Touch of Power

by Maria V. Snyder

  Flea sat up. “Was it her?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  “Knew it! And you didn’t believe me.”

  “It just seemed too big a coincidence. It could have been a trap.”

  “Why can’t a coincidence be a good thing?”

  “I think there’s a law against it in Ryazan,” Quain quipped.

  “I’m all for avoiding Ryazan,” Kerrick said.

  “Don’t want to run into Xane’s skeleton crew again?” Belen asked.

  “Do you?”

  “Not without another hundred armed men by my side. Those people…”

  “Are sick bastards,” Quain said.

  “How so?” I asked.

  “For one, they use the bones of the dead as weapons, armor, tents and two—”

  “That’s enough, Quain,” Loren said, then asked me, “Did you find out about the rest of your family?”

  Quain swatted him. “Nice segue, Loren. You basically implied Avry’s family is crazy.”

  “Only you would make that connection, bonehead. I was trying to change the subject. Unless you want to reminisce about the time Xane’s men almost skinned you alive?”

  “No,” Quain, Flea and Belen all said together.

  “Any more good news?” Flea asked me.

  Grief welled as I shook my head. “More victims of the plague.” This they all understood. “Noelle is all I have left.”

  “Sorry to hear that, Avry,” Belen said. “I’ve lost a sister and my mother. My younger sister and father survived.”

  “Parents and sister gone. One brother and a great-aunt left,” Kerrick said.

  “My wife and…” Loren closed his eyes. “And the baby she was carrying died with her.”

  I bit my lip, losing his child seemed extra cruel. This listing of the dead and the living was inevitable whenever survivors become comfortable with one another. I was touched they shared their lists with me.

  “It was just me and my dad,” Quain said into the silence. “He lasted a couple years, then the plague got him in the end.”

  Flea stared at us. “I can’t decide what’s worse. Losing family members or not having a family to lose.”

  “Not having a family to lose,” I said. “It’s heartbreaking, but better to have some time together than none at all.”

  “And they live on in your memories,” Belen said.

  Flea hunched down. “I don’t have any memories.”

  “Sure you do,” Belen said.

  Confused, Flea glanced at us.

  “Like when you kicked Belen in the shins,” I said.

  “And when we rescued Avry,” Belen said.

  “Oh.” Flea brightened.

  Kerrick suggested everyone get a few hours of sleep.

  “I’ll stand guard,” Belen offered.

  “Have you been on duty all night?” Kerrick asked.

  His sheepish expression answered for him.

  Kerrick sighed. “Belen, being in charge doesn’t mean you stand guard all night.”

  “I couldn’t sleep.”

  Loren flung back his blankets. “I’ll take the next shift. I had a few hours earlier.”

  I slid into my bedroll as exhaustion caught up to me. Fresh grief for my mother’s and brother’s deaths played tug-of-war with joy over finding my little shadow alive. My heart felt torn in two. Eventually, I didn’t have the energy to stay awake any longer.

  A couple days after we’d visited Noelle, Kerrick announced his plans to travel north to find out if Estrid’s ambush had returned from the pass. “The bulk of her army is camped outside Zabin. The group from the pass would most likely travel down the border road between Pomyt and Vyg to meet up with them. Since we’ve already lost so much time, I don’t want to waste more guessing if they’ve left.” He looked at me.

  I wouldn’t feel guilty about the delays. No reason for me to hurry to Ryne’s bedside only to refuse to heal him. I dreaded Kerrick’s reaction when that happened.

  “If I don’t return in ten days, leave this location immediately,” Kerrick said to Belen. “Find a hiding spot and hunker down until spring, then take Avry across the Nine Mountains.”

  “You shouldn’t go alone,” Belen said.

  “I can move faster on my own. Don’t worry, Belen, I won’t get too close.” He glanced at me again before he left, and I wondered how far his forest magic stretched.

  Belen kept me busy during the next nine days, teaching me how to fight with a knife, defend against a knife and practicing all that I learned. I worked with Flea at night, showing him how to juggle four objects.

  “Two in one hand, throw and catch them with the same hand.” I demonstrated the motion. “When you master that for each hand, you put it together so it looks like the stones are going back and forth between hands, but you’re really just throwing the same two rocks with the same hand.”

  Flea hefted the stones. “This is just going to get more and more complicated, isn’t it?”

  “Yep.”

  “Just like you,” he said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It was supposed to be simple. Find you, take you to Prince Ryne and it’s done. But it’s all complicated now. And what if Kerrick doesn’t come back?”

  A strange little feeling tugged deep within me. Flea had voiced what I’d been unconsciously worried about—Kerrick. Which was utter nonsense. I concentrated on Flea’s question. “Then we’ll go find him and rescue him if we can.”

  “But Kerrick said—”

  “Think about it, Flea.”

  He didn’t take long. “Belen won’t listen.”

  “Not that complicated when you stop to consider all the variables.”

  “No, but…sometimes I don’t have an answer for all the variables.”

  “No one does. We do the best we can with what we have. And good leaders stay about two steps ahead of the rest of us. I’m beginning to understand why your prince assigned this mission to Kerrick and not Belen. A certain amount of ruthlessness is needed.”

