It was highly probable that the suspects would have made a run for it the moment they realized Miss Gamble was missing, but he requisitioned some patrolmen to stake out the place and they reported the lights coming on in the evening, so at least someone was still there. If it was not the suspects themselves, then at least someone who could likely be pressed to reveal where they went.

As he found himself standing in front of the door to Giger Taus' cottage for the third time, the Inspector tightened his grip on the binders. He was greatly looking forward to slapping those binders on Mr. Taus' wrists and personally dragging him in. The Inspector had wanted to nail this particular scalp to his wall for a long time. He had no way to prove it definitively, but he was certain that Mr. Taus was responsible for his fall from grace. A debt had been incurred and the Inspector meant to see it paid in full.

The Inspector considered forcing his way in, but if this Taus was the sort of man the Inspector thought he was, there would probably be traps in place for any intruders. Taus was confident enough to lead Inspector Andress and Master Turco around by the nose before, so surely he would come to the door of his own accord.

The Inspector knocked on the door and some time passed with no answer. At very least, that housekeeper of his—Miss Garamonde, was it?—should have come to the door.

He tried knocking again, this time raising his voice to announce, "Giger Taus, this is the police! Open up!"

It was possible that Mr. Taus and Miss Garamonde were out, but with the order for all mages to be placed under arrest, it was not too likely that he would be brazenly walking the streets at a time like this. Even if he wanted to escape, there was no civilized place he could turn. He had mentioned patrons before and hinted at them being people of rank and influence. He might try to turn to them, but surely they would not put themselves at risk to shelter him. The only alternative did not seem any more likely, as a fop like him would not last long in the wilds.

Inspector Andress was about to call for a battering ram when the door opened at last. It was a woman, not Miss Garamonde. Much like Giger Taus the first time they met, she had this guarded way of only partially opening the door, using it like a shield. She was fairly tall as women go, about mid-thirties, reasonably good-looking if a bit on the careworn side. Most noticeable was her turquoise-colored hair, which marked her as a mage if it was natural. She would need to be arrested as well, but the Inspector did not want to move against her right away, lest he leave himself open to an ambush by Mr. Taus.

The Inspector showed her his badge, saying, "Inspector Andress, Municipal Police. I'm here for Giger Taus."

The woman sighed.

The woman shrugged.

The woman gave the Inspector a teasing smile and said, "You'd make me happy if you'd say I was prettier."

There was definitely a resemblance in her having some little smart rejoinder to everything he said.

The woman began to close the door, but Inspector Andress took hold of it.

He produced a copy of Special Order 321-0751-B, which granted the Witch-hunters the sweeping powers they needed to apprehend the mages of the world and any collaborators they might have.

The woman read the order and said, "I guess you're within your rights then... Inspector, did you say?" She handed the order back to him. "The League is pretty scared, isn't it?"

The woman frowned, then looked up at the Inspector and asked him, "Why did you become a Witch-hunter, Inspector?"

This was not the first time he had been asked this question. It was rare, but a few of the more reserved among his quarries would ask him this, either out of some bid to understand him better or in an effort to impugn his motivations. His answer was the same as it had been when he first applied to ARCANUM.

The woman continued to probe him, asking, "What do you think the government intends to do with the mages it arrests?"

The woman went to a coat rack by the entryway and began rifling through the pockets of a well-worn greyish brown coat to find her passport. The passport's pages were wrinkled from water damage, but the print was still mostly legible.

The Inspector saw it. Yasmin Taus, née Perizade, of Duquesne in D'Assass.

The woman twirled a stray lock of hair with her finger and said, "For some people, the hair is all the magic they get."

Inspector Andress thought that she would stumble when pressed. She did not exude the same slick confidence as Giger Taus, so it did not seem like it would be too difficult to make her trip up, but she was like a willow tree, bending without breaking as the storm winds buffeted her.

He imagined she was lying, but even he had to admit she was quite good at it. He was not going to make any progress this way. Time for a different angle of approach.

