Night Study (47 page)

One of the teen guides yelled, “These guys don’t have the balls to stop us!”

Janco rounded on the boy, ready to berate him for giving away their position, but a loud wet splat sounded nearby. It took Valek a moment to decipher the scene in front of him. Huge balls of water flew through the air and slammed into the guards at the gate, flattening each one.

It clicked. Zohav! His siblings and Fisk were rescuing them! Zethan controlled the storm, and a Stormdancer must be responsible for the calm.

Soon the gate was cleared of defenders and they sprinted from the garrison. They had to get as far away as possible and find a safe spot to hide. As they ran through the dark woods, Valek searched his memory for possible locations, but the effort needed to stay on his feet drained all his energy.

So used to being in charge, it didn’t dawn on Valek that the teens continued to lead them.

The night turned into one long slog. Cold seeped into his bones as his wet clothes clung to his skin. At one point, Valek realized Ari’s arm was around his shoulders, supporting him. Near dawn, they entered a cave and they all dropped to the ground in exhaustion. Soon after, Fisk arrived with Zohav, Zethan, Heli the Stormdancer and Teegan.

Smiles, hugs and slaps on the back were exchanged. Then introductions were made. Yelena shot him a shocked and questioning look when his relationship to Zohav and Zethan was revealed. He mouthed,
Later.

“You saved our lives,” Valek said to Fisk. “Thank you.”

“Except for the jailbreak, it was a combination of a couple of the options we discussed with you back at the Citadel. Plus, I had lots of help,” Fisk said, gesturing to the twins, Teegan and Heli.

“How did you know we needed you tonight?”

“My helpers infiltrated the garrison. They wore null-shield pendants to protect them from the magic. They noticed that Bruns had a man following Yelena, so they followed the man. By his behavior, we suspected something was going down tonight, so we prepared to launch the plan.”

Yelena made a disgusted noise. “And here I thought I was being clever.”

“You freed us from the cells,” Leif said.

“And led you right into an ambush.”

“It worked out,” Janco said.

“Not for Dax.” Yelena’s voice quavered. “Or Hale.”

Valek pulled her close.

Janco ducked his head. “Ah, I’m sorry, Yelena. I liked Dax. He was a good guy. And we’ll find a way to rescue Hale.”

The silence stretched as they remembered Dax.

“It’s been a hard night for everyone,” Fisk said. “There are bedrolls, blankets and supplies in another cavern.”

They set up a camp. Valek tried to help, but Janco pushed him down on a bedroll. “Relax, boss. You look half-dead.”

“But—”

“It’s an improvement from almost dead, but ya still have a long way to go.”

Yelena arrived, and all his protests died as she lay next to him, spreading a blanket over them. She rested her head on his shoulder and he hooked his arm around her.

“We have lots to catch up on,” she said. “Are there any more surprises you’re hiding?”

“Yes, but I’m not hiding them. I just don’t have the energy to explain right now.”

“All right.” She snuggled in closer. “We’ll discuss it after we’re rested.”

But Valek wouldn’t be able to truly relax unless... “Janco,” he called as Janco hustled past. “We need to set up a watch schedule.”

“Already on it, boss.”

“Good.” But Valek’s mind still whirled with all that had happened. And this problem with Bruns and the Sitian takeover was far from over. Oh, no. It was just the beginning, and he had no idea how to stop it.

Despite his dark thoughts, Valek eventually drifted to sleep.

* * *

Cries of alarm jolted him awake. Valek jumped to his feet with a knife in his hand before he even deciphered the trouble. Armed soldiers streamed into the cave. Their hiding spot had been discovered.

Yelena stood next to him. She muttered a curse and pulled a blowpipe from her tunic. Ari and Janco met the charge head-on. Their swords cut down the first couple of soldiers. Zohav and Zethan retreated to the back of the cave, along with Heli and Teegan. It would be difficult for them to use their magical powers in the confined space of the cavern.

Fisk engaged the enemy, fighting beside Ari and Janco. Mara huddled by the fire while Fisk’s three helpers threw rocks at the soldiers. The melee appeared to be evenly matched, until more of the enemy arrived.

Swiping a sword from a fallen man, Valek moved to intercept the new arrivals. He wondered who’d been on watch and realized Leif wasn’t in the cave. A part of him worried about his brother-in-law, but once he reached striking distance, all his energy focused on the matter at hand.

