Fire Study (25 page)

I’ll try. But you know me.

Yes, I do. So I’ll say it again. Be very careful.

I pulled my awareness back, breaking our connection. Exhaustion dragged at my

body and I would have drifted to sleep if Leif hadn’t bumped my arm.

“Oh, no you don’t, little sister. You were gone a long time. Tell me what’s

happening.”

I filled Leif in on the details and managed to shock him into a rare silence.

“So what do we do now?” Leif finally whispered.

“We wait for Valek.”

Valek arrived near dawn. He rode Kiki and had Rusalka in tow. The saddlebags

bulged with supplies. Fatigue lined his face.

He peered at me. “You know?”

“Yes.”

Valek dismounted. “Good. Saves time. The Citadel and Keep are crawling with

soldiers looking for you.”

“How did you get the horses out then? A secret spy maneuver?” Leif asked.

“No. A distraction at the Keep’s gate, and I bribed the guards at the Citadel’s

south entrance.”

Leif groaned. “Now they’ll know where we are.”

“I want them to think you went south. But you should get as far away from here

as possible.”

“And go where?” Leif asked.

“Ixia.”

“Why would we do that?” Leif’s jaw set into a stubborn line.

Danger flashed in Valek’s eyes, but he bit back a sarcastic reply. “Things are

happening too fast right now. We need to regroup and plan. We need

reinforcements.”

Valek made sense. Ixia was the only place where we would be safe.

“We should go now,” I said.

“I’ll meet you at the Commander’s castle.” Valek handed me Kiki’s reins.

She nudged my arm, but I ignored her. “You’re not coming with us?”

“No. I still have a few of my corps inside the Citadel. They need to be informed

about what’s happening. I’ll join you at the castle afterward.”

Before he could go, I pulled him aside. We embraced.

“Stay safe,” I ordered.

He smiled. “I’m not the one getting pulled into fires, love.”

“How did you know I was in trouble?”

“After I heard the Council agree to your execution, I had an odd notion the

Council was the least of your worries.”

“Thank you for saving me.”

“You keep things interesting, love. It would be boring without you.”

“Is that all I am to you? An amusement?”

“If only it was that simple.”

“I guess I’m no longer retired.” I managed a tired smile.

Valek kissed me goodbye. “Take a roundabout route to Ixia. The borders north

of the Citadel will probably be watched.”

“Yes, sir.”

Valek left and the air turned cold. I shivered. Kiki nipped at my sleeve and I

opened my mind to her.

I stay with Lavender Lady. Keep warm.

I’m glad you’re here, I said. I checked my pockets for a treat. No luck.

Ghost put peppermints in bag.

I laughed. Kiki always knew where to find the mints. I marveled that Valek had

taken the time to include treats in his packing. The horses’ name for him was perfect,

though. He appeared and disappeared as if he were a true ghost.

“Which way?” Leif asked.

Good question. Valek said to go around. The best direction would be to head

northwest through the fields of the Stormdance Clan’s lands. Then head north

toward Ixia, skirting the Featherstone lands surrounding the Citadel. I outlined my

plan to Leif.

“Lead on.” Leif’s resignation tainted his voice. “I’ve never been to Ixia.”

Throughout the day, our passage through the fields hadn’t drawn any notice, but

we still felt exposed by the daylight. Leif and I decided to do the bulk of our

traveling during the night. After a short break for dinner, we rode through the dark

hours. Between galloping, walking and resting, the horses made progress toward our

goal.

We found an apple orchard as the sun dawned. Kiki sniffed around the neat rows

of trees, but they had been picked clean of apples. Nothing grew in this area during

the cold season. Deciding to camp within the shelter of the orchard, we found a site

hidden from the few surrounding farmsteads.

“Have we crossed into Stormdance lands?” I asked Leif as I pulled Kiki’s saddle

off her back.

“Not yet. See that ridge?” He pointed to the northwest.

“Yes.”

“That’s their border. Stormdance lands are mostly shale. They have a few farms

in the eastern portion of their territory, but the west side is just sheets of shale on top

of rock. The storms blown in from the Jade Sea have carved fantastic sculptures

along their coast, but no one lives there. They only go to the coast to dance.” Leif

sat down and assembled sticks for a fire.

I plopped next to him. Saddle sore and drained of energy, I delayed grooming the

horses. “Why do they dance?”

“It’s how they harness the power from the storms. They capture the storm’s

force in glass orbs. It’s a dangerous dance, but the risk is worth it. If they’re

successful, they protect our land. Instead of being lashed with gale-force winds and

soaked with heavy rains, Sitia receives a mild rain. The added benefit is the

Stormdancers can use those orbs to fuel their factories.”

I gestured for more information.

“Haven’t you paid attention in class?”

“My lessons kept getting interrupted by mundane things like chasing after a

Soulstealer. I’ll try harder in the future to ignore such events.”

“Boy, you’re grumpy when you’re tired.” Leif started a small fire and poured

water into his cooking pot. “This container was made by the Stormdance Clan. They

smelt ore to manufacture different metal items, including Sitian coins. They also

produce parchment and make ink from indigo plants they grow on their eastern

farms.”

I mulled over Leif’s lecture. Buying goods at the market, I hadn’t stopped to

consider who might have made them. In Ixia, every Military District had a particular

product or service contributing to the Territory which could be used for barter and

trade. It appeared Sitia worked the same way, although the Stormdancers were a new

twist. I wondered if they could harness the power of the blizzards blowing down

from the northern ice pack. Life in MD-1, MD-2 and MD-3 turned into a struggle for

survival during the cold season.

