Lars frowned. After a late, taxing night, Seppi had interrupted his breakfast to show him a dead bird? “Go ahead.” Seppi brought the crow closer. Lars shoved his breakfast to one side and gestured that Seppi should sit. “What is it?”
“Sorry to disturb your breakfast, Lars, but this is one of the birds Zens has been communicating with.”
Lars raised his eyebrows. What was he on about?
“Look at this.” Seppi lay the bird on the table and flipped it on its back, extending the wing. Underneath, flush against its body, was a bald spot where its plumage had been plucked and an incision made in its flesh. Seppi pulled the sides of the incision apart to show a fat yellow crystal slicked with blood.
Lars shrugged. “And …?”
Seppi’s eyes drilled into Lars. “These crystals are how Zens and his tharuks mind-meld with animals. How he controls them.”
That’s right; during Bruno’s trial, a guard had found a bag of similar crystals from Zens. Lars scratched his beard. “Roberto said Bruno’s crystals were dangerous and should be destroyed.”
“I’d believe that,” said Seppi. “But were they? Or are some of Bruno’s crystals being used at Dragons’ Hold?”
§
The torches in the infirmary were burning low. Marlies held a bowl out. Sofia groaned, doubling over with her arms clutching her gut. A sheen of sweat beaded her face. A gush of gray vomit hit the bowl, splattering up the sides. Marlies frowned. Gray vomit? The acrid stench of stomach acid hit her nostrils, making her own stomach turn. Rumble weed—it must be. It colored the victim’s vomit gray.
“What did you eat?” asked Marlies.
Sofia moaned, shaking her head.
“Or drink?”
“Water,” Sofia replied weakly.
“Who gave it to you?”
“Why? Have I been poisoned?” Sofia groaned.
Yes, but she wasn’t going to tell Sofia that. “Of course not. I’m checking if our water sources at the hold are tainted.” Marlies passed Leah the bowl of vomit. “Could you dispose of that, please?” She gave Sofia a glass. “Here, drink this to settle your stomach.”
She felt guilty giving Sofia double-strength woozy weed tea, but this was the snipe who’d attacked Ezaara. Lars had been in earlier, mentioning crystals that could control animals. Could a crystal have driven Sofia’s behavior?
Marlies yawned and settled her tired bones into a chair. Waiting until Sofia was dozing soundly, she lifted the young woman’s clothing up over her stomach to inspect her skin. Nothing. No irregularities. She ran her hands over Sofia’s arms. All fine. Checked her legs through her breeches. Her fingers traced an irregular bump on Sofia’s right thigh.
Marlies fetched a torch and mounted it on the sconce above Sofia’s pallet. She slit the side of Sofia’s breeches. A puckered scar marred Sofia’s thigh, badly stitched, with a distinct bump under the scar tissue. She ran her fingers gently over the bump several times, nodding grimly. “Leah,” she murmured, “fetch me the knife I use for lancing blisters.”
Wide-eyed, Leah fetched the blade. “Does she have a crow crystal?”
“Let’s see.” Marlies made an incision along the scar tissue. Pressing firmly with the flat of her blade, Marlies pushed the lump under Sofia’s skin toward the incision. Blood oozed out of the cut, then something yellow glinted. She squeezed the flesh. A crystal the size of Marlies’ thumb slid out of Sofia’s thigh in a trickle of blood. Using a cloth, Marlies deposited the crystal into a jar and corked it. How sharding awful. Zens was controlling innocent people around them. Her stomach roiled. Who else was affected?
She melded with Liesar. “Give this to Singlar. Lars ought to see this.”
Leah took the jar out to Liesar while Marlies stitched Sofia’s wound shut.
Soon, Lars bustled into the infirmary, holding up the jar. “Master Roberto mentioned that these were dangerous. I thought we’d destroyed them all.”
“Zens has been controlling Sofia,” Marlies replied. “He’s infiltrated Dragons’ Hold by having Fleur plant them inside people as she healed them.”
“That makes sense. Ezaara accidentally knifed Sofia, but her attitude only went downhill after Fleur healed her.” Lars drummed his fingers against the jar. “We’ll have to check everyone. We can’t let this get out. We can’t have people turning against each other, seeking implanted crystals.”
“Bill, a tharuk spy, has a similar bump on his arm. Zens must be controlling him too.” Marlies bit her lip. “Let’s start with the people most recently healed by Fleur.” So much work ahead of her, when her bones already ached with exhaustion.
“The dragon gods forbid,” said Lars, his hand hovering over his sword. “The hold could be crawling with spies—people we love and trust.”
§
Lars outlined the danger of the crystal implants, reported Ezaara and Adelina’s disappearances, then smacked his gavel to end the meeting. Hans caught Lars’ eye. He glanced at the door, then left the council chambers. Lars followed, striding to meet him on the ledge outside.
“Thank you, Lars. I wanted to talk alone.”
“What is it? Has Marlies found more riders with implanted crystals?”
Hans shook his head. “Not yet, and she’s worked herself to the bone, checking twenty people already.” And she’d been tired before she’d started. “No, it’s something else, but just as grave. Tomaaz and Kierion left yesterday for Death Valley.”
“Dragon’s bleeding talons,” Lars thundered. “Now they’re gone too.” He shot Hans an astute look. “Who else?”
“Lovina said they’ve taken two wizards with them.”
“Great.” He snorted. “Two young wizards to mess up their chances.”
The visions that had been plaguing Hans for many nights roiled in his mind. Mages on dragonback amid whistling arrows. And tharuks sizzling with green mage flame. Hans put his hand on Lars’ arm. “Lars, as master of prophecy, I’m telling you we must work with mages, not shun them. This team is our best chance of rescuing Roberto, Adelina, and Ezaara.”
His only daughter,
