by Brandon Fox
“Feel our bond! I’m with you.”
Though nearly blind, Thane caught a glimpse of his friend’s urgent expression. Searing pain in his lungs made it almost impossible to think. As his vision faded, he sensed a cool white spark among the torrent of red. Nicolai?
Desperately he stretched his mind toward the white spark. It grew into a slowly pulsing globe as he neared, its light conveying the northerner’s familiar feel. With the last of his strength, he touched the white star’s fringe.
Nicolai seized the contact. Thane felt as if he had been jerked at the end of a noose. He teetered on a magical precipice, a heartbeat away from succumbing to the attack. Then strength poured through the bond. With fierce determination, Nicolai threw all his energy into the battle with the forces released by the cantrip.
Thane’s faltering consciousness dimly perceived the struggle. Nicolai’s steadfastness focused his mind on something more important than his pain. He won’t relent. If I die, he’ll die with me. He forced himself to draw on the strength Nicolai offered. The red motes were like fire ants, each one a point of intense agony. But their strength lay in numbers, not individual power. One by one he began to snuff them out. The sparks attacked in a frenzy, but he concentrated on Nicolai’s anima and used it as if washing tormenting insects off his body under a waterfall. Their bond ached with the flow of power. Finally he extinguished the last mote and opened his eyes.
Nicolai bent over him anxiously. “They’re gone. I felt you destroy them. Are you all right?”
Thane took a deep breath, then nodded slowly. “Thanks to you. I wouldn’t have survived without your help.”
“None of us could survive without each other. Especially without you. I can feel it in our bond, as sure as my heartbeat.”
Thane took a few breaths, and then his eyes went wide and he pushed himself upright. “Something’s wrong. I can’t feel our bond.”
“What? It’s there. Strong as ever.”
“I can’t feel it!” Thane’s surprise turned to horror. “What… what if the cantrip injured me?”
“You just need rest. We strained our bond too hard.”
“I hope you’re right.” Thane savagely suppressed his clamoring fears. Not being able to use the art, or to feel the touch of Ander’s spirit, would be a kind of death. But he couldn’t afford to think about it now. He pushed himself off the floor and retrieved the candle.
“We might as well see what they were hiding. We’ve paid the price.” He crouched beside the desk and held the candle so its light penetrated to the back of the drawer cavity. The secret compartment lay open. A metal box the size of a deck of cards gleamed silver in the flickering light.
He handed the candle to Nicolai, then held his breath and reached inside the opening. His senses strained for any tremors that might signal another trap. Cool metal met his fingertips. Nothing lashed out at him. Letting his breath out, he removed the box from its hiding place and placed it on the desktop.
“It’s heavy. Much heavier than you’d guess from the size. It must be nearly solid silver.” Arcane symbols were etched in a band around its sides. The lid was hinged on one edge, and the opposite side was secured with a catch. Someone had taken pains to ensure the box couldn’t open accidentally.
“How many crystals do you think it holds?” Nicolai said.
Thane tapped the cool metal, reluctant to take any more chances. “I think we’d better not open it. If there’s another sorcerer in Pella, we don’t want to attract his attention.” He shook his head. “I’ve been caught once tonight. That’s enough.”
“You don’t have to convince me.” Nicolai cuffed his shoulder. “Maybe you’re as smart as Sorel thinks after all. I was beginning to wonder.”
“Sorel was just being charitable. Let’s leave now, before anything else goes wrong.”
“What about Doganay?” Nicolai prodded the sorcerer with his toe. The leathery body was already stiffening.
“Trying to hide it would be more dangerous than leaving it here. If we leave the door locked and the key on his belt, the commander might think he died from natural causes.”
“Or from a spell gone bad. I doubt they’d admit it, but they’ll probably be glad to see him dead. Nobody likes the zamindar’s sorcerers. Not even the zamindar’s troops.”
Thane nodded. “Their doubts should buy us some time, at least. We’ll figure out a way to get the crystals out of the house tomorrow.” He slipped the box into a shirt pocket.
