“What I have suggested from the beginning. Kill her, and this new partner of hers too.”
A tremble runs through me and I know Kalyan felt it. There’s no way he couldn’t. I’m practically plastered to him. That is until he pulls me even closer and the “practically” incinerates.
The other man, the subordinate, shifts his weight above us, obviously mulling over the simplicity of Deep Voice’s instructions.Kill her, and this new partner of hers.“And what about the Belwars? The eldest daughter, Adraa, knows about Basu and the shipments.”
“Don’t worry about the Belwars. Everything is heating up nicely. It’s perfectly pressurized. You just focus on stopping this Red Woman.”
Well, I guess I should be glad only one of my personae will be hunted down. Kalyan slowly runs a hand over my shoulder blade in a circular motion and I give up the act that I’m not clinging to him. His heart hammers as loudly as mine.
“How?”
“The easiest way would be to discover who the blood she is,” Deep Voice growls. “Have someone at each exchange ready to follow her. Our best black forte or one of your guards.”
“About that. There’s something else you should know.”
“Well? Out with it!” Deep Voice yells.
“Yipton, one of my Dome Guards, was loading the ship that night.”
“And?”
“He is under suspicion. As well as many of my men.”
A shadow falls over Kalyan and me. Even the pier boards shudder. He’srightover us. “So we have also been compromised in the Dome?”
The guardsman steps back. “Not entirely. Just some of the men who work the city with me.”
“And as the head of my guard unit you tell me this only now?”
“I—”
“Can you fix it?” The Deep Voice is hard.
A pause, drawn out. “It will take some time. And I can’t guarantee—”
He doesn’t make it to the next word. Deep Voice casts a spell and his “friend” tumbles on the pier in a thudding heap. Dust plumes off the boards above our heads. My heart jumps.
“We can’t be compromised,” Deep Voice says. Then he casts under his breath.
The pier above us vibrates as the fallen wizard spasms. The back of my throat tastes like ash. Wood-rattling, scream-piercing, illegal, and against the very nature of pink magic, a torture spell unravels above.And never-ending!my heart screams. Never-ending until death…I unpeel myself from Kalyan’s strong arms and step toward the black magic veil. I can take this man out and save the writhing wizard. Kalyan grabs my arm and pulls me back. The anguished look on his face shakes some sense into me. And I realize I am shaking too.
Mask,he mouths, and gestures at me.
We both know I can’t cast on my mask from right under this dangerous wizard. The red smoke would alert him of our presence, and then all this firelight, neatly packed up, would be in jeopardy.
But by the sound of the seizure’s strength, the man above us doesn’t have much time left; he might already be comatose. I shut my eyes and squeeze, wanting to block out the noise and frothing panic spilling out above us. Is this deep-voiced wizard the one that put Riya’s dad in a coma too? I grind my teeth and hold still. I don’t know how I’m able to control the anger growing in my stomach or the impulse to fight this man. I’ve never quite controlled my anger like this before.
Kalyan’s hands are still hooked onto my arm, half hugging me, half restraining me from my own dangerous impulse to punch first and deal with the consequences later. Maybe that is what’s keeping me under control.
Above, the shaking ends and the groans take over.
“I need guarantees. This…” Deep Voice pauses. Maybe he’s gesturing to the burned ship. “Needs to be fixed now.” He steps over his comrade’s body and walks down the pier.
I shift away from Kalyan. He lunges for me, but Ihaveto see this wizard’s face. To be so close to the Vencrin leader, or at least one of the leaders, and not get any physical description would be a waste of this miracle. I scurry to the edge of our veil and crane my neck. All I see is his back in the distance. He wears a dark cloak, blending in with the growing darkness.
“Vardrenni.”I cast over my eyes and the image zooms in. But even with my magnification the wizard is a black blur as he sinks between two homes and disappears. So I’m left with nothing but the fact he wants to kill me—which I already knew.
The groaning has stopped. The tension breaks and silence stretches back into being. I clamber up the pier.
