"More or less."

"And they'll try to stop us."

"I wouldn't bet against it."

"So they're likely to try and kill us." She smiled without humor. "Like Tari-nakana."

It was so obvious Miryo should have thought of it sooner, but she could hardly wrap her mind around the idea of the Primes doing something like this. "They hired Wraith?"

"Of course. Tari-nakana knew about me and did noth-ing. And soon after she finds out about me, other doppelgangers start to survive. They must have found out something of what she was doing, and took steps to stop her."

"Which would be why Ashin has so conveniently vanished. If she was working with Tari-nakana, her life is in danger, too. Assuming the Primes know about her."

"The real question, then, is why. Do these people not know the risk involved?"

Miryo shook her head. "I can't quite believe that. But we know the risk, and that hasn't changed what we're doing."

"They don't have our incentive."

"You expect me to know Ashin's mind? Or Tari's? We're still going to have to talk with Ashin to figure this out completely. They must have some reason for what they're doing, or they wouldn't endanger the witches this way."

"So we'll go meet our employer and confront her. We need to talk to Ashin as soon as possible, and chances are these women know where she is." Mirage stood with a burst of energy Miryo envied. "Can the Primes track us?"

Miryo groaned involuntarily as she rolled over and rose to her knees. "No. Normally, yes, but not with us. If they try a searching spell, it'll get confused, because as far as it's concerned we're one target in two places at once. It can't cope with that."

"Even if we're together?"

"Doesn't matter. We're still the same thing in two places."

"So we're safe from that, at least. But we'll need to watch out for mundane spies." Mirage extended her hand to Miryo and helped her to her feet. "We need to get out of Aystad right away. Are you up to riding tonight?"

"Given what we're facing?"

Mirage smiled briefly. "Okay. We'll push our pace, then, and be in Talbech by late tomorrow."

"I've got a plan."

"Do you, now?" Miryo was flat on her back on her narrow bed, feet propped up on a saddlebag, and wanted nothing more than a nap. Mirage's energy never ceased to amaze her.

Energy, or that damnfool stubbornness Eclipse complained about? Maybe she just refuses to be tired.

"How do those alarm spells you people set up work? Where are they normally located, and are they set off when you cross a line, like a trip wire, or do they sense more generally than that? And do they just go off, or do they give information about who's there?"

The questions gave Miryo a mild headachesa"or maybe it was just the sudden flashback to being questioned by the Keys. "They're like a trip wire that resets itself. It goes off when you cross a border. I'd be able to tell you where it is; I can sense magic, even if I can't work it. And they usually just indicate how many people have crossed it. Anything more than that and the spell starts being really complicated. Most witches don't bother with anything more than the basics."

"But they do tell you how many people. Void it. I was hoping they wouldn't." Mirage bit one knuckle, then shook her head. "Eclipse will just have to stay home. She's expecting two peoplea"it'll be you and me."

Miryo looked at her sharply. "What are you going to do, dress me in his uniform?"

"Not a chance. I'm through with beating around the bush. They know about us; I'm sure of it. Why bother pretending? We'll just go in there and confront her."

"She'll have magic, you know. You may not want to be too forceful."

"She'll have a hard time singing if I hit her in the throat."

Miryo flinched. Goddess. I keep thinking I've gotten used to her, and then she says things like that.

Mirage didn't seem to notice. She sat down and leaned her elbows on her knees. "So. The things we want to know are: Where Ashin is. Why they're doing this. If they have any ideas about how to fix us. Anything else you can think of?"

"If there are any other doppelgangers."

"Good one. I assume they put all of them into Hunter training, but that might not be the case."

"I somehow don't get the feeling they'll tell us who is involved with this."

"If they do, they're idiots. The Primes want to get their hands on us already; giving us names would make us an even bigger liability. I was trained to deal with torture, but you weren't, and even I'm not unbreakable anyway."

Trained toa"Bride's tears. I'm glad I didn't have her childhood.

But I won't tell her that they have other ways of making us talk.

Mirage cracked her back, then stood up briskly. "Let's get ready. I'm sick of wasting time."

The night had clouded over and the streets were black as pitch. Mirage liked it that way. She was in full uniform, and it was better if people didn't see her. They started asking questions if they did.

