“I am leaning toward petrified,” Devlen said.
Valek laughed. The motion caused the cut on his back to flare to life. He’d forgotten about his injuries. Blood soaked his right sleeve, and a deep cut showed through the rip in the fabric.
“You will need to change your...or rather, my tunic before leaving,” Devlen said.
Valek pulled off the shirt with care. Pain burned in his elbow. Showing Devlen his back, he asked, “How bad is it?”
“Bad. It needs to be sealed or stitched up,” Devlen said. “Do you have glue or thread with you?”
“No.” But he had something better. Magic. Except he couldn’t see his back. He needed Devlen’s help. “Reema, can you check the route?” Valek held a hand up before her father could protest. “She spotted these guys before I did and can wear one of the mirror illusion cloaks. Even if she’s seen, they won’t bother her.”
Offended, she said, “I won’t be seen. And I don’t need a cloak.”
“Take it, or you cannot go,” Devlen said.
Even though she wore an exasperated expression, Reema wisely grabbed one from the floor.
“Go where?” Leif asked in a rough voice. He sat up and rubbed the back of his neck.
“On a mission.” Reema gave her uncle a quick hug before slipping through the door.
“Uh...isn’t she a little young—”
“Without her help, you and Devlen wouldn’t be here.” Valek poured another cup of water and handed it to Leif.
“Thanks.” Leif surveyed the scene as he gulped the liquid. “Took us out with the garbage, eh? Sweet.” Then he straightened in alarm. “Mara and my father—”
“—are safe with Yelena,” Valek said.
“But they were—”
“They’re safe. I’ll explain everything later. I need to heal my wounds first.”
“Heal?” Devlen asked.
Valek met Leif’s gaze.
“I didn’t tell him,” Leif said.
“What about the Cartel?” Valek asked Leif.
“No. They wanted to know our plans and where we’ve been hiding.”
No surprise. “And what did you tell them?”
Leif touched a purple bruise on his cheek. “All my best jokes, but they failed to find them humorous.”
“I finally have something in common with the Cartel,” Devlen said.
“Ha. Ha,” Leif deadpanned.
“Are you strong enough to help me?” Valek asked Leif.
“Yes.”
Valek turned his back on Leif and relaxed his mental barrier. He pulled a thread of magic and connected with his brother-in-law. “Let me see through your eyes.”
Leif focused on Valek’s injury. The slash started along his left shoulder blade and crossed over to his right side, ending at the waistband of his pants. Gathering another thread of power, Valek used it to repair the damage, sewing the muscles and skin back together. Then he healed the smaller and deeper wound on his right arm. Exhausted from the effort, Valek leaned on the wagon.
“That is new,” Devlen said.
“Leif—” Valek began.
“I’ll tell him. Go lie down before you fall over.”
Valek shuffled to his pack and spread his bedroll. He collapsed onto it. Leif’s voice lulled him to sleep.
Reema was back by the time Valek woke a few hours later. The three of them had made a camp of sorts on the floor of the warehouse.
“No one lying in wait,” she said when he asked her about their planned route.
“What’s next?” Leif asked.
Color had returned to both men’s faces, and they seemed more alert. “We’ll leave Fulgor when the workers are going home. The extra traffic on the streets should help us blend in. Then we’ll rendezvous with Yelena and the others.”
“Opal is due home soon. I am not leaving without her,” Devlen said.
“How soon?”
The big Sandseed stiffened as if preparing for a fight. “Any day.”
Which meant she was overdue. Valek considered his options. They could remain here and wait, risking capture. He could leave Opal a note explaining their whereabouts. But it might be picked up and deciphered by the Cartel’s soldiers. A third option popped into his mind. Yelena wouldn’t like it, but it was the safest course of action.
“The three of you will travel to the Citadel and catch up with the others. I’ll stay and wait for Opal.”
Devlen tried to protest, but the need to protect his daughter overruled his desire to be reunited with his wife. And Reema argued that she’d been just fine on her own, thank you very much, and could gather intel while they waited for her mother. Leif, though, was happy to leave.
In the end, Valek won. When they left the warehouse, he wore one of the mirror cloaks and trailed them, ensuring no one followed them. Reema kept the other cloak.
The cloak came in handy over the next couple days. Guards lay in wait at the glass factory for Opal’s return. He figured Opal would dodge the watchers and check inside before leaving. And that was exactly how it played out when Valek spotted her on the first day of the heating season.
Her panicked expression fueled his desire to chase her. But he waited to see if anyone besides him had picked up on her location. Once he confirmed no one had any interest in her, Valek intercepted Opal near Nic’s apartment.
“Oh, thank fate!” She grasped his arms. “Do you know where Devlen and Reema are? Are they safe?”
“Yes.”
“Where—”
“Not here,” he said.
“Right.”
Opal stayed quiet as she shadowed him to the warehouse. But she pounced with more questions the second after he closed the door.
He explained what had happened to her family in her absence and why. Guilt, relief and concern crossed her face.
“So this Cartel has control of the Citadel?” Her brown eyes widened in alarm. “What about Teegan?”