As he handed the woman her passport, the Inspector said, "Setting that aside, there is another reason I have come here. We received a credible tip that several fugitives are being harbored in this house."

She had a sharp tongue on her, that was for certain. The connection to Mr. Taus was seeming stronger and stronger as this conversation went on.

The Inspector was watching the woman's eyes intently as he listed off the names. She was a talented liar, but there were some reactions no amount of training and practice could overcome. The way her pupils dilated, it was a telltale sign. Under normal circumstances, it would be too flimsy for probable cause, but thanks to the special order, he did not have to worry about that. Still, he wanted to test this Yasmin Taus a little more.

The Inspector had no way of knowing if Giger Taus or the fugitive girls were truly absent as this woman said, but he felt he had danced long enough. With the woman right there in the entryway, he could apprehend her and eliminate her from the equation. Maybe that would lure out Mr. Taus if he was there. If not, the Inspector could bring in a team of specialists later to search the place and disable any traps Taus may have left for them.

Although he felt he had more than enough reasonable suspicion to make the arrest, the Inspector wanted to go a step farther just to be safe. Even with the broad powers granted by the special order, cutting corners for expediency ran contrary to his nature.

With binders at the ready, he drew out the detector from his pocket and held it up to the woman's face. Even without making direct contact, the crystal shone brightly, as brightly as it had done for the master mages of the Phoenix Guild. She was no mere latent mage. Her powers were fully awakened and rivaled some of the most formidable mages the Inspector had ever encountered.

It was possible that the standard-issue binders would not be enough to contain her powers, but he had to try. Even with a shortcut like a pre-prepared scroll, no spell was instantaneous. He just had to be faster.

However, as he moved to slap the binders on the wrist of her right hand, her arm shot up and she grabbed the wrist of his own right hand, which was still holding the detector up to her face. Just as he made a second attempt and got the binders on her, she had wound a cord about his wrist. His muscles suddenly seized up and the two of them were locked in a stalemate.

The woman was clearly struggling, but so long as the binders were only on one wrist, the circuit was open and she could still use her powers. Whatever she had done to him, there was no way for him to fight against it.

The woman repositioned herself, probably to keep Inspector Andress in the line of fire. There were two other Witch-hunters close at hand and another two around back. The Inspector wanted the woman to know this in the hopes that she would realize the futility of her resistance, but when he tried to speak, his jaw refused to move.

The muscles in the Inspector's jaw loosened. He began to speak, but it was not him speaking. Something was speaking through him, obeying the woman's command.

Surely if Constable Andretti was in any way serious about his job, a number of points would have jumped out at him. For one thing, according to procedure, an officer is never to relinquish his weapon during a hostage situation. Second, in official parlance, a firearm is always referred to as a 'weapon', never a 'gun'. And that was just for starters.

What Constable Andretti should have done was call for backup. The only time you would not call in more officers was if negotiation was deemed possible, the hostage was a civilian, and agitating the hostage-taker unnecessarily risked the life of the hostage. That was not the case here and that rule only applied to ordinary hostage-takers. For the Witch-hunters, eliminating the threat of a rogue mage took first priority, even above the lives of civilians. Constable Andretti would be entirely justified shooting through the Inspector in order to get the woman.

That was not what the young constable did, however.

There was a hard look in the woman's eyes as she tied a knot in the cord to secure it in place. She then held up her hands and slowly knelt down. All the while, Inspector Andress remained frozen in place.

He could hear Constable Andretti come closer as he said, "Talk to me, Inspector. What's wrong?"

Inspector Andress wanted to tell him to keep his distance, to take the opportunity to shoot her dead before she could work her arts on him, but still he could not speak.

Constable Andress was now just a couple paces away and coming into the extremity of the Inspector's peripheral vision.

As before, the Inspector felt his muscles relax before they went to work executing the woman's will. No amount of reluctance on his part would stop his body from doing what was commanded of it. He got behind Constable Andretti and caught him in a Nelson hold.

