“No. Every couple of days or so he stops by with a new batch.”
“When’s the last time he came?”
The merchant eyed me with suspicion. “Why is it so important?”
I downplayed my interest. “He could be a friend of mine. I haven’t seen him in years and it’s probably not him. He’s a tall, muscular man with long black hair. His eyes are hard to forget. They’re diamond-shaped with thick eyelashes. He also has a scar on his throat.” I pointed to my neck below my left ear.
The merchant shrugged. “The guy looks like a Sandseed warrior to me.” He huffed in amusement. “Don’t know about his eyes. He’ll probably be by in the next couple of days. Do you want me to tell him you’re here?”
I thought fast. A Sandseed warrior could be one of the Warpers. “No. It’s not him. My friend’s from the Greenblade Clan. Thanks for your time.” I hurried away.
Sticking to my plan, I searched the pubs and taverns for Ulrick and the Warpers. The unsanctioned Daviian Clan had been members of the Sandseed Clan before forming their own group. Called Vermin by the Sandseeds, the Daviians used blood magic to create powerful Warpers and they tried to take control of the Sitian Council.
The Council believed the Vermin and Warpers had been exterminated, but a few had escaped.
On my way back to the Tourmaline Inn, I stopped at various stands and looked for more heart-beating statues. A few merchants carried the glass animals. The general impression of the seller remained the same. A Sandseed warrior.
A pink sparkle flashed at me a block before the inn—another stand full of jewelry, and pink tourmalines dominated the display.
“Pretty, aren’t they?” the merchant asked. “Three golds for any item. It’s the best price in town.” She held up a ring with a heart-shaped stone. In fact, multiple items contained heart-shaped tourmalines.
I glanced down the street. Carleen would have to walk this way to the market. “You know your customers.”
She smiled. “The inn lady loves her pinkies. It matches her personality and gives her joy when she wears it. Each person has a certain gemstone that...calls to them. When they wear their special stone, they’re empowered!” She thrust her fists into the air as if drawing strength from the sky.
Intrigued, I asked, “How do you know which one is for them?”
“Give me your hand.”
Dubious, I held it out. She sandwiched it between her warm palms. Her smooth skin contrasted with my roughened and burn-scarred fingers. A ripple of heat traveled up my arm. She closed her eyes. The temperature inside me intensified. A red-hot finger pierced my heart. I gasped and yanked my hand back.
She studied my face with amazement. “My goodness, you have a conflicted heart. It’s covered with storm clouds. But don’t you worry.” She patted my arm. “There was a flash of clarity and I saw your true stone.” She rummaged around her table. “I only have one, but I can get more.” Picking up a small pendant, she handed it to me.
The rich bluish-green color of the stone sparked with an iridescence. “What is it?”
“An opal.”
I stared at her in shock. “But I thought opals were black.”
“Some are, but they’re other colors, too. Try it on.” She threaded a silver chain through the loop of the pendant.
“Oh no. I can’t afford—”
“Not to buy it. Wear it and you’ll find the man of your heart.” She linked it around my neck. “Perfect. And I’ll sell it to you for two golds.”
“I don’t—”
“I’ll include the chain.”
“I’m sorry, but I really can’t—”
“Sold,” a familiar voice next to me said. He dropped two gold coins into the merchant’s palm. “After all, it already worked. You were looking for the man of your heart, and now you’ve found him.”
7
My automatic reaction was to grab the hilts of my sais. I hadn’t seen Devlen’s face since he attacked me at the Thunder Valley market two seasons ago. But the big smile reminded me that Ulrick and not Devlen’s soul resided within the body.
“How did you know I was here?” I asked.
“Word moves like lightning in these small towns.” He hooked an arm around my shoulders and propelled me down the street. “One of the merchants sent me a warning that someone was asking about me. Or, rather, the new me.” He squeezed me close. “I knew you would figure it out! Devlen claimed he would fool everyone, but I warned him he couldn’t trick you.”
Guilt flared. Caught off guard, I felt unbalanced. Our reunion was not how I had envisioned it. I thought I would have to rescue him.
“What’s been going on? Tell me everything,” he said.
I stopped and searched his face. “Did something else happen to you when you switched bodies with Devlen? You seem...”
“Happy?”
“I was going to say different, but happy works. You never were the overjoyous type.” He had been moody, sullen, protective and jealous, which made the times he had been in a good mood stand out. “Why are you happy? Do you have any idea what Devlen did in your body? What he did to me? If you consented to the trade, you’re just as guilty as he is.”
He sobered. “Let’s find a quiet corner to talk.”
He led me to a pub called the Emerald Eyes. Ulrick nodded to the owner and strode to a back table. I had been in here earlier and the owner claimed he hadn’t seen anyone matching Ulrick’s description.
After we sat, the man glided over to us carrying two mugs of ale.
“I see you found your friend,” the proprietor said, setting a mug before me.
“No thanks to you.”
The owner was unaffected by my comment. “Rick is my best customer. You’re a stranger. Dinner?”
“Yes,” Ulrick said.
“No,” I said. When the owner left, I raised an eyebrow. “Rick?”