With his first opponent, he sidestepped the man’s sword thrust, shuffled in close and stabbed him in the stomach. No time for finesse in this fight. Valek moved to the next soldier without waiting for the first to fall. A successful attack combined surprise, speed and intensity. Valek kept up the pace, but a part of him knew his injuries would eventually slow him down.

The clang of metal, cries of pain and smell of blood soon dominated all his senses, and the fights blurred into one unending skirmish.

Minutes...hours later, it appeared they had the upper hand. And that was when he spotted Yelena and Loris. When had that bastard arrived? And how did he get to her? Fury and fear mixed into a lethal combination and he stalked toward them, stepping over fallen bodies.

Loris held a knife to her throat and was retreating from the cave. He must have also figured out that the surprise attack would eventually fail.

“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll slit her throat,” Loris ordered Valek. He stood behind Yelena, using her to shield his body.

Valek wondered why Yelena hadn’t disarmed him. That move had been a part of her training. She even clutched something in her hands. The answer dawned on him when he met Yelena’s gaze. Anger and helplessness blazed in her eyes. He stopped.

“Smart,” Loris said. “Too bad you weren’t smart enough to protect her with a null shield.”

Ah, hell.

“Don’t let him leave,” Yelena said. “He’s going to kill me regardless.”

“Shut up,” Loris said. He backed up a couple more steps.

Valek scanned the cave. Ari and Janco waited nearby. He lifted his eyebrows just a fraction. Then he returned his attention to Loris.

Tapping a finger on the hilt of the sword, Valek gauged the distance to the man.

“You’re not getting out of here alive, puppy dog,” Janco shouted.

Loris glanced at Janco. In that split second, Valek flipped his knife over and threw it at Loris. The tip of the blade pierced the man’s left eye. He screamed and flailed. Valek shuffled close and disarmed Loris, freeing Yelena.

But before he could finish the man off, Loris tackled Valek to the ground and yelled, “Drink it.”

As Valek struggled to push Loris off, Janco cried out. Yelena tipped the glass vial filled with amethyst to her lips.

“Don’t!” Desperate, Valek finally broke away, lunged and knocked the bottle from her hands, but purple stained her lips. He’d been too slow. His world shattered.

Yelena’s face creased in disgust. “Yuck.”

How could she be so—

“I never liked grape jam.” She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

Valek almost fainted with relief. “Was that one of the things we need to discuss?”

“Yes.”

Loris moaned. Valek found his knife and slashed the man’s throat, ending his ability to bark orders and his life. Then he pulled Yelena to him and held her tight, needing to breathe in her scent and just take a moment before he released her.

Valek scanned the cave, assessing damage. Everyone appeared to be okay, despite their collection of cuts, bruises and bloodstains.

“Pack up,” he said. “We need to move to another location. This one’s been compromised.”

A shout from outside the cave drew his attention. More enemy soldiers already?

He, Ari and Janco raced to the entrance with their weapons in hand, preparing for a fight. The bright sunshine seemed incongruous to the carnage inside. A small group of people huddled over a prone figure. And then Valek remembered.

Leif.

His brother-in-law had been shot with a crossbow bolt. The wooden shaft jutted from Leif’s chest an inch from center. Blood pooled underneath him. Unable to stand, Valek knelt beside him, feeling for a pulse. Weak. He sank back on his heels. Ah, hell.

Yelena’s and Mara’s cries of alarm roused Leif. His eyes fluttered open, focused on Mara. She crouched next to him and grabbed his hand in both of hers. Tears streamed down her face.

“I...tried to...warn...” Leif gasped. “...sorry.”

“No,” Yelena said with anguish, falling to her knees next to her brother. “You’re not leaving.”

“Don’t think...I...have...a choice. Mara...I...love you.” Leif passed out.

Yelena growled in frustration. “I’d give anything to have my magic back.”

Magic! “Get Zethan, Zohav, Teegan and Heli,” Valek ordered Janco, who hovered nearby.

Janco raced to the cave and returned with the twins, Heli and Teegan right behind him. Valek asked them if they could heal.

“No, sorry,” Zethan said.

Heli shook her head sadly. “It’s not part of a Stormdancer’s power.”

Teegan creased his brow, looking queasy. “I tried to heal a squirrel, but I killed the poor thing instead.”

