“I apologize,” Liam said. “But I have urgent information about the Knights of Rakkar.”
“Please,” Arch Mage Westarra said, gesturing for him to speak.
“Allyn and a small group of magi have found the Knights’ base of operations.” Liam let the words hang there, allowing the council to digest them. More than a few sat back in their chairs, obviously surprised.
Arch Mage Westarra, already standing, cocked his head to the side. “The Knights’ base of operations?” he said as if testing the validity of the words. “And how did he come by this information?”
“From the tactical vehicle he and Nolan took from the Heilig Estate, Your Grace.” Liam said. “I’ve just spoken with him, and apparently, imbedded within the vehicle’s GPS was the location of a staging post. Allyn visited this location and found another lead, which they followed to the base.”
The various council members looked at each other, sharing wide-eyed expressions.
The arch mage didn’t appear impressed, though, and shot an angry look at the others before returning his judgmental gaze to Liam.
“And where is Allyn now?”
“He’s there, Your Grace,” Liam said. “At the Knights’ base.”
“At the Knights’ base?” The arch mage apparently had a habit of repeating the last thing he heard.
Liam wasn’t used to the practice, and it felt as though he were being interrogated. “That’s correct, Your Grace.”
“He should be here to present the information himself.”
“That wasn’t possible, Your Grace.”
“Oh?” Arch Mage Westarra said. “And why is that?”
“Because he’s preparing an attack on the Knights, Your Grace… tonight.”
The words hung between them, almost visible, stoking the anger that had already been burning within the room.
“And,” Liam said slowly, “he has asked the council to assemble its forces and mount an attack with him.”
“Your friend has overstepped his boundaries,” Arch Mage Westarra said, his eyes burning into Liam’s. It wasn’t a question, so Liam didn’t respond. “What happens if I refuse?”
“He’ll still attack, Your Grace. But he insists you join him. If you don’t, he’ll be forced to take more drastic measures.”
“Which would be what?” Arch Mage Westarra smiled. He actually smiled. “I’ve grown tired of your friend’s antics. Sitting back while he kills himself on a suicide mission doesn’t strike me as a terrible idea.”
“He thought you’d say that, Your Grace,” Liam said. “The staging post he discovered housed a number of tactical vehicles and weapons—equipment that could be very helpful to our cause. But if the council doesn’t provide him with assistance, then he’ll use the equipment in another way.”
“Which is?”
“He’ll call the police,” Liam said simply. “The weapons and explosives violate German law and will be confiscated when found. We wouldn’t be able to use the equipment ourselves, but neither would our enemy.”
Arch Mage Westarra’s jaw tightened, and Liam thought he heard the elder magi grind his teeth.
“If I may, Your Grace,” Liam continued. “As you said, Allyn is my friend, and I can tell you he doesn’t do this out of spite. He only wants what is best for our Family and this Order. Even you must admit what he’s been able to accomplish in such little time is impressive. I am not a member of this council, and since Allyn’s exclusion, my Family no longer has a voice among it, but for what it’s worth, I agree with him. We have a unique opportunity here, and we need… we should take advantage of it.”
A little of the heat in the arch mage’s expression dissipated, and he surveyed the council as if asking for their thoughts.
Jaxon’s chair creaked as he leaned forward. He tapped a finger gently on the tabletop, his expression somewhere between contemplative and pained. He looked around the table as if waiting for someone else to speak first. When nobody did, he opened his mouth.
“I also know Allyn,” Jaxon said. “And while I don’t always agree with his methods, I usually do agree with his reasoning. If the council will take a moment and remove their feelings for him from the situation, I believe they will see the enormous opportunity that lies before it. We’ve been attempting to manufacture an advantage, and so far, we’ve failed. But Allyn has succeeded. As Grand Mage McCollum suggests, this opportunity might never come again.”
Jaxon leaned back in his seat, his eyes wide with hope.
Arch Mage Westarra looked about the room. “Does anyone actually on the council have anything to add?”
Wesley Green cleared his throat. “If I may, Your Grace. I don’t know Allyn of McCollum well, but nothing I’ve seen or heard has given me any reason to doubt his intentions. If he says he has found the whereabouts of the enemy and that the Knights are ripe for an attack, then who are we to question him?”
“It’s not his intentions that I question, Wesley,” Arch Mage Westarra said. “It’s his ability to execute those intentions—which is why we removed him from this council to begin with.”
“A matter in which I was officially against, I’ll remind you, Your Grace,” Grand Mage Green said.
Arch Mage Westarra glanced uneasily at Liam. The War Council, like the Forum, worked diligently to provide a unified front, and it wasn’t often that anyone saw the inner politics manifest outside private sessions.
“I’m well aware of your objections, Grand Mage,” Arch Mage Westarra said.
“Your Grace,” Wesley Green said, “if it were any of us coming to you with this information, with this request, would you grant it?”
“I… that’s irrelevant,” Arch Mage Westarra stammered.
“With all due respect, Your Grace, no it’s not,” Wesley Green said. “Because Allyn was operating under my orders.”