Working quickly, they closed the secret compartment, picked up the debris Thane had dumped on the floor, and replaced the drawers. They left the burning candle on the desk as they had found it. After Thane left the room, Nicolai locked the door and hung the key on the dead sorcerer’s belt before leaving through the window. A few minutes later, he climbed back in through the bathroom window.
They retreated to the attic, locking the door as the first hints of dawn glimmered in the spaces between slatted window vents. Exhaustion claimed them. They barely managed to get their boots off before collapsing on the mattress. Thane fell asleep quickly but found no relief. Visions of losing the art, of losing Ander, haunted his dreams.
THE attic door crashed open. Thane and Nicolai jerked upright, instinctively reaching for weapons that had been left at Lady Tay’s house when they’d embarked on the mission. But Ivan was alone and made no threatening moves. He merely stood at the door and shook his head in disgust. “Still asleep an hour after dawn. Worthless whores, both of you.”
They scrambled to their feet, blinking and disoriented.
Ivan grabbed Nicolai’s shoulder and shook it as if he’d rather be strangling him. “No breakfast for you sluggards. I’ve no time to waste on you today. Get to work.”
Nicolai pried Ivan’s hand off. “Another night without love, Ivan? Don’t blame us for your sour mood, or for getting a late start. We’d be ready at dawn like everybody else if you didn’t lock us up like your personal harem.”
Ivan ground his teeth and for a moment looked as if he would strike Nicolai. But the thought of brawling with a companion apparently repulsed him. He stepped back and glared. “You’re not worth it, boy. Get to work. I don’t want to see your faces until lunch.” He turned and marched down the stairs.
Thane made sure the silver box in his pocket was concealed, then followed.
IT WAS a long and harrowing morning. Thane mortared stone after stone, slowly building up the wall around the potting shed. His stomach growled, but he barely noticed. Noises from inside the house were too alarming. Ivan was shouting at the kitchen staff, and the maiden who had pursued him the day before was nowhere to be seen. Even worse, the guard around the house had been doubled.
Does Commander Stecher know about the crystals? Are they investigating a death or a theft? In the bright light of day, it seemed likely the commander knew Doganay’s orders and had been assisting him. And Ivan’s insistence on keeping them out of the house suggested something was going on they didn’t want strangers to know about.
They’re searching the house; I’d wager my horse on it. What’ll they do when they don’t find the crystals? None of the possibilities that came to mind were reassuring.
Anxiety and hunger mingled in a sickening stew. Adding to the bitter flavor was an incessant fear that the cantrip had injured him permanently. Try as he might, he couldn’t feel any hint of his bond with Nicolai. He glanced over his shoulder and saw his friend on a ladder whitewashing the house, but it felt almost like watching a stranger. The missing tug of affection through their link left an aching void. He turned back to his work, heartsick.
A flurry of curses from the kitchen made him jump. Crockery crashed to the floor and shattered. It sounded like they were tearing the place apart.
He troweled another layer of mortar onto the wall, then picked up a piece of fieldstone and dropped it into position without looking. The stone fell into the cavity between the two courses of rock that formed the wall. Thane peered into the dark cavity,
already three feet deep. Not worth pulling it out. I don’t care if I waste the commander’s damned rocks.
“Where were you last night?” Ivan shouted.
Thane whirled around, his heart pounding, but nobody was in sight. A mumbled reply, followed by a wail, drifted out a kitchen window.
They’re interrogating the servants. They must know the crystals are missing. Despite the protection Ivan had inadvertently given them by locking them in the attic, the steward’s frenzy worried him. He picked up another rock, his head pounding. What if they search us? The longer he thought about it, the more likely the possibility seemed. Confidence won by success the night before faded.
Thinking of the fate that would await them in the zamindar’s hands, of the secrets they might be forced to reveal, led to an unavoidable conclusion. The crystals’ value lay mostly in depriving the zamindar of their power. Keeping possession of the crystals at the risk of their lives and the lives of their friends at the lyceum wasn’t a wise decision.
