“Hmmm,” he agreed as the vapors swirled up into the faint light from the lantern. They made a keening sound that was almost too faint to hear, then vanished. He nodded abruptly. “Well, that takes you out of the running for lass-least-likely-to-kill-a-mage. Nicely done.”
“I don’t believe in mages,” she wheezed.
He nodded toward the spot where the bodies had lain. “What would you call that, then?”
“Part of my nightmare?”
“Believe that, if you can.” He patted her back. “Time to go.”
She looked at him. He noticed that she had freckles sprinkled across her nose. The quintessential country miss, to be sure. The quintessential country miss who had apparently just encountered things she had likely never dreamed about even in her nightmares.
“I thought mages were just make-believe characters
