“You took me by surprise. I didn’t want to hurt you,” I shot back.
Leif looked dubious.
“How about a rematch?”
“Anytime.”
Valek stepped between us. “I’m beginning to wish that you were an orphan, love. Can you both manage to focus on the task at hand without trying to catch up on fourteen years of sibling rivalry?”
“Yes,” we said in unison, properly chastised.
“Good. Then let’s go.”
“Where?” I asked.
“In keeping with his cryptic nature, all your Story Weaver said was, ‘The horses know where to go.’” Valek shrugged. “It’s certainly not a military strategy I would use, but I’ve learned that the south uses its own strategy. And, strangely enough, it works.”
The horses did know where to go, and, as the sun rose over the plains, we encountered a group of Sandseed soldiers on a rocky outcropping surrounded by tall grass. A dozen men and six women dressed in leather armor and equipped with either scimitars or spears waited. They had painted red streaks on their faces and arms, creating an impressively fierce countenance.
There were no other horses. Valek and I jumped off Kiki and Leif dismounted Rusalka to join us. The two horses began to graze. I shivered in the cold morning air, feeling naked without my bow, wishing I had another weapon besides my switchblade.
Moon Man greeted us. He had dressed like his clansmen, but he was armed with his scimitar and a bow. The bow he held was no ordinary staff of ebony wood. It had been carved with symbols and animals, revealing a gold-colored wood under the black surface. And I felt that, if I could just stare at it long enough, the carvings may reveal a story. I shook my head, trying to stay focused on Moon Man’s words.
“I sent a scout last night,” Moon Man said. “He found the blood-letting apparatus in the Void just as Yelena described. Then he tracked the Daviian Vermin to a campsite about a mile east of that location. We are on the edge of the plains about two miles north of that site.”
“We’ll wait until dark and launch a surprise attack,” Valek said.
“That will not work,” Moon Man said. “The Vermin have a shield that will alert them to intruders. My scout could not get too close to their camp for fear of discovery.” Moon Man appeared to scan the horizon. “They have strong Warpers, who can hide their whereabouts from our magic.”
“Warpers?” Leif asked.
Moon Man frowned. “Magicians. I refuse to call them Story Weavers for they manipulate the threads for their own selfish desires.”
I glanced at the group of Sandseeds, noting again the array of weapons. “You don’t plan to use your magic?”
“No.”
“And you don’t plan to take prisoners?”
“That is not the Sandseed way. The Vermin must be exterminated.”
I wanted to neutralize the threat of Alea, but I didn’t want to kill her. Esau’s vial of Curare still remained in my backpack. Perhaps I could paralyze her and take her back to the Keep’s cells.
“How are you going to prevent the Daviians from using their magic?” Valek asked.
A dangerous glint flashed in Moon Man’s eyes. “We move the Void.”
“You can do that?” I asked, surprised.
“The blanket of power can be repositioned only with the utmost care. We will center the blanket’s hole directly over the Vermin’s camp and then we will attack.”
“When?” Valek asked.
“Now.” Moon Man walked over to his soldiers.
“I’d hoped to use the Sandseeds as a distraction,” Valek said to me in a low whisper. “This will work. Once Alea is dead, we leave. This isn’t our fight.”
“I think capture and incarceration would be a harsher punishment for her,” I said.
Valek studied me for a moment. “As you wish.”
Moon Man’s group shouted a war cry, then disappeared into the tall grass. He came back to us. “They will position themselves around the camp. The signal to attack will be when the Void is in place. You are to come with me.” He glanced at the three of us. “You need weapons. Here.”
He tossed his bow to me. I caught it in my right hand.
“That is yours. A gift from Suekray.”
“Who?”
“A horsewoman of our clan. You must have made an impression on her. Her gifts are as rare as the snow. Your story is etched into it.”
Mother, Kiki said with approval. And I remembered the short-haired Sandseed woman who had taken Kiki for a ride the day I had met with the elders.
