Читать книгу Night Study - Maria V. Snyder - Страница 10
ОглавлениеVALEK
The glass walls and ceiling of the house shattered with an eruption of sound. Unable to reach Yelena in time, Valek watched in horror as razor-sharp shards and jagged chunks crashed down onto her huddled form. The force of the impact sent glass flying in all directions. He stumbled back, covering his face with his hands. Pinpricks of pain pierced his legs, arms and torso.
“Holy snow cats!” Janco yelled next to him.
When the noise died, Valek yanked his hands down. He raced along the side of the house, searching for Yelena in the heaping piles of broken glass. The gray fabric of her cloak poked through a mound. An ice-cold dread filled his heart when he spotted the blood. Without hesitation, he waded into the ruins. The glass crunched, popped and cracked under his boots.
“Careful,” Janco said as he followed.
They reached Yelena’s side. She was buried. They removed the big slabs and brushed off as much as possible. She tried to move, but her cloak was still pinned.
“Easy, love,” he said, relieved she was conscious. “Let us free you first.”
Yelena stilled. Blood soaked her back from dozens of slivers, but the real concern was a large triangle-shaped piece that jutted from her left side, just below her ribs. Janco pointed to it and mimed a yanking motion. Valek shook his head. They’d remove the dangerous one after they assessed where it had hit her.
Working together, Valek and Janco cleared the rest of the glass and freed her. By the time they finished, blood dripped from his and Janco’s hands from the numerous cuts they’d gotten.
“Can you stand?” he asked her.
“Yes.” She pushed up to a sitting position. All the color drained from her face. “Uh...maybe not. How bad—” She noticed the shard.
“Let’s get you out of here first.” He helped Yelena to her feet and supported her as they navigated the uneven debris.
Onora waited for them. She had retrieved the first-aid kit from Kiki’s saddle. Once they cleared the house, Valek removed her ruined cloak and she sank to the ground. He cut away part of her shirt to expose the worst injury. It looked deep, and he worried it might have pierced her stomach. At least it wasn’t close enough to endanger the baby, if she was in fact pregnant.
Yelena inspected the damage. “It shouldn’t bleed out when it’s removed, but the wound will need to be sealed.”
Good thing the first-aid kit contained a jar of Rand’s glue. The Commander’s late chef had invented an edible adhesive for his cakes that also worked on skin.
“Let’s take care of these others first,” Valek said. “Do you want me to pour the medicinal Curare on your back?” Yelena’s father had supplied them with a watered-down version of the drug for this contingency.
“Save it for when you seal the serious wounds.”
Being the only one without cuts on her hands, Onora used a pair of tweezers to remove the slivers from Yelena’s back and the back of her head. Onora peeled off Yelena’s tunic as she worked. Janco hovered, getting in the way.
“Do a sweep of the area. Make sure no one is around,” Valek ordered him. “If it’s secure, we’ll camp here for the night.”
“Yes, sir.” Janco dashed off.
“Thanks,” Onora said. She continued, creating a pile of bloody pieces next to her. “It could have been worse. The cloak’s fabric stopped a bunch.” Onora continued to pluck glass from Yelena’s skin and then her hair.
Valek hated seeing Yelena hurt. A helpless frustration boiled up his throat, and the desire to murder the person who’d harmed her pulsed with every heartbeat. If she reclaimed her magic, he’d never take her healing powers for granted again.
“Valek, attend to your wounds,” Onora said, shooing him away. “You can’t help me with bloody fingers.”
He stifled a protest—she had a point. And now that she had mentioned them, pain flared to life. Multiple stings peppered his body and blood stained his clothes. Valek pulled glass from his skin, then washed his hands and wrapped a bandage around his right palm, which had sustained the largest gash. He’d save the glue for Yelena.
When Onora finished, he knelt next to his heart mate and met her gaze. “Ready?”
She nodded.
