Tory is the youngest child of the King's Herald Spy and the Queen's Own Herald, and while his two older siblings have each had some interesting adventures working as unsuspecting spies for their parents (and by extension, the King and Queen of Valdemar), Tory's biggest job so far is to be friend and bodyguard to Kee, the prince that is the closest age to Tory himself. This isn't really a problem for Tory, because like the rest of his family, he grew up in the company of the royals and his life has been devoted to keeping them safe, but he is starting to yearn for an adventure of his own. Of course, Kee has very similar urges, and since the young prince is several steps removed from actually taking the throne, he has considerably more options available to him than his older siblings. Too bad he doesn't really know what he wants to do with his life.
Tory and Kee have a unique Gift that works best when the two are touching. With their combined farseer and empathy Gifts (both of which are weak on their own), the pair can look in on any member of their respective families, a talent that is quite useful given the various dangerous missions in which the royals and their trusted spies frequently partake. This unprecedented Gift ends up being just the necessary skill when help is asked for from an unexpected source.
Mags hasn't had much dealings with his family since the events outlined in the Collegium Chronicles books, but when one of his cousins finds herself in extreme danger, the empathic shock she sends out ends up stunning Tory, and when that cousin's brother comes to Valdemar to ask Mags for help, the Herald Spy tasks Tory and Kee with the job of helping Ahkhan find the missing Sira.
Meanwhile Sira, a highly trained Sleepgiver, has been captured by Karsite priests and while the demon-summoning priests suspect they have a member of the assassin tribe in custody, they aren't certain. Sira quickly assesses her situation and decides to bide her time in the fortified prison, that is, until her hand is forced and she starts to make the inhabitants of the fortress regret taking her in. While she is just one person against hundreds of foes, she finds some good ground to make a stand and she discovers some unexpected allies that help her in her quest to keep from getting overrun. Unfortunately, she recognizes that no matter how clever she is, it is only a matter of time before her captors get through her limited defenses and regain control over her. Sira's only hope is Tory, Kee and Ahkhan as they make their way from Valdemar and to her prison guided by Tory and Kee's peculiar Gift.
Like the past two books before it, Spy, Spy Again is both a good stand-alone Valdemar novel and a great thread in the tapestry of both the overall series and the much more closely-related books surrounding Mags and his family. Tory's adventure not only acts as a good bookend to Perry and Abi's tales, but by having the Sleepgivers return, it also helps to round out the story that was set in motion during the Collegium Chronicles novels. I can't wait to see if Lackey continues the story of Mags and his family or if she decides that the way the events of Spy, Spy Again wrap up is a good place to shift gears and move into a different era of the Valdemar story.
