How hard could it be, Loshi had thought, to break into the home of a mad old woman and come away with her jewels?
        A lot harder than it seemed, apparently.
        How could she have fallen into a trap? A strangely naïve trap, too, of strings and grease on floors and precariously perched pottery bowls, one of which had only just missed braining her. What had happened to sophisticated systems and sorcerous snares? Springing something on her that was almost like a child's game--that wasn't fair.
        Long before her dazed mind had told her to climb back to her feet, though, the point of a needle-thin rapier touched her throat. She froze.
        The sword trembled a little as the old woman in front of her struggled to hold it steady. She was small, no higher than Loshi's shoulders, and dressed in a brightly coloured, thigh-length gown, the kind young girls generally wore here in Shimeth. Her lank white hair was tied with an incongruous bow.
        "I could kill you," the woman said in a quavering voice. "It's wrong to break into people's homes."
        Loshi's heart was racing, but living on her wits all her life meant she could act calmly even when she didn't feel it. "But you haven't," she pointed out.
        The woman considered for a moment. "No, suppose not. But I can." The sword-point moved a fraction, pricking the skin of Loshi's throat. Then she added, "What's your name?"
        "Loshi. Loshi vi Assarid." Should she have given her full name? Well, how much worse could that make it than having a sword at her throat?
        "I'm Nariamu. But I'm usually just called Nari." She looked Loshi up and down. "You're not even properly grown up, are you? How old are you? I'm ten."
        The gods let her eyes not betray disbelief. If this was the old woman's particular form of madness, it was probably a good idea to go along with it. In her current position, at least.
        "I'm seventeen," she said. "You. . .er, look older than ten."
        That was usually safe to say to a child.
        Nari's withered lower lip began to quiver, and her eyes welled with tears. "Yes, the nasty sorcerer did that to me. When he took Mummy and Daddy."
        "So, when was this?" Loshi had been in Shimeth nearly a year, and the story of the mad old woman had been told then. Though. . .wasn't it also said there'd been a family in the house, and no one knew where they'd gone?
        No, that was ridiculous. More important was that, in her distress, the old woman had let the sword drop. One chance. Loshi shot out her hand, grabbed the sword and wrenched it out of Nari's hand.
        Nari reacted by bursting into tears. "Not fair," she sobbed. "I wasn't ready."
        Loshi got to her feet, fully intending to use this chance to turn the tables--at least escape, if not force Nari to give up her valuables. But the old woman looked so woe-begone, she found herself instead putting an arm around her and letting Nari cry against her shoulder, ignoring the sour old-woman aroma that hung about her.
        What in the gods' names was she doing?
        Eventually, Nari looked up. "You're nice," she said. "Even if you are bad. And you're clever. Maybe you could help me."
        That brought Loshi back to her senses. The sooner she was away from here, the better. "Well, I don't think. . ." she began, but Nari interrupted, "I could pay you lots. Mummy and Daddy were very rich, and I suppose it's all mine now. Erm. . .how about two hundred gold karviks?"
        Loshi stopped herself from choking. Two hundred? As in more than three times the best haul she'd ever had? If Nari really did have access to that much. . ."So, what would I need to do?"
        Nari pursed her mouth. "Well, the sorcerer who. . .purloined my youth," (she recited the phrase as if she'd learnt it by heart) "has his lair in a cave under the city." She shuddered. "I. . .went there, or tried to. I can't quite remember, but it's really scary. Ghosts and monsters and things. But I don't suppose you're scared of anything."
        Loshi stopped herself from pointing out that she'd been scared stiff of having a sword pricking her throat in the hands of a mad woman. Not to mention a healthy fear of ghosts and monsters, assuming there really were any. Then again, two hundred gold karviks. . .
        "I'd need some of it in advance," she experimented. The instant suspicion on Nari's face made her glad she hadn't followed her first thought and tried to get it all in advance. Mad old woman or enchanted child, Nari clearly wasn't easily taken in.
        "Why?"
        "Well, I'll need to prepare. Buy equipment, things like that."
        It was unlikely she'd really need much, but at least she'd come away with something if it got too dangerous. Or, more likely, turned out to be a madwoman's fantasy.
