Fire Study (10 page)

sign of the Daviians. The rhythm of climbing from tree to tree combined with the

steady pulse of the jungle’s undisturbed life force. When an out-of-tune presence

plucked at my senses, my energies focused on the distant ripple. Engrossed, I

concentrated on discovering the source. A man in the tree canopy. Before I could

determine if he was friend or foe, my left hand grasped a smooth and pliant branch.

Surprised, I jerked my awareness back and my mind connected with a hunter lurking

in the trees.

The leaves rustled with movement. The terrifying rasp of a stirring snake

surrounded me. The limb under my feet softened. I scrambled for a solid branch,

and touched nothing but the snake’s dry coils. The necklace snake’s coloring

blended with the jungle’s greenery so well that I couldn’t determine where the rest of

it lay.

I closed my eyes and projected into the snake’s mind. It had looped part of its

body between two branches, creating a flat net now closing around me. Pulling my

switchblade from my pocket, I triggered the blade.

When the heavy coils of the snake dropped onto my shoulders, I knew I had

mere seconds before the predator would wrap around my throat like a necklace and

choke me to death. I sensed satisfaction from the snake as it moved to tighten its

hold.

I stabbed my knife into the snake’s thick body. Would the Curare on the blade

affect the creature? Mild pain from the thrust registered in the snake’s mind, but it

considered the wound minor.

The snake contracted around me, trapping my legs and left arm. I realized the

necklace snake held me aloft. If I cut through its coils, I would plummet to the

ground.

Another loop brushed my face as the snake tried to encircle my neck. I pushed it

away with my free arm. A coil slid up my back.

Deciding the odds of surviving a fall were better than dying by strangulation, I

stabbed my blade in the nearest coil with the intention of sawing through it. Before I

applied more pressure, the creature stopped.

Perhaps Curare had paralyzed the snake. I pulled the blade out and the snake

resumed its tightening. The Curare hadn’t worked. But when I reinserted the knife,

the creature paused. Odd. I must have found a vulnerable area. We were at an

impasse.

Through my link with its mind, I sensed the snake’s hunger warring with its desire

to live. I tried to control the predator’s will, but our minds were too incompatible.

Even though I could feel its intentions, I couldn’t direct its movements.

I wanted to avoid killing the snake, but I could see no other way. Once dead, I

should be able to cut my way back into the trees.

“Hello. Is someone in there?” a man’s voice asked.

My struggle with the snake had seized all my attention. Cursing myself for

forgetting the man, I directed my mind into the tree canopy and encountered the

well-protected thoughts of another magician. But Warper or Story Weaver, I

couldn’t tell.

“Has the snake got your tongue?” He laughed at his own joke. “I know you’re

there. I felt your power. If you don’t belong in the jungle, I’ll gladly let the snakes

have you for dinner.”

“Snakes?” I asked. His speech patterns sounded familiar. Not Daviian. Not

Sandseed. I hoped Zaltana.

“Your necklace snake has sent a call for help. You might kill this one and

untangle yourself, but by then its kin will be here to finish the job.”

I scanned the jungle canopy and, sure enough, I felt five other snakes moving

toward me.

“What if I do belong in the jungle?” I asked.

“Then I’ll help you. But you’d better make a strong case. Strange things have

been happening lately.”

I thought fast. “I’m Yelena Liana Zaltana. Daughter of Esau and Perl and sister to

Leif.”

“Common knowledge. You have to do better.”

Soul mate to Valek, the scourge of Sitia, I thought, but knew that wouldn’t help

my case. I searched my mind for a bit of information only the Zaltanas knew. The

problem was, since I had been raised in Ixia, I knew only a few things about my lost

clan.

“I could send you on a wild-valmur chase, but wouldn’t it be easier if I gave you

a piece of sap candy?” I held my breath, waiting.

Just when I was convinced I would have to cut my way out of the snake before

its brothers arrived, a low drumbeat throbbed. More beats followed. The vibrations

pulsed through the snake.

The snake relaxed. A gap appeared above my head and a green painted face

smiled down at me.

He extended his hand, which was also camouflaged. “Grab on.”

I clasped his wrist. He pulled me from the snake’s net and onto a solid branch.

Relief puddled in my knees and I had to sit down.

The man’s clothes matched the jungle’s colors and patterns. He placed a leather

drum on the branch and played another song. The snake unraveled and disappeared

into the jungle.

“That should hold them off for a while,” he said.

From his clothes and dyed-olive hair color, I knew the man had to be a Zaltana. I

thanked him for helping me.

His answering nod reminded me of someone. “Who are you?” I asked.

“Your cousin, Chestnut. I was out on patrol when you were here the last time so

I didn’t get a chance to meet you.”

After living in Ixia for fourteen years, I had finally returned to a home I hadn’t

known existed. It had been such an emotional whirlwind, and I had met so many

cousins, aunts and uncles it was unlikely I would have remembered him even if I had

been introduced to him.

Seeing no sign of recognition on my face, he added, “I’m one of Nutty’s

brothers.”

Nutty’s stories about her siblings had been humorous and I remembered a game I

used to play with her against her brothers before my kidnapping.

“How did you control the snake?” I asked.

“I’m a snake charmer,” he said as if the title explained everything. But when I

failed to respond, he said, “It’s part of my magic. The necklace snakes are very hard

to spot. Not only do they blend in so well, but also they mask their life energy. Even

if you’re able to sense the other jungle animals you probably wouldn’t feel the

snakes. Not until it was too late.” He rubbed his hands together in appreciation.

