Magic Study (41 page)

  I opened my eyes.
Tired.

Bad smell. Go.

  We were out of the Void, but we must be close to Alea’s people.

Grab tail,
she instructed.

  Clutching the long strands of her tail, I pulled myself into a standing position. Kiki knelt, and I mounted her back.

  She took off, breaking into her gust-of-wind gait. I hung on and tried to stay awake. The plains blurred past as the sun set. The icy air bit at my skin.

  When she slowed, I blinked, trying to focus on my surroundings. Still in the plains, but I saw a campfire ahead.

Make noise. Not scare Rabbit.

Rabbits?
Sudden hunger made my stomach growl. I did have an apple, but I’d promised that to Kiki.

  She snorted in amusement, whinnied and stopped. I glanced past her head and saw two men blocking the path. The moonlight shone off their swords. Ari and Janco. I called to them and they sheathed their weapons as Kiki drew closer.

Rabbit
?
Not Rabbit Man?

Too quick for a man.

  “Thank fate!” Ari cried.

  Seeing how I drooped over Kiki’s neck, Ari pulled me off and carried me to their campfire, setting me down as if I was as fragile as an egg. The sudden wish that Ari was my real brother overcame me. Even as an eight-year-old, I’d bet Ari never would have let me be kidnapped.

  Janco feigned boredom. “Going off and getting all the glory again,” he said. “I don’t know why we even bothered to come to this crazy land. Your trail marks didn’t even have the decency to go anywhere but in circles,” he grumped.

  “Don’t like being lost, Janco?” I teased.

  He harrumphed and crossed his arms.

  “Don’t worry. Your skills are still keen. You’re in the Avibian Plains. There’s a protective magic here that confuses the mind.”

  “Magic,” he spat. “Another good reason to stay in Ixia.”

  Ari sat me by the fire. “You look terrible. Here.” He wrapped my cloak around my shoulders.

  “Where-”

  “We found it in the plains,” Ari explained. Then he frowned. “Valek had asked us to back him up last night. We followed him, but they ambushed him at the Citadel’s gates.”

  “Cahil and his men,” I said.

  He nodded then began inspecting the cuts on my arms.

  “How did they know where to find him?” I asked.

  “Captain Marrok is a tracker of some renown,” Ari said. “Seems he had dealings with Valek before. He is the only soldier to have escaped from the Commander’s dungeon. He must have been waiting for the perfect opportunity.” Ari shook his head. “Valek’s capture presented a dilemma.”

  “Help Valek or help you,” Janco said.

  “I think he suspected something might happen to him and didn’t want you unprotected. So we stuck to the plan and followed you.” Ari handed me a jug of water.

  I gulped the liquid.

  “Not that we did any good,” Janco huffed. “When we reached the meeting site, the horse and cart were gone and we figured we would track you. She had to stop sometime. But-”

  “You lost your way,” I finished for him. Ari probed the deep gash on my right forearm. “Ow!”

  “Hold still,” Ari said. “Janco, get my med kit from my pack-these cuts need to be cleaned and sealed.”

  If I’d had any energy, I could have healed the wounds on my arms with magic. Instead, I endured Ari’s administrations and admonishments. When he pulled out the pot of Rand’s sealing glue, I asked him about the Commander’s new chef to distract myself from the pain.

  “Since Rand never made it to Brazell’s for the transfer of cooks, the Commander promoted one of Rand’s kitchen staff.” Ari frowned.

  I grimaced as Ari applied the glue to my cut more from remembering Rand than from the burning in my arm. Rand had lost his life protecting me, but I wouldn’t have been in danger if he hadn’t set me up for an ambush in the first place.

  “The food hasn’t been the same,” Janco said with a sigh. “Everyone is losing weight.”

  When Ari finished wrapping my arms, he pulled something from the fire. “Janco got a rabbit.” He broke off a piece and handed it to me. “You need to eat something.”

  That reminded me. “Kiki needs…” I moved to stand up.

  Janco waved me down. “I’ll take care of her.”

  “Do you-”

  “Yeah, I grew up on a farm.”

  I had gnawed every bit of meat off the rabbit’s bone when Janco came back covered with horsehair. He seemed to be in a better mood. “She beautiful,” he said about Kiki. “I’ve never had a horse stand so patiently to be rubbed down and she wasn’t even tied!”

  I told him about the honor she gave him by changing his name from Rabbit Man to Rabbit. “Unprecedented.”

  He gave me an odd look. “Talking horses. Magic. Crazy southerners.” He shook his head.

  He might have said more, but I could no longer stay awake.

  The next morning, I told my friends about Alea and the clan on the plateau. They wanted to go after her, but I reminded them about Valek and the need to find Ferde. My heart lurched when I thought of Valek. Even with a night of sleep, I still didn’t have enough energy to find out what had happened to him.

  The rest had roused me. “We need to get to the Citadel,” I said, standing.

  “Do you know where we are?” Ari asked.

  “Somewhere in the plains,” I said, shouldering my backpack.

  “Some magician you are,” Janco said. “Do you even know which direction the Citadel is?”

  “No.” Kiki came and stood next to me. I grabbed her mane. “How about a boost?” I asked Janco.

  He muttered under his breath, but offered his linked hands for my boot. When I had settled onto her back, I looked down at him. “Kiki knows where to go. Can you keep up?”

  He grinned. “This rabbit can run.”

  Ari and Janco packed their gear and we set off at a trot. All those laps around the Commander’s castle had kept them in top physical condition.

  We reached the road, and I heard Janco curse and grumble about being lost only a mile away. When we approached the Citadel’s gates, we encountered the four Master Magicians. They all sat on horseback. A well-armed Calvary team accompanied them.

  I smiled at Roze Featherstone’s look of astonishment, but sobered at Irys’s cold stare.

