Storm Glass

by Maria V. Snyder

  “Icefaren Station.” The words puffed out between my cracked and bleeding lips. My raw throat burned and I longed for a drink. “In Ixia on the ice sheet, but I don’t know where.”

  “How interesting. I know where it is. Before the Commander’s takeover, Ixia was divided into provinces. Icefaren province was renamed Military District 1.” His forehead creased as he considered. “I knew we’d have to go into Ixia eventually. Good thing I have a few contacts in the area. Hang out here for a while, I need to fetch some supplies.” He shut and locked the door.

  Too exhausted to care, I leaned against the wall. Anything was better than that pain. Anything.

  I even fell asleep. Cold air whipped through my clothes, freezing the sweat on my skin. Kade was trapped in a block of ice and I couldn’t get to him. My legs refused to move. I drowned in a snowdrift.

  The door banged open, waking me.

  Devlen threw a bundle onto the floor and set down a bucket of water and soap. “Clean up and change your clothes.” He unhooked my wrists from the wall. “No trouble. You will do exactly what I tell you. Any deviations and you’ll be punished. I’m bringing a gag and my clamps. Understand?”

  I nodded.

  “I’m leaving your cuffs on. They fit together. See?” He demonstrated, securing and freeing my wrists.

  When he left, I removed my soiled and stained clothes. There was no dignity with pain. I tossed the ruined garments. They landed with a muted clunk.

  A bubble of hope pushed up my throat as I dug through my clothes. I had learned my lesson with the robbers and hid weapons on my person. Ulrick...Devlen knew about it and probably searched me. But I found a little nugget of glass inside my pants. Even though it was a spider, it was the most precious item. I didn’t know how I would use it or when. What mattered was I had it.

  I washed the grime from my body and dressed in the clean clothes. The black pants sagged around my waist. I used the sash to tighten them, hiding my spider in the folds of the material. Down the long sleeves of the white tunic was a column of black diamond shapes connected end to end. A row of three black diamonds decorated the breast pocket. I wore an Ixian uniform.

  The door was unlocked. I joined Devlen in the other room. He stood with my saddlebags and my sais at his feet. Wearing another black and white Ixian uniform, he examined the empty orb.

  “Planning to steal magic?” he asked.

  “Yes. Give it to me.” I held out a hand.

  “Okay. Catch.” He flung the empty sphere across the room.

  It shattered against the wall. The sound from the impact cut through me.

  “Now, what should I do with this one?” Devlen removed Kade’s orb. Iridescent colors swirled in agitation under his touch.

  “Smash it,” I said. The storm’s trapped energy would kill us both.

  “Nice try, but I’m not stupid.” He packed it into a large backpack. Another pack rested on the floor next to it. “I’ll sell it. I know a group of Krystal Clan members who are looking for full orbs.”

  “Sir’s gang?” When he nodded, I asked, “Why were you with them? What’s their goal?”

  “Don’t know. Don’t care. I was just the hired help. They needed a swordsman for a job and I needed money. Hiding out from the Sitian authorities is expensive. If I had known our target was a Master Magician, I wouldn’t have taken the job, but it led me to you so it worked out nicely. Don’t you think?”

  “No. I would rather you were still locked up in the Thunder Valley jail.”

  “Watch it. Your attitude is not helpful. Do you need a reminder in how to be helpful?”

  “No.”

  “Good. I think we’ll leave the rest of your stuff here.” He closed my bags and pushed them along with my sais into a corner of the room. “Don’t want any of your little creatures to get in my way.”

  Devlen handed me the smaller backpack, a cloak and a sheet of parchment. Three white diamonds decorated the black cloak.

  “Just in case you’re seen and approached by the Ixians. You’ll tell them you’re a kitchen attendant returning home from visiting relatives in MD-7. You live in MD-1, General Kitvivan is the general in charge and the uniform colors for MD-1 are black and white. If you’re asked for papers, you are to give them that sheet without question.”

