Marie Brennan - Doppelganger

“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 headaches—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 people—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 to — 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 which—the Cousin’s—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 do—” 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. You—”

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.”