Maria Snyder - Storm Glass

They untied his hands and feet, but left the netting draped around him until Crafty entered the storeroom. She pulled the net off him. Sir and Tal drew their weapons and stepped back as the Stormdancer stood.

Crafty said, “I have a null shield around him.”

Kade rubbed the blood back into his arms and legs. His focus never left Devlen. The Warper positioned a clamp on my left arm, twisting the screw until the device was secured enough to stay put without causing me pain.

“Crafty will escort you outside. As soon as the null shield is dropped, you’re to fill the orbs, and teach her how to dance,” Sir said.

“How many orbs?” Kade asked.

“I’m sure the great and wonderful Kade can fill at least five,” Tal said. He picked up five empty ones from the table, leaving two behind.

“ If Crafty can dance, five will be fine,” Kade said. “ If she can’t, I can only do three.” His tone remained flat.

I eyed the extra orbs. Potential weapons? Not if no one attacked me with magic. Besides, I couldn’t reach them.

I cried out as Devlen dug his thumb into my hip. “Deviate from your job in any way and—”

“Save the threat. I said I would cooperate. Let’s go.” Kade led the way from the room with a sense of purpose in his stride as if he were the one in charge. Crafty, Sir and Tal hurried after him.

After a few uncomfortable moments alone with Devlen, Tricky brought in Devlen’s pack. The day turned from bad to worse. Kaya’s orb sounded agitated and upset, emitting a high-pitched keening louder than the blizzard’s winds.

“We are going to try an experiment,” Devlen said, digging into his bag. “I know how much you like them.” He withdrew a knife.

“Let me see…somewhere her boyfriend won’t notice.” Devlen pushed my sleeve up, exposing my elbow. “Sit up. I want your arm bent.”

I struggled into a sitting position. My wrists ached from being manacled.

“Find the bowl,” Devlen ordered Tricky.

The storm winds shook the rafters. Tricky glanced up before searching in Devlen’s pack. “Your Stormdancer better hurry,” he said as he removed a wooden bowl from the bag.

“Hold it under her elbow.” Devlen rested the knife’s blade against my forearm.

The inside of the bowl was stained dark brown. Unease twisted around my heart.

Once the bowl was in position, Devlen cut a long gash in my arm. I gasped as fire raced along my skin. Blood welled and flowed, splattering the bowl with crimson drops.

When the bleeding stopped, Tricky asked Devlen, “More?”

“No. We’ll start small. I don’t want to waste blood if it doesn’t work.”

“It better work.” Tricky stared at me with murder in his eyes.

“Even though her powers are weak, blood magic is very powerful. I will inject her blood into your skin and we’ll see if that helps you reclaim any of your magic. There are bandages in my pack. Cover her wound and join me when you’re done. I need a fire to complete the ritual.”

“What about her? Sir said to stay—”

“She isn’t going anywhere. Let her alone. Besides—” Devlen cocked his head as if listening to the storm “—the winds are dying down. I suspect you will have plenty of orbs to appease your General friend.” He left the room, taking my blood with him.

Tricky dug through the pack, removing items as he rummaged. He laid Kaya’s orb and a pair of Devlen’s pants on the ground, scattering a few other things. Finding the bandages, he quickly stuffed most of the items back in.

He delighted in causing me pain as he cleaned and wrapped my cut and pulled my sleeve down.

“If this blood magic works, then I get to siphon the Stormdancer’s power. Once he teaches Crafty, we won’t need him anymore.” He laughed at my dismay. “I don’t trust you in here by yourself.” Tricky put his hand on the screw.

“Don’t—”

He tightened the clamp. Pain dominated all my senses, but I clung to the knowledge that, in his haste, Tricky missed the little silver key.

My world returned the moment the pressure abated. Devlen held the clamp. His mouth twisted in displeasure as he scanned the others in the storeroom. Sir and Tal carried Kade. Exhaustion pulled on him and he offered no resistance as they bound his hands and wrapped him in the null shield net. He appeared to fall asleep the moment he was pushed to the floor.

“Can you dance the storms?” Sir asked Crafty.

“Yes. But with two of us, we get more orbs.”

“He’ll eventually cause trouble.” Sir turned to Devlen. “What about this blood magic Tricky’s so excited about? He has regained some power. Does that mean if you transferred the Stormdancer’s powers to Tricky, he could dance in the storms?”

Devlen’s blood magic experiment had worked. However, this bit of news didn’t spark a brilliant plan for escape.

“He should have the magic. He will need to learn how to use it. But Tricky must follow my orders or else I’ll keep the Stormdancer’s power for myself.” Annoyance colored the last few words.

“Oh, come on.” Sir gestured to me. “It was a measure of revenge for what she did to him.”

“What if she had a connection with the Stormdancer and he felt her distress while harnessing the storm’s energy? All deals would have been off and he would have ripped this place to shreds.”

“You cut her on the arm,” Sir shot back.

“A moment of pain.”

“Didn’t matter anyway. He danced and we’ve cornered the market!” Sir’s eyes lit up. “We’ll send the full orbs back with Namir and his crew after the next storm. He can sell them in Sitia. Factories outside the Stormdance lands will be willing to pay lots of gold for them. Since the Stormdancer Clan can’t make their own orbs, we can sell our empty ones to their clan. The blizzard died before reaching MD-1, so the General has his proof we’ve done the job and we’ll have even more gold.”

Sir left in good spirits to make his plans. Devlen turned to me.

“Why don’t you want Kade’s power?” I asked.

“If I didn’t help Tricky, he would have found a way to kill you. I need you alive for now. One more storm and then you will keep your promise and find the prison.”

“One more?”

“These northern blizzards come in pairs about a day apart. I waited almost five years to find my mentor. I can wait a little more.” When Devlen turned to leave, he stopped. “What’s this?” He bent over and picked up the key. “Where did this come from?”

All plans for using the key vanished. I’d admit the plans were vague and dependent on many factors, but still it could have been useful. No reason to lie, I told him about Tricky’s mess.

“Must have been frustrating, knowing it was there and unable to get to it.”

“You want me to admit it so you can feel a perverse pleasure from my aggravation?”

His gaze flattened. “I take no pleasure in this. I wanted to be Ulrick the entire time, tricking you into finding the prison.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Stay with me after we free my mentor. I lied to Sir. I intended you to be my Kirakawa sacrifice. Instead, I’ll teach you blood magic. We’ll increase your limited powers, and you won’t have to worry about being at anyone’s mercy again.”

I stared at him, seeking deceit. He seemed sincere in his offer and I was unable to match the man before me and the man who frequently tortured me. The thought of not being at anyone’s mercy, especially his, was tempting. “I don’t trust you. You have no qualms with lying. Even if I agree to stay with you, you’ll probably use me for the ritual anyway.”

“Everyone lies when it suits their needs, and everybody uses people, too. It’s in our nature.”