Storm Glass g-1

by Maria V. Snyder

  “Yes.”

  “Not for me. My future hopes and dreams played in my mind. All the things I would never experience, and I had only one regret. That I hadn’t shown Leif how much I cared for him. After you saved me, I decided I would stop hoping and dreaming, and start acting. So when the snake finally catches up to me, I won’t have any regrets.” She stared at me as if seeking an answer. “You’ve been in a few bad situations. Who did you think of? What did you regret? Have you changed anything?”

  There was no quick reply to her questions.

  “Think about it.”

  Ulrick returned smiling. “Stable Master said I could take Moonlight.”

  “He’s still here?” Leif asked. His hands were full of milk oats. Rusalka charged toward him. “Whoa, girl! These are for later.” He danced back, trying to avoid the horse’s determined lunge for the treats. “Now we can cut through the Avibian Plains and reach Fulgor faster. Although we’re not going anywhere if you two don’t get your horses saddled.” Leif shooed us into motion.

  Quartz nickered at me and Moonlight’s head poked over his stall door. Ulrick and I brought the horses out and saddled them.

  “Did I hear Leif right?” Ulrick asked. “Cut through the Avibian Plains?”

  “Yes.”

  “Won’t the Sandseed’s protective magic confuse us?”

  “Leif is a distant cousin of the Sandseeds so he’s welcome in the plains. And…”

  “And, what?”

  I was reluctant to mention magic to Ulrick and destroy his good mood.

  “Opal?”

  “And Leif mentioned how fast the Sandseed horses can run in the plains, but I’ve never been there before even though the border abuts my family’s glass factory. Have you?”

  “Are you kidding? Growing up, going into the plains was the dare with my friends. The way to prove to everyone you’re a man.”

  “Did you prove yourself?”

  He laughed. “I guess I’ll find out.”

  The three of us left the Citadel and headed east toward the Moon Clan lands. Farm fields spotted with houses and barns spread before us as we traveled though Featherstone country. The Citadel was located in the southwest corner of the Featherstone Clan at a point bordering the Krystal and Stormdance lands and the Avibian Plains.

  It was a couple of weeks into the cold season. The air smelled damp. Dark clouds in the west threatened to dump the rain and sleet mix so common this time of year. I peered at the sky, hoping the weather would hold off a few days. Snow would even be welcome. Better than having the road turn into a mushy mess.

  I wondered if Kade could turn rain into snow. My knowledge of Stormdancers’ powers was limited to what I had learned in school. I had been surprised when Kade told me storms had moods. What else didn’t I know about the storms or Kade? And why was I so curious?

  Mara’s encouragement to consider my regrets came to mind. In order for me to answer her questions, I would have to review difficult events. Not a pleasant task.

  “It’s four days to Fulgor, but if we cross into the northern hump of the plains, we can make it there in three,” Leif said.

  “Wouldn’t that be a few miles out of the way?” Ulrick asked.

  “Yep. We’ll head straight east then turn north instead of going northeast.”

  “Then—”

  “Don’t worry.” Leif grinned widely. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

  We stopped for the night in a travelers’ shelter, still within the Featherstone boundaries. No other travelers were inside. When Leif set a watch schedule, I asked for the last shift. My lack of sleep the previous night had caught up with me and I couldn’t even follow the conversation at dinner. I headed straight for bed. Ulrick volunteered for the first shift and Leif brought me my pack.

  “Ugh. What’s in here? Rocks?” Leif asked.

  “Glass.”

  He raised his thick eyebrows, prompting me to continue.

  “A bunch of spiders and bees. An empty orb.” It also contained Kade’s orb, but I was reluctant to tell him.

  “Empty?”

  “For an emergency only.”

  “Scary.”

  “Believe me, I know.” If attacked, would I use the orb to drain another’s power? Maybe, if there was no other option. One thing I did know, if Tricky lost his power when I had channeled his magic, I would not regret that.

  The night remained quiet. Leif woke me a few hours before dawn.

  “Your turn. Try not to wake everyone this time,” he said, yawning.

  I swatted him and headed outside to check on the horses.

