Night Study

by Maria V. Snyder

Valek approved of her question. One of the lessons of being an assassin was to know everything possible about your mark.

  Yelena crinkled her nose as she sniffed the tea, either disgusted by the smell or the topic. “Owen’s quite talented. He can mentally communicate with another magician, which isn’t a big deal, but his ability to lie to another when communicating mind to mind is extremely rare.”

  “He can also lasso one of those null shields around someone pretty quick,” Janco added. “They can block magic, but not objects or people, except for—”

  “I know what they are,” Onora said, glancing at Valek.

  Valek hid his amusement. She was worried about upsetting him.

  “Owen can also mess with a person’s memories, erasing the real ones and inserting fake ones. Or he can just tear your mind apart, leaving you a mindless idiot.” Yelena rubbed her forehead, no doubt remembering Owen’s attack.

  “So that’s what happened to Janco,” Onora quipped.

  Janco tsked. “Nasty.”

  “Accurate.” She shot back.

  “You wish. I can think circles around you!”

  “I agree. Your mind spins round and round, like a gnat’s. A truly dizzying intellect.”

  Janco squawked in protest, but before he could respond, Valek said, “That’s enough.”

  Janco clamped his mouth shut, but shot Onora a venomous glare. She ignored it. This time. It was inevitable that Janco would push too far and they’d fight, which would be interesting to watch. However, for tonight, Valek didn’t want to upset Yelena.

  “Is that the extent of Owen’s magical powers?” Onora asked.

  “No,” Yelena said. “He can heat objects. I once held a knife to his throat and he made the handle so hot, I had to drop it, which means he can also start fires. And apparently set traps. That’s new to me, so he might have other hidden powers.”

  “Gee, what a sweetheart.” Janco’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “Sounds like the creep could be a Master Magician.”

  Yelena sipped her tea. “He’s not that powerful, but he’s close. I wonder if he took the master-level test and failed. That could explain some of his...bitterness and antisocial behavior. It’s a brutal test.” She covered her expression with the cup.

  “Have you taken it?” Onora asked.

  “Oh, no. Not really.” Yelena glanced at the embers swirling in the hot air above the fire.

  Probably searching for the bat that was usually her constant companion when it wasn’t hibernating during the cold and warming seasons. Valek wondered if the bat would find her or even if it could find her now that she no longer had magic. He hoped the little creature wouldn’t abandon her.

  The bat had arrived soon after Yelena’s first trip into the fire world. Valek remembered being utterly devastated when she’d disappeared into the fire world after the Warper battle. She’d been gone for months. If she hadn’t reached out to Leif... He’d planned to join her there.

  “According to Irys, when you returned from the fire world you passed the master-level test,” Janco said.

  “But I didn’t meet all the requirements for being a Master Magician. No, it just confirmed what I’d suspected, that I was a Soulfinder and my job was to find lost souls and guide them to either the sky or the fire world, depending on their deeds while alive.”

  Janco thumped his chest. “I’m sure I’m destined for the fire world. At least I’ll be in good company.” He gave Onora and Valek a pointed look.

  Yelena frowned. “It’s not something to joke about, Janco. It’s a terrible place full of pain, despair and utter misery. And you’re not destined for it.”

  “Why not? I’ve lied, cheated, stolen things. I’ve killed people.”

  “You have also saved people, sacrificed yourself and are helping to keep the peace by stopping the truly evil people from taking over. It’s not so much your actions, but your intentions and your choices.” Yelena met Valek’s gaze. “And it’s a matter of balance. Even if you did terrible things, all the good you do will eventually outweigh it, tipping you toward the sky.”

  A lovely sentiment, but Valek needed a few decades of good deeds to balance out his years as an assassin for hire. He’d killed to learn how to be a better killer. All in order to assassinate the King of Ixia. Granted, the King had been corrupt and evil, but those others had just been marks to him. Except for the men who had murdered his brothers in the King’s name. They deserved to die.

  Janco’s brow creased in thought—a rare expression for him. “Does this mean I have to be nice to Little Miss Assassin?”

