in a breath. The tunnel spun and Galen blurred. This was
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worse than being tortured. I reined in my swirling emotions.
Think! Plan!
The obvious answers appeared first. Don’t use magic. Kill
Galen. Find Yelena.
He laughed. “You can try to kill me, but you lack that killer
instinct.” He resumed walking.
I fell behind, hoping distance would help dilute the
connection.
“You should ask me about the last side effect before you get
too far away from me,” Galen said over his shoulder.
“Why?” I demanded.
“The test subjects felt too ill when separated more than a
few hundred feet from their creators.”
That one was hard to believe. In fact, the whole situation
sounded ridiculous. I tried to suppress my fear and panic.
I’d been in bad situations before. However, I couldn’t keep
the thought—that if Galen told the truth, then I was truly
screwed—from my mind.
“Fear, panic and was that a hint of acceptance at the end?”
he asked.
Frustration boiled. “Would you stop that!”
“Make
me.”
If I had any chance of escape, I had to block him. Unsure
how to build a barrier, I envisioned a thick glass wall between my emotions and Galen’s.
He smirked. “The first link in the chain, binding you to
me.”
“Why do this to me? You could have just dragged me along
with you.”
“True, but your glass magic is valuable to me and my part-
ner. And I’m aware of your history. You won’t use your magic
because I ask nice or because I threaten you with bodily harm.
I guess I could have kidnapped someone you cared for, but
that would complicate things. This is a perfect solution. Once
the chain is complete, you’ll be my…”
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Galen pretended to be deep in thought. “What should I call
you? My creation? My offspring? No, they suggest a fondness
between us. My victim? My dupe? My servant? No, they’re
not quite right. I think the best descriptor is my slave.”
“How many times did you practice that speech?” Sarcasm
and fury sharpened my tone.
I spent the rest of the trip imagining all the ways I would
kill him. The depth of my creativity surprised and inspired
me.
We exited the mines and entered the dark forest surround-
ing Ognap. A half-moon peeked out between clouds as a warm
breeze rustled the leaves. “How long—”
“Two days,” he said.
I considered escape as we hiked through the foothills. Soon
the lanterns from Ognap f lashed between the trees. When we
reached the outskirts, I bolted for town.
Galen laughed and yelled that he would wait for me on the
south road. I ignored him. Instead I debated if I should report Galen to the Ognap security forces or find Nic and Eve first.
Potential power throbbed inside me. With this much magic,
I could contact Yelena from here.
No. No magic. I headed toward the inn. The streets were
deserted at this late hour. I hit the wall about four blocks from the Tourmaline Inn. Not an actual wall, but the…force that
slammed into me caused me to stumble. It seized my body
and yanked. I stepped back before I realized what I was doing.
Concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other, I man-
aged to go two more steps. Sweat dripped from my brow and
soaked my underclothes. The miner’s uniform’s rough fabric
seemed to tighten around me.
My muscles trembled and I struggled to remain on my feet
as bouts of nausea and dizziness rolled through me. Unable
to go another inch, I searched the pockets of the coverall for
some clue I could leave behind to let my friends know I was
still alive. But my switchblade and lock picks were gone. No
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surprise. Instead, I called Quartz. Sinking to the ground, I
rolled into a ball to wait.
When Quartz trotted into view, relief soothed. Her disap-
pearance could be a clue for the others.
Fire Lady safe, she said in my mind with pleasure.
Shock at hearing her creamy voice inside my head domi-
nated for a moment. I pulled it together and asked, Is that my horse name?
Yes.
Why?
Quartz was confused I needed to ask. Images of me gather-
ing a molten slug of glass f lashed in her mind. Control fire.
Her choice of words reminded me of Galen. I had used
magic to contact her! Did I just imagine the sound of a click
in my mind? Another link in the chain? How long was the
chain?
Quartz nudged me with her nose. Smell different.
I wrapped my arms around her neck. Unwilling to break
our bond, I asked, Good or bad smell?
Fire brighter.
I sensed that was a positive thing.
Smell not herd.
Which meant she smelled Galen’s magic and didn’t like
it. In other words, both. Either way, I needed to stop using
magic.
The need to be with Galen overcame me. I couldn’t resist
any longer. In a fog, I mounted Quartz. Spurring her into a
gallop, we chewed up the distance between me and Galen.
With each stride the horrible pain subsided until I wilted in
relief.
I met up with him on the south road. Galen sat on a brown
horse with white socks. Her mane had been braided. The thin
braids hung from her head to her shoulders.
