“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.
While Janco wasn’t happy with the new members, he suspected Little Miss Assassin was annoyed that Ari was chosen as team leader. She stood next to Sergeant Grunt as if waiting for Valek to yell go. Two of them against him and Ari would be interesting as long as she didn’t have her knives.
“All right, chief. What’s next?” Janco asked.
“Team meeting,” Ari said.
“Here?” Little Miss Assassin glanced around at the clusters of fighters.
“Hell no. First meeting will be at the Black Cat Tavern this afternoon.”
Sweet. “Ari, you the man.”
14
YELENA
I scanned the four men and three women surrounding us on horseback. Most of them had drawn their hoods up over their heads. If I’d had my magic, I’d know exactly whom I dealt with and would have clouded their thoughts so we could continue on our way to the Avibian Plains. Instead, I told Leif to put his machete away so we could play nice. For now.
“Is there a problem?” I asked.
One person pushed his hood back and I recognized him as Captain Romas from the Citadel’s guards.
“Yes,” Romas said. “I’m here because the Sitian Council believes you’re in danger.”
Leif snorted. “And that’s news?”
Romas ignored him. “Seems an assassin is after you, and we are to escort you back to the Citadel so we can provide you with additional protection.”
Ah. “Please tell the Council that I appreciate the concern, but I’m quite safe. And I’m not returning.”
“We’re not here as a courtesy. We have our orders.”
“I don’t care. The Council cannot order me.”
“Liaison Yelena, a word in private.” Romas gestured and an opening between his riders appeared.
I considered refusing, but was too curious about what he had to say. Kiki followed until we were far enough away.
“The Council is more than concerned. They know all about the danger you’re in,” Romas said in a low voice despite our distance from the others.
Fear swirled and I gripped Kiki’s saddle. Was he implying they knew about my magic? Impossible.
“And considering you’re heading straight to the man who vowed revenge on you, it would be wise to return with us.”
“Quit dancing around the subject, Captain, and tell me what exactly the Council knows.”
Concern creased Romas’s brow and he leaned forward. “The Council has recently learned that your magic is gone and you are unprotected.”
His words burned into me like a red-hot pontil iron, but I used every ounce of will to keep my face neutral. “Interesting rumor. Who started it?”
He shook his head sadly. “I’ve my orders. Please cooperate or I’ll be forced to take drastic measures.”
“Such as?”
“We are armed with Curare.”
I shrugged. “Go ahead and waste the Curare.” As I glanced back at Leif and Hale, I tapped my fingers on Kiki’s neck, signaling her. “Come on, guys. We’re done here.”
When Romas gestured for his men to stop them, I leaned close to Kiki’s ear and whispered, “Ask the others to dump their riders and run home, please.”
Seven horses bucked at once, throwing their riders onto the ground, including Romas. They galloped north.
“Let’s go!” I yelled.
Garnet and Rusalka joined Kiki as we raced south. Darts whizzed by my head, but I stayed low until we were out of reach. Then we slowed so we didn’t exhaust the horses.
“What was that about?” Leif asked, riding next to me.
“Tell you later.” I inclined my head, indicating Hale.
“We really should have returned to the Citadel,” Hale said when he joined us. His hair was windblown and two red spots spread on his cheeks. “I don’t know if I can protect you against an assassin.”
“Not to worry, Skippy. Did you see how Yelena gave them the slip? She’s more than capable of defending herself. You’re just here to be arm candy.”
I almost laughed at Hale’s pinched expression, but the thought that the Council knew about my condition still burned, sending sweaty waves of fear through me. How did they find out? The only people who knew were Irys, Bain, Leif, Mara, Healer Hayes and Fisk. All trustworthy.
Unless someone tricked the information from Mara. A sweet, lovable woman who was kind to everyone and would never suspect duplicity. Except she kept Opal’s secrets and knew how important this was. Unless someone forced the information from her.
I stopped Kiki.
“What’s the matter?” Leif asked.
“Give us a moment, please?” I asked Hale as I pulled my brother aside.
“Okay, now you’re really worrying me.”
I explained about the Council. It didn’t take long for Leif to jump to the same conclusions. “I’d better contact Irys. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” He dug in his saddlebags for a small super messenger.
“We were a little busy fleeing the Council’s guards.”
“Oh, right.” Distracted, Leif gazed into the square-shaped glass. After a few minutes he glanced up. “She’s checking.”
We waited forever. If Mara had been hurt because of me, I’d never forgive myself. Kiki shifted her weight under me as if she, too, worried about Mara. She probably did. Mara fed her apples on her way to the glass shop every morning. As far as Kiki was concerned, a daily apple equaled unconditional love.
Leif’s attention riveted on the glass. Then he smiled. I relaxed.
“She’s fine and a little angry we didn’t trust her to defend herself,” he said.
“She wouldn’t last against a skilled opponent.”
“I know, but she said she’d match her pontil iron against your bo staff any day.”
That would be an interesting fight. “Tell her she’s on.”
We resumed traveling. Once again, my thoughts contemplated the encounter.