  Permission to visit MD-7 was printed on the parchment. My first name was written in the bearer’s space. At least I didn’t have to remember a fake name.

  “Don’t lose that paper. It cost a small fortune. Also don’t try to alert any Ixians about your situation. I will confess, telling them you’re a magician. And you know what they do to magicians in Ixia.”

  Killed on sight. Depending on my circumstances, I might give myself up. Better than the alternative. I shuddered and Devlen seemed satisfied with my reaction.

  “Horses?” I asked, wondering if Quartz was nearby.

  “I stabled them. Only high-ranking officers travel with horses in Ixia. We’ll go on foot.”

  “How do you plan to cross the border?”

  “The Daviians set up a number of smuggling routes. Valek and the Ixian border patrol have discovered a few, but there is always a way through.” Strapping his sword around his waist, he shouldered a short cape and the large backpack. “Come on. We’re wasting time.”

  I glanced at my sais four feet away. Could I reach them before he grabbed me? Devlen noticed my hesitation and hooked his arm in mine.

  “Helpful, remember.” He dug his fingers into my wrist.

  Spikes of pain shot up to my elbow. He kept the pressure until we were well away from the cabin. With his hand still around my arm, we walked through the woods, heading north.

  Doubts about my tenuous plan nagged at me. My best chance to escape would be while in Sitia. One little spider wouldn’t save me. What if Kade was already dead? Muted by Devlen’s backpack, Kaya’s orb hummed an urgent tone. I guessed if Kade died, the tune would change.

  Each step closer to Ixia brought more worries to my mind. By the evening, I had convinced myself it would be best to escape and return to the Keep to recruit help for Kade. Interesting how the memory of pain fades with time.

  Unfortunately, he gave me no opportunity. As soon as we stopped, he hooked my wrists behind a tree trunk while he set up camp in a tight clearing. He released me only to eat then forced me to take a swig of his blood potion before securing me again. Knowing the ingredients made me gag, I slept sitting down, leaning my head against the trunk.

  Cold nightmares invaded my dreams.

  The next day we met up with a caravan of merchants with five wagons. One wagon was filled with sand, another with lime, but I couldn’t see what was beneath the canvas tarps of the other three. They had been expecting us.

  One of the merchants, a heavyset man with thick eyebrows, approached Devlen. “Is this the cargo?”

  “Yes.”

  The merchant eyed the cuffs on my wrists. “An unusual request. We’re used to smuggling goods in and Ixians out. If she makes a sound—”

  “She won’t.”

  Hitching his pants over his ample stomach, the man chewed on his lip. “Gonna cost you extra.”

  “How much?”

  “Three golds, but I’ll give you a discount if me and my boys can play, too.” He gestured to the four men waiting by the horses.

  Devlen turned to me. “Care to play with the gentlemen?”

  Breathing became difficult as I guessed they weren’t referring to a game of tag. “No, thank you.” My voice quavered just a bit.

  “How about two golds and, if she causes any trouble at any time, you can play for one night?” Devlen offered.

  “Deal. Load her up.” The merchant returned to his caravan.

  Devlen led me to the middle wagon. “Now you have extra incentive to behave.”r />
  A small rectangular hole was at the bottom of the mound of white sand. There was a hinged door attached and I realized the sand covered a long box.

  Devlen grabbed my arms and secured my wrists behind me.

  “What—”

  He shoved a hard rubber bar between my teeth and pulled the straps behind my head.

  “It’s too important to trust you when we cross into Ixia. I guess you could pound with your feet, but the sand should muffle it. However, our merchant friend would feel the vibrations and get his night of fun.” He stepped back. “Put her in.”

  Two of the boys picked me up and shoved me feet first into the hole under the sand. A thud and a few clicks followed. It was dark, coffin-like and I puffed in alarm, convinced the sand or the gag would smother me.

  My panic increased with the drumming sound of sand being poured to cover the box’s door. After a few terrifying moments, my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I rolled to my side to take my weight off my arms. Small holes had been drilled into the floor of the box, allowing light and air to seep in.

