The Dragons of Dorcastle (41 page)

He thought of her waiting on the wall for him, and his resolve wavered.
I must warn her. That also I must do. Then we will part, for Mari must not die on my account.

The new day, stopping the storm that threatened this world, had dwindled in significance inside him. All that Alain could think of was that he had found happiness, and now he must cast it away.

* * * *

Mari sat in an uncomfortable chair before a long table deep within the Mechanics Guild Hall of Dorcastle. Sitting at the other side of the table were three Senior Mechanics. The man Saco, the woman who had belittled her at the wrecked trestle, and a third man Mari hadn’t seen before. The door behind Mari was thick and had been closed tightly after she entered the room. She took another look at the expressions of the Senior Mechanics facing her.
If this isn’t what a prisoner feels like, it must be close. You would think I was one of the Dark Mechanics instead of the person who uncovered them.

The woman spoke in a formal, detached voice. “This proceeding is convened to resolve questions regarding the actions of Master Mechanic Mari of Caer Lyn in the city of Dorcastle the night before.”

The male Senior Mechanic whom Mari hadn’t seen before spoke brusquely. “What led you to the inner harbor last night?”

Mari kept her head up and eyes on the man as she answered. She had nothing to apologize for and wouldn’t be intimidated. “I’d been looking into the acts supposedly carried out by dragons. I conducted an independent inquiry, examining the evidence available, and concluded that the barge docks probably held the answer to events which had been causing harm to the Guild by restricting trade in this city.” She had been rehearsing that statement in her head ever since last night while she waited for her fellow Mechanics to arrive. She had known it would be necessary, and it had also been a way to try to avoid thinking about Alain.

Senior Mechanic Saco glared at her. “What made you think you had any right to conduct an independent inquiry?”

“I had no alternative. My attempts to discuss my theories with the leadership of the Mechanics Guild were rebuffed. Since Senior Mechanics refused to listen to me or to respond to formal requests submitted using proper procedures, I was forced to take action alone for the good of the Guild.” Let them put that in their record of the proceeding.

Apparently none of them wished to pursue that angle, though. Saco frowned at her as he changed the subject. “Alone? You say you acted alone? Your report is extremely vague on how the boiler in the warehouse came to explode, and how you managed to survive that.”

Mari met his gaze, keeping her face composed. “As I said in my report, the people in the warehouse were distracted by a visitor while getting up steam. Apparently they let the pressure get too high. I was far enough distant to avoid harm when it blew.”

“We found the relief valve for the boiler,” the third Senior Mechanic stated in a hard voice. “It had been tied down.”

Mari nodded, determined to tell the truth where she could. “I did that while the people were distracted.”

“Did you have any help?”

“Tying down the relief valve? No.” As she had phrased it,the answer was literally true. Mari thanked the luck that had left Alain’s presence at the warehouse last night unknown to her own Guild. How could she have explained the identity of a mysterious ally there?

“How did you come to be soaking wet when the Mechanics from this Guild Hall met you?” the female Senior Mechanic asked.

“I dove into the harbor to protect myself from the blast. I know steam boilers, and I could tell when that one was about to explode.”

The woman’s stare pinned Mari. “Then you are willing to swear that no other Mechanic aided you in this? That there was no other Mechanic accompanying you at that warehouse last night?”

That one was easy. “I swear there was no other Mechanic aiding me last night,” Mari said. “There was no other Mechanic with me at the warehouse, not until Mechanics from this Guild Hall arrived in a group to meet me.”

“Were there any commons with you? One or more?”

“No. I swear there was no common with me.” They wouldn’t ask about Mages. Mari was sure of that. The possibility would not even occur to them.

They didn’t. The three Senior Mechanics exchanged glances, none of them looking happy, then the woman nodded. “The proceeding is closed. Master Mechanic Mari, you are ordered by authority of the Guild Master not to say anything to anyone regarding any of these events. You are to forget them. They did not happen.”

There it was again. She had found so much proof, she had been hoping it would change something, but… Mari took a deep breath. “I respectfully ask for an explanation of the Guild’s policy in this matter.”