Who else knew about me? The assassin was well aware of what he had done to me. Did that mean the assassin worked for the Council, or was in contact with one of the Councilors or aides? A more likely scenario.
After a few hours, we reached the border of the Avibian Plains and headed east. The long stalks of grass had turned brown and brittle. Various shades of browns, grays and tans covered the undulating barren landscape.
“It’s dreary during the cold season,” I said to Hale. “You should see this place in the warm season. It’s bursting with color and life.”
“What about the Sandseed’s magic?” Hale asked in a small voice.
“Stick with us, Skippy. The protection doesn’t attack family. Oh, wait, you’re not family. Too bad. Good luck finding your way home.” Leif chuckled.
Even after the decimation of a majority of the Sandseed clan members, the protection remained strong, attacking intruders by convincing them they were lost. They’d wander the plains for days until they died of thirst.
“You’re not family, either,” Hale said.
“Distant cousins. You know that weird magic you teased me about in school? I’ll bet you wished you had some of that now.”
“Don’t listen to him, Hale. Garnet will keep you from going crazy.”
“Lovely,” he muttered.
Garnet pinned his ears back.
“He didn’t mean it, Garnet,” I said. “He’s just scared.” I gave Hale a pointed look.
“Oh...ah...right.” He patted Garnet’s dark neck. “It’s my first time in the plains. I’m a bit...skittish.”
Nice word choice. I gave him a thumbs-up. “Okay, Kiki, you’re in charge.” It seemed weird talking out loud to her after years of silent communication.
“What d
oes that mean?” Hale asked.
“It means Kiki will decide the route we take to Fulgor,” Leif supplied. “And she’ll stop when the horses are tired or hungry or thirsty. We’re just along for the ride. Oh, and hold on tight. It’s a ride like no other.”
“You mean because of that gust-of-wind gait you talked about?”
“Yep.” Leif grinned.
As if on cue, Kiki broke stride and, with a hop forward, launched into the gait I’d dubbed her gust-of-wind gait. It felt as if we rode on a river of wind. That was the easiest way to describe the feeling. Kiki’s hooves didn’t drum on the ground. I didn’t have to match my movement to hers. We flew, covering twice the amount of ground as a regular gait.
The magical gait only worked in the Avibian Plains and only Sandseed-bred horses had the ability. Handy, considering the plains, which were located southeast of the Citadel, stretched east to the base of the Emerald Mountains and south to the Daviian Plateau. A nice chunk of Sitia that we used as a shortcut on many occasions.
Kiki stopped to rest a couple of hours later. We collected firewood and Leif used his magic to start a fire. With Hale in charge of cooking dinner, Leif and I groomed the horses as they munched from their feed bags.
Leif broke the silence. “If the Council didn’t find out from Mara about your...ah...condition, how did they?”
“The only possibility that makes sense is the assassin or the person who hired the assassin told one of the Councilors or one of their aides.”
“I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Well, would you like the sound of Irys, Bain, Healer Hayes or Fisk betraying my trust better?”
“No.”
“I didn’t think so.”
“No need to be snippy.”
“Leif, word is spreading. Fast. I need to find a cure before all my enemies come after me.”
Hale called that dinner was ready.
Leif tossed the currycomb at me. “Good enough.”
I caught it, then finished brushing the knots from Kiki’s tail. He might be satisfied with “good enough,” but my Kiki deserved perfection.
When I finally finished, Leif was asking Hale what he thought of the gust-of-wind gait between slurps of a bread-and-cheese soup.
“It was...incredible,” Hale said, smiling for the first time since I’d met him. “Like nothing else.”
“Not many people have experienced it. You’re in rare company, Skippy.”
His smile dimmed and Hale focused on his bowl.
“Leif, how old are you?” I asked.
He creased his brow in confusion. “You know my age. I’m two years older than you.”
“Then act like it. Stop calling Hale names.”
“Do you know how many names Mr. Hale called me while we were in the Keep together?” Leif asked. “Dozens.”
“And you were an annoying teenager who hated the world,” I reminded him.
“Doesn’t mean I deserved it.”
“No one deserves it. There just comes a time when you need to forgive and move past it. We’re going to be together for weeks. Can you try to be civil?”
Leif pouted, reminding me of Janco. “I guess, but only if I can have another bowl of the soup.”
If only smoothing relations between Sitia and Ixia was this easy. I could retire.
“Since we will be traveling for a while, perhaps this is a good time to share with you the extent of my magic,” Hale said.
Leif opened his mouth, but I shot him a look and he wisely kept quiet.
“That would be helpful.” I encouraged Hale to continue.
“It seemed only fair, considering I’m very familiar with Leif’s powers and your...er...current situation, Yelena.”
Warning signals rang in my head, and I moved my hand closer to my switchblade without thought.
If Hale noticed, he didn’t react. “You see, while I’m able to construct null shields in record time, light fires and communicate with my mind, I’m also able to hear.”
“Hear what?” I asked.
“Hear with my magic, meaning I heard your whispered conversation with Captain Romas and your discussion with Leif by the horses.”
