more complicated than righting the fallen furniture. Sivert had set him on edge, and he kept checking the door was closed. On the other hand, Fin was much better at organising the guest rooms if Magna made the beds.

The routine felt safe and ordinary. Even the quiet lunch time crowd felt like it was in Fin's experience now. He sat with his back to the wall and watched everyone, but he looked like he was enjoying the soup. No one tried to teach him hand-speak, which helped.

He was not totally recovered yet. He was tired after lunch, and yesterday's nap was kept in the routine too.

Fin pulled out the pocket watch himself this time and marked the advanced hands on the diagram at half an hour. He seemed to sense Magna's hesitation, but smiled and curled up under the blanket. He closed his eyes before Magna started to talk, and was asleep before Magna got into the story of his first encounter with his arch nemesis aged seven, the six year old water mage across the street.

Magna could not leave it half an hour. He checked at fifteen, then thirty, but Fin was deeply asleep. He marked another half an hour on the diagram, then returned to mopping the bar floor. Again.

He missed his own fifteen minute check in because he was distracted by Judith's newest task, picking the small pieces of dried chewing tobacco from the bottom of the tables and chairs. Sivert was carrying coal up to the bedrooms, as he had been doing all afternoon, so Magna only needed to glare at him when he came downstairs. Rebecca was doing the preparation for the evening in the kitchen.

"You know," Sivert drawled as he walked back through with another full coal scuttle. "Your brother makes an awful lot of noise when he's sleeping for a deaf kid."

Magna was in the middle of a battle with a resistant piece of tobacco, so he answered without thinking, "Yeah. He talks in his sleep."

Sivert hummed. "Doesn't sound like talking to me."

Magna's brain took a leap from calm to panic in less than a breath. He was already climbing out from under the table as he said, "What do you mean?"

"Sounds like a lot of banging to me."

Shit. Magna ran. He pushed past Sivert to reach the stairs and took them three at a time. He could hear Judith's voice saying, "What's all that about," and Sivert replying.

He ignored it. Fin never made a banging noise. Ever. Something was wrong.

He could hear the noise Sivert was talking about from the top of the stairs. It was a rhythmic thumping like something solid hitting against the wall. He thought there might be the sound of harsh breathing too, but he was not going to slow down to find out.

He pushed the door open and said, "Oh, shit."

Fin was huddled in the corner of the bed. His eyes were squeezed shut and his face was a grimace of agony. His hands were clamped over his ears. Blood ran from his nose and it looked like he had bitten through his lip. But worse was the blood seeping between his fingers and down his wrists. Each thumping noise that Magna had heard was the sound of Fin throwing his head back against the wall with as much force as he could manage.

Magna climbed onto the bed and grabbed Fin's head. If nothing else, he could stop him making that worse. He tried to ignore the blood and hair on the wall. Concentrate on one problem at a time.

Fin tried to resist. He was struggling against Magna but there was no sense of what he wanted other than to be free. He made another lurch back. This time Magna's hand was in the way and his fingers jarred between Fin's head and the bloodied wall. It hurt. Fin was using all his strength.

Judith had followed him up the stairs as fast as her knees would allow. Her eloquent, "Oh shit," echoed Magna's.

Magna managed to get himself in between Fin and the wall this time, so that when he tried to throw himself backwards it was into Magna's shoulder. It hurt, but it was better than Fin smashing his skull to pieces on the bricks.

Sivert poked his head around the door. He looked only vaguely interested in the boy covered in blood in Magna's arms. "Deaf and mad," he said.

In any other situation, Magna would have sent a fireball at Sivert. His grimoire was out before Fin threw himself back again. Judith rounded on Sivert. "How long did you hear him?" she snarled.

Sivert looked a little wary. "A couple of times."

"It's been twenty minutes since Magna checked him. That long?"

"Maybe." He was stepping back out of the room.

"Get out. Before I let Magna kill you." He ducked out the room as Judith yelled, "Rebecca."

There was no let-up in whatever was happening to Fin. Magna's hands were already covered in blood, but he could not tell if it was from the bloody mess on the back of his head, or the steady stream from both ears. "What do I do?" he asked. "What's happening?" He hated how small his voice sounded.

"No idea. Was it like this at the docks?"

"No. Nothing like this. It only lasted a minute. He didn't hurt himself. And he'd done magic that time."

Perhaps something was getting through. The heaving lurches were less powerful, although maybe it was exhaustion.

Judith did not seem to think so. "Keep talking. Maybe he can still feel that."

Magna did not know what else to say. He fell back on what worked when Fin was upset. He sang the nonsense nursery rhyme that his aunties said put him to sleep as a baby when nothing else would.

And it was working. Fin was still in agony, the blood did not stop, but his furious attempts to break his own skull were less.

Rebecca arrived at the door panting. She put her hands over her mouth at the sight of Fin, tangled in Magna's arms and covered in blood. "Go and get my medicine case," Judith instructed. "Quickly now." Rebecca darted away.

Judith came closer. "It's like someone's screaming at him,"

Magna could not answer as he continued to sing, but he considered that. He thought it had looked like someone had called Fin's name in the dock. This was different, but Judith was smart.

The furious attempts to slam his head into Magna's shoulder were slowing. He thought he could feel Fin leaning into his chest and trembling as though he was frozen.

"It could be a seizure of some kind," Judith said as she brought over the small towel to wash some of the blood away from Fin's face and neck. There was no way she was going to get past his hands to his ears, and blood continued to drip down his wrists.

"I don't think it's stopping," Magna said. "If it was a seizure, wouldn't it stop."

Fin responded to the change in his voice with frantic struggling, but he calmed to the previous state as soon as he started to sing again.

"It should. But I've never seen a seizure like this, and I own a pub full of drunkards. I know seizures. This is different. I don't think Morven can help us."

Magna had to agree. This felt like magic gone poisonous.

Rebecca was back at the door.

"Come in. Let me have my case. Go and see if you can help Fin feel better."

The girl looked less afraid than Magna felt. He remembered her father was ill. Did he ever get like this? She climbed on the bed beside Fin and put her hand on his arm. Fin did not seem to notice her, but he did not try to push her away.

"Magna's singing helps," Judith said to Rebecca. "If he could think of another song that would be nice, but not the point."

Magna frowned at her, but the levity made him feel easier. Judith had a plan. She knew how to make this better. She opened her medicine case with the smaller of the two keys on a band around her neck and rummaged through the small vials and bottles.

Now that the violence had eased, the trembling was getting worse. Fin was shuddering in Magna's arms. His breath was coming in heaving, wheezy gasps as though he could not get enough air. It was as if now that he was no longer trying to beat whatever was happening out of his skull, it was overwhelming him in other ways.

"Magna, I'm going to give him something to make him sleep. It's going to be a high dose, so we're going to keep the reverser nearby just in case."

Magna nodded. He went back to the chorus again. He could not think of any other song to sing.

Judith brought out a small mortar and pestle from the case and she crushed up two small sachets of granules together. She added four drops from a little bottle into the mix then scraped out the contents onto the end of a metal spoon.

"It goes between his lips and gums and gets absorbed from there. He doesn't have to be able to swallow. Rebecca, can you help?"

Rebecca's small, neat fingers were skilful at pulling Fin's lower lip down. He became suddenly frantic to escape as if he knew what she was going to do and had to prevent her. He was terrified. But Magna had him in a firm hold and he could not escape. She smeared the mixture in place even as he struggled.

It took a couple of breaths for Fin to weaken in Magna's arms. His hands loosened from his ears despite his attempts to keep them in place and his breathing hitched as he tried to fight against the drug working its way into his system. The trembling became juddering spasms and he started to choke as if something had a hand around his throat.

"Judith?" Rebecca said.

"I can't give him more. He's too small. Give it a moment to work."

It felt like forever as every part of Fin tried to fight against the oblivion of the medication. He was uncoordinated and panicked, but there was no power in his attempts to escape. Magna hated it.

And then, when Fin had nothing left to fight with, he slumped into Magna's arms. His hands dropped away from his ears and his breathing was noisy as his head slumped forward.

"Lie him on his side," Judith instructed. "That will keep his airway open."

Magna was shaking, so Rebecca helped him lower Fin onto the bed. She positioned him on his side with his chin away from his chest. Judith damped down the towel and used it to wipe away the rest of the blood. She did not hide her concern that despite Fin's unconscious state, fresh blood continued to flow from his ears.

Rebecca collected the small box of dressings and applied a clean pad to the wound on the back of Fin's head, then to each of his ears. She secured them with one of the long bandages that Magna had used on his ankle.

Magna stood to give Rebecca room to work. His legs were shaking, and he felt sick. The room was too warm and the smell of blood was overpowering. He pushed open the window.

There were unexpected sounds filtering across the roofs. This part of the city was usually quiet at this time of day as people finished their afternoon’s work before heading home. But now there were the sounds of bangs and crashes, and the faint tug of powerful mana hanging over the rooftops. Magna looked towards the source. There were indistinct flashes of light preceding the loudest of the bangs.

Magna could not be sure, but he thought the sounds were coming from Fisher’s Gate and a house with stained-glass windows and a melted chain in the basement.

Judith reached her hand past Magna and pulled the window closed. Magna did not object.

"You stay in this room," she said. "You do not open the door to anyone but me or Rebecca. One of us will bring dinner. Fin's going to sleep for four hours at least. Probably longer seeing as he's had a bigger dose than he should. If his breathing starts to get worse or slower than it is now, you put that little tablet beside his gum like Rebecca did with the paste. That's the only time you open the door. You yell, then you shut it until I come. Understand?"

Magna nodded.

It was one of the longest nights of Magna's life. It was even longer than the night he met Fin. Fin did not move, but Magna could not take his eyes off him. His breathing was slow and steady, but Magna made sure the little tablet was in easy reach. He cleaned away the bloody spit from his mouth and worried about the pads at his ears that continued to darken with blood. As night fell the flashes from Fishers’ Gate became clearer, even when the noises were muffled by the sounds from the bar downstairs.

Magna tried to stop himself from speculating too much, but he could not help it. His thoughts leapt from one unanswered question to another. What had happened to Fin? Would he be okay? Why now? What did it have to do with the noises from the Magic Knight’s house?

Rebecca brought dinner that they ate as they shared the news from downstairs.

"Sivert went home. Good riddance. It's a good thing Judith keeps the cash box locked, or I bet he'd have cleared that on his way out. He'll be back tomorrow though. His ma' can't do without his wages especially if his brother's been sacked off whatever job he does."

Magna tried to pretend interest, but he was less concerned with Sivert's doings than he was for news of the disturbance from Fishers’ Gate.

"It's from one of the big houses," Rebecca said when pressed. "Next to the doss-house. You probably don't know it. It's too posh for this bit of town, all grand with stained-glass windows. It's a Magic Knight's house, the only one around here, so people think he's doing experiments or something, but it's been going on all afternoon. The doss-house owners say they're going to complain, but I bet no one does because they're too scared of him."

"Had he been away?"

Rebecca narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do you ask?"

"I know the house. It was dark the last time I saw it."

Rebecca was suspicious. She glanced at Fin on the bed and Magna prayed that she did not work it out. Judith would kill him.

"He had been away for a few days. He came back this afternoon according to the gossip. He comes back and finds something and there are explosions and noise all afternoon. Do you know what I think?"

Magna shook his head and hoped that the worry did not show on his face.

"I think that's who Sivert's brother worked for. I bet that's where the burglary was. The Magic Knight came back and he's angry because his valuable thing was stolen so he's been firing off his magic all day."

"Yeah. That's probably it," Magna said. It sounded pathetic even to his own ears.

Rebecca misunderstood his reticence. "You mustn't worry about Fin. I'm sure he'll be fine when he wakes up. I've never heard of anything that would make his ears bleed, but Judith knows what she’s doing."

"I'm sure he'll be fine, like you said," Magna agreed and hoped that she would talk about something else.

"You are worried. Silly. I need to go. I'll take the plates down. You should get some sleep."

"But what about his breathing?"

"It shouldn't be a problem now. It's been nearly four hours and that's how long that stuff works. He should be waking up rather than going any deeper."

Despite her reassurance, Magna stayed awake and watched. Fin did not start to stir until the dark early hours, and then it was only to open his eyes blearily and put his hands on the bandages about his head. Magna could not help the tears that leaked out his eyes in relief. Fin reached up to wipe them away, then let his hand rest on Magna's chest. His eyes closed as Magna said, "I was so worried. I don't know what caused that, but I think I can guess. That Magic Knight came back and found you were gone. He was looking for you. And I don't want him to find you, but I guess if he was able to do that, he’d be here now. I don't want Judith and Rebecca in danger. Or you. I wish I knew what to do."

The noise had stopped from the Magic Knight’s house.

When Magna woke the next morning, Fin was like someone he had never met. It was as though the spark of who he was had been extinguished and they were left with an empty shell. He was uncoordinated and vague. Things that had been routine the day before were impossible. Magna had to dress him, and he was so unsteady on the stairs that he nearly fell. He ignored the food and tea even when Judith suggested that Magna try both bowls. He stared blankly into the corner of the room.

"Little Badger, don't worry," Judith said. "It might just take a bit of time to recover from the medication and whatever caused that."

"This is wrong. It isn't like him. He's not even watching me."

"And he's not ready to kill someone because you're getting upset. Let's give him a bit longer. Can you take him back to your room? You can have the day off. Sit and keep him company. Maybe get him in the shower and wash that blood off."

Magna stood and took Fin's hand. The boy stood obediently. Magna tugged him a couple of steps before his way was blocked by Sivert.

"How's your fucked up little brother?"

Magna nearly dropped Fin's hand and launched himself at Sivert. It was Fin's stillness that stopped him. Fin was watching Sivert with a complete lack of reaction. It was a vacant, terrifying gaze.

"My god, he's even more gone than he was, isn't he? It's like there's nothing there. You wouldn't know he was a person when he looks at you like that. It's like looking at a toy."

Magna felt sick. He thought he was going to throw up, but Judith got between them.

"Sivert, why are you here? Magna, take Fin upstairs. Now."

Magna tugged Fin out of the room, but he did not go up the stairs. He stood at the bottom and felt himself shake with fury and fear.

He could hear Sivert speaking to Judith. “So, my ma’ said I was to ask if you’d see fit to taking me back if I apologised properly. My brother was killed yesterday. After she paid the Recovery Mages to see about his burns and everything. He was a bastard and I hated him, and now he’s left us with his debts and troubles.”

“Oh, Sivert. What dodgy stuff had he got himself involved in?”

“See, it wasn’t that. My ma’ thought he’d gone straight. I told you there was a burglary and he got burned. He was doing this legit security job for the Magic Knight in Fishers’ Gate. He said it was a good gig. They could use the Knight’s stuff so long as they didn’t damage it, even the really valuable thing that got stolen in the robbery. The guy that my brother was working with got killed, and my brother got such a scare he ran away. My ma’ got the Recovery Mages to see about his burns, then he said that he’d have to hide because the Magic Knight was sure to get him. We thought he was lying, but they found his body this morning.”

“I’m guessing the Watch wasn't interested.”

“They don’t care about a stupid shit with a record like my brother. They said it looked like a magic accident and they were sorry but there wasn’t anything they could do about it. My ma’ didn’t even really care about him. She says he was always more trouble than he was worth, and he had this coming for years. But she needed his money. And she says that if I’m to stay in her house she’s got to have rent off me.”

Judith sighed. "Your father would be turning in his grave at the way you two turned out. You can come back, but if you treat Fin like that again, you're out. I don’t care about your sob story or your mother’s. Get to work. Start with the bar. And then you can do the rooms."

"I thought that was Magna's job."

"He's got the day off. You're doing his work for him. Be glad I'm going to pay you."

Judith met Magna at the bottom of the stairs. "Okay?"

Magna wiped the angry tears out of his eyes. Fin's hand was limp in his. "That's what they called him. They said he was a toy. He's not. Even if he's like this, he's not a thing."

Judith gathered him into a hug. "I know. Give him a bit more time. Whatever that was last night hurt him. He needs time to heal."

"What if he stays like this? What do we do then?"

"You do what you've been doing up to now, little Badger. You look after him and keep him safe."

It made him feel unaccountably better. Yes. He could keep doing that. He led Fin, unresisting, back up the stairs.

Magna nudged him to lie down, and the boy complied without any sign of understanding. Magna lay in his usual spot. It felt strange to not have Fin's hand on his chest as he slept, but he did not pull it across himself. That would be too much like what the men in the basement had said. Fin was a person. Not a toy or a thing.

Instead, he put his own hand on Fin's chest and felt the slow rise and fall.

He had not meant to sleep, but his exhaustion and the warmth pulled him under as soon as he lay down.

The sun was high in the sky when he opened his eyes. He lay still for a moment, just letting his mind catch up.

There was a hand resting on his chest and the sound of quiet breathing beside him. When Magna shifted the hand, Fin's eyes opened, and he looked at Magna with all the intelligence that he had come to expect.

Magna burst into tears.

Fin gathered Magna into his arms and hugged him. He was more wobbly than normal, but it was the same warm response as Magna had grown used to in the past few days. Even to the gentle pats on his back as Magna cried.

"Don't ever do that again, understand. Don't. Don't go somewhere else. Okay. We can fix it whatever it is, but you can't leave me on my own. Oh, shit. If you do, I'll still look after you, you understand, but I don't want to do it on my own." Magna realised he was babbling, but Fin did not care and just hugged him until the weeping stopped.

"We end up like this a lot, don't we? I've got to try being less emotional, but I was so worried."

Fin patted his leg and handed him the little towel to dry his eyes.

It was Fin's idea to go and get a shower. He took Magna's hand and tugged him towards the washroom door.

Fin was insistent that Magna go first, even though he was the one covered in blood. It was easier to accept the orders than try to argue, so Magna went in first. The foot poking round the corner of the shower curtain made him feel calmer.

Once he finished, he dressed himself, then helped Fin remove the bandages from his head and ankle. The ankle looked dry and clean, with pink healing skin around the circumference. Magna thought they could leave the dressing off. As before, aside from the dried blood adherent to the skin and hair, there was no sign of any damage to Fin's ears, but the wound on the back of his head oozed once the dressing was taken off. Fin touched it gingerly then looked at Magna.

Magna shrugged. "I don't know if you're asking me what happened, or if you’re saying sorry or whatever. If you don't remember that's better. Go, get cleaned up and we'll put another bandage on it once you've washed the rest of the blood off."

Fin was as delighted with the shower as usual and inclined to be in for an hour if he could. Magna tapped him out at twenty-five minutes, although he knew Judith would have let him have the hour if he wanted to. The blood was gone, and he looked almost back to normal. Magna pressed a small cloth against the scalp wound to stop it bleeding too much before he put another dressing on it.

Sivert scowled at them from room seven. Fin pulled Magna behind him and glared back. Judith spotted them and laughed at Fin’s protective posturing. "I think your boy is back, isn't he? Nice to see you little Shadow. Have you left any hot water?"

Fin held out his hands in query, and Judith opened her own and pulled him into a hug. "Not able to communicate my ass," she chuckled as she went down the stairs.

Sivert had closed the room door so Magna did not have to even look at him.

Magna's attempt at a bandage was crude, but Fin did not mind. When Magna was done, Fin lay back on the bed and held out his hand for Magna to assume his usual position. Magna obliged, but this time he was asleep before the story got much further. He thought Fin might have been awake when he stopped talking

Fin recovered from the incident faster than Magna felt like he did. Over the next two days, he found himself reluctant to leave Fin on his own. It reached the point that Fin picked up the pocket watch and set the diagram to five minutes himself before pushing Magna out the room. His appetite was back to normal, and once the wound on his head healed, there was only a small bruise to indicate where the damage had been done.

The domestic duties fell into a routine. Magna resigned himself to feeling like he mopped the bar floor continuously, and Fin began to sort the rooms with only Magna's cautious supervision from the other side of the corridor. Their evenings were spent in their room away from the busy barroom downstairs. Magna would fetch their meal and return their plates through the busy room. A tall man with dark untidy hair, broad shoulders and a ragged cloak took them from him one night when it was too crowded to reach the bar. He had a sword on his back.

-

Alys the hand-speak lady returned one morning before the Inn opened. She told Magna that she was going to drink tea with Judith and was not going to attempt anything new. Learning things took confidence and trust, and Fin trusted very few people. Alys said she would start by observing.

Magna was suspicious. He continued his duties about the bar. Fin was less helpful than usual because he was picking up on Magna's worry and kept stopping what he was meant to be doing to check where Magna was. Alys and Judith chatted as if they were old friends. They shared gossip on the people they knew, who was marrying who, what new magic the children were showing and how much the price of carrots had increased with the recent poor weather.

Magna scowled. He could not see how this would help Fin learn to communicate. Alys said goodbye to them both, including the hand-speak sign. Fin watched her, then went back to moving the chairs into their positions.

Rebecca gathered the tea things and asked Judith how the session had got on.

"She seemed quite happy," Judith said.

"She didn't do much with Fin though, did she?" Rebecca asked.

"It's going to take longer to gain his trust."

"It's going to take a lot longer to get his trust if all she does is come in and drink tea," Magna muttered.

Judith grinned. "I wasn't talking about Fin's trust, silly Badger. How's she ever going to teach him anything if all he can see is you fretting."

Magna shut up and returned to mopping.

Sivert seemed to have decided that he needed the job more than he needed to antagonise Magna. Perhaps his brother's death had upset him more than he claimed, although Rebecca said that he had hated his brother as much as he hated everyone. She thought that Sivert just needed Judith's job. No one else would hire him if the Magic Knight had been after the family, and word spread fast.

Even if Sivert did not like his brother, it sounded horrifying to Magna. He could not imagine what it would be like to know your brother had been killed by someone’s magic. Magna dreamt about it, but it was Sivert that was dead from a fireball attack. He woke in a cold sweat to Fin shaking his shoulder and looking worried. Magna had tapped his hand in reassurance, but had not gone back to sleep for a long time.

Magna woke Fin from dreaming too. Magna was used to the quiet muttering, and it now no longer woke him. Sometimes he caught fragments of real words that he could understand. 'Langris' was there again, and a promise to be good to father. Saddest was Fin's plea to 'not be sent away, please'. Magna guessed that might tie in with how Fin ended up in the basement. He had woken from this dream trembling, and Magna had comforted him until he fell back to sleep.

And all the time, Magna tried to put the nagging worry that the Magic Knight would walk into the Inn to the back of his mind. He concentrated on what was in front of him.

Chapter Text

They had been in the Wild Broomsticks for more than a week when Judith put a small pouch of coins in front of them with their breakfast. Fin took one look at it, then went back to his food. The bruising about his face was better but he still preferred yoghurt, fruit and porridge in the morning. Magna was eating a ham roll and drinking coffee.

"Your wages. I've taken off room and board. Although, if I was to start charging for hot water, Fin would owe me money." She ruffled his hair and he scowled at her for interrupting his breakfast. "I've got some things that need to be collected from the market. I'd have sent Rebecca, but her Da' needs her today, and Sivert gets distracted by the gambling. How about you two go and collect the things I need and see about getting Fin some new clothes that fit."

Fin's clothes were Magna's spares. They had to use a rope as a belt for the pants, and the cuffs were turned up.

"Sure. But do you think it's safe?"

"What noble Magic Knight is going to be in the market? He's looking for something that got stolen, not out buying herbs. If you see something suspicious, you get out of there and you come back. You can't be hiding in here all the time Magna. It's not good for either of you. Wear the hat Rebecca made you if you're worried about being recognised, but I think the only people who saw you are dead. Fin looks like a different person to the kid you brought in here that first night."

Magna considered that. Fin did look different. His hair was lighter now that it was clean, and he had lost the emaciated look about his face. There was a spark about his eyes that was new too. There was no doubting the intelligence behind them. He was nothing like the kid that Magna had found in the basement.

"Only, you know, don't lose him or anything." She laughed at Magna's panic. "Stop worrying. You won't lose him. Or he won't lose you. Which is the same thing."

The market would be quieter in the morning, so she encouraged them to eat and be on their way. She handed Magna the list of ingredients she needed. On the back was the name of a trader who would be sympathetic to Fin's needs when buying new clothes.

Fin was fascinated. He watched the paper passing hands, and the money pouches that Magna pocketed. He knew they were doing something new but had no inkling what it might be. But he trusted Magna and Judith.

Magna prayed there was never a time he would have to break that trust.

It was a fair walk to the market. Fin's anxiety returned on leaving the Inn and Judith behind, but he managed it by gripping Magna's hand. Magna approved. On the way, Magna balanced a little fireball on his free hand and had it dance around his knuckles. It felt good to let his magic out.

Did Fin ever feel like that? Magna recalled the sheer joy on his face when he had made that little portal at the docks. Fin must miss his magic, even if his grimoire was... not there. Stolen, Magna corrected himself. Fin's grimoire was stolen. Maybe one day they'd be able to get it back.

Fin must have sensed the dark turn that Magna's thoughts had taken because he tugged on his hand to gain his attention again. He indicated the sputtering fireball, and Magna topped up its magic again.

Judith had been right. The market was quiet, but already busier than Fin liked. He cringed against Magna's side at the unexpected people everywhere. He jumped if someone brushed past him, and Magna had to apologise to a couple that he walked into because he had been looking the other way. They were about to complain, until Magna's growl, "He's deaf," made them scuttle away.

This would have been easier if Rebecca could have come too. She would have done the shopping while Magna concentrated on keeping Fin from jumping out his skin. In the end Magna wrapped his arm around Fin's waist to keep him even closer as they stood at stalls and completed Judith's order.

The stallholders recognised Judith's writing on the note, and they were warm and generous. There was no need to haggle, and the money was on account, so Magna did not need to hand over cash. Some of the sellers knew of Magna and Fin by reputation, greeting Magna by name and asking after his brother.

"First time in the market, dear?" one lady in a bright apron asked. Her stall was arrayed with candies as colourful as her clothes.

"I don't think he likes it," Magna said unnecessarily. Fin was looking behind him at the people walking past.

"It's not busy yet. Don't hang about too long. It gets busier after lunch."

"I know," Magna said. "We've got to get him some new clothes then we're good."

"Well, here take a couple for yourselves." She handed him two of the confectionaries. "Good luck. I'm sure I'll see you again."

Magna nodded, and hoped it was a long time before he had to come back. He was not sure his stress levels could take it.

Fin popped the candy in his mouth once he saw Magna do the same. The effect was instant, and Magna might have laughed if he hadn't been so on edge. Fin's face twisted into an expression of surprise, then delight as the sweet thing dissolved in his mouth. He was so pleased that he did not react when a hurrying man knocked into his arm.

Magna dragged him back to the stall and used his own money to buy a bagful of the candies. Perhaps they could make hunting for clothes bearable.

The stall that Judith had suggested was attended by a small, fussy man. He nodded at Magna's description of the problem, and then he shook his head in despair at the 'rags' the boy was wearing. Magna might have been offended, considering most of them were his rags, but even to his eye, they had seen better days.

Judith had given good advice because the little man never came close to Fin. He sized him by eye, before presenting three sets of pants and simple shirts. He held them up for Fin's perusal. Fin's mouth was full of another candy and he looked at Magna for help on what the man wanted him to do. "They're fine." Magna said.

The man bagged them up, then turned to Magna. "And for yourself, sir?"

Magna looked at his own clothes in horror. They were fine.

Fin must have got what was going on. He put a finger through the hole in Magna's sleeve and then gave a sly grin. Cheeky ass.

Magna walked out with clothes for himself and Fin in bags that he slung over his shoulder. Fin took the bag with the spices over his shoulder to keep his hand free for the bag of candies in his pocket.

Magna congratulated himself on a successful mission. They should do this again and get Fin used to more people. That stall with the candies had been big enough to…

Fin froze. It was so unexpected that Magna's brain took a moment to catch up. He looked around at the market as it began to get busier. There was no one nearby so it had not been an unexpected touch or surprise movement. Yet it was as if someone had flipped a switch in Fin's head.

With a building dread, Magna followed Fin's frozen gaze across the street.

A tall Magic Knight in a Purple Orca robe was standing at a stall. He was not the only Magic Knight out today. They had seen a pair wearing Green Mantis robes, and even someone with a silver eagle insignia striding past. None had given Fin more pause than the other people walking around.

The mage was standing with a man wearing expensive Recovery Mage overalls. The Purple Orca was gesturing at things on the stall in an imperious manner, and the stall holder was cringing so that Magna knew that social standing was being invoked to get a better deal. It seemed to be the way.

Fin was shaking.

It was not just any Magic Knight. It was him, Magna knew with absolute certainty. That was the person who had kept Fin prisoner.

Fuck. They needed to get out of here.

But it was easier said than done. Fin was incapable of movement. He was so pale and afraid. Tugging on his hand had no effect, but making a fuss would draw the knight's attention.

As if the thought turned itself into words that broadcast across the market, the Magic Knight lifted his head and looked directly at Magna and Fin.

Don't recognise us, don't recognise him, Magna's thoughts ran in panic.

It was no good. Fin had been this man’s valuable possession for a long time. He knew what he saw.

And as if his voice was being carried by the wind, Magna heard him say to the Recovery Mage beside him, "Excuse me Harallen, I think I see something that belongs to me."

He began to stride forward in such an unhurried way that Magna found himself as frozen as Fin. There was nowhere to hide in a busy market. They were exposed and he was going to come and take Fin and send an ice spike through Magna and...

"Are you okay, dear," said the stall holder that had given them the candies. "Is he having a turn? Perhaps you should get him home now."

With her words, Magna felt his feet release from the ground and his muscles fill with the power to run. He pulled on Fin's hand and he ran.

It was hard to dodge around the people in the market. He barged into a few but did not stop. Fin was clumsy behind him, until he seemed to pick up the same adrenaline that was running through Magna. Then he was almost faster.

It was not enough. The voice carried across the market. "Stop. Thief. Stop those boys."

Magna risked a glance behind him. The Magic Knight. The Purple Orca was unhurried as he walked through the market. People were scurrying out of his way. The expensively dressed Recovery Mage was behind him.

Magna expected the call of ‘thief’ to bring the whole marketplace down on them, but when he looked ahead, he found it unaccountably clear. It was as if the people wanted to speed their progress. Or at least get the drama away from their shop fronts.

But they could not move fast enough to beat a Magic Knight. Magna felt the pull of powerful mana as the Knight pulled on his magic. He was going to send ice spikes at them.
Magna's own grimoire was out as he fled. He refused to be killed without even using his own magic. He was going to defend Fin.

"Keep running," a voice said in front of them. It belonged to a tall, thin man with a scarred face. He flashed them a smile of razor-sharp teeth and gestured them to pass. It was one of the Green Mantis Knights they had seen earlier. He said, "That one's overdue a slashing."

He stepped around them so that the new Knight was between them and the Purple Orca. He heard the Mantis Knight say, "Mr Lugner. Having trouble with thieves, are we?"

The Purple Orca's response was lost as Magna reached the end of the street and pulled Fin into one of the alleys that would lead a circuitous route back to the Broomsticks.

They did not stop running until Fin collapsed.

He was just exhausted. Neither of them had ever run like that. There was dried blood at his ears, but he did not seem to be in pain. Magna pulled him to sit against the alley wall. It smelled of urine and garbage. It was the kind of place it was hard to see a Magic Knight and that Recovery Mage with their expensive robes. "Let's catch our breath," Magna said as if Fin was in any state to do anything else. He was breathing heavily, and his lips were tinged blue.

"We did it though," Magna said with a surge of relief. His heart was pounding hard. "That Green Mantis guy saved us."

Fin lifted his hand to Magna's chest. Once it was in place, Fin let his eyes close so that he could concentrate on breathing.

"I thought we were goners. I thought we were done." Magna laughed. He knew it was a little hysterical, but he believed that a near death experience gave him permission for a little hysteria. "I was going to blast him with a fireball, but did you feel that mana off him? He was going to kill us. And we escaped. You escaped him twice. I bet he's angry."

Fin's breathing was beginning to slow, but he did not open his eyes or take his hand away from Magna's chest.

"I mean, he looks like a bastard. If you asked me to describe the kind of bastard who chains people up in basements, I'd have said the spiky chin and the hair, and those eyes. The nose that looks like it's smelling shit and doesn't realise it's smelling itself. Oh, god. A Purple Orca. That's where I was going to take you that night."

Fin cracked an eye open to look at Magna.

"We're okay. We should get back. Maybe hide in our room for a month? Yeah. Let’s do that."

He hauled himself upright and pulled Fin up too. They still had their bags.

Fin reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out the bag of candies. He gave one to Magna, then took one for himself.

"I think we deserve it. Come on."

Fin was limping more than usual after running like that. If Magna had stopped to think about it, he would not have thought that Fin could run at all, never mind like that. Amazing the strength that terror could give. But he was feeling the consequences now. He winced with each step, and Magna had learned to take that seriously. Fin had barely acknowledged the broken ribs and the fractured jaw, so for him to show pain probably meant he was in agony.

The walk home was more of a stumble through disreputable alleys as Magna tried to throw off pursuit as well as keep away from watching eyes. He may have been doing too good a job when he found himself in an unfamiliar street. He paused and looked around.

Fin glanced around too now that he was no longer being led.

Magna said, "I'm sure the Inn is this way."

Fin tugged him the other direction. Magna shrugged. "I'm trusting your sense of direction then."

Fin took Magna with confidence through streets that he had never seen before. He was limping badly, and it was worse the further they went. But he grinned when they turned a corner to the back door of the Inn.

"You don't have to look quite so smug about it," Magna said to him.

Fin's smile stayed stubbornly smug.

Magna had to help him inside and dropped him to sit on a chair next to the bar. Sivert glanced at them, then walked out as if he would rather be elsewhere. Magna did not care as Judith and Rebecca both hurried over, despite the scattering of customers.

"What happened?" Rebecca demanded.

"We met someone," Magna said as he sank into a chair and put his head onto his arms and closed his eyes. "Someone we didn't want to see any closer. We had to run."

Fin shook his shoulder as if worried that something was wrong. Magna put a hand on his. "I'm good. I'm good. Oh, shit." Because Magna might be good, but Fin was not. He was shuddering and looked like he was about to be sick. "Hey, hey, come here. We're good. I told you we were okay. We're back." Magna pulled him into his arms and held him.

"Rebecca, go and clear at table four," Judith said, then when the girl was out of earshot, "Were you followed?"

"I don't think so. He was there with a Recovery Mage from the infirmary. He's a Purple Orca, tall and thin with a sharp chin and white hair. Fin spotted him and he recognised Fin. He said that he saw something that belonged to him, and then he was coming towards us. I dragged Fin. I think I hurt his leg, but the Purple Orca had his grimoire out and he was going to kill us. Then this Green Mantis Knight with a scarred face got right up into his face and stopped him. We ran as far as Fin's leg could take him, then sort of hobbled the rest of the way. Fin brought us home."

Fin lifted his head from Magna's shoulder. He looked calmer. He pulled his bag off his shoulder and handed it to Judith.

"We got your stuff. And we got clothes."

Fin brought out the bag of candies and shared them out between the three of them. Judith gestured for Rebecca to join them, and she had her share too.

"And we learned that Fin has a sweet tooth."

The news of the thieves in the market filtered through to the bar over the next couple of days. Magna tried to keep his head down whenever someone talked about it, but no one seemed to make any connection between the boys at the Broomsticks and the children who had nearly been caught by a Magic Knight.

If the gossip could be believed, two children, and no one could be quite sure if they were boys or girls, had taken candy from a stall. The stall owner had sworn that she had called ‘thief’ first, and a Purple Orca Magic Knight had tried to apprehend the children on her behalf. Another Magic Knight from a different squad, reports varied from Silver Eagle to Green Mantis, had tried to get more information. In the confusion the thieves had escaped. The Purple Orca knight had graciously offered to pay for the missing candy, and the issue was put to rights.

Judith heard versions of this story from five different customers. They all agreed on the basics. Candy had been stolen by children, and the Purple Orca knight had paid for them.

Magna was confused by what that meant.

"It means you made a good impression. The woman on the candy stall runs the market association. If that's what she said happened, it's what happened. They liked you. They don't like that Purple Orca Magic Knight. Nevertheless, I'll send Rebecca the next time. You do cause a lot of trouble little Badger."

Fin's leg was swollen and painful after their escape and by the next morning he could barely walk. The pain made him fractious and unhappy. Judith mixed a painkiller into his breakfast after watching him wince and struggle downstairs. Rather than helping, it made him panicky as though he could no longer trust anything. He fell twice and snarled at anyone who tried to help. It was so uncharacteristic that Magna and Judith resolved no more painkillers after that experience, unless it was going to knock him out.

He was wary and the pain did not help. They let him limp around after Magna, scowling at everyone. No one pushed him to do anything other than keep his back to the wall and stare at Magna. Magna had no doubt that he was angry at them. It made him wonder what other things had been put in his food to make him so afraid of something that probably made his aching leg feel better.

He forgave Magna the next day but gave Judith and Rebecca the cold shoulder for longer. It was a strange experience. The place felt less warm and even the customers were more miserable because of his sulk. The only one unaffected was Sivert, but that was, according to Rebecca, because it would be hard to make him more disagreeable. Magna said that his brother had just died, but Rebecca snorted.

It took another two days for Fin to forgive Judith. When he did, his gentle brush across her hand as she served breakfast was as eloquent as any words. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I won’t do it again.” She opened her arms and he came forward for a hug without hesitation.

“Apology accepted,” Magna said with a grin.

Chapter Text

Fin did not like the evening crowds, but once he was relaxed enough to shove Magna out the room again, Magna found he enjoyed the stories with the characters from the area. Judith was careful that he never got drunk and only gambled with peanuts because he was a terrible card player. She was like an overprotective mother cat, and the bar's clientele respected that.

One of the customers said, "Hey, kid, got a light." Magna had seen him in the bar before. He had big shoulders, dark hair and a tattered robe.

Magna had been working on this spell. It was easy to do in their room in the evening and improved his fine control, as well as entertaining Fin when it did not work and burned his pants. Magna summoned the marble sized fireball and sent it directly to the big man's cigarette end.

The man nodded appreciatively. "Nice bit of control."

Magna grinned as he always did when someone praised his magic.

"Got any other tricks?”

Judith laughed from the other end of the bar. She always seemed to be able to hear what people were saying to Magna. "You want your ear talked off, Yami, go on, ask him."

Yami's rude hand-speak sign would have had anyone else out on the street. Judith instead flashed him a crooked grin and said, "Your next drink will cost double. And you'll have to listen to the kid."

He was a good listener. He let Magna tell him about his magic, the new things he wanted to try and his ideas for extending the things he could already do. He was about to launch into an explanation of how he could sustain a fireball for an hour to provide light, when the man said. "Nice, kid. You ever think about joining a squad."

Magna's tongue had been loosened just enough that he said, "I did the exam last year. I didn't get accepted, but that's okay. The guy who helped me train said that commoners often don’t get in the first time. I decided to stick around and learn more stuff, then I might try out again next year."

"So what are you doing cleaning tables?"

Magna's mouth opened and no words came out. He shut it again.

"Tell him about your brother," Judith prompted.

The lies were easier now. He had become slick at explaining Fin's origin. "I brought my brother with me from home. He was staying with a friend while I did the exam, but he got attacked and badly hurt. Judith says I can work here to save up enough money to get us to Rayaka."

The big man looked at him with dark eyes that Magna thought could see into his soul. "No more Magic Knights?"

Judith sidled over and slipped Yami another beer. "His brother's deaf. He was pretty shaken up."

"The quiet kid that hangs about at lunch time?"

"He doesn't like the crowds or other people much,” Magna said. “He gets frightened because he doesn't understand what's going on. I don't think many squads are taking in recruits with their deaf brothers, so yeah. Maybe the Magic Knights needs to be put off for a bit. I don’t mind. "

"It's tough to give up on a dream."

"I guess," Magna said. He did not want his voice to sound so quiet. "But, you know. He's my brother."

"You want to tell me about him?"

He glanced at Judith, who nodded. "Yami's been coming here forever. It's okay to tell him."

"He's called Fin. He can't speak. He doesn't make a sound, but you know if you've pissed him off because he glares at you. He used to panic if I wasn't there for five minutes, but he's better now. He threw me out the room tonight. But he still won't go to sleep unless I'm talking to him. He can't hear me, but he can feel it. He likes yoghurt and fruit and candy. Not coffee. And..."

Yami grinned and blew out cigarette smoke. "You talk about him like you talk about your magic."

Magna blushed. "Yeah. Maybe. He's important. You understand? I have to keep him safe."

"I get it, kid. I could do with someone with that kind of responsibility at home. I’ve got this Luck problem I need to get solved. Hey, Judith, get the kid another drink."

"Soft drink," she said. "He's got to clean the place in the morning."

"Yes boss."