  “Yes, because I’m no longer a Soulfinder, so I can’t rescue you from the fire world.”

  Now Janco blinked at Yelena. All humor dropped from his face and he pressed a hand to his heart. “You would have rescued me?” he asked in awe.

  “Of course, you idiot! I wouldn’t let you suffer.”

  Despite being called an idiot, he grinned. Or was that in spite of? Hard to tell with Janco.

  Onora shook her head. “Now you’ve done it,” she muttered.

  To forestall Janco’s obnoxiousness, Valek changed the subject. “Onora, you have first watch. Janco, take the second shift, and I’ll go last.”

  “That means I have the third shift,” Yelena said in a tone that warned of a major battle if he disagreed.

  “All right. In the morning we’ll stop at the closest town and send Leif a message, informing him of the booby trap.”

  “Do you think Owen had time to rig all the houses?” Janco asked Valek.

  “He has a six-day head start. And he knows we’ll be searching for them. Plus the Curare is too valuable to leave behind, so I’d expect him to gather as much as he can. He’ll need money to finance his next endeavor.”

  Owen had claimed to have discovered something big enough to make the Commander forgive him for his betrayal. It could have been a boast, but Valek doubted it.

  “What about the dead body?” Janco jerked a thumb toward the barn.

  “We’ll inform the local authorities in the morning and let them handle it.”

  “Does anyone else think it...odd that Owen murdered the gardener?” Yelena asked.

  “No,” Valek answered. “The gardener probably had information about the operation. It was smart to silence him.”

  “Yes, but...” She played with the string on her tea bag.

  “Owen murdered his brother and the others,” Janco said.

  “We still don’t know for certain who killed them, but assuming it was him, he hired an assassin. Big difference.” Yelena gazed at the liquid in her cup. “And I’m still not convinced it was him. In all my dealings with Owen, he never acted like a killer. Think about it. He went out of his way to scare me off by pretending to kidnap Reema back in Fulgor. Even when he captured us, his solution was to erase our memories. Why not just slit our throats and bury us?”

  “Because if he killed you, Valek would hunt him down and tear him apart,” Janco said.

  True. Valek’s fingers itched to grasp a blade just thinking about anyone harming his heart mate. But what Yelena said also had merit. Did she suspect Onora had assassinated the trio? “If Owen didn’t do it, then who did?” he asked her.

  “It’s just a theory, and you’re not going to like it.”

  With that one comment, he knew. And she was right. He didn’t like it, but he had wondered the same thing. “The Commander.”

  Yelena met his gaze. “Owen is proof that the Commander lied to the Sitian Council about executing the magician four years ago. He’d want to erase all the evidence that connects them, including all Owen’s coconspirators.”

  Janco added another log to the fire. “But the Sitians know Owen’s alive and producing Curare for the Commander.”

  “There’s no proof the Commander has Curare and, as long as Owen isn’t captured, it’s only our word that he’s still alive.”

  “That should be good enough.” Janco puffed out his chest.

  “The Commander c
an say we must have mistaken Ben for his brother. He can order you, Valek and Onora to keep quiet. In the political world and without any hard evidence, the Council can’t do anything.”

  Interesting theory. “Are you saying the Commander hired another assassin to kill Ben and the others?” he asked Yelena, wondering if she suspected Onora of assassinating them. Not that she’d suggest it in front of the girl; nor did she glance in Onora’s direction.

  “I’m not accusing him. I’m just speculating. But if he wishes to keep the relationship between Ixia and Sitia civil, he would need Owen to disappear forever.”

  “He went to a lot of trouble to get all that Curare,” Janco said. “I don’t think he’s worried about being civil.”

  * * *

  The rest of the evening passed without incident. When Yelena woke him for his watch shift, lines of strain marked her face.

  Concerned, he sat up. “What’s wrong? Do you need something for the pain?” He kept his voice low so he wouldn’t wake the others.

  “I already dipped into Leif’s goody bag,” she whispered.

  “That bad?”

  She waved off his comment, which meant it had been bad and she didn’t want to worry him. Too late. He’d never not worry about her.