He grasped the triangular shard and yanked it out in one quick motion. She gasped. Blood poured from the wound. Pressing a bandage on it, Valek stanched the flow as she lay on her uninjured side. When the surge eased, he rubbed Curare around and in the injury, then inspected it. It wasn’t as deep as he feared. Relieved, he used Rand’s glue and sealed the gash before tending to the others.
In the time it took for Janco to return and build a campfire, Yelena’s cuts had been cleaned and wrapped in bandages, and she’d changed into fresh clothes. Despite her protests, Valek tucked her into her bedroll, insisting she rest. The sun balanced on the crest of the hill and darkness would soon fill the valley.
Janco boiled water for one of Leif’s healing teas. “I knew those brothers were up to no good. They must have doubled back after they left us.”
“Did you see them?” Valek asked.
“No, they were gone by the time I did my sweep. The crossbow must have been hidden somewhere nearby.”
“Crossbow?” Onora asked Janco.
“Of course a crossbow. How else could they have shattered the glass from a distance? It had to be a bolt.”
It made sense, but Valek had felt a brush of magic right before the walls exploded. “I think it was magic.”
“But I thought you checked,” Janco said.
“I did.” He’d not only circled the building, but touched the glass walls to ensure no magical alarms had been installed.
“It was a booby trap,” Yelena said, pushing up to her elbow.
“Then what set it off?” Janco asked.
She gazed at the fire as if in thought. “There was a piece of parchment on the ground. As soon as I picked it up, the glass started cracking. It must have triggered the trap.”
“A magical booby trap?” Janco cursed. “Oh, that’s just wonderful. The more I learn about magic, the more I hate it.”
Valek considered. “Was there a message on the paper?”
“I didn’t have time to look,” Yelena said. “It’s probably still there.”
Janco sprang to his feet. “I’ll get it.” He crunched through the debris. Cracks and pops marked his noisy passage. After a few minutes, he returned with the folded note and a murderous expression on his face.
Janco handed it to Valek. “Read it.”
Valek unfolded the parchment. One word had been written in black ink.
“Gotcha.”
Fury burned in his chest. Owen would pay for this little stunt the next time Valek encountered him. And he wouldn’t allow Owen to catch him in a null shield. Oh no. Valek had no intention of letting the magician know he was in mortal danger. Not even with a note.
“Let me see.” Yelena held out her hand. Small cuts crisscrossed her knuckles.
He passed it to her.
She huffed. “Typical Owen.”
“How do you know it was Owen?” Onora asked.
“He’s the only one of the magicians who can set a trap like this,” Yelena explained. “Rika is limited to magical illusions, and Tyen can only move objects.”
“What else can Owen do?” She poured hot water into a teacup and gave it to Yelena.
Valek approved of her question. One of the lessons of being an assassin was to know everything possible about your mark.
Yelena crinkled her nose as she sniffed the tea, either disgusted by the smell or the topic. “Owen’s quite talented. He can mentally communicate with another magician, which isn’t a big deal, but his ability to lie to another when communicating mind to mind is extremely rare.”
“He can also lasso one of those null shields around someone pretty quick,” Janco added. “They can block magic, but not objects or people, except for—”
“I know what they are,” Onora said, glancing at Valek.
Valek hid his amusement. She was worried about upsetting him.
“Owen can also mess with a person’s memories, erasing the real ones and inserting fake ones. Or he can just tear your mind apart, leaving you a mindless idiot.” Yelena rubbed her forehead, no doubt remembering Owen’s attack.
“So that’s what happened to Janco,” Onora quipped.
Janco tsked. “Nasty.”
“Accurate.” She shot back.
“You wish. I can think circles around you!”
“I agree. Your mind spins round and round, like a gnat’s. A truly dizzying intellect.”
Janco squawked in protest, but before he could respond, Valek said, “That’s enough.”
Janco clamped his mouth shut, but shot Onora a venomous glare. She ignored it. This time. It was inevitable that Janco would push too far and they’d fight, which would be interesting to watch. However, for tonight, Valek didn’t want to upset Yelena.
