The Study Series Bundle

by Maria V. Snyder

  You were deceived by a cunning sorcerer. No one will hold that against you. Where are you?

  He will punish me.

  She tried to pull away. I showed her Dax’s concern for her. His hunt through the Keep. Don’t let your captor win, I pleaded.

  Gelsi showed me a bare room. She was naked and tied to metal spikes that had been driven into the wooden floor. Strange symbols had been painted on the floor and walls. Pain throbbed from between her legs and the multiple cuts along her arms and legs burned. He hadn’t needed to drug her with Curare.

  I loved him, she said. I gave myself to him.

  Instead of the wonderful loving experience she had expected, Ferde tied her down, beat her and raped her. Then he bled her, collecting the blood in an earthen bowl.

  Show me where you are, I instructed.

  Beyond the room was the living area and outside I could see a courtyard with a white jade sculpture of fifteen horses.

  Have faith, I said. We’ll be there.

  He’ll know. He has surrounded the neighborhood with a magical shield, he knows when someone passes through and if he feels threatened, he’ll complete the ritual.

  Doesn’t he need to wait until the full moon tonight?

  No.

  The note left by Alea had originally set the exchange for the full moon so everyone had not only assumed Ferde sent the note, but that the phase of the moon was critical for the ritual.

  He had to move many times, Gelsi said. I had thought it exciting. I didn’t know he was the one the Masters were searching for. He led me to believe he was on a secret mission for the Master Magicians.

  We’ll find a way, I promised.

  Hurry.

  I withdrew my awareness and sat back. Dax stared at me in horror, he had been able to see and hear our conversation.

  “She will need you when this is over,” I told him.

  “We need to tell the Masters—”

  “No.” My mind raced through options.

  “But he’s strong. You heard Gelsi. He has a shield,” Dax said.

  “All the more reason to go alone. They have been searching for him and he knows them. I think I can get through undetected.”

  “How?”

  “There’s no time to explain. But Gelsi will need you close by. Can you meet me in the market in an hour?”

  “Of course.”

  I jumped up and started gathering supplies.

  Dax hesitated at the door. “Yelena?”

  I looked at him.

  “What happens if you don’t stop him?” Fear shone in his green eyes.

  “Then we find Valek. Otherwise, Sitia will be Ferde’s.”

  Dax swallowed his fright and nodded before leaving. I packed my equipment and changed my clothes. Dressed in a plain brown tunic and pants I would blend in with the regular citizens of the Citadel. Covering my disguise with my cloak, I stopped at my parent’s suite on the way out.

  Leif sat with them in the living room. I ignored him. “Father, do you have those extra pills?” I asked, hoping he knew I wanted the Theobroma.

  He nodded in understanding and went to retrieve them. While I waited, Mother remembered her little invention she had told me about. She handed me a strange device made of tubes and rubber and explained how to work it.

  “Just in case,” she said.

  “This is great,” I said. “You were right about it being useful.”

  She beamed. “That’s what every mother wants to hear.”

  Leif had said nothing, but I could feel his penetrating stare as if he tasted my intentions.

  Esau handed me the pills. “Are you coming to lunch with us?”

  “No. I have something I need to do. I’ll catch up with you later,” I said, giving my father a hug and my mother a kiss on her cheek.

  A queasy feeling rolled in my stomach. Perhaps I should tell the Master Magicians about Ferde and Gelsi? After all, it had been only pure chance that saved me from Alea. I was still discovering what I could do with my magic. And now that I had been expelled, would I be able to fully explore my potential?

  My mother stopped me just past the door.

  “Here,” she said, handing me my fire amulet. “I think you need this. Remember what you endured to win it.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but she shook her head, “I want it back.” She squeezed me in a tight hug for a moment.

  Examining the scarlet prize in the sunlight, I marveled at Perl’s empathy. I tucked the amulet into my pocket and set a brisk pace for the Citadel.

  After I had passed the Keep’s gate, I heard pounding footsteps behind me. I whirled, drawing my bow. Leif halted a few feet away. His machete hung from his belt, but he made no move to grab it.

