Facing the Fire

by Carol Beth Anderson

  Tavi wondered if they’d done the right thing in the first place, inviting people to leave their homes and hide. She’d hoped the refugees would be active members of the resistance. While some were open to that, many of them only wanted to feel safe. She stretched again, trying to release her doubt and worry.

  “When I stretch on that bed, I end up knocking my fists and feet into the walls,” Wrey said.

  Tavi laughed. The bed was tucked into a little alcove at the end of the house, and Wrey was too tall for the space. “There are a few benefits to being short,” she said.

  “Should we ask if we can help with breakfast?” Reba asked.

  They all agreed. Once they were dressed, they made their way to the monastery. But other refugees were already helping the monks make breakfast. Tavi went to Tess’ room, where they chatted until it was time to eat.

  The day settled into routines that had already become familiar. Tavi helped clean the kitchen after breakfast. Then she gathered up a group of ten refugees who’d asked to be taught to fight. She and Ash trained them the rest of the morning. Lunch was always a simple affair, and when it was done, Tavi played card games with Tullen, Jenevy, and Wrey. That afternoon, all the Golds and a few refugees practiced magic in the forest, playing with their gifts in Meadow fashion. After dinner, Tavi helped clean up the kitchen. By then, it was dark. She went back to the cottage.

  But she was antsy. It hadn’t exactly been a bad day; it had just felt unproductive. She sat in her room listening to her friends talking, but she couldn’t seem to relax, her thoughts snarled like a tangled ball of yarn. She bundled up, took a lit candle, and went outside, sitting on a big boulder that offered a view of the valley below.

  A few brightly lit areas of Savala were visible in the distance. The city looked so innocent from this far away. Here she was, safe at a peaceful monastery where she could almost forget about Konner Burrell, the king and queen, and the spread of gray magic.

  This was what she’d been craving. A quiet, normal life, safe and peaceful. She was in a beautiful setting (if a little crowded) with her closest friends and even her sister. The Golds had given over forty Blessed people the opportunity to leave the fear and chaos that reigned below. This type of rebellion wasn’t very exciting, but it was practical. So why did a part of her want to walk down the mountain, straight back to the city she’d fled?

  Craving the warmth and peace of magic, Tavi closed her eyes. What do I desire? Her eyes popped open when she realized the answer. I don’t know. It had been nearly a year since they’d fled Savala after the coronation, and it all felt so pointless. They weren’t any closer to stopping Konner than they had been before.

  “A little cold to be outside.”

  Tavi turned and saw Tullen approaching, carrying his own candle. There weren’t enough lanterns in the monastery for all of them.

  “Our cottage is tiny,” Tavi said. “I had to get out.”

  “Do you want to be alone?”

  “No.” She patted the boulder. “Have a seat; it’s a rock built for two.”

  Did she sound too eager? Maybe Tullen hadn’t noticed. He sat and smiled, but as always, he left plenty of space between them.

  They both looked out at the moonlit valley. Tavi sneaked a glance at Tullen. If she still wanted to activate her magic, she knew how she could do it. He was right here; she just had to let her mind wander . . .

  No. “It’s cold, but it’s a pretty night,” she blurted.

  “It is.”

  Silence fell between them again. They didn’t usually have any trouble coming up with things to say, but lately, unsaid things got in the way. Tavi just needed to give herself time to get over this returning desire, to settle back into the friendship she valued above any other. But they were alone, and it was so distracting with him next to her, and—

  “Let’s take a walk,” Tavi said, pushing herself to her feet.

  “A walk?”

  “I can’t just sit here.”

  “All right.”

  In the flickering light of their candles, Tavi could see the amused smile on Tullen’s face, and she was pretty sure he knew exactly why she was uncomfortable. Sometimes she thought he could read her emotions better than Sall could.

  She led the way, weaving through the pilgrim cottages to the courtyard gate. Tavi wanted to cut through the courtyard and wander in the woods. She pulled at the gate latch, and her shoulders dropped. “I forgot they lock it at night.” They couldn’t go around the front of the courtyard due to the steep cliff beyond the wall.