  Yelena settled next to him. “I’ve been thinking about Owen. He’s too smart to hire a couple of locals to transport the Curare vine from the hothouse to the river. Locals get curious, ask questions, gossip in the taverns. All things he avoided. Otherwise we would have gotten wind of his operation before.”

  “You think he paid the brothers to bring us out here? Pretend they didn’t remember everything?”

  “Yes.”

  It made sense. “We knew it was a risk coming here.”

  She agreed, but something was off. He studied her. Her movements were stiff, and she held herself as if she’d break. His own cuts throbbed, so he could only imagine how much more pain she was in. Despite that, he sensed another problem.

  “You liked them,” he said.

  A brief, wan smile. “Yes. And, even though I didn’t completely trust them, I relaxed and wanted to believe they were genuine. Did you know they lied?”

  “I suspected, but thought finding one of the glass houses was worth the risk.”

  “I know I should trust no one, but...it’s exhausting.”

  Ah. The real reason for the melancholy. “You’ve been relying on your magic to assess people you meet and now that’s blocked, so you’re at a loss and probably second-guessing yourself. Right?”

  She nodded.

  “Then I’ll teach you how to read body language. Most people give themselves away when they’re lying.”

  “Most people?”

  “I’ve only encountered a few who can lie to me.” Eventually, he would discover the ruse, but, at the time, they’d convinced him.

  “Who?” she asked.

  “The Commander. Onora. The others are...gone.”

  She arched an eyebrow. “Gone?”

  “I don’t like being fooled.”

  “And the Commander?”

  Valek glanced at Onora. Curled up on her side, she appeared to be asleep. “The Commander’s lying is a more...recent event.”

  “But he didn’t tell you about Owen.”

  “Oh, he’s kept things from me before, but he’s never looked me in the eye and lied.”

  “What changed?” she asked.

  What indeed? “I suspect a few things.”

  “Such as?”

  “Not here, love. Janco’s far more interested in our conversation than his dreams.”

  “Am not,” Janco said, not in the least embarrassed he’d been caught eavesdropping. “Besides, I don’t have dreams, I have nightmares.”

  Before Janco could launch into a detailed description, Valek said, “Then we’ll let you get back to them.” He stood to allow Yelena to take his place under the blankets.

  She untied his short cape and handed it to him. They’d have to buy her a new cloak to use during their trip to Ixia. Once there, she could reclaim her own cloak and give the new one to Reema. Too bad she didn’t have it with her before. The special resistant fabric of her garment would have stopped many of the smaller shards of glass.

  Valek added a few logs to the dying fire. The air had grown quite cold. Then he moved away from the light, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness. He did a sweep of the surroundings and, when he was satisfied no one lurked nearby, Valek found a spot to watch over the camp until dawn.

  When the sun rose, he woke the others. Janco grumbled. Onora said nothing as usual. Yelena sat up and winced, pressing a hand to her side. Valek insisted she drink a cup of Leif’s wet-dog tea. He checked her bandages. With a bit of sleight of hand, he rubbed a couple drops of the watered-down Curare along her injuries before applying fresh bandages.

  “I saw that,” she said.

  “No, you didn’t.” When she opened her mouth to protest, he said, “We have a long day ahead of us.”

  They packed up and headed northeast, returning to follow the Sunworth River. At the first decent-sized town, Valek sent a message to Leif, warning him of the booby trap inside the glass houses while Yelena informed the local security forces about the dead gardener.

  As they continued east, Janco asked him, “Are we going to keep searching for more of those hothouses?”

  “No. Owen’s probably cleaned them all out. We’ll let Leif and Devlen hunt for the rest of them. We need to rendezvous with my team and locate that other tunnel into Ixia.” His team had expected him days ago, and he’d have to eventually report his detour to the Commander. At least they had collapsed the hidden tunnel located near Lapeer. Owen had been making a tidy profit by allowing smugglers to use his tunnels for a fee. Valek loved it when criminals turned greedy. It made his job of catching them so much easier.

  “Then we should cross to the north side of the river,” Janco suggested. “The other tunnel was on that side near the Ixian border.”

