Scent of Magic (2 page)

“Let’s check out Peti before we find a place to rest,” Kerrick said.

As expected, no one lived among the burned ruins. A light breeze swirled the ash. Our boots crunched on broken glass. Peti was bigger than I had thought. As we drew closer to the center, we encountered a few brick factories and businesses that had survived the fire. The flames had missed the heart of the town. With the marauders gone, people could return and build anew.

Except Peti was in the Realm of Vyg. Even though it was near the eastern border, this area was technically occupied by Tohon’s army. Kerrick and I had dodged a number of his patrols on our way here.

Kerrick found another small cave for us to hide in until nightfall. I understood the need to be hidden from sight and protected from an attack. However, I would have liked to camp under the sky for our last day together.

We set up our bedrolls and lit a small fire to drive off the chill and cook a simple meal. Sitting on opposite sides, I broached the subject of my future plans.

“No,” Kerrick said without considering anything I’d just said.

“I’m not asking. I need to talk to my sister. To explain—”

“No. It’s too dangerous.”

“I’m not asking,” I repeated because he tended to think he was in charge. “Besides, I was on the run for three years. I know how to get around without encountering trouble. And I can defend myself.” I pulled one of my throwing knives and pointed it at Kerrick. “And I know how to walk through the woods without making noise, so I’ll stick to the forest. Plus my healing powers can be used—”

“I know,” he growled.

I suppressed a smile, remembering blasting him with pain. He’d deserved it. I’d been trying to escape from him and his companions, but he wouldn’t let go. And he called
me
stubborn. He was the most obstinate person I knew. Worry flared. Would he drag me to Ivdel with him?

“No one knows I’m alive,” I said again. “No one is looking for me. No more bounty hunters, no mercenaries or Tohon’s dead.” And best of all, no Tohon. The man who’d threatened to claim me, and I knew, if push came to shove, he could with one touch. I hugged my arms close to my body.

“But what about the patrols? And Estrid’s holy army? Or Jael? She killed Flea and tried to kill us. If she sees you...” Fear cracked his stony expression for a moment.

“She won’t. I’ll wear a disguise.”

“But your sister is Jael’s page. If you get close to Noelle, she’ll know.”

“Then I’ll make sure Noelle’s alone.”

“But what if she still hates you? She’ll tell Jael you’re alive.”

He had me there.

I thought fast. “Then I won’t approach Noelle until after you and Ryne arrive with his army.” Hopefully in time to help Estrid defeat Tohon. Without Ryne, there was more than a good chance Tohon would overrun her defenses and add all of us to his ranks of dead. “I’ll do reconnaissance and fact-gathering. I promise.” I sensed a softening. “Tohon told me he has spies in Estrid’s camp. I might be able to find them.”

“No. You lie low, blend in and don’t call attention to yourself. Learn what you can from watching and listening. Don’t ask questions.” Even though he was clearly unhappy, he continued. “You’ll need a good disguise. Go to Mom’s in Mengels, she’ll—”

“But she’s days out of the way, and I don’t want anyone to know I’m alive.”

“If you don’t follow my
suggestions,
then I’ll just follow
you
.”

And he would.

I kept my expression neutral. “Why Mom’s?”

“Before the plague she helped women who had run away from their abusive husbands. Her inn was known as a safe house for these women, and she would give them a new look, a new name and find them a safe place to live.” He held a hand up. “She’ll keep all your secrets. You can trust her. That’s why everyone calls her Mom.”

“All right. Any other
suggestions?
”

“Don’t work in the infirmary. I know it’ll be tempting, but find a job that lets you be invisible. Like a maid or a kitchen servant.”

“Okay. Anything else?”

“Stay away from anyone you recognize or know. Belen’s still there.” Kerrick’s face paled. “You should tell Belen. He can help.”

“No, he can’t. Come on, Kerrick, you know he’s a rotten liar.”

“Easy for
you
to say. He’s not going to rip
your
arms off.” He hugged his arms to his chest.

“He’s not going to hurt you,” I said. Or would he? Belen was the Poppa Bear of our group, and we had become close friends. The thought of him mourning my death almost changed my mind.

“Have Prince Ryne tell him. I sacrificed my life for his, so he owes me one.” Ryne had had the plague and I’d healed him by assuming the sickness.