Before he could talk himself out of it, Thane turned his back on the house and slipped the silver box out of his pocket. The sun reflected on its burnished cover, seeming to suggest the power within. Much as he wanted to turn the crystals against their former owner, the safety of his comrades was more important. He put the box deep inside the wall’s cavity.
Working quickly now, he placed several small stones on top of the box and returned to his masonry. Spurred by the sounds of turmoil within the house, he added another foot to the wall by the time the sun reached its apex.
Nicolai came up behind him as he knelt beside his bucket, mixing another batch of mortar. He surveyed the wall in amazement. “I scarcely believe it. I thought you’d be hungry enough to eat the rocks. Instead you’re having as much fun as a priest of Yataghan skinning a heretic. Maybe you should skip breakfast more often.”
Thane looked up. “I’ve hidden the box in the wall,” he whispered. “Down here, beneath some rubble.” He tapped the section of wall where the silver box was concealed. “We need to get out of here. I’m not feeling well.”
Nicolai crouched by his side. “What’s wrong? Are the crystals affecting you?”
“I don’t think so. I think the cantrip might have done more than damage our bond.” He couldn’t keep the dismay out of his voice.
Nicolai shook his head in bewilderment. “I keep telling you, the link’s still there. I’ve felt it all morning.”
“Well, whatever it is, I’ve got a problem. We need to get out of here so I can try to fix it.”
“Won’t it look suspicious if we leave now?”
Thane tapped the edge of his bucket with his trowel. A minute passed before he blinked and looked back at Nicolai.
“Maybe there’s a way. If Ivan responds as I think he will. Just follow my lead.”
Nicolai nodded. “You can’t be too sick. You’re still sly as a snow leopard.”
“You should save your compliments until you see if you get out of here with your skin intact.”
Leaving his trowel in the bucket, Thane stood up and led the way across the yard. The commotion in the kitchen had died down, but as they neared the door, they could hear the rhythmic creak of floorboards as a heavy man strode back and forth.
They entered the kitchen and encountered a household in shambles. Three women huddled in a corner, one of them crying. Every cabinet door was open, and everything the cabinets had contained was strewn across the floor. Ivan strode on a narrow path, broken pottery crunching beneath his boots.
Thane ignored the mess and stood by the door with his arms crossed. “Where’s lunch?” he demanded. “You said we’d eat at noon, and I’m hungry.”
Ivan whirled and glared at him. “Get out! I don’t have time for the likes of you.”
“I’m hungry,” Thane insisted. “You can’t treat us like this. We’re doing honest labor; we’re not slaves. And when do we get paid?”
Ivan clenched his fists and drew himself up to full height. Even twenty years past his prime, he was an imposing hulk. A low growl rumbled from his throat, but Thane didn’t retreat. Instead he took another step into the kitchen and gestured at the disarray with a sweep of his hand.
“This is no way to run a household, Ivan. How’s the staff supposed to get lunch ready in a mess like this?”
“You’ll get fed when I’m ready to feed you!”
The women in the corner looked up timidly, but the oldest one’s lips quirked in a smile as Ivan lost his temper.
“I don’t think the commander would like it, if he knew how you’re treating us,” Thane replied. “Locking us up at night, trying to starve us. I plan to mention this to our usual employer. She won’t be amused, either.”
Ivan’s face went from flushed to beet red. His body quivered, but he restrained himself with a visible effort and stalked over to Thane. “Outside. Now. Both of you.”
Thane gave him a nonchalant glance, then sniffed. “Come on, Nicolai. They obviously don’t have lunch ready yet. We might as well wait outside.”
They left the kitchen with Ivan close behind. Once they were in the yard, Ivan grabbed Thane by the front of his shirt. “You preening whore! I’ve half a mind to drop you down the well.”
Thane pried Ivan’s fingers loose. “I don’t give a damn about your problems managing the kitchen staff. But I’ve taken all the abuse I’m going to take. I’m going to speak to the commander.”
“You can’t see him,” Ivan said through clenched teeth. “He’s very busy today.”
“I’ll speak to his wife, then,” Thane replied smoothly.
