Roze looked at me with a question in her eyes.
“For me. So I could get inside the Citadel.” The truth. I kept my mind on the task at hand and didn’t allow it to wonder about Valek.
“At this distance, Yelena, do you realize your mental defenses are nothing but a thin shell? I will see your lies before you can form them in your mind. Remember that.”
I nodded and strengthened my barrier.
She laughed and ordered the soldiers to take the others to the cells. “I’ll deal with them later.” Once the cart was out of sight, she peered at me and Cahil.
“Your capture was too easy,” she said. “You must think I’m a simpleton, but no matter, I’ve only to expand a sliver of power to find out what you’re planning.” Her strong magic invaded my mind.
I kept my thoughts on saving Moon Man, Leif and the others as I mentally dodged her onslaught. It failed to work. To distract her, I asked, “Why?”
“Nice try.” Her magic crashed through my defenses, and seized my body. “You are in my power now. Sitia is saved.”
“Saved from me?” At least I could still talk. In fact, even with her incredible strength, she could only control either my mind or my body. Not both.
“Saved from you. The Commander. Valek. Our way of life is secured.”
“By killing Sitians? Using blood magic?”
“Small price to pay for our continued prosperity. I could not let the Commander invade us. The Council failed to see the problem. I created the Daviians as a backup—a hidden weapon for when we needed them. It worked. The Council eventually agreed with me.” Smug satisfaction shone in her eyes.
Through our mental link, I sensed she didn’t understand the whole truth or she chose to ignore it. “The Daviians forced the Council to agree with you. They had their children.”
Extreme annoyance creased Roze’s forehead. She shot Gede a venom-laced look. He wisely remained quiet, but his muscles tensed.
“Are you sure you have control of the Daviians?” I asked.
“Of course. And once we choose a new Council we will attack Ixia and free them. They will welcome our way of life.” She smiled.
“So you saved Sitia? Tell me, how is sacrificing the Council different than Valek assassinating them?”
Roze frowned and a wave of pain pulsed through my body. My thoughts scattered as an unrelenting torment twisted my muscles. When I regained my senses, I was lying in the sand, looking up at her.
“Isn’t choosing new Councilors the same as appointing generals?” I asked.
Another jolt of pain sizzled along my spine. I arched my back and screamed. Sweat poured from my head and soaked my clothes. My heart pumped as if it ran for its life. I gasped for breath.
“Would you care to ask anything else?” Danger glinted in her eyes.
“Yes. How are your actions different than the Commander’s?”
She paused, and I pressed my advantage. “You want to protect Sitia from the Commander, but in the process you turned into him.”
Her mouth opened to protest, but I interrupted. “You’re worried the Commander would invade Sitia and turn your clans into Military Districts. But you’re planning to attack Ixia and turn his Military Districts into clans. How is that different? Tell me!”
She blustered and shook her head. “I’m…he’s…” Then she laughed. “Why should I listen to you? You’re a Soulfinder. You want to control Sitia. Of course you would try to sway me with your lies.”
Gede relaxed and chuckled with Roze. “She will twist your words. You should kill her now.”
Roze drew a breath.
“Wait for the ritual! I have something you want,” I said.
“What could you have that I can not take from you?”
“According to the ritual, a willing victim releases more power than a resisting one.”
“And you will submit to me in exchange for what?”
“For all my friends’ lives.”
“No. Only one. You choose.”
“Moon Man, then.” I hoped the others managed to escape.
She released her hold on me. I stood, but she pointed. “Lie in the sand,” she ordered.
“Can I ask another question first?”
“One.”
“What happens to the Fire Warper after this ritual?”
“Once you’re dead, our deal is complete. We have promised him your power and fed him in exchange for knowledge about the blood magic. He will then have enough power to rule the underworld.”
A shout reached us and I felt a magical onslaught.
Roze turned to the commotion and gestured to her Warpers. “Take care of them.” Unconcerned, she said to me, “You know they will not get close to us. My Warpers and I have enough power to stop them.”
“Yes, I know.”
“But I don’t think you believe it. Watch what I can do. This used to drain me of energy. Now it takes only a thought.” Her gaze went to Moon Man’s.
His face paled and his body jerked once then stilled. The shine in his eyes dulled as his soul left his body.
33
I DIVED OVER HIS PRONE form and inhaled his soul before crashing to the sand.
Gede gasped. “He was for the ritual.”
Roze laughed and said, “Don’t worry. She’ll now give me two sources of power when I cut her heart out.”
“We made a deal, Roze. My cooperation for Moon Man.” I brushed the sand off my clothes.
“And you won’t cooperate when I press a knife to Leif’s throat?” she asked. By the expression on my face, she knew I would. “You’re too soft, Soulfinder. You could have raised a soulless army. They would have been undefeatable. Magic doesn’t work on them. Only fire.”
Another cry split the air, but this time from the opposite direction. A Vermin raced toward us.
“Now what?” Roze asked him.
“The Keep’s gates are under attack,” he said, panting.
She glanced at the Warpers fighting with the Keep’s magicians. A vision of the battle formed in my mind. The ferocity of the combat dwindled. The confusing array of magical images was gone and Gale’s whirling dust devils had died. People fell to the ground after being hit with Curare-laced darts. Leif, Ari and Bain lay paralyzed. Janco fought a soldier, keeping the man between him and the blowpipes. His movements slowed as another Warper focused his magic on him.
Roze’s Warpers had gained the upper hand; it was only a matter of time.
“There is nobody left to rescue you,” Roze said.
Her comments hit home when she called a few Warpers away from the battle to deal with the revolt at the gates.
But there was one person I didn’t see and that gave me some hope. “Roze, you haven’t figured everything out.”
She looked dubious. “What have I missed? Valek? Oh, I know he’s here. Magic might not affect him, but Curare will do the trick.”
“No. The Fire Warper.”
“What about him?”
“You haven’t taken into account that he might have different plans than you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Gede and I feed him. We give him his power. Who else would help him?”
“I would.”
I ran toward the fire. Roze’s yell sounded faint over the roar of the blaze. The heat encompassed me in a loving embrace. Burning pain transformed into pinpricks of pleasure. But this time the world didn’t settle into the smooth plain of black. Souls filled my world, writhing and crying with misery. The air stank of decay and infection.
Help! Help! they cried.
The Fire Warper ordered them to be quiet and pushed them away from me. “She is here for me,” he said. “She will not help you.”
He studied me. “You have brought me a treat. No only a soul for the sky, but Moon Man’s bright power will increase my strength.”
Moon Man stood next to me. He peered about the fire world with mild interest.
“I’m sorry you’re here,” I said. “I didn’t plan for it to
be you.”
“Why not? I am your guide, Yelena. In life and in death. That never changes.”
“But you said Gede was my new Story Weaver.”