“Is that the extent of Owen’s magical powers?” Onora asked.
“No,” Yelena said. “He can heat objects. I once held a knife to his throat and he made the handle so hot, I had to drop it, which means he can also start fires. And apparently set traps. That’s new to me, so he might have other hidden powers.”
“Gee, what a sweetheart.” Janco’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “Sounds like the creep could be a Master Magician.”
Yelena sipped her tea. “He’s not that powerful, but he’s close. I wonder if he took the master-level test and failed. That could explain some of his...bitterness and antisocial behavior. It’s a brutal test.” She covered her expression with the cup.
“Have you taken it?” Onora asked.
“Oh, no. Not really.” Yelena glanced at the embers swirling in the hot air above the fire.
Probably searching for the bat that was usually her constant companion when it wasn’t hibernating during the cold and warming seasons. Valek wondered if the bat would find her or even if it could find her now that she no longer had magic. He hoped the little creature wouldn’t abandon her.
The bat had arrived soon after Yelena’s first trip into the fire world. Valek remembered being utterly devastated when she’d disappeared into the fire world after the Warper battle. She’d been gone for months. If she hadn’t reached out to Leif... He’d planned to join her there.
“According to Irys, when you returned from the fire world you passed the master-level test,” Janco said.
“But I didn’t meet all the requirements for being a Master Magician. No, it just confirmed what I’d suspected, that I was a Soulfinder and my job was to find lost souls and guide them to either the sky or the fire world, depending on their deeds while alive.”
Janco thumped his chest. “I’m sure I’m destined for the fire world. At least I’ll be in good company.” He gave Onora and Valek a pointed look.
Yelena frowned. “It’s not something to joke about, Janco. It’s a terrible place full of pain, despair and utter misery. And you’re not destined for it.”
“Why not? I’ve lied, cheated, stolen things. I’ve killed people.”
“You have also saved people, sacrificed yourself and are helping to keep the peace by stopping the truly evil people from taking over. It’s not so much your actions, but your intentions and your choices.” Yelena met Valek’s gaze. “And it’s a matter of balance. Even if you did terrible things, all the good you do will eventually outweigh it, tipping you toward the sky.”
A lovely sentiment, but Valek needed a few decades of good deeds to balance out his years as an assassin for hire. He’d killed to learn how to be a better killer. All in order to assassinate the King of Ixia. Granted, the King had been corrupt and evil, but those others had just been marks to him. Except for the men who had murdered his brothers in the King’s name. They deserved to die.
Janco’s brow creased in thought—a rare expression for him. “Does this mean I have to be nice to Little Miss Assassin?”
“Yes, because I’m no longer a Soulfinder, so I can’t rescue you from the fire world.”
Now Janco blinked at Yelena. All humor dropped from his face and he pressed a hand to his heart. “You would have rescued me?” he asked in awe.
“Of course, you idiot! I wouldn’t let you suffer.”
Despite being called an idiot, he grinned. Or was that in spite of? Hard to tell with Janco.
Onora shook her head. “Now you’ve done it,” she muttered.
To forestall Janco’s obnoxiousness, Valek changed the subject. “Onora, you have first watch. Janco, take the second shift, and I’ll go last.”
“That means I have the third shift,” Yelena said in a tone that warned of a major battle if he disagreed.
“All right. In the morning we’ll stop at the closest town and send Leif a message, informing him of the booby trap.”
“Do you think Owen had time to rig all the houses?” Janco asked Valek.
“He has a six-day head start. And he knows we’ll be searching for them. Plus the Curare is too valuable to leave behind, so I’d expect him to gather as much as he can. He’ll need money to finance his next endeavor.”
Owen had claimed to have discovered something big enough to make the Commander forgive him for his betrayal. It could have been a boast, but Valek doubted it.
