“Ari thinks there's a spy in the colony. I don't believe that's possible.”
He heard Vivian's sharp intake of breath. “Why, exactly, does she think there's a spy?”
Will quickly told her everything Ari had told him, and the information from his maps. “The Carules know she's coming, Mom. Someone is telling them.”
He could hear her breathing on the other end, so he knew she was there, but she didn't speak for several long moments. “I don't think it's Franklin.”
His mother wasn't strong like Ari. She didn't fight, although it was rumored that she had once been powerful. She hid the fact that she knew Will was alive from everyone, including her father, although that might have been to protect him more than to protect herself. She stayed at the family estate to protect Ari, because Ari wouldn't leave until she could free Will.
So actually, maybe she was stronger than them all.
“I'll look into it, Will, and see what I can find out. In the meantime, I would look at who in your colony has a direct line of communication with the Carules Council.”
Will knew these people as well as he knew his own sister. They were all powerful, which is why their respective sides believed they had to die, but none of them had anyone high up enough that they could speak to the Council and live to tell about it.
Except Dani.
Will's eyes unwillingly strayed up to his house, where Dani, the woman he loved, the woman he one day wanted to start a life with, his best friend and the only constant thing in his life for the last several years — cooked him breakfast.
Dani's parents were very high up in the Carules ranks. That was why she'd had to come to him in the first place. Simply leaving the war had not been an option.
He shook his head. No way. Most of the time Dani didn't even know where Ari was going until she spoke to Will, and that was sometimes hours after the battle was over. It wasn't Dani.
“I'll look on my end, too. Thanks, Mom.”
“I'll keep you posted. I love you Will.”
“I love you, too.” Will hung up, and as always when he hung up with her, his heart was slightly shattered. He hadn't seen her in a decade. He never knew if the last time he talked to her would be the last time he ever got to talk to her. Hanging up took a lot of willpower.
He trudged back up the stairs, cursing the fact that his mother had planted a seed of suspicion in his heart. It couldn't be Dani. She would never do that to Ari. Or him.
Would she?
“Hey. Any luck?” Dani asked, smiling as he walked into the kitchen.
“She's checking things out on her end. We'll see.”
Dani hesitated, laying the spatula on the counter as if she were half frozen. Then she turned toward him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, sliding close enough that she could lean her head against his shoulder.
He froze. This was new territory. He'd never kissed her, never had his arms around her except when they were training and she got hurt. He'd thought himself brave just for holding her hand.
“It will be okay, Will. We'll find a way to protect Ari.”
He relaxed, molecule by molecule, until his arms would finally respond to his brain signals and slide themselves around her waist. They stood like that for what seemed like an eternity, but at the same time, not long enough at all.
Until suddenly she jerked up, nearly bashing his chin in with the top of her head. “I know!”
She was practically dancing, she was so excited. Will raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh. “What is it, exactly, that you know?”
She frowned at him, but her eyes still sparkled. “I know lots of things, Will. But this — how did I not think of this before?”
He leaned against the counter and waited expectantly, crossing his arms over his chest. She was so cute when she got excited.
“My parents.”
This time both eyebrows shot up in surprise and he opened his mouth and closed it several times without being able to form any coherent words.
“Will, they know everything. They can find out where these extra warriors are being sent and we can warn Ari before she gets there!” Dani's face broke into an excited grin and she bounced on her toes.
Will hated to crush that enthusiasm, he really did. And he also hated to turn away the one strand of hope he'd been offered as a way to protect Ari. But he had no choice. “It isn't safe, Dani. If your parents got caught, they'd be executed. Your entire family would be. I appreciate the offer, but I can't ask that of you, or them.”
Dani scowled at him, the sparkle dying in her eyes like he had been afraid it would. “Then I won't do it for you. I'll do it for Ari.” By the stubborn way she folded her arms across her chest, Will knew he would lose this fight.
He had to fight, anyway. “They could trace the contact with them to you, and from there to me, and from me to Ari. Then they could use them against us. It is a very unselfish idea, Dani. I know you love Ari—”
“Us?” Dani whispered, cutting him off.
Will frowned, confused. “Yeah, they would use your family against us. And—”
Dani shook her head. “My family means enough to you that they could be used against you? I mean enough to you?”
He was becoming more confused by the second. Resisting the urge to scratch his head, he said, “Well, yeah. They're your family, right? And you're important to me, so of course they—”
She closed the distance between them and threw herself into his arms. She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him with such a fierce passion that he was surprised they didn't both spontaneously combust.
His arms needed no prodding now, and wrapped themselves around her waist, pulling her tight against him. Voices whispered in the back of his mind, You can't do this. You have to focus on Ari. You can't be in a relationship. You can't love her.
He told the voices to shut up.
Chapter Four
He didn't know what might have happened if Ward hadn't knocked on the door several minutes later, but Will said good night to Dani, feeling more hopeful than he had in a long time. Maybe he could make it work.
And with any luck, she had forgotten all about putting her entire family in danger to help him. He had enough guilt eating away at him. He couldn't afford any more.
