I MOVED TO CONFRONT Cahil. He should be in the dungeon for aiding and abetting a murderer, not standing in the middle of the Great Hall having a conversation with Roze. My alarm increased when I saw a few Vermin inside the Hall.

Irys had other plans. She grabbed my arm and pulled me aside.

“Now is not the time,” she said, appealing to me.

“What is going on?” I demanded.

Irys glanced around the room. A few Councilors stood close enough to overhear us, so she switched to our mental communication.

Cahil claims he’s been on an undercover mission this whole time, she said. He says that he didn’t free Ferde.

Why would anyone believe that? I asked.

Because Roze corroborated his story.

A lightning strike of shock ripped through my body. I hoped I misunderstood her. But her grim expression didn’t change.

It gets worse, she said. Cahil says he caught Marrok rescuing Ferde and, after interrogating him, Cahil discovered Ferde was on his way to rendezvous with others. Cahil followed the Soulstealer to discover what they plotted.

That’s ridiculous. We know Cahil beat Marrok to find out about his birth parents.

It’s Cahil’s word against Marrok’s at this point because there is no evidence to say who freed Ferde. Especially since Ferde can’t be questioned. Irys frowned. We’ll talk about your actions later, but whatever you learned from Ferde s mind can’t be used as evidence.

Why not?

Because you were emotionally involved with the Soulstealer and your impartiality is suspect. I know—she went on, sensing my protest—it isn’t right, but when the Council discovered what you had done to Ferde, it confirmed their fears about you being a Soulfinder and validated Roze’s warnings.

I sighed. It had confirmed my fears, too. Where’s Ferde now?

In the Citadel’s jail, waiting for the Council to decide what to do with him. Although I think executing him would be a kindness.

Her censure hurt and guilt welled. I forced my thoughts away from Ferde and concentrated on Cahil. There had to be a way to show the Council the truth about his involvement. Where’s Marrok? What has he said?

Marrok is being held for questioning. He claims he didn’t free Ferde. He had no motive. But Cahil says Marrok wanted to frame him for the escape so Marrok could lead Cahil’s men. And also that Marrok lied to him, and Cahil really has royal blood.

My mind spun. Cahil had an answer for everything. So why was Cahil traveling with Ferde?

He says it was part of the undercover mission. Once he caught up with Ferde, he convinced Ferde he wanted to be a part of their plans. While he traveled with the Daviians, Cahil says he recruited them to switch sides. She gestured to the Vermin in the room.

Did he mention the Vermin using blood magic and the Fire Warper?

No. He didn’t, but Leif tried. Leif attempted to discredit Cahil and many of the Councilors thought he exaggerated about the Daviians. Unfortunately, Leif’s reputation for seeing doom and gloom in everything worked against him.

Did Cahil say what the Vermin plan to do? Half of me didn’t want to hear Irys’s response. I steeled myself.

According to Cahil, the Daviians’ leaders are in league with the Commander of Ixia. Together they plan to assassinate the Council and Master Magicians and, in the ensuing chaos, the Daviians will offer to help Sitia battle the Ixians. But there won’t really be a war and the Daviians will eventually turn Sitian’s government into a dictatorship.

Exactly what the Council feared since the Commander took over Ixia, and, combined with the resultant bad feelings from the Ixian Ambassador’s visit, the Councilors were primed for Cahil’s lies. So now it seemed Roze was right to warn the Council about the Commander. And I had no evidence to prove them wrong.

What about my training? I asked.

I didn’t think Irys could look any more upset, but she managed to deepen her scowl. The Council has given Roze permission to “assess” your involvement in these events and to determine what risk you pose to Sitia.

I’m sure that would be impartial. Do I have any say in this?

No. But the other Masters will be there as witnesses. All except me. My objectivity is considered compromised by our friendship.

Moon Man and Tauno finished their conversation with Harun. They came toward us.

Did you hear about the Sandseed massacre? I asked Irys.

