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AS ERIK LEADS OUR HORSES from the woods, Luki bounds forward to greet me. Erik remarks that Thyra left Luki behind to watch over the horses.
I pat Luki’s head, no longer afraid. He may be a wolf, he may need to kill to survive, but no evil shines from his golden eyes.
“I’m not quite sure what town they headed for, but Thyra said to instruct Luki to find her and follow him.”
“That sounds reasonable.” I wait for Erik to help me up onto my horse. My foot is too sore to put any weight on it.
Erik swings up into his saddle. He gives the command to Luki and waits for me to ride beside him before setting off. “It appears I must make you a cane too.”
“We don’t have time. I’ll just find a sturdy stick when we dismount.” I lower my head and fiddle with my reins. I don’t want him to guess my new plan.
Because I’ve decided to go to Rask once Erik joins the others. It will be better if they are together when I disappear. Perhaps cooler heads, like Kai and Thyra, can prevent Erik—or Anders and Gerda—from attempting to find me.
They will send for Sephia, of course, but I don’t fear for her as I do the others. She has formidable magic on her side.
Luki trots before us, occasionally looking back to ensure we follow him. Seeking a way to pass the time, I question Erik about his sisters, a subject that brings a welcome smile to his tired face. Promising me a laugh, Erik launches into a tale about the time Anders snuck Erik and his sisters backstage at the ballet. One of the girls tugged on a cord and brought down a piece of scenery in the midst of some sylphs flitting about a painted forest glade.
“It looked like a large stone, but was only papier-mâché. Still, it made the audience think those ballerinas had some hard heads when it burst into pieces around them.”
I do laugh. “What did you do?”
“Grabbed up the girls and made a swift exit out the stage door. You should’ve seen us run!” His merry expression sobers. “Anders was always so light on his feet.”
I face forward and fix my gaze on Luki’s swinging tail. “What will you do about the army? You can’t spend the rest of your life worrying you might be arrested as deserters.”
“I’m not sure yet. Still trying to work that one out. I’ll think of something.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“You’re being awfully agreeable today. Did you bump your head as well as burn your foot?”
“No, but when I do find that stick, I can think of another good use for it.”
“Ah, there we are. The Varna I know.”
“Peevish and sharp-tongued?”
There’s a stretch of silence before Erik speaks again. “No, honest. Not afraid to put me in my place. God knows someone needs to.”
Luki’s yips break off this conversation. The wolf pauses for a moment, glancing back at us, before loping down a side path.
We follow him to a gatekeeper’s cottage—a tumbled-down building attached to the remnants of a stone wall. Saplings rise up in place of the missing gates.
Erik lifts me off my mare and keeps one arm around me as I limp toward the entrance to the cottage.
“This estate is in bad shape.”
Kai steps out of the open doorway. “Exactly why we chose it.”
He’s elbowed away by Gerda, who dashes to me and throws her arms around my neck, knocking away Erik’s hands. “We were terrified you might be dead. Oh, thank you, thank you, Erik, for finding her.” She releases me to stand on tip-toe and kiss him on the cheek.
With my support removed, I wobble. Kai runs and grabs me before I pitch forward.
Gerda turns to me with a stricken face. “What happened? Are you hurt?”
“She badly burned her foot.” Erik watches as Kai offers me his arm. “After giving aid to heaven knows how many of those poor souls.”
“I was only doing what I’m trained to do. I had my supplies, and I am a healer, so I had to help.” I brush aside Gerda’s hands. “It’s not that bad.”
Taking a couple of steps with Kai’s help, I forget to lift my injured foot and bang it into a rock on the path. I make a noise that sounds like something being slaughtered.
Kai moves to provide more support, but before he can do so, Erik swoops in behind us and lifts me up into his arms.
“Enough of this nonsense. Gerda, please push the door open. Kai, can you see to the horses?”
“Of course,” Kai says, moving out of the way.
Thyra walks around the corner with Luki at her heels. “What is this?”
Gerda pauses with one hand on the door. “Erik found Varna, but she’s hurt, and he is taking her inside.”
