Chapter Thirty-One

Reality and the rank odor of a decomposing animal intruded. Darkness had

descended.

"Let's go," Valek said, pulling me to my feet.

"Where?" I asked, adjusting my uniform.

"The Commander's room, so we can take him back to the castle with us."

Valek brushed the straw from his hair and clothes.

"Won't work."

"Why not?" Valek demanded.

"As soon as you touch him, Mogkan will know." I explained about

Mogkan's link with the Commander and how he had established that connection

using Criollo.

"How do we break the bond?" Valek asked.

It was time to tell him about my magic. I felt light-headed, as if I stood on

the edge of the world. Taking a deep breath, I related the encounters and

conversations I'd had with Irys, and how she might be able to help us.

Valek stood still for a full minute, while my heart thumped madly in my

chest.

"Do you trust her?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Is there anything else you haven't told me?"

My head spun. So much had happened and we still needed to stop a

powerful magician. Death was a real possibility. I wanted Valek to know how I

felt.

"I love you."

Valek wrapped me in his arms. "My love has been yours since the fire

festival. If those goons had killed you, I knew then that I would never be the

same. I didn't want or expect this. But I couldn't resist you."

I molded my body to him, wanting to share his skin.

He took my hand. "Let's go."

We raided the guardroom for uniforms before slipping into the hallway.

Wearing Brazell's colors of black and green, we hoped to avoid discovery as we

stole through the manor.

Valek needed his bag of tricks, so we headed toward the barracks. While I

retrieved my cloak, Valek slid inside the empty wooden building. The soldiers

had gone to search for us.

I paced in the shadows of the building, chanting Irys's name in my mind.

We needed a plan of attack. We had to move tonight.

Shouts and curses emanated from the barracks. Running inside, I found Ari

and Janco with their swords drawn and pointed at Valek.

"Stop," I said.

Spotting me, Ari and Janco sheathed their weapons, smiling.

"We thought Valek had escaped without you," Ari said, giving me a bear

hug.

"Aren't you supposed to be with a search party?" Valek asked as he pulled

his black bag from under a bunk. He had changed into an ebony coverall with

numerous pockets.

"We're too sick," Janco said, his best smirk in place.

"What?" I asked.

"The charges against you were obviously fabricated, so we refused to take

part in the hunt," Janco said.

"That's insubordination." Valek extracted a long knife and some darts from

his bag.

"That was the point. What's a fellow have to do around here in order to get

arrested and thrown in the dungeon?" Janco asked.

I stared at Janco in amazement. They had been willing to risk a court

martial in order to help me. He had meant what he had inscribed on my

switchblade.

"Which direction did the search parties go?" Valek asked. He placed

weapons in various pockets and strapped his sword and knife onto his belt.

"Mainly south and east, although a few small groups were sent west and

north," Ari replied.

"Dogs?"

"Yes."

"And the manor?"

"Minimal coverage."

"Good. You're with us," Valek ordered them both.

They snapped to attention. "Yes, sir."

"Prep for covert ops, but keep the swords. You're going to need them."

Valek finished dressing as Ari and Janco got ready.

"Wait," I said. "I don't want them getting into trouble." My heart started to

skitter around in my chest and a nauseous wave threatened to send bile up my

throat as fear of what we were planning to do overcame me.

Valek squeezed my shoulder. "We need their help."

"You're going to need more than that." Irys's voice came out of the darkness. Three men simultaneously drew their swords. When she stepped into

the weak lantern light, Valek relaxed, but Ari and Janco brandished their

weapons.

"At ease," Valek ordered.

Seeing their reluctance, I said, "She's a friend. She's here to help." I looked

at her. "We discovered Mogkan's extra power source."

"What is it?"

I told her about the mindless captives and how they had been chained in

circles, and then explained my theory that Mogkan had wiped their minds to

seize their power. Horror and revulsion touched her face. Despite her rough

exterior, her concern went deep. She managed to regain her no-nonsense frown,

but Ari and Janco looked a little green, as if they were going to be sick.

