Page 86 of Ash and Feather

I nodded slowly, understanding. “…And one of those leaders will be Cillian.”

Valas cleared his throat and gave a little bow. “The God of Commotion and Chaos, at your service.”

“Just enough chaos to get their attention,” Mairu warned. “We aren’t here to escalate this war, remember.”

“You speak as though you think I have no self-restraint.”

She gave him a withering look.

He smiled.

She coughed. “Right. Moving on.” Her gaze narrowed on the camp. “We should probably have eyes and ears in the midst of the camp itself. I can disguise myself and walk among them easily enough, which should allow me to overhear the information we need to pinpoint Cillian.”

“And once we do,” I said, “I can corner him and talk to him alone.”

“And I’ll stay close and make sure you aren’t interrupted,” Dravyn added.

“Perfect,” said Valas, rubbing his hands together. “There’s no way any of this can go wrong, right?”

I laughed nervously.

“Let’s just get on with it,” Dravyn said.

Mai was already changing. In the span of a few heartbeats she had lost the radiant luster of her divine body and transformed into a perfectly dull figure with pointed ears, mousy brown hair, and a pleasantly warm, round face—a stark contrast to her normal, fiercely beautiful appearance.

She looked expectantly to Valas before turning and heading into the camp.

The God of Winter set off in the opposite direction.

Dravyn and I held our position, watching and waiting.

Soon, I could no longer see Valas—but I could sense his magic rising.

He began sowing his chaos by targeting the dim lanterns spaced throughout the camp. One after the other they went out, ice crawling into the glass and choking out the flame within.

As the darkness deepened, ice overtook the branches of the trees surrounding the camp as well. Creaks and groans filled the air, followed by violent cracks and crashes as the weight of the ice snapped the weaker branches and sent them plummeting downward.

Lastly, a shimmering, cold mist swept over the area, moving in a way that was clearly unnatural. It left a fine, sparkling film upon everything it touched. In some places the mist pooled, gathering into the shape of beasts that roamed about like ghosts.

These phantom creatures were the breaking point—as soon as they appeared, the shouts began in earnest, panic spreading from one end of the camp to the other as the elves rushed about grabbing weapons and searching for the source of the frigid, invading magic.

“The ghosts are a bit much,” Dravyn said under his breath.

“If they keep eyes off us, I’ll forgive his showiness, just this once.”

“Fair enough.”

We drew our hooded cloaks tightly around ourselves and carefully weaved into the chaos.

Between the hoods, the increased darkness, and the distractions Valas had created, we were able to almost completely avoid unwanted attention.

I listened for the sound of Mairu’s voice among the shouting. She was melding perfectly with the panicking crowd, calling out orders to stay calm—as if she was not only an elf who belonged in this place, but one with authority. She was also calling out a question that seemed perfectly reasonable from a person trying to maintain order:Cillian…where is Cillian?

After she’d gotten her answers, I felt her magic crawling over me, turning my head in her direction. She discreetly signaled for me to walk toward her.

We stepped away from the crowds, and she covertly relayed the details she’d gathered to Dravyn and me.

Following her information brought us to the very edge of the camp, to a sloping hill that led down to a clearing where a circle of tents had been erected. Dravyn paused at the top of the hill, keeping one eye on the chaotic camp behind us while I crept my way toward the clearing below.

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