Miryo had argued against the uniform. But Mirage had wanted to wear it, for a variety of reasons. It made her look more intimidating, for one thing; people had trouble dealing with a faceless woman. And given what they were planning, a little intimidation couldn't hurt. Besides, she preferred to be in uniform for situations like this. It put her in the right mind-set, and gave her confidence. Which also couldn't hurt.

"Where are you?" Miryo whispered, glancing around.

Mirage slid right up behind her. "Here."

Miryo jumped. "Goddess. I can't see you in this blackness. Were you there all along?"

"Yes," Mirage lied.

Miryo shook her head and walked on.

Behind her, Mirage grinned to herself. It wasn't very nice, playing with her double's mind like that, but she couldn't resist.

One last corner, and then they were there. Mirage waited as Miryo cocked her head to one side. The witch hummed softly, then nodded. "It's a simple ward," she whispered. "An alarm, nothing more. She won't know who we are."

Mirage nodded. "Let's go, then."

They crossed the boundary swiftly and sped to the door. Mirage waited, motionless, listening with all her skill for footsteps. They came, at last, and she tensed her muscles.

The Cousin who opened the door never stood a chance.

She wasn't fight-trained, like the ones Miryo had with her in Angrim; she was a simple maid. Mirage had a hand over her mouth before she even finished opening the door.

"Fetch your mistress," Mirage said in a low voice. Behind her, Miryo was keeping back, the hood of her cloak pulled low. "Tell her there are visitors. Nothing more than that. If you say anything else, it'll go badly for you. Do you understand?"

The Cousin nodded convulsively.

"We'll be in the sitting room. Now go," Mirage said, and released her.

The woman fled. Mirage led the way into the house, Miryo on her heels, and searched for the sitting room. It didn't take long to find; the house was not large. Glancing about, Mirage suspected that it, like the house in Ravelle, was the home of a witch. Whether or not it was the property of the woman they were meeting tonight remained to be seen.

Enough speculation. Mirage stepped back as Miryo seated herself in the most impressive chair in the room. By the way it was positioned, their contact had obviously meant it to be her own seat, when they came at the appointed time later tonight. Mirage stationed herself behind it, and then they waited.

Before long, she caught the sound of hurried footsteps on the stairs. Two sets, one of whicha"the Cousin'sa"scurried away down the hall. The other stopped for a moment, then continued on with a more measured, deliberate tread. And then the door swung open.

"What doa"" she said, but she got no further.

Miryo stood up, and it was clear by the look on the other witch's face that she recognized her, but had not expected to see her here. She had taken the time to put on the illusion, Mirage saw, despite the fact that it had been compromised in Ravelle. She must not want her real appearance known. Mirage didn't blame her.

"What are you doing here?" the witch said. She had recovered her composition admirably.

"We have questions for you," Miryo said, and Mirage took a step forward.

The witch's eyes shot between the two of them. And then they widened hugely. "Dear Goddess. Youa""

Then, to Mirage's surprise, she began to laugh. Wryly, not hysterically; she leaned back against the door frame and smacked one hand against the wall. "What beautiful luck. We hire Hunters, and don't even realize who one of them is. I wish you people wouldn't wear masks." Then she straightened and looked at Mirage. "What do you say we trade? You take off the mask, and I'll drop the illusion. Deal?"

Miryo glanced back to Mirage, who gave her an imperceptible shrug. She could see no harm in it.

"Excellent," the witch said, as Mirage reached up to remove her mask. And the illusion vanished from her face.

"Ashin!" Miryo blurted. And then a muttered "kasora," as if she couldn't decide whether to include it or not.

So this is Ashin. Mirage supposed the odds worked out; this wasn't either of the two previous witches, and she doubted there were many of them in this group. One hurdle cleared, then.

"So," Ashin said, brushing her hair back from her high-boned face, quite unlike the face of the illusion. "It looks like we both got a surprise." She looked at them and shook her head wonderingly. "It's amazing. You really do look the same. You would, of course, but it's one thing to know that, and another thing entirely to see you standing side-by-side." She gestured for them to sit. "Well, Miryo, I said I'd talk to you after your test. I guess now is the time."

"So you didn't know who you'd hired?" Mirage asked the Air Hand Key.

