Her gold eyes flicked to me and Bain stopped speaking to introduce us. “Ambassador Signe, this is Apprentice Yelena Liana Zaltana.”
I clasped her cool hand in the Ixian greeting, and then bowed formally in the Sitian salutation.
She returned the bow. “I have heard much about you from my cousin. How are your studies progressing?”
“Very well, thank you. Please extend my best wishes to Commander Ambrose,” I said.
“I will.” Signe turned toward her aide. “This is Adviser Ilom.”
I held my face in a neutral expression as I shook his limp hand. He mumbled a greeting then ignored me as someone not worth his time or attention. I knew Valek had to be acting, yet his complete disregard made me worry if his feelings for me had changed.
I didn’t have much time to brood, though. When Bain led Signe and Ilom to meet another Councilor, Ari grabbed me in a quick bear hug.
“What’s with the dress?” Janco asked.
“Better than that wrinkled uniform,” I countered. “And is that gray hair in your goatee?”
Janco smoothed a hand over his facial hair. “A little present from my run-in with a sword. Or should I say from when the sword had a run-in with me?” His eyes lit up. “Want to see the scar? It’s cool.” He started pulling his shirt out of his pants.
“Janco,” Ari warned. “We’re not supposed to be fraternizing with the Sitians.”
“But she’s not Sitian. Right, Yelena? You haven’t gone south on us, have you?” Janco’s voice held mock horror. “Because if you have I can’t give you your present.”
I took my switchblade out, showing the inscription to Janco. “What about ‘Sieges weathered, fight together, friends forever’? Does that change if I become an official southerner?”
Janco rubbed the hair on his chin, considering.
“No,” Ari said. “You could change into a goat and it would still apply.”
“Only if she made us some goat’s cheese,” Janco said.
Ari rolled his light blue eyes. “Just give her the gift.”
“It’s from Valek,” Janco said, digging into his pack. “Since he was unable to accompany the delegation.”
“Suicide,” Ari said. “The Sitians would execute Valek if they caught him in their lands.”
Concern for Valek coursed through me, and I glanced around the hall, looking to see if anyone else had recognized him. Everyone seemed to be engaged in conversation except Cahil. He stood alone, watching the Ixians. He met my gaze and frowned.
At Janco’s triumphant grunt I turned back to my friends. Once I saw what Janco had in his palm, all thoughts about Cahil disappeared. A black stone snake with glints of silver twisted four times around his fingers. The snake’s scales had been carved with a diamond pattern along its back, and two tiny sapphires gleamed from its eyes. One of Valek’s carvings.
“It’s a bracelet,” Janco said. He took my hand and slipped the snake over it until it fit onto my forearm. “It was too small for me,” Janco joked. “So I told Valek he should give it to you. Looks like it fits you perfectly.”
I marveled at my gift. Why had Valek chosen a snake? Apprehension coiled in my stomach.
“Things have been quiet since you left,” Ari said. “Even though we’re not part of his corps, Valek made Janco a fox statue and a horse for me. They’re the nicest things we own.”
We talked until Ari and Janco had to follow the Ambassador to her suite. They told me they would have rotating shifts to guard Signe and Ilom and would have some time to talk to me again. I offered to show them around the Citadel and perhaps the Keep.
Irys found me before I left the great hall and she accompanied me through the Citadel’s streets to the meeting to discuss the ongoing efforts to find Opal. My ever-present guards, who had been discreet during the ceremonies, followed us.
“Janco looks great,” Irys said. “That was a quick recovery from such a severe injury. I’m glad.”
Irys’s words reminded me of something Story Weaver had said. With all the commotion surrounding Opal and the delegation, I hadn’t discussed Moon Man’s claims with her.
“Irys, what is a Soulfinder? My—”
Don’t say anymore aloud, Irys’s voice admonished in my mind. That’s not something you want anyone to overhear.
Why not? Why all the fear? My hand sought Valek’s bracelet. I twisted it around my arm.
She sighed. Sitian history is full of wonderful and brave magicians, who have joined the clans together and stopped the wars. Unfortunately, those tales aren’t told in the taverns and to the children. The tales of the few magicians who have caused harm seem to be the ones whispered by the fireside. With Mogkan’s corruption and now this beast that has Opal, I don’t want rumors and stories to circulate about a Soulfinder.
