Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder Read Free Book Online Page B

broken a leg or worse when he appeared at the hole’s
    opening.
    “The steps lead to a big cavern with many tunnels and ledges. I spotted a few
    footprints in the dirt, but had to come back before my light died,” Tauno said. “I
    also heard water gurgling nearby.”
    Now we knew. Vermin had gone through the cave.
    “Leif, what do you need to make a light last longer?” I asked him.
    “You’re not thinking about going in there, are you?” Marrok asked, sounding
    horrified.
    “Of course. You want to find Cahil, don’t you?”
    “What makes you so certain he went that way?”
    I looked at Leif. Together we said, “Smug satisfaction.”
    While Leif and Tauno returned to the Daviian camp for firewood, Moon Man and
    I discussed what to do with the horses. We would need Marrok’s tracking skills and
    Tauno’s keen sense of direction to find our way through the cavern. Leif and I
    needed to take Cahil back to the Council, so that left Moon Man.
    “I am not staying behind,” Moon Man said.
    “Someone needs to feed and water the horses,” I said.
    Kiki snorted at me. I opened my mind to her.

    Don’t need, she said. We wait then go.
    Go where?
    Market. An image of the Illiais Market formed in my mind. As the main southern
    trading post for Sitia, the market was tucked between the western edge of the Illiais
    Jungle and Cowan Clan lands.
    How do you know about the market? I asked.
    Know land like know grass.
    I smiled. Kiki’s concise view of life kept surprising me with its many layers of
    emotion. If I could view the world the same way, I knew it would make my life
    easier.
    Moon Man had been watching me. “Perhaps Kiki should mentor you.”
    “On what? How to become a Soulfinder?”
    “No. You are a Soulfinder. She can help you be a Soulfinder.”
    “More cryptic Story Weaver advice?”
    “No. Clear as air.” Moon Man drew a deep breath and grinned at me. “Let us get
    the horses ready.”
    We removed their bridles and reins and packed the tack into their saddlebags.
    When Leif and Tauno returned, we sorted our supplies, distributing them among our
    packs and repacking the rest into the saddlebags. The horses would keep their
    saddles on, but we made sure nothing would hang down or impede their motion.
    My pack weighed heavier than usual, but I had an uneasy intuition we might need
    a few of the items inside.
    When we were ready, Leif lit the firewood torches dipped in the plant oil he had
    stored in Rusalka’s saddlebags. He left most of his odd concoctions and medicines
    behind, boasting he could find anything we needed in the jungle.
    “If we find a way out,” Marrok muttered. “What will we do if we become lost in
    the caves?”
    “That will not happen,” Moon Man said. “I will mark our way with paint. If we
    can not find our way through, we will return to the plateau. The horses will wait until
    Yelena tells them to go.”
    Moon Man wrapped his muscular arm around Marrok’s shoulders. Marrok
    tensed as if he expected a blow.
    “Trust yourself, Tracker. You have never been lost,” Moon Man said.
    “I have never been inside a cave.”
    “Then it will be a new experience for both of us.” Moon Man’s eyes glinted with
    anticipation, but Marrok hunched his back.
    I wasn’t a stranger to small dark places. Before becoming the Commander’s
    food taster, I had spent a year in the Commander’s dungeon awaiting execution.
    While I wasn’t anxious to return to a confined space, I would push past my nerves
    to recapture Ferde.
    “There are a few caves in the jungle,” Leif said. “Most of them are used as dens
    by the tree leopards and are avoided, but I’ve explored some.” His gaze met mine
    and, by the sad smile, I knew he had searched those caves looking for me.
    Tauno and Marrok each held a torch. With Tauno leading the way, I followed,
    crawling headfirst through the small opening. Leif was close behind, then Marrok
    and finally Moon Man.

    The torchlight illuminated the