Ashin shook her head. "No. It was stupid of us, but Tari was the only one who knew where you were. It seemed safer that waya"we couldn't betray youa"but then when she died, we lost you completely. We went ahead and hired Silverfires, but with you and your partner always wearing masks, we had no idea who we had. It was pure chance that we got you." She paused. "Or maybe not. You're gooda"or so I'm tolda"so it makes sense that your Grandmaster chose you."

Technically he'd chosen Eclipse, but that didn't mean Jaguar didn't have her in mind. "Would you have hired me, if you had the choice?"

"I haven't thought about it. Maybe, since you're involved anyway. It doesn't matter, though; it's not something I can go back and change."

Straightforward, just as Miryo said. I hope she isn't the brains of this operation; she seems to be a good person, but she's not nearly devious enough to run a subversive campaign. "Did you know the Primes were behind the assassination when you hired us?"

Ashin flinched visibly. "You're sure of it, then?" Mirage nodded. "We suspected, but we weren't sure. That's why we hired Hunters; we needed to be sure. Void." She sighed. "Well, I don't think anyone will be surprised to hear it's true."

"They killed Tari-nakana because of this, then," Miryo said.

"Of course. Well, sort of. They'd found out that Tari knew about a living doppelganger. It happens, sometimes, that a child somehow slips through, but a witch who finds out about one is supposed to report it. Tari didn't, which meant that she was entertaining heretical ideas. They had her killed to prevent her from causing further trouble."

Electric fire shot up Mirage's right arm, making her clench her hand.

What in the Void was that?

A tension she hadn't even realized existed melted out of her bones, and with the relaxation came understanding. The blood-oath, the spell that bound her and Eclipse to investigate the assassination, had been fulfilled at last.

What a shame that talking about her achievement would only bring the Primes down on her head all the faster.

Look on the bright side. That's one less sword hanging over my head.

She dragged her mind back to Ashin's last comment. "But she'd already caused trouble, hadn't she?"

. "Yes. She was the one who began arranging for other doppelgangers to survive. We don't think they were aware of that at the time, though. Otherwise they would have tried to get her to talk first, to name her accomplices. But they know now. Otherwise they wouldn't have searched her home."

Looking for evidence. Mirage nodded. "So how many of you are there, in this little conspiracy?"

Ashin gave her a measuring look. "I don't think I'm going to tell you that."

Mirage grinned. It was good to know Ashin wasn't an idiot. "All right. How about a different question, then. Are the other doppelgangers out there children of your little conspirators, or did you find a way to make all doubles survive the ritual?"

"We know you let your daughter's doppelganger survive," Miryo said.

Ashin smiled faintly. There was a definite tinge of ruefulness to it. "Of course I did. If I believe in this, I should believe in it enough to commit my own child to it. But some of them, I'll admit, aren't ours."

"And how are you arranging that?"

"The same way you made it," Ashin said to Mirage. "As far as we know, anyway. When a doppelganger survives, it's because the child was touched by starlight before the ritual."

The implications hit home quickly. "So she has a soul when she's divided."

"Exactly. And this is important because it puts an interesting twist on the way your lives work. You two share one soul, you see. And so you're the only people who can kill each other. If anybody else tries, you just come back, because the other half is still around."

"We found that bit out the hard way," Miryo said dryly.

Ashin looked disappointed that her declaration hadn't been met with more shock and amazement, but she went on. "The immediate effect is that when the mother kills the doppelganger, it comes back to life a little while later."

"And then what?" Mirage asked. "How did I end up with foster parents? Why wasn't I just buried?"

"That's a very good question, and one we'll probably never know the exact answer to. The doppelgangers are given to the Cousins to dispose of, you see. Unfortunately, we don't know which one tended Kasane. But you can bet the Cousins are in it up to their eyebrows, or at least some of them are. Every time a doppelganger survives to adulthood, it's because a Cousin took her elsewhere, and didn't report her to the Primes."

Mirage was amused by that. So much for the Cousins as the mindless, eternally obedient servants. I wonder how many witches realize all the tricks their subordinates are up to?

"I just wish that the Cousins would talk about it," Ashin said with a frustrated sigh. "We have a few on our side, but they claim to know nothing. The Cousins know more about what goes on at Starfall than anyone likes to think about, but they refuse to talk. Some of them help us, though."

"You've been arranging for this with other witches' children, then?" Miryo asked.

"Yes," Ashin admitted blandly.

"And this doesn't bother you at all."