“Like diving into the ocean during a storm to rescue a woman on a capsized boat,” Kiela said, with a smile at Larran.
Smiling back, he didn’t argue. “I’ll bring Eadie and Ulina here.”
Without another word, he headed out into the rain-drenched street. Wind slammed into the bakery door, flinging it open, and Bryn forced it closed. “The storm will pass,” Bryn said. “We’ve weathered them before; we’ll do it again.”
“The imperial ship is out there,” Kiela said. “It didn’t leave early enough to escape. It’s exposed, with no protection against the wind and the waves and worse.”
“Are you certain we want to rescue them?” Bryn asked. “I mean, we just escaped them.” Her gaze fixed on Radane, and Kiela could see the worry in her expression.
“They will guess we used forbidden magic,” Radane pointed out.
It’s what Larran would do.She couldn’t put into words why it was important to do this, but if she didn’t . . . if she hoarded the knowledge she’d taken and didn’t use it to help, then she’d be no better than the emperor and his sorcerers. “We have the power to help. How can we not use it?”
“I’m just saying it’s a risk,” Radane said.
“We can’t control what Captain Varrik chooses to do,” Kiela said. “We can only control what we do and hope other people make the right choices.” She did have hope, given his actions at the cottage, but it was a sheer guess that he wouldn’t simply follow orders when faced with a more difficult choice.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Caz said. “I’m with you, Kiela.”
“Obviously I am with you too,” Radane said. “I provided the spell. I came to the bakery on his wings.” She flapped her hand at Ivor, who’d helped himself to a cup of tea. His hands were shaking as he sipped it. “I simply want it clear that there could be consequences. For instance, if we save them and they return to ‘thank’ us, or arrest us, what will they do if they see me? What will they do toyouif they know you hid me?”
“We won’t let them see you,” Bryn said.
“You will stuff me back in a tree?”
Bryn looked confused.
Before they could explain, Larran shoved his way back into the bakery. He had his arm around Ulina. Eadie trotted in behind him. She shook the water out of her mane and tail. “What’s the emergency?”
“Did you tell them?” Kiela asked Larran.
“He said the words ‘pine cone coven,’ ” Eadie said. “We didn’t need to hear anything else.” She flashed a smile at everyone who was crowded into the bakery, from Ivor to Radane to Meep and Caz. “I see our coven has expanded.”
Kiela waved them all close. “Everyone, this is what we’re going to do . . .”
Chapter Thirty-Five
To ensure no mistakes, Caz copied the spell phonetically, because he had the neatest handwriting. Ulina agreed to conduct them—she’d signal for each syllable and each breath. Kiela formed a circle around the table with the spell. On her left was Larran. Bryn was on her right. Eadie, Radane, and Ivor were squeezed on the other side of the table.
“The storm needs to hear us,” Radane said.
Bryn crossed to the window and door. “Ready?”
Meep and Caz sat on the corners of the spell to secure it. “Meep.”
She threw open the window and door, and the storm roared into the bakery. A bag of flour plummeted from a shelf and broke open on the floor, and the tabby cat yowled. Flour whipped in a cloud around him and then was carried out into the streets.
“It’s worse!” Larran shouted to be heard over the wild wind.
“There’s flooding in the streets!” Bryn called.
“Then let’s stop it now!” Kiela said. She joined hands with Bryn and Larran as they came back to the circle. “Ulina, lead us!”
Holding her neighbor’s hands with one pair, Ulina used her other pair of hands to conduct. She raised them up, took a breath . . . and they began.
Verisinasa tri biasa
Sey hiavor cry tricoma