  Tavi sighed and dropped to the ground, leaning against the wall. Tullen joined her, and they sat, not saying a word. Tavi was considering returning to bed when a noise reached her from the other side of the courtyard wall. Someone was shaking the iron and glass gate, creating a terrible racket.

  “Let me in!” a male voice shouted. “It’s an emergency!”

  Tavi looked at Tullen. His eyebrows were raised. “Sounds serious.”

  The man was still shouting, and Tavi said, “We can’t do anything. I’m sure someone inside can hear him.”

  Tullen’s eyes sparkled with candlelight and mischief. “They may all be sleeping. I have an idea. Come on.”

  He blew out his candle and put it in his pocket. “Can I have yours too?” he asked. Giving him a confused look, Tavi blew out her flame and handed the candle to him. He put it with the other one in his pocket then rose into a squatting position. “Hop on,” he said.

  She did. Tullen stood and ran past all the cottages, then turned around. “Hold on tight.”

  Tavi almost asked why but decided it would be more fun not to. She cinched herself tight to his back, glad she was wearing pants instead of a skirt. He grasped her legs and sprinted, his magically assisted feet covering the ground between the cottages in just seconds.

  “Hold on!” he said again. As they approached the courtyard wall, he let go of her legs. She squeezed them tighter around his waist. Realizing what he was about to do, she let out a small, squeaky scream. He leapt up, magic lending strength to the action, and his hands reached out for the top of the wall. He launched them over, turning to face the other direction in the process, and Tavi’s breath caught in her throat as they fell toward the ground.

  Tullen landed in a crouch, then rolled, and Tavi let go before he could crush her. She rolled too, and a moment after she came to a stop, he was next to her, his eyes wide.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  Tavi nodded, but she knew her eyes were wide as an owl’s. “Did that go the way you expected it to?”

  Tullen gave her an embarrassed grin. “Not exactly.”

  They both stood and realized they weren’t alone. The iron and glass gate was open, and in the light of two lanterns, Bea was talking to a tall, muscular man.

  Tavi and Tullen approached. They both halted at the same time, then blurted in unison, “Zakkur?”

  “You know this man?” Bea asked.

  “Yes, he’s a royal guard,” Tavi said.

  Bea nodded. “That’s what he told me.”

  “What are you doing here?” Tullen asked Zakkur.

  “I was coming to find you,” Zakkur said. He was panting; he must have run up the trail to reach them.

  Tavi stiffened. “Us?”

  “Well, your whole group. You’re all here, right? All the people who were hiding in the catacombs?”

  Tavi and Tullen didn’t answer.

  Zakkur took a step toward them, his expression full of urgency. “You’ve got to hide.”

  “Hide?” Tavi asked. “Why?”

  “There’re forty safety officers here. And twelve guards. All gifted except me.”

  “All except you? Why?” Tullen asked.

  Zakkur’s breaths were slowing, but his eyes still looked panicked in the lantern light. “They wanted someone without gifts to make sure everything goes well.”

  “Why are they here?” Tavi asked. “Are they going to arrest everyone?”
<
br />   Zakkur shook his head. “They’re here for their gray awakenings.”

  Hearing that, Tullen said, “I’ll tell everyone in the pilgrim cottages. Bea and Tavi, evacuate the monastery.” He sprinted toward the wooden gate.

  “Wait!” Zakkur shouted.

  Tullen stopped and spun around. “What?”

  Zakkur blurted, “Half of them are on the other path. The new path.”

  Tullen cursed.

  “I have to go!” Zakkur said. “They can’t know I was here.” He ran back through the gate.

  Tavi said, “Tullen, bring everyone inside! Bea, make sure no one is next to the windows. If we can’t go down the mountain, the monastery is the safest place to be.”

  She sprinted to the gate, following Tullen, who’d started running again. Tavi didn’t stop until she’d run past the cottages, all the way to the beginning of Narre’s Path. None of their invaders were visible yet. She looked up to the starry sky and whispered, “Please, I need my magic to work.”

