Alec had rarely left his body while being connected to another; and even when he did, the link had seemed much weaker and the sensation much more… fixed. Cir met him halfway and really dragged him along; so some part of Alec's mind relaxed and trusted Cir to find the way. Only a part, of course. By now Alec did not fully let go even when asleep.

They were rushing through the darkness, and Alec noted distractedly that Cir apparently did not bother much with mind-images. There was just this darkness and nothing else. Boring, he thought. The darkness started to lighten and form into mass of clouds.

::What's that?:: a surprised Cir asked him immediately. ::I hope I'm not lost.::

::I don't think you are,:: Alec laughed. ::We did not change direction; it just looks prettier that way.::

He felt a flash of curiosity from his companion and said, ::Don't get distracted, or we *will* get lost. I'll show you later how I do this.::

::These are the memory banks,:: Cir said suddenly, and for the next second a tumble of some mechanical contraptions loomed before them. Alec noted that Cir was surprisingly mechanically-minded, but this time he did not change the landscape.

::I don't know how to connect you with this except through me,:: Cir explained. ::Try reading my mind, or whatever else you call that thing you did.::

Alec maintained more or less a peripheral contact before that, but now he moved back into the area he perceived as Cir's mind. Immediately he began seeing what Cir was seeing.

Long-time habit of turning the unknown into familiar images suggested to him an archive - or some kind of a storeroom. Perhaps it was both. Cir noticed the corrected image and said, ::Not, it's not like that. Not entirely.::

::Sorry,:: Alec said, not feeling particularly sorry. Still, he shielded his image from Cir, figuring that the Key, like him, preferred familiar pictures.

When he deprived himself of the ability to shape his surroundings, the link with Cir became closer and more active. Alec found he both liked and disliked it. Much as the closeness of another's mind was nice, Alec was out of control here? And that was disturbing.

::Here,:: Cir said, and Alec felt as if they turned around some corner. ::Here's where the old records are kept.::

Alec prepared himself for a change in view, for something happening, but all he felt was a terrible dragging force all around him, pulling, surrounding, almost strangling him. It was a little like the fog he encountered in Cir's mind but somehow denser and thicker.

Next moment they were back from where they started a moment ago.

::Strange...:: Cir's mindvoice was clearly puzzled. ::Nothing like this ever happened to me...::

Now Alec was able to think clearly. ::It must be because of me,:: he said.

::Because of you? What do you mean? You're here with me...::

::Perhaps these systems recognize you as a part of the Palace but register me as an alien presence.::

::But... how? How could they? I'm the only one who can feel things like this. Why would anyone even think about putting guards against telepaths?::

This question interested Alec too; and he could guess that it had something to do with his other questions about the origin of the Palace - and the one connected with it, about the origins of Cir. That was something Cir obviously did not think about. He simply accepted things as they were, and Alec did not know whether it was Cir's own character or the results of the Palace training. But curiosity, together with caution, was one of the two main driving forces of Alec's life, and he wanted to know where Cir had come from as much as, at the age of six, he wanted to know why he could not read his sister's thoughts. Now, however, the theories could wait. Most of all he wanted to get into that place he wasn't allowed in.

This last chain of thought was carefully shielded; now, however, he addressed Cir again. ::I have a few ideas about why these guards are here; but I'll tell you later. Let's try again. If you let me deeper inside you and I shield tightly, we just might slip through.::

After his last words Alec thought he detected a splash of excitement and amusement from Cir, but he was too caught up in planning to inquire further. Also, being allowed so deep in Alec was somehow reluctant to inquire further. It felt to him as if there would be no escape from Cir if he looked too deep. ::Ready?:: he asked finally.

::Yes. Come on in.::

So Alec came in, finding the sensation both familiar and strange. He was in by invitation and not, as he usually did, by the power of his own talent; but it had been his idea to do this. It was a reasonable plan, so he squashed any uneasiness that remained in him.

And Cir was clearly pleased to have him there. That was strange too; most people, even telepaths, were much more reticent about his intrusion. And there was an undertone to Cir's emotions that he felt he could identify if he only concentrated... Later. No more distractions now.

Surrounded fully by Cir's presence, Alec almost did not notice when they had crossed the barrier. He distracted himself by defining limits between his and Cir's minds. In places it was difficult to find where these limits were, and Alec started fearing that this strange inviting warmth would swallow him. ::Are we there yet?:: he inquired.

::I think so, yes,:: Cir answered, and Alec detected an undertone of worry in his mindvoice. Was Cir worried for him? The idea seemed absurd - of the two of them Alec was the one much better prepared to deal with anything that came. ::Here's where I usually look for information,:: Cir added meanwhile.

And then the way outside was open to him again, and Alec slipped away. They were in, and he looked around, trying not to pay attention to the faint feeling of loss.

All around them were walls, and on these walls were... boxes? files? - some containers with symbolic Keys on the front part. And all the symbols were different.

::There are that many Keys here?:: Alec asked Cir.

::Yes,:: Cir answered, ::there are... though some of those are now outside of the Palace...:: His mindvoice sounded distracted.

::What's wrong?:: Alec asked.

Cir did not answer at once, still looking around. He was searching for something, Alec understood.

::My Key isn't here,:: Cir finally said, ::not among these data cells. You know, I've never really looked for it - but it isn't here.::

::Perhaps the Keys that are taken right now are kept separately,:: Alec offered.

