Page 93 of The Study of Fire
Janco cocked his head this way and that. “Aha! You look just like a prickle bush in MD-4. If we buried you up to your neck, we could?—”
“Janco,” Ari growled.
“If you gentlemen are finished, I’d like to know why you disobeyed my orders,” Valek said, stepping from behind the door.
Janco smiled one of his predatory grins as if he had anticipated this question and already composed an answer. “We did not disobey any of your orders. You said to keep an eye on Yelena’s brother, the scary-looking big guy, and the others. So, we did.”
Valek crossed his arms and waited.
“But you didn’t specify what we should do if our charges came to Sitia,” Ari said.
“How could they possibly escape the castle and get through the borders?” He didn’t have time for their nonsense.
Glee lit Janco’s eyes. “That’s a very good question. Ari, please tell our industrious leader how the Sitians escaped.”
Ari shot his partner a nasty look, which didn’t affect Janco’s mood in the least. “They had some help,” Ari said.
Valek waited.
Ari fidgeted like a little kid about to get scolded. Yelena covered her mouth to keep from laughing.
“We helped them,” Ari finally said.
“We?” Janco asked.
“I did.” Ari sounded miserable. “Happy now?”
“Yes.” Janco rubbed his hands together. “This is going to be good. Go on, Ari. Tell him why—although, I think they magicked him.” He waggled his fingers.
“They didn’t use magic. They used common sense and logic.”
Oh?Valek raised an eyebrow.
“There’re strange things going on here,” Ari said. “Ifwedon’t put it right, then it’ll spread like a disease and kill us all.”
“Who told you this?” Yelena asked.
“Moon Man.”
“Where are they now?” Valek asked.
“Camped about a mile north of here,” Ari said.
The drumming of horses sounded outside. Yelena looked through the window. Valek joined her. It was the four Sitians on horseback.
“How did they find us?” Valek asked in his coldest tone.
Janco seemed surprised. “They didn’t know where we were going. I told them to wait for us.”
“Isn’t it frustrating when no one obeys your orders?” Valek asked.
They went outside. Tauno rode on Kiki and she came straight to Yelena, bumping her chest with her nose. Valek was glad Kiki had returned. According to Tauno, she joined them after Ari and Janco had left.
“We let her lead,” Tauno said. “Although, between Marrok and I, we could have easily followed the Ixians’ tracks.”
The four of them dismounted. By their glares and stiff expressions, they remained angry at Yelena. She avoided their gazes and took the horses over to the burned stable, where she rummaged for brushes. They all tromped inside the house. Valek built a fire and boiled water for tea while Janco regaled him with their adventures. He half listened.
“…six people sharing three horses slowed us down…”