  “Not now, Leif,” I said, turning, but he clasped my shoulder and spun me around to face him.

  “I know where you’re going,” he said.

  “Bully for you.” I shrugged his hand off. “Then you know time is of the essence. Go back to the Keep.” I started to walk.

  “If I do, I’ll tell the Masters what you’re doing.”

  “Truly? You’re not very good at telling.”

  “This time I won’t hesitate.”

  Seeing the stubborn set to his broad shoulders, I stopped. “What do you want?”

  “To come along.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ll need me.”

  “Considering how helpful you were in the jungle fourteen years ago, I think I’m better off on my own.” I spat the words at him.

  He cringed, but the obstinacy remained in his face. “Either include me in your plans, or I’ll follow you and ruin them.”

  I clamped down on my sudden rage. I didn’t have time for this. “Fine, but let me warn you that you’re going have to let me inside your mind in order for you to get through Ferde’s shield.”

  His face paled, but he nodded and fell into step with me as I hurried to the market. Dax waited there. I left Leif with him and hunted for Fisk. He helped a woman barter for a bolt of cloth, but he finished as soon as he recognized me.

  “Lovely Yelena, do you need help?” he asked.

  I told him what I needed.

  He smiled and said, “Sounds like fun, but—”

  “It’s going to cost me,” I finished for him.

  He raced off to gather his friends.

  Once Fisk had assembled about twenty children, I explained my plan to them. “Make sure you don’t go within a block of the courtyard until you hear the signal. Understand?” I asked. The children nodded. When I felt satisfied they knew what to do, Fisk’s friends scattered and went to get into position. Fisk led Leif and me toward the white jade statue. Dax waited in a side alley far enough away not to touch Ferde’s shield, but within sight of the second-story windows.

  I kept my mind open, seeking for the edge of Ferde’s magical barrier. About half a block away from the courtyard, Leif touched my arm, stopping me.

  “It’s just ahead,” he whispered.

  “How do you know?”

  “I feel a wall of fire. Don’t you?”

  “No.”

  “Then it’s good that I came.”

  I glared, but had no reply. Fisk watched us, waiting for our signal.

  This was not the time for a fight. I looked at Leif. “You have to open your mind to me,” I told him. “You have to trust me.”

  He nodded without hesitating. “Do it.”

  I pulled power to me, spinning it around me like a huge curtain. Reaching out, I made contact with Fisk’s mind. “Think of your parents,” I instructed, hoping this would work.

  The young boy closed his eyes and imagined his parents. I linked to their minds through Fisk then reached for Leif’s.

  Leif’s mind resembled a black labyrinth of pain. Guilt, shame and anger twisted together. I understood why Moon Man wanted to help him, but I felt a mean satisfaction at Leif’s remorse.

  Pushing his dark thoughts aside, I replaced them with Fisk’s father’s co
ncerns about finding work and supporting his family. I pulled in Fisk’s mother’s thoughts about her sister’s ailing health into my own mind. Holding their personalities and thoughts in Leif’s and my mind, I gave Fisk the signal.

  He barked like a dog. Soon other barks echoed on the marble walls in reply. Fisk’s friends would begin the distraction, playing tag and running in and out of the courtyard and Ferde’s magical shield as many times as they could.

  I took Fisk and Leif’s hands and the three of us continued on to the courtyard. As we crossed the barrier, I felt the probing heat of an annoyed and powerful magician. He scanned our thoughts, determined we were one of the local beggar families and dismissed us.

  When we reached the statue, I released Fisk’s parents. They would have an unusual story to tell their friends about how they had felt as if they were in two places at once.

  “That’s half the battle,” I said to Leif.

  He wouldn’t meet my eyes. His face was flushed with shame. Irritated, I snapped, “Now is not the time for this.”

  He nodded, but still wouldn’t meet my gaze. Fisk ran off to join his friends in the game, giving us a few more minutes to get into the house.

  We approached the house from a side street. The door was locked. I pulled my diamond pick and my tension wrench from my backpack and began working on the lock. Once I had aligned the pins, the lock’s tumbler turned and the door swung inward. I heard a surprised huff from Leif. Then we stepped inside the foyer and closed the door. I shoved my picks into my pocket.

