Night Study

by Maria V. Snyder

  The door to the glass workshop hung open—not a good sign. He stepped inside and broken glass crunched under his boots. Even the dim light couldn’t hide the fact that the place had been ransacked. Scattered tools lay next to overturned gaffer benches. Bent pontil irons and crushed coal littered the floor. Valek hoped the damage had been done after everyone had left the Keep, because worry for Mara grew as he inspected her office—it looked as bad as the rest.

  If there had been any of Quinn’s pendants left behind, they had been smashed or taken. Valek checked the armory next. All the weapons were gone. No surprise. Inside the administration building, files had been strewn into a chaotic mess. Bain’s and Irys’s offices had also been searched, along with Bain’s tower in the southeast corner.

  Disappointed and sick to his stomach over the destruction, Valek headed back to Irys’s tower, cutting through the center of the campus. He stopped at the Fire Memorial. It had been carved from stone to resemble a campfire’s flames. Valek almost lost Yelena during the battle with the Fire Warper. Many people had died in the fight, and their names had been etched onto a plaque on the front side of the memorial. On another side was a list of the names of those who prevented the Warpers from taking control of Sitia. Valek’s name was among them. The one on the back only had two names—Yelena’s and Opal’s. Without them, the Fire Warper would still be a threat.

  Valek touched Yelena’s name with a fingertip. Stay strong, love. I’m coming.

  When he returned to Irys’s tower, an impulse to visit Yelena’s rooms flared in his chest. Instead of heading down to the tunnel, he climbed up to the third story. And stopped.

  A ribbon of yellow light glowed from underneath the door. He pulled a dagger and a small mirror from his pockets. The long, thin handle of the mirror allowed him to peek under the door without tipping off the person or persons inside.

  The scent of wood smoke wafted out as he bent to insert the mirror. From this angle, he caught sight of a small fire burning in the hearth and a single pair of boots in front of the couch.

  Too curious to leave, Valek straightened, returned the mirror and tested the doorknob. Unlocked. Bracing for an attack, he entered the room. A dark figure stood next to the couch, looking in Valek’s direction, but a wavy translucent shimmer hung between them and made it impossible for Valek to identify the person.

  “Uncle Valek?” a young male voice asked. “How did you... Oh!”

  The veil dropped.

  Teegan rushed to him, throwing his arms around Valek for a quick hug. “I’m so glad to see you!”

  “What are you doing here?” Valek asked his not-quite-nephew.

  “Waiting for you or Aunt Yelena to show up.”

  “Why? And how?”

  “Long story.” Teegan raced around and packed up his meager belongings. “Tell you on the way.”

  “The way?”

  “Yeah. On the way to wherever you’re hiding.”

  Valek glanced around, spotting evidence that Teegan had been living here for at least a week. A pile of books teetered near the couch. He couldn’t leave Teegan here, even though it was probably safer than the inn. “Tell me when we get there. We need to keep quiet.”

  “Okay.” Teegan poured a bucket of water onto the fire, dousing the flames. Thick smoke boiled up the chimney. Teegan followed Valek’s gaze. “It’s too dark to see it.”

  “But not to smell it,” Valek said.

  “Oh. I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Remember it for next time. Let’s go.”

  Many questions rose in his mind as Valek escorted Teegan through the tunnel and during the circuitous route around the Citadel. Only when Valek was satisfied no one followed them did he head to the inn.

  Teegan stayed with the horses while Valek checked the rooms. His agent waited inside Valek’s.

  “Report,” Valek ordered.

  “All quiet. No trouble,” the man said.

  “Good. Get some sleep. We’re meeting in the dining room in the morning. Tell the others.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Valek fetched Teegan. Once the boy was comfortable, he said, “Tell me why you were alone in Irys’s tower and spare no details.”

  “Do you know about the Theobroma in the Keep’s food?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then you know why everyone went basically crazy, believing the Commander is going to attack Sitia and they had to help fight. Convinced of the danger, groups of magician and students took off for the garrisons until only a few support staff remained. I didn’t feel this compulsion, and I thought it was because I’m a student of Master Irys and she must be protecting me. But when I surprised her by showing up for a morning lesson, she determined that I must be strong enough to resist the magic, even with Theobroma in my body. Just like her and Master Bain.”

