Facing the Fire

by Carol Beth Anderson

  They left through the back door, and the other Golds gathered around the shop’s front window. They couldn’t see Evitt and Narre, but if the guards did anything unexpected, the Golds would notice.

  Tullen looked at Tavi, who had her arms folded. “You all right?” he asked.

  “I wish I could do more.”

  He nodded. Tavi was on the primary team, but her role was here, in the tailor shop. She’d listen with her gifted ears so she could tell other team members when to deploy. She was also available to use her other gifts, and he wondered if she secretly hoped she’d have the chance to do something exciting. Maybe create a ravine or two.

  But Tavi wasn’t the only one ready to help if anything went wrong. Their small secondary team was ready to step up if needed. Sanno had been a safety officer for years before becoming a royal guard. He was a well-trained fighter. And Ash had declared he was willing to do anything, even turn himself in to Konner, if it helped them fulfill their mission.

  Through the magic in his ears, Tullen soon heard Evitt’s voice. “We’re on our way back. Everything went fine. Tullen, Sall, and Wrey, meet us at the back door.”

  “Good luck,” Tavi said. “If you need anything, I’m here.”

  “Thanks.” Tullen walked through the little shop to the back door. It soon opened, and Narre appeared.

  “Tullen and Wrey, I’m just inside the door,” Evitt’s disembodied voice said.

  Tullen reached out to find Evitt and again placed his arm around the invisible young man’s waist. Wrey did the same and promptly disappeared. Sall, however, stayed visible as they all left the tailor shop.

  They walked through the narrow space between the two shops again, Sall in front of his invisible companions. As soon as they reached the street, Sall began mumbling under his breath and swaying as he sauntered toward Konner’s house. Tullen stifled a laugh as Sall weaved from one side of the road to the other.

  Once they reached the house, Tullen, Evitt, and Wrey approached the side yard. The low picket fence around the property was flimsy, and Narre had used her breaking gift to neatly separate a short length of fence from the rest. When they reached that spot, Tullen made sure none of the guards were watching, then swiftly picked up the pickets and moved them to the side. When he was sure they’d all made it through, he turned, keeping his arm around Evitt, and replaced the section of fence.

  The whole time, Sall kept up a drunken monologue outside the front of the fence. It wasn’t terribly loud; Sall didn’t want to wake the home’s residents. But Tullen could hear it clearly through his gifted ears.

  As Tullen, Evitt, and Wrey crept to the front yard, Sall pretended to cry, telling the guards how much he missed his family, his girl back home, and his milk cow, Roundy. Tullen feared Sall might be overdoing it, but it seemed to be working. The guards, who Evitt had told them always stood right next to the front door, had both approached the fence and were laughing as they chatted with Sall.

  The three invisible Golds made it to the front door. Narre had done her job well, breaking the bolt clean through. She’d been so worried the guards would hear the sound and catch her and Evitt, but she’d recently been working on breaking things more gently. Her practice had paid off.

  Wrey opened the front door. It squeaked, and Tullen looked back at the guards as he entered. The two men were still joking around with Sall.

  Tullen closed the door, freeing Sall to return to the tailor shop. Later, when Tullen told Tavi that he and the others were ready to leave, she’d send Sall back into the streets to distract the guards again.

  Walking through the dark house with their arms around each other’s waists was tricky. But they walked as stealthily as they could, turning sideways through doorways and dark hallways. Twice, they bumped into furniture, and Tullen wanted to scream in frustration each time.

  Their first goal was to put the magic quencher to sleep and abduct him. But they didn’t know what room he was in. They knew Relin, Camalyn, and the baby were in a bedroom on the left side of the house, and the additional, unknown guest was in the neighboring room. So they made their way to the rear of the house where two bedrooms were occupied by one person each. Likely one belonged to Konner and one to the magic quencher.

  They stopped at a closed door, and Tullen listened. All he could hear was breathing; he couldn’t discern whose it was. The next bedroom was the same.

  “I can’t tell who’s in which room,” Tullen whispered. “We’ll have to open one of the doors.”