  The wagon lurched forward. Through my peepholes, the ground slid past and my hope of escaping drained drop by drop with each passing mile.

  * * *

  Voices woke me from a light doze. The wagons had stopped and the shuffling sounds of footsteps reached me. I debated taking the risk and making noise, but the image of being given to five men for the night caused me to hesitate too long. The wagon moved. The opportunity gone. Coward.

  Ixia passed under my wagon, but I didn’t see much of it. Taken out of my box only at night to eat, I caught a few glimpses of pine trees and frozen farmland. The ground was rock hard and after a few days of travel, muddy snow rolled under the wagon.

  The men complained of the weather and stared at me with hungry eyes. After another three days, the air became too cold for the merchants to sleep outside at night. They stopped at a travel shelter. We sat by the fire, finishing our dinner.

  “She’ll have to stay in here. The cold could kill her,” Rutz said. “You don’t want to deliver a corpse.”

  After being with the men for a total of six days, I knew all their names.

  Namir, their large leader said, “The Ixian patrols target the shelters, especially this far north.”

  “Opal has papers,” Devlen said.

  “But will she cooperate?” Namir asked.

  “She has so far.”

  “But she hasn’t had the chance to misbehave. With Ixian soldiers here, she could get us all arrested.” Namir frowned.

  “Put the gag back on her and I’ll watch her,” Rutz offered.

  “No way. She’s more likely to behave with me,” Shen said.

  The other two men watched the exchange with interest. Yannis, the man who wore his woolen cap all the time, seemed tense, as if ready to fight. Something about him nagged at me as if I had seen him before. I checked his shadow, but it matched his shape. Owin’s dark brown eyes sparkled with anticipation as his gaze swept my body.

  “I’ll ensure she cooperates.” Devlen laid a possessive hand on my shoulder, bringing me closer to him.

  From the placement of his fingertips, I understood his warning. All he had to do was squeeze and I would be in agony.

  When it was time to sleep, Devlen lay on the cot with me. I flinched away.

  “Would you rather share with one of the boys?” he asked, whispering in my ear.

  I relented and he pulled me close. His chest against my back and his arm around my waist.

  “Just like the good old days. Perhaps?” His hand moved downward.

  I grabbed it and lifted his arm off me. “No.”

  He put it back around my waist. “You’re causing trouble,” he said with a gruff tone. “The boys are getting antsy.”

  “Do we have to travel with them?” I asked.

  He remained quiet for a moment. “It’s the safest way to get you north, but in a few days they will turn west. Unless you’ll volunteer to play—”

  “No.”

  “Then we’ll strike out on our own tomorrow.”

  I listened as Devlen’s breathing slowed and his arm around my waist relaxed. My thoughts whirled. He could have given me to the boys—I was defenseless—but he didn’t. Why not? He was a murdering, power-hungry Warper, who enjoyed torturing people. I thought back to the room in the cabin and realized he didn’t enjoy the torture. In fact, his whole posture radiated his distaste. I hadn’t noticed before when I was writhing in pain—a hard time to be objective. The same could be said about the time I had spent in the tent. Looking back at his actions, I sensed he performed his job without emotion, and without touching me in any inappropriate place. Odd.

  My thoughts turned to his comments about Ulrick. However much I resisted the notion, he had been right about my feelings toward Ulrick. I had kept my distance even when I knew Ulrick desired me.

  I tried to justify my actions with Devlen. But in my heart, I couldn’t say for sure if I would have stuck to my decision the previous night and made love to the real Ulrick. I had to acknowledge the fact that it was Devlen I had been drawn to—not Ulrick. I hoped Ulrick was really safe from harm. And I hoped I would live through this ordeal, so I could explain everything to him, and apologize.

  Various plans to escape, to fight and to trick formed in my mind, but all of them led nowhere because I didn’t have enough information. I would have to wait and see what developed, but the tightness around my chest eased a bit. At least I had a few reactions planned, so if a particular situation arose, I wouldn’t hesitate.

