Scent of Magic

by Maria V. Snyder

“Too bad we don’t have more soldiers,” Odd said. “That skull jab works better when we can double up on one.”

  “How?”

  “One distracts the thing, while the other sneaks up behind it and pow!” Odd stabbed the air with his hand. “Although I wonder why we bother. They’re not moving closer, and we can’t punch through their line. So why fight?”

  An excellent question. “Any signs of...”

  “Your boyfriend?” Odd smirked.

  I resisted the desire to correct him. At least he hadn’t called Ryne a coward. “Of Prince Ryne or his army?”

  “Nope. And before you ask for the millionth time, no sign of Belen either.”

  I finished bandaging Wynn’s cut. Odd carried her to an empty bed and then sat with her until she woke.

  * * *

  The flow of injured stopped the next day. When Odd came to visit Wynn, I asked him what had happened.

  He puffed up his chest. “General Jael took my advice.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “We ceased engaging the enemy. Now we’re keeping a distance, watching and waiting for them to make the next move.”

  I wondered how long it would last. Two days passed with no new casualties. I was able to concentrate on my patients and discharged a number of them, including Wynn, who promised to follow all my instructions in caring for her wound.

  “I want to see you back here in a week to take those stitches out,” I called as she hurried out the door.

  At the end of the third quiet day, Noelle arrived with a couple soldiers. She looked haggard with dark circles under her eyes.

  “The High Priestess requests your presence immediately,” Noelle said to me in a thin voice.

  I left Christina in charge and followed Noelle to Estrid’s study. Not as elaborately decorated as her receiving room, it had a huge desk crafted from a dark wood. Estrid stood behind it, and Jael and a few high-ranking officers were standing in front. They turned as soon as I entered. The tension in the room pressed against me with such force I almost stepped back into the hallway.

  Estrid’s expression remained serene, but Jael’s gaze burned with fury and indignation. Not good.

  “Avry, please come in,” Estrid said, gesturing me closer.

  When I approached, the officers made room.

  “I won’t lie to you, Avry,” Estrid said. “We’re in trouble, and it’s hard not to believe that Prince Ryne abandoned us. Did he say anything to you before he left?”

  I recalled our conversation after Ursan’s funeral. “He didn’t give me any indication that he was going to leave, but I told him something that might have been the trigger.”

  “I knew she was keeping secrets,” Jael said.

  “Jael, let me handle this,” Estrid said. “What did you tell him, Avry?”

  I explained my theory about Ulany burying the dead. “I thought it was crazy, but Ryne said he’d look into the possibility.”

  “And why didn’t you tell us about this before?” Jael asked.

  “What would you have done?” I asked. When no one answered, I said, “You didn’t believe us about Tohon’s dead, so there was no chance you’d consider my speculation without proof.”

  “Ryne figured out what Tohon was up to, and he took off without warning us,” Jael said.

  Again, I asked, “And if he warned you, what would you have done? Nothing!”

  Estrid smoothed the sleeves of her robe. “That is true. Then he was smart to leave. Otherwise he’d be stuck in this trap with us. At least we have some hope he’ll continue to fight Tohon.” She sank into her chair.

  It took me a moment to catch up. “Trap? What trap?”

  “Show her,” Estrid said.

  Jael unrolled one of the maps on the desk. I recognized it as the same one she had shown me before. Except instead of just a red arc west of Zabin, a big red circle marked the map with Estrid’s camp right in the middle.

  “We’re surrounded,” Jael said.

  KERRICK

  Kerrick was beyond bored. Locked up in his cell for the past seven days, he had nothing to do except brood over his situation and worry about Avry and his friends. Danny visited twice a day, bringing him food and information. The boys Danny shared a house with had lived in Krakowa before the tribes had invaded. Some had watched their parents murdered in front of them, while others had been separated by the chaos and confusion. A few had already lost their parents to the plague. Either way, the fact that the warriors hadn’t killed the boys outright was unexpected and worrisome. Kerrick wondered what else about the tribes the history books had gotten wrong.