        "How much?" The suspicion hadn't left Nari's face, but it had lessened.
        "A hundred." Loshi tried to sound firm and reasonable at the same time.
        Nari frowned. "Twenty?"
        "Fifty?"
        The child (it was getting hard to think of her otherwise) chewed her lower lip. "All right. When do we set out?"
        "We? But I thought you said. . ."
        "I was too scared to go by myself, but I suppose I'd better go with you. I mean, I can show you the way, can't I? And I might need to be there to. . .well, take the spell away, or whatever." She glared. "And keep an eye on you. You're still bad, aren't you?"
        This was going to be more complicated than Loshi had expected.

        As Loshi walked with Nari through the dark streets of Shimeth, the child's withered little hand in hers, she was trying to work out exactly why she was going through with this insanity. When she'd left the house with the fifty karviks, it was with the full intention of not returning. Unless it was with more care, to target the hiding place Nari clearly thought Loshi hadn't seen.
        She'd celebrated her new wealth that night at the Two Lions Tavern. She recalled buying several rounds for everyone, but not much after that, until she woke blearily in the arms of the prettiest serving maid in the place. Typical--she'd been flirting with the girl for months, and when it finally happened, she didn't remember it.
        Somehow, though, she hadn't been able to get Nari's distress out of her head, even in the aftermath of carousing and lovemaking. It wasn't exactly conscience (at least, she sincerely hoped it wasn't), but she couldn't deny she liked the child, however mad she might be. She still wasn't convinced Nari really was a child, but Loshi couldn't think of her as anything else.
        Suppose this were all true? In the tiny, boring town where she'd grown up, Loshi would have scoffed at the idea of sorcery that could do such a thing, but now? She'd experienced strange things since arriving in Shimeth. Could spells and supernatural beings actually be real?
        Perhaps she could get past the enchantments and guardians Nari had spoken of and force the sorcerer to reverse the spell. Somehow. Quite apart from the rest of the two hundred karviks, she'd have the gratitude of a rich house. Nari already liked her. She'd be able to get anything she wanted from the child.
        It was risky, of course. But every job Loshi did held a risk, even here in Shimeth, where thievery was almost respectable. Back at home, on the other hand, she'd grown up with nightmares of the noose as her constant companion. Danger had never stopped her, though, if the reward was tempting enough.
        So it was that, two days later, she returned to Nari's home shortly after dark. To satisfy the girl's inevitable questions, she'd bought various items from the city's markets that might be seen as necessary supplies: rope, grapples, lanterns and a couple of extra knives. The whole lot had cost her a fraction of one of the karviks, but Nari seemed satisfied with her efforts.
        She'd also been asking questions about sorcerers. Nari had been unable to provide her with much information about her adversary--she didn't even know his name, though she thought her father had had some dealings with him before the night of the attack.
        Loshi's inquiries had revealed twenty-three known sorcerers operating in Shimeth, but all appeared to ply their trade openly, mostly from market stalls adorned with mystical-looking symbols which, she suspected, meant nothing. Their stock-in-trade tended to be success potions, love philtres and spells for finding lost valuables, and even those who dabbled in slightly darker matters seemed harmless enough.
        Could there really be a sorcerer, somewhere in the city, who could turn a little girl into an old woman? Loshi sometimes caught herself wondering and then chided herself for being gullible--but was it really so ridiculous? Somewhere along the way, she'd started to believe Nari's story, and that conviction wouldn't get out of her head.
        One thing didn't make sense, though. What was the motive of this sorcerer, whoever he was? As far as Loshi could make out, it had been a couple of years since the attack, when the parents had been taken, for whatever purpose, and Nari had been turned into an old woman. Why had there been nothing more? An attempt to take control of an influential family would make sense, but he'd left Nari alone since then. What was he doing? And why did he need the parents?
        Maybe this really was all just the fantasy of a mad old woman. If so, so much the better, since there'd be no danger, but Loshi was surprised to find she didn't really want that to be true. She'd come to like this strange child-woman, and the thought of her being left disappointed and unfulfilled distressed her.
