Maria Snyder - Shadow Study

The Commander’s uniform matched Valek’s except he had two real diamonds stitched onto his collar and his was wrinkle-free. His steel-gray hair had been cut close to his scalp.

“I have two matters I wish to discuss,” the Commander said. “The first is regarding smugglers. The reports of illegal goods being stopped at the border have slowed to a trickle. However, black-market goods are still in ample supply.”

Valek considered. “That means they’ve found a new way into and out of Ixia.”

“Correct.” The Commander pushed his plate away.

“Are we still allowing some smugglers to slip by?” Valek asked. Following the caravans of illegal goods to the source was a sound strategy.

“No. The few who are attempting to cross illegally are so inept, they’re being caught right away.”

“Decoys,” Ari said. “To make us think they’re still trying to sneak through the Snake Forest.”

“Which means they’re organized,” Janco added.

“Organized how?” the Commander asked.

Janco scratched the empty place where the lower half of his right ear used to be. “If it was just one or two smugglers using the new route, then the others would continue as they have been. But with the decoys, it means all the smugglers have gotten together and figured out a way around the border guards.”

“A smuggler convention?” Ari asked with a touch of humor. “Thieves don’t usually play well together.”

“Maybe a big bad arrived with a new way of doing things.”

“A ringleader?” Ari asked.

“Exactly. Some scary dude who has taken over. He’s probably all ‘do it my way or...’”

“It’s a possibility,” Valek said while Janco cast about for a proper smuggler threat.

“Regardless. I want the three of you to figure out the new route and the new players. The sooner the better,” the Commander ordered.

“What about Maren?” Ari asked. “Will she be helping us?”

Maren had teamed up with Ari and Janco, and the three of them had beaten Valek in a fight, earning the right to be his seconds-in-command.

“She’s on special assignment,” the Commander said. “You can recruit if you need more assistance.”

Unease nibbled on his stomach. Valek knew nothing about Maren’s assignment and, from the Commander’s closed expression, he wouldn’t be learning more about it from his boss.

“Tunnels,” Janco said. “They could have dug tunnels underneath the border.”

“They’d have to be miles long. Otherwise, they’d pop up in the Snake Forest and someone would have seen them,” Ari said. “Who has the ability to build a tunnel like that?”

“Miners,” the Commander said in a quiet voice.

No surprise the Commander mentioned them. His family had owned a mine in the Soul Mountains bordering what was now Military District 3 until they’d discovered diamonds. The King of Ixia had claimed ownership of the gemstones and “allowed” the Commander’s family to stay and work for him. The King’s greedy move had started the rumblings of discontent and turned a brilliant young man into the King’s number one enemy.

“We’ll look into the possibility of a tunnel,” Valek said.

“Boats on the Sunset Ocean.” Janco held up his napkin. He had folded it so it resembled a sailboat.

“Not practical,” Ari said. “Between the storms and the Rattles, we haven’t had any problems with people using the ocean as an escape route.”

The Rattles extended from the coast of MD-7 out to at least a hundred miles into the Sunset Ocean. With submerged rocks, strong and unpredictable currents, and shallow areas that moved, the Rattles were impossible to navigate. Sailing around them took too long plus sailors ran the risk of hitting dead air and being stranded for months.

Valek tapped a finger on the table. “When did the decoys start?”

The Commander flipped through a few papers in the file on top of his stack. “End of the cooling season about sixty days ago.”

Valek calculated. “Prime storm season. It’s suicide to be on the ocean at that time of year.”

“I will leave the detecting to you. As for this other matter...” The Commander pulled a letter from underneath the folders. He scanned it then turned his gaze to Valek. “An unfortunate development, but one that we will not get involved in. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir.” Valek kept his expression neutral, bracing for the bad news.

Ari and Janco exchanged a concerned glance.

“Do you remember Ben Moon?”

He couldn’t forget the man who had tried to murder Yelena in revenge for the execution of his brother, Owen Moon. Only the fact Ben remained locked tight in a special wing of Wirral Prison for the past three years kept the man alive. So why was the Commander... A sick feeling circled his chest. “He escaped?”

“Yes.”

3

YELENA

D on’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Clutching the blanket in tight fists, I repeated the words. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Except it failed to work. Panic burned up my throat. I gasped for breath. The words transformed to no magic. No magic. No magic.

The darkness pressed against my skin, sealing me inside my body, blocking me from the warmth and light that was my magic. All my senses had been stolen along with my magic. Sounds, sights and scents gone. A bitter taste all that remained.

No magic. Cut off from the lost souls, disconnected from the wildlife and severed from my colleagues, I’d been rendered useless. No magic.

I stayed on the hard floor of our bedroom huddled under the blanket. My thoughts buzzed with misery. When the sun rose, a bit of relief eased the chaotic terror that had consumed me. My vision worked after all.

A loud bang on the door broke the early-morning quiet and Kiki’s piercing whinny cut right through my conviction that all had been lost. Hooves pounded on wood and I staggered to my feet.

I’m okay, I said. No response. My heart twisted.

“I’m okay,” I shouted over another barrage.

Kiki stopped. But for how long? I grasped the handrail and eased down the steps. Sharp hunger pains stabbed my guts, but I aimed for the door. Kiki’s mostly white face peered through the window. A patch of brown circled her left eye.

As soon as I opened the door, she barged in, almost knocking me over. Not hard to do since I hadn’t eaten in over a day.

I wrapped my arms around her neck. “I’m fine.” Leaning my forehead against her soft hide, I opened my mind to her. Nothing. I breathed in her scent—a mix of dry straw, cut grass and earth.

“I can’t... I don’t have...” Why was it so hard to say? “My magic...is gone. I can’t talk to you.”

Kiki snorted.

“Yes, I know I’m talking to you, but we can’t communicate .”

She pulled away and gazed at me. And while her thoughts didn’t sound in my mind, I understood her sarcastic, what-do-you-call-this look. Then she nudged me with her nose as if prompting me to explain.

Her actions snapped me from my scatterbrained panic. Logic wrestled raw emotion aside and I considered. What happened before my magic disappeared? A lovely evening with Valek, but we’d had a number of them throughout the years without consequences.

And before that? I touched the still-tender area on my upper chest. “The poison! How could I be so stupid?”

Kiki nodded in agreement.

“Thanks,” I said drily. “Now I just have to figure out what poison blocks a person’s magic.” Curare fit, except I’d have been paralyzed and I would have recognized its crisp citrus scent. “The arrow.” Perhaps a few drops of the poison remained.

Kiki followed me to the stable. Poor girl hadn’t been fed grain in over a day. I filled her feed bucket before searching for the arrow’s shaft. It didn’t take long to figure out Valek must have taken it with him.