  “I’ll do it,” Wrey said.

  Tullen couldn’t see the door handle move in the dark, but he heard the high-pitched squeak it emitted. He held his breath, as if that would make the door quieter. Then the door itself swung open, letting out a slight creak.

  In the dark room, Tullen could barely make out a bed. He couldn’t tell who was in it. They’d decided that in a case like this, the best option was for Evitt to go in by himself. So all three intruders backed away from the door, and Tullen released Evitt’s waist. A moment later, Wrey appeared next to Tullen, a black shadow in the already-dark hallway.

  Seconds later, the door creaked again as it was pulled closed. Tullen sighed. Wrong room. A groan emitted from the inside the room, and Tullen thought his heart would stop. But then Evitt’s shoulder bumped him, and Tullen gladly reconnected himself with his source of invisibility.

  As they took a few steps to the room next door, Tullen breathed, “Tell Sall to come back.” Then he sent some of his magic from his ears into his feet.

  They were so close. Tullen’s heart felt like it would gallop out of his chest, and he looked upward, silently begging Sava to make this work.

  Wrey opened the door. This time, Evitt stayed in the hall while Wrey and Tullen, both visible, went inside. Wrey’s eyes already glowed with gray magic.

  They approached the bed, where a man slept on his side, facing the door. His slow, deep breaths contrasted with Tullen’s shallow, fearful ones. Wrey knelt next to the bed and shook the man’s shoulder.

  The man gasped, and his voice, loud and startled, said, “Who are—”

  He stopped talking, unconscious. Wrey stepped to the side, and Tullen scooped up the man, throwing him over one shoulder and holding him tight. Adults were always a little unwieldy to carry, but with Tullen’s stride gift active, the man felt as light as a dandelion tuft.

  Tullen followed Wrey out of the room, and a moment later, he felt Evitt’s arm come around his waist. Then Wrey disappeared too.

  They rushed through the house, their movements even more difficult with the additional bulk of the unconscious man on Tullen’s shoulder. Tullen feared that any second, they’d hear a frightened voice calling for the guards. But the house was silent. Hope bloomed in Tullen’s chest with every successful step. We’re going to make it.

  As they neared the front door, Sall’s voice entered Tullen’s gifted ears. “I had another question for you!” he slurred. “No, no, both of you. Very important question. Good, good, thanks, didn’t want to miss either of you with this question. Glad you’re both here to hear it. Here to hear. Oh, that’s funny. Here to here to hear it.”

  Sall expounded drunkenly on the importance of his question, and Tullen whispered, “All clear.” Wrey swung the front door open. Again, it squeaked, and again, the guards took no notice.

  They had to walk sideways to get through the doorway together. Tullen felt himself pulled along as his two partners walked through. He was last, and he swiveled a bit so he wouldn’t hit the man he carried against the door or the surrounding trim.

  The movement had worked perfectly in two interior doorways, but this time, Tullen miscalculated. The man’s legs swung out, hitting the doorjamb. It was louder than Tullen would have expected. But not as loud as the sound he made when he lost his balance and fell to the ground, letting go of both his quarry and Evitt.

  If he’d fallen by himself, he could have immediately leapt to his feet and run away. But the man Tullen had been carrying had la
nded directly across Tullen’s midsection. It took a second or two for Tullen to extricate himself from the unconscious body pinning him down. Just enough time for the two guards to hear the racket and come running. Before Tullen could rise beyond his knees, the guards tackled him.

  “Get him!” Tullen called out, hoping Wrey and Evitt understood. They had to leave with the man they’d come for.

  But they didn’t get the chance. One of the guards who’d tackled Tullen got up and went straight to the unconscious man. “He’s breathing,” he said. “Looks like he knocked him out.”

  Tullen’s heart sank. He would’ve considered his capture worthwhile if his partners had left with the man they’d come for. “You need to go,” he told Wrey and Evitt. Wherever they were.

  The guard who’d examined the unconscious man stood over Tullen. “We’re not going anywhere. Neither are you.”

  The other guard demanded, “Who are you?”

  “What’s going on over here?” another voice asked.

