Night Study

“Rusalka showed up at the Citadel without Leif,” she said.

I pressed my forehead against the cool metal. Concentrating on not panicking, I drew in a few steadying breaths. “My father? Is he missing, too?”

“No. He remained behind to finish his investigation.”

One good thing. I focused on the positive. “What’s being done to find Leif?”

“As soon as I heard, I gathered Kiki and your other horses, along with Rusalka. They’re waiting for you. Rusalka’ll guide you back to where she...lost Leif. Janco, you will be able to track him, right?” The desperate hope in her voice almost cracked my composure.

“How long ago did Rusalka arrive?” Janco asked her.

“This morning. About three hours ago.”

“Then we need to hurry.” Janco grabbed his hidden sword from under the metal cot.

We joined Irys in the corridor. If the guards were surprised by the sudden appearance of the weapons, they didn’t show it.

“Do you think the Cartel has him?” I asked her.

“I suspect they’re behind it, but I’ve no proof.”

Sprinting after Irys, we exited the building. Bain Bloodgood argued with a handful of Councilors at the base of the steps. A few shouted at us to stop, but we ignored them and mounted our horses.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Rusalka turned. We followed. The loud clatter of hooves over cobblestones vibrated in my ears. I let the sound drown out the voice in my head. Being very familiar with that voice, I knew it would list all the horrors that might have befallen my brother, remark on the slim chance of successfully finding him alive and comment on every other terrible scenario. That voice was rather creative when stressed and worried.

After a day and a half of hard riding, we reached the location of Leif’s disappearance. A few hours of daylight remained.

Janco dismounted and examined the ground. Ari and I allowed him to do his tracking mojo while we walked the horses. They had set the brutal pace. Patches of sweat stained their coats. Their nostrils flared as they caught their breaths. Once their breathing smoothed, we watered and fed them. By this time, Janco had finished his investigation. He stood in the middle of a number of scuff marks on the right side of the road, scowling.

“What did you discover?” Ari asked him.

“It wasn’t a typical ambush.” Janco pointed to clumps of grass and dirt between two trees. “Somebody went to considerable trouble to stage an accident. They overturned a wagon and made it appear as if it was stuck.” He strode closer and crouched down. “And here’s evidence of a freaked-out horse.” Janco straightened. “They knew their mark.”

“Janco,” Ari warned.

“I’m trying to be dispassionate. Leif’s my friend, too.”

I concentrated on the information and ignored my emotions, which threatened to let that voice of doom speak. “Why do you think it was set specifically for Leif?”

“’Cause of the elaborate setup. Being a Sandseed horse, Rusalka would have alerted him of people hiding in the woods.”

“Unless they were waiting downwind,” Ari added.

“Not this time of year. The prevailing wind direction is from the west.”

Ari and I exchanged a glance. Impressive.

Janco huffed. “Ya know, it’s not all...tracker mojo. There’s a lot that goes into it. And there’s some good news.”

My heart jumped. “You know where he is?”

“I wish. They headed west, but the road’s surface is too hard packed and well traveled to distinguish their tracks from all the others.”

“The good news,” Ari prompted.

“There’s no blood.”

“That makes sense if he was taken by the Cartel. They wouldn’t want to harm him until he refused to join them.” And my stubborn brother would probably never agree to work for them. Which meant we had a limited amount of time to find and rescue him before The Mosquito bit.

“Another thing about the setup is they knew Leif would be on this road at a particular time,” Janco said. “Who else knew his location, other than Master Irys?”

“Bain and the Councilors, who might have informed their aides,” I said. Plus all the people who bribed the aides for intel. In other words, too many.

“Janco said they continued west. We didn’t pass them on the road, or else Rusalka would have smelled Leif. Is there another road that branches off this one?” Ari asked.

I considered. “There’s a shortcut about a day west of here that leads to the main southern road. That route follows the western edge of the Avibian Plains, but they could have veered off into Stormdance or Greenblade lands. And they have a three-day head start.” Frustration welled.

“That’s also the way to the Jewelrose lands,” Ari said.

“If Bruns Jewelrose is dumb enough to amass his magician army in his own backyard,” Janco added. “I doubt he’s that stupid.”

“What’s our next move?” Ari asked.

Guessing would get us nowhere; we needed reliable information. I stifled a groan. My earlier mistake—the one that had led to us sitting in a cell wasting time for five days—returned for another kick of recriminations. “Fisk.”

“But if he knows where Leif and the others are, why doesn’t he tell the Council?” Ari asked.

“For the same reason we don’t trust the Council,” Janco said.