Unfortunately for the six million people who had died, the plague killed healers as well, so we’d stopped healing plague victims until we could determine another way. But once the population panicked and rumors spread that we refused to help people...it had turned ugly fast. Long story short, I was the last healer alive until Danny and Zila’s powers woke. If they did.

“How long are you going to play dead?” Kerrick asked.

“As long as I can. It’s a good strategy.”

“For you. I’m the one that’s going to have to deal with Belen, Quain and Loren.”

“I’m sure Ryne’s keeping them busy with his genius military tactics that will stop Tohon.” Which was the reason I’d given up my life for him.

Kerrick relaxed his arms and moved to sit next to me. He pulled me close. “At least I won’t have to act like I’m sad and missing you.”

“You mean you’ll go from moody, sullen and distant, to moody, sullen, distant and sad? The guys won’t suspect a
thing,
” I teased.

“Don’t start.” He tangled his fingers in my hair. “You were the reason for all those...”

“Temper tantrums? Grumpiness? Irritability?”

He tilted my head until I gazed up at him. A dangerous glint shone in his eyes. “You didn’t make it easy.”

“True, but neither did you.”

“True.” A hint of a smile. “I guess we’re meant to be together.”

“Surprisingly,” I agreed.

“Not to Belen. Once he forgives me for lying to him, he’s going to gloat.”

Belen had been his loyal friend, bodyguard and all but his older brother ever since Kerrick was born. It made sense that he could read Kerrick better than anyone.

“When did he figure it out?” I asked.

“Well before I did.” Kerrick gazed at the fire. “I think he made a comment after you escaped and I saved you from the mercs.”

An odd time. Kerrick had been furious at me. “And when did you...agree with him?”

“My feelings started changing after you healed Belen and we were at Mom’s.” He returned his focus to me. Cupping my face with his other hand, he said, “You had me tied in knots. You saved Belen’s life, and I wanted to kill you and thank you at the same time. And during those nights when we didn’t know if you’d live or die, I went from being angry to worried to frustrated to scared all within a single heartbeat. If you had died, I would have killed you.”

“You know that doesn’t make sense, right?”

“Nothing about that time made sense.”

“You kept me from dying. Did you know that?”

He tilted his head in surprise. “No. How?”

“You gave me the energy to heal myself. If you hadn’t stayed with me and held my hand, I would have gone into the afterlife.”

“And here I thought it was Mom’s tonics.”

“Good thing the Lamp Post Inn is on the edge of the forest.”

“That’s why I like it. I can still access my power there. That and her desserts are the best in the Fifteen Realms.”

“I’ll make sure I try some when I’m there.”

All humor fled his face. “But I won’t be there to watch your back.”

“Then I’ll have to be extra careful.”

“Promise?”

“Yes.” I leaned forward and kissed him. He was right. What I planned to do was dangerous, but these were dangerous times. And I needed to become Noelle’s older sister again before I resumed being Avry the healer. Plus my decision allowed me the freedom to just be a regular person. Someone unnoticeable, who blended in and didn’t attract Tohon’s attention.

* * *

When we reached the border road between Vyg and Pomyt that night, Kerrick had a few last-minute instructions. “Stay in the forest on the east side of the border. Better to go through Pomyt Realm than to get caught in the middle of any skirmishes in Vyg. You’ll be safer traveling in the daylight.”

I nodded, even though I knew to stay out of Vyg and to avoid Zabin until I was disguised. He needed to tell me. Plus if he didn’t lecture me, I’d worry he was following me as he had when I’d surrendered to Tohon. His forest magic had camouflaged him, and I’d never seen him until he appeared without warning in the garden.

Kerrick had been livid since he’d seen me kissing Tohon. Under the influence of Tohon’s life magic, I hadn’t had a choice. His powers had filled me with an unnatural desire and smashed my willpower to dust. After Tohon had left, and still reeling from Tohon’s display of dominance, I’d been grabbed by Kerrick who had then confessed he’d be upset if Tohon lured me away.

“Avry, are you listening to me?”

“Yes. Vyg bad. Pomyt good.”

“Avry.” His aggravation was clear.

I smiled. He was rather handsome when he was annoyed. Before he could launch into another lecture, I handed him Flea’s juggling stones for Belen, the letter and necklace for Noelle and the pouch full of Quain and Loren’s favorite herbs for them.

