“There’s no time to explain. But Gelsi will need you close by. Can you meet me in the market in an hour?”
“Of course.”
I jumped up and started gathering supplies.
Dax hesitated at the door. “Yelena?”
I looked at him.
“What happens if you don’t stop him?” Fear shone in his green eyes.
“Then we find Valek. Otherwise, Sitia will be Ferde’s.”
Dax swallowed his fright and nodded before leaving. I packed my equipment and changed my clothes. Dressed in a plain brown tunic and pants I would blend in with the regular citizens of the Citadel. Covering my disguise with my cloak, I stopped at my parent’s suite on the way out.
Leif sat with them in the living room. I ignored him. “Father, do you have those extra pills?” I asked, hoping he knew I wanted the Theobroma.
He nodded in understanding and went to retrieve them. While I waited, Mother remembered her little invention she had told me about. She handed me a strange device made of tubes and rubber and explained how to work it.
“Just in case,” she said.
“This is great,” I said. “You were right about it being useful.”
She beamed. “That’s what every mother wants to hear.”
Leif had said nothing, but I could feel his penetrating stare as if he tasted my intentions.
Esau handed me the pills. “Are you coming to lunch with us?”
“No. I have something I need to do. I’ll catch up with you later,” I said, giving my father a hug and my mother a kiss on her cheek.
A queasy feeling rolled in my stomach. Perhaps I should tell the Master Magicians about Ferde and Gelsi? After all, it had been only pure chance that saved me from Alea. I was still discovering what I could do with my magic. And now that I had been expelled, would I be able to fully explore my potential?
My mother stopped me just past the door.
“Here,” she said, handing me my fire amulet. “I think you need this. Remember what you endured to win it.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but she shook her head, “I want it back.” She squeezed me in a tight hug for a moment.
Examining the scarlet prize in the sunlight, I marveled at Perl’s empathy. I tucked the amulet into my pocket and set a brisk pace for the Citadel.
After I had passed the Keep’s gate, I heard pounding footsteps behind me. I whirled, drawing my bow. Leif halted a few feet away. His machete hung from his belt, but he made no move to grab it.
“Not now, Leif,” I said, turning, but he clasped my shoulder and spun me around to face him.
“I know where you’re going,” he said.
“Bully for you.” I shrugged his hand off. “Then you know time is of the essence. Go back to the Keep.” I started to walk.
“If I do, I’ll tell the Masters what you’re doing.”
“Truly? You’re not very good at telling.”
“This time I won’t hesitate.”
Seeing the stubborn set to his broad shoulders, I stopped. “What do you want?”
“To come along.”
“Why?”
“You’ll need me.”
“Considering how helpful you were in the jungle fourteen years ago, I think I’m better off on my own.” I spat the words at him.
He cringed, but the obstinacy remained in his face. “Either include me in your plans, or I’ll follow you and ruin them.”
I clamped down on my sudden rage. I didn’t have time for this. “Fine, but let me warn you that you’re going have to let me inside your mind in order for you to get through Ferde’s shield.”
His face paled, but he nodded and fell into step with me as I hurried to the market. Dax waited there. I left Leif with him and hunted for Fisk. He helped a woman barter for a bolt of cloth, but he finished as soon as he recognized me.
“Lovely Yelena, do you need help?” he asked.
I told him what I needed.
He smiled and said, “Sounds like fun, but—”
“It’s going to cost me,” I finished for him.
He raced off to gather his friends.
Once Fisk had assembled about twenty children, I explained my plan to them. “Make sure you don’t go within a block of the courtyard until you hear the signal. Understand?” I asked. The children nodded. When I felt satisfied they knew what to do, Fisk’s friends scattered and went to get into position. Fisk led Leif and me toward the white jade statue. Dax waited in a side alley far enough away not to touch Ferde’s shield, but within sight of the second-story windows.
I kept my mind open, seeking for the edge of Ferde’s magical barrier. About half a block away from the courtyard, Leif touched my arm, stopping me.
“It’s just ahead,” he whispered.
“How do you know?”
“I feel a wall of fire. Don’t you?”
“No.”
“Then it’s good that I came.”
I glared, but had no reply. Fisk watched us, waiting for our signal.
This was not the time for a fight. I looked at Leif. “You have to open your mind to me,” I told him. “You have to trust me.”
He nodded without hesitating. “Do it.”
I pulled power to me, spinning it around me like a huge curtain. Reaching out, I made contact with Fisk’s mind. “Think of your parents,” I instructed, hoping this would work.
The young boy closed his eyes and imagined his parents. I linked to their minds through Fisk then reached for Leif’s.
Leif’s mind resembled a black labyrinth of pain. Guilt, shame and anger twisted together. I understood why Moon Man wanted to help him, but I felt a mean satisfaction at Leif’s remorse.
Pushing his dark thoughts aside, I replaced them with Fisk’s father’s concerns about finding work and supporting his family. I pulled in Fisk’s mother’s thoughts about her sister’s ailing health into my own mind. Holding their personalities and thoughts in Leif’s and my mind, I gave Fisk the signal.
He barked like a dog. Soon other barks echoed on the marble walls in reply. Fisk’s friends would begin the distraction, playing tag and running in and out of the courtyard and Ferde’s magical shield as many times as they could.
I took Fisk and Leif’s hands and the three of us continued on to the courtyard. As we crossed the barrier, I felt the probing heat of an annoyed and powerful magician. He scanned our thoughts, determined we were one of the local beggar families and dismissed us.
When we reached the statue, I released Fisk’s parents. T
hey would have an unusual story to tell their friends about how they had felt as if they were in two places at once.
“That’s half the battle,” I said to Leif.
He wouldn’t meet my eyes. His face was flushed with shame. Irritated, I snapped, “Now is not the time for this.”
He nodded, but still wouldn’t meet my gaze. Fisk ran off to join his friends in the game, giving us a few more minutes to get into the house.
We approached the house from a side street. The door was locked. I pulled my diamond pick and my tension wrench from my backpack and began working on the lock. Once I had aligned the pins, the lock’s tumbler turned and the door swung inward. I heard a surprised huff from Leif. Then we stepped inside the foyer and closed the door. I shoved my picks into my pocket.
Walking without sound, we entered a living area. The normal furniture and decorations seemed out of place. I guess I had expected something wild and weird; something that reflected a killer’s mind.
Leif held his machete and I gripped my bow, but I knew they would not protect us. Magic filled the house. It pressed against my skin and I started to sweat. The sounds of the children faded and we heard the light tread of feet from the floor above us.
Connecting with Gelsi’s mind, I saw Ferde approach her. He held a brown stone bowl and a long dagger. He wore his red mask and nothing else. She had been fascinated with the tattoos and symbols on his sculpted physique, but now she eyed them with revulsion.
I’m downstairs, I told her. What’s he going to do?
He wants more blood. Wait or else he will kill me if he hears you.
I had to physically hold on to Leif when Gelsi started moaning with pain. Handing him one of Esau’s Theobroma pills, I motioned that he should put it into his mouth. I placed my pack on the floor and quietly removed Perl’s device from my backpack.
With my bow in one hand and the device in the other, I waited at the bottom of the staircase with Leif. Finally, we heard Ferde moving again.
He’s gone, Gelsi said with relief.
My stomach tightened with apprehension. I pulled power to me to strengthen my mental defenses. A mistake. Ferde felt the draw and I could sense his growing alarm.
“Now,” I whispered to Leif. We rushed up the stairs, taking them two at a time.