"What's this all about?" Ari asked.

"I'll explain it later. Right now—" I stopped short. A complete plan of

attack snapped into my mind, but it included Ari and Janco. I had been hoping to

keep them safe, but Valek was right. We needed their help.

"I want you to protect Irys with everything you have. It's very important," I

told my friends.

"Yes, sir," Ari and Janco said together.

Stunned, I stared at them. They had addressed me assir, meaning they

would follow my orders, even if it led to their death.

Valek's eyes drilled into mine. "You have a strategy?"

"Yes."

"Tell us."

Why, I thought as Valek and I crept through the silent empty halls of the

manor, had I opened my mouth?Myplan. What did I know? Valek, Ari and Janco

had years of experience doing this nerve-racking, stomach-turning work, but

everyone risked their necks followingmyplan.

In the dark corridor, I swallowed my fear and reviewed the strategy. At the

Commander's door, we waited to give the others time to move into position. My

short breaths seemed to echo off the walls, and I felt as if I was either going to

scream or pass out.

After a few moments, Valek picked the lock and we slipped inside. He

secured the door. Lighting a lantern, he moved toward the oversize four-poster

bed. The Commander was stretched out on top of the bedding, fully clothed. His

vacant eyes were open, staring at the ceiling. He made no acknowledgment of

our presence.

I sat beside him and took his hand in mine. Following Irys's brief

instructions, I imagined my brick wall, then expanded it until I had built a dome of brick that encompassed us both. Valek pressed against the wall next to the

door, waiting for Mogkan. His expression had hardened into his battle face. He

was stone cold on the exterior, but I knew that a lethal, molten fury resided

within.

It wasn't long before a key turned in the lock. Silence. Then the door burst

open. Four armed guards rushed in. Valek had one down before the man could

react. The ringing of swords filled the room.

Mogkan slinked into the chamber after his men had Valek fully engaged.

Avoiding the fighting, he moved toward me. A condescending smile touched his

lips.

"A brick igloo. How nice. Come on, Yelena, give me some credit. A stone

fortress or a steel wall would have been more of a challenge."

I felt a solid blow strike my mental defenses. Brick crumbled. Patching

holes as he hammered on my shield, I prayed with desperation that Ari, Janco

and Irys had made it to the room where Mogkan kept the prisoners chained. Irys

had explained that she needed to be there with them in order to block Mogkan's

extra power. Even if she succeeded, I would still have to deal with Mogkan's

own magic.

Halting his attack for a second, Mogkan jerked his head to the side, staring

off into the distance. "Nice trick," he said. "Friends of yours? They're in

Reyad's hallway, but unless they can fight their way through ten men, they

won't make it to my children."

My heart sank. Mogkan resumed his onslaught with renewed determination.

One guard out of four remained in battle with Valek. Hurry, I thought. My

defenses weakened with each blow. I threw every ounce of strength into my

wall, but it collapsed into a cloud of dust.

Mogkan's power gripped me like a giant's fist around my rib cage. I yelped

in pain and dropped the Commander's hand. I stood on weak legs beside the bed

just as Valek yanked his sword from the last guard's dead body.

"Stop or she dies," Mogkan ordered.

Valek froze. Three more guards hustled into the room, Brazell on their

heels. They surrounded Valek. Taking his sword, they forced him to his knees

with his hands on his head.

"Go ahead, General. Kill her," Mogkan said, stepping back to let Brazell

pass. "I should have let you slit her throat the first day she arrived."

"Why listen to Mogkan?" I asked Brazell. "He's not to be trusted." Pain

crawled along my spine as Mogkan turned his burning eyes upon me.

"What do you mean?" Brazell demanded. He gripped his sword as he

glanced from me to Mogkan.

Mogkan laughed. "She's only trying to delay the inevitable."