"So, your brother got any magic?"

Magna froze again. He had not considered how to answer that question. He could not help glancing at Judith in a plea for help.

"Hey, it's okay. I didn't mean to pry," Yami said. "You don't want to say."

"No, it's just..."

Again, Judith came to his rescue. "He's deaf and he doesn't speak. But it's deeper than that. It's like the bit of his brain that recognises communication more complicated than body language just isn't working. He's sweet, but I don't think he's ever going to learn to do anything more than go where he's pointed. We don't know what kind of magic he has, never mind if he can use it. It's probably safer if he doesn't."

"But he's not stupid," Magna said stubbornly. He knew they had said that it was part of Fin's disguise, but it was important to Magna that this man not think that Fin was something less than he was.

"Oh, no. You only need to look at his eyes to know he sees everything. It's just there are some things he doesn't understand."

Yami was looking at Magna with that penetrating gaze stare again. "You defend him?"

"It's not his fault he's the way he is. It's..." He had been about to say, 'It was that man's fault'. He stood and stumbled back. He had been so careful. How did he let Yami get to him? "I've got to go check on him."

"Nice kid," Yami said as Magna hurried away.

"You be nice and don't go freaking him out. His brother's important..."

Magna closed the door on them.

-

Now that Magna knew who the big man in the tattered robe was, he noticed that he came to the bar every few days. He parked his broom at the front and muttered about how much he hated them every time. He arrived in the early evening and hung around chatting and gambling until long after Judith sent Magna to bed.

The big man would ask Magna for a light for his cigarette, and Magna made efforts to improve the spell for him. If he was being honest, he was trying to impress Yami. That surprised him, but did not stop him.

On quiet evenings Fin would be brave enough to tolerate the bar. If Rebecca was there, Judith would let her join their table and they would play cards.

Magna was trying to teach Rebecca pontoon, and Rebecca was trying to teach Magna how not to lose. Only one of them was having any success. Fin was watching them as well as the rest of the room, but he was unusually interested in the card game. He picked up the discard pile and rifled through it.

"Hey, Fin. I think he's finally got it. Can we have our cards back?"

"Here, kid," Yami said. He leaned over from the bar and put a worn pack of cards on the table. Fin hesitated, so Magna pushed them closer. Fin took the new cards and inspected them.

"That's more interest than he showed in those cards of Alys's," Rebecca said.

"No wonder. Who wants to look at drawings of people going to the toilet? Hit me."

Rebecca dealt the next card. An eight. "Bust. Again."

"I think the problem’s my luck," Magna muttered.

Yami had been watching his pack of cards, but now he turned back to Magna and rocked with laughter. "You've got a Luck problem! You want to see my Luck problem? Why do you think I'm here so often? The little psychopath destroyed the whole east wing yesterday. It's got the best toilets, with the heated seats, and now I've got to use the ordinary ones until Henry rebuilds. The whole squad is ready to break him. It's like he's got super charged batteries or something."

Rebecca said, "Luck's a person?"

Magna said, "Whole squad?"

"Yes, Luck's a person. He's a mad little berserker that's driving my squad insane. He won't stop picking fights. He steals things, but never keeps them. I don't know if he sleeps because he's up at the crack of dawn and then still wide eyed when everyone else goes to bed. I think he needs help, but damn, I don't know how to do that. And yes, Magna. A squad." He pointed to his robe. "The Black Bulls."

"You're a Magic Knight?" Magna asked.

Rebecca and Judith laughed. Yami glared at them both. "I'm the Captain of the Black Bulls, idiot."

"You're a Squad Captain?"

"I guess."

"You weren't at the exam."

"I slept in. Goldie told me that there was a kid that he thought might be a good fit. Little blonde with lightning magic that nearly killed his combat opponent. No one else wanted him, but William thought he’d be better off with us than in prison. I want to send him Luck for a week and see if he agrees that prison sounds peaceful."

Was William, William Vangeance, of the Golden Dawn?

Magna had been sitting here, in a bar, talking to a Squad Captain. He had lit his cigarette! Yami had bought him a drink. Captain Yami. Captain Yami of the Black Bulls.

Captain Yami, who slept in for the Magic Knight exam.

"You should close your mouth," Rebecca said. "It's your turn to deal."

Judith and Yami continued to talk as the bar emptied. Magna lost all the peanuts Judith allowed him to bet with, so Yami donated him another packet to continue. Rebecca ate her winnings.

"Kids," Judith said eventually. "It's time for Rebecca to be going home. Pack up your games."

Rebecca and Magna collected the cards and shared the leftover peanuts.

"You know, your brother is better at cards than you," Yami said to Magna.

Fin had taken the face cards out of Yami’s deck, because the letters still sent him into either a cold fury or a sulk when Alys showed them to him by accident. He was collecting the other cards into five card hands of twenty one. He was so absorbed in the process that they watched him for five minutes as he shuffled them around. He had realised the point of the game that Magna and Rebecca had been playing and was running through the permutations.

"I wonder if I could teach him to count cards," Yami said thoughtfully. "I could clean up."

"Don't you dare," Judith said and cuffed his arm.

Even that was not enough to distract Fin. Magna had never seen him so absorbed with something since the accounts. Then he had needed both Magna and Judith's voices to let him continue.

Judith insisted that Rebecca needed to get home before it got any darker. Yami offered to walk her, then he was going to fly his broom home. It was not until Yami stood up that Fin looked up from the cards on the table. He panicked and tried to collect them together, but Yami waved a hand at him. "Keep them.”

Fin was confused that Yami was walking away without them, but Magna pushed them against his chest. "He says they're for you."

-

"You know, I don't think he thinks much of those cards," Magna said to Alys.

She was sitting on one of the barstools opposite Fin. The cards that she had brought were even simpler than the last set that Fin had thrown away in disgust. Magna and Judith knew it had been the writing that had offended him, but Alys had not realised the connection. These cards had simple pictures of facial expressions on them. Happy, sad, angry. Unfortunately for Alys's chances of success, they also had the words written on the bottom.

Fin was glaring at her and ignoring the cards.

"You know, telling us when he's angry hasn't ever been one of his problems," said Judith. It was Rebecca's day off, and Sivert had made himself scarce just the way Magna liked it.

Fin pushed each card back towards Alys individually.

"It's all good though," Alys said. As always, she was bright and undeterred. "I've got some other ideas. I know he can do this. He wants to, or it wouldn't make him so cross. We just need to find the right key." She gathered the cards together.

Magna felt sorry for her. "He doesn't like the writing. I think it worries him that he can't read it."

Judith tutted. "You gave it away. I was going to see how long it took her to work that out. Communication expert, really. He's been chucking your cards back at you for weeks."

Alys was grinning though. "Of course! I need to go and get Fin more cards."

The door to the bar was pushed open, and Captain Yami walked in. "Is someone teaching the deaf kid to count cards? I thought you said I couldn't do that?"

"Count cards?" Alys asked.

Magna wanted to wave his hands to get Yami to stop, but it was too late. "You should see him with a real deck of cards. Not those stupid things."

Alys looked like her brain might have exploded. "He plays cards."

"I haven't quite taught him all the rules, but yeah. Sure."

"Shit," she said as she walked out the door. "I'm missing something."

Fin was ripping the cards she had left behind into shreds.

"Did you both have to do that?" Judith said. "She's enough trouble as it is. So, what do you want, Yami? This isn't your normal time."

"Can't a man just come and visit his favourite drinking establishment to see his favourite innkeeper?"

"Not unless they want something. You two, playtime is over. Back to work."

Magna jumped off his stool and began to sort the bar. Fin copied him and began moving the furniture with the practiced ease of familiar routine.

"Can I have a drink first?" Yami asked.

"We haven't opened yet. But you spend enough money here. Hey, Sivert," she shouted into the kitchen. "Bring out a new keg of ale."

Sivert brought out the new keg and began priming it while Yami sat at one of the tables that Magna had yet to clean.

"So, it’s business," Judith said as she sat opposite.

"I'm afraid so. Look. It's kinda embarrassing and not usually my thing at all, but I was at a Captains’ meeting and I said I'd do someone a favour."

Judith took a mouthful of tea. "Go on."

"So, there's this Magic Knight from around this part of town. He's quite high up, gets dragged to the same meetings. He's a vice captain and he's been pretty much absent for the past month or more. His boss relies on him to track his business across the country. Which is making life hard for us lazy bastards who just want to be left alone.

"Turns out, what's eating this vice captain is that he was robbed. Someone took something valuable from his house not far from here."

Magna felt his stomach lurch. Shit, shit, shit. Don't react. Don't let Fin pick up what's going on. Pretend you can't hear it.

But he had liked Captain Yami. He was funny, lazy and a terrible advisor at cards, but Magna had thought he was honest. Judith liked him and valued his opinion. He'd given Fin a deck of cards and seen that he was smart faster than almost anyone. He slept in for the exam, but then came back to pick someone up so they wouldn't go to prison. He...

He was working with the man that did this to Fin.

Shit. No.

It was impossible for Magna to hide his anxiety from Fin. He was too highly attuned to Magna's reactions to miss something like this. He looked at Magna, then at Yami and Sivert still working on the new keg at the bar.

No. Sivert was not working. He was listening too.

Yami seemed oblivious to the change in temperature in the room.

"So, I normally can't stand these guys. I don't know what the Orca's did to deserve so many assholes, but this burglary seems to have them all rattled. Or it's got their vice captain rattled, and that's messing them all up. All they’re interested in is this thing that got stolen. Don't ask me what it was, or what it does, because he’s cagey as hell. But I know that a kid died."

"Died?" Judith asked. Her voice was very calm. Far calmer than Magna felt.

"Yeah, you get my problem here. A kid died. Some noble kid that was supposed to be mentored by this Vice Captain. He'd been there for years, meant to be getting ready to do the exam, or something. I'm a bit hazy on the details, because all this guy wanted to talk about was recovering his lost property."

"But a kid died," Judith said.

"I know. They said they'd discussed it with the City Watch, so I guess they think that's being investigated by them. All they wanted me to do was ask about the stolen thing. So, I said I would because, I swear, these bastards wouldn't stop talking about it. They were as bad six months ago when Gueldre gave me a list of places across the whole country where he’d been losing stuff from his businesses. Don’t know what happened to his shit, still don’t care."

He pulled out a scrap of paper from his pocket. It was crumpled and stained. He checked the details.

"So, any sign of any suspicious activity on that date? Any interesting stuff getting fenced, new people turning up, that sort of thing."

Magna did not need to see the paper to know that date was the day he had rescued Fin from that basement.

Sivert would recognise it too.

"New people turning up?" Sivert asked. "Wasn't that when..."

"When your brother was burned in his security job." Judith said loudly. "I don't think that's the kind of thing Captain Yami is interested in."

Sivert was stupid, but he was not completely without self-preservation.

"Well, actually, I'm not really interested in any of it. This isn't my kind of thing. I just said I'd ask the question, pass on the date and tell you there's a reward for the return of the thing that was stolen. There's a box at that guy’s house, if anyone wants to leave information that might lead to its return. If you were to ask me, I'd be telling folk who knew stuff to go to the City Watch, because a kid died, but who understands a stupid Purple Orca."

He downed his drink. "Right. Better get going." He stood.

He seemed oblivious to the chill. Magna wondered if Yami could hear his heart thumping all the way across the room.

"Oh, hey, Magna. Got a favour to ask. I've got a problem with this little mad person in my base. I think he could do with a calming influence. Judith seems to think you might be good for that, and I like your magic and your spirit. You looked after your brother. Magic Knights should do that kind of stuff, protect people, you know.

"So, if cleaning tables gets boring, do you fancy joining a squad? You'd have to fight a lightning berserker a couple of times a day, but I'm thinking if you can get through to a deaf kid, you might be the right person to get through to Luck. And it's a big base. Your brother's welcome. We're out the way, big space, maybe not a bad place for a deaf kid to be."

Magna could not speak. He did not know if he could answer. If Captain Yami had asked him this when he woke this morning, it would almost have felt too good to be true. A Magic Knight squad. A safe place for Fin away from the city. Everything he could have wanted.

He wanted to cry.

Instead he said, "Fuck off, Captain Yami." And spat on the floor.

For a moment Yami looked bemused. He had not expected that reaction. For the first time he looked around the room and sensed the hostility. He stared at Magna with those dark penetrating eyes, but this time Magna stared back with all the fury he contained. This man was working with the man that hurt Fin. Magna would fight a Magic Knight Captain over this.

Yami shrugged. "Whatever, kid. The offer’s open. He turned the crumpled piece of paper over and wrote a note on it. "You change your mind, you take this to the infirmary and ask for Owen. He owes me a favour or two. He'll get you to me. Both of you." Then the penetrating look was back for a second. "He'll do it fast too. And he doesn't ask questions. You can trust him."

And he walked out of the Inn.

Judith stared at Magna, then the spit on the floor.

"Yeah, I know. I'll clean it up."

The Wild Broomsticks was an unsettled place all afternoon. Sivert kept looking at Magna with an interest he had never shown before and Magna wanted to punch him. Twice Judith had to tell him to cool down before they came to blows in the middle of her bar. Fin was unsure what happened to change the atmosphere. He had tried to hand Magna Yami's pack of cards, concerned that perhaps Yami had wanted them back.

Magna had pushed them back with more force than he should have and then had to deal with that hurt too. In the end, Fin came to the conclusion that Sivert was to blame and met his look with a furious glare.

Judith despaired and sent Sivert home because there was no way anything was going to get done.

She also sent Magna out for a run to burn up some of his anger. Fin fretted, and Magna thought he might want to come. Instead he stood beside Judith.

"Thanks, little Shadow," she said, obviously touched. "You can protect me while Magna goes and gets his head back on again. Wear your hat."

Magna caught the hat and squeezed it down over his ears.

The run helped. What had seemed like insurmountable horrors felt more manageable as he ran in the rain. So he wasn't going to be a Magic Knight, that was fine. He could accept that now. He would stay with Judith a bit longer to pay off their debts, then he would take Fin back to Rayaka like his original plan. A noble Magic Knight would never look for them there. He could go back to work in the fields again.

They would never make any progress with Alys's ideas for Fin. He never acknowledged the hand-speak despite her continued efforts and he hated the stupid cards, but never refused to see her. Magna thought he might be as interested in her as she was in him. So long as she kept the writing out of the way. They could not do that in Rayaka, but that could not be helped. They would miss Judith and Rebecca and the customers at the bar. But the more Magna ran, the more he knew that they were living on borrowed time. It could not be long before the Magic Knight started to go round knocking on doors, noble or not.

He reached the docks before he decided to turn back for home. He was wiping the rain from his eyes when he heard his name.

"Oi, Magna? That you? It's hard to tell with the hat." It was the chief engineer of the Gull. He hurried over to shake Magna's hand. "How are you boy?"

"I'm good. Yeah. Good."

"You should have come with us upriver. It was a grand voyage.” He was about to start storytelling, then stopped. “First, though, I’ve got some bad news. You should come and see this."

The engineer led him through the buildings, and Magna guessed their destination before they arrived. It was a good thing he did, because the place they arrived at was unrecognisable. The old warehouse was now an obliterated mess. If Magna had not known what had been there before, he would never have guessed. The cargo that had been inside was now strewn over the ruin of debris. It had been torn to pieces.

The place that Magna and Fin had sheltered through their first night together was gone.

"When did it happen?" Magna asked.

"Weeks ago," the engineer said. “The foreman thinks it wasn't long after we left. He said it was about the time there was a funny lightshow in Fishers’ Gate, but I can't see how the two things are related. I wanted to show you. You helped us pack that stuff up and it's gone. Captain was gonna give you a cut of what that got us, but, well."

Magna could only stare. The night of the light show was the night the Magic Knight had come back. If you looked at this damage you could see how it might have been caused by ice spikes crashing into the warehouse. This had been fury. The knight had tracked them here, probably with Fin's magic.

Magna needed to get back to the Inn.

The engineer wanted him to come and share tea with the crew of the boat again, but Magna declined.

"Where are you staying kid?" he asked as Magna began jogging away.

"Cleaning tables at the Wild Broomsticks"

"Well, we might see you there sometime."

Magna waved. He was not thinking about the Gull. He was thinking about what he had left in the Inn.

His brain was doing loops, but again running helped clear his head. The warehouse had been destroyed weeks ago. Just because he was only finding out about it now did not make it likely that something had happened while he was away. It was only an hour.

But the nagging horror that he was going to return and find the Broomsticks in a mass of splintered firewood did not leave until he turned the corner and found the Inn, as whole and undamaged as he had left it. He shoved the door open.

There were a few patrons drinking and Judith wiping glasses behind the bar. They looked up, and he realised he must be in a state. He was out of breath and sweaty.

Judith said, "He's upstairs, and he's fine. Go check and then come and tell me what's wrong."

Fin was folding sheets in their room. As always he was facing the open door so he did not need to look up as Magna entered. There must have been something in Magna's expression that made Fin drop the sheet onto the floor and risk the wrath of Judith. But he was more concerned with checking Magna from head to foot as though he had been injured.

Magna permitted the examination, because it allowed him to confirm that Fin was fine too. Once Fin was satisfied, he pulled Magna back down the stairs. He had decided that this problem needed words.

Judith waved them to the bar so they could sit at the end. She poured tea and said, "So, talk little Badger. What did you see?"

Magna had calmed. He knew he had overreacted. But it was hard to put the dread out of his mind. "I was speaking to one of the crew of the Gull. There was a warehouse destroyed at the docks around the same time as all that noise from the house in Fishers’ Gate." He swallowed a mouthful of tea and Fin patted his arm. "It was where we went, at first. Where... when..." He struggled to describe it when there were others listening.

"Where Fin was showing off. And his ears hurt," Judith said more diplomatically than Magna could have ever managed.

"It was weeks ago. It just unsettled me. It's nothing."

Judith frowned. She agreed it was not nothing. "Drink your tea."

Despite Magna's agitation, the rest of the evening was calm. Fin dragged Magna to get showered, then would not let him out of his sight as he finished folding the sheets.

Magna's unease lasted for days. Things were moved in their room, but Magna did not care if Sivert looked through their stuff. He was never going to find what Magna had taken hidden beside the pile of socks that Rebecca made for Fin. Eventually a cautious truce was declared that allowed them to exist in the same space. Fin relaxed his vigilance to let Magna go into another room without him, but he was inclined to follow shortly afterwards. Captain Yami returned once, but Magna walked out of the room as soon as he saw him.

There was no sign that anyone had taken up the offer of the reward, or at least had any information that satisfied the Magic Knight.

-

The engineer and his mate from the Gull arrived during a quiet lunch. Magna joined their table and he spent an enjoyable hour listening to their questionable adventures upriver. As they were tucking into their dessert, Magna jumped up to help Judith with a pile of plates from the kitchen. Sivert shrugged from his place behind the bar.

The cheery man from the cargo cranes was talking to the engineer while he collected more drinks. Magna only half overheard them, and at the time barely registered the conversation at all.

"Magna was with you on the Gull,” the cheery man said. “He's a good lad, isn't he. Good with his brother."

The engineer laughed. "Magna hasn't got a brother."

"Sure he does. Deaf kid, Fin. Quiet, obviously," he laughed at his own joke, "But friendly enough if you don't give him a fright."

"I think you've made a mistake. Magna doesn't have a brother. At least, he didn't before he worked here."

"Ha. You don't just pick up brothers out of the trash like that. They're brothers."

"Must have been my mistake."

Judith snapped, "Magna. Take the plates, come on."

He only realised when he went back to his table that Sivert was watching him with the same intensity that he had shown after Captain Yami's visit.

There was another half an hour of chat with the Gull's crew before they left. Sivert followed them, and Magna thought he heard him speak to them just beyond the door.

That evening was one of the quiet ones that Fin could tolerate. He joined Magna and Rebecca for cards and snacks that Judith brought to their table. Fin played alongside with Captain Yami's cards, making up various hands according to the version of poker they played. When Judith came to sit with them, she took over Rebecca's hand while the girl brought out her knitting and continued to teach Fin. He was surprisingly adept at picking up her movements and was able to manage a row or two before he tangled his fingers and string together. Rebecca laughed as she unpicked the mess.

Afterwards, Magna could never remember what they talked about, but it was one of the fondest and saddest memories of his life.

Chapter Text

Magna was mopping the floor after lunch when Rebecca came downstairs with the dirty laundry from the rooms. Her small "Oh," of exclamation made him look up, and search for Fin. He was in their room folding the clean laundry, or he had been fifteen minutes ago when Magna had checked on him.

"You're here," Rebecca said.

Magna looked at her. "Yeah."

"It's just... I heard someone speaking in your room. I thought it was you."

Magna's brain seemed to take an age to understand what she was saying. How could someone be talking in his room? There was just Fin there.

It was not Fin talking. That left....

He looked around. Where was Sivert? He had come into work this afternoon. Magna had seen him. Where was he now?

Dread settled into Magna's gut. Rebecca saw it. "Do you think..." she started.

Magna dropped the mop and ran. "Get Judith. Now," he shouted.

He took the stairs three at a time. Their room door was closed. Fin never closed the door.

There was someone speaking inside. It was low, but at Magna's wordless yell, the voice changed. It became louder, angrier.

Magna grabbed the door and shoved at it with all his strength. It was locked.

"Sivert! Bastard. What are you doing? Let me in."

The voice was now interspersed with what sounded like thumping noises. No. No. Shit.

Magna's grimoire was out and the fireball spell was ready. From the stairs, he heard Judith say, "Blow the door. Hurry up."

The control that Magna had to exert to not explode the whole wall was more than he thought he had ever had to exert. He needed to take the door, not the building. He could not hurt Fin. Although if he killed Sivert it would be better than he deserved.

The door disintegrated into ash and splinters.

The sight beyond fixed itself into Magna's dreams for years. Sivert had two hands locked around Fin's neck. Fin was motionless against the wall, his lips blue and his eyes closed. His feet were dangling half a foot from the ground.

Sivert had turned as the door was destroyed. He had three deep parallel scratches across his face that were oozing blood.

As Magna watched, Sivert removed a hand from Fin's neck and slammed a fist into the boy's abdomen. Fin's body jerked, then hung still.

Magna screamed and launched himself at Sivert.

All thoughts of magic were gone in the overwhelming rage that swallowed him. Sivert was trying to kill Fin. Magna was going to stop him.

Magna got his hands around the arm that Sivert was using to hold Fin. The residual heat from the fireball he had used on the door was still lingering, and Sivert cried out and released his grip. Magna heard Fin crumple to the floor. He did not hear choked breaths.

Magna brought his fist back and with strength born from years in manual labour, he ploughed it into Sivert's face.

The taller man had no time to react before Magna's brain reasserted his magic and pulled on the mana around them. His grimoire flickered and a fireball flared around his fist as he drew back to punch again.

"Wait." Judith was yelling. "Don't kill him."

"Why not?" Magna snarled.

Why could he not hear Fin breathing?

"Because I need to know what he's done."

Magna shoved Sivert into the wall and pinned him by the shoulder. He brought his right hand with the fireball up to his neck and let the flickers of flame dance from his fist to Sivert's face. The blood from the three scratches collected in small rivulets and ran down his cheek.

He felt rather than saw Rebecca push past him to reach Fin. Then Judith was at his side and she was raging fury. "What have you done?" she demanded.

"I..." Sivert hesitated and Magna allowed his magic to swell into the fireball. The air smelt of burning hair as the flames reached Sivert's eyebrows and scalp.

"Tell me now before I let Magna explode that fireball in your face."

"You mean like he did to my brother?"

Sivert knew. He knew what Magna had stolen from the Magic Knight.

Magna had no interest in bluffing. "You won't walk away."

"Doesn't matter. He's still dead, isn't he."

"Sivert. What have you done?" Judith asked again.

"My brother always said that you could do what you wanted to the stuff where he worked. Their boss never minded so long as you didn't damage it. I never knew what he was talking about until yesterday. You didn't have a brother before you came here, did you Magna?"

Magna's blood ran cold.

"You stole it. And you killed my brother as much as you killed his mate."

"They were going to hurt him," Magna whispered.

"What does it fucking matter. It can't tell. It doesn't even know. They weren't going to damage it.” His lips curled into a sneer. “I wanted to try it out before the Magic Knight comes. He’s going to take it back."

If Magna's blood had been cold before, now it ran ice.

For a third time, Judith asked, "What have you done?"

Sivert laughed. "I told him. I wrote him a letter. I put it in that box at the house. I said that his stuff was here and he should come and get it before it ran away."

Judith slapped him across the face. She never used her magic, but her hand was swirling with powerful air currents as it made contact.

"You imbecile. Well, you made a mistake, didn’t you. You've killed Fin, and now the Magic Knight is going to come here and find a body where he was meant to find his valuable property. And he’ll track you down because you signed your name on that letter. You wanted a reward and you're going to get one. He’s dead, isn't he Rebecca?"

Rebecca's voice was as cold as Magna felt. "He's dead."

Fin was dead, so what difference did it make if Magna killed Sivert too? Fin was his friend. Had been his brother. This man had killed him because Fin couldn't shout for help.

"He marked you good," Judith said. "Little deaf boy, you thought he'd be easy meat didn't you? Thought you could do what you wanted, but he fought back. You're a piece of shit, Sivert. You should run."

"I want to kill him," Magna hissed.

"You won't have to. He's going to be dead when the Magic Knight finds out what he did. Let him go."

"But..."

"Little Badger. He's not worth your mana. Let him go. You've got more important things to be worrying about."

"Fin..."

"Let him go."

Magna let his fireball die, and with it went the rage that was holding him up. He sagged and only Judith's big hands on his elbow stopped him landing on the floor. Sivert scrambled away and stumbled out of the room and down the stairs. Magna could hear the sounds of him tripping in his hurry and falling down the last ones.

But what did it matter? Fin was dead.

What was he supposed to do?

"Magna. This isn't done yet," Judith said. Her tone was sharp but not unkind.

It was done. Fin was dead.

Judith put a hand on each side of his face and pulled him down so their faces were almost touching. "Magna. I lied."

"He's breathing," Rebecca said. "He's not woken up, but he's breathing."

The world felt like it lurched under his feet. He swore and had to put his hand on Judith's shoulder to steady himself. Okay. Fin was alive.

"Why?" he said, as his brain caught up. "No, wait. I get it. You told Sivert he was dead, so that’s what he’ll tell the Magic Knight."

Judith did not need to agree. "Help Rebecca get him onto the bed. Keep him on his side, and keep his airway open. There's going to be a lot of swelling in his throat."

Magna's feet took him. His brain was still trying to catch up.

Fin was alive.

He looked terrible though. The livid red marks around his throat were already darkening. He was grey, and the blue tinge about his lips was hardly any better. Only the quiet wheezy breaths confirmed that what Judith said was true.

He was alive.

Rebecca supported his head as Magna got an arm under Fin's neck and another under his knees. He was no longer the emaciated boy from the basement, but he was still light enough for Magna to lift him with ease. The movement brough Fin back towards consciousness and he tried to fight Magna's grip. But it was a weak attempt at resistance. He seemed to be in pain. Magna muttered nonsense words as he placed him onto the bed.

"Go, get my medicine case, Rebecca," Judith said. "I swear I use this stuff for Fin more than for my own knees."

Magna was running his hands through the other boy’s hair. His eyes were red with burst blood vessels, but he seemed to be able to fix on Magna's face. He raised his hand, and by now Magna was familiar with the gesture. He took it and brought it to his chest.

"You're okay. He's gone. He won't come back. We're going to get you sorted."

"Can he tell you if he's in pain anywhere?" Judith asked.

"I don't think so. I don't think he's really awake yet."

"He's going to have to be ready to travel. You can't stay here."

"I know." He was trying not to think about it. What the hell were they going to do now?

Judith ran practiced hands across Fin's ribs and caused him to flinch. But it was nothing compared to the distress that laying a hand on his abdomen caused. Magna had never seen Fin react to anything like it. His body spasmed and his face contorted in agony. He tried to push Judith's hands away, but he lacked the coordination to make any contact. Magna grabbed his hands and held them. Fin's breathing was loud against his swollen throat.

Tears leaked out the corner of his eyes, and he never took his stare away from Magna.

Judith pulled back Fin's shirt and whispered, "The bastard."

Fin's abdomen was already a pattern of bruising and abrasions. Magna thought he could make out the print of a boot. As he watched, Judith placed a flat hand on a relatively unscathed area. Again Fin gasped and bucked against the pain. But there was less power in it this time.

Magna wanted to throw up. Fin had ignored broken ribs and a broken jaw like they were nothing. What had Sivert done?

Judith did not try again, but put her fingers to the pulse point on Fin's wrist. Fin barely noticed.

"I think he's bleeding inside," Judith said. "He needs recovery magic."

"Morven? Should she come here?"

"No. You need to take him to her."

"But, I can't move him when he's like this."

"I'm going to knock him out again."

Magna was going to argue. He remembered the look of betrayal the last time Fin realised he had been given medication. But Judith was right. There was no way Magna could carry him across town like this.

"He might pass out anyway, his heart beat is too fast. But you have to get him away."

"I'll get him to Morven, then I'll come back for you."

"No," Judith said as Rebecca arrived with the medicine case.

Rebecca gasped as she saw the exposed bruising. "Oh, Fin."

Judith was all business. "There is no time for that. Rebecca. You need to go to the cash box. Take the key." She handed over the second key from the band on her neck. "Clear it out. Take what you need to take your family to Nean. There’s more than enough to hire a carriage to get your father and your little brothers and sisters there."

"But," she said.

Judith was pulling out sachets of medication as she talked. "There’s a letter with instructions and a note of recommendation that should get you a position wherever you go."

"But, I don't understand," Rebecca whispered.

Judith paused. She looked at Rebecca, and then Magna.

"You do understand. You worked it out a long time ago. Magna rescued Fin from that Magic Knight in Fishers’ Gate." This time Judith spat on the floor. "Sivert has told him where to find Fin and the knight's going to be here as soon as he reads that letter. The only reason we aren't dead already is because he isn't at the house as often as he used to be. It might be a couple of days until he reads it. But guarantee, he's going to be on his way here and when he does what happened to Sivert's brother is going to look like mercy if we're still here."

Neither Rebecca or Magna could speak. The only sound was Fin's wheezy breaths and the granules of medication flowing into the bowl as Judith went back to making up the medication.

"You need to take your family far away from here, Rebecca. I'm sorry you got tangled up in this."

"It was worth it," Rebecca said. She nodded at Magna.

"Use the rest to pay Morven. Go, now."

"I'll get rum from the cellar too." She dodged out the room.

"You have to go to Yami," she said to Magna.

Magna wanted to spit on the floor now too.

"I'm not doing that." Fin's grip on his hand tightened as a wave of pain ran through him. "I can't take him to a Squad. You heard what Yami said. He's working with that Magic Knight. That Purple Orca. The minute he finds out who we are..."

Judith put a hand on his arm. "Magna. What else are you going to do? You can't come back here. Are you going to live on the street with Fin?"

"If I have to."

"Even if Morven can heal this, he isn't going to be fit to travel to your village for weeks. Do you think you can keep him safe from everything out there while you don't starve?"

"If I have to," Magna said again. But as he spoke, he glanced at Fin. His eyes were still open but now glazed with pain. He was shivering and his hand was cold. Could Magna do what he was telling Judith?

If the Broomsticks was not safe, where else could they go?

"Captain Yami is good people, Magna. I promise. You don't have to tell him the truth, but where better to hide from Magic Knights, but in a Magic Knight squad?" She pulled a piece of paper from her apron and scribbled on it, then folded it and handed it to him. “You give this to him.”

He took the note. She knew he could not read it. "He said I had to go to the infirmary. I can't take Fin there."

"Yami said to speak to Owen. Ask Morven. She worked in the infirmary years ago. She can tell you if he's safe. If he's not, find another way, but go to Yami. Promise me you'll give him my note."

Magna nodded slowly. He owed Judith everything. They could give Yami a letter while they worked out what they were going to do.

"Right out of my way. I need to give him something for the pain."

Magna shuffled around, but kept Fin's hand in his. The spasms were more frequent now, but Fin's response was less violent. He was still watching Magna.

"He didn’t like it before," Magna said. "He's going to resist."

"After what Sivert said, are you surprised he's afraid? What better way to make sure your toy doesn't fight back than to drug it?"

Magna felt a wave of nausea. Of course. That made sense. No wonder Fin was so afraid of medication. He could not protect himself if he was drugged.

"He trusts you Magna. You have to get him to let me do this."

Magna nodded. He had bitten down so hard on his lip he could taste blood.

Fin recognised the little spoon that Judith was bringing towards. He tried to pull away, but his whole body jerked with pain and his breathing became so rapid and noisy that Magna thought he was going to pass out.

"Magna, tell him it's okay."

"How?" Magna demanded, but even as he spoke he was putting his hands on Fin's face and turning him so that they were looking eye to eye. "I know you don't understand what I'm saying. But you know me. And I won't let anyone hurt you. You trust Judith. She's going to help. You need to get to a healer and you can't go like this. You're just going to sleep. I promise."

Fin stopped moving. His whole body was tense, and Magna could feel his terror as if it was his own. But Judith was right. Fin did trust him.

Judith approached, and with practiced ease she slipped the end of the spoon between Fin's lips and applied the paste.

The shivering became worse as Fin fought the drug getting into his system. There was blood on his lips and he choked in his panic. Magna took one of his hands and placed it on his chest and sang the nonsense nursery rhyme.

Fin resisted, despite his eyes closing. His breathing became even faster, then, just as it had before, his body lost the fight and went slack.

Judith tipped his head back to keep his airway open. "Get your things Magna. You can't come back here."

Magna grabbed their meagre belongings and stuffed them into one of the bags from the market. He pulled his hat onto his head to cover his hair, and squeezed Yami's cards into his back pocket. While he packed, Judith wrapped Fin in one of the blankets from the bed. She wiped his face gently to remove the worst of the blood.

"You take him to Morven now. Be gentle, but be quick. I couldn't give him a high dose this time because of his breathing, so it might wear off. Give Morven this so she knows what I gave him. In fact, take the rest." She handed over the other sachets. "You might need them if his ears hurt again. We know it works. Come on. Quickly."

She helped him lift Fin into his arms and positioned him so that his airway was as open as possible. His breathing still sounded congested, but it was the best they could do.

Rebecca was waiting at the door. She had her travelling coat on. "You have the money?" Judith asked.

She nodded. "What are you going to do?"

Magna stared at Judith. In the urgency, he had not thought about Judith’s plans for escape. "Yes. What are you going to do?"

She sighed. "Oh, little ones. I'm going to stay here."

They both protested. "You said the Magic Knight would come," Magna said.

"He will. And he'll find an old woman who'll tell him that the boy he's looking for died after he was attacked by the man who wrote that letter."

"No. You can't do that. He might..." Magna changed his words. He could see the truth in Judith's eyes. "He'll kill you."

"Maybe. And then the trail runs cold and he never finds you."

Rebecca had tears running down her face. "You can't."

"Ha. Don't you go telling me what to do Rebecca Scarlet. You'd have to be a bit older to get away with that.” She wrapped Rebecca into a hug. “Damn, but you will be incredible. Your family is lucky to have you. I should have liked to see what you do with your life, but I told Magna, and I'll tell you. I've outlived everyone I ever wanted to. That's good enough for me. If he kills me and it keeps you safe then I'm happy."

"But you said what he did to Sivert's brother would be a mercy,” Magna said. He felt his own tears on his cheeks.

"I've got a case full of medicine. I won't let him hurt me. I'm too much of a coward. And I can't tell him the truth."

Magna shook his head. He was not ready to accept this. "No, Judith. I'll take Fin to Morven. I'll come back. We'll… we'll work out something together. Something else. You could go upriver. Maybe you could go with Gull. Or we could hide..."

"Little Badger. You can't do that and protect Fin. You know that. You are meant to be a real Magic Knight. You will help people the way you helped Fin. You're going to find what was stolen from him and you are going to put that crime right. It has been my honour to help, even in a small way. Now go."

Magna was torn with indecision. He knew what Judith was planning to do. She was going to sacrifice herself so that they could get away. She was going to die. Because he brought Fin to her door. He was...

Fin's breathing hitched and a ripple of pain ran through him.

Shit. Judith was right. He could not save them both.

"Get a move on," Judith said. "Stop time wasting." She shooed her hands at them.

Rebecca made the decision for them both. She took Magna's arm and pulled him away. "We have to go to Morven."

"Then go to Yami," Judith said.

Magna did not turn back.

Chapter Text

Morven looked like she had been asleep when she opened the door to Rebecca's pounding. She did not make any comment as she let them in.

Once they were inside, she said, "Is there a reason that the hag sent you to me this time? Put him down here." She had a tidy cot made up at the side of the room which seemed to be for this purpose.

Magna complied. His arms were aching. Fin's breathing sounded worse after the journey through the tight streets. There had been no sign of recovering consciousness, which both relieved and terrified Magna.

Morven busied around. She had Magna put Fin onto his side the way that Judith had, then tilted his head back which improved the sound of his breathing. She ran bony fingers over the marks on his neck and tutted. "Show me what she gave him."

Magna produced the empty sachet. "Judith said he was bleeding inside," he said.

"I know that. I can feel it without my grimoire. It’s his liver. I can fix it, but she always goes and makes things more complicated with her remedies."

"He was in agony," Magna said. He felt fraught. "We couldn't bring him any other way."

"I understand. But for this, I would have come to you. Again."

Rebecca put her hand on Magna's arm. "It's complicated, Morven. It would be better if you forgot we were here."

She looked up from Fin and inspected them both with an astute gaze. "It's catching up. She gets overinvolved, always has. Can't be helped. Right. I'm going to heal up what I can. That bleeder first. The swelling around his windpipe because that's going to get worse. Step back, kids."

Her mist magic was as dense as the last time. The air was cool and the smell of the ocean was overwhelming. She did not mutter this time.

"I have to go," Rebecca said. She was placing the bottles of rum on the table alongside a pile of money. "I need to get my brothers and sisters out of here. There should be enough for Morven. You take the rest."

He watched her for a moment, then whispered, "I'm sorry, Rebecca. I didn't mean for this to happen. You're going to have to move away, and Judith is going to..."

She stood on her toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Judith's a good judge of character. If she thinks you’re worth it, then I believe her. Plus, there was never much for us here. My da's been talking about getting the kids away from the city forever. Judith's given us enough to get started. Tell Fin that I'll miss him and that he's got to wrap the yarn from back to front." She transferred a small set of knitting needles and a ball of wool from her bag into Magna's. "I hope I see you both again, Magna Swing."

Magna wrapped her in a hug. "Me too. Thank you. For everything."

She hurried out into the street with her bag clutched in her arms. Magna wondered if she was crying too.

Morven took another twenty minutes. There was condensation on every surface and Magna was damp and cold by the time she said, "Put on the kettle, boy. I'm nearly done here."

"We shouldn't wait around."

"You shouldn't, but if you move him before my magic has time to work with the body, you'll undo it all. It'll take half an hour, then it's as safe as it'll ever be."

He filled the kettle with water and set it on the fire to boil. He fed his own magic into the glowing embers to bring them back to life. As the kettle began to whistle, the mist evaporated and Morven emerged. She wiped her hands on her skirt. "Done."

Magna only had eyes for Fin. The boy was deathly pale and still. There were dark bruises around his neck, but his breathing was quiet and steady.

Morven followed his gaze. "I've done what I can. That bleeder's stopped and I've taken down the swelling in his windpipe. But the blood loss and the bruising will have to take the long way. A Recovery Mage could fix it up, but it's beyond me at this stage of life. I guess there is still a reason you're avoiding the infirmary?"

Magna nodded, then remembered what Judith had told him to do. "Well, no. We have to go there. I've got something to deliver to one of Judith's friends. And we have to speak to a Recovery Mage to get there."

She nodded. "The infirmary has a spatial mage on duty all the time. It's the best way to get somewhere fast. Must have been an important friend."

Magna was about to answer, but she waved her hand. "I don't want to know. I know enough about that hag's life to do me forever."

She began to pour the tea. "Not all the infirmary is a good place. You have to be careful. You walk in with him in that state and they're likely to send you straight to the charity ward without a second glance. You go, and you ask to speak to Owen. Just Owen, understand. If he questions, you tell him that it was me that healed him, and he doesn't need anything else done."

"Judith's friend told me to go to Owen."

She seemed pleased. "Then the person is a good judge of character. I left the infirmary because of the money and the prestige that it's soaked in. Owen's the best they've got. He'll see you right. Drink your tea."

Magna drank. Morven checked the money that Rebecca had left. She took out a few coins, then slid the rest back to Magna. "You need that more than me. I'm keeping the rum. "

Magna pocketed the money.

