Fire Study (19 page)

Smells? I asked, reaching up to scratch behind her ears.

Fresh. No bad.

Any trouble?

She snorted with amusement. Two men. Woman.

She replayed the memory of two men robbing a woman. They had been so

preoccupied with searching her packages they failed to notice Kiki’s quiet approach.

Quiet, because Kiki, like all the Sanseed horses, refused to wear metal horseshoes.

Kiki had spun and used her back legs with expert precision. The men landed half

a block away, and the woman, after staring wide-eyed at Kiki, took off in the

opposite direction. I wondered why the lady had been out so late.

She’ll probably spread rumors about being rescued by a ghost horse, I said to

Kiki. Maybe they’ll change the inn’s name to Four Ghosts.

I like ghosts. Quiet.

You see ghosts?

Yes.

Where?

Here. There. Places.

Here? I looked around. The empty street seemed deserted. I don’t see any.

You will. She nuzzled my cloak, sniffing the pockets. I like peppermints, too.

I gave her the mints. Care to elaborate on the ghost issue?

No.

She retreated down the alley and I returned to the inn. The lantern’s flame

flickered as I made another sweep of the kitchen and rooms upstairs before settling

down near the hearth. Embers glowed within the remains of the fire. Suppressing my

apprehension, I added a few logs to coax the coals into a small fire to heat water for

tea. Such a diminutive blaze shouldn’t be big enough for the Fire Warper.

Perhaps the size of the fire equaled the size of the Fire Warper. The image of a

foot-tall Fire Warper leaping from the hearth caused me to laugh, but knowing he

needed only one flame to start a fire ruined my good humor.

Searching my pack for tea leaves, I found Opal’s package. Curious to see which

glass animal had called to her, I unwrapped the thick cloth. A charcoal-gray bat with

green eyes came to life in my hands. I almost dropped the piece in surprise, but even

with its wings outstretched the palm-size creature didn’t take flight. Opal’s

magic—not life—glowed from the core of the bat. Closer examination revealed

flecks of silver along the bat’s body and wings.

An invigorating tingle swept up my arm. I mulled over the benefits of being a

creature of the night. Could I locate Marrok or Cahil now while the city slept?

Drawing power, I projected my mind and encountered a confusing array of dream

images. Once again too many people for me to sort through. I pulled back.

The water bubbled. With reluctance, I returned the statue to my pack and found

the tea. Over my steaming cup, I watched the miniature fire. I considered making an

attempt to contact Bain Bloodgood. The Second Magician might have some advice

on how I could find one soul among so many.

The Citadel was three days away by horseback. Too far for me to project in

normal circumstances. Desperation increased my distance, but then I had no control

of direction. Also, Bain would be asleep, his mental defenses impenetrable. I

decided to wait until the morning to try.

The desire to sleep dragged at my body. I made several rounds of the room just

to stay awake. When seated, my attention lingered on the fire’s dancing flames. They

pulsed in a rhythm that matched my heartbeat. The flames’ movements appeared

choreographed, as if they tried to communicate something to me. Something

important.

I knelt near the fire. Fingers of orange and yellow beckoned. Come, they invited.

Join with us. Embrace the fire.

I inched closer. Waves of heat caressed my face.

Come. We need to tell you…

What? I leaned in. Flames crackled, sap hissed and boiled and the harsh scent of

burning hair billowed.

“Yelena!”

Moon Man’s voice drenched me with cold reason. I scurried away from the

hearth, stopping when I reached the far side of the room. Chills raced over my skin

and I shivered.

“Thanks,” I said to him.

“I thought something was not right.” Moon Man descended the rest of the way

down the stairs. “I woke feeling as if the threads of my blanket had ignited.”

“It’s a good thing you did.”

“What happened?”

“I’m not sure.” I wrapped my cloak tighter. “I thought I saw souls in the fire.”

“Trapped?”

I barked out a laugh. If I had said that to anyone else, they would have believed I

was a raving lunatic. Moon Man wanted details. Details I couldn’t provide.

“I think they wanted me to join them.”

He frowned and stared at the hearth. “You should not be left alone with a fire. I

will finish Tauno’s shift.”

“Finish?” I glanced out the window. The curtain of darkness had thinned. I had

lost track of the time, and failed to wake Tauno for his turn. Not a good sign.

“Go get some sleep. We will need to make plans when you wake.”

The deafening peal of Mrs. Floranne’s bell jarred me from sleep. Leif sat on the

edge of his bed with his head between his hands, blocking out the noise. With

silence came relief and he dropped his arms.

“She’ll be ringing that again if we don’t get down to breakfast soon,” Leif said.

All the motivation I needed. I kicked off my blanket and followed Leif from the

room. We joined Moon Man and Tauno in the common area. The crowded inn

buzzed with conversation. Mrs. Floranne poured tea while her staff served breakfast.

The smell of sweet syrup wafted through the air.

The good night’s sleep reflected in Tauno’s face. The swelling was gone and the

bruises faded from bright red to a light purple smudge. He moved without wincing in

pain.

We ate our breakfast of honey, eggs and bread and discussed our next move.

“We should search the city,” Leif said. “Quarter by quarter until we either find

them or determine they’re not here.”

“It would take a long time.” Moon Man spooned a glob of eggs onto a slice of

bread.

“They are gone,” Tauno said.

I stopped eating. “How do you know?”

“They mentioned leaving Booruby.”

“Why didn’t you tell us last night?” I stabbed my eggs with my fork.

“I was distracted by the pain and did not remember the comment until now.”

“Would it have made a difference?” Leif asked.