“He’s safe, too.” Another hour passed as he filled her in on their efforts to thwart the Cartel and Teegan’s role. “We need to figure a few things out first, but I hope we can stop them before they take over all of Sitia.”
“We need to warn Nic and Eve and—” She gasped. “Zitora!”
His heart banged against his chest. “Did you find Zitora?”
“Yes, and she’s on her way to the Citadel. We had no clue what’s been going on with this Cartel. If we don’t stop her, she’ll be caught by them!”
15
JANCO
Yelena jerked as if slapped. “My cousin Nutty? Are you sure?”
Janco hated to be the bearer of bad news. He swallowed the sour taste in his mouth. “Yeah. I never forget a face.”
“Except the guy you saw in the Greenblade forest,” Ari muttered.
Esau leaned forward in his saddle. “Why is that bad news? Nutty is more than capable of caring for the plants.”
“It’s bad because she might be working for the Cartel or for the Master Gardener,” Yelena said.
“She’s not working for them,” Esau said with conviction.
“We can ask her,” Onora said. “She’s alone, and there are six of us.”
True. Although they only needed two of them. He and Onora would have no trouble sneaking up on her. The tall grass of the Avibian Plains made an effective camouflage.
“What if there are others hiding behind an illusion?” Ari asked.
Janco brandished his null shield pendant. “No chance.”
“How about hiding inside the glass hothouse?”
“It’s too small for more than a couple. And we can handle more than a couple.”
“How small?” Esau asked, sounding disappointed.
Janco
opened his mouth to reply, but Yelena said, “All right. Let’s go ask.”
Janco mounted The Madam and guided her to the clearing in the plains. A small hut sat next to the glass hothouse. The door to the hut creaked open. He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. Both Onora and Ari also braced for action.
Nutty glanced out. Her maple-colored hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. She scanned the riders, and with a whoop of joy, she sprinted straight for them.
“Yelena! Uncle Esau! I’m so glad to see you.” Nutty beamed at them. She skidded to a stop next to Yelena and bounced on the balls of her bare feet. “I’ve been so homesick.”
“What are you doing here?” Yelena asked.
Confusion dimmed her smile. “Helping Bavol. Didn’t he tell you?”
“No.”
“Didn’t he send you? He said he would send someone...but that was a while ago.”
“No. He’s been...preoccupied. Why don’t you fill us in?”
She bit her lip and gazed at Onora and then Ari and Janco. The girl—well, not technically a girl, as she was about twenty-three years old—had freckles sprinkled over a small nose, which she crinkled as she peered at Yelena. “Um...they’re from Ixia.”
Considering both he and Ari had been in Sitia for a while and had tanned in the southern sun, she was rather observant. Janco approved.
“They’re trustworthy,” Yelena said.
But she still appeared uncertain. Janco didn’t blame her. They all sat on their horses, staring down at her. If it’d been him, he’d have barricaded himself in that hut by now.
As if reading his thoughts, Esau dismounted. “Come on, Nut. Show me what’s growing in that fabulous glass hothouse of yours.”
Nutty perked right up. “Isn’t it grand?”
“Whose idea was it to build it with glass?”
“Bavol’s, I think.” She shrugged her thin shoulders. “It was already built when I came here to help.” Nutty led him to the hothouse and they disappeared inside.
“Should we follow them?” Onora asked Yelena.
“No. Esau will find out as much as possible. Let’s take care of the horses.”
Esau and Nutty remained in the hothouse while they groomed horses and set up camp. The late afternoon sunlight reflected off the glass, and Janco strained to see any movement inside.
“Do you think she jumped him?” he asked Onora in a whisper. “Should we go in there?”
“Leave them be,” Mara said, talking for the first time since they’d arrived. “Esau gets distracted when surrounded by plants.”
“And you’re not getting out of your turn to cook supper,” Onora added.
Janco suppressed a sigh over the lack of action. Filling a pot with water, he set it on a few hot embers to boil for Yelena’s tea. He knew how to make one meal—rabbit stew. He sorted through their meager travel rations. Ugh. Nothing even resembling meat. His stomach growled just thinking about fresh, juicy—
“Here.” Ari handed him a bow and a small quiver full of arrows. “Make yourself useful.”
Janco sprang to his feet. “You know me so well.”
“I’ll help,” Onora said, joining him.
“I’m quite capable of hunting on my own.” He slung the quiver onto his back.
“I’ll flush prey into the open. It’ll go faster.”
“The prey in this case are rabbits, not humans. Do you even know how to hunt animals?”
Her expression turned flat. “The Commander isn’t the only person who has killed a snow cat. I’m sure I can handle a couple rabbits.” She strode into the tall grasses without looking back.
Janco met Ari’s gaze. “She’s kidding. Right?”
Ari shrugged his massive shoulders. “You were rude. Go apologize.”
But when Janco tried to catch up, Onora had disappeared. Probably sitting right next to him, blending in with the gold-and-brown stalks that radiated in every direction. The null shield didn’t seem to help him spot her when she turned camo.
