The Lost Girl, part five

"Agatha, was it?" Chris asked gently as they ascended the stairs. 

The girl nodded. She still looked to be about two years younger than he was, but her movements were graceful and precise; he thought she could take care of herself. Her skin was milk-white, and her hair a pale gray. "I can't speak against the family, you know." 

He nodded back. "I know. Speakers and Binders. Are you happy here, at least?"

"Yes." She didn't hesitate in answering. "I'm not just Maggie's companion, I'm her friend. They treat me like part of the family, and I get to have my lessons." 

"What do you study?" asked Elyssa, sounding curious. 

"Dance," Agatha answered, "and gymnastics, and martial arts, but dance is my favorite."

Chris nodded, considering that. "And if I loosed you from the geas?" he asked casually. 

Agatha stiffened, but she didn't hesitate. "I'd keep doing this," she said. "The Hargraves... they've given me a home."

"All right," said Elyssa, shooting Chris a Look. "What can you tell us about Tabitha... Tammy?"

"She goes by Tammy," Agatha said. "She's nice -- maybe a little too nice, but not so as it's a problem. She's a good mage, even if she sucks at fencing-- sorry." 

Chris waved it off. "It's fine." He had a moment of insight and asked, "You and Maggie fence pretty often?"

Agatha nodded. "Maggie's good. I can't do it the way she does it, with the offhand magics, but I have my own tricks. Tammy is decent enough with a blade, but she doesn't have the magery committed to reflex the way Maggie does. She did try, though."

They reached the top of the stairs and turned on to the second floor. It was, if anything, even fancier than the first floor had been: wood-paneled walls, a painting that Chris was pretty sure was a genuine Goya, light fixtures that were works of art in themselves. "Her room is down here, across from Maggie's." 

The room was rich with scent, from the sheets to the pillows to the suitcase set back in the closet. Chris breathed it in, tasting it, and knew that Elyssa was doing the same behind him. All right. I can find her now. "Can you tell us what happened?" he asked. 

"I can't speak against the House," Agatha repeated. 

'You can count on our discretion," he said, borrowing the line from Peter. 

"It was going well," Agatha said after a moment. "Tammy and Maggie had their differences, but they were well on the way to being friends in spite of it. Tammy was better with magics that influenced the world, while Maggie was trained in magics that influenced people, so they were learning from each other and... I think we were all friends." She swallowed. "Then the wagon train returned. It's... It's people like me. They trade with the Hargraves." 

Elyssa frowned. "So the Hargraves go out into the Grey to trade with them?"

"Sometimes they allow them through the passage and into the house, when they want even more privacy and security than usual," Agatha admitted. "This was one of those times. I don't know why. But Tammy was quite taken with one of younger ones, and... when they left, she left with them."

"Was she kidnapped?" asked Chris, who had serious opinions about people doing their own things for their own reasons and why they should be left alone. 

"...I don't know." Agatha looked, sounded, and smelled troubled. "She might have just run off. Arguil's a handsome lad, and I wouldn't blame her for wanting to lock him down-- even if her family would be absolutely scandalized."

Chris leaned his head back. Why couldn't anything ever be simple? Then he straightened and said, "You're protecting Maggie. Generally, I mean, not in this situation specifically." 

Agatha met his eyes and nodded. "That's my duty, and I don't mind it a bit."

He nodded back. "Was Maggie ever hostile towards Tammy?"

Agatha shook her head. "No."

"All right." Chris glanced at Elyssa, but she shook her head; she didn't have any further questions either. "We'll look around a little bit, but I don't think we're going to find anything until we get out into the Grey. What can we expect from this wagon train, if we catch up to them?"

Agatha hesitated. "I mean... they're just travelers. They move around, buying and selling and doing odd jobs. I don't know what else to tell you."

"You said they were like you," Chris said. He hesitated. "Meaning what, exactly? Your people have some particular magics of their own?"

"Yes," Agatha said, and there was a momentary pause while she waited to see how he would react. He kept his face still, and she said: "Yes, we're shadow-walkers." 

Chris stiffened, then forced himself to relax. "Shadow-walkers," he repeated. "Not nightwalkers? Not blood-drinkers?"

Agatha looked taken aback. "No." She shook her head. "No, that's completely different."

"Thank the dark and forgotten gods," Chris muttered to himself. 

"You've met blood-drinkers?" asked Agatha. 

Chris nodded. "It was... It nearly ended very badly. I'm glad to know your people are different."

"No, I'm..." She swallowed. "I can call up shadows. I can even give them a physical presence. I can step through them to other, nearby shadows, if I have enough on hand. I don't know what else to tell you. Some of my people might be able to do more, but I don't know what."

"Then that will have to do," said Elyssa. "Thank you, Agatha. You've been a big help."