Ivan blanched, and his mouth moved silently. There was murder in his eyes. But apparently he had enough troubles without the questions a brawl would raise. He took a deep breath. “You’re dismissed from service in this house. Both of you, for insubordination.”
“That’s fine with me,” Nicolai declared. “I’m sick of whitewash. Pay us and we’ll leave gladly.”
“All you deserve is a whipping! You’ll leave now, or I’ll give it to you myself.”
Nicolai was warming to the argument and looked ready to continue it, but Thane put a hand on his arm. “Never mind, Nicolai. I’m too hungry to waste time arguing.” He gave Ivan an impudent stare. “I’m sure Lady Tay will speak with the commander and make it right for us.”
Ivan’s breath rasped as he reached into a pocket and removed a large iron key. He stalked across the yard and unlocked the gate in the compound’s outer wall. Thane and Nicolai followed, not looking at Ivan as they marched through the stone arch and out to the street. The gate crashed shut behind them.
They walked around the corner before slumping together against a tavern wall. Thane wiped sweat from his brow.
“You did it!” Nicolai said. “He was so eager to get rid of us he didn’t even stop to question us about last night.”
“He locked us up himself. I was gambling he hadn’t thought about us picking the lock. He doesn’t like companions and probably underestimates them. Keeping him angry muddled his thinking.”
“Well, it worked. We learned what the zamindar is doing and set back his schedule. A successful mission, I’d say.”
Thane pushed himself away from the wall, his head shaking. “You’re forgetting my problem with bonding. If I don’t get it back, we have a big problem. What am I going to tell Ander?” Nothing could dispel the dread that shrouded his heart.
Chapter 8
ANDER had just swallowed a bite of shepherd’s pie when a throb of pleasure rippled through his body. He’s back!
He pushed his chair away from the kitchen’s trestle table and raced into the main room, leaving Lady Tay’s companions looking at each other in bewilderment. The cavernous room’s front door swung open as he approached. Thane stepped through, followed by Nicolai.
Ander sprinted across the room and tackled Thane, wrapping him in a strong hug. Nicolai steadied them as the mage stumbled backward under the onslaught.
Thane returned th
e embrace and brought their lips together. They basked in their breathless reunion, oblivious to the amused observers.
A soft laugh interrupted their rapture. Ander opened his eyes and saw Lady Tayanita, her green traveling cape draped over her arm. “I’d be a rich woman if I could get you to greet all our guests like that.”
Ander blushed but couldn’t restrain his joy at Thane’s safe return. “You’re rich enough already. Besides, you’ve never had guests as fair as Thane.”
“Except perhaps for Nicolai and Sorel,” she replied diplomatically. “But come to think of it, you gave them a warm greeting too.”
Ander’s blush deepened to scarlet, but Thane only laughed. “Better not joust with her, Ander. You’ve met your match.” He turned to Lady Tayanita. “Want to hear what happened?”
“Certainly,” she replied. “But not right now. One of my best customers is expecting me.”
“I’ll talk with you tonight.”
“More likely tomorrow. Theo likes a leisurely pace, and he’s wealthy enough to afford it. We usually spend more time playing cards than in bed.”
“I hope you win,” Thane said. “We’ll be sure to stay until tomorrow. There are matters we need to discuss.”
Lady Tayanita put on the cloak, then shook her head and sighed. “So serious. But then, I guess you need to be.” She touched Thane on the shoulder. “Good luck, yourself.” She turned and swept out the door.
“Let’s use her parlor,” Ander said, gesturing toward the nearby door. “We need to talk now.”
The three of them went into the dimly lit room. Ander shut the door and turned to Thane. “What’s wrong? I feel your fear.”
Thane’s face went white. He glanced at Nicolai, then looked down to his feet. “Um, I… it might be too early to say. It might be nothing.”
The anxiety surging through their bond belied Thane’s attempt at reassurance. Fear squeezed Ander’s heart. “Nothing? Then why are you so worried?”
Thane didn’t answer, and Nicolai shuffled nervously. Ander looked at him, pleading with his eyes. Nicolai shrugged and looked away, a pained expression on his face.