Valek pulled back and tilted my head so he could meet my gaze. “But all you need to do is ask. We wouldn’t hesitate to give you our souls to defeat the Warpers.”
“No. There has to be another way.”
“And that would be…?”
“When I figure it out, you’ll be the first to know.” Before he could comment, I added, “You never answered me. Am I forgiven?”
He sighed dramatically. “You’re forgiven. Now come inside, you reek of smoke.”
Valek helped me to my feet. I swayed on unsteady legs for a moment. “Where’s Kiki?”
“Once you disappeared into the stable, she ran off and hasn’t come back.”
I wanted to find her and reassure her, but my body lacked the energy.
We walked to the cottage. The bright light of midday burned in the sky. I could no longer think of the sky without remembering my deal with the Fire Warper. Unease wrapped around chest.
“Where’s Bavol?” I asked to distract myself.
“The Daviian Warper captured him while I tried to douse the fire. Will they kill him?”
“No. They need him and all the Councilors for a while to keep up the pretense that the Council and Master Magicians are in charge.”
“How long will it last?”
“Not very.”
“Will they come after us here?”
The Fire Warper had gotten what he wanted. “No. But we need to retake control.”
“We, love? I thought you could handle this by yourself.”
Dealing with the Fire Warper was my task, but, for the rest, I required assistance. “I was wrong.”
Valek heated water and filled the cast-iron tub. He removed my pile of burnt clothes. By the time I finished bathing, he had brought me a clean outfit.
“What’s this?” He held Opal’s glass bat.
I told him about my visit with Opal. “As a fellow artist, what do you think of the construction?”
Valek examined the statue, turning it this way and that. “It’s an accurate reproduction. The coloring matches one of the smaller jungle bat species. It’s sticky with magic. I feel it, but can’t see it. Can you?”
“The inside glows as if molten fire has been captured by ice.”
“That would be something to see, then.”
Thinking about what the Fire Warper had done to show me his world, I touched Valek’s shoulder and opened myself to him, letting him see the bat through me.
“Ahh…spectacular. Can everyone see this?”
“Only magicians.” And the Commander, I thought.
“Good. That lays that debate to rest. I am not a magician.”
“Then what are you? You’re not a regular person either.”
Valek pretended to be mortified.
“Come on,” I said. “Your skills as a fighter have an almost magical air. Your ability to move without sound and blend in with shadows and people seem extraordinary. You can communicate with me over vast distances, but I can’t contact you.”
“An anti-magician?”
“I suppose, but I’d bet Bain could find it in one of his books.” I told Valek about the tunnel and about the Councilors’ families, describing the pond to him.
He considered. “That sounds like Diamond Lake in the Jewelrose lands. It’s near the Bloodgood border. The Jewelrose Clan had built a series of lakes that resemble shapes of jewels and the water reflects the colors.”
“Why red?”
“Because the Jewelrose Clan is famous for cutting rubies into diamond shapes. The Commander even has a six-carat ruby on a ring, but he had stopped wearing it after the takeover. I wonder…” Again, Valek’s gaze grew distant.
“What?”
He looked at me as if deciding whether to tell me something important. “Have you shown your bat to the Commander?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
I hesitated. I had promised the Commander to keep what he called “his mutation” a secret. Would telling Valek about the bat break that confidence? “I know about the Commander, love. How could you believe that I spent the last twenty-one years with him and not know?”
“I…”
“After all.” Valek made a scary face. “I am the anti-magician!”
I laughed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“For the same reason you didn’t.” He wrapped my bat and placed it back into my pack.
“The Commander saw the glow. I think his body contains two souls, but I have no idea how or why it’s magical. And if he does have magic, why didn’t he flame out after puberty?”
“Two? Ambrose’s mother died during his birth and there was some confusion. The midwife insisted a boy had been born, but later his father held a baby girl. They searched for evidence of a second child but found nothing. They chalked it up to the midwife being upset about losing her patient. Ambrose used to blame this invisible twin whenever he was in trouble, which from his stories was quite often. His family indulged him when he began wearing boy’s clothes and calling himself Ambrose. It seemed mild in comparison to a few of his other antics.”
“Was his mother a magician?”
“She was considered to be a healer, but I don’t know if she healed with magic or with mundane remedies.”
Valek drained the tub while I attempted to do something with my ruined hair. Some sections remained long, while others had been burnt to stubble.
“Let me, love.” Valek removed the brush from my hands. He rummaged around the bath area until he found his razor. “Sorry, nothing else will work.”
“How did you get so good with hair?”
“Spent a season working undercover as Queen Jewel’s personal groomer. She had beautiful, thick hair.”
“Wait, I thought all the Queen’s servants had to be women.”
“Good thing no one thought to look up my skirt.” Valek grinned with impish delight as he cut my hair. Large chunks floated to the ground. I stared at them, trying to convince myself losing my hair didn’t matter. Especially not when I considered I wouldn’t need it in the fire world.
After he finished, Valek said, “This will help with your disguise.”
“My disguise?”
“Everyone’s looking for you. If I disguise you as a man, you’ll be much harder to find. Although…” He studied my face. “I’ll use a little makeup. Being a man won’t draw unwanted attention unless they notice you don’t have any eyebrows.”
I touched the ridge above my eyes with my fingertips, feeling smooth skin. I wondered if they would grow back. Again, I dismissed the notion. It wouldn’t matter in the end.
“What should we do first? Try to find the tunnel to the Keep, if it even exists. Or go and rescue the Councilors’ families?” I asked.
“We should—” Valek sniffed the air as if he smelled a dangerous scent. “Someone’s coming.”
CHAPTER 28
HE SIGNALED ME TO WAIT and left without a sound. I grabbed my switchblade and crept through the living room. A murmur of voices filtered in from the kitchen. The door flew open as soon as I reached it. I brandished my
