“And what about you?” I asked. “As you said, our escape. Did he set a bounty for you, as well?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
Valek paced the room. I crossed my arms to keep his lingering warmth close. Plus, judging by the agitation in his steps, I sensed he was working up the nerve to deliver more bad news.
He stopped. “Bruns has offered fifty golds to the person who kills you.”
That was a fortune. I whistled, and he shot me a glare. “You didn’t answer my question,” I said.
Another scowl, and then his shoulders drooped as if in defeat. “Bruns has been in contact with Commander Ambrose, and...” Valek paused. “The Commander has agreed to send Onora to assassinate me.”
2
VALEK
Yelena’s mouth opened slightly in surprise, and concern flashed in her green eyes over the news. But Valek had expected something like this. If he focused on the logic, the move made perfect tactical sense. The Commander had warned Valek that leaving Ixia would be an act of treason. And acts of treason, no matter what the reason, were punishable by death. Plus, he now had magic, of all things. He’d inadvertently traded his immunity to magic for the power to wield it. And the Commander had a standing execution order on all magicians found in Ixia.
Except he and the Commander had been close friends, and he was unaware of Valek’s magic—only a handful of people knew. He’d hoped the Commander would give him the benefit of doubt and not send an assassin after him.
Yelena put her hand on his arm. “He’s being influenced by Owen’s magic.”
“We don’t know that for sure.” There had been a few inconsistencies, like when the Commander had tried to protect Valek from Owen by sending him to the coast to deal with the Storm Thieves. He was also supposed to be protected from Owen’s subversion by the null shields that Leif had woven into his uniforms, but the Commander could have lied to Valek about wearing them.
“He has to be,” she said.
He pressed his hand over hers and enjoyed not only her touch but the respite from the constant presence of his magic. With his mental shield in place, it wasn’t as bad, but contact with her turned it all off, and he returned to the man he’d been for the last forty-one years of his life.
“Are you worried about Onora?” she asked.
Was he? They had sparred a number of times, and each time he had defeated her. But perhaps she planned to ambush him. “No. She’s the best to come along in the last twenty-four years, but unless she catches me off guard, I don’t expect her to cause me any trouble.”
“And you’re never relaxed,” she teased.
“I am when I’m with you, love.” He picked up her hand and kissed her palm.
“Really? And those knives under our pillows, the swords on the floor, the darts in the headboard?”
“I said relaxed, not stupid. Being prepared is never a bad idea.”
“No.” Her gaze grew distant as she rubbed her side.
Probably remembering The Mosquito’s attack. While Valek was proud she was able to get away, he planned to ensure that would be the assassin’s last attempt on her life.
“Speaking of being prepared,” he said, “you need to leave the Citadel until I’ve taken care of any bounty hunters coming after you. Either go to the Stormdance farmhouse, or travel to the Illiais Jungle to visit your mother. Both are safer than here.”
She gave him a tight smile. “Nice try, handsome, but I’m not going anywhere. At least not until Leif and Mara return from Broken Bridge with my father, and we’ve looked over the information from Bavol’s.”
“At least promise me you’ll stay in HQ until they arrive.” He leaned close and kissed her neck, then whispered, “Do it for your handsome husband.”
Laughing, she said, “I promise to stay in bed for the rest of the morning as long as you stay with me. After that...no promises.”
“What if I give you a very good reason to stay in bed until I squash The Mosquito?”
She drew back, and desire burned in her gaze. “What’s the reason?”
“Me taking care of you until you’re out of breath and a puddle in my hands. A service I’ll be happy to perform anytime during your...bed rest.” He nibbled on her earlobe.
“Oh, my. Someone certainly has a high opinion of himself,” she teased.
“Is that a challenge?”
“Oh, yes! Show me what you can do, and I’ll consider your request.”
He grinned. “Accepted.”
Not giving her time to reply, Valek pulled her to their bedroom and made short work of her clothing. A few bloody scrapes marked her back and a number of bruises peppered her arms. Valek suppressed his fury with the knowledge that The Mosquito would soon be crushed.
Valek scooped her up and laid her on the bed, then kissed her for a long moment. She plucked at his clothing, and he grabbed her hands. “This is for you, love.”
“Exactly. Now strip.”
He peeled off the tight garment, but his gaze never left her. Once divested of his clothing, he joined her on the bed. He trailed kisses down her neck. Valek had been convinced he’d lost her when she hadn’t returned from her mission, and he planned to savor this time with her as if it were the last. His efforts left her gasping, and he gave her three very good reasons to stay in bed.
She stretched like a cat and curled up next to him. Yelena met his gaze. “You’re really worried about the bounty on me?”
Valek traced the recently healed cut along her side with a finger. Purple bruises ringed the bright red line. “I know you can handle an assassin.” He quirked a smile. “Or two, but with fifty golds at stake...a gang of wannabe bounty hunters could come after you together and split the money.”
“All right, I’ll stay in HQ until you’ve dealt with The Mosquito,” she promised.