“They usually hunt alone, but if one gets into trouble it can call to the others with a

low sound we can’t hear. My magic allows me to locate the snakes and hear their

calls. And my drum is my way to talk to them. It doesn’t work on the other

animals.” He shrugged. “But I keep the snakes away from our homestead.”

“You were out on patrol when you heard my snake?” Funny how I had become

possessive of the creature that had tried to squash and eat me.

“Yes. Although, when I left this morning, I had hoped to find more than snakes.”

He gave me an odd look. “I guess I just did. Why are you here, Yelena?”

“I’m following a group of people who had been living in the plateau,” I said.

“They came through here. Has anyone seen them?” But what I really wanted to ask

was had they attacked the clan? Were my mother and father okay?

“Seen? No. Strangers are in the jungle, but we can’t find them and…” He paused,

probably considering what information he should divulge. “Perhaps it would be best

for you to talk to our clan elders. Are you alone?”

“No. My brother and some Sandseeds are traveling with me.”

“In the trees?”

“On the ground.” I told Chestnut about the attack and how I had been acting as a

scout for our group.

Chestnut accompanied me to the Zaltana homestead. It contained a vast network

of living, sleeping and cooking areas connected by bridges and suspended above the

ground. Hidden by the thick jungle vegetation, the homestead was hard to find, but

once inside the complex, I continued to be amazed the tree canopy could

camouflage such a collection of rooms.

Built of wood, the floors of the buildings were anchored to wide branches. Ivy

grew on the outside of all the walls to hide their shape. Almost all of the furniture

was constructed of wood, and rope hammocks provided comfortable places to

sleep. Handcrafts made of jungle items like seeds and sticks decorated the various

rooms, including animal sculptures created by colored pebbles glued together.

The main throughway of the homestead tended to be common areas of each of

the families within the clan. The living and sleeping quarters branched off from the

public rooms.

Besides being extensive, the homestead was also well defended. The Zaltana

magicians kept a vigilant watch for any strangers.

After our arrival, Chestnut hurried to find the clan elders and I scanned the path

back to Moon Man. Once I was certain that the way was clear, I made contact with

the Story Weaver’s mind.

Come, I told him. Come quickly.

We are on the way, he replied.

I raced to my parents’ suite. A few surprised glances and quizzical calls followed

me as I dashed toward the Liana quarters, but I ignored them.

My mother, Perl, paced the living room. The air smelled like ginger and

cinnamon, but her perfume distillery set up on the long table against the back wall

appeared to be empty.

“Yelena!”

She flew into my arms. A few inches shorter than me, the slender woman

clutched me as if to keep from falling.

“Mother. What’s the matter?” I asked.

“Esau,” she said, and cried.

I suppressed the urge to shake her as she sobbed in my arms. Instead, I waited

for the flow of tears to subside before I pulled her away and looked into her light

green eyes. “What about Father?”

“He’s missing.”

I RESISTED THE URGE to use magic to calm my mother. Many horrible

scenarios played in my mind before she settled enough to tell me the details. My

father had been expected back from an expedition yesterday and had failed to return.

“There was a clan meeting,” Perl said between sobs. “A couple of scouts had

gotten lost, and he went to find them.”

“Lost scouts?”

She gave me a watery smile. “Some of the newer ones will lose their way. Esau

always finds them. No one knows the jungle as well as he does.”

“Maybe one of the scouts was hurt,” I said, hoping to calm her and to stop

myself from imagining Esau being a victim of the Kirakawa ritual. “Why was he

expected yesterday?”

“Another clan meeting. The jungle creatures have been restless and disturbed and

we can’t pinpoint why. When the two scouts failed to return, the clan decided

everyone should stay close to our homestead. Each night we gather in the common

room to make sure everyone is safe. Esau was only supposed to be gone a few

hours.” Tears tracked down her cheeks.

Her face reflected the hours of worry and fear. Her long hair had more gray than

black. I couldn’t leave her alone, yet I needed more information.

“I have to talk with the clan elders,” I said. “You can come along only if you

promise not to get too upset.”

She agreed, but uncertainty filled her eyes. Her hand went to her throat. Maybe

taking her with me was a bad idea. Perhaps Nutty could stay with her?

Perl stiffened as if with a sudden realization. “Wait,” she said before bolting

toward the lift.

As I watched her pull the ropes and ascend to the second floor of the apartment,

my heart filled with dread. Esau had invented that lift, using vines from the jungle and

a pulley system. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if anything happened to him.

Panic made me fidget, and just as I was about to call out to Perl to hurry, the lift

moved. My mother had splashed water on her face and had tied her hair back. She

also wore my fire amulet around her neck. I smiled.

“For strength,” she said, and she met my gaze. This time only stubborn resolve

radiated from her. “Let’s go.”

I thought about the fire amulet as we made our way to the homestead’s meeting

room. Winning an acrobatic contest during an Ixian fire festival, I had achieved a

moment of pure joy in the midst of hell. Reyad—one of my captors, the first man

I’d killed—had tried to keep me from participating, and I was severely punished for

my disobedience, but I knew I would do it again. I now realized the stubborn streak

from both my parents had kept me fighting despite Mogkan and Reyad’s efforts to