I marveled at the bow. The balance and thickness felt perfect in my hand, and, despite the carvings, the black wood remained smooth and strong. By the time I pulled my eyes from the beauty of the bow, I saw that Valek clutched a scimitar and Leif wielded his machete.
“Let us go.”
I took off my cloak and made a few quick preparations before we followed Moon Man into the tall grass.
From our position near the Daviian camp, I could see some activity around their tents and campfire. The air hovering over their site seemed to shimmer and it distorted the images of the people inside as if a massive pocket of heat had been trapped over them.
The grasses of the plateau grew in small clumps and had turned brown from lack of rain. I crouched with Valek behind a small bush. Leif and Moon Man were five hundred feet to our right huddled in a slight depression. I wondered how the other Sandseeds had fared in finding hiding spots. The Daviians had chosen a wide-open area for their camp and cover was minimal.
I felt the hair raise on my arms as power pressed against my skin. Seeking out with my awareness, I felt Moon Man and three other magicians tug the blanket of power. They applied equal pressure so the blanket would not gather in one location, but would move smoothly. Their magical abilities impressed me, and I thought, if I did stay in Sitia, the Sandseeds would make powerful teachers.
The Void’s arrival felt like all the air had been sucked out of my lungs. My awareness of my surroundings reduced to the mundane senses of sight, smell and sound. Before I could adapt to my magical loss, another war cry sounded. The signal to attack the camp.
I jumped to my feet and followed Valek toward the camp. And stopped dead in my tracks when the scene in front of me registered in my mind.
The Daviians shield had been destroyed and, with it, the illusion. Instead of a few people milling about the campfire, there stood over thirty. Instead of a handful of tents, there were rows and rows of them. Granted most of the Vermin stared in shock at the loss of their magic, but we were outnumbered four to one.
Too late to retreat. We had the element of surprise and nineteen battle-thirsty Sandseeds, who cut wide bloody swaths through the Daviians. I could see Moon Man’s bald head above the fighting, and Leif’s powerful strikes kept a couple Daviians busy. Valek shot me a grim look. Find Alea, he mouthed to me before joining in the fray.
Great, I thought, edging around the outskirts of the battle. Find Alea in this mass of confusion. I ducked as a Daviian swung his scythe at me. I swept his feet from under him and hopped onto his chest before he could raise his long weapon. Ramming the end of my bow into his neck, I crushed his windpipe.
I paused for a heartbeat. He was the first person I killed since coming to Sitia. I had hoped never to take a life again, but if I wanted to survive this melee, I couldn’t afford to be compassionate.
Another Daviian attacked. My melancholy thoughts disappeared as I defended myself and searched for Alea. Dodging and fighting, I lost all track of time as the series of matches began to blur together. In the end, Alea found me.
Her long black hair had been pulled back into a knot and she wore a simple white tunic and pants that were splattered with blood. She held a bloody short sword in each hand. Alea smiled at me.
“I planned to find you,” she said. “How nice that you saved me the trouble.”
“That’s just how I am, always thinking of others.”
She crossed her swords in a m
ock salute and lunged. I stepped back, and brought my bow down on the top of her blades, deflecting them toward the ground. She took a step forward to regain her balance just as I shuffled closer to her. We touched shoulders. Our weapons pointed down.
But mine remained on top. I yanked the bow up, hitting her in the face. She yelped as blood gushed from her nose. My strike failed to stop her, and she tried to swing her swords toward my stomach. I moved next to her; too close for large weapons. We dropped them.
I triggered my switchblade as she pulled a knife from her belt. She turned and stabbed at me. I blocked her blade with my arm. Pain burned as the knife bit into my flesh, but the move allowed me to grab her hand. I pulled her toward me and sliced her forearm with my blade then released her.
Alea staggered back in confusion. I could have plunged my knife into her stomach, killing her. Her expression turned to horror as she realized what I had done.
My switchblade had been treated with Curare. All I had needed to do was prick her skin with the tip of the weapon. When she fell to the ground, I stood over her.
“It’s not fun being helpless. Is it?” I asked.