  When Danny arrived with his evening meal, he had more news. “There’s a house of Krakowan girls, too.” He slid the tray through the slot. His two guards waited by the door. “We had...lessons with them today.”

  “Lessons?” Kerrick asked. The food was the standard fare—bread, cheese, a corn mash and a cup of water.

  “Yeah. They’re teaching us how to read their...pictures.” Danny settled on the floor next to Kerrick’s cell. “They don’t use letters and words like us. They string pictures together to form sentences.”

  “Is it hard to learn?”

  “A few are tricky, but the others make sense, like a tree is a picture of a tree. As long as you can draw, it’s not hard.”

  “And if you can’t?”

  “Then you have to stick to verbal communications.” Danny smiled.

  Kerrick was glad to see him smile. And the fact the tribes were taking the time to teach the children was an excellent sign.

  “Did you learn anything else?” Kerrick asked.

  “Yeah.” He glanced at the guards, but they appeared uninterested. “There are only two tribes left. I guess there’s not much food in the wildlands, or as they call it, Vilde Lander. They had joined together before attacking Krakowa. But they still refer to themselves as either a Sokna or a Jevnaker.”

  Interesting and potentially useful. “Which tribe does Noak belong to?”

  “Sokna. His father, Canute, is the leader and his sister, Rakel, is going to marry the Jevnaker’s leader, Olave, to bind the two tribes together.”

  The word bind stood out to him and made him realize he hadn’t seen too many women in town since he’d arrived. Then again, he’d only been to the bathhouse a couple times. “Is that why Noak returned? For the marriage?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Too bad. The fact that Noak had traveled to Krakowa and not gone south to conquer had been bugging him since they’d headed north. Although there was no reason to hurry on the warpath. Thanks to Kerrick’s information, the tribes were well aware that there wouldn’t be an army gathering to stop them. At least the more time they spent here meant more time for Izak, Zila, Great-Aunt Yasmin and the rest of Orel to escape over the Nine Mountains.

  The next morning, Danny arrived with Noak instead of his guards. The boy clutched Avry’s notebook to his chest.

  “Are you all right?” Kerrick asked, stepping close to the bars between them.

  “Yes.” He cleared his throat. “A couple tribesmen have developed fevers, and I need you to help me find the venite plant in the forest.” Danny showed him a sketch of a bush with narrow drooping leaves. “Can you do that?”

  Kerrick considered. Through his magic he sensed the difference between trees, bushes and the Lilys. But a specific plant might be beyond his abilities. “I can try.”

  Noak stared at Kerrick as if he still couldn’t figure him out. Good.

  “We go now,” Noak said. “No trouble or I’ll—”

  “Curse me, I know. Isn’t my promise worth anything to you?”

  “No. Your people chased us from our homeland and forced us to live in the cold Vilde Lander.”

  “You crossed the mountains first, invading and killing my people.”

  “We did not go past the Ni Fjell. You came like flakes in a snowstorm. Few at first, then more and more until you roared down the Ni Fjell like an avalanche.”

&nbs
p; “That’s not what our history reports.” Kerrick crossed his arms.

  “Our ancestors do not lie. Our stories are told from old to young so we all remember.”

  “We should go,” Danny said into the heated silence. “Hilmar is very sick.”

  Before Noak could unlock his cell door, Kerrick yanked it open and stepped through. “Which way?”

  Noak grabbed the hilt of his dadao but didn’t pull the sword free from the scabbard. Kerrick waited as the man sorted through the logic. He had just shown Noak he was more than capable of escaping, but he hadn’t. In fact, he just risked losing his set of lock picks—the ones that had been tucked inside his clean clothes.

  “How long?” Noak asked.

  He shrugged. “Couple days.”

  “You’re holding to your promise?”

  Kerrick rested his hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Yes. As long as you keep yours, I’ll keep mine.” He wasn’t sure why it was so important to him that these warriors understood that his people were capable of honor. It just was.

  Noak gestured. “This way.”

