The Purifying Fire: A Planeswalker Novel (27 page)

“What?”

“All things considered, he thought his demand might be the final push that the mother mage needed to decide that you should disappear for a while.”

For a moment, Chandra felt as if she couldn’t breathe. “It was a
trick?
To get me to planeswalk?”

“Yes,” he said. “It was the only way I could be sure you were exactly what Walbert feared you were.”

A red blaze of fury burned through her. “You manipulated me!”

“Chandra.” His gaze followed the glow of flames moving along her skin as rage coursed through her, turning her blood into fire. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t make me fight you.”

“Whyever
not?”
she snarled.

“Because I don’t want to,” he said wearily. “A lot has happened since we each left Regatha.”

His gaze locked with hers.

She remembered that he had turned her over to the Prelate’s soldiers, to be violated by the Enervants and probed by mind mages. She should kill him for that alone!

And then she remembered that he had hidden the scroll from them, to buy her time to escape …

“Please stop,” he said quietly, remaining motionless while fire raced down to her hands and through the tendrils of her hair.

She remembered that, without his power to protect him, he had fought the Fog Riders for her.

“All so you could bring me back to Regatha?” she breathed.

“No.” He thought it over. “Well … On Kephalai, yes,” he admitted. “Walbert seemed certain you’d come back
here. I was supposed to make sure you came back to
him
, incapacitated, instead of returning to the monastery to cause more trouble.”

That renewed her rage. “If Walbert wanted me to stop causing
trouble
, then why didn’t you just let me die on Kephalai?”

“If it had been strictly up to me,” Gideon said, “I would have.”

His honesty disarmed her. She was still furious … but she felt the flames of uncontrolled rage subsiding.

And in truth, looking at him, she knew she couldn’t bring herself to kill Gideon. Not after everything that had passed.

“I don’t know why,” Gideon said, “but Walbert
wanted
you back on Regatha. In his custody, rather than roaming free.”

“So that’s why you created circumstances for me to escape from the Prelate’s prison?”

He nodded. “That’s why I followed you to Diraden, too.”

“And then?”

They looked at each other for a long, silent moment. “Things changed,” he said at last. Yes. Things had changed.

Chandra shifted her gaze away from him. “And then, when we escaped, I said I wanted to come back here.” Her tone was sullen. “That certainly made things easier for you.”

“I wasn’t thinking about that,” he said. “I was thinking about being alive and together and getting away.”

She glanced at him.

A slight smile curved his mouth. “I never mentioned it, but I thought all along that the chances of getting out of there alive were pretty remote.”

Feeling suddenly exhausted, Chandra sat down on the other wooden stool in this humble hut. “So we’re alive and both back on Regatha. Now what?”

“Now … I don’t know.”

They were silent again.

Chandra heard footsteps approaching and she stiffened with tension for a moment, but relaxed when Samir came bustling into the hut.

He set down a pitcher of water, a basin, two small clay pots, and some soft cloths. “My wife has taken the children to stay with another family while you’re here, so that there won’t be any risk of them seeing Chandra. They’re good children, but they’re too young for me to be sure they’ll remember not to say anything to anyone.”

“It’s risky for you to have me here,” Chandra realized. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m
sorry, Chandra,” Samir said, pouring water into the basin. “I spoke against Walbert and the Order … Er, no offense intended,” he said to Gideon.

“None taken.”

“But I failed to persuade the other members of the council. Most voted in favor of cooperating with Walbert.”

Gideon asked, “What’s been happening here?”

Samir picked up one of the two small pots he had brought with him and poured some pale yellow powder into the basin of water. While stirring it around to dissolve it, he said, “Shortly after Chandra left on her journey, the Order’s intrusion on the woodlands increased. More soldiers, more patrolling, more spies.”

With the powder dissolved, Samir soaked a cloth in the water, then began cleaning the savage cuts on Gideon’s chest and arms. “This will sting,” Samir warned, “but it will fight infection.”

Gideon made no sound as the liquid soaked into his open
cuts. But Chandra could tell from his focused expression that it was painful.

Samir continued with his story as he worked. “Most of the woodlanders blamed the escalation of these impositions on Chandra’s, er, encounter with the Ghost Warden and the soldiers. They felt we were suffering for her rash act.”

Chandra was incensed by this … but since she knew Gideon condemned what she had done, and since Samir had endured a great deal of trouble because of it, she kept her mouth shut.

“Then Walbert made his proposal to the inter-tribal council.” Samir explained, “The council has one representative from every tribe or clan in the forest. It only meets when there is a problem or decision to be discussed that affects all the inhabitants of the Great Western Wood.”

Chandra realized there was a gash on her left hand that she didn’t remember getting. She picked up one of the cloths Samir had brought into the hut, dipped it into the basin of water, and applied it to her hand.

She drew in a sharp breath through her nostrils. It
did
sting.

“What was his proposal?” Gideon asked.

“You don’t know?” Samir said in surprise. “When I met you at the temple, I had the impression you were in Walbert’s confidence.”

“I’ve been away. With Chandra. Whatever the proposal is, Walbert must have decided on it after I left.”

“He has offered the races of the Western Wood a treaty,” Samir said. “If we cooperate with the Order on certain matters, then all Ghost Wardens, all soldiers, and all forms of intrusion or interference will be completely withdrawn from the forest. And they will remain outside our land so long as we continue abiding by the terms of the treaty.”

“What are the terms?” Chandra asked.

“There are some restrictions on summoning creatures. There will be penalties if our way of life affects the people of the plains. And there’s a requirement that all grievances that have formerly led to violent reprisals hereafter are presented to an arbiter of the Order for judgment.”

“And the council agreed to this?” she said in surprise.