  The darkness pressed down. Moist air blew through the trees, rattling the dead leaves. The wind had extinguished three of the lanterns. Flames clutched the other lamps in desperation, flapping in resistance with each gust. Clouds blocked the moon. Once my eyes adjusted, I checked the stable. Quartz dozed, leaning against Rusalka. Moonlight came over and nuzzled my hand, looking for a treat. The three horses shared one large stall.

  Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing to cause concern. So why did I feel watched? I circled the two buildings. An icy splat hit my forehead. I cried out in alarm and yanked my sais from my cloak. Another cold drop struck my cheek. Chagrined, I replaced my sais as the drizzle turned into a soaking rain fueled by the wind. I found a calm spot next to the shelter and pulled my hood over my head.

  For the next two hours, I kept a diligent watch. The storm would be a great cover for anyone sneaking up. The wind swirled and diluted smells, moaning in sorrow. Why sorrow? The sound almost matched the keening emanating from Kade’s orb. As the storm approached, the orb’s song grew louder to me. No one else heard it, but Leif had remarked on sensing magic.

  Kade told me the energy trapped inside the orb would get agitated when another storm came near. But the mournful sounds of the orb held no distress, just a lonely ache to be free.

  My imagination no doubt. It tended to exaggerate emotions and see things that weren’t there. Just like the black shape slinking between shadows. Or the brief movement to my left—pure imagination. Right? I gripped the handles of my sais.

  The storm raged for a moment, blocking out all sense of my surroundings. A sudden blast of wind extinguished the remaining lantern light.

  Something struck me behind my knees. I fell forward as pain flared. Arms wrapped around me and a hand clamped over my mouth. Lifted off the ground, I yanked my sais from my cloak and blindly struck out. I was rewarded by one yelp before my arms were pinned.

  I struggled. There had to be three or four of them. A sharp point jabbed the skin below my left ear.

  “Quit fighting or I’ll shove my knife into your throat,” a man’s voice growled.

  24

  I STOPPED STRUGGLING.

  “Smart choice,” the man said.

  I didn’t recognize his voice, which gave me little comfort, considering my circumstances. The knife stayed against my throat, and the hand remained over my mouth. A wet dog smell emanated from him.

  “I’ve got her. Go,” he ordered.

  The men who held me put me down. They headed for the shelter. Leif and Ulrick slept within and I couldn’t warn them. Powerless, I counted five of them as they slipped inside. My own fear forgotten, I worried for my companions.

  Although muted by the wind and rain, shouts, curses and the sounds of fighting reached me, I tensed. The knife dug deeper.

  “Relax. It’ll all be over soon,” the man said.

  The next few seconds moved as if we stood there for days. Five against two, but Leif had learned to fight from Valek. I cursed the storm’s wild winds. Otherwise the horses would have alerted us to the danger. And now the storm masked the noise of the attack, so the three horses huddled together without knowing the danger.

  When one of the attackers signaled from the door, I knew Leif and Ulrick had lost.

  “Told you. Let’s go.” He kept me with him as he guided me into the shelter.

  Ulrick and Leif knelt by the
hearth. Hands on their heads, various cuts bleeding on their arms and their spines stiff with anger.

  Ulrick’s concern turned to relief when he saw me. “Are you all right?”

  “No talking!” One of the four men guarding them hit Ulrick with the flat of his sword.

  Ulrick winced with pain, but kept quiet. His helpless situation was all my fault. Leif was used to trouble, but not Ulrick. Mara’s comments replayed in my mind.

  What if Ulrick died? her voice asked.

  Guilt, of course, for bringing him along. Missing his smile and protective bearishness. Missing his company.

  Regrets?

  Wishing I hadn’t snapped at him in annoyance and had been more considerate. Wishing I had been a better guard.

  Unkempt and wearing tattered clothes, the men kept their weapons pointed at Leif and Ulrick. The rain left clean streaks on the men’s dirty faces.

  My captor released me, pushing me toward my friends. I stumbled.

  “Take off your cloak.” He gestured with his knife. A long thin blade with my blood on its tip.

