Free Wrede, Patricia C - Mairelon 01 by Mairelon the Magician (v5.0) Page A

her
across the wagon. Instead, she went to the rear of the van. She hadn't been
able to investigate that area before, because Mairelon had been performing just
outside, and she was curious about how the folding stage worked.
                The
curtain was heavier than its faded, threadbare appearance had led her to
expect. She examined it more closely and found a series of lead weights sewn
into the hem. Her surprise lasted only a moment. Mairelon wouldn't want a stray
breeze to reveal the luxurious interior of his wagon while he was performing.
Kim frowned, wondering why he hadn't put a folding panel behind the curtain for
added security. She'd have to remember to ask him later; she was certain he had
some good reason. She lifted one end of the curtain and peered behind it.
                There was
a foot-wide space between the curtain and the back wall. Kim slipped into it
and let the curtain fall shut behind her. A little light filtered in around the
edges, providing a gloomy reddish illumination. As she waited for her eyes to
adjust, Kim ran her fingertips lightly across the rear wall. There was no break
in the surface; this must be the floor of the stage, then. She crouched to
study the base of the wall. Yes, there were hinges, carefully sunk into notches
in the wood. They hardly showed at all, and when the stage was lowered, they
would lie flush with the floor, providing no inconvenient lumps for a performer
to trip over.
                She
completed her inspection and straightened, just as the sound of hoofbeats came
clearly from just outside. Old habits took over; Kim froze, half crouched
behind the curtain. She heard a shout and the muffled sounds of conversation,
but she paid little attention. She was too busy reminding herself that she was
doing nothing the nabbing culls could nick her for. She hadn't nicked anything
for nearly two years, not since she'd been on her own. She had just managed to
convince herself that it would be perfectly safe to go outside and see what was
happening when steps sounded on the stairs and she heard the wagon's door open.
                "--and
you can take a look at it," Mairelon's voice said.
                "Well,
that's good news," an unfamiliar voice replied. "What's this Hunch
says about you picking up another stray?"
                Curiosity
kept Kim motionless. "I would hardly call Kim a stray," Mairelon
said. "And Heaven only knows what would have happened to her if I'd left
her in the streets of London ."
                "Um. Still trying to make up for Jamie? No, no, I
shouldn't have mentioned it. But you're certain she has nothing to do with the
robbery?"
                "Quite sure. Now, Edward, do you want to look at the
bowl or not?"
                "Yes,
of course; let's have it."
                Sundry
clicks and thumps followed, the sounds of Mairelon unlocking the chest and
throwing back the lid. Then light flashed brightly around the edges of the
curtain, and the strange voice exclaimed, "My word!"
                "Impressive,
isn't it?" Mairelon replied. "Will you take it with you?"
                "Not
unless you want me to. The consensus is that it may help you find the rest of the
pieces, but it may also make things more dangerous for you."
                "How?" Mairelon asked sharply.
                "Magic
cuts in both directions. If you can use the bowl to find the platter and the
spheres, they can be used to find the bowl. And you."
                "Of course. But I thought you had more in mind than
that."
                "Marchmont
thinks someone at the Ministry has been talking too freely," Mairelon's
companion said reluctantly. "It may be deliberate."
                "I
see. And there's still the little matter of finding out which one of our colleagues
at the Royal College planned the theft in the first place, isn't