“This one dutifully records the entire conversation between two wives of two low-level aides in the Cloud Mist Clan. They talked about a woman named Melinda, who was in labor for three days and had triplets.” Ari snapped his shut.
They worked for a while in silence. Janco’s vision blurred as he skimmed an inventory list in a factory in the Moon Clan’s lands—spare wagon wheels, hitches, nuts, bolts, drying racks, rollers, glass bottles, tubing... As he was about to close the file, an item jumped from the page. A barrel full of leaves.
Why would a factory need leaves? Maybe it was for a medical substance. Yelena’s father created all types of medicines and healing salves from the plants he’d collect in the Illiais Jungle. Janco read the rest of the report.
The spies had targeted the place because there had been plenty of activity inside, but as far as they could determine, no products had been produced. They had sneaked in and still couldn’t figure out what the factory was manufacturing.
If they’d been making medicine, then the spies would have spotted vials or pouches. What else could be made from leaves? “Cigars.”
“What about them?” Ari asked.
Janco handed him the file. “I think this place might be producing them.”
Ari flipped through the pages. “It’s possible. But there’s no way to know if they’re manufacturing the illegal Greenblade cigars or regular cigars.”
“The building is located in Lapeer near the Ixian border. It’s an isolated area of the Moon Clan’s lands and far away from the other factories down in Greenblade’s forests. It’s a place to start.”
“We should talk to Valek. He might know what this is.”
They found Valek outside his office. He unlocked his door and ushered them inside.
“Did you find something?” Valek asked.
Ari explained about the factory, handing the file to Valek.
He scanned the report, then tapped on a page. “This mentions an amber-colored liquid.”
“Could be honey-tree sap used in the cigars,” Janco suggested.
“Or real honey or resin or adhesive,” Valek said. “There could be a number of different explanations.”
“We should check it out since we’re going to Sitia anyway.”
“You are?”
“Uh...” Janco glanced at Ari for help.
Ari gave him a you-got-yourself-into-this-you-get-yourself-out-of-it smirk. Some partner. Janco told Valek about their meeting and conclusions. “It makes the most sense. We’re not going to get far on this side of the border.”
Valek studied him for a moment. “Finish reading through all the reports first.”
Janco groaned. “That’ll take days.”
“Then I’d suggest you enlist the help of the rest of your team members,” Valek said.
“But...”
“But what?” Valek used his flat warning tone.
Janco ignored it. “We don’t trust them, do we?”
“I trust you to keep an eye on them.” He accompanied them out of his office. “I’m going to be leaving in a few days, as well.”
“Where are you going?” Janco asked.
“North to MD-2.”
“Investigating our new recruits?” Ari asked.
“Yes.” Valek locked the door and headed in the opposite direction.
As they walked down the hallway, Janco scratched the scar where the lower half of his right ear used to be. “If he doesn’t trust them, then why are they working with us?”
“No idea.”
“What should we do?”
“We’ll do what Valek said—keep them close.” Ari shrugged. “Who knows, they might prove useful.”
Stranger things had happened.
* * *
While Ari rounded up the grunt and Little Miss Assassin, Janco carried armloads of files over to a conference room. Over the course of multiple trips, he filled the long table. By the time the others arrived, Janco had finished writing the cheat sheet to help them decipher the code to read the reports.
Sergeant Grunt frowned at the piles, but Little Miss Assassin sat down and tucked her bare feet under her.
Ari explained what they sought from the reports. “...an oddity or something that doesn’t belong. Anything that sticks out.”
“Like your bare feet,” Janco said to the young pup. “Don’t your feet ever get cold?” He couldn’t resist asking. Not many rugs covered the stone floors of the castle.
“No.” She kept her gaze on Ari.
“Well, when we go undercover, you’re gonna have to wear boots.”
“Okay.”
Janco deflated. He’d hoped for an argument, but she wouldn’t rise to the bait. She wasn’t the chattiest person, either. At least the grunt asked a few questions as they spent the rest of the afternoon and evening reading reports. How could a person keep quiet that long? Was it part of her assassin training? If so, he’d never pass the test.
When the words blurred together and his eyelids drooped as if they weighed a thousand pounds, Janco called it quits for the night.
The next morning after running laps and training with Ari, he returned to the dreaded task of going through the files. Little Miss Assassin had beaten them there and she had quite a stack of rejects piled on the floor near her seat.
“Have you been here all night?” Ari asked as he sat.
“No.” She handed him a couple of files. “These meet your ‘odd’ criteria.”
Janco peered over Ari’s shoulder as he flipped through the pages. Most of the information she flagged could be explained.
“Sitians use magic all the time.” Janco shuddered. “It is odd, strange, unnatural, weird, crazy—”
“It’s a tool,” Ari said. “You just don’t like magic.”
“For good reason! Remember the time—”
“Why did you tag this one from Ognap?” Ari handed her a report.
