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Their shocked horror slammed into me. Movement and a strangled cry alerted me just in time to catch a glimpse of Ben as he knocked me to the ground. His fists connected, striking my shoulder, ribs and chin before Leif and the guards pulled him off me.
Bain called a recess. My lip bled, and the areas he hit were tender to the touch, but I’d had worse injuries from sparring with Ari and Janco. Leif offered me a hand up.
As they escorted Owen’s family from the great hall, his father turned to me and asked, “What about his…body?”
I hated to tell him. “Buried in Ixia.” Just like all the other magicians the Commander had caught in Ixia.
He nodded. They had been warned this could happen, but nothing could prepare a parent for a child’s death. Nothing.
#
After the Council session ended, I walked back to the Magician’s Keep with Leif. Even though it was the beginning of the warm season, a cold breeze touched the back of my neck, sending a shiver through me.
“Owen was the one who caused his family pain. Not you,” Leif said. “He didn’t think about them when he decided to break the law. Every magician knows the danger when they enter Ixia uninvited.”
“I know.”
“But your heart isn’t convinced. Is it?”
“No, and I don’t want to discuss it either. I’ve been debating it with Valek, the Commander, and the Council for the last three months.”
“Fine by me.”
The silence didn’t last long.
“What is your next assignment?” Leif asked.
“Probably delivering a strongly worded response to the Commander about Owen’s execution, which he will ignore. You?”
“Finding out who is stealing exams from Professor Compton’s office.”
Leif sounded as unenthusiastic as I felt, despite the opportunity to see Valek when I visited Ixia. A hollowness pulsed in my chest, and I craved a certain soft touch like a baby who needed a favorite blanket in order to sleep.
“Want to play hooky?” I asked.
“Yes, please! What do you have in mind?”
“Visiting Mother and Father.”
Leif shot me a knowing look. “Can we stop in Booruby and visit Mara?”
“How about on the way home?”
“Deal.” A dopey grin spread on his square face.
“You’ve been dating her for two years, when are you going to ask her to marry you?”
“Oh, look, there’s Irys, I’d better tell her to find someone else to booby-trap Compton’s office.” Leif hurried away.
“Coward!” I shouted after him.
#
Three Weeks Later
The city of Booruby teemed with life. Unable to endure another day of Leif mooning over Mara, I decided to take a shopping trip in town. I left Kiki at Opal and Mara’s parent’s house and glass factory. We’d been staying there as guests for the last three days, and Mara’s mother cooked so much food that I desperately needed the exercise.
Leif and I had a lovely seven-day visit with our parents in the Illiais Jungle. Built in the lush tree canopy, the Zaltana homestead blended in with the surroundings. The combination of the remote location and difficult-to-attack position in the trees allowed me to relax like no other place in Sitia. Too bad it was an eight-day trip from the Citadel, or I would visit more often.
A shopping list was tucked into my pocket. We planned to leave Booruby in two days and needed travel supplies, as well as a birthday gift for Irys. Uncertain what to buy her, I wandered through the busy downtown shopping district. Beautiful glass creations in a rainbow of colors sparkled in almost every window. Booruby was known for being the glassmaking capital of Sitia. I peered at the various displays, seeking a unique piece. Something…different from the vases, paperweights, figurines and bowls that populated the shelves.
Along a side street with only two shops, I spotted the perfect gift. It was a series of glass hawks. The first hawk on the left stood on the ground, the next opened its wings as if to lift off. The third, with its wings extended, had been mounted on a short rod, and the fourth, fifth and sixth took the hawk higher and higher on longer rods. From a distance, the series was a life-like resemblance of a hawk taking flight.
Happy with my purchase, I left the store to complete the more mundane tasks on my list. I didn’t go far before the sound of kids fighting reached me. Down an alley, four boys wrestled. About to continue on, I paused. No. Three large boys were beating on the smaller, fourth boy.
I hurried down the alley, yelling at them to stop. When they ignored me, I used my magic to send the three bullies to sleep. They wobbled on their feet, their punches swung wide and they stumbled to the filthy ground that smelled of rotten fish.
The remaining boy stared at me like a rabbit stared at the jaws of a wolf inches away. Gasping for air, he wiped the blood from his lip. I sensed the bruises and lumps would soon darken his pale face. Before I healed him, I needed to calm him down.
“Are you all right?” I asked, directing a thin tendril of my magic to soothe his soul. I estimated his age at twelve years old.
“Uh…yeah…uh…what…what…?” He glanced at his tormentors.
“Don’t worry. They’re just sleeping. What happened?”
“I…I…” He smoothed his tunic and swiped his brown hair from his sweaty forehead.
I increased my efforts to steady his heart rate.
Drawing in a breath, he said in a rush, “I was making a delivery when they jumped me.”
“A delivery here?”
“No. On Clymer Street. They grabbed me and pulled me in here.” His gaze scanned the narrow alley. “Oh, no!” The boy ran to a dented package. When he picked it up, it jangled. He groaned. “It’s broken.”
“I can’t fix it, but I can heal you. You’re going to have a black eye.”
Biting his lip, he turned the parcel over in his hands. “No. That’s okay. My boss won’t believe me if I don’t have any cuts.” He met my gaze. “Thanks, though. You saved my life!”
“I doubt they would have gone that far.”
“They could have robbed me and taken off, but they…taunted me for awhile, blocking my path and not letting me go. And then…bam. They got serious.” He rubbed his hand over his jaw.