Murmurs, muted questions, and surprised gasps filled the room as Arch Mage Westarra took an involuntary step backward. He looked as if he had been shot, his face showing every bit of the pained surprise he felt. Liam kept his face expressionless—or, at least, what he hoped appeared as expressionless.
Wesley Green had just lied to the arch mage. Blatantly lied. And worse still, he knew that Liam understood. Unless Liam contradicted the elder Grand Mage, Jaxon’s father had just turned him into an accomplice.
He’s every bit as clever as Jaxon always said he was.
“What did you say?” Arch Mage Westarra whispered.
“I said Allyn was carrying out my orders,” Wesley Green said. “I gave him the location of the staging post and asked him to investigate and to follow the trail as he felt necessary.”
“You disobeyed the council,” Arch Mage Westarra said. “You disobeyed me.”
“I did nothing of the sort, Your Grace. I was under no order not to lead an investigation of my own.”
“But you were aware of this council’s lack of confidence in Allyn McCollum,” Arch Mage Westarra pressed. “You were aware he had been removed from his position.”
“Which only precluded him from conducting official War Council business, Your Grace,” Wesley said. “As I said, Allyn was carrying out the orders of my own investigation.”
“But he’s not of your Family,” Arch Mage Westarra said. “Why send a McCollum to conduct a Green investigation? Unless you’re saying the McCollum and Green Families have joined together in this.”
“We have, Your Grace.”
There it was. Any wiggle room Liam had remaining disappeared. Arch Mage Westarra turned to him, no doubt looking for confirmation. Wesley Green did too, his face blank and unreadable.
“The McCollum and Green Families have been close for some time, Your Grace,” Liam said. It wasn’t a lie, and if push came to shove, he would have some level of deniability of We
sley’s ploy. “I have been friends with and served under Grand Mage Green’s son for many years. An alliance between our two Families makes sense.”
Arch Mage Westarra eyed him intently, looking between Liam and Wesley. He knows we’re lying.
“Why didn’t you bring the information to the council?” Grand Mage Guerrero asked, entering the conversation for the first time.
“Because I wasn’t sure there was anything to bring to the council,” Wesley said.
“And you agree with the McCollum plan?” Grand Mage Guerrero said. “You agree we should attack tonight?”
Wesley Green shot a quick glance in Liam’s direction. “If the team on the ground believes that’s our best course, then yes.”
“But why tonight?” Grand Mage Guerrero asked. “Why not wait until we’ve had more time to prepare?”
“Because the team tripped an alarm when they entered the staging post,” Liam said. “They weren’t discovered, but there’s a good chance the equipment will be moved to a more secure location after tonight.”
“Thank you, Li—Grand Mage McCollum,” Wesley said. “There’s another reason as well. This council doesn’t know when the next attack will happen, and after the last defeat, we don’t know where, either. But every second we wait, the closer that attack comes. We need to hit them before they have a chance to hit us again.”
“What did you say was in the staging post?” Grand Mage Klausner asked, entering the conversation for the first time. The question gave Liam the strong feeling that he and Grand Mage Green were winning the individual council members over.
“Grand Mage McCollum?” Wesley said, deferring to Liam.
“Huh?” Liam said. “Oh, of course. Allyn found five more of the armored tactical vehicles the Knights have used in previous battles and dozens of guns, grenades, and other explosives.”
“The vehicles would be nice,” Grand Mage Klausner said, looking away from Liam to the rest of the council.
“And securing their weapons before they have a chance to retrieve them might prove useful,” Grand Mage Ricci said. Easily the oldest among the council, he must have been added following Allyn’s dismissal.
“Exactly,” Grand Mage Klausner said. “It won’t win the war on its own, but it’ll be a nuisance. One more thing they’ll need to be concerned with.”
Liam had to bite the insides of his cheeks to keep from smiling. One by one, the council members were making his arguments for him, coming to the conclusions he wanted them to come to. Any sense of amusement quickly vanished when he realized the arch mage wasn’t paying the council any attention. Arch Mage Westarra was watching him. His feelings were unreadable, but Liam got the distinct impression the arch mage was weighing him. Judging his worthiness.
He underestimated me, he thought. But it won’t happen again.
Arch Mage Westarra held up a hand, silencing the growing discussion among the council members. “Grand Mage McCollum.”
“Yes, Your Grace?” Liam said.
“I trust you’re still in communication with Allyn?”
“I am, Your Grace.”
“Then tell him the council has preliminarily agreed to his request. Once we have confirmed the location of the Knights’ base and our ability to mobilize a sufficient force, we will provide him with an official confirmation. If everything checks out, we will hit them with everything we have. In the meantime, work with Allyn and Grand Mage Green to confirm the key pieces of information vital to our attack. I’ll organize the strike force.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Liam said. “Thank you, Your Grace.”
Arch Mage Westarra straightened his back, rising to the full station of his office. “The rest of you, prepare your forces for battle.”
Grand Mage Green’s quarters were a small living suite on the second floor of the manor. Complete with a bedroom, private bathroom, small study, and kitchenette, the quarters left little reason to venture into the rest of the manor, which was probably the reason Liam hadn’t seen much of Wesley or Talisa Green beyond official settings.