“I didn’t think you’d reach the inn,” he said, then peered
past my shoulders, seeking with his magic. “Good. You weren’t
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followed. I’d hate to leave dead bodies in our wake. Come
on.” He urged his horse into a gallop, heading south.
We followed. The road snaked along the Emerald Moun-
tains foothills and ended at the border of the Daviian Plateau.
Small villages and other working mines dotted the area. A
tiny town called Delip was located farther south, but nothing
else of note. The Warpers had lived in the plateau before they
invaded the Citadel. Perhaps a few still hid there.
When the sun rose, we camped on the edge of the Avib-
ian Plains, staying back far enough to avoid triggering the
protection. Galen’s saddlebags were filled with supplies, and
he even managed to obtain a set of my travel clothes. As he
cooked stew, I changed behind Quartz, glad to be out of the
miner’s coverall. I wadded it into a ball and stuffed it behind a bristle bush, leaving what I hoped was another clue.
Starving, I downed the meal without care and collapsed
near the fire.
Nightmares plagued my sleep. I dreamed of Teegan and
Reema. They cried for help; someone had set fire to their
house. I reached and pulled magic, dousing the f lames. But
their clothes had ignited. The harsh scent of burned f lesh
spurred me to extinguish the fire on them and to send healing
magic for their blisters.
The fire then traveled to
Leif and my sister. Once they
were safe, it spread to Councilor Moon and Faith. I kept the
inferno at bay until I used all my energy. When I reached the
point of exhaustion, the f lames rushed in and engulfed me.
I jerked awake. My skin tingled and my bones felt as though
they had been baked in an oven. Our campfire had gone out
despite having plenty of wood. Fatigue weighed on me as if
I hadn’t slept at all. The effort to get ready depleted the little strength I had left. Unable to resist the warm sunshine, I
napped as we rode, trusting Quartz to keep me safe.
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We kept close to the border of the plains as we headed
south. Galen avoided the small towns in the foothills of the
mountains. We traveled at night and slept in the morning.
By the fourth day of our trip, we reached a deserted section
of the Cloud Mist’s lands. The f lat land between the mountains and the Avibian Plains narrowed. In a couple days we would
reach the Daviian Plateau.
When we stopped for a water break, I summoned the
strength to ask Galen about our destination.
“You have enough information to figure it out on your
own,” he said.
I had been concentrating on finding a way around our blood
connection without success. Reviewing his comments from
inside the mine, I pieced them together. He desired control
over the black diamonds and super messengers. If the gems
had been found in Vasko’s mine, then he wouldn’t have staged
his own death. So my theory of the diamonds coming from
the Bloodrose Clan was correct.
“We’re going to Lion’s Claw Peninsula,” I said. “How—”
“Did I find them?” Galen finished for me. “I didn’t. Walsh
Bloodrose came to me. Or rather to Vasko, but he wasn’t home
at the time. Lucky for me. Walsh and Vasko had attended the
Magician’s Keep together, but Walsh was just as happy to work
with me.”
I thought about the Bloodrose leader. Walsh preferred to
live with his family in relative isolation. They harvested oysters for income. Fisk had mentioned a sudden inf lux of oysters. If
Walsh wanted to ensure privacy, what better way than to drive
his fellow oyster farmers out of business and buy their farms.
That would also keep the farmers from discovering the black
diamonds. But Walsh couldn’t sell those rare diamonds without
drawing attention to himself. So he sought a middleman.
“Does Vasko believe those black diamonds came from his
mine?” I asked.
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“Yes. Poor guy.” Galen tsked. “Lost his most trusted em-
ployee and the location of all those expensive black diamonds
in one cave-in. He’ll be desperate for more.”
“But you’ll just sell them to him. Why go to all this trouble?”
“All Walsh cares about is money and his family. He has no
desire to wield the political power he would have by control-
ling the black diamonds and the super messengers. Fortunately
he wanted something, and he was happy to let me run the
diamond business as long as the money kept f lowing in and I
brought you to him.”
Not for my glass magic. Those black diamonds rendered
my little animals obsolete unless he was worried about the
competition. But that didn’t sound right.
“Okay, I’ll ask. Why?”
Galen grinned. “He was fascinated by you and your powers.
With Quinn’s magic adding to his family’s resources, he
wanted more magicians. Hard to get magicians to join a cult
on the edge of nowhere. And the Council tends to get involved
when one of them goes missing.”
He didn’t wait for me to reason it out. “When I found your
blood, I thought to sell it to Walsh so he could inject it into his family members and create more magicians. But then I realized
he was willing to give me more than money if I brought you
along. And I’ll get a bonus because everyone thinks you’re
dead, you can’t run away and you’ll be incapable of refusing
an order. Walsh is going to be ecstatic.”
