by Amy Keeley
She chuckled. “Then you are jealous.”
“I’m concerned. He’s got the look in his eyes of a man waiting.”
“Then why ask him to join us?”
They were at the platform now. Krysilla stared at the ladder with more than a little misgiving. “You might want to tuck in your skirts,” Zhiv said, examining it as well. She nodded and tucked them between her legs and into her sash with shaking hands. She’d almost finished tucking them in when the shaking became too much and she gave her weak arms a moment to rest. Zhiv gently lifted her arm and, his eyes on its trembling and not on her, said, “This is why I brought the Disciple, goodwife. In case my first plan doesn’t work.”
Still holding her arm, he continued. “A blowback happens when the energy in a spell is left to find a target, and with no direction, it will often return to the person who cast it. I’ve never seen a blowback hit anyone as hard as it hit you. If this had been an ordinary spell, you should be a little weak, but able to function. This,” he sighed, brows furrowed. “I can’t allow you to do anything more with what lies in that cave. Not even if it’s our only way out.”
“And so you’ll let someone willing to kill you learn about it? He has a Dog with him—”
“No, she’s not. Not truly. If that were the case, he would have waited for her. His goals just happen to coincide with Vyomsi’s and that won’t last. I thought, if you were friends with him, and if we could find out how Vyomsi has him, that we might reason with him, persuade him to join us.”
“He’s a Disciple.”
“And he cares very much for you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “That’s why you asked me before.”
“You wanted me to be jealous?”
Her cheeks burned with anger and embarrassment. Yes, she did. “You think he’ll be able to connect better than me?”
“No. It’s not his domain. But he will prove useful.” He let go of her arm and quickly climbed the ladder, leaving her alone on the platform. Folding her arms, she stared at the lake below, remembering when she’d first seen it. There hadn’t been time then to consider what she was doing. Really, there wasn’t time now. After they got out of this, then she could think.
Wouldn’t she? Or would they keep going from crisis to crisis, with the few times in between so precious that she wouldn’t be willing to examine where they were going? When would she be willing to think this through?
Not now, she decided. Even if it meant hesitating at the last moment, for now, they had to get away from the danger that might now be tracking them through the forest.
She closed her eyes and breathed in what might be her last inhale of the place, fresh air with the scent of water in it. Opening her eyes, she turned and smiled at Daegan and Zhiv, who held a mass of rope. Daegan, however, was watching Zhiv, and nervous.
And Zhiv was scanning the forest.
***
It hadn’t taken long for Razev to figure out what had happened. All across the forest, he could see the faint traces of magic, weaving together in a way that made it difficult to tell which was older and which was newer. Even a member of the pack well-trained in tracking would be hard pressed to untangle the mess Razev saw in front of him. But those well-trained Dogs didn’t have his advantage.
He knew the one who had cast the spell.
Crouching down, he almost felt a smile grow on his face. Zhiv had always had a talent for modifying spells. And somehow he had managed to tie a different spell to the one the Mikailsin children had carved into the soles of their boots. When they had them. And this bit of magic destroyed tracks. But not the magic that did the job.
Standing, he ignored the tangled trails around them and scanned the forest for that signature imprint. Kirag waited behind him, and it was only when he’d decided his brother’s path that he turned to his companion. “Got it?” Kirag asked.
Razev nodded. “There’s a lake not far from here, isn’t there?”
“Compared to what?” Kirag jerked his chin to the east. “Lake Toth. That way. You can see the Disciple’s trail in this mess?”
Mozh Dlip, he remembered. That was what his Uncle Nostra called the lake. And there was a system of caverns next to the house, and an exit that led to the lake, and a boat, because Uncle Nostra didn’t want to go all the way back to the house sometimes when he was exploring. “No. There’s so many faint traces, I could drive myself mad trying to follow them down. Besides, I don’t think we need to worry about following the Disciple anymore. I think the Ornic found him.”
“And kept him alive? Doesn’t sound Ornic.”