  Valek jumped on that bit of news. “Masters Irys and Bain aren’t affected?”

  “No.”

  “Then why did they follow Bruns’s orders?”

  “Because they didn’t have anyone else but me to help them. Because they thought it better to pretend to be influenced and gather information until you and Aunt Yelena planned a way to stop Bruns’s Cartel.”

  Such trust. Valek hoped not to disappoint them, but his main goal—rescuing Yelena—would come first. And then it hit him. “You have master-level powers!”

  Teegan grinned. “I have to take the test first, but this kind of confirmed it.”

  Great news, except Teegan was only fourteen years old. Which reminded him... “Why didn’t you go home and stay with your mother and father?”

  “Master Bain thought the Cartel would be watching them, and it would be suspicious if I showed up there. Master Irys destroyed all record of my enrollment here, and she hoped the Cartel would assume they got everyone. Not many people knew I was working with her, and she told me to keep a low profile among the students. She sensed magicians would soon be under attack.”

  “So when Irys and Bain left...”

  “I stayed and waited for you.”

  “What if someone saw your fire? Or decided to search the Keep?”

  “I hid behind an illusion. Didn’t you... Oh, that’s right, you’re immune, so you only felt the magic. If anyone else arrived, he’d see nothing but an empty room.”

  Valek had seen through the illusion. Did that mean he was stronger than Teegan or that he was closer to flaming out? This wasn’t the time to worry about it. “What if no one came?”

  Teegan rummaged in his pack. “The Masters believed you’d come looking for these.” He held up a handful of glass pendants.

  “Are they—”

  “Yup. Null shields. And if you didn’t show, I planned to relive my days as a street rat and find Fisk.”

  Smart. Valek smiled. With Teegan and the pendants, they had a better chance of success. A crazy scheme to rescue Yelena and the others swirled to life. “Besides illusions, what else can you do?”

  Teegan gave him a cocky little grin. “It’d be quicker to tell you what I can’t do.”

  Oh, yes, this just might work.

  * * *

  Fisk and Tweet returned to the inn in the morning, and they gathered in a private dining room. Valek scanned the people sitting around the table. Two of his corps, Fisk, Tweet, Zethan, Zohav and Teegan. The majority were under eighteen and had no prior experience with subterfuge or fighting.

  “I dispatched a team to the Stormdance Clan,” Fisk said. “If there are Stormdancers who are willing to help, they’ll meet us at the rendezvous location near the Krystal garrison.”

  Valek filled them in on Teegan’s information. Relief touched all their faces when they learned of the Masters’ resistance to Bruns’s brainwashing.

  “How many glass shields do you have?” Fisk asked.

  “A dozen,” Teegan said.

  “Are there any more?”

  “Not in the Keep,” Teegan said.

  Tweet gestured and piped a few notes.

  “Go
od idea,” Fisk said to the boy. “He confirmed that Mara’s still in the Citadel. She hired one of my people to carry her purchases from the market to her apartment yesterday. We can ask her if she has some of the glass shields.”

  “Was there anyone with her or in her apartment?” Valek asked.

  “Are you thinking it could be another ambush?” Fisk asked.

  “Anything is possible.”

  Shaking his head no, Tweet wagged his hands and tapped his forearm.

  “She was alone.”

  “Good. I’ll visit her tonight,” Valek said.

  They discussed possible scenarios and ways to infiltrate the garrison. Much depended on whether or not the Stormdancers would assist them, and if Mara had more glass pendants. The twins and Teegan consulted each other on what they could do with their combined magic. It gave Valek a few more ideas, which helped, considering everyone vetoed the plan where Valek walked into the ambush waiting in Fisk’s headquarters and allowed them to capture him.

  They formulated a basic plan, but more information needed to be collected before they could implement it. Satisfied, Valek ended the meeting, then he returned to his room to catch a few hours of sleep to prepare for another long night.