I thought it over. Tauno had been in bad shape. But with no fatal injuries, I could

have left him here and…what? Scanned the surrounding forest with my magic? I

didn’t know which direction they had gone and they had almost a full day of travel.

“Probably not,” I sighed. “Tauno, do you remember anything else? Did they say

where they were going?”

“The need to hurry was all I sensed. Perhaps that is why I was not killed. They

did not have enough time.”

“The best strategy would have been to keep us in the dark about Marrok,

wondering if he is dead or alive and what he told them.” I sipped my tea. “However,

Cahil likes to feel superior and probably believes letting us know Marrok has

betrayed us would make us doubt our instincts and slow us down.”

Cahil had tried that tactic with me before. When he had thought I was a spy from

Ixia, he had ambushed me in the forest. Then, he wanted me to believe Leif set me

up to demoralize me. It hadn’t worked. And it wouldn’t work now.

If anything, I was more determined to find them. Even though we had lost their

trail. My appetite gone, I pushed my plate away.

“What’s next?” Leif asked.

The door to the common room banged open. Marrok stood in the threshold with

a bloody sword in his hand.

The four of us jumped to our feet. Breakfast forgotten, we pulled our weapons as

the conversation in the inn’s common room dwindled into a deadly silence.

“Come on.” Marrok gestured from the doorway with his sword. “Let’s go before

they catch up.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Cahil and his…his…friends.” Marrok spit the words out. “I escaped.” Horror

bleached his face, and blood dripped from a cut on his throat. “I’ve lost them, but

they know we’re here.”

“How many?” I demanded.

Marrok straightened. “Seven.”

“Armed?”

“Swords, scimitars and Curare.”

“How soon?”

Marrok glanced over his shoulder and froze. He dropped his sword. It clattered

on the stone floor. A big hand shoved him, pushing him to the ground.

Behind Marrok, Cahil, Ferde and five Vermin streamed into the common room.

WITH THEIR WEAPONS pointed toward us the Vermin and Cahil fanned out

in front of the door. Two Vermin had scimitars, two had swords and one held a

blowpipe to his lips.

“Everyone just stay calm,” Cahil ordered. His long broadsword made an

impressive threat. The people in the common room stayed in their seats. Mostly

merchants and salesmen, there wasn’t a soldier among them.

Marrok remained on the floor. A Vermin stood over him with the tip of his

scimitar pointed at Marrok’s throat.

I glanced at Tauno. “You said they were gone.”

His face had paled and, although he held his weapon, he hadn’t nocked an arrow.

Moon Man eyed the Vermin as if judging the distance between their necks and his

scimitar. Leif’s machete glinted in the sunlight from the open doorway.

“Change of plans,” Cahil said.

Cahil had let his blond hair grow past his shoulders and it was unbound. Besides

that, he remained the same. Same gray traveling clothes, same black riding boots,

same washed-out blue eyes and same hate-filled expression on his bearded face.

“My friend wanted to exchange Marrok for Yelena.” Cahil inclined his head to

Ferde.

I noted his use of the word friend. How could he call that creature his friend?

The Soulstealer’s plain homespun tunic and pants hid most of the red tattoos

covering his body. With a scimitar in one hand and a blowpipe in another, he looked

at me with cold calculation. Despite his lean and powerful build, I sensed his magic

remained weak. Yet a bite of fear nipped my stomach.

“I hope you have a few more Warpers with you,” I said to Cahil. “The

Soulstealer is no condition to fight three magicians.”

“I may have failed in my power quest,” Ferde said. “However, I now serve

another who has learned blood magic.”

The sound of roaring flames reached me before the heat. A quick look over my

shoulder confirmed the blaze in the hearth had grown. Terror boiled in my throat,

prompting me to act before the Fire Warper appeared.

Pulling power, I sent a thread to Moon Man. Take out the man with the blowpipe.

I’ll take Ferde. He agreed. Leif, I said, attack the man over Marrok then keep Cahil

busy.

When? Leif asked.

“Now.” I shouted and projected my awareness into Ferde’s mind, bypassing his

mental defenses and seizing control of his body. It was a self-defense move I had

learned when Goel had captured me. Chained and left with no recourse except using

my magic, I had sent my soul into Goel’s body.

Once Ferde realized I had invaded, he concentrated all his energy on ejecting me.

I ignored his efforts. He threatened to kill me the same way he had murdered his

other victims.

Memories stabbed; sounds of their screams pounded; the smell of rancid blood

pierced and visions of mutilations assaulted. His black desires of power and

dominance through torture and rape revolted me.

To stop him, I harvested his soul and wrung it, exposing his deep fears and the

events that had caused his addiction to power. The favorite uncle who had tied him

down and sodomized him. The older sister who had tormented him. The father who

had belittled him. The mother he had trusted and confided in. The mother who had

sent him back to live with his uncle as punishment for lying.

A Story Weaver may have helped Ferde untie the knotted strands of his life, but I

wrenched them apart, broke the threads. He became the helpless victim again. I

examined his memory for every bit of detail, looking for information about the

Daviian Vermin. When I finished, I peered through his eyes.

My body lay on the ground, comatose. Moon Man fought a Vermin. They

maneuvered around a headless body. Cahil hacked at Leif, whose machete was no

match against Cahil’s longer sword. Leif would soon be forced to surrender. Tauno

stood in the same spot as if rooted to the floor. Marrok had regained his feet and

sparred with one of the Vermin near another body. The people in the inn had

organized a bucket brigade to dump water on the fire.

Even though my time with Ferde felt like a lifetime, only seconds had passed. I

raised the blowpipe in the Soulstealer’s hand and aimed. First Cahil. Reloading, I