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“I couldn’t let them take you,” I said. “They were going to feed you to the ufas. Talk about cruel.”
“Yeah, that would have been horrifying.”
“I agree. Those poor ufas.”
“Hey.” Odd bumped me with his shoulder.
I shoved him back. He pushed again.
Hogan cleared his throat and gazed at us. We stopped as if scolded.
After a few minutes of silence, Hogan asked, “Who’s Sergeant Irina?”
Odd’s laughter echoed off the hard stone walls. “Oh, man, it’ll take too long to explain. Trust me.”
* * *
“Clever. She’s being smart. Damn it,” Ryne said, throwing his stylus down.
Odd, Hogan, and I stood on the opposite side of the conference table in the factory. We had reported in and now faced a very angry prince.
“Did you check all the exits?” Ryne asked.
“No,” Hogan said. “There is still one left.”
We’d headed straight back after the encounter with Cellina’s squad. It had taken us a full day.
“All right. Get out of here and wait for your orders. I need to think,” Ryne said.
I turned.
“Not you, Avry. Stay.”
Odd shot me a smirk before he hurried away. I smoothed my expression and returned to the table. Ryne studied me as if he debated between strangling me or stabbing me. I braced for his reprimand.
He shook his head. “I don’t... I can’t... Here.” He handed me a piece of charcoal. “There’s a map of Pomyt Realm over on that desk.” He gestured to the left. “Mark where you saw the Death Lilys and Cellina’s troops on it.”
“I’m not sure if I can remember them all,” I said.
“Just mark what you can.” His lips moved, but his teeth remained firmly clamped.
“Okay.” Even though a question about his plans for the attack on Zabin pushed up my throat, I retreated.
I spent the night drawing squiggles for Lilys and Xs for the squads. When the sunlight shone from under the metal doors, I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. My head pounded with fatigue and I rested it on my arms for just a moment. At least, that was the plan.
Standing in the middle of King Zavier’s throne room, I turned in a slow circle, marveling at all his expensive treasures. Tohon lounged on his father’s jewel-encrusted throne, watching me with a predatory glint.
“So nice to see you aggravating Ryne, my dear,” Tohon said with a soft chuckle. “The poor guy doesn’t quite know what to do with you. You have rendered all his diplomatic training useless. You’re unexpected and don’t follow Ryne’s notion of logic at all.” He tsked. “Not that I have any good advice for him. I completely underestimated you. A mistake I won’t make again.”
“Because you can’t. You’re out of commission, Tohon,” I said.
“Are you sure? I am having this lovely conversation with you, my dear.”
“You’re a result of my worries and nothing more than a nightmare.”
“And again I ask, are you certain? Did you not consider the possibility that one of the children I experimented on has developed healing powers?”
“They’re too young.”
“The ones you saw are. But I’ve been working with Death Lily toxin for a number of years. There could be other older survivors that you aren’t even aware of.”
Alarmed, I stepped closer to the dais. “Are there?”
He shrugged. “How should I know? I’m a nightmare born from your fears and desires.” Tohon leered and stood. His royal robes disappeared and all he wore were his black silk pajama pants. The hip-hugging material accented his flat muscular stomach and chest. “Still like what you see, my dear?”
“Go away. You shouldn’t be able to invade my dreams. And if you do have a healer, it’s too soon for you to reach your castle. So you’re still frozen.” I concentrated on banishing him.
He laughed. “Yet I remain. Perhaps there is another reason?”
“You didn’t claim me, Tohon. I fought you and won.”
“True. I couldn’t possess you. But I am a part of you, my dear. I’ve...branded you with my magic, and as long as you live, I do, too.”
“Ridiculous.”
“Is it? Remember the first time we met? When my dead retrieved you? I kissed your hand and since then we’ve been linked.”
I denied it. No way. If I was linked with anyone, it would be Kerrick.
“Yet Kerrick’s not here. I am.”
A hand gently shook my shoulder. “Avry, wake up.” Ryne knelt next to me, peering at my face in concern. “Bad dream?”
Straightening, I knocked the charcoal to the floor. I’d fallen asleep on the map I’d marked with the Lily and troop locations.
“Is there any other kind of dream?” I asked.
“Not for me.”
Then we shared something in common. “Does Tohon haunt your dreams, as well?”
“No. My father does.”
Surprised, I glanced at him. “But King Micah’s—”
“Dead. But that doesn’t seem to stop him from telling me what I’ve done wrong every night. He delights in pointing out my mistakes and telling me I’m incompetent.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“I’ve accepted it as a manifestation of my insecurities. I suspect your dreams of Tohon are similar. Perhaps a way for you to express your fears.”
