“It’s possible,” Irys agreed.

“We should get a sample,” Leif said. He rummaged in his pack until he found a short glass vial.

“We need to keep going.” Irys squinted at the sun. “I want to find a campsite before dark.”

“Go. I’ll catch up,” Leif said.

“Yelena, help him, make sure it’s the color you remember,” Irys ordered, then turned to Cahil before he could voice the objections behind his frown. “Cahil, you stay with me. If Yelena can find us hours after we left the Citadel, she’ll have no problem catching up today.”

Irys and a still scowling Cahil mounted their horses and headed toward the sun, while Leif and I found a path to the pillars. They were farther away than I had thought. Then, it took us longer than we had anticipated to collect a sample. The streaks turned out to be a layer of red clay. The exposed clay had hardened, and we chipped through it to reach the softer material underneath. We placed both the hard chips and soft clay into the vial.

By the time we returned to our starting point, the sun hovered halfway to the horizon. Kiki found Topaz’s trail, and we nudged the horses into a run.

I felt unconcerned when the sky began to darken. Topaz’s pungent scent filled Kiki’s sensitive nose, which meant we were getting close. But when full dark descended and I could not see a fire, I began to worry. When the moon rose, I halted Kiki.

“Are we lost?” Leif asked. He had been following me without comment since we had discovered the trail. I could just make out his annoyed frown in the faint moonlight.

“No. Kiki says Topaz’s scent is strong. Perhaps they decided to travel longer?”

“Can you reach Irys?” Leif asked.

“Oh, snake spit! I forgot!” I took a deep breath and gathered a string of power, chastising myself for failing to remember my magic again. I wondered when using magic would become instinctive.

I felt a surprising rush of power. The source seemed concentrated in this area. Projecting my awareness, I searched the surrounding land. Nothing.

Alarmed, I extended my reach, seeking further. Then I realized that my mind hadn’t even touched field mice or any other creatures. I stopped in frustration. If I could connect to Valek in the Snake Forest, I should be able to find Irys; after all, her horse had just passed this way.

Topaz smell always strong, Kiki agreed.

Always?

Yes.

“Well?” Leif asked with impatience.

“Something’s wrong. I can’t find Irys.” I told him what Kiki had just said.

“But that’s good, right?”

“There should have been a gradual buildup of scent from faint to sharp. Instead, it’s been the same since we found their trail.” I turned in a circle; magic pulsed in the air all around us. “Someone is trying to trick us.”

“Finally!” A deep voice barked from the darkness.

Kiki and Rusalka reared in surprise, but a soothing strand of magic calmed them. I pulled my bow and scanned the few faint shapes I could see in the weak light.

“Not very quick, are you?” the voice taunted from my left.

I spun Kiki around in time to see a man coalesce out of a blue ray of moonlight. Tall enough to meet my gaze without having to look up, the na**d man’s skin was indigo and hairless. His bald head gleamed with sweat and I could see strength coiled in his powerful muscles. But his round face held amusement, and I sensed no immediate threat from him. Pure magical energy emanated from him, so I thought he might be influencing my emotions.

I drew my bow. “Who are you and what do you want?” I demanded.

Bright white teeth flashed as he smiled. “I am your Story Weaver.”

Chapter Twenty

I glanced at Leif; his alarmed expression had turned to fear. Color leaked from his face as he looked from me to the large indigo-colored man. The man’s painted skin and lack of clothes made me think of Tula’s attacker, but his body was more muscular and scars crisscrossed his arms and legs. But no tattoos.

With my mental barrier in place, I held my bow ready, but the man stood relaxed. I would be relaxed, too, if I had access to the amount of magical power within his control. He had no need to move; he could kill us with a word. Which begged the question, why was he here?

“What do you want?” I asked.

“Go away,” Leif said to the man, “you cause only trouble.”

“Your stories have tangled and knotted together,” Story Weaver said. “I am here as a guide to show you both how to untangle them.”

“Banish him,” Leif told me. “He has to obey you.”

“He does?” That seemed rather easy.

“If you wish me to leave, I will go. But you and your brother will not be allowed to enter our village. His twisted soul causes us pain and you are linked to him.”

I stared at the Story Weaver in confusion; his words didn’t make sense. Friend or foe?

“You said you were here to guide. Guide us where?”

“Banish him now!” Leif yelled. “He will deceive you. He’s probably in league with Tula’s kidnapper and is trying to delay us.”

“Your fear remains strong,” Story Weaver said to Leif. “You are not ready to face your story, preferring instead to surround yourself with knots. Some day, they will strangle you. Your choice was to decline our help, but your tangles threaten to squeeze the life out of your sister. This must be corrected.” Extending his hand to me, he said, “You are ready. Leave Kiki and come with me.”