“I see.” Thyra sets down a pail of water. She examines Erik before sharing a glance with Kai. “It is all perfectly clear, actually.”
Kai grabs the bridles of our horses. “Absolutely.” He grins at his wife.
“The door, Gerda,” snaps Erik, and carries me inside.
Anders, resting on an old bed pushed up against one wall, rises to his feet as soon as he spies us.
“Varna is alive!” Gerda hands him his cane. “She’s a little hurt, but not too much.” She leans in to kiss him on the cheek. “Now we are all together again.”
Erik crosses the room and lowers me onto the bed. “I hope that is one of ours.” He frowns, staring at the dusty coverlet beneath the wool blanket.
“The blanket? Yes,” Anders replies. “I was not about to sit on the bed without it.”
Erik places me on the blanket and I scoot until I can press my back against the iron bedstead. I want to sit up, not lie down like some invalid.
Gerda perches on the edge of the bed and clasps one of my hands. “All this misery might soon be worth something. Thyra has a lead. We hope to receive news tomorrow.”
“Oh?” I look up and meet Thyra’s speculative gaze. “What have you found?”
“I contacted someone I knew from my travels.” She sets the pail on a rickety table near the door. “It’s a person we can trust,” she adds, with a sharp look at Erik.
“You are sure?” he asks.
“Absolutely. This is someone I met at my mentor’s home. It’s the person who warned me about the emperor’s interest in the mirror.”
“A spy?” Anders raises his wispy eyebrows.
“I suppose you could say so. At any rate, someone who’s just as anxious to see the mirror destroyed as we are.” She does not turn around when Kai enters the cottage, but I can tell by her sudden stillness she’s aware of his presence. “Because it must be destroyed. I see that now. There is no way to hide it again, not when Rask has demonstrated what a touch of its power can do.”
Erik leans against the stone wall of the cottage, his head brushing the low beams. “Now we just have to find it.”
“That is where Thyra’s contact comes in.” Kai crosses to his wife and puts his arm around her waist. “They’re connected to someone in the emperor’s retinue. It seems the Usurper is as anxious to locate the mirror as we are, and Rask has not revealed its location yet.”
“A dangerous game,” Erik says. “Is Rask turning against his master?”
“I don’t think the Usurper is his master.”
The words leave my mouth before I consider what the others might think. I lower my eyes and fiddle with the lacing on my bodice. “I mean, Rask is a sorcerer. Surely he does not fear a mere man, no matter how many troops the emperor commands.”
Thyra examines me with her icy gaze. “Not even a sorcerer can stand against battalions. At least, none I have known. However, I’ve learned one other important fact—Rask is not the Usurper’s only sorcerer.”
“He has more than one?” Anders taps his cane against the rough wood floor. “We are doomed, then.”
“Not necessarily.” Kai pulls Thyra closer to his side. “This is Rask’s mentor, the woman who trained him. Apparently, she’s thrown her lot in with the emperor, and pledged the support of her apprentice as well. However, from what we hear, Rask left her estate some time ago. Supposedly to search for the mirror, although there are rumors he’s broken with her, or wishes to. Which could benefit us.”
Erik straightens, bumping his head on a rafter. “We could set them against one another?”
“That’s the hope,” Thyra says. “But we can’t take any action immediately, I’m afraid. We need to stay here, out of sight, and wait for news.”
I sit back and study the faces of the five people in the room as they discuss these developments and make plans.
They are brave, all of them, and determined. I know each one would willingly risk their life to save any of the others.
I must ensure they never need do so. But how will I make it Rask’s castle if I can barely walk? Even if he provides me with directions, even riding my mare, it will be impossible.
Varna, you idiot, he is a sorcerer. Explain the difficulty and see what he can do.
I need to get outside. Sometime tonight, when the rest are asleep. I must do this without waking Luki, or allowing any of my friends to catch me. That’s all I have to do.
I clap my hand over my mouth to stifle a bubble of hysterical laughter. Five pairs of eyes turn on me.
“Shock. All that horror ...”
Gerda, Anders and Kai look sympathetic. Thyra narrows her eyes and thins her lips.
