Fire Study
Page 41

An invigorating tingle swept up my arm. I mulled over the benefits of being a creature of the night. Could I locate Marrok or Cahil now while the city slept? Drawing power, I projected my mind and encountered a confusing array of dream images. Once again too many people for me to sort through. I pulled back.
The water bubbled. With reluctance, I returned the statue to my pack and found the tea. Over my steaming cup, I watched the miniature fire. I considered making an attempt to contact Bain Bloodgood. The Second Magician might have some advice on how I could find one soul among so many.
The Citadel was three days away by horseback. Too far for me to project in normal circumstances. Desperation increased my distance, but then I had no control of direction. Also, Bain would be asleep, his mental defenses impenetrable. I decided to wait until the morning to try.
The desire to sleep dragged at my body. I made several rounds of the room just to stay awake. When seated, my attention lingered on the fire’s dancing flames. They pulsed in a rhythm that matched my heartbeat. The flames’ movements appeared choreographed, as if they tried to communicate something to me. Something important.
I knelt near the fire. Fingers of orange and yellow beckoned. Come, they invited. Join with us. Embrace the fire.
I inched closer. Waves of heat caressed my face.
Come. We need to tell you…
What? I leaned in. Flames crackled, sap hissed and boiled and the harsh scent of burning hair billowed.
“Yelena!”
Moon Man’s voice drenched me with cold reason. I scurried away from the hearth, stopping when I reached the far side of the room. Chills raced over my skin and I shivered.
“Thanks,” I said to him.
“I thought something was not right.” Moon Man descended the rest of the way down the stairs. “I woke feeling as if the threads of my blanket had ignited.”
“It’s a good thing you did.”
“What happened?”
“I’m not sure.” I wrapped my cloak tighter. “I thought I saw souls in the fire.”
“Trapped?”
I barked out a laugh. If I had said that to anyone else, they would have believed I was a raving lunatic. Moon Man wanted details. Details I couldn’t provide.
“I think they wanted me to join them.”
He frowned and stared at the hearth. “You should not be left alone with a fire. I will finish Tauno’s shift.”
“Finish?” I glanced out the window. The curtain of darkness had thinned. I had lost track of the time, and failed to wake Tauno for his turn. Not a good sign.
“Go get some sleep. We will need to make plans when you wake.”
The deafening peal of Mrs. Floranne’s bell jarred me from sleep. Leif sat on the edge of his bed with his head between his hands, blocking out the noise. With silence came relief and he dropped his arms.
“She’ll be ringing that again if we don’t get down to breakfast soon,” Leif said.
All the motivation I needed. I kicked off my blanket and followed Leif from the room. We joined Moon Man and Tauno in the common area. The crowded inn buzzed with conversation. Mrs. Floranne poured tea while her staff served breakfast. The smell of sweet syrup wafted through the air.
The good night’s sleep reflected in Tauno’s face. The swelling was gone and the bruises faded from bright red to a light purple smudge. He moved without wincing in pain.
We ate our breakfast of honey, eggs and bread and discussed our next move.
“We should search the city,” Leif said. “Quarter by quarter until we either find them or determine they’re not here.”
“It would take a long time.” Moon Man spooned a glob of eggs onto a slice of bread.
“They are gone,” Tauno said.
I stopped eating. “How do you know?”
“They mentioned leaving Booruby.”
“Why didn’t you tell us last night?” I stabbed my eggs with my fork.
“I was distracted by the pain and did not remember the comment until now.”
“Would it have made a difference?” Leif asked.
I thought it over. Tauno had been in bad shape. But with no fatal injuries, I could have left him here and…what? Scanned the surrounding forest with my magic? I didn’t know which direction they had gone and they had almost a full day of travel.
“Probably not,” I sighed. “Tauno, do you remember anything else? Did they say where they were going?”
“The need to hurry was all I sensed. Perhaps that is why I was not killed. They did not have enough time.”
“The best strategy would have been to keep us in the dark about Marrok, wondering if he is dead or alive and what he told them.” I sipped my tea. “However, Cahil likes to feel superior and probably believes letting us know Marrok has betrayed us would make us doubt our instincts and slow us down.”
Cahil had tried that tactic with me before. When he had thought I was a spy from Ixia, he had ambushed me in the forest. Then, he wanted me to believe Leif set me up to demoralize me. It hadn’t worked. And it wouldn’t work now.
If anything, I was more determined to find them. Even though we had lost their trail. My appetite gone, I pushed my plate away.
“What’s next?” Leif asked.
The door to the common room banged open. Marrok stood in the threshold with a bloody sword in his hand.
The four of us jumped to our feet. Breakfast forgotten, we pulled our weapons as the conversation in the inn’s common room dwindled into a deadly silence.