Heat pressed on us as we entered. Workers sat at gaffer’s benches, some gathered molten slugs of glass, and another cracked a vase off a blowpipe and into an annealing oven. I smiled, remembering Opal’s lessons on how to blow glass. That knowledge had saved my life and allowed me to leave the fire world.
I didn’t recognize any of the workers, who glanced at us but didn’t stop shaping the glass even when Leif said hello to a few.
A shriek pierced the kilns’ roar. Leif and I grabbed our weapons, but a small girl with blond corkscrew curls dashed from between the equipment. Opal was hot on her adopted daughter’s heels.
“Come on, Reema. You’ll be late for school,” she yelled as Reema hid behind Leif.
“Uncle Leif, protect me!” she cried.
“After you ditched me with an empty pie pan? No way.” He sidestepped, exposing her.
She shrieked again and clutched my legs. “Aunt Yelena, don’t let them take me away, please!” Reema implored with her big blue eyes.
Who could resist that? Not me. I picked her up. Technically, I wasn’t her aunt by blood or marriage, but Opal insisted I was family. And Valek, too.
“Oh, for sand’s sake,” Opal said. “It’s just school, Reema. You’ll be home in time for dinner.”
Reema smoothed her beautiful face into an innocent expression. “We have company. It would be rude of me to leave now.”
What a con artist. I laughed.
Opal frowned. “Don’t encourage her.”
Devlen joined us. “There she is!” Most of his long black hair had escaped a leather tie and his shirt was rumpled. He nodded at us. “Come on.” He took his daughter from my arms.
She shrieked. “No, Daddy, I want to stay and visit.”
“We’ll be in town for a couple days,” I said. “If you go to school, I’ll finish the story about the curious Valmur tonight.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She pouted, but no longer assaulted our eardrums with that high-pitched squeal. Devlen carried her off.
“Let me down. I wanna walk,” she said.
“So you can run off again? I think not,” Devlen replied in a tired voice.
Opal gestured to her office. “Come in and let’s have a proper hello.”
We entered the room, and the kilns’ noise and heat dulled. More of the gray foam had been sprayed on the glass walls, but a strip had been left clean. Probably so she could see the factory floor.
“I told you she was a scamp,” Leif said, giving Opal a hug.
“And I never disagreed with you. Hello, Yelena.” She hugged me next. “Nice to see you.”
“What? No nice to see me?” Leif plopped into one of the chairs.
“Talk about a scamp,” I said.
Opal laughed. After all of Opal’s troubles, it was wonderful to hear the lighthearted sound and see the spark of amusement in her dark brown eyes. Her golden-brown hair had been pinned up in a knot, but strands hung down in a haphazard fashion.
“I’m sorry we came at a bad time,” I said.
“Oh no. Don’t worry. This is just our morning routine. Reema runs and hides and we search for her, drag her out from whatever hiding spot she’s found and carry her to school. You actually helped by intercepting her.”
“Ever think of homeschooling?” Leif teased.
“Yes. But she’s never been to a school before, and if she wants to join her brother at the Magician’s Keep, she needs to learn how to be with other kids her age.”
“Do you think she’ll be invited to the Keep?” I asked. At age ten, Reema was too young to show any magical potential, but her older brother, Teegan, had plenty to spare. Bain hoped he’d grow into master-level powers by the time he finished the five-year curriculum.
“Yes. She has an intuitive sense that is more than natural. It’s hard to explain. She can be so mature and smart at times, acting older than ten, yet at other times, like in the mornings before school, she runs around like a spoiled five-year-old.” Opal sank behind her desk. “While I’m happy to see you both, I sense it’s not to discuss parenting methods. Unless you have some news about my sister, Leif?” She raised her eyebrows.
Leif blushed bright red. Now it was my turn to laugh. My brother, the prude.
“I’ll take that as a no. Yelena?”
My mirth died in my throat. “Not even engaged.”
“Too bad. Another wedding would be fun.”
“Except we’d be targets. Better to elope like you and Devlen.”
“Which worked until my mother found out about it.”
I smiled, remembering the big gala Opal’s mother had thrown for them.
“Best food, ever,” Leif said.
“What about at your own wedding?” I asked.
“I was too nervous to eat.”
“Wow, I didn’t think that ever happened,” Opal teased.
“Not funny.”
After a pause in conversation, Opal asked, “Do you want to wait for Devlen to return before you tell me what’s going on?”
“Probably a good idea,” I said. Bad enough telling my story again. Best to avoid telling it twice.
“Then I’ll fetch some tea.” Opal left.
I scanned her office. Glass vases, bowls and sculptures decorated the tables and shelves. Stacks of orders had been arranged neatly on her desk.
Opal returned with a tray and poured four glasses. “Devlen’s coming.” She handed us each a steaming mug.
Devlen slipped into the room. He’d fixed his hair and changed his shirt. He said hello and stood behind Opal with one hand clutching his mug as if it would protect him and the other resting on Opal’s shoulder. Leif stared at him as if scenting his intentions. When Opal had first married Devlen, the relationship between Leif and Devlen had been strained. Leif had dealt with Devlen when he’d been addicted to the blood magic, and hadn’t witnessed Devlen’s change firsthand, only heard about it through Valek.
I had seen Devlen’s soul and knew him like no other. Probably why he acted embarrassed around me. Examining a person’s soul was a ruthless and intimate experience, and I hadn’t shied away, stripping down the layers to see the good man underneath the childhood traumas and insatiable desire for magical power. He’d lost his way, but had been strong enough to find the right path. And Leif was learning to trust him, as well.
“Is this about the man who escaped Wirral?” Opal asked. “Devlen’s been helping the authorities search for him, but the man’s a magician and has just disappeared. Has the Council finally sent help?”
“That’s one of the reasons we’re here,” Leif said. “But not at the Council’s behest.” He glanced at me.
I explained about my connection to Ben Moon and the attack in the woods. “Do you think he could have orchestrated it from Wirral?”
“No,” Opal said. “That place is locked down tight. But he did have help, so one of his accomplices could have organized the attack to knock you out of the picture and ensure you didn’t come searching for him. The prison break required a ton of planning and skill. Let’s just say they’d never get a second chance.”
“Do you know who his accomplices are?”
“Only two. A brother-and-sister team of magicians,” Devlen said.
“Any clue as to where they are?”
“We tracked them for a couple days. They headed northwest from Fulgor before we lost them.” Anger sparked in Devlen’s blue eyes.
“Do you think they’re hiding in Ixia?” I asked.
“We have searched most of Moon Clan’s lands and still have not found them. It is the one place we cannot look.”
True. I’d have to send Valek an update.
“You mentioned another reason?” Opal asked.
Her
e we go. I drew in a breath. You’d think the telling would get easier the more times I recited it, but no, it was even more difficult. At least I knew Opal and Devlen would understand better than anyone else. Each had lost their magic. However, Opal was immune to magic like Valek and Devlen was glad to be rid of the burden.
When I finished, Opal rushed over and embraced me.
“Oh, Yelena, how horrible!”
“I’m hoping it’s temporary.” I swallowed the fat fist in my throat. “And I’m hoping you might have some information.”