“You have your orders,” Saco noted in a cold voice.

“Yes, sir. But I can best serve the Guild if I understand the Guild’s policies and instructions, and I do not understand this.”

The third Senior Mechanic shook his head. “Your reputation precedes you, Mechanic Mari.”

“Master Mechanic Mari.”

“Certainly. The point is, you’re always asking questions instead of doing what you’re told. From this point on, that changes. Do you understand that?”

Mari took a couple of slow breaths. “Yes, sir.”

“Are there further questions?”

She couldn’t help herself. She knew she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help herself. “Yes, sir.”

The third Senior Mechanic looked incredulous, but Saco gave Mari an insincere smile. “Go ahead.”

“The contents of the warehouse, sir.”
Careful, Mari. Careful how you say this.
“They—”

The woman interrupted. “By order of the Guild Master, the warehouse held nothing.”

Mari stared at the three Senior Mechanics.
Nothing.
She hadn’t even tried to bring up the dragon’s carcass, impossible to miss, knowing the Senior Mechanics would ignore the existence of the remains. “Those who were in the warehouse—”

“There was no one in the warehouse except some commons who died in the accident.”

“—and escaped before the explosion—” Mari tried to continue.

“There is no one who meets that description.”

What had happened to them? Had they escaped the city? Or been taken into custody by the Mechanics Guild, disappearing as completely as Mechanic Rindal had?

Mari swallowed and tried one more time. “The boiler that exploded—”

“There was no boiler.”

The boiler we just talked about no longer ever existed. Because its existence would be inconvenient.
“So we pretend that something real doesn’t exist? How does that make us any better than the Mages?”

Saco leaned forward, the false smile gone. “That is a treasonous statement.”

“No, sir! I want the best for my Guild! I am loyal to my Guild! But something is wrong. Something is wrong with the world! If we don’t change— ”

“Change?” the woman demanded. “Think through the consequences of change,” she advised Mari in the tone of a teacher speaking to a not very bright student. “Think what would happen to this Guild. Think what would happen to this world. Think of the upheaval of all that we know, to be replaced by what? Do you know? Can you even guess? You’re eighteen years old, girl! You don’t even have a good grasp on how things are yet. How can you say that altering the system our ancestors created would be a good thing? How can you say they were wrong?”

Mari stared back at the woman. “Things are breaking,” she said as calmly as she could. “If things were breaking on a machine, I would analyze the problem and find out what needed to be fixed.”

The woman smiled insincerely. “That is a good attitude for a Mechanic. You would also call in a specialist, correct? Someone who knew more than you did about that particular machine. And you would listen to them, as you must listen to us now. Learn. Grow. With time you’ll come to understand why things
must
be this way. For the benefit of all.”

The female Senior Mechanic leveled a finger at Mari, her face suddenly as stern as the stone in the walls of Dorcastle. “You’ve got real gifts, girl. Your skills as a Mechanic are obvious, and achieving Master Mechanic status at your age was a remarkable achievement. You could have a great future in the Guild,
if
you take advantage of the offer you’re about to get.”

The woman leaned back. “Because you’ve done the Guild a service in Dorcastle, and because of your undeniable skills, the Guild is willing to forget any of your recent words and actions which contradict the rules and guidance the Guild expects us all to live by. But only if you vow to remain silent on events here and to abide by every Guild rule and guidance to the letter.”

Mari looked back at the three Senior Mechanics, thinking through her choices, seeing in their faces that her earlier fears had been true. The definition of treason to the Guild was far wider than she had once believed, far wider than had ever been publicly stated. Treason involved anything that the Senior Mechanics and the Guild Master didn’t want to deal with, anything they wanted to ignore, anything that might rock the boat. The leadership of her Guild would silence anyone who threatened the way things were. Possibilities which Mari would never have considered a couple of months ago now seemed all too real. Professor S’san must have known the sort of dangers which Mari would face, but what good was the pistol S’san had given her against threats like these? The weapon had helped save her and Alain in the warehouse, but what use was it against a threat from her own Guild?
It is not to be depended upon as a first resort, or a second, or even a third. Your greatest assets will always be your mind and your ability to act on wise decisions. Fail to make proper use of those assets, and the weapon cannot save you.