“What about the dead body?” Janco jerked a thumb toward the barn.
“We’ll inform the local authorities in the morning and let them handle it.”
“Does anyone else think it...odd that Owen murdered the gardener?” Yelena asked.
“No,” Valek answered. “The gardener probably had information about the operation. It was smart to silence him.”
“Yes, but...” She played with the string on her tea bag.
“Owen murdered his brother and the others,” Janco said.
“We still don’t know for certain who killed them, but assuming it was him, he hired an assassin. Big difference.” Yelena gazed at the liquid in her cup. “And I’m still not convinced it was him. In all my dealings with Owen, he never acted like a killer. Think about it. He went out of his way to scare me off by pretending to kidnap Reema back in Fulgor. Even when he captured us, his solution was to erase our memories. Why not just slit our throats and bury us?”
“Because if he killed you, Valek would hunt him down and tear him apart,” Janco said.
True. Valek’s fingers itched to grasp a blade just thinking about anyone harming his heart mate. But what Yelena said also had merit. Did she suspect Onora had assassinated the trio? “If Owen didn’t do it, then who did?” he asked her.
“It’s just a theory, and you’re not going to like it.”
With that one comment, he knew. And she was right. He didn’t like it, but he had wondered the same thing. “The Commander.”
Yelena met his gaze. “Owen is proof that the Commander lied to the Sitian Council about executing the magician four years ago. He’d want to erase all the evidence that connects them, including all Owen’s coconspirators.”
Janco added another log to the fire. “But the Sitians know Owen’s alive and producing Curare for the Commander.”
“There’s no proof the Commander has Curare and, as long as Owen isn’t captured, it’s only our word that he’s still alive.”
“That should be good enough.” Janco puffed out his chest.
“The Commander can say we must have mistaken Ben for his brother. He can order you, Valek and Onora to keep quiet. In the political world and without any hard evidence, the Council can’t do anything.”
Interesting theory. “Are you saying the Commander hired another assassin to kill Ben and the others?” he asked Yelena, wondering if she suspected Onora of assassinating them. Not that she’d suggest it in front of the girl; nor did she glance in Onora’s direction.
“I’m not accusing him. I’m just speculating. But if he wishes to keep the relationship between Ixia and Sitia civil, he would need Owen to disappear forever.”
“He went to a lot of trouble to get all that Curare,” Janco said. “I don’t think he’s worried about being civil.”
* * *
The rest of the evening passed without incident. When Yelena woke him for his watch shift, lines of strain marked her face.
Concerned, he sat up. “What’s wrong? Do you need something for the pain?” He kept his voice low so he wouldn’t wake the others.
“I already dipped into Leif’s goody bag,” she whispered.
“That bad?”
She waved off his comment, which meant it had been bad and she didn’t want to worry him. Too late. He’d never not worry about her.
Yelena settled next to him. “I’ve been thinking about Owen. He’s too smart to hire a couple of locals to transport the Curare vine from the hothouse to the river. Locals get curious, ask questions, gossip in the taverns. All things he avoided. Otherwise we would have gotten wind of his operation before.”
“You think he paid the brothers to bring us out here? Pretend they didn’t remember everything?”
“Yes.”
It made sense. “We knew it was a risk coming here.”
She agreed, but something was off. He studied her. Her movements were stiff, and she held herself as if she’d break. His own cuts throbbed, so he could only imagine how much more pain she was in. Despite that, he sensed another problem.
“You liked them,” he said.
A brief, wan smile. “Yes. And, even though I didn’t completely trust them, I relaxed and wanted to believe they were genuine. Did you know they lied?”
“I suspected, but thought finding one of the glass houses was worth the risk.”
“I know I should trust no one, but...it’s exhausting.”
Ah. The real reason for the melancholy. “You’ve been relying on your magic to assess people you meet and now that’s blocked, so you’re at a loss and probably second-guessing yourself. Right?”
She nodded.