“They always killed?”
“Always. Made sense. Show a little mercy to an enemy and they might just take advantage of it later.”
“And if any did?”
Kirag raised an eyebrow. “Then I’d doubt he was true Ornic.”
Razev had lived his whole career as someone else. But his sister’s death and Teranasin’s threats made him wonder if that had been wise. Perhaps, he thought, we’ve all been foolish, never trusting, and never getting the opportunity for allies. “What if I were Ornic?”
Kirag laughed out loud. “Better lead me on, alpha, before your jokes kill me.”
Razev began walking in the direction Kirag had pointed. “I meant it, Kirag. What if you were told I was Ornic?”
“Nah. You’re too soft. Tell me, alpha, when was the last time you executed someone?”
“There’s been no need.”
“True, but I saw your face when the villagers told you about the woman they killed.” He spat. “Mobs. That’s why we take the oath, so that men can forget this side of themselves. We perfect them, and they go and do something like that.”
That made him think of the Disciple. “When we meet Ishia, we tell her Lord Teranasin sent us.”
“True enough to sing.”
Razev nodded. There was more, and he needed to tell Kirag before they met Ishia. There was a movement to the left and before Razev could react, blinding fire barreled toward him. A wind swept from behind, Kirag’s spell diverting the fire into the air before it could harm them.
“Blasted young’uns,” but he didn’t have time to say more. Another shot of fire, then the hiss of darts in the trees around them.
“We were sent!” Razev called out, using his own staff this time to divert the spell.
“I heard.” A blast of light, more powerful than any the two had experienced hit them. “Don’t follow.” Razev writhed on the ground from it.
And in the nightmare thoughts that ran through his head as he tried to overcome the temporary blindness his comrade had caused, all he could think was that Zhiv was right. He should have lived his life as a Mikailsin.
He blinked.
No time for pity now. No regrets. Think, think. He stood.
It could have been a more powerful attack. She didn’t want to kill them, or it would be done.
“Wants the glory to herself,” Kirag said, struggling to his feet as well.
Razev squinted, his sight slowly returning. No spells, no tracking. “She’s not far. Come on.”
They jogged, half-blind, until they reached the road that was now very familiar to Razev. “You bastard,” he muttered under his breath. “We’re not going to follow Ishia.”
“No?”
“Come.” He took out Zhiv’s map. If his little brother had been at all intelligent, he would have had a portal near this road, with the other in the boat drifting on the lake. Tracing the misdirections, he saw where it was. “How well can you swim?” he asked Kirag as he folded the map, already striding toward the place Zhiv had hidden it.
“Never tried.”
“You might have to learn very quickly.”
The cry of the Dogs, eager for the hunt, echoed down the road they would have followed.
“When’d she send for them?” Kirag said, eyes wide.
“Teranasin has been using the portals,” Razev said. “Might be playing around with them, too.” I’ll protect
you, he could hear himself saying, and began to run.
***
Hyaji watched Nitty, the woman Lord Teranasin had told him about, listen to her daughter point out various Ornic characters while they waited in the storeroom for the others. “You let him teach her?”
Nitty shrugged. “It keeps her busy. And the boys know it, so—” she shrugged.
This couldn’t be the woman he was supposed to bring in on some elaborate scheme that noble had concocted. “I was told you have a dagger.”
Nitty’s eyes widened. “Hon Mikailsin has it now.”
“Can you get it?”
Her face paled. “Why?”
Hyaji hesitated. He’d have thought she’d be eager for what he was about to say, fully ready to dispense justice to the Ornic, held against her will. Instead, she looked like a child about to be punished for doing something naughty. And so, when he spoke, his words weren’t as commanding as he’d expected them to be. “Lord Teranasin wished...he wanted...”
She shifted away from her daughter, and put one hand on Tira’s shoulder. Tira was watching him as well, terror in her eyes. Zhiv’s nephews moved closer to her, as if they were older brothers getting ready to protect her.
