I scowl at her. “My gran has lied to me.”

“When?”

“When she didn’t tell me that she had met Marcus, that she knew Marcus. When she didn’t deny that my mother was attacked by him. When she didn’t tell me that the Council was responsible for my mother’s death.”

Mary pokes me with her spoon. “If the Council ever found out where I was and what I’d helped you discover, what do you think they’d do to me?”

I look away.

“Well?”

“Are you trying to tell me that they would have killed Gran?”

“And will do.”

I know she’s right, of course, but that doesn’t make me feel any better.

Mary gives me a string of chores to “help me get out of my morning grouchiness.”

As she supervises my scraping out of the chicken house, I say, “Gran told me that you left the Council in disgrace.”

“Well, I suppose that’s one way of describing it.”

“How would you describe it?”

“A lucky escape. Finish that and close it all back up. Then make some tea and I’ll tell you.”

I boil water on the stove in the cottage and Mary sits outside in the sun. When I bring the tea she pats the grass beside her. We lean back against the wall of the cottage.

“Remember, Nathan, the Council is dangerous. They will not allow anyone to show the slightest weakness toward Black Witches. I was foolish enough to once voice a concern I had. I worked as a secretary for the Council. My job was to keep the records. They have many files and I kept them well, but one day when I was tidying up I had a few minutes of free time and I decided to read one. It described the Retribution delivered to a Black Witch. It was horrific.

“I stupidly told one of the Council members that the Retribution was terrible. This was not a problem. Retribution is terrible, it’s supposed to be, and if I had stopped there nothing would have happened. But I didn’t. It bothered me greatly. I couldn’t sleep. I had always known about Retribution but somehow I hadn’t realized how much suffering was inflicted. A month of torture before they let the witch die. I worked for the Council because I believed White Witches were good, superior, and I was now faced with the fact that they were as bad as Black Witches, as bad as fains, as bad as them all.

“There was a Black Witch in the cells and I knew what they would be doing to him.

“It was stupid to even try to help him. He would never be able to escape. But I was full of righteous anger. And so I did what I could.

“I pretended that I was mad with hate at the Black Witch. He had killed the family of one of the Council Members so it wasn’t hard, though in truth they were a stuck-up snotty bunch who always treated me like muck.”

She slurps her tea.

“I made an excuse to get into the cells. I didn’t really have a plan, I had no weapon, but by the door was a table and on that were knives and . . . other things. Instruments of torture, I suppose you’d call them. I picked up a knife and started screaming and shouting and pretending to attack the prisoner. It was pointless as an attack. There was no possibility that I could have killed him. But in the struggle with the guard I made sure that the knife landed within the reach of the witch who was chained in the cell. He stabbed himself in the heart within a second of picking it up.”

Mary put her teacup down.

“I pretended that I was mad. I got off. But there were doubts. Some thought I was faking it. So now I try to . . . Oh, what’s that phrase? Stay off-grid.”

“Wow.”

“Yes, I’m often surprised at what I did. But I don’t regret it. I saved that man from weeks of torture.”

“Who was he?”

“Ah, a good question at last.”

She puts her hand gently on my arm.

“He was Massimo. He was Marcus’s grandfather.”

Later that morning Mary makes me memorize the instructions for my departure. They are similar to the ones for my arrival.

“Is this a spell to ensure that I’m not followed?”

“One of my specialties and, though I say so myself, quite tricky to accomplish well. Most witches don’t have the patience for it. You have to take time over each step. And, if you do, even Hunters can’t track you.”

“Hunters would follow me here, I suppose.”

“Hunters follow you everywhere, Nathan, and always have. Apart from your journey here. And your journey away from here, if you follow the instructions.”

“They always follow me?”

“They’re Hunters, Nathan. The clue is in the name. And they’re very good.”

I nod. “Yeah, I know.”

“No, I don’t think you do. Never underestimate the enemy, Nathan. Never. Hunters follow you everywhere and could kill you at any time. They want to, Nathan. But they work for the Council and the Council manages to keep them in check, just.”

“So I should be grateful to them?”

Mary shakes her head. “The Council is more dangerous than the Hunters, remember that too. They use the Hunters. They use everything they can.”

I’m not sure what she means by “everything.” I say, “Gran has told me they use spies.”

“Yes, spying is one of their favorite methods. Trust no one, Nathan. Not friends, not even family. If they’re White then the Council will use them as spies if they can. And they usually can.

“The Council and Hunters are united in one aim: they want Marcus dead. And all his bloodline too.”

“Yesterday you said that you thought the Council has never wanted to kill me.”

“Not yet. At the moment they think that you are more use to them alive.”

“So they want to use me to trap Marcus?”

“I’m sure they have considered it, probably tried it. But there’s more than that. Don’t go to any more assessments. Find Mercury. She will hide you until your Giving. Go as soon as you can.”

I nod again, but I can tell she is building up to tell me one last thing. But she goes quiet again.

I say, “There’s something else I’ve remembered about Marcus. A few years ago there was an attack on a family of White Witches, the Greys. Marcus killed them. But I think he was trying to get something that they had. Something called the Fairborn. Do you know what that is?”

Mary nods. “Yes, I do. It’s a knife.”

“Why would Marcus want it?”

“It’s a special knife. A vicious thing. Fairborn is the name of the man who made it, over a hundred years ago, I believe. He engraved his name on the blade. I came to know the knife very well during the investigation that the Council made into my attack in the cells: it’s the same knife that I threw to Massimo. It was Massimo’s knife.”

“I see why Marcus would want it back.”

“No. I don’t think you do, Nathan.”

Mary rubs her forehead with the back of her hand and sighs.

“Marcus visited me a few weeks ago. He came to ask me a favor. He sees glimpses of the future . . . possible futures. I think it’s a burden more than a Gift. He told me one of his visions, one that he first had many years ago and still sees today. He wanted me to tell you about it. He thought if you knew, you might understand him better.”

“He has a message for me! And you’ve waited till I’m leaving to tell me?”

“If it was up to me I wouldn’t tell you at all. You must understand, Nathan, this is a vision. A possible future. It is only that. But the more store you set in visions the more they have a habit of coming true.”

“Do you have any idea how much I want to hear from him?” I walk away from her and then back again, leaning close to her face. “Tell me.”

“Nathan, there are many White Witches who see visions of the future. If Marcus has seen this vision, you can be sure that the Council will know of it too. Marcus wants you to understand him but also understand the Council.”

“Are you going to tell me?”

“There are two weapons that together will kill your father. Both are protected by the Council, until they are ready to be used.”