Leif watched me.

“How come they never schedule a New Beginnings feast when you really need to start over?” I asked.

Leif smiled at me. The first genuine one since I had returned from Ixia. It warmed me to the core of my soul.

“That’s okay. I don’t dance,” he said.

“You will,” I promised.

Valek cleared his throat. “Touching as this is, we need to go. Your Story Weaver is providing us with some soldiers to aid against Alea’s people. We’re to rendezvous with them at dawn. I take it your brother…”

“Leif.” I filled in.

“…is coming along?”

“Of course,” Leif said.

“No,” I said at the same time. “I don’t want you to get hurt. Mother wouldn’t like it.”

“And I wouldn’t be able to face her wrath if I didn’t stay and help.” Leif crossed his arms over his chest. His square jaw set into a stubborn line.

“Your mother sounds like a formidable woman,” Valek said into the silence.

“You have no idea,” Leif replied with a sigh.

“Well, if she’s anything like Yelena, my deepest sympathies,” Valek teased.

“Hey!”

Leif laughed and the tense moment dissipated.

Valek handed Leif his machete. “Do you know how to use it?”

“Of course. I chopped Yelena’s bow into firewood,” Leif joked.

“You took me by surprise. I didn’t want to hurt you,” I shot back.

Leif looked dubious.

“How about a rematch?”

“Anytime.”

Valek stepped between us. “I’m beginning to wish that you were an orphan, love. Can you both manage to focus on the task at hand without trying to catch up on fourteen years of sibling rivalry?”

“Yes,” we said in unison, properly chastised.

“Good. Then let’s go.”

“Where?” I asked.

“In keeping with his cryptic nature, all your Story Weaver said was, ‘The horses know where to go.’” Valek shrugged. “It’s certainly not a military strategy I would use, but I’ve learned that the south uses its own strategy. And, strangely enough, it works.”

The horses did know where to go, and, as the sun rose over the plains, we encountered a group of Sandseed soldiers on a rocky outcropping surrounded by tall grass. A dozen men and six women dressed in leather armor and equipped with either scimitars or spears waited. They had painted red streaks on their faces and arms, creating an impressively fierce countenance.

There were no other horses. Valek and I jumped off Kiki and Leif dismounted Rusalka to join us. The two horses began to graze. I shivered in the cold morning air, feeling na**d without my bow, wishing I had another weapon besides my switchblade.

Moon Man greeted us. He had dressed like his clansmen, but he was armed with his scimitar and a bow. The bow he held was no ordinary staff of ebony wood. It had been carved with symbols and animals, revealing a gold-colored wood under the black surface. And I felt that, if I could just stare at it long enough, the carvings may reveal a story. I shook my head, trying to stay focused on Moon Man’s words.

“I sent a scout last night,” Moon Man said. “He found the blood-letting apparatus in the Void just as Yelena described. Then he tracked the Daviian Vermin to a campsite about a mile east of that location. We are on the edge of the plains about two miles north of that site.”

“We’ll wait until dark and launch a surprise attack,” Valek said.

“That will not work,” Moon Man said. “The Vermin have a shield that will alert them to intruders. My scout could not get too close to their camp for fear of discovery.” Moon Man appeared to scan the horizon. “They have strong Warpers, who can hide their whereabouts from our magic.”

“Warpers?” Leif asked.

Moon Man frowned. “Magicians. I refuse to call them Story Weavers for they manipulate the threads for their own selfish desires.”

I glanced at the group of Sandseeds, noting again the array of weapons. “You don’t plan to use your magic?”

“No.”

“And you don’t plan to take prisoners?”

“That is not the Sandseed way. The Vermin must be exterminated.”

I wanted to neutralize the threat of Alea, but I didn’t want to kill her. Esau’s vial of Curare still remained in my backpack. Perhaps I could paralyze her and take her back to the Keep’s cells.

“How are you going to prevent the Daviians from using their magic?” Valek asked.

A dangerous glint flashed in Moon Man’s eyes. “We move the Void.”

“You can do that?” I asked, surprised.

“The blanket of power can be repositioned only with the utmost care. We will center the blanket’s hole directly over the Vermin’s camp and then we will attack.”

“When?” Valek asked.

“Now.” Moon Man walked over to his soldiers.

“I’d hoped to use the Sandseeds as a distraction,” Valek said to me in a low whisper. “This will work. Once Alea is dead, we leave. This isn’t our fight.”

“I think capture and incarceration would be a harsher punishment for her,” I said.

Valek studied me for a moment. “As you wish.”

Moon Man’s group shouted a war cry, then disappeared into the tall grass. He came back to us. “They will position themselves around the camp. The signal to attack will be when the Void is in place. You are to come with me.” He glanced at the three of us. “You need weapons. Here.”