Yes. Horrible news, and it gave Cahil more proof of the Daviian threat. The Council is preparing the Sitian army for war.

I didn’t even have to ask. Irys saw the question in my eyes.

War against the Daviians and against Ixia.

So much for my job as Liaison. War between Sitia and Ixia was the one thing I had hoped to avoid. There had to be more going on with the Daviian Vermin, though. I knew the Commander would never team up with them. They used blood magic, and he wouldn’t condone the use of any magic. Besides, he could attack Sitia without the Vermin’s help. Again, I had no proof.

Moon Man and Tauno joined us.

“There are about a dozen Sandseed survivors,” Moon Man said. “They came to the Citadel and are staying here for now. Only one Story Weaver besides me survived. It is Gede, and he is the one we need to talk to about the Fire Warper.”

Irys said, “Who—”

Moon Man kept talking. “You said Master Bloodgood has a few books about the Efe, right?”

“Yes,” I said.

“We should examine them. Gede and I will come to the Keep tomorrow morning.” Moon Man turned and walked away.

I watched his back, feeling uneasy. His whole attitude toward me had changed since he had tried to drag me into the shadow world. He acted as if he had given up on me.

“That was rather abrupt,” Irys said.

“He’s been through a lot.”

“And so have you. Tell me about this Fire Warper. Leif had only sketchy details.”

I reported all our adventures to her as we left the Council Hall and headed toward the Keep.

The next morning we assembled in Bain Bloodgood’s study. Occupying the entire second floor of his tower, Bain’s office was ringed with bookcases. They had been built around the long thin windows and every shelf overflowed with texts. A desk, a few wooden chairs and a ratty armchair looking as old as Bain resided in the center of the room. The sharp tang of ink permeated the air. Ink stained the desk’s top and Bain’s fingers. And the only space on the floor without a pile of books was a foot-wide path from the door to the desk.

The tension in the room pressed on my skin. Moon Man had folded his large frame into one of the chairs. He appeared uncomfortable and he glanced with longing outside. I shared his discomfort. The room felt crowded and tight even for me. Bain sat behind his desk, with Dax Greenblade standing next to him. Dax was Bain’s apprentice and he had the unique talent of being able to read ancient languages. His help in finding Ferde and rescuing Gelsi had been vital.

Irys stared at the other Sandseed Story Weaver with ill-concealed dislike. Gede had arrived with Moon Man and he had pushed his way into the room as if he belonged there. He carried his bulk with authority and appeared to be taller than he was. It wasn’t until he stood next to Irys that his true height was revealed. He matched Irys’s five feet eight inches.

“Those books belong to me,” Gede said.

Silence met his statement. Dax glanced at me. Incredulity flashed in his bottle-green eyes.

“My ancestor labored to banish all the knowledge about the blood magic, yet there they sit—” he gestured to the two open books on Bain’s desk “—for anyone to pick up and read.”

Irys said, “I doubt anyone but Master Bloodgood and Dax can read or understand the language—”

Gede cut her off. “It is all you need. One person to read it, to get ideas and to experiment with the knowledge. Blood magic is like no other—once you start you can not stop.”

“It appears the Vermin have discovered the information without these books,” I said.

“How do you know?” Gede asked. He peered at Dax with open suspicion. “Perhaps someone has been feeding them information.”

I stepped in front of Gede before Dax could defend himself. “Not from here. Besides, having these books might prove to be an advantage. Your ancestor Guyan defeated the Efe and perhaps the books contain information about how to counter the Vermin’s blood magic and to defeat the Fire Warper.”

“All the more reason to give them to me,” Gede said. “The Sandseeds will deduce a way to oppose the Daviians. After all, they are our problem.”

“Not anymore. They’ve gone beyond your problem,” Bain said. “We will keep the texts here. You’re welcome to study them with us.”

