Maria Snyder - Storm Glass

I shook my head. “I still don’t believe you.”

He shrugged. “You asked.” His mouth twisted as if he tasted something bad. “Are you going to help me find my mentor? I would like to put all this unpleasantness behind us.”

“No.” It was easy to say. My muscles pulsed with a desire to pound him into a bloody pulp.

He nodded, not surprised by my answer, and positioned the clamps in two new spots, twisting them tight. I lost track of time, of my sanity and my reasons for living.

After the third session, I didn’t need to pretend to give in. At that point I would have done anything. I clung to the fact that it wasn’t a complete submission, because I had planned to tell him all along.

“Icefaren Station.” The words puffed out between my cracked and bleeding lips. My raw throat burned and I longed for a drink. “In Ixia on the ice sheet, but I don’t know where.”

“How interesting. I know where it is. Before the Commander’s takeover, Ixia was divided into provinces. Icefaren province was renamed Military District 1.” His forehead creased as he considered. “I knew we’d have to go into Ixia eventually. Good thing I have a few contacts in the area. Hang out here for a while, I need to fetch some supplies.” He shut and locked the door.

Too exhausted to care, I leaned against the wall. Anything was better than that pain. Anything.

I even fell asleep. Cold air whipped through my clothes, freezing the sweat on my skin. Kade was trapped in a block of ice and I couldn’t get to him. My legs refused to move. I drowned in a snowdrift.

The door banged open, waking me.

Devlen threw a bundle onto the floor and set down a bucket of water and soap. “Clean up and change your clothes.” He unhooked my wrists from the wall. “No trouble. You will do exactly what I tell you. Any deviations and you’ll be punished. I’m bringing a gag and my clamps. Understand?”

I nodded.

“I’m leaving your cuffs on. They fit together. See?” He demonstrated, securing and freeing my wrists.

When he left, I removed my soiled and stained clothes. There was no dignity with pain. I tossed the ruined garments. They landed with a muted clunk.

A bubble of hope pushed up my throat as I dug through my clothes. I had learned my lesson with the robbers and hid weapons on my person. Ulrick…Devlen knew about it and probably searched me. But I found a little nugget of glass inside my pants. Even though it was a spider, it was the most precious item. I didn’t know how I would use it or when. What mattered was I had it.

I washed the grime from my body and dressed in the clean clothes. The black pants sagged around my waist. I used the sash to tighten them, hiding my spider in the folds of the material. Down the long sleeves of the white tunic was a column of black diamond shapes connected end to end. A row of three black diamonds decorated the breast pocket. I wore an Ixian uniform.

The door was unlocked. I joined Devlen in the other room. He stood with my saddlebags and my sais at his feet. Wearing another black and white Ixian uniform, he examined the empty orb.

“Planning to steal magic?” he asked.

“Yes. Give it to me.” I held out a hand.

“Okay. Catch.” He flung the empty sphere across the room.

It shattered against the wall. The sound from the impact cut through me.

“Now, what should I do with this one?” Devlen removed Kade’s orb. Iridescent colors swirled in agitation under his touch.

“Smash it,” I said. The storm’s trapped energy would kill us both.

“Nice try, but I’m not stupid.” He packed it into a large backpack. Another pack rested on the floor next to it. “I’ll sell it. I know a group of Krystal Clan members who are looking for full orbs.”

“Sir’s gang?” When he nodded, I asked, “Why were you with them? What’s their goal?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care. I was just the hired help. They needed a swordsman for a job and I needed money. Hiding out from the Sitian authorities is expensive. If I had known our target was a Master Magician, I wouldn’t have taken the job, but it led me to you so it worked out nicely. Don’t you think?”

“No. I would rather you were still locked up in the Thunder Valley jail.”

“Watch it. Your attitude is not helpful. Do you need a reminder in how to be helpful?”

“No.”

“Good. I think we’ll leave the rest of your stuff here.” He closed my bags and pushed them along with my sais into a corner of the room. “Don’t want any of your little creatures to get in my way.”

Devlen handed me the smaller backpack, a cloak and a sheet of parchment. Three white diamonds decorated the black cloak.

“Just in case you’re seen and approached by the Ixians. You’ll tell them you’re a kitchen attendant returning home from visiting relatives in MD-7. You live in MD-1, General Kitvivan is the general in charge and the uniform colors for MD-1 are black and white. If you’re asked for papers, you are to give them that sheet without question.”

Permission to visit MD-7 was printed on the parchment. My first name was written in the bearer’s space. At least I didn’t have to remember a fake name.

“Don’t lose that paper. It cost a small fortune. Also don’t try to alert any Ixians about your situation. I will confess, telling them you’re a magician. And you know what they do to magicians in Ixia.”

Killed on sight. Depending on my circumstances, I might give myself up. Better than the alternative. I shuddered and Devlen seemed satisfied with my reaction.

“Horses?” I asked, wondering if Quartz was nearby.

“I stabled them. Only high-ranking officers travel with horses in Ixia. We’ll go on foot.”

“How do you plan to cross the border?”

“The Daviians set up a number of smuggling routes. Valek and the Ixian border patrol have discovered a few, but there is always a way through.” Strapping his sword around his waist, he shouldered a short cape and the large backpack. “Come on. We’re wasting time.”

I glanced at my sais four feet away. Could I reach them before he grabbed me? Devlen noticed my hesitation and hooked his arm in mine.

“Helpful, remember.” He dug his fingers into my wrist.

Spikes of pain shot up to my elbow. He kept the pressure until we were well away from the cabin. With his hand still around my arm, we walked through the woods, heading north.

Doubts about my tenuous plan nagged at me. My best chance to escape would be while in Sitia. One little spider wouldn’t save me. What if Kade was already dead? Muted by Devlen’s backpack, Kaya’s orb hummed an urgent tone. I guessed if Kade died, the tune would change.

Each step closer to Ixia brought more worries to my mind. By the evening, I had convinced myself it would be best to escape and return to the Keep to recruit help for Kade. Interesting how the memory of pain fades with time.

Unfortunately, he gave me no opportunity. As soon as we stopped, he hooked my wrists behind a tree trunk while he set up camp in a tight clearing. He released me only to eat then forced me to take a swig of his blood potion before securing me again. Knowing the ingredients made me gag, I slept sitting down, leaning my head against the trunk.

Cold nightmares invaded my dreams.

The next day we met up with a caravan of merchants with five wagons. One wagon was filled with sand, another with lime, but I couldn’t see what was beneath the canvas tarps of the other three. They had been expecting us.

One of the merchants, a heavyset man with thick eyebrows, approached Devlen. “Is this the cargo?”

“Yes.”

The merchant eyed the cuffs on my wrists. “An unusual request. We’re used to smuggling goods in and Ixians out. If she makes a sound—”