Page 45 of The Study of Poisons
To make matters worse, Ari and Janco had resumed the hunt. So much for not leaving Yelena unprotected. She’d already survived two encounters with the magician, he hoped she’d stay safe for another half an hour or so. That was about how long it would take to lead the trackers away from her.
But then an odd and unwelcome thought popped into his head. Perhaps the magician hadn’t ambushed Yelena. Perhaps this was a prearranged meeting. That the attack and attempt to kill her at the fire festival had all been an act, and Yelena was spying for the Sitians. The implications… Valek shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind. He’d consider it later. Right now, he needed to deal with Ari and Janco.
The lieutenants picked up his clues and followed him. Valek traveled south-west until he reached another well-used road in the forest. Lovely. Just how many paths did the smugglers use? Valek would worry about that later. For now, he would take advantage of it. He crossed over and left signs of his passage to the south, then backtracked to the road and jogged east.
It took him a bit of time to find Yelena. She sat on a branch high above the path, but with a clear view. Smart. Valek summoned his remaining energy and climbed a nearby tree. Keeping to the sturdier limbs, he scrambled higher than Yelena in order to find a way to cross over to her perch. His opinion of her skills increased. She had made traveling through the tree canopy look easy.
Not wanting to scare her, Valek rustled the branch over her head before joining her. She scanned his skin-tight suit and then glanced at her ad hoc camouflage, which was torn and frayed in places.
Oh no, he won’t let her feel inferior or self-conscious. “You’re unbelievable.” And he meant it.
“Is that good or bad?” she asked.
“Good. I assumed you would give the soldiers a good chase, and you did. But I never expected this.” Valek pointed at her camouflage and gestured toward the surrounding tree canopy. “And to top it all off, you encountered the magician and somehow managed to survive.” He used an accusatory tone to see if it would provoke any signs of guilt or duplicity.
“I don’t know what exactly happened. I found myself tearing through the woods until I reached a clearing, where she was waiting. The only thing she told me was that I had ruined her plans by killing Reyad, and then pain slammed into my skull.”
Genuine horror filled her eyes. The primal urge to comfort her swelled inside him. Valek tightened his control, keeping his arms at his sides and not around her.
“I started reciting poisons,” she continued. “I tried to push the pain away. Then the attack stopped, and she said you were getting too close. When I opened my eyes, she had disappeared.”
That was plausible. “Why didn’t you wait for me in the clearing?”
“I didn’t know where she had gone. I felt safer in the trees, knowing you’d be able to find me.”
And that was smart. Yet the thought that she might be working with the magician wouldn’t quite disappear. Yelena claimed she ruined the magician’s plans by murdering Reyad, which fit with one of his theories.
Yelena sorted through her backpack, avoiding eye contact. Valek knew she held many secrets in her heart. She was still afraid of him. He hoped she’d trust him and accusing her of not telling him the whole truth wouldn’t help with that goal. He could be very patient.
Instead, he focused on the positive. Grinning, he said, “We certainly proved the Commander wrong. He thought you’d be caught by midmorning.” And he owed Valek a gold coin. Bonus.
She smiled back at him and Valek almost fell off the branch. He’d do just about anything to keep her smiling at him.
“Why does the Commander hate magicians so much?” she asked.
His good humor faded. It was natural she’d be curious about magicians after one had attacked her twice, but was she really pumping him for information? No way to tell, so he answered her. “He has many reasons. They were the King’s colleagues. Aberrations of nature, who used their power for purely selfish and greedy reasons. They amassed wealth and jewels, curing the sick only if the dying’s family could pay their exorbitant fee. The King’s magicians played mind games with everyone, taking delight in causing havoc. The Commander wants nothing to do with them.”
“What about using them for his purposes?” she asked.
“He thinks magicians are not to be trusted, but I’m of two minds about that.” He glanced at the path below. “I understand the Commander’s concern, killing all the King’s magicians was a good strategy, but I think the younger generation born with power could be recruited for our intelligence network. We disagree on this issue, and despite my arguments the Commander has—” Valek stopped, he didn’t want to scare her.
“Has what?” she prompted.
He shouldn’t sugar coat anything. Yelena would learn everything about the Commander eventually. Might as well be truthful. “Ordered that those born with even the slightest amount of magical power be killed immediately.”
She gasped in horror. “Those poor children.”
Great. Now she thought he killed babies. “It’s brutal, but not that brutal.” Valek hated that part of his job. “The ability to connect with the power source doesn’t occur until after puberty, which is around age sixteen. It usually takes another year for someone other than their family to notice and report them. Then, they either escape to Sitia, or I find them.” And helped them escape, but only a couple people knew about that, and it had to remain a secret or the Commander would write an order forValek’sexecution.
He watched as Yelena gazed into the distance. No doubt imagining him hunting down and assassinating teenagers. So much for building trust. Valek searched for a topic to change the subject, but voices drifted on the wind. The trackers? Or the dog team? He wasn’t sure, but he grabbed Yelena’s arm, and signaled her to be quiet.
Soon the voices grew louder, and the sounds of hoofbeats reached him. It didn’t take long for a caravan to appear on the road. Valek scanned the wagons, seeking threats. Two mules and one driver for each of the six wagons. No visible weapons on the men, who wore ill-fitting brown trader uniforms. The brown color due to the nomadic nature of their occupation. Traders didn’t live in one Military District, so they wore all the colors mixed together.
However, no legitimate traders would travel through the Snake Forest when there were perfectly smooth roads connecting all the cities in Ixia.
Five of the wagons transported indistinguishable burlap sacks. They probably contained black market goods. Yellow oval-shaped pods filled the last wagon. Odd. What were they? And where were they going with that strange cargo?
Once they were out of sight, Valek decided he’d swipe a few samples. “Don’t move, I’ll be back,” he whispered to Yelena before dropping down to the path.
