“Unless they’re doing their Story Weaver thing,” I muttered. “Then it’s all cryptic and annoying.” And hard to describe. “What about you? Anything?”

Hale repeated most of Devlen’s information. “The town guards believe there are five of them, including Ben.”

Four unknowns. “Are any of the others magicians?” I asked.

“Yes.” He scrunched up his face as if sniffing a bad odor. “All of them.”

Leif choked, spitting out gobs of pudding. “You mean all five have magic?”

Hale snapped, “That’s what ‘all of them’ means.”

Ah. There was Hale’s snooty side. But even more disturbing was the news that Ben traveled with four other magicians. Even if I had my magic, I had no chance against them.

Leif ignored Hale as he wiped his chin. “Then it’s a good thing we’re heading into the plains. Should we leave this afternoon?”

“Why? There’s no danger. Besides, we can’t. I promised Reema I’d finish the story tonight.” I considered as the server returned with Hale’s food. “Has anyone spotted them since Red Oak?”

“No.” Hale pulled his dinner out of Leif’s reach.

Smart man. “Devlen speculated that they’re in Ixia. What do you think?”

“Even with uniforms and the proper papers, it’s hard to hide in Ixia. If I were them, I’d head east to the Emerald Mountains. There are lots of hiding places in the foothills.” Hale cut into his steaming meat pie.

True. But just in case, I would send a message to Valek after we finished. “Did you learn the names of the other magicians?” I asked Hale.

“Yes. Although I only recognize one of them, Tyen Cowan. He was Ben’s best friend when they attended the Keep together. Tyen’s power to move large and multiple objects is impressive.”

“He’s from Opal’s clan. Do you think she knows him?” I asked Leif.

“It doesn’t matter.” Leif pulled his glass super messenger from his pack. “I’ll ask Irys for more information. Who are the others?”

“Rika Bloodgood, Cilly and Loris Cloud Mist. I’m not sure if they’re married or siblings,” Hale said.

Leif stared into the messenger as Hale finished his meal. I considered what to do with the information we collected. Best thing would be to give it to Devlen. Perhaps it would help with the investigation.

“Irys said she’ll gather information on the prison gang and get back to me later,” Leif said. “What should we do in the meantime?”

“Can you talk to your friends in the Council Hall and see if they’ll tell you how they broke Ben out of prison?”

“Will do.” Leif leaned back. He’d scraped every morsel of pudding from the bowl.

“How will the details of a prison break help you?” Hale asked me.

“I don’t know. But there might be something that might seem odd or irrelevant that might give us a clue as to what they’re planning.”

“Wouldn’t the authorities have done that already?”

“Yes, but they haven’t been trained by Valek. He taught me to look beyond the standard replies.”

“Taught us,” Leif said.

“Correct. And in looking beyond, take Hale with you to the Council Hall. He can overhear any conversations you spark.”

“Spark?” Hale asked.

“Yeah. You know how sometimes people might not talk to you, but after you leave...”

“They discuss it with a colleague. I get it.” Hale paused. “Are you coming along?”

“No. Too many people know me at the Council Hall. And if I’m spotted, the security officers will expect me to aid in the search for Ben Moon.”

“But you are helping.”

“Yes, I am.” I tapped my chest. “But the Soulfinder is unavailable and they’d rather have her assisting them in capturing five magicians.”

“Oh.” After Hale finished his dinner, they left the inn and headed into downtown. I sent the message to Valek, warning him Ben might be in Ixia along with his powerful friends. Then I spent the next couple of hours grooming Kiki. The repetitive motion of the currycomb through her coat calmed my mind and centered my thoughts. Valek had his carving rocks, and I had my beautiful Kiki.

* * *

Leif and Hale returned a few hours later. They joined me in the stable. Kiki, Garnet and Rusalka gleamed.

“Did you learn anything at the hall?” I asked.

“No one would talk to us,” Leif said. “So...” He pulled a thick folder from underneath his cloak. “We helped ourselves.”

“You stole it?”

“We borrowed it. Big difference.”

“How?”

“Hale put the whammy on one of the secretaries. When she dashed off convinced her boss needed her right away, we...er...appropriated the warden’s file, detailing the escape.”

“All right. Let’s go inside and read through the file. Maybe something will pop.”

We spread the pages on the table and each took a section to study, then swapped them when finished. In the late afternoon, Leif stopped to pull his messenger out. He frowned at the glass cube and wrote notes on a crumpled piece of parchment. When he finished, he met my gaze.

“That bad?” I asked.

“Worse. These are powerful magicians that had been operating on their own, but now have teamed up. The Ethical Code means nothing to them.”