Page 130 of A Tower of Half-Truths
“Then how can you be certain it won’t be used for nefarious purposes? This seems a dangerous spell to release into the wizarding community, given the political unrest here in Dauphine. I can only imagine what would happen, were this spell to fall into the hands of thosetreacherousanti-Royalists—”
“Elder Thedonus,” Seringoth said sharply, “how many times must I remind you to refrain from voicing political opinions in the presentation chamber?”
“My sincerest apologies, Archmage.” Her tone was decidedly insincere and unapologetic.
“Elder Thedonus does raise a valid point,” said another male wizard. “Aventus, how would you ensure that this spell does not pose any security risks?”
Alain wrung his hands as he opened and closed his mouth, but seemed no longer able to speak. The High Council’s disgruntlement grew louder the longer Alain failed to articulate a response. Mavery’s heart raced. She had to do something before he fell apart entirely.
She stepped forward.
“Excuse me.”
If anyone on the High Council had heard her, they were choosing to ignore her.
She cleared her throat.“Excuse me!”
At last, the nine wizards ceased their muttering and looked at her. Their expressions ranged from faint surprise to utter repulsion. She was probably breaking a dozen of their sanctimonious covenants, but it was too late to do anything but forge ahead.
“If I can lend some of my expertise—”
“And whatexpertisewould that be?” another of the male wizards snapped, as if Mavery had insulted his manhood and spat in his face.
“Before becoming Aventus’s assistant, I worked as a freelance wardsmith. I know firsthand the importance of protecting the lives and valuables of Tanarim’s highest-ranking citizens.”
Flattering the nobility soured her stomach more than the half-truth about her former profession.
“Continue, Ms. Culwich,” Seringoth said.
“This spell would be completely impractical for would-be thieves and spies. First of all, the incantation itself is quite complex; only a mage with advanced Etherean training would be able to pull it off. Secondly, the spell has a range of…” She looked to Alain.
“Approximately thirty feet,” he said.
She nodded. “Not only that, the spell permeates walls and other barriers. And as you can see for yourselves, anyone within the spell’s range will be able to detect the wards—not just the spellcaster. It would draw too much attention to someone who’s trying to rely on stealth.”
The wizards resumed talking amongst themselves, but their overall tone seemed slightly less hostile, with more nodding than before. Mavery gave Alain a sidelong glance.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
“Of course,” she whispered back.
Seringoth cleared his throat, and in unison they snapped their attention back to the High Council.
“Ms. Culwich, have your Sensing abilities been evaluated by a Mystic?”
Mavery raised her brows. That was not the question she’d been expecting.
“Er, no—”
“That’s entirely my fault, Archmage,” Alain interjected. Rather than looking directly at Seringoth, he looked straight ahead, focusing on the speckled granite of the High Council’s bench. “I didn’t think it would be worth the trouble.”
“You didn’t think confirming the authenticity of one of yourprimary sources would be ‘worth the trouble’?” Seringoth asked flatly.
“N-no, Archmage, I misspoke. I only meant that I had no reason to doubt my assistant’s authenticity, based on my own observations. Therefore, I didn’t think burdening the Mystics would be worth the trouble.”
“Elder Yuriva, as Tanarim’s highest authority on the School of Mysticism, what do you make of this? Would confirming whether a mage has arcane hypersensitivity be a ‘burden’ as Aventus claims?”
“Not at all,” replied the serene voice of the woman sitting on the far right end of the bench. “As a matter of fact, I could perform an evaluation right now. It would take but a few minutes.”