::Then there would be empty places here. And look, the Shadow Key is here, and the Rainbow too,:: somehow when he named the Keys, Alec's field of vision changed to show them. ::And I know they are definitely taken now.::

Alec concentrated, thinking about it. ::And you think it also wasn't here when you visited the last time.::

::Yes. I mean, I never looked for it - I was checking information on the Keys' situation, and I know my own situation, don't I?:: Alec thought fleetingly that he wasn't too sure about that, but Cir went on. ::Still, it looks like the overall positioning of the data cells did not change. So yes, I think it wasn't here last time.::

The Key was clearly beginning to get upset, no matter how calm and precise his explanations were. That worried Alec, and he tried to distract Cir. It was only sensible, since he was here joined to the Key and did not know his own way back. And the best way to distract any mind was to get it thinking about something else.

::So,:: Alec asked, ::do you think you know the list of the current Keys well?::

::Yes,:: Cir said, clearly startled, ::I do. I probably can name all of them if I try. Do you want me to...::

::No, thanks. What I want you to do is to look around here and tell me whether there are any other Keys beside you whose data cells are not here?::

::Oh, right...:: And then for some time - it seemed quite long to Alec though it probably wasn't so - Cir studied the walls of data cells intently.

::So?:: Alec asked when Cir relaxed, figuring that he was finished with the task. ::Anybody else missing?::

::Hmm... Yes.:: Cir answered slowly. ::About five or six Keys altogether, I think. All of them in the Magic wing...::

::Magic wing?:: Alec had not heard the name before. ;:What is this? Are you in this Magic wing too?::

::I am. I have abilities which are defined as magical, after all. All the Keys in the Magic wing are... special.::

Alec was instantly curious about the nature of those abilities but decided that could wait. First they had to get to the bottom of the problem of missing data cells. ::Are all the Keys from that wing absent? Or are some of them here?::

::Some are definitely here,:: Cir answered almost immediately. ::The Keys of Water and Fire, and the White Magic one...:: The Keys Cir named immediately swam across Alec's field of vision. It seemed that his companion had no problems locating them on the wall, no matter how many Key symbols it held. ::And I think... Yes, the Runic Key is here too, and the Summoner's Key...::

::No need to look further,:: Alec said. ::It is enough to know what we do now. Only Keys of Magic are missing from here, but not all of them. Right?::

::Right,:: Cir agreed. ::I'm thinking... It's not by geographical principle. The missing Keys' suites are spread all over the Magic wing.::

::What about the Keys themselves?:: Alec asked, intrigued. ::Do you know anything about the others? Do they have anything in common with you?::

::Yes,:: Cir said slowly, as if the realization had just stricken him. ::Yes, of course. None of them know their age and date of birth, like me. No one knows... At least, I had always thought that no one knew when I - and the others - was born. But now it starts to look strange to me...::

::It *is* strange,:: Alec agreed. ::These data cells hold the Keys' personal records, right?::

::Right,:: Cir answered, and Alec decided that he also seemed intrigued. ::Do you have a plan? You give a feeling like you do...::

He gave a feeling? Alec remembered that; Cir's talents seemed a remarkable mix, escaping any traditional classification. ::Not much of a plan,:: he said, returning to the business at hand, ::but we should definitely look for the missing data cells. Can we look around more?::

::Let's try,:: Cir agreed, moving ahead. ::It is strange how I never noticed that before,:: he said, sounding frustrated.

::I guess you were just used to the way things are,:: Alec offered. ::Do you regret finding that there is something going on?:: He said it lightly, but at the same time he waited anxiously for a sign of distress and possibly resentment from Cir. He himself was used to the life of uncertainty and discoveries, but it did not mean that Cir liked to have *his* life overturned.

::Regret?:: There was puzzled incomprehension in Cir's voice, and then suddenly he seemed almost to laugh. ::Regret all this? Never! Alec, I... Perhaps I am just beginning to live?::

::Well, as long as you're sure...:: Alec answered, but his own mood lifted considerably.

All the time they were talking new objects continued to appear before Alec's mindview, but none of them had the look and feel of the data cells with Keys. Now, though, Cir seemed to have stopped. ::What's the matter?:: Alec asked.

::There's something else here, and I can't get in,:: Cir answered, puzzled.

::Is it the first time you can't get in here?:: Alec asked.

::Well, actually it's the first time I tried. Somehow I had never noticed this corner before. Now hold on - I'll try to get in again and there might be a barrier against you again.::

Alec held on. ::Ready?:: he asked.

::Ready,:: Cir answered grimly. There was a tugging sensation, and then Alec realized that Cir, who surrounded him from every point again, seemed to loose orientation.

::What...:: he started asking, but suddenly they were tumbling somewhere and Alec felt dizziness even worse than a physical body could give him and forgot all his questions.

Then the tumbling sensation stopped.

Suddenly Alec realized he could see again. It looked like they were in a room, but not the Scrying Key room. This one was also big but much darker, the walls covered with heavy draperies. He could not see the corners of the room because of the shadows, but in the centre, before him, was... a fountain, perhaps, or a small pond, full of dark water and yet somehow emitting light. This was the only source of light in the room, and it allowed Alec to see a big stuffed armchair near the fountain.

Suddenly the light from the fountain flared slightly and Alec noticed a figure huddled in the armchair - and another one next to him. Cir was standing nearby, but he seemed almost transparent and slightly luminous in the dark.

The person in the armchair seemed to notice their arrival. Shining dark blue eyes stared at them. "Cir?" the soft husky voice asked.

"Lanven?"