“How did you know I’d link you to Vasko?”
“I planted enough clues to frame his son. A little goodbye
present to him, keeping him busy trying to explain Finn to
the authorities. Also, once the Master Magicians learned about
those super messengers, any idiot would know they’d send you
to investigate.”
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I followed the logic. “I’m going to work for Walsh.” Which
might not be as horrible as I expected.
“He plans to make you a member of his family. You should
be honored.”
“Am I going to make glass messengers for him?”
Galen dismissed the notion. “Any glassmaker can make us
those messengers. You’ll be needed for other tasks.”
“For
example?”
“You’ll be required to birth more magicians in order to
expand Walsh’s happy family.”
Birth more magicians. Didn’t expect that little revelation. It was far worse than anything my overactive
imagination had produced.
Galen delighted in my shocked silence. “I’m to become a
member, as well. I’m looking forward to doing my part for
the family. Walsh has developed this whole breeding program.
It’s quite impressive.”
I rallied. “I’m still able to refuse orders.”
“Not for long.”
We continued the journey south, reaching the Daviian Pla-
teau on the sixth day. Any chance I’d have to seek help from
a fellow traveler or local died as we turned west and entered
the plateau. No one lived there. The Daviian Warpers had
tried, but they were long gone.
The f lat expanse stretched to the horizon. Brown clumps
of grass dotted the cracked and sunbaked soil. A few stunted
trees clung to life.
“Do you have enough food and water?” I asked Galen.
“We’ll let Quartz lead us to water. As for food, I should be
able to snare a few rabbits.”
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Maria V. Snyder
It would take us ten days to cross the plateau. Ten days with
the sun’s heat beating down on us, and we were only halfway
through the heating season. At least we would be on the coast
before the blazing hot season.
In order to find water, I had to communicate with Quartz,
using a small bit of magic each time.
Halfway across the plateau, I felt restless and craved…action.
When we stopped, I paced around the campfire unable to
sit.
Food did not help. Water failed to quench the unrelenting
need. Pulling my hair just to feel something different only
helped for a second.
Galen watched me with a gleam in his eyes. Eventually the
plateau faded from my awareness as the hunger dominated
all my senses. It hurt. An ache stabbed deep within me as if a
person squeezed a pressure point on my heart.
I huddled on the ground, rocking back and forth. No posi-
tion eased the excruciating desire.
A cool touch on my skin sent a surge of instant relief. I
looked over at Galen. He crouched next to me with his hand
resting on my shoulder.
“You desire more magic. Let me—”
“No.” I knocked his arm away and the all-consuming
yearning f looded me. I rolled into a ball. Now that I was
aware of what would relieve the pain, I felt worse.
At one point, I pulled magic to me, packing it into my
body, hoping it would satisfy my hunger. It didn’t. In fact, it was just another link in the chain binding me to Galen.
“Opal, let me help you,” he whispered in my ear.
Shaking with an unstoppable desire, I nodded.
“Relax your left arm,” he instructed.
I let him pry it from where I had clamped it around my
knees. His touch no longer cooled. Through my haze of pain,
I realized he straddled me. Then metal pricked my arm. A
mere annoyance compared to the crushing need. Liquid fire
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raced through my veins, extinguishing the agonizing desire,
leaving me limp and gasping.
Galen leaned over me. He held a syringe.
“Whose blood?” I asked.
“More of mine.” He rubbed his thumb over the spot. I
hissed in pain.
He moved away. Spent, I f lopped to the ground. Now I
truly understood how Devlen felt. How the addiction was
to blame. Ulrick, too. He didn’t know what he had gotten
himself into when he agreed to switch souls with Devlen.
I considered. This “treatment” had been free. What would
the next one cost? Would I be able to resist? If I kept using
magic, it wouldn’t matter. Galen would force me to do what-
ever he wanted.
Twenty-six days. The trip from Ognap to the Lion’s Claw
Peninsula lasted a total of twenty-six long, horrible, terrible days. Heading west, we crossed the plateau, cut through the
narrow tip of Cowan’s lands, bypassing my hometown of
Booruby—those days had been my darkest of the trip, en-
visioning my family and friends gathered for my f lag-raising
ceremony—and we skimmed above Bloodgood’s southern
border. Galen avoided all major towns and cities.
We arrived at the Bloodroses’ outer wall in the afternoon.
Located on the tip of the Lion’s Claw Peninsula, the compound
was isolated from the rest of the Bloodgood lands. The narrow
finger of land jutted out into the Jade Sea. Blue-green water
glinted from both sides of the peninsula. The extra beachfront
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