“And they might find Ari and Janco instead.” I paced.
“Don’t worry, love. Those two know how to avoid patrols. But you’re right. As Janco would say, ‘There are too many rabbits in the stew.’ We’ll hang tight until everything settles down.”
Valek spread his bedroll, even though it wasn’t full dark yet. Although he tried to hide it, I recognized his fatigue. Normally so graceful and fluid, his movements jerked, as if every action required a great effort.
I sat next to him, and he draped an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. “What did you learn at your magic lesson today?” I asked him.
“That he can make an awesome null shield,” Teegan answered, pumping a fist in the air.
“And how to recognize them.” He smiled. “Selene was so pleased with herself, thinking she’d trapped me.”
Which reminded me. “And what did you learn from Selene?”
Teegan’s humor faded. “She confirmed that the Cartel plans to target all the magicians during the Firestorm—her words, not mine.”
“Firestorm?” Valek stared off into the distance. “Which matches our guess that the Commander plans to attack around the time of the fire festival.”
“It does. But I don’t think they intend to kill the magicians. She took great pleasure in the fact that we were going to be hit with some kind of substance.”
“Do you know what the substance does?” I asked, hoping we’d finally learn what exactly the Cartel was planning.
“No, sorry. I only had time for a brief glance into her rotten thoughts. But—” Teegan glanced at the forest.
Both Valek and I reached for weapons.
Teegan shook his head. “It’s Ari and Janco. Kiki’s leading them here.”
Sure enough, two men and four horses appeared from the forest. Dirt and mud splattered their clothing, and their stiff dismounts indicated they’d spent too much time in the saddle.
Janco pulled a leaf from his hair. “I was really looking forward to sleeping in a bed tonight.”
“Look on the bright side—if we’d stayed in the tailor shop, you’d be sleeping in the garrison tonight,” I said.
He grunted. “So I gathered.”
We filled them in on Selene’s visit. Ari and Janco exchanged a glance.
“What did you discover?” Valek asked.
“That substance she mentioned is called Harman sap. And it can block a magician’s magic.”
We all stared at Janco in shock.
“Are you sure?” Valek asked.
“Unfortunately.”
“Is there a cure?” My voice was barely a whisper. Perhaps that was what had happened to me. If that was the case, at least it hadn’t affected the baby. It was no longer a theory that he or she had some form of magic.
“No one knows,” Janco said.
“You haven’t been hit with it, Yelena,” Ari said.
I clamped down on my emotions. “How do you know?”
“Selene didn’t discover the correct concentration until a season ago.”
A rush of relief swept through me. I grabbed Valek’s arm to steady my wobbly legs. However, the good feelings died when I considered that the Cartel could still target me with the sap, and perhaps block the baby’s powers, as well. And the rest of our herd was at risk, too.
“Does it wear off?” Teegan stood as if rooted to the ground.
“They don’t know.” Janco explained what had happened to the volunteers.
Valek was the first to recover. “It doesn’t change anything. We assumed the Cartel planned to target the magicians. This is...kinder, and they can still blame the Commander.”
“No wonder the Commander invited Owen in with open arms,” Ari said. “He’d jump at the chance to get rid of all the magicians.”
Janco was the only one not horrified by the prospect. “Maybe we can snag a few vials and use it on Selene, Owen and their sycophants.”
We all stared at him.
“What? If they use it on us, then we’ll be able to level the playing field. No magicians on either side.” He shrugged. “Seems fair to me.”
“Fair?” Teegan choked, truly appalled by the prospect of losing his magic forever. “It’s—”
“An issue to be discussed later,” Valek said, ending the discussion.
* * *
Two nights later, we prepared to rescue the Councilors. As the strongest of us, Ari volunteered to throw the storm orb at the wall, but Teegan thought he’d still be too close and might be killed.
“I’ve watched the Stormdancers. Those things are packed with energy,” Teegan said. “I can use my magic to deliver the orb.”