Listen, learn, and obey. That was what the Senior Mechanics facing her were demanding. Just like when she was an apprentice. Maybe what was needed now wasn’t a weapon or the tools of a Mechanic, but the tools of an apprentice.
In the event of emergency, take all necessary actions to minimize damage and loss of life.
One of the first basic rules an apprentice learned. It certainly applied now.

Mari nodded to the Senior Mechanics. “I vow to abide by every Guild rule and regulation, and to say nothing about recent events.”

But I’m not saying for how long.

Saco leaned forward again. “Your vow includes the things you said a short while ago. You don’t say them again. To anyone. Not even yourself.”

Mari nodded, knowing her voice was trembling with anger but hoping the Senior Mechanics would read that as fear. “I vow not to speak of those things.”
For at least a few minutes.

“What about Mages?” Saco insisted. “Do you have questions about them?”

Mari stared back silently for a moment, images of Alain tumbling through her head. She had spent some hopeful moments last night wondering if perhaps her Guild would be open to learning more about Mages once it had proof the Dark Mechanics existed.–Perhaps—her fantasies had briefly soared—they would even offer a Mage refuge if he were willing to tell other Mechanics the things he had told her. But the proof of Dark Mechanics had been ruthlessly suppressed. That offered no reason to believe proof of Mage abilities would be treated any differently.

And if they knew she loved a Mage?

If these Senior Mechanics were willing to threaten a fellow Mechanic, they would surely treat a Mage with no mercy at all.

If he stays around me, somebody will kill him, either another Mage or a Mechanic. All right. I love him. That means this time I let him go. I can’t let him die because of me.
“No,” Mari said out loud. “Why should I question the Guild’s position on Mages?”

“Even though you spent time in a Mage’s company?” Saco pressed.

“After the caravan was destroyed? I already explained at Ringhmon that nothing happened except a shared road. I did what I had to do then to survive,” Mari said. “I know what I have to do now to survive.” She knew how she meant that, but Mari also knew they would interpret the statement as one of surrender.

“Good,” the female Senior Mechanic declared as Saco leaned back again, not hiding his disappointment. “It’s nice to see that you are finally learning. Be aware that the Guild’s mercy is limited. There will be no second chance. You know the penalty for violating such an oath.”

Mari nodded. “I understand.”

“Then I declare this matter closed,” the woman said. “No one here is to speak of anything which we have discussed.”

The woman gave Mari a polite smile, as if Mari had just entered the room. “I have good news for you.” She pushed a sheet of paper toward Mari.

Mari managed to pick it up without revealing her tension. “A contract. On such short notice.”

“Yes. We knew you would be pleased at this opportunity to further serve your Guild. Fair travel, Mechanic Mari.”

“Master Mechanic Mari.”

“Of course. Master Mechanic Mari.” The woman indicated the contract. “You’ll notice that your services are needed on a priority basis, so you will have to leave Dorcastle as soon as we can make travel arrangements.”

Mari looked down at the contract. “Thank you. I look forward to leaving Dorcastle…so I can continue serving my Guild.” If they had noticed her brief pause, they gave no sign. The woman indicated that Mari could leave, and the three Senior Mechanics began talking in low voices.

Mari stood up, opening the heavy door and walking out into the hallways of the Guild Hall. Familiar hallways, following the standard floor plan for every Mechanics Guild Hall. She had walked down essentially identical hallways countless times.

Not since she had been eight years old and newly arrived at the Guild Hall in Caer Lyn had Mari noticed just how restricting those hallways could feel, how instead of giving a sense of security could create a sense of being confined. How the shadows and the alcoves could easily hide someone watching, or someone waiting with a weapon at hand. It was funny how the world around her could alter even when its outward appearance hadn’t seemed to change. Alain would tell her that it was just a matter of how you looked at an illusion.