Touch of Power (8 page)

“Not on purpose, but things happen that are beyond even
your
control.”

Kerrick gave him a tight smile. “You mean I’m not omnipotent?”

“You’re not even semipotent.”

“Is that even a word?” Kerrick asked.

“He probably meant you’re impotent,” I offered.

It was worth Kerrick’s glare to hear Belen’s deep chuckle. He pushed Belen aside. The big man’s laughter followed us as we left the inn.

Kerrick paused just after entering the forest. “We don’t have much light left. We’ll need to move quickly. How committed are you to finding Melina?”

An odd question. “Very.”

He held out his hand. “Two is better than one.”

Understanding rolled through me. I really didn’t want to touch him, but this wasn’t about me. When his fingers wrapped around mine, magic zipped along my skin, connecting me with the forest.

My awareness expanded into the trees and along the ground. The living green rustled with unease. Unwelcome irritants had trampled its young shoots. It pulsed with pain from broken branches and cut foliage. Deep in its heart, a splinter throbbed. A sore spot the forest wished to remove.

United through the forest’s essence, we searched for that thorn without saying a word. No need. I was no longer Avry, but an extension of green.

Together we found the path of a dangerous intruder. Light at first, it darkened as if rotting with excessive moisture. The smell of decay hung in the air.

And then it loomed before us. An infection oozing with an unnatural bile. Kerrick released my hand. I sank to my knees as the living essence retreated and Avry returned.

I sucked in deep breaths to clear my head, letting my eyes adjust to once again being an observer and not a part of the forest. I mourned the loss of the forest’s state of being, and I wondered how Kerrick could be so grumpy and mean when he had that ability to sink into the living green at will.

He crouched next to me, pointing to a hillside. “See that?”

“The hill?” I squinted in the semidarkness. The shape had an odd…bump.

“That’s how he’s managed to avoid capture. He built a cabin into the hillside and camouflaged it with moss, grass and dirt. Stay here.” Kerrick crept through the woods, keeping well away from the hidden cabin. No sound marked his passage. Soon he disappeared from my sight.

I waited as the air cooled and darkened. My concern about Melina grew with each minute I spent doing nothing. We should storm the cabin before that bastard could harm her. What if she was dead?

Kerrick returned after full dark. A satisfied smirk twisted his lips.

“Where have you been?” I whispered.

“Did you miss me?”

“Not possible. However, there’s a girl—”

“I looped around the cabin. There isn’t another entrance or any windows. But I found a chimney of sorts. He’s using a small metal pipe to vent the smoke from a fire.”

“And this helps us how?”

“Think about it. There is only one way to get inside. If we try to go through that door, he’ll be waiting for us. He has the advantage.”

But if he came outside, we would have the upper hand. What would force him to leave? “You blocked the pipe?”

“Yep. We’ll smoke him out.”

Clever. But I wouldn’t admit I was impressed.

“When he emerges,
I’ll
take care of him. You find Melina and help her. Understand?”

“Yes.”

Kerrick positioned himself near the entrance while I crouched a few feet behind him. It didn’t take long for the moss-covered door to swing open. A shaft of firelight pierced the darkness as white smoke billowed out. A tall man waved his arms to clear the haze. He coughed once before Kerrick pounced, wrapping his hands around the man’s neck.

I straightened. Intent on telling Kerrick not to kill the guy, I stepped closer but froze as three more men ran from the cabin.

Chapter 8

The three men rushed Kerrick, knocking him and the tall guy to the ground. Even surprised by them, Kerrick managed to land a few blows before he was overpowered. Two men sat on him, while the third took his sword. They questioned him, but Kerrick remained silent.

I stood in the open, unnoticed for now and afraid to call attention to myself. I stepped back into the shadows, but I caught the tall guy’s attention. Recovered from his near strangulation, he dashed forward and clamped a hand on my arm, hauling me into the firelight streaming from the cabin.

“What do we have here?” he asked.

I was getting tired of being manhandled all the time. My fear transformed into anger. “Are you blind?” I asked. “Oh, that’s right. You’ve been playing with girls so long, you’ve no idea what a
woman
looks like.”

Instantly angry, he backhanded me. Expecting the attack, I leaned away and caught a glancing blow. The force knocked me to the ground. While there, I pulled the dagger from my belt and held it close to my body. Tall Guy pulled me to my feet by my hair.

I pressed his fist against my head, trapping his hand. Not only did the move stop the pain, but I now touched him. Skin to skin. Magic exploded from my core. I channeled it into him. He screamed, but I held on.

The man with Kerrick’s sword charged. I spun, putting Tall Guy between us. He dropped to his knees still yelling, which made it easier for me to press the tip of my knife against his throat. Sword Man stopped in midcharge. I reduced the amount of pain, quieting Tall Guy.

Nice to have everyone’s undivided attention. “Release the girl, or I’ll slit your buddy’s throat.”

