dream image of Goel’s hands on my neck jerked me awake in the middle of the night.
The guards were on the far side of the camp. I used my magic to send the sleeping men into a deeper slumber. The guards, though, fought hard. The image of the harsh punishment their comrades had received for falling asleep on guard duty the night before kept them vigilant. So I tried the “don’t look” command as I crept toward Cahil’s tent.
Upon reaching the back wall of the tent, I triggered my switchblade and cut a slit in the fabric. Then I entered the tent through that small opening.
Cahil was asleep. Leif looked like he hadn’t heard my entrance. Curled up on his side with one arm dangling over the edge of the cot, he appeared to be sleeping. Cahil lay on his back, his arms crossed over his stomach. His long sword rested on the floor within Cahil’s reach. I moved the weapon away before I sat on his chest.
The instant he awoke, I had my blade pressed against his throat. “Quiet or I’ll kill you,” I whispered.
His eyes widened. He tried to move his arms, but my weight pinned them down. Cahil could muscle me off, but I pushed the blade’s point into his skin. A drop of blood welled.
“Don’t move,” I said. “Your sword is out of reach. I’m not that stupid.”
“So I’m learning,” he whispered.
I felt him relax.
“What do you want?” Cahil asked.
“A truce.”
“What kind?”
“You stop trying to drag me to the Citadel in chains and I’ll accompany you there as a fellow traveler.”
“What do I get out of the deal?”
“You get Goel back and my cooperation.”
“You have Goel?”
I dangled the manacles’ keys over his face.
“How can I trust you when your brother doesn’t trust you?”
“I’m offering a truce. So far, I’ve had two opportunities to kill you. You’re a real threat to Ixia. If I were a true spy, your death would make me famous in the north.”
“And if I renege on this truce?”
I shrugged. “I’ll escape again. But this time, I’ll leave Goel’s dead body behind.”
“He’s a good tracker,” Cahil said with pride.
“Unfortunately.”
“If I say no to your offer?”
“Then I’m gone, leaving you to find Goel.”
“Dead?”
“Yes.” I bluffed.
“Why come back? You took care of Goel. He was the only threat to you.”
“Because I want the chance to prove that I’m not a spy,” I said with frustration. “I’m a Zaltana. And I’m not going to run like a criminal, because I’m not guilty. But I don’t want to be your prisoner. And…” I couldn’t explain anymore. I sighed. He was right. If my own brother didn’t trust me, why should Cahil? I had gambled and lost.
Time for plan B. I would run. My safest course would be to find Irys. I withdrew my switchblade from Cahil’s throat. After a full day on the lam without food or sleep, a bone-deep fatigue overcame me. I jumped off of Cahil.
“I’m not going to kill anybody.” I backed toward the slit I had cut in the tent, keeping my eyes on Cahil.
When I turned to find the rip in the fabric, a sudden wave of dizziness overcame me, and I stumbled to the ground. The tent spun and I lost consciousness for a mere moment as all my energy fled. I regained my wits in time to see Cahil pick up my switchblade.
Cahil moved away and lit the lantern on his bedside table. He examined my switchblade in the candlelight.
“My lord?” a voice called through the door.
I braced myself, preparing to be accosted and manacled by a rush of guards.
“Everything’s fine,” Cahil called.
“Very good, sir.”
I heard the guard move away and I looked at Cahil in surprise. Perhaps he wanted me to tell him where Goel was before he “reclaimed” me. I sat up and glanced at Leif. His eyes were closed, but I didn’t know if the light and Cahil’s voice had roused him.
“These markings are very familiar,” Cahil said, referring to the six symbols engraved on the handle of my switchblade. “My uncle’s secret battle codes, I believe.” His gaze returned to me.
His sleep-tousled hair reinforced my first impression of his youth, but a sharp intelligence danced in his eyes.
I nodded. The codes had been used by the King of Ixia to send secret messages to his captains during battles.
“It’s been so long,” Cahil said. A brief sadness pulled at his face. “What do they mean?”
“It says, ‘Sieges weathered, fight together, friends forever.’ It was a gift.”
“Someone in the north?”
Loneliness touched my heart as I thought of what I had lost by coming south. My fingers sought the lump under my shirt, Valek’s butterfly. “Yes.”
“Who?”
An odd question. Why would he care? I searched Cahil’s face for some sign of duplicity, and found only curiosity. “Janco. One of my self-defense teachers.” I grinned at the memories of Janco singing his rhymes and knocking aside my attacks. “Without him and Ari, I wouldn’t have had the skills to escape you and take on Goel today.”
“They taught you well.” Cahil ran a hand along his neck, smearing the drop of blood.
He seemed deep in thought as he turned my switchblade in his hands. He pushed the blade into the handle then triggered it. The snick from the weapon made me flinch.
“Well made,” he said.
Cahil stepped toward me. I scrambled upright and stood in a defensive stance. Even though I was light- headed and weak, I contemplated my chances of getting away. Instead of threatening me, Cahil retracted the blade and gave me the switchblade. I looked at the weapon in my hand with a tired astonishment.
“A truce, then,” he said. “But any trouble and I’ll have you in chains.” Cahil gestured to a corner of the tent. “You’re exhausted. Get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.” Placing his sword back within reach, Cahil lay down on his cot.
“Do you want to know where Goel is?” I asked.
“Is he in any immediate danger?”
“Unless there are poisonous or predatory animals in this forest.”
“Then let him sweat out the night. Serves him right for being caught.” Cahil closed his eyes.
I glanced around the tent. Leif hadn’t moved since I had arrived, but his eyes were open. He made no comment as he rolled over to his other side, turning his back on me. Again.
I sighed, wondering how much he had heard, and found I was too tired to care. With weariness dragging at my limbs, I spread my cloak on the floor, blew out the lantern and collapsed on my makeshift bed.
The next morning, Leif left the tent without saying a word. Cahil told me to stay inside while he made a show of the fact that Goel hadn’t returned.
I heard Cahil question the guards of the previous night.
“All was quiet, my lord,” one man replied.