Try as he might, Inspector Andress could not let go of the constable. For his part, Constable Andretti seemed to quickly grasp the situation and was not deceived by the sight of an apparently unarmed woman on her knees with her hands up. The hold did not impede the movement of his forearms, so he twisted his arm to line up a shot.

Inspector Andress swung the constable's body around, but not before he got a shot off. He did not imagine that they were lucky enough that that shot would put an end to her. Constable Andretti did not seem to think so either, as he started shouting, "Help! Help! Warlock! Warlock!"

'Warlock' was Witch-hunter code for a hostile mage. It had no bearing on the classification of warlock as the mages reckoned it. That would make it clear to Sergeant Alphard and Constable Renoir that they needed to come in armed and ready, as if the gunshot was not clue enough.

They were not far off and came running with weapons drawn. The woman scrambled to get behind the Inspector and it looked like she was tying a cord to Constable Andretti's wrist as she had done to the Inspector. When that was done, the constable's body stiffened and he stopped resisting Inspector Andress' hold.

What the Inspector would give to be able to tell them to just shoot her. Perhaps he was wrong to have sent Inspector Coriolis around back. Surely he would be able to read the situation well enough to do what needed to be done.

Inspector Andress let go of Constable Andretti and went toward Constable Renoir while Andretti went after Sergeant Alphard.

Sounding much like Andretti before him, a confused and frightened Renoir held up his pistol in unsteady hands, saying, "Inspector, what are you doing? Stay back!"

No doubt it was an unsettling sight, seeing your superior shamble toward you like some puppet, but Inspector Andress would have hoped that his men were made of sterner stuff than this.

Showing the far steelier resolve you would expect from a more seasoned officer, Sergeant Alphard barked, "Andretti, halt!"

Of course Andretti did not halt. He could not halt. Because Inspector Andress was compelled to subdue Renoir, he did not see what happened next. There was a shot.

Another shot. Sounds of a struggle. Renoir let himself get distracted by this and was easily disarmed. The Inspector tossed the weapon aside and wrestled the hapless constable to the ground. As he was holding down Renoir, he found himself in a better position to see what was happening with Sergeant Alphard and Andretti. The two men were grappling with each other. Andretti was bleeding from the leg. Even with the magical compulsion driving him, he was no match for the Sergeant's strength, even less so with a bullet in him.

Before Sergeant Alphard could completely overcome Andretti, the woman ran at him. She tried to do her little trick with the cord again, but the Sergeant pushed her away. She landed near Renoir's pistol. Sergeant Alphard tried to take aim at her, but Andretti yanked his arm away, causing him to shoot the ground instead. It very nearly sounded like only one shot, but there were in fact two. The woman had taken up Renoir's pistol and shot Sergeant Alphard in the stomach. In her untrained hands, who knew where she meant to hit?

This staggered Sergeant Alphard enough to even the scales between him and Andretti and while they were more evenly matched, the woman was able to bind the cord to the Sergeant's wrist to bring him under her control. She then did the same for Renoir.

What now? Was she going to have them kill each other in some convoluted murder-suicide play? Andretti would not last long without medical attention and Sergeant Alphard might not make it even if they could get him to a doctor right away.

The woman surveyed the scene for a moment and sighed.

To Inspector Andress and Renoir, she said, "Help them inside. Quickly now."

Inspector Andress found himself supporting Sergeant Alphard as they followed the woman inside the cottage. As they were crossing the threshold, Inspector Andress could hear boots clapping on the pavement. Probably Inspector Coriolis sent Constable Leach around to check on the situation. It was risky for them to split up, but clearly Inspector Coriolis was not about to leave the back uncovered. Inspector Andress would have done the same. Now, Constable Leach was almost certainly told not to engage without reporting back first, but would he read the situation correctly?

Inspector Andress' attention turned to the inside of the cottage. This time it was not filled with the stench of the incense that was apparently used to blunt Master Turco's senses.

While tying back her hair, the woman raised her voice, saying, "Ramstein, come down here. I need you. Apollos, Priscilla, you too. Hurry."

She was surprisingly calm under the circumstances. She pointed to Inspector Andress and then to the kitchen table.