“Sorry,” he said to the clump on his left, feeling silly. “I’m not used to having company when I hunt. It’s...” Janco pulled in a breath. “It’s one of the rare times I’m alone. I really appreciate your help, though, so if you could—”
“Are you always this noisy when you hunt?” she asked from the right. “You’re scaring away supper.”
Apology accepted. The strength of his relief surprised him. “Did you really kill—”
“Hush,” she ordered.
Soon after, the first of many rabbits bolted across his path. With Onora’s assistance, he shot four rabbits by the time it was too dark to see. Much faster than on his own. Not that he’d admit that to her. He’d already apologized. His male ego couldn’t handle another confession.
When they returned to camp, Ari had already prepped a couple skewers. Onora and Janco skinned the rabbits, and soon the enticing smell of roasting meat filled the air. Esau and Nutty finally emerged from the hothouse. Dirt stained Esau’s knees and elbows and caked the undersides of his nails.
Since everyone was starving, they ate first. Then Yelena turned to her father and invited him to share what he’d learned.
He ran a hand through his thick gray hair. “The plants are all similar to what was growing in Owen’s hothouse. Theobroma, Curare and a collection of medicinals. No sign of that crossbreed to produce Theobroma-resistant Curare. But there are a few experimental Theobroma varieties and crossbreeds. Looks like Bavol was trying to figure out a way to counter Theobroma’s effects.”
Yelena leaned forward as hope gleamed in her eyes. “Did he succeed?”
“Too soon to tell. Damn tree takes years to grow.”
“What about that grafting technique? The one that speeds up the growth?” Mara asked.
“That only works when you have a mature tree,” Nutty said. “Since none of them have matured, we don’t know if it’ll work. Once we determine if it will, then we can grow more.”
Not the best news. But not the worst, either.
“How long until they’ve matured?” Ari asked.
“About two years or so.”
Janco groaned. By then they’d be reporting to Commander Owen.
Yelena pulled the drawing of the Harman tree from her pack and handed it to Nutty. “Do you recognize this?”
She studied the picture. “No, sorry.”
Yelena hid her disappointment, but Janco knew discovering why those Harman trees were so important to Owen and the Cartel was vital to their success.
“How long have you been involved?” Yelena asked Nutty.
“Bavol asked me to help him with some crossbreeding a few years ago, but he said it was a matter of high security and it would be treason if I told anyone.” She glanced around as if expecting him to jump from the nearby grasses and yell at her for divulging the information. “Then a couple seasons ago, he asked me come to the plains. He’d built this hothouse as a prototype. He was working with two others, but he wouldn’t tell me who they are. Said it was safer for me to not know. The last time I saw him, Bavol suspected he was in danger and told me to stay here and that he would send someone.”
“See? I told you she wasn’t working for the Master Gardener,” Esau said.
Nutty pulled at her ponytail. “Is Bavol all right?”
“As far as we know,” Yelena said. “The Cartel moved all the Councilors to the Greenblade garrison.”
“The Cartel?”
“I’ll explain in a bit, but first, did you discover who was working with Bavol?”
“I saw them. They came for a brief visit soon after I arrived. Bavol told me to hide in the hothouse. I peeked out. I recognized one of them.” She hunched down as if afraid of getting caught.
“Who is it?” Yelena asked
.
Nutty bit her lower lip.
“We need to know.” Yelena’s tone held patience.
Janco, in contrast, had to suppress the desire to shake the name from the girl.
“Will he get in trouble?” Nutty asked.
“It depends on whether he knowingly helped the Cartel, or if he was tricked.”
“It’s Oran,” she blurted. “One of our clan’s elders.”
Yelena clutched her tunic in distress. There could be more members of her clan involved with the Master Gardener, and that would throw suspicion on her entire family.
“Shouldn’t be too big a surprise,” Esau said. “He has the knowledge and could arrange the transport of the plants without trouble. Hell, even I’ve discussed these plants with him many times.”
Nutty pressed her hands over her heart. “Have I done something wrong?”
“No,” Yelena said. “You were helping Bavol. You had no idea what he was doing with the information.”
Nutty didn’t relax. “What about Oran? Should I have reported him?”
“To who?” Janco asked, but he didn’t wait for an answer, “Bavol’s your clan leader, and the Council is under the Cartel’s influence. If you said something to them, you could have been arrested or conscripted or killed.”
“And Oran could just be helping Bavol, as well,” Mara offered. “We’re jumping to conclusions. He might not be the Master Gardener. Esau, didn’t you think it might be someone from the Greenblade Clan?”
“Yes. They have a few experts with the knowledge and skills, as well,” Esau said.
“Have you met Oran Cinchona Zaltana?” Yelena asked Janco.
“Not that I can recall,” he said.
“Hold on,” Esau said. He pulled a notebook and a thin piece of charcoal from his pack. Drawing a quick sketch of an older man, Esau turned the page to face Janco. “Is this the man you saw in the Greenblade hothouse?”
“Yes! But why does he look so familiar?”
“You’ve met Bavol, correct?”
“Yes...” Janco wasn’t sure where this was going.
Esau drew a picture of Bavol next to Oran. “They are half brothers.”