The pup scanned it and pointed to a passage. “The agent counted sixteen wagons going into the mines, but only thirteen leaving. Doesn’t make sense. These mines produce coal and ore, so they’d need all those wagons to ship out the product.”
“Maybe they were having a slow day,” Janco said. “See? The next day they had sixteen in and then sixteen leave... Oh.” What happened to those other three?
Ari reclaimed the file. “Looks like there’s a pattern. Every three days, more wagons arrive than leave.”
“Could this be the smuggling route?” Janco asked. “Through the mines?”
“You tell me. You’re the one who spent a few weeks undercover at Vasko’s ruby mines.”
He scratched his scar. “There are a million miles of shafts under the Emerald Mountains. It’s possible that there’s a way to cross under the Ixian border and come out in the Soul Mountains. But...”
“But what?” Little Miss Assassin asked.
“The mine owners guard their maps with their lives. They don’t let strangers into the mines. For one person to know how all those shafts connect...” He shook his head. “Impossible.”
“They don’t have to know all of them. Just the right ones,” Ari said.
“And you said Sitians used their power all the time. Why couldn’t they use magic to find a passage into Ixia?”
The young pup had a point. Unfortunately. A cold dread coated his stomach. Two things Janco despised more than anything—magic and being underground. And it appeared he might just get both at once. Oh joy.
17
YELENA
I gaped at Devlen as blood slammed through my heart. Did he just say...? “You know what the poison is?”
“I believe so. But I am not sure how it will help you.”
Relaxing my grip on the teacup before it shatter
ed, I calmed my out-of-control heart rate. “Please explain.”
Devlen set his cup down and sat in the other chair opposite Opal’s desk and between me and Leif. My brother perched on the edge of his seat and Opal leaned forward. All our attention focused on Devlen.
“Your symptoms of being hot and then cold sounds like the effects of a poison called Freeze Burn,” he said. “It is made from the roots of the reedwither plant that grows in the Avibian Plains.”
“How come I’ve never heard of this poison?” I asked.
“Only the Sandseeds know about it, and the plant is so rare, only one was found during my father’s lifetime, but the Sandseed who discovered it refused to divulge the location. According to our stories, it is fatal, but before the victim dies, they suffer those extreme temperature swings you described for a full day.”
Another near miss. The familiar ache of disappointment panged. “It can’t be Freeze Burn. I didn’t die.”
“That’s ’cause it’s you,” Leif said. “You said you expelled most of the poison from your shoulder. Combine that with your healing powers and...voilà! You survived.”
Great. How did this information help me? “Is there a cure?”
Devlen shook his head. “Not that I know. In our stories, everyone died.”
I considered. “If we can find the plant, then perhaps my father can find a cure. Do you know what it looks like and where it grows?”
“All I know is that it has long thin leaves, resembling blades of grass. In fact, it is often mistaken for a patch of crabgrass until you get closer and see that the blades are attached to a red stem. It is said that the Sandseed horses avoid those plants because the roots poison the water sources nearby.”
“Who else knows about the reedwither plant?” Opal asked Devlen.
“The Sandseeds. Not many of them left, though.”
“Less people to interrogate,” Leif quipped.
No one smiled.
“I don’t believe the Sandseeds would share this information with anyone or use the poison to attack Yelena,” Opal said. “They view her as family.”
“I agree,” Devlen said.
My thoughts circled back to Ben Moon and his famous ancestor. Perhaps the knowledge of Freeze Burn had been passed down to Ben in Master Magician Ellis Moon’s book. It wouldn’t be the first time forgotten information had returned to cause major problems—blood magic and the Kirakawa ritual both sprang to mind. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn’t be the last.
“Do you think you can envision the plant so Kiki can pick up on the image?” I asked Devlen. Perhaps she could find it in the plains.
“I can try.”
Devlen accompanied us to the Second Chance Inn. When we left, we promised Opal to return that evening for supper. On the way to the inn, we talked about Devlen’s new family.
“It has been an adjustment,” he admitted. “I am still in shock that Opal wishes to be with me and the fact she married me...” He spread his hands wide. “Plus taking care of two children is a bigger responsibility than I had thought. It is a bit overwhelming at times.”
“And then you have to deal with the crazy in-laws.” Leif smirked.
“Opal’s parents and brother have been very supportive.”
I laughed. “Notice he didn’t defend you, big brother.”
“Shut up.”
“How is Teegan doing at the Keep?” I asked Devlen.
“I was hoping you could tell us. We have only gotten a few letters from him.”
“I haven’t seen him. I don’t spend too much time at the Keep.”
“I thought since Master Jewelrose has taken him on as her student, she would confide in you.”
That I didn’t know. “She hasn’t said anything. Although, I’ve been focused on my own problems.”
He gave me a wry smile. “I understand all too well. When Opal drained my powers from me, I could not think of anything else besides reclaiming my power.”
“Do you miss it?”