I looked around. Valek had maneuvered himself so that he stayed between me and the Daviians, keeping the others from interfering with my fight with Alea. Leif fought a short distance away, hacking with his machete. I couldn’t see the other Sandseeds, but I spotted Moon Man just as he took a man’s head off with his scimitar. Yuck.
Moon Man sprinted for us. “Time to retreat,” he called.
“Next time,” I said to Alea. “We’ll finish this.”
Then the Void moved and the magic came back for half of the campsite, creating a diversion. We were bathed in power, and I felt Moon Man encompass us in a shield of protective magic as we began our retreat. Valek, though, paused over Alea’s still form. He knelt beside her, picked up her knife, and said something to her.
Before I could call to him, he cut her throat in one smooth move. It was the same lethal strike that he had delivered to her brother, Mogkan.
When Valek caught up to me he said, “We can’t afford to play favorites.”
We raced back toward the plains. The Vermins ceased chasing us at the border of the Avibian Plains, but we kept our pace until we reached the rocky outcropping where Kiki and Rusalka waited.
“No doubt they will move their camp farther into the plateau,” Moon Man said. The effort of running had not winded him, although his skin gleamed with sweat. “I will need to bring more soldiers. To have deceived my scout and me means their Warpers are more powerful than we suspected. I must consult with the elders.”
Moon Man inclined his head in farewell and I soon lost sight of him in the grass.
“What now?” Leif asked.
I met Valek’s gaze. What now, indeed.
“You go home and so will I,” I said to Leif.
“You’re coming with me to the Keep?” Leif asked.
“I…” Back to the Keep and to the feelings of isolation? Back to being feared for my abilities? Or back to spy on Sitia so I could eventually return to Ixia? Or just being on my own, exploring Sitia and spending time with my family?
“I think you’re afraid to go back to the Keep,” Leif said.
“What?”
“It will be much easier for you to stay away, and not have to deal with being a Soulfinder, being a daughter and being a sister.”
“I’m not afraid.” I had tried to find a place in Sitia, but I kept getting pushed away. How many hints did I need? I wasn’t a glutton for punishment. What if they decided that a Soulfinder equaled evil and they burned me alive for violating their Ethical Code?
“You are afraid.” Leif challenged.
“Am not.”
“Are too.”
“Am not.”
“Then prove it.”
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.
Finally, I said, “I hate you.”
Leif smiled. “The feeling is mutual.” He paused for a moment. “Are you coming?”
“Not now. I’ll think about it.” It was a delay tactic and Leif knew it.
“If you don’t come back to the Keep, then I’ll be right. And every time you see me, I’ll be insufferably smug.”
“And how’s that different from now?”
He laughed and I could see the young carefree boy he had been in his eyes. “You’ve only had a small glimpse of how insufferable and annoying I can be. As the older brother, it’s my birthright.”
Leif mounted Rusalka and galloped away.
Valek and I walked with Kiki toward the north. Toward Ixia. He held my hand and I felt content as my thoughts mulled over the last few hours.
“Valek. What did you say to Alea?”
“I told her how her brother had died.”
I remembered how I had trapped Mogkan with magic, immobilizing him so Valek could cut his throat. Alea died the exact same way.
“We had no time to take Alea with us, love. I wasn’t going to let her have another chance to hurt you.”
“How do you always know when I need you?”
Valek’s eyes flamed with an intensity that I had rarely seen. “I know. It’s part of me like hunger or thirst. A need that must be met to survive.”
“How do you do it? I can’t connect my mind to yours with my magic. And you don’t have magic. It should be impossible.”
Valek remained quiet for a moment. “Perhaps, when I feel your distress, I relax my guard and allow you to connect with me?”
“Perhaps. Have you ever done that for anyone else?”
“No, love. You’re the only one who has caused me to do the oddest things. You have truly poisoned me.”
I laughed. “Odd, eh?”
“It’s a good thing you can’t read my mind, love.”
A sapphire-blue fire smoked in his eyes, and I noticed a tightening in his lean muscles.