“Well, it remains to be seen how sincere some of the council members are in their agreement,” Samir admitted. “And some other members, of course, don’t habitually think long-term.”

“You mean,” Chandra guessed, “that some woodlanders think they can bend the new rules once they’re not being watched by ghost wardens and pestered by soldiers in their own territory. And the oufes are focused on getting the Order out of the forest
now
, rather than on what will happen next time they send assassins after someone who lives beyond the woods.”

“Indeed.” Samir finished cleaning Gideon’s wounds and now picked up the second small pot he had brought with him, which contained some green balm. “This will be soothing, and it will help prevent further bleeding until you return to the Temple—where I imagine the mages can heal you better than my humble efforts.”

“Thank you for your help,” Gideon said. “It would have been hard to make it back to Zinara without any treatment.”

While applying the balm, Samir said, “So the members of the council see a way to make all the trouble here stop … if they also agree to the final term. Which is to turn you over to the Order, Chandra.”

“I suppose that after the fire I started here, it’s not surprising that they agreed.”

“Not everyone agreed,” he assured her. “But, alas, enough of them did. And that’s why you’re not safe in the
Western Wood anymore. You’re too easy to recognize, and such interesting news travels fast. So you must stay hidden here until nightfall. Then we’ll cover your hair and make our way out of the forest.”

“But why did Walbert make my capture a condition in his treaty with the inter-tribal council of the forest?” she asked in puzzlement. “I live with the Keralians, not with the woodlanders.”

“The Keralians have received the same offer,” Samir said. “Mother Luti rejected it. Rather emphatically.”

Chandra nodded. She would have expected that.

“And now that the woodlanders have decided to accept the proposal …” Samir sighed. “It has put us on a different path.”

“Walbert probably knew the Keralians would refuse,” Gideon said pensively. “By getting your people to agree to his terms, he eliminates any alliance against the Order that might have existed between the woodlanders and the Keralians.”

“Yes,” said Samir sadly.

“He also gains partners in trying to secure Chandra’s capture, and he reduces the places where she can hide—”

“Hide?” she repeated, affronted.

“—or roam freely.” Gideon paused before continuing, “And since he knows the woodlanders have long been friendly with the monastery, he also counts on Samir’s people to urge the monastery to accept the same treaty and surrender Chandra to the Order.”

“The Keralians will never cooperate,” Samir said with certainty. “They despise the Order, and they place a very high value on independence and freedom. If Walbert is determined to capture Chandra, he’ll only succeed one way.”

“By destroying the Keralians,” Gideon said.

“Will he really go that far?” Samir asked.

The woodland mage and Chandra both looked at Gideon, awaiting his answer.

“Yes,” he said, finally.

“You seem certain,” Samir noted.

Gideon nodded. “Walbert will do whatever is necessary to achieve his goals. Including destroying Keral Keep.”

I
don’t understand,” Chandra said to Gideon after Samir had left them alone in the hut again. “Walbert knows I planeswalked, doesn’t he?”

“He must. I followed you, and he knew I planned to do that.” Gideon added, “I didn’t exactly say goodbye, but he knows.”

“Then why is he trying to get others to capture me?” she said. “Why doesn’t he just wait for you to bring me back?”

“Because we’ve been gone a lot longer than he expected. A lot longer than
I
expected.”

“Oh. Right.” She hadn’t expected to be gone this long, either.

“He thinks I failed.” Gideon said, “He probably thinks I’m dead.”

“And that I killed you?” she said. “Yes.”

“But all this effort to capture me … He was
that
certain that I would return to Regatha?”

Gideon nodded. “Yes, he seemed sure you’d come back. And he wanted your return to be under his control.”

“But
why
was he sure I’d come back?”

“I don’t know.” Gideon’s expression was impossible to read as he met her gaze in the shadows of the hut. “But you did come back, didn’t you? And he knew you would.”

“If Walbert thinks I killed you, then he must also think I’m very dangerous.”

“You
are
very dangerous,” Gideon said. He didn’t sound like he was joking.

“And yet he’s encouraging woodlanders like Samir to try to capture me.” She said disdainfully, “He doesn’t seem to have a problem with risking other people’s lives, does he?”

“Neither do you,” Gideon pointed out. “How many people died in the Sanctum of Stars because of you?”

“I didn’t plan on that,” she snapped.

“How many were inside when it collapsed, Chandra?” he persisted. “Ten? Twenty?”

“I don’t know,” she said tersely. “I was fleeing for my life, at the time.”

“And the people you were fleeing from died because it was their duty to protect the Prelate’s property from you,” he said.

She was about to reply when she heard Samir’s footsteps again. He entered the hut carrying a basket that held food, as well as a fresh pitcher of water for them.

“I hope you’ll enjoy this,” Samir said to them. “My wife is a wonderful cook!”

In truth, Chandra had never enjoyed anything she’d eaten at Samir’s home, always finding the food bland and overcooked. But given how revolting the food on Diraden had been, this meal today tasted like one of the finest feasts of her life. Gideon evidently felt the same way. They both ate voraciously and spoke very little.

After the meal, Samir gave Gideon a threadbare tunic to wear, saying, “It’s old and much-mended, but it will
hold together until you reach Zinara.”

“Thank you.” Gideon pulled it over his head. “For
all
your hospitality.”

“A guest brings good luck,” Samir said with a smile.

“Not necessarily,” Chandra said gloomily.

Samir asked Gideon, “Are you returning to the Temple?”

“Yes.”

“I’m
not
coming with you,” Chandra warned him.

“No.” He assured Samir, “Walbert will never know anything about today.”

Samir glanced at Chandra, then smiled at Gideon. “I don’t understand you, but I do believe you.”