She was still groggy from being knocked out. As much as he hated to do it, Valek shook the rest of the water over her head. She jolted.
“When the Daviians don’t come back with us, the others will know something has happened and will either kill their hostages or move to another location.” Valek enunciated each word, hoping she would understand the urgency. “Here.” He handed her a set of clean Sitian clothes. “Hurry.”
Finally understanding, she changed. Valek stripped the warper, and then dressed in his clothes. Applying makeup, he darkened his skin tone to match.
Once they were both ready, they untied the horses. Tauno must have secured them so they wouldn’t interfere in the ambush. Valek mounted Onyx while Yelena hopped on Kiki. They rode the four miles to the barn in silence. Approaching the edge of the woods, they slowed. Valek scanned the barn. Illuminated by the strange red glow emanating from Diamond Lake, two Daviians guarded the entrance.
“Which horse?” Yelena asked.
“Onyx. Kiki is too well-known.”
Yelena dismounted.
“Take off your cape,” Valek said. “Lie in front of me.” He removed his foot from the stirrup.
She climbed up and laid across the saddle. He had cleaned her switchblade. Handing it to her, he said, “It’s been primed with Curare.”
Valek grabbed the reins with his left hand and held a scimitar in his right.
“Pretend to be unconscious,” he ordered as he clicked at Onyx. He hoped the Daviians would think he was returning from the ambush with the prize.
A whoop of joy cut through the air as they neared.
“Where are the others?” a masculine voice asked.
“They’re coming,” Valek said in a rough tone.
“Finally! We have her!” another man said, as he tugged at Yelena’s prone form.
“Help me.”
Valek slid off on the opposite side of the saddle, keeping Onyx between him and the Daviian.
Another person joined in pulling her off. “We’ll keep her asleep until she reaches Jal. Get the wagon, you’ll leave tonight,” the man ordered. He cradled Yelena in his arms.
Valek placed the tip of his scimitar on the man’s throat. “Where is Jal?”
The man froze. “At the Magician’s Keep. Go ahead and find Jal. Just make sure to take her with you.” The man tossed Yelena at Valek and screamed for help.
Shit. She hit him square in the chest and they both went down. But Yelena had been trained well, and she kept rolling until she cleared his body. Just in time for him to twist away from the Daviian’s downward slicing blade.
Unable to get to his feet, Valek rolled and scrambled to avoid being cut. The snick of a switchblade sounded, and the man on top of him grunted as Yelena’s knife nicked his shoulder. Determined, the man swung his scimitar until his muscles were paralyzed by the Curare.
Yelena grabbed the man’s spear while Valek scrambled to his feet. He scooped up his scimitar as four more Daviians with weapons drawn ran toward them.
Valek braced as they collided, and then focused all his energy on fighting off two and sometimes three opponents. Yelena stayed at his side. She killed one man, but before she could help Valek, another person approached.
“Why not use your power to stop me? Afraid the Fire Warper will tell Jal what you’re doing?” the newcomer said.
“Give the man a prize. Your intellect is truly amazing,” she said.
“Surrender or I’ll skewer her,” the man called to Valek.
Valek disengaged. A spear hovered in mid-air. The tip was pointed at Yelena’s throat. He met her gaze.Say the word, love.
“He won’t do it,” she said to Valek.
“You are right. How about surrender or I will set the barn on fire?” The man was a warper. He pointed to the building. “Do you want to be responsible for the deaths of ten children?”