"Like when you tried to delay the Sitian treaty negotiations by poisoning

the cognac? Or were you aiming to stop the delegation altogether?" I asked him.

Mogkan's shock revealed his guilt. Although surprise touched Valek's face,

he remained silent. His body tensed, ready to spring into action.

"That doesn't make sense," Brazell said.

"Mogkan wants to avoid contact with the southerners. They would know

about—" My throat closed. I clawed at my neck, unable to breathe.

Brazell turned on Mogkan. His square face creased with anger. "What have

you been up to?"

"We don't need a treaty with Sitia. We were getting our supplies without

any problems. But you wouldn't listen to me. You had to be greedy. After

establishing a trade treaty it would only be a matter of time before we'd have

southerners crossing the border, sniffing around, finding us." Mogkan showed

no fear of Brazell, only anger that he had to explain his actions. "Now, do you

want to kill her or should I?"

Spots spun in my eyes as my vision blurred. Before Brazell could answer,

Mogkan staggered. His hold on me slipped slightly, releasing my airway. I

gasped for air.

"My children!" Mogkan roared. "Even without them, I still have more

power than you!"

Like a fish on a hook, I was yanked off my feet and hurled against the wall.

My head banged on the stone. Pinned in midair, Mogkan's power pelted me.

Each blow felt like a boulder crashing into me. This is it, I thought. Reyad was

right; becoming the food taster had just delayed the inevitable.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Valek fighting his guards as he tried to

reach Mogkan. Too late for me. With a final surge of strength, I mentally

reached out. I hit an impenetrable barrier as I felt my consciousness drain.

Blackness filled my world.

Then Irys's voice was there in my mind, soothing. "Here," she said, "let me

help you." Pure power flowed into me. I reconstructed my mental shield and

deflected Mogkan's onslaught, pushing him back. He crashed into the opposite

wall with a satisfying thud.

Confusion reigned in the Commander's chambers. Inexperienced with

magic as I was, I couldn't restrain Mogkan. He bolted from the room. With a

knife in his hand, Valek fought three guards with swords. As I rushed to help

Valek, Brazell grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him.

He raised his sword. Murder blazed in his eyes. I jumped back to avoid the

first swing of his sword and bumped against the Commander's bed. I leaped onto the bed to avoid Brazell's next swing. I glanced down. The Commander's gaze

was still fixed on the ceiling. Brazell's third swing severed one of the bedposts.

As I dived from the end of the bed to avoid another blow, I seized the post

from the floor.

Now I was armed. The post wasn't balanced properly for a bow, but it was

thick. Better than nothing.

Brazell was a powerful opponent. Each swing of his sword hacked chunks

out of my weapon.

At first, he scoffed at my attempts to fight him. "What do you think you're

doing? You're a skinny nothing. I'll gut you in two moves."

When I found my mental zone of power, he stopped wasting his breath.

Even sensing his next attack, I still scrambled to stay one step ahead of him. My

wooden post was no match for his sword.

Reyad's ghost materialized in the room. He cheered his father on, trying to

distract me. His tactics worked. My back hit the wall. Brazell's sword split my

post in half.

"You're dead." With gleeful satisfaction, Brazell pulled his sword back to

slash at my neck. But I still held a part of the wood. As his sword swung close, I

deflected the weapon downward with my broken post. The tip cut across my

waist. The sound of ripping fabric accompanied a line of fire across my stomach.

Blood soaked the ripped ends of my uniform shirt.

Then Brazell made his first error. Thinking I was finished, he relaxed his

guard. But I was still on my feet. I raised my weapon. With desperate strength, I

struck him across the temple. We crumpled to the floor together.

I gazed at the ceiling, trying to regain my breath. Valek hovered over me. I

shooed him away. "Find Mogkan." He disappeared from my view.

Once strength returned to my limbs, I examined my wound. Running a

finger along the gash, I thought all I needed was some of Rand's glue.