“Whoa, I didn’t know you could do that,” Leif said.
“After the Ixian takeover, the Master Magicians decided not to advertise all their students’ powers in case the Commander attacked us or another one of our own attempted to overthrow the Council. Since spies are always a concern, it was a sound strategy.”
I agreed, but if Hale had this ability, could he be the one who’d informed the Council about me?
“I only use it when necessary,” Hale said as if he’d read my thoughts. “I believed the encounter with the captain might not go in our favor, so I listened to be ready to act.”
Smart.
“And what he said made sense. I’d already determined something was very wrong. Why would you need to be protected by a null shield? You’re the most powerful magician—”
“That would be Bain,” I said.
He shook his head. “Who else calls Master Bloodgood...Bain?”
“Uh, Irys?”
“And who calls Master Jewelrose...Irys?”
Only Bain and me. “Okay, you made your point.”
“Face it, sis. You’re in elite company.” Leif bumped my arm.
“You call them by their first names all the time.” I swatted his shoulder.
“Not in their presence.”
“This is a pointless argument. I’m no longer a magician.”
“For now,” Leif said.
“How did it happen?” Hale asked.
He had the right to know. We could be attacked again and both Leif and Hale could lose their powers. I explained about the arrow.
“Never heard of a substance with that ability.” Hale worried his bottom lip.
“If you wish to return to the safety of the Citadel, go ahead. I wouldn’t blame you. We should have been up-front about it from the beginning, but I was too...” Terrified.
“I think I’m safer with you than at the Citadel,” Hale said.
“I’m not so sure about that, Skip...er...Hale. She seems nice now, but wait until you’re part of one of her crazy schemes,” Leif said.
Here we go.
“One time, I was bait for a necklace snake—”
“What is it with you and that story?” I demanded. “You survived, didn’t you? We rescued our father, didn’t we? And as I recall, I was the one who ended up wrapped in the coils of an amorous necklace snake.”
Leif huffed. “It’s a good story if you don’t ruin it with all those little details.”
I gazed up at the stars, seeking patience with my brother. Moon Man, my Sandseed Story Weaver, was up there in the sky probably laughing his deep laugh. Despite the six years since his death, I missed him just as much now as I had then. He’d probably spout some cryptic advice on how to solve my problem. But this time, I would welcome it.
* * *
Two days later we entered the city limits of Fulgor. The city was the capital of the Moon Clan lands and also where Opal and Devlen lived and worked. The bustle on the streets was dissipating as the sky darkened.
“We can stay with Opal. She’s like my mother-in-law and loves having company. Plus she can cook.”
“Not a good idea,” I said. “We might attract the wrong element.”
“No problem. Opal’s deadly with her sais, and Devlen knows how to swing a sword.”
“And Reema, your niece? Or have you forgotten about her?”
“Ah, that little scamp knows how to stay out of trouble. One time she helped me finish a pie, but when Opal discovered us... Poof! Reema was gone. Snug in her bed as if she didn’t have cherry juic
e staining her lips.”
“I’m sure Opal won’t be happy to see me,” Hale said drily.
“True. If you weren’t all stiff and haughty and nasty—”
“I wasn’t there to be her friend. I had my orders from the Council.”
“That’s enough, boys.” I glanced around at the buildings. Factories mixed with businesses and homes—typical Sitian hodgepodge. “I’d like to keep as low a profile as possible. Let’s find an inn for the night and visit your in-laws in the morning.”
Leif perked up. “I know the perfect place.”
We stopped at the Second Chance Inn. I gave Leif a questioning look over the name of the place.
“Second-best chef in town works here,” he said.
Figures.
“Who’s the best?” Hale asked.
“Guy named Ian, who owns a tavern called the Pig Pen. We’ll go tomorrow. Wait until you taste his beef stew. After a mouthful, you’ll never be able to eat another’s stew again because the rest will taste like crap in comparison.”
I ignored my brother as I helped the stable lad with the horses. The stalls were clean and the air smelled of fresh hay. Happy that they would be well cared for, I joined Leif and Hale in the inn’s common room. We rented two rooms, one for me and Leif and the other for Hale.
The next morning, we left Hale to make inquiries about the recent prison break from Wirral as we took a circuitous route to Opal’s glass factory.
“It’s a nice place,” Leif said. “She has four kilns on the ground floor and upstairs are the living quarters. Of course, it gets superhot in the warmer seasons, but they don’t seem to mind the heat. I guess it’s because she’d worked in a glass factory almost all her life and he grew up in the Avibian Plains.”
Leif continued to prattle on while I kept an eye out for anyone following us. No visible sign of anyone. When we reached the factory, the outer door was unlocked. Inside a young woman sat behind a desk in a receiving area that had been a storefront at one point in time. “Can I— Oh, Leif. Nice to see you again. Go on back.” She waved us toward a door behind her that said Employees Only. Fancy.
Leif opened the door and the roar of the kilns slammed into me. He pointed to a thick gray foam coating the inside of the door. “Soundproofing.”