A weight lifted from his shoulders. He pulled her close. She snuggled against him and fell asleep almost immediately. He smoothed her long black hair back from her beautiful oval face. The knowledge that he’d do anything to keep her and the baby safe comforted him, since it required no thinking, no weighing the consequences of his actions and no hesitation.
Valek had once felt the same uncomplicated feelings for the Commander, but not anymore. Even if the Commander’s behavior had been caused by Owen’s magical hold on him, Valek could no longer return to that place of blind loyalty. His new magic complicated everything, of course. However, that would just be an excuse. No. Yelena meant more to him than his own life and happiness, and much more than the Commander’s.
* * *
Valek woke a few hours later and slid from the bed without waking his wife. An automatic smile still spread over his lips every time he thought of Yelena as his wife. Not many people knew of their marriage, and even fewer were aware of the baby, but the fact that they had exchanged vows continued to thrill him, as if he’d won the biggest tournament in the entire world.
Going down one level, Valek stopped in Fisk’s office. The stark room contained a desk, a couple chairs and a table. The young leader of the Helper’s Guild bent over his desk. The fingers of his right hand ran through his light brown hair, leaving behind rows of spikes, while his left clutched a stylus. He frowned at a sheet of parchment spread over the desk.
Valek tapped on the open door, and Fisk glanced up. Dark smudges marked his light brown eyes. The poor boy appeared years older than seventeen.
“When’s the last time you slept?” Valek asked.
Fisk blinked at him. “Sleep? What’s that?”
“Not funny.”
Fisk dropped the stylus and rubbed his face. “Wish I was joking.”
“Bring me up to date, and then take a break.”
“But—”
“It’s not a request. E
xhaustion will only lead to fatal mistakes. I’ll collect the information from your guild while you rest.”
He grinned. “Half of them are terrified of you and won’t report.”
“Then they can wait until you’re awake. What’s the latest intel?”
Fisk filled him in. “We think Hans Cloud Mist is a member of the Cartel. He’s been spotted at the Moon garrison twice, and we’ve confirmed Danae Bloodgood and Toki Krystal as members.”
Valek considered this for a moment. They were all influential businesspeople who thought their accumulated wealth and business acumen meant they could do a better job of running Sitia than the appointed Councilors. “I’m beginning to suspect there are eleven members, one for each clan, with Bruns designated as their leader,” he mused.
“Sounds like something they’d do to justify their actions.”
Interesting comment. “What do you mean?”
Fisk leaned back and spread his arms. “They decided that the Sitian Council was not doing a proper job of keeping Sitia safe from the Commander. Plus the Council also failed to rein in the Sitian magicians, letting them go about their business willy-nilly.”
“Willy-nilly?”
“Yeah, you know.” Waving his hands, Fisk elaborated, “Selling null shields to anyone, using their magic for selfish reasons. I think the Cartel feels they can do better than the Councilors, but they still honor the structure the clans have established long ago. So they’re not really usurping the Council—just replacing them.”
“And that helps them sleep better at night?”
“Exactly.” Fisk rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Why is identifying the other members of the Cartel so important when Bruns has brainwashed them along with everyone else? They’ve no clue that Bruns is collaborating with Owen and the Commander.”
“You tell me.”
He huffed. “I don’t know, because in order to stop the Sitian takeover, all we have to do is stop Bruns, Owen Moon and the Commander.”
Valek suppressed a smile at the “all we have to do” comment. If only it were that easy. “Why are these people members of the Cartel?”
Fisk shot him a sour expression. “Okay, I’ll play. They’re rich and powerful. Which is why the Cartel has been so successful in getting resources and converting the garrisons—Oh!”
Valek waited as Fisk followed the logic.
“So we identify them all and wake them up to what’s really going on, so they can use that influence and power to help us instead of Bruns.”
Smart boy. “Or we assassinate them all and take them out of the equation. The added benefit is that we scare their support staff.”
Instead of a knee-jerk reaction to the thought of killing ten people, Fisk paused to consider it. “Yelena would never allow that. She doesn’t want any of the brainwashed to be killed. Besides, I think they’d be more useful alive than dead.”
“And that is why we need to know their identities.”
Fisk yawned. “We’re getting reports back from the garrisons and will soon have a complete list of personnel at each one.”
“Good. I need your people to locate a bug for me.”
“The Mosquito?” He straightened in his chair, looking more awake.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Here in the Citadel.”
“Ah, hell. Is that why Yelena needed...” He stopped. “Won’t he be with Bruns?”
“From what I heard last night, either he’s been fired, or Bruns thinks the competition will compel him to finish the job.” Valek told Fisk about the bounty.
“She has to leave now and go some—”
“I already tried that. Best I could do was get her to promise to stay at HQ until I’ve dealt with The Mosquito.” In other words, once Valek plunged his knife in The Mosquito’s heart and scared all the others away.
“That’s some relief.” Fisk ran both his hands through his hair. “But the Citadel will be overrun with assassins, and it’s gonna be hard to find the bug. He’s smart, and my people aren’t as effective in the Citadel. Rumors that they’re doing more than helping carry packages for shoppers are spreading. Before, everyone ignored my kids, thinking them harmless and stupid. Now...”