“Then I’ll teach you how to read body language. Most people give themselves away when they’re lying.”
“Most people?”
“I’ve only encountered a few who can lie to me.” Eventually, he would discover the ruse, but, at the time, they’d convinced him.
“Who?” she asked.
“The Commander. Onora. The others are...gone.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Gone?”
“I don’t like being fooled.”
“And the Commander?”
Valek glanced at Onora. Curled up on her side, she appeared to be asleep. “The Commander’s lying is a more...recent event.”
“But he didn’t tell you about Owen.”
“Oh, he’s kept things from me before, but he’s never looked me in the eye and lied.”
“What changed?” she asked.
What indeed? “I suspect a few things.”
“Such as?”
“Not here, love. Janco’s far more interested in our conversation than his dreams.”
“Am not,” Janco said, not in the least embarrassed he’d been caught eavesdropping. “Besides, I don’t have dreams, I have nightmares.”
Before Janco could launch into a detailed description, Valek said, “Then we’ll let you get back to them.” He stood to allow Yelena to take his place under the blankets.
She untied his short cape and handed it to him. They’d have to buy her a new cloak to use during their trip to Ixia. Once there, she could reclaim her own cloak and give the new one to Reema. Too bad she didn’t have it with her before. The special resistant fabric of her garment would have stopped many of the smaller shards of glass.
Valek added a few logs to the dying fire. The air had grown quite cold. Then he moved away from the light, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. He did a sweep of the surroundings and, when he was satisfied no one lurked nearby, Valek found a spot to watch over the camp until dawn.
When the sun rose, he woke the others. Janco grumbled. Onora said nothing as usual. Yelena sat up and winced, pressing a hand to her side. Valek insisted she drink a cup of Leif’s wet-dog tea. He checked her bandages. With a bit of sleight of hand, he rubbed a couple drops of the watered-down Curare along her injuries before applying fresh bandages.
“I saw that,” she said.
“No, you didn’t.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he said, “We have a long day ahead of us.”
They packed up and headed northeast, returning to follow the Sunworth River. At the first decent-sized town, Valek sent a message to Leif, warning him of the booby trap inside the glass houses while Yelena informed the local security forces about the dead gardener.
As they continued east, Janco asked him, “Are we going to keep searching for more of those hothouses?”
“No. Owen’s probably cleaned them all out. We’ll let Leif and Devlen hunt for the rest of them. We need to rendezvous with my team and locate that other tunnel into Ixia.” His team had expected him days ago, and he’d have to eventually report his detour to the Commander. At least they had collapsed the hidden tunnel located near Lapeer. Owen had been making a tidy profit by allowing smugglers to use his tunnels for a fee. Valek loved it when criminals turned greedy. It made his job of catching them so much easier.
“Then we should cross to the north side of the river,” Janco suggested. “The other tunnel was on that side near the Ixian border.”
“Ari said they traced the smugglers to the foothills of the Soul Mountains. We can travel faster on the road than in the forest.” Valek considered. The intel from Ari and his corps had only pinpointed one location. Janco had discovered the Lapeer tunnel by accident. It might be possible there were more. “Actually, you—”
“Don’t say it,” Yelena said.
Affronted, Janco asked her, “Would it kill you to give a guy a bit of praise?”
“If that guy is you, then yes. Humility is not one of your personality traits.”
“You’re just mad because now we’re going to travel through the woods, which means sleeping on the ground and not in an inn.”
“I can handle it better than you. Your joints crack and pop every time you stand up, old man.”
“Old man! I’m only seven years older than you.”
“Are you sure it’s not seven dog years? You have a lot of gray in your muzzle,” Yelena quipped, referring to Janco’s salt-and-pepper goatee.
“Every single one of these gray hairs is directly linked back to saving you or being involved in one of your schemes.”
“Oh no, you don’t. I distinctly remember the time...”
Valek ignored the rest of their bickering. Usually Yelena avoided verbally sparring with Janco, but, by the glint in her eyes, she enjoyed needling their friend.