Janco shook his head. “According to Heli, it’s gotta hit with some force or the glass won’t break.”
We rigged a slingshot instead, with Valek aiming and Teegan on hand to nudge the orb in case it went off course. Not like we could practice.
I crouched with Ari and Janco about two hundred yards away from Valek. Teegan promised he’d be able to protect the two of them from flying debris, and there was no reason for the rest of us to be with them.
The faint twang of the slingshot reached me a few seconds before a roar of sound dominated all my senses. Wind and pressure flattened me to the ground. Leaves, dirt, branches and a fine white powder blasted over me. My skin felt rubbed raw. The cacophony ended as suddenly as it began. Unless I’d gone deaf.
Janco pushed up to his knees. “Holy snow cats!” His voice sounded very far away.
Glad my hearing still worked, I turned to see what he gaped at. The storm’s energy had cleared a path in the forest. And in the distance, a huge hole replaced the garrison’s wall. Then it hit me. There was no sign of Valek or Teegan. Panicked, I jumped to my feet. Ari was right behind me as we waded through the debris, calling their names.
A small hand poked up from a pile of leaves. Ari and I cleared the branches and bits of the wall from the mound. Underneath, Valek covered Teegan’s body. His shirt was streaked with bloody rips, but he rolled off the boy with a groan.
Teegan sat up. “Wow. That was...incredible!”
“What happened to protecting the both of you with your magic?” I asked Teegan. My voice was sharper than I’d intended.
He jerked as if slapped. “Didn’t expect...so much...power.”
I touched his shoulder. “Sorry.”
“Not his fault,” Valek said. He struggled to stand.
Ari pulled him to his feet as if he weighed nothing. “Let’s go before they regroup.”
We trudged through the rubble and climbed over the broken edge of the wall. Soldiers milled about in shock, some of them sporting bloody cuts and gashes. A few helped others who lay on the ground. Cutting through the chaos, Teegan led us to the nearby barracks. Chunks of the wall were embedded in the sides of the building, and the glass had shattered in all the facing windows. People streamed from the building, gaping at the damage. A number of them milled about, unable to act, while
others looked as if they were waiting for orders.
I pointed to a group of people. “There’s Councilor Cowan.”
Teegan nodded, then called the Councilors to him with his magic. They shuffled toward us as if sleepwalking.
Ari, Janco, Valek and I guided them to the wall and encouraged them to climb over. All the while, we assured them they would be safe as long as they kept moving away before the rest of the garrison collapsed. When we entered the forest, Councilor Tama Moon resisted.
I clasped her hand and murmured comfort and reassurance in her ear. After a minute, she met my gaze.
Confusion swirled in her eyes, but also recognition. “Yelena, you’re here.”
“Yes, I am.”
“For us?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
I hoped that was a sign that the baby had drained the magic brainwashing her, but I didn’t know for certain. When she steadied, I moved on to Councilor Bloodgood. I made sure to touch them all during the long trek through the forest. It lasted until dawn, when it became obvious we all needed a break.
“Do you think we’re far enough away?” Janco asked. He gulped a mouthful of water before handing the skin to Ari.
“Teegan?” Valek asked.
Valek’s injuries looked worse in the daylight. But he wouldn’t let me tend to them or use his magic to heal them, claiming they were minor.
“We have a good lead on them. Plus those tracks Janco made earlier have led half of them in the opposite direction,” Teegan said.
“Good.” Valek studied our traveling companions.
The Councilors huddled in pairs. Their expressions still remained a bit stunned. But none complained or demanded to be returned to the garrison. They thanked Ari as he shared a water skin and strips of jerky. However, I suspected the questions would soon start.
“We need to split up,” Valek said.
No one appeared to be happy about this—quite the opposite. And while I trusted Valek had our best interests in mind, the Councilors still believed he worked for the Commander.
“Why?” I asked him.
“We’re too big a group. It will slow us down and attract unwanted attention.”