  Two of Noak’s men fell into step behind them. When they neared the woods, Kerrick’s connection to the living green flowed through his body. He inhaled the moist, sweet scent of the earth, feeling a surge of power. Before entering the forest, he studied the picture again, reading Avry’s description. The thick roots had small pebble-sized knots that could be ground into a paste and used on itchy bug bites.

  With the image of the venite in his mind, Kerrick strode through the bushes and trees, touching the leaves. As his magic spread throughout the forest, it revealed a map of the area as acknowledged by the living green—more felt than seen. Mild irritations, such as animals and insects, barely registered, but unwanted intruders caused an intense reaction. Kerrick ignored the group of tribesmen hunting about a mile southwest of them. Instead, he concentrated on that one specific plant.

  The map changed texture, going from smooth to hairy. Each strand represented a living extension of the green, like a tentacle. Kerrick sorted through them, seeking the venite. He walked with his eyes closed. With this full immersion, he didn’t need to see.

  The variety of plants growing in a small area surprised him. And the specific details of each one eluded him. Before he admitted defeat, Kerrick switched his efforts to the roots underground. He crouched and laid his palms on the cool loam, sending his magic to twist and turn through the earth as he searched for the venite’s unique—he hoped—knots.

  Kerrick found a possible match, but he couldn’t walk with his hands on the forest floor. Remembering Avry’s trick when they had played hide-and-seek, he pulled off his boots and socks. When his bare feet touched the soil, energy sizzled up his calves. He fingered a leaf, and a picture of the surrounding forest, both above and below the ground, formed in his mind.

  After a moment of dizziness, he zeroed in on a patch of venite and led Danny there. On the way, he wondered why he hadn’t ever gone barefoot into the forest before. With this intense connection, he could easily avoid the stinging plants, poison ivy and Death Lilys.

  Once they reached the patch, Kerrick stumbled as his strength waned. Finding the venite had used up all his energy. He rested against a tree trunk as Danny pulled and then bundled the plants together.

  With bunches of venite in hand, they headed back to Krakowa. Noak led since Kerrick had nothing left. They stopped to pick up his boots and returned to the city by midafternoon. Kerrick collapsed on the bed in his cell. He didn’t care if Noak locked the door or not as he surrendered to his exhaustion.

  * * *

  The smell of beef woke him. Danny stood next to him holding a tray with a steaming bowl of stew. It took Kerrick a few moments to realize that his cell remained unlocked and the quality of his supper had improved.

  Danny sat on the end of the bed as he inhaled the food. The boy worried his lower lip and squirmed.

  “Isn’t the venite working?” Kerrick asked.

  “It’s great. Hilmar is coherent and Yok is eating again.”

  “So what’s wrong?”

  Danny glanced at the door. Despite the small measures of trust, two guards flanked the jail’s exit. He lowered his voice to a whisper, “Since the venite worked so well, they brought me to an old warehouse. And there are lots more sick people.”

  “How many?”

  “Hundreds.” Danny stared at his hands in his lap.

  “Do they have fevers like Hilmar?”

  “No.”

  “Plague?” The word left a bad taste in his mouth.

  “No.”

  “How bad is it?”

  “They’re dying.”

  Dread lumped in the pit of his stomach. Was this another killing disease? “Can you heal them?”

  “I’ve studied Avry’s book.” Danny laced and unlaced his fingers together.

  “And?”

  Danny met Kerrick’s gaze. Confusion creased his young face. “I think I can help them.”

  Kerrick waited.

  “But should I? They’re killing our people, invading our land. Why should I help them?”

  CHAPTER 15

  Not a rustle of movement. Not a sign of activity. Not even a cry of a bird. Nothing all day. As each hour passed, the anxiety level rose along with the temperature until we sweated through our uniforms. The news of our situation spread through the camp as fast as a stomach flu.

  When would Tohon spring his trap? The question hung over our heads like the sharp blade of a guillotine.

  I remained in the infirmary, concentrating on my patients to avoid thinking about the inevitable. And the few times I stopped to consider my future, fear ripped through my heart. By late afternoon, I needed to be with my friends—the ones who hadn’t abandoned me. I clamped down on that line of thought right away.