Instead, Valek concentrated on the terrain along the northern bank of the Sunworth River. Not far from their location, the waterway turned southeast and became the actual border between Ixia and Sitia near the Soul Mountains. There wouldn’t be any bridges along that segment. Plus, the forest had been cut down for a hundred feet past the bank, so anyone attempting to cross the border at that point would be seen by the Ixian patrolmen. Which was why the tunnels worked so well.
When the Commander closed the border after the takeover, he cleared the land from the Sunset Ocean in the west all the way to the mountains in the east. Valek doubted Owen would build a tunnel in the open area between the countries or under the river. Which meant that the only logical place for a tunnel would be in the foothills of the Soul Mountains.
“We’ll keep to the road,” Valek said, interrupting one of Janco’s rants. “Speed is vital at this point.”
“And beds,” Janco added.
Valek gave him a flat stare.
“Nothing wrong with that.” Janco thumped his stomach. “Better sleep means a better response to danger. We’ve no idea what nasties are lurking in that tunnel.”
“Hate to say this, but Janco has a point.” Yelena grimaced as he puffed his chest out. “Owen knows you’re searching for the tunnels. He booby-trapped the glass house, so it makes sense that he’d rig the tunnel, as well.” She gestured to Janco. “We can send him in first since he’s the Master Illusion Detector.”
Air hissed as Janco’s chest deflated. “Me?”
“Yes, you. Weren’t you just boasting that—”
Valek spurred Onyx into a gallop. If Yelena had the energy to tease Janco, then she’d be okay for another couple of hours and they could reach the next town by nightfall.
* * *
They rendezvoused with Valek’s team two days later in a mining camp located in the foothills just a mile inside Ixia. The small unit had spent the extra time searching for signs of the tunnel without success.
“Have you heard from Bravo team?” Valek asked Ivon, Alpha team’s leader.
The wiry man snapped to attention. “Yes, sir. Qamra sent a message four days ago. Her team located two warehouses used by the smugglers in MD-5 and burned them to the ground as ordered.”
Interesting. Ari had found only one. “And her assessment?”
“At the time of the missive, she was unable to confirm if General Ute had any knowledge or involvement in the operation. Her plans were to continue the investigation.”
“Very good.”
Ivon’s steel-gray gaze never wavered from Valek’s face. Very little slipped past the man’s notice. “I’m sorry we were unable to be as effective, sir.”
“No need to apologize. Show me where the trail ended.”
“Yes, sir.” Ivon unrolled a map marked with the place Ari had identified and handed it to Valek.
The spot was about a mile east. The map also indicated the locations Ivon’s team had checked. Valek planned to leave Yelena in the camp with Onora nearby, protecting her. Smudges of exhaustion darkened the area under Yelena’s green eyes. The fast pace hadn’t been conducive to healing.
However, in order for Yelena to agree to his plan, he’d have to choose his words with the utmost care. “No need for all of us to go traipsing around. Janco and I will home in on any magical illusions that might be hiding wagon tracks or the entrance and we’ll return once we find it so we can go over options.”
“I’m pretty sure there’ll only be two,” Janco said. “Enter or cover the entrance with a bunch of rocks. Frankly, I’d vote for just blocking the damn thing. No reason to go inside.”
“Unless that’s where Owen is hiding,” Yelena said.
“Even more reason to collapse it.”
“Why would he hide inside when he knows we’re searching for it?” Onora asked.
Valek met Yelena’s gaze. Was she remembering the time they had hidden inside a dungeon? She smiled. That would be a yes.
“Sometimes the best places to hide are the most obvious,” she said. “Owen’s smart. He knows Valek has orders to put the tunnel out of commission and blocking the entrance is the easiest way. Why look inside? And don’t forget Tyen can move those boulders with his magic.”