  Confused and alarmed, I shrugged off the sodden garment, letting it plop to the ground.

  “Search her,” the leader ordered.

  The man who had signaled the all clear checked me for weapons. I recoiled at his rough touch, but he was fast. Declaring me clean, he pushed me down on my knees next to Leif. He didn’t miss anything. Everything I could use in my defense was in my cloak. If I was ever given a second chance, I wouldn’t be so stupid again.

  “See what goodies you can find,” the leader said.

  While two men kept guard, the others searched through our belongings. It finally dawned on me they might be robbers, and I actually began to hope they would take what they wanted and leave.

  Unfortunately, we didn’t have much besides coins and weapons. Piling the goods in front of us, they puzzled over the glass orbs and spilled my glass spiders and bees on the floor. TheglasstreeleopardLeifusedtocommunicatewithothermagiciansdrewlaughsofderisionoverwhattheythoughtwasatoy.

  The leader picked up one of the bees and examined it in the firelight. “What’s this?” he asked me.

  “Don’t tell him,” Leif said.

  I glanced at Leif. He looked worried. Too worried. He wanted the leader to think they were significant. I caught on.

  “It’s gotta be important, boss. They don’t have anything else with them,” the Signal Man said.

  The leader grabbed my hair, yanking me to my feet. He jabbed me with his knife’s point in the exact same spot as before. Pain blazed. “What is it?”

  “Glass…decorations…worthless.” I held still.

  “You want to die over a few trinkets?” He twisted the knife.

  I cried out as fire ringed my throat.

  “Stop,” Ulrick yelled. “Tell him.”

  “Hurry up or I’m going to carve my initials deep into your smooth skin.”

  “There are jewels…hidden inside.” I relaxed a bit as he pulled his knife away. Warm wetness flowed down my neck.

  “The spiders?” he asked.

  “Topaz,” I said.

  “The bees?”

  “Emeralds and onyx.”

  “How do we get to them?”

  “Don’t—” Leif tried, but a guard kicked him in the stomach.

  The leader dragged his blade along my cheek, leaving a trail of pain.

  “Break it,” I said as if he had forced it from me. I hoped this was what Leif wanted.

  With greedy glints in their eyes, the leader and three of his men tried to snap the glass items in half.

  “Only I can break them open,” I said.

  The leader thrust them in my hand. “Do it.”

  The resultant whoosh and flash distracted the men long enough for Leif and Ulrick to jump to their feet and snatch their weapons from the pile.

  I broke all the glass. “Attack them,” I yelled to the three spiders and one bee that had been released, keeping the image of our ambushers in my mind.

  The leader backed away as the bee flew toward him. Cries and yells sounded as chaos descended. Ulrick fought with his sword and Leif hacked with his machete. I dived for my cloak and pulled more spiders from a pocket. Breaking them open, I sent each one into the fight to add to the robbers’ confusion. A spider’s bite hurts, but doesn’t kill.

  I pulled my sais, and checked where the leader had gone. Unfortunately, the Greenblade bee had stung him. His body convulsed on the floor as he died. I pushed the horrible image from my mind and engaged in the battle.

  Swinging my sais, I knocked one man unconscious and trapped another’s sword long enough for Ulrick to disarm him. Within minutes the fight was over. The attackers surrendered.

  Ulrick, Leif and I stood and stared at each other for a long moment.

  Then Leif laughed. “Damn. For just a second, I thought you weren’t going to tell them about the spiders and had missed my hint. My heart actually ceased to beat.”

  “I’m sorry for letting them through,” I said.

  Leif waved the apology away. “You didn’t stand a chance. It was six against one, during a storm. I must have been tired to sleep through the rain. If I had known, I would have joined you. Here, hold this.” He handed me his machete. “Chop anyone that moves, I’ll contact the authorities.” Picking up his tree leopard, Leif stared into the glowing depths of the glass, sending out a message.

  I moved closer to Ulrick. Two men had been knocked out, and three robbers huddled together and nursed the bleeding gashes and bite marks turning into red welts on their skin.

