Red Hood's Revenge

actually bother her. She and Talia had argued almost every day since they first met, at least until recently. Until she saved Faziya. Now Faziya had taken Snow’s place, whether it was the playful banter over meals or fighting over whether or not Faziya could accompany them to face Zestan.
    Snow touched a flat packet on her belt. The leather pouch held four sharpened steel snowflakes Talia had commissioned for her several years ago.
    She should be happy for Talia, the way Danielle clearly was. They could be facing a deev before the night was out. Why should it bother her if Talia had a quick fling before the battle? Especially considering the odds against any of them surviving that battle. Hadn’t Snow herself been flirting with that shepherd—what was his name again?—only hours before?
    “Do you trust Roudette?” Danielle asked softly.
    “No.” Talia smiled. “But she wants Zestan and the Hunt destroyed as badly as any of us.”
    Snow jabbed her quill into the coffee and finished her spell. She rubbed her eyes, then studied the inscriptions. “I think I’ve established a bond. We should be able to—Uh-oh.”
    “What’s wrong?” Danielle asked.
    Snow dropped the mirror and jumped away as a gout of flame shot up from the glass, scorching the roof of the tent. “I think they noticed me. We should probably get outside.”
    They obeyed with alacrity. The flame showed no sign of stopping. It had already burned through the top of the tent. Most of Turz’s protective magic was meant to guard against attacks from outside. That magic did little against an attack from within. Snow stepped back, peeking up from outside to see how high the flames rose.
    It could have been worse. The tower of fire was barely taller than the trees by the pond. The Kha’iida were running toward her, many carrying buckets and bowls of water. Not that water would be of any help against this fire.
    “So you want to play?” Snow muttered as she removed a second mirror from her armband. Turning her face away from the heat, she advanced slowly toward the flame. She flipped the mirror so the reflective side faced downward. “Fine. Let’s play.”
    She darted forward, dropping the mirror onto the flames. It clinked onto the top of the other mirror, sandwiching the flames between them. For a moment, fire burst from between the mirrors, spreading out in all directions. An instant later, the fire died and black smoke began to fill the tent.
    Talia shoved her to the ground. Before Snow could protest, Talia grabbed a bucket and poured water onto the flames that flickered on the bottom of Snow’s robe. Others hurried past to extinguish the rest of Turz’s tent.
    “I’m sorry about that,” Snow said.
    Turz walked through her tent, inspecting the damage. The fire had done little to the walls, but the panel overhead had a blackened hole the size of a dinner platter. “How did you stop the attack?”
    Snow wiped sweat from her face, checking to make sure she still had her eyebrows. “I didn’t. I reflected it.” She frowned at the two mirrors. “There’s a decent chance we just set Rajil’s mansion on fire.”
    Children ran toward the tent, only to be dragged back by the older Kha’iida. The dogs were in a frenzy, riling the rest of the animals. Danielle hurried away to help get them under control.
    Roudette chuckled as she studied the tent. “So it’s fair to say we should have their attention?”
    “I should say so. One way or another, they’re listening now.” Snow started to reach for the mirrors. “Everyone else might want to stand back.”
    “You’re sure they won’t send more fire through?” Roudette asked.
    “Nope,” said Snow. “But that was a powerful spell. I don’t think they could do it again so soon.”
    “How comforting.” Roudette nodded for her to go ahead.
    Snow removed the top mirror. The glass was cool to the touch, showing no sign of damage. She returned it to her armband and stepped aside, allowing Roudette to take her place.
    Roudette picked up the remaining mirror. “I would speak to the raikh of Jahrasima.”
    Snow closed her eyes, extending her vision to the mirror in Roudette’s hand. She could see Roudette staring down at her. The hairs on Snow’s arms and neck rose as a second presence stepped into view within the mirror. Snow found herself looking both at Roudette and at the jinniyah’s shadow from the raikh’s palace. The ceiling over the raikh’s scrying pool was blackened from