Night Study (Soulfinders #2) - Maria V. Snyder Page 0,3
without it, you’d still be drooling on your pillow.”
True. Even though it smelled awful, it had helped rejuvenate me. I joined him at the counter. An impressive array of utensils, tools, bowls and equipment lined the shelves.
“Besides, if I had a kitchen like this, I’d cook all the time.” Leif studied me. “Hungry?”
“Very.”
He gestured to the bench near the table. “Sit.”
I didn’t waste any time, and he laughed. In that instant, he looked much younger than twenty-nine, which was two years older than me. He grabbed a bowl and uncovered one of the pots on the hearth. Ladling a heaping portion into the bowl, he then placed the steaming goodness in front of me, along with a spoon.
After I inhaled a few bites of the beef-and-vegetable soup, I asked him if he’d identified any more of the other plants inside the glass hothouse Owen had constructed to grow the Curare vine. Before this invention, Curare only grew in the Illiais Jungle far to the south, where it was warm and humid all year round. Another benefit of the vine being confined to one area was that the Sitian Council could limit its availability, which it did. The Council kept strict control of who was allowed to carry it as a weapon. A watered-down version was also manufactured and given to healers in order to reduce a patient’s pain, which I thought was the best aspect of the drug. It was the reason my father had hunted for the vine all those years ago.
“I know all but four. We’ll have to wait until Father arrives to identify the rest.” Leif filled another bowl and sat opposite me. He fiddled with his spoon, twirling it around on the table.
“What’s wrong?”
“I keep thinking of that factory in Lapeer. In order to produce so much Curare, Owen must have more of those hothouses. Lots more.”
I’d suspected as much. “We’ll find them. Has anyone interrogated Ben? He may know where the others are.” Owen’s brother had been caught, along with Loris and Cilly Cloud Mist. Ben wasn’t as powerful as Owen, but he could erect a null shield, light fires and move small objects. The Cloud Mist siblings’ abilities to mentally communicate and manipulate a person’s thoughts and memories had aided Owen in maintaining the deception of his death.
“No. The three magicians were taken to Lapeer and incarcerated in a cell with a null shield. The authorities won’t let any of us near them, although Devlen left this morning to try again. The Captain claims he’s waiting for orders from the Sitian Council.”
I cursed under my breath. “I hope the Captain’s a patient man.” The Council took far too much time to make a decision on anything.
“I’d bet they’re in a panic,” Leif said. “The Commander has Curare, and he won’t be afraid to use it. Unlike our soldiers, I’d bet every single one of his soldiers will have darts laced with the stuff in no time. He could be preparing to invade Sitia as we speak.”
As the Liaison between Ixia and Sitia, I found that scenario to be unlikely. However, with the Commander keeping secrets from even Valek, I might not know the Commander as well as I’d thought. Still... “Or he could just want to even the playing field. Having both Curare and magicians, Sitia has had the advantage for years.”
Leif picked up the spoon. “Which has made me feel all safe and warm. Now I’m wondering what type of uniform I’d have to wear when we’re conquered.”
Considering the Commander had banned all magicians, except me, from Ixia and executed most of those caught inside his borders, I knew that, at best, Leif and the others would be incarcerated in a magic-proof cell for the rest of their lives—or, at worst, they’d all be killed. I decided not to sour his mood any further.
Instead I said, “I’m sure the Commander will find a job that’s perfect for your qualifications. You’d look good in a stable boy’s uniform, or spiffy as a chamber pot manager.”
“Sure, you can laugh. The Commander likes you. And now you...” Leif ducked his head, focusing on the bowl in front of him.
“What? Now I’m not a Soulfinder anymore, the Commander will welcome me with open arms?”
He wouldn’t meet my gaze. “Something like that.”
“Then say it. I don’t want people dancing around the subject or treating me different...or locking me in jail ‘for my own protection.’”
“I was under orders from the Council,” Leif protested.