The Primes rose to their feet then, startling Miryo; they had not moved throughout the proceedings. "Go forth and hunt, and return to us as one of our own," they sang in a unified monotone. Miryo bowed deeply to them and, torn between elation and sick dread, left the hall.

Miryo sat on the edge of her bed and stared at the floor. Around her were small trunks, empty, that she needed to pack; after she left Starfall they would be taken to the New House, where women just past their tests lived until they had homes of their own. On the bed next to her were saddlebags, likewise empty. These she would take with her to hunt her doppelganger.

Her stomach clenched at that thought. She could not imagine killing someone, not with her hands. Magically, maybe; there were always brigands stupid enough to attack witches. But not with a knife. Not that close.

A soft knock made her jump nearly out of her skin. Smoothing her hair back, Miryo took a deep breath and went to answer the door.

Narika was outside. "I expected you would be here," the witch said. "May I come in?"

She would never have asked permission before. It was another sign that Miryo was, despite her difficulties, a witch. The victory, sought ever since Miryo could remember, tasted like ashes in her mouth. "Please," she said woodenly, and opened the door wider.

Narika eyed the empty trunks and saddlebags, but did not comment. Miryo gestured for her to take the chair, and sat on the bed herself. At least she could sit, now; once she would have stood for the whole conversation.

"Satomi-aken told me of your situation," Narika said. "Do you have any questions?"

Miryo stared at the floor for a long moment, trying to focus her thoughts. They ran about like confused mice, chasing themselves in little circles. With an effort she brought them together, and asked the first thing that came into her mind. "Does this happen often?"

"No," Narika said grimly. "You did well to pick me; a lot of witches don't know much about this. But it's something my Path is familiar with, though not even all of us. You might have done better to ask one of my sisters in the Void Ray, but I can tell you almost everything we know."

"How did it happen to me?" Miryo said. It came out almost as a wail.

"No one knows. Perhaps your mother simply made a mistake. I didn't know Kasane well, but she never struck me as one so overwhelmed by sentimentality that she wouldn't be able to kill an empty shell. She knew the consequences of letting it live all too well. Every witch who has a daughter knows that."

"Do you think she knew, though? That it was alive?"

"Who can say? Kasane never gave any sign that she did, at least not that anyone has admitted."

Miryo tried to ask her next question, but felt her throat close up, blocking the words. She swallowed hard, disgusted with her own pitiful wailing. For the love of the Goddessa"if I can't even discuss this without falling apart, how do I expect to go after my doppelganger? At this rate, I'll not be able to see it through the tears, even if it were in front of me. Miryo swallowed again and squared her chin. "How am I to find it?"

Narika sighed. "It could, in theory, be anywhere. You have at least one advantage: It will look exactly like you. So you can circulate a description, or even a sketch, to help track it down."

"That could take forever."

"It's possible. But I believea"although this is mostly speculationa"that it won't be quite so difficult as you think. You and your doppelganger are joined in some way we don't fully understand; it's this joining that puts you in danger. But it can also work for you. I think that, if you trust your instinct, you'll find yourself traveling in the right direction."

"But you don't know for sure."

"No. I don't."

Miryo considered this for a moment. No immediate path of travel leapt to mind; she felt as lost as before. "I don't know if you can answer thisa"you said not all of this is understooda"but what is it about my doppelganger that is dangerous?"

"It prevents you from controlling your magic."

"I know that," Miryo said, curbing her impatience. "But tow?"

Narika sighed again. "In short, because it's a part of you, though separate from you. Controlling power takes perfect concentration, and your doppelganger is a part of you that you cannot focus at will. Thus your control is not strong enough."

"Even though it can't work magic."

"Even so. And you must hurry becausea"as you will, unfortunately, discovera"though Satomi-aken has forbidden you to cast spells, her order will be hard to follow. Can you feel it?" Narika's eyes bored into Miryo. "Can you feel the power around you?"

Miryo swallowed painfully. Yes, she could. She'd been trying to ignore it. The power witches channeled came from the world around them; she could sense it with every breath she took, every touch of her hand against an object.

"Don't reach for it," Narika told her grimly. "You've been warned about the consequences. But that'll be hard to remember when you find yourself in trouble.

"You must be vigilant against this. Small spells you might work without terrible backlasha"if you're luckya"but fine control is something that takes time to acquire. You would likely turn yourself into a human torch when you meant to light a candle."