“Lovely.” Janco scratched the scar where the bottom half of his right ear used to be. “And what happens if they are hiding there? Let’s face it. Between Owen’s ability to trap Valek, Rika confusing us with her illusions and Tyen tossing boulders at us, we’re fu...er...outmatched.”
Valek agreed. Head-to-head, outmatched didn’t even begin to describe it. However... “The trick is to avoid detection.”
“And how exactly do we do that?” Janco asked.
“Carefully. Come on, it’s getting late. I want to cover as much ground as possible before the sun sets.” Valek consulted the map.
“How can my team aid you, sir?” Ivon asked.
“Talk to the locals and the miners. See if anyone noticed or heard anything that might point us in the right direction.”
“Yes, sir.” Ivon called to his men.
“What about us?” Onora asked.
“Find a place in the camp where we can set up and make sure the horses have a comfortable spot.”
“Busywork,” Yelena said. “I know what you’re doing.”
“You do?”
“Feigning innocence doesn’t work on me.” She waved a hand. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to insist on accompanying you. You’re right. I’d be useless for this mission.”
“That’s not the reason.” He tried to explain, but she strode away.
Onora remained. “I’ll keep a close watch on her.”
“Good.”
She hurried after Yelena.
Janco watched her. “You’re trusting her?”
For now. “Why do you ask?”
“That hit on Ben Moon and the others.”
Valek waited.
“You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t you?”
“Yep.”
Janco scrunched up his face as if in pain. “The Commander ordered you to shut Owen’s entire operation down. It makes sense he ordered his shiny new assassin to do the same thing. It’d be dead easy for Onora to make it appear as if The Mosquito was the culprit. And you already know all this, don’t you?”
Valek kept his expression neutral, but he was impressed. “I thought Ari was supposed to be the smart one.”
“Yeah, well, he isn’t here, so I gotta do all the thinking. And I’m not happy about, either. It makes my head hurt.”
* * *
Valek and Janco spent the rest of the day hunting for the familiar sticky feel of magic in the foothills. They returned late and left early the next morning to resume the search. Another two full days passed before Janco stopped Beach Bunny.
He pressed his hand to his right ear. “Son of a snow cat!”
“You’re not thinking again, are you?” Valek drew next to Janco, halting Onyx.
“Not funny. It’s gotta be a superstrong illusion.”
Valek dismounted. “Which direction?”
Janco pointed to the right. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. The bare branches of the trees dipped and swayed in a cold northern breeze that smelled of snow, despite it being a couple weeks into the warming season. High, thin clouds filtered the sunlight.
Valek pulled his sword. Janco slid off Beach Bunny and yanked his weapon from its sheath. The rattle and tumble of dried leaves filled the air. This patch of forest grew in a dip in the rolling terrain near the base of the Soul Mountains. To the east, the jagged snowcapped peaks stretched high, like a row of gigantic corn plants reaching for the sun.
The mountain range earned its name from old legends. Folklore claimed the peaks snagged souls as they ascended toward the sky. These trapped souls haunted the frozen heights and sucked the life from anyone who dared climb past the tree line. Valek believed it to be just a story to explain why no one who tried to reach the summit ever returned. The lack of breathable air was the more likely explanation. Although some also asserted that mysterious people who supposedly lived on the other side of the mountains patrolled the upper regions to prevent anyone from crossing into their homeland, keeping their existence a secret.
Pure nonsense. Valek returned his attention to the task at hand. He hadn’t expected Owen’s tunnel to be this high in the foothills, but the isolated location was ideal.
Janco aimed for an ordinary group of trees and hissed in pain as he disappeared from sight. Increasing his pace, Valek hurried after him and encountered magic. The invisible force pressed against his skin. Pushing through felt like swimming in mud. He found Janco rubbing his temple on the other side. Valek scanned the area for possible threats. Nothing so far.
A mass of oversize boulders was piled next to a hill. At first glance, it resembled a natural rock slide from the mountains, but upon closer inspection the heap was too neatly stacked. It must be blocking the tunnel.
