Seekers of Nazar

Chapter Nineteen

Tori waved her knife in front of Grady. "No sudden moves, alright? There's no use. She'll quell anything you try. I've seen her do it countless times." Tori motioned to the bedroom. Grady snarled at her but followed her command. Tori tied her to a chair, pulling the twine tight.

Leilandri was pacing the living room.

"What do we do now?" Tori asked.

"We need to interrogate her. We can prove she killed Naomi, but we need to find out how she spread the illness through the entire region. It's a new kind of weaving I don't understand. Maybe she was just experimenting here, thinking no one would find out."

Leilandri wrung her hands. "How was I able to quell her? She's supposed to be more powerful than that." Her face was a storm of confusion. "Something's not right."

"Rockwood is an excruciating way to die," Tori said. "Poor Naomi."

"Yes." Leilandri shivered at the thought. "And, poor Bailey. She was exposed through Naomi's breast milk." They took a moment of silence, thinking about the painful way they died.

When they looked up, Elleric was walking in the door. "Jeremiah drank himself into a couch nap," he said drolly. "From the sound of his snores, he won't be up until morning." He raised his eyebrow. "What's going on here?"

"We took Grady captive. She's in the bedroom," Leilandri waved in the direction of the room and continued to pace.

Elleric rubbed his eyes and turned to Tori for an explanation.

"She poisoned Naomi with Rockwood. When we caught her with the herb, she used her magic to try to get away. Leilandri took care of that, and then I tied her up." Tori coughed delicately and nodded to the room.

"Of course, you did. How could that possibly have gone wrong?" He turned pointedly to Leilandri. "What's the plan here."

"We have to interrogate her. I need more answers if she is going to stand trial in Nazar." She raised her face to meet his. "We also need a way out of town before Jeremiah wakes up."

He stared at her, disapproval pulling at the corners of his mouth. "I'll get the horses and bring them round. We can slip out while the town sleeps. The only loose thread is Tol-Aka. He is still out trying to find Jena. I'll send them here if I see them."

Leilandri nodded curtly. It was a good plan. It was their only plan. "She hasn't used her full strength yet. I don't know why, but she's capable of much more than she's showing. Be careful."

Elleric bent down, their faces close. In a hushed tone, he said, "You are the one that needs to be careful, Leilandri. I don't want to go after the horses and return to find you both hurt or worse. I won't go unless you have control of this situation."

Leilandri jutted her chin out defiantly. "I do. We need the horses." He searched her eyes and sighed before leaving.

"Let's go, Tori. We have work to do." Leilandri twirled in a flurry of brown skirts and walked to the bedroom.

Grady's eyes were smoldering. "I'm not going to tell you anything," she spat.

Leilandri laughed quietly. "Do we seem like amateurs, Grady? You look smarter than that." She sat on the edge of the bed, smoothing the wrinkles on her skirt. "Did you think you could go on a killing spree, and Nazar wouldn't notice? Did you think you could spread illness throughout an entire region, destroy villages with storms, and just get away with it?" Leilandri folded her hands in her lap patiently. "It surprises me that you weren't expecting us."

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't spread the illness. I didn't destroy any villages with storms. If I had that kind of power, why would I be in the Aster Mountains?"