“But—”

“It’ll help with the ruse that I’d died.”

“How do I explain the extra time it took for me to catch up to them?”

“You’re supposed to be grieving, so it should be obvious even to Quain why. But if anyone asks, just give them that stony stare and they’ll back right off.” I met his gaze. “Yes, that one.”

“I’m not happy about this,” he said, but he handed me a pouchful of coins. “There should be enough in here for a couple months.”

He wrapped me into a fiercely protective hug before kissing me. His magic shot through me. If I were a plant, I’d have grown roots.

I pulled back before I changed my mind and stayed with him. “I’ll see you in Zabin.”

“You better.”

Squeezing his hand, I said goodbye and headed southeast. When I glanced back, he remained where I had left him, watching me. I shooed. He hefted his pack and turned north.

Although we were apart, the woods vibrated with his magic. A tingle zipped along my skin whenever I touched a leaf or brushed against a bush. Kerrick was keeping track of me. When I rested the next day, I kept my hand on the ground. That evening, his magic disappeared abruptly. Which, I hoped, meant he had reached the pass through the Nine Mountains and didn’t mean he’d encountered trouble.

A sharp ache of loneliness consumed me along with a horrible feeling that I’d never see him again.

KERRICK

Kerrick hefted his pack, heading north toward the main pass of the Nine Mountains. But after a few steps, he paused and glanced back. Avry had disappeared from sight, but thanks to his magical connection, he felt her passage through the woods. Unlike other intruders in the forest, she didn’t irritate the foliage and wasn’t deemed a nuisance to the living green.

No, she saved those special qualities just for him, driving him crazy with her stubbornness and risky schemes. He should follow her. Despite her promises to be careful, these were perilous times. Tohon and his abominations aside, mercs and gangs still roamed what was left of the Fifteen Realms.

The thought of losing her again sent sharp needles of pain into the center of his heart. He rubbed his hand over the stubble on his chin. The scent of vanilla filled his nose, and the memory of stroking Avry’s neck came unbidden. Avry’s new scent since the Peace Lily saved her life. Before she had smelled of honey and the lemon-scented soap she favored. While it was an interesting side-effect of her recovery, Kerrick didn’t care why it had happened. She was alive, that was all that mattered to him.

The desire to rush after her pulsed in his chest. He could send Ryne a note, telling the prince to meet him in Zabin. Except Avry wouldn’t be happy and he had no legitimate reason to change their plans to gather troops in Ivdel before marching south to aid Estrid. That would alert Ryne. And, for now, Kerrick knew that if everyone believed Avry dead, especially Tohon, she would be safer. Unless she tipped her hand.

He sighed. Best to meet up with Ryne as quickly as possible so they could deal with Tohon once and for all.

It took him a day to reach the road up to the main pass. Although it was spring and many of the other passes had opened, they were more difficult to climb. Kerrick weighed the risks. Tohon would expect him to go to Ivdel. If Kerrick headed east across Pomyt and used the Milligreen pass, the journey would be about twenty-two days. But if he crossed the main pass, it would take him closer to seventeen days. Unless he ran into one of Tohon’s ambushes.

The smart move would be to go the longer, safer route. Except Tohon might expect him to do just that and have that pass blocked. Milligreen was narrow and twisty, creating plenty of hiding spots, while the wider main pass gave him more room to maneuver.

In the end, speed won over all the other factors. Kerrick increased his pace, hoping to traverse the nine ridges in five days. His connection with Avry stopped when he stepped from the tree line. Worry for her flared. He concentrated on his progress to keep his imagination from running wild. It was all he could do at the moment.

After he crossed three ridges, he relaxed a bit. Surely Tohon’s men wouldn’t come this far to ambush him. By the fifth day, he descended the Nine Mountains and entered a lush valley in Ivdel Realm.

He breathed in deep, letting his tight muscles relax. The smells of pine and the sea mixed into a familiar scent. It’d been three years since he’d been in the northern realms. The Realm of Alga...home was twelve days to the west. His brother, Izak, and Great-Aunt Yasmin still lived in the Algan Palace in Orel.

Ryne’s castle was located about the same distance in the opposite direction. Kerrick turned east. Regret that he wouldn’t be able to check in on what remained of his family settled deep inside him. He’d send them a letter once he reached Ryne’s.