Fire Study
Page 77

I caught it in midair. Kiki spun and Valek slid off her back. The rapid clash of blades followed as Valek engaged four men in a sword fight. I hurried to join him before the remaining Vermin and Cahil caught up. Four against one was pushing it for Valek. He would be outnumbered against six.
With the occasional kick from Kiki, Valek and I fought side by side. Cahil and the Warper hung back. I strengthened my mental defenses, sensing the Warper would try a magical attack.
Once Valek cut a guard’s arm in half, we pressed our advantage. As the man fell to the ground yelling with pain, Cahil ordered the remaining men to disengage. They stepped back. Valek shot me a questioning look.
“The girls are still at the camp,” I said.
He nodded and we stalked the retreating men.
The Warper threw his arms up and yelled, “Inflame.”
Power pressed on my skin. With a whoosh of hot air, the guard on the ground burst into flames. Valek and I jumped away. The man screamed and writhed. He stilled as the intense heat consumed him. Acrid puffs of charred flesh reached us, and I covered my nose.
“Come! Find your soul mate!” The Warper’s voice cut through the roaring fire.
A man’s form coalesced from the pulsing flames.
“What’s going on?” Valek asked.
“Let’s go.” I scrambled onto Kiki’s back, Valek right behind me. Kiki took off.
“What about the girls?”
Guilt stabbed my heart. “Later.”
I let Kiki decide our direction. Eventually we came to a farmhouse, modest in size and surrounded by precise flower beds. Kiki stopped at the stable and Valek slid off.
Where are we? I asked Kiki.
Ghost’s house. Good hay. Nice lad.
I eyed the wooden structure with sudden distrust. Ghosts are here?
Kiki snorted and nudged Valek. Ghost.
Moon Man had explained to me Valek’s immunity to magic made him appear as a ghost to magical creatures.
I looked at him. “Summer home? Isn’t it a little dangerous?”
He smiled. “Safe house for my corps. A base of operations.”
“How convenient.”
The stable was empty. Valek helped me remove Kiki’s saddle and groom her, delaying the inevitable conversation.
I sagged with fatigue, but needed to know what he had been doing while I was in my box. “How did you find me? And your timing was impeccable as always.”
Valek pulled me into his arms. I molded to him, seeking warmth and comfort. My body shook with a delayed reaction. The horror of the Warper setting his own man on fire replayed in my mind.
“You’re welcome, love. I had wanted to sneak in and unlock you tonight, but you had other plans. I should have been more prepared, but when I saw him poke you last night, I thought for sure you would be out of it.” He pulled me away. “Let’s go inside. I need a drink.”
The interior of the farmhouse lacked the homey warmth of its exterior. Spartan and utilitarian, Valek’s operatives obviously didn’t entertain guests here. Valek lit a few lanterns, but I refused to let him build a fire. We huddled together on the couch, sipping brandy.
“General Kitvivan’s white brandy?” I asked.
“You remembered!” Valek seemed surprised.
“There are tastes and smells that call certain memories. White brandy reminds me of the Commander’s brandy meeting.”
“Ah, yes. And after having to taste all those brandies for the Commander, you drunkenly tried to seduce me.”
“And you refused.” I couldn’t pinpoint a specific time or event when Valek’s feelings for me had changed. He had shocked me with his declaration of love in Brazell’s dungeon.
“I wanted to accept. But I didn’t know if your desire was from your heart or from the brandy. You might have regretted it later.”
The image of Valek wearing his dress uniform recreated the desire to seduce him again, but we had much to discuss.
“Enough small talk. Tell me everything,” I ordered.
He sighed. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Compared to what I’ve just been through these last—what? Three days? I don’t even know. It can’t be that bad.”
“I knew you were swimming in some very dangerous waters,” he said, “but I hadn’t known they extended so deep.”
“Valek, get to the point.”
He fidgeted. Fear brushed my heart. Something horrible had happened. I had never seen him fidget before. He stood and started prowling the room. His liquid movements were soundless.
“Five days ago you were taken—”
“Five days!” So much could have happened in that time. My thoughts went to Irys and Bain. They could be dead.
Valek put up his hand to forestall my questions. “Let me finish first. You were kidnapped by Star, and the reason she was able to smuggle you so far south, was because…I let her.” He paused to let his words sink in.
I stared at him in astonishment. “You set me up?”
“Yes and no.”
“You need to do better than that.”
“I knew Star would want to exact some type of revenge on you. She has kept in contact with the underground network, and I allowed her because then I could learn who the new players were. With the Code of Behavior, there will always be a black market for illegal goods and forged papers. I like to keep tabs on the network to make sure things don’t go too far, like when Star hired assassins to ruin the Sitian trade treaty. And when—”