Night Study (42 page)

“Have the magicians along the border with Ixia reported any activity?”

“Not yet. They each check in at dawn via the super messengers.”

“Send them orders to keep an eye out for Valek.”

Another longish pause. “You don’t know where he is?”

“He’ll be coming here regardless. I’d just like some notice on the timing.”

“From my experience, he’s probably already here, hidden among your soldiers with a dozen of his corps. And if he isn’t, he can cross the border without alerting anyone. If I was you—”

“You’re not. We have the situation well in hand.”

“All right. Then I’ll go check in with the garrison commander.”

Boots shuffled on the floor.

“Cahil,” Bruns called.

I imagined Cahil looking over his shoulder with his hand on the door.

“Yes?”

“What would you do in my place?” Bruns asked.

“I’d put a big bow on Yelena and deliver her to the Commander. It would keep both her and Valek in Ixia. Plus she’d hinder the Commander’s efforts. Yelena wouldn’t want war, and she’d do everything she could to stop him from invading.”

Actually, that was rather smart. Cahil had matured since I’d seen him last.

“I’ll think about it,” Bruns said.

The door clicked shut. I returned to the bed, sliding under the covers. After that charged conversation, I suspected Bruns would want to peek in and make sure I’d remained asleep and under his control. I lay on my side, facing the wall with my eyes closed, just in case.

A heel scuffed the stone nearby. I kept my breathing deep and even, only relaxing once Bruns’s office chair squeaked under his weight.

I mulled over all I’d learned as I nibbled on the ham. It had a glaze that tasted Theobroma-sweet. It didn’t sound as if Cahil was being influenced by Theobroma and magic. He might have volunteered, or he could even be a member of the Cartel. I wondered if Bruns kept a list of the Cartel members in his desk. Probably not—he didn’t strike me as someone who made stupid mistakes. No, he was smart enough to ask Cahil what he’d do about me.

And I would be happy to go to Ixia. But Cahil also said to use me first. Not that I really knew the Commander. Other than his secret, I hardly knew him at all. The man was intelligent, cunning and had the brilliant strategy and forethought to plan and then execute the takeover of Ixia.

The takeover of Ixia. I clutched the sheets as I repeated those words.

The.

Takeover.

Of.

Ixia.

Holy snow cats! The Commander wouldn’t invade with an army and wage war. No. He’d plan a way to take over Sitia with little bloodshed. Just as he did twenty-three years ago!

29

VALEK

“T
here’s no one at the Keep?” Valek repeated Fisk’s comment because it didn’t make any sense. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. They’ve all left, and my network followed them to three different garrisons in Sitia,” Fisk said.

“Why?”

Fisk explained about Bruns’s Cartel using Theobroma to influence even the Master Magicians to join his cause. The magicians had gone to support the soldiers and prepare for when the Commander attacked.

Valek glanced at Zohav and Zethan, still on the horses but close enough to hear their conversation. Both wore worried frowns, and both their thoughts sounded inside Valek’s head. Zethan disappointed they probably wouldn’t go to the Keep, and Zohav plotting a way to turn this news to her advantage.

Combined with Fisk’s thoughts, Valek couldn’t think straight.

“Stop it,” he yelled at the twins.

“Stop what?” Zethan asked.

“Stop projecting your thoughts into my head!”

Alarmed, they exchanged a look.

“We’re not,” Zohav said.

“You’ve been doing it since we left home.”

“No. We’ve had our barriers in place, blocking magic from our thoughts.”

“Then how do I know you wished you brought more books, and Zethan wishes he’d sent a letter to Rosalie before leaving home?”

Again their gazes met. Both bewildered.

Fisk touched his shoulder. “Valek, you’re immune to magic. Even if they were sending their thoughts, you should only feel the
magic
.”

Fisk was right. Valek drew in a deep breath.

“But I
was
lamenting the fact I didn’t have time to write Rosalie,” Zethan said.

“Have you ever heard another person’s thoughts?” Fisk asked Valek.

“No. Sometimes I can tell what a person is thinking by his body language, facial expression, direction of his gaze...things like that, but not actual thoughts.”

Fisk turned to the twins. “You have magic?”

