Breaking the Spell

Mairwen pulled the orange-tinted glasses from her dress. She had been talking with her mother about them when they were getting ready, and she had slipped them in her pocket on a whim. It seemed the Fates were with her. She put the glasses on her face and used the knife to reflect the images of the ballroom. It was distorted, but she could make out four figures on the dais. A bright light was beaming from one of their hands. Feeling braver, the girl moved around Junayd and looked into the room. Unlike the others, she did not instantly become a statue. This was a relief, because she had no back up plan.

By the thrones, three men stood gloating and discussing their next move. Mairwen recognized Alaron and the strange general, but the third figure was completely unfamiliar. Now that she had a fuller view of the room, a few people were moving through the crowd, stealing odds and ends off the wealthy mannequins.

The man with the shining ball was defending the thieves' actio