Fire Study (35 page)

wrists. Each shrill scream from one of the girls spurred me on. I ignored the pain, the

smell of fear and the metallic taste of blood as I yanked at the knots. Cahil had

mentioned a ritual tomorrow. Tonight would be my only chance to escape.

The last knot proved impossible to untie, but my spit had soaked the leather

enough to give a little when I moved. I pulled my hand through the last loop,

scraping off a layer of skin in the process. Panting with relief, I relaxed and waited

for my crate to open.

My plan was simple, with as much chance for failure as for success. Time moved

at a glacial pace. Years crept by. When the rasp and click of the lock finally

sounded, I laced my hands behind my back and froze.

A soft yellow glow of firelight reflected off the Vermin who opened my crate. He

lifted the lid up with one hand and reached toward me with the other. He held a tiny

dart between his finger and thumb.

I moved.

Grabbing his hand in both of mine, I yanked him toward me, unbalancing him. He

grunted with surprise. His weight came forward. I bent his hand back and shoved the

dart into the Vermin’s shoulder. Letting go of his hand, I covered his mouth to stifle

his yell.

Mere seconds later the Curare paralyzed his muscles. The lid rested on his back

and his body leaned on my chest. Knowing I probably had seconds before someone

discovered us, I pulled the rest of him inside my box. An awkward, difficult

maneuver to do while trying to keep the lid from slamming down.

Once the Vermin joined me, I wriggled from under his body and lifted the lid to

peek out. The guards remained by the fire, but the other two Vermin were out of

sight. The two girls had been stripped and tied down by the fire. Bloody cuts lined

their arms and legs. There was nothing I could do for them right now. One problem

at a time.

I slid down to the end of my crate and considered my options. Try to sneak out

of the box and slip into the night or just shove the lid up and make a run for it?

What I really needed was a distraction, but that involved magic. By the time they

figured out the magic came from me, I would be gone. I hoped.

A flicker of black above the campfire gave me an idea. Pulling a strand of power

as thin as a spider’s silk, I projected my mind toward the bat. He flew through the

hot, insect-filled air rising from the flames. I tapped into the collective consciousness

of his fellow bats and sent them all an image. An image of insects covering the men

below. Large juicy crawling things. Easy picking for a mass of hungry bats.

Black shapes swooped down from the sky. The guards yelled and swung their

arms around. Cahil and the Warper exited the tent to investigate. The Warper yelled

about magic, but his words were cut off as the bats attacked.

I pushed the lid wide and hopped out. After a quick glance to make sure no one

had noticed me, I stepped off the wagon and bolted for the darkness, keeping the

wagon between me and the campfire.

I encountered the third Vermin who had been tending the horses. Prepared for

my approach, he had pulled his scimitar. With a gesture of his weapon magic

slammed through my mental defenses and my body froze. Another Warper. I cursed

as he called for his companions. Then I realized he didn’t have control of my mind. I

projected to the two horses.

Tired, sore and unsettled by the smell of blood, the horses welcomed my

contact. I appealed to them for help.

Bad men want to hurt me, I said in their minds.

Kick?

Please.

The one horse backed up. With a blur of motion, the Warper went flying. As

soon as the man’s head slammed into the ground, he lost consciousness, releasing

his magical hold on me.

Thank you. I ran.

Kick others?

Sounds of pursuit drew closer. The bats had lost their insect image when I

switched my efforts to the horses.

If you can, I said, increasing my speed. Shouts of surprise reached my ears. I

glanced over my shoulder. Four figures still chased me. The terrain remained flat and

featureless, as if part of the Avibian Plains. A black bulge in the distance looked

promising. Perhaps it was a cluster of trees.

The men gained on me. My hopes to reach cover faded with every step.

I pulled power and planned to baffle my pursuers’ minds, betting my life on the

pure conjecture that I possessed the ability to project confusing images into four

minds in rapid succession.

A figure on horseback approached from the left, aiming for me. I caught a glint of

moonlight off a sword. My options dwindled to either bewildering the men or

stopping the horse.

My chances of success went from doubtful to none when a cold sting pricked

my back.

I DIVED TO THE GROUND, rolling into a ball. The power I had drawn to

confuse my pursuers I now applied to the area turning numb on my back. In my

mind, I saw the Curare spreading through my muscles, seeking my bloodstream. I

swept at it, using my magic like a broom and guiding the substance to the hole. A

warm wetness spread on my shirt.

The effort left me weak, and I debated the merits of pretending to be paralyzed.

The ground vibrated with the drumming of hooves. The animal cut between the

guards and me. An unexpected sound of steel hitting steel rang in the cool night air. I

crouched.

The horse made a quick turn and came back. Recognition shot through me. I

knew that gait. I jumped to my feet.

“Yelena!” Valek threw me my bow.

I caught it in midair. Kiki spun and Valek slid off her back. The rapid clash of

blades followed as Valek engaged four men in a sword fight. I hurried to join him

before the remaining Vermin and Cahil caught up. Four against one was pushing it

for Valek. He would be outnumbered against six.

With the occasional kick from Kiki, Valek and I fought side by side. Cahil and

the Warper hung back. I strengthened my mental defenses, sensing the Warper

would try a magical attack.

Once Valek cut a guard’s arm in half, we pressed our advantage. As the man fell

to the ground yelling with pain, Cahil ordered the remaining men to disengage. They

stepped back. Valek shot me a questioning look.