“Yes,” Zethan said.

“Can you try it on Valek? Something benign.”

Zethan turned to his sister. “Zo can.”

She pressed her lips together, dismounted, grabbed the water skin and unscrewed the cap. Zohav stared at it. Water rose from the skin, forming a ball that floated in midair.

Valek would have been impressed, but the fact that he didn’t sense her magic, that the stickiness didn’t press on him, had him quite distracted. The ball of water approached him and then struck his chest, soaking his tunic.

“Touch the wet spot with your hand,” she instructed him.

He pressed his palm to the cold fabric. Zohav’s eyebrows pinched together and the water streamed from his tunic and re-formed into a ball.

“Wow,” Fisk whispered. “That’s amazing.”

“What is?” Zethan asked. “That she can manipulate water, or that Valek’s immunity is gone?”

“Both.”

“Gone?” Valek fingered his now-dry tunic. “That’s...that’s a big leap in logic.”

“Zo.”

She glared at her brother.

“We need to figure this out. Besides, he’s—”

“Confused,” Valek said before Zethan said
brother
.

Stepping toward Valek, Zohav extended her hand as if for a handshake. “It’s another test. It won’t hurt.”

That wasn’t why he hesitated. He feared the results more than the pain. But he feared not knowing just as much. Valek grasped her cold hand. A strange tingle zipped through him.

“I sense the water inside your body,” Zohav said. “Zee’s right. You’re no longer protected.”

Valek let go of her and stepped back. Unprotected? The desire to draw his daggers pulsed. He craved their tangible weight in his hands. No immunity? The words repeated in his mind, but they failed to find a place to settle.

“What happened to his immunity?” Fisk asked. “Did you two do something to him?”

“No. Even if it was possible, we don’t have that ability,” Zethan said.

Fisk turned to him. “Did something happen to you? Do you know when it started?”

“I...” Valek pulled his thoughts together with effort. He searched his memories. During the raid on the pirates, he’d been fine. The trip to Icefaren had been quiet. And then...the shock of seeing his parents, the surprise of learning he had three siblings... No. He’d had his share of astonishments over the years without any consequences.

It had happened sometime that night he stayed by his brothers’ graves. When he’d talked to Zebulon, and Zeb had asked if he could handle it. Handle the fact his parents had moved past the death of their sons and resumed living. When he realized he’d been frozen in time.

The scene of Valek kneeling next to Vincent’s grave flashed in his head. That strange, light feeling that had cracked the cold, hard ice around him. Had it destroyed his immunity? Yelena speculated that his protection was a null shield that he had grafted to his soul when he witnessed his brothers’ murder. Did finally making peace with that part of his life release his immunity? And if so, what did that make him now?

“Yes, something happened,” Valek said to Fisk in a strained voice. “I can’t...” He held a hand up, stopping any more questions. Then he bolted down the road until they disappeared from sight.

Time alone might help.

He needed Yelena. Desperately.

Valek stopped and leaned against a tree. Emotions surged. His world spun as if he’d been set adrift. Was this how Yelena had felt when she realized she couldn’t access her magic? Perhaps someone had blocked his immunity? Not likely.

Muted steps sounded, and then a warm, soft nose pressed against his cheek.

Ghost No More upset.

Valek jerked as Kiki’s thoughts filled his mind. He stared at her.

She pushed on his shoulder.
Go find Lavender Lady.

Yes. They needed to rescue Yelena and Leif.
Can you hear me?
he asked Kiki.

Yes. Ghost No More.

The horses called him Ghost because of his immunity. Another confirmation that it was gone, and in its place...

Magic
, Kiki said.

Mine? Is that why I can hear you? Or is it your magic?

Both.

* * *

When he returned to the clearing, Fisk had packed his bag. All three of them turned to him, waiting.

“Where’s Bruns holding Yelena?” he asked Fisk.

“No.”

“No?”

“You can’t go in there like that.”

“Like what?”

“Open to magic. You need to learn how to block other magicians, or Bruns’s people will seize you as soon as you get close.”

“It’s important to block others,” Zethan said. “It’s the first thing Nell taught us, along with controlling our magic.”

“But I can still hear your thoughts,” Valek said.

