The Bronze Key

“We’re sorry,” Aaron said. “I mean, that’s what we came to say, but we really are. We shouldn’t have gone through your things or broken into your room or any of it. I mean, we can’t apologize for trying to keep Call safe, but we’re sorry for the way we did it.”

Tamara nodded. Call felt uncomfortable that everyone was sticking out their necks for him.

Anastasia smiled, the way all adults smiled when Aaron turned on his charm. But before she could respond, there was a knock on the door. Call, Aaron, and Tamara looked at one another in alarm.

“There’s no need to worry.” Anastasia rose to her feet. “That’s our fourth guest. Someone I invited to join us.”

Master Rufus? Call wondered. Someone else from the Assembly? But when Anastasia opened the door, it was Alma Amdurer who stood on the threshold. She was wrapped in a dark red poncho, and she slipped into the room, letting Anastasia shut the door behind her.

“Hello, children,” Alma said with a smile. “Has Anastasia explained everything to you?”

“I haven’t,” said Anastasia, moving to stand beside Alma. With her all in white, and Alma in dark crimson, they reminded Call of the Red Queen and White Queen from Alice in Wonderland. “I thought you’d better do that.”

Alma fixed her dark eyes on them. “You know, of course, of the Assembly’s plans to round up Chaos-ridden animals and dispose of them?” she said, without preamble.

Call blinked, wondering what this had to do with Anastasia — or any of them.

“It’s horrible,” he said.

Alma smiled. “Good. Most people don’t think so. But the Order of Disorder agrees, and we’re willing to do whatever we need to do to keep those animals safe.”

“Well, we’d like to help,” Aaron volunteered. “But what can we do?”

“We know when the animals rounded up in the woods here are being transported,” said Alma. “We need the help of a Makar to assist us in moving them from the transportation vehicles to a safe place.”

Tamara held up a hand, stopping Aaron and Call before they could volunteer. Her eyes were flinty. “No way. It’s too dangerous.”

Alma looked hard at the three friends. “If you care about Havoc, then you should help me. These are his brothers and sisters in chaos. Perhaps even literally.”

“If we’re going to help you — and yes, I come, too, even if I’m not a Makar — then you need to do something for us,” Tamara said.

“Well, that would only be fair,” said Anastasia, with a small smile.

“Anastasia has told us of your difficulties,” said Alma. “And of course, we hear things. The Order is not entirely disconnected from the world of the mages. We would be willing to help you find the spy.”

Aaron sat up straight. “What makes you think you can find the spy?”

“Because,” said Alma, “we have a witness we can interrogate.”

“But there haven’t been any witnesses!” Call protested. “The Assembly hasn’t found any —”

“There’s Jennifer Matsui,” said Alma calmly.

There was a silence. “She’s dead,” Tamara said finally, looking at Alma as if she’d lost her mind. “Jen is dead.”

“The Order has been studying chaos magic for years,” Alma said. “The kind of magic practiced by the Enemy of Death. The magic of life and death. Master Lemuel has learned a way to speak to the dead. We can talk to Jennifer Matsui and find out who attacked her, if you help us with the Chaos-ridden animals.”

Call looked from Tamara’s stunned face to Aaron’s hopeful one. Aaron probably wanted to find the spy more than any of them, Call thought. More even than Call did himself.

“Okay,” Call said. “What exactly do you need us to do?”

That night, Call and Tamara went outside the caves to walk Havoc. Aaron had been willing to come, but it was obvious he didn’t really want to — he was sitting on the couch, bundled up in a blanket, reading comics that Alastair sent Call from home. When some people were upset, they ran around and yelled a lot, but Aaron curled into himself in a way that Call found more worrying.

“This isn’t your fault, you know,” Tamara said to Call as Havoc nosed a patch of weeds. The wolf knew that as soon as he chose a tree or whatever and did his business, they were going to take him back inside, so he was lingering as much as possible.

“I know that.” Call sighed. “I didn’t ask to be born — or reborn, or whatever.”

She snorted. The night was clear, the stars bright, and the air less chilly than it should have been that time of year. Tamara wasn’t even wearing a jacket over her uniform. “That’s not what I meant.”

With a deep breath, he went on. “I just feel like something happened way back when, with Constantine and Master Joseph and even Master Rufus and Alastair. They discovered stuff, back at the Magisterium. Important stuff. I mean, the Order of Disorder knows how to talk to the dead? That’s huge. And yet no one else seems to know that.”

“No one wants to know it,” Tamara said. “No, scratch that. I bet it’s the Assembly that doesn’t want people to know.”

Call blinked at her. “What about your parents? They’re on the Assembly.”

“They didn’t even want me to know about Ravan.” Tamara kicked a clod of dirt with the toe of her boot. “You’re right. Anastasia and the Order of Disorder all knew Constantine when he was at school, which means they know more about what happened than we do. Lots more.”

“And they know more about how chaos magic really works.” Call called to Havoc, urging him back inside. “And maybe they know something about the spy, too.”

“The greatest Makar of our generation,” Tamara said thoughtfully. “So someone else, here at school, is using chaos magic. They just haven’t gotten caught doing it yet.”

“Not by us,” Call said. “But they will.”

The wind picked up, blowing the trees hard enough to send a cascade of leaves down on them. It tossed Tamara’s unbound hair and carried away their voices when they called to each other. After a moment of frustration, Call pointed toward the Magisterium and they bent their heads and started back toward the mission gate, Havoc racing behind them.