Page 81 of Take No Prisoners
She laughed. "Haven't I taught you anything? We don't need a skiff."
"Walking would take an hour." Niall was already too tired to take another step.
Her smile was brilliant in the moonlight. "Why walk, when we can fly?"
Chapter 20
Efren
All the water tanks were filled and the docks moved, thanks to Petri's work with Jermain. Balance between earth and air was the most effective in a pinch, especially when Efren noticed Niall and Beatrice skimming over the water the way his air weavers would move a ship. Niall's curls defied gravity for a moment as they landed, and then sprang forward into his face, making him laugh. It was a good laugh, one Efren wanted to hear more often. Niall had been quick to laugh on the ship, but not on Aquarion.
Beatrice sent Niall off to find Frost. She'd put the ice weaver in charge in her absence.
"I see you've taught him all of your bad habits," Efren said to Beatrice as Niall flew upward, disappearing into the night sky.
"Not all. You taught him how to poison wells and call sharks without even trying, so you can't blame them all on me."
"You poisoned the well?"
"No, but you will. The one to the east. We'll rely on the tanks on Horseshoe Island until the coast is clear. Can't let our enemies restock when they're here. They'll have a thirsty trip home when they can't find the brook, either."
"Coryn has a water weaver of her own," Efren reminded her. "She won't travel without her full retinue, so she can siphon them at will."
"We'll make her work for it, then." Beatrice smiled. "We're almost done here. We will be leaving for Horseshoe at dawn, if you want to testify at Vadim's trial."
Efren worried he would say the wrong thing and end up hurting Vadim's chances more than helping him. "How does it look, in your opinion?"
"Martiz wants him to hang, but that suits Martiz more than it does anyone else, including my daughter's memory."
"What about Elsie?" Efren's shoulders shook involuntarily as he remembered the bitter hatred in her gaze when she looked at her nephew. She still blamed Vadim for killing her younger sister by being born, and she let him know that at every turn.
"That's why she's not an elder," Beatrice reminded him. "I will remind Jermain and Frost of Vadim's original mission. They should vote with me."
"And Allora?"
"I haven't seen her for weeks. You know how she is."
Allora was the island's enchanter. She didn't have power of her own, but she could focus others' power into light balls or warding spells.
"Who worked with her last?"
"Elsie. They were trying to control the bloodsucking insect problem with some lightning balls. I sent a message about your arrival and subsequent meeting, but she ignored it, as always."
Allora was a bit eccentric. Efren had worked with her for his indoor and outdoor lighting, but nothing beyond that. Beatrice preferred not to enchant their water stores in case they were attacked. Today, Efren had to agree. Removing an enchantment was far more dangerous than draining a tank and filling it with salt water.
"I'll be there," he said. "I'll have Niall watch forStarlight Specter's return."
"If you plan to speak ill of Vadim, don't come."
Efren squinted his eyes shut to block out the disappointment in her gaze. "You both hurt me when you didn't trust me."
"We trusted you to understand," she said. "If you knew of Vadim's plans, you would have stopped him when he tried to leave. He loved you enough to stay."
Efren scoffed. "He never loved me, but that doesn't change my testimony. I do understand, Beatrice. I know we need him alive."
She nodded. "Good. We will see you tomorrow, then." She pointed upward. "Frost must have been detained. Once you're done with the well, you and Niall are finished for the evening."
Niall and Petri dropped out of the sky, landing a few feet away on the beach. Beatrice walked over to them and said a few words, and then she took Petri's arm and led them further up the coast to a tall palm tree full of ripe nuts.