“Just tell them to keep an eye out for him. I only need a general vicinity.”
“All right. And now that Yelena is under house arrest, so to speak, she can take over collecting the information from my people, since they trust her, and I can do a bit of reconnaissance on my own.” Fisk paused. “Are you sure she’s going to be happy hanging around here all day?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep her happy.”
Fisk shot him a dubious look before heading to bed. Valek settled behind the desk and studied the map Fisk had been marking. The other Sitian garrisons were highlighted. Members of the Helper’s Guild had infiltrated them all. Since the Cartel controlled the Citadel and the Moon, Krystal, Featherstone and Greenblade garrisons, they’d put the military soldiers in charge of all the civilian security forces in those lands. Rumors that the Cloud Mist base was also compromised hadn’t been substantiated yet.
The garrisons farther south still hadn’t been indoctrinated, and Valek had agents working in the kitchens to ensure they remained uninvolved long enough for Valek to recruit them to their side. The agent in the Jewelrose garrison hadn’t reported in weeks, and Valek suspected the man had been captured or converted. Heli the Stormdancer was keeping an eye on the base in the Stormdance lands, but the storm season would start at the beginning of the heating season, and he’d need to find another agent then.
Ari and Janco had been assigned to the Greenblade base to keep an eye on the Sitian Councilors and First Magician Bain Bloodgood. Eventually, they would need to be rescued. Meanwhile, his sister Zohav and his brother Zethan—a concept that still amazed him—worked on exploring the extent of their powers with Teegan and Kade on the Stormdance coast. They were safe for now.
Valek reviewed his to-do list—identify the Cartel members, find and cut off the source of the Theobroma, rescue the Councilors, recruit the southern garrisons and free the magicians in the other garrisons. Oh, and find some time to rescue the Commander. Knowing what he needed to do was the easy part. Too bad he didn’t quite know how these tasks would be accomplished, with only Fisk’s Helper’s Guild and ten others to help. They needed more bodies. More allies. Yelena wished to recruit Cahil, believing the man might be smart enough to see the truth. Valek hoped she was right. Then there were Devlen, Opal and her soldier friends, Nic and Eve. As long as Reema was safe, they might be willing to help. Perhaps when Leif, Mara and Esau returned, he’d send another messenger to Fulgor, the capital of the Moon Clan’s lands and ask.
Leif and Mara had left ten days ago to collect Esau and the plants in the glass hothouse near Broken Bridge. They should be at the farmstead where Leif had left his father by now. However, the return trip to the Citadel would take them twice as long since they’d be pulling a wagon.
* * *
Fisk’s people honed in on a potential location for The Mosquito three days later and provided him with a current description. Valek had been collecting information in the Council Hall in the evenings, much to Yelena’s annoyance at the risk he took while she was stuck at HQ. He refused to feel bad. In fact, knowing she was safe after learning Bruns’s plans kept him from being overwhelmed with all that had to be done. Plus, when he returned each morning, he woke her with more reasons to stay safe.
“You’re going after him,” Yelena said. It wasn’t a question.
She watched him as he dressed in nondescript Sitian clothing—a gray tunic and charcoal-colored pants—and tucked a number of weapons into the various pockets and hidden holders.
“If you kill him, does that mean I’m no longer under house arrest?”
“Technically,
yes. But there’s still the bounty,” he said.
“What if he kills you?”
“He won’t.”
“Cocky bastard.”
Valek pulled her close and kissed her. “He won’t, love.”
She melted against him. “I feel so useless.”
“Don’t. The kids love you, and Fisk is getting better intel by being out in the Citadel.”
She managed a half smile. “You’re right.”
“I’m going to put on quite the show today and attract lots of attention and scare the other bounty hunters off for a while, so if you really can’t stand being inside and want to get some fresh air this afternoon, it should be a little safer.”
Yelena’s face lit up.
“I’d rather you didn’t, but if you do, please don’t go far or alone. All right?”
“Yes.” She hugged him tight.
He nuzzled her neck.
“Tell The Mosquito to enjoy the fire world for me,” she said.
“It will be my pleasure.”
Once outside, Valek moved through the busy market with ease. He spotted a number of Fisk’s guild members working the crowd and darting between shoppers. The market was located at the very center of the Citadel. Factories and businesses ringed it in ever-widening circles and occupied the two center sections of the Citadel. The Magician’s Keep encompassed the northeast quadrant, and the Sitian Council Hall and other government buildings were located in the southeast corner. The Citadel’s citizens lived in the labyrinth of homes in the northwest and southwest quadrants.
A few of the abandoned warehouses and factories had been converted into apartments, and according to Fisk, The Mosquito lived on the top floor of one of them. Normally Valek would attack at night, but The Mosquito knew that trick and would be ready.
As he crossed the market, Valek noted three people taking an unhealthy interest in him and sensed another, but was unable to locate the fourth—a professional. He considered his options. Lead the three on a merry chase to an unfortunate dead end, or lose them?
Dawn Study Page 2
