“Now there’s more at stake than her own life,” Bruns said. “Which ensures her continued cooperation.”
“Is there anything else?” Cahil asked.
“Yes. Where are we with the other garrisons?”
“We have taken over control of the ones in Moon, Featherstone and Greenblade. Master Magician Bain Bloodgood and the Councilors have been relocated to safety in the base in Greenblade’s lands. Master Magician Irys Jewelrose is at the Featherstone Clan’s, along with the stronger magicians. We believe the Commander’s army will head straight for the Citadel.”
“Have the magicians along the border with Ixia reported any activity?”
“Not yet. They each check in at dawn via the super messengers.”
“Send them orders to keep an eye out for Valek.”
Another longish pause. “You don’t know where he is?”
“He’ll be coming here regardless. I’d just like some notice on the timing.”
“From my experience, he’s probably already here, hidden among your soldiers with a dozen of his corps. And if he isn’t, he can cross the border without alerting anyone. If I was you—”
“You’re not. We have the situation well in hand.”
“All right. Then I’ll go check in with the garrison commander.”
Boots shuffled on the floor.
“Cahil,” Bruns called.
I imagined Cahil looking over his shoulder with his hand on the door.
“Yes?”
“What would you do in my place?” Bruns asked.
“I’d put a big bow on Yelena and deliver her to the Commander. It would keep both her and Valek in Ixia. Plus she’d hinder the Commander’s efforts. Yelena wouldn’t want war, and she’d do everything she could to stop him from invading.”
Actually, that was rather smart. Cahil had matured since I’d seen him last.
“I’ll think about it,” Bruns said.
The door clicked shut. I returned to the bed, sliding under the covers. After that charged conversation, I suspected Bruns would want to peek in and make sure I’d remained asleep and under his control. I lay on my side, facing the wall with my eyes closed, just in case.
A heel scuffed the stone nearby. I kept my breathing deep and even, only relaxing once Bruns’s office chair squeaked under his weight.
I mulled over all I’d learned as I nibbled on the ham. It had a glaze that tasted Theobroma-sweet. It didn’t sound as if Cahil was being influenced by Theobroma and magic. He might have volunteered, or he could even be a member of the Cartel. I wondered if Bruns kept a list of the Cartel members in his desk. Probably not—he didn’t strike me as someone who made stupid mistakes. No, he was smart enough to ask Cahil what he’d do about me.
And I would be happy to go to Ixia. But Cahil also said to use me first. Not that I really knew the Commander. Other than his secret, I hardly knew him at all. The man was intelligent, cunning and had the brilliant strategy and forethought to plan and then execute the takeover of Ixia.
The takeover of Ixia. I clutched the sheets as I repeated those words.
The.
Takeover.
Of.
Ixia.
Holy snow cats! The Commander wouldn’t invade with an army and wage war. No. He’d plan a way to take over Sitia with little bloodshed. Just as he did twenty-three years ago!
29
VALEK
“There’s no one at the Keep?” Valek repeated Fisk’s comment because it didn’t make any sense. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. They’ve all left, and my network followed them to three different garrisons in Sitia,” Fisk said.
“Why?”
Fisk explained about Bruns’s Cartel using Theobroma to influence even the Master Magicians to join his cause. The magicians had gone to support the soldiers and prepare for when the Commander attacked.
Valek glanced at Zohav and Zethan, still on the horses but close enough to hear their conversation. Both wore worried frowns, and both their thoughts sounded inside Valek’s head. Zethan disappointed they probably wouldn’t go to the Keep, and Zohav plotting a way to turn this news to her advantage.
Combined with Fisk’s thoughts, Valek couldn’t think straight.
“Stop it,” he yelled at the twins.
“Stop what?” Zethan asked.
“Stop projecting your thoughts into my head!”
Alarmed, they exchanged a look.
“We’re not,” Zohav said.
“You’ve been doing it since we left home.”
“No. We’ve had our barriers in place, blocking magic from our thoughts.”
“Then how do I know you wished you brought more books, and Zethan wishes he’d sent a letter to Rosalie before leaving home?”
Again their gazes met. Both bewildered.
Fisk touched his shoulder. “Valek, you’re immune to magic. Even if they were sending their thoughts, you should only feel the magic.”
Fisk was right. Valek drew in a deep breath.
“But I was lamenting the fact I didn’t have time to write Rosalie,” Zethan said.
“Have you ever heard another person’s thoughts?” Fisk asked Valek.
“No. Sometimes I can tell what a person is thinking by his body language, facial expression, direction of his gaze...things like that, but not actual thoughts.”
Fisk turned to the twins. “You have magic?”
“Yes,” Zethan said.
“Can you try it on Valek? Something benign.”
Zethan turned to his sister. “Zo can.”
She pressed her lips together, dismounted, grabbed the water skin and unscrewed the cap
. Zohav stared at it. Water rose from the skin, forming a ball that floated in midair.
Valek would have been impressed, but the fact that he didn’t sense her magic, that the stickiness didn’t press on him, had him quite distracted. The ball of water approached him and then struck his chest, soaking his tunic.
“Touch the wet spot with your hand,” she instructed him.
He pressed his palm to the cold fabric. Zohav’s eyebrows pinched together and the water streamed from his tunic and re-formed into a ball.
“Wow,” Fisk whispered. “That’s amazing.”
“What is?” Zethan asked. “That she can manipulate water, or that Valek’s immunity is gone?”
“Both.”
“Gone?” Valek fingered his now-dry tunic. “That’s...that’s a big leap in logic.”
“Zo.”
She glared at her brother.
“We need to figure this out. Besides, he’s—”
“Confused,” Valek said before Zethan said brother.
Stepping toward Valek, Zohav extended her hand as if for a handshake. “It’s another test. It won’t hurt.”
That wasn’t why he hesitated. He feared the results more than the pain. But he feared not knowing just as much. Valek grasped her cold hand. A strange tingle zipped through him.
“I sense the water inside your body,” Zohav said. “Zee’s right. You’re no longer protected.”
Valek let go of her and stepped back. Unprotected? The desire to draw his daggers pulsed. He craved their tangible weight in his hands. No immunity? The words repeated in his mind, but they failed to find a place to settle.
“What happened to his immunity?” Fisk asked. “Did you two do something to him?”
“No. Even if it was possible, we don’t have that ability,” Zethan said.
Fisk turned to him. “Did something happen to you? Do you know when it started?”
“I...” Valek pulled his thoughts together with effort. He searched his memories. During the raid on the pirates, he’d been fine. The trip to Icefaren had been quiet. And then...the shock of seeing his parents, the surprise of learning he had three siblings... No. He’d had his share of astonishments over the years without any consequences.
It had happened sometime that night he stayed by his brothers’ graves. When he’d talked to Zebulon, and Zeb had asked if he could handle it. Handle the fact his parents had moved past the death of their sons and resumed living. When he realized he’d been frozen in time.