I sighed. There was a good reason for the fear. The Fire Warper’s power surpassed my own, and I didn’t think a bucket of water would douse him. Curling up on the couch, I made plans to free those girls. I couldn’t counter the Warper, but at least I could try to stop the Vermin from gaining more power.
But what about the next shipment of young magicians from Ixia? From what Valek told me, I guessed Star had tapped into Porter’s network, kidnapping his charges and selling those adolescents for the Vermin to use in the Kirakawa ritual.
After a few hours of restless sleep, I went to the stables. Kiki dozed in her stall, but she woke to my call.
Do you have enough energy for a trip? I asked.
Yes. Where?
Back to where you found me.
Bad smell.
Yes, but I need to go back and pick up their scent. They’ve probably moved into the plains by now.
We go fast.
That’s what I’m counting on. Not bothering to saddle her, I hopped onto her back. All I had was my bow. I glanced at the farmhouse. If I had apologized to Valek, he would have come with me, but I wasn’t ready to admit I needed to apologize. At least he would be safe for tonight.
We were soon near the border of the Avibian Plains. Evidence of the Vermin’s campsite littered the ground, and from the number of items left behind, it appeared Cahil had left in a hurry. Only a few hours of darkness remained.
Kiki, which way? I asked.
She headed south, and I let her choose her speed. She trotted until we reached the plains, then broke into her gust-of-wind gait. The air sped past my ears as the ground blurred. She didn’t maintain the pace for long, slowing when the smell of wood smoke and horses strengthened.
The Vermin’s magic waited on the plains. Unlike the Sandseeds’ net of protection, the Daviians preferred to lay traps, which would spring on the unsuspecting victim. Kiki sensed these hot spots and avoided them.
A faint glow of firelight shone through Kiki’s eyes. We stopped and I was considering my next move when Kiki reared and danced to the side. The sizzling odor of blood burned in Kiki’s nose. She would have bolted, but I steadied her with a soothing hand while my mind turned numb with shock.
They hadn’t waited for the next moon. Guilt slammed into me. I hunched over Kiki’s back, rocking with anger and frustration.
Girls hurt? Kiki asked.
Yes.
Go. Stop.
What? But she didn’t wait. She galloped toward the camp.
Kiki!
Help. Fix. She ran through the camp. Rearing and jumping as if crazed with fear.
Her sudden arrival surprised everyone. The guards scattered and dodged her flailing hooves and my bow. Kiki knocked down Cahil’s tent, kicked the wagon over and sent the horses running.
I froze in horror when I spotted the two Warpers stooped over the still forms of Liv and Kieran. Blood coated the Warpers’ arms up to their elbows. They each cradled a fist-size lump of meat in their hands, lovingly stroking the object. I gasped with recognition. They each held a human heart. Liv and Kieran’s hearts.
Kiki knocked me to my senses when she dumped me onto the ground. I gained my feet, ready for an attack, but the Warpers remained engrossed in their ritual.
Help, Kiki ordered as she made another loop of the camp.
I glanced at the fire. No Fire Warper yet. I mentally kicked myself for even worrying about him, and drew a thick strand of power. The Vermin defensive magic tried to clamp down on my connection, but I had pulled such a fat rope it failed to cut even a thread.
I launched my awareness at the Warpers. A fog of magic surrounded them. Instinctively, I knew in order for them to consume and maintain the power, they had to milk the blood from the hearts and inject it into their skin.
The Kirakawa ritual had its own power and I couldn’t interfere with the Warpers. Their black lust for magic sickened me and for a moment my vision filled with blood.
But a movement from the corner of my eye caught my attention. Liv’s ghost stood next to her dead body and she gestured to me, thumping her heart with a fist. I squinted at the apparition. Her ghost or her soul? When I understood her motions, I cursed myself for my stupidity.
I couldn’t affect the ritual, but there was one thing only I could do. Concentrating on the girls’ hearts, I reached for their souls. The ritual had trapped them within its chambers. I inhaled their essence, leaving behind dead flesh. The Warpers wouldn’t gain any power tonight.