"Now, your brother. I healed the bleeder, and I did a better job of it than they did the first time round. It’s one of the old injuries that they had healed with a half-assed patch job. No wonder it broke down. This will hold better. But he's going to have to rest for two weeks. And I mean proper rest. Not housework. And he won’t be fit to travel for another two after that. This isn't like last time when it was just an infection that needed healed. He's practically bled out into his abdominal cavity. His body's going to be in overdrive trying to make up for the loss and you can't hurry that."

“Sivert thinks he killed him.”

"He was almost right. I won’t say anything to change his mind."

She finished her tea, then stood. "Now, I've got an old wheeled stretcher out back. We'll use that to get you to the infirmary, then you can wake him long enough to get where you're going. He'll manage twenty minutes at most.”

They bundled Fin in blankets because Morven said that blood loss affected the body's temperature system and he was going to need to be kept warm. Fin did not move when Magna lifted him again and carried him to the back of Morven's house. The stretcher had one large wheel and a waterproof hood. It could be handled by one person if necessary, but two were better as it let Morven keep an eye on their sleeping passenger as they walked.

Fin did not twitch as they made their way towards the infirmary. People moved out of the way respectfully, and never gave them a second glance. Magna wondered if Morven had to do this a lot. There seemed to be limitations to her magic, so perhaps she had to take people to the infirmary when her magic was inadequate to the task.

Just before the infirmary, Morven indicated he should stop. She untucked Fin from his blankets and roused him by rubbing on his chest. Fin flailed and tried to hit out. "He's going to be sore. The recovery spell washed all of the drug out of his system. Be gentle with him."

Fin opened his eyes suddenly and went from half asleep to wide eyed panic just as quickly. He was scanning around frantically, and it was only when he locked on Magna that the panic eased. Magna helped him free himself from the blankets.

"Fin. It's okay. I told you I wasn't going to leave. Come on. We've got a job to do for Judith." He paused as he said her name. Shit. He glanced towards the Wild Broomsticks, but there was no sign of smoke in the distance and no tug of powerful magic. Fin followed his gaze, but there was nothing to see and he looked back at Magna as he tried to stand. He needed all of Magna's assistance, but pulled away when Morven came close.

"He's never seen you before," Magna explained as he got Fin's arm over his shoulder.

"I come, do the hard work, none of the recognition. What did she call you again? Little Badger and his Shadow. Good fortune."

She turned the stretcher towards home and walked away, muttering under her breath.

Magna was taking all of Fin's weight as they walked towards the main entrance to the infirmary. He was trying his best, but his feet were dragging and he was consumed by shivers.

Unlike the journey through town, everyone here was watching them, and none of the expressions were friendly. Magna had to contain his anxiety for fear that Fin would pick up on it, even though the smaller boy was struggling to even stay awake.

An older man came hurrying towards them. It was a mark of how out of it Fin must have been that he barely reacted to the man's hand on his arm as he helped take some of his weight. "Boys," the man said. "Do you need help? Well, of course you need help. Come on, let’s get you inside and we'll get you checked over."

"No," Magna said. "We're here to see someone. We were told to come."

"We can work that out once your friend is sitting down."

"Don't scare him. He's deaf," Magna said.

"That doesn't mean he's not about to topple over. Come on."

The man helped them in through the large doors and then towards a set of grand chairs. "Excuse me sir," a young woman in Recovery Mage overalls said. She was staring at Magna and Fin's clothes with an air of disgust. "Shouldn't these patients be at the charity ward. I can have them taken there immediately."

"In a minute. My goodness, can't you see he's about to collapse."

"But sir."

"Go away. Now." The young woman scurried away and the man sighed. "I'll need to get you somewhere private in a minute, but let me see him first."

There was something warm about this man, Magna realised. He had a sudden urge to trust him. Perhaps he could look after Fin. Maybe he could get him healed up properly.

Then he glanced around and saw that the stares from outside had followed them. Magna had never felt so unwelcome.

"I'm sorry sir. We don’t want to bother anyone. We're here to see Owen."

"Well, you've found him. I’m Owen. Tell me what happened to your friend."

Magna was scanning the room in much the same way as Fin would have if he had been able. "I don't think we should be here." The level of hostility was building.

Owen looked up, and snapped. "We are a hospital. Anyone who thinks this young man should not be here can come and speak to me about it later. Now, unless you have a reason to be here. Leave."

There was such authority in his tone that most of the people hurried away. The few that lingered looked irritated, but did not argue. Owen ignored them.

"We already went to a healer. Morven. She said I was to tell you that she had done everything that needed done."

Owen smiled and his worry eased. "Ah, Morven. That's good. So he just needs to rest if she's done her usual excellent work. I can see if there is anything else I can do?"

"No. No. That's not what we're here for. I was given this. He said I had to give it to you."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the two notes he was keeping safe. He stuffed Judith’s note back, then handed over the crumpled paper that Yami had written on. Owen read it. Magna had tried to read it himself, but except from the signature at the bottom he had been unable to decipher the writing. Reading had never been his strong point anyway.

Owen could read it. "Yami wants you. Both of you."

"I have something to give him." Then we're leaving, Magna added to himself.

Owen looked them both over with new interest. "Ah, well, there's no doubting his recruiting techniques are eccentric. Very well. The sooner we get you to Yami, the sooner your friend..."

"He's my brother," Magna said. The lie had become easy to say.

"Good. We'll get you and your brother to the Bulls, and then he can sleep off whatever Morven healed."

Fin barely reacted to Owen pulling him up again. He sagged against the Recovery Mage.

"Would he let me carry him?" Owen asked Magna.

"Not normally. But maybe like this?"

"I guess you've been carrying him for most of today. I can take him if he will let me?"

There was something about this Owen, Magna thought. Maybe it was the fact that Morven, who Magna trusted, and Yami, who Magna did not, had both vouched for him. Or, perhaps it was the way that Fin relaxed when he was lifted properly into the man's arms. If Fin could trust him, then maybe he was what he appeared to be.

Owen led Magna through two short corridors, into a larger room with a small dias in the centre. There was an old mage sitting with a newspaper in his hand. He jumped up at Owen's entrance and gave a quick salute. "Mr Owen. Where are you needing to go?"

"I don't want to skip in front of other people, but these young men need to go to the Black Bulls hideout please.

"It's never any trouble," the spatial mage said as he prepared to open the portal. "Just give me a minute. The old mana isn’t what it was."

"Thank you. I might require the return portal in about half an hour. I will contact the office to arrange it."

"Very good."

Owen indicated for Magna to lead, but Magna shook his head. "Can we go together, sir? I've never been in a portal before." It was true, but it was more than that. He might want to trust this man, but it did not mean he was going to. He was holding Fin, and Magna needed to stay as close as possible.

Perhaps Owen guessed the true reason. "We can walk through together. If you put your hand on your brother's shoulder he won't feel worried even if wakes up."

Magna put his hand on Fin's shoulder, so he felt the boy jerk awake at the moment the portal appeared. It was so sudden that Owen nearly dropped him, and had to put him onto the ground as he tried to wriggle free. At first Magna thought it was panic, but then he realised it was something else. Fascination, maybe. Fin got his balance with Magna and Owen's help, and he wobbled towards the portal. He put out a hand to touch it, and Magna realised what Fin was feeling was sadness. It felt like a deep pit of loss, and Magna felt his own eyes prick with tears. He remembered that grin of joy as Fin made the portal on the morning they met. He had never seen the same expression on his face since then.

"Come on," Owen said. "Chester can't keep these things open for long any more."

Together, Magna and Fin stepped through to the Black Bulls’ Hideout.

Chapter Text

Magna had never seen anything like the building piled in front of him. It was if someone had taken all the little houses and shops in Rayaka and piled them on top of each other with no regard for gravity or aesthetics. It was both the most marvellous thing he had ever seen, and the most bizarre.

A voice rang out from inside. "Portal!" A window flew open two storeys off the ground and a figure jumped out. It made two leaps via a lower roof and a windowsill to land on the lawn with a crackle of electricity. The figure then ran towards them, laughing with excitement. Magna took a step in front of Fin and Owen. His grimoire was out without thinking and he summoned a fireball ready to fire.

"Stop," he said.

The figure, a boy about his own age, stopped running. But he did not stop moving. He bounced from foot to foot and laughed more. "Fire magic. Good. I could fight you."

Magna let his fireball expand. "Go ahead." He had had a stressful morning and his patience was finished.

The boy threw back his head in delight. Electricity crackled between his hands, "Yes!" He brought back one hand in preparation to throw a lightning spear. Magna brought back his arm ready to send the fireball to meet it.

"Stop!" someone yelled from the building.

The little lightning mage's throwing arm was suddenly motionless. He giggled. "Hi Vanessa. Do you want to fight too?"

Magna let his fireball dissipate.

Owen said mildly, "The next time you decided to do that, could you wait until I'm not behind you. And your brother."

Magna did not take his eyes off the threat. The lighting mage seemed to be tangled up in thin string. He was wriggling and still laughing.

"No. I do not want to fight," a young woman said as she walked around the boy. She was wearing a robe like Captain Yami's and... not much else.

"He wants to fight. You're no fun. Let me go and I can fight him."

"You can fight him once we know what his name is and why he's here with Owen and why that other boy looks like he's going to fall over." The almost naked woman, Vanessa said as she walked towards them. Magna did not know where to look, so he concentrated on keeping an eye on the lighting mage. He was grinning and trying to fire off lighting at the string that held him. More string flowed from the woman's hand to replace any that he destroyed.

"Owen," Magna hissed. "Is Fin okay"

"Yes. Well, he's mostly asleep, and I'm holding him up. But he's fine."

The woman came to stand in front of Magna. "Who are you? And why are you here?"

"My name's Magna and I have something to give to Captain Yami."

Vanessa nodded. "And who is with Owen and why is he about to pass out?”

At this, Magna chanced a glance behind him. Owen was supporting Fin's weight, but the boy's eyes were wide and wary. He did look ready to pass out.

"My brother. Fin. We met Captain Yami and I have something..."

Fin lost the battle with consciousness and his eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped to the ground. Owen controlled his fall so that the boy came to rest on the ground with his head on the man's lap.

"What the hell is all the damn noise?" The voice was loud and accompanied by the front door bursting open and a flare of powerful magic. Captain Yami marched out. "Fuck. One portal and five minutes later there's fireballs, lightning, and an unconscious kid on my lawn. Explain what is going on, Owen."

Vanessa and the lightning mage both started to talk, but Yami waved a hand at them to shut up. Owen was gathering Fin into his arms again. "Could we come in and put this kid to bed somewhere?"

"Sure. It's the deaf kid from the bar. Come on Magna, you too. Luck, you can come in if you promise not to fight Magna until after I've spoken to him. Then you can brawl to your heart's content."

"Yessir, Captain Yami," the lightning mage said. Vanessa released the strings holding him, and his lighting flared. He was good to his word though and it did not arc to anyone else.

Magna waited until Owen went past with Fin before following the others into the crazy looking building.

The front door opened into a common area with comfortable looking sofas and chairs scattered around the room. Owen put Fin onto one and Vanessa brought over a couple of blankets that he tucked around him. Owen seemed satisfied with his pulse and breathing. "Magna, come and sit with him before you burst," the Recovery Mage said.

Magna had not been aware that his agitation was showing. But he knew it had been building. Fin was so still, and he was letting someone he didn't know touch him. It felt wrong. Magna tucked himself against Fin's legs.

"Right, talk. Owen first," Yami said.

"Well, really, I only brought them here because of your note.”

"And why did the little one just collapse on the lawn?"

Owen looked at Magna, who said, "Sivert, who worked at the Inn, attacked him. One of the local healers fixed him up, but we can't go back to the Broomsticks." He did not elaborate further. The attack would have to be enough reason to explain why they had left. "Judith gave me a letter for you. We'll be away once we've delivered it."

He pulled Judith’s scribbled note out of his pocket and passed it over. Yami brought out a cigarette. He held it, unlit in his hand and gestured at Magna.

Magna stared him down. He wasn't performing tricks for this man anymore. Yami shrugged and lit it himself with a match, then unfolded the paper and read.

Magna stood up. "We'll be going now."

Yami threw back his head and laughed. "You ready to leave your brother now?"

"No!"

"Magna," Owen said. "Your brother isn't fit to travel. Even without my magic, I can tell he's lost a lot of blood. He's got extensive bruising that needs to heal. It’s going to be four weeks before you can take him anywhere but the infirmary. And I don’t think you want to be there either."

Yami leaned forward onto his knees. "I'll find out what I did to piss you off one day. But he'll be safe here. I promise."

Magna wanted to believe Captain Yami. He wanted to trust him. Judith had said he was good people. But the nagging doubt was still there. Yami had come looking for information for the Magic Knight who hurt Fin.

Magna glanced at Fin, asleep in a room full of people that he did not know. He had let Owen pick him up. The bruising around his neck was dark against the pallor of his skin, never mind the bruising that was now covered by his shirt and blanket.

What choice did he have? He sat back down.

"Plus, I think you owe Luck a fight."

"We can stay, but just until Fin is able to travel. Then we'll leave. I don't want to be a Magic Knight and I need to take him home."

Yami nodded. "Understood. Do you want to find a room first, or can you fight with Luck before he breaks another chair?"

Luck, the lightning mage was bouncing on the back of one of the easy chairs. Every so often he would let loose a crackle of electricity and a delighted peal of laughter as he watched Magna. Vanessa was sitting nearby with her grimoire out and a sullen look on her face. "Please say you'll fight him. I need a drink."

Magna glanced away quickly. He thought she needed to put some clothes on.

"Please fight with me. No one else will and they're so boring."

Magna looked at Yami. This was what he had wanted Magna to do. Come and fight a little lightning berserker twice a day. It was ages since he had let his full magic loose, and the lure was strong. But he could not leave Fin alone with these people, "No. I've never met any of you before. I can't leave him with you."

Owen said, "Magna, he's going to sleep for a few hours yet. I can try my magic to see if I can add anything to what Morven’s done, but he still needs to sleep. Now would be a good time to go and have a bit of... well fun wouldn't be my word for it."

Magna pushed himself up off the sofa. "No. You don't understand. He doesn't know any of you. He doesn't know why I brought him here. He was hurt really bad, and I thought he was dead and Judith is going to..." He stopped. He needed to stop his mouth running away with him. "I don't trust you. Any of you."

"Look, Magna, we get it," Yami said. "We won't push."

"I can't. I know I said I would, but... I don't know you and..."

Why could he not get a breath? The room was spinning. He needed to get away, but he could not leave. His head hurt.

"Magna," someone was saying. The Recovery Mage. He needed to stay away from Recovery Mages. They were working with...

"Sit down kid. Before you pass out." A big hand pushed him back to sit and then shoved his head down towards his knees. There were people talking above him, but their voices were lost in the rush of blood in his ears.

Fin. Where was Fin? He had to keep Fin safe. Fin was his responsibility. There were too many people and he needed to keep them away and they could...

Someone was saying his name again. And telling him to breathe.

"He's okay, I think it's the stress and worry," someone said.

"No wonder. His kid brother looks like shit, Owen. You could heal that up better."

"I know. But trust is important. He asked me not to, and I won't break that. The healer he took his brother to is good. She's done the important stuff."

"Oh, you back?"

Magna shivered. He was suddenly cold and tired, but at least he could hear people speaking again. It was just Yami and Owen in the room. "Yeah," he said. "Sorry."

"No problem, kid," Yami said.

"Where did everyone go?"

"Out for a bit. Vanessa can keep an eye on Luck for a bit longer, but you really are going to have to fight him at some point or we'll never hear the end of it."

"Yeah. Okay. It sounds like fun." He yawned. Why was he tired?

Owen answered the question that he was sure he had not asked out loud. "You're running on adrenaline. You said your brother was attacked, and he's been badly hurt. Then you came to the infirmary and then here, both places you don't want to be. You're stressed and worried. Your body needs you to slow down for a bit."

"But I need to..." another yawn, "keep him safe."

"You are. Sleep for a bit, and then you can get something to eat."

Morven trusted Owen. Magna trusted Judith, Judith trusted Morven, and Morven trusted Owen. For the moment, he thought, that would have to be good enough. He let his eyes close.

Quiet voices brought him back to awareness. “What was on the note?” Vanessa.

“Almost nothing. ‘Keep them safe and give Magna time.’ That was it.”

"Magna hates you, doesn't he?"

"Yeah. I think so."

Magna was not sure if it had been the voices that woke him or if it was something else. He was tucked under a heavy blanket and he was warm and comfortable. He strained for the sounds of Fin, then heard mumbed sleep talking.

"Do you know why?"

"Not a clue. Thing is, I thought we were getting on okay. His magic is good, real precise and controlled, and he's devoted to his brother. I thought he'd be a good fit. Then, all of a sudden, he goes cold. It's like I pissed him off or frightened him, and I don't know what it was."

"Owen says you get four weeks to work it out."

"I know. Judith thinks he'll be a great Magic Knight, and she was right about you.”

"One day you’re going to do your own recruiting, and not rely on the woman who runs the bar."

"Maybe I'll get to an exam?"

There was a pause, and Magna felt sleep pulling him again. Then Vanessa said, "You think his brother will be okay?"

"Yeah. I'm less worried about him than I am about Magna."

"But you said he was deaf and didn't talk or use hand-speak or anything."

"Yeah, but there's plenty going on inside that head. It's like he's got these things he can't do, so he thinks his way around them. You should see him with playing cards. And you ask Magna if he can communicate. He's got this glare if you upset him and that's only worse if you upset his brother. It's uncanny. No, once he's better, he'll be fine.”

"Well, I suppose neither of them can be worse than Luck."

Yami laughed. "That's the spirit."

Fin's muttering paused, the restarted again. "It sounds just like he's talking to someone," Vanessa said.

"I know. Shame we don't know what he's saying or who he's speaking to. Nice kid."

The voices stopped, and exhaustion pulled Magna back under again. He felt a little bad about eavesdropping, but they should not talk while he was asleep.

-

"Magna, Magna. Wake up."

It was Vanessa again. Magna jerked awake. "What is it?"

"It's Fin. Something's wrong."

Yami was crouched beside Fin. The other boy seemed to be still asleep, but his face was tight as though he was in pain. It was like he was in the grip of a nightmare that he could not wake from. Shit. There was blood leaking from his ears.

"Don't wake him," Magna said frantically as he scrambled up. "It's worse if he's awake."

"What is..." Vanessa started to ask.

The door burst open, and the mad little lightning mage rushed in. "Whose magic is that?" he demanded.

"Not so loud, idiot. And what the hell are you talking about?"

The change that came over Luck was profound. He went from manic energy to the kind of focus that Fin showed to lists of numbers. "It's not only his magic," he whispered.

"What do you mean?" Magna said, at least as loud as Luck had been. He had a sinking feeling. He needed to know what Luck was talking about.

"Shhh. Can't you feel it?"

Luck crept towards Fin with a caution at odds with the person who had leapt out of a window to greet them. No one spoke until he said, "Someone else’s magic is here, all connected with Fin’s. Cold. It's far away, but it's strong."

Fin said clearly, "No. No. Leave me alone." His eyes were closed, and he was still dreaming. Blood was dripping down his face from his ear, and the cushion under his head was staining dark.

"Can you break the connection?" Yami asked.

Luck looked up. "No. It's like a tight thread." He let electricity dance across his fingers. "I can't get it."

"Where is it from?"

"Someone strong. Someone good to fight."

Vanessa said, "Can you show me?"

Magna moved to Fin's side and Yami shifted to accommodate him. Fin's eyes were still shut and he squirmed, but he did not show any sign of waking. Magna was afraid to touch him, until Yami grabbed his hand and stuck it against Fin's. "You said he needs to stay asleep. Keep him calm. You're the only one who can do that."

Magna glared at him. But Yami had a point. Magna took Fin's hand and pulled it to his chest and began to sing the nonsense rhyme. Fin responded a little and his agitation eased. Magna sensed the exhaustion running through him. If it had not been for the healing injuries, this would have woken him already.

Luck said, "I can try. Watch."

The air filled with Luck's electricity, crackling with light. Magna had to put his hand over his eyes. It flared, then settled, and Luck said, "You see it?"

Vanessa shook her head.

"Luck!" another voice yelled from the corridor, followed by pounding footsteps. "Boss."

This was someone that Magna had never met.

Yami held up his hand to him. "Gauche, it's okay. Hell of an attempt at getting sacked from supervision, but it isn't going to work."

"I can't see it," Vanessa said. She sounded irritated. "If it's a thread I can cut it, but I need to know where it is first."

Fin was beginning to wake. The blood flow had increased.

Luck tipped his head to his side like a bird. "It's getting stronger. It feels desperate. So angry."

Magna said, "I need my bag. We had to knock him out last time. Judith gave me medication. And we need to do it before he wakes up or he'll panic." No one moved. "Please."

Yami grabbed Magna's bag and emptied it onto the floor.

Magna was busy trying to find the little sachets, so he was not concentrating on the newcomer. He was saying to Luck, "Send your magic into it."

"Umm, Gauche. That's going to make it worse," said Luck.

"Idiot. Don't you see? If you make it brighter, I can amplify it with my mirror magic so that Vanessa can cut it."

Luck bounced on his feet. "But it's going to hurt Magna's brother."

"It's already hurting him. This is the only way to shut it off. If the stupid witch thinks she really can cut it."

"Sister lover. If it's a thread, then I can cut it."

"Wait," Yami said. He turned to Magna. "You understand what they are going to do. Luck's going to increase the magic in the connection, Gauche is going to make it visible and then Vanessa is going to cut it. It's going to be worse before it gets better. Should we use the medication first?"

Magna considered, then shook his head. "I don't know if we should be using the medicine after he was hurt. They should do it. I'll look after Fin." He pulled Fin up so that he was resting against his chest. He struggled, but he was still in the throes of the nightmare. That could not last for long.

"Good. You heard the kid. Go for it guys."

The air darkened as Luck pulled on his magic, then the room was full of fierce crackling as he focused it into something that no one else could sense. The air smelt of ozone and gunpowder.

Fin shuddered in Magna's arms. It was as if the lightning was feeding into him directly. His body lurched and Magna worried about Morven’s healing. Fin choked and suddenly his eyes were wide. He tried to get his hands to his ears, and Magna remembered him throwing himself against the wall. This felt worse.

"Quick as you can," Yami said.

The lightning's glare was suddenly reflected from a set of half a dozen mirrors. Magna had no idea where they had come from, but he guessed the newcomer's magic. They were arrayed around the room in a rough circle and focused their reflected light towards the centre of Luck’s magic.

Luck squealed with joy and the lightning surged again. Fin's body reacted with another spasm. He had been trying to reach his ears, but the muscles were no longer responding. Magna was not sure he was even breathing any more. The blood was pouring from his ears and his nose. Magna's hands were slick with it.

The mirrors shifted slightly, then again. On the third shift, the light reached a focal point that shone brighter than the sun. Luck cheered again.

Vanessa's voice was almost impossible to make out over the crackling of the lightning, but Magna heard her say, "I've got it. Hold it still."

Then there was the small snip of pair scissors. The lightning surged and Magna felt his hair stand on end, then it seemed to be absorbed by a single point and vanish. All that was left was the burning afterimages in his vision.

For a moment no one spoke.

Magna wrapped his arms around Fin. He was floppy, and at first Magna thought he was unconscious, until a hand grabbed him. "Hey, Fin. It's okay. I think they did it."

Magna continued to speak quietly as Luck said, "That was amazing. Did you see us, didja, boss? We totally found that magic and snipped it whatever it was. We're amazing."

"Yeah, yeah, Luck. Great job. Good job all of you."

Luck was flushed and sweating with exertion. He was bouncing from foot to foot, but he looked ready to fall over. Gauche was scowling, but he looked as though he had pushed the limits of his magic too. Vanessa was pale and rubbing her ears, but none the worse otherwise.

"Right," Yami said. "Gauche, Luck. Sit down." Gauche obeyed but Luck was still bouncing. "Now. Luck."

"But I want to see."

He was unsteady as he came towards Fin, but he was moving slowly so that Fin could watch even through half lidded eyes. Once Luck stood in front of them, he put out a hand and with infinite care, placed it at Fin’s ear. Magna could feel Fin watching despite the exhaustion.

"It was Fin’s magic," Luck said quietly. "But not only his. Fin's magic is fizzy, the other is cold. It's like a string that's become tangled together." He yawned. "I'm tired and you're warm. Can I sleep here?"

Without waiting for an answer, Luck crawled onto the sofa and lay down with his head against Fin's shoulder. Magna expected Fin to panic, or at least try to resist the new contact. But instead, he leaned into Luck and patted his head. Luck sighed. "I like you both," and he closed his eyes. Fin wriggled closer, and Magna shifted to let them both ease into each other. Fin's eyes closed too.

Yami, Vanessa and Gauche stared. Magna thought he might have grown an extra head.

"You..." Yami said, then stopped as if he did not know the rest of the words.

Vanessa creeped closer to Luck to inspect him. "He's really sleeping."

"I didn't think he knew how," Gauche muttered. "Does that mean that the new guy's on Luck-duty now?"

Yami looked at Magna. "Yeah, I guess."

"Good. Can I visit Marie instead?"

"No."

Gauche stood up and walked out the room in what looked like a sulk.

Magna looked at Vanessa. What was she going to do? Would she put some more clothes on? Or, Magna panicked, take more off? Instead, she reached behind what appeared to be the bar and pulled out a wine bottle. She opened it with her teeth and drank.

Yami said, "Shit, Vanessa. We've got guests."

"They're not guests. I wouldn't do that for anyone less than the team. Plus, look, Luck's sleeping. We can't let them go." She raised her bottle in a toast. "Welcome to the Black Bulls."

"We're not staying," Magna said.

"Sure, delinquent. We've got four weeks to persuade you." She sat on a chair and lay her head back. "So, I think the boss has questions for you."

Yami was staring at Magna. "You want to explain?"

The desire to confess everything to this man was almost overwhelming. Magna was tired. He was afraid. And he wanted to trust someone. He thought, maybe this man would be able to help.

Fin shifted against him and breathed deeply in sleep. The blood was drying on his face and neck. Magna's hands were covered in it. Magna was in no doubt that this was the Magic Knight's doing. He had turned up at the Inn looking for Fin. And not found him.

Magna felt sick. He had to concentrate on breathing for a moment to stop himself throwing up. There had been rage pouring through the connection with Fin. Luck had felt it. The Magic Knight had gone to the Inn, and Fin was not there. But Judith was, and she would have told him that Fin was dead.

And then, that rage.

It was no good. Magna pushed himself free of Fin and Luck. It must have been obvious what he was looking for as Yami stuck a wastepaper bin under his head and he threw up the little that was in his stomach.

No one could have survived that anger if they were in the vicinity. Judith was dead. She had died to protect them.

She had died because Magna had turned up at her door and told her the truth.

"You done?" Yami asked.

Magna nodded and pulled himself up. Vanessa was at his side and handed him a glass of water. He took it and drank. "Thank you," he whispered.

Yami's voice was almost gentle this time. "So, can you explain this?"

Magna paused. Then he said, "No." He was not prepared to trust Yami. But even if he had been, was he ready to accept someone else dying for holding this secret? No. He was not.

Yami looked at him with the penetrating stare that seemed to see into all of Magna's thoughts. He held his gaze for what seemed like a long time. Then he sat back and said, "Fair enough."

"But Yami," Vanessa protested.

"No. This is up to Magna. He's not being interrogated. If he wants to tell us, great. But he's not here because he's done anything wrong. You want to keep this private, that's fine, kid. But we will help you. You're a Black Bull. Hell, Fin's a Black Bull, and we look after our own. You can trust us. I promise we’ll wait until you’re ready."

Magna did not know what to say. He only realised that there were tears running down his face when Vanessa said, "Come here," and gathered him into a hug. "We're family, and we'll help."

He sobbed. He knew it was partly the panic from this morning, and the worry as Fin was caught up with that man, but more than anything else it was the certainty that Judith had died. He felt like he had killed her as much as the Magic Knight. Once the tears stopped, he said, "I’m sorry."

“It’s okay Magna.”

The door burst open and someone else appeared. No, two someones. The one who had opened the door was a short girl with dark hair and a beaming smile. "New people, and old people," she said. "Supper is served."

Behind her was a man with the palest face that Magna had ever seen. He had dark rings around his eyes as though they had been painted on. For a second, Magna thought his hearing had been affected as the man opened and closed his mouth as if speaking without making a noise.

"That's Charmy and Gordon."

"Nice to meet you, new squad members," the small lady said and shook Magna's hand warmly.

The pale man, Gordon was carrying a large pot with a serving spoon sticking out from whatever wonderfully smelling thing was inside. Charmy dished out food for everyone onto plates from the bar. It was hot, filling and the most amazing thing that Magna had ever eaten.

The smell woke Fin. Vanessa gave Magna damp handkerchiefs to use to wipe off most of the blood and Fin wiped his hands. He was hampered by the sleeping lightning mage who shifted closer each time Fin moved, so that in the end it was easier for him to just stay still and have his food handed over to him.

He still waited for Magna to eat before starting, but among the quiet chatter nobody was likely to notice.

The grumpy mage with the mirror magic returned and a small blue haired girl followed in his wake. Vanessa took charge of introductions, explaining that Gauche was obsessed with his sister, and usually Grey looked like a great hulking monster, but sometimes, if Luck was being quiet, she would show her true form. She introduced Magna as a new squad member from Rayaka with fire magic. Fin was another new member and Magna's little brother. Magna did not tell her again that they were not staying.

Fin was of far more interest than Magna given the sleeping lightning mage now curled up with his head on his lap. Grey crept forward and looked at Luck. "He's quite nice when he's like this," she whispered to Vanessa before she got her own bowl of food.

Fin watched everyone and became agitated when Gordon went behind him. Before Magna could say anything, Vanessa waved at Gordon and said, "Walk round this way just now."

Gordon nodded and muttered what seemed to be apologies.

No one did it again.

Magna did not feel like joining any of the conversations that flew over his head. He concentrated on eating and watching Fin. He felt on edge and angry. He did not want these people to be nice. He did not want them to be kind to Fin. They had to leave as soon as Fin was ready to travel. They could not stay here.

Fin ate two bowls, then weariness began to reassert itself. His eyes looked heavy as he tried to watch everyone in the room. Vanessa was sitting beside him, but she indicated to ask Magna whether they should swap. He nodded, and once he moved, Fin was calmer.

But he was picking up on Magna's unhappiness. Fin was having a nice time, but he knew that Magna was not. He did not know why. Fin did not know that Judith was dead.

But he knew that Sivert had hurt him, and that things were happening that he did not understand. He had learned to adapt to that. He pulled Magna close and tucked his arms around him. Magna could not help more tears coming from his eyes. He felt like he had done nothing but cry today. Fin rubbed slow circles on his back.

The others in the room were quiet.

Eventually, Vanessa said. "Come on. Let's find your room before Fin falls asleep on top of you."

Magna lifted his head. Fin's eyes were closing, but he was still fighting off sleep. Magna pulled himself up to stand and offered Fin a hand too. Fin looked at Luck, still asleep on his lap. "We can take him too, if he'll come."

"I'll carry him," Yami said. "But if he shocks me, I'm going to drop him."

Luck did not wake up but snuggled in closer. Magna helped Fin to stand and he wobbled, but the biggest problem seemed to be cramp from where Luck had been lying on him. Vanessa led them up a flight of stairs to a room with a door plate that read Magna and Fin. Fin was too tired to do much more than glare at it before they went inside.

The bed was one of the largest Magna had ever seen, which was a good thing because Yami deposited Luck on one side and said, "I haven't seen this lunatic sleep for months. You're keeping him until he wakes up."

Fin climbed on next and waited for Magna to join him. Yami laughed and said goodnight, while Vanessa gave them both a small kiss. Fin blushed.

Once Vanessa had closed the door, Magna slipped off his shoes and settled beside Fin.

Fin pulled up his shirt and showed Magna the bruises. "I know," Magna said. "She couldn't fix them all. We just have to wait for them to heal." Fin touched his neck too. "Anywhere else you haven't told me about?"

Fin did not answer, but Magna hoped he meant 'no' by lying back on the pillow and waiting for Magna to lie down too. As soon as Fin had his hand in the right place, he let his eyes close before Magna could start speaking.

Which was a relief, because Magna did not think he had any more words left inside him after today. He closed his own eyes and surprised himself by falling asleep despite the worries he knew were waiting for him.

Chapter Text

Magna woke early. The room was light, but the sun had not yet risen. Fin had rolled over in his sleep and his habitual hand on top of Magna had somehow found its way onto Luck. They were both still deeply asleep. Magna did not think the lightning mage had moved since Yami had left him on the bed.

It was the first time in weeks that Magna had woken without Fin's hand resting on his chest. He found he missed it, and he squashed the ridiculous pang of jealousy that someone might have taken his position so quickly. It meant he could get up without worrying about waking the other boy. Fin needed to sleep.

Finding a bathroom was easier said than done. It took ten minutes of searching, and he nearly got lost on his way back to the room with their nameplate. He was going to have to take that down if he wanted Fin to use the room of his own choice.

He pushed the door open to find Fin awake and terrified. He had squashed himself against the head of the bed and his breath came in short, panicked gasps. His eyes were wide and he was staring at the door as though it was about to admit the worst horror imaginable.

Well, shit, that's what happened yesterday. Of course he was panicking.

Luck was perched on the end of the bed. He had not approached Fin but he was watchful.

It took a moment for the fact it was Magna at the door to register through Fin's terror, then his face collapsed into relief. He threw himself at Magna and held tight and trembled.

Luck said, "Why is he afraid of the door? He was worried without you but that was okay. Then he saw the door was closed and he got like that."

Fin's breathing was coming back under control, but his heart was still racing and he had not lifted his head from Magna's shoulder. "He was attacked yesterday. The door was locked so he couldn't get out. Maybe it's that."

"He is very frightened. But he's not so scared now you’re back. Will you fight me today?"

"What?"

"Will you fight me today? You said you would yesterday."

"Sure. If you want."

Luck jumped off the end of the bed and wrapped Magna and Fin in his arms to hug them. "You're the best. It's Gordon's turn to watch me. I'd better go find him. We can fight after breakfast."

He bounded out of the room laughing to himself. He left the door open.

It was not until he was gone that Magna realised that Fin had not startled at the impromptu hug even though he had not been watching Luck.

"You're okay," Magna said to Fin as he pulled him to sit on the bed. "Sivert isn't here. He isn't going to hurt you. I can't see Luck letting anyone hurt you unless you agreed to fight him. You want to go back to sleep? Or are you awake properly?"

Fin had calmed enough to lift his head off Magna's shoulder when Vanessa came to the door. She was wearing only slightly more clothes than yesterday because of the chill in the air, but even still it made Magna want to look away. "Come on. Luck's up, so the whole place is awake. You think Fin's ready for the tour? I mean, this should really be a vice-captain's job, but if we have one, I’ve never met them. If I left it to Yami to get it done, you'd still be waiting next year. We can see the main spots before breakfast.”

Fin was watching her warily but seemed ready to come along when Magna stood to follow. Magna guessed he would sleep after breakfast.

As they left the room, Fin glared at the door plate again. Vanessa noticed. She was good at noticing Fin.

"You don't like that, do you?"

She was also good at talking to Fin as if he was his own person.

Shit. Don't get to like these people. That was not going to help. He could not start liking the Black Bulls. They had to leave as soon as they could.

"It's the writing," Magna explained. "He knows he should be able to understand it. Maybe he used to? I don't know. It's the only thing that makes him upset."

"How can you not know if he used to be able to read?"

Magna cursed himself. He had given too much away already. He was about to answer, and likely dig himself further into a hole when Vanessa said. "No, it's okay. It's not my business. You can tell me if you want. But we're the Black Bulls. It doesn't matter what your history is. Or your brother’s. You're family now. So, do you want to see the bath?"

Vanessa took them around most of the lower floors before breakfast. They saw bedrooms of all sizes, a billiards room, a music room, a small pantry, and several toilets. She was frustrated because she said the bath had been there yesterday, and she would need to have to have a word with someone called Henry.

Fin was as curious as Magna about their home for four weeks. He was nervous, and Magna remembered what Luck had said this morning. Perhaps it was the closed doors setting him on edge. It eased as they explored, but he would not open a door himself.

The library was the only room that he refused to entertain. When Vanessa opened the door to the book lined room, Fin crossed his arms and turned away. She pulled the door closed again and said, "Sorry. Not that room."

He was yawning and stumbling by the time Vanessa took them to the dining room for breakfast. Charmy had created a spread suitable for twenty people. Luck had found Gordon. The little lightning mage was sitting beside the quiet man and swiping whatever food Gordon put on his plate and eating it. No matter how quickly Gordon tried to eat something, Luck was faster.

Luck was laughing hysterically. Gordon looked weary. This looked like a regular morning occurrence.

Vanessa's threads snagged a piece of toast from Luck's hand. "Stop that. Or I'll tell Magna he's not allowed to fight you."

"Aw. Vanessa. You wouldn't."

"I would. Now be nice."

"Sure. Hey, Magna, Fin. Come and sit with me. Vanessa's being all grown up and bossy." He grabbed Magna and Fin's hands and dragged them to the table.

Again, Magna noticed that Fin did not pull back or startle at the unexpected action.

"Are you going to steal our food too?" Magna asked.

"Not today. I might tomorrow. Do you like pancakes?" He began piling a pancake with sauces, creams and sprinkles until the mess began to spill off the pancake and then off the plate itself.

Magna stared at it in horror.

"This isn't for you. It's for Fin. You'll have to make your own one, Magna."

Fin was bemused as Luck stuck his finger into the monstrosity and licked it clean. Then he slid the plate across the table

Vanessa sighed and said, "My god, Luck. We can't even take you to our own breakfast table."

But Magna wondered if Luck knew. Because Fin was smiling and digging into the sugary mess with enthusiasm. Perhaps the only thing better than watching Magna eat to make sure food was safe was to have it tasted first.

Damn. Magna really did not want to like these people.

Luck made himself another sugary mess and ate with the same abandon as he showed for everything. Fin's love of sweet things had not diminished with increased exposure, so Luck made it his mission that Fin had to try every topping.

Magna was more restrained in his choices. Gordon looked pleased to be able to eat at all.

"Is he doing that deliberately?" Vanessa asked.

For a moment Magna had no idea what she was talking about. Then he noticed that it had not just been the cream that Luck was tasting. Everything that he gave to Fin was tested first. It looked accidental until you watched closely.

Magna took some of his coffee. "Maybe. Fin doesn't normally eat until I do. I think he might have been given food with stuff in it."

"We need to beat up that friend of yours. Hard."

Who did she mean? It dawned on him that she was referring to the 'friend' that had attacked Fin before going to the Broomsticks. She must have thought this was the person that had drugged Fin.

"Yeah. They deserve worse than that," he said with feeling. He was thinking about the Magic Knight. Vanessa had no idea.

"Where's Captain Yami?"

"He doesn't normally make breakfast. Honestly, neither do I. Why do you think he never gets to the exam? We need someone with better organisational skills on this squad." She drank her tea.

"His broom’s not at the door," said Charmy. "I checked when I went to collect the strawberries. I would have made him crepes."

"He might be out then. Who knows? Like I said. We need someone with organisational skills. How are you at writing reports? "

"Reading and writing aren't my strong point. I could probably manage my name if that's any help?"

She sighed. "Well, not so much. But you can help with Luck-duty. That's better."

"Hey, Magna. Your brother's really tired. Can we go and fight now?"

Fin had pushed away the last of Luck's creations. He was swaying with fatigue, and his eyes were wide as he struggled to watch everywhere in the room at once. "I could take him to the common room," Vanessa said. "If you think he'll be okay with that?"

"No, no!" Luck said and bounced off the seat. "Let's take him with us. Vanessa can bring the sofas from the common room. He can sleep outside, and we can fight and you'll be near if he gets upset. There are no doors outside and it's sunny."

"What does he mean about the doors?"

"Oh, Fin's afraid of them," Luck explained without giving Magna time to frame a response. "He was hurt really bad, and he's worried about who might come through a door if it’s closed. Magna said. It's like how he prefers if someone checks his food first. And he doesn’t like it when people go where he can’t see them and touch him without asking."

Magna scowled at Luck. "You do those last things all the time."

"I know. Come on. You have to fight me now like you said. I'm going to find the best spot."

He ran out of the room. Gordon sighed and followed him at a more sensible pace.

"He makes no sense, does he?"

"You try living with him for months. It's like verbal hopscotch. He's got a point though. You could both do with some sun. I bet there wasn't much to be had working in the city. You bring Fin, I'll get the sofa's outside."

