However, I am well aware that you will continue to rush right into situations. It is weaved into your life’s pattern. There is no hope for you.”
“Is that why you sent for me? To tell me I’m hopeless?”
Moon Man sobered. “I wish. We had heard that the Soulstealer had escaped from the Magician’s Keep with Cahil’s help. One of our Story Weavers scouting in the Daviian Plateau sensed a stranger traveling with one of the Vermin.”
“Are Cahil and Ferde in the plateau?” Leif asked.
“We think so, but we want Yelena to identify the Soulstealer.”
“Why?” I asked. The Sandseeds didn’t waste time on trials and incarceration. They executed criminals on capture.
However, the Daviian Vermin had been very hard to find, and they had powerful magicians. The Vermin were a group of Sandseed youths who had become discontented with the Sandseed lifestyle of keeping to themselves and limiting contact with the other clans. The Vermin wanted the Sandseed Story Weavers to use their great powers to guide all of Sitia and not just the inhabitants of the plains.
They had broken from the Sandseed Clan and settled in the Daviian Plateau, becoming the Daviian Clan. The plateau’s dry and inhospitable soil made farming a nightmare, so the Daviians stole from the Sandseeds, and earned the nickname of Vermin. The Sandseeds also referred to the Vermin’s magicians as Warpers, since they used their magic for selfish reasons.
“You need to identify the Soulstealer because he may have harvested more souls, and only you can release those souls before we kill him,” Moon Man said with a flat and emotionless voice.
I grabbed his arm. “Have you found any bodies?”
“No. But I am concerned about what we will discover when we raid their camp.”
The horror of the last two seasons threatened to overwhelm me. Eleven girls mutilated and raped by Ferde so he could steal their souls and gain more magical power. Valek and I had stopped him before he could collect the final soul. If he had succeeded, Sitia and Ixia would now be his to rule. Instead, I had released all those souls to the sky. To think that he might have started again was unbearable.
“You’ve found their camp?” Leif asked.
“Yes. We put our lives on hold,” Moon Man said. “The warriors of the clan have done a complete sweep of the plateau. We found a large encampment on the southern edge near the border of the Illiais Jungle.”
And close to my family. I must have gasped because Moon Man touched my shoulder and squeezed.
“Do not worry about your clan. Every Sandseed warrior is ready to attack if the Vermin show any signs of departing their camp. We will leave when the horses are rested.”
I paced around the campfire, knowing I should get some sleep but unable to still my racing thoughts. Leif groomed the horses and Marrok slept. Moon Man reclined next to the fire, staring at the sky.
Marrok woke as the sky darkened. His eye had stopped weeping blood, and the swelling was gone. He probed his cheek with a finger. Amazement lit his face until he spotted Moon Man standing next to him. He jumped to his feet and pulled his sword, brandishing the weapon at the Story Weaver. Even armed, Marrok looked slight next to the muscular Sandseed, who towered six inches over him.
Moon Man laughed. “I see you are feeling better. Come. We have plans to make.”
The four of us sat around the fire while Leif made dinner. Marrok settled next to me, and from the corner of my eye I could see that whenever Marrok touch his cheek, he stared at Moon Man with a fearful fascination. And his right hand never strayed far from the hilt of his sword.
“We will leave at dawn,” Moon Man said.
“Why does everything have to start at dawn?” I asked. “The horses have good night vision.”
“That will give the horses a full day to recover. I will be riding with you on Kiki. She is the strongest. And once we reach the plateau, there will be no rest stops until we join the others.”
“And then what?” I asked.
“Then we will attack. You are to stay close to me and the other Story Weavers. The Soulstealer will be protected along with the Warpers. Once we break through the outer guards, then the hard part begins.”
“Dealing with the Warpers,” I said.
He nodded.
“Can’t you move the Void again?” Leif asked.
The Void was a hole in the power blanket where no magic existed. The last time the Sandseeds had uncovered a Vermin hideout, it had been protected by a shield of magic that created an illusion. The camp appeared to be occupied by only a few warriors. When the Sandseeds had moved the Void over the Vermin, the illusion was broken. Unfortunately, the encampment held four times the number of soldiers, and we had been vastly outnumbered.
“They are aware of that trick and will be alerted to our presence if we try to move the power blanket,” Moon Man said.
“Then how are you going to beat the Warpers?” I asked, worried. If the Vermin had access to magic it would be a difficult battle.
“All the Sandseed Story Weavers will link together and form a strong magical net that will seize them and prevent them from using their magic. We will hold them long enough for you to find the Soulstealer.”
Breaking his silence, Marrok asked, “What about Cahil?”
“He helped the Soulstealer escape. He should be punished,” Moon Man said.
“The Council wants to talk to him,” I said.
“And then they will decide what to do with him,” Leif added.
Moon Man shrugged. “He is not a Vermin. I will tell the others not to kill him, but in a large battle it might be hard.”
“He’s probably with the Daviian leaders,” Marrok said.
“Marrok—you and Leif find Cahil and take him north of the fighting and I’ll rendezvous with you after the battle.”
“Yes, sir,” Marrok said.
Leif nodded, but I could see a question in his eyes.
Problem? I asked in his mind.
What if Cahil convinces Marrok not to take him back to the Council? What if they join together and I’m outnumbered?
Good point. I’ll ask Moon Man to—
Assign one of my warriors to stay with Leif, Moon Man said.
I jerked in surprise. I hadn’t felt Moon Man draw power to link with us.
What else can you do? I asked.
I am not telling you. It would destroy my mysterious Story Weaver persona.
The next morning we saddled the horses and made our way south toward the plateau. Even with the weight of two riders, Kiki easily carried us. Stopping only once for a warm dinner and sleep, we reached the border in two days. At sunset on the second day, we stopped to rest the horses at the edge of the plains.
The flat expanse of the plateau stretched to the horizon. A few brown clumps of grass clung to the sunbaked surface. While the plains had a few trees, rolling hills, rocks and sandstone protrusions, the plateau had bristle bushes, coarse sand and a few stunted spine trees.
We had left the cold, cloudy weather behind. The afternoon sun had warmed the land enough for me to take off my cloak, but as the light slipped into the darkness, a cool breeze stirred to life.
Moon Man left to find his scout. Even at this distance from the Vermin camp, it was too risky to make a fire. I shivered as I ate my dinner of hard cheese and stale bread.
Moon Man returned with another Sandseed.
“This is Tauno,” Moon Man said. “He will show us the way through the plateau.”
I peered at the small man armed with a bow and arrows. Only an inch taller than me, he wore short pants despite the chilly air. His skin had been painted, but in the dim light I couldn’t discern the colors.
“We will leave when the moon is a quarter up,” Tauno said.
Traveling at night was a good idea, but I wondered what the warriors did during the day. “How do the Sandseeds stay hidden in the plateau?” I asked.