        The journey was taking time, as Nari had to stop for breath every few dozen steps, and it was making Loshi itchy. Why was that? She usually had infinite patience approaching a job (she'd once spent half the night kneeling on a window ledge, waiting for the right moment to enter), so what was different now?
        Perhaps it was that she really had no idea what to expect.
        "Are you sure this is the way?" she asked, as Nari stopped again, wheezing. Whatever she might be inside, her body was certainly that of an old woman.
        Nari just nodded, her silhouette just visible, until the wheezing died down. "I told you, I know how to get there, just not what it's called or how to tell you. It was as dark as it is now when I followed them."
        Yes, she'd told Loshi the story several times, such as it was. She claimed not to remember very well because of what had happened that night, and that seemed to include the order of events. She'd followed the sorcerer and her ensorcelled parents, but Loshi couldn't make out whether it had been after she'd been turned old, or whether that had happened later. All Nari seemed clear on was that something had terrified her, and she'd fled home again.
        Was that the monsters she'd talked about? Or something even more frightening?
        Perhaps her insistence on going at night was about recreating the memories of the route. Or maybe she just didn't want anyone else to see her as an old woman.
        "It's. . .that way," said the child-ancient, pointing down a darker patch that seemed to be an alley. "I think. . .I'm sure," she quickly corrected herself.
        Well, of course it wasn't going to be in a well-lit square. "All right, but keep behind me," said Loshi, before realising Nari had already slipped back, pressed against her back with arms around her waist. "Um, not quite that close. I might need to move quickly."
        "Oh. . .all right." She could almost hear the girl pouting. "I feel safe, though, close to you."
        Well, that was nice, but she could do without it. Couldn't she? There was an oddly warm feeling inside Loshi at the idea of someone relying on her that way. Though why couldn't it be someone who'd feel safe in bed with her? Child or old woman, that wasn't going to be Nari.
        The girl was just barely not touching behind, as Loshi made her way slowly into the darkness between the two dark slabs of wall. The lack of light here was almost tangible, and it seemed absurdly as if she were having to push through it. . .
        "It was like this last time." Nari's whisper was as loud as a shout in her ears. "Like. . .like walking through treacle."
        So, it wasn't her imagination. Could this be the start of the sorcerer's magical defences? And what would come next?
        "Just keep going," she said. "It shouldn't last long."
        Did she have any reason to say that? Perhaps the thickness would grow worse, till they were caught like flies in a web. But there was no point retreating at the first problem, and that meant there was also no point in panicking Nari.
        It was hard going, though not impossible, but after a while, something else became apparent. The alley had been dark, but only the normal darkness of a city night. It was totally lightless now, as if they were buried far below the ground, where no glimmer could possibly come.
        Had Nari noticed that? She said nothing, so maybe it was best to keep quiet about it.
        There was no reason to believe they weren't still in the open air, but a musty odour suggested it was unlikely. All Loshi's instincts told her she could reach out and touch walls on either side and a roof above her head. She resisted the temptation to find out.
        Then something scuffled to her right.
        Loshi stopped dead, and Nari collided with her back. "What's the matter?" asked the girl, her voice quavering like either an old woman or a frightened child.
        "Can you hear that?"
        After a pause, Nari said, "I can't hear anything. But. . .I don't hear as well as I used to. What is it?"
        "Something. . .a sound. Perhaps it's just a dog."
        "A dog?" Nari clearly didn't believe that any more than she did.
        A roar came from some distance ahead. "That wasn't a dog," said Nari.
        "I suppose not." Loshi resisted the temptation to say more, but from the echoes that the roar flung back, it was clear her instincts were correct. They were inside somewhere, enclosed. "You want to go back?" she asked after a moment, unsure what she hoped Nari would say.
        "No. . .no, I want to go on. I've got you to protect me, haven't I?"
        Nari really was naïve if she assumed a thief would protect her. Loshi looked after herself first. Didn't she? That warm feeling was back.
        Trying to ignore it, Loshi said, "All right, but keep quiet. Really, really quiet."
        Moving slowly on, she'd gone only a few steps when the air glowed brilliantly in front of her. When Loshi opened her instinctively closed eyes, three iridescent shapes hung in the air before her. Roughly human in form, they glowed with a dirty white light, and the wide mouths in their faces were drawn back in snarls that revealed wicked-looking teeth. No sound came from those snarls.