“Oh, I know what you’re thinking.” I stepped into his arms, putting my hands under his waistband to where his thoughts had traveled, making my point.
“I can’t. Hide. From you,” Valek panted.
I heard Kiki snort and move away as my world filled with the feel and smell and taste of Valek.
Valek and I spent the next several days walking the plains and enjoying being together without any worries or problems hovering over our heads. We would discover small caches of food and water along our path. And while I didn’t have the feeling that someone watched us, I felt that the Sandseeds knew where we were, and the provisions were their way of extending their hospitality to a distant cousin.
Eventually, we left the plains. Skirting east of the Citadel, we headed north through the Featherstone clan’s lands. Careful to travel at night and hide during the day, it took us three days to reach the Ambassador’s retinue.
I had lost track of the days and been surprised to see their camp, but Valek had known they would be about a half-day’s walk to the Ixian border. After determining where the Sitian “spies” hid, Valek changed into his Ilom disguise, and slipped into the camp in the middle of the night. I waited and approached the next day. There was no reason for me to hide, and, if I went back to Ixia, the Sitian spies could report back to the Keep and the Council that I had left.
The Ixians had begun to pack up their equipment when I rode in on Kiki. One tent still stood, but Ari and Janco rushed over to greet me before I could reach it.
“Didn’t I tell you, Ari? She’s come to say goodbye after all. And you were pouting and miserable for days,” Janco said.
Ari just rolled his eyes, and I knew if anyone was miserable it was Janco.
“Or have you decided that you can’t bear to be parted from us and are going to disguise yourself as a soldier and come back to Ixia?” Janco’s smile was hopeful.
“Beating you in a bow fight every day is really tempting, Janco.”
He scoffed. “I know your tricks now. I won’t be so easy to beat.”
“Are you sure you want me to come? I
have a tendency to cause trouble.”
“That’s what I’m counting on,” Janco said. “Life has been so dull without you.”
Ari shook his massive head. “We don’t need any more trouble. The diplomatic niceties started falling apart between the Ambassador and the Sitian Council toward the end. Before we left, one of the Councilors had accused the Ambassador of bringing Valek to Sitia to assassinate the Council.”
“Not good,” I said. “The Sitians are constantly worried the Commander will want to take control of their lands. And I would be, too, knowing that Valek possessed the skills to assassinate the Councilors as well as the Master Magicians, creating enough chaos so there is little resistance to an Ixian attack.”
I shook my head, sighing. The Ixians and Sitians viewed the world so differently. They needed someone to help them understand each other. A strange feeling churned in my stomach. Fear? Excitement? Nausea? Perhaps all three; it was hard to tell.
“Speaking of Valek,” Janco said, “I take it he’s well?”
“You know Valek,” I said.
Janco nodded, grinning.
“I’d better talk to the Ambassador.” I slid off Kiki. Before I could move, Ari’s large hand grabbed my arm.
“Just make sure you say goodbye to Janco,” Ari said. “You think he’s annoying when he’s in a good mood; he’s worse when he’s in a bad mood.”
I promised Ari, but as I walked to the Ambassador’s tent, that odd feeling in the pit of my stomach became almost painful. Goodbye seemed so final.
One of the two guards outside the tent ducked inside to announce me. He came out and held the flap for me to enter. Ambassador Signe sat at a canvas table, drinking tea with Valek still dressed as Adviser Ilom. Signe dismissed him and I caught a look and the word “tonight” from Valek before he left the tent.
Bypassing the pleasantries, Signe asked, “Have you decided if you’re going to visit us?”
I took the Commander Ambrose’s order of execution from my pack. My hand trembled slightly and I took a breath to steady my nerves. “With this unfortunate clash of opinions between Ixia and Sitia, I believe you both will need a liaison. A neutral party who knows both countries and can facilitate negotiations, assisting them in understanding each other better.” Meaning I wouldn’t spy for Ixia, but I offered to help. I handed Signe the order. The Commander must decide what to do with it.
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