  * * *

  Under cover of darkness, Valek scouted the area near Mara’s apartment building. No watchers lurked in the shadows. Just to be safe, Valek looped around to the back, climbed up to Mara’s floor and entered through the hallway’s window. Leif had learned how easy it was to open a window and ensured the ones in his apartment had extra security measures installed.

  He debated using his lock picks on the lock. But it was late, and he didn’t wish to scare Mara. Just to be sure, Valek slid his mirror under the door to check for intruders or ambushers. A small fire burned in the hearth and cast a warm amber glow on the furniture in the main living room. Seeing nothing amiss, he straightened and knocked lightly. After a few seconds, a shadow appeared under the door and an eye squinted through the peephole. He rested his hands near his daggers just in case.

  The door swung open. Mara flew into his arms, squeezing him. “Valek! Thank fate!” She stepped back and blushed. “Sorry. Everyone’s gone and I’ve been in a panic ever since. I figured all my friends and family had been caught.”

  He gave her a wry grin. “I’m not that easy to catch. Are you all right?”

  “Fine. Do you have any news?”

  Hating to disappoint her, he swallowed the sour taste in his mouth. “We’re doing—”

  A bang sounded behind him. Valek whirled with both his daggers in hand. The door across the hall gaped open, and armed men spilled from the opposite apartment. Almost twenty soldiers fanned out—ten on each side.

  His comment about not being easy to catch had returned to haunt him. With twenty against one, they would have it easy. Valek, on the other hand—not so much.

  30

  LEIF

  Hungry.

  So hungry.

  His stomach no longer rumbled, it roared. It growled and dug its sharp teeth into his gut, insisting, Feed me! He lay listless on the straw pallet, trying to ignore the scent of warm sweet cakes a few feet away. It masked the acrid stench of slop pots and body odor. For now.

  Torture.

  This was torture.

  Worse than pain.

  With nothing to distract him, he worried about Yelena, wondered how long he’d last before giving in, and wished for his favorite beef stew, and cherry pie, and Mara’s pumpkin cake, and...

  It’d been four days since Yelena was taken. Four days of sipping water and nibbling on a few bites of food to stay alive. Four days of silent discussions with the others about escaping. Nothing. They failed to find a weakness. A way out. Their one effort to grab the guards when they delivered the food had been a complete and utter flop.

  By the fifth day, bouts of dizziness spun his cell, and his legs shook when he stood. He’d have to decide if refusing to become Bruns’s lackey was worth dying for. The scrape of the door roused him. Too soon for supper. He lifted his head.

  Mara entered the jail with two guards on her heels.

  His own woes disappeared in an instant as a cold knife of horror sliced right through him.

  Leif surged to his feet and then grabbed the bars to keep from falling. “Mara...” His voice cracked in anguish.

  Alarm and fear flashed in her golden eyes before she gathered her composure. She turned to the guard on her left. “You call this well? He looks half-dead.”

  “It’s his own fault. He refuses to eat,” the man said.

  An odd exchange. Perhaps Leif was hallucinating. He certainly hoped the bruises on her beautiful heart-shaped face were an illusion.

  Mara stepped closer to his cell. “Leif, you need to eat. No more hunger strike. Okay?”

  Her sweet scent washed over him. “Mara, what’s going on? Did they capture you?” he asked.

  “Yes, but I worked out a deal with Bruns. He’s really not that bad.”

  Another jab of pain pierced him. They’d brainwashed her, too.

  “If I convince you to start eating, he’ll free you. Bruns promised that we’d work together at the Moon garrison. Quinn Bloodrose is there, and I can assist him with his glass creations.” She moved and reached her hand through the bars. “It’s the best I could do.”

  He grasped it, twining his fingers in hers. Soaking in her warmth, he savored her touch as if it were the last time. “Sounds like you’ve given up.”

  “Bruns’s men used the apartment across from us to ambush Valek.” She bunched the fabric of her skirt in her free hand. “Valek managed to...kill a couple of them, but they overwhelmed him. And I was...useless. Bruns is interrogating him now.”

  The news of Valek’s capture slammed into him. Good thing she clutched his hand, or he would’ve collapsed from the blow. Valek had been their last hope.