But Gede wouldn’t back down on his claim and Bain refused to give in. Eventually Gede rose to leave. He paused before me and scanned me with cold calculation in his dark eyes.

“Did you know Guyan was a Soulfinder?” Gede asked me.

Surprised, I said, “No. I thought he was the first Story Weaver.”

“He was both. You know nothing about Soulfinders.” He glared at Moon Man. “Your education is pathetic. I can teach you how to be a true Soulfinder.”

My heart jumped in my chest. The prospect of learning more about Soulfinders both thrilled and terrified me.

Gede must have seen the indecision on my face. “You do not need these books to defeat the Fire Warper.”

Too good to be true, I knew there had to be a catch. “I suppose you’ll guide me with some cryptic nonsense.”

“Bah!” Again Gede shot Moon Man an annoyed look. “There is no time for that. Interested?”

Logic warred with emotion. “Yes.” Emotion won.

“Good. I am staying in the Citadel’s guest quarters. Come at twilight. The moon should be up by then.” Gede swept out of the room, with Moon Man trailing behind him.

Irys raised one slender eyebrow at me. “I don’t—”

“Think it’s the best decision.” I finished for her. “Think I should rush into the situation and hope for the best.”

She smoothed out the sleeves of her tunic, giving me a wry look. “No. I don’t trust him.”

I lingered outside Roze’s tower, debating. This meeting with her, Bain and Zitora could be a trap. She could either trick me into confessing to conspiring against Sitia, or it could be my chance to redeem myself. Nice to have choices.

Bain opened the door and said, “Come in, child. It is cold outside.”

Decision made, I followed Bain into Roze’s home. A huge fire crackled and popped, spitting out sparks, which would have burned the threadbare carpet if Roze hadn’t doused the errant embers with her magic. With the memory of her fire attack seared in my mind, I chose a hard wood chair as far from the hearth and from her as possible.

Spartan and bare, the room lacked the cozy comfort of Irys’s living area and the scholarly smell of Bain’s study. Zitora, Third Magician, perched on the edge of her seat, another straight-backed chair without cushions. She kept her gaze on her hands. They were laced together in her lap. Bain occupied the only comfortable seat. Overstuffed and worn thin, the chair’s fabric was close to tearing, and by the annoyed frown on Roze’s face whenever she glanced at Bain, I guessed he had taken her favorite spot.

“Let’s get this over with,” I said into the awkward silence.

“Nervous?” Roze asked.

“No. I have a meeting in an hour and I need to wash my hair.”

Roze drew a breath.

“Ladies, please. This is difficult enough as it is,” Bain said. “Put your differences aside and let us assess the situation.”

Roze kept her comment to herself. Impressive. She gave Bain a stiff nod. He smoothed the wrinkles in his robe before continuing. “Yelena, you have shredded Ferde’s soul.”

“I—”

“No commenting until I am finished.”

The stern tone in Bain’s voice raised the hair on my arms. He was the second most powerful magician in the room. “Yes, sir.”

Satisfied, Bain resumed his lecture. “Your rash actions have set off a ripple of discontent within the Council. First you acted without their permission. Second, your ability to shred a soul alarmed the Councilors, including me. You have lost their trust, and therefore the information you uncovered through Ferde is invalid.”

I tried to meet Zitora’s gaze, but she averted her face.

“You are hereby ordered to stay out of Sitian affairs while we deal with this new Daviian threat. Roze has agreed to let you work with Gede to discover the extent of your powers and we will reassess how you can aid our efforts in the future.” Bain gestured for me to comment.

Protests pushed in my throat, but I swallowed them down as I wrestled my thoughts into a logical response. This meeting was an ambush. They didn’t want to question me, just dictate to me.

“What about Cahil? You can’t believe him?” I appealed to Bain.

“There is no proof he lied. First Magician supports him.”

“He’s always been selfish,” Roze said. “He wants only one thing. To aid the Daviians against Sitia runs counter to his desire. He needs our help to launch his campaign to claim Ixia. A country in the midst of a civil war wouldn’t be able to aid him at all.”

