The Hidden Crystal

Chapter 44

Char and Rath didn't settle on a campsite until dark. They set up camp while Iris cast a barrier over the location, and then she sat on a blanket by the fire, pulling her knees up to her chest and staring into the flames Char had breathed into life.

He sat beside her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to his side. "You're doing it again."

"Sorry." She took a deep breath and gave him a weak smile. "I think I'd better check on... something."

She reached for the amulet, but Char grabbed her wrist before her hand could touch the clear stone.

"What kind of 'something'?"

She hesitated. "I want to see if Micah's at the castle."

"Not a bad idea." Rath joined them, passing out the standard dull fare of dried meat and biscuits. "If you can spy things out for us with nobody realizing it, maybe you can help us find a way into that castle, too."

"That's what I was working on when we were flying. I'm not sure how we'll manage it. Every entrance is heavily guarded, even the side entrances. The guards patrol in pairs, and there are pairs of archers hidden in all the towers, too. I thought maybe the changing of the guard would be the best time to try, but they're really well organized. I couldn't find any blind spots."

Rath whistled. "Wow. Want a career in espionage once this is all over? The army could definitely use you."

"No," Char snapped. He glared at Rath, flickering flames reflected in green eyes narrowed and sharpened to a point.

Rath held his hands up in front of him. "Whoa, it was a joke. Settle down, will ya?"

Iris pulled her wrist free from Char and closed her fingers around the amulet. "I'll be back soon, I think. If it's more than an hour, wake me up."

She looked again at the fire and took a slow, deep breath, closing her eyes on the exhale. The whispers crowded in, and she pushed through them, reaching up and calling them along with her as she soared into the starry sky. When she looked down, she saw her barrier, a translucent, shimmering dome surrounding the little camp.

She smiled. She was getting better at this magic thing.

Then she felt something to the north, something tugging at her. Not the whispers, and not Micah. There was none of his telltale snapping and crackling, but there was a magical signature. Something vague and mysterious, something she couldn't quite describe.

She could have fought the pull, but she allowed it to draw her toward it in a steady descent.

There was a town north of camp. She'd have to tell Char and Rath about that when she returned. They might want to move, just to be safe. Even though there were no people outside. She could feel them, cowering behind locked doors and shuttered windows, and she wondered what they feared.

Then she saw the sea of tents on the northern edge of town.

The human army.

It wasn't Micah. It couldn't be Micah. Could it?

Somewhere among those tents was the source of the unknown force, but it felt distinct from Micah's. Different.

Hiding a signature was one thing. He couldn't change his, could he?

Regardless, there was no longer any doubt in Iris' mind. The campsite Char and Rath had selected was too close to the army. They had to move, and they had to move soon. She needed to tell them.

But if the army had a new mage with whom they would have to contend, they needed to know as much as they could about the person. And she was so close to finding them.