Hyaji took a deep breath. “Nothing.”
“You don’t say his name and then say it was nothing.” Her eyes widened even more, if that were possible and she began to tremble. “Rysil, Syril, take Tira to your uncle. Tell him I’d like to speak to him. It’s important.”
They did so, glancing back continually at Hyaji as they left. Once they were gone, in a motion so swift it shocked Hyaji, Nitty reached into one of the bags that had been for her personal effects and drew out the dagger and then gave him a shove that knocked him flat on his back. He found the blade hissing against his skin. “You know what this does?” she whispered. “Vyomsi, that scheming rat-bastard, told me exactly what it does. It poisons you. Depends on the spell, of course. He gave me a harmless one. I leave this dagger behind, and that’s it for me. That’s why it’s in my bag. Hon Mikailsin, the other bastard, took precious time that Vyomsi hoped he’d spend, trying to save me from the spell. But I still feel it, curling in my back like a serpent. If my sister hadn’t been glad to see you, if Hon Mikailsin hadn’t forgiven you for your attack and didn’t seem to have something in mind for you, I’d have already slit your throat with this blade and watched you twist and scream, no matter how many Dogs it brought. And if I find even a hint that you’re going to try to betray us, you’ll find yourself unable to speak before you can blink. I was the wife of a spell merchant, Disciple, and my sister’s not the only one fascinated by magic. I’m just less theoretical. Think on that.”
Nitty gave him one last, hard shove against the stone floor, then walked away and put the dagger back in her bag. “Anything else you’d like to say?”
“N—no.”
He hadn’t expected this. None of this, in fact, had been what he’d expected.
***
Everything had become a blur of motion. “Are you sure we have time?” Daegan said. Krysilla tried to focus on the words, even as the makeshift harness lifted her up the short distance to the cave. From far off, a howl filled the air.
“Yes. Not much, though.”
“What about the entrance?”
“Collapse the roof.”
“What?” Krysilla said, looking up. “No.”
“There’s other ways out, goodwife. I won’t trap us anywhere.”
Another tug and Zhiv held out one hand for her as he and Daegan pulled her up the rest of the way. Zhiv helped her to her feet while Daegan coiled the rope.
“Uncle Zhiv!” Syril, the younger of his nephews called out from one of the caverns. Soon, all three of the children were in the room.
Tira was shaking.
“Goodwife, get them to the back, please.”
“But Uncle—”
“No time.” And he pointed toward the way they had come.
“You can tell me on the way,” Krysilla said, herding them toward the caverns. She glanced back as they left. She could hear Zhiv say, “We wait until the Dogs are close before bringing this down.” And Daegan replied, “We need to at least dismantle the platform.”
“Come on,” Rysil said. “Hyaji might do something.”
Tira tugged on Krysilla’s skirt, capturing her attention. With a look that worked better than any plea, Krysilla melted at the sight of her upraised arms. “I can’t pick you up, sweetie. I’m too tired.” To Rysil, she said, “Hyaji isn’t all that he seems.”
“No, he’s not. He mentioned a noble and—”
Krysilla stopped. “Which one?” Should she go back for Zhiv or continue on and leave him to focus on the Dogs?
“Teranas? Terannous?”
“Come on!” Syril said, and grabbed her arm, giving it a sharp tug.
No, she decided, allowing herself to be led further back by the children. He’ll have his hands full with the Dogs. Hyaji is a friend. I can handle this.
Though the thought of Hyaji having anything to do with a noble’s plans made her wonder if she truly knew him.
She stumbled more often than she liked, and yet they managed to make it to a somewhat large cavern where Nitty quietly sat, doing nothing, while Hyaji watched her with a pale face and fearful eyes.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
“Where’s Hon Mikailsin?” Nitty replied.
Unsure how much she should say around the children, she said, “There’s been a little trouble.”
“I’m going up front,” Nitty announced, standing. “Daegan might need the help.”
“This isn’t ordinary trouble.” Krysilla raised an eyebrow.