Irys fiddled with the brown feathers on her hawk mask that she carried. About a hundred and fifty years ago, a Soulfinder was born. He was considered a gift from the underworld. His strong magic affected people’s souls, healing both emotional and physical pain. Then he discovered he could pluck a soul from the air before it could float to the sky, waking the dead.
But something happened. We don’t know what, but he became bitter and he went from helping people to using them. Keeping the souls for himself, he woke the dead without their souls. These emotionless creatures followed his orders and had no remorse for their actions. That ability is considered an aberration and is against our Ethical Code. With his soulless army, he had control of Sitia for many many dark years before the Master Magicians could stop him.
Before I could ask for details, Irys continued her story. Yelena, you have all the abilities of a Soulfinder. When you breathed for Tula, you shocked me and alarmed Roze. That’s why I was so harsh with you about losing your guards. I had to show Roze I could control you. But today you made me realize that was wrong. It was probably the same type of panicked response that pushed the Soulfinder over the edge. We need to discover the extent of your abilities before we categorize you. Who knows? You could be a Master Magician.
I laughed, thinking of how easy it had been for Irys to ambush me and break through my magical defenses. “Highly doubtful,” I said. And also doubtful was Moon Man’s claims that I was a Soulfinder. Tula’s soul was stolen. I could breathe for her, yet I couldn’t wake her without it. I shared some abilities with a Soulfinder, but obviously not all.
As we drew closer to the Keep’s entrance, I noticed a small beggar wearing a dirty cloak huddled by the wall, shaking a cup. Annoyed that I was the only one to notice, I walked over and dropped a coin into the cup. The beggar looked up, and I saw a flash of Fisk’s smile before he hid his face again.
“We have news about the one you seek. Come to the market tomorrow.”
“Hey, you! Stop bothering the lady,” said one of my guards.
I spun to glare at the guard. When I turned back, Fisk was gone.
I mulled over Fisk’s message. My first instinct involved ditching my guards tomorrow and meeting with him, an Ixian response, but I decided to try the Sitian approach and see what the others had found regarding Opal.
Leif leaned over a table in the meeting room, studying a map. He greeted my arrival with a surprised expression, but I refused to acknowledge him and had to suppress a sudden fury that welled in my throat. I had no idea how I would fulfill my promise to Moon Man when all I wanted to do was shake Leif and demand an explanation.
Irys broke the silence and filled me in on the group’s efforts so far. They had divided the Citadel into sections and one magician was assigned to search each quarter. Councilor Harun, the Sandseed’s Councilman, had taken his people to hunt for Opal in the part of the Avibian Plains that bordered the Citadel. No clues had been found.
“We’ll send guards to search every building in the Citadel,” Roze said, sweeping into the meeting room with Bain on her heels.
“Which will cause Opal’s immediate death,” I said.
Roze sneered at me. “Who invited
you?” She gave Irys a poisonous glare.
“She’s right, Roze,” Irys said. “News of the searches would spread like a barn fire and he would be alerted.”
“Does anyone have a better idea?”
“I do,” I said into the silence.
All eyes turned toward me. Roze’s gaze froze my blood.
“I have friends in the Citadel who can get information without calling attention to themselves. Seems they might have already learned something, but I need to meet them at the market tomorrow.” Under my sleeve, I twisted Valek’s snake around on my wrist, waiting for their response.
“No,” Roze said. “It could be a trap.”
“Now you’re concerned for my welfare? How touching. Although I think jealousy is the real emotion,” I shot back.
“Ladies, please,” said Bain. “Let us focus on the task at hand. Do you trust this source, Yelena?”
“Yes.”
“It would not look unusual for Yelena to go to the market to shop. Her guards would be with her,” Irys added.
“The guards would scare away my source,” I said, which was true enough for my purposes. “Also my source might lead me somewhere, so I’ll have to move quick.”
“But you’ll need protection. We could disguise your guards,” Irys offered.
“No. They’re not the protection I need. I can defend myself against a physical threat, but I need to defend against a magical one.” Irys was a powerful ally.