Boy genius indeed. “What if I end up...stabbing myself?” And grafting the blasted thing onto his soul again.

“You won’t. You have control of your magic now.” Sensing a change in Valek’s opinion, Teegan continued, “I’ll link with you to ensure you don’t.”

“You’re going to make a heck of a Master Magician,” Valek said.

Teegan’s face lit up at the compliment. “Does that mean you’ll try?”

“Yes, but I’m not happy about it.”

“An understatement,” Teegan muttered. “All right.” He explained how to build the shield.

The steps reminded Valek of the fishing nets he’d helped repair on the coast of MD-1. First he wove a web of magic threads coated with...oil was the only way he could describe it. The oil repelled magic. Then he tightened the strands until they formed a sheet, which could be shaped into anything. Valek’s napkin-folding skills transferred over to creating shields. By the end of the afternoon, Valek had it down and even managed to impress the boy genius.

“That’s all for today, or Aunt Yelena is gonna kill me.”

An exaggeration, but Yelena did insist Valek take another day off, which became a pattern—one day of rest, followed by a work day.

On the sixth day, Teegan said, “I think we’ve explored all the magic talents that I know. We could test the extent of your skills with mental communication. You might be a Story Weaver.”

Doubtful. “Will that help me when I’m fighting Owen?”

“Not unless you want to heal his mental anguish.”

“I’m pretty sure I’ll be causing him anguish.” And pain and death. His fingers twitched at the thought. “We can determine that later.” Valek mulled over his plans for stopping the Cartel. “Let’s see if the two of us can reach Bain from here.”

“All right.” Teegan grasped his hand.

The boy’s power surged northwest, seeking Bain. His ability to bypass all the other people along the route impressed Valek. He would have skimmed their thoughts, looking for the master magician.

Reading his thoughts, Teegan said, “Master Bain and I have linked before. It’s super easy to find someone once you’ve done that. It’s like spotting a yellow dandelion in a grassy field.”

However, even with their combined strength, they were unable to reach Bain. Disappointed but not surprised, Valek strode to Onyx, who napped in the mid-afternoon sunlight, and retrieved the super messenger. “Do you know how much magic is left in this?”

Teegan touched it with his finger. “Not much.”

“Do I have enough to contact all the Masters?”

“Not you, but I might be able to, if I keep the conversations short.”

Valek guessed that would have to do.

On the ride back to town, Teegan grabbed Valek’s arm, stopping him when they were a couple blocks away from the tailor shop.

Instantly alert, Valek scanned the surroundings. “Trouble?”

“Yes.”

24

JANCO

All this creeping around could wear a man down. Good thing Janco loved sitting still for hours and pretending to be a bush.

Not.

The compound in the middle of the Greenblade forest hadn’t changed too much since Ari and Janco’s last visit, when he’d run into Oran Zaltana, who might or might not be the Master Gardener. Ten glass hothouses remained lined up in a row, the sweet aroma of Theobroma mixed with the sharp tang of Curare was still polluting the air as the factories pumped the stuff out by the barrel...or so it seemed.

Yup, if he didn’t count the ring of soldiers guarding the place, he’d swear nothing had changed.

They’d crept as close as they dared and had been observing the place for days. Ari and Janco were dressed in green tunic and pants to blend in with the Greenblade workers who buzzed about the site with far more energy than Janco had ever had in his life. Pah.

The best time to approach Oran was when he was alone in his room at night. Otherwise, the man spent all his time inside the hothouses. They’d identified which building he slept in, but not which room. For that to happen, Janco needed to get past the ring of guards.

The soldiers stood within sight distance of each other. If one of them were to suddenly collapse or disappear, his neighbors would know right away. Even if Ari and Janco neutralized half a dozen, there would still be soldiers left standing to raise the alarm.

Well away from the compound, Ari and Janco discussed their pitiful options as the sun set.

“Why can’t we use that fancy cloak?” Janco asked.

Ari arranged the kindling into a lattice. “If you had bothered to listen, Teegan explained that since the compound is already covered by an illusion, the mirror illusion would cancel them both out. As soon as we stepped through the barrier, we would be visible.”

“Great, just when I was thinking magic might be good for once,” Janco muttered.

“At least you’re thinking.” Ari patted Janco on the head as if praising a well-behaved dog.

Janco growled.

Ari ignored him. “What else can we do?”

“We can create a distraction,” Janco said.

“Only if you can create a distraction that won’t alert them that something else is going on. As soon as the ruckus dies down, you know they’ll search the place,” Ari said.

“We can start a fire. That’ll keep them busy for a while.”

“And risk it getting out of control and harming innocent people? No.”