“Get to the point.”
Right. “Star knew you would be at Porter’s safe house?—”
“Porter set me up?”
“I don’t think so. Are you going to let me tell you or not?” He put his hands on his hips to keep from embracing her and begging for her forgiveness.
She gestured for him to go on.
“I’ve known about Porter’s rescue operation for a couple years and have allowed it to continue. However, recently, his charges have been disappearing and I’ve been wondering why. But that wasn’t the reason I watched the house. I had followed Star and three of her men there and was shocked to see you walk blindly into her trap. Didn’t you even see her?”
“She used a subtle kind of magic.”
“I haven’t felt her, and I’ve been working with her for a while.”
“You didn’t pick up on my magic, either. And it flared out of control a couple times within the castle.”
“I will keep it in mind,” Valek said. “Star’s motives for ambushing you, I understood. The surprise arrived when she and her friends also targeted the girls. I needed to know where they were taking you.”
She scrunched her brow. “You could have helped me that night, but instead decided to wait?” she asked in outrage.
“A calculated risk. I wanted to discover the extent of her operation and why she kidnapped the girls. I had no idea you would end up across the border and in the Wannabe King’s hands.”
Valek knelt in front of her and reached for her hands. She kept them tightly crossed across her chest. Anger flashed in her eyes. He was in trouble. Well deserved, but he had learned so much.
“This wouldn’t have happened at all if you told me about your meeting with Porter,” he said. They may have been able to come up with a counter plan.
“Acalculatedrisk. Like it or not, I’m a magician, and if there’s a way to help my colleagues I’m going to try. I wasn’t going to tell the Commander’s magician killer about it.”
Her words were a dagger in his heart. Valek sank back onto his heels. His expression hardened. “Magician killer? Is that what you think of me?”
“Thatisone of your duties for the Commander. I know how you operate. You like to stalk your prey before you pounce. Allowing Porter’s network to continue is part of your modus operandi.”
Valek kept his expression neutral. He deserved her anger and her censure. She’d been hurt and almost killed. But her words… She didn’t know him at all. Did she think he enjoyed killing young magicians? Then why was she even with him?
“How did Star get us into Sitia?” she asked, changing the subject.
Valek said in a flat tone, “Put you into crates, stacked boxes of goods on top, and dressed as traders. They had the proper papers. The border guards did a cursory check and off you went.” And they failed to spot the ruse. “The border guards will be taken to task and retrained.”
Exhaustion seeped into his bones. He stood. “I was going to suggest we get a few hours’ sleep and try to rescue the girls. But since I’m the magician killer, I guess I won’t concern myself about their fates.” He left the room.
He went out to the stable. Kiki dozed in a stall. Drinking some water and eating a few sticks of jerky, Valek shouldered his pack. No way he’d allow the warpers to kill the girls. Kiki needed to rest, and the Warper camp wasn’t that far. Valek slipped from the barn and jogged south.
By the time he arrived at the border, Cahil and the warpers were gone. And so was Onyx. So much for riding to the rescue. The wagon’s tracks headed deeper into the plains. Valek followed them. He braced for the Sandseed’s protective magic. It swelled and pushed, trying to eject him from the plains. He fought the pressure until it eased, and he continued without trouble.
Until Valek stepped in a puddle of magic. It exploded and he flew through the air, landing hard on his back. He gasped for breath. That was new. And it wasn’t Sandseed magic. Had the warpers placed booby traps to keep him from finding them? He wondered what the magic was supposed to do. He sat up and gingerly reached out a hand. The magic had dissipated. But there was no doubt they had set more. Valek considered how to avoid the traps.
He groaned when the answer occurred to him. Untying his shoelaces, Valek pulled off his boots and wool socks. The frosty night air nipped at his toes. He lumbered to his feet. At least the cold sand was soft, but clumps of shrubs, tall grass, and stunted trees grew in the plains. All currently brown and crispy.
Valek laced his boots together and hung them over his shoulder. Thank fate an almost full moon hung in the sky. He walked through the rolling terrain of the plains with care. It slowed his pace. When magic brushed his toes, he pulled his foot back. Sensing the edges with his hand, he skirted the booby traps. At this rate, it’d be dawn before he reached the camp. Good thing, the Wannabe King had said they would perform the Kirakawa ritual tomorrow night.
But he was in luck. He spotted the orange glow of a campfire in the distance. Using the uneven ground to hide him, Valek inched closer. The girls were staked to the ground and two warpers bent over them, cutting into their stomachs. Horror rushed through him. They hadn’t waited. He was too late!
Valek yanked his blowpipe out and loaded it. He aimed, puffed, and the dart shot out. It stopped halfway there and fell to the ground. The warpers must have erected a magical barrier. He scanned the camp. A Daviian and a few of the minions watched the ritual, but not Cahil. He must be inside his tent.
The drumming of hooves announced the sudden arrival of Kiki and Yelena. Kiki ran through the camp as if crazed, jumping and rearing, surprising everyone. The minions scattered and dodged her flailing hooves and Yelena’s bo staff.
While they were occupied, Valek decided to take care of a problem he should have dealt with long ago. He drew his dagger and snuck into Cahil’s tent. It was empty. A horse-shaped shadow loomed, and Valek dove to the ground as Kiki knocked down Cahil’s tent. The main pole just missed his head as the fabric draped over him like a blanket. He sighed. Nothing was going right.