It did not take long for her to take the two large sofas out of the common room with her magic, but Fin was already asleep curled against Magna on the grass. Luck was hopping in front of them as he described the time that Captain Yami agreed to fight him. He was doing the actions as well as a blow by blow account.

Vanessa helped Magna position Fin on the sofa and cover him with one of the blankets. He never twitched. Then she settled herself against his feet with a book and a cup of tea. Gordon sat on the other sofa. He took his Luck supervision duties seriously.

Fighting with Luck was simultaneously the most fun Magna had ever had, and the most terrifying. He struggled for the right word to describe the experience and settled on exhilarating.

It had been so long since Magna had been able to let his magic loose it felt like letting a sluice gate open in a river. He had been constrained to pinpoint and control work in the city. He had kept practicing, but there were only so many fireballs you could get away with in a built up area. Practicing making them larger was something that only nobles in the big houses were able to do. So, Magna might be rusty with the big spells, but it did not take long to get into the way of trying to blow things up.

And by things, he meant Luck.

Luck was fast and had a shit-ton of magic. But he was careless and had no eye for strategy. Magna suspected that this was not because he had no eye for it, and more because he was having too much fun to worry about it. He was laughing as he fired off attack after attack and he left plenty of openings for fireballs sneaking in through his guard. Magna exploited them all. The air smelt of ozone and burning grass.

It felt like they went on for hours. He hadn't expelled this much magic in forever, and it was fantastic. Luck was not going to let up either. He was cackling in delight, even when Magna got a fireball through to singe his shirt. Magna had his own share of burnt clothing and his hair must be standing on end.

Vanessa called for time out. Charmy had brought out something that she called elevenses. This seemed to be cakes and small sandwiches cut into triangles. There was tea and juice and small pastry things. It was wonderful.

Fin was still asleep. Vanessa had brought out her own knitting and was now doing the same thing with the double pointed needles as Rebecca did.

Magna lay on the grass. Luck seemed to have used his reservoir of energy for the moment and he lay beside Magna to look at the sky. "That was the best fun. Can we do it again after we eat? I want you to try that big fireball, little fireball trick."

"Not sure my mana's going to have enough juice for that. But I can try. That lightning boot thing was pretty great. Think you could go faster than a fireball if I used a bat?"

Vanessa was staring at them. "Where the hell have you been for months, Magna?"

Magna rolled over so that he could look at her properly. He was too tired to do much else. Luck did the same.

"I worked in the docks. I mopped the floor a lot. Fired a few ovens. That sort of thing.”

"And we were here trying to cope with him without you."

Luck answered, "It's not Magna's fault that Yami didn't come to the exam and spot him."

"I'm going to get him an alarm clock."

Magna did not have enough mana to replicate his big fireballs after they had eaten, although he had more than he thought he should. Maybe there was something in the food?

They lay in the sun while Fin slept. Magna demonstrated the little fireballs and made them dance across his hands. Luck was enchanted and tried to replicate the effect with variable success. Vanessa laughed when he electrocuted his own fingers.

For a couple of hours, Magna forgot his resolve to not like these people, and he let himself forget that they had to leave as soon as Fin could travel.

Charmy had just taken lunch orders, and Magna was wondering how he was meant to eat so soon after those little sandwiches when the broomstick landed on the front lawn.

Yami stepped off and marched towards Magna without pausing. Magna scrambled to his feet. Something about Yami's expression made Vanessa, Luck and Gordon do the same.

"What the fuck did you do?" Yami shouted. There was dark magic pulsing through the air, and Magna took a step back.

"I..." he started to say, although he had no idea how he was going to complete the sentence.

"It's gone. The Wild Broomsticks is gone. What did you do?"

"Nothing. I... we..."

"Yami," Vanessa said.

"No, Vanessa. The Inn's destroyed. They found a body. The City Watch are all over it. They said it was pulverised by ice magic. I need to know what you did Magna." Despite Vanessa's hand on his chest, he was looming over Magna and the dark magic in the air swelled.

"A body?" Magna whispered.

"Judith is dead. Did you know? Did you do this?"

"No... I..."

But Magna knew that if he hadn't turned up at Judith's door, she would still be alive. He had done this.

Tears were spilling down his face and he was breathing fast. He could hear Luck saying, "Fin, it's okay. Don't worry. It's going to be okay.

Vanessa pushed in between Yami and Magna. "Magna, it's okay," she said first, then she turned to Yami and she was furious. "What do you think you're doing? Cool off. You promised you weren’t going to make him tell you what happened.”

“She’s dead, Vanessa.”

“You need to stop and think. It sounds like you think Magna had something to do with it."

“What if he did?”

Magna turned and ran.

He could not go far. Fin was still there. But he could not stand in front of Yami's fury.

He collapsed to sit at the base of the nearest tree and curled around his knees. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to concentrate on breathing.

He needed to work out what to do next. Yami thought he had hurt Judith. They could not stay here. Could they go to the infirmary? Maybe Owen would help.

He would not help if Yami told him he thought Magna was a murderer.

Shit, shit.

He could hear Vanessa still shouting.

“Do you think Magna hurt Judith? Look at him. He's a terrified kid and you just accused him of murder."

"I didn’t mean..."

"It does matter what you meant. That’s what you said. You don't have the whole story. But look at what you do know. They came here because Judith told them to. Something with seriously big magic tried to attack his brother yesterday. And now the Inn is gone and she’s dead. Don't you think there's a better explanation than Magna did it?"

There was a hesitation, then Yami said, "Yeah..."

"They're running away from the same thing that destroyed the Inn, you fucking idiot."

Another pause. "Yeah."

"Vanessa,” Luck said, “can me and Gordon let Fin go now? Because he's going to hurt himself."

Magna lifted his head off his knees and looked. Fin was frantic, trapped between Luck and Gordon. His hair was still untidy from sleep and his eyes were flicking between Yami and Magna. Gordon released his hold, but Luck changed his grip so that he was supporting rather than restraining. Fin launched himself towards Magna and would have fallen if it had not been for Luck.

Luck ignored Yami and Vanessa and brought Fin towards Magna. Fin did not push Luck away until he was able to get down and inspect Magna properly. He ran his hands through Magna's hair, and down his face and arms to check for injuries. "I'm all right," Magna said, but Fin was not satisfied until he had made his own assessment.

Luck stood over them both and glared at Yami. Lightning played on his fingertips.

Yami said, "Ah, shit. You're right Vanessa. What the fuck am I doing?"

Magna ignored them for a bit as he let Fin pull him into his arms and hug him. They would have to leave, but maybe it would be okay. They could make it work. Maybe Charmy could give them enough food for four weeks and they could hide out somewhere to let Fin heal. Then they'd go to Rayaka and stay out of the way of Magic Knights forever.

Finally satisfied, Fin pushed himself up to stand beside Luck. They both faced Yami.

Between their legs, Magna could see Yami rub a hand over his face. He was facing Luck and Fin with Vanessa to one side. "I'm not sure which of the three of you I should be more afraid of."

There was a mumbling voice and Yami turned to look at Gordon. "Okay four."

"Go and apologise," Vanessa said sharply.

It was an impressive feat to make Yami look small, but she achieved it. She pointed towards a spot a little distance from Magna.

Yami came to sit. Luck and Fin faced him together. They stayed standing.

"Vanessa's right," Yami said. "I messed up. I'm sorry."

Magna did not think he could speak. The tears were still running down his face.

"I don't think you did anything to the Inn. I think you liked Judith, didn't you?"

Magna nodded. Very quietly he said, "She saved us."

"Ah, shit. Look, kid, I know you've got no reason to trust me, and even less after I said that. But is there anything you know about what happened?"

"Give Magna a break. You don't deserve that now," Vanessa snapped.

"No, it's okay," Magna said. "Thanks Vanessa." Her expression said that it was not okay, and Yami had not heard the last of the matter, but she let him continue. "Yami's right. It is my fault."

Vanessa glanced at him. "Magna?"

"I took Fin there. We needed somewhere safe to stay, and she looked after us. I told her things. About what happened." He looked at Fin's back, then his own hands. "I told her things and that's what got her killed. She told us to come here because she thought it would be safe, but I couldn't get her to come. I wanted her to. But she said it was better if she stayed there so that she could... could lie about where we were."

Vanessa walked up to Yami and kicked him in the shin. Hard. "You asshole."

Yami rubbed his leg but did not protest. Luck and Fin let her through their human shield line, and she pulled Magna into a hug. "You are safe. Judith did a good job, despite that idiot there."

"Do you know who it was?" Yami asked. He was still being stared at by both Fin and Luck. Fin was not even glancing back to check what the people behind him were doing. Luck had allowed the lightning on his fingertips to die, but he still stood in readiness to attack.

Magna nodded.

"Who?"

"Oh, Yami. Shut up," Vanessa snapped. "He's just told you that his friend died because he told her what happened. The same friend you just accused him of murdering. Even if he did trust you, and I don't think he does, why would he tell you the same thing that got Judith killed?"

"Because I'm a Magic Knight?" Yami said.

Magna felt his breath catch and he coughed. Yami had picked the reason that Magna could not tell him.

Vanessa manoeuvred Magna so she could inspect him properly. "You can tell us. We're safe and we'll help. But we understand why you don't want to. That's okay. You can take your time. But we'll help. Even that idiot." She pointed at Yami. "Especially that idiot."

Magna found himself nodding, even though he was not sure if he could believe her.

"You can stay here. But if you want to go somewhere else, we'll help." Yami started to say something, but Vanessa waved a hand at him. "No. You've scared the living daylights out of a kid, Yami Sukehiro. You accused him of murder. He might not want to stay here. And I wouldn't blame him. We can speak to Owen and see if he's got somewhere for Fin in the infirmary until he's better. Or we can work something else out. We're not keeping you prisoner here. But we do sort of need your help with our Luck problem."

Luck did not look away from Yami but waved and said. "That's me, Magna," as if Magna had never met him before.

"I'm okay," Magna said. "I understand what happened. I think I want to get up now."

Vanessa offered him a hand. Luck finally looked away from Yami, and Fin took his cue. He visually inspected Magna from head to toe then took his free hand and leaned in against him. "Thanks Fin. Yeah. I appreciate it."

"I don't want to go to the infirmary." The infirmary was full of people he did not know. Maybe even that mage they had seen in the market. Luck, Vanessa and Gordon had protected them here. "Please. Can we stay? Just until Fin is better. Then we'll leave. Maybe..." he hesitated. "Maybe when Fin's safe, I could tell you what I know."

"Whatever you want, Magna," Vanessa said and hugged him again. “Come on. If I know Charmy she'll have realised that the drama is over and arrive with lunch about..."

"It's lunchtime," Charmy yelled from a window. "It's going to rain, so you all have to come eat inside."

Luck positioned himself between Yami and Magna. Vanessa took up the rear position so that she could watch them all. Yami let himself be herded back into the hideout. He took a seat at the far end of the table and ate without speaking.

Fin looked ready to sleep again. What had just happened was probably not on the list of restful activities that Owen had said he should be doing. But he brightened at the spread of food that the sheep dished out. He did glare at Yami regularly, as if to remind him that he was being watched.

Luck decided that he was going to be on his best behaviour for one meal. Magna wondered if it was so he could keep an eye on Yami too. Vanessa was quiet, and even Gordon did not speak. Gauche had stayed away.

The only one not affected was Charmy. She chattered away happily, oblivious to the chill in the atmosphere.

After the happy morning, the hideout felt cold after lunch. The weather did not help. Rain pounded against the windows and the wind rattled at the shutters and seemed to find its way in through cracks in the stonework that were invisible to the naked eye. Fin fell asleep before lunch was finished, so Magna carried him back to the common room. He had wanted to take him back to the bedroom from last night, but Vanessa had vetoed that. "You're not going to sit up there all by yourself."

"Fin's there."

"Sleeping. Come on, he can sleep just as well where we are."

Yami made himself scarce, to Magna's guilty relief.

They spent the afternoon working through a cupboard full of board games without instructions. Fin slept despite the comings and goings.

Vanessa and Gordon settled to a game with little letter tiles that they had played before. Luck made it his mission to steal all the letter 'P's from the bag, and then convinced Magna to see how they responded to lightning and fire magic from their place tucked against the back of the sofa. Once the tiles were a molten mess, Luck was satisfied and pulled out game after game to teach Magna to play.

Luck had as much of an idea of the rules as Magna did, but there seemed to be a lot of forfeits in Luck's versions. It did not take Luck long to work out how bad at cards Magna was, so his hair was soon standing on end because of the number of times he lost.

Despite the games, Magna felt uncomfortable. He kept glancing at the door, and he imagined every noise was Yami about to come marching down on him again. In the end, Luck stuck a chair under the handle in case Magna's gameplay would improve if he paid more attention. It did not work, but Magna appreciated the gesture.

Every so often Magna would catch Vanessa looking at them with a grin on her face, or Gordon with a relieved smile. Magna wondered what entertaining Luck had been like before.

Charmy brought their dinner to the common room so that they could eat while Fin slept. Charmy had a small dish that she instructed Magna to heat at regular intervals so that it would stay warm for Fin to eat when he woke.

And still Yami stayed away.

Fin woke during dessert. His colour was a little better, although he was still very pale. He hunted out Magna first, then Luck and Vanessa. Gordon and Gauche had joined them, so he noted them before scanning the rest of the room.

"I don't think Yami could be hiding anywhere," Luck giggled as he ate. "He's much too big for that. You should come and try this trifle, Fin."

Charmy looked horrified. "No, no," she said as she slapped Luck's hand away. "He's got to eat his main course first. It's full of goodness and just what Owen said he needed." She pushed the covered dish towards Fin's part of the table.

Fin was suspicious, but Luck eased things by lifting the lid and tasting the stew inside. "Hey, this is good. How come we didn't get any of this?" He was licking his lips.

"Because you didn't nearly bleed out, silly. Now give Fin his fork and let him eat on his own."

Fin began to eat. He was hesitant, but it must have tasted as good as the rest of the food that Charmy had served, because soon he was eating as fast as normal. He grinned at Charmy.

"He likes you," Magna said. "He used to do the same with…"

He stopped. He had been going to tell them how Fin had bonded with Judith over food.

Something of his thoughts must have shown on his face. Vanessa touched his hand and said, "Judith?"

He nodded and looked away. He did not want to cry again. Was it always going to be like this?

"Hey Gordon," Luck said. "Did you see me and Magna fighting? It was the best."

Once Luck had finished his blow by blow description of the fight that Gordon had been there to witness, Magna felt his equilibrium had returned.

Fin had been distracted by food so had missed Magna's sadness. Charmy might have been responsible for that as she poured another spoonful of stew onto his plate and then lined up the various desserts for later.

Magna smiled. It was just like Fin had watched Judith when food was involved.

Yami returned after they had eaten. Luck and Fin both stared at him with identical expressions of hostility and Vanessa said, "You'd better be here to apologise properly."

"Yeah. I guess. I kind of went off the deep end. Sorry."

Magna stared. He got the feeling that Yami did not apologise often. Or ever.

"So, yeah. Could we sort of forget I ever said that stuff?"

"Umm. Sure."

Yami took a deep breath and then said to Vanessa. "Good enough?"

"Adequate," she said. She turned to Magna, "Do you think you can tolerate him in the same room now? I can send him away if you can't."

"No. It's okay. It's your house. I can... it's okay."

She came to lean down in front of him. He really wished she would put more clothes on. "No, Magna. It's not okay. That's not how we treat our squad. But if you think you can live with him, then we can let him back in. Hopefully, he's learned his lesson." She looked at Yami. "Don't expect me to call off Fin and Luck."

"Understood."

Fin and Luck continued to glare at him for the rest of the evening. The more wine Vanessa had to drink the funnier it became. When the exhaustion hit Fin again, he decided that he could trust Luck to watch Yami on his behalf. He curled up on his sofa and stared at Yami until he fell asleep.

Vanessa fell asleep draped across his feet.

Luck was still wide awake and perched on the end of the sofa between Magna and Yami. He had not stopped staring. Magna was not sure he was even blinking. Magna did not know how Yami was able to read his newspaper with Luck's unwavering attention fixed on him.

Magna was thinking that he might go to try to find the bedroom again when Yami said, "You are a good fit, Magna. Vanessa's right. I should have remembered that. If you decide that you want our help with what happened to you and Fin, we will. There’s going to be an investigation into the destruction of the Inn and Judith's murder. The Purple Orcas are the nearest Knight squad, so they’re going to be lead on it. They're a shit squad. They won't find anything. But we can look if you want us to."

Magna's breath had caught in his throat. The Purple Orca. "No," he choked. "No. We can't."

Yami knew he was missing things, but he nodded. "Okay. When you're ready though. We'll keep your brother safe." He returned to reading his newspaper.

"Thank you," Magna said quietly.

Gordon had to help Magna move Vanessa off Fin's legs, then the quiet man held the doors open to let Magna carry Fin back to their room. Luck followed. He walked out of the room backwards so that he did not take his eyes off Yami. Once they were in the corridor, he bounced and said, "Do you think you could get Yami to fight you? That would be a good fight. I could help."

"No. I do not want to fight Yami."

"But you'll fight me tomorrow?"

"Sure, if you want."

"Yes. Come on. Let's go to bed."

Magna was not sure if he had agreed to Luck coming into their room again, but he bounced on ahead. He pointed out the door plate. Instead of “Magna and Fin” it was now an illustration of three stick people. One had lightning on their hands, the other fire and the third a small wobbly circle. Luck pointed to it. “What’s that?”

Magna shrugged, but he had a good idea. He wondered how the person who did the door plates knew about Fin’s magic. Fortunately, Luck lost interest at Magna’s shrug.

He curled up in the same place as he had last night and he looked so comfortable, Magna did not have the heart to ask why he was there. Luck's eyes were closed before Magna put Fin onto the bed. "Is he sleeping?" Magna asked Gordon.

Gordon shrugged as he replied so quietly that Magna could not understand him. Maybe it was 'Who knows, I've never actually seen him asleep before'.

Magna woke through the night to the sound of light rain against the window. He was unsure what had woken him, until he heard a voice say, "I don't want to."

Luck answered sleepily, "Don't want to do what, Magna?"

"It's not me," Magna said. "It's Fin."

"Don't want to leave Langris," Fin said.

"Who's Langris?" Luck whispered.

"I don't know. Someone he knew from before, I think."

"Before when?"

"Shh. Before here," Magna said. "I want to listen."

But Fin did not say anything else they recognised. He continued to mumble for a while before turning over and lying quiet.

Luck propped himself up on an elbow and rested his head on his hand. "We should find out who Langris is."

"Yeah. I don't even know where to start."

"I suppose not. Maybe we'll meet him one day."

"I guess. Go to sleep Luck."

Chapter Text

According to Vanessa, Luck was almost bearable with Magna’s company. For the next two days, they fought in the morning and then spent the afternoon ‘getting up to mischief’ as Fin slept. Gordon looked less harried, and Vanessa seemed to have developed an afternoon drinking habit that was probably not good for her. The change came on the evening of the thunderstorm.

The weather had been bad with wind and rain building to a climax that sent them all indoors. Magna had not met the Luck that everyone spoke of until now. Sure, he had been odd, impulsive, and more interested in fighting than anyone should be, but there was nothing that seemed stranger than the rest of the Bulls.

Then, over the course of the afternoon, he became more manic than anyone Magna had ever met. He leapt around the furniture and electrocuted everyone at least twice. Gordon and Gauche hid in their rooms, but he still managed to torment them by stealing their belongings. Every time Magna sat down, Luck was bouncing around beside him.

"We can't fight now. Have you seen the weather?"

"Sure we can. We can fight here." Lightning flickered at his fingertips.

It was as if the storm outside responded and lightning flashed along with a crash of thunder loud enough to rattle the windows. Luck jerked up to look. At the time, Magna thought he was tensing to attack, because he threw himself off the sofa and into Vanessa with a yell.

"God damn it, Luck," Vanessa snapped as she wiped spilled wine off her robe. "I thought Magna had domesticated you."

"No. I want to fight, and he won't play. Will you, will you, will you?"

"No. I absolutely will not fight you, Luck. Go and I don't know...."

There was another flash of lightning and crashing of thunder.

"Yami. Yami. Fight me. It'll be fun and we can..."

Luck stopped speaking. His eyes had been drawn to Fin walking towards him.

"Hey," Vanessa said. "Fin, you don't want to fight him."

Fin ignored her. He was focussed on Luck, so the only way to attract his attention would have been touch or getting into his line of sight. But there was something so serious about him that Magna hesitated. For the first time all evening, Luck was not trying to pick a fight. Something was happening that they did not understand.

Fin stood in front of Luck without being electrocuted. Without any hesitation, he put his arms around the lightning mage and pulled him close so that he was wrapped in a hug. There was another flash of lightning and now that Luck was no longer bouncing around the room, his flinch was unmistakable. He squeezed his eyes closed and Fin patted his back. As he did, he glared at Magna, Vanessa and Yami as if they were to blame for upsetting Luck.

"Do you think," Vanessa whispered, "that he's afraid of the thunder?"

Fin brought Luck to one of the sofas and pulled him to sit. Once he had found himself a comfortable position, he put his hands over Luck's ears.

It was as if the fight drained out of Luck. One minute he was full of surging adrenaline, the next he relaxed against Fin and took a deep breath.

The next two rolls of thunder made Luck tense again, but Fin did not remove his hands. Luck tried to squeeze in closer and hide his head in Fin's shirt.

Magna realised that Luck was sobbing. Well shit. The little mad thing was scared.

Vanessa stood and walked towards them. She glanced at Fin before touching Luck, because he was the one with the understanding they lacked. She took Fin's lack of response as tacit permission, so she rubbed Luck's back. She did not speak.

The next crash of thunder was louder than the others, but Luck did not react this time. The shuddering sobs slowed too. And eventually even that stopped.

Luck was asleep.

For a long moment no one spoke, and the only sound was the pounding rain against the windows.

"Well, shit," Yami said eventually. "That might explain some stuff."

"What, like he's terrified of thunderstorms?" Magna asked.

"Yeah," Vanessa said. "But when he's afraid, he gets more... Luck. He's been like that a few times, but I never even guessed he was frightened. I'd have said he couldn't be afraid. Shows what I know. Little idiot."

Yami stood and fetched the blanket from the other sofa. He draped it over Luck. Fin stared at him, but it lacked his usual animosity.

Fin took his hands away from Luck's ears and settled himself back. His own eyes closed, and he fell asleep leaning against the lightning mage.

Even Charmy's arrival with food did not wake them.

Vanessa speculated that perhaps the electricity in the air affected Luck's magic. Yami said that he doubted anyone else in Luck’s life would have recognised what Fin had. Luck only woke when Magna decided to go to bed himself and had to try to extract the two sleepers. Fin stayed asleep as Magna lifted him, but Luck looked out with wide eyes.

"You could have just told us you were frightened," Vanessa said as she offered him a hand to stand.

Luck shivered. "No one understood before."

She gathered him into a hug. "Silly, Luck. Come on. Fin will be looking for you if you don't go too."

Magna carried Fin upstairs and placed him onto the ever enlarging bed. The movement roused him, but he did not open his eyes until he was under the blankets.

“I’m going to be glad when I don’t have to carry you everywhere,” Magna muttered, and Fin smiled sleepily and let his eyes close again.

There was a particularly loud roll of thunder that shook the windows. Luck shuddered. Fin opened his eyes again and turned to look at him. Luck’s eyes were wide, and he was shivering. Fin held out his arm and the other boy came to cuddle in close. Fin patted his back until he fell asleep.

Life at the Bulls fell into a routine as Fin healed up. Charmy produced incredible quantities of food at regular intervals, Gordon was a quiet, reassuring presence and Gauche was caustic to everyone, but respectful of Magna and Fin's space. Vanessa was an unwavering support, even if she never put on any more clothes.

It felt like years ago that Yami had said Magna would have to fight a little lightning berserker twice a day if he came to the Bulls. He had not been far wrong. In the morning Magna and Luck would pull out all the stops in a raging battle across the lawn, then they would show off little bits of their magic as they let their mana recover.

At first Vanessa would bring out the sofa for Fin to sleep on, but as his energy levels improved, he liked to sit with her and watch Magna and Luck try to kill each other. It did not take as long as Magna thought it would for his colour to improve and for him to stay awake the whole day. Perhaps there was something in the food.

Fin seemed content that Luck was not going to harm Magna despite the lightning, fire, and occasional fists their fights involved. Vanessa made him bring the knitting that Rebecca had given him. He looked thoughtful as he followed Vanessa's lead, and Magna knew he was wondering where Rebecca and Judith had gone.

Their afternoons depended on what else was going on in the base. Gordon took them to explore the rest of the floors of the building and they found the room with the bath. Fin was as delighted with it as he was with the shower in the Inn. They helped Charmy in the vegetable garden. She was happy with Fin, but berated Magna for his inability to recognise what was a weed and what were small vegetable plants. In the end, Magna was only permitted to hold the watering can as Charmy said he was not going to get that wrong.

Magna spent a very bizarre afternoon trapped with Gauche as he cared for a hundred statues and dolls of the same girl. Magna tried to extricate himself from the situation, but Gauche seemed to be enjoying his company, or at least having someone to talk to about Marie. Magna did not have the heart to leave.

When he returned to the common room, he found Yami and Fin sitting at the big table with Fin’s playing cards. They both had a hand and a small draw pile in the centre. There was a small collection of candy in front of Yami and a much larger stack in front of Fin.

“I think he’s getting the hang of it,” Yami said. “Or you taught him what not to do.”

Fin put down his hand of cards and gathered his winnings. He put a candy in his mouth and grinned at Magna.

Despite all of Magna's efforts it felt like they were where they were meant to be. Fin had accepted the Bulls. It had taken a little time for him to lose his worry over Gordon, but when Magna found him curled up asleep on Gordon's shoulder, he knew that was going to be okay. Luck continued to test all Fin’s food, but Magna suspected it was now partly to see if Charmy was giving Fin better things than Luck was getting. Charmy let Luck and Fin into her kitchen to help make dinner one evening. The meal may not have been up to Charmy's usual standards, but they looked so pleased with themselves, no one had any heart to complain.

And now it seemed he had even bonded with Yami.

As the weeks continued, Fin picked up every card game that Yami showed him if they used the packs with the face cards altered to read eleven, twelve and thirteen. There was no need for Yami to teach him to count cards because he was already a far better player than even Vanessa. Fin cleared up at poker nights, even though he was only interested if they were betting with candy. His obvious pleasure at the games and his smile pulled Magna in against his better judgement.

Fin would slip Magna candy if his pile looked too small, but he never went easy on any of them.

-

Halfway through their fourth week with the Bulls, Magna woke to a pair of large blue eyes staring at him from the side of the bed. He had become used to Fin watching him, but this was a different person and a different kind of intensity.

"Where is Fin's grimoire?" Luck asked.

"What? Good morning?"

"His grimoire. Why does he not have it?"

It was too early for Magna to be trying to work out how to answer this. He played for time by checking Fin. He was asleep. He always had his hand on Magna at the start of the night, but it was random if it would be on him or Luck by the morning. Today his hand was resting on Magna, so there was no way he could escape Luck's question.

"Why do you think he had a grimoire?"

Luck frowned and looked at Fin too. He was thoughtful. "I can feel it. It's like it's missing. Like if you chopped off someone's hand, you could still see where the hand should be because the wrist is there. It's like that. His magic is strong, but it feels like it's all tangled up somewhere else. I've never felt anything like it before."

Magna hesitated. How should he answer this? He did not think that he could without either lying or giving away more information than he thought he should.

"Is it the same reason that he's not really your brother?"

This time Magna could not help answering. "What?"

"He's not your real brother. Well, not like a brother-brother, more like a brother-brother"

"Luck. What are you talking about? Fin is my brother," Magna said, but he was sure the lie was obvious.

"See, that's what I mean. He's your brother now. But he wasn't always. Something happened, and you've got to look after each other. Was it the same thing that took his grimoire?"

Magna lay back on the pillow and sighed. How much easier it would be to just tell Luck everything. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate despite the tears building up. He was so tired of trying to do this on his own.

Luck climbed onto the bed so he was sitting against the headboard. "You should trust people more, Magna. I know Captain Yami seems scary, but he's good people. He can help. We all will. And we'll keep Fin safe for you."

"I know. It's just..."

Luck patted his head.

"It's like when I was frightened of the thunder. Fin knew what was wrong. And he helped. We can help you and Fin."

"I know you want to. But the person who did this... What would happen if you, or Captain Yami, knew them? And did stuff for them? How do I know that he won't want to keep doing that job for them, even though he says it's okay to trust him?"

"Is it someone in the squad?" Luck asked.

"No. Of course not." As if Magna would be here if he thought someone on the squad would hurt Fin.

"Then that's easy. You're a Black Bull. That comes first for Captain Yami."

"I don't know."

Luck hit his shoulder. "You don't trust Captain Yami, do you?"

"No. I don't think I do."

"You need to go on a mission with him. Then you'll see."

And with that declaration, he jumped off the bed and ran out the door.

"Don't forget that we are going to have a fight after breakfast though," he yelled from the corridor.

Magna glanced at Fin, who was beginning to rouse with the bed's sudden motion. "As if I could forget that,” Magna said to him.

Fin looked over at Luck's spot, so he probably understood too.

Magna was nervous over breakfast in case Luck had done something, but the chaos was the usual affair. There were only a couple of more days until Owen's week limit, and Magna knew he should be planning what he was going to do afterwards. He had been trying all week, but every time he started to think about going back to Rayaka, someone would remind him what he was leaving behind. Luck would appear with another outrageous demand or Vanessa would say something kind, Gordon would give a shy smile, Gauche would let him touch a picture of Marie, or Grey would make him laugh with a transformation. Then Charmy would give him a plate of food that he had not known he wanted.

He realised he was becoming a Black Bull.

What the hell was he going to do now?

Yami appeared as Magna emptied his plate. Luck was vibrating on the seat beside him. Fin had picked up on either Luck's excitement or Magna's sudden worry and made a good guess that Yami was to blame. He stared at the Captain as he ate his toast. But he was eating as well as staring. Fin liked Yami.

"So, you want to go on a mission, Magna?"

"What? No? I didn't say that?"

"Sure you did," Luck said, with an unsubtle nudge that nearly knocked Magna off the chair.

"No. No, I did not. I did not say I wanted to go on a mission. You said that."

"He really wants to go," Luck said.

"I don't...."

Yami was talking over their arguing. "There is something that needs to be done. William and a couple of the Golden Dawn are going to clear bandits out of a dungeon down this way. He asked if I wanted to come along. You fancy it?"

Magna glared at Luck. But his stomach was full of butterflies. Did he want to go on a mission with a Magic Knight squad? The Golden Dawn! A real mission. He would never get this chance again.

He glanced at Fin, who was watching closely as he tried to figure out what was going on. Luck knocked his arm and said, "We think Magna should go with Yami to play in a dungeon, don't we Fin?"

The action should have made Fin startle, but like everything Luck did, Fin did not seem to mind.

He stood up and squared his shoulders as if preparing to do something brave. He tugged Magna up by the shoulders and marched him around the table towards Yami. He shoved him the last bit of the way so that Magna had to catch himself so that he didn't fall into Yami's arms. Yami was ready to catch him though.

Luck giggled. "See, I told you. Fin thinks you should go and play too."

Magna was blushing, and Yami threw his head back and laughed. Fin seemed very self-satisfied when he walked back to his seat, although there was a little high point of colour on his cheeks as if he knew he had been very bold.

"Right, so that's agreed. Your brother says you need to come."

Yami brought out a map after breakfast and spread it on the dining room table. He pointed out the base, and then the location of the dungeon. "We have to travel there because William's spatial mage thinks portals are beneath him."

Magna had expected Fin to react to the map the way he did with all writing, but he was fascinated despite the small place names written next to the towns and villages. He traced roads and rivers with his fingers, starting at the base.

"Wow," Luck said as he put his face close to the paper as if that could reveal the reason for the captivation. "I've never seen Fin so interested in something before."

"He did it with lists of numbers. And the first time he saw playing cards."

"He did?" Luck sounded offended. "Fin has other favourite things and you never told us. What is it about numbers he likes?"

Magna explained briefly about the Judith's accounts. He felt a pang as he did, and Luck threw his arms around him. The brief hug made it easier to talk about the way Fin had played with Yami's cards.

“I still reckon once he can manage a room of people, we should take him out gambling. He’d clean up,” Yami said.

Vanessa hit Yami’s arm. But she was watching Fin. "So, he can't read or write, use hand-speak or more than really the most basic gestures. He doesn't lip read or ever show any indication that he might want to learn any of these things. But he can add lists of numbers, count cards and is interested in maps."

The plural ‘maps’ was accurate, because Yami had put another two on the table, and Fin was inspecting them all with equal curiosity.

"Right," Yami said. "Looks like you guys have something to entertain yourselves while we're gone. We'll see you tomorrow at lunch. Don't stay up too late or speak to strangers."

Luck's grin grew. "You're the stranger-est, Captain Yami. Have fun Magna."

Magna nodded. The sinking feeling he had expected to feel at leaving Fin was eased by his obvious comfort with Vanessa and Luck's company.

Fin sensed something was happening, because he looked up from the maps and inspected Yami and Magna at the door. He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out the pocket watch.

Well, damn. Magna had not even known he still had that. He thought it had been left in the Inn.

He handed it to Magna then looked around.

"Have you got a pencil and paper?" Magna asked.

When Vanessa produced a pencil, Magna drew the watch face with its numbers three times on the back of one of the maps. He marked out the current time on two of the faces, once for twelve hours, then for the next morning. The final diagram he marked with lunch time. He hoped it would be clear that he meant the hour hand would have to travel twice around the face. Fin looked at the diagrams, then at Magna. He did not look convinced, but he pocketed the watch. Then, sensing Magna's hesitation, he came to give him a quick hug and then a shove towards Yami.

"I think he wants rid of us," Yami said with a smile.

"He's got his maps now."

The dungeon was just beyond the Black Bulls' hideout, so the knights from the Golden Dawn had arranged to meet them on the lawn. Yami and Magna left the others indoors with the maps and walked outside together. "We won't need brooms," Yami said. "I think their rookie this year has a pretty nifty chariot spell. Although, if we're going to take their grumpy ass vice-captain, you'd think he could at least learn some portals."

"Is that the spatial mage who thinks that portals are beneath him?"

"That's the one. Just stay away from him. He's inclined to blow up at the slightest thing. He was bad enough before, but William says recently he's been worse. I think there was some family thing. Who the hell knows? Anyway, this little shit makes Luck look house trained. William's trying to socialise him again or something, but really, I just think he's torturing himself and the rookie. Stay out of his way, kid. Best thing for it."

Magna nodded. Stay away from the angry vice-captain, on a mission of five people. He could do that.

The steel chariot was sitting on the front lawn. Two Magic Knights in the neat uniform of the Golden Dawn were standing beside it waiting. One was a slight man with an elaborate mask covering the top part of his face. He broke into a pleased smile at Yami and Magna's appearance. Alongside was a young man, about Magna's age with small glasses. He looked familiar, but it took a moment for Magna to place him as one of the candidates at the exam.

"This is William Vangeance," Yami said, gesturing to the man in the mask. "He's the Captain of the Golden Dawn."

Magna knew who the man was. He had opened the Magic Knight exam, and if he had not, everyone in the kingdom knew about the Golden Dawn and its masked Captain. Even on the streets around the dock, he was well spoken of.

"William, this is my almost newbie, Magna. I haven't quite convinced him that he wants to join up, but he's handy with a fireball."

Captain Vangeance tilted his head as he looked Magna up and down. "The Luck problem?" he asked.

"Yeah. I think it's working too."

"Good. This is my new recruit this year. Klaus Lunettes, meet Captain Yami."

Klaus gave a neat salute. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir."

Another voice came from inside the chariot. "Are we quite finished talking to the peasants? Can we get on with this?"

Magna had missed the person seated inside the chariot. There was a young man with light brown hair and a sneer on his face.

"And that's vice-captain Grumpy," Yami said.

Chapter Text

Technically, the dungeon mission was a success.

Klaus was prickly at the beginning, but it did not take long for him to relax when Magna asked about his magic. The steel chariot was an excellent spell and like most young mages, he was keen to talk about the technical details. They discussed the 'Luck problem', as Klaus remembered the lightning mage from the entrance exam. He was polite about Magna's little fireball spell when they used it as a light source inside the dungeon. Yami and William discussed someone called Gueldre’s issue with thefts from businesses across the country as they explored in the fireball's light. Yami said he had put the list of places that things had been stolen from in with the kindling.

They chased out the bandits who thought they could make the dungeon their base of operations. The low level magic items were collected and prepared for transport back to the capital for safe storage and disposal if necessary, although Captain Vangeance deemed their power negligible. They spent the night next to the bandit’s lair to make sure there were no further incursions, and Magna spent a pleasant evening listening to the two Captains share stories of their exploits. Yami's efforts to one-up Captain Vangeance did not go unreciprocated. The tales got wilder and wilder as the evening went on.

On the other hand, vice-captain Grumpy was sullen and made it clear he was not interested in engaging in conversation on the journey or in the dungeon. He held himself separate even from his own team. Magna did not miss Captain Vangeance's concerned glances at his vice-captain.

He did not introduce himself, and by the time they had finished dealing with the bandits, Magna felt it would be rude to ask. So, he stayed vice-captain Grumpy. It suited him.

They slept around the campfire as everyone took a turn at watch. Magna spent his bouncing the small fireball across his knuckles as practice. In the small hours, he looked across to the vice-captain, and saw his eyes reflecting the firelight even though he should have been asleep.

By the morning, Magna wondered if the vice-captain had slept at all. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he was pale. His mood was no better, but it was hard to tell if it was any worse.

Perhaps tiredness and inattention were the reason they got caught in the rockfall. Or maybe it was just ordinary bad luck. Magna was at the rear, wondering if the vice-captain had eaten any breakfast, as Yami, William and Klaus took the lead. One minute they were walking, the next Magna was aware of a surge of ancient crumbling mana. He had enough time to throw himself away from the magic, then he was swallowed by darkness and noise.

It took forever for the rocks to stop falling, and then there was silence that lasted as long as it took for Magna to take a deep breath of the dust filled air. That triggered a fit of coughing that made his ribs ache. Once he could breathe he took a moment to pat himself down. There were some scrapes, but he decided nothing serious.

"Hey, everyone okay?" he asked.

For a very long time there was no sound. He was in complete darkness and his brain concluded that he was on his own and the others were dead. He was just considering if he could panic before he tried to find a way out when someone said, "I'm okay. I think."

Great. Vice-captain Grumpy.

"Anyone else?"

There was no reply.

"Just us then. Do you think the others are okay?" Magna asked.

"They’re fine. They were ahead of us. I can feel the space beyond. The rocks are blocking the passage, but it isn't deep. They'll be able to continue. We should take another route to the exit."

"Couldn't you blast it with one of those spells of yours?"

The vice-captain sounded tired as he said. "Yeah. If you want me to kill everyone on the other side. I don't know about you, but I think it'd look bad if I killed Captain Vangeance."

"Yeah. I guess."

"We should double back. There’s a passage on our left that will take us out."

Magna nodded, then realised it was a useless gesture in the darkness. He lit his small fireball and let it dance up to the roof.

He was struck by a sense of déjà vu that took his breath away. The last time he had used his fireball to light a darkened space like this had been the basement in the house with the stained glass windows. For a moment, it was not the vice-captain of the Golden Dawn he was looking at, but Fin with a chain around his ankle.

It did not help that the other boy, and despite his attitude and status, the vice-captain suddenly did just look like a boy no older than Magna, was pale and dazed. There was blood flowing from a cut above his right eye, but that was not what worried Magna most. The neat golden dawn pants were a bloody mess from the right knee to ankle.

"Did you forget to mention that, Sir?" Magna snapped as he pointed to the wounds.

"Hmm? Oh. I never noticed."

Ah, shit. Maybe the head injury, Magna thought. They needed to get out of here.

"When I say things like 'Are you okay?' I mean do you have a head injury, or a leg that looks like it got chewed by an angry mana beast."

The vice-captain stared at him as if he were talking another language. Again, there was that flash of déjà vu. It was the same expression as Fin’s when he knew someone was saying something important, but he had no idea what it was.

"Oh, never mind. Do you think you can walk?"

"Of course I can."

That was better. Magna would rather not carry the vice-captain, even if was no taller than Fin.

"And you can remember the way out of here?"

"Yes," the irritation was back. "I did some preparation before coming on this mission."

"I got told I was coming five minutes before we were due to leave."

Despite his claims, the vice-captain made no effort to stand until Magna pulled him up. Once mostly upright, he tried to put the injured leg on the ground, but it collapsed underneath him. He needed to use all of Magna's support to save him from falling again. "Shit," he whispered. "Yeah. Maybe that isn't so good."

