Captive Read Free Page A

eyes.
    “Despite Anika’s concerns, Sarah performed exceptionally on our mission. She knows
     the risk and is the best Searcher for this task,” Patrice said. “If she wants the
     mission, I say it’s hers.”
    “Thank you, Patrice,” Sarah replied. She could feel Anika’s stare, but she kept her
     gaze on their Guide.
    Murmurs ranging in tone from surprise to admiration rippled through the Striker ranks.
     To Sarah’s relief Anika stayed silent.
    Micah nodded his approval. “Report back to Haldis Tactical at sixteen hundred hours.
     A Weaver will be there to open a door for you.”
    “Thank you, sir,” Sarah replied.
    “That will be all,” Micah said to the group. “Return to your posts.”
    Wood creaked and groaned as chairs were pushed back from the long table. Warriors
     clad in leather and wearing grim faces responded to the Arrow’s command without hesitation.
    As they milled toward the exit none of the other Strikers crowded Sarah. A few glanced
     in her direction, offering brief nods of encouragement. That she’d accepted the mission
     didn’t merit hoots of congratulation or slaps on the back to raise her spirits. Those
     would come later . . . if she made it out alive. For now, her send-off would be little
     more than a reserved approval of her choice.
    If it had been any other gathering of Strikers and their Guides—a debriefing wherein
     each Guide made a report of the current Keeper activities in the target zones: Haldis
     in Vail, Tordis in the Alps, Eydis in Mexico, and Pyralis in New Zealand—Sarah would
     have left the room with Anika at her side. On their way back to the Tordis division
     of the Roving Academy, the two women would share their own review of the meeting,
     speculating about the Arrow’s stratagem and making bets about the Keepers’ next move.
    Speculation and projection were about all the Searchers had to go on of late. The
     war hardly deserved to be called such. Striker missions had all but ground to a halt.
     Barring the occasional scuffle between one of their teams and a Guardian pack near
     the Keepers’ protected sites, a lull had overtaken the Roving Academy. The Academy’s
     teachers still trained Searcher youth, conveying a sense of the war’s urgency and
     the vital purpose that they all served. But outside of the classrooms an ambivalence
     about the war had overtaken her colleagues. The Searchers had been bleeding and dying
     for centuries in the hopes that somehow they would find a weak spot in the Keepers’
     armor of dark magic. But the years kept turning and each generation of Searchers fought
     and died while new warriors were trained and new scholars combed the Tordis Archives
     for arcane wisdom that might give the Strikers an upper hand.
    The Alchemists of Pyralis painted Searcher weapons with potent enchantments that helped
     Strikers fight the Keepers’ powerful Guardians and when the warriors returned to the
     Roving Academy bleeding and broken, the Elixirs of Eydis healed their wounds. With
     each passing year, the Searchers honed their skills, drawing on the elemental magics
     of their home: Earth, Air, Water, Fire—Haldis, Tordis, Eydis, and Pyralis. But no
     matter the innovations, no matter the fervor of their efforts, the Searchers had yet
     to gain any advantage over their adversary.
    And that was why Sarah had volunteered for this mission. She had watched Anika breeze
     out of Haldis Tactical without a glance in Sarah’s direction. Rising from her chair,
     Sarah walked at a brisk clip, quickly gaining on her friend. Sarah waited until Anika
     was passing an open door. Her hand snaked out and Sarah grabbed Anika by the elbow,
     dragged her into the empty lecture room, and slammed the door behind them.
    “Don’t you ever,
ever
question my abilities in front of our Guide!” Sarah gripped Anika’s arm tightly.
     “Not to mention the Arrow! And every Striker who is not currently out on a field assignment!”
    “I wasn’t