  She focused on her desire to protect the people in her care. Magic flared in her. She sent some of it to her hands to provide light and directed the rest into her feet. When she urged the ground in front of her to open up, it did so eagerly. With tears of gratitude streaming down her face, she created a ravine, at least ten feet across, separating Narre’s Path from the monastery land.

  She released the magic in her feet but kept the glow in her hands to light her way. Thanks to Tullen’s efforts, people were streaming out of the cottages and rushing to the gate. Tavi weaved through them and ran straight through the courtyard. She unbolted the iron gate and kept running. But when she reached the trail head, she realized she had a problem.

  All around the path, the ground sloped gently, going upward on one side of the trail and downward on the other. She didn’t even know how long of a crevasse she’d have to create to prevent the officers and guards from passing. And even if she had the strength to make a massive ravine, she might not have the time.

  She activated her hearing magic, directing it down the trail. It didn’t take long for her to hear voices. The invaders had almost arrived.

  “Tavi, come in!” Tavi turned to see Reba at the courtyard gate. “Tullen sent me! You’ve got to come in before they get here!”

  The solution hit Tavi in an instant. “I need you to send Ven out here!” Tavi cried. “Hurry!”

  Reba didn’t question it. She ran off, and Tavi waited next to the courtyard wall, again sending magic into her feet. Ven arrived in less than a minute. Without a word, he reached out a glowing hand. Tavi took it and pulled him along as she ran toward the side of the monastery.

  The building was on level ground, but behind it and in front, the mountain’s gentle slope grew suddenly steep. Tavi would start the ravine at the back corner of the monastery where the walls met the mountain face. She’d then extend it all the way around the side of the building and courtyard, finally ending it at the cliff in front of the courtyard. She’d never have had time to make such a long, curved crevasse by herself, but with Ven amplifying her magic, she might succeed.

  Tavi held Ven’s hand tightly in hers, and her stride magic cracked the earth open as easily as if it were an egg. She extended the ravine several feet, but then she encountered resistance and had to backtrack and redirect her path. Then more resistance. And more. Each time, her amplified magic rushed into the earth faster than ever, seeking an acceptable path. It was messy, but it was effective, resulting in a wound in the earth with multiple forks, shaped like a narrow, craggy tree branch.

  She’d just extended the crevasse nearly to the front of the courtyard wall when the first shot rang out. Several feet away, a chunk of the wall crumbled to the ground. Tavi screamed and almost released her magic in alarm, but she held onto it. She had to finish.

  After the first shot, a whole group of invaders ran out of the forest, aiming their hand cannons.

  “Go!” Tavi told Ven.

  “No.”

  His voice was quiet, but she could tell he wouldn’t be swayed. She only had a few more feet to go, but she hit resistance again. She backed up a few feet and created a new path for the crevasse, forking off the original path. It worked. Another shot rang out, hitting the wall. Then another, sending bits of the ground flying up. Tavi extended the ravine another foot, to the edge of the cliff. With barely more than a thought, she widened the entire, jagged crack she’d created in the earth. It groaned as it yawned open, and then it stopped when it was fifteen feet wide. It was done.

  “Let’s go!” she shouted. She risked a glance to her left, where at least a dozen men and women were lined up behind the wide crack in the earth, more arriving by the second. Tavi and Ven ran toward the gate.

  Another shot. At the same instant, Tavi’s magic burst out of every pore, bright as the sun. Her all gift created a shield around her, and she heard the alarmed shouts of Ven and several of the invaders as light seared their vision. An iron pellet fell to the ground a foot away from Tavi.

  Her magic fled as quickly as it had come. They were almost to the gate, but next to Tavi, Ven was groping along with outstretched hands, trying to find the latch. He’d been temporarily blinded by her gift.

  An invader shouted, “It’s her! Don’t shoot her! Aim for him!”