He was even paler, and Magna thought he might be about to faint. "You need to sit down again?"

"No. 'S okay. Jus' give me a minute."

Magna supported him as he caught his breath. He was shivering badly, and the smell of blood was heavy in the air. "We should get that bandaged up," Magna said.

"No. Don't thin' I'm gonna ge' back up if I sit down. 's not far. Unless you wanna come back for me?" His speech was slurred, but still sensible.

"If you think you can walk, let's stick together. I don't want to leave you here."

"Wouldn' like that."

"Come on. Let's try."

He might have been a disagreeable little shit, but the vice-captain was determined, Magna would give him that. He could put no weight on the injured leg, but he did not complain, except to say, "I think it's broken," in a conversational tone.

"Probably," Magna agreed. It looked like one of the falling rocks had smashed into the leg, and if it could make that much mess to the muscle, he did not doubt it could break the bone too. They were leaving a trail of blood behind them, but he thought the other boy was right. If they stopped, Magna did not know if they could get moving again.

"You know," the vice-captain said. "Yami's probably right. A portal would be good right now."

"I don't know what you're talking about, sir."

"Portals." His voice was light, and almost giddy. It was unlike the surly, cross tone he had taken up until now. "You know. Spatial magic that goes somewhere."

"Do you think you could do that? It would be a help," Magna was aware he was taking more of the vice-captain's weight already, and they had not even reached the turn off that they were looking for.

"No. Wrong brother for that." He trailed off.

Keep him talking, Magna thought. If he did pass out there would be nothing else for them to do but sit and wait. He had not seen the map of this place.

"We could do with him now. What's he like?"

"'Was' he like. What 'was' he like. He died."

"Oh."

"I hadn't seen him for years. I wanted to. I wrote him letters, and he used to write back. Then he stopped. I thought if I was vice-captain, I'd get to see him, but..." He trailed off again. "He always had an excuse."

Something in the way he said it made Magna ask, "Your brother had an excuse?"

"No. The person he was staying with."

The fireball illuminated a corridor off to the left. The vice-captain was shivering badly now, but he was still getting a little of his weight on the uninjured side.

"My parents sent him away when he was thirteen to stay with someone who could mentor him. It was my mother's idea. She thought he was being a distraction. They sent him to a noble they knew, with powerful magic. My parents liked him. When I moved into the city, I wrote to my brother first, then the noble. The noble wrote back. He said my brother was busy. Or out of town."

"Did you ever try to find him?"

"Yeah." He paused. "My god. Why am I telling you this?"

"I think it's the head injury. You need to stay awake. Just keep talking. Is it this way?"

The vice-captain lifted his head and glanced around. "Yeah. Take the right at the end of this corridor."

There was a long pause. The other boy stumbled on the injured leg and would have gone down if Magna had not held him. "You want to stop?"

"No. No. 's okay. Just give me a second." He was breathing hard, but he must have brought the pain back under control, because he said after a moment. "I'm good."

"So, you never got to see him?"

"I wrote a letter to say that I'd found out the noble’s address, and I was going to visit whether they wanted me to or not. And then." He swallowed, and Magna thought he might be crying.

"You don't have to tell me. We can talk about something else."

"No. Captain Vangeance keeps saying I should talk about it. I don't think this is what he had in mind, but maybe a head injury is good for something more than making the room spin. It isn't spinning, is it? It is just me?"

"It's just you."

"The noble said that there had been a robbery at his house. My brother had tried to stop it, but he'd been attacked and died. They showed us his body, but he was so disfigured we couldn't see his face. It didn't even look like him."

"You hadn't seen him since he was thirteen."

"I know. But... but I thought I'd know my own brother."

"Maybe he'd changed?"

"Yeah. But I thought I'd recognise him.” He paused, then said, “I don't think I've been dealing with it very well. I can't help feeling that if I'd done something else, or tried harder, it might have been different."

The little fireball bobbed along ahead of them. Magna said, "I think I understand how that feels." He was thinking of that last conversation with Judith. He should have got her to come with them.

"So, you want to share your deepest secrets now? That's how conversations are meant to work, I'm told. I’ve never been very good at it. Again. Wrong brother."

Magna did not want to talk about Judith. He did not have a head injury loosening his tongue, after all. And he was taking more of the other boy's weight now so there was not much breath for conversation. "I've got a brother," he said. The lie felt true.

"Hmm."

Magna was not sure if the vice-captain was listening. "Yeah. I left him at the base. This is the first time I've not been with him in months. Feels strange."

"'s he a black bull?"

"Yeah. I guess. It's complicated. He can't hear or speak. But he's smart and he watches everything. I've got to look out for him and keep him safe. The Bulls help. I... I didn't think anyone could."

For a moment, the vice-captain did not speak, and Magna wondered if he had heard. Then, he said quietly, "You should look after him. That's good. Umm. I think I'm going to throw up."

"Oh, right. Yeah. Sure." Magna eased the other boy down, but he still hissed in pain and tightened his grip as the leg jarred against the ground. He vomited until he was dry heaving and trembling.

"Shit. Shit," he whispered as Magna helped him sit with his back against the wall. He was very pale and clammy in the fireball's light.

"You're losing a bit of blood from your leg," Magna said. He had avoided looking at the mess too much, but now that they had stopped, they should deal with it.

"Yeah. Lightheaded."

"I'm going to bandage it. Just, I don't know, stay awake. Tell me something."

"I didn't want my brother to be sent away. I wish I'd taken care of him like you take care of your brother."

"Hey, it's not the same. Sorry, this might hurt," Magna said as he wrapped one of his ripped shirts around the injured leg. The other boy shivered but did not react otherwise. "You were a kid. You tried to find him."

"Hmm."

"Golden Dawn. Stay awake. I don't know how to get out of here."

"'inral a'ways knew where ‘e was,” he mumbled, as his eyes closed.

"But like you said. He's not here. I can carry you. I did it to my brother before, you're not any bigger. But I don't know the way out."

There was no answer.

"Golden Dawn. Come on. I can't call you vice-captain Grumpy. Wake up."

There was no response. Damn. Was he going to be destined to forever carry unconscious boys that he just met? It was like Fin all over again.

"Come on, we'll go to the next junction. Maybe I'll be able to see the way out from there. Or at least hear something."

The vice-captain was lighter than Fin the last time Magna had had to carry him to bed. Months of proper eating at the Inn, and then even more at the Bulls meant Fin was no longer the emaciated kid that Magna had met in the basement. He was never going to be big, but at least his ribs were no longer palpable.

This little Golden Dawn vice-captain was as light as Fin had been. As Magna found a good position with the other boy on his back, he wondered if grief could be bad enough to stop someone eating. He guessed that the boy was bad at taking care of himself.

He was not quite unconscious when Magna started to move. Jostling the leg made him pull back and mutter. He sounded like Fin talking in his sleep.

They had walked for ten minutes and Magna was beginning to despair of finding the exit, when the vice-captain shifted against Magna's back. "Oh, back with us sir?"

"Yeah. Thin' so. How long?"

"Ten minutes. Do you need me to stop?"

"I ca' walk."

"Well, you're fine there for the moment. And we'll make better time. I've just been following this corridor."

The vice-captain put his head down and whispered, "'s embarrassin'"

Magna laughed. “I'll put you down when we get to the door. I won't let the others see if you want. I told you I did this to my brother. Only you talk. And you should really eat more."

"You sound like William."

"You should listen to him. There's a junction here. What way do we go?"

"Left. Should be nearly at the entrance. Can you let me walk?"

Magna lowered the other boy to the ground where he balanced unsteadily on the uninjured leg. The head wound had continued to bleed, and his eye was almost stuck closed. He was very pale and shaky. Magna glanced at the leg. The impromptu bandage was already soaked through.

Magna took his arm and pulled it over his shoulder for support. He was taking most of the vice-captain’s weight as soon as they started to walk, and their progress slowed.

"You did this for your brother?"

"He was attacked. He was badly hurt. He didn't wake up until we got the Recovery Mage."

For a few steps, they concentrated on walking. The vice-captain was breathing hard, and Magna could sense the effort he was having to put into staying conscious, never mind trying to help.

"I thin' it's the concussion speaking, but your brother is lucky to have you."

"I'm sorry that your brother died," Magna said, although it felt inadequate next to that grief. "I don't think you should punish yourself for it anymore."

"I'm not..." It sounded like an automatic response.

"Maybe not. But you should eat properly. And get more sleep."

The other boy sighed. "You sound like him."

"Sorry."

"No. He'd be right. You're right." He swallowed. "Shit. Can we get out of here before I make any more confessions."

"Sure. We should do that. I don't think it's far."

They rounded a bend and Magna could hear voices. Captain Yami's distinctive tones were arguing with someone much quieter.

Magna did not bother trying to hear what they were arguing about. "Captain Yami!" he yelled.

The vice-captain cringed. "Too loud.”

The two Captains and Klaus came running. Magna was suddenly unsteady as the vice-captain's weight was shared with William helping on the other side. The boy sagged and gave up the pretence of assisting. "Sorry, sir," he murmured.

"Klaus," William said, "Can you make your chariot again? We should probably make a visit to a Recovery Mage."

"Can't feel m' foot, Sir."

"Those bandages haven't been on for long, sir,” Magna said. "And they've already soaked through. He was unconscious for about ten minutes. And he's thrown up."

"'s not so bad."

“Save your breath,” William said as they reached the entrance.

The daylight was so bright that Magna's eyes hurt. He could only imagine how much worse must be with a head injury as the vice-captain whimpered and pulled away from the light.

Between William and Magna, they got the boy onto the carriage. Yami had arranged all their blankets so that the vice-captain could lie back and concentrate on breathing for a moment.

Yami peeled back the top of Magna's makeshift bandage. "Shit, vice-captain Grumpy. You made a proper mess of this." He pulled the shoe off and checked the circulation to the foot. The skin was mottled and swollen. William glanced over from where he was tucking another blanket around the boy.

"You need to get him to the infirmary, William. Circulation's shit, and he's still bleeding. He could lose it."

Magna felt a wave of nausea that he pushed down.

William nodded. "Are there any ways to help your chariot go faster, Klaus?"

"Less weight the better," Klaus answered. He looked as queasy as Magna felt.

"Me and Magna can get ourselves home," Yami said. "Magna's not a fan of the infirmary anyway."

The vice-captain managed to pull himself up to sit with William's support. In the daylight, he looked awful. Magna had let him walk like this. Maybe he would lose the leg because Magna had let him try to put weight on it.

"I can manage," he said to William, even though he was leaning heavily against him. William did not move. "Your brother's lucky."

Magna did not know how to respond, so he simply said, "Thanks."

"Quick as you can please, Klaus," William said.

The steel chariot rose into the air and sped off towards the city. Yami and Magna watched as it shrunk in size until it was just a sharp glint of metal. It was a very good spell. Once it was impossible to see, Yami said, “You carried him out of there."

"Only when he passed out. He helped the rest of the time."

"Magna, that was a compound open fracture. There is no way he was helping you at all. Stubborn little idiot." Magna was not sure if he meant him, or the vice-captain. Maybe both. "What did he mean about your brother?"

"I told him about Fin. Mostly it was to keep him awake, but he's sad. Very sad. I think that's why he's so unfriendly. He said his brother died. He last saw him when he was a kid and he got sent away. Then when he thought they might be able to meet up again, his brother was killed. He said he wasn't dealing with it very well. He doesn't sleep and isn't eating."

Yami looked impressed. "You got all of that from vice-captain Grumpy in half an hour."

"I think it was the concussion. I didn't do anything."

"Magna, you got him out of there. You dressed that wound as well as anyone except maybe Owen. You kept him conscious and you managed to talk to him. That's more than I’d expect anyone to do with that kid and I'm including William in that list." He paused and then crossed his arms. "If William comes to head hunt you to deal with his vice-captain, tell him that I found you first. You’re a Black Bull. Not Golden Dawn."

Magna smiled. The thought that William Vangeance might want peasant Magna Swing for the Golden Dawn was amusing.

"I'm serious, kid. That vice-captain is more work than Luck. You’re my solution. William's going to have to find his own."

"Yes sir."

"Good. Right, let’s find a couple of branches for brooms, unless you want to walk back to the hideout.

"No sir."

Yami used his katana to cut down two likely looking branches from a nearby fir. He was working on the second when Magna asked, "So, what is their vice-captain's name anyway?"

"No idea. I called him Grumpy before he became vice-captain. It fits. Don't know what his right name is."

As they flew home Magna watched the land below and let his mind wander. It did feel like flying home. It was not just that Fin was there. Fin has been Magna's home for months. It was Luck and Vanessa and Charmy and Gordon and Grey and even Gauche. The ramshackle, fickle old building with its itinerant bathrooms and a bed big enough for twelve people had become home.

Even the man flying beside him did not fill him full of dread anymore. Luck had said that Yami was good people. So had Judith. Perhaps they were right. He might be terrible at remembering names and inclined to fly off the handle, but he had brought Luck a blanket when he was scared and saved him from prison. He had seen that Fin was smart faster than anyone else and taught him to play cards. He had helped the Golden Dawn vice-captain even though he did not like him.

He had given Magna and Fin a home. He had kept his promise and not asked anything more about what had happened to Judith and the Inn. Luck had said that the squad came first for Yami, and Magna felt like a Black Bull.

Rayaka did not feel like home.

He thought about the Golden Dawn vice-captain too. What would it be like to lose your brother like that? To not even be sure that the body you saw was who it was supposed to be. No wonder the boy was grumpy. Who sends a child away because they are a distraction anyway?

Despite the bad temper, Magna found that he quite liked the vice-captain. He had never complained about the pain as they had walked out the dungeon, or even mentioned that he had lost feeling in his foot. He was embarrassed about being carried. Magna hoped he would be okay. Maybe he could take Fin to visit him? He was going to be laid up with that leg for a bit even if the infirmary mages managed to heal it.

He wondered what Rebecca was doing. He should ask Vanessa to help him write her a letter. He was sure she was okay. Rebecca was smart and resilient and there was no reason that the Magic Knight would have thought to look for her in Nean. It would be good to know that she was okay though.

That brought his thoughts to Judith. But they did not plunge him into despair today. He was sad. He knew he would always be sad about what happened, but Magna had told the vice-captain to stop punishing himself. Maybe it was time for Magna to follow his own advice.

He wondered if Yami knew any stories about Judith when she was younger. Magna would like to hear them.

Could they get Alys to visit Fin at the hideout?

Would Luck want to fight him this afternoon?

What was with Fin and the maps?

"Thinking hard, Magna?" Yami asked.

"I can't believe you don't know that kid's name?"

Yami grinned. "William told me. I forgot it. Don't think it'll look good if I ask him now. I keep hoping he'll drop it into conversation. But I think the bastard knows I can't remember."

They flew the rest of the way in silence.

-

They landed on the lawn of the hideout a little before lunch. Luck and Fin met them at the door. Fin was fidgeting with the pocket watch, and Luck said, "Fin's glad you're back. You'd have been in big trouble if you were late."

Fin smiled and stuffed the watch into his pocket. He came to inspect Magna from head to foot, then turned him by the shoulders to do the same from the back. He touched the transferred blood on Magna's pants and shoulder.

"Not mine," he explained as Fin made him take off his shirt so he could confirm. There were bruises and scrapes, but nothing that made Fin more concerned. He let Magna dress again then held his hand.

"Was he okay?"

"He hasn't been away from you for a long time. He couldn't settle at anything and I don't think he slept all night. He was worried. But the maps helped. Come and see what he did."

The same maps that Yami had laid out on the breakfast table were now spread out on the common room floor. The big one that showed all the kingdom was on top. It had been annotated with pencilled dots. Most were around the city, but there were other groups spread seemingly at random. Magna could make no sense of it, but Luck obviously knew more. He was bouncing on his toes. On the other hand, Fin was blushing as if he had given too much away.

"Okay, Luck. You figured something out. What is it?"

"Look at the places. You see where he's marked."

"The Capital, Kiten, Ayre, Tota, Raque. Some places that look like they're in the middle of nowhere."

"Gauche spotted it." Luck was barely containing his excitement. He pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper that looked like it had come from the trash. It had place names on it. "It's the the list of places Gueldre told you where things were being stolen. It's nearly the same."

Yami took the paper. By his expression, he did not think much of this Gueldre person, or his list of thefts. But he was interested in the map.

"Could be a coincidence," he said as he compared the two. "Tota's on the map but not on the list, and it's got the most marks of anywhere. The dock and Fishers’ Gate in the city are the same."

Luck was undeterred. "It's cool though, isn't it? I haven't got a clue what it means. But I like it. Fin had fun. Come on. It's lunchtime. Will you fight me after lunch, Magna? It's been so boring without you."

Yami was thoughtful, but good to his word. He did not ask Magna for an explanation. Magna had no explanation to give him anyway. He was as much in the dark as Luck.

Fin kept close to Magna all afternoon, which curtailed Luck's planned fight, but suited Magna fine. The rest of the team wanted to know about the dungeon mission, so Yami told them as they lounged around the common room. He made more of a fuss about Magna's rescue of the vice-captain than it really deserved.

"It was only half an hour," he said, when Yami told them that Magna had carried the other boy for three hours. But he could feel his cheeks hot. The praise was nice. "And he wasn't that heavy. Fin's heavier now."

"What was he like?" Luck asked. "Yami says he's worse than me."

Vanessa choked on her tea.

Magna shrugged. "Sad. Sad and angry." He did not say more. It was one thing to explain to Yami, but the things he had been told sounded private. Magna did not feel right gossiping about them with the team. "His leg was a horrible mess."

"And Magna dressed it properly. If that kid doesn't lose his leg, it'll be because of you, Magna. Be proud. Wonder if we can get a star even if you're not a proper Black Bull yet."

"And on that matter," Vanessa said. "Have you decided? Owen said that Fin could travel tomorrow. Are you going back to Rayaka?"

Magna looked at everyone. Luck's grin was huge. Vanessa and Gordon both looked hopeful. Gauche was staring at a picture of Marie, but it was with the distracted air that Magna had learned meant he was really listening to what was going on in the room. Grey was a girl and Charmy had stopped eating.

Fin tugged on Magna's hand. He was sensing the tension in the room.

Magna sighed. "I never really wanted to go back to Rayaka. If it's okay with you guys, maybe we could stay a bit longer?"

Luck cheered and fired off lightning that hit the ceiling. Little pieces of plaster rained down on them. Yami cuffed him about the back of the head. "Don't celebrate by bringing the place down on us. Once is enough for one day."

The others were only slightly less enthusiastic. Vanessa clapped Magna on the shoulder and Grey switched between Fin and Magna’s forms in rapid succession. Charmy declared loudly that this was worthy of a feast.

Gauche said, "Well, I guess we've had worse," which was probably the nicest thing Magna had ever heard him say about someone who was not Marie.

Yami grinned at Magna. He pulled a cigarette from the packet and held it up. Magna felt his own lips curl into a smile as he let the little fireball dance towards the cigarette and set it alight. “I still like that spell,” Yami said as he blew out the smoke.

Fin was cautious about the excitement, but the Bulls respected that. Luck was the only one to touch him, and like always Fin did not object, but patted the lightning mage on the back.

Things were beginning to settle back to their ordinary chaos when Luck began to cackle like a maniac.

"Umm, what is it?" Magna asked cautiously. He had a feeling that something that made Luck laugh like that could not be good for anyone else.

"We need an initiation ceremony!"

Chapter Text

At breakfast the next morning, Magna tried to convince Luck that they did not need an initiation ceremony. Magna knew he was going to be unsuccessful, but he felt that the token protest was necessary. Luck had laughed at him.

He tried his last excuse, "It might frighten Fin. He's going to have no idea what you're doing."

"Fin'll be fine. It's going to be good, isn't it Fin?" Luck knocked Fin's arm, and got a frown for disturbing breakfast.

"How do you do that?" Magna asked. "He never jumps when you touch him and he's not looking. He does it to everyone else." Even me, Magna did not add.

Luck shrugged and his grin got wider. "He knows where I am too. Look."

He climbed off his seat and made to take his plate back to the kitchen. Fin watched him for a moment, then went back to his own food.

Once Fin was eating again, Luck came back and stood behind him. He lifted a hand as if he was about to tap Fin’s shoulder. Fin spun round to look at him.

“Maybe he could see you in a reflection?" Vanessa asked.

"Nope. He can do it when I'm not in the room too."

"Why do you know this?"

"We were bored when Magna was away. Well, I was bored and Fin was antsy. I did experiments. I wanted to teach him to play more card games, but he couldn't concentrate. This was fun. Watch."

Fin had realised he was the topic of conversation. He turned back to Magna to see if he could offer some more clarity, but Magna had no idea how to explain what Luck was doing. As soon as Fin's back was turned, Luck threw a plate at the floor and it smashed.

Fin was out of his chair and ducking towards Magna before anyone else could react. He glared at Luck.

It took five minutes for Fin to settle and he would not go back to eating again. He sat so close to Magna that he was almost on his lap. He kept his eyes locked on Luck.

"Well, that proved you're impulsive and being unpredictable scares him," Vanessa said. But she was thoughtful. "We know he can’t hear, so maybe he reacted to Magna. I've seen him do that before. He always looks where you look."

"He was too fast," Luck said. He was sitting so still that Magna thought he might be apologising. "He was out of the chair before Magna had a chance to jump. Sorry, Magna, but Fin's reactions are faster than yours. He knew I did something."

"Maybe he knows that you are a catastrophe and need watching all the time."

Luck's grin grew. He pulled out a Black Bull’s robe from a bundle on the chair and dropped it over Fin’s head. Fin inspected it, then Luck and Vanessa’s. He gave a small shy smile. He understood what the robe was, if not why he had been given one now. He glanced at Magna as if wondering where his robe was. Luck said, "That was Fin's initiation. Your's is going to be so much better Magna."

'Better' was not the word Magna would have chosen for Luck's plans. In true Luck fashion, he had taken the idea of an initiation ceremony and added extra death and destruction. As he pulled Magna out into the garden he explained. "So, me and Gauche are going to throw all our best magic at you. If you survive you pass the initiation."

"And if I don't?" Magna muttered.

"Well, then you'll be dead," Luck said lightly as he patted Magna's arm. "Yami'll be pissed because he'll have to get someone else who'll fight me every day. But it means I get your puddings, so maybe it wouldn't be a total loss."

Vanessa grinned at Magna. "I won't let him go too far, honest." She let threads play across her fingers. "We are not going back to pre-Magna Luck. Ever."

"Oh, good. I can fight you too, Vanessa." Luck bounced on his toes. "No holding back now Gauche? We've got to give a good show."

"If I kill you both, can I go and visit Marie?"

"That's the spirit, Gauche. Hey, I could fight you too."

"Luck, it sounds like you're just going to have as much fun fighting Gauche and Vanessa by yourself," said Magna. "I'm not sure you need me involved at all."

"Nonsense. You're the best fun to fight of everyone. You come and stand over here."

Luck dragged him to a wooden stake. There was a piece of rope wrapped around it, and for a moment Magna thought Luck was about to tie him up. The fear must have shown on his face because Vanessa giggled. "He's going to kill me," Magna hissed at her.

"Only if you're too slow."

But instead of tying Magna to the post, Luck produced four balloons that he blew up and attached to different points of the rope.

"You have to defend the balloons. Me and Gauche are going to try to burst them. Yami's going to give us thirty minutes. If any of the balloons survive, I'll do the washing up for a week. If we burst the balloons, or you die, then you do the washing up for a week."

"How can I do the washing up for a week if I'm dead, idiot?"

Luck grinned wider. "Don't think you can use that as a way to get out of the forfeit. Protect the balloons."

Magna turned to Gauche. "What's in it for you?"

"If we burst the balloons, or you die, I get to visit Marie."

Gauche's visible eye was glaring so fiercely that suddenly Magna was less afraid of Luck's enthusiasm.

Fin, Vanessa, Yami, Grey, Gordon and Charmy made up the audience. Vanessa had brought out some of the sofas from the common room, and Charmy had made popcorn. Fin was nervous and stayed close to Vanessa with frequent glances between Magna and Luck, and occasional furious stares at Gauche. Yami seemed to think the whole pantomime was hilarious. He had beer.

Grey, in her own form, had pulled a chair further away from the action, but at least she had not retreated indoors. Charmy gave her a box of her own popcorn that she ate in the shelter of the east wing turrets. Gordon was muttering to himself. He was sitting with a box marked medical supplies that worried Magna.

"Now," Yami shouted. "The rules are, everything is fair game. The game is over when the balloons are burst or the timer runs out. If you hit a spectator, Luck, that person is allowed three free hits."

"Come on, come on, come on," Luck bounced.

"On the count of three. Three.... Two... One...."

Yami turned over the timer.

It was exactly as chaotic and terrifying as Magna had feared it was going to be. Luck set off a spear of lightning that burst one of the balloons before Magna even got his grimoire out, then the field was full of Gauche's mirrors. Magna had not seen Gauche's magic in action since the day they had arrived. For a moment he was distracted by how cool it was. The mirrors reflected back both magic and light, so the place was instantly filled with the images of Luck's sparks.

Luck used that moment of distraction to burst another of the balloons.

"Too easy, Magna," he yelled.

Right, Magna thought. Game on.

He fired off a large fireball at Luck, a smaller one towards Gauche. While they were dodging, he used the rebound from a mirror to get a little fireball through Luck's defences and set fire to his tunic. Luck whooped for joy and fired off some indiscriminate lightning for the fun of it.

Magna had been fighting Luck for four weeks. He knew that the lightning mage was impulsive and inclined to throw himself at openings whether they were real or imagined. He was also as pleased by Magna scoring a hit as he was of scoring one himself. Getting a hit meant there was an opening just afterwards as Luck celebrated on Magna's behalf. Magna had learned to follow up.

Magna got his second hit and Luck cheered. Then he applied his focus to the game at hand.

If Luck's fighting technique was familiar, Gauche was a total unknown. He seemed to be taking the battle very seriously, as if Magna would have expected anything else with a visit to Marie on offer. His magic complimented Luck's lightning. Magna found himself under assault from the mirrors on all sides.

But if Magna had only seen Gauche's magic once, Gauche had never watched Magna fighting. And a month of training with Luck taught you to fight dirty. Mirror reflections worked just as well for fireballs as they did for lighting.

It did not take long for him to work out that a fireball to the back of a mirror would either knock it out of alignment or destroy it altogether. Taking it out of alignment could send Luck's lightning back to Gauche or Luck and soon they were taking as many friendly fire hits as they were landing on Magna. There were a couple of close calls. One glancing lightning bolt made a balloon vibrate, but it stayed whole. A reflected fireball incinerated the rope that had held the first balloon, but it did not affect the others.

Magna guessed they had been doing this for fifteen minutes. He could hear Vanessa's cheers, and Yami's occasional shouts of encouragement, but not much else over the sound of fire, the crackling of lightning and the sound of smashing glass. He could not spare the concentration to even glance at the spectators to check that Fin was okay.

The third balloon popped when Magna stepped on it. He was avoiding one of Luck's lightning bolts aimed at his face. He accepted the loss. He liked his eyes, thank you very much. He set off a burst of indiscriminate scatter shot in response. Because of his magic, he was resistant to low level fire, but the others would not be. Even if his fireballs were returned they would cause him less damage.

Something must have got through, because he heard Gauche roar and Luck squeal.

"That's it, newbie," Gauche shouted. "No more games. Mirror Magic: Reflect Refrain."

If there had been too many mirrors before, now there were a thousand more. Even if Magna had not been in the midst of the battle of his life, he would have struggled to count them all. Luck yelled in delight and set off a barrage of lightning.

Magna knew this was it. There was no way he could defend a single balloon against lightning from so many points. He was going to lose the match. But damn, he was going to go out fighting.

"Fire Magic: Exploding buckshot."

Magna turned himself to protect the last balloon, so he was the only one on the field who could see it happen. The rest of the squad were focused on the destruction in front of them.

The accumulated lightning, pulsed light and fireballs scattered among the mirrors. Most of it rebounded back into the field of play, but because there were so many mirrors a significant portion of the power was directed away from the battlefield. By some fluke of the mirrors' angles, the power that was directed towards the hideout was concentrated into a single beam of power stronger than any other. It connected with the base of the east turret.

Magna could not hear anything over the concussive shocks of magic around him, but he watched as the base of the east turret disintegrated into dust and debris. The turret itself wobbled and began to tip.

The balloon burst, but he ignored it.

No one else could see what was happening to the hideout. Luck cheered somewhere, but Magna could not hear him. His whole focus was on the east turret as it slipped forward.

Grey was underneath it. She had moved her chair away from the other spectators, and now she was directly underneath the crumbling building. She was going to be crushed by the stone.

There was nothing Magna could do. He started to shout, but the noises were so loud that no one would hear. He could not fire a fireball fast enough to affect something of the size that was now beginning its fall to earth.

But Fin had been attuned to Magna's reactions for months now. He was not distracted by the noise of the battlefield and he could see that Magna was watching something in horror. He spun to face the same way.

By now the largest part of the turret was free of the brickwork and was plummeting towards earth and the unknowing Grey beneath.

Magna could not see Fin's face, but he could see the tension across his back as he threw out his arm and did something that Magna had only seen him do once.

He cast a spell.

This was in a different class to the little portal that Fin had made back on the docks. This was at least ten feet across and directly in the path of the falling turret. Grey sensed the magic above her, and she looked upwards in time to see the shimmering portal collect the first of the falling debris. Magna saw her put her hands over her mouth in fright.

The magic attracted the attention of the other spectators. Magna could see Vanessa turn at the same as he heard Luck shout.

The debris was now raining down into the portal, followed by larger chunks of masonry and broken glass. Magna took his eye away from it for a second, because he needed to see where Fin was sending the rubble. Was anyone else in danger?

The exit point was just to the right. The debris was flying through horizontally, until it was caught by the new direction of gravity and fell to the grass into a heap. As Magna watched, fragments of the roof began to fly through and tumble to stop beyond the rest.

Fin was still holding the portal open as the final remnants of the east turret fell in. By now the lightning and fireballs had silenced, and every Black Bull had turned towards Fin and Grey.

Magna could hear the last of the debris as it crashed to the ground through the exit portal, then for a moment there was silence.

He was never sure if it was just the quiet that made him think he could hear the portal close on itself. But he knew he could hear Fin hit the ground, unconscious.

Magna ran. He stumbled across the pitted earth and small fires that had not quite self-extinguished. He needed to get to Fin.

Vanessa was already kneeling at the boy's side with her fingers on the pulse point at his wrist.

Luck was shouting behind him, "Portals! That's his magic. I knew it was good."

Other people were speaking, but Magna only had eyes for Vanessa. "Is he..." he said. He was out of breath. 'Is he dead?' was the question he did not ask.

"His pulse is too fast, but his breathing is okay," Vanessa said. "I think he just fainted."

"But," Magna started, then could not finish. Fin was very still. He was ghastly pale, and showed no sign of recovering consciousness, but there was no blood at his ears this time. He’d just cast a spell that should not be possible without a grimoire, but maybe Vanessa was right. Maybe he had just fainted.

Come on Fin, he thought. Wake up.

"Magna.” Yami roared. ”You knew he could do that."

It was not a question.

"Yami," Vanessa said in warning. "You promised."

"He's a Bull now, Vanessa. So is his brother." He took a deep breath, then said in a quieter voice, "Shit. Magna. Do you think you can explain this to us now? How did your brother, a spatial mage without a grimoire, cast the fastest portal I have ever seen?"

Magna squared his shoulders and swallowed. This was it. He could not leave them without an explanation after they had seen that. And if Fin could cast spells like that, he needed his grimoire back. Magna knew now that these people would help him. They could help in a way that Judith could not. They could help him make this right.

"Yes. Okay. I trust you. But you need to promise, Yami. You need to promise that you won't send him back. Ever."

"Back where? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Promise."

"Shit. I promise I won't send either of you anywhere. Why would I do that? You belong here."

Magna nodded. "Okay. It's complicated though."

"I didn't doubt it. So talk."

But before Magna could say anything else, Vanessa interrupted. "Guys, it's going to have to wait. Call Owen."

Magna looked at Fin. He was convulsing. Blood was oozing from both ears.

The seizure only lasted a minute. It was enough time for Gordon to fetch the communication disc from the common room and for Yami to flip it on to call the infirmary. He was shouting at the mage who answered the call when Fin became still. Magna lifted him onto one of the sofas, and Gordon had blankets ready. Vanessa wiped the blood away from his ears.

"Owen," Yami said. "Are you busy? We could do with your help."

“What do you need?" Magna could hear sounds of a chair being pushed under a desk.

"Fin, Magna's kid brother, just cast a massive spell and passed out. He had a seizure but that's stopped. Fucking spatial magic too."

"But Fin doesn’t have a grimoire?"

"No."

Magna felt his chest tighten, but did not interrupt. He had Fin's hand in his own.

"His pulse is really slow, Owen," Vanessa said. "It was too fast a minute ago."

"It's called mana shock. Keep him warm. Don't move him too much. I'm on my way."

"Just you Owen? This is Magna we're talking about and he's still twitchy as hell."

"Understood."

Magna took the chance to glance at the others. Gauche was comforting Grey as she cried. At any other time Magna would have found the sight worthy of comment, but at the moment he was only glad that Grey was not on her own. Gauche's clothes were singed and his face dark with soot on one side, but he seemed unharmed.

Luck was perched on the end of the sofa, watching Vanessa and Fin. His usual grin was absent.

"Do you feel anything like last time?" Vanessa asked him.

Luck shook his head. "I don't think so. Maybe a flicker. It's gone now."

The blood had stopped flowing from Fin's ears.

Owen arrived at a brisk walk from the usual portal location. He was carrying a neat case and looked a little harried. He scanned the grounds, glanced at the remains of the east turret, then jogged towards them. His grimoire was already out and he had pulled on his recovery spell before he reached them.

"Yami," Magna said. "Make him promise."

"He doesn't have to. I promised. I won't let anyone else send you where you don't want to go."

Owen's spell encompassed Fin's body as he said, "What does he mean?"

"He made me promise not to send Fin back to where he came from or something. It doesn't make any sense, but I won't be sending them anywhere." Yami turned to Magna. "Neither will Owen."

The water magic had settled and now images of sea creatures appeared in the ripples. Long tendrils from one of these edged closer to Fin. Owen took a moment to look at Magna. He was very serious. "I promise. As far as I can see, you are meant to be here. I have no reason to want to send you anywhere else."

Magna nodded and breathed. Until he had a chance to explain it was as good as he was going to get.

"What is mana shock?" Vanessa asked.

"It's what happens when someone uses too much magic without a grimoire. Grimoires aren't just for the spells. They allow a mage to focus much more mana than they would without them. Unfocused mana causes mana shock if it's more than the body can handle on its own. We see it in kids coming up to grimoire age when they start pushing their abilities. Normally it's just a bad headache and a day in bed."

Luck looked like he was going to say something, but Yami spoke first. "But if it's enough magic to say, make a ten foot portal for a minute?"

"That can be fatal, if we don't stabilise the patient before moving them."

Vanessa put a hand on Magna's shoulder. He felt very cold.

"Magna, don't worry. Recovery magic is very good at this type of thing. It takes a little bit of time, but my spell can reset the disordered chemicals and..."

Owen stopped talking. He turned back to look at Fin. His expression had shifted from calm reassurance to something that looked like horror. The first of the water creatures had wrapped it's tentacles around Fin and the mana was pulsing.

Magna's first thought was that Owen could not fix this. There was something else wrong and Fin was going to die despite everything and...

Owen said, "Did they do this to you too?"

There was a moment of confusion before Magna realised what Owen was asking. The recovery spell was like Morven's. It could detect the catalogue of old injuries in Fin's body. Owen was asking if someone had hurt Magna the way that Fin had been hurt.

Magna shook his head. He did not think he could speak.

"Magna. If you are asking us to promise that we never send him back to the people who are responsible for this, then I promise. On my magic, and every one of the Bulls. Whoever did this to him will never get near him again. I promise. Yami promises too."

Magna believed him. Owen would protect Fin. He whispered, "Thank you."

"I should really get a forensic specialist for this, but the mana shock is more important for the moment."

"Owen," Yami said. "Can you explain?"

"Once I get him stable enough to come indoors, yes. I will explain. Although I think Magna knows more of the story than I do."

As Owen's spell worked, his expression got darker. Magna assumed that more injuries were becoming clear the longer the sea creatures had contact with Fin. But maybe it was something else. He had said mana shock could be fatal if the magic was too much. Perhaps he was about to tell them that it was too severe and Fin was going to die. Perhaps the portal was too big and...

Vanessa interrupted his spiralling thoughts. "Owen. Tell Magna that his brother is going to be okay, before he combusts."

Owen's attention returned to Magna and he sighed. "I'm sorry Magna. Vanessa is right. Your brother is going to be fine." Magna wondered if he imagined the hesitation around the word 'brother'. "You did the right thing. I've nearly finished stabilising him for the moment, and then we can get him indoors. I need to do a bit more work, but it's all routine and just takes time. My thoughts had taken a dark turn. You didn't want to come to the infirmary before, did you?"

"No."

"There was a reason for that. And a reason why you were looking for me by name, and no one else."

"Yes sir."

"Ah damn," Owen sighed. He wiped a hand across his eyes. Then he shifted back to business again. "Yami, could someone get his room ready. It'll be safe to move him soon. He's going to sleep for a while, so his own room where he feels safe would be best."

Gordon mumbled something and hurried off.

Owen glanced towards the pile of rubble. "Was anyone else hurt?"

Gauche and Grey were sitting on one of the other sofas. Gauche was very stiff, and Grey had her arms tucked around her chest but they were close enough to touch. That was information to file away. Magna expected Gauche to answer, but it was Grey who spoke. "I'm fine. Fin made the portal in time. Everything landed over there. He saved my life."

Owen nodded.

When Owen said that it was safe to move him, Magna stepped forward. No one questioned his right to do so. The recovery spell faded and there was just Fin, lying very still and pale, but breathing regularly. There was no more blood from his ears.

Fin was heavier than he had been when they had met. Magna could no longer feel his ribs under his hands as he lifted him. Momentarily, Magna wondered about the Golden Dawn vice-captain. Had they been able to save his leg? He would ask Owen once Fin was settled.

Gordon had made the room ready for Fin. The covers were fresh and neater than Magna would ever leave them. The windows were open and there had been more of Luck's discarded belongings all over the floor when they got up this morning. Magna placed Fin onto the bed, and Gordon arranged the warmed blankets. Fin did not react at all.

Owen set up his spell again. Gordon provided him a cup of tea and then left to do whatever he felt needed to be done.

Gauche and Grey had not followed them, which left Yami, Luck and Vanessa to position themselves around the room.

Luck crouched on the other side of the bed to Fin. Vanessa went straight for the windowsill and sat there. Yami pulled up the chair.

"Sit beside him," Owen said to Magna. Magna had thought speaking about this to more people would be harder, but he found their presence a reassurance. He was glad they were there.

Chapter Text

Yami said, “I don’t know which of you wants to start, but in your own time.”

Magna did not start speaking, so Owen said, “I can tell you what I found while my recovery spell works. That might make it easier for you to understand what Magna has to say.” He turned to Yami. “This boy has been tortured, Yami. I don’t have any other way to describe this pattern of injuries.”

“Magna said that Fin was attacked while he was doing the Magic Knight exam.”

“I think Magna has been economical with the truth.” He raised his hand to stall Yami’s next question. “When he explains I think we’ll understand better. I can start with the most recent injuries, which I think Magna has been honest about. When they came here, Morven had healed a serious liver laceration that caused massive internal bleeding. She did an excellent job, but it’s clear that the reason for the bleeding was inadequate scarring on an old wound from more than two years ago. He’s had at least one kidney laceration, maybe more than one, rib fractures on both sides, a fractured jaw, wrists and both ankles. He has serious lung scarring in the right lung from an under-treated infection. He limps because as well as the ankle, he had a fracture around the left knee that was allowed to heal badly.”

Vanessa was staring at Fin.

“His skull was fractured at least once. Possibly more than once, but the most serious time caused significant trauma to the brain. There is evidence that it was healed but it’s such a patchy job that they saved his life and nothing more. He’s probably had severe headaches since then, and likely some perceptual damage.”

“These things weren’t done in one beating, were they?” Yami asked. He sounded like he knew the answer.

“No. If they had happened in one beating, he would be dead. We’re talking years. Someone, probably more than one person I’d guess, used this kid as a punching bag. He was left in agony, with broken bones and internal injuries, and the only evidence I can find of any attempt at recovery magic are to the injuries that would have killed him. He was tortured, Yami. Systematically, over years. There are probably other injuries that I can’t detect because it’s not a diagnostic spell.”