Kiki slowed near me. I grabbed her mane and hauled myself onto her back. Within two strides she moved into her special gait.
When we reached the edge of the plains, I asked Kiki to stop so I could release the girls’ souls. The sun began to rise, casting long shadows on the ground. I wished I had known the girls better so I could make Sitian grief flags for them. The occasion called for the fanfare of raising their flags to memorialize the girls’ short lives.
Without silk or a flagpole, I settled for expressing my deep regret for not saving them. They felt content and relieved to be free. But what else could they say while I held their souls?
A vile thought occurred to me. I wondered if my powers were enhanced while they remained with me. Could I counter the Fire Warper if I increased my strength? Shuddering in revulsion for just thinking about it, I released their souls to the sky. They rushed from me. A lingering tingle of joy vibrated inside me before my body sagged with fatigue.
I arrived at Valek’s safe house without any memories of the trip. Kiki headed for the stable and I summoned enough energy to give her a good rubdown. The stack of hay bales outside her stall appeared to be too inviting for me to pass. I lay down on top of them and fell asleep.
An army of flaming soldiers chased me. My legs refused to run any faster as the burning men advanced. Leif rushed to my aid but, as soon as he drew near me, he burst into flames. Only Valek remained. He stood amid the conflagration, untouched by the searing heat. A block of ice, he seemed indifferent to my plight.
“Sorry, love.” He shrugged. “Can’t help you.”
“Why?”
“You won’t let me.”
The fire soldiers closed in until a circle of fire surrounded me. Tongues of flames licked at my clothes then grabbed the fabric.
“Yelena!”
Bright yellow and orange danced along my cloak. Their movements held my attention in a bizarre fascination as they consumed my clothes.
“Yelena!”
Cold water splashed on me, followed by a drenching deluge. Steam hissed. I yelled and woke, choking on the water. Valek stood next to me. He held an empty bucket.
“What?” I sat up. My clothes and hair were soaking wet. “What was that for?”
“You were having a nightmare.”
“And shaking me awake seemed too tame?” He was still angry.
Valek didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled me to my feet and pointed to the figure-shaped scorch mark on the topmost hay bale. The place where I had slept.
“You were too hot to touch,” he said in a deadpan.
I shivered. If Valek hadn’t been here, what would have happened?
“I take it your rescue attempt last night has angered some powerful people? I saw you and Kiki create chaos in the camp, ruining my plans yet again. What else did you do?”
Valek hadn’t gone to bed. He had left to help the girls. Kiki and I could have gone with him. Together we might have reached the camp in time to save Liv and Kieran. Guilt balled in my chest, souring my mood. I hadn’t managed to do anything right. I didn’t find Cahil and Ferde in time. The Sandseed Clan was gone. Irys and Bain were locked up. I had upset my friends and my brother. And Valek.
He stared at me with his flat expression, giving nothing away. An invisible wall grew between us. Mine or his? I told him about the girls’ souls and how I had removed the power from the ritual.
“I should have let you kill Cahil,” I said.
If the change in subject surprised him, he didn’t
allow it to show on his face. “Why?”
“It would have prevented all this.”
“I think not. Cahil’s involvement is recent. These Vermin are prepared. They’ve been planning this move for a while. Cahil wants you dead and wants his throne. I believe the whole Kirakawa ritual sickens him.”
“He helped with the kidnapping.”
“Because he wanted you. He wasn’t at the camp last night. He’s probably heading to the Citadel.”
“How do you know?”
Valek gave me a tight, joyless smile. “When you stormed the camp, I stole into the tent, intending to put the Wannabe King out of my misery. I had a few seconds to determine he was gone before the tent collapsed on me.”
I suppressed a chuckle. From the annoyed frown, I knew Valek wouldn’t appreciate it.
“But I found that.” He gestured to the floor. My backpack rested against Kiki’s stall door.