He squirmed a bit. “I couldn’t use my real name. It didn’t feel right, and I don’t like the name Devlen. Rick worked.”
“So you agreed to be Rick? It wasn’t forced on you?”
He gulped his ale and set the mug on the table, placing it in the same ring of wetness. Avoiding my gaze, he fiddled with it.
“Why did you switch bodies with Devlen?”
“I couldn’t resist.”
“Resist what?” I prompted, although I had a good guess.
“The power.” He looked up. “You know, Opal. Remember when everyone called your magic the One-Trick Wonder? How you longed to do more?”
“Yes, but I wouldn’t—”
“Really? If someone gave you the chance, would you really have refused? If Pazia approached you, before she lost her magic, and wanted to change places? Think about it before you answer.”
The temptation would have been strong, but I would have refused because of the blood magic.
Before I could speak, he said, “I went from Ulrick, the One-Trick Nobody, to Rick, The Magician.” He laid his hands on the table with the palms up. The mug rattled, then floated into his hand. His lips curved into a satisfied smile.
“Didn’t you think we might have just scratched the surface of your own magic? That you might be able to do more?” I clamped down on my next question. Didn’t he think about me?
“He’s a Sandseed Story Weaver. He read the threads of my life and said I possessed one ability—to infuse my glass pieces with a brush of magic so they could read a person’s mood.” Bitterness spiked his voice. “The only way to increase my power was to switch with him. He no longer desired his magical ability. Devlen wanted to be an average man. I’m sorry if he hurt you by leaving so abruptly...” Ulrick paused. “Is that how you discovered the switch? Because you thought I wouldn’t leave you?”
Guilt warred with confusion. I replaye
d his words in my mind. “He was supposed to leave?”
“Yes. He was going to sever all contact with my friends and family...with you. I planned to learn all about my new magic, and then find you and explain.”
“But didn’t you know who he was?” Confusion won the battle.
“A Sandseed Story—”
“No. Who he really was?”
By his blank look, I knew he didn’t. Devlen had possessed a strong mental ability and he could convince a weak magician of anything. Add his wordplay skills, and Ulrick hadn’t stood a chance.
“He’s a Daviian Warper. He attacked me twice. Didn’t I tell...” No. I hadn’t. The contents of my stomach churned with dread.
“Must have been during one of your secret magician meetings where I wasn’t invited. No reason to tell a One-Trick Nobody.” He swigged his ale and glared into the mug.
“It wasn’t like that. When I explained about Sir and Tricky’s kidnapping, you wanted a battalion of guards to watch me despite the fact I escaped on my own. If I had told you about Devlen—”
“We wouldn’t be here.”
“No. You would have never let me out of your sight.”
“What’s so bad about that?”
When I didn’t answer, he continued, “Face it, Opal. You’re dancing around the subject, but we both know the real reason you’re upset.”
“We do?”
“Yes. In switching my life for another’s, I gave up on us. With his Story Weaver ability, Devlen replayed our times together. Watching you from a different perspective, I realized you never loved me.” The distance in his eyes faded. He leaned forward as if excited by a new idea. “But you’re here now. When he left, you must have realized your true feelings, tracked him down and discovered the switch.” A hopeful tone lit his voice.
A conflicting array of emotions rolled through me. Guilt dominated, and I needed to tell him...everything. “Ulrick, Devlen didn’t leave.”
“Oh?” A quizzical expression crinkled his eyebrows.
“He was a Daviian Warper—”
“Was. He doesn’t have any power—well, unless he can blow glass—because I have it.”
Unable to form words, I shut my mouth. Devlen had convinced him the switch included magic. And from his words, Ulrick didn’t know about blood magic.
“What?” he asked. “He couldn’t have hurt you. With your glass spiders and bees, sais, and surrounded by Leif and that Stormdancer, you were well protected.”
I pieced together Ulrick’s comments. Devlen had spun a story using Ulrick’s own fears and disappointments. No magical power. No love, and, since his sister did hit him over the head, no family support. If they switched bodies, Ulrick would have his desire, and Devlen would sever relations with Ulrick’s friends and go his merry way. If his argument hadn’t worked, Devlen could have used his magic to persuade him.
“It appears Devlen lied to you and tricked you, too,” I said.
A stubborn conviction settled in a hard line across his shoulders. “I guess it’s easier for you to believe he tricked me than think I left you.”
A rush of fury pulsed in my veins. How many more people would accuse me of lying to myself or others? I suppressed the urge to bash him on the head.
The arrival of Ulrick’s dinner allowed me a few minutes to cool down and collect my thoughts. He ate with abandon, as if concentrating on his food would keep me from commenting.
“Let me tell you a story while you eat,” I said. I related how Devlen used his disguise as Ulrick. Sticking to the facts, I kept an even pace even when I admitted to letting him seduce me. “You acted different yet the same. Bolder and more confident.” I gestured to him. “I hadn’t realized that was what I needed from you to go to the next step in our relationship. At the time, I thought your change was due to being tricked by Gressa. You...Devlen told me you realized you no longer needed your family’s approval. And I rationalized the change to you finally moving past your disappointment over your magic.”