Entering the room, Grand Mage Green motioned for Liam and Jaxon to sit then did so himself. Liam sat and found that the sunlight streaming in through the windows had made the black leather of the couch warm and comforting. Grand Mage Green’s face, however, was anything of the sort.
“Tell me everything you know,” he said without preamble. “Start from the beginning.”
And Liam did. He told him everything, including the orders he had given Allyn about denying his involvement.
“And he’s there now?” Wesley asked.
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll need to speak with him, of course, but this is a good start. We play a dangerous game here, Liam. I hope you know that.”
“I do.” The private nature of the meeting made all formal titles unnecessary. “I must say, though, your taking responsibility surprised me.”
Jaxon’s father waved a hand dismissively. “Westarra wasn’t going to act. He needed to be pushed into it.”
“I think he knows that it wasn’t your idea,” Liam said.
“Oh, of course he knows,” Wesley said. “He may be a self-promoting coward, but he’s not an idiot.”
“Then why agree?” Liam asked.
“Because even through his overwhelming disdain for Allyn, he still sees the opportunity. That and we already had the support of the other council members. Make no mistake, though, if this turns sour, he will pin the blame solely on our shoulders, just as he did with Allyn.”
“I’ve got a question about that,” Liam said. “Why was Allyn kicked off the council to begin with?”
“Westarra needed someone to blame for our defeat at the Heilig Estate,” Wesley said simply.
“I figured that,” Liam said. “But why?”
The elder grand mage smiled. It wasn’t a warming gesture, more like a wolf licking its chops after a doe had accidentally wandered into its territory.
“He’s worried about his legacy. Under his watch, the magi have suffered splinters and civil war. Ancient secrets are now common knowledge. And the same enemy that’s on the verge of destroying our Order has stolen the Blood Wand, the most sacred relic in our history. How do you think he’ll be remembered?”
And my sister was worried about my legacy. Nothing he had done came close to Arch Mage Westarra’s shortcomings.
“But most of that isn’t his fault. It would have happened to anyone.”
“Perhaps,” Wesley said. “But the lens of history won’t be kind, and he knows that.”
“All the more reason to win, I suppose.”
“Don’t do it for Westarra,” Wesley said. “Do it for the good of our Order.”
Something about Wesley Green’s words felt off, but Liam had a hard time placing what. He watched his fellow grand mage and saw the machinations of the man’s plans twisting behind his eyes.
He tells me to do it for the Order, but who’s he doing this for? Grand Mage Green was planning something. But what?
“Call Allyn,” Grand Mage Green said. “It’s time we understood exactly what we’re up against.”
Chapter 23
It was Allyn’s rotation to sleep, but despite his exhaustion from the day’s events and having been up for nearly twenty-four hours, the sweet void escaped him. The conditions, he decided, weren’t exactly working in his favor.
Despite having backtracked to find a secluded mountain road southwest of the Knights’ base, the proximity to the large number of enemy soldiers was still more than a little unnerving. Mason had returned with Andrew and Topher from scouting the Knights’ base, and that provided Allyn with a modicum of comfort, but compared to the one hundred heavily armed enemy soldiers nearby, the magi numbered too few. And even if Allyn had taken comfort in their relative seclus
ion and the magi on watch, the interior of the SUV was freezing.
He’d wanted to leave the vehicle running and enjoy the warmth of the heater, but Mason had advised against it. There was no telling how far the sound of the running engine could carry. Allyn hadn’t needed to be told that, but he had been holding out hope that Mason would talk him out of his paranoia. It turned out the other magi was even more paranoid than he was.
All hope of sleep vanished when the door opened and Nolan climbed inside. “They’re getting close.” He sat in the passenger seat, blowing his warm breath on his hands and fingers.
Allyn sat up from his makeshift bed in the back of the SUV and rubbed his tired eyes. “How far out?”
“They should be here within the hour.”
Allyn peered out the tinted windows of the SUV, looking at the treetops of the forest around them. The sky was still a dark gray, dawn little more than a distant promise.
We still have time.
“That’s great,” Allyn said. “And Liam was successful?”
“He was,” Nolan said. “We got word a little while ago. He won’t arrive with the rest, but he shouldn’t be long after them.”
Allyn let out a long breath that turned into a white mist inside the frigid vehicle. “Good news, Nolan. All good news. I’m not going to lie; I can’t believe this came together.”
Nolan barked a laugh. “Me, neither.”
Liam and Wesley Green had called immediately after the council session to inform him of the council’s decision. It hadn’t been an outright yes, but it was close enough that Allyn couldn’t see them backing out now. Their one request had been for Allyn’s squad to better scout the area and have the beginnings of a plan outlined by the time the magi forces arrived.
Almost as surprising as the council’s decision had been the unexpected support of Jaxon’s father. After their conference call, Liam had called Allyn directly and told him how Grand Mage Green had lied to the arch mage, throwing his full support behind Allyn and Liam.
Capture (The Machinists Book 4) Page 19