A happy cry escaped my lips and I knelt down to check the contents. Before I dug into the pack, I looked up to thank Valek, but he was gone. I considered finding him to explain, but I wasn’t ready to breach the wall surrounding me. Inside my little cocoon, I could pretend the Fire Warper’s threat to the people I loved didn’t exist.
My pack still held my switchblade, my Sitian clothes, my lock picks, vials of Curare, lumps of Theobroma, jerky, tea and Opal’s glass bat. The glow from the statue seemed brighter.
The intricate swirls of liquid fire drew my gaze. I marveled at Opal’s talent. The whirlpool of light in the core of the bat transformed into a snake. The roar of a kiln beat at my ears. Hands wielded a pair of metal tweezers to shape the thin glass body before it cooled. The thoughts of the glassmaker reached me. Opal’s thoughts.
She dripped water on a groove in the glass near the end of the pole. The snake cracked off. Using thick mittens, she picked up the piece and put it into another oven to cool slowly. This one was not as hot as the first.
Opal, can you hear me? I asked.
No response.
When my awareness returned to the bat in my hand, I knew I had reached Booruby with my mind without expending a lot of energy. Booruby! A six-day ride south of here. I hadn’t been able to reach Bain from Booruby and I had been closer. What would happen if Irys held the snake? Would we be able to communicate over vast distances without sapping our strength? My mind raced with the implications.
The cold air intruded on my excitement. My wet hair felt icy in the breeze, and I remembered Kiki mentioning snow. We were north of the Avibian Plains, but I had no idea if the farmhouse resided in the Moon Clan’s lands or Featherstone’s. Either way, by the time the storm reached us, it would turn to rain and sleet. And by looking at the gray wall of clouds advancing from the west, it wouldn’t be long before the storm hit.
I shouldered my pack and went inside. Valek had lit a small fire in the living room. His soft tread padded on the floor above me. Probably planning to sleep after being up all night.
Hesitating on the threshold of the room, I debated. My cloak was soaked. I needed the fire to dry it and I wanted to warm myself.
In the end, I changed into Sitian clothes, hung my cloak by the hearth and filled a pot for tea. I heated the water, but avoided looking directly into the fire. Feeling uneasy, I chewed a piece of jerky and drank the tea as far away from the flames as I could get. Unable to stay in the room any longer, I wanted to run upstairs to Valek. Instead, I grabbed a blanket off the couch and ran to the stables, joining Kiki.
She snorted in amusement when I made a bed of straw in her stall. I filled two buckets with water and put them next to me.
If I start to smoke, pour these on me, I said to her. I don’t want to set fire to the barn.
Soon after I laid down, an odd melody of sleet drummed on the slate roof. The whistle of wind through the rafters augmented the beat. Lulled to sleep by the storm’s music, I slept without dreams.
The arrival of a strange horse woke me and Kiki the next morning. At least I hoped the weak storm light meant the beginning and not the end of the day.
Valek led in a black horse with white socks. With its long legs and sleek body, the animal was built like a racehorse. Pulling a thread of power, I linked my mind with the new arrival.
He felt uncomfortable in this new barn. Strange smells. Strange horse. He missed his stall and friends.
Smells here are good, I said in his mind. You’ll make new friends. What’s your name?
Onyx.
I introduced him to Kiki.
Valek tied Onyx to a hitch. “We need to leave for the Citadel.” He saddled Onyx. “This weather is good cover.”
My heart twisted with pain. He had gotten his own horse so he didn’t have to sit with me on Kiki. “How far?”
“Two days. I have another safe house about a mile north of the Citadel. We can set up operations there.”
We worked in complete and utter silence.
The next two days felt more like ten. With the nasty weather, Valek’s cold shoulder and my anxiety to hurry, I would have preferred spending the time in the Commander’s dungeon.
Our arrival at the safe house seemed a relief until the necessity of planning our actions made our strained relationship almost unbearable. I remained stubborn, believing the distance between us would make it easier for me to make life-threatening decisions.