        The only thing keeping Loshi from fleeing was the knowledge that she'd be in even more danger with her back to them. Well, that and a little awareness that, even if she could outrun them, Nari certainly couldn't.
        "Keep behind me," she said needlessly, and drew two of her knives, holding them out in front of herself. The creatures didn't advance or retreat, so she lunged at the nearest.
        And nearly fell flat on her face, as both the knives and her body went straight through it.
        Recovering, she turned back to where Nari must be, although she couldn't see her. "What happened?" asked the girl.
        "I think it's all right. They're not real, just. . .illusions. We can't touch them, so they can't touch us, either. They're just here to frighten us."
        She wasn't entirely sure of that, but it seemed to satisfy Nari. "I saw those last time," the child said. "Not on the way in. . .I think, at least. Maybe when I was running away. I. . .I was scared stiff. I suppose that was silly."
        "It's not silly to run away if you're scared." Why was she defending Nari against the girl's own self-criticism? Well, she'd never liked unfairness. "It's encouraging, though. If these defences are only tricks, perhaps that's all the sorcerer's got."
        "Ye-es." Nari sounded dubious, and Loshi's heart sank.
        "Anything else you remember from before?" she asked. "Could be useful, whatever it is."
        Nari was silent for several heartbeats. "No, not really," she said at last. "It's all so muddled. I used to remember things so well, but. . .I don't anymore. Maybe it's to do with the spell."
        Or being an old woman now, Loshi resisted saying.
        "I don't even really remember what I was doing," she added. "I suppose, if he took Mummy and Daddy, I was trying to get them back, but. . .I can't remember if I was me then or already old."
        "Never mind." Loshi was disappointed--a bit more information could be crucial--but there was no point pushing Nari too far. "Are you all right to go on now?"
        "Yes. . .yes, I think so. But. . .Loshi, we don't have to walk through those things, do we?"
        "They can't hurt you," she said quickly, hoping it was true. They certainly hadn't hurt her when she'd fallen through, but she'd rather not have to put it to the test. There was little choice, though, as there was no room to get past the three figures. "If it helps, just close your eyes and walk forward."
        "All right." A withered hand touched hers, and this time, Loshi let Nari hold on as she led the way straight through the central figure. As before, there was nothing but the sight of the thing to tell her she hadn't walked through empty air.
        The scuffles and roars continued, both from ahead and behind them, but Loshi felt a little more confident. After a while, they were faced with a great beast with sharp claws and fangs that breathed out noxious darkness. This, too, made no movement towards them, and Loshi forced herself to walk forward and reach out to it. It was as insubstantial as the previous shapes.
        "This isn't going to be as hard as I thought," said Nari. "Oh look, Loshi, there's another one."
        A great bat-like thing hovered ahead of them, although nothing had been visible a moment before. It was at least Loshi's size, and its talons looked like razors.
        This time, Nari walked towards it, laughing. . .
        . . .and Loshi leapt on the child, pushing her to the ground, a heartbeat before she was conscious of the alarm in her head. She covered Nari with her body as the thing came shrieking down on them, and a sharp pain seared in her shoulder.
        She was on her feet, both knives pointed up, before it turned for a return pass. Ducking under its swoop, she thrust and skewered the creature in two places. With a scream, it crashed to the ground, yanking both knives out of Loshi's hands.
        Confident it was dead, she turned and knelt by Nari, feeling in the shadows for where she still lay on her back. The girl pushed herself up and flung her arms around Loshi, sobbing against her shoulder.
        "Loshi," she said after a moment, "you're bleeding."
        Yes, that would be where her shoulder still hurt. Feeling the place experimentally, Loshi reassured herself that the claws had just scratched the skin, although her tunic was torn.
        "Nothing much. Don't worry about it."
        "You saved my life," Nari tilted her face up and kissed Loshi on the cheek. Her breath reeked of old woman, but the genuine gratitude made up for that.
        Yes, she'd instinctively shielded the child's body with her own. What in the name of all demons possessed her to do a thing like that? She almost asked Nari not to tell anyone, but that somehow seemed ungracious. It felt good to be looked up to.