Silence followed the bad news.

“We can’t,” Zethan said. “But maybe
you
can.”

“I...”

“Valek? What are you talking about?” Yelena demanded of Zethan.

Wordless, the poor boy stared at her.

The idea seemed ridiculous. He might flame out or end up injuring someone. Plus he’d never used magic before and had no clue how to wield it. But he was intimate with someone who did. He had to try, or he’d never forgive himself.

“Everyone except Yelena go inside the cave,” Valek ordered. When they hesitated, he said, “Go now!”

They hurried to obey. Valek stripped off his shirt to remove the null shield Leif had attached, tossing it far away.

“Valek...?” Yelena began, but then she pressed her lips together. “Tell me what you need.”

“I need you to imagine you have magic and you’re going to heal Leif. Think of each step and how you’d use the magic to repair the damage. I’ll follow your instructions. Be very specific.”

She drew in a deep breath. “Imagine in my mind, right?”

“Yes. Visualize as much as possible.” He reached for her hand, but she pulled away.

“Touching me will block your magic. Tell me when you’re ready.”

Valek grabbed the bolt in both his hands. “When I yank this free, start.”

“Okay. Make sure you press your hand to the wound.”

“Got it. One, two, three.” Valek tugged the shaft from Leif’s chest. Blood welled, pouring out. He covered the hole with his hand and dropped his mental barrier.

Yelena’s instructions flooded his mind. He reached for the blanket of power. A bolt of energy pulsed, and power flowed inside him. The temptation to grab it all consumed him. Bruns and the Commander’s plans to take over Sitia would be easy to stop. Nothing could match his power. Nothing could harm him or Yelena or the baby.

“Focus on Leif.”

Yelena’s voice sliced through the greed. With effort, he extracted a small thread and sent it into Leif’s wound. He matched the images in Yelena’s mind of stitching skin and bone together with that glowing fiber of magic. One thing Valek did know how to do—sew. The other assassins hadn’t called him the King Knitter for nothing. As he worked, pulling thread after thread to repair the damage, the images in Yelena’s mind faded. Valek needed to reinforce the connection over and over. It was as if another magician sucked at the magic he used. Odd—but then again, it might be normal. He had nothing to compare it to.

“You got it. Keep going,” she encouraged him.

Healing a wound involved more than he’d ever imagined. Broken bones needed to be fused together. Muscles woven back in place. Tissue smoothed. Veins repaired and reconnected.

Exhaustion flirted with him, but he shoved it aside.

“Blood,” Yelena said. “He’s lost too much. You need to generate more.”

“How?”

“Inside the bones.” She showed him a mental image.

He seized additional magic from the blanket to keep their link, then drew extra strands to induce Leif’s bones to produce blood. And when his own body fatigued, he tugged a few more to energize him.

“The color is returning to Leif’s face,” Yelena said. “His pulse is stronger.”

Valek removed his hand. A livid red scar surrounded with black, purple and green bruises marked Leif’s chest.

Relief, joy and pride pulsed through Valek. He’d saved Leif’s life. With magic! The power still rushed through his veins, as if he’d drunk too much whiskey. Valek worked on his own injuries. The cracked ribs gone. The bump on his head erased. The bruised muscles and all the cuts, sewn together. He hadn’t felt this good in a long, long time.

“Valek, stop!”

Valek focused on Yelena. Worry and love and gratitude and jealousy swirled in her mind. And that...tug. It sucked his magic, as if he’d sprung a leak. Good thing an unlimited power supply was so easy to reach.

The magic filled him, and he wrapped it around his body, layer after layer after layer, protecting him. Valek ignored Yelena’s sharp tone. Her fear grated on him, so he broke their connection. Now he wouldn’t lose any power to that leak. He’d keep it safe. And keep it from everyone. Owen and Ben Moon and all those who used it to harm others wouldn’t be able to hurt another. No. Valek controlled the magic now, and he wasn’t going to share. With anyone.

33

YELENA

V
alek gathered too much power. He was going to flame out and kill himself and anyone nearby. I had to stop him, but wasn’t sure how. Panic threatened to jumble my thoughts, but I wasn’t going to lose him now. I yelled for Ari and Janco. They rushed from the cave.

Pointing at Leif, who stirred, I said, “Take him inside. Tell the twins, Teegan and Heli to come out here now!”