He had stopped eating and looked at me in either horror or pain. Both cut through me, exposing my guilt.
“And perhaps in a deep level of my consciousness I knew you were different. In order to be honest, I have to admit the possibility. I’m sorr—”
“Go on,” he said. His voice was rough, and his food forgotten. “What else happened?”
I explained how Kade’s capture forced me to admit I had feelings for the Stormdancer, and how my need to help Kade unwittingly revealed Devlen.
Ulrick flinched. “Go on.”
I told about the torture and how I tricked Devlen into going to Ixia’s northern ice sheet to meet up with Sir and his gang. They had caught Kade spying on them and planned to coerce him into harvesting the killing energy from Ixia’s blizzards into glass orbs. “Devlen wanted me to find his mentor’s prison. He didn’t care about Sir’s scheme. He knew I could locate the imprisoned Warpers in my glass animals through my nightmares.”
Ulrick gripped his chair arms, but said nothing. I continued the story, finishing with Kade’s and my escape.
“You drained Devlen? No magic left?” he asked.
“None.”
“Without him attacking you?”
“Yep. I stole his magic.”
He sat in stunned silence, which continued as all the information sank in. The tavern owner hustled over to inquire if everything was all right.
“Fine, fine.” Ulrick pushed his plate away. He tapped the mug. “I need a refill and a shot of whiskey.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Where is Devlen now?”
“In Fulgor.”
“In prison?”
“No. He’s working for your sister.”
“Say that again.”
“No one believes me. If they do, they’re pretending they don’t like Gressa. She’s using Devlen.” A bone-deep weariness soaked into my body.
“For what?”
“I don’t know. She’s Councilor Moon’s first adviser now. Do you remember what happened when you went to her factory and confronted her about the fake diamonds?”
Ulrick raked his fingers through his hair. He had let the black strands grow past his shoulders—surprising considering he always kept his own hair short.
“She seemed impressed we had discovered her work,” he said. “I tried to convince her to fess up to the authorities and perhaps earn a lighter sentence. After that...” He quirked a rueful smile. “She bashed me on the head. When I regained consciousness, Devlen was helping me.”
“She did follow your advice. She told the Councilor of Akako’s plot and gained her trust.” Which didn’t quite add up, unless Tama had other reasons to keep Gressa close. “What have you been doing since then?”
“Devlen instructed me how to increase my powers. He claimed there were two Story Weavers in Ognap who could guide me, but I haven’t found them. Instead, I’ve been earning money by helping a local glassmaker. I guess he lied about the Weavers, but...” He tapped his chest. “A part of me still believes him, yet with my magic, I can sense you’re telling the truth, too.”
“The Sandseed clan was decimated five years ago by the Daviian Vermin. No Story Weavers survived. The two he mentioned are Warpers.” Before he could contradict me, I said, “Not many people know because the Sandseeds don’t want it to be made public. Yelena is helping them until one of their children develop the ability.”
The owner returned with Ulrick’s order, placing the drinks on the table before hustling off. While we talked, the room filled with people.
Ulrick downed the whiskey in one gulp. He played with the empty glass. “You kept many things from me, but you gave Devlen, and that Stormdancer, much more. I don’t want to be with you anymore.” He tossed a few coins on the table and stood.
“I understand, but you nee
d to come with me to Fulgor. We’ll find Devlen, and Yelena can switch you back to your own body.”
He looked at me as if I had spoken in a foreign tongue. “Switch back to a magicless body?”
“You’ll still have your glass magic. Despite what Devlen told you, your own magic stays with your soul. The added magic you have now is from blood magic, which I haven’t even explained to you yet. It’s—”
“Another one of your secrets? No more, Opal. I’m done with you.” He turned away.
I leaped to my feet, grabbed his arm and pushed his sleeve to his elbow, exposing the tattoos. “Blood has been mixed with the ink. It’s the real reason you have more power. It’s illegal.”
He yanked his arm free. “I don’t care. I have magic and I have freedom. You can’t force me to go to Fulgor.”
“Yes, I can.”
“How?” He crossed his arms and straightened to his full height.
“I can drain your magic, leaving you with nothing.” I bluffed. I wasn’t sure if I could steal blood magic. Tricky had kept his, but it was my blood, not another’s. And I didn’t know how it all worked.
He laughed. “You don’t have an orb with you.”
I picked up the shot glass. “Any glass will work.” Another bluff.
He knocked the glass from my grip. It shattered on the floor.
“Oops. Nice try, Opal.”
“I don’t have to be close to you. I can pull your magic from a distance.”
He appeared unimpressed. “A few feet? A mile?” He shrugged. “I can sense you from that distance. Besides, I have no intention of letting you get that close.” His gaze hardened and an invisible force pushed me into my seat. “I have my own defenses.”
“There are other ways to counter you.”
“But first you have to find me.”
The tavern owner appeared by his side. “Something wrong?”
“Yes,” Ulrick said. “She’s causing trouble. Call the authorities and have her arrested for drunk-and-disorderly conduct.” He slipped the man a coin.