Would Commander Ambrose consider lifting his ban on magicians to alleviate the

storms? He had grown up in MD-3, working in the diamond mines so he was no

stranger to the incapacitating snowstorms. Even Valek, who had lived in MD-1, had

seen his father’s leather business destroyed by the heavy snow.

I thought about the chain of events that had started with the collapse of Valek’s

father’s roof. He didn’t have enough money to replace his equipment, feed his

family and pay taxes to the King. When Valek’s father asked the soldiers, who had

come to collect the taxes, for an extension, they had killed three of his four sons.

That act sent Valek on a mission of revenge against a King who allowed his soldiers

to murder innocent children. Becoming the best assassin in Ixia, Valek eventually

joined forces with Ambrose. Together they had defeated the King and gained control

of Ixia.

If the roof hadn’t collapsed, I wondered if the King would still be in power or if

Ambrose would have found another assassin to help him. Would I even be here?

I shied away from those thoughts and focused on our present situation. Leif and I

needed to guard our small camp. He manned the first shift while I tried to sleep.

The fire had been doused as soon as our meal was cooked. The smoke drifted

on the breeze. Dreams swirled in my mind like sparks rising from a hot fire. The

dizzying images slowed for a moment, and each time I glimpsed a horror. Stono’s

twisted stomach transformed into a necklace snake. Blood rained in the Illiais Jungle.

Severed heads floated over the sands of the plains. And fire danced on my skin. The

hot prick of each flame both seared and excited me.

I jerked awake. My skin tingled. Afraid to go back to sleep, I sent Leif to bed.

Uneasy sleep came in fits during the next two days. We kept out of sight, used

small fires to cook meals before we extinguished the flames, and shivered on the

cold, hard ground. On the third day, we crossed into the Krystal Clan’s lands and

turned north for the Ixian border.

Located directly west of the Featherstone Clan and the Citadel, the rolling terrain

of the Krystals’ land was dotted with clumps of pine trees. Quarries stretched

between the wooded areas. The Krystal Clan mined marble for buildings and

exported the high-quality sand needed by the glassmakers in Booruby, leaving

behind deep pits gouged into the ground.

We avoided the bustle of activity around the quarries and journeyed through the

pine forests. Another day of travel would get us to the Ixian border. Our approach

to the boundary needed to be considered with care. Sitian soldiers could be waiting

to ambush us. And if we managed to get through, I would need to choose the right

words when addressing the Ixian guards. Or risk being arrested by them.

In the end, all the planning, all the time and energy Leif and I had spent finding the

perfect spot to cross the border without alerting the Sitians was for naught. Just as

we made our way into the hundred-foot-wide swatch of cleared land that was the

official neutral zone between Ixia and Sitia, two riders on horseback bolted from the

pine forest and into the borderland.

Two things happened that made the riders’ presence go from bad timing to a

deadly coincidence. Their horses headed straight toward us, and a whole squad of

Sitian solders erupted from the woods in armed pursuit.

ONLY ONE OPTION REMAINED. We spurred our horses toward the border,

hoping the Ixian guards would listen to our story before killing us. The unwelcome

riders drew up beside us as we entered Ixia’s Snake Forest. They kept pace as we

penetrated deep within the forest before stopping.

As expected, the Sitian soldiers hadn’t followed us into Ixia.

“Stay where you are,” a voice ordered from the woods. “You are surrounded.”

I knew the Ixians would be quick to find us. Just not this quick. I had chosen

midmorning to cross into Ixia to avoid the changing of the guards. At this time, there

was only one team of soldiers on duty.

“Drop your weapons and dismount,” the unseen guard said.

Topaz. Garnet, Kiki said. She whinnied a greeting.

Cahil’s horse? I pulled my bow and rounded on the riders, ignoring the orders

from the guards. Two men sat on Topaz and Moon Man rode Garnet. “What?

How?”

With shaking hands, one of the riders on Topaz pulled back his hood, revealing

his pale face before collapsing. Tauno held him tight.

“Marrok! What—” An arrow struck a tree next to me.

“Drop your weapons and dismount. Or the next arrow goes into her heart!” the

Ixian shouted.

I tossed my bow to the ground and gestured to the others to follow. Tauno slid

off Topaz, lowered Marrok down, then removed his bow and arrows. Moon Man

frowned but released his scimitar before getting off Garnet. Leif tossed his machete

next to my staff.

“Step away from the weapons and raise your hands.”

We did as instructed. I made sure to step closer to Marrok. An arrow had

pierced his side.

The ring of Ixian soldiers closed in. I counted four men and two women. Armed

with crossbows and swords, they advanced on us.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t send you back to the squad of

southerners?” asked an Ixian captain.

His uniform was mostly black except for a row of yellow diamond shapes down

his sleeves and pant legs. We had crossed into Ixia’s MD-7.

“Because it wouldn’t be diplomatic to turn away a Sitian delegation,” I said.

The captain laughed. “Delegations come with honor guards not fleeing guards.

Want to tell me another one?”

“I’m Liaison Yelena Zaltana. I’m here to speak with the Commander even though

my visit is not sanctioned by the Sitian Council.”

“Yelena? The ex-food taster who saved the Commander?” the captain asked.

“Yes.”

“But you have magic. Why would you want to come back to Ixia? I could kill

you now and be considered a hero.”

“I see your reputation has preceded you,” Leif said, grinning. I hoped his good

humor was relief over seeing Moon Man alive and well and not over the death threat

to me.

I frowned at him. Leif didn’t understand just how precarious a situation we were

in. The captain’s boast had merit. I was quite sure the rumors about the order for my