After we settled into the cottage, I headed for the Citadel. The weather again promised rain, lending a bleakness to the landscape. Bare trees and brown hills seemed muted and barren of life. I knew if I swept the area with my magic, I would feel the small stirrings of creatures, waiting for the warmth. But the risk of using magic this close to the Keep was too high.
Disguised as a Featherstone clanswoman, I wore a long-sleeved linen dress underneath a plain sand-colored cloak. Although I left my bow behind, I had access to my switchblade. My hair was pulled into a stylish knot favored by the Featherstones and held in place by my lock picks.
Valek had styled my hair. He worked in a cold and efficient manner, making it easier for me not to grasp his hands and pull him close. His deft fingers twisted the strands of my hair expertly, and a strange vision of fire melting his arms to stumps rose in my mind.
I banished the image and put my hood over my head. The north gate of the Citadel wasn’t as busy as I had hoped. In fact, once inside, only a few people walked the streets. They hunched over their packages and stared at the ground. The weather could be a factor, but the rain had ceased. The streets should be teeming with citizens hurrying to the market before the next squall.
Even the beggars were few and far between. Most of them wore expressions of worry as they glanced around, and none approached me.
The Citadel’s white marble walls looked dingy and dull. The green veins resembled streaks of dirt and the whole town felt as if a layer of grime coated it. The grunge had built up in the cracks, and soaked into the foundations. The shine was gone from the town. And it wasn’t due to the weather.
I missed a step when the first Daviian Vermin came into my sight. But soon they were everywhere. Hunching over, I mimicked the citizens’ posture, searching for an alley or side street free of Vermin. Blood throbbed in my ears. The Vermin’s gazes burned into my soul. When I entered a shortcut to the market, my legs wobbled with relief. But I kept out of view until I had studied the center square, watching the people scurrying around the market’s stands. The sense of fear even diluted the usual heady smell of spices and roasting meat.
The concentration of citizens meant more Vermin. I waited until I spotted my target and then joined the shoppers. When I drew beside a young boy of ten, I had to suppress a smile as I listened to him barter with the stand owner.
“Four coppers, take it or leave it,” Fisk said, sounding like an adult.
“I can’t feed my family for that!” the owner countered. “Since you’re my friend, I’ll take seven coppers.”
“Belladoora is selling them for four.”
“But look at this qu
ality. Hand embroidered by my own wife. Look at the detail!” He held up the fabric.
“Five, and not a copper more.”
“Six, and that’s final.”
“Good day, sir.” Fisk walked away.
“Wait,” the stand owner called. “Five then. But you’re stealing the bread out of my children’s mouths.” He grumbled some more while wrapping the fabric in paper, but he smiled when the boy paid him the money.
I followed Fisk to his client. The woman paid him six coppers and he handed her the package.
“Excuse me, boy,” I said. “I’m in need of your services.”
“What can I do for you?” he asked. Then his eyes flew wide with shock before worry touched them. He glanced around with small furtive movements. “Follow me.”
He led me to a tight alley and into a dark dwelling. I stood in the blackness while Fisk lit a few lanterns. Thick curtains hung over the windows and only a few chairs decorated the barren room.
“This is where we meet,” Fisk said.
“We?”
He smiled. “The Helpers Guild members. We plan our day, divide up the money, and exchange gossip about our clients.”
“That’s wonderful.” Pride at what Fisk had accomplished filled my heart. The grubby beggar boy I had met on my first Citadel visit had transformed into a productive member of his family.
Fisk’s own pride showed in his light brown eyes. “It’s all because of you, my first client!”
Instead of begging for money, now Fisk and the other beggar children helped shoppers find good deals, carried packages and would do just about anything for a small fee.
His grin dropped from his face. “Lovely Yelena, you shouldn’t be here. There’s a reward for your capture.”
“How much?”
“Five golds!”
“Is that all? I thought it would be more like ten or fifteen,” I teased.
“Five is a lot of money. So much I wouldn’t trust my own cousin not to turn you in. It’s dangerous for you here. For everyone.”
“What’s been going on?”
Fire Study Page 25