He would help Ari, somehow. He was determined. But he wouldn't put anyone else in danger to do it.
Or so he thought.
He didn't get to see Dani the next day because he and Ward spent from before the sun came up until way after midnight checking the invisible walls protecting them. The day after that it was Dani's turn on patrol, and after that they worked together in the gardens for twelve hours because a sudden frost was on the horizon. He was frustrated, and walking on cloud nine, all at the same time.
Until she burst through his door like the Council itself was on her heels. “Will, Ari's in trouble.”
He knocked his keyboard off the desk in his rush to get to his feet. “What do you mean, Ari's in trouble?”
She shoved her hair back from her face with shaking hands. “I just talked to my parents. She's on her way to a battle in Arizona, and the Council knows it. They're going to ambush her jet.”
He ignored the fact that he had told her not to talk to her parents. Ari was in trouble. “Where in Arizona? Do we have anyone there who can do a saldepement?” He turned to the maps they'd been slaving over, tracing the Arizona state with his finger. There were a lot of battles there — usually ending in Carules victory. This was bad. So bad.
“Yeah, but you can't go, Will. The Edrens on her jet will kill you!” Dani's face was paler than Will had ever seen it, and she shook so violently her teeth chattered.
“It doesn't matter.” He jerked his phone up off the desk and called his mom, swearing once for every second she didn't pick up.
“Will?”
“Mom! Ari's in trouble. You have to get them to send more warriors to meet her jet or everyone on it will be killed.”
He heard
the phone clatter to the ground on the other end, and then scrabbling to pick it up. “How do you know this?”
“I just do. I'm on my way there now.”
“Will, no. We'll take care of this. I have an entire force of Edrens already in the area.”
He hung up. He didn't have time to argue with her and at this second, he didn't even know if he could trust her. If the extra troops showed up to save Ari, then he would know she was on their side.
Dani was on her phone across the room. “Her plane isn't expected to land for close to an hour. She's flying from Pennsylvania,” she told him when she realized he was watching her. ”Seriously, when are your Edrens gonna learn how to do a saldepement?”
“How do you know this?” he demanded, ignoring her question. Fear and confusion made him brusque. He could do a saldepement, and so could Ari. As far as he knew, they were the only ones.
“My parents said there's someone in the Edren Family playing both sides. Someone there is telling the Council their secrets,” Dani said, every word sharp against his heart.
He knew it wasn't his mother. But if it was Franklin and she wasn't stopping him…
Will grabbed his phone again, searching for someone in his contact list who could get him to Arizona. Behind him, Dani said, “Can you open a portal? We're coming through.”
He spun on her. “We're not doing anything. This is my fight, Dani. Not yours.”
She glared, her dark eyes, usually sparkling and kind, were menacing. “If you're going, so am I, Will Delacour.” Before he could answer, to tell her that he was the Prodigy's Guard and one of the most powerful sorcerers ever, she turned her back on him and started counting down. And before he could stop her, she stepped through the doorway as it shimmered to life.
He swore yet again, quickly burning a shroud spell and throwing it over her before he followed her. She hit him with one, too, as soon as he stepped through. Even so, he knew as soon as he threw a spell, they would all know who he was — his flames were brighter than regular Edren warriors, just like Ari's.
It didn't matter. If he could save Ari, it was worth it.
He looked around, expecting to see hundreds of Carules warriors, but there were only a handful. He looked at Dani, his heart pounding. Had it been a trap? Was she really against him? “Where is everyone?”
A woman standing just to the side stepped forward. From the strong family resemblance, he knew she must be Dani's mother. “They haven't arrived yet. If we gather too large of a group, they'll see us from the plane and won't land until more Edren warriors can be assembled. They usually send her alone.” She gripped his shoulders. “I have to send the e-mail calling them. I have no way around it, or my family will be in danger. But if you can somehow tell her to turn around, or not land, or something…”
He hadn't even tried to call Ari. How stupid was he? He dug his phone out of his pocket, hitting her number. But it went straight to voicemail. Of course. He swore again, thinking crazily that he was going to have to wash his mouth out with soap if he survived this day, and shoved his phone back into his pocket. “I can't stop her.”
Cries exploded from across the field, floating on the breeze and picking up volume as they neared him. He simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief as his blood froze in terror when he saw the cause of all the commotion. Edren warriors were flooding the landing strip, attacking everything in their way. “Thanks, Mom,” he murmured.
Dani's family raced toward the new threat, but Dani stayed protectively by his side. “Will, we need to get you out of here.”
But they weren't fast enough. The Edrens saw them, and even though they couldn't possibly know who Will was, they assumed that they were part of the Carules team. And they attacked.
Dani immediately fought back. “Will, don't burn any spells!” she cried, risking a glance over her shoulder. He'd trained her to throw spells, but not to participate in a battle.
It was death to look away from one's enemy.
Will couldn't move fast enough as she was attacked from the side. She crumpled, and Will lost all semblance of control. He roared and leaped over her, burning the lirik and shoving it away from him, not waiting to see if it hit its mark.
He knew it did by the screaming.