        "Well," she said to cover up her confused feelings, "we'd better keep going, if you're all right. But be careful. There's no knowing what's illusion and what's real."
        They walked on in silence until Loshi began to wonder just how far this passage went. Surely they should have reached the end by now. Then again, considering she'd no idea where it was and how they'd got into it, how could she tell?
        Her eyes were obviously getting used to the blackness, since it seemed a little less dark.
        "Loshi," said Nari, "I can see you. A bit."
        She was right. As Loshi turned, she could just make out a small outline behind her.
        "Yes, me too. I'm not sure what that means."
        "Maybe we've won?" Nari sounded unconvinced, though. She was clearly learning.
        The darkness continued to dissolve until it was as if they were walking through fog. The mist deadened the sound of their footsteps, so Loshi couldn't tell whether they were walking down a passage or if they'd emerged into a wider space.
        Then, very abruptly, gaps appeared in the fog: three openings. Loshi could make out nothing inside, but they were clearly being invited to enter one.
        "Which way do we go?" asked Nari.
        Well, how was she to know? Restraining herself, Loshi instead examined the gaps, as if staring at them would give an answer.
        "Let's try the middle one," she said at last. It was a purely random guess, but Nari seemed happy and followed her through.
        They were immediately faced with a wall of mist, but to either side it was clear. Just as randomly as her first choice, Loshi turned left, and they walked till another end appeared, with a right and left choice. This time, she chose right.
        After half a dozen of these choices, Nari suddenly stopped. "It's a maze," she said. "Mummy and Daddy took me to one, a few years ago, but it was fun, not scary like this."
        "So. . .you know how it works?" Loshi had only the vaguest idea what a maze was, but maybe her companion could get them through it.
        "Not really." Nari frowned. "I just followed Daddy. He got lost a couple of times, but we got to the centre eventually, then out again." She bit her lip in concentration. "I can't remember too well, but I think Daddy said you had to always turn the same way, or something."
        Well, that wasn't much use now, after turns in both directions. Maybe if they did that from now on, it would be all right. But. . .what else had Nari said?
        "The centre? There's a centre to a maze? What's there?"
        "Well, in that maze, it was a space with a fountain, but. . ." Her eyes widened. "Maybe it's where the sorcerer lives."
        "I suppose so." Well, why not? "All right, let's turn right every time from now on."

        It seemed to Loshi that they'd been walking around the maze for hours, although that was partly because Nari increasingly had to stop to get her breath back. She was moving more slowly now, her old woman's legs distinctly wobbly.
        Abruptly, Nari stopped and lowered herself down to sit on the ground. "It's no good." She put her face in her hands and began sobbing. Her voice came muffled and indistinct. "We're going round and round in circles. We'll never get there."
        Loshi knelt beside the child-ancient and put an awkward arm around her. How was she supposed to offer comfort when Nari was probably right, and they were stuck in this maze forever? Or until the sorcerer chose to come for them. She wasn't sure which would be worse.
        She was tired, too, although not too tired to push herself onwards for some time longer. Feeling herself sway, she put out a hand without thought to steady herself on the wall of mist, and almost fell through it.
        "Of course!"
        Nari looked up. "What?"
        "I'm stupid. It's only mist. Why do we have to stick to where it tells us to go?"
        Nari was silent. "You mean, walk straight through? Do you think that would be safe?"
        Maybe or maybe not, but how much worse could it be? "Let's find out."
        She climbed laboriously to her feet and helped Nari up; then, holding her hand, she walked into the mist. It was obvious at once that this wasn't ordinary fog. Swirls of it grabbed at her, pinching and pricking, and Nari cried out.
        Loshi steeled herself against the attacks. She once heard a traveller telling about a marsh he'd come through where the party had been attacked by bloodsucking insects. Each bite, he'd said, had been nothing more than a nuisance, but the sheer number had worn them down. A couple of people who'd gone down never rose again.
        The mist's attacks felt uncomfortably similar.
        "Walk faster," she said, putting her arm around Nari and helping her pick up the pace.
        It was only a few moments, though, before they stepped out of the fog into the doorway to a vast room. Hidden lights shone from above, but there were no windows, and it felt far underground.