  “Ari said they traced the smugglers to the foothills of the Soul Mountains. We can travel faster on the road than in the forest.” Valek considered. The intel from Ari and his corps had only pinpointed one location. Janco had discovered the Lapeer tunnel by accident. It might be possible there were more. “Actually, you—”

  “Don’t say it,” Yelena said.

  Affronted, Janco asked her, “Would it kill you to give a guy a bit of praise?”

  “If that guy is you, then yes. Humility is not one of your personality traits.”

  “You’re just mad because now we’re going to travel through the woods, which means sleeping on the ground and not in an inn.”

  “I can handle it better than you. Your joints crack and pop every time you stand up, old man.”

  “Old man! I’m only seven years older than you.”

  “Are you sure it’s not seven dog years? You have a lot of gray in your muzzle,” Yelena quipped, referring to Janco’s salt-and-pepper goatee.

  “Every single one of these gray hairs is directly linked back to saving you or being involved in one of your schemes.”

  “Oh no, you don’t. I distinctly remember the time...”

  Valek ignored the rest of their bickering. Usually Yelena avoided verbally sparring with Janco, but, by the glint in her eyes, she enjoyed needling their friend.

  Instead, Valek concentrated on the terrain along the northern bank of the Sunworth River. Not far from their location, the waterway turned southeast and became the actual border between Ixia and Sitia near the Soul Mountains. There wouldn’t be any bridges along that segment. Plus, the forest had been cut down for a hundred feet past the bank, so anyone attempting to cross the border at that point would be seen by the Ixian patrolmen. Which was why the tunnels worked so well.

  When the Commander closed the border after the takeover, he cleared the land from the Sunset Ocean in the west all the way to the mountains in the east. Valek doubted Owen would build a tunnel in the open area between the c
ountries or under the river. Which meant that the only logical place for a tunnel would be in the foothills of the Soul Mountains.

  “We’ll keep to the road,” Valek said, interrupting one of Janco’s rants. “Speed is vital at this point.”

  “And beds,” Janco added.

  Valek gave him a flat stare.

  “Nothing wrong with that.” Janco thumped his stomach. “Better sleep means a better response to danger. We’ve no idea what nasties are lurking in that tunnel.”

  “Hate to say this, but Janco has a point.” Yelena grimaced as he puffed his chest out. “Owen knows you’re searching for the tunnels. He booby-trapped the glass house, so it makes sense that he’d rig the tunnel, as well.” She gestured to Janco. “We can send him in first since he’s the Master Illusion Detector.”

  Air hissed as Janco’s chest deflated. “Me?”

  “Yes, you. Weren’t you just boasting that—”

  Valek spurred Onyx into a gallop. If Yelena had the energy to tease Janco, then she’d be okay for another couple of hours and they could reach the next town by nightfall.

  * * *

  They rendezvoused with Valek’s team two days later in a mining camp located in the foothills just a mile inside Ixia. The small unit had spent the extra time searching for signs of the tunnel without success.

  “Have you heard from Bravo team?” Valek asked Ivon, Alpha team’s leader.

  The wiry man snapped to attention. “Yes, sir. Qamra sent a message four days ago. Her team located two warehouses used by the smugglers in MD-5 and burned them to the ground as ordered.”

  Interesting. Ari had found only one. “And her assessment?”

  “At the time of the missive, she was unable to confirm if General Ute had any knowledge or involvement in the operation. Her plans were to continue the investigation.”

  “Very good.”

  Ivon’s steel-gray gaze never wavered from Valek’s face. Very little slipped past the man’s notice. “I’m sorry we were unable to be as effective, sir.”

  “No need to apologize. Show me where the trail ended.”

  “Yes, sir.” Ivon unrolled a map marked with the place Ari had identified and handed it to Valek.

  The spot was about a mile east. The map also indicated the locations Ivon’s team had checked. Valek planned to leave Yelena in the camp with Onora nearby, protecting her. Smudges of exhaustion darkened the area under Yelena’s green eyes. The fast pace hadn’t been conducive to healing.