Page 51 of A Fractured Song

Zev was sure Marieke didn’t agree, but she didn’t push the point.

“So what kind of magicwashe using in his attacks, then?” she said instead. “I experienced it myself.”

“That may be so, but it wasn’t anything ancient or mysterious.”

They waited for Svetlana to elaborate, but she didn’t.

“Then what?” Marieke prompted. “You don’t mean he was a singer after all?”

“Of course not.” Svetlana sounded affronted. “We don’t have singers in our community.”

Marieke still looked confused, but Zev had just caught up.

“But you do have elves,” he said. “Or at least, dealings with elves. They provided the magic, didn’t they?”

Marieke’s eyes widened as she understood. “Talismans! Gorgon and the others used elf-made talismans to carry out attacks that couldn’t easily be linked to any person.”

Svetlana said nothing, but her silence was confirmationenough.

“But why could singers sometimes feel magic, and sometimes not?” Marieke demanded.

“I can answer that,” Svetlana said with a sigh. “I’ve had dealings with the elves for a long time, and I know more about their trade than most. They know how to craft talismans that mask the magic they release. But they’re very difficult to make, and therefore very expensive. I can’t imagine where Gorgon got the resources to buy or trade for them.”

Marieke frowned, her eyes glazing over as she sifted through memories her companions couldn’t see. “Witnesses reported no magic at the earlier attacks. But I felt it when Gorgon tried to drown me. He must have run out of the expensive talismans by then.”

“Most likely,” Svetlana said.

“Why are you telling us this?” Zev demanded.

She met his eye unflinchingly. “I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t learned about the elves without my involvement. We have an agreement, and we’re not supposed to reveal their existence to anyone. But since you know already, I’m free to tell you where Gorgon must have gotten his magic. And I’m telling you because I want to prove to you that neither I nor our community had anything to do with Gorgon’s plan. He got his assistance from the elves, not from us.”

She shifted her attention to Marieke. “Will you tell your council that? I don’t doubt you told them where Gorgon came from, and I’m sure someone somewhere is discussing whether they need to eliminate us as a threat. We’ll fight if it comes to it, and they won’t find us so easy to dislodge. But we’re not looking for a fight. We’d rather put the matter to rest and move on. Gorgon is gone, the attacks have stopped, and you have your answers.”

“I don’t have the ear of the Council of Singers,” Marieke toldher bluntly. “I don’t know if they’re thinking of coming after you, and I couldn’t convince them not to if they are.”

“I doubt you need to be concerned,” Zev interjected, picturing the council meeting he’d witnessed. “Revealing your existence risks exposing the truth of the singers’ coup, and the council won’t want that.”

Marieke bit her lip. “I would have said the same before, but…” She looked at Svetlana with furrowed brow. “It’s not entirely true that the attacks have stopped. Singers aren’t being killed, but a new kind of magical attack is happening.”

Svetlana frowned. “What do you mean? What attacks?”

“Fires, floods, destructive storms.” Marieke’s slight form sagged in her seat. “In some ways it’s worse than the earlier attacks, because the effects are wider.”

“That doesn’t sound like magical attacks,” Svetlana said skeptically.

“Well, it is magic,” said Marieke. “I know because I fought one of the fires myself, and it was definitely fueled by magic. It’s like an escalation of what Gorgon was trying to do.”

“But Gorgon is dead,” Svetlana said.

“Maybe some of his group survived,” Zev suggested.

Svetlana shook her head. “We’re a small community here. We know everyone who went missing when Gorgon launched his vendetta. They’re all accounted for.” The set of her jaw was stubborn. “If someone’s using talismans to make fires and storms, it’s not one of us.”

“So you think the elves are doing it?” Marieke asked. “You think they’re trying to punish the singers for what happened in the past?”

Svetlana stood. “I don’t think anything. It has nothing to do with us, and frankly, I’m therefore not interested. But I will say this for elves—they’re not motivated by revenge. They’restrategic creatures, interested in what they can gain, not what they can make others lose.”

“And what do they gain from you?” Zev asked shrewdly. “They trade various goods with you, right? Like silverware? You must be giving them something in return.”

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