  He glanced at me before returning his attention to the men. “Are you all right?”

  I probed the wound on my neck with a finger. It throbbed. “I’ll live, but I wish Leif had healing powers.”

  “Leif’s magic—”

  “Useless in this case,” Leif said. “I could smell the foul things they’ve done, know they had no remorse for their actions, but couldn’t do a damn thing about it.” He rummaged in his saddlebags. “Ah, I do have one.” Firelight glinted off a vial of liquid. Leif dipped metal darts into the substance.

  “Curare?” I asked.

  “Yep. The closest town is Owl’s Hill. They’re sending guards, but it’ll be a while until they get here. I don’t want these guys following us.” He jabbed each one. “The town’s been getting reports about a gang of men robbing travelers. Called them the Storm Thieves.”

  Leif checked the pulse on the leader and met my gaze. My guilt burned through my heart and I thought I should be arrested, too. He was dead because of me. The rationalization of kill or be killed was not a comfort—our situation hadn’t seemed that dire. A life gone. My first. Now I had a true regret.

  “You saved lives with his death,” Leif said. “He reeks of blood. Killed many and captured women for his pleasure before leaving them to die. He was wanted for murder, a hanging offense.”

  “But that is for a judge to decide. Not me.”

  “And you decided he would die?”

  “No, but—”

  “It was my plan. Do you think I would have let you trick them into breaking open the bees, if I knew they would take what they wanted and go?”

  “I—”

  “Hadn’t thought of it that way? I smelled their intentions. You were part of their spoils and Ulrick and I were soon to be dead.” Leif returned to his bags and removed his water skin, a handful of leaves and a white roll. Pouring water into a pot, he crushed the leaves and sprinkled them in. “Sit,” he ordered me. “Those guys aren’t going anywhere and I want to clean your wound before it gets infected. Ulrick, heat the water.”

  Stirring the fire to roaring life, Ulrick boiled the water. Leif’s ministrations caused my eyes to tear. The burning pain was worse than the knife as he rubbed an earthy-smelling goo into my cut. When Ulrick sat beside me, I clung to his hand.

  “It’s deep, but the poultice should keep it clean until we reach Yelena. The mark on your cheek is just a scratch.”
He wrapped a bandage around my neck.

  “Why wait until we reach the Soulfinder?” Ulrick asked.

  I explained about her healing abilities. “She could have saved my sister’s life, if Ferde hadn’t stolen Tula’s soul.”

  “Only if she was there before Tula died,” Leif said. “Once the body dies, she won’t return the soul.”

  “Why not?” he asked.

  “The two people she ‘woke’ from the dead came back with different personalities. They obsessed about death and eventually killed themselves.” Leif finished tying the bandage. “Now, I’m depressed. Let’s get out of here before I start to cry.”

  I checked on the horses as Leif and Ulrick gathered our supplies. The sky lightened, turning the darkness into a dreary gray fog. Rain and sleet continued to blow. Propelled by the wind, the chilly wetness soaked my cloak and reached my skin.

  After a cold breakfast, we continued our journey east. As expected, the roads softened into muck that clung to the horses’ legs and filled their hooves. The storm followed us into the plains.

  We stopped just past the border to clean the mud from the horses’ feet. The tall gold-brown stalks of the grass bowed under the weight of the rain. At least the ground remained firm. Spreading as far as I could see in the gloom, the plains’ terrain undulated as if it were a frozen sea. But then the scene shifted. It looked foreign. Hostile.

  “We’re lost,” Ulrick said. He pulled his sword, glancing around him as if searching for attackers. “We must go back.”

  I agreed. “We should leave. Now.” I peered around as my panic increased. Which way had we come? Which way was safe?

  “Relax,” Leif said. “It’s just the Sandseed protection. Let me…” He drew in a breath and closed his eyes.

  The landscape returned to a more benign setting. My conviction of being lost dissipated. “What did you do?”

  “Introduced you to the Sandseed’s magic. Promised you would behave and not be a threat to them.”

  “What happens if they think we’re a threat?” Ulrick asked.

  “You don’t want to know,” Leif said.