An almost full moon hung above us, casting a white light on The Flats. Everything shone as if frozen, including me.

Rolling closer to Kade, I tried to snuggle with him. He didn’t move. How could he sleep on rock-hard ground with all this noise? His blanket was half-off his body. I sat up to fix it. His open eyes stared into the clear night sky.

“Kade?” I shook him hard. “Kade!” His blanket blew away, revealing his neck. A black dart jutted from his throat. I yanked it out and sniffed the blood-covered tip. No scent. The damn wind blew too hard. It didn’t matter. Only one poison would render him like this. Curare.

I checked Leif and Skippy. Both paralyzed. I touched my own neck, but found nothing. The horses resembled statues. Panic flushed through my body, replacing the cold. Yanking my sais from their sheath, I armed myself and scanned The Flats. Nothing. Yet.

Should I use Kade’s sword or Leif’s machete? Leif’s arm reached for his bag and I remembered he always carried the antidote to Curare in his pack. I scrambled to open it, but movement caught my attention.

Downwind, a dark shape rose from the ground. One more joined it and two more stood on my left. Swords glinted as they advanced.

15

FOUR AGAINST ONE. I WAITED WITH MY SAIS HELD IN A DEFENSIVE position. My companions had all been shot with Curare-laced darts, the horses, too. No help from anyone.

The black-clad figures approached with their swords pointed at me. I couldn’t fight four at once. Not with my sais, but my pocket held my glass bees and spiders. I would need a free hand.

“Surrender,” a man’s voice called. “Put down your weapon.”

I threw my sais at the two closest ambushers. One clanged on a sword, the other flew past a head—just missing it. But now my hands held glass.

“Leave now, or die,” I called over the wind.

They hesitated and glanced at their leader—the farthest from me. The leader motioned them to continue. “Play nice, Opal,” he said.

I recognized his voice. Ice filled my veins and coated my heart. Tricky. How did he escape from Ixia?

“Don’t come any closer,” I said. “I have Greenblade bees. One sting and you’re dead.”

“Go ahead. Crush them.” Tricky joined his friends, forming a semicircle around me. A black hood covered his head.

Sensing a trap, I considered. I didn’t want to kill anyone, and had hoped to scare them off. Perhaps bees with instructions to buzz around would chase them away.

Tricky didn’t want me dead. At least, not yet. I knew what he wanted. My blood. No Curare for me. Curare paralyzed muscles and magic, and would neutralize any power in my blood.

Kade’s comments about being in a desperate situation flashed through my mind. I had warned them. My hands, though, wouldn’t move to break the glass. Since I hadn’t been pricked, it left one explanation. Magic held me immobile.

Tricky sheathed his sword and strolled over to me. He grabbed the glass from my useless hands, pulled my cloak off and searched me for more weapons. Revulsion churned in my chest at his rough touch as he emptied my pockets. More bees and spiders joined the others. He tossed my possessions to the side.

“Len and Aubin, keep watch. Boar, my pump.” Tricky called out orders. “You, sit.” He pointed to me.

A force pushed on my shoulders and my knees bent on cue. Once down, Tricky’s magic continued to hold me as if bandages wrapped around my body.

I studied the man unpacking supplies. He handed an unfamiliar device to Tricky and pushed his sleeves up. The firelight illuminated the tattoos on his arms.

Blood magic strikes again. Only one person was needed to spread the plague. Frustration pumped in my heart fueled by fear and anger. If the Council had only believed me about Devlen, this wouldn’t be happening.

When all looked ready, Tricky knelt next to me with a knife in his hand. Sweat rolled down his face and he grunted when his magic released me.

“Don’t try anything.” He warned. “I can immobilize you again.” He ripped off my left sleeve and wrapped a thin rope around my upper arm, pulling it tight. “Lie down. Stretch out your arm and make a fist.”

No choice, I did as instructed. As I unfolded my legs, I felt a lump at the base of my spine. I tucked my free hand under my back. Tricky tapped the underside of my forearm. He tried to hide his fatigue from me, but I kept my gaze on him. If he was too weak to use magic, I might be able to get to my glass bees piled nearby.

“I dreamed of killing you for stealing my magic,” Tricky said. “Then I wanted to torture you for ruining our plans and having me arrested in Ixia.” He stroked my neck with his fingers, rubbing his thumb over my windpipe. “But you did me a huge favor. I should be thanking you.”

I shrank away from his touch. “Favor?”

He leaned close to my ear. “You didn’t tell the authorities I still had magic. That you couldn’t take it from me,” he whispered.

Horror splashed through me. “But I told…” Kade, asking him to tell Janco. But with all the cleanup and other explanations, my message must have been forgotten. I should have made sure. “It was such a small amount.”

“It was enough to fool the guards and escape.” Tricky traced the blue vein down the inside of my arm with the tip of his blade. “One little problem. I can’t increase my powers unless I use your blood.”

The desperate thumping in my chest filled my ears. About halfway between my wrist and elbow, Tricky drew his knife across the inside of my forearm. A burning pain sizzled and blood welled.