  Eventually I drifted into sleep. Snow-filled dreams swirled. I didn’t need the potion as we drew closer to the ice sheet. Details of Icefaren Station sharpened and I could see the scratches on the rocky sides of the pit. A snow cat crouched at the edge, its white coat invisible against the snow. The predator moved away. Its sleek muscles capable of incredible power and speed. Snow cats were almost impossible to hunt. All their senses were heightened to such a degree a hunter couldn’t even get within bow-and-arrow range. The Commander of Ixia was the only known person to kill one.

  My dream followed the creature. About four feet long and three feet high, the snow cat circled the buildings of the station before heading west. The landscape seemed vast and flat until I viewed it through the snow cat’s eyes. Then ridges of ice and mounds of snow were visible. And a den, filled with six other cats. The heat from their bodies welcoming. Farther inside the white walls turned to gray. A small cave with a pool of water. The cat stopped to drink. At the bottom of the pool rested one of my glass animals, pulsing with a muddy red light. Gede’s prison. The Story Weaver turned Warper. Devlen’s teacher.

  I jerked awake.

  “What did you see?” Devlen asked. His splayed hand rested on my stomach. Fingertips near pain spots.

  “A pit. Buildings.” I could tell him where the prison was. Seven snow cats, more than adequate guards.

  “The glass prison?”

  “Near the pit. That’s why it called to me. If they dig any wider, they will find it.”

  “Who is there?”

  “Nobody now, but something is being mined from the pit. Probably during the warmer seasons.” The truth.

  He moved his hand away. I remembered to breathe. Weak sunlight lit the shelter. I stood and stretched my stiff muscles while Devlen stirred the fire to life. Two of Namir’s men woke, but Namir and the others came in from outside, bringing a cold blast of air with them.

  “Everything’s covered with ice,” Namir said. “We’re going to need a chisel to break up the sand covering her hidey-hole. It’s gonna be hard smoothing it out.”

  “Since you’re so worried about being caught with her,” Devlen said, “we’ll travel on our own a few days earlier than planned, and you can make your delivery withou
t trouble.”

  Rutz and Shen glanced at each other, then at Namir.

  “Well...me and the boys been talking.” Namir hooked his thumb in his belt near a sword.

  I couldn’t remember if he always wore a sword or not.

  “We’re a little concerned about your girl,” Rutz said.

  Owin and Yannis joined them. Knives and swords that I hadn’t noticed before hung from belts.

  “And we’ve grown fond of the little girl. Don’t want to see her hurt,” Shen said. “Looks to us like she doesn’t want to be with you.”

  “I assure you, gentlemen, she’s quite content with my company.” Devlen stood with his sword in hand.

  “We think she would be safer with us.” Namir drew his weapon.

  “Since we disagree. Let’s ask her. Opal, who would you rather be with?” Devlen kept his tone neutral.

  I had a choice. Stay with the Warper or go with the men. Devlen’s pain was horrible. Rape was horrible. A choice of two horrors. As Leif would say, “Yippee for me.” But with five against one, would I really have a choice?

  “Thank you for your concern. I—”

  The shelter’s door banged open. An Ixian soldier entered. In a heartbeat, the weapons returned to their holders. Devlen yanked my sleeves down to cover the cuffs.

  The big soldier wore black and orange—Military District 8’s colors. Three more men followed him inside. He eyed us with suspicion. “Something wrong?” he asked.

  “Perhaps you know the answer, Lieutenant,” Devlen said. “I said General Rasmussen has three daughters, but my friend insists he has two. Who’s right?”

  “Neither. The General has one daughter and twin boys.” The Lieutenant’s concern disappeared as Namir’s men laughed.

  “My wife was right after all.” Devlen draped an arm around my shoulder.

  Another soldier entered. “The wagons are clean,” he said to the Lieutenant.

  “Of course they are,” Namir said, sounding offended, “special delivery for MD-1.”