While the Inspector was busy getting Sergeant Alphard onto the table, the woman was giving similar instructions to put Andretti on the couch, which had a bedsheet spread over it. Inspector Andress heard the flapping of wings as something came on to the landing outside the upstairs bedroom.

So this was Kamellia Reis after all. The Inspector had done some digging into her past after hearing the name mentioned by Miss Gamble. Kamellia Reis, the apprentice of Mordekai Grummond alleged to have been the Abomination behind the Vigau Incident. Some effort had been made to cover up this fact, but the job had not been done cleanly, which only succeeded in drawing more attention than averting it.

She was one of those seven missing and presumed dead following the Vigau Incident, along with her master, who was said to have been the one to put an end to the Abomination's rampage. If all this was indeed true, she had been alive all this time, hiding in the very town she nearly destroyed, but what was her connection to Giger Taus?

It came to him in an instant. Mordekai Grummond had another apprentice listed among the missing, one Barz Falkner. Judging from Taus' age, the pieces would fit. All the deceptions and deflections ran deep. What else did the Phoenix Guild conceal in the official reports?

Inspector Andress would love nothing more than to be able to act on this new information, but so long as he was under Kamellia Reis' spell, he was a helpless puppet. It would appear that she was going to attempt to save Sergeant Alphard and Constable Andretti's lives, but he would not be deceived into assigning any virtue to the act. She was the reason their lives were in danger in the first place and saving them was the pragmatic choice. Two dead Witch-hunters would greatly increase the pressure from ARCANUM. If she wanted to have any hope of eluding capture, they had to survive.

While all these thoughts were going through the Inspector's head, Kamellia Reis was giving instructions to the others in the room with her. The Inspector could not see them as he was preoccupied with trying to staunch the bleeding of Sergeant Alphard's gut wound. The bullet appeared to have hit his liver. He would have perhaps twenty minutes to live if no other vitals were damaged.

The Border Skirmish of '57? As in the Border Skirmish of 157, over a hundred years ago? Who was this old man?

Some footsteps could be heard approaching from the direction of the basement.

Rather than try to shoo them away again, Kamellia Reis said, "Alright then. Margot, draw us some water. Bernadotte, help Apollos with the scrolls."

Margot Leider and Bernadotte Ryczer. The fugitive girls were here after all. Kamellia Reis must have had them hide in the basement when Inspector Andress first identified himself as the police. Only two of the five were brave enough to come up under the circumstances.

From where he was standing, the Inspector could see a purple-haired girl going into the kitchen. It was Margot Leider. She only paid the Inspector and Sergeant Alphard a passing glance. Inspector Andress imagined most girls her age would be going into hysterics at such a sight, but her nerves did not seem to be quite so fragile.

As Bernadotte Ryczer was handing Kamellia Reis a couple scrolls of parchment, a voice shouted, "Freeze!"

It was Constable Leach standing there in the entryway with his pistol drawn. Like a fool, he had plunged blindly into this nest of vipers. He was taken aback by what he saw. Not knowing what was waiting for him inside, how could he not be?

Margot Leider put herself between Constable Leach and the others, further shaking him.

He almost sounded like he was not expecting to see her, despite the briefing. There was something more to it, though. Was there some sort of history between them? Inspector Andress would have to investigate the matter further if they ever got out of this.

Kamellia Reis seemed more annoyed than anything at the intrusion.

Another voice spoke up.

It was Inspector Coriolis, who had come in through the back and was standing in the kitchen with his revolver drawn and pointed at Constable Leach.

Inspector Andress looked for the same sort of cord used to control the rest of them, but he did not see it on Inspector Coriolis' wrist. Also, none of the rest of them seemed able to speak. Constable Leach's question was all the more relevant. What was going on here?

In a move that would have almost certainly gotten her shot against anyone else, Margot Leider seized Constable Leach's revolver and wrested it out of his slackened grip. She then opened the chamber to dump the bullets on the floor and disassembled the revolver in a few swift motions. It would seem that Sergeant Leider had taught his daughter a thing or two.