        Her whole body hurt from the attacks of the mist, but a quick examination reassured her that no serious damage had been done to either of them.
        Gradually, as a sense of proportion returned, she saw that, large though this room was, it was made to seem vast by the mirrors standing along the far wall. They stretched from floor to ceiling, and in front of each was a chair with a complex system of straps. Most of these were empty, but fastened securely into two were a boy and a girl. Perhaps about seven, Loshi guessed.
        Nari's gasp echoed around the place: "Mummy. . .Daddy. . ."
        Loshi's head snapped from Nari to the children and back, realisation crashing into her. "He turned your parents into children?"
        Nari nodded, keeping her face away from Loshi. "Sorry. I forgot. I. . .I can't remember everything about that night."
        This was beginning to fit together. Loshi had no idea how, but parents turned to children, and a child turned into an old woman--if they weren't connected, she'd give back everything she'd ever stolen.
        Surveying the room more thoroughly, she saw no one else. The sorcerer was clearly away at the moment. Could they set the boy and girl loose and escape before he returned? It probably wouldn't be that easy, though. Now, she looked more closely and saw a steady wisp of smoke emerging from each child, which disappeared into the mirror they faced. It was unlikely they were held only by the straps.
        "Can we set them free, Loshi?" Nari was looking at her eagerly, clearly restraining herself till she had permission.
        "We can try," she said, "but I don't know. . ."
        Nari didn't wait for the rest. Hurrying as much as her tottering legs would allow, she crossed the space, calling out, "Mummy, Daddy, I'm here."
        The two children stiffened, but they didn't turn their heads from staring straight into the mirrors. "Nari?" whispered the little girl. "Is that you?"
        Loshi was about to follow when a voice from across the room demanded, "Who's there?"
        Nari stopped dead, and Loshi's instincts slid her back into the shadows of the doorway. A figure emerged from the opening opposite: a small man draped in crimson robes covered in gold and silver symbols. He might have looked impressive, in spite of his lack of height, if his face hadn't borne the lined, worried expression of a harassed market-trader.
        He grabbed hold of Nari and whirled her around, so that she'd have fallen if his hands hadn't held her up. "What have we here?" His voice was thin and reedy, and he squinted closely at his captive. "Nari? Ah, I see." His face cleared. "You're little Nariamu. I remember you. Did you follow us that night? I thought I caught a glimpse of someone fleeing into the tunnels. You must have got caught in the spell's backlash. Well, well, this explains a lot."
        He glared at her, looking around. "Why are you here? Are you alone?"
        Even from a dozen paces, Loshi could see Nari swallow. In a cracked voice that sounded close to tears, she said, "I came to save Mummy and Daddy. I'm not scared of you anymore."
        He stared at her for a moment more before nodding. "Well, that's to my advantage. I wondered why I wasn't getting as much power as I'd expected out of your dear parents. A lot of the years I took from them must have gone straight back into you."
        Power from the years he'd taken? How did that even make sense? He seemed to be implying that stealing the years from them and turning them back to children had. . .what? Created magical power he could use? Could magic really work that way?
        "This is extremely fortuitous," added the sorcerer. "You have far more power stored up in those borrowed years than I've ever got out of these two. With that, I'll be able to command third-level demons. Now, sit down."
        Nari half-glanced at the shadows of the doorway. Loshi's heart lurched, but the sorcerer apparently missed it.
        What else might he miss? Loshi measured the distance from her hiding place to the arch where he'd come in. Could she get there without him seeing? Did it lead to an easier way out?
        And then what? Perhaps she could get out, but what would happen to Nari?
        Yes, she liked the child, but her own childhood had ground into her that no one was worth risking herself for. It was a pity, but. . .
        She glanced back at Nari taking her seat in the chair, and the memory came back of the girl's kiss of gratitude for saving her life. She remembered feeling something she'd never experienced before. Was this what it was like to take responsibility for someone?
        Putting off making a decision, Loshi turned her attention back to the sorcerer. He was busy strapping Nari into the chair, his back to the mirror. In fact, even when he came behind her, he kept his face averted from the glass.
        Interesting. What would happen if he were to face it?