  “Caught an intruder coming out of the house, along with the chief minister’s pet protector,” the guard on top of Tullen said. “You think we should take this one inside?”

  A small laugh burst out of Tullen’s mouth. “I think you should let me go.” The guard on top of him slapped him hard across his cheek. Tullen didn’t know why he was laughing, anyway; he would soon be facing Konner Burrell. He should be crying, not laughing.

  “What happened?” a female voice interjected.

  “Your Highness!” one of the guards said. “I’m sorry we woke you.”

  “I was already awake. I was in the front room with my son and heard the commotion through the window. Why is this man on the ground?”

  “He was in the house, Your Highness. He fell when he was trying to leave. He was carrying the, uh, the touch-blessed gentleman.”

  “He was carrying Rond?” She walked toward Tullen, stopping a foot away from him. “Sit this man up. I’d like to speak to him.”

  The guards roughly pulled Tullen up. He counted six guards now standing in the front yard. The others must have been summoned by the noise. Likely they all wanted credit for catching him.

  When Tullen looked up at Camalyn, her eyes immediately widened. She recognizes me.

  But she continued to stare at him and said nothing.

  “You know him, Your Highness?” one of the guards asked.

  Camalyn ignored the question, instead asking Tullen, “Why are you here?”

  Tullen looked down, and as he did, he noticed the bulge under the queen’s loose gown. Her body still held the evidence of recent pregnancy. Her gown was wet over one breast. She was the queen, yes, but she was also a mother. She’d probably stopped feeding her baby to come out here. His eyes found her face, which was lit by the lantern she held. She looked so tired, shadows pooling under her eyes. He’d seen that look on new mothers in the Meadow.

  “Why?” she repeated.

  Tullen’s gaze didn’t budge from Camalyn’s. “We’re here to ensure that Cormina’s children live in a nation worthy of them.” He didn’t know where the answer had come from.

  For a moment, Camalyn’s lips, chin, and brow tightened, and Tullen thought she would cry. But instead, she looked up at the guards and said, “No, I don’t know him. He just looks like someone.”

  “Looks a little like one of those guys from the wanted posters,” one of the guards said.

  “I agree,” Camalyn said. Then she brought her hand up to cover her mouth. A few seconds later, she continued speaking. “But this isn’t him. This man is just a misguided soldier who wanted to be close to his king and queen. He harmed no one.”

  Tullen had only encountered Camalyn’s gift once, on the day Relin had been named king. That time, he’d resisted her magic. But he hadn’t prepared himself to do so this time. He suddenly found himself in a perfectly calm, almost blissful state. That’s right, I’m just a soldier who wanted to be close to his king and queen, he thought. I harmed no one.

  Camalyn wasn’t done. “You can let go of him,” she told the guards. They obeyed. “After I go inside,” she said, “You’ll place Rond back in his bed. You won’t tell Konner or the king about this. They’d be very upset, and you would suffer. If they ask about the noise, you’ll tell them it was a joke that got out of hand.”

  All six guards agreed without hesitation.

  Camalyn looked in Tullen’s eyes again, then leaned over and whispered in his ear, “Run away, but don’t use your gift.”

  Tullen smiled at his lovely queen, released his magic, and ran off.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Every mother is brave.

  -From Midwife Memoirs by Ellea Kariana

  Tavi and Evitt pulled open the tailor shop door several seconds after Tullen entered, just in time to hear him ask, “Where’s Tavi?”

  Tavi let go of Evitt’s waist. “I’m right here!” She ran to Tullen and gave him such a ferocious hug, she was surprised he didn’t fall over. “You scared me to death, you clumsy man!”

  Tullen laughed and disentangled himself from her. “Were you and Evitt out there? Did you see what happened?”

  “Yes, I heard them capture you. When Evitt got back with Wrey, he took me out there. I was going to try to save you, but then Camalyn . . . Tullen, I don’t understand what just happened!”

  “I don’t either. But let’s sit so I can update the others.”

  After Tullen described the scene with Camalyn and the guards, the Golds stared at each other, stunned.