Miryo nodded, her neck muscles stiff with tension. I'll not fall into that trap. I mean to see this through to the end. Narika was eyeing her as though hammering her warning home by sheer force of gaze.

"Is there anything else?" Narika asked.

"Not at the moment," Miryo replied softly.

The witch nodded and rose. Then she hesitated. "For what it's worth," she said, looking down on Miryo, "you have my sympathy. And my prayers."

Narika was at the door when the words leapt from Miryo as if of their own accord. "Why do all of this?"

The Air witch looked puzzled. "I beg your pardon?"

Miryo rase with a swift, choppy gesture. "The whole thing. Doppelgangers. What's the purpose? Why did the Goddess set it up this way?"

"Do I look like a priestess to you?"

"No, but they don't know anything about us anyway. We're the only ones who would know."

Narika shrugged. "Ask one of my Path sisters in the Void Ray, perhaps. One or another of thema"I recommend Bairaa"can no doubt engage you in a long, philosophical debate about the Goddess's purpose for us in this world. You'll probably not find any answers, but then again questions like that rarely have any."

Miryo recognized the bite in Narika's tone for what it was, and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. When Satomi-aken said I might have someone to give me counsel, I know that's not what she meant."

Narika crossed back to Miryo, looking rueful. "I snapped your nose off, didn't I? I apologize. You don't need that, not right now. I have little patience with that sort of question, but I understand why you ask it. I don't have any answers for you, and I don't know if there are any to be found, but I wish you luck if you search for them."

"Thank you," Miryo said.

The witch returned to the door. "If you need anything further," she said, "senda a Cousin. I'll do what I can for you."

Send a Cousin, Miryo thought bitterly as the door closed. "Send word," she was about to say. If I were really a witch, I could spell the message to her.

And thoughts like that are getting me precisely nowhere.

Tossing her hair from her face, Miryo turned to the empty trunks and began to pack.

The door to Miryo's room was flung open so quickly it rebounded against the wall and nearly hit Eikyo as she dashed through. Miryo, who had leapt up from the floor at the sudden entry, was almost knocked down again as her friend hurled herself forward and enveloped her in a crushing hug.

"I was worried you'd be gone already," Eikyo said into Miryo's hair.

"Not until tomorrow," Miryo said faintly, still dazed.

Eikyo stepped back and squeezed Miryo's shoulders. "Nobody will tell me what's going on. I've never hated being a student so mucha"nobody tells students anything." She reached out and touched Miryo's triskele pendant with one finger. "You are a witch, right? Some people don't seem to think you area"but you have this."

Miryo laughed shortly; it sounded bitter even to her own ears. "They're half right. I have the pendant, but what does it mean? Nothing, except that if I die I'll be buried as a witch and not as a student."

Eikyo's eyes widened. "What?"

"Sit down. It'll take a while to explain." Miryo swept a stack of papers off her desk chair, threw them into a trunk, closed the lid, and sat on that herself. Her bed was covered with saddlebags and clothing; she'd have to finish dealing with that before she could sleep tonight. "I'm technically a witch, but I'm not allowed to work magic yet."

Eikyo listened to her explanation, her blue-gray eyes solemn. When Miryo finished, there was silence in the room; the chirping of a cricket outside the window was shockingly loud.

"Well," Eikyo said at last, her voice heavy with unexpressed emotion, "I guess that's pretty cut and dried. You find it, you kill it, you come back and everything will be normal."

"Assuming it's that easy."

"What complications could there be?"

"Finding it won't be simple," Miryo said, rising. She tried to pace, but her scattered belongings got in the way. She controlled her urge to kick them across the room. "And killing ita I know I have to. But the thought of actually doing it, with a knife or whatevera I'm not used to that. It's not like I was trained as a soldier or an assassin; I'm a witch, for the Maiden's sake! I'm not supposed to kill people!"

"But crying over it won't do you any good," Eikyo said, sounding more like her usual solid self. "It's the only way through this. So you grit your teeth and do it anyway."

"I know. I'll deal with it when the time comes. But that still doesn't clear up anything about Ashin."

"Have you talked to her?"

"She's gone. Satomi-aken told me I could choose a witch to answer my remaining questions; I tried to pick Ashin, but she apparently left right after my testing."

"Who did you choose in her place?"

"Narika."

"Does she know where Ashin went?"