        The sorcerer put his hands on Nari's head and began muttering. It was too faint for Loshi to hear, but almost immediately, smoke started to pour out of Nari, curling and twisting towards the mirror. Whatever it was doing, it was obvious that, as he'd said, this was far more effective than what was coming from her parents.
        The sorcerer backed towards the mirror facing Nari, his eyes fixed on her the whole time and judging his movements by touch. There was no doubt, he was avoiding any risk of looking into the mirrors. Whatever it was he feared, surely that was what Loshi needed to make happen.
        Slipping out from hiding, she crept silently around the wall. Her heart was thumping so loudly, surely the sorcerer would hear. She tried not to think about what she'd suffer if he caught her. Stealing years? She didn't have that many, but maybe he'd think them worthwhile. Considering what her childhood had been like, Loshi had no desire to return to it.
        All his attention was on Nari in front of him, though, allowing Loshi to reach the row of mirrors and slip behind. The tiny space between the mirrors and the wall threatened to crush her, but there was just enough room to ease her way around. She stopped when the sorcerer was muttering directly in front of her.
        Well, that was the first part of her plan achieved--but what now? If she could just surround him with mirrors, he'd be caught in his own spell, but the things were heavier than expected. She could move them, but he wasn't going to be standing quietly, waiting for her to trap him.
        She'd need to be less subtle. Loshi wasn't under any illusions that she was physically strong (that wasn't really needed for her work), but at least she was lithe and fit. More than could be said for the sorcerer.
        She slid into the narrow space between mirrors, tensing her muscles for action. When she felt fully primed, she leapt at the sorcerer, tackling him around the waist. She bore him to the floor, landing on top of the man, and for a moment found herself staring straight into his eyes. They were pale and scornful, but there was a blankness behind them.
        No time to stare. The gods alone knew how easily he could call up his magic, and Loshi couldn't risk that. She backhanded him hard across the face, and he crumpled, stunned and moaning.
        He wouldn't stay stunned for long, so she had to work quickly. Her first instinct was to free Nari straight away, but that was unlikely to work. Even if the bonds weren't magically fastened, it wouldn't be so easy to detach her from the link to the mirror.
        Besides, if the sorcerer roused before she was ready, she wouldn't stand a chance. Returning to childhood was unlikely to be the worst thing he could do to her.
        Dragging mirrors away from the wall, Loshi arranged them all around the unconscious sorcerer, glass facing in, until he was completely surrounded. Then she pushed herself against the back of one mirror, arms around the two on the sides.
        A scream of terror came from within, and pressure pushed against the mirrors. Loshi shoved back, resisting his attempts to escape. As the screams grew louder and higher-pitched, the force against the mirrors lessened and eventually stopped altogether.
        An explosion came from inside, and the screams cut off.
        Sooner or later, Loshi would have to find out what she'd done to the sorcerer (or what he'd done to himself, she told herself firmly), but there was another priority. She turned to where Nari slumped unconscious against the straps--and stopped in her tracks.
        Nari was still the same size, and her features were recognisable, if changed, but she was no longer the old woman Loshi knew. This was a girl who could very easily be ten years old. It was only now, seeing the transformation, that Loshi realised she'd never entirely believed the mad old woman's story.
        Still, there was work to do. Loshi untied the straps, cutting them where she couldn't immediately loosen them, and supported Nari staggering across the room to lie on the floor. Then she turned to the other two children.
        The wisps of smoke between them and the mirrors had stopped. Both were conscious, though looking groggy, and she had to help them stand when she released the straps. The little girl caught sight of Nari as she gazed around and ran over to kneel by her, stroking the child and talking to her.
        The boy was slower to react. He stared at Loshi for a while, then glanced over at the girls. His eyes widened. "We're still children." He glared back at Loshi. "Can you fix this?"
        "I'm not a sorcerer," she protested. "I've no idea how it works. Anyway. . ." She was fairly sure what that bang had meant. "I think it's broken. Maybe having all those mirrors surrounding him was too much."
        His dumbfounded expression gradually turned to a scowl. "You mean we have to stay as children?"
        "Well. . ." The only thing Loshi could think to say was, "You'll grow up. I suppose."