Very gently, Luck put out his hand and ran it through Fin’s hair.

“I can’t even tell how old he is. He’s been starved through puberty at least, possibly longer. I’m going to assume that he’s only been getting adequate nutrition for the past few months. He’s lucky to be alive, and that’s not through any design of the people who hurt him.”

There was silence in the room as Yami, Vanessa and Luck took a moment to digest Owen’s report. Magna did not want to talk. He had known this but hearing it months after Morven said it unsettled him. He had stopped thinking of Fin as the boy in the basement. He had become his brother.

It was time for that to end.

Yami beat him to it. “He’s not your brother, is he Magna?”

“No.” He watched Fin’s chest rise and fall. “I found him. Judith said that it would be easier to keep him safe if people thought we were related.”

No one spoke.

“He was in the basement of a house in Fishers’ Gate in the city. I was sleeping on the streets, and it was wet. I thought I could get somewhere warm for a night, so I broke into this house with stained glass windows. He was on a mattress on the floor with a chain around his ankle. He shared his food with me. But someone had seen my light, and they came to investigate. I heard them on the stairs.”

He swallowed. He could hear every word Sivert’s brother and the man that Magna killed had said. ‘Think we can rough it up a bit?’, ‘One day we’re going to come down here to feed it, and it’ll be dead.’

‘Want to play little Fin…’

“They were going to hurt him. They’d hurt him before, and they were going to do it again just because he couldn’t stop them. They talked about him like he wasn’t a person. I tried to melt the links of the chain but it wouldn't break fast enough even though I burned him. I fired my magic at them as they opened the door. It was a lot stronger than I meant it to be.”

For a moment he found the words stuck. All he could smell was burning flesh. Was it from the dead man on the stair, or from Fin’s ankle? He could not breathe.

Then he was wrapped up in Vanessa’s arms and Luck’s staticky hand was running through his hair. Yami said, “Well shit.”

Owen had pulled back the blankets and lifted the ankle of Fin’s pants. He said, “That explains this.” The scar from the cuff was clear.

Vanessa let Magna go. She sat on the floor beside the bed. Luck squeezed himself between Magna and the head of the bed so that Magna was leaning against his chest.

“It was infected. It was bad when I found him and worse the next morning. I couldn’t think of anything else to do. He was sick and I’d rescued him, so I couldn’t leave him to die. I took him to the Inn.”

“Why not a Magic Knight squad? Or the City Watch?” Yami asked. “It’s not a criticism, Magna. I just want to know why.”

“I thought about it. But that house is one of the biggest for miles. It had to be a noble’s house, someone with money. I didn’t know if I could trust anyone. The Magic Knights are full of nobles.

“Judith got Morven to come and heal him. She wasn’t sure if she could at first, and she could only manage the infection that was going to kill him. She couldn’t fix his ribs or his jaw or any of his bruises. She said the same thing as Owen. There were all those old injuries with some healing if it looked like he was going to die. He was so skinny I could see where his ribs were broken.

"I told Judith everything. I didn't know what else to do. She said that whoever lived in that house would be looking for him. I couldn't take him on a broom to Rayaka, and I couldn't leave him somewhere while I worked. He panicked when I wasn't there, and he couldn't bear too many people in the room because he was afraid of what they might do. Judith said that we could stay, and I could work to pay off the healer's debt. When I saved up enough, I could get us back to Rayaka."

Yami interrupted. "Hold on, Magna. Back up a second. You knew Fin for less than a day, and you decided you had to protect him from whoever had kept him captive. That's why you stopped practicing your magic at the docks and started cleaning tables, isn't it?"

"He was my responsibility. I couldn't let them take him back. I didn't know who was safe."

"Shit. She was right. You were meant to be a Magic Knight."

"I didn't want to be a Magic Knight because that's who kept him in that basement."

The words seemed to rock Yami. He swayed as if they were a physical blow. "A what?" he said in a low voice.

Magna pulled back from the threat, but Luck was behind him. He hissed at Yami and put his arms around Magna in a protective hug.

"Stop being an ass, Yami," Vanessa said. "Now you know why he didn't want to tell you."

"Shit, Magna, I'm not angry at you. Of course I'm not angry at you. Just. You mean a Magic Knight did this to Fin? We're meant to protect people. That's our job. Protect kids like you and Fin. Not... this." He took a deep breath. "You know who it was, don't you?"

Magna nodded. "We saw him in the market. We'd gone to get stuff for Judith and Fin spotted him. He was there with a Recovery Mage."

"That's why you were so wary of the infirmary?" Owen asked.

Magna nodded at Owen, then continued, “Fin panicked. We ran, but I thought he was going to kill us anyway. He had his magic out and it was strong. A Green Mantis knight got in between us. He said something about ‘a slashing’. I wasn't paying attention."

"Jack?" Vanessa asked.

Yami's fury eased a little and the suggestion of a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He was still angry, but something about this part of the story reassured him. "Fuck. That was you. Jack said there were two kids in the market that some asshole was about to end because they'd stolen candies. He looked for you afterwards, but none of the stallholders would tell him anything. He thought they were protecting you. Bastard never said the asshole was a Magic Knight."

"Jack saved our lives," Magna said. "That man was going to kill us."

"Glad one Magic Knight in this story is doing their job. I'll introduce you and we can get drunk together."

Magna smiled. "I'd like that."

"So. You going to tell me who this guy is? Who did this?"

Magna took a deep breath and glanced at Fin asleep beside him. Owen's recovery spell was still active, but even through the rippling light his colour looked better.

Luck patted Magna's shoulder. "You can tell Yami. You know that now," he said.

"I don't know his name. But Yami does." Another breath. "He's the Purple Orca that you came to the Inn about. The one who was robbed, and you were asking if anyone knew about the thing that was taken."

Yami's mouth dropped open. For a long moment he was silent, then he said, "Excuse me." He stood and left the room.

There was a swelling of dark magic from just beyond the closed door, then the noise of furniture being smashed by a katana. The wall vibrated as something thumped it.

Owen sighed. "He's going to break his hand again if he keeps doing that."

Luck giggled and hugged Magna close. Vanessa patted his leg. "You're doing a good job, Magna."

"He's destroying the building."

"He's angry. You just told him that he helped the person who did this to Fin. Breaking stuff will help. Then we'll go break that Purple Orca bastard."

It took ten minutes for the sounds of destruction to fade. When Yami returned he was flushed and his hair was sprinkled with plaster, but he looked calmer. He came to sit and leaned towards Magna.

"He's the vice-captain of the Purple Orca. His name is Xerx Lugner."

Magna shivered. He was not sure how it felt knowing the man's name. For so long he had been the Magic Knight. Now he had a name for the person who had hurt Fin and killed Judith.

"When I asked at the Inn about the stuff that had been stolen, that's when you decided that you weren't going to come with me?"

"Yes. I didn't know if you were going to take Fin back to him."

"Oh, shit." Magna felt Yami's magic flare up, then pulled back under control again. "Fin was the thing that was stolen. Shit."

Magna nodded. "Judith thought that the Magic Knight was using his magic. A spatial mage would be handy if you were going to do things you shouldn't."

"Oooo," said Luck. "The robberies, Yami. There was a reason Fin marked those places on the map. I bet Xerx Lugner was using Fin to steal stuff from Guledre."

"That would make sense. But Fin's not going to be much use for spatial magic if this is what happens when he casts a spell." Yami waved a hand at the sleeping boy still encased in recovery magic. “It’d be handy, but less than a good cat burglar. There's lots more useful magic for a thief than simple line of sight portals."

"Magna," Luck tucked him into a hug again. "You're going to have to tell them about the grimoire."

"I know." He looked up at Yami. "Fin has a grimoire. Or he had one. I think the Magic Knight must have taken it. I heard the men on the stairs talking about it."

"I can feel it," said Luck. "It feels like he's missing a hand or something."

Yami, Owen and Vanessa stared.

There was something deeply horrific about the thought that someone else had Fin's grimoire. Grimoires were personal. They were so tied to a person that they vanished when their owner died. Even touching someone else's grimoire without a reason was taboo. The punishments for stealing a grimoire were almost as severe as for murder, and the Magic Knights took such crimes very seriously indeed. The idea that someone had taken Fin's grimoire and had kept it from him had made Magna feel nauseous. It was having the same effect on the others.

"My god. This just keeps getting worse. He took Fin's grimoire, did those... those things to him. He destroyed the Inn, killed Judith. Is there anything else?"

"He killed Sivert and his brother. He was one of the men on the stairs. I... I killed the other one. I panicked, and there was a lot more magic than I had expected. I didn’t mean to do it."

"Magna, you were protecting someone. He was going to hurt Fin. It's a shame he died, but really. I don't give a fucking toss." Yami sat back in his chair. "You were the fire mage that stole Xerx's stuff? He was so pissed at that meeting. Spitting ice, literally. All he could talk about was what was stolen, even though a kid had been killed. I bet the person you killed was the kid he told the Watch about. I knew there was something off about that."

"No," Magna said. "The man I killed wasn't a kid. Sivert said it was one of his brother's friends. They were meant to come and check up on Fin."

"So, do you think Fin was the kid he was meant to be mentoring? He pretended that Fin had died to do what? Tell his family?"

The world fell away from Magna.

Of course. It was to tell his family. Shit. Shit.

He could hear the vice-captain of the Golden Dawn’s voice.

'Spatial magic that goes somewhere.'

'Someone who could mentor him.'

They showed us his body, but he was so injured we couldn't see his face. It didn't even look like him.’

"Owen," Magna whispered. "What's the vice-captain of the Golden Dawn's name?"

Owen looked confused by the question, but said, "Langris. Langris Vaude."

It felt like the room was spinning. At Magna's back, Luck exhaled a whistling breath. "Fin's Langris. It's his Langris."

"What do you mean?" Yami demanded.

Luck answered. "Fin talks in his sleep. He speaks to his father, sometimes, but the only name we recognised was Langris."

"I talked to him," Magna whispered. "He told me his brother was sent away when they were kids. He tried to find him, then he was told that he was dead. He saw… The Magic Knight showed them a body, but he didn't recognise it. He was so sad, so I told him about Fin. We were talking about the same person. Fin is his brother."

"Hold on," said Yami. "You told him that Fin can't hear and can't speak, didn't you?"

Magna nodded.

"And he didn't notice that? Was his brother deaf?"

"No. He never said anything. Maybe he wasn't deaf when Langris knew him. What if it was one of the injuries? Morven said that the skull fracture might have caused it."

Owen said, "I don't think so. It's in the wrong part of the brain. The injury could have caused some perceptual things, reading, that sort of thing, but it's too far from the hearing part of the brain to be involved."

“Sometimes his ears bleed. It happened at the warehouse the morning we met. I thought maybe it was because he’d done magic, but when it happened the next time, it was worse. There was banging and flashing from the Magic Knight’s house at the same time. Fin was in agony. His ears bled for hours."

"The recovery spell doesn't show anything wrong with his ears. I assumed that meant his deafness was congenital."

"Alys, the lady who tried to teach Fin hand-speak said it was like the bit of the brain that recognised communication was broken."

"I don't think the skull fracture could have caused that either. It's too specific. I'd have expected other things as well if a brain injury were so severe. Motor problems and seizures at least. I don't think Fin would have been able to do the things that he can."

"Then I don't understand. He has to be Langris's brother, but Langris didn't say his brother was deaf."

“The mana shock is nearly dealt with," Owen said. "Once the recovery spell is finished, I can do a diagnostic spell on his ears and see if I can find out where the damage is. It might be very subtle."

For a moment there was just the sound of the rippling recovery spell. Magna imagined that everyone was lost in their own thoughts. They were probably trying to work out what to do with the information that Magna had shared. On the other hand, his brain was empty. It was as if now that he had spilled out the story there was nothing left for him to think about. He did not have to decide what to do on his own anymore. These people were going to help him.

They were going to help him get Fin's grimoire back. They were going to help the Golden Dawn vice-captain... Langris get his brother back. Shit. They were going to get Fin's real brother back.

He did not realise that there were tears on his cheeks until Luck said, "You're crying. Why?"

Magna wiped his face furiously. "It's stupid," he said. "I feel like I stole his brother."

Vanessa wrapped him in a hug again, "You are stupid. You didn't do that. You saved his brother. And kept him safe. We're going to tell Langris once we get Fin better. And if he doesn't appreciate what you did, then I will tie him up until he understands."

"And Fin's a Black Bull," Luck said. "He passed his initiation. He can decide what he wants to do when he's better. But we're a family. Fin's your brother no matter what. Vice-captain Grumpy will understand."

Even if Magna were unsure if that were the case, there was nothing he could do about it now. He sighed and leaned his head back against Luck's shoulder. "I guess."

"Magna," Owen said. "The recovery spell is nearly finished. He’s going to have a nasty headache when he wakes up. I would normally give him something for it. Did Morven provide a painkiller for him to use? He should have something."

"That’s not a good idea, if we can help it. He doesn't let on if he's in pain. Morven couldn't heal his broken ribs and jaw when we went to the Inn at first, but you wouldn't know they hurt him. After we ran out of the market, his leg was much worse, so Judith gave him something in his breakfast and he sulked for days. And then when Sivert attacked him and he was bleeding inside, he couldn’t move because of the pain, but he was more afraid of the medication."

"Why was he afraid?" Luck asked.

By Owen's expression, Magna thought he had guessed. "The people in the basement could do whatever they wanted to him so long as they didn't damage him. He nearly took Sivert’s eye when he attacked. Judith guessed they drugged him so he couldn’t fight back."

Luck nodded thoughtfully. "So that's why he likes it if someone checks his food first. Poor Fin." He ran a hand through his hair again. "We are going to kill them all, aren't we Yami?"

"Yes."

"Good."

No one argued.

Owen let the recovery spell dissipate and he sat back. "Give me a minute, then I'll do the diagnostic spell before he wakes up. It shouldn't take long."

With whatever magical sense she used to work out when people needed nourishment, Charmy knocked on the door with three sheep cooks and Gordon in tow. "Tea. Cakes," she said. She handed a plate of baking to Owen first, along with a mug of tea the size of a small bucket. "Just how you like it, and the best thing to keep the mana flowing."

Once she had fed everyone, she bustled back out again.

Magna sipped his coffee, and said, "We have to tell his brother."

"We will," Yami said. "But we'll speak to William first. How was the kid's leg?"

"We got to it in time, but it was close. I've got a technical healer on the team who's good at these things. He saved the leg, but Langris is going to have to go easy on it for a bit. We splinted it up and gave him crutches, so he wasn't best pleased, but it'll stop him putting too much strain on it before he heals. You know, Magna, that healer might be able to do something about Fin's leg. I couldn't do it, but Aralt could. Fin's right up his street. He can't answer back."

Magna nodded. "Maybe. I don't have to decide that for him right now, do I?"

"Maybe your hand-speak lady could work out some way to ask him what he wanted," Vanessa said. "We should get her to visit."

Owen put down his mug and wiped the last of the crumbs off his hands. He stood. "I’m going to do my diagnostic spell. It's a little more complicated, so it’s easier if people don't talk."

They nodded.

The sea creatures that swirled in this spell were not the long tendrilled floating things, but short quick fish. They did not stay still long enough for Magna to get a good sense of what they were. At Owen's direction, they swam downwards and then swirled around Fin's head.

Owen held the spell for a moment as the fish worked. Magna could feel the mana warm against his skin. It felt like a good spell. He was relaxing in the quiet of the water magic when suddenly it vanished, and Owen swore. His language was worse than Yami's. It made Luck giggle, but he cut short at the look of horror on the Recovery Mage's face.

Yami did not ask what was wrong, but shoved Owen down to sit on a chair. He was very pale. He looked as though he had been given unexpected bad news.

"Is Fin okay?" Magna whispered. There was something wrong, that was obvious, but he needed to know if it was something wrong with Fin.

"I'll say," Owen said in a cold voice. "Fuck. Fuck."

"Owen," Yami said. "What is it?"

"There's nothing wrong with Fin's ears."

"What..." Magna said. “But they bleed. He can’t hear. ”

"He's not deaf. He never has been."

"But. I know he can’t hear. I don't understand."

"I thought it might have been subtle nerve damage or something in the tiny mechanism of the ear. But it isn't. He can’t hear because of a spell. That's why he can't read or understand hand-speak. Someone locked him inside a fucking spell."

Magna had that same sensation of the world spinning. Luck wrapped his arms around him.

Judith had said it. Had she guessed? He could hear her words. 'It's like you've been locked in a box and someone has thrown away all the keys.'

"It's worse," Owen whispered. "It's my spell."

Magna couldn't breathe. It was a spell. He could almost understand that. It made sense. It explained why Fin could read numbers, but not words and why he could understand the tiniest change in Magna’s mood, but not recognise that hand-speak was an attempt to communicate.

But how could it be Owen's spell?

It was Yami who said, "What the hell do you mean Owen?"

Owen was staring at Fin. The boy was still asleep.

"We try to develop new spells for recovery work, just like every kind of magic. I worked on lots of new spells when I was a junior. This one was called Silent Peace. It was meant to remove external stimuli to allow us to treat people when they were too agitated by injury or illness to let us work. At first, we thought it had promise, but we found that even though people couldn't hear or understand, they were still aware of what was happening. It was a dreadful spell. I put it away and never worked on it again."

"It can't be the same spell," Vanessa said.

"It's been refined and distilled to this monstrosity. Now it locks off all means of communication. But I can feel my fingerprints on it. Someone has done a lot of work since then, but I invented it."

Yami put a hand on Owen’s shoulder. "It isn't your spell anymore Owen. Can you recognise any of those other fingerprints?"

Owen took a deep breath. "Maybe."

The recovery spell was hesitant this time. There were fewer fish shapes and they moved slower. His face was tight with concentration. When he let it drop, he looked disappointed.

"It's been worked on, but there are only hints of who it might be. I only recognise my own magic because it's mine. But there are at least three other hands in it. There are forensic mages who specialise in these kinds of things, they might be able to focus it down further."

Vanessa was thoughtful. "He's been here for a month. And he was with Magna for longer. I've never heard of a spell that could last as long without needing to be recharged."

It was Luck who answered. "I get it. Don't you see, Vanessa? The spell's working through his grimoire. That's why. I bet that's why his ears bleed too. All that magic gets focused in through Fin's connection to his grimoire."

Vanessa said, "We can kill him, can't we?"

“Try and stop me,” Yami snarled.

"No. No. I don't think we can." Luck was suddenly not smiling. "I felt it. I told you. The thread that we cut felt like Fin's magic. That’s his grimoire. It feels all shimmery like that portal. I recognise it now. But there was something else there too."

Magna said, "You said it was like string all tangled together."

"The other magic is cold and sharp. It's not like Fin's at all. I don't think it's only his grimoire anymore. It’s all tied up in this other person’s magic. We can only kill him once we've untangled the magic."

Vanessa's face twisted into a sneer. "Fine. We can kill him then."

"But first," Magna said. "We need to tell Fin’s brother."

Vanessa's expression did not change. She cracked her knuckles. "We can let him help."

Owen had regained his composure. He offered to heal the small burns and abrasions on Luck and Magna without commenting on their origin beyond a weary shake of the head. Magna would have argued, but he thought it might help Owen feel better. The revelation about the spell had hit him hard.

It was the first time Magna had experienced a recovery spell. As he basked in its warmth, he wondered if Owen could do this after every fight with Luck.

As the spell worked, Yami said, "I'm going to speak to William. Magna is right. We need to tell Langris that his brother is here before we do anything else and William's the only one who'll be able to manage that fallout. Plus, we need help. I want to kill this bastard as much as you, Vanessa. But we don't know if he's done this to other kids, and I don't know enough about this grimoire stuff.

"Xerx is a vice-captain of another squad, so by rights we should be going to Gueldre first. But I trust him as far as that ham head can make a portal. We need William's help. Maybe Julius too."

Owen looked around from his spell. “You're getting sensible in your old age Yami."

"Shit. Don't tell everyone. I've got a reputation."

Yami thumbed on the communication disc and William answered it immediately. He was seated behind a desk piled with papers and books. "Yami?"

"Hello William. How's vice-captain Langris?"

William grinned. "Who told you? I thought you'd never work it out."

"You're an ass, William. Owen told me. Well, he told Magna."

"Ah. I should have spoken to Magna then. Langris is going to be okay. The infirmary threw him out because he was annoying. So he's climbing the walls here instead. Or at least as much climbing as he can do with a splint and crutches." William paused, then said, "But you've spoken to Owen. You know this already."

Yami nodded. "Yeah. It wasn't why I called. What do you know about his brother?"

"Not much. He died during a robbery at one of the Orca's houses in town. I asked the City Watch for the report, but it was vague. I got the impression they were more interested in the theft than the murder. Even their parents did not seem overly concerned, but they sent the kid away when he was thirteen. Langris is... well struggling. He thinks he's to blame for the death."

"William. We're pretty sure we found him."

William looked confused. "What? I don't understand. Found who?"

"His brother wasn't killed. Magna found him."

"Magna found Langris's brother? Where? That can't be right. His parents identified the body."

Magna interrupted. "But, sir. Langris said that the body he saw was too badly injured to tell who it was. He didn't think it looked like his brother. His parents must have made a mistake. I bet they hadn't seen him for years either."

"He never said that to me."

"I think it was the concussion, sir."

William was thoughtful. He turned back to Yami. "He's good, isn’t he?"

"Magna’s my solution. Find your own."

William nodded. "Understood. You need to tell me everything, Yami."

"We talked about Magna's brother, Fin, in the dungeon."

"He's the deaf boy? You said that he was a package deal with Magna."

"Turns out, he isn't Magna's brother. Magna found him tied up in a basement in Fishers’ Gate. He's been telling everyone they're brothers to throw off anyone who was looking for him. Owen's just put the kid in a recovery spell for mana shock, and it shows he was tortured for years. It's a fucking awful list, William. Fractured skull, ribs, leg, major internal injuries. It looks like they would get a healer to sort him if they thought he was going to die, but most of the rest of the stuff was left. The kid won't eat without someone trying his food first and won't touch a painkiller, so it's not a huge leap of logic that he was drugged regularly."

“And you think this boy is Langris’s brother?”

“It all fits. He gave himself mana shock by making a massive portal to save my transformation mage’s life. Spatial magic is too rare for it to be a coincidence. And he can’t tell us where he came from because someone took his hearing and his ability to communicate with magic. He’s been locked in a spell."

"I've never heard of a spell like that. How could it be sustained so long?"

"It could if someone has his grimoire."

“Shit. They have his grimoire. You know who, don’t you?"

"Xerx Lugner's top of the list. He asked me about a theft at his house where a kid was supposed to have died in a robbery. What's the bet that Xerx's name is the one on your report to the watch?"

William rummaged through the papers on his desk, then selected one. "No bet." He held it up and read, “Complainant, Xerx Lugner. Profession: Magic Knight, Ranking: vice-captain, Purple Orca.” He sighed. "It all fits. There are too many similarities for it to be coincidence."

"Magna says that Fin says Langris’s name in his sleep."

"I thought you said he couldn't talk."

"Just in his sleep, sir," Magna said.

William ran his hands through his hair. "I need to do this gently, Yami. Langris is brittle. The littlest thing at the moment is going to break him and I'm not sure if the pieces will go back together. I don't doubt that Fin is his brother, but to find out that these things have been done to him, it may make things worse."

"He needs to know, Mr Vangeance,” Magna said. “He thinks that he didn't do enough to save his brother and then he died. He can help us save him now. We're going to get his grimoire back."

"Owen. Do you have an opinion?"

"There isn't a medical answer. But I agree with Magna. Langris is broken because of what he thinks happened to his brother. This might feel worse, but it's the truth. He needs to know. Perhaps you could bring him here? Fin is going to sleep for a bit longer, and that might be the most gentle introduction we can do."

"Very good. Yes. It would be best to deal with it now. I shall try to get him to you this afternoon. Then we should plan how we are going to proceed. Thank you."

He thumbed the communicator off.

Yami looked at Fin asleep on the bed, then Magna. "Shit, kid you don't half pick them."

Yami, Vanessa and Owen left Magna and Luck with Fin. Owen needed to rearrange some of his work in the infirmary and Yami wanted to check that the others were okay, although he claimed to be going for a dump. Vanessa volunteered to try to make the base presentable for Golden Dawn visitors. Luck hissed in Magna's ear that this meant she would be going to hide the wine glasses.

The vibration from the closing door might have disturbed Fin, because he wriggled closer to Magna's side of the bed and sighed. But he did not wake.

"I'm glad you told us," Luck said. He was still tucked against Magna.

"Yeah. I think I am too. I should have told you earlier."

He felt Luck shrug. The static was tingling with Luck sitting so close. "I get why you didn't. We're going to fix it now. I want to go get that Magic Knight. It will be fun to fight him for you and Fin. It's fun to fight with friends, but I think fighting for your friends could be even better. I'll be glad to help you.”

"Thanks Luck."

They sat in silence, until Luck squealed. “Oh, I nearly forgot.” He wriggled out of his Black Bulls’ robe and dropped it over Magna’s head. “I left the bag downstairs. You can have mine. You’re a Bull now, Magna.”

Chapter Text

They sat in silence and watched Fin sleep until Magna felt the magic signature of a portal opening on the front lawn.

"Ooo," Luck said. "I want to meet Fin's brother. I wonder if he'll want to fight me?"

Magna punched his arm. "Don't you dare ask."

They could hear the voices in the corridor before the door opened. Magna recognised the cross tones of the Golden Dawn vice-captain, and William's calmer replies.

Magna scrambled to stand at the side of the bed. Luck shifted to the far corner and perched on the edge like a small bird. He bounced on his toes.

Magna faced the door and readied himself. He was tense and his senses so on edge that he could feel Luck's static as a reassuring presence from across the room.

Oh. So that's what Fin could feel. That explained why Luck never...

This revelation was interrupted by the door opening and the Golden Dawn vice-captain's words, "...just don't see why I had to come here to..."

Then he stopped.

He. Langris, Magna thought. Fin's Langris, stood in the doorway and stared. Because any residual doubt that Magna might have had that this boy knew Fin evaporated at the look on his face.

The crutches he had been using clattered to the floor.

He was as pale as he had been outside the dungeon, but now that Magna knew they were related, the similarities to Fin were obvious. It was the chin and the shape of the eyes. Their hair colour was identical. He should have seen it before.

Langris swayed on the spot. William put a hand on his shoulder to support him.

His breathy whisper of, "Finral?" was almost too quiet to hear.

"I told you that you needed to see," William said just as quietly.

For a moment Langris stared. It was as if he could not take his eyes away from the figure asleep on the bed. No one, not even Luck, broke the silence.

Eventually, he whispered again, "I don't understand. You need to tell me."

Any residual colour left on his face vanished, and he looked about to pass out. Magna stepped forward to catch him if necessary. Langris caught the movement and turned his attention to Magna. For a moment he looked like a lost child.

Then his expression shifted and there was such fury that Magna took a step backwards. "You knew," he hissed. He was still unsteady, but he looked more likely to attack than fall over now.

"I..." Magna started to say.

But Langris did not give him any time to respond. He spun to face Yami and Owen.

"You knew this. How long have you known? How long has he been here? What have you done?"

Magna could feel Langris's magic responding to his distress. Even his magic felt like Fin's.

What had he said. Finral? Was that Fin's real name?

William was still holding Langris's arm. "I told you it's complicated and you need to listen first."

"He's here. I thought he was dead."

"I know, Langris. Let them explain."

My god, thought Magna, how do we start to explain this?

"Sit down first,” William continued. “Before you fall over and make more of a mess of that leg."

Owen pulled over the chair and William nudged Langris to sit. His eyes were flickering around the room, but were now avoiding Fin's shape. Once he sat, he glared at Magna as though he would still prefer to fight this out. "Have you been keeping him a prisoner? Didn't he ask to see me?" Then in a quieter voice, "Didn't he want to?"

Magna shook his head. "No. I... Should I explain this? I don't know?"

"You need to explain, before I destroy this place," Langris said. It was half threat, half plea.

William nodded at Magna. "Go ahead. We'll help."

Magna took a deep breath. Better to keep this short. Langris thought his brother had abandoned him. And worse, he thought they had been keeping him away from his family. "I found him tied up in the basement of a house in the city months ago. I had just gone in to get warm, and he was there. I got him out. He was hurt pretty bad."

"Months ago?" Langris glanced at William. "When they said that he died?"

"We think so."

"But I don't understand why you didn't come to me for help. I would have helped."

"Tell him," William prompted.

"He can't hear. Or speak. I thought he was just deaf to start with, but it's more than that. He can't read or write. Someone tried to help him, but she said it was like the bit of his brain that recognised something was communication wasn't working. We thought it was because he'd been hurt by the people in that house. The healer said that his skull was broken and I thought that was why he couldn’t hear, but Owen says it's a spell. They have his grimoire."

Langris went even paler. “They hurt him. And took his grimoire for this spell?”

Magna nodded.

"You were talking about Finral when you told me about your brother, weren't you?"

Magna felt himself flush. "I'm sorry. Yes. We decided it would be safer if I said he was my brother, then no one would ask where he came from. We thought they were going to come and look for him. I got used to it. Turns out I didn't even know his real name. I just overheard it when they were going to come and... hurt him. I killed one of them. I think that was the body they showed you."

Langris was very white, but he looked less like he was ready to attack. "I need to get this clear. You're saying that you found my brother, held captive in a house? And that he can't talk, or hear, or tell you his name? And rather than get help from the authorities you stole him and hid him away."

"I didn't steal him," Magna snapped. "I didn't steal anything. Don't talk about him like he's not a person."

Langris looked taken aback, and Magna felt a rush of shame. "Shit. I'm sorry. It's just..."

Yami interrupted. "Don't fucking apologise Magna. You, Golden Dawn. Magna saved your brother. You know who is to blame don’t you? Xerx Lugner sent me to ask if anyone knew about stolen property from his house. He was talking about your kid brother."

"He's not my kid brother. He’s older than me."

"Shit," Yami said.

Fin... Finral was older than a vice-captain. He remembered that Owen had said he could not tell how old he was, but Magna had always assumed they were close. Fin was slight, and shorter than Magna. He had passed as too young for a grimoire in the Inn without question. "How old?" Magna whispered.

"Nineteen."

Fin had been sent away when he was thirteen. He could have been in that basement for six years. Six years of the things that Owen said had happened to him. Six years. Shit.

Magna was struck with how little he knew about Fin's story. Months of being constantly together and he knew nothing about the other boy.

"Umm, guys," Luck said. "He's waking up."

Magna glanced over. Fin was not quite awake, but Luck was right. His eyes were moving under his closed lids and he wriggled.

Owen had said that Fin was going to sleep for ages. Damn. "There are too many people," Magna said. "He's going to panic."

Owen nodded and went for the door. "Remember, Magna, he's going to have a headache."

Yami said, "William, you or me?"

"I'll wait with Owen," William said. "He knows you."

"I'm not leaving," Langris said. As if anyone was going to ask him to leave. But he looked nervous as he limped back to the wall to stand in Yami's shadow. Fin would not be able to see him from the bed.

"Don't freak him out. Please," Magna said.

Fin's eyes opened. He squinted against the bright daylight as he scanned the room. He ignored everyone until he found Magna and locked eyes with him.

There must have been something about Magna's expression that worried Fin. He began to scramble up to sit and reached out.

Magna hesitated for a moment. It was wrong that he was the one that Fin was looking for. His real brother was standing right there. Yami said, "Go, Magna. You're the one freaking him out now."

Magna stepped into Fin's space and took his hand. Fin was staring at him as if he could somehow discern what was troubling Magna with just the power of his eyes. Then he looked towards the window and pushed Magna towards it. For a moment he was at a loss, but Luck figured it out first. "He's wondering about Grey. He knows you're worried, and he thinks it's Grey. I'll go get her."

Luck jumped off the bed and hurried to the door. Fin only gave him a passing glance.

"You saved her," Magna said. He hoped perhaps the truth of the words would come through in his expression. "She's fine."

The headache must be bad, because Fin squeezed his eyes shut and put his hand onto Magna's chest. He had not done that for ages, but it took Magna back to the first days in the Inn. "I said you saved her. She's fine. Owen said you've got mana shock from using too big a spell. The headache is normal. But we're going to get your grimoire back and... and your brother is here. We worked it out. I'm sorry it took so long."

As Magna talked, Langris said to Yami, "What's he doing?"

"Far as I can work out, he feels the vibrations. You explain Magna."

"If he can't see, he doesn't know what is happening. He knows that I’ll stop talking if something is wrong. He wouldn't sleep unless he could feel me talking. He doesn't do it so much now."

He could feel Fin's breaths evening out as if the pain were easing.

Magna felt Fin shift before he heard Luck chattering in the corridor. Fin cracked open his eyes too as Luck pushed the door open. He had Grey's hand in his.

"I know how he knows where you are," Magna said. "Your static is really loud."

"I wondered when you were going to work it out. Look Fin, I found her and she's fine."

Fin had spotted Grey and his face broke into a grin. She smiled back shyly behind her hand. Luck shoved her over towards the bed so that Fin could get a proper look at her. She let him run his hands over her face and arms, then turn her around so that he could convince himself that she really was okay.

"Thank you Fin," she said once he was satisfied. "You saved my life." She leant forward and gave him a brief, embarrassed hug. That was more than she could bear, and she hurried out with her hands over her face. Luck giggled.

"See, I told you she was okay."

Fin was looking at Magna again. He was trying to work out what had upset Magna if it had not been Grey. "You're not going to let it go are you," Magna said. "Langris, are you ready?"

"What," Langris hissed from behind Yami. "No. This isn't..."

"Do it," Yami said and stepped away.

Magna looked at Langris.

Fin followed his gaze.

Please, please recognise him, Magna said to himself.

He need not have worried. Fin's eyes grew wide. He stared.

Magna realised that Fin's lips were forming words. It was the first time Magna had seen him do that.

Shit. He was saying, ''Langris'. As soon as Magna realised, he understood. He did not know anyone's name in the Bulls. Langris was the only person he had met before Xerx.

Magna's eyes were wet.

Fin... Magna corrected himself. Finral. He was going to use it properly. The Magic Knight had taken everything from him, and his name was the first thing Magna was going to make sure he got back. Finral was the first one to make a move. He pushed himself off the edge of the bed and stepped forwards. Langris might have tried to escape if it had not been for Yami at his back. Finral was still wobbly, and his limp was worse as always when he was tired. But he was steadier than Langris.

Finral raised a hand, and, just as he had with Grey, he put it to Langris's face. But this was with even greater care. It was not the rough panic if he decided that he needed to check Magna or even Luck.

Langris raised his hand just as carefully and touched Finral's against his cheek. "I thought you were dead," he whispered. "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have let them take you. I should have come to find you. I'm so sorry."

Finral wiped the tears from Langris's cheek. Then he nudged him backwards so that he could look him over from top to toe. He seemed satisfied until he reached the injured leg. He frowned at the splint and looked at Magna as if he could offer any explanation.

"Don't look at me," Magna said. "He was the one who lost a fight with a rock fall."

Of course, that did not satisfy Finral. He frowned as though it was Magna's fault, then turned back to Langris.

"You shouldn't be worrying about me," Langris said. "What are we going to do about you? Owen said you would have a headache."

"It's got to be pretty bad before you'll know," Magna said. "He had broken ribs and a broken jaw when I met him, and you wouldn't know.”

Finral was running his hands through Langris's hair. His eyes were dry, but there was a sadness that Magna had never seen before. Things happened to Finral, and he accepted them and moved on. Despite being trapped in this horror, Magna had never seen him look so broken before.

Why would Langris make him sad? He should be happy to see him?

Langris allowed the inspection. His own tears were running down his face and Finral wiped them away. Eventually, he swallowed and pulled Langris into a hug. It was hardly longer than the one he had given Grey before he pulled back.

Then he took Langris's shoulders, turned him round and aimed him at the door. He gave a small push.

"Why does he want me to leave?" Langris whispered. He sounded hurt. He glanced back, but Finral was resolute. He pushed harder this time.

"I don't know," Magna said.

"I don't want to go. I only just found you again," Langris appealed.

Finral's expression was not angry. It was blank, as if he had pulled on a mask. Magna was reminded of the day after Judith had knocked him out with the medicine paste, but that had been an effect of whatever Xerx Lugner had done as well as the drug. This was Finral choosing to close himself off.

The last push was hard and it destabilised Langris on his injured leg so that Yami had to grab his arm to stop him falling over.

"Look," Yami said. "The kid's been pretty clear. Let’s give him some space. He'll come round."

It did not look like Finral was going to come round. He wanted Langris to leave, and his expression was so cold, Magna could not help thinking that he never wanted Langris to come back.

"Come on, Golden Dawn. You do as you're told. I want to discuss with William how small we can cut Lugner up. You want to be part of this. Fin. Finral will be okay with Magna for a bit. Luck. You come too."

Langris allowed himself to be pulled out of the room. Luck grabbed the forgotten crutches on the way.

Langris glanced back once. He looked devastated, as though he had found his brother and then lost him again.

Once the door closed, Magna looked at Finral. The mask was still on, but he was tense, and trembling. He was staring at the door.

Magna touched his hand very gently and Finral startled. "What are you thinking?" Magna said aloud.

As if he understood the question, Finral's expression crumpled. That was what the mask had been hiding. It looked like anguish and a terrible decision that he did not want to make. Tears began to leak down his face.

"Ah, shit," Magna said and pulled him into a hug. "You're pushing him away deliberately, aren’t you? Idiot."

Magna had never seen Finral cry because he was sad. There had been angry tears when he had seen the writing for the first time, but this felt different. All the things that had happened to them, it had been Magna who had cried. But now Finral was sobbing silently against Magna as though his heart was breaking.

Maybe it was.

Magna talked, in the hope that it would offer some reassurance. "I think I get it. But you're wrong. He thought you were dead. This is better than that, I promise. You're his brother even if you can't hear him. He still loves you. If we can't make this right, you shouldn't push him away. Never mind. We can make it right later. I bet you've still got a headache and need to sleep. Maybe you can make better decisions when you're not pretending that you aren't in pain."

Finral let himself be guided back to the bed. He was in no state to resist as Magna pushed him down and tucked the covers around him. He was going to get a cloth to wipe the tears, but Finral grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. The tears might have slowed, but there was a sudden look of terror on his face.

"I was only going to get a handkerchief. I'm not going anywhere else." He sat back on the end of the bed so that Finral could get his hand onto his chest. "You really are panicking aren't you. Yami says we are Black Bulls. And we stay here. Both of us. I guess, if you want to go with Langris, William might make room for you at the Golden Dawn. But for as long as you want, you can stay here. With me. And Luck, and Vanessa. No one is going to make you do anything you don't want to do."

Fin's hand resting on his chest and the slowing of his breathing was so familiar to those early days in the Inn that for a moment Magna was taken back to that fear and worry. And now they were here. They had done it. They had survived. They had found a home and Finral was safe. And they had powerful people to help them make things right. Two Squad Captains, a vice-captain and the weirdest bunch of mages Magna had ever thought could exist. They were on Finral's side. They were going to get his grimoire back. And maybe, maybe they could make this right.

Even if they could help Fin use hand-speak, or Alys's cards it would be so much easier for him than it was now. They could have told him that Grey was okay. They could tell him what they were planning. Magna did not even want to think about the prospect that they could return Finral's hearing. He did not want to build up his hopes.

Finral pushed his hand harder against Magna's chest. The tiredness was clear on his face. "Sorry. You just haven't needed me to do this for ages. I'm out of practice. So, yeah. I could do my life story, but really, I just want to tell you that I think it's going to be okay. Judith was right. Yami is good people. He's going to help us."

Finral's eyes closed as Magna talked.

"And Langris is going to help. And William. They mentioned a ‘Julius’. Xerx Lugner isn't going to get away with this, and he isn't going to do it to anyone else. I wish... I wish we'd come to them before. If I'd told him at the Inn, maybe Judith wouldn't have... you know."

Finral opened his eyes. They were heavy with sleep, but he had sensed the change in Magna's mood. He patted his hand on Magna's chest in comfort.

"Yeah. I know. It's like this is everything I wanted. For you too. And she had to die. It isn't fair. But Yami won't let him away with it. You should go to sleep. I'll still be here. I'm not going anywhere."

Finral closed his eyes again, and Magna was careful to keep his conversation light. It did not take long for Finral to fall asleep tucked up against him.

There was not much else for Magna to do. He let his head lean back against the back of the bed and tried to put the worries out of his head. He trusted these people who said they could help.

He dozed off, so he was not sure how long it was before the door opened. The sun was no longer shining in the window, so he guessed a couple of hours at least.

Finral was deeply asleep. His colour was better. His hand was still resting on Magna.

