Bearers of the Black Staff

NEARLY A QUARTER OF A MILE AWAY, but still within sight of the light from the campfire that Panterra and Prue had gone off to investigate, Phryne Amarantyne crouched in the shadows with Tasha Orullian, waiting for Tenerife. When Panterra and Prue had failed to return in a reasonable time and there were clear signs of activity around the fire—faint sounds of life and shadowy movements—Tenerife had decided to have a look. He was the most skilled of the three, the best suited for undertaking such a task, and there had been no argument that he should be the one to go. It might be that Pan and Prue were safe and that the sounds and movement signified nothing. Nevertheless, Tenerife had been quick to point out, they could not afford to take anything for granted.

But now Phryne was worried that perhaps something bad had happened to him, as well. She was furious with herself for urging Pan and Prue to go in the first place and frightened that her insistence might have brought harm to her new friends. Sometimes she didn’t understand herself. Sometimes she acted in ways that were more self-indulgent than rational, and this appeared to be one of those times. She used her position as the daughter of the King; she used her beauty and her charm. She used everything she could find to use, and she did so almost offhandedly. She hadn’t needed to know who’d built that fire or who might be tending it now. She could have left it alone, the answers she was eager to gather about the world outside the valley set aside for another day. But she had not wanted to wait, had not wanted to miss the chance of finding out something important and even vital about this world none of them had ever seen—that no one from the valley had seen. She wanted to be a part of that, to be at the forefront of this new discovery.

And so she had insisted, argued, and cajoled all four of her companions until Panterra and Prue had agreed to set out.

Stupid and willful—that was what she was.

“Do you see anything?” she whispered to Tasha.

He shook his head but said nothing in reply, his eyes fixed on the darkness beyond their place of concealment.

All this was her fault, her responsibility. She had demanded to be taken along as the price for getting permission from her father for her cousins and their Glensk Wood visitors to go. She had pushed them through the pass and then beyond. She had flirted with Panterra to win him over—not simply for that but because she was attracted to him as well, an attraction that was forbidden for an Elf and particularly for an Elven Princess, as she well knew and simply ignored—enjoying the way he was flustered and confused by her attentions. She had acted like a girl, not like the young woman she professed to be. It was a clear indicator of how much growing up she still had to do, she thought bitterly.

She wondered what her father would think of her if he discovered what she had done, but she didn’t have to wonder about it long to know the answer.

“He’s coming,” Tasha whispered suddenly.

A second later his brother appeared out of the darkness, creeping through the rocks and scrub in quick, furtive movements until he was safely back in the shadows crouched next to them.

“Panterra and little sister have been taken by Lizards. How this happened, I can’t tell. Or even what the reason for it was. But they are trussed and bound, and there are too many guards for us to attempt a rescue.”

Phryne bit her lip, aware of his eyes on her, feeling his judgment settle on her like a weight. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

Tasha glanced over. “This isn’t your fault. We all agreed to let them go. None of us thought there was that much danger to it. Pan and little sister are Trackers, and she has the sight. That should have been enough to protect them. I don’t understand it. Lizards aren’t known for their ability to sneak up on people. They shouldn’t have been able to get that close without giving themselves away.”

“Whatever the case,” Tenerife continued, “we have a bigger problem still. The Lizards are putting our friends in a cart and taking them away. They’ll be moving out shortly for other parts.”

Phryne felt her heart sink. Any chance at rescuing Panterra and Prue would disappear if they lost sight of them. There was no telling where the Lizards might take them or what they might do to them once they arrived at their destination. If anything was to be done, it had to be done now.

“I think we have to go for help,” Tenerife said quietly, looking once more at her. “I don’t think we can do this alone.”

She shook her head quickly, adamantly. “No. I’m not going back without them.” She met his gaze and held it. “I won’t leave them.”

“Your father would skin us alive if we let you do anything else, cousin. You know that.”

“He’s right,” his brother agreed, shifting his bulk so that he, too, was facing her. “We can’t afford to risk anything happening to you. We have to return and tell your father about this and come back with a larger, better-equipped rescue party.”

“No,” she repeated. “I won’t do it.”

Tasha gave her a rueful grin. “The choice may not be yours to make. We are the ones held responsible for your safety.”