  Kerrick failed to arrive on the tenth day. Belen paced and fretted and growled at anyone who dared suggest we pack up or we search for Kerrick. He kept his angry bear routine all during the eleventh day, as well.

  Near sunset, Quain, Loren, Flea and I gathered outside the cave and out of Belen’s sight and hearing.

  “Do we follow Kerrick’s orders despite Belen’s…ill humor?” Loren asked.

  “Or do we find out what happened to Kerrick?” Quain asked.

  “We should leave,” I said. “If Estrid has him, she’ll eventually learn where we’re hiding. We can launch a rescue attempt from our new location. If he’s delayed, he can easily track us to our new hiding spot.”

  “Leave tonight or in the morning?” Loren asked.

  “Tonight, under cover of darkness,” I said.

  “What about your sister?” Flea asked.

  “She’s safe enough where she is. If there’s a chance to get her before the spring, I will, but I won’t risk all of you. I can always come back for her later.” Without thinking, I had assumed the leadership role, and, like I had said to Flea, a certain amount of ruthlessness was needed. In this case, my sister would have to wait.

  The men returned to the cave to start packing despite Belen’s protests. Before I entered, the wind shifted and I caught a whiff of spring sunshine and living green. I turned into the wind, expecting to see Kerrick standing there. Disappointment panged until I remembered I hated him. Until I realized he had probably been hanging around to see what we’d do without him. Typical.

  Breathing deep, I walked north, following Kerrick’s scent until I lost it as quick as I had found it. I pulled o
ff my gloves and pressed my palms to the cold ground. Strong magic tingled along my skin, pulsing to the south. He had moved downwind of me.

  I straightened and spun around. No one, but I wasn’t going to trust my eyes this time.

  “I know you’re there. No sense wasting any more energy,” I said.

  Kerrick appeared next to the tree a few feet in front of me. He had used his magic to blend in with the darkening forest. His expression was unreadable.

  “How long have you been back?” I asked, trying to sound annoyed in order to cover my relief.

  Instead of answering, he said, “You sniffed me out, didn’t you?”

  “I asked first.”

  “You had to,” he mused more to himself than me. “You didn’t resort to feeling for the magic until I—”

  “Yes, I followed your stench. It’s not that big a deal. Not when you’ve been playing around, making your men worried and considering mutiny.”

  “My men? As of an hour ago, they were your men, willing to take on Belen so they could carry out your orders.” He cocked his head to the side. “Funny, I didn’t put you in charge when I left.”

  I crossed my arms. “Did you or did you not order Belen to leave this place if you didn’t return in ten days?”

  “I did.”

  “In case you missed it, we’re still here. A dangerous place to be if you were in Estrid’s or even the mercs’ custody. Belen is too kindhearted to leave without you. Someone had to be the voice of reason.”

  “You? The voice of reason? That’s hard to believe.”

  His nasty comment was uncalled for. I struck back. “Since I didn’t care if you returned or not, I had no trouble making decisions based on logic.”

  Not wanting to continue this useless conversation, I headed toward the cave. Belen’s angry voice reached me well before I arrived. He held Quain in a headlock. Bedrolls and blankets had been strewn about the cavern. Flea and Loren kept their distance from the raging Poppa Bear.

  “Belen,” Kerrick said.

  Everyone turned. The tension dispersed as grins of relief replaced the strained expressions. Belen released Quain, who puffed for air and rubbed his neck.

  “What happened?” Loren asked Kerrick.

  Kerrick shot me a look before saying, “I was delayed. But I’ve good news. Estrid’s people are returning home, and there’s no sign of mercs, either.” He scanned the mess. “We’ll leave tomorrow night after Avry and I fetch her sister.”

  Flea and the monkeys gathered their belongings, but before Belen could join them, Kerrick said, “Belen, a word.” He led Belen outside.

  We all exchanged glances.

  “Belen shouldn’t get into trouble,” Flea said. “He was right. There wasn’t any danger.”

  “This time,” Loren said.

  I packed my knapsack early the next morning. It didn’t take long. Too many hours remained before I would be with my sister. I’d endured three long years without her, but the thought of waiting until midnight seemed unbearable.

  An unusually subdued Belen worked knife-defense drills with me, which helped to pass the time. But after dinner, I couldn’t keep still.

  “You should rest,” Kerrick said. “It’s going to be at least a full day before we can sleep again.”

  “Why don’t you tell her another Prince Ryne story,” Quain said. “That always puts her right to sleep.”

  I muffled a laugh over Kerrick’s sour expression.

  “Tell her about Jael,” Belen said in a quiet voice. He stared at the flames and not at Kerrick. “Tell Avry how if it wasn’t for Jael, you would have killed Ryne.”

  I glanced at Kerrick, expecting an angry retort. But he had shut down. Kerrick stood without a word, and left. A minute later, Loren arrived. He rubbed his hands over the fire to warm them.

  Sensing the mood, Loren asked, “What did I miss?”

  “Nothing.” Belen threw a log onto the fire. “Absolutely nothing.”