“Not at all. But it took me a season to adjust to the loss and another to realize I was much better off without it. She freed me from the addiction—I had not realized just how much that craving controlled my actions. I had done nothing but bad things with my magic and have no wish to return to being that evil man. However, your loss goes beyond yourself. You have done nothing but good things, and if you do not recover your power, the entire world will suffer.”
Leif huffed. “I think you’re being melodramatic.”
“Aren’t you like the pot calling the kettle black or something?” I asked.
“Pardon me, oh great one. I forgot my place as a mere footnote in the history of Sitia.”
Talk about being melodramatic.
“Is he—”
I cut Devlen off. “Annoying? Yes, all the time.”
He studied Leif. “You are more...subdued at our house.”
“That’s ’cause I’m too busy keeping your daughter out of trouble.”
“I take it Reema has Leif wrapped around her little finger?” I asked Devlen.
“Hey,” Leif said.
“Yes. He needs a child of his own to learn how to not give in to her every demand.”
I agreed. “That would certainly mature him. Unless it backfires and Leif regresses. Then poor Mara would have two children to deal with.”
“I’m standing right here, ya know.”
We ignored him. The late-morning sun warmed my back and I considered removing my cloak. The warming season would officially start in three days.
Arriving at the stable, we woke Kiki from a light doze. She nuzzled my pockets, searching for a treat. I explained to her what we hoped to do. “Can you help?”
She turned her blue-eyed gaze to Devlen and pricked her ears forward. He stared back. I glanced at Leif. Was it working? He shrugged. Leif had told me before he couldn’t smell the horses’ magic, but I hoped he sensed something.
Kiki snorted and returned to snuffling my pockets. I removed a small apple I had swiped at breakfast and fed it to her.
As she munched and slobbered apple juice on my palm, I asked Devlen about the search for Ben Moon. “Where was his last known location?”
“We had tracked him north to a town about two and a half days from Fulgor. A place called Red Oak. It is a small village—a handful of farms, houses and a couple factories along the Sunworth river. Their main industry is logging the surrounding forest and making parchment from the wood.”
“And you lost him in a tiny town where strangers would stick out like a skinny pig in a hog house?” Leif asked.
“He left Red Oak in the middle of the night and disappeared without a trace. From there, he could have gone in any direction, but we circled the town and found no trail signs.”
I mulled over the information. “The Sunworth river becomes the border between Ixia and Sitia for a few miles near the Emerald Mountains. Could he have traveled on the river going upstream to the mountains? Or perhaps downstream toward Featherstone lands?”
“We searched the banks for boot prints in the mud or evidence of a boat launch. Nothing for miles in either direction.”
“Perhaps they used magic to erase their tracks,” Leif suggested.
Logical. Ben was a powerful magician and he’d teamed up with at least a couple of others. “Does Ben have any other siblings?”
“One sister, who is taking care of their parents. They have not been in contact with Ben in years or his brother Owen’s wife, who is still serving time at Dawnwood Prison.”
Ah yes, Selene. I’d scared her by promising to take her soul to the fire world if she didn’t cooperate and release my brother and Valek. “Dawnwood? Not Wirral?”
Devlen nodded. “She is redeemable. Selene cooperated with the authorities.
Wirral is for those who are beyond redemption.”
Too bad. Everyone deserved a chance at redemption.
* * *
Leif and I sat in the inn’s common room, eating dinner and discussing our next move.
“We’ll leave in the morning for the plains,” I said.
“What about visiting Pazia?” He filled his spoon with a huge mass of banana pudding. The portion wriggled on its way to his mouth.
“First we find the reedwither plant and deliver it to Father. If he can’t help us, then we’ll visit her.” I swirled the yellow dessert around my bowl. Unless Bain learned something from one of his old books, Pazia represented my last hope for a solution.
Then what? Find and confront Ben? I shied away from those thoughts. I’d worry about it when the time came. Coward, who me?
Hale joined us and a server arrived to take his order. He studied our expressions for a moment after she left. “I’m guessing the news isn’t good.”
“It’s mixed.” I explained about the Freeze Burn poison.
“Not a very original name,” Hale said.
“The Sandseeds aren’t known for their creativity.” Leif finished his dessert and snagged my full bowl. “They call it like it is. It’s very refreshing.”
“Unless they’re doing their Story Weaver thing,” I muttered. “Then it’s all cryptic and annoying.” And hard to describe. “What about you? Anything?”
Hale repeated most of Devlen’s information. “The town guards believe there are five of them, including Ben.”
Four unknowns. “Are any of the others magicians?” I asked.
“Yes.” He scrunched up his face as if sniffing a bad odor. “All of them.”
Leif choked, spitting out gobs of pudding. “You mean all five have magic?”
Hale snapped, “That’s what ‘all of them’ means.”
Ah. There was Hale’s snooty side. But even more disturbing was the news that Ben traveled with four other magicians. Even if I had my magic, I had no chance against them.
Leif ignored Hale as he wiped his chin. “Then it’s a good thing we’re heading into the plains. Should we leave this afternoon?”