"I didn't think to ask," Miryo said thoughtfully. "That's a possibility. I'll find her tomorrow morning, before I leave. If Narika knows, I might try following Ashin."

"What will you do if she doesn't, and can't find out? Where will you go?"

Miryo shrugged. "Narika thinks that if I choose at random, instinct or some such will lead me toward it. But she admits that she doesn't know if that will really work."

"Have you tried it?"

"Not yet. I don't know how I go about 'trying' to do something instinctively."

"We could go up on the roof; then you'd at least have a clear line of sight."

They did not head for their usual sheltered pit; instead Miryo and Eikyo climbed to the highest point they could easily reach. Above them Star Hall vaulted up into the night sky, blotting out stars, but neither of them was about to attempt that climb.

"All right," Eikyo said when they reached the top. "Which way?"

Miryo glanced around. The peak the students' quarters and Star Hall were perched on was the highest in the immediate region; to the east and west the mountains marched on in a jagged line. South, the land rose up into the bulk of the mountain range, then fell away sharply into a narrow coastal plateau; that region was inhabited by witches and Cousins and no one else. To the north the heights shrank to foothills, and then to plains, until they spread out into the patchwork of domains ruled by various Lords and Ladies, which spread out for weeks of travel in all directions.

And my doppelganger could be anywhere out there.

It was unlikely to have chosen the south. So Miryo would have to head generally north, but she could tend to the west, the east, or any line in between. None of them stood out in her mind as being more likely than any of the others.

I guess I just pick at random, then. Miryo thought about reciting a children's counting-rhyme to choose, but discarded the idea. I have to head somewhere. I guess it'll be west.

Miryo raised her arm to indicate this, and found herself pointing east instead.

Eikyo looked at her. "What's wrong?"

Shrugging, Miryo lowered her arm. "Nothing. East it is."

CHAPTER EIGHT.

Avalanche [Mirage]

Vilardi was a much smaller town than Breiano, and seemed an unlikely place to hold such an important series of meetings. But Breiano, perched on Insebrar's coast a few days' ride away, was the headquarters of the Silk Consortium, and as such was hardly neutral ground.

So they made do. Vilardi did not have enough inns to house everyone, but the shipping families didn't care; they were accustomed to living in their wagons and tents, leaving the much pricier hotels for the silk men. Mirage and Eclipse, approaching the town from the west, encountered the perimeter of the tent city long before they reached Vilardi itself.

"Looks like most of the major overland shippers in the east," Mirage said to Eclipse as they drew closer. The large wagons at the heart of the tent circles had sprouted poles from which an assortment of banners flapped. "What do you want to bet there are at least three Wind-blades in there?"

"Might be some other Silverfires, too," he replied, scanning the area.

"Marell would've mentioned it if there were. Most of them are probably hiring bodyguard specialists." That might very well be why the Silk Consortium had gone for Avalanche; Hunters were dedicated to their employers above their schools, but not everyone believed that. "Let's go ask a few questions. Vilardi's not large, but they could save us some searching."

The perimeter guard eyed them suspiciously as they approached; Mirage belatedly wished that she had covered or dyed her hair. Then again, maybe that wasn't what was putting him off. Neither of them was in uniform, but it didn't take a genius to recognize Hunters, or to at least guess that they were dangerous. She relaxed her posture and held both hands out wide; beside her Eclipse did the same. The guard did not seem reassured by this indication of goodwill.

"What're you after?" he muttered, flexing his hands on the grip of his pike. The man was thick around the middle, but he still looked like he meant business. "What business do you have here?"

"None in your camp," Eclipse said. "We're not trying to enter. We're just looking for where your leaders are meeting with the Consortium's men."

Mirage knew it was the wrong thing to say the moment the words came out of his mouth. The guard's eyes narrowed further, and he stretched the pike forward threateningly. "I'm not telling you that. Get gone, before I call more guards on you! And if you show your faces around here or near any of our people, it'll be more than a warning!"

Swearing inwardly, Mirage nevertheless composed her face and bowed in her saddle. "We apologize for bothering you."

"Get out of here!"

They wheeled their horses and left the camp's entrance it a fast trot. Once they were a safe distance away, they pulled up and eyed each other wryly.

"Stupid of us," Mirage said. "They're so nervous they're hiring bodyguards, and we ask them where they're meeting?"

"Not the brightest idea we've had," Eclipse agreed.