Roze’s reasonable logic worried me more than her anger. “How about the Fire Warper?”

A bright fireball erupted from the fire, and hovered above us. I squinted into the harsh light. The heat of the flames fanned my face. Roze curled her fingers into a fist and the fire ball disappeared. Opening her hand, she gestured and snuffed out the hearth fire, casting us into cold semi-darkness.

“I’m First Magician for a reason, Yelena. My command of fire is my best ability. You need not fear the Fire Warper. I’ll deal with him.” Flames ignited. Once again heat and light emanated from the hearth.

I couldn’t suppress my skepticism.

“Do you really think I would let the Daviians and this Fire Warper take control of Sitia? They wouldn’t take proper care of my country. No. I will do all I can to keep them from power, including protecting you from the Fire Warper.”

Now she was outright scaring me. “You want me dead.”

“True. You’re a threat to Sitia, but there is no proof. I can’t obtain the Council’s support to have you executed. But once I have evidence, you’re mine.”

This was more like the Roze I knew and hated. We glared at each other.

Bain cleared his throat. “Child, by listening to the Council and working with Gede Sandseed you will regain the Council’s trust.”

Learning about my powers was what I had desired all along. Ferde was no longer a threat and the Council knew about the Daviians. If they wished to believe Cahil, why should I care? The Commander’s army would prevail against Cahil. I had sought to avoid a war, but I held no sway within the Council. Why couldn’t I be selfish for once and stay out of politics while I explored my powers?

I agreed. But the slight rush of relief failed to ease the pang of doubt. Moon Man’s comment about becoming a slave to another echoed in my mind.

I returned to my rooms in Irys’s Keep tower. She had given me three of the ten floors to use. I trudged up the steps, anxious, worried and frustrated. Roze’s boast she could handle the Fire Warper had better be true. Bain’s Efe books described power symbols and blood rituals, but he had discovered nothing to counter them. And there was no mention of a Fire Warper.

Dax had translated the bulk of the books, but a few chapters remained. He planned to spend the afternoon working on them. My worry also stemmed from a comment Dax had made about Gelsi. Bain’s other apprentice, Gelsi, had been Ferde s last victim, but I stopped him in time and revived her body and returned Gelsi s soul.

When I had inquired about her, Dax’s vague response caused me to question him further.

“To tell the truth,” Dax had replied, “she’s different than before.”

“Different how?” I had asked.

“She’s harsher. Unhappy.” He moved his arms in a gesture of futility. “She no longer enjoys life. She’s more preoccupied with death. It’s hard to explain. Master Bloodgood is working with her. We hope it’s a condition she can work through and not—” Dax shrugged “—permanent. Maybe you can talk to her?”

I promised to visit her. Thinking back, I had returned two people’s souls to bodies that had been dead. Gelsi and Stono. And both came back changed. Were their altered personalities due to something I did when I held their souls? My anxiety grew over what I might discover about my Soulfinder abilities with Gede.

Uneasiness soured my stomach, and I remembered the attack Roze had sent me where Flame Me made a soulless army. While it didn’t apply to Gelsi and Stono, I recalled Stono s offer to kill for me.

With those morbid thoughts, I reached my rooms. Even though I had three levels, I only possessed enough furniture to occupy one. An armoire, a desk, a single bed and night table looked lonely in the round room. I would need to do some shopping when I had the time. Right now finding souls took priority over finding curtains. Then I could be Yelena, the all-powerful Curtainfinder. Able to decorate a room in one hour.

I laughed out loud.

“What’s so funny?” a heart-melting voice asked from behind me.

Valek leaned in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest as if he visited me every day. Dressed as one of the Keep’s servants, he wore a gray tunic and pants.

“I was thinking about curtains.” I moved toward him.

“Curtains are funny?”