While Constable Leach was standing there dumbfounded, Kamellia Reis told Bernadotte Ryczer, "Take some of the twine in my left sleeve and tie it around his wrist."

Unarmed and with Inspector Coriolis still pointing his weapon at him, all Constable Leach could do was raise his hands in surrender. Bernadotte Ryczer went over to Kamellia Reis and without interrupting her work, drew out one of the cords and tied it to Constable Leach's wrist as instructed. Once the knot was tied, he was as helpless as the rest of them.

With Constable Leach now unable to pose any further threat, Inspector Coriolis put away his pistol. Kamellia Reis ignored him while she held the two parchments over the entry and exit wounds on Sergeant Alphard's abdomen. After a few moments, she peeled them away and the wounds were gone. She checked his pulse and then turned to the ones working on Constable Andretti.

Kamellia Reis visibly sighed, then told Margot Leider, "Draw us some more water, Margot, so we can wash up."

Inspector Coriolis obligingly stepped aside to let her pass. With the immediate danger having passed, Kamellia Reis turned her attention to the Inspector.

Inspector Andress had been warned about sympathizers before he was given his assignment, but Inspector Coriolis had managed to avoid suspicion up until now. Perhaps it was because Inspector Clemence did little to hide his sympathies that someone more covert like Inspector Coriolis got away with it. Inspector Andress cursed himself for the blind spot. He thought he was better than that.

Margot Leider came in carrying a bucket of water and Kamellia Reis began to wash her hands while she thought about her answer.

The way she did not even flinch while saying any of this was telling. Clearly Inspector Andress had underestimated her. She may have shot Sergeant Alphard in the heat of the moment, but saving him and Constable Andretti were more acts of calculation than compassion, just as Inspector Andress had figured.

Rogue mages were usually done in by their arrogance, but this one seemed to have a clear-eyed view of not only her own limitations but also those of the mage community as a whole. They were never that united even before the Mage Ban. Now the chances of them coming together to pose an effective resistance were slim to none. So far this was all according to ARCANUM's scenario, but if too many mages like this Kamellia Reis were to emerge, it could be problematic.

Kamellia Reis looked at Inspector Andress and said, "He can have that effect on people."

She then bit her thumb as she thought more intently on the problem at hand. It did not take her long before she came to a conclusion.

She asked the sluggish boy, "Do we have any copies of Arnem's Words of Suggestion?"

Bernadotte Ryczer went over to assist him and before long, he produced a scroll.

The boy delivered the scroll to Kamellia Reis and she looked over it before saying to Inspector Andress and the other Witch-hunters in her thrall, "Gentlemen, form a circle and join hands."

The freshly healed Sergeant Alphard and Constable Andretti rose up and joined the other three. Inspector Andress did not know what Kamellia Reis meant to do, but there was nothing he could do to resist her.

She looked to Inspector Coriolis and told him, "You too, officer."

She did not budge in the slightest.

As if to test her resolve, Coriolis drew his revolver once more and pointed it at her.

She held out her hand to stop him and squared off against Inspector Coriolis. The woman had nerves of steel and in the end, Coriolis relented and lowered his weapon.

Inspector Coriolis sighed as he put his revolver back in its holster.

She told the other Witch-hunters, "Let him in."

Coriolis inserted himself between Inspector Andress and Sergeant Alphard.

He did not know the half of it and if ever the Inspector was in command of his faculties again, the first thing he would do was clap this traitor in irons.

However, he was not in command of his faculties and could do nothing as Kamellia Reis broke the seal on the scroll and held the parchment to the Inspector's back.

"You will go about your business as you will. You will ignore anything that might remind you of this place and what happened. Nothing happened. Nothing happened."

Inspector Andress could feel his mind grow hazy. He tried to fix in his mind the things she was telling him to forget, but it was like grasping at wisps of smoke. It was all slipping away from him and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

The scene began to take shape in the Inspector's mind. Yes, that was what happened. They needed to go back to the station and report it. If they hurried, they might be able to catch him before he could get too far.