Page 44 of The Malice of Moons and Mages (The Broken Bonds of Magic #1)

Forty-Four

Traq

T raq and Xiang rode near the front of the party as they traipsed down sloping, winter-hardened paths. Several starlings scouted ahead, while the rest encircled their captives. Jayna was under Wren’s care somewhere in the middle, while Durin took up the rear with Liasa.

The weather and landscape had changed when they crossed the border the previous evening. Empty plains with snow-covered, leafless trees and shrubs had replaced the tall peaks, thick conifers, and rocky terrain. Occasional squalls forced them to find shelter and slowed their pace.

The Moon’s propensity for deception was notorious and studying them had confirmed Traq’s suspicions. Too much was hidden in a myriad of lies. But the random questioning by he and Wren revealed no new information.

“Will the Silence monks welcome you?” Traq asked.

Xiang shrugged. “Not likely, I’m not welcomed anywhere outside of Song monasteries. I’ll always be a foreigner. In that, I suppose, you and I share some similarities. ”

Traq bristled, felt the darting glances of the surrounding soldiers. “We’re nothing alike. I haven’t betrayed my people.”

“You must have been a child during the last battles, but you enlisted with your oppressors as soon as you were old enough. If that’s not betrayal, I don’t know what is. But, please, try to convince me of your moral superiority,” Xiang said with disdain.

“I’ve tried to protect my people as much as I can. Can you say the same?”

Xiang’s voice turned heavy. “No. In that you are correct. I’ve killed my tribesmen. Also, Moons and Starlings alike, as the situation demanded.”

“You have no loyalty.”

“Only to myself and those I love. The rest of this tribalism is divisionary tactics to keep people under control,” Xiang said. “Perhaps when you’re older, you’ll see it for what it is. What would happen if they ordered you to kill your tribespeople? Would you be an obedient Starling or be labeled a Western rebel? How long after you protested would they strip your stars and slit your throat? Or I hear there’s an even more gruesome end for Westerners in the southern sands.”

Traq held his words. It was foolish to be goaded so easily. Xiang was taking his measure, hoping to use them to subdue Chon, but what he planned after that was uncertain.

Xiang promised that the Rajav would be grateful. They’d send an account of all that transpired, stating the Starlings were responsible for capturing the mass murderer to Lord Ijion and the Starling Senate. Wren responded too quickly, but she’d always needed to prove herself. That Xiang noticed that tendency and sold it to her with just the right amount of desperation in his voice was a testament of his skills.

They rode in silence through the dormant fields for a long time before Xiang spoke again. “Let me ask this. It’s obvious you have some sentiment toward the western girl. But what does she really mean to you?” Traq pursed his lips as Xiang continued. “What will you do when your Septra orders you to kill her?”

“She wouldn’t.” Doubt thickened his voice.

“And if that’s the only way to prevent catastrophe?” Xiang asked. “ That girl is anchored to our greatest criminal, which makes her his most vulnerable point. Best you consider what that means.”

Tension settled behind Traq’s eyes. He knew what it meant.

“Everyone will want to kill her at the first opportunity.”

“And you?” Traq asked.

“I don’t want her dead. If she cooperates, then perhaps Chon can be subdued,” Xiang said.

Something in his tone nagged at Traq, but he didn’t reply.

Hours later, after Jayna slid from her mount in exhaustion, the convoy made camp, building fires and erecting tents as Xiang and Durin tended to her. She’d grown stronger since the infection cleared, but she wasn’t healed completely. She hadn’t drawn more than a trifling of magic since she’d woken. Between the siphoning and Durin’s healing, she probably wouldn’t ever again.

“It’ll take years for her to acquire more than a star or two, if she ever does.” Wren sat with Traq beside the fire, watching the shadows move inside Jayna’s tent. “She’ll be useless unless we use her as bait.”

“Bait?”

“Chon might want to finish her off.”

“We sacrifice her?”

“They’re waiting to do the same.” She nodded to the Moon soldiers, nibbling their rations and mumbling to each other in their sharp dialect. “They might kill us once our usefulness has run its course.”

“Then why are we taking the risk? Why help them at all?”

“I might be wrong. Maybe we can foster a positive relationship with their Rajav through this one act. If we can guarantee peace for our countries, wouldn’t it be worth it?”

“What about the adage ‘never trust a Moon’?”

“I still abide by that, but I’m willing to consider that thinking might be outdated.”

Traq shook his head. “Xiang wants Audra alive. To use her to control the mage.”

Wren scowled. “I assumed they’d want him dead.”

Traq leaned toward her. “What do we really know about Chon? He’s a powerful mage, but their words are formal. Practiced respect. The soldiers don’t speak of him at all. Have you noticed? Not one word.”

“You know I get lost in their dialect.” She scooted close, her shoulder brushing his. She dropped her voice. “When Jayna was slipping into delirium, she mumbled something about an Oji.”

“Oji?”

“The Rajav’s oldest. Oji for firstborn, Oja for second. Father fought them both in the last incursion. Said they slaughtered all the monks and several villages before they were stopped.”

It was both white and black robes that killed his people, but he knew well enough to hold his tongue. Audra strapped to someone who represented everything she fought against made his teeth grind together in anger. She’d prevented him from knowing the danger she was in. No. It was more likely she’d protected him, and he’d been too hurt to see it.

“Why the monastery?” he asked. “I know there’s an eclipse soon, but why go there?”

“He’s relying on the Silence monastery to protect him.” Wren rubbed her neck. “Something’s going to happen during the eclipse festival.”

Xiang exited the tent and settled beside the fire, looking as dour as ever.

Wren winked at Traq. “Traq and I just made a bet.”

Xiang rubbed his hands together before giving her a droll look.

“Is the Oji going to the monastery because of the eclipse, or does the eclipse just happen to be occurring at the same time?”

Xiang’s gaze turned hard. He cleared his throat. “What do you know of the Oji?”

“Not enough, apparently. Enlighten us,” Wren said. A gold thread whipped from her fingers and encircled his throat.

Xiang stilled, staying within the small net of magic to prevent unintentionally connecting with it, as if this were a familiar experience.

All eyes turned to the golden glow of Wren’s magic. One of the Moons shouted, the others rose to their feet where they met the Starling’s drawn blades.

“Tell us about the Oji.”

Xiang’s face tightened .

“He won’t tell you anything.” Jayna stood in the tent flap; a slender arm draped around Durin’s shoulders. “But I will.” Xiang’s eyes darted toward her, but she shook her head. “We need their help. The best thing we can do is ask for it properly.”

Wren’s magic withdrew slightly, leaving a single gold fiber encircling the general’s throat.

“I knew you were the smart one,” Wren said.