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dark to see, she watched her blood seep into the dirt. At last, the search
party that she knew Willis would have to send for her, if only for the sake of
appearance, found her and carried her back to camp.
I m not going to die, she told Jerrell, and you re not going to cut off my
leg.
Jerrell argued, but Zanja was adamant. Jerrell removed the pistol ball
instead, which was bad enough, since it took some cutting to even find the
ball, which was embedded in the thick muscles above the knee. When Zanja
awoke in the afternoon, Emil was sitting beside her, with his legs stretched
out before him and his back against a tree, gazing with a strained expression
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FIRE LOGIC - ELEMENTAL LOGIC BOOK 1 - LAURIE MARKS
toward the smoking ruin that had once been one of the richest farmlands in
Shaftal.
What s wrong with that seer? he asked.
She began to sit up, and he turned to her. I ll get whatever you need. Jerrell
says you are to lie still.
What I need can t be gotten.
He smiled wryly, and set himself to fetching and carrying the small comforts
that he could provide: a cup of water, a bag of beans for a pillow. He
checked on her clothing that hung in the sunshine, declared it not dry yet,
and settled once more against the tree. So, he said, in famine the
Sainnites also go hungry, and famine is exactly what will happen in South
Hill this winter. What seer would be so short-sighted? These Sainnites don t
behave like people with insight at all. In fact, they act like mindless brutes,
as they always have. Could the seer be dead, or gone?
Maybe he s lost his mind, she said.
Maybe he s stopped dreaming. It happens.
Maybe he had a bad love affair.
Maybe he s fallen ill.
Maybe, Zanja said, he s had a change of heart.
Emil looked out at the smoke-hazed valley, then back at Zanja. Surely not.
We fire bloods are cursed with loyalty. To turn traitor against the people we
call our own it s not in us.
Sometimes insight overrides loyalty, Zanja said, too bitterly.
They sat in silence for a while. So long as Zanja didn t move, the pain in her
leg was not unendurable.
Emil said softly, Every time I close my eyes, I dream the same dream. A
man sits before me, with a wooden box in his lap. He holds it up to me, as if
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FIRE LOGIC - ELEMENTAL LOGIC BOOK 1 - LAURIE MARKS
proffering a gift, and opens the lid. I can t see what s in the box, but I know
that I want it desperately.
What does he look like?
The man? Oh, I don t know. It s all in shadow: a big, dark room with a
single lamp flame. Why does it matter?
It matters, Zanja said, but felt that she could not explain. Later I will
explain, she thought wearily, but now I cannot endure any more
consequences.
Well then, Emil said, next time I dream of him, I ll try to get a look at his
face. He took her hand in his. My dear, with only one leg, you d still be
invaluable to South Hill.
Of course Jerrell sent for you.
When a member of my company chooses certain death
Zanja said, Do you remember when the bridgekeeper bit me?
It wasn t so long ago.
Which arm was it? She held out both her arms, and after some hunting,
Emil found the scar, nearly faded to invisibility.
So you heal clean, he said. But a pistol ball
Sir, Jerrell has already lectured me.
Sir! He sat back a bit.
My brother, she amended. I am not choosing death out of despair. I know
my leg will heal.
He looked at her for a long time, as if studying a particularly complex
pattern of glyphs. Someday, he said finally, you will tell me your secrets.
He took her hand again. I ll instruct Jerrell to trust your judgment, if you
tell me the truth about what happened yesterday. Willis says that your
companions lost you in the cornfield. They realized the Sainnites were
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FIRE LOGIC - ELEMENTAL LOGIC BOOK 1 - LAURIE MARKS
watching for them and retreated, and only then noticed you weren t with
them.
I m sure they abandoned me deliberately, she said. But unless one of
those who was with me in the cornfield admits to it, I don t see how it can be
proven.
One of them will admit it soon enough, Emil said quietly, and I ll finally
have a good reason to rid myself of Willis, though I suppose his kinfolk will
hold it against me forever, no matter how good my reasons are. He sighed.
Do you know, in the old days, the G deon might drive a spike into the heart
of a particularly irritating enemy, and from that day every beat of the heart
would lie in the G deon s control. That s the way to solve my problem with
Willis keep him alive, let him continue as a lieutenant, but let him know
that at any moment I might choose to let him drop down dead.
He drew up his knees, looking for all the world as if he meant to continue
talking to her all day. Unfortunately, my powers are limited, and whatever
I do will have unwanted consequences. Tell me something, he added
abruptly, Do you feel up to reading the cards?
I don t even know where they are.
They re drying in the sun, like everything else you own. He fetched them,
and counted to see that all of them had survived, warped and mud-smirched
though they were. As Zanja shuffled the cards aimlessly, he asked, What
characterizes the state of conflict between South Hill and the Sainnites?
Zanja picked a card she d not studied yet. It depicted a balance, or
shopkeeper s scale. Emil glanced at it and nodded without much surprise.
What would tilt the balance in our favor? he asked.
Zanja could not choose a card. Are you thinking too much? Emil asked
after a while.
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FIRE LOGIC - ELEMENTAL LOGIC BOOK 1 - LAURIE MARKS
It s as though every card is the answer.
So in order to tilt the balance we d have to alter the entire Universe? Well,
try this question instead: What is the most important factor in tilting the
balance in our favor?
Zanja chose a card and tossed it down before looking at it. It was the Owl.
Hmm. Emil grinned without much humor. Well now, this is getting
interesting.
Zanja shifted uncomfortably. Her injured thigh ached.
So tell me, what is the Owl to do?
Zanja laid down another card without looking at it, then saw that it was the
Door. She sighed.
What will immediately result from this decision that the Owl must make?
She lay down another card, and Emil gave a small start, but said nothing.
The glyph was one Zanja did not know; the picture showed an opening into
a hillside.
Emil shook his head, and asked, What will be the long term result of this
decision?
The last card seemed the most ambiguous of them all: it showed the
silhouettes of a ridged horizon, with the sun above, either rising or setting.
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