Page 53 of Caught in the Devil’s Hand

When Shumei woke, a branch was slowly coming at her face. Then an arm pushed it up and out of the way. Taking in a deep breath, she straightened.

“Where are we? How long have I been asleep?”

“A few hours,” Vallen said. “We’re not far from our destination.”

“Which is?”

“My estate. I had prepped for guests when we first met, so there are a few clean rooms for us, but most of the main building is in disrepair. Be careful where you walk.”

“What’s that up ahead?” she asked, inclining her head. She could see a break in the road, a thin path only wide enough for a narrow cart. A post driven into the ground served as a marker. Some sort of faded image was carved into it, but she couldn’t tell what it was yet.

Oka swiveled his head in all directions. “What’s what?”

“You can see that?” Vallen asked, pointing at the fork.

“Of course. It’s as obvious as day,” she said, puzzled. “It’s right there, Oka. To the left?”

“What’s right there?” he asked despite looking where she pointed.

“A path and a road marker. Can’t you see them?”

“I only see trees.” Oka’s shoulders slumped in confusion.

“Don’t worry, young Oka. You weren’t meant to see it. The path is hidden by old magic, and though I’m surprised Shumei can see through the spell, I shouldn’t be.” He turned the horse at the fork, following the hidden road. The image carved into the post was that of a tree once painted green, but the color had nearly washed away.

“You can use magic to do that?” she asked.

“Whoa! I didn’t see this?” Oka exclaimed, glancing around.

“One of the old empresses once said there was no limit to what magic could do, only how much we knew. The Divine One grants such knowledge when it’s time.”

“Empress?” Oka asked, turning back to look at them.

“I’ll explain later,” she assured him. Oka pouted before facing forward.

Their journey continued without incident, though Oka was reluctant to cross a bridge that only he couldn’t see. Once the horse set foot on the first plank of wood, the bridge became visible to him and he quieted.

At last, the path turned to follow an imposing stone wall that was more than twice her height and, as far as she could see, hundreds of feet long in either direction. It stopped just below the canopy and wound around or sometimes through the trees. Vines and other foliage concealed it entirely in some places, but not one stone had fallen out of place. Studying it was difficult, though. She felt compelled to turn away and forget it existed.

“Why don’t I want to look at it?” she asked. Meanwhile, Oka was searching for the wall he couldn’t yet see.

“It’s a spell similar to what hid the path and the bridge, but stronger,” Vallen explained. “It makes the object seem unimportant and trivial, like how one would ignore an ant on the ground. Even for a powerful magic-user, this version of the spell is potent.”

“I see,” she said.

“The longer you stare at it, the weaker the feeling becomes. We’ll find the gate soon.” He nudged the horse into a canter.

“I assume the wall surrounds the estate?” she asked.

“What wall?” Oka huffed, throwing his arms up. She patted her brother’s shoulder in sympathy. Surely he was tired after taking in so much at once.

“You’ll see it soon,” Vallen said. “Just keep looking to our right, and it’ll slowly appear.” Shumei watched with amusement as Oka glared at the wall slowly passing them by, making small noises as he resisted the urge to shift his eyes away. “And yes, we’re at my estate. Besides the hidden-in-plain-sight spell, there are other nasty traps spaced along the wall and even on some of the trees that appear climbable.”

“Magical traps?” she asked.

“Of course,” he said near her ear, and she shivered from head to toe. Her shoulder felt stiff and achy, but the rest of her wanted to melt into his arms.

“So how do we get in?” Oka asked, excited. His gaze was pointed at the top of the wall, so it seemed to have become visible to him. She hadn’t heard him sound so eager in a long time.