  “Why are you here?” I asked.

  “We were coming to either rescue you or kill you,” Zitora said. She flashed Roze an annoyed glance.

  I met Irys’s gaze, questioning. She turned away and blocked my efforts to reach her mind. Even though I had known she would shun me for going off alone, her actions still tore at my heart.

  Not bothering to conceal the satisfaction in her voice, Roze said, “Because of your dangerous disregard for the well-being of Sitia, you have been expelled.”

  The least of my worries. “Is Opal safe?” I asked the magicians.

  Bain Bloodgood nodded. “She told us a woman held her. Was she connected to the killer?”

  “No. We still need to find Ferde. He doesn’t want me. He must have taken someone else. Has anyone been reported missing?”

  My announcement caused a considerable stir. Everyone had assumed that Ferde was holding Opal. Now they needed to change tactics.

  “We’ve been searching for him for two weeks,” Roze said, putting a stop to the chatter. “What makes you think we can find him now?”

  “The last victim would not have been kidnapped,” Bain said. “Let us go back and discuss this. Yelena, you will be safest in the Keep. We will talk about your future when this whole mess is resolved.”

  The Magicians headed toward the Keep. Ari, Janco and I followed. I thought about Bain’s comment. My future would be nothing without Valek. I caught up to Bain and asked about him.

  Bain gave me a stern look, and I felt his magic press against my mental barrier. I relaxed my guard and heard his voice in my mind.

Best not to talk aloud about this, child. Cahil and his men captured him two nights ago, but Cahil would not release Valek to the Councilors or Master Magicians.

  I felt Bain’s disapproval over Cahil’s actions. And I had to quell my desire to find Cahil and skewer him with his own sword.

Cahil tried to hang Valek yesterday at dusk, but Valek escaped.
Bain seemed impressed.
We have no idea where he is now.

  I thanked Bain and slowed Kiki, letting the others go ahead. I savored my relief that Valek was alive. When Ari and Janco caught up to me, I relayed the information to them.

  When we reached the Council Hall, Ari and Janco headed toward the guest quarters. Kiki picked up her pace and we joined the others.

  I thought about where Valek might have gone. Back to Ixia seemed the safest and most logical course, but I knew Valek would stay nearby until Ferde was caught. That led me to consider who would be Ferde’s next victim. He had been working in the Keep where there were many young female magicians just learning to control their magic. Since the full moon would rise tomorrow night, he would probably need a few days to prepare. The Master Magicians couldn’t locate him with magic, but they might be able to contact the girl with him. But how to find her?

  Just past the Keep’s gate, the Master Magicians dismounted, handed their horses to the guards and started for the Keep’s administration building. I followed, but Roze stopped me at the base of the steps.

  “You’re confined to your quarters. We will deal with you later,” she promised.

  I had no intention of obeying her, but I knew they wouldn’t let me into the meeting room. So before Bain could mount the steps to the building, I touched his arm.

  “The killer probably seduced one of the young first-years to come with him,” I told him. “If everyone takes a barrack you can find out who’s missing and try to communicate with her.”

  “Excellent,” Bain said. “Now go rest, child. And do not worry. We will do all that we can to find the killer.”

  I nodded. Fatigue wrapped around me like a stone cloak, and Bain’s order to rest made sense. Before heading toward my rooms, I made a slight detour to the Keep’s guest suite.

  My father answered the door. He crushed me in his muscular arms. “Are you all right? Did my pill work?”

  “Like a charm.” I kissed him on the cheek. “You saved my life.”

  He ducked his head. “I’ve made some more for you just in case.”

  I smiled with gratitude. Looking past his shoulder, I asked, “Where’s Mother?”

  “In her favorite oak tree by the pasture. She was doing so well until…” He gave me a sardonic grin.

  “I know. I’ll find her.”

  I stood at the bottom of the oak, feeling as if I’d been run over by a horse. “Mother?” I called.

  “Yelena! Come up! Come up where it’s safe!”

  No place is safe, I thought. The events of the last two days began to overwhelm me. Too many problems, too much riding on me. My encounter with Alea proved that, even when I felt confident that I could take care of a situation, I really didn’t know what I was doing. If Alea had checked me for weapons, I would be standing ankle deep in my own blood.

  “Come down. I need you,” I cried. I sank to the ground and wrapped my arms around my legs as tears poured from my eyes.

  With a rustle and creak of branches, my mother appeared beside me. I transformed into a six-year-old child, flung myself into her arms and sobbed. She comforted me, helped me to my room, gave me a handkerchief and a glass of water. Tucking me into bed, she kissed me on my forehead.

  When she went to leave, I grabbed her hand. “Please stay.”

  Mother smiled, took off her cloak, and lay next to me. I fell asleep in her arms.

  The next morning she brought me breakfast in bed. I protested about the extravagance, but she stopped me. “I have fourteen years of mothering to catch up on. Indulge me.”

  Even though the plate was loaded with food, I ate every bit and drained the tea. “Sweet cakes are my favorite.”

  “I know,” she replied with a smug smile. “I asked one of the servers in the dining hall, and she remembered that every time they cooked sweet cakes your eyes would light up.” She took the empty tray. “You should go back to sleep.” Perl went into the other room.

  I could have easily complied, but I needed to find out if the others had discovered who was missing. Unable to stay in bed, I decided to get a quick bath before finding Bain.

  “Come to our suite when you’re done at the bathhouse,” Perl said. “Once your father told me what’s been going on with this killer and the Curare, I thought of something that might help you. It may have aided you yesterday,” she huffed. “I’m not a delicate sapling. You and Esau don’t need to keep things from me. And that includes Valek.” She put her hands on her hips, wrinkling the smooth lines of her blue-green dress.

  “How-” I sputtered.