“In comparison to all my other thoughts, yes, curtains can be amusing. But you, sir, are the best thing that’s happened to me all day, all week and, now that I think about it, all season.” Two steps and I was wrapped in his arms.

“That’s the best welcome I’ve had all day.”

I could only imagine what he had been up to. His ability to get into any building undetected made him the most feared man in Sitia. And his immunity to magic terrified the Master Magicians. He was Commander Ambrose’s best weapon against them.

“Do I want to know why you’re here?” I asked.

“No.”

I sighed. “Should I know why you’re here?”

“Yes. But not now.” He leaned over and his lips met mine, and it no longer mattered why.

The late-afternoon sun woke me and reminded me about my meeting with Gede. I nudged Valek awake. We huddled under the blankets against the icy air.

Valek moved to get up. “I’ll make a fire—”

“No!” I grabbed his arm, stopping him.

He peered at me with concern. I marveled at the rich sapphire color of his eyes and how they contrasted with his pale skin.

“You’ll need to reapply your skin-darkening makeup,” I said, brushing a black strand of hair away from his face.

He held my hand. “Nice try, but you are going to tell me why you don’t want a fire.”

“Only if you tell me why you’re here.” I countered.

“Agreed.”

I filled him in on the series of events with Cahil, Ferde and the Fire Warper.

“It’s ridiculous to think the Commander is working with these Vermin.” Valek looked thoughtful. “So the Wannabe King has chosen to ignore the truth about his birth. You got to admit his ability to dupe the entire Council is impressive.”

“Not the entire Council. Irys doesn’t believe Cahil and I’m sure there are others.” I waved my hand in a shooing motion. “Doesn’t matter. It’s not my concern. I’ve been told to be a good little student and mind my own business.”

Valek snorted. “Like you would listen to them.”

“I agreed.”

He laughed long and hard. “You. Not. Get involved.” Valek paused to catch his breath. “You’ve been in the midst of trouble ever since you became the Commander’s food taster, love. You would never walk away.”

I waited until he wiped the tears from his cheeks. “This is different. Then I didn’t have a choice.”

“Oh? And you have a choice now?”

“Yes. I’ll let the Council deal with these Vermin and I’ll stay out of trouble.”

“But you know they can’t counter them.”

“They don’t want my help.”

Valek sobered and a hard edge glinted in his gaze. “What happens when the Vermin win?”

“I’ll stay with you in Ixia.”

“What about your parents? Leif? Moon Man? Irys? Do they come with you? And what happens when these Warpers with their incredible blood magic decide to follow you to Ixia? What choice will you have then?” He studied my face. “You can’t let your fear of the Fire Warper stop you from—”

Annoyed, I snapped. “The Council has stopped me. They’re the ones who are against me.” Besides, I didn’t want to think about my family—they were all grown people able to look after themselves. Then why did guilt tug at my heart and doubt squeeze my chest?

“You just said there’re a few Councilors on your side. Once the Council hears Marrok’s evidence tonight, they’ll believe you about the Wannabe King.”

“How did you know about Marrok?” Irys had just told me this morning. I had insisted on attending Marrok’s questioning, but she said the session was closed, for Councilors only.

Amusement returned to Valek’s face. “Servants. Their information network is far superior to a corps of trained spies.” In an offhand way, he added, “I’ll tell you about the session later tonight.”

“You rat! It’s a closed meeting. Only you would try to pull it off.”

“You know me, love.”

“I know. You crave a challenge and you’re cocky.”

He grinned. “I wouldn’t call it cocky. A certain amount of self-confidence is needed, especially for my line of work.” He turned serious. “And for yours.”

I ignored the implication. “Speaking of work, we made a deal. Why are you here?”

He stretched his arms over his head and yawned, pretending to consider my question.

“Valek,” I warned, poking him in the ribs. “Tell me.”

“The Commander sent me.”

“Why?”

“To assassinate the Sitian Council.”