Free Night Study by Maria V. Snyder Page B

if I were her.”
    “It’s difficult to maintain an illusion when the subject is in motion,” I explained. “The magician has to constantly adjust it to match the surroundings. It’s exhausting. While something static, like covering the mouth of the cave with an illusionary rockfall, is much easier.”
    “But what keeps it going?” Onora placed the cook pot on the fire, reheating the beef stew the cook from the miner’s camp brought over for supper. “Once the magician leaves, shouldn’t the illusion dissipate?”
    “In most cases, the illusion disappears,” I said. “However, some magicians can loop the magic back to the power blanket. This loop keeps the illusion intact by drawing power from the source. Booby traps work in a similar fashion, except when one is triggered, it connects to the source to fuel the trap and then disintegrates. There’s no loop.”
    “Yeah, yeah, this is all very fascinating,” Janco said, “but why would Owen even be in Ixia? The Commander is angry at him for getting too greedy. His best play is to lie low in Sitia.”
    “Owen claimed he has something that would make the Commander forgive him,” I said, remembering that smug, cocky tone he’d used. And now that I thought about it... “Makes sense for him to want to reach the Commander before Valek reports in. He can spin his story, skewing it in his favor.”
    “Or he can just use his evil mojo and put the Commander under a spell.” Janco waggled his fingers.
    That wasn’t quite how it worked, but Janco had a good point. I met Valek’s gaze. “When were they spotted?”
    “Three nights ago, and they’re on foot,” he said.
    If they wished to keep a low profile, they would avoid riding horses. In Ixia, only generals and top-ranking advisers rode horses. Merchants used them to pull their wagons, but everyone else walked.
    “If we leave now, we can easily catch up,” I said, gesturing to Kiki and the others grazing nearby.
    “Yeah, but can we stop them?” Janco rubbed his ear. A queasy expression creased his face. “Leif’s not here to make those null thingies that protect us from their magic.”
    “We have Curare, darts and blowpipes. As long as they don’t suspect we’re close, we can incapacitate them,” Valek said.
    “Can we find them?” Onora asked.
    Janco huffed in annoyance. “Of course we can track them. That won’t be a problem. If they cover their tracks with illusions, Valek and I can sniff out their magic, and I can follow them if they don’t. No, the real problem will be if they can sense us coming.”
    Everyone turned to me. I considered Owen’s magical powers. Back when Owen had coerced me into helping him search for the Ice Moon in the MD-3 mines, he had failed to locate Valek’s hiding place on the ceiling.
    “Owen can’t, but I’m not certain about Rika and Tyen,” I said. “Many magicians don’t reveal all their powers. They like to keep one or two hidden from public knowledge so they have an advantage.”
    “Not helping, Yelena,” Janco said.
    “Owen’s been one step ahead of us the entire time,” Onora said.
    “That’s what happens when he has a six-day head start,” Janco snapped.
    She pressed her lips together and shot him a nasty glare. Onora wasn’t the type to state the obvious, so I sensed there was more.
    “What are you thinking?” I asked her.
    “They argued while stealing food and under a cloak of illusion. That’s just stupid. Owen’s many things, but he’s not stupid.”
    Valek nodded in agreement. “You think he wanted the boy to see them?”
    “Yes, so he can lead us into another booby trap,” she said.
    Sounded like Owen. “Do we follow the bread crumbs or dash ahead and set our own trap?”
    “How far ahead?” Valek asked.
    “The castle?” Janco suggested.
    “That’s dangerously close to the Commander,” Onora said.
    “Yeah, but it’s our home territory. Nobody knows it as well as we do.” Janco thumped his chest. “And there are a