  “Start eating, please. For me,” Mara implored him.

  “All right,” he said. “For you.”

  She relaxed, then pressed her face to the bars to kiss him. Her lips opened and he deepened the kiss.

  “That’s enough,” the guard holding her arm said.

  She rounded on him. “I haven’t seen my husband in months.”

  “I’ve my orders.”

  “Fine.” She jerked her arm free and smoothed her skirt. Mara turned to Leif. “At least we’ll soon be together.” Mara said goodbye and was escorted out.

  When the door clanged shut, he sagged against the bars. A thousand emotions ripped through him. Fear dominated. Not for him, but for Mara.

  “That was...unfortunate,” Janco said.

  For once the man didn’t exaggerate. Leif glanced up. The rest of the inmates stared at him. No one said a word, but their thoughts were clear in their morose expressions. End of the road.

  “Does that mean we’re out of options?” Hale asked.

  “Can we eat now?” Dax asked.

  “Yes to both.” Janco wasted no time in stuffing a sweet cake into his mouth.

  Soon after, a group of soldiers carried an unconscious and naked Valek into the jail, dumped him into Yelena’s empty cell next to Janco’s, tossed a uniform onto his prone form and left.

  Bloody, battered, bruised and with multiple cuts along his arms, legs and torso, Valek looked near death.

  Janco reached through the bars and felt Valek’s pulse. “It’s strong.”

  They breathed a collective sigh of relief.

  We’re dead, Janco signaled.

  Relax, Janco. Valek will have it all worked out, Ari said.

  Valek didn’t regain consciousness until after three meals had come and gone—a full day. He groaned and sat up, pressing one hand to his head and the other to his ribs.

  “Welcome to the land of the living, boss,” Janco said.

  Valek glanced at them, then scanned the jail. “I think I prefer oblivion. It didn’t hurt and it smelled better.”

  “Mara said you took a few out,” Ari said.
/>   “Is she okay?” Valek asked.

  “Bruised and scared, but she said she made a deal with Bruns,” Leif said.

  “Good for her.” Valek grimaced as he reached for the cup of water.

  “Why do you say that?” Leif demanded. He crinkled his nose. There was something...off about Valek, and it wasn’t the physical damage. Strange.

  “It’s a smart move on her part. I’d suggest you all do the same and make a deal with Bruns.”

  They glanced at each other in alarm.

  Ari caught Valek’s attention and signaled, You’re just saying that. Right? That’s all part of the plan. Right?

  This—Valek gestured to his cell—was not part of the plan. We were working on one, but it was in the preliminary stages.

  We who?

  Fisk, his people and a couple of young magicians.

  So we’re screwed? Janco asked.

  “Yep.” Valek eased back into a prone position.

  “Can I stop relaxing now?” Janco asked Ari.

  31

  YELENA

  The past three days had been...strange or interesting, depending on the way I looked at it. Bruns had taken Cahil’s advice and hadn’t wiped my mind. Yet. Once he determined that my knowledge about the Commander was limited, Bruns no longer asked specific questions. In fact, my theory that he was just going through the motions of preparing for war strengthened the longer I spent with him. Which meant Cahil didn’t know about it. No surprise, since it appeared Bruns had recruited Cahil and hadn’t brainwashed him. So to keep Cahil cooperating, it would have to appear as if they prepared for battle.

  I hadn’t found any proof of my theory, but I kept an eye out for anything while I worked with Bruns on strategy. He planned to expand to the other garrisons in Sitia, indoctrinating them, as well. I hated helping him, but at the same time, the challenge kept my mind from imagining my brother and friends starving to death in the jail.

  I’d been sleeping in the side room of Bruns’s office and using the washroom in his suite downstairs. Every morning, Loris arrived and reinforced the magic holding me captive. Funny thing about that—for the next few hours, I couldn’t refuse a command and I enjoyed the work, almost existing on an I-love-Bruns high, but as the day wore on, the magic wore off. From what I’d seen of Bruns’s other minions, that didn’t happen, and from the conversations Bruns had with Loris, it sounded as if once a person had been fully converted, they no longer needed to be influenced unless they had magic.