Fire Study (26 page)

execution had traveled throughout Ixia, while the fact that the Commander had

ripped up those orders when I agreed to be a Liaison probably had not.

Especially since everyone in Sitia and Ixia believed the Commander had stayed

behind in Ixia when the Ixian delegation visited Sitia a couple months ago. The

Commander had been disguised as Ambassador Signe, and she had no authority to

cancel an execution order.

Because of the edict that magicians were not allowed in Ixia unless invited, and

any Ixians discovered with magical powers were put to death, I had one volatile

situation on my hands.

While killing us wouldn’t be easy, the captain had what amounted to standing

orders to execute us on the spot. If he succeeded, though, he would have to face

Valek. I shied away from that line of thought.

Instead, I said, “The Commander has appointed me as a Liaison with the

Council. I am a neutral third party so I would not come with an honor guard of

Sitians. I come with friends. Those guards had been chasing him.” I gestured to

Marrok’s prone form. “I need to discuss something important with the Commander

right away.”

The captain’s crossbow wavered. He appeared to be considering my answer. I

pulled a thread of magic and skimmed his mind, touching only on his surface

thoughts and emotions.

His ambition warred with his intelligence. Tired of guarding the border, the

captain wanted a promotion and reassignment. Killing these southern magicians

would give him enough recognition to become a major. But what if Yelena told the

truth? The Commander wouldn’t be happy to have his Liaison killed. Still, bringing a

magician close to the Commander would be dangerous. What if Yelena lied and

planned to assassinate him?

I nudged his thoughts to trust us and to believe that if he led us to his

commanding officer, he would be doing a commendable deed.

“You will accompany me and my squad,” the captain said. “We will confiscate

your weapons and horses, and you will obey all orders. Any trouble or signs of

revolt and you will be incapacitated.” He signaled for a few of his soldiers to

approach us. “Search them. What about him?”

I looked at Marrok. “Let me attend to his wounds, Captain…”

“Nytik.” Again the captain signaled to one of his soldiers. “Lieutenant, search him

for weapons.”

After the lieutenant secured Marrok’s sword, he gave me permission to examine

him. The arrow had pierced Marrok’s right side, missing his ribs. There wasn’t

much blood and the arrow hadn’t gone deep. Why was Marrok unconscious?

Accessing my magic, I scanned the rest of his body. He had been beaten. Two

ribs and his collarbone were broken. A mass of bruises covered his body and his

jawbone was cracked.

“Leif, I’m going to need some help.” Healing the extensive damage in Marrok’s

body would exhaust me and I needed to reserve some energy in case Captain Nytik

changed his mind.

“A poultice?” Leif knelt next to me.

“No. His story threads are frayed.” Moon Man placed his large hand on

Marrok’s forehead.

I glared at Moon Man. “Stay away from him. Leif, let’s deal with the physical

injuries first.”

Moon Man retreated. Leif and I drew power from the source. With my brother’s

help, I assumed his injuries and repaired them. When Marrok woke, Leif gave him

water and a sustaining tonic to revive him.

I questioned him on what had happened and why he was here, but Marrok just

stared at me with a wild, unconnected look in his eyes. Worried about his mental

state, I projected my awareness into his thoughts.

A cacophony of images flooded his mind. Memories and emotions and secret

thoughts were exposed, unlocked and left to run amok, as if someone had taken a

library full of books and torn and scattered them all around the room. The sheer

amount of disarray overwhelmed Marrok. He could no longer bring two thoughts

together to form a coherent sentence.

And there in the middle of the mess, gleefully shredding what remained of

Marrok’s mind, was Roze Featherstone, First Magician.

She turned to me. There you are. I knew I’d find you in here if I looked hard

enough. Now I can discover where you’ve been hiding.

She advanced, but I held my position. I’m not a memory, Roze. You won’t be

able to extract anything from me.

I wouldn’t be so sure. Too much confidence can be a weakness.

You tried twice before and failed. I’m feeling pretty certain about my prediction.

Why did you destroy Marrok’s mind?

She glanced around at the chaos. He’s a criminal. And you shouldn’t be so

shocked. It’s no different than when you destroyed the Soulstealer’s mind.

I ignored the jab. Marrok isn’t a criminal and you know it. Did you force him to

make a false confession?

He was honest, unlike you. You’ve been lying to us and to yourself, thinking you

can be a benefit to Sitia. Now the Council knows the danger and I have permission

to eliminate the threat you pose.

Again I failed to be impressed with her boast. How did Marrok and the others

find us?

Roze smiled. You’ll have to figure that out on your own.

Are you trying to tell me I have a spy in my midst?

Dishonest people tend to find each other, Yelena. It’s the price you pay for

associating with the criminal element. Frankly, I was surprised the Council hadn’t

given me permission to neutralize you before. After all, how can they trust the heart

mate of the most feared man in Sitia? Think about it. How could you be a Liaison

when it’s obvious where your loyalties lie? First sign of trouble and you’re running

for home. I will tell you one thing. You won’t be safe in Ixia.

I didn’t say anything, but she laughed. I have found what I needed. Good luck

trying to put the pieces of Marrok’s mind back together.

She faded from his consciousness. Standing in the middle of the destruction she

had left behind, I knew restoring order would be an impossible task. I returned to my

body. There was nothing I could do.

Roze had the Council’s support against me. If I hadn’t known any better, the

web of lies Cahil spun made complete sense. Roze even made sense. If she was as

dedicated to Sitia as she claimed, then her efforts to discredit me were valid. Why

trust me? I’m a Soulfinder, the one type of magician with an evil history. It would

take a major effort and physical evidence to counter Cahil now.

