Page 68 of Ashes of Gold
“You alluded to the fact that you don’t have magic here.”
She flinches. “We don’t. We are Macazi.”
“But that’s not entirely true. A half-truth is still a lie, Taavi. I need a spell and I hear you have a witch here.”
“She isnota witch.” Her jaw clenches.
“So, there is some magic here?”
She says nothing, but her nostrils flare. What is she hiding?
“You’re going to take me to your witch, and if she helps me get a spell to reach my Ancestors, I’ll bind a protection spell to this place.”
“I…”
“I’m not done. One more stipulation. If remnants of my magic are going to be left here, you will be committing the Macazi to fight in the coming war on our side against the Chancellor.”
Her mouth falls open, fear flickering in her eyes. “W-we are not fighters, Rue.”
“And I am not your genie. This is an exchange of services because, frankly, you’ve lied to me once and I can’t be sure you won’t lie again.”
“We don’t have magic, how would we…”
“There will be graves to be dug, armor prepared, wounds stitched, potions mixed, there will be plenty for your people to do. Put bodies on the line, then I know you’ll shake out on my side of things. We win, your people survive.”
“You have no idea what you’re asking.”
That may be true, but she hasn’t said this witch or whoevercan’tget me the spell I need, which means she probably can. And that’s not an opportunity I can afford to lose right now.
“They won’t like this. I promised them safety.”
“And you promised me you didn’t wish me ill, and yet you’re readyto turn me over to Loyalists if I don’t deposit bits of my magic here. You do realize me being out here preparing to fight them might be the only thing keeping y’all alive? Do you see that? Some temporary barter with them still kills you in the end.”
It’s a bluff. I don’t know the Chancellor’s intentions with them, but from where I’m standing right now, Taavi is my opponent and her fear is her vulnerability, flames I want to stoke.
A tear streams down her cheek. “Hasn’t my family been through enough?” she mutters under her breath.
“Agree, Taavi. You have no better option.”
Silence hangs there, and a part of me twists with guilt. I know what is to feel like the world is depending on you. Like you hold it up with your own two hands, and if you so much as take a breath wrong, the entire thing will come crashing down. But I glue my lips shut. If things go my way, they’ll be safe in the long run.
“Fine.” Her glare turns to steel. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Take me to her then. The witch.”
“Don’t call her that to her face. She’s not a witch. She’s a Seer, and she only takes payment in gold and blood.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
TAAVI CARRIES AN ORBin her hand and leads me down jagged stairs deeper into their lair. We are surrounded by lead walls, dotted with glowing glass balls, flames dancing within them. Her face glows orange in the light, and from time to time her eyes dart at my arms.
We shuffle down steep steps, and I squint for the next place to put my foot. I lean into the wall, trying to get better footing, but it’s slippery, so it doesn’t help. The sounds of the Macazi are a faint whisper in the distance. There’s no one down here, no one but the Seer.
My heart thuds in my chest, but the jingle of Taavi’s keys drown out the sound. A Seer that people refer to as a witch? I’d only known Seers to be myths, legend. In Totsi’s shop, there were stories of such, but I never assumed they were real. I slick the sweat from my brow as the stairs curve in a spiral.
“Watch your step here. There’s a loose one.”
I step over the wiggly landing. The stairwell ends at a door bolted with metal bars across it, chains, and a cluster of locks.