It was Vanessa at the door. "He still asleep?" she asked. "I heard he threw his brother out."

Magna nodded. "He cried himself to sleep."

"He cried? Why?"

"I don't know, but I guess he didn't want Langris to see him like this. Maybe it's different for us. We've never met anyone but Fin. I think Langris reminded him that he used to be someone else. I've never seen him so sad. But I'm just guessing. I don't know if that's what it means, Vanessa."

"You know him better than anyone. Especially Langris." She sighed as she looked at Finral. "They have a plan downstairs. They need you. I said I'd sit with him."

"He didn't want me to leave."

"I guessed. But they need you for this. They're going to get Lugner. I think Fin would understand."

Magna was reluctant, but Vanessa was right. He wanted to help bring down Lugner and make him fix what he had done. And to face the consequences of so many murders.

Chapter Text

Yami, William and Langris were seated at the large dining table when Magna entered. Luck was balanced on the back of one of the big chairs kicking his legs.

There was a map of the city spread in front of them. A communication disc was open to a friendly looking man with a star above his brow and another with blue cropped hair. Everyone turned to look at Magna, and he had a sudden urge to walk out of the room and go back to sit with Finral in the quiet.

"Is this Magna?" The man with the star said.

"Magna, this is Julius. And Marx. We've told them what happened, and they are going to help. Julius is a bit of a magic nerd, and if anyone can free Finral's grimoire, it's him. Marx has some pretty nifty memory magic that we can use to find out exactly what was done."

Magna nodded at them. "Nice to meet you."

There was something about the silence in the room that made Magna think he was missing something. Julius smiled warmly though. "We will be glad to help. I have arrangements to make. I will speak to you all soon."

The communicator disc flicked off.

"We have a plan," Yami said when Magna sat down. Charmy pushed over a plate of dinner for him to eat as he listened.

It was not a complicated plan as far as Magna could work out. Yami, William, Langris and Magna would go to Lugner's house in the morning, confront him and take him to Julius and Marx. They had to wait until tomorrow because the Purple Orca were due back from a mission in the late evening and they thought it most likely that Xerx would return to his home sometime through the night. Going to the house when he was not in could alert him to their investigation.

Julius was arranging with the other Magic Knight squads to have people around the area. Yami said that Jack, the Green Mantis that had saved them in the market, would be desperate to be involved. There would be others.

Between the power of the two squad captains, and a vice-captain, no one seemed worried that Lugner would be able to overpower them. Yami and Langris both looked ready for a fight. Yami was enthusiastic in the hope that Lugner might try to resist. Langris was grim and did not speak, but Magna got the impression that he was not planning to hold himself back even if Lugner came quietly.

Luck was disappointed not to be going, but William explained that Magna was only coming because he could confirm that they were in the right house. Langris was going despite the crutches because no one seemed brave enough to stop him.

"Plus," Yami said. "We're going to leave Finral here without Magna. And that's going to be as popular as a Black Bull at a royal ball. He's going to need you and Vanessa until we bring Magna back."

"What about the spell, Sir?" Magna asked.

"We're the wrong people to do something about that. We just have to bring the bastard in."

Langris did not talk as William and Yami explained. It was dark outside by the time they finished.

"I will meet you here in the morning," William said as he stood to go.

Langris hesitated.

"You going to stay?" Yami asked him.

"I..."

"Damn, Golden Dawn. I think we could find a bedroom. If you're lucky, it might be near your brother. Henry’s probably already made you one."

"Who's Henry?" Magna hissed to Luck.

"He's the house. He’s no good at fighting."

Like most stuff Luck said, it did not make sense, but Magna was used to it by now.

"Come on Langris," he said and bounced up. "If Fin's still sleeping you can come and watch him because he can't throw you out. He talks about you in his sleep you know. That's how we knew you were the right person."

Langris allowed himself to be dragged out by the bemusing chatter.

"You know," Yami said as the door closed behind them, "I don't think Luck's ever gone so long without wanting to fight someone new. I knew you were a good influence, Magna."

They said goodbye to William at the front door. Once he left, Yami said, "You don't have to do this. It'd help. But if you want to stay with Finral, we'd understand."

"I want to come," Magna said firmly.

"Thought that's what you'd say. We'll have to go in by the Inn. Will you manage that?"

"Yeah. I want to see what he did." He hesitated, then said, "There was another girl who worked with us. Her name's Rebecca. Judith gave her money to set up in Nean. Could you help me find her? I want to know if she's okay."

"Sure. Tomorrow we can tell her that we got the bastard."

Langris was sitting in the bedroom with Luck and Vanessa. Finral was still asleep. Vanessa sat beside him but moved to let Magna take her place.

"We were telling Langris about Fin," Luck said. "I wanted him to tell us what he was like when he was little, but he's too traumatised to do that yet."

Vanessa hit him, but Luck was as unrepentant as usual. "He is. You've got to tell us Fin stories now, Magna."

Magna sat on the bed. Finral wriggled at the disturbance but showed no sign of waking.

"Tell us," Luck demanded. "Tell us all the Fin stories that you can."

Perhaps Magna was going to have to give Luck credit for having more empathy than it might seem. As Magna talked, the tension began to ease from Langris's shoulders.

Magna told them stories from the Inn. He started with the way that Finral bonded with Judith because she brought him food, then Alys’s attempts with the cards that he ripped into tiny pieces. He told them that Finral was by far the better at sorting out rooms and how he would frown when Magna got it wrong. He told them about the candies, learning to knit and too long in the shower.

Judith crept into the stories, so he told them about her too. How she had saved them and treated them like family even though she had only just met them. He described the time that she had given Finral painkillers, and he had ignored her for days. He told them how she complained about her knees until she heard someone putting bedlinen on wrongly and then she'd be as fast up the stairs as anyone.

He did not need to worry about telling them how smart Finral was, so he talked about the long columns of numbers in Judith's accounts and the way Finral followed card games.

Langris almost smiled, but never added anything of his own.

It was late when Vanessa decided that it was time for 'her boys' to get to bed. Langris looked bemused at being included, but Luck whispered loudly that he should just go along with it.

"Come on, Langris. Let's go find you a room. If I know Henry, he's already picked one out for you."

Langris nodded, but turned to stare at Magna with an unexpected intensity. It made Magna's skin crawl.

"Magna," he said. "I never said thank you. I think you saved my brother's life. You like him. I think he likes you. You were a better brother to him than I was."

"No. But that's not..." Magna started to protest.

"Don't interrupt. I know you're going to say that's not my fault, but it is. You don't know what happened when we were children. I think I was right. Your brother is lucky to have you. I'm glad you were there."

He bowed slightly and left. Vanessa hurried to catch up. Magna hoped she was going to talk some sense into him.

Luck lay back on the bed and said, "Do you think if Fin talked, he'd be so serious?"

"If you ask to fight him..."

"Oh, I wouldn't do that for at least a day."

-

Finral was asleep when Magna woke the next morning. He had his hand resting on Luck, so Magna could get out of the bed without disturbing them. Luck flashed him a thumbs up but did not speak.

Charmy had provided a small breakfast that Magna ate while Yami smoked and Langris sipped his coffee. William arrived before Langris had finished his cup.

"Let's go get this bastard," Yami said.

The portal opened at Yami's request. It was large and framed in an ornate doorway. Magna thought it was pretentious compared to Finral’s rapid and utilitarian portals. He liked Finral’s better.

They stepped out into a small garden, but despite the greenery there was no denying that they were in the city from the smells of cooking fires and filth. It had only been a month with the Bulls and Magna had forgotten how bad the place smelled even in the morning. There were two men standing to one side. The taller one smiled warmly. Julius, Magna remembered. The one with the blue hair was Marx.

“Yami, William, Langris,” Julius said. “And you are Magna?”

Magna nodded and accepted the proffered hand to shake. “It’s nice to meet you, Sir.”

“Yami explained how you rescued Finral. I have had suspicions that something was festering in the Purple Orca, but without your intervention we would never have discovered the extent of the criminality. You have the kingdom’s thanks.”

Magna had no idea of how to respond. He said, “Umm, you’re welcome.”

Again, Yami grinned as if Magna was missing something important. Marx looked offended, but Julius was just friendly. He turned to Yami.

“There are members of the Green Mantis, Golden Dawn and Grey Deer squads at each possible exit route from Fishers’ Gate. If Xerx tries to escape he won’t get far.”

Yami nodded. "Are we going to have to walk?" He looked at Langris, who glared back.

How could Magna have missed the resemblance before? It was Fin's glare.

Julius nodded. "Unfortunately, Cob does not have any portals we can access in this area of the city. I've arranged disguises so you can approach the property without being recognised."

The 'disguises' were the cleanest work clothes that Magna had ever seen. They looked like Julius had had his tailor sew them this morning. The thread shined. Magna rubbed them in the dirt to make them look a little more worn, and Yami's torn robe only needed to be turned inside out. Magna pulled a hood over Langris's face and William did the same.

By the end, the two golden dawn knights looked like Magic Knights in disguise, but perhaps that was the best they could hope for. The crutches helped. Yami looked like someone that you would not mess with whoever he was. Magna had not been away long enough to lose the look of the place. Julius nodded in satisfaction. “Good luck.”

Magna led the way through the smaller alleys that he remembered. It was early morning, so the streets were quiet, but not as deserted as he would have expected. A man with a chiselled face nodded at William and others looked away too quickly not to know who they were.

Yami and William were whispering behind him, but he could not make out their words. It was Langris who interrupted their hissed conversation. “If you won’t tell him, I will. Magna. You know that Julius is the Wizard King, don’t you?”

Magna stopped walking. “What? That’s the Wizard King?”

Langris directed a smug smile at Yami just like Finral’s. “I told you he didn’t know.”

“Julius likes you,” Yami said. “We’re definitely going to get a star out of this.”

Wow, Magna thought. The Wizard King.

Then the thoughts were chased out of his head. Because they were nearing streets that were more familiar. They were getting close to the Wild Broomsticks. Magna slowed.

He felt Yami's hand on his elbow.

The Inn had been flattened like the warehouse in the docks. It was shredded into planks of wood, bricks and tiles. If he looked closely, he could see fragments of furniture or pieces of glass. The neat little bedroom, the bathroom with the shower and the warm bar full of people were all gone. A tattered piece of linen, maybe a pillowcase, fluttered in the wind.

"I guess I won't have to mop the floor again," Magna whispered to himself, but Yami squeezed his arm.

"We're going to get the bastard."

"Yeah. Come on." Magna turned his back on the ruin where Judith had died and led them on.

He had never seen the house with the stained glass windows in the daylight since he met Fin. Perhaps it was his current familiarity with the Black Bulls base and its multiple floors and hundreds of rooms, but this place looked smaller than he remembered. He pointed out the window into the basement, now closed.

"That's how I got in. And we got out."

Yami nodded. He gestured to William and Magna to slip to the rear of the building. Magna was in position by the back door when he heard Yami's knock. It made the house shake.

"Lugner. Open the door. Now."

There was no reply from inside. Magna had his grimoire out even though compared to the power of the squad captain next to him it would be worth almost nothing. He would enjoy getting at least one fireball in before William dealt with the Purple Orca.

"It's Captain Yami. I'm coming in."

It was their signal to enter through the back door too. William opened the door with a nudge of magic through the timbers and it swung open to a dark, empty kitchen. Magna followed him inside. The room was bare and dust danced in the sunlight from the door.

The interior door opened onto a finely decorated corridor lined with doors. Magna pushed them open as William stood ready with his magic. They found a dining area, an empty pantry and a small office lined with bookshelves. A door with a sliding lock looked like it would lead to the basement.

"Front rooms are empty," Yami shouted.

"These are too," William answered.

"Langris, Magna, on the basement door while we check upstairs. Julius said the Orca were on a mission, maybe he's having a lie in."

But their search upstairs was fruitless. "Place done up like fucking palace," Yami muttered, "But the bastard's not here. You ready to check the basement?"

He was looking at Magna when he asked, but Magna guessed the question was directed at Langris. Magna knew what had been down there. Langris only had his imagination to fill in the details.

"Yes sir. Do you think he could have got out that way?"

"If he did, Jack and the others are waiting. I’m worried that we might have missed him." Yami keyed on the communicator. "Hey. Skinny freak. Upper floors are cleared. We're going to the basement."

"Understood. We'll pull in the net, but you can play in the cage a bit longer."

"Is that Jack?" Magna asked as Yami closed the image.

"Yup. He wants to say hi later."

The door into the basement was plainer than the others. Yami slipped across the slide lock, then pushed the door open to the darkened stairway. "You want to do the honours, Magna?" he asked.

Magna gave a single nod and let his fireball dance off into the dark. Yami went first, then Magna, Langris and finally William. Langris muttered under his breath at the stairs with his crutches, but Magna ignored him. All his senses were tuned ahead.

He felt on edge. It was not only going into the basement, but also the growing certainty that Lugner was not here. Why would he come back to this house after a mission and hide in the basement? He would be in his bed, or the elegant sitting room or even the unused kitchen. No one would be in this basement by choice.

There was another door at the bottom of the stairs. Magna knew this, even though he had only seen it from the other side. He could not help imagining these same stairs months ago. He heard one of the men say, 'Want to play little Fin...'

Yami opened the door.

Magna was sure he was imagining the smell of burning flesh that wafted in with the movement of air, but he could taste it at the back of his throat. He nearly gagged.

The little fireball danced through first and hovered at the ceiling, but there was already enough daylight through the dirty windows to illuminate the familiar shape of the large furnace, now cold. Yami entered first. Magna hesitated. He looked down. There was dark staining and scorch marks on the floor at his feet. He did gag.

Yami said, "You okay?"

Magna nodded. He was probably lying, but he moved into the room and forced himself to look around.

No one had touched this place since he had been here last. The mattress, the chain attached to the wall and bucket were all where he remembered them. Langris was very pale, but he approached the mattress first and bent down to touch the chain. "You did this?" he asked as he held up the melted links.

Magna nodded. "We didn't get the cuff off until we got to the Inn. It... I burnt him, but Morven said it was the easiest to heal."

"He was kept here for a long time." Langris's tone was so cold he could be talking about a stranger. "Some of these links are rubbed smooth, others have been replaced. There are blood stains on this mattress, perhaps other things too. This is the physical proof of what he did to my brother."

William said, "We'll send in the investigators. They will be able to prove exactly what happened. Everything corroborates your story, Magna. Not that I expected anything else."

"Except where is the bastard," Yami muttered. "We never told anyone from the Purple Orca. No one should have been able to warn him."

"Judith said he didn't always stay here," Magna said.

"He's got two other houses. There was a sewage leak at one last night, and an out of control wind mage blew out the windows of the other one." Magna did not think those things sounded like accidents. "This is his only other house. Come on. Let's go look through his stuff. Maybe we can find out where he's gone."

The rest of the house was as grand as Magna had guessed that night in the rain. There were paintings on the wall, and expensive tapestries and rugs. The legs of the furniture looked too narrow to hold it up properly and were covered in so many curls and flourishes that Magna kept walking into them. But it felt unlived in. There was a covering of dust on every surface. Judith would have been unimpressed. The fireplaces were set. The pantry was empty.

Yami was rummaging through the bookshelves in the office, discarding books into a pile. “Fuck all here,” he muttered. He pulled out another leather bound book that fell open as he threw it down. Inside the front cover was a pile of loose sheets of paper bound with string. Yami inspected them. “Although, I think we can be sure that the bastard was getting Langris’s letters. And Finral wasn’t.”

Magna could not read much more than the start of the name on the top, but the F… i… n… was so recognisable now that he knew they were addressed to Finral.

“The most recent one is when Langris says he’s going to visit. The guy kept these. Why? It doesn’t look like he was using the house much.”

Magna thought about the blood stains on the floor in the basement. "Sivert's brother left the other one here. The one I... You know. I don't think I'd want to stay here either."

"Yeah, but you're not a bastard who keeps kids locked up in the basement for who knows what. I don't think much of his books either. These are shit." He tossed another book onto the floor.

"Magna," William put his head around the door. He had been checking upstairs with Langris. "Can you come and look at something for me?"

A little shiver of excitement ran down Magna's back at being asked to do something politely by the Captain of the Golden Dawn.

"Find something good?" Yami asked. He was bored of books.

"Langris thinks there is a hidden stair to the attic space. I was thinking a fireball might be less destructive than Langris's spatial magic."

Yami laughed at Magna's swelling pride. "Lead the way, little fire mage."

Upstairs there were five bedrooms, two bathrooms and something that looked like a walk in cupboard full of more clothes than Magna had seen in his life. Langris was standing in this room. He pointed to the wall behind a shelf of shoes. "There are stairs behind this wall."

Yami swiped off the shoes and Magna sent a small fireball at the point that Langris indicated. It flared as it burned through the paper to reveal a wooden door panel behind. The flame extinguished itself once the whole door had been exposed.

"Well. Fuck this," Yami said. He pulled out his katana. Magna and Langris stepped back quickly as Yami, without uttering a spell, slashed through the wooden door and shelves. It exploded into splinters.

"We could have tried opening it first," William said mildly.

"Not interested. Come on." Yami led the way.

The stairs were narrower than those that led to the basement. Yami had to turn his shoulders sideways and Langris left the crutches in the room with the clothes.

The attic space was dark, so Magna sent up a small fireball.

This was a much more utilitarian space than the rest of the building. It felt like a work room, with a long desk stretching its length. There were magic devices piled at one end as though they had been discarded. The fireball’s light glinted on metals and glass.

Magna's eye was drawn to one of the sloping roofs. There were signs of magical damage along its length. Scars criss-crossed over each other. There had been repairs, but they were poor workmanship and rain had leaked through the cracks.

Suddenly Magna was taken back to the afternoon in the Inn when Fin's ears had bled, and he had been in such agony that he had tried to break his own skull. There had been the sounds of powerful magic from this house. He could imagine Xerx firing off his magic in this room in the rage of losing Fin and being unable to track him down.

Had that been when he had tracked Fin to the warehouse at the docks? Magna had thought that he had followed Fin's magic use there...

Shit.

"What's this," Yami asked. He had been drawn to a book at the end of the table. Magna looked up despite the thoughts running in his head. The book's cover was mostly green, but there was a faded decal on the front in the shape of a keyhole.

Magna could feel its magic and he knew it was a grimoire before Langris said, “That's Finral's. I can feel it."

Magna agreed. It felt like Finral's magic even though he had only been close to it a couple of times. But there was something wrong with it. It felt sick. The fireball bobbed closer, and he could see creeping black tendrils across the surface as though it was covered with a spreading black mould.

Langris put out a hand and touched it, then pulled back as though it was unpleasant. Magna had never touched another person's grimoire, and he wasn't going to start now. But he didn't think it should cause the look of distaste on Langris's face, like a cat faced with something unpleasant. He licked his lips.

But none of this mattered. Magna needed to tell them what he'd worked out. "Yami. I know why he isn't here."

"What?" Yami was still looking at the grimoire.

"He followed Fin's... Finral's magic to the docks before. After Lugner did this to the roof, he went to the place where Finral cast his spell and he tore it to pieces like the Inn. He followed Fin's magic then. He can do it after Finral used his magic to save Grey. I think he's gone to the base."

Yami said, "Shit."

Yami pulled two little communication discs out of his pocket. He activated one that would link to the hideout and threw the other to William. That would be the one he had used to talk to the mages outside.

Magna only barely heard William's hushed conversation over his own heartbeat. Yami's disc was not connecting to the hideout.

"Why are they not answering?" Magna asked quietly, although he knew he could answer that question himself. Lugner was there. With Finral.

Magna felt his knees wobble and he put a hand on the table to steady himself. He had spent all this time protecting Finral. They had survived everything, and now the person who had hurt him was there, and Magna was here. In the wrong part of the country.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Langris. He spoke quietly so as not to disturb William. "He'll be fine. He's got your squad. I get the feeling that they won't let anyone hurt him. That lightning mage is a little intense, and Vanessa doesn't strike me as a pushover. And Finral's not so weak as Xerx thinks he made him."

Magna took a breath. Langris was right. Luck and Vanessa were never going to let someone hurt Finral. Gauche, Grey and Gordon too. Charmy would never let her best dessert customer get injured on her watch.

"We still need to go. Now."

"Agreed."

William closed his communicator. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. There has been an incident at a coal mine outside Ayre. Coincidentally, within a mile of the Purple Orca mission that Xerx was leading. All spatial mages capable of transportation have been drafted in to help. It looks like someone sabotaged the drainage system. With ice magic."

"Bastard," Yami muttered. "Well, my guys are obviously busy. Let's go and help clean up whatever mess they're making. And make sure Luck doesn't kill Lugner before he fixes that grimoire."

Langris used his sleeve to pick up the book, then wrapped it in his cloak. He handed it to Magna. "You should take this."

Magna did not put out his hand to take it. "But. You..."

"I can't carry it with the crutches. You should take it."

It sounded so practical that you could almost believe Langris was handing it over for that reason. His expression said otherwise.

"We haven't got time for this," Yami said. "Langris is right. You take it."

Magna took the bundle and tucked it under his arm. He could feel Finral's magic, but that sick chill was twisted through it.

William said, "Jack has brooms for us. Let's go."

Yami led the way through the house. Magna had been around him long enough to know he was worried. It was the way he broke the door on the way down the stairs, and the growl he gave to the knight with the scarred face and Green Mantis robes that met them outside. It was the same one that stopped Lugner in the market. Jack.

Yami held up his hand before Jack could speak. "We think the bastard is at the base. You can catch up later."

Jack nodded. "Say hi to the other kid for me. Now go get him. Sorry I couldn't help with the slashing."

Magna hesitated. "Thank you. For that day. You saved us."

"Glad to help. Now go."

There were four standard brooms ready for them. Magna mounted easily. Langris had more trouble with the crutches. Once they were safely stowed, he glared at Yami. "Don't say a word."

"Spatial mages," Yami muttered, then lifted his broom into the air.

Chapter Text

There was a decent tail wind as they flew which helped their speed, but Magna knew they were taking too long. A dread had settled in his stomach that was made worse every time Yami tried the communicator and it was unanswered.

No one spoke. The rushing wind would have stolen their words, but none of them had anything to say anyway. There was no plan. There might be one Purple Orca at the base, or fifty and they were going to do the same. Protect the Bulls. Protect Finral. Stop Xerx Lugner from ever hurting anyone again.

Maybe hold Luck back from murdering someone.

Magna glanced at Langris. He remembered what William had said about Langris's state of mind and that he was not sure they could put all the pieces back together again. The vice-captain looked like he was wearing the same mask as Finral had yesterday. He was resolute, but there was no hint of emotion in the cold eyes.

Perhaps it was not only Luck they would need to hold back from murder.

Magna's mind ran through a hundred scenarios. He realised he was becoming melodramatic when the idea that the whole squad of Purple Orca had taken over the hideout ran through his mind. He decided to focus on his spells in his head. Perhaps he could recreate that fireball from the basement, and he'd been fighting with Luck long enough to have a few more ideas up his sleeves. He began planning how to use his magic to take down any incursion into the hideout.

As they neared the building, his first relief was to see it still standing. He could see the shredded remains of the Inn and the Warehouse in his memory, so his first, worst case scenario was discounted.

He could not smell burning in the air, nor could he feel the powerful pulses of mana that he expected a running battle would cause.

Both positive. He discounted some more of his worst scenarios.

They flew closer.

The hideout seemed quiet. There were no huge holes in the building. The roof was intact, except for the missing east turret. There was no smoke or dust.

They flew over the the top and at last he could see the rest of the Bulls. Of the hundred scenarios he had considered, the one that had not come up was this one. But, maybe knowing the Bulls, he should not have been surprised.

Vanessa, Luck, Gauche, Gordon, Charmy and Grey were standing in a loose semi-circle in front of the main door. Finral was there, tucked between Vanessa and Luck. He was wearing the Black Bulls robe that Luck had given him.

Not one of them spared a glance at the brooms. They were focussed on the man lying on the grass in front of them, wrapped in threads. His purple hood had fallen off his face and his long white hair was unruly with static. A haze of distorted air hung around him. He turned as the brooms landed. He had matching black eyes to mar his icy complexion.

Luck shouted in greeting, "You went all the way to town to find him, and he came to visit us instead. That's what you get for trying to keep all the fighting to yourself Magna."

Yami rocked on his broom with booming laughter. "You bastards never worked out how to answer a call?"

Vanessa was more serious. She had not taken her eyes off the tied man in front of them. "We were kind of busy. Someone knocked on our door and thought we were in the business of selling off our squadmates." There was a flick of her wrist and Lugner twitched. "He won't make that mistake again."

Magna jumped off his broom. He ignored the man on the ground despite his desire to ignite him. Finral was pale, but focussed entirely on Xerx. There was blood at his ears. Luck's hip was nudged against him.

Yami sauntered to the group. He sat on the ground and lounged back as though he did not have a care in the world. But Magna could feel his mana under the surface. Yami was being anything but casual. "So, anyone want to tell me what fun you all got up to when we were away. Seems like you made a new friend."

To Magna's surprise, Lugner answered first. "Captain Yami, Captain William. I think there has been a mistake. I merely came here to investigate..."

"I don't think I was talking to you," Yami said without looking at him. "Vanessa, could you do something about that?"

"No, boss. Finral really doesn't like the gag. We tried it. So we've been listening to him for a bit. He doesn't grow on you."

"Well, I was rather disappointed with the reaction to my perfectly reasonable request."

Yami turned to look at Xerx. Despite little difference in posture, his entire body language changed. He was no longer chilling out on his front lawn. Suddenly he was full of threat. "So the kid objects to someone doing what you did to him. He's a better person than any of us. Take a suggestion, Lugner. Stop talking. Before I work out a way to do it that the kid won't have time to argue with."

Lugner looked like he was about to speak, then thought better of it.

"So, tell me about our visitor, Bulls. Without interruptions this time."

Luck answered, "Well, me and Vanessa and Gordon and Grey had just had a lovely breakfast, sir. Sausages, bacon and those runny eggs that you like the best. Fin was still sleeping, and who knows what Gauche was doing."

"I was writing a letter to Marie."

"And Gauche was writing his seven thousandth letter to Marie this week. And then you'll never guess what happened."

Yami waited.

"Come on. You have to guess."

"I refuse to guess, Luck."

"He's never going to get it anyway," Vanessa said.

Luck was bouncing on his toes. "Fin came down the stairs and told us Xerx Lugner was outside."

Magna had come to stand behind Finral. Vanessa shifted so that he could take her place. "He told you?"

"Really. He came down the stairs and said as loud as you and I that 'Xerx Lugner was outside' and that he 'had to go'."

Yami and Magna both turned to Finral. His stare was focused on Lugner and he ignored everything else. But his hand crept out towards Magna and Magna grabbed it and held tight. His heart was racing.

Yami said, "Vanessa?"

"Luck's right. He said as clearly as we're speaking. But his ears were bleeding like that. And he was terrified."

"We came out," Luck continued. "And this guy was here, and he said, he was 'sorry to bother us, but we had something that belonged to him, and would it trouble us very much to give it back', and that he would 'compensate us for our time'." Luck's impression was uncannily like the high nasal tones of the noble. "We said fuck off, didn't we Vanessa.”

Vanessa nodded.

"We all fired our magic at him," Luck was bouncing on his toes again. "It was amazing. Threads and lightning and poison and mirrors and Grey got enormous. It was the best fight ever!"

"It wasn't a fight," Gauche said, and thumped Luck's arm to get him to stand still. "He didn't even get a shot off. He thought he was coming to some little village off all the maps. He didn't know it was us. Idiot."

"So, we've been waiting here for you guys to get back so we can do something with him because I want a drink." Vanessa finished.

"Like I said," Lugner tried again. "I was mistaken. I thought a magical device of mine had ended up here in error. I'll be happy to be on my way, Yami. If you could get them to untie me."

Yami turned to look at Lugner. "So I guess it's a coincidence that the mute kid happens to start talking when you come to the door?"

Lugner tried to shrug despite the threads holding him. "I have no idea what you are talking about. You know me, Yami. I'm a Magic Knight, like you. There has been a mistake. I'm not guilty of whatever crime you think has been done to this... child." He nodded towards Finral.

Magna felt his blood boil. His grimoire was out and he formed the spell ready to blast this bastard into oblivion for what he had done to Finral and Judith. Vanessa's hand came to rest on his arm, and Finral's hand squeezed tighter.

"I don't think we just want to speak to you about Fin. We've got lots more you can help us with."

Lugner smiled. "Then I'm afraid I can't help you. I should speak to my squad Captain, and we'll have a statement prepared with the answers to all the questions you have. That is the legal framework I believe, in criminal cases."

Yami smiled back. It was a predatory smile. "I think you are mistaken, Xerx. Because, as you said, you're a Magic Knight, I'm a Magic Knight. And the kid you tortured is a Magic Knight. So, this doesn't have to go to the courts at all. We can deal with it here and now. As Magic Knights."

"But, that's not possible. It... Finral can't speak. Or hear. It... He can't possibly understand you. How can it be a Magic Knight?"

"He's a Magic Knight, Xerx. He's a Black Bull. He even passed his initiation, didn't he Luck?"

Luck bounced. "Sure did."

"So that clears that up." Yami leaned forward. "Now, do you want to explain how you know that Fin can't hear or speak or understand? Sounds like you know a lot more about this than someone who came here by mistake."

Xerx opened his mouth. Then he closed it again. Yami let dark magic filter through his aura. "Xerx?"

"I... I'm not going to say anything without my lawyer."

Yami laughed. "Again, you're forgetting you're a Magic Knight. I've got two captains here and vice-captain. That's a quorum for an interrogation."

"I'm not saying anything."

"Gordon, I think you've got something to help with that. William, Langris, do you agree that a truth telling agent might be helpful in these circumstances?"

"I agree," William said. There was a look of distaste on his face.

Langris nodded his head once.

"Hey, look, I agreed with vice-captain Grumpy. It's a good day, Xerx," Yami said lightly. Then he turned to Gordon and he was all business. "In your own time."

William took a small round stone from his pocket. He said to Yami, "A recording device. I do not want to have to repeat this." A shimmer of magic flowed over it and it glowed as if hot. William placed it on the ground at his feet.

"This interrogation of vice-captain Xerx Lugner is carried out by Captain Yami Sukehiro of the Black Bulls, Captain William Vangeance and vice-captain Langris Vaude of the Golden Dawn. It is witnessed by Finral Vaude, Magna Swing, Luck Voltia, Vanessa Enoteca, Gordon Agrippa, Gauche Adlai and Grey." He recited the date and their location, then indicated for Gordon to proceed.

William had given Finral's name first. That felt right to Magna.

Gordon's grimoire was out and fluttered through pages until it settled at the correct spell.

"Now, I want to speak to my squad Captain," Lugner appealed. "I want my lawyer. I object..."

Gordon murmured his spell so that its name was unclear, but purple mist swelled into the air and settled around Xerx as though blown by the wind.

Lugner looked terrified, Magna realised. He was sniffling and a line of snot ran from his nose. He was wriggling against the threads that held him. Magna chanced a quick glance at Finral. He was still focused on the tied man. There was no fear in his expression.

Luck saw Magna's glance and flashed a quick thumbs up.

"Now, let's give that a moment to work," Yami said.

There was no obvious change in Xerx's demeanour. He continued to try to fight the threads, but perhaps there was something about the look in his eyes that suggested there had been a subtle shift.

"Let's start simple, shall we," Yami said when he was satisfied. "Name and rank?"

"I... this is pointless... I..." He struggled. A spasm of pain crossed his face.

Finral's hand tightened in Magna's. He felt Luck move closer.

"Name and rank."

"I..." He cringed in more pain, then, he said, "Xerx Lugner. Vice-captain of the Purple Orca."

His face shifted to instant relief, almost pleasure. He sighed.

"I think, Mr Lugner, you already understand how this spell works. Answer questions truthfully and there is an endorphin release. Try to resist, and, well, Gordon tells me it is unpleasant. Another simple one. Who have you met here before?"

This time Xerx made no attempt to delay. "You, Yami. Vangeance. Langris Vaude." He stopped as if this was the complete answer. For a moment he looked almost smug, then a shiver of pain passed through his body.

"You have to answer fully. Part answers are as bad as a lie. Who else do you know here?"

"Finral Vaude," he spat. "Magna. But I didn't know his name."

"Better." Yami leaned back onto the grass. "Charmy, could you get us tea? This might take a while."

Charmy nodded and bounded off towards the kitchen.

"Tell us when you met Finral Vaude."

Xerx shuddered. "His father brought him to me. They said he was causing problems at home, and they needed someone to take him out of their hair for a bit. There was another son," Xerx glared at Langris. "They said that the boy was affecting his studies and it would be better if he was educated away from home for a while. For the younger son's benefit. They paid me”

"What did you tell them you were going to do with him?"

"They never asked. I don't think they cared. They certainly didn't seem to want him back again. I mean, do I look like someone with an interest in mentoring young magic users? I planned to find out about his magic, then pass him on if he looked like he had something good. There's money in spatial magic, if you know the right market."

"So what happened?"

Xerx was no longer struggling against the compulsion to answer. "Have you seen his magic? It was good even as a thirteen year old. He could make multiple line of sight portals faster than anyone I'd ever seen. I don't know what his parents were wanting, but he was as fast and accurate as any adult spatial mage. I decided to keep him around. I wanted to see what he could do when he got his grimoire.

"I took him on a few simple thieving jobs to start with, but he was... resistant. He objected to what he was being asked to do. He tried to escape twice even though it was just short distance portals. He nearly succeeded the second time, before one of my crew brought him back. I put a trace on his magic, and I persuaded him never to do it again."

"For the record," Yami said. "How did you persuade him?"

"I broke his wrist and his leg. Stopped him escaping, sure, because he couldn't cast his spell with a broken wrist and couldn’t walk on the broken leg. It was weeks before I could take him out again. Even though he was injured, he used to chatter at my crew. I couldn't have that. Keeping him gagged was awkward, but necessary.

"I have an associate, a Recovery Mage who helps me out on occasion. To be honest, he's a terrible Recovery Mage, barely worth the name. But he's well placed to hear things. It was him that told me about the Silent Peace spell. The infirmary mages had thought it might be useful for agitated patients, but all it was really good for was locking people into their own heads. Harallen got me the spell, and it didn't take much work to change it to Silent Prison. I'm quite proud of it. It started as a means of blocking hearing and speech, but as I refined it, it prevented almost all forms of communication. I had to cast it every couple of days to keep it active, and I instructed my crew to keep him gagged at other times. The magic trace would tell me if he cast a spell without permission and he learned not to do that. Although it took far longer than you’d have thought to look at him."

"Explain how you taught him."

"Pain can be an excellent deterrent, surely you know that. If he used magic without permission, he would be hurt. Normally just small things, fingers, a slap around. If I wasn't there, my crew would administer the punishment. Some were more enthusiastic than others, although you’d never know how bad he was hurt if he could help it. He collapsed once when I had him out moving some artworks. It was like there was nothing wrong until he went down. I had to pretend he was my son to get some village amateur to heal him, and it was close. Internal bleeding from the liver, they said. He was supposed to rest afterwards, but we still had the job to finish and he'd already cost me. My crew said it was an accident. I let it pass, but I made arrangements to stay in the house to keep an eye on them. I couldn’t go away for long anyway, or the spell would fade. That changed when I got the grimoire.”

"Tell us about his grimoire."

Xerx smiled as though he was proud of himself. "I had to break into the tower with him. I think someone had been overzealous the day before and he was a bit of a mess. I wasn't even sure if he would get a grimoire if he was barely conscious. But it worked. The grimoire was the breakthrough. The portals increased in size and power. It… he could take me anywhere I pointed out on a map if it’d been there before. My operation became infinitely more successful. But it was more than that. If I put the Silent Prison spell into the grimoire it became far stronger. I didn’t even need to be with him. I only had to repeat it every few months, so I was free to broaden my enterprise out through the Clover Kingdom.

“That’s when it stopped being a person. It was mine. Just a way for me to access the magic in its grimoire. My crew called it Xerx’s toy, and it stuck, but it wasn’t a toy. It was my key to Gueldre’s entire operation.

“He doesn’t know I’ve been skimming twenty percent off his illegal businesses for years. I got careless. I trusted it to my crew for longer. And they were clumsy. I came back to take it out with me not long after I got the grimoire, and they had nearly killed it. I found it unconscious in a puddle of vomit and blood. The cretins had beaten it so badly that it’s skull was fractured in three places. It’d been like that for days. I had to get Harallen to heal it up and I had to pay him four times what it should have cost me. He still couldn't do a proper job, the imbecile. It was months before I could take it out again.

"I killed that crew, of course. They never admitted which one had done it, so it was easier just to dispose of them all. It set the operation back. I had to recruit again and that takes time. And I made sure the new ones knew that I didn't care what they did, so long as they didn't damage it. The man who died on the stairs, I forget his name, was a potion maker. Turns out they could do all kinds of things if they drugged it first. I didn't ask, didn't care, so long as I could take it out when I needed it.

"Of course, drugging the food meant it wouldn't eat or drink, and it looked like it was going to starve itself to death. They had to force it, but they made some kind of mistake and nearly killed it before they figured out how to do that properly. Harallen said it got some kind of pneumonia from contamination in the lungs when he healed it, but its lungs were weakened after that. He told me that the cold and dampness in the basement were going to kill it. I had to pay to put in a furnace.

“My crew got creative with other routes of administering whatever drug they were playing around with after that. They were quite imaginative with needles and stuff that got absorbed in the mouth. I used to watch if I was bored."

Magna felt sick. He realised he was shaking. Vanessa's hand on his arm was gripping tight enough to leave bruises. Luck's smile had been replaced by a terrifying frown. Gordon was keeping his spell active, but he had stepped as far back from Xerx as he could. Langris's expression had not changed but he was ghastly pale.

Finral had not taken his eyes away from Xerx.

"You know," Xerx laughed. "I was already thinking about ending the whole thing before the theft. I was getting letters from a jumped up little Golden Dawn Magic Knight. I thought the whole family had forgotten that another kid existed, but turned out the perfect brother wanted to see it. And I mean, I couldn't have let that happen. It’d been starved so long and had so many injuries, it wasn't like I could just brush it off and let them have a nice little chat. I was considering taking it out of the city, but really, I didn't know how much longer it was going to survive anyway. I thought about killing it and making a clean break.

"If it hadn't been stolen that night, I might have let my crew finish it off. I'd have regretted it, but sometimes in business you have to learn to cut your losses." He turned to Langris. "You know, at the beginning, you were the only threat I had that worked. I used to tell him that I would be coming for you next. Then I said your parents had sent you to me as well, and that you were in the next room. It was the only way I could get him to behave before I found the spell."

Langris gave no reaction. William gave him a concerned glance but there was no acknowledgement.

"I guess you want to know about the robbery then, don't you. This really is a remarkable spell. I feel lovely, despite the fact I'm telling you things I shouldn't."

“What happened when you found out he was gone?"

“I told you. It wasn’t a ‘he’ by then. It was mine. I was looking at a house out of town that I thought I might be able to relocate to when something unexpected happened. I felt it use its magic. It hadn’t done that without my permission for years. It was a tiny spell compared to what I knew it could do. It was so small I couldn't follow the trace from far away, but I made sure it knew I'd noticed. I thought it was just annoying the crew who were there, and they'd be sure to punish it properly.

"But when I got back days later, the house smelled of death and burnt flesh. I hadn’t expected the burning, but I was almost relieved. It was dead and I was free of it. I went to the basement to check, and it wasn't the toy that had died. It was the potion maker. He’d been training up the new boy. Fire magic got him if I guessed, and my toy was gone. Someone had broken the chain and taken my stuff.

"I became angry. Angrier than I had expected. I have thought about it now. Yes, if it had died, I might have been relieved. But someone else had it and it didn't belong to them. I made a mess at home and poured most of my anger into the grimoire. How dare someone take my toy."

Magna thought of Finral throwing his head against the wall in agony while explosions rocked the house in Fishers’ Gate. Judith had been right. Someone had been screaming at Finral. There had been so much blood.

Xerx’s content happy smile was utterly at odds with Magna’s memory.

"Once I had calmed my rage, I remembered the little pull of magic I had felt. The trace was still active, but I had no idea what it meant that it went to a warehouse in the docks. I spent more of my anger on that building. The trail was cold.

"Of course, I had to return and deal with the dead man on the stairs. And then I realised that I had been offered a solution to my other problem. I removed any identifying marks from the body, and worsened some of the damage so that there was no way to tell who it was. Then I called the City Watch and reported the theft and the death of the young mage I was mentoring. I must say, Langris, that your parents seemed relieved. They didn’t look at the body too much. You were the only one to show any doubt over whether it was your brother. And with that, you were off my trail. I heard you had taken it hard, but really, I had it for six years, and you had never made any attempt to find it before. I'm not sure what you expected."