  Even if Ryne had warned me and invited me along, I wouldn’t have gone. At least, I hoped I would have refused. And that my terror over being Tohon’s prisoner again wouldn’t have made me break my promise to Estrid.

  I left Christina in charge of the patients and sought Saul. Strained faces and haunted gazes followed me as I wove through the eerily quiet camp. Saul and Lieutenant Thea’s other sergeants huddled together near his and Odd’s tent. Their intense whispered discussion consumed their attention, so I waited.

  “...we’re to team up with Dagger Company,” Saul said.

  “Everyone is to have a partner,” Liv said.

  “No, Wynn. The only way you are going is over my dead body.” Odd thumped his chest with his fingers.

  Too curious to wait until they noticed me, I asked, “What’s going on?”

  “We’re organizing for one last desperate offensive,” Odd said.

  “What’s the plan?” I asked.

  “A concentrated attack of all our forces in one area,” Saul said. “General Jael is hoping we can break out of the encirclement.”

  Not a bad idea. “Will it work?”

  “We hope so. Otherwise, we’re screwed.”

  I would need to prepare for casualties. “When?”

  Saul lowered his voice. “Late tonight.”

  “Where?”

  “Only General Jael knows,” Odd said. “But I’m thinking to the northeast since there’s a stream there that we could use to get past their line of horror. Plus, Marisol can use her water magic.”

  “Even with her, we’ll need every single person,” Wynn said.

  Odd appealed to me. “Avry, tell her she can’t go.”

  I examined her wound. She had kept the cut clean, and small scabs dotted her jawline. Her stitches could be taken out in a few days. “As long as she doesn’t rip open the sutures or reinjure the area, she should be fine.”

  Odd growled. Wynn smirked. I wished them all good luck before returning to the infirmary. So much for spending the evening with my friends. Calling in all the caregivers, I organized our supplies and rearranged the beds.

  * * *

  The first wave of wounded
arrived just after midnight. The injuries matched what I’d been treating since midsummer’s day. However, the mood was...different. Not as glum or defeated.

  Stitching up a sergeant’s leg, I asked about the battle.

  “We’re getting through,” he said. “It’s not easy, but we’re making progress for the first time since we encountered those blasted things.”

  The second group of injured acted almost buoyant. They laughed and joked. My fear eased a bit. Perhaps we would break out of Tohon’s trap.

  A private with a broken arm arrived with the third batch. “We punched a hole!” he announced to the entire infirmary. Cheers rang out.

  The jovial atmosphere continued. Happy patients healed faster, so I encouraged the optimistic comments. A few more casualties trickled in as the night progressed. By dawn, no more soldiers had arrived for the past couple hours. We took it as a positive sign. I sent half of my caregivers to get some sleep.

  Saul entered the infirmary as I was checking on my patients one more time before heading to bed. Blood dripped from a nasty gash on his shoulder, and deep lines of exhaustion etched his face. Hurrying over, I guided him to my exam area, sitting him down on the bed.

  When I tried to remove his chest armor, he grabbed my arm. “Liv and Thea are gone.”

  His words stabbed deep into me, igniting horror. “Dead?”

  “No idea.” Saul let me go to rub his bloodstained hand over his face. “They disappeared during the fighting, after we punched a hole in their defenses.” His unfocused gaze stared through me as he remembered.

  This time when I yanked on his chest plate, he let me pull it over his head. “Maybe they are free of the trap.”

  “There was another line of defenders beyond the ring, waiting for us.”

  I stopped. “More of Tohon’s dead?”

  “No. Living soldiers, but plenty of them.” He shuddered. “They surged forward and the hole closed soon after. We were forced to retreat.”

  Fear and grief churned together, forming a lump in my stomach. “Do you think Tohon was tipped off?”

  “Yeah. No doubt. And when I find that bastard who has been spying on us, I’m gonna rip out his entrails and strangle him with them.”