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For long moments, I felt nothing from her. She boxed herself in so tightly that all I could sense was that she was still there. She was a hollow of sound, a seashell held to the ear. I waited.

I knew that you would. I hoped … well. I know you must go. Riddle told me you would have to go. She was silent a time longer. If you could have, you would have gone after her in that moment. Right into the Skill-stone.Advertisement

I would.

Another pause. I will go to King Dutiful and tell him why I think he should not oppose it. And frankly, why opposing it would do no good. Will I see you before you go?

I will be using the Skill-portals to travel. So I must first return to Buckkeep. I tried to put my thoughts in order. I’ll return by horseback. I will need to consult the Fool as to my route. So, yes, you will see me before I go.

Silently, we both wondered if I would ever return.

Actually, when I reached for you tonight, it was to give you news of the Fool. And then I stumbled into your storm.

News of the Fool?

He’s missing.

A lurch of loss. With you or without you, that was what he had said. He wouldn’t leave without me. Would he? He’d been so afraid. And so tired of waiting for me to act. How long has he been missing?

I don’t know. Since this morning, at least. Kettricken went to call on him, and he was not in his room. At first she was pleased, thinking he had gone to visit Chade or had finally decided to take some air. But this evening, when she went back, he still was not there. Chade does not recall him visiting. No one has seen him.

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Have you asked his serving boy Ash?

The Fool sent him on an errand to town, to buy smoked fish. He returned after we’d begun to search. He’s as worried as we are.

I started to lie to her. And stopped myself. Perhaps I was as tired of secrets as Dutiful was. Perhaps I just needed an answer swiftly. Look in the lower parts of the castle. The dungeons.

What? Why?

He knew what Chade found there. A Skill-portal incorporated into the foundation. A rune on it that would take him to Aslevjal.

But he has no Skill! And no reason to go to Aslevjal.

Nonetheless, can you send someone to search that area?

I will check, but, Fitz, I don’t think you need worry. Dutiful had a door of iron bars installed across that end of the corridor to make it a bit easier for Chade to keep his promise not to use it anymore. It’s always locked. Dutiful and I are the only ones with keys.

I doubted that. I knew Chade too well to think there was any door in Buckkeep Castle he could not open. But that did not mean that the Fool would have access to a key. Unless Chade’s former apprentice knew of one. But even if they got past the locked gate, the Fool had not the Skill to enter a pillar.

Please, just ask the gaolers if they saw him down there. I hesitated, not wishing to add what I knew I must. And please discover if any of your Skill-users are missing. An apprentice or a talented Solo. Anyone who might be restless and willing to be persuaded to try an experiment.

I felt her distress at the notion. There may be a few, she admitted reluctantly. Skilled folk tend to be odd in some ways. I will try to discover if any are missing. But it is late and most castle folk are abed by now. I may not know until tomorrow.

I hope to set out by first light tomorrow. Skill to me if there is any news.

I will. I could feel her thinking separately from me. It was almost a whisper in my mind as she said, Do you remember when you were a wolf and came to me in my dreams?

Her feelings for me as she had known me then blew like a breeze through our shared thoughts. I had been mysterious and powerful, almost a romantic image in her imagination of me. I felt a pang of loss that I had become so ordinary to her. I remember. Her Skill had first manifested in her ability to manipulate dreams, her own and those of others. I remembered her glass tower. Her gown of butterflies.

And I remember Shadow Wolf. I knew that he would have to hunt down those who attacked his pack. I knew you would become him again, when you had been alone long enough. A pause in our communication, as if she thought of things too personal to share with me. I could feel her resignation to what I would do. It hurt me. Then, shocking me, I wish I had known her better. I wish I’d given her more time. I always thought there would be more time for us to be sisters. Her blast of sudden fury hit me like a spray of fire. I wish I could go with you and help you kill them!

Skill-silence. I was stunned. Had I forgotten this was the woman who had stood up to Tintaglia when she was little more than a girl? When her mind engaged mine again, her polished control reminded me of her great-grandfather.

Riddle will know what must be prepared for your journey. I will put him to that task. And I will prepare Dutiful to accept your decision. pqdm.com