“Moon Man, how did you find us?” I asked.

“Logic. I knew you would go to Ixia and I knew you would not cross the Avibian

Plains in order to go around Featherstone lands. So that left west. Tauno found your

trail in the Krystal lands.”

It was too much of a coincidence. “But Leif saw you disappear into the fire. And

what about Marrok and the horses? How did you get them?” He had help and must

have been sent by Cahil or Roze. Moon Man worked for them now.

“Gede pulled me from the fire. Marrok had been dumped in the infirmary and left

unguarded. The horses came when we needed them.”

It still sounded too easy. “Why did Gede insist I go into the fire?”

“You will have to ask him. He is your Story Weaver now. I can not guide you.”

His tone held sadness.

“Why did you go into the fire, Moon Man?” Leif asked.

“Gede is the only surviving leader of my clan. I follow his orders.”

“Even when your life’s at stake?”

“Yes. Loyalty to one’s clan comes before personal safety.”

“Like being bait for a necklace snake?” Leif gazed at me.

“Exactly,” Moon Man said.

“Can your man walk?” Captain Nytik asked. He had been standing nearby,

watching us with distaste creasing his forehead. “We need to get moving.”

Marrok couldn’t walk, but he could ride. Kiki and Topaz’s heads were together. I

connected to Topaz, and asked, Go home? Miss Peppermint Man?

No. Stay.

Why? Topaz had been with Cahil for a long time.

Bad smell. Blood.

I turned to the captain. “He’ll sit on his horse.”

With the lieutenant in the lead, Moon Man, Leif, Tauno and I followed. The

captain and his remaining soldiers formed a rear guard. We traveled north through

the Snake Forest. On a map, the forest resembled a thin rope of green that undulated

along the entire east-west border from the Jade Sea to the Emerald Mountains. After

a half day of travel, we arrived at a guard station and barracks.

Another round of explanations had to be endured before we could care for the

horses and eat lunch. We sat in the middle of the guard house’s dining area

surrounded by fifty suspicious soldiers who shot us hard glances between bites of

food. Moon Man guided Marrok with a gentle patience. Basic skills like eating and

caring for himself would all have to be relearned.

During our cold meal of venison jerky and bread, I explained to my companions

about Ixia’s uniform system. “Everyone who lives in Ixia must wear a uniform. The

standard colors for the shirts, pants and skirts are black and white, but each Military

District has its own color. We’re in MD-7, which is governed by General

Rasmussen, who reports to the Commander. Rasmussen’s color is yellow and

you’ll see a line of yellow diamond shapes somewhere on the uniforms.” I gestured

to the guards around us. Their uniforms matched the captain’s, but the rank insignia

on their collars were different. “A cook’s uniform is all white with diamonds printed

side by side across the shirt. The color of the diamonds tells you which district the

cook works in. Red is the Commander’s color.”

“Who’s that?” Leif pointed to woman heading our way. She wore all black, but

had two red diamonds stitched onto her collar. Her blond hair was pulled into a tidy

bun. She held two bows in her hands.

“She’s an adviser to the Commander.” I stood and grinned.

She tossed me my bow. I caught it. The noise in the room ceased the instant it hit

my hand.

“Okay, Puker, let’s see if you’ve been practicing,” she said with an exultant yet

predatory glint in her eyes.

“Adviser Maren, didn’t your mother teach you it’s not nice to call people

names?” I hefted my bow. “Especially not armed people.”

She waved away my comment. “We’ll deal with the niceties later. Stuck in this

backwoods, I haven’t had a decent bow fight in a long time. Come on!” She

beckoned me to follow as she threaded her way through the dining room.

“Should we be worried?” Leif asked.

“She taught me all her tricks, but I’ve learned a few new ones since our last fight.

This should be…interesting.”

“Play nice,” Leif said.

I navigated through the quiet room. It erupted with sound as soon as I left. A

mass of soldiers followed me outside.

Maren stretched her muscles before picking up her bow. Tall and lean, she made

a formidable opponent. She swung her six-foot staff with deft hands. At a slight

disadvantage, my bow measured only five feet. I removed my cloak and rubbed my

hands along the smooth wood of my weapon, setting my mind into the zone of

concentration I used when fighting. Not quite magical in origin, this mental state kept

my mind open to my opponent’s intentions.

As soon as I was ready she attacked with two quick strikes toward my ribs. I

blocked both, countering with a strike to her arms. The fight began in earnest.

The rhythmic crack of our weapons filled the air. I ducked a temple strike and

thrust the end of my bow staff toward her stomach. She stepped back and

attempted to trip me with her bow. I jumped and did a front kick in midair, hitting her

shoulder. Maren retreated a few steps before coming at me with a series of jabs.

“Did you get tired of losing to Janco all the time and request a transfer?” I asked,

knocking her bow aside and executing a flurry of temple strikes. Maren had been a

captain in the Commander’s Special Forces, along with my friends Ari and Janco.

“I was promoted,” she said. She met my assault and feinted to the right.

Sensing her intentions, I ignored the feint and stopped the blow to my head just in

time. “Promoted to adviser? Sounds shady. Bribe anyone I know?”

“Once I beat Valek, I could choose any job in Ixia.”

I froze for a moment in surprise and she hit my upper arm, knocking me over. I

rolled, avoiding her jabs, but she pressed her advantage. Two moves later, she sat