Wrath Games by B. T. Narro

idiots,” Effie nearly whispered.
    “Terren will know what to do,” Alex said.

 
     
     
    CHAPTER TEN
     
    Kayren jumped at the sight of us. Terren took her shoulders and said something, and the tension eased out of her supple body.
    He’d taken her out of the city and into the bucolic hills lining Norret’s western edge. A circle of boulders served as protection from searching eyes. We huddled together, each of us shaking Kayren’s hand and giving our names. I was the last. Henry duly stayed back.
    I quickly told Terren about Gram, then turned to Kayren. “Do you already know what happened to Eizle?”
    “I believe so.” She pressed her lips together. “When I got to Norret I heard a pyforial mage attacked the king. It was him, wasn’t it?”
    “It was, but he was there to kill Swenn. The king just happened to be with Swenn when Eizle attacked.”
    “I saw what happened,” Effie said. “It looked like he wanted to kill the king.”
    Kayren answered before I could. “That wouldn’t make sense.”
    “He was there to kill only Swenn,” I assured Effie. I turned to Kayren. “I need to know what happened to Eizle to make him throw away his life for a chance at killing his brother.” Urgency pressed on me. “Is that why you’ve come so far north? You know something?”
    “I do,” she said. “But that’s not the reason I came here. I found out Eizle had broken out of prison during the attack on Cessri, and I figured he would go to Glaine to look for his brother. The last time we’d spoken about Swenn he was on his way to the capital.”
    “He’s the master of coin now,” I said.
    “Truly?”
    “Yes, and he wants you dead.”
    This didn’t surprise her. “I’d spit on his grave if I could.” She plopped down on a smooth rock, then took a moment to survey us. “I’ll gladly tell you what he did to Eizle, but hearing it will put you in just as much danger.”
    Terren crouched before her. “There’s nothing you could tell us that could make this situation any worse.”
    “Are we safe here?” Steffen asked the group.
    “Safe as we can be until we know more,” Terren answered. “Go ahead, Kayren.”
    She took a breath. “Neeko, do they know what you can do?”
    “Yes.”
    “And they aren’t scared of you?”
    “Pyforial energy shouldn’t be outlawed,” Effie said.
    Kayren smiled. “Then this might be the first time I can tell this story without it leading to an argument about pyforial mages.”
    By the time Eizle turned fifteen, she said, he was what some people would call dangerously powerful with pyforial energy. He realized the risk, making a constant effort to refrain from its use, but he always found himself drawn back to the energy.
    Kayren told us that her father had owned a tavern where she worked as a server and Eizle as a cook. The last time I’d seen Eizle was when we were eight. To find out he could cook made me eager to hear what else he did.
    The tavern became known more for its food than its ale, Kayren said. Eizle hid his talent with py from her for months, but it was just a matter of time before she caught him using it in the kitchen. She knew him well enough by then to realize he wouldn’t hurt anyone with the illegal energy, and she saw how useful it was for cooking. He could move hot food out of the oven or a pan. He could stir a pot from across the room. He could lift anything heavy with ease.
    “Then Swenn came in one evening,” she grumbled. “Eizle hadn’t seen him for a year.”
    Kayren told us she was excited to meet Eizle’s brother at first, complaining to Eizle that he’d never even mentioned he had one. There were two men with Swenn along with a woman who seemed reluctant to be there. It didn’t take Kayren long to realize that the three men were a small band of thieves and the woman’s spirit had been broken long ago, for she never spoke or looked up.
    Eizle told Kayren not to serve them, knowing his brother would harass her. Eizle took the