Night Study (Soulfinders, #2)(68)

“Where’s the fun in that? Besides, if you caught a whiff of an ambush, you’d have been long gone.”

If it’s fun you want...let’s see how fun it is when your clothes are on fire. Leif concentrated.

“Oh, no, you don’t. Frent.”

A puff sounded right before a prick of pain burned on Leif’s neck. He yanked the dart from his skin, but knew it was too late. “Rusalka, go home!”

She galloped by as the woods spun around him. Sinking to his knees, his last thought before the darkness rushed in was of Mara. Their reunion would have to wait. He hoped.





19


YELENA


Five steps. Turn. Five more steps. Turn. I paced along the twenty-seven iron bars of my cell. Even though I had used all my skills as the Liaison and convinced the Sitian Council I hadn’t been involved in espionage, treason or conspiring with the enemy, they still required my brother’s testimony in order to release us.

Five days. We’d been locked in here for one, two, three, four, five and turn, days. Leif had better hurry.

“You’re going to wear a hole in the soles of your boots,” Ari said.

I glared at him. He’d taken a philosophical view of the entire endeavor, using the time to rest. He’d claimed we’d need our energy for our eventual escape, which we’d already planned in detail so we could bolt at a moment’s notice. Of course it helped his calm attitude that Irys had smuggled in a couple of swords for him and Janco, just in case The Mosquito tried to take advantage of my incarceration.

“Yeah, better to do something constructive with your time,” Janco said.

Janco exercised by grasping the highest crossbar with both hands and pulling his body up off the floor. He’d taken his shirt off, exposing long, lean muscles rippling with the effort. Scars crisscrossing his back, arms and chest resembled a street map of a dense city. And he’d named each scar in remembrance of where and when he’d sustained the injury. The healed gash on his stomach and the matching mark on his back, he’d named “Yelena,” for the time he’d been run through with a sword and almost died. Janco swore I’d healed him.

“Pacing is also a form of burning off excess energy,” I said to Janco.

“I’m not burning. I’m keeping in shape. While Ari’s muscles turn to fat, mine will remain strong and ready for action.”

Ari shot to his feet. “I’ll show you ready for action.” He reached through the bars and clamped his huge hands around Janco’s narrow waist. With one yank, Ari pulled Janco off the bars and held him suspended over the floor.

Janco sputtered and tried to break his partner’s hold. Tried being the key word. Without warning, Ari released him. Janco landed with an oomph. He recovered, but before he could squawk in protest, a clang echoed.

We turned to the main entrance of the jail. Irys strode in with two guards on her heels. One glance at her pale face and her fingers fretting at her sleeves, and I braced for bad news.

“Unlock the doors, now,” Irys ordered the guards.

They moved to obey, starting with Janco’s.

Perhaps bad was an understatement. I gripped the bars. “What happened?”

“Rusalka showed up at the Citadel without Leif,” she said.

I pressed my forehead against the cool metal. Concentrating on not panicking, I drew in a few steadying breaths. “My father? Is he missing, too?”

“No. He remained behind to finish his investigation.”

One good thing. I focused on the positive. “What’s being done to find Leif?”

“As soon as I heard, I gathered Kiki and your other horses, along with Rusalka. They’re waiting for you. Rusalka’ll guide you back to where she...lost Leif. Janco, you will be able to track him, right?” The desperate hope in her voice almost cracked my composure.

“How long ago did Rusalka arrive?” Janco asked her.

“This morning. About three hours ago.”

“Then we need to hurry.” Janco grabbed his hidden sword from under the metal cot.

We joined Irys in the corridor. If the guards were surprised by the sudden appearance of the weapons, they didn’t show it.

“Do you think the Cartel has him?” I asked her.

“I suspect they’re behind it, but I’ve no proof.”

Sprinting after Irys, we exited the building. Bain Bloodgood argued with a handful of Councilors at the base of the steps. A few shouted at us to stop, but we ignored them and mounted our horses.

“Let’s go,” I said.

Rusalka turned. We followed. The loud clatter of hooves over cobblestones vibrated in my ears. I let the sound drown out the voice in my head. Being very familiar with that voice, I knew it would list all the horrors that might have befallen my brother, remark on the slim chance of successfully finding him alive and comment on every other terrible scenario. That voice was rather creative when stressed and worried.

After a day and a half of hard riding, we reached the location of Leif’s disappearance. A few hours of daylight remained.

Janco dismounted and examined the ground. Ari and I allowed him to do his tracking mojo while we walked the horses. They had set the brutal pace. Patches of sweat stained their coats. Their nostrils flared as they caught their breaths. Once their breathing smoothed, we watered and fed them. By this time, Janco had finished his investigation. He stood in the middle of a number of scuff marks on the right side of the road, scowling.