        "That's not what I meant," he snapped. "Have you any idea how difficult this is going to be?"
        The after-effects of all the fear and action boiled over into anger. "Well, maybe you'd rather be back in that chair."
        He glared at her a moment, and then visibly fought himself back under control, finally slumping a little. "I'm sorry. You're right, of course. It's just a shock."
        "Loshi?" Nari's voice brought her around. She was sitting up, supported by the younger girl who was her mother. "You did it. You saved me." Then, before Loshi could reply, she asked, "What's happened to the sorcerer?"
        Loshi had been trying not to think about that, but she needed to investigate. Hauling the mirrors aside, she peered in. A crimson robe lay there, and for a moment she thought it was empty, till something moved inside, and the sound of crying came faintly. Pulling the material open, Loshi found a naked baby, apparently newly born, kicking and whimpering.
        "Oh, isn't he cute?" exclaimed Nari. "Can we keep him?"

        "You promised her what?"
        Loshi succeeded in not laughing at the tone and mannerisms of a stern father coming from an eight-year-old. That would certainly have made things worse.
        "Two hundred gold karviks."
        The little boy sighed. "Nariamu, I appreciate that you were worried, and I'm not saying you were wrong to hire this. . .thief. But you had no right to promise such a fortune on your own."
        The girl's face took on the stubborn expression Loshi had come to know on the old woman. "Yes, I did. You and Mummy were missing, so I was the head of the family, really. And. . .well, I was grown up."
        "Perhaps she's right," put in Nari's mother, looking anxiously from one to the other. She looked even younger than her husband, perhaps reflecting an age difference as adults. "Even if it was a mistake, we can hardly blame her for that."
        "But two hundred? Did you really think she was worth that?" He jerked his head at Loshi.
        "I thought you were," said Nari, close to tears. "You wouldn't be here if Loshi hadn't helped, would you?"
        The past couple of hours had been strange. They'd ransacked the sorcerer's lair for any clue to reversing the spell, but with no success. The mirrors were all broken, and they'd no idea how to use them, anyway. The few pages of notes scattered about were meaningless scrawls, though Nari's father gathered them up to bring them with him, just in case they could be deciphered.
        Nari had insisted they were going to adopt the baby. Loshi was dubious about that. The other age changes had only been physical, so this baby must still be the sorcerer. Then again, as Nari pointed out, that might mean he could tell them how to reverse the spell, once he grew old enough to speak.
        He was in an old cradle now, fretful and crying. Probably hungry, although none of them could do anything about that right now. They'd have to get a wet-nurse, presumably, though it wasn't going to be easy to explain why three children were looking after a baby.
        Leaving the sorcerer's lair proved to be easier than expected. The various magical traps and distractions were gone, leaving a tunnel that led straight up to a door into the alley where darkness had overcome them just a few hours earlier. It was still well before dawn, and they got home without anyone seeing them.
        Nari's father sighed again. "Well, you gave your word, and our house doesn't go back on that. But. . ." He turned that incongruously stern expression on Loshi. "You clearly took advantage of my daughter, and it's only gratitude for what you did that persuades me not to punish you."
        Loshi resisted the urge to point out it had been Nari's idea in the first place. It might make the child's life easier if her father kept thinking of her as the one at fault.
        "I'll get your money," he added, "and then you can go. You won't have anything more to do with this family."
        "No!" Nari wailed. "She's my friend, Daddy."
        "You'll do as you're told, Nariamu," he snapped, before relenting slightly. "You may say your goodbyes while I'm gone," he added, before stalking out of the room.
        Nari clung sobbing to Loshi, who was struggling to understand her feelings. She'd tried very hard to be professional and view Nari as merely a source of money, but she'd completely failed. The child had gotten under her skin, and it had felt surprisingly good to be looked up to, to be responsible. To be a true adult for the first time.
        She'd miss Nari, but there was nothing to be done about it. This was what happened when someone like her got mixed up with aristocrats.
        She felt a little better, though, with the heavy purse safely strapped to her belt. There'd be no connections or influence out of this affair, but at least she was rich now--and that was what really mattered, wasn't it? The rest was all smoke and mirrors.