“Yeah...about that.” Zethan grimaced. “We think you might be either very powerful or you’re pulling too much magic from the blanket of power and could...”

“Flame out and kill us all,” Zohav said.

Valek stilled. He hadn’t even considered the danger. What else was he missing? “Can you teach me?”

“It’s not safe here,” Fisk said. “By now Bruns probably learned of this location from Yelena. We need to return to my headquarters in the Citadel and plan our next move.”

Fisk was right. No doubt Bruns expected Valek to rescue Yelena and Leif. And he was in no condition to fight Bruns’s magicians.

“Can you keep it together until we arrive?” Fisk asked, misunderstanding Valek’s hesitation.

“I can explain how to build a mental barrier as we ride,” Zethan offered.

He’d have to keep a tight hold on the...magic. Too many people were depending on him. Valek strode to Onyx and mounted. “Let’s go.”

As the others prepared to go, Valek tried an experiment and sent his thoughts to Onyx,
Go fast to Citadel?

No response.

Kiki?
he asked.

He not Sandseed.

But he understands you.

Kiki speak horse, too.

Valek stifled a laugh. If he lost it now, he wouldn’t be able to recover his composure. He was already sure the repercussions from this...turn of events would echo for a long, long time. Mulling it over as they headed south to the border, Valek found a bright side. He’d no longer be trapped by a blasted null shield. Wouldn’t Bruns be surprised?

This time, he laughed aloud.

* * *

During the two-day trip to the Citadel, Zethan taught Valek how to construct a mental wall that would block other magicians from reading his thoughts and influencing him.

“You tapped into the power source instinctively, which is why you’re hearing our thoughts,” Zethan explained. “First you need to locate that link, that thread to the blanket of power.” He gestured to the sky. “For me, it feels like a current of air, connecting me, which makes sense since I can influence storms. Zo says it’s like a tiny stream of water. Block out all distractions and focus. Tell me when you’ve found it.”

Valek concentrated. He smothered his worries, strangled his anxiety and silenced his doubts. In the resulting calm, a river of energy flooded him. “Got it.”

“What does it resemble?” Zee asked.

“A...flow of...power, as if spraying from a pipe.” Valek struggled to describe the magic. “Almost like a bolt of lightning that doesn’t disappear.”

Zethan exchanged a wide-eyed look with his sister. “All right. Imagine a shield made of marble, or something that can block the lightning and protect you. Use the lightning to construct this shield.”

“How?”

“Imagine you can grab the lightning and mold it into the shield.”

Following Zethan’s instructions, Valek closed his eyes, but he couldn’t manipulate the bolts of power, no matter how hard he tried. Frustrated, he asked, “What else can I try?”

“I don’t know,” Zethan said. “It worked for me. What about you, Zo?”

She frowned at her brother, but it seemed more from habit than a real emotion. “I couldn’t manipulate the water. Instead, I imagined my shield as a piece of leather and the magic as a dye that I applied to the leather, strengthening it.” Another scowl—this one directed at Valek. “I assume you worked in Father’s tannery when you were younger. Maybe that might work for you.”

A good idea, except his power seared the leather and set it on fire—or rather, it did in his imagination. Leather wouldn’t work. Marble didn’t resonate with him, either. What could withstand the lightning and was part of him? What had helped him in his time of need? His daggers and sword—both made of steel. Yet that failed to work. The metal melted. What else?

Kiki jigged to the side of the road and a stone flew out from under her hooves, whizzing past his head. He almost groaned aloud, remembering the gray rocks he used for his statues. Envisioning a large hunk of the rock about the size of his head, Valek used the lightning to carve the piece into a black helmet with specks of silver that would protect him from magic. When he finished, he strapped the helmet on and peace descended.

“Better?” Zethan asked.

“Much. Thank you both, and you, too, Kiki.”

Kiki flicked her tail, but didn’t slow. They were within sight of the Citadel’s walls.

They looped around to enter the east side in case Bruns had set an ambush on the west side.

“But remember, if a magician is more powerful than you and he has the ability to read minds, you’re screwed. He’ll grind that wall into dust.” Zethan twisted his fist into his palm, demonstrating.