Free Seven Dreams by Charlotte E. English Page B

did
not simply transport oneself through doors, or past walls, or to
any spot which had not been previously selected and (in some
unfathomable way) prepared for the purpose. This much she
understood.
    But this woman
had appeared in a very specific place, somewhere very private and
virtually inaccessible. Could it be that somebody had placed a
waypoint here, in this room? How had that been accomplished, and
why? Somebody among the Lokants must already have known, some time
since, that the Baron’s collection was likely to be of interest.
But how had they marked the place, and how had the woman known
exactly which cabinet to look in?
    Most likely the
Baron’s staff were not as supremely loyal as he thought; the woman
must have had help from someone employed at the house. Damn, they
had worked fast. Serena choked on a feeling of deep chagrin, for
the job had failed utterly. If there were full Lokants involved,
and such powerful ones as their erstwhile visitor, the job had
never had any hope of success. All the efforts of the day and half
the preceding night had been wasted.
    Or perhaps not,
entirely. She had not been close enough to see precisely what it
was that the Lokant had taken from the cabinet, but Fabian probably
had. She hoped that this one small thing, at the least, could be
salvaged from an operation otherwise doomed to failure from the
start.
    There was nothing
to be gained from remaining any longer. The Baron was no longer of
any interest, and she was heartily tired of playing Lady Fenella.
She swept from the room with Fabian close behind her, leaving the
Baron loudly proclaiming his determination to register a formal
complaint with the LHITB.
     

Chapter Five
     
    Oliver Tullen’s
offices were situated near the centre of Irbel’s capital city,
Iving. It was a long way to go from the realm’s southern border
with Nimdre, but Serena felt the importance of consulting him at
once. She required his approval and advice regarding Iyamar, as
soon as possible. Moreover, their surveillance of Halavere had
ended in failure, and she was unsure how to proceed. The key, if it
was a key, was probably stashed away in some far-off Lokant Library
by now. It was impossible to follow; there were many Libraries, as
far as anybody in the Seven knew, and they were situated way
off-world. Nobody save another Lokant could hope to follow them
there. A report would have to be submitted to the LHITB, and beyond
that, Serena and her team were at a loose end.
    She couldn’t even
be certain that Halavere had had anything to do with the theft, in
the end. True, she had met with a known Unspeakable and Baron
Anserval’s address had changed hands, but there was no indication
that she had been involved with the rest. Serena suspected that the
Dame might have contacts with one or more Lokant Libraries. Perhaps
they had used her — and, through her, the Unspeakables — to find
the supposed key, and Halavere had merely passed on the
information. Any such connection had to be reported, of course, and
Halavere would have to be monitored. She hoped that Oliver would
have more interesting work for Serena’s team.
    She set out for
Oliver’s office early in the morning, leaving Egg and Fabian
behind. Iyamar had to be presented immediately, and she wanted
Teyo’s company too. Since he was most likely to be volunteered for
the task of training their new recruit’s draykon abilities, she
wanted him to be present to discuss it with their boss.
    They were only
obliged to travel by nivven as far as the city of Trayce in
south-eastern Irbel. From there, the overland railcar conveyed the
three of them into Iving. It was a relatively new piece of
infrastructure, of which Serena heartily approved. Not of an
engineering turn of mind herself, she did not properly understand
by what means the long metal carriages were conveyed along the
rails that had been laid between Iving and Trayce — and other
cities — less than ten years ago, but the speed they