I cut Devlen off. “Annoying? Yes, all the time.”
He studied Leif. “You are more...subdued at our house.”
“That’s ’cause I’m too busy keeping your daughter out of trouble.”
“I take it Reema has Leif wrapped around her little finger?” I asked Devlen.
“Hey,” Leif said.
“Yes. He needs a child of his own to learn how to not give in to her every demand.”
I agreed. “That would certainly mature him. Unless it backfires and Leif regresses. Then poor Mara would have two children to deal with.”
“I’m standing right here, ya know.”
We ignored him. The late-morning sun warmed my back and I considered removing my cloak. The warming season would officially start in three days.
Arriving at the stable, we woke Kiki from a light doze. She nuzzled my pockets, searching for a treat. I explained to her what we hoped to do. “Can you help?”
She turned her blue-eyed gaze to Devlen and pricked her ears forward. He stared back. I glanced at Leif. Was it working? He shrugged. Leif had told me before he couldn’t smell the horses’ magic, but I hoped he sensed something.
Kiki snorted and returned to snuffling my pockets. I removed a small apple I had swiped at breakfast and fed it to her.
As she munched and slobbered apple juice on my palm, I asked Devlen about the search for Ben Moon. “Where was his last known location?”
“We had tracked him north to a town about two and a half days from Fulgor. A place called Red Oak. It is a small village—a handful of farms, houses and a couple factories along the Sunworth river. Their main industry is logging the surrounding forest and making parchment from the wood.”
“And you lost him in a tiny town where strangers would stick out like a skinny pig in a hog house?” Leif asked.
“He left Red Oak in the middle of the night and disappeared without a trace. From there, he could have gone in any direction, but we circled the town and found no trail signs.”
I mulled over the information. “The Sunworth river becomes the border between Ixia and Sitia for a few miles near the Emerald Mountains. Could he have traveled on the river going upstream to the mountains? Or perhaps downstream toward Featherstone lands?”
“We searched the banks for boot prints in the mud or evidence of a boat launch. Nothing for miles in either direction.”
“Perhaps they used magic to erase their tracks,” Leif suggested.
Logical. Ben was a powerful magician and he’d teamed up with at least a couple of others. “Does Ben have any other siblings?”
“One sister, who is taking care of their parents. They have not been in contact with Ben in years or his brother Owen’s wife, who is still serving time at Dawnwood Prison.”
Ah yes, Selene. I’d scared her by promising to take her soul to the fire world if she didn’t cooperate and release my brother and Valek. “Dawnwood? Not Wirral?”
Devlen nodded. “She is redeemable. Selene cooperated with the authorities. Wirral is for those who are beyond redemption.”
Too bad. Everyone deserved a chance at redemption.
*
Leif and I sat in the inn’s common room, eating dinner and discussing our next move.
“We’ll leave in the morning for the plains,” I said.
“What about visiting Pazia?” He filled his spoon with a huge mass of banana pudding. The portion wriggled on its way to his mouth.
“First we find the reedwither plant and deliver it to Father. If he can’t help us, then we’ll visit her.” I swirled the yellow dessert around my bowl. Unless Bain learned something from one of his old books, Pazia represented my last hope for a solution.
Then what? Find and confront Ben? I shied away from those thoughts. I’d worry about it when the time came. Coward, who me?
Hale joined us and a server arrived to take his order. He studied our expressions for a moment after she left. “I’m guessing the news isn’t good.”
“It’s mixed.” I explained about the Freeze Burn poison.
“Not a very original name,” Hale said.
“The Sandseeds aren’t known for their creativity.” Leif finished his dessert and snagged my full bowl. “They call it like it is. It’s very refreshing.”
“Unless they’re doing their Story Weaver thing,” I muttered. “Then it’s all cryptic and annoying.” And hard to describe. “What about you? Anything?”
Hale repeated most of Devlen’s information. “The town guards believe there are five of them, including Ben.”
Four unknowns. “Are any of the others magicians?” I asked.
“Yes.” He scrunched up his face as if sniffing a bad odor. “All of them.”
Leif choked, spitting out gobs of pudding. “You mean all five have magic?”
Hale snapped, “That’s what ‘all of them’ means.”
Ah. There was Hale’s snooty side. But even more disturbing was the news that Ben traveled with four other magicians. Even if I had my magic, I had no chance against them.
Leif ignored Hale as he wiped his chin. “Then it’s a good thing we’re heading into the plains. Should we leave this afternoon?”
“Why? There’s no danger. Besides, we can’t. I promised Reema I’d finish the story tonight.” I considered as the server returned with Hale’s food. “Has anyone spotted them since Red Oak?”
“No.” Hale pulled his dinner out of Leif’s reach.
Smart man. “Devlen speculated that they’re in Ixia. What do you think?”
“Even with uniforms and the proper papers, it’s hard to hide in Ixia. If I were them, I’d head east to the Emerald Mountains. There are lots of hiding places in the foothills.” Hale cut into his steaming meat pie.
True. But just in case, I would send a message to Valek after we finished. “Did you learn the names of the other magicians?” I asked Hale.
“Yes. Although I only recognize one of them, Tyen Cowan. He was Ben’s best friend when they attended the Keep together. Tyen’s power to move large and multiple objects is impressive.”
“He’s from Opal’s clan. Do you think she knows him?” I asked Leif.
“It doesn’t matter.” Leif pulled his glass super messenger from his pack. “I’ll ask Irys for more information. Who are the others?”
“Rika Bloodgood, Cilly and Loris Cloud Mist. I’m not sure if they’re married or siblings,” Hale said.
Leif stared into the messenger as Hale finished his meal. I considered what to do with the information we collected. Best thing would be to give it to Devlen. Perhaps it would help with the investigation.
“Irys said she’ll gather information on the prison gang and get back to me later,” Leif said. “What should we do in the meantime?”
“Can you talk to your friends in the Council Hall and see if they’ll tell you how they broke Ben out of prison?”
“Will do.” Leif leaned back. He’d scraped every morsel of pudding from the bowl.
“How will the details of a prison break help you?” Hale asked me.
“I don’t know. But there might be something that might seem odd or irrelevant that might give us a clue as to what they’re planning.”
“Wouldn’t the authorities have done that already?”
“Yes, but they haven’t been trained by Valek. He taught me to look beyond the standard replies.”
“Taught us,” Leif said.
“Correct. And in looking beyond, take Hale with you to the Council Hall. He can overhear any conversations you spark.”
“Spark?” Hale asked.
“Yeah. You know how sometimes people might not talk to you, but after you leave...”
“They discuss it with a colleague. I get it.” Hale paused. “Are you coming along?”
“No. Too many people know me at the Council Hall. And if I’m spotted, the security officers will expect me to aid in the search for Ben Moon.”
“But you are helping.”
“Yes, I am.” I tapped my chest. “But the Soulfinder is unavailable and they’d rather have her assisting them in capturing five magicians.”
“Oh.” After Hale finished his dinner, they left the inn and headed into downtown. I sent the message to Valek, warning him Ben might be in Ixia along with his powerful friends. Then I spent the next couple of hours grooming Kiki. The repetitive motion of the currycomb through her coat calmed my mind and centered my thoughts. Valek had his carving rocks, and I had my beautiful Kiki.