Page 5 of The Study of Magic
“No. Our relationship ends now. You have two choices, Ziva. One, you disappear. My agents will help you relocate to another city in exchange for your promise to stay away from your daughter. Two, you stay. In that case, my agents will deliver you to Dothan’s door all wrapped up with a pretty bow, so he can decide what crime you’ll be arrested for.”
“How about you let me go, and I won’t say a word to the authorities aboutyouor youragents?” Ziva countered.
Since she had no idea of her current location, it was an empty threat. “You want a third choice? All right. How about I deal with you right now and my agents will bury your body?”
Ziva’s face drained of color. Finally, the woman was afraid of him.
“Consider this, Ziva. It’s clear you’ve lost Ruby’s affection. She will continue pushing you away and no one, except me, can stop her. What’s your choice?”
“I’ll disappear.” Her tone was borderline begrudging.
“And?”
“I promise to stay away from Ruby.”
Valek suppressed a sigh. Ziva’s words didn’t match the calculation in her gaze. “Good choice.I’mgoing to hold you to that promise.” He made eye contact with her, driving his point home. “And good luck. Perhaps you’ll use your obvious determination to find a purpose for your own life.”
He left the room and explained to his agents what he needed them to do. “Once she arrives in her new town, have our local spies keep an eye on her. If she leaves, send me a message.”
“Yes, sir.”
Not the best solution. Her fear of him would fade, and she might try to go after her daughter again. However, he truly hoped Ziva would find her own way. If not… Well, Valek would deal with her.
He left the house—and Ziva—behind and hurried to reach the Snake Forest before full daylight. Not that he was worried about the Ixian patrols in the forest, but he didn’t want any Sitians to recognize him and give chase.
On a map, the Snake Forest resembled its name. It was a narrow strip of green, undulating from east to west. The forest was part of the Territory of Ixia, and a hundred feet past the edge of the forest was the official Sitian border. The Commander had the trees and bushes cleared so no one could sneak in. Which didn’t work. At all.
The cold air flowing through the trees held a crisp pine scent with an earthy hint of moisture. It was the first day of the warming season and the dark clouds to the west promised rain. Valek avoided the patrols by pure habit, so he surprised the soldier on duty at Military District 5’s station. The poor woman jumped about a foot in the air, then she peered at Valek as if not quite sure she believed his identity. Too tired to care, he checked on Onyx. The station didn’t have a stable—no need as all the patrols were done on foot—but the black stallion grazed nearby. A long lead line was tied to his harness.
The station’s captain came around the building. He was broad-chested and muscular. “We’ve been exercising him for you, sir.”
“Thank you.”
“We didn’t have any grain for him, so we took turns riding him to town to buy him feed and some supplies.” The man pulled an apple from his pocket. Using his knife, he cut slices. Onyx raised his head at the sound and trotted over. The captain fed the horse. “He’s really quiet in the forest, sir. Knows where to put his hooves. Too bad we don’t have more horses like him. We could cover more ground and chase down fugitives faster.”
Only the Commander, his advisers, generals, and high-ranking officers, rode horses to travel. Mostly because horses were expensive to keep and train, and the Commander believed that the money would be better spent on the people. However, using horses for border patrols wouldn’t require too many extra resources.
“That’s a good point, Captain. I’ll look into it.”
The man brightened in surprise. Valek didn’t think it was that much of a compliment, but then he remembered this station had been under General Brazell’s jurisdiction. And the general had been ignoring his soldiers and diverting funds from the army to build his illegal Criollo factory.
If Valek hadn’t been so tired, he would have noticed the run-down station and worn uniforms on the patrol.
Calculating the cost of feed—he’d been away for fourteen days—Valek handed the captain a couple gold coins. “For the supplies.”
“Oh, no, sir. You don’t?—”
“I do. Now, what’s the gossip?” Valek led the man inside as he listened to the rumors. The border patrols were always the last to get the latest news and, by the time it reached them, the information tended to be either exaggerated, garbled, or outright incorrect. Valek helped clear a few things up but couldn’t answer the question of who the Commander planned to appoint as the new general of MD-5. No surprise that was the captain’s biggest concern.
Exhausted, Valek eventually collapsed onto a cot in the back room to sleep for a few hours.
* * *
Onyx was saddled and waiting for Valek when he woke. He thanked the captain and headed to MD-5’s manor house. The man was right about the horse. Even at a fast pace through a carpet of dead leaves, Onyx’s hooves failed to make any crunching sounds. Valek hadn’t noticed it on the trip down to the station house; he’d been too worried about Yelena to pay attention.
Not long after he’d left the station, sheets of rain swept in with a cold blast of wind. Valek pulled his cloak tighter around his shoulders. Good thing he didn’t need to camp overnight in the storm as he arrived at the manor right before nightfall.
When Valek and Onyx reached the stable, Adviser Dema waited for him. He’d been spotted on the road, and, of course, Commander Ambrose demanded to see him right away.