  Walking without sound, we entered a living area. The normal furniture and decorations seemed out of place. I guess I had expected something wild and weird; something that reflected a killer’s mind.

  Leif held his machete and I gripped my bow, but I knew they would not protect us. Magic filled the house. It pressed against my skin and I started to sweat. The sounds of the children faded and we heard the light tread of feet from the floor above us.

  Connecting with Gelsi’s mind, I saw Ferde approach her. He held a brown stone bowl and a long dagger. He wore his red mask and nothing else. She had been fascinated with the tattoos and symbols on his sculpted physique, but now she eyed them with revulsion.

  I’m downstairs, I told her. What’s he going to do?

  He wants more blood. Wait or else he will kill me if he hears you.

  I had to physically hold on to Leif when Gelsi started moaning with pain. Handing him one of Esau’s Theobroma pills, I motioned that he should put it into his mouth. I placed my pack on the floor and quietly removed Perl’s device from my backpack.

  With my bow in one hand and the device in the other, I waited at the bottom of the staircase with Leif. Finally, we heard Ferde moving again.

  He’s gone, Gelsi said with relief.

  My stomach tightened with apprehension. I pulled power to me to strengthen my mental defenses. A mistake. Ferde felt the draw and I could sense his growing alarm.

  “Now,” I whispered to Leif. We rushed up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

  Ferde waited for us on the landing. We skittered to a stop on the top step. An amused smile quirked Ferde’s lips before he pressed them together with concentration. Revulsion and terror welled up my throat at the sight of him, and I thought I would vomit as Tula’s horrible memories filled my mind.

  The wave of his magic crashed against us. I grabbed the railing to keep from plummeting down the stairs. Leif jerked beside me but remained upright. Was that it? I glanced at Ferde. His eyes were closed. Moving toward him, I raised Perl’s device.

  “Yelena, stop,” Leif said. His voice sounded odd.

  I looked at Leif in time to see him swing his machete. Jumping back, I dropped Perl’s device and blocked Leif’s weapon with my bow.

  “What are you—” I tried to ask, but with the pill between my teeth made it hard to talk.

  Leif spat his pill out and moved to strike again. “When those men took my perfect baby sister, I thought I would reclaim my parents’ undivided attention.” Leif’s machete sliced toward my neck.

  I ducked. Had his shame and guilt all been an act? Was he working with Ferde this whole time? Pushing aside my stunned disbelief, I jabbed him in the stomach with the end of my bow. He hunched over and grunted. Magic pressed on my skin and Leif straightened with renewed vigor. But who’s magic?

  “Instead, I had to compete with a perfect ghost,” Leif said and attacked.

  Chunks of wood flew through the air as I blocked his wide blade. It was only a matter of time before he would destroy my bow and I was running out of room in the narrow landing. There was a hallway to my left, and an open doorway on my right.

  “Mother refused to leave our house, and Father was never home. All because of you.” Leif puffed with effort. “And you stayed away just to spite me. Didn’t you? You’re my strangler fig, and now it’s time to chop you down.”

  Ferde had disappeared. I felt Gelsi’s brief cry of alarm as Ferde entered her room. He planned to finish the ritual while Leif kept me occupied. And it was working.

  With a loud crack, my bow splintered in two. Leif advanced and I formed a magical shield, but he walked right through. As a last-ditch effort I sent out my mental awareness, entering his dark mind.

  Hate and self-loathing filled his thoughts. I felt another presence in Leif’s head. Ferde had Story Weaver abilities and he had brought out all of Leif’s raw emotions and used them against me.

  As Leif sliced his machete toward me, I stepped to the left, bringing my awareness back. I couldn’t defend myself physically while mentally gone; I just wasn’t that strong. Leif pulled his weapon back and thrust at me again. I had nothing left to defend myself. Perl’s device was out of reach.