  It would only take seconds to get the gate open and get through. And it would take less then a moment for an iron pellet to travel across the ravine and rip Ven’s chest open.

  There was no time to think. Tapping on a well of strength she didn’t know she had, Tavi summoned her all gift. With a burst of deep instinct and aggressive will, she threw every bit of her magic onto Ven. Suddenly, he was the one glowing with the brightness of unencumbered magic. A split second later, a shot rang out, and once again, an iron pellet dropped to the ground, this one in front of Ven.

  Ignoring the shouts behind her, Tavi threw the gate open, pulled Ven through, and bolted it behind them.

  It wasn’t until they were running through the courtyard and Tavi had released her magic that she realized how much danger she’d put herself in. Hand cannons were notoriously difficult to aim, and when she’d somehow given her gift to Ven, she’d left herself exposed. She breathed a quick prayer, thanking Sava for her adversaries’ good aim.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  One birth is a long, tiring walk; the next a mad sprint. One birth is a gentle negotiation between mother and child; the next a battle with life itself.

  -From Midwifery: A Manual for Practical and Karian Midwives by Ellea Kariana

  The monastery had two chapels. Every monk, refugee, and Gold stood in the larger one near the center of the first level. It wasn’t made to hold over eighty people, but no one was complaining. They were too focused for that.

  Most of them were in pajamas. Some were barefoot. But they all looked to Bea, who stood at the front of the room, leading the discussion. Tavi was near the back with Ven and Reba. She’d told everyone about the ravines she’d made, and then she’d shut her mouth, determined to listen as the group tried to figure out their next step.

  Despite the urgency of the conversation, her mind wandered. What happened out there? In the past, her all gift had filled her unexpectedly. This time, she’d summoned it. And then she’d thrown it, just as she’d directed her stride gift through the ground to create the ravines. But she’d done more than just send her gift in another direction. It was more like she’d transferred her magic to Ven. She’d never heard of someone being able to share their magic with someone else.

  A refugee’s voice brought Tavi back to the present. “We can’t wait them out!” the man shouted. “They’ll find a way across those ravines; you know they will. They’re probably chopping down trees right now to use as bridges!”

  The room broke into murmurs of agreement, and Tavi’s heart caught in her chest as the truth of the man’s words struck her. So much for saving them all. All she’d done was postpone the inevitable.

  Bea was holding up her hand
s, and everyone quieted. She pointed to the right side of the room at a raised hand.

  “We have to dig.” The voice belonged to Ash. “We can start a tunnel right now. We already have the team for it. First we’ll dig out an area just big enough for all of us, and then we’ll fill in the opening to keep them from following. We’ll create the tunnel as fast as we can and exit the mountain at some spot they won’t be able to predict. We’ve got to start now, Bea.”

  Even from across the room, Tavi could see the intensity of Bea’s stare as she gazed back at Ash. “Where?” she asked.

  “Right here,” he said.

  “Do it.”

  The tunnel crew got to work. Narre had the first job, breaking up the stone floor. Most of the refugees not working on the tunnel left the room after being instructed to stay away from windows facing the trail. The invaders might be ready with hand cannons.

  At the back of the room, Tavi gathered around a single lantern with all the Golds except Narre, Ash, and Ven, who were focused on their task. “I know we’re supposed to stay away from windows,” Tavi said, “but we need to watch the invaders on the trail side. If they find a way to bridge the gap, I may be able to shake things up enough to stop them.”

  “Good thought,” Tullen said. “We just need to hold them off for a couple of hours before we can get everyone underground.”

  “I can go upstairs and watch from there,” Reba said. “It’ll be harder for them to see me through an upstairs window.”

  Tavi shook her head. “I’ll go. If they try something, I need to know what I’m dealing with.”

  “Let’s all go,” Tullen said.

  Tavi, Tullen, Reba, Sall, Jenevy, and Wrey went upstairs and found a bedroom with a curtained window. They didn’t dare bring a light into the room, so they fumbled around, finding places to sit. Tavi went to the window and peeked between the curtains, and the waiting began.