The two squatters on Kerrick jumped off and yanked him to his feet. Sword Man aimed the blade’s tip at Kerrick’s neck. “I can play that game, too,” he said.

“You’re assuming I care about
him.
” I laughed. “Go ahead. You’ll be doing me a favor.”

By their stunned silence, I guessed they hadn’t been expecting that response. Kerrick kept his expression neutral, but I felt his glower. His gaze flicked to the ground for a second before he resumed looking bored. Turning the dark gray color of the forest, Kerrick’s boots and legs seemed to disappear. Vines twisted around the squatter’s ankles as Kerrick used his forest magic.

I zapped my captive. He jerked and cried out. “Go get Melina or he dies,” I said.

As far as distractions go, it wasn’t the best, but it worked. Kerrick faded into the surrounding woods. When the squatters realized he had gone, they moved to chase after him, tripping over the vines. As they rolled on the ground in panic, the ivy twined around their legs, tightened their hold. Sword Man tried to cut them free with the blade.

The scene would have been comical except Kerrick appeared behind Sword Man and grabbed his head the way he had trapped the merc’s.

“Don’t kill him!” I yelled.

Instead of snapping Sword Man’s neck, Kerrick squeezed until the man stopped struggling and slumped to the ground. I released the pressure on Tall Guy’s fist. His hand dropped. I pushed his head forward, exposing the back of his neck. Quickly finding the sweet spot, I knocked him out.

I checked on Kerrick’s victim. He still had a pulse.

“Take care of the others,” Kerrick said. Strain tightened his voice. He leaned against a tree with his eyes closed.

I hurried to the two squatters. The vines had trapped their arms. I touched that sensitive spot on each of their necks, rendering them both unconscious.

“How long?” Kerrick asked.

“They’ll be out three hours at least.”

“Good.” He collapsed.

I knelt beside him. “What’s wrong?”

He batted my hand away. “Go check on Melina.” But when I wouldn’t move, he added, “Vines are stubborn in autumn.”

“Oh.” I glanced at the two prone forms. The leaves had already turned brown and the vines looked brittle. Kerrick had sapped his energy.

“Go,” Kerrick ordered.

I rushed to the cabin’s entrance and paused for a second, dreading what I might find inside. She had been alone with four men for almost a day. I entered into an open sitting area. A fire burned inside a stone hearth built into the left wall. A row of cots lined up near the right wall. Smoke rolled along the ceiling and spilled out the door. Along the back wall was another door. Running across the sitting area, I fumbled to unlock it. I yanked it open, revealing blackness. I hesitated in the threshold, afraid of what I might find. “Melina?” I called.

“In here,” she said with a sob.

I sagged with relief. “Hold on, I’ll get a lantern.”

I rushed to light one. Holding it in front of me, I entered the dark room. Melina flinched as the yellow glow illuminated her bleeding and battered face. Her left wrist was chained to a cot and she wasn’t alone. Two other girls sat on other beds. They were similarly shackled. One of them also sported bruises, but otherwise they appeared to be unharmed. They stared at me in surprise.

“Are you hurt?” I asked.

Melina touched her cheek. “Not bad.”

“Did they…” I couldn’t finish.

“No,” the girl with the bruised face said. “We’re to be sold. But if you give them trouble, then…” She slammed a fist into her palm.

“Sold for what?” I asked horrified.

She looked at me as if she couldn’t believe how naive I was. “Wives if we’re lucky. Slaves or prostitutes if we aren’t.”

The other girl gestured toward the door. “Are they gone?”

“They’ve been, uh, neutralized. Do you know where the key to the cuffs is?” I asked.

“One of
them
carried it with him,” Melina said.

I placed the lantern on a nearby table. “I’ll be back.”

Outside, the men remained where I’d left them. Kerrick appeared to be asleep, but when I neared, he asked, “Is she…?”

“She’s alive, but injured, and there are two others.” I explained what I learned while I searched the men’s pockets for the key.

“Unfortunately, selling women is not limited to this area. The plague has left many places with an uneven population. There’re gangs who will find wives for survivors for a price.”

I glanced at the men. Bastards. Maybe I’d let Kerrick kill them, after all.

“Did you heal Melina?”

“Not yet.” This earned me an appraising glance. I dug my hand into Tall Guy’s back pocket and finally found the key.

“Good. Release them and take them to Mom’s right now.” Kerrick pushed up on one elbow with obvious effort.

“Why?”

He huffed. “Can’t you just follow orders for once?”

“Do you really want an answer?”

“Only if it’s, ‘Yes, sir.’”

“Not going to happen.”

He paused as if summoning the willpower not to bark at me. “There’s a group of people—seven men and two women—heading this way. I can’t tell if they’re friendly or not, so you and the girls need to leave well before they arrive.”

“What about you?”

“I can handle myself.”

I pushed on his shoulder. He fell back onto the ground.

“Uh-huh. Want to try that again?” I asked.