“Looks like someone beat us to it,” Valek said.
“No.” Janco’s voice strained with effort. “Move closer.”
He did. The air thickened. Another illusion. “Clever.” It would stop the smugglers from using it, but it kept the tunnel open in case Owen needed it again in the future.
“Could be a trap.”
“Indeed.” Valek tightened his grip on his sword and drew a knife with his free hand. “I’m just going to confirm there’s a tunnel behind it.”
Janco straightened. “Then I’ll come confirming with you, just in case.”
The pressure on his body increased with each step. Janco paled when they reached the authentic-looking rocks. Even knowing it wasn’t real, Valek braced for impact as he strode right into the pile. He muscled through the magic.
No one ambushed them. The tunnel’s entrance was empty. Valek crept inside a few feet and listened for any noises that would indicate people were farther inside. No sounds bubbled up from the solid darkness.
Wagon wheel ruts warped the ground just past the opening. Janco drew in a deep breath. Relief smoothed his features and he crouched down to inspect the marks, running his fingers along the smooth grooves.
“How old?” Valek asked.
“Eight to ten days.”
“Probably the last smugglers before Rika set the illusion.”
“Now what?”
“Return to camp and discuss the next step.”
“How about we inform the Sitian authorities and let them deal with it? After all, they have all those magicians,” Janco suggested.
“That’s one option.”
They mounted their horses and headed back to camp. It was late afternoon by the time they arrived. Valek slowed Onyx. A number of people milled about the camp. More than he’d expected. Concern for Yelena pulsed in his chest until he recognized Ivon.
“Report,” he ordered his lieutenant.
“We’ve been talking to the other mining camps, sir. Two of them had a significant amount of food stolen from their stores.”
“And why is this relevant?”
Ivon snapped his fingers and signaled one of his men, who dashed away. “A witness caught sight of the culprits.”
An uneasy sensation brushed his stomach. He met Janco’s gaze.
“Can’t be good,” Janco said.
Ivon’s sergeant approached with a grubby teen boy wearing a torn miner’s jumpsuit. The all-black material had a row of green diamond shapes down each sleeve, indicating the miner worked for MD-5.
“Tell Adviser Valek what you told me, Lewin,” Ivon ordered the teen.
Under the coating of dust, the young man’s face drained of color. Lewin stared at Valek as if he peered into the mouth of a dragon just about to eat him. “Um...uh...it was the...the middle of the night and I was on the...the way to the latrine,” Lewin stuttered. “I heard voices ar...arguing near the supply shed, so I crept up tr...trying not to make noise, but I couldn’t see nobody.” He rubbed his chin with his sleeve. “Yet the...the voices kept at it as if there were a couple of invisible ghosts.” Lewin glanced around as if expecting them to tell him he was crazy.
No one said a word. Valek’s unease turned sharp, jabbing his guts. “Go on,” he urged Lewin.
“There’s been lots of ac...activity around here and weird...stuff. So I followed the voices to the...the edge of the camp. And...” He shuddered. “Three people step...stepped from the air. Bulging sacks floated behind them. They con...continued into the woods, heading west. I found out later the stores had been raided.”
Valek and Janco exchanged another glance.
“I hate it when I’m right,” Janco said.
“Can you describe them?” Valek asked Lewin.
“Yes, sir. Two men and one lady.”
Valek tightened his grip on Onyx’s reins. “Did you see their faces?”
“Yes, sir.” Lewin described the thieves.
Janco cursed under his breath.
“Anything else?” Valek asked, almost hoping the answer was no.
Lewin scuffed his boot in the dirt. “Yeah. Their uniforms. They wo...wore the Commander’s colors.”
The information rendered Janco speechless. However, Valek knew Janco would say holy snow cats. If Valek considered the bright side, at least they knew where Owen, Rika and Tyen were. Too bad they were in Ixia and appeared to be heading toward the Commander.