Reyad's ghost floated over me, sneering. I couldn't bear lying on the

ground with him in the room. Cursing and bleeding, I stood.

"You." I stabbed a bloody finger at him. "Go away."

"Make me," he challenged.

How could I fight a ghost? I moved into a defensive stance. He scoffed. No,

not a physical fight, a mental one.

I thought about what I had accomplished in the year and a half since I had

slit Reyad's throat. Overcoming my fears to make friends. Confronting my

enemies. Finding love. How I felt about myself. Who I was. I looked into the

gilded floor-length mirror of the Commander's room. My hair was wild. My

shirt soaked with blood. My face streaked with dirt. Almost the same reflection when I first became the food taster. But this time there was something different.

The shadows of doubt were gone.

I peered deeper and found my soul. A little tattered and with some holes,

but there all the same. It had always been there, I realized with a shock. If Reyad

and Mogkan had truly driven it from me, I would be chained to a floor right now

and not standing over Brazell's unconscious form.

I was in control. This new person in the mirror was free. Free of all poisons.

I glanced at Brazell. He was still breathing, but I was in charge of him and of

myself. In command. No longer a victim. No longer the rat caught in the metal

jaws of a trap.

"Be gone," I ordered Reyad's ghost. His shocked expression gave me great

joy as he vanished.

But joy was like a butterfly alighting on a hand; a brief rest before flying

away.

"Janco's hurt." Irys's alarmed voice resounded in my skull. "We need a

medic. Come now."

Using manacles from a dead guard's belt, I handcuffed Brazell to the heavy

bed. Then I bolted from the room. I raced through the corridors. He can't die, I

thought. Not Janco. I wouldn't be able to bear his death. Horrible scenarios

played in my mind. I was so preoccupied that I rushed right toward Valek and

Mogkan without even recognizing them.

They dueled with swords. The reason the scene had taken a while to clarify

in my mind was because Mogkan had the upper hand. Valek's pale face was

haggard. He swung his sword as if it was a dead weight. His natural grace had

fled, and what remained were sporadic, jerky movements. Mogkan, on the other

hand, was quick and competent, technically accurate, but lacking style.

My disbelief and concern grew as I watched the match. What was wrong

with Valek? Was it Mogkan's magic? No, Valek was immune to it, I thought.

Then realization dawned. Valek had said being close to a magician felt like

wading in thick syrup. And Valek had fought seven guards in the Commander's

room after spending the last two days in the dungeon without food or sleep.

Exhaustion had finally caught up to him.

Mogkan's grin widened when he spotted me hovering nearby. He executed

a lightning-quick feint, and then lunged. Valek's sword clattered to the floor as a

crimson slash snaked up his arm.

"What an incredible day!" Mogkan exclaimed. "I get to kill the famous

Valek and the infamous Yelena at the same time."

I triggered my switchblade. Mogkan laughed. He sent me a magical

command to drop my weapon.

Just as my hand released the blade, I heard Irys's voice in my head.

"Yelena, what's wrong? Did you find the medic?"

"I need help!" I cried in my mind. Power swelled inside me, pushing to

break free. I aimed a finger of power toward Mogkan. His sword dropped from

his hand. Terror gripped his face as the magic swaddled him like a baby, then

tightened like a noose. He was paralyzed, rooted to the floor.

"You rat-spawned daughter of a demon!" Mogkan cursed. "You're a blight

on this earth. An incarnation of hell. You're just like the rest of them. The

Zaltana bloodline should be burned out, erased, exterminated…"

Mogkan raged on, but I ceased to listen. Valek picked up my switchblade.

Mogkan's curses grew louder and more frantic as Valek approached him. A blur

of movement, a shriek of pain, then Mogkan was finally silent. His body sank

into a heap on the ground.

Valek handed me the bloody knife. With an exhausted bow, he said, "My

love, for you."