Page 111 of The Study of Fire
His energy drained at an alarming rate. It was only a matter of time before he joined the others in the sand.
Come on, love. A little help.But he’d no idea what she could do from the fire world. If anything.
The magic surrounding him increased tenfold. Breathing became extremely difficult. He met Roze’s powerful gaze.
One last move. Valek jerked as if struck by a dart. He slapped a hand to his neck, cursed, and then dropped to the ground as if paralyzed.
Roze yelped and everyone turned their attention to her. She pushed up the sleeves of her dress. Black liquid oozed from her arms, dripping onto the sand. Then Gede shrieked as black stains spread on the sleeves of his tunic. The smell of rancid blood filled the air.
Valek guessed that Yelena had somehow managed to take the stolen souls from the warpers, removing their power.
The magic around him disappeared. He hopped to his feet with a sudden burst of energy and attacked the distracted warpers. After he killed number four, he spun to find the man with the blowpipe, but he’d run off.
Irys had gotten free and freed Cahil, Marrok, and Gale. They attacked Roze together. As the First Magician, even without her enhanced magic, she was still a formidable opponent. Valek moved to join them. It didn’t take long to knock her unconscious.
Valek moved to slit Roze’s throat, but Irys stopped him.
“She must be tried for treason,” she said.
He gestured to the carnage. “This isn’t enough evidence?”
A sad smile briefly touched her face. “Our country has been betrayed. We need time to process and mourn, and to do things the Sitian way. We have special cells in the Keep that neutralizes a magician’s magic. Together, Bain and I have enough power to hold her when she’s not in the cell. The traitors will be hanged.”
“You have a year. If they’re not dead by then, I will kill them,” Valek promised.
“Understood.”
Valek glanced around. Marrok and Cahil untied those who had been hit with Curare. “Do you have any Theobroma to give them?” The drug was an antidote of sorts for the Curare. They could melt it and drip it into the mouths of those who had been paralyzed.
“Yes.” Irys strode away.
Those who’d survived began the long, arduous task of checking bodies and cleaning up. Four warpers, Gede, and Roze had survived the battle. They were carted to the special cells. As for their team, they had only lost Moon Man. Only. As if that word somehow made it sound better. It didn’t. The Story Weaver would be mourned and missed.
Later in the day, a long line of groundskeepers carrying buckets approached the bonfire. When one threw water on the fire, Valek raced over.
“Stop!” he yelled. “No!”
They peered at him in confusion.
Irys joined him. “What’s wrong?”
“Yelena hasn’t returned yet.”
Her expression softened. “She might not?—”
“Shewill. This fire stays lit until she’s home. Promise me.”
“We’ll keep it burning for now. Eventually, we will need to extinguish it and go on with our lives.” Irys stared at the flames. “If only we had some way to communicate with her.”
That reminded him. Hope surged through his heart. “Where’s Leif and Gale?”
“Leif’s in the infirmary; he has a number of lacerations. Gale left to reunite with her husband. Why?”
Valek was in too much of a hurry to answer. Instead, he turned and ran to the infirmary. All the rooms were filled with the injured. There was also an open area of examination tables for minor wounds. Leif sat on one of them.
Leif perked up when he spotted Valek. “Yelena?”
“No sign yet.”