His explanation made sense. Yet I couldn’t shake the truth in Tohon’s words. “Sounds very logical, Ryne. But have you really accepted it?”
He huffed. “No. I wish he’d shut up and get the hell out of my dreams.”
“I could give you a sleeping draft.”
“No, thank you. I have to be able to wake up if needed.” He stood and examined the map. “What does Tohon say in your dreams?” he asked in a casual manner, but his arm muscles tightened.
“He gloats. He goads me. But one time he warned me.”
Ryne jerked his head, meeting my gaze. “How?”
I explained about the ambush. “And he hinted that there might be older children who survived his experiments and who might be healers by now.”
“Both dreams are easy to explain. You must have heard a noise while you slept, alerting you to the danger, and the idea of other healers is just your own intelligence working through the possibilities. Which we should consider. Come on.” He strode over to his work table.
Curious, I followed him.
Pulling a piece of parchment and grabbing his stylus, he sat in his chair. “Let’s see. Tohon helped at the Healer’s Guild for a year after we’d graduated from boarding school. I suspect this was when he began experimenting with the Death Lily toxin and putting the clues together about the source of your magic.” He wrote dates on the parchment. “That was about five years ago. Plenty of time for him to inject the toxin into a child.”
“Except at that time, the plague hadn’t spread all over the Fifteen Realms. He couldn’t just inject it into a patient or child without someone noticing. Unless...”
“Unless what?”
“He claimed it was an attempt to find a cure for the plague. The healers’ desperation increased as more people sickened.”
“Or he had a willing subject,” Ryne added. “Someone working with him?”
“Possible. But then why wasn’t this person helping in his infirmary? Why didn’t I meet him or her? And why did Cellina try to kidnap me?”
“All good questions. Perhaps Cellina doesn’t know about this healer. Maybe Tohon kept his or her identity a secret.”
“But Sepp would need to know. Are you saying this mystery healer and Sepp are working together?”
“It’s just speculation.”
“Based on a dream conversation.”
“You did spend time in his castle, Avry. You might have noticed something while there and your dream is just making the connections for you.”
“Or I could have read something in that crate Belen found in the Healer’s Guild’s record room.” Mentioning Belen’s name reminded me that I hadn’t asked Ryne if he’d learned anything about Poppa Bear.
“No news.” Ryne sounded as tired as I felt.
I considered our strange conversation. “Danny might know if there were older children in Tohon’s castle.” Except he was in Alga Realm with the northern tribes. “Kerrick told me his healing powers ignited. He should be training with me.”
“One of the tribeswomen has a form of magical healing and he’s working with her. He’s safer there for now.”
And Zila was with Kerrick’s brother, Izak, and his Great-Aunt Yasmin. Four years younger than Danny, her powers wouldn’t develop for a few more years. Although Danny was only thirteen; young for a healer, but not unheard of.
“Avry, go get some sleep. I’d like you to check that last exit before leaving for the infirmary,” Ryne said.
“All right. Where should I spread my bedroll?”
“There’s barracks on the living level in the mines.”
“Beds?”
He smiled. “The mattresses are thin, but they’re off the ground.”
I sighed. That was the best news I’d gotten all day. Which said quite a bit about my day.
* * *
“Did you request me to escort you to the infirmary?” Odd asked. He leaned in the doorway of the barrack.
“No. I asked for Saul and his squad, but they just returned from a ten-day patrol.” I folded my blanket and stuffed it into my pack.
“Saul? Even after I just spent the last seven days crawling through the mines with you. I’m insulted.” A pause. “Why Saul?”
“We didn’t crawl, and I thought you’d like a break. Besides...”
“Besides, what?”
“He’s quieter,” I teased. Saul was a man of few words.
“Fine, then I won’t talk during the entire trip.” Odd crossed his arms and pouted.
“You sound like a four-year-old.”
“Who’s a four-year-old?” Ryne asked as he squeezed by Odd.
“Odd’s acting like one,” I said.
“Am not!”
I spread my hands out. “See?”
“Avry, be nice. Odd’s one of my best sergeants. His squad has one of the highest mission-success rates of my army.”
“Ha!” A pleased, almost smug, expression creased his face.
“Now you’ve done it. He’s going to be impossible. I’m willing to wait a day for Saul to rest up.”
“I’m not,” Ryne said. “We can’t waste any time. News of your little incident with Cellina’s patrol will eventually reach her, and one of two things will happen. She’ll either recall her troops or stick with the plan. Either way, I can’t send as many soldiers as I originally planned to attack Zabin or we won’t be able to hold off if Cellina’s northern troops engage.”
“Why would she continue?” I asked. “She no longer has the element of surprise.”
