“Leif, you were eight years old and would have been killed if you had tried to stop Mogkan from kidnapping me. You did the right thing.”

“Getting killed would have been easier. No guilt. No worries. No fear. Caring for someone is terrible and wonderful. I don’t know if I have the strength to do it for another. How do you deal with it?”

“I focus on the wonderful parts and suffer through the terrible parts, knowing it will end eventually.”

“Did you like Valek as soon as you saw him?”

“No. In the beginning our relationship was purely business.” The first time I had met Valek he had offered me the choice of going to the noose or becoming the next food taster. My family knew I had been the Commander’s food taster, but not why. Someday I would tell them about Reyad’s torture.

“When did your feelings change?”

That was a harder question. “I guess the first time he saved my life.” I told Leif about the Ixian fire festival and how Irys had hired four goons to kill me because my uncontrolled magic could flame out and ruin the power source.

“So the first time you met Master Jewelrose, she tried to kill you? And you told me before Valek had wanted to kill you twice. Gee, Yelena, you’re not a people person, are you?”

“There were other circumstances,” I said in my defense.

“It all sounds too complicated. I shouldn’t get involved with Mara.”

“That would be taking the easy road. Safe yet dull. Why do you like her?”

“She smells like the jungle on a perfect day. It’s a light whiff of the Ylang-Ylang flower combined with the sweet aroma of living green and a touch of the nutty earthy essence. It’s a scent you can wrap around yourself and feel at peace. Only those dry and sunny days will produce that smell, and they are as rare as a solid-white valmur.” Leif took a deep breath. “She has a soothing, contented soul.”

“Sounds like she might be worth the effort. There might be plenty of rainy days, but those perfect ones will make all the memories of rain disappear.”

“Is this from experience?”

“Yes.”

We reached the Three Ghosts Inn and entered the building. Moon Man and Tauno sat at one of the tables in the common area. Customers filled the room.

Tauno held a bloody cloth to his temple and his split lower lip bled.

“What happened?” I asked when we joined our friends. “Where’s Marrok?”

Tauno’s face was glum. He glanced at Moon Man as if seeking the Story Weaver’s permission.

“We found the Vermin,” Tauno said. He winced. “Or I should say they found us. A group of five soldiers with the Soulstealer and Cahil. They surrounded us, dragged us into a building and threatened to kill us. Cahil drew Marrok away and they had a private discussion. They laughed and left together, seeming the best of friends.” Tauno put a hand to his ribs and cringed with pain. “The others descended on me and I have no memory except waking in the empty building.”

“When did this happen?” I asked.

“This morning.”

“I am glad he is alive, but I wonder why they did not kill him,” Moon Man said.

Contemplating the situation, I said, “Taking a captive through crowded streets would be difficult. If they wait until nightfall to perform Kirakawa on him they risk being discovered.”

“So why not just kill him?” Moon Man asked.

“Because they want us to know they have Marrok,” Leif said.

“As a hostage?” Moon Man asked.

“No. Marrok left with Cahil. They’re flaunting the fact that Marrok is now with them,” I said. “And they know everything he knows. Including our present location.”

13

“DO YOU THINK THEY WILL attack us here?” Leif asked.

I glanced at the fire warming the inn’s common room. Would the Fire Warper risk being seen by the other guests?

“They could watch the building and follow us, waiting until we get to a secluded spot to attack,” Moon Man said.

“That’s a happy thought,” Leif muttered.

I reached out to Kiki. She dozed in the stable but roused at my light mental contact. If Vermin skulked around the inn, she and the other horses would be upset.

Smell? I asked.

Night. Straw. Sweet hay, she said.

All good for now.

Kiki help? Watch. Listen. Smell for you.

What if you get tired?

Rusalka. Garnet. Take turns.

Good idea. I’ll come and open the doors.

Lavender Lady stay. Kiki do.

I smiled, remembering how she had unlatched her stall door in the Keep’s stable when Goel had attacked me. One of Cahil’s men who held a grudge, Goel hadn’t seen her. Probably hadn’t known what hit him until he regained consciousness among the broken boards of the pasture’s fence.

“… Yelena? Hello?” Leif poked my arm.

“I’m here.”

“What are we going to do?” Leif asked me.

“It’s too late to go anywhere else. Kiki and the horses will watch the outside of the building and alert me if anyone approaches.”

“Ooh, guard horses. How quaint.” Leif pointed to the hearth. “What if Mr. Fire Warper decides to jump out of the fire? I don’t think Mrs. Floranne will be serving him a bowl of her stew.”

“Can we douse the fire?” I asked.

“No,” Leif said. “The inn will get too cold and Mrs. Floranne won’t have hot coals for breakfast.”