“No one’s after
me,
” he said. “
You’re
the one in danger. Plus you’ll be risking the others.”

“What happens when these four wake up?”

“I thought you didn’t care. They’ll be doing you a favor.”

“I’d love to leave you. Believe me. But I gave my word. Come on.” I helped him to his feet.

Even though Kerrick was taller than me, my shoulder ended up being the perfect height for supporting him.

“Now what?” he asked.

“We’ll hide inside the cabin until the others pass us by.”

“What about the prior occupants?”

“I’ll drag them inside.”

“Your plan—”

I pulled him along. He was too weak to resist. Fun. I dumped him onto one of the cots in the sitting room before releasing Melina and the other girls. They rubbed their wrists and followed me out to the main room. They froze when they spotted Kerrick.

“You remember Kerrick from the inn, don’t you?” I asked Melina.

“Yes.”

“He’s part of the rescue team.”

She glanced around. “Are there others?”

“Ah… No. We had been expecting one man. Not four.”

Melina shuddered.

“And we have a bit of a problem.” I explained our situation to the three of them.

They offered to help.

“Where’s the chimney?” I asked Kerrick.

Although dubious of my plan, he explained how I could find the metal pipe in the dark. It took me longer to locate the chimney than I had hoped. Kerrick had shoved a clump of muddy leaves to block it. I cleared it and hurried back.

While I was gone, Bianca—the girl with the fading bruises—Peni and Melina had dragged the unconscious men into the hideout. They’d shackled the men to the cots in the back room and locked the door. Nice.

Empowered, they discussed what they’d like to do to the men in great detail. Kerrick muffled a horrified croak. He had one foot resting on the dirt floor. “If you ladies are done plotting revenge, you might want to cover our tracks outside before the others reach us.”

“How long do we have?” I asked him.

“Ten, maybe fifteen minutes max.”

Damn. I rushed outside and let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Between the scuff marks from the fight and the drag marks, even I could figure out which way we went. They would discover the hidden cabin in no time.

Melina relayed instructions from Kerrick as I smoothed the ground with my hands and… “Are you sure he said to
sprinkle
the leaves?” I asked her.

“Yes.”

I worked as fast as I could to hide the marks, backing up until I reached the cabin. Standing in the threshold, I studied my efforts. We were in big trouble.

Nothing more to do, I closed and latched the door. I gave Bianca my knife before picking up Kerrick’s sword. Both Melina and Peni armed themselves with kitchen knives.

“Give me your other knife,” Kerrick said.

I had forgotten about the one in my boot. But he hadn’t.

When I handed it to him, he said, “Help me stand.”

“But you’re too—”

“They don’t know that.”

Good point. I grabbed his wrists, pulling him to his feet. A weak pulse of magic traveled up my arm. I had a brief sense of the travelers close by before I let him go. He wobbled, but steadied himself with a hand against the dirt wall.

Bianca and I positioned ourselves on each side of the door. Ready for… I wasn’t entirely sure. I strained, listening for any sounds, but I watched Kerrick’s expression.

A few minutes passed without incident. Then Kerrick straightened.

“They’re suspicious,” he whispered.

“What are you doing?” I asked, pitching my voice low.

“Increasing the camouflage around the door.”

All color drained from his face. “I…” He swayed and reached for the cot. “They’re…”

I debated for a second before abandoning my post. Kerrick sat on the edge. Taking his hand in mine, I released my healing power, sending it into him. Energy flowed through him as it drained from me. Through Kerrick, I learned the moss on the door had thickened and grown over the bare spots that would have given us away.

Magic surrounded two of the nine people searching outside. Kerrick’s awareness stretched farther into the forest. Finding what he searched for, Kerrick shook a tree about a mile away. A dead limb crashed to the ground. I felt the impact through Kerrick. The noise drew the others away.

He released my hand.

“But I can—”

“No. Save your strength.” His voice rasped.

Melina came over. “Are they…?”

“Gone.” Keeping one foot on the ground, Kerrick lay back on the cot and fell asleep in an instant.

I stood on unsteady legs.

Melina twisted the bottom of her tunic. “Can we leave now?”

“No. We have to wait for Kerrick to regain his strength. Sorry.”

“He’s a magician, isn’t he?” she asked in a low voice.

“Yes. Although I don’t think it’s common knowledge.”

She nodded as if she understood. “I don’t blame him. With ten golds being offered for information on the whereabouts of magicians, I’d keep quiet, too.”

“Ten golds? Why?”

“Mom told me that since many of the Realms’ legitimate leaders have died, the remaining powerful people are all scrambling to amass armies, grab Realms and stockpile resources, including magicians.”

“I thought that was just one of those paranoid rumors.”

“Where have you been?” she asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. “We had a customer from Grzebien who told us his town was in the middle of reorganizing when a large army arrived to help. Except they set up their own town watch and declared the city an official member of the Ozero Realm, and under the protection of the High Priestess’s holy army.”