Nitty turned paler than Hyaji, her lips thinned. “Then they’ll need more help than they may realize.”
“Have you—”
“Yes.” And without waiting for another question on her ability to help, Nitty gave Tira a quick kiss on the head, and a warning to listen to her aunt, before running down the cavern.
“Ma’s good at casting,” Tira whispered.
Not as good as some, though. Lord Teranasin’s blade had trapped her as surely as anyone else. And that brought her back to Hyaji. Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’ve heard you mentioned the name of a noble.”
He ran the fingers of one hand through his short brown locks. If she gauged his reaction correctly, he was deeply confused. “Your sister,” he finally said, “actually defended...Hon Mikailsin.”
“Of course she would,” Rysil said. “Our uncle’s been taking care of all of us.”
Confusion gave way to pity. “But to what end?”
“He’s our uncle,” Syril said, as if that explained everything.
“Not hers,” Hyaji pointed to Tira.
“Rysil,” Krysilla said, “please take your brother and Tira further back. Hyaji and I need to speak.”
Reluctantly, Rysil and the others left. “They always tell us to leave when things get good,” Syril complained, and she nearly laughed when she heard Tira agree with him. Once they were gone, she sighed. “There isn’t much time. Zhiv thinks there are Dogs coming.”
“How? I thought no one could sense a Dog coming if they didn’t want to be seen.”
“He can.” She didn’t think on the possible reasons why. Not now.
“You have proof?”
She hesitated. There was no proof of any of that. Hyaji’s smirk at her delay annoyed her as much as her lack of evidence. “Hon Jixsin believes him,” she said.
“His partner.”
“Hyaji,” she tried again, “there’s more at stake here than I think you realize.”
“What? The very throne of the kingdom in jeopardy?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not surprised.”
Where did this cynicism come from? She remembered their conversation in the clock tower and knew that she had only seen a portion of who he was. And this cynic, this man who believed nothing, was closer to who Hya
ji truly was than the Disciple she had spoken with at the beginning.
If he wasn’t going to believe her, why not tell him everything? “Zhiv wants you to help him.”
“Take down whoever managed to become King?”
“No. He wants your help with something that might allow us more time.”
“He won’t have it.”
“I know. I also know that my sister doesn’t threaten anyone without good reason, and I can only imagine she would do so if you mentioned Lord Teranasin’s name. So, why did you mention his name, Hyaji?”
Hyaji shrugged. “He wanted me to remind your sister of her duty. And of the blade Zhiv took with him.”
Horror nearly made Krysilla’s heart stop. “And do what with it?”
Hyaji’s words were surprisingly soft. “What do you think? I don’t know what lies he told you, but—”
A shudder ran through the cavern. They’d closed the entrance.
Hyaji crouched and rifled through his bag. “Well, Krysilla, either the Dogs are here, or the Ornic—”
“Zhiv.”
“I don’t care about his name!” His fury nearly made Krysilla step back. Nearly. “All I care about is that someone with a good heart is about to die, one way or another.” Yanking out a dagger Krysilla instantly recognized, he held it out, hilt first. “I don’t want you touching that poisoned blade and you need something to defend yourself if you can’t cast.”
And then she knew how the Dogs had found them. Taking it from him, she said, “The Dogs can track magical items, Hyaji. Did you know this? They followed you here. Lord Teranasin sent you, didn’t he? And then he sent the Dogs.”
Just then, Zhiv, Daegan, and Nitty ran through the cavern, Nitty pausing only long enough to grab the bag that contained what little she had left. “This way!” Zhiv shouted.
Krysilla began to run. Hyaji, she realized, wasn’t following. “Come along,” she called out.
“If you stay, I can give the nobles an explanation.”
“Silla!” she heard her sister call. But the hand gripping her arm was Zhiv’s.
“Leave him,” Zhiv said, his eyes hard as flint when he looked at Hyaji. “We have to get out before the Dogs break through or find another way in.”
“She’s not going with you.”