Free Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder Page A

awareness, touching each man’s mind, putting them into a heavy, dreamless slumber. Cahil slept on a cot in the tent. While I would have enjoyed rifling through his mind, I settled for sending him into an unconscious state. Leif’s magical protection prevented me from affecting him. I hoped he was a heavy sleeper.
      Working with my diamond pick in one hand and with the tension wrench between my teeth, I managed to pop the locks on my wrist manacles after a fifth attempt. The sky began to brighten a shade. My time was slipping away. I crept into the tent to retrieve my backpack, stuffing my belongings into it. I made more noise then I wanted, but my instincts told me that full dawn would waken the men. As I fled, I grabbed my bow from beside the guard who had claimed it.
      Running through the forest, I noticed that the darkness faded with every stride. My thoughts turned sluggish, and I huffed for breath as weakness pulled at my legs. Using magic on the men had drained my energy.
      I scanned the treetops, looking for a big leaf variety with lots of branches. Spotting a tree with potential, I halted and took my grapple and rope from my backpack.
      By the time I managed to hook a branch, my arms felt like rubber. I had to smile at the irony of my situation, though, as I pulled myself up the rope. This was the third time I had used the treetops for escape, and the climb was becoming almost routine. But the distant shouts of angry men spurred me on.
      When I reached the top, I reeled in my rope, and then scrambled to a higher limb for more cover. I wrapped Fern’s green cloth around me as I sat with my back to the trunk, my knees drawn to my chest. Leaving a gap to see through, I settled in for a long wait. I hoped my strength would return soon.
      Hearing a commotion, I imagined the scene going on at Cahil’s camp. The reprimand of the guards who fell asleep during their watch; the discovery that my backpack and effects were missing. I trusted that made Cahil pause, knowing that I had stood only a few feet from him and let him live.
      My position in the tree was closer to the camp than I had wanted. Searchers with drawn swords came into view sooner than I had anticipated. I froze in my green cocoon.
      Goel led the men. He stooped to inspect a bush, and then called, “This way. She’s not far. The sap’s still sticky.”
      Rivers of sweat ran down my skin. Goel was a tracker. I moved my hand, finding the slit in my pants. My switchblade hadn’t been confiscated. Grabbing the smooth wood of the handle made me feel a bit better.
      He stopped at the bottom of my tree. I shifted my weight forward and crouched on the branch, preparing to flee if needed.
      Goel examined the ground around the base of the trunk. His eyes slid up into the branches. My breath locked as cold fear splashed through me. I realized I had made a grave mistake.
      A predatory smile spread across Goel’s lips. “Found you.”
     
    Chapter Seven
     
      I yanked my forest camouflage off my back and shook the material out like a sheet.
      “There she is,” one of Goel’s men cried out, pointing up at me.
      Releasing the fabric, I let it float down toward the men. The second the material obscured their view, I launched myself through the treetops, scrambling with a sudden spur of energy from branch to branch in an effort to get myself higher and farther from Goel and his men.
      “Hey!” someone yelled from below.
      “Stop her!”
      I kept moving, hoping that Goel couldn’t track me through the trees. My mistake had been to forget that Cahil had searched through my backpack. He knew I carried a grapple and rope. With a good tracker and the hint of my trick, it hadn’t taken them long to find me.
      Curses and yelling followed below me. I focused all my efforts on finding branches that would hold my weight, and getting away. Once my mind calmed enough for rational thought, I realized I was making a