I spit out a mouthful of blood, gargle water from my canteen, and start arranging my gear. The first night couldn’t have gone any better.

Chapter 27: Blinding

“Your ashes are ready, Bravos.”

The coming dawn gives only enough light to see shapes and outlines in the dark. The heat of your own phoenix has long settled, and you’ve performed some quick and easy alchemy. It’s a standard rebirth. Far more difficult rebirths are waiting ahead. You’ll have to do alchemy while surrounded by enemies. But on this first night, you have enough space to time-control the burns and get your mixtures just right.

Bravos leans over his pile. “Not quite ready. I don’t like to add components until they’re on the verge of re-forming. They’re more powerful that way.”

You can’t help grinning at him. “Been reading more of Azlo’s theories?”

“They’re convincing,” he replies. “I’ve seen some good results in my training.”

“Fair enough. What component combinations did you go with?”

Bravos sets down his cubes and slides the locking dials. They open with consecutive little snaps. Over his shoulder, you notice Quinn moving through the camp. You watch the spirit inspect your saddlebags before forcing attention back to Bravos. You’re still not sure what to make of the girl, or what to tell Bravos. Maybe it’s better to leave it unspoken.

“Lingerluck and Gasping Mercies for the first leg,” Bravos says.

“I went with the same.”

He points to the next two. “Then Iron and Latchlock.”

You make an appreciative noise. “That’s not a mixture everyone knows, Bravos.”

“Thanks, love. Means a lot coming from you. I thought about a handful of speed combinations, but the forest paths in that last leg will be tight. If we’re riding against Adrian or Etzli, I wanted a confident phoenix that can do some damage. I used it a few times in my training. The spikes are pretty wicked.”

You nod your agreement. Iron and Latchlock is one of the few purely physical mixtures. Bravos doesn’t realize you’re the one who put the idea in his head. You even underlined the two components in a textbook on his desk as a hint. It offers his favorite tool—dagger-sharp spikes—but adapts the horse for tighter turns and trickier footing. It’ll be perfect if the two of you have to go up against Adrian Ford down the stretch.

“What’s the last one?” you ask curiously.

Bravos frowns. “I’m not too happy about that choice, actually. I picked it before I knew we’d be off on our own like this. I thought we’d be down in that strangled canyon, defending our ashes all night. I should have guessed you had something up your sleeve. Anyway, I grabbed a few doses of Absolution in case our ashes get poisoned.”