"Stay on the fucking topic," Yami snapped. Magna was glad. Langris was closed off, but there was no way that the things Xerx was saying could not affect him. There was a trace of angry magic bubbling underneath, as it had been when he had promised to destroy the base if they did not tell him why Finral was there. But he was keeping it under firm control. "What happened when you lost the trail?" Yami prompted.

"I went to speak to the new boy that should have been there that night. Perhaps he would have told me something if I hadn't lost my temper. I regret that. I mean, if I'd given him a chance to tell me what your hair was like, Magna, I would have found you in days. But I killed him. I tried to keep my ear to the ground afterwards, but it was like it had vanished. I heard about the deaf kid working with his brother in the Wild Broomsticks, but I never made the connection.

"I saw it once, in the market. That's where I saw you too, Magna. I thought I had you both. There was no way it could have run with the injuries to its leg over the years. It could barely walk most of the time. But just as I was ready to kill you, and take it back, you ran. And then that fucking Green Mantis got in the way. I nearly killed him, but he's strong and I didn't need a scene. Harallen, the Recovery Mage was with me, and I made him search for you while Jack fussed and delayed me. Deliberately, I'm sure. I still want to kill him. No one would tell us anything about you.

“That's when I decided to get other people to ask around for me. I knew that you sometimes went to the area, Captain Yami. I asked you to look for my stolen goods. I think it was your investigations that tipped off my informant. He realised that the kids working in the bar had arrived at the same time as the burglary. I got plenty of letters in that dropbox, but he was the only one who knew what had been stolen. His letter said that my stuff was at the Inn, and I should collect it soon, before it ran away.

“I went to the Inn as soon as I read it. It was deserted except for a stupid, fat woman sitting on a bar stool."

Magna had to fight to slow his breathing. Vanessa pulled closer and put her hand around his back.

"Not so stupid, now you think about it," said Yami. He had been offended by the description too.

"You're right. I asked where my toy was, and she laughed at me. Said it was dead. She said that the man who had sent me the letter was the brother of the newbie who'd been in the house. He'd hurt my toy, because his brother said it was okay to do things to it so long as he didn't damage it. He'd been too rough. There had been some kind of bleeding inside and it had died. They'd buried it out back, and I was welcome to borrow a spade if I wanted to dig it back up. I believed her. That's what the rule had been. Don't damage it, but some idiot kid wouldn't have known that it would fight back if you didn't drug it. And that bleeding. It made sense too. It was the same thing that nearly killed it in the village. Turns out I was the stupid one.

"I regret killing her quickly. She should have been tortured for the lies she told."

Vanessa's hand on Magna's back was joined by one on his shoulder now. She was holding him back, he realised. He had not even noticed that he had tensed up ready to throw himself at this... this excuse for a human being. Finral sensed the escalation in his distress. For the first time he turned away from Xerx and looked at Magna. He took in the furious tears and Magna's anger. He pulled him into a quick hug, then returned his focus back to Xerx.

Finral was right. This was not done yet.

Xerx had not noticed the exchange. He had a small, pleased smile on his face as though enjoying a fond memory.

"I killed her, then destroyed the Inn in a fit of rage. The man who had sent me the letter had left his address. His mother told me where to find him. He said the same thing as the bitch did. My toy had been killed. He tried to blame someone else, but I was so furious that I did not care. He did not die so quickly as the woman.

"I went home. I expected to find the grimoire gone, but it was still there. It had looked sick for years, as though it should never have had two masters. But I guessed that I had been its dominant possessor, and that was why it outlasted the boy. I threw the last of my fury into it, and there was nothing. I thought I felt a glimpse of my toy through it, but then it was gone, like the connection had been severed. I assumed it was only a faint memory from the grimoire. It seems I was wrong again.

"That was the end of the matter. The grimoire stayed in my possession, and although I tried I could never make any sense of the spells within. It seemed to get sicker, I assumed the longer the original owner was dead. I tried to feed my own grimoire's power into it, and that only damaged mine.

"Then, yesterday, I was working with the squad when I felt the pull of the Magic Trace. This was no gentle tug. This was it doing it's full scale portal, something that it should never have been able to do with its grimoire in my possession. I could track its location, but I had to make preparations. I damaged the mine works around Ayre so that they would collapse this morning. I didn't know what I was coming into, but I didn't want a whole host of Magic Knights coming to defend a village from a rogue mage. I have to say, I did not expect to arrive at an actual Magic Knight base. It was quite the surprise. Could I have some tea now?"

Charmy had returned with tea things balanced on a sheep's back. She bared her teeth at him as if she would rather bite his head off than provide him with a drink. Her teeth seemed very sharp.

Magna was glad of the hot drink that she put into his hand. It was black coffee the way he usually drank it. The first mouthful eased some of the chill that Xerx's confession had settled in his bones. She had to force a cup into Finral's hand, but he looked a little better after he had taken a first sip. Magna wondered, not for the first time, if there was some magic in Charmy's cooking. Vanessa and Gauche both accepted their cups. Vanessa let her threads tie themselves off as she drank. Gordon waved her away. He was still maintaining his spell, although Xerx was sitting very quietly. He seemed to be concentrating.

Chapter Text

"You got any other questions William?" Yami asked. He looked as if he wanted to wash his hands.

"I would like to know how we reverse the damage to Finral's grimoire."

Xerx sighed as if he was being interrupted. "I really have no idea. If I understood grimoires, mine wouldn't look like this, would it?" He nodded towards his own grimoire.

Now that Magna saw it, it did look worse than Finral's. It seemed to be a few tattered pages held together by a worn and faded cover. Finral's grimoire looked sick. Xerx's looked like it was dying.

"I think we should just give it back to Finral," Luck said. "Can't you feel it trying to get back?"

"No, imbecile boy. Of course I can't," Xerx answered. Gordon's spell must make him answer everyone's questions even though Luck's had not been directed towards him.

But the Bulls were more thoughtful. Magna knew that Luck could feel things that the others could not. He had felt Finral's missing grimoire, and Xerx's connection through it. Of them all, perhaps he would have the best idea.

"Isn't it still tied to Xerx?" Vanessa asked.

"Well, of course it is," Xerx said despite himself. He was trying to ignore their conversation.

"Yes." Luck tipped his head to one side as if listening. "But it's trying to get back. I think it just needs to remember where it belongs."

"Good enough for me." Magna said as he pulled the bundled grimoire out of his belt.

Xerx's face fell. He had not realised that they had the grimoire. Yami laughed at him. "What? Where did you think we were before we came here? We had a good look round your house of horrors. The Watch investigators are there now. I think Jack was sad that he didn't get to come and play but uncovering all your shady shit was a close second."

Magna ignored them. He pulled Finral away from his observation of Xerx.

Finral was confused. He wanted to go back to watching, but Magna was insistent. Luck vibrated with contained excitement.

Magna held out the bundle. "This is yours. I'm sorry it took such a long time to get it back, but we needed friends to help. There is something wrong with it, but Luck says that you can fix it."

Finral looked none the wiser and kept glancing back at Xerx. He was looking away when Magna took his hand and thrust the bundle into it.

It must have been clear what was inside the moment Finral's hand curled around it. He turned to stare at Magna and a look of wonder came over his face. He did not unwrap the bundle but clutched it to his chest.

Xerx was forgotten.

Magna felt himself blushing under the scrutiny. "It was really Langris who found it," he said and waved his hand at the vice-captain.

Langris had declined Charmy's restoring tea, so he looked as pale as he had during Xerx's confession. He was balanced on his crutches. He shook his head. "Just open it Finral."

All eyes were on Finral as he pulled the bundle away from his chest and with infinite care, peeled back the fabric to reveal the book underneath. He placed the palm of one hand on its exposed front cover and the book shivered as though it was alive. It began to glow with a warm golden light.

It was not just the grimoire that responded. The mana in the atmosphere began to swirl around Finral. The air was full of the smell of old books and magic. The power built up around the little group so that Magna’s skin began to tingle with energy. He could feel his own grimoire respond to its sister.

The glow around the grimoire swelled until it encompassed Finral. Then, as they watched the creeping black tendrils of mould that had infected the book shuddered and broke away from the cover. They rose into the air and vanished on the currents of magic. The book pulsed with life.

Luck whooped. "I told you. I told you!"

Finral let the fabric fall away completely so he was holding the naked grimoire in his hands. He looked up at Magna and he grinned. It was the joyful expression that Magna had only seen once, on the morning they met and Fin had made the little portal to the top of the cargo bales.

"Do a spell," Luck said. "Show us your real magic."

Finral spun to stare at him. He blinked. The joyful smile was replaced by shock and he pulled the grimoire in to his chest as if suddenly uncertain.

Everyone was so focussed on Finral's moment that they missed what Xerx was doing until it was too late.

The threads that had held him were no longer being maintained by Vanessa's magic, so Xerx had been using a small blade to saw at them. There was no way he could use his freedom to escape even with everyone's distraction, and there would be limited opportunity to act before he was restrained again.

But Xerx had decided it was worth it. He stood to his full height before Magna even realised that the bindings were loose. He had time to curse their inattention, then Xerx was pulling on his magic.

"That is mine. It belongs to me,” he snarled, then cast his spell. “Ice Magic: Ice Slicer."

The mana that had swelled around Finral and his grimoire reacted to the new spell with a palpable shift. It coalesced around Xerx. There was no time for anyone to raise their own spell in retaliation.

Magna did have time to realise that Xerx was staring straight at him. He was the target.

Oh shit.

He was going to be impaled on an ice spike just as he had feared in the market. This time there was nowhere to run.

He closed his eyes and tensed. He heard ice snap.

He wondered if Judith had had any regrets when Xerx killed her. He thought not. Neither would he.

He waited to die.

And waited.

The impact never came.

Magna cracked his eyes open to see a shimmering shape in front of him. It was opaque and taller than him. He could hear impacts on the other side and then from somewhere beyond the portal the sound of breaking ice.

A portal!

Finral had made a portal to save his life.

It did not waver. Magna had to lean around it so that he could see the other side.

The second portal opened above Xerx, so the mage stood in the middle of his own fallen ice. He had a cut across his eye that oozed blood, but no major wounds.

"Don't do that again."

Magna did not recognise the voice. It took a moment for his brain to make the connections.

Portals. Finral.

Luck had said that Finral’s reactions were faster than Magna’s.

Vanessa's spell beat William's by the barest second to restrain Xerx. Lightning crackled about Luck and spatial distortions rippled around Langris. Everyone had their grimoires out, but the tight branches and violet threads had secured their prisoner before any other offensive spells could be cast.

Finral let the portal close.

He giggled and said to Magna. "You should see your face."

"Umm. Thank you."

There was a moment’s pause. What was Magna meant to say? Finral had spoken to him. He could hear. They had done it and what was meant to happen now?

Finral answered the question. He dived towards Magna and wrapped him in a hug. "Thank you, thank you."

Magna put his own arms around him and hugged him back. "My god, Finral. I'm so sorry. I'm... I'm..." His words got lost in the sobs.

It seemed like they stood like that for ages. It was enough time for Magna's tears to stop and Luck's enthusiastic slaps on their backs to start.

"I want a turn. I want to hug Finral," Luck demanded, so Magna took a step back and let first Luck, then Vanessa, then Grey take their turn. Gauche shook his hand, then Luck bounced in for another hug. There was so much movement that Magna could not see Xerx. When he got a chance to check, the former Magic Knight was wrapped in tight wooden restraints. He had a gag of Vanessa’s threads around his mouth this time.

William and Yami had stationed themselves on either side of the prisoner, but it seemed unnecessary. Unless Xerx had an axe there was no way he could get out of William's branches. Magna was not even sure how he could breathe.

Langris was standing to one side. He was wearing the same mask that Finral had worn yesterday, but his eyes were wide, and he was biting his lip.

"Langris," Magna said.

Finral lifted his head from having his hair ruffled by Vanessa. She pulled back. Langris averted his gaze, and Finral was suddenly shy. He said, "Langris. You're okay. Xerx said...'' He paused and swallowed. "For so long I thought Xerx had you too. And you're okay. You're a Magic Knight. You're here. I missed you so much."

With more caution than he had shown to Magna, Finral stepped towards Langris. Langris was frozen, but he did not move away. This gave Finral all the permission he needed to wrap his arms around his brother despite the crutches and hold him tight. Langris was stiff, but Finral was undeterred. "I missed you."

Langris balanced on his good leg and brought his arm onto Finral's back. "I missed you too," he whispered and closed his eyes. He rested his head on Finral's shoulder.

Magna saw William's small smile.

When Finral and Langris split apart, Langris's face was wet with tears. Finral's eyes were dry. He slipped a hand into Langris's and squeezed it tight. Then he turned to the Black Bulls.

"So," he said. "What are your names?"

Of course, he did not know their names. Magna felt himself blush, even though he could not work out the reason for his embarrassment. He knew this. He knew that Finral would not know any of them.

But it hurt all the same.

Luck was dancing from foot to foot. "I can tell you. I can do it."

"Wait a minute," Yami interrupted. "I'd like to do something about the trash on the lawn first. Then we have introductions."

"That's Captain Yami Sukehiro," Luck said in a mock whisper.

"I don't think he's going to be riding a broom like that," William said about Xerx. "Perhaps we could rig up a harness and transport him between two brooms?"

"That's Captain William someone. I don't remember his surname."

Langris hissed, "William Vangeance."

"Oh, yep. That was it."

"I could do that," Vanessa let small threads dance across her fingers. "Although it might be a bit unstable in these wind conditions. It'd be easier if he was unconscious."

"Vanessa Enoteca," Luck said. "Oh, I'm Luck."

"......" Gordon said.

"Don't be an idiot," Gauche snapped back as if he understood every word. "How are you going to maintain the spell in the air?"

"That's Gordon Agrippa. And Gauche Adlai. Are you keeping up?"

Finral shook his head, but Luck was undeterred. "That's Grey, and that’s Charmy. That's the important people." He crossed his arms with a mischievous grin.

Yami cuffed his ear. "Ass. Tell him."

Because Finral was staring at Magna. This was a different kind of scrutiny than Magna had become used to. This was Finral and he wanted something from Magna that until now he had not been able to have.

"I'm Magna," Magna whispered.

Finral dropped Langris's hand and came back to Magna. "Magna," he said as if trying out the name. "Magna. Yeah. That's good. You know, you don't sound anything like I imagined."

"You sound just like I imagined. Well, you talk in your sleep, so that helps, but well.... yeah." He trailed off.

"People," Yami interrupted again. "People. There is shit on the lawn. Can we do the warm cuddles once we get this bastard out of here?"

Finral was still watching Magna, but he said, "Where do you want him to go?"

"Prison. Then hangman, ideally."

"Can you show me? I don't know any of the names."

"Your maps," Luck said in delight. "You were drawing portals. I'll go get them."

"The maps?" William asked.

Finral answered. "I don't know what the places are called. But I know where I've got markers. I... I don't want him on the lawn anymore either." He was avoiding looking at Xerx. Magna wondered if it was the gag.

That was enough for Magna. This was Fin. Magna put his arms around the other boy first. It was quick and business-like, but it was reassuring, nonetheless. He still felt like Fin. When he pulled away, the hand that slipped into his was the same one he had held running away from the basement months ago. "I've got so much to tell you," Magna said.

"I have questions."

Luck brought the maps and laid them on the ground. Yami stood guard over the prisoner while William indicated the location of the prison receiving area on the map of the city. Finral nodded.

"I can get you there. I... we collected someone from there."

Xerx struggled against his bindings until Yami hit him across the head with the flat of his hand and he stumbled and stood quietly. Finral was not looking and gripping Magna's hand so tightly that his knuckles were white.

"There might be questions that you could help with," William said. He was looking at the other places on the map.

Finral paled, but he nodded.

"Sir. We should go." Langris had taken up William's position at Xerx's side. His expression was cold.

"Are you sure?" William said as he stood up from the portal map. "I'm sure that Captain Yami would be happy for you to stay for a bit."

"You've got a room now vice-captain Grumpy," Yami said.

"It says that on the door plate," Luck said to no one.

"Thank you, Captain Yami," Langris was standing to attention. "That won't be necessary. I would like to see this... person appropriately dealt with. Then I need to speak to my parents." His shoulders slouched and he looked at the ground. "If I could come back, I would be grateful."

"Shit, Langris. It's a Magic Knight base, not a monastery. Come whenever you want. I'm guessing your brother will be here?"

Finral was fingering the Black Bulls’ robe that Luck had given him.

"You know," Magna said to Finral. It hurt to say, but he had to. "He's your brother. You could go with him. We'd understand."

Finral glanced at all the faces around him. "Umm. If it's okay with everyone, I quite like it here. If Langris could visit? And I could visit him?"

"Charmy does a roast on Tuesday," Yami said to Langris. "We'll keep you a space."

Finral flashed Magna a shy grin.

"And I'm not sure if this means the same now, but I would like to be on this..." He glanced at the insignia on his robe, "kind of angry horse squad."

"It's a bull. Those are its horns," Yami said. He sounded insulted.

"Ah. Yes. Horns. I see."

"We're Black Bulls, Finral. You're a Black Bull as long as you want to be. Now, if you would be so good as to get this shit off my lawn."

Finral's grin grew bigger. "I missed this," he said. His grimoire flickered open. "One portal to that place."

The portal was beautiful now that Magna had time to appreciate it. It shimmered greys and silver. Vanessa gave an appreciative whistle.

Langris pushed Xerx forwards with one of his crutches.

William crossed into the portal alongside Xerx without hesitation. Langris glanced back at the Bulls. "Tuesday. Roast. I will see you then, brother." Then he stepped through the portal.

Finral let it drop and took a deep breath. "Magna, yeah? What does vice-captain Grumpy mean? And what happened to his leg?"

So, the first thing Magna put on his list to explain to Finral was the origin of his brother's nickname and how he had lost a fight with a rock fall.

They moved indoors and Charmy brought more tea and cakes. Magna did not question the way that Finral waited for Magna to drink his tea first, or Luck's impudent bite of the sponge. Perhaps old habits would take a long time to fade.

The common room was loud and raucous. Finral's expression glazed over very quickly as everyone wanted to talk at once about something different. Saying his name had no effect, and Magna had to touch his arm to get his attention. "Finral?"

"Loud," he whispered. His hands were tucked under his legs. He looked like the boy faced with the lunch rush for the first time.

Vanessa must have spotted the same thing because she hissed at everyone to shut up.

"You want to leave?" Magna asked.

"Just our room. You'll come too?"

So, old habits might never fade. "Sure."

"And you'll tell me what happened. What happened to the other people we met? The breakfast lady, and the pointy stick girl, and the wavy hand lady with the cards. The man who... you know?"

"Yeah," Magna said quietly. "Come on. I'll tell you. everything."

Chapter Text

The Bulls adapted quicker than Magna might have expected. The common room became quieter, and everyone stopped talking on top of each other. Finral adapted too, although he was inclined to zone out if there were too many voices. If he was overwhelmed he would hide in their room or under a tree in the garden. Magna panicked the first time he used a portal to escape. The portal itself was okay, it was the fact that when Magna was shoved through, it opened onto a flat portion of the roof. It was very high.

Learning to put his hands over his ears helped, as did the reassurance that he could leave the room with Magna whenever he wanted. Sometimes he would let Luck tag along too.

Finral kept Magna as close as he had during those first days at the Inn. He kept an eye on him all the time watching his reactions more than ever. He spoke a little to the team, "Do you know that the leaves make a noise in the wind?" "Thank you for the pudding, Charmy," "Aren't you cold, Vanessa?"

But the minute he was alone with Magna it was as if he was making up for years without words. Magna realised that his assertion that Finral was smart had been an understatement. He remembered everything and wanted to know all the bits he had missed. Then he told Magna the things he had felt but been unable to share.

"I didn't hate the Wavy Hand lady with the cards," he explained as they sat on the roof together. He was sitting at the edge swinging his legs against the wall. Luck was crouched nearby watching the trees. "It felt sort of nice. I mean, I couldn't do any of the things she wanted me to, but she kept trying. I figured out the hand thing was important eventually, but it was like the writing. I could tell what she was doing, but it was all behind a wall in my head that I couldn't get to.

"I think I missed reading most. Do you remember when the Breakfast lady showed me the writing? I could see the numbers. I liked the numbers. But the words were a jumble. I think that's when I realised what had been stolen was more than just what I could hear and say. I don't think I'd noticed the words before. There was never anything written on the maps Xerx had me look at."

"Who is the Breakfast lady?" Luck asked.

Magna had become so used to Finral's habit of interchanging his own names for people with their real names that he had stopped noticing it. His memory for their real names was appalling. "The lady in the Inn. What was her name again?"

"Judith."

"She used to get Magna in trouble for folding the bedsheets wrong all the time. And she put stuff in my food once."

"I told her you were never going to forgive her for that."

"I did forgive her. She never did it again." He turned to Luck and said softly, "Xerx killed her."

"That was wrong," Luck replied just as quietly.

Finral tucked his arms around his chest, and they sat in silence.

Eventually, he swallowed and changed the subject. "Did you really not tell them that you were afraid of thunderstorms?"

Luck shrugged. "It mucks up my magic. I told people before. They didn't understand. You did."

"No one ever saw him sleep before we arrived," Magna said.

"Why not?"

Luck never took his eyes away from the horizon. "If you sleep, you don't know what they're going to do to you. It's a hard habit to break. But I trusted you. Both of you."

"I thought that about Magna when I met him too. That last while down there is a mess in my head. Things were all jumbled up. I thought at first I'd imagined you until you fired a fireball at the men and then nearly threw up. I didn't think imaginary people would nearly throw up. And when you took me to that dark place and it rained outside, I was so tired. I trusted you to keep watch."

"Thank you," Magna whispered.

They sat in silence as the sun set. A gentle breeze brought up the noises of the forest.

"I like the sounds the birds make," Finral said. "What's the other name for that?"

"Birdsong."

"Yeah. I remember now. Did you sing to me?"

"When?"

"When I was frightened, and when it hurt It felt different. It didn’t feel like your normal talking. I guessed you were singing, but I didn't know for sure. What were you singing?"

He told them the name of the old nursery rhyme. Luck laughed and did a much more musical rendition than Magna ever could.

"Did it sound like that?" Finral asked.

"Nothing like that. I'm not sure I can really sing it like I did then. It was more that it made you calmer than speaking did. Judith complained that I only knew one song, but it was the only thing I could think of."

"She’s the Breakfast lady. What were the others called?" Luck asked.

"The Pointy Stick girl and the Wavy Hand lady. There were other ones..." Finral trailed off. He had never told Magna what he had called Sivert, and Magna did not push. He did not want to know. "Yami was Pack of Cards."

"Ooo. What was I?"

"Little Loud."

Luck rocked backwards and laughed. "Why?"

"I hadn't felt anyone like you that I could follow all the time. Your electricity felt noisy. You felt like what loud should be."

Magna grinned. "You're not wrong."

"I want to know everyone."

It was the longest conversation Finral had sustained with someone that was not Magna. They were making progress.

"Vanessa was Cutting Scissors. When Xerx was screaming at me and it hurt so much, she cut something to make it stop. I didn't know anyone could do that. Gordon was Scary Face, but please don't tell him. Gauche was Girl Picture. Grey was Shy. Charmy was Dinner. Is that everyone?"

"What about Magna?"

Magna had never asked this. Finral had told him his own names for people because they kept dropping into conversation when he was distracted. Magna had not enquired why he was not on the list.

"I never gave him a name. He didn't need one." Finral shrugged. "I guess I sort of believed that he was going to be there where I could find him. I just sort of called you, 'he'. Like 'there he is', 'what's he doing', 'does he think it's safe.' Sorry Magna. I never thought I'd have to explain this."

Magna realised he had tears in his eyes.

"He likes it," Luck translated. "You made him cry."

"Oh. I didn't mean..."

"It's good crying. He's flattered. Look."

Magna gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. "Luck's right. It is good crying. I never had someone trust me that much before."

"You rescued other people out of those places?"

"You've got a smart mouth now that you can talk."

"You told people I was your brother. I like that too." Finral turned to look at Magna. "Do you think we could tell the Pointy Stick girl we're okay? Like better than okay?"

"Sure. Someone else will have to write the letter, but Yami said we could try to find her."

"I'd like that. She made me these things. What are they again?"

"Socks." Simple words still threw him, but he was better at not being embarrassed about asking. At least asking Magna, and now Luck.

"And she kissed me."

"She's fourteen, Finral."

"It was a very polite kiss. We should make sure she is okay."

"We should."

Vanessa was delighted to help with the letter, but it turned out that Finral's penmanship was the best of them all. He practiced on a spare sheet of paper while Magna and Luck argued over what they should write. By the time they had agreed, Finral was designated scribe and Vanessa corrected his spelling. He muttered, "Why is it spelt this way? You forget how to read for six years and the rules all change."

Vanessa laughed so hard that she spat out her tea. Luck slapped her back with delighted glee.

Finral gave Magna a shy smile, even when Vanessa assured him that she was pretty sure the rules of spelling were the same six years ago.

Rebecca's reply sat unopened on the mantlepiece of the hideout for nearly a week.

The Civilian Watch interrogator arrived to ask Finral some questions about Xerx's activities around the country. The investigation had opened a "ton of shit," according to Yami. It seemed that Xerx's main interest had been thieving from his own superior officer in the Purple Orca. Gueldre Poizot was now being held in the cell next door, under investigation for murder, theft, assault and embezzlement. Harallen the disgraced Recovery Mage was in a cell across the corridor. The Watch felt that Finral's information would help convict all three men. Yami and Magna had been cautious, but Finral had agreed to help.

To call it a disaster would be an understatement.

Most of the squad were hanging around outside the dining room, so they had front row seats to Magna destroying the door and shoving the interrogator onto the pile of smouldering splinters. "Get him out of here," Magna hissed. And as he turned back into the room he yelled. "And tell him Finral never helped that man. Never."

Gauche and Gordon took care of removing the interrogator.

Finral was cowering in the corner of the room with his hands pressed over his ears and his eyes wide. He was muttering under his breath and oblivious to the other people. Magna was crouched beside him. His eyes were wet with tears.

"That man asked what Finral did to help Xerx. Does he not know what happened to him? That he had no choice? He just closed in on himself. I can't get him to hear me. I don't know if he knows I'm here."

Yami put a hand on Magna's shoulder. "He knows. Give him a bit of time, he'll work it out."

But after a couple of hours even Yami had to admit he was worried. Finral would follow their tactile instructions, but he showed no interest in listening even when his hands were off his ears. His breathing would speed up and his eyes grew wide when someone came near him that was not Magna, but even Magna could get no response aside from the continued murmurs.

In the end, Yami sent them to their room and called Owen.

"It's no wonder that he has setbacks," Owen explained once he had done the briefest of medical examinations. Magna had been dragged out of the room to listen while Luck and Vanessa sat with Finral. "He survived in the most appalling conditions for six years, and he has only told us the barest minimum of what he experienced. I don't think even Xerx knows all of it. At the moment, he's retreated into the safe place he used to survive."

"It was what that man said," Magna said angrily.

"Undoubtedly. Despite his progress he isn't ready for that kind of questioning, however important."

"He said that helped Xerx."

"No one thinks he helped him, Magna," Owen said calmly. "It was a poor choice of words, but he was already so on edge that it could have been anything. Now, under normal circumstances I would give him a sedative to let his thinking settle down..." he raised a hand to stall Magna's objection, "But in this case trust is more important. I'm not saying it won't be necessary if he stops eating and drinking to the extent that he might do himself greater harm, but for now I think it's probably best to let him come back when it feels safe."

Despite Owen's reassurance, Magna felt it was not going to change. Yami told him it was because he was sixteen and everything feels like that when you're a kid. It did not help.

It was bad enough when Magna could not understand the muttered voice, but sometimes it was clear where Finral's memory had taken him.

"Langris. Langris is here. I don't want to, but I can't let him hurt Langris."

"I don't want you to hurt me again."

"I'll do it. I'll do it. I won't fight. I'm sorry."

Yami made Magna leave when it got too bad, and he sat with Finral despite the protests. Luck and Vanessa made Magna eat and sleep, although he did little of one and none of the other. They even brought Langris round to see if he could bring Finral back to reality, but the muttered commentary made it clear that even Langris did not feel real. Langris was more traumatised by the experience than Magna.

After two days of no sleep and nothing to eat or drink, Owen's sedative looked like it might be the lesser of the evils. Yami said that he was going to call him in the afternoon if there was no change and Magna had reluctantly agreed.

He was sitting beside Finral on the bed while Luck went to fetch lunch. Finral had been quiet for a bit, so Magna was talking about nothing to fill the new silence.

He felt Finral's hand on his chest before he noticed that the boy had moved. It was a tentative touch, as if Finral was not sure if Magna was real or not.

Magna continued to talk, and the weight got heavier as Finral let his hand relax.

"I am really here, you know," Magna said. He kept his tone light. "It's real. You're here and you're safe. We're at the Bulls."

Finral's quiet, "Magna?" made him want to cry, but he held it back. It was the first time for two days he had said a name that was not from the basement.

"Yeah. Just me. Although Luck's going to be here in a minute too."

"I hear you."

"I hear you too."

"I'm not dreaming?"

"No, Finral. It's not a dream. We're here. It's real."

"I'm tired."

"Sleep in a bit. Luck's bringing snacks. You need to drink. Then you can sleep."

Luck was, wonder of wonders, quiet when he opened the door with water, coffee and sandwiches. Finral was wary of the water. "They put things in it, Magna. Have to be careful."

"It's okay. Look." Magna took a swallow then handed it over. The worry did not quite leave Finral's face, but his thirst overrode his caution. He drank quickly as if he was afraid it was going to be taken away. He managed a couple of bites of the sandwich that Luck tested for him, then curled up beside Magna and slept.

Owen was pleased when he arrived and checked very briefly that everything was in order. He had brought an older woman with a serious face that he introduced as Ara. Owen said her job was going to be helping Finral understand what had happened to him, and to help him find ways to manage that didn't mean shutting down. Ara arranged to come back in three days. She told Magna that she expected him to be involved as many times as Finral wanted him to be. And she frowned at Yami as if she expected Magna's Magic Knight duties to be secondary to his attendance. As if Yami would have had it any other way. Finral was family.

A day of sleeping and eating whatever dessert Charmy provided made a massive difference, and the Finral who shadowed Magna to breakfast the next day looked almost back to normal. He tolerated the noise, and even pulled his bowl away when Luck tried to steal more than his usual figure-full of sweet porridge.

It was another day before anyone remembered Rebecca's letter on the mantelpiece.

-

Gauche found the envelope as he turned the base upside down to find his 'favourite Marie picture'. He was convinced that Luck was responsible, which was a reasonable assumption given Luck running through the base shouting, "You'll never find it."

Vanessa rescued everything from the mantlepiece with her threads before they clattered to the floor and made Finral leave the room again. She then snagged Luck and made him tell Gauche where the picture was by holding him upside down and making him giggle. Once the resulting chaos had been sorted, Finral had his hands over his ears but he was still in the same room. Gauche disappeared to retrieve his picture from the space beneath the floorboards in the sixth floor north-north-east corridor. Luck was unrepentant, even with Yami’s frown directed at him.

"Did you know you have a letter Magna?" Vanessa asked as she returned the candlesticks and oddments.

"What? A letter? Why would someone send me a letter?"

"Maybe it’s a fine for that time you double parked your broomstick?" Luck asked.

"You don't know what that means," Vanessa said. "You read it in a book. I think it's from the girl we wrote to in Nean."

"The Pointy Stick girl?" Luck used Finral's names as interchangeably as Finral did.

"Rebecca Scarlet," Vanessa read from the back of the envelope. She handed it to Magna, who inspected it and handed it back.

"It’s no good to me. Would you read it?"

Vanessa gave him a warm smile and opened it.

There were several loose leaves inside, as well as three further envelopes. Vanessa picked up the letter first.

Rebecca was delighted to hear from them. Her pleasure at Magna and Finral's news was tempered by her own that her father had died after his long illness. Her situation in Nean was better than she had hoped. She had met with the lady in an orphanage nearby who helped with her siblings while she apprenticed under one of the restaurant owners. She was even going back to school to learn to do the accounts because, as she said, she did not think she would find someone eating out of the bins who would bring in someone who could do the numbers as well as Fin had.

The money that Judith had given her had been enough to rent the rooms above the restaurant to give her family a proper home. She missed Judith, and she missed them, but her situation was stable.

She ended her letter with an explanation of the other three envelopes.

Judith's letter told me to go to the bank in Nean where I would find a security box in her name. I think she knew what we were doing was dangerous. More dangerous than even you thought, Magna. Inside the box was her will, some letters and more money than I have ever seen. She put all her savings there. I've read the will, but the letters are for you.

One envelope was in fine formal paper, and said in clear legalese writing, Last Will and Testament. Judith Innkeeper. The other envelopes said Magna and Fin.

Magna opened his own first. Vanessa read it aloud for him.

Dear Magna.

I guess if you're reading this letter, then everything went to hell, little Badger. I think it was more likely than you thought. I'm probably dead.

First, stop blaming yourself. I will have told you it was my choice, and it was my privilege to help a real Magic Knight. If you haven't done it already, GO TO YAMI. He's good people and he'll give you the help you deserve.

Never, ever regret what you did in that basement, no matter what happened to me and the Inn. I'm honoured to be a part of what you did. And I'm honoured to have influenced the best Magic Knight this kingdom is ever going to have.

Second, no more crying. But don't apologise. They are proper manly tears.

Third. Look after your brother. I have tried to help you with that, because you should have all the help the world can give you. I did not have a family of my own, but I was proud to call you mine for even a short time.

Judith

Magna took the sheet of paper from Vanessa and gripped it tightly. Judith had been right about the tears. He wiped them away. Yami smiled at him.

"The other one is addressed to you, Finral. Do you want me to read it?" Vanessa asked.

Finral nodded. His hands twitched as if he wanted to put them over his ears even though the room was quiet.

Dear Fin

I hope Magna finds some way to share this with you. Maybe one day you'll read it yourself. I hope so.

My accountant says that these past months accounts are the best I’ve ever given him. Thank you. I think you paid for your hot water bill.

I have enjoyed your company more than I can ever tell you, even if like all the boys, it was about my cooking at first. I never met someone who appreciated my breakfasts quite the way you do. I told Magna that you were like family. I am telling you the same. I am proud to be a small part of your story. Don't be sad little Shadow.

Take care of Magna. Understand why he did what he did. He needs you as much as you need him.

Judith

Finral did not take the paper. His eyes were dry.

Luck respectfully picked up the last envelope and handed it to Vanessa.

"I like your Breakfast Lady, Finral and Magna," he said. "I think she would have been good to fight."

"She'd have whacked you with a wooden spoon if you said that in her bar," Yami said. "No fighting in the Broomsticks."

"I like her even more," Vanessa said as she opened the last envelope.

The will was written in legal language that meant nothing to Magna. Vanessa started to read it, then stopped. Magna's comprehension of the 'thee's' and 'thou's' was hampered by his reading ability, and Finral's education had been on pause for six years.

"How about I read it and tell you what it means?"

Finral, Magna and Luck nodded. Yami laughed. "You and your ducklings, Vanessa."

She flicked him a rude hand-speak sign, then read the single sheet of thick paper. She smiled at the end.

"She has given a little of her money to Rebecca and her family to help them get settled. The rest is for you Magna, but she has strict instructions about how you are to use it. Either you use it to make sure someone can take care of Fin while you are a Magic Knight, or you decide together how to spend it. There's a lot of money."

"There's more," Yami said. "They can prove it was a criminal act and Lugner’s fortune pays into her estate." He glanced at the paper in Vanessa's hand. "You're rich boys. I've got a katana to pay off if either of you fancy helping me out."

"Shut up, Yami," Vanessa said.

Finral looked at Magna. "I don't need anyone to take care of me. I'm a Black Bull. But I was thinking. I have an idea of what we could do if there is enough money."

“There is enough money, don’t worry about that,” Vanessa said.

Finral leaned forward and whispered into Magna's ear.

Magna smiled. "Yeah. Yeah. That sounds right. Vanessa, could you help us with another letter?"

Chapter Text

"How was your dinner with the Wavy Hand lady?"

Finral let the portal close behind him and came to stand at Captain Yami's shoulder. "You're as bad as Luck. Her name's Alys. And she's fine. The Centre is really busy. I like that it’s where the Broomsticks used to be. It feels right. I don't think she thought there were so many people that could use her help. She’s sure some of the kids are going to be able to learn hand-speak with some extra help, and the new boards seem really successful. There's some interesting magic too." He hesitated. "She gave me more cards for Luck."

"He's never going to go back and see her, is he?"

"I don't think he wants to 'be clearer about expressing his emotions'. It's okay. These are the cards that are easy to tear up. Magna can set them on fire. He'll have fun."

"Did you leave him there?"

"I said I'd pick him up later. So, any good candidates this year?"

"Maybe."

"Worth waking at that ‘godforsaken hour’ then?"

"Don't be smug. I slept in for one exam.”

"Was not. It was every exam before me and Magna came along. Admit it."

"It was only one exam that mattered, and that worked out for the best."

Finral conceded the point. If Yami had got up for that exam, where would Magna have been when Finral needed him? "So, who's interesting?"

"That short blond one. No magic at all, but there's something about him. I think he might be a good fit. I want to see him fight."

"Of course you do."

Finral would admit that the kid's magic was interesting. Or at least how he handled the lack of it. Finral knew more about adapting to lacks than most. The little candidate’s battle with the spiky haired bronze magic user had been short and different. Yami was definitely interested.

"Hey, Yami. I'm going to get Magna and take him home. Alys would invite him to stay over, but you know what he'll be like if he misses playing with the newbie."

"Sure. Don't be long. I'll need my ride."

By the time Finral returned the last of the fights were finishing up. The chairs were a little more spaced out than they would have been before the Purple Orca had been disbanded. The new vice-captain of the Grey Deer waved at him. Kaiser had become a good friend during the trial, and a sensible support to the young Deer captain.

"So what number is ours?"

"One six five." Yami puffed on his cigarette. "I want to see who's going to get one six four. I'm betting Goldie will."

"The wind magic user? Isn't he a commoner?"

Yami turned and winked at Finral. "I keep telling William if he wants to solve his Langris problem, he's going to have look to the Forsaken realm. That's how I fixed my Luck problem after all."

“I think I understood you better when I couldn't hear what you were saying."

Yami snorted and went back to watching the candidates.

He was right about one six four. Every Captain raised their hand for him, but it was William's offer that he accepted. Finral wondered what Yami meant by William's Langris problem. Maybe he would ask when Langris visited on Tuesday. Finral was so busy thinking about it that he missed what was said that made Yami jump to the floor of the arena. Then there were too many people talking at once for him to keep up. He was never good if there were too many voices. Owen said it was to be expected and it was probably something that he had to accept.

Though it was clear that they had a new squad member by the way Yami threw his head back and laughed. Magna was going to be delighted. There was going to be an initiation ceremony. Finral had heard him planning with Luck.

Finral made the portal home with the little blond kid in tow. It was going to be nice not to be the shortest guy on the squad at last. Finral was not surprised that they arrived in the middle of a running battle between Magna and Luck and a major Vanessa hangover. Gauche was yelling and Grey was large and hissing.

Finral took a step back. He could not think with the noise. He put his hands over his ears.

"Hey, kids," Yami said in almost a whisper, "We're home."

The Bulls had learned. The noise dropped to bearable. Finral brought his hands down from his ears. "Hey boss," voices said, but too many to be sure who. Not that it mattered.

"This is our new recruit. Introduce yourself, kid."

"I'M ASTA FROM HAGE VILLAGE," the kid, Asta said. Finral's hands flew to his ears again. Loud.

"Quieten down, kid from Hage village," Magna hissed. His idea of threatening was laughable. At least it made Yami and Vanessa laugh.

"Umm. Yeah. Sorry. I'm just really excited."

That was better, but Finral took a step back just in case. Loud was okay in arenas and even dungeons. It was not okay at home where he wanted to know what people were saying.

Yami put a hand on his arm. "Finral. How about you do the introductions?"

Yami knew he had been about to bolt. He swallowed. It was quieter. He could do this. "Oh, sure."

"And tell him our other names too,” Luck demanded. “And tell him why Magna doesn’t get a Finral-name."

"You'd better, Finral, or he's never going to know who Luck is talking about," Yami said.

Luck cackled. "And then me and Magna have got the best initiation ceremony planned, ever."

Asta went a little pale. Finral thought the kid had good instincts.

"Okay." He took a deep breath. "This is our home, and these are the Black Bulls. They might not look it, but they're good people." He winked at Magna. "The best people, ever."