“At what cost, Kerrick? Are you willing to risk her freedom and sanity? You know Tohon will just claim her.”

Claim? That sounded bad. Unease swirled around my heart. Why did I think I could resist Tohon when I had had no willpower before? Perhaps Belen was right.

Kerrick’s expression flattened. He pulled Belen away from us for a private chat. I watched Belen’s face. Whatever Kerrick said mollified him. He still seemed upset, but not as furious as before.

When Kerrick returned, he detailed the route Sepp and I needed to take to Tohon’s, what we should look for and avoid.

“If you can, don’t let Tohon touch you,” Kerrick said to me. “His power is like yours—he needs skin contact for his magic to work.”

My stomach twisted with fear, remembering Tohon’s touch. How I had no control over my emotions. “I don’t think… I… Sepp’s right, I can’t… I’m not—”

Kerrick took my hands in his. His warmth steadied my nerves.

“You’re the most strong-willed person I know. More stubborn than my great-aunt Yasmin, and I didn’t think that was possible. Just pretend Tohon is me. You never listen to me, so you’ll have no trouble ignoring him.”

That surprised a laugh from me. “I’d like to meet your great-aunt Yasmin someday.”

“Well, she’s eighty-nine, so don’t linger too long in Tohon’s castle. Get in and get out. Okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

Kerrick just shook his head and muttered under his breath as he walked away. I said goodbye to the monkeys. They each gave me a hug.

Belen still wasn’t happy about our plans, but he pulled me aside to say goodbye. “Be careful. Be smart. And be strong. Here.” He handed me an almost perfectly round stone that fit in my palm. Flea’s name had been carved in the stone. “It was one of his juggling rocks. He was searching for three perfect ones as we traveled. When he found this, he marked it as a keeper.” Belen swallowed. “He didn’t have a chance to find any more, so I kept looking for him.” Belen handed me two more stones that closely matched the first. One stone had Loren’s and Quain’s names carved on it. The other had Belen’s and Kerrick’s. “They’re keepers, too. Remember that.”

Grief, guilt and awe churned, tightening my throat. “I will.” The words squeaked out.

“Good. I’ll see you in a few months.” He enveloped me in a hug and joined Kerrick and the others.

I put the gifts in my cloak’s pockets. The extra weight pulling on my shoulders gave me a boost in confidence as Sepp and I headed west.

Normally, the smaller passes would be impossible to navigate at this time of year. However, the dry winter helped, and the official start of spring was only sixteen days away. If we arrived at the Orel Pass too soon and it remained impassable, we’d just have to wait.

Sepp was a horrible traveling companion. He complained about the cold, the steep terrain, the wind and my crazy scheme. When he was supposed to be on watch, I’d wake and find him fast asleep.

Nightmares still disturbed my rest, and I couldn’t shake the image of Tohon’s confidence. My scheme seemed crazier as we drew closer to Tohon’s castle. And I realized that if I was going to prevail, I needed more information about Tohon and life magicians. Perhaps Sepp could help.

The next night, as we shared a meal, I asked Sepp a number of questions.

“Tohon doesn’t have too many weaknesses,” Sepp said, dipping a piece of hard bread into his stew. “He’s cocky and tends to be compulsive. Although he does have a soft spot for a pretty woman, just like Kerrick.”

I almost choked on my food. Not how I would describe Kerrick at all.

Sepp ignored my sputterings and continued. “Magic-wise, Tohon’s probably the most powerful mage living.”

Regaining my composure, I asked, “What about the three magicians that are working for him?”

“His fire mage barely qualifies. All Aidan can do is start small fires and has probably been assigned to keep the hearths warm in the castle. Pov is the strongest. As a rock hound, he could cause a serious earthquake, or—” Sepp gestured to the mountain peaks around us “—start an avalanche, blocking the pass, or bury us alive if he wanted. Ulany’s earth magic could find you the best worms for bait, and the richest soil for crops, but otherwise she’s not useful in a fight.”

“Who is the next strongest mage?” I asked.

Sepp slurped the juice from his bowl. “It’s a toss-up between Jael and Kerrick. Their powers are so different, it’s hard to compare them.” He considered. “Jael, probably, since she can access her power anywhere. Then Pov, me, Marisol—she’s a water mage working for Estrid—Aidan, Ulany and Selene, the moon mage. She’s only good for one thing—influencing the tides.”

Interesting commentary. I wondered how he knew everyone’s names and strengths. “What about me? Where do I rank?”

“You?” He seemed taken aback. “Uh, you’re a healer…not really a mage. I guess you’d be after Selene.”

Which meant good for one thing only. Sepp underestimated healers, but I wasn’t about to educate him. “Are there any other mages in the Realms?”

“No.”

“But Kerrick had said a few were lying low.”

“No. They’re dead. Tohon killed any mage who wouldn’t swear loyalty to him. The exceptions are Estrid’s mages, who are protected by Jael.”

“Why would Kerrick lie to me?” I asked.

“Probably so you wouldn’t be afraid.”

No. Kerrick made sure I had been well aware of Tohon’s despicable actions. More incentive to heal Ryne. He hadn’t told Sepp about my reluctance and I wondered why. Perhaps Kerrick didn’t fully trust Sepp. Not good, considering I needed to trust him.

“Sounds like Tohon will be hard to beat,” I said.

“One on one, yes. But when you combine me, Kerrick, Jael and Marisol, then the odds are very much in our favor.”

I didn’t believe Jael would join forces with the others, but perhaps she’d change her mind when she learned about the dead soldiers. “What about his special soldiers?” I shuddered.

“They’re easy to stop. Don’t worry about them, they’re my problem.” He waved a hand like a king granting a boon.

“But how did Tohon create them? Any ideas since that’s more your…area of expertise?”

His scowl reminded me of Kerrick. A pang of loneliness touched my heart. It had been only a few days and I missed the guys. Even Kerrick, but I wouldn’t admit that to anyone.

“A skill I’ve never exercised,” Sepp said, sounding insulted. “My magic allows me to see death. If a person is sick, I can sense if the illness will kill them or not. When a dead body is found, I know at a touch what killed him or her. I can’t take a life like Tohon, but I can pause it, freeze it, so the person is in a fake death.”

Good information, but I noticed he hadn’t answered my question. Either he didn’t have a clue how Tohon “woke” the dead, or he knew, but didn’t want to share. Which led me to wonder, why not?

We crossed the Orel Pass four days later. As we descended into the foothills and into the Realm of Sogra, the possibility of encountering Tohon’s dead soldiers and his living army increased a hundred percent since we hadn’t seen any of them in the Nine Mountains.

After a mile, I realized Kerrick never taught Sepp how to travel through the woods. Dried leaves crunched under his boots. Twigs snapped. Convinced the whole Realm heard us, I held my stiletto ready for a fight.

Sepp also didn’t seem worried about being ambushed. The first day, he paused around midday and sniffed the air like a bloodhound. I copied his actions. The weather had been cold yet fair, but today it warmed up to comfortable. Listening for any strange noises, I noted the increase in bird activity. Spring was only ten days away.

The second day, Sepp stopped early in the morning. He pulled me behind a clump of pine trees. We crouched as a squad of dead shuffled past. They were led by a few living soldiers. I bit on my sleeve to keep from crying out. I really needed to clamp down on my panic. I knew I’d have to be “caught” soon, but I would not surrender to a squad of abominations. When they were gone, Sepp resumed our trek. At least the near run-in with the dead answered one question about Sepp’s abilities. One of the dozen knots in my stomach loosened.