  “Why?” Sall asked.

  Tullen told them what he’d seen when he’d looked at Camalyn, the evidence of her motherhood. He described her reaction when he’d said he wanted to make the nation safe for children.

  “You think she’s suddenly helping us because she’s a mother?” Sanno asked, clearly skeptical.

  “Something has changed in her,” Tullen said. “Sall, I wish you’d been there to analyze her emotions. But I saw it, even without a mind gift. I don’t think she’s the same person she used to be.”

  “Do you think she’d help us?” Wrey asked.

  “Stranger things have happened.” Tullen was looking straight at Ash.

  “The problem is, we can’t contact her,” Wrey said. “The guards will be extra-vigilant now that they realize someone got past them. And they still have their magic quencher; that makes things even more difficult.”

  The conversation continued, but Tavi’s mind wandered. An idea sprouted, and she turned it over, considering how it might work. She had to test it without anyone suspecting she was doing so.

  “I need to go to the bathroom,” Tavi said. They were in the shop’s back room, where the candles they’d lit wouldn’t show through the front window. She walked through an archway into the front room but didn’t enter the bathroom. Instead, she peeked around the edge of the wall, watching her friends. Then she activated her magic, sending it to her ears.

  She considered each person in the room, settling on Wrey, who wore a hat pulled low over her ears. Suddenly nervous, Tavi focused herself with two deep breaths, then urged her hearing magic to travel to Wrey.

  Tavi felt her magic exit her ears. Wrey looked around, confusion on her face. It was clear she heard something, but Tavi didn’t know what direction the gift was pointed. Wrey might be hearing people sleeping across the street or a soldier patrolling nearby.

  Tavi’s brows knit together. She pulled her gift back into her own ears, which proved remarkably easy and intuitive. Then she spoke in a voice so soft, even someone next to her wouldn’t hear it. “Hello,” she said, directing her hearing magic toward herself. “Hello,” she repeated. Her magic was focused only on her own voice now. Tavi sent the magic back to Wrey, who didn’t react at all.

  Tavi spoke in the same noiseless whisper: “If you hear me, don’t panic. Just say ‘yes.’ ”

  From the back room, Wrey’s wary voice said, “Yes?”

  Tavi stepped into the back room. Candlelight reflec
ted off Wrey’s wide eyes.

  “Yes what?” Narre asked.

  Wrey blinked. “None of the rest of you heard that?”

  Tavi pulled her magic back to herself, then released it. “Just you, Wrey.”

  “What’s going on?” Sall asked.

  “I shared my hearing gift with Wrey,” Tavi said. “You might say I threw it to her.”

  Sall looked at Wrey. “And it worked?”

  “I heard Tavi whispering from the next room,” Wrey said. “It was very disconcerting.”

  “That’s a great trick,” Narre said, “but is there a point?”

  Tullen was grinning. “Think you can throw magic all the way across the street? And through walls?”

  Tavi laughed. “Let’s play around with it and find out.”

  They didn’t want to leave the tailor shop, so they experimented with Tavi in the front room and everyone else in the back. She learned that she could share her hearing gift through walls, as long as she knew exactly where the recipient was. That meant if Tavi was to share her magic with the queen, Camalyn would need to be stationary. Before sharing her magic, Tavi would stop listening to Camalyn and aim her magic at Tullen. Then when she threw her magic, Camalyn would hear Tullen. With his gift active, he would hear her too. At least they all hoped it worked that way.

  They sat down to discuss their plan. Sanno was the first to speak. “There’s one problem,” he said. “You can only use magic at that house at night. How do you know Camalyn will be awake in the middle of the night?”

  At least three of the Golds burst out laughing. “Have you ever known anyone who’s had a baby?” Narre asked.

  “Well, yes, but—”

  “Don’t worry, she’ll be up every night for a while,” Narre said. “If she’s unlucky enough to have a son like my little brother Gillun, she’ll be up every night for the next five years.”

  “Oh.” Sanno frowned. “That sounds terrible.”

  “In the Meadow, husbands get up with fussy babies, too,” Tullen said with a wide smile.