  Gelsi’s pleas for help burned through my thoughts like a hot poker, energizing me. I projected myself into Leif’s mind, taking control of his body like I had done with Goel. Halting the tip of his machete a mere inch from my stomach, I made Leif step back.

  Pushing through the darkness of Leif’s mind, I found the young boy who had watched his sister being kidnapped; untainted with the feelings of guilt and hate. At that moment he held only curiosity and disbelief. Two emotions that Ferde wouldn’t be able to use against me. I sent Leif into a deep dreamless sleep. He crumpled to the floor as I went back to my body. Stopping Ferde was paramount; I would deal with Leif later. I hoped.

  Picking up Perl’s device, I sprinted down the hall, searching for Gelsi. Only the last door on the left had been closed. Locked. I yanked my picks out and unlocked the door. My fastest time yet. Janco would be proud.

  The door swung inward and I stumbled into the room. Ferde had his hands around Gelsi’s throat. I watched in horror as all animation left her face. Her eyes turned sightless and flat.

  Ferde shouted and thrust his fists toward the ceiling in celebration.

  33

  TOO LATE. WITH MY HEART sinking, I watched Ferde rejoice. But then I saw a strange shadow rise from Gelsi’s body. Before logic could overrule, I dove. Knocking Ferde aside, I inhaled this shadow, gathering Gelsi’s soul inside me. It felt as if the world paused for a moment so I could tuck her into a safe corner of my mind. Then, snap. Movement resumed and I fell on top of Ferde. Perl’s device flew from my hand. It landed next to the wall.

  After a brief struggle, Ferde pinned me to the floor, sitting on my stomach. “That’s my soul,” he said. “Give it back.”

  “It doesn’t belong to you.”

  Yelena? I felt Gelsi’s confusion in my mind.

  Hold on, I told her.

  Ferde reached toward my neck. I grabbed his hands, and using his forward momentum I pushed him further off balance with my left knee. I planted my left foot on the floor and twisted my hips, rolling him off me. I jumped up and assumed a fighting stance.

  Ferde smiled and regained his feet with a panther-quick grace. “We are well matched. But I think I have the advantage.”

  I braced for an attack, but he didn’t move. His red tat
toos began to glow until they burned my eyes. He caught my gaze with his own, staring at me with his dark brown eyes.

  Ferde’s face transformed into Reyad’s. My world spun and I found myself back in Reyad’s bedroom in Ixia, tied to the bed and watching Reyad dig through his chest of torture devices. After an initial moment of panic and fear that I would be forced to relive Reyad’s torture, the scene jumped ahead to Reyad’s stunned expression as hot blood gushed from his throat, soaking me.

  You are a killer, too, Ferde said in my mind. Images of the other men I had killed flashed by. You have the power to collect souls without the need for symbols and blood. Why do you think Reyad still haunts you? You have taken his soul, your first of many more. I see the future and yours doesn’t improve.

  The images spun dizzyingly and Irys’s cold eyes stared at me as I watched Valek swing from a noose. Leif’s hatred pounded in my mind along with Cahil’s desire to have me executed. The Commander smiling in satisfaction at my trial for committing espionage, because he had gotten what he wanted from me and now I would no longer be a problem for Ixia.

  Look at what the Master Magicians did to that Soulfinder long ago, Ferde said.

  A man who had been chained to a post was set on fire. His screams of pain vibrated in my mind. Ferde held that image until the man’s skin had burned away. I struggled to regain control over my mind, but Ferde’s magic equaled a Master and I couldn’t push him away.

  The Soulfinder only wanted to help, bringing the dead back to life for their family and friends. It wasn’t his fault they were different when they awoke, Ferde said in my mind. Panic and fear of the unknown condemned him just like the Council will condemn you, too. All that I have shown you will be your fate. I see it in your story threads. Moon Man isn’t your true Story Weaver, I am.

  His logic was persuasive. He understood my desire to find my place. It was next to him. Soulfinder and Soulstealer.

  Yes. I’ll change your story and the Council won’t burn you alive. Just give me Gelsi’s soul.

  A small corner of my mind resisted, yelling for action. Stealing souls is wrong, I said. I shouldn’t.