Erik crosses his arms over his chest and stares at me, an unreadable expression on his face.
“I’ll be fine after some rest.”
This comment compels Gerda to pull things out of rucksacks and fuss over me—bundling blankets behind my head so I can sit up comfortably, taking off my remaining boot and loosening my clothes. Thyra joins her to help unwrap, clean, and dress my foot. Kai brings me fresh water, and Anders offers up the last soft roll from his rations.
Erik strolls over after all these activities have subsided.
“My turn.” He holds up the pewter comb.
It’s a blessing the light has faded in the cottage, so that shadows hide my face.
Erik sits on the edge of the bed and combs out my hair. If he is bothered by the obvious astonishment of the others, he does not let it show.
***
AS DARKNESS FALLS, and the others settle in for the night, I silently recite recipes for potions and ointments to force myself to stay awake.
When I feel certain everyone is asleep, I swing my feet over the edge of the bed. The problem of getting from the bed to the door remains, but fortunately Anders’s cane still leans against the bottom of the bed frame. As I grab the walking stick I consider pulling on my boots, but reject this idea. Either Rask will provide a way for me to reach him that does not require much walking, or I cannot go. I pull Gerda’s rucksack onto the bed and find the slippers she wore at the wedding. Trust Gerda to carry those on this trip.
Fastening my cloak with Sephia’s silver lily pin, I gingerly slide my feet into the slippers and stand, leaning heavily on the cane. Thank goodness Thyra decided Luki should sleep outside tonight, to keep watch over Bae and the horses. I limp across the floor, resisting the urge to rush.
I reach the door without anyone waking, although Erik rolls over and mutters, “Never saw it. Why didn’t I see it?” rather loudly. I pause, frozen in place until I realize he’s simply talking in his sleep.
Slipping outside, I lean the cane against the outside wall and force myself to place my injured foot on the rough ground. I shuffle forward, knowing I must reach a spot in front of the cottage where the trees open up onto the clear night sky.
Stars wink like candles blown by the wind. I close my eyes.
I will come to you, as I promised, if you can show me the way. But I cannot walk, or even ride. I need your help, one more time.
The breeze ruffles my hair, still hanging loose about shoulders. Still as smooth as when Erik’s fingers drew the comb through it.
No, I can’t think about that. I must put such things out of my mind.
I am ready to honor my vow, but I’m injured, and can only come if you will send your coach, or some other aid. Still, I will come, if you will have me.
Crickets chirp and leaves rustle. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf bays at the moon.
Varna.
The word rises on the air, so much a part of the wind I’m not sure I’ve actually heard it. It repeats, over and over, like waves rolling into shore.
If you still want me, I am here.
The rustling of the leaves grows into a sound like the rush of wings. I open my eyes.
Luki crouches on the ground, his ears flattened to his head. Next to him, Bae stands in front of the frightened horses, protecting them with his bulky body. I meet the reindeer’s soulful gaze. He lifts his head, motioning toward something in the trees.
A dense shadow fills the latticework of dark branches. It moves, and I catch the sweep of wings.
Of course. I fight back a giggle. Of course. I lift up my arms.
Luki growls. Bae shambles forward.
“Do not do this, Miss Varna. This is a great mistake.”
“No, Bae. This is a great sacrifice. If you tell them anything, tell them that.” I take two painful steps forward.
Rask’s great bird sweeps down from the trees, dark as a thundercloud, and imprisons me in the grip of its claws. I clutch my arms over my breast and lay back against the bone-hard cage of its talons. I know it won’t drop me, or hurt me. Its master wants me, alive and unharmed.
The creature soars into the air. I can see little in the darkness. Only the cooling of the wind tells me we are rising higher and higher.
I experience a moment of panic. I’m flying, trapped in the clutches of an unnatural beast. I am being carried away, to some unknown fate, to some unexpected destiny.
As if he senses my fear, Rask’s voice is in my head, drowning out the wind. Varna. Do not fear. You are safe. Nothing will harm you. Close your eyes. Soon you will stand before me. Then your life can truly begin.
