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“Well then, I might be able to help you …” she said, twirling the tips of her long hair around her finger. “If inspired by the proper payment.”

I felt like an idiot. Of course, she’d want payment. “I—I don’t have any money.”

“Fortunately for you, silver and jade are of little interest to me. How about this—you tell me what tribe you’re from, and in exchange, I will tell you how to locate your brother.”

I paused. That didn’t seem like a high price to pay. Unless it was dangerous to mention the Zavien tribe. It certainly had been in the mines of Malengard. But if I wanted to find my brother, I had to take the risk. According to Sora, if I didn’t reach him soon, it would be too late. “I’m from the Zavien tribe.”I think, I silently added.

Her lips curved into a catlike smile. Then her eyes shifted, and she stared past my shoulder. The markings on her hands and face began to glow. “Your brother …”

I held my breath.

“… he is … far away …in a place no magic can reach him. But there is a way to find him…” She didn’t blink as she reached for my right hand. “This map will lead to him. But it can only be read by you in your bird form.”

I took a step back, pulling my hand away from her. It was just as I’d feared—I needed my magic to read the map. My shoulders fell. “There’s no way you can decipher it?” I was desperate now.

The Magi studied me carefully, her smile growing sharper.

Before she could answer, a cold wind swept into the tent, whipping my hair across my face. A tall figure clad in a hooded black cloak with a white bow slung across his back stood in the open doorway. Though his eyes were still masked in shadow, I could tell it was the same man from the tavern. Had he followed me here?

“You should think twice before you sell your soul to this witch,” he said, his sharp tone cutting into me like a cold dagger. I didn’t recognize his voice. He stepped between me and the Magi, forcing me backward.

Sal’s face contorted in anger. “How dare you disrupt my business?” she spat, her eyes flashing with venom.

“I know your game, Sal Sahteene. She’s not one of your pawns.” When his hand reached for the hilt of his knife, I suddenly felt like I was shaken out of a trance. I needed to get out of here.

Without another glance at either of them, I ran out into the wet streets and didn’t look back.

22

Jeddak

Raven was nowhere in sight when I returned to The Copper Crown.

“Blazenhell, I should’ve never left her here, Kah. What was I thinking?” After lying to her about the reason I was in Malengard, I had a feeling she was getting suspicious. Of course, she’d vanish at the first opportunity. So far, she’d managed to ignore everything else I’d told her.

“She couldn’t have gotten far,” Kah said.

While he checked the rest of the tavern, I questioned the barmaid and two patrons sitting close to the door. No one had seen her leave.

Frustrated, I raked my hands through my hair. My brief and unpleasant meeting with Sal Sahteene had confirmed that Raven was the only one who could decipher the suli map. Not me, not Kah, not anyone else in all of Eastlandra. Just Raven. Worse, I’d learned she needed her magic to do it. Which she didn’t have.

So, my plan to take the map from her and leave tomorrow to find the stone was no longer an option. Meaning I needed a new plan—one that involved somehow restoring Raven’s magic. Which might be impossible, if I was being honest with myself.Sal had already told me her magic couldn’t heal the girl, and Sal was the most powerful spell-maker in the marketplace.

None of this mattered if we couldn’t find Raven, though.

Kah followed me back outside as I set out to track her. Kneeling, I placed my hand on the damp ground and reached inside for my magic. My senses sharpened and my focus narrowed. I looked for signs of which direction she went and listened to the earth and the wind, feeling for her presence.

When I felt a pull toward the market center, Kah and I headed down the avenue. The rain was coming down harder now, but I didn’t bother to pull my hood up.

“When we find her, don’t you think we should tell her the truth about Lila and the stone?” Kah asked in his logical tone that always tended to make me more agitated.

“Telling her could jeopardize our mission,” I said, pausing near the inn across from the tavern to scan the area. “We don’t know what her relationship to the stone is. If she’s seeking it like we are, she won’t want competition. If she’s protecting it, she’ll never share information about it. Either way, my gut tells me it’s too risky to mention the map or the stone. So, for now, we’re going to have to keep this between us.”If we ever find her.

Kah nodded. “I’ve been thinking about Raven’s magic …”

“Or lack of magic,” I mumbled, weaving in between several carts.

“And I thought of Grandmere Bear.”