He burned another, letting the flames control him, moving on instinct as he spun out of the way, dodging more spells, rolling across the ground and throwing another lirik as he came to his feet.
By now, the entire field had seen who he was. He could hear them, screaming Guard, and they abandoned the Carules to come after him. It made absolutely no sense at all, but nothing in war did.
He was going to die.
He threw three more spells, one after another, watching in satisfaction as the warriors fell to the ground and didn't move again. But he needed to not kill them; he needed them to stay here and fight with Ari.
He froze in uncertainty as he saw their spells coming at him — did he save himself and fight back or did he save Ari and stop killing them? In the end, it wasn't really a decision. If he was going to die, at least it was to save Ari like he was supposed to.
And then several hands grabbed him and yanked him backward.
He tumbled through the portal and was shoved to the ground as several spells blew over his head. Dani leaped forward and pushed her hand to the doorway, letting the spell dissolve, and the doorway closed.
“Ari's still in trouble. There aren't enough Edrens—”
“Will! You almost died out there. Because of the Edrens!” Ward bellowed, pulling him to his feet. “Will you think about that for a second?”
Will paused, breathing hard. He ran a shaking hand through his hair, grimacing as soot fell around him, onto his carpet. That would be fun to clean up. “I took a lot of those Edrens down though,” he finally said, grinning.
Ward rolled his eyes and laughed, a nervous, frightened sound.
“You almost died… saving me,” Dani said quietly.
Will took her hand, running his thumb across her palm. “Always. Where are you hurt?”
“Just my side. It isn't bad. I'm sorry, Will. My mom will send that e-mail soon and I don't know what else to do—”
Will's head jerked up like a puppet. “E-mail.” He smacked himself in the forehead. “Carules get their orders by e-mail?”
Dani frowned. “Yeah, didn't you hear my mom—”
“Ward, heal her? I'll be back!” He turned and ran to his office, letting his fingers fly over the keyboard. E-mails. How had he not known this? Edrens used their cell phones, but it took forever to call every warrior, because they had homes all over the world. Usually, they utilized groups that were closest to the battle, but it still required advanced planning because they didn't live in barracks together. For the Carules, e-mail would be instant, and could contact thousands at once. All he had to do was block that e-mail.
It was child's play.
Chapter Five
Will felt pretty good about himself. He'd fought in a battle and hadn't died. That was always a bonus. It was the first time he'd been outside the colony in years. So that was fun, too. But the best part was that he had saved his sister from inside the colony. All in all, a good day.
Until Ari came home.
On the phone, requesting a saldepement, she sounded sweet enough. He should have realized it was all a ruse. As soon as the doorway opened she stormed through with all the power of a hurricane, shaking off a shroud spell as she did. “Have you lost your mind, Will?” She swore, twice, her eyes spitting fire. “Do you have any idea how close you came to dying?”
He grinned at her.
“Stop that! I almost lost you!” she bellowed.
He tried to rearrange his face, but he wasn't fast enough. Sparks lit at her fingers, which was saying something since she only had so much magic and should have just used quite a bit of it fighting. “Ari, I had to do something. They could have killed you—”
“I can't be killed, Will! The Carules Prodigy wasn't there! He d
oesn't fight!”
“What if the prophesy is wrong, Ari?”
She folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. “It isn't. How did you know to come, anyway?”
“Dani's mother told us.”
Ari paled, so much so that her dark eyes looked like orbs in her face. She paced, which was apparently a family trait. “Do you realize how much danger that put them in? If the Council finds out, Will, they'll use that against her. They'll use her family—”
“I know. They'll use her family to get to me, to get to you. I told her that. She didn't believe me.”
It was then that Will finally caught sight of the burns on her arm, traveling up her shoulder. The gear on her side was badly damaged, too. “You're hurt.”
She threw her hands up. “Of course I'm hurt. I'm always hurt! Stop changing the subject.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And don't you try to feed me any of that yucky tea again.”
He laughed. He couldn't help it. “I'll ask Ward to come heal you. He had to heal Dani today so he's all warmed up.”
The sparks died instantly. “Dani got hurt?”
Oh. He probably shouldn't have mentioned that. “Yeah, she came with me…”
“And. You. Let. Her?” she yelled.
“She went first, actually. I was lucky to just get a shroud on her so her own people didn't turn against her, as well.”
She glared at him for several more seconds before the vehemence seemed to die and the rigid set of her shoulders relaxed. “No one says 'as well', Will,” she snapped mildly.
He snickered as he jogged out the door.
When he returned with Ward, he made Ari give him a rundown of the battle. Dani was still sleeping in his bed, despite all Ari's yelling, and he was inclined to let her rest, lest she get a lecture from the angry Edren Prodigy as well.
“When we landed, the battle was already in full-swing. I didn't even have to kill anyone. Once they realized I was there and their numbers were too evenly matched, they ran.” She watched with interest as Ward's blue flames swirled with her red ones just below the surface of her skin. She wouldn't heal, not completely. Ari never healed completely. But it would be good enough. “Some of them stuck around, trying to be brave.”
Feudlings In Smoke (Fate On Fire Short Story) Page 4