  I lay in my bedroll, but I couldn’t sleep. When Kerrick approached to wake me, I sat up. No one else had fallen asleep, either. As I stuffed my remaining things in my knapsack, the others also packed the rest of their belongings.

  “We’ll meet you just south of Zabin around midday,” Kerrick said to Belen. “If we don’t arrive by after—”

  “I know,” Belen said.

  We left the cave together. Taking our packs, Belen led the others northwest, while Kerrick and I headed north. He offered his hand and I took it without hesitation. Through his connection with the forest, I sensed the location of the others. Handy.

  It didn’t take long to reach the training camp. Nothing had changed. Once again we slipped inside the barrack without trouble.

  I woke Noelle.

  She stared at me a moment. “You came back.”

  “I said I would.”

  “Is Kerrick with you?”

  “Yes, he’s in the hall. Are you ready to go?”

  Pushing her covers off, she sat up. Instead of wearing nightclothes, she wore her training uniform. Smart girl.

  “It’s nice of him to help us,” she said.

  I agreed. “Where did you hide your pack?”

  “No one in our neighborhood would help me when Mom and Allyn were sick.”

  “Noelle, we need to go. You can tell me this later.”

  “I was ten years old. No one would help me. They died and left me all alone. I’ve been alone for the last three and a half years.”

  I sat next to her and put my arm around her shoulder. “You’re not alone now, little shadow.”

  She shrugged me off and stood. “Don’t call me that. And you’re right. I’m not alone anymore.” Noelle crossed to her desk, grabbed what looked like an oversize hairbrush and banged it repeatedly on the wood.

  The sharp slaps splintered the quiet night, rattling the window. I jumped to my feet, and rushed to stop her. “What are—?” I froze in horror.

  Voices yelled, boots drummed, doors slammed and the unmistakable sound of steel striking steel rang from the hallway.

  Noelle stopped pounding on the desk. She gestured toward the door with the mallet. “You’re too late. Again. I don’t need or want your help.”

  Chapter 13

  Noelle swung the mallet at my head. “You…”

  I ducked.

  She reversed direction. “Abandoned…”

  I ducked again.

  Lunging forward with her weapon, she aimed for my stomach. “Me!”

  I hopped back, but stepped in close when she raised the mallet above her head. As she brought her arms down, I grabbed her wrists. Skin on skin. Noelle struggled, but I held tight.

  She cursed. “I hate you. I want to kill you, but you’re too valuable.” Noelle nearly growled the words.

  They burned through my heart like acid. I kept my grip on her wrists, but in the end I couldn’t hurt her. She had endured so much, I wasn’t going to cause her any more pain.

  The door banged. Voices ordered me to release her. I ripped the mallet from her hands and spun her toward the soldiers. Then I yanked my knife from my belt. Before anyone could react, I threw the weapon at the closest soldier, burying the blade into his shoulder. He yelped.

  I hurled the mallet at the window. The glass shattered with an explosive crash. In two quick strides, I reached the broken window and dove through it. Hitting the hard ground with my shoulder, I rolled. Despite the pain, I gained my feet and ran. Shouts and curses followed, but I didn’t stop until I climbed over the fence.

  Instead of racing into the woods, I turned left and hugged the fence. When I encountered a dark section, I pressed up against the wooden boards, hoping to blend in.

  I muffled my
gasps for breath as the fastest soldiers reached the barrier. My heart ceased its frantic beat when the soldiers landed on my side. They glanced both ways. And just when I felt on the edge of passing out, they headed into the forest.

  Sagging in relief after the last of them disappeared, I fought to regain my composure. Everything had happened so fast, but once again, those years spent on the run had trained me not to hesitate even when my own sister tried to beat me over the head with a mallet.

  When my heart slowed from panicked to scared, I ghosted along the fence until I found a crack big enough to peer through. Soldiers searched the compound. After a few minutes, the door at the end of the barracks flew open. Men spilled out. And in the middle of a tight group was Kerrick.

  Blood flowed from a gash on his forehead. He scowled as they hustled him along. His hands had been manacled behind his back. They took him to a square building in the northwest corner of the camp. Probably a jail or a place where they could interrogate him.

  What now? Catching up to Belen and the others would be the smart thing to do. It would be what Kerrick would want me to do. But guilt wouldn’t let me be smart. Oh, no. Guilt knew we had come here for me. And that I had to fix this. The problem of how to rescue him remained.

  I considered what I had in my favor. The element of surprise—since they would hopefully assume I had escaped into the forest—my defensive powers and a knife. In order to keep my optimism, I skipped the longer list of things against me.

  Waiting for the camp to return to normal, I wiggled into a comfortable position and spied through the crack. As I shivered in my cloak, my thoughts kept returning to Noelle. The venom in her voice and the rage in her gaze still burned in my mind. More guilt swelled. I remembered thinking it was odd that I hadn’t gotten a letter from home in a while, but I had been so wrapped up in my studies that I hadn’t spared the time to discover why. Noelle was right to hate me. I had abandoned her. Desire to make amends, to explain, to hold her until she forgave me, pulsed in my chest. However, Kerrick was first, and later, if I had a later, I would find her again.