“The girls are still at the camp,” I said.

He nodded and we stalked the retreating men.

The Warper threw his arms up and yelled, “Inflame.”

Power pressed on my skin. With a whoosh of hot air, the guard on the ground

burst into flames. Valek and I jumped away. The man screamed and writhed. He

stilled as the intense heat consumed him. Acrid puffs of charred flesh reached us,

and I covered my nose.

“Come! Find your soul mate!” The Warper’s voice cut through the roaring fire.

A man’s form coalesced from the pulsing flames.

“What’s going on?” Valek asked.

“Let’s go.” I scrambled onto Kiki’s back, Valek right behind me. Kiki took off.

“What about the girls?”

Guilt stabbed my heart. “Later.”

I let Kiki decide our direction. Eventually we came to a farmhouse, modest in size

and surrounded by precise flower beds. Kiki stopped at the stable and Valek slid

off.

Where are we? I asked Kiki.

Ghost’s house. Good hay. Nice lad.

I eyed the wooden structure with sudden distrust. Ghosts are here?

Kiki snorted and nudged Valek. Ghost.

Moon Man had explained to me Valek’s immunity to magic made him appear as a

ghost to magical creatures.

I looked at him. “Summer home? Isn’t it a little dangerous?”

He smiled. “Safe house for my corps. A base of operations.”

“How convenient.”

The stable was empty. Valek helped me remove Kiki’s saddle and groom her,

delaying the inevitable conversation.

I sagged with fatigue, but needed to know what he had been doing while I was in

my box. “How did you find me? And your timing was impeccable as always.”

Valek pulled me into his arms. I molded to him, seeking warmth and comfort. My

body shook with a delayed reaction. The horror of the Warper setting his own man

on fire replayed in my mind.

“You’re welcome, love. I had wanted to sneak in and unlock you tonight, but

you had other plans. I should have been more prepared, but when I saw him poke

you last night, I thought for sure you would be out of it.” He pulled me away. “Let’s

go inside. I need a drink.”

The interior of the farmhouse lacked the homey warmth of its exterior. Spartan

and utilitarian, Valek’s operatives obviously didn’t entertain guests here. Valek lit a

few lanterns, but I refused to let him build a fire. We huddled together on the couch,

sipping brandy.

“General Kitvivan’s white brandy?” I asked.

“You remembered!” Valek seemed surprised.

“There are tastes and smells that call certain memories. White brandy reminds me

of the Commander’s brandy meeting.”

“Ah, yes. And after having to taste all those brandies for the Commander, you

drunkenly tried to seduce me.”

“And you refused.” I couldn’t pinpoint a specific time or event when Valek’s

feelings for me had changed. He had shocked me with his declaration of love in

Brazell’s dungeon.

“I wanted to accept. But I didn’t know if your desire was from your heart or

from the brandy. You might have regretted it later.”

The image of Valek wearing his dress uniform recreated the desire to seduce him

again, but we had much to discuss.

“Enough small talk. Tell me everything,” I ordered.

He sighed. “You’re not going to like it.”

“Compared to what I’ve just been through these last—what? Three days? I don’t

even know. It can’t be that bad.”

“I knew you were swimming in some very dangerous waters,” he said, “but I

hadn’t known they extended so deep.”

“Valek, get to the point.”

He fidgeted. Fear brushed my heart. Something horrible had happened. I had

never seen him fidget before. He stood and started prowling the room. His liquid

movements were soundless.

“Five days ago you were taken—”

“Five days!” So much could have happened in that time. My thoughts went to

Irys and Bain. They could be dead.

Valek put up his hand to forestall my questions. “Let me finish first. You were

kidnapped by Star, and the reason she was able to smuggle you so far south, was

because…I let her.” He paused to let his words sink in.

I stared at him in astonishment. “You set me up?”

“Yes and no.”

“You need to do better than that.”

“I knew Star would want to exact some type of revenge on you. She has kept in

contact with the underground network, and I allowed her because then I could learn

who the new players were. With the Code of Behavior, there will always be a black

market for illegal goods and forged papers. I like to keep tabs on the network to

make sure things don’t go too far, like when Star hired assassins to ruin the Sitian

trade treaty. And when—”

“Get to the point.”

“Star knew you would be at Porter’s safe house—”

“Porter set me up?”

“I don’t think so. Are you going to let me tell you or not?” He put his hands on

his hips in annoyance.

I gestured for him to go on.

“I’ve known about Porter’s rescue operation for a couple years and have allowed

it to continue. However, recently, his charges have been disappearing and I’ve been

wondering why. But that wasn’t the reason I watched the house. I had followed Star

and three of her men there, and was shocked to see you walk blindly into her trap.

Didn’t you even see her?”

“She used a subtle kind of magic.”

“I haven’t felt her, and I’ve been working with her for a while.”

I thought back to the night I had been captured. The only odd event had been

when my perception had altered for a moment before returning to normal. Perhaps

she had affected my vision somehow. “You didn’t pick up on my magic, either. And

it flared out of control a couple times within the castle.”

“I will keep it in mind,” Valek said with an icy tone. “Star’s motives for

ambushing you, I understood. The surprise arrived when she and her friends also

targeted the girls. I needed to know where they were taking you.”

I mulled over his explanation. “You could have helped me that night, but instead

decided to wait?”

“A calculated risk. I wanted to discover the extent of her operation and why she

kidnapped the girls. I had no idea you would end up across the border and in the