Free Trial of Fire by Kate Jacoby

to leave,’ Jenn said quietly, her fingers once againresting lightly on his arm, as though she were afraid to lose physical contact with him. ‘What do you want to do first?’
    ‘Wait. Wait a moment.’ Finnlay held up his hands. ‘Are you going to tell me what happened? How did the Key and Calyx join in the first place? I thought the idea was to simply use the Key’s power to operate the Calyx. This wasn’t supposed to—’
    ‘Finn.’ Robert rested his head on the back of the chair. His colour was returning a little and his voice grated, but he still looked like he’d fought a terrible battle; it was impossible to guess whether he’d won or lost. ‘I wish I could explain everything that just happened – but I can’t. Not yet. Not until I can …’ He swallowed hard and Jenn moved closer.
    ‘Is it holding?’ she murmured.
    ‘Yes. It’s just not so easy, that’s all. We need to get moving as soon as we can.’
    Now Finnlay remembered what it was like being around these two. Not only did they mindspeak; some of the time, they didn’t even seem to need speech of any kind. ‘Nobody’s going anywhere until I get some answers. What is holding? What did you just do?’
    ‘A trick.’ The ghost of a smile drifted across Robert’s face. He ran tired hands through his long hair and shook his head as though to clear it. As each moment went by, his strength seemed to be returning. ‘I … Jenn made the Key believe she was turning it into an
ayarn.’
    ‘What? But that’s impossible – the power required would be simply enormous!’
    ‘Only if she actually
was
turning it into an
ayarn
 – assuming she could. No, she’s just made it think she has by performing the first four of the seven steps required to make one.’
    ‘And?’
    A dry chuckle escaped Robert at that moment. He looked sideways at Jenn and she shook her head, acknowledging the humour in the situation. ‘Because I was attached to the Key at the time, I can use it like an
ayarn
and make the mask through it. It will hold for a few hours at least.’
    ‘Serin’s blood!’ Finnlay swore. He put his hands on his hips and walked away for a moment. This was stupid. ‘You mean to say that after all those years when I begged you to Sand the Circle and let the Key choose you, when you deliberately did everything you could to avoid contact with the Key, when you virtually ran away from the power you could have had, you are, right now, actually—’
    ‘In complete control of it? Yes.’ Robert was laughing, although there was fear mixed in with the mirth. ‘Ironic, isn’t it?’
    Jenn added, ‘He can’t control all of it without actually joining with theKey. At the moment, the join is about half what I have with it. It’s enough for Robert to create a stable mask over the Key. Enough to stop Nash from seeing it – and us.’
    ‘A mask? Then you can’t move the Key?’
    ‘Yes,’ Robert said, getting to his feet. ‘Of course I can move it. I just have to move the mask with it. And that means I can’t go anywhere without it!’
    Finnlay looked at Jenn, but her eyes told him nothing. When he turned back to his brother, he could see the lines of effort etched around his eyes. ‘And what happens when you can’t hold it any more?’
    ‘Why, then Nash will be able to see us again. So—’ Jenn murmured.
    ‘So,’ Robert’s voice turned hard, ‘we need to leave tonight, before dark. Heading due east, directly for Bleakstone. If I can hold the mask long enough, we’ll find an alternative means to hide it before he can find us.’
    ‘And if not?’
    Robert smiled grimly at him. ‘Then we could be in a little trouble.’

4
    A rattling wind creaked through the treetops, knocking ancient branches together, sounding like old bones echoing in a pauper’s forest. The house beneath the scraping branches stood alone and quiet. Inside, in the room bare of any furniture, Nash lay on the wooden floor, still, naked, and more whole than he’d