I pulled a few of the bruises from him with my power. He’d still have plenty of marks for proof. My right cheek and left temple ached. Concentrating, I healed myself. The pain disappeared, leaving a bit of fatigue behind—nothing a hot meal won’t cure.
“You need to report this. I’ll wait here with them while you go to the station house.” I offered.
“No. I’m not gonna get involved. Thanks again, lady.” He waved and dashed away.
Lovely. I studied the three prone thugs. Would they be safe while I fetched the security officers? Would they remain asleep? As if answering my question, they stirred. I projected my magic to propel them into a deeper slumber, but encountered a barrier. Their thoughts and emotions had been cut off by a null shield, which meant another magician was nearby. Time to dash. I turned.
Three figures stepped from the shadows, preventing an escape to the street. I spun to exit the opposite way. The boys stood in a row, blocking my path. I’d been ambushed. My pulse jumped in my throat.
The shield remained around them, so I yanked my switchblade from its holder and triggered the blade. Flinching at the sight of my weapon, the boy on the far right took a half-step back. The weak link. I gauged the distance and—
Clang! A knife skated by my boot—a warning. I slid my feet into a fighting stance, moving so my back faced the alley’s wall. From this position, all my opponents were visible, but I was unable to reach them with my magic. Fear swirled around my heart, which pumped harder, encouraging me to run.
The three approaching from the left wore all black. Hoods covered their faces, exposing only their eyes.
“Here.” The man in the middle flipped a gold coin to the boy on the right. “Now get lost.”
Catching t
he coin with ease, the boy said, “Pleasure doing business with you.” They took off.
I now faced half the number of attackers—a mistake on their part, which gave me hope that they’d make more. The three formed a half-circle around me, but I still held my switchblade, plus the hundred or so hours of training in knife defense with Valek.
“Drop your weapon,” Middle Man ordered.
I didn’t recognize his voice. “Or what?” I asked, pleased that my words didn’t tremble.
The figure to the right flashed a set of daggers.
Middle Man gestured to his companion. “He’ll pin you to the wall.”
I considered. “He missed last time.”
A blur of movement, a swish of air and a loud twang echoed. A dagger trapped the bottom corner of my cloak to the wall of the alley. Not good. Not good at all.
“The next one goes into your heart,” Middle Man said.
“Okay.” I slowly set my switchblade on the ground, making a show of it as I palmed a couple darts from the seam of my cloak. Then I removed the garment, freeing my arms. “What do you want?”
Middle Man deferred to the tall figure on the left. Pulling a long curved knife from the sheath at his belt, the person approached me. I braced for an attack. The person yanked his hood off—Ben Moon.
Ah. Now the ambush made sense. Too bad the sudden understanding didn’t improve my situation. In fact, my fear transformed into terror as I realized he planned to kill me.
“How long have you been plotting your revenge?” I asked Ben, delaying the inevitable. Perhaps someone would see us and help. A girl could hope.
“Since the day you told us my brother was dead,” he said. “But you didn’t give me any opportunities to act until today.” He smiled, but no humor shone in his cold brown eyes. “Today was perfect. No fancy horse, no friends, no family around. Walking by yourself in a city big enough to cover our presence. The boys sucked you right into our trap.”
“Was the first boy part of it?”
“No. We couldn’t risk you picking up on a fake fight.”
At least I managed to help him—a bit of comfort. “You do realize Valek will hunt you down and kill you. Right?” I stepped to the side, putting Ben between me and the other two.
“I doubt it. You have so many enemies, he’ll never figure it out.”
A second mistake. “So you plan to kill your companions and those four boys as well?”
“Of course not.”
“Then you’re leaving a trail for Valek to find.”
A murmuring sounded behind Ben. He whipped around. “She’s playing with your mind. He won’t be a problem.”
“Owen thought that, too,” I said. “And look what happened to him.”
Ben rushed me, aiming the knife at my neck. I dropped to the ground and stuck a dart into his leg. He tripped over me, slamming into the wall. I dove to the side, picked up my switchblade and gained my feet. Ben’s accomplices hesitated. He must have ordered them not to kill me. Third mistake.
“Kill her,” Ben said, before the Curare in the dart paralyzed his body.
I ran at the knife-thrower, closing the distance between us. With no room to throw, the person had to engage me in a fight. As I suspected, the thug wasn’t as skilled one on one, but the longer dagger had an advantage against my shorter switchblade. My lessons with Valek really paid off at first as I blocked and parried.
However, my opponent grew more confident as the cuts on my arms multiplied, and I knew I wouldn’t last. I feinted left, stabbed right and sliced a nasty gash on the person’s upper arm. After another exchange, the knife-thrower stumbled and collapsed. Fourth mistake—not considering that my blade might be pre-treated with Curare.
Strong arms wrapped around me, trapping my own. Middle Man had snuck up behind me. He squeezed me tight. Confused, it took me until I couldn’t draw a breath to realize his plan. Panic threatened, but I focused. My switchblade only scratched at his arms. Besides, the Curare had been used.
Think! I still held a dart. As my vision turned to snow, I twisted my wrist, but couldn’t reach his skin.
Blackness crept in. My lungs burned for air. The world faded. Distant shouts thudded. Then the pressure around my stomach released. I dropped to the ground as I gasped for air. At this point, the smell of rotten fish equaled the finest aroma in the world.
When I regained my composure and straightened, I looked up. The boy I’d helped earlier crouched over me.
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes. I thought you said you didn’t want to get involved.”
