Disguised as a man, I used the name Ellion, and asked everyone to call me by that name.
The day turned warm in the bright sunshine and we set a quick pace. Valek hoped the temperate weather would draw people onto the roads.
“Why?” Tauno asked.
“Then we will be one of many instead of the only ones,” Valek explained. They rode together and talked about how best to find the barn that held the Councilors’ family members.
Kiki stayed beside Topaz. She had missed his company and I wondered if Cahil mourned the loss of his horse. They had been together since Cahil was young. My eyes rested on Garnet. I cringed when I imagined facing the Stable Master’s wrath. Garnet had been with us so long and I had lost the Avibian honey I had bought to appease the Stable Master. He would make me clean tack and scrub stalls for weeks. I snorted with amusement. I had found one positive thing about spending eternity with the Fire Warper: no mucking out.
And no bat. My new friend hung from the edge of my hood. His weight rested comfortably in the small of my back. He seemed content to sleep away the daylight hours with me.
Marrok remained quiet throughout the day, but I wanted to know what had happened to him at the Citadel.
“Cahil tricked me,” he said when I asked. “I fell for his lies about remaining with Ferde to discover the extent of the Daviians’ operations. Applauded his plan to lure Ferde back to the Citadel. Commiserated over your ill-timed interference. He convinced me to confess and name you and Leif as accomplices. It would help him persuade the Council to attack Ixia. He promised…” Marrok paused, rubbing a hand along his right cheek. “After I confessed, he turned on me. A mistake I paid for…” He shuddered. “Am still paying for.”
“Betrayals are brutal,” I agreed.
Marrok looked at me in surprise. “Don’t you think leaving us in Ixia was a betrayal?”
“No. That wasn’t my intention. I wanted to protect you and was honest with all of you from the start. I just wasn’t honest with myself. A mistake.”
“You’re still paying for?” Marrok smiled. The gesture smoothed out the lines of worry and time on his rugged face, erasing years from his age.
“Yes. It’s the problem with mistakes, they tend to linger. But once we’re done with the Vermin and Cahil, I will have paid for all my mistakes. In full.”
Marrok gave me a questioning glance, but I didn’t want to elaborate. Instead, I asked, “Do you remember your rescue from the Citadel?”
He grinned ruefully. “Sorry, no. At the time, I was in no condition to think. Moon Man is a wonder. I owe him my life.” He glanced around then lowered his voice. “Being here without him, I feel…fragile. And that’s hard for an old soldier to admit.”
We rode the rest of the way in silence. Around midnight we set up camp. Funny how we automatically attended to the chores without discussion. Tauno hunted for rabbits and I cared for the horses. Valek searched for firewood and Marrok prepared the meal.
“I’m used to soldiers’ rations on the road, so don’t expect this to taste like Leif’s,” Marrok said as he dished out his version of rabbit stew.
The stew tasted a little bland but filled our stomachs. After dinner, we arranged our sleeping mats and set a watch schedule. I shared a blanket with Valek, wanting to be near him. I clutched him tight.
“What’s the matter, love,” he whispered in my ear. “You’re rarely this quiet.”
“Just worried about the Councilors’ families.”
“I think we have things well in hand. Between my sleeping potion for the guards, your Curare for the Warpers and the element of surprise, we should rescue them in no time.”
“But what if one of the captives is sick? Or dying? If I use my magic, I risk letting the Vermin know where I am and what I’ve been doing.”
“Then you’ll have to decide what is more important—one person’s life or the success of the mission for Sitia’s future. It’s pointless to worry. Instead, use your energy to decide how you would react to each contingency you can imagine. It’s more prudent to prepare for all possibilities than fret.”
He was right. Eventually, I slept.
Shadows haunted my sleep. They roamed the shadow world, lost and afraid.
Whenever the bright heat would appear, they hid and waited for the hot hunter to dissipate. Each time, the hunter captured more of them in his net of fire. They didn’t understand why he came and they knew nothing about the bridge to the sky. They clung to this world, desiring revenge and justice. The shadows needed a guide to convince them to let go and to show them the way.
“Ellion…Ellion…Yelena! Wake up.”
I pushed the arm away, wanting to roll over. “Tired,” I mumbled.
“Yes, we all are. But it’s your turn,” Valek said.
I blinked. My eyelids would not stay open.
“There’s a pot of tea on the fire.” When I failed to move, Valek pushed me off the mat and curled in my place under the covers. “Ahh. Still warm.”
“You’re evil,” I said, but he feigned sleep.
We had been on the road for the past four days, riding every minute we could to turn a seven-day journey into five days. And since Tauno had left before dinner to scout the area ahead, we had one less to guard the camp.
My bat swooped over the rising heat of the fire. He’d been staying with me during the day and hunting food at night. I longed to fly with him, soaring over the ground.
Tauno returned the next morning to report no signs of activity along our path to the Jewelrose border. “There is a good site to camp about two miles south of the border,” he said. “I will join you there.” He left.
I wondered what had kept him awake. Unlike Tauno, I had had a few hours’ sleep last night. Perhaps I shouldn’t complain anymore.
We packed and followed Tauno s trail. Another uneventful day and we found the camp location without any problems. Tauno reappeared with dinner hanging from his belt.
“I discovered the location of the barn,” he said, while butchering the rabbits. “It is four miles west of here in a little hollow.”
Valek quizzed him for the details. “We’ll have to strike in the dark,” he said. “We’ll go after midnight, leave the horses in the trees and then attack.”
Tauno agreed. He cubed the meat and dropped it into the pot. “I will sleep, then.”
While Marrok stirred the stew, Valek prepped the reed pipes and I saddled the horses. Garnet sighed when I cinched his straps tight.
“It’s not far,” I said aloud. “Then you can rest.”
I joined Marrok and Valek where they sat by the fire. They ate their stew and I filled a bowl for me. The broth tasted better; there was a hint of spice.
“This is good,” I said to Marrok. “I think you’re getting the hang of it. What did you add?”
“A new ingredient. Can you tell what it is?”
When I sampled another spoonful, I rolled the liquid around my mouth before swallowing. The aftertaste reminded me of Rand’s favorite cookie recipe. “Ginger?”
Valek dropped his stew. He jumped to his feet but stumbled. A look of horror creased his forehead. “Butter root!”
“Poison?”
“No.” He sank to his knees. “Sleeping draft.”
CHAPTER 29
VALEK COLLAPSED ONTO the ground. But just before he closed his eyes, he winked at me. I glanced around. Marrok hunched over his bowl, appearing to be asleep. A bone-deep fatigue spread throughout my body, but I remained awake. Perhaps I hadn’t swallowed enough butter root.
Not wanting to be caught “aware,” I pulled my switchblade and hid the weapon in the palm of my hand with my thumb resting on the button. Slumping over, I let my upper body fall to the side. The stew spilled off my lap and onto the ground, soaking into my pants. Great.