The stormcaller

He turned to the desk, where he found a razor lying snug in a bone sheath, beside it a copper bowl, a water jug and a polished copper and glass mirror. Leaning forward, he caught his face in the mirror, a perfect reflection that sent a shiver of excitement through his body. It had been made with magic: there was no other way to produce such a smooth surface. It might have been a paltry extravagance for palace, but it still cheered Isak's spirits. His eyes drifted up to the single shelf above the desk. A few dusty books lay on it, all of them looking older than he was. Carel had taught him to read, but it had always been a chore rather than a pleasure, Sca

'What's your name?' he started.

The girl gave a small shriek at the unexpected break in the silence. She stared round, looking horrified that Isak was capable of speech Isak wondered if some of Bahl's guests were a little less than friendly to the maids when left alone with them.

The girl steadied herself, reassured perhaps by Isak's equally startled expression. She looked him over quickly, then said, 'Tila, my Lord, my name is Tila Introl. I am to be your personal maid.'

Isak had no idea why he needed a personal maid, but she was pretty so he had no complaints. He looked around the room for a way to open conversation, prodding absentmindedly at the blood-stained bandage around his left hand. Then the books caught his eye once more.

'Can you read?' he asked, nodding his head encouragingly towards the dusty tomes.

'Of course, my Lord. My father has an extensive library.' She sounded a little surprised.

'Your family has money?' he asked, bemused at the idea that his maid was highborn. No one else could afford any sort of library.

'Yes, my Lord. My father is Anad Introl. He is Gatekeeper of the City, and a member of the city council.'

'Does that mean I should have heard of him?' Isak asked.

'No, my Lord,' she said with a worried expression. Isak forced a

smile at her; he'd snapped because he was tired. Tila looked a little uncertain, but she returned it; Isak had always been able to elicit a mile from people, even his father sometimes, despite his unwilling-ness to like anything about his son. Carel said it was part of being a white-eye: after all, men had been willing to rush to their deaths at Lord Atro's command; Lord Bahl was considered withdrawn, practically a hermit, yet his presence was enough to command complete attention and obedience. Carel had told him that every white-eye he'd ever met, no matter how brutal, possessed some remarkable redeeming quality.

Isak was pretty sure he could start to put people at ease by making them laugh, so Tila's hesitant smile gave him hope. The last thing he wanted was a maid who hated white-eyes.

'It's traditional for the palace maids to come from the noble families,' Tila began hesitantly. 'Lord Atro initiated it as a hostage system so he could keep control of the nobility, but the tradition has continued. The rest of the palace has proper servants; we're only here in the main wing. Sometimes it feels more like a finishing school. Readying us for being married off.' She looked down at the bed. 'I'm sorry, my Lord. I've been chattering away; I'll finish here and get out of your way. We were all instructed to keep from wasting your time-'

'You aren't in my way,' he replied quickly, 'and as for wasting my time, you probably have far more idea than I do about what I'm meant to do with it. I know what a Kra

'No, my Lord, I'm sorry.' The girl shook her head. 'I was just woken to make your room ready; we weren't even told to expect you. I'm sorry it's dusty and bare in here, but Lord Bahl is the only one who can bring us up and he's been in the forest for weeks. There is a library, on the second floor; I could try to find you some lore books, I suppose.

The Chief Steward will know but… well you don't want him to

think you're in his pocket. The only other person is Lord Bahl; he was once Kra

Why not – does he beat the servants?' Isak asked, on more familiar ground now.

‘No my lord,' Tila replied quickly, 'Lord Bahl is good to us; he doesn't even notice us most of the time, which suits me fine. But you do hear stories-'

'What sort of stories?' he said, a

'Well-' she sounded a little dubious, as if unsure of how much she should say. Spreading gossip was dangerous, but if the new Kra

She took a breath and started, 'Stories about what he did to the last lord, to Lord Atro. I suppose it's romantic, to avenge the death of one's lover, but-'

'But?'

She looked disinclined to go further, wondering if she should even have started this conversation.

'What sort of stories?' Isak pressed her. 'What happened? When?' Herman had ba

'Surely you must know?' she started, but as she saw him stiffen, she quickly continued, 'They say that three entire streets were destroyed in the battle. It ended in Cornerstone Market and bits were found as far away as Myre

'Is Myre

Tila gaped. 'Far? It's more than two hundred paces! Two hundred paces – for pieces to fly through the air!'

'Oh that's easy, I can do that.'

A look of panic flashed over her face, but Isak smiled as she started back and she realised that he had been joking. Tila gave a hiss of exasperation at her own gullibility and opened her mouth to retort when the words died. Isak's own smile faltered as he realised she had checked herself, remembering her position in relation to his: she was a maid, noble-born or not, gossiping to the new Kra

Her tasks finished, Tila straightened her dress and then sat down on the floor facing into the dark circle there. She didn't seem to trust the magic that held it, though the platform was solid and secure. Isak looked at her, but now she kept her eyes lowered.

'Do you want to go back down again?'

she twitched at the sound of his voice, then forced herself to look at him. 'How, my Lord? Lord Bahl is the only one who can take us. The Chief Steward is still up there, so no doubt he will be down soon’

'I can take you down,' Isak said brightly. 'I'm pretty sure I can do what he did. It didn't look that hard.'