“You can’t expect us to do anything based on you finding ‘a way to make it work,’” Sepp said.

Kerrick shook his head. “Tohon will just manipulate you.”

“He’ll try, but—”

“He’ll succeed. He got to Jael and me in school. You won’t be able to resist or hide anything from him.”

“Yet Ryne outsmarted him. Ryne with no magic at all.”

“You’re not Ryne,” Sepp said.

Ouch.

“No.” Kerrick crossed his arms as if that ended the discussion.

I bit back a sarcastic comment. “Okay, then. What’s your plan?”

“We all go to Estrid’s, mount an attack and—”

“As soon as you get close, he’ll move Ryne to another location. Sepp? Got anything?”

He blinked. “We could all go to Tohon’s and rescue the prince.”

“And we all get caught because there is nothing to distract him. Then Tohon threatens to harm Belen or Loren, and I’ve no choice but to cooperate.” I shuddered at the thought.

“We could distract him,” Sepp said.

“How? There are only five of you. And the problem of finding Ryne remains.”

“Your plan has just as many holes,” Sepp said. “It’s ridiculous to think you can trick Tohon.”

More preferable than waiting for his dead to find me and drag me to him. However, Kerrick’s stiff posture meant I had a better chance of convincing Estrid to denounce her religion. At least I tried. If we reached Estrid’s army, maybe I would be safe from the dead. Then I’d be physically closer to Noelle.

“You’re right,” I said to Sepp. “I couldn’t possibility trick Tohon. I hope you can last a few weeks without sleep.”

“What is she talking about?” he asked Kerrick.

“Only you can sense the dead. You’ll have to alert us of ambushes,” Kerrick said.

“You can’t believe this silly girl. She’s planning her schemes based on a rumor that I’ve died! I thought you learned your lesson with Jael, Kerrick.”

The look he gave Sepp made the mountain air feel downright toasty. Glad I wasn’t on the receiving end of Kerrick’s ire this time, I laid back on my bedroll. Sepp’s injury throbbed with pain, still sapping my strength. Kerrick hadn’t shared his energy for this one. Perhaps he was too preoccupied with Ryne’s kidnapping. Yeah, right. The chance of rescuing Ryne was slim to impossible, so I was no longer valuable to him.

I dreaded falling asleep, but I needed the rest to finish recovering. Giving in, I slipped into a deep, senseless void. Too bad it didn’t last all night. Nightmares of Tohon’s dead plagued me. Eventually, they trapped me and converged, grabbing me with their cold hands.

“Avry.” Icy fingers circled my wrists.

I yelled as the grip tightened and tried to pull away.

“Avry, wake up.” The hands shook me. The voice sounded upset. “Now.”

I opened my eyes. Kerrick straddled me, pinning me down. The horror of the nightmare faded, but his expression alarmed me.

“Are we under attack?” I asked.

“No.” He released me, moving off, but he sat on his heels.

Dawn balanced on the edge of the mountains. So close, I expected the sun to crest the rippled peaks in seconds.

“We will be,” I said. “Tohon will send his army for me.”

“I know. That’s why we’re going to follow your plan.”

Chapter 20

I sat up. “We are?”

“Don’t act so surprised. I thought it through and you’re right, it’s the best chance we have to rescue Ryne,” Kerrick said as if it pained him to admit it.

“And how does Sepp feel about it?”

“He’s going to be pissed off as hell, but he swore loyalty to me.”

And I had thought traveling with Kerrick was difficult. A resentful death magician made Kerrick’s moods nothing but a trifle annoyance.

The sun crested the mountains. Kerrick glanced past the fire. “Belen wishes to bury his sister this morning. The ground’s frozen, but he dug a shallow grave and plans to cover her with rocks. He was waiting for you to be strong enough.”

I sagged back. “I’ll never be strong enough for that.”

“Me, either. But we’ll pull it together for Belen, won’t we?”

“Yep. Not much I wouldn’t do for him.”

Kerrick gave me an odd look. “Really?”

“Of course, Belen’s my friend. The same would go for Loren and Quain, as well.”

“But not me.” A half smile tugged.

“No. I hate you. Remember?” I teased.

“Couldn’t possibly forget.” He grinned. “Just so you know, the feeling is mutual.”

“Gosh,” I said with mock horror. “We actually have something in common.”

Kerrick laughed. “Let’s not let it happen again.”

“Agreed.”

Way too soon, Kerrick sobered. Belen had returned to the fire. We roused the others and the six of us walked to the rocky grave. A small pile of stones sat next to the grave.

Hunched over as if the Nine Mountains pressed down on his shoulders, Belen said a few words about his sister, Sayen. She sounded as sweet and tough as Belen. Then Kerrick stepped forward. He picked a rock from the pile and spoke to Belen before placing the rock on the grave. He turned and left.