They were empty.
A sick dread coiled in his stomach. They had moved the prisoners. Smart. Valek needed to leave. Now.
Except... He paused. Reema said she’d seen them in here. Valek drew in a deep breath and extended his magic. Concentrating on focusing the power, he searched the cells. Power pulsed along the bars. Further in, he sensed the heat from two heartbeats. Leif and Devlen were hidden behind an illusion. Probably gagged.
Valek strode to the entrance.
Reema poked her head in. “What’s taking so long?”
“Four guards inside, not two.”
“Oops. Sorry.”
He gestured her closer. “I need your pendant.”
She removed the null shield and handed it to him. “Hurry up.”
Valek looped the chain around his neck and returned to the cells. The shield allowed him to see through the illusion. Leif and Devlen slept on metal beds in two different cells. Crouching next to the first one with his lock picks, he hoped the null shield would also keep the magical alarm from tripping, but had no idea if it would work. He popped the lock and swung the door wide.
No audible alarm sounded. Leif wouldn’t wake when Valek shook his shoulder. Valek felt his pulse—strong. Probably drugged to keep him quiet. He glanced at Devlen, who hadn’t moved despite the noise. This complicated things.
He raced to the entrance. “We need the wagon here. Now!”
One of the boys with Reema said, “That isn’t part—”
“New plan. Get the wagon.”
“All right.” He dashed away.
“What happened?” Reema asked as she followed Valek.
“They’re out cold.” He opened Devlen’s cell, and she raced inside to rouse her father, but the man didn’t move.
“Is he—”
“He’ll be fine.” Valek hoped. By the collection of bruises and cuts on both men’s faces, Valek guessed they had resisted.
The clip-clop of hooves and the jingle of the harness announced the wagon’s approach. To Valek, a shrill alarm would have been quieter.
“What’s next?” Reema asked.
“I need help getting them into the bags.”
“Right.” Reema dashed off, and soon the stand-in guards and five rats poured into the building. Draping null shields around Leif’s and Devlen’s necks, the kids wasted no time manhandling the two unconscious men into the burlap bags and loading them onto the wagon with a number of genuine garbage bags.
By the time they finished, the sun threatened to rise. Within minutes, there would be more soldiers up and moving about the garrison.
“Go. Disappear,” Reema said to the stand-ins and Valek’s doppelganger. They scattered in a heartbeat.
Valek gave her the pendant before she jumped into the wagon and hid in another burlap bag. Valek arranged them so the collection looked like a pile of garbage. He vaulted onto the driver’s seat and headed to the gate. Halfway there, he remembered he wore a Sitian uniform rather than his delivery man coveralls. And blood soaked his left sleeve and back.
Valek stopped the horses. He hopped down and, while trying to appear as if he was arranging the bags, he opened Devlen’s sack and yanked the man’s shirt off.
Glancing around, he noted a few soldiers, but none seemed to be paying attention to him. Valek changed and stashed the torn and bloody uniform shirt under the bags, then closed Devlen’s bag.
The sun rose in a burst of color and light. Valek climbed onto the wagon and resumed the journey to the gate. Sweat stung his cuts, and he knew blood would soon stain the green tunic. It felt as if a river of red gushed down his back. Plus his heart seemed determined to pump extra-hard.
The guard didn’t move the gate as he had the last few days. Instead, he stood in front of it. Valek kept a neutral expression.
“Took you long enough,” the guard said.
“I dropped a damn crate.” Valek shook his head as if in exasperation. “Damn apples spilled all over. And then the cook harassed me, yelling that he won’t pay for the damaged ones, so I had to count the number that were bruised and write a note.”
“Sucks for you.”
“Yup. And it’s comin’ out of my pay, too.” Valek spat.
The guard did a loop around the wagon. Then he peered underneath. When he pulled his sword, Valek’s heart skipped a beat.
Before he could stab the sword into one of the bags, Valek said, “Hey, can you please not cut into them so deep? Last time one of the damn bags ripped in half when I picked it up. I had a stinkin’ mess to clean up, and I stank of rotten fish all day. And I’m already late for my next delivery.”
The guard chuckled and sheathed his sword. “Some days are like that.” He moved the gate for Valek. “See you tomorrow.”
“Thanks,” Valek said as the horses crossed through. His back burned as if an archer aimed a crossbow at him, and the feeling didn’t dissipate until they were far from the guards’ sight. Increasing the horses’ pace, Valek guided the wagon to the old warehouse they had rented. It was empty except for Rusalka. She had turned up in a stall next to Onyx one morning, and he’d moved her here as they prepared for the rescue.
“We’re here,” he said.
Reema squirmed from her bag, jumped down and opened the loading bay door. He drove the wagon inside, and they closed and locked the door behind him. Only then did he allow himself to relax.
He expected Reema to be happy. Instead she frowned at the wagon. Her hands fisted on her hips.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her.
“We got away too easy.”
Easy? Not according to his burning cuts. But Valek considered. “No one followed us.”
“Are you sure? I think—”
“I know how to spot a tail.”
“Even one covered by magic?” She rubbed her face with both hands as if suddenly tired. “Ah, I forgot. You’re immune and would see right through an illusion.” Then she shot him a shrewd look. “But you needed my null shield pendant during the rescue. Why?”
Valek admired her intelligence. Her brother might be the next master-level magician, but she was well on her way to master-level spy. Deciding to trust her, he told her about his new abilities, although he knew that she’d be safer if she didn’t know. Plus limiting the amount of people who knew about his magic was a logical strategy, but Leif might have been forced to divulge the information to the Cartel while a prisoner. In that case, all bets were off.
When he finished explaining, she slapped her hand on her thigh. “I thought something was off with you! When we were in the garrison, you didn’t spark, but I didn’t have time to think about it.”
“Spark?”
“Yeah, I see a glow when magic hits a null shield.”
Interesting. “Useful.”
She shrugged. “Only lets me know who is wearing a null shield. It doesn’t really help me.”
“But it might help Teegan or Leif or even me.”
Reema perked up. “Sweet. Do you like having magic, or do you miss your immunity?”
“Right now I prefer the magic, as I was too easy to capture when I was immune.”
“Yeah, I guess my mom has to worry about that, as well.” She sobered and climbed onto the wagon to pull back the burlap bags, uncovering her father and uncle.
Remembering her earlier comment about possible followers, Valek relaxed his mental shields and drew a small thread of power. He aimed it at the surrounding area, seeking with his magic. Sure enough, he picked up two watchers cloaked in an illusion. Ah, hell.
Even if he still had his immunity, he wouldn’t have picked up on the magic if they kept their distance. Valek needed to be relatively close to a magician to feel its sticky residue. Common knowledge. However, if they knew he was no longer immune, then he
needed to rely on his magic more often—something he was reluctant to do. The whole threat of flaming out put a major damper on things. Valek noted the location of the watchers and restored his mental barrier.
“When will they wake up?” Reema asked. She sat cross-legged next to Devlen, clutching his limp hand.
“Depends on how much sleeping potion they ingested.”
“Is there a potion that wakes people up?”
“There is something that prevents the effects of the potion.” He explained about the ambush to rescue Esau and Mara.
“Too bad we don’t have any of that stay-awake medicine,” she said. Reema sounded in need of a hug and reassurance.
Valek sat next to her, and she scooted closer to him. He put his arm around her small shoulders and squeezed. Reema leaned against him.
He thought of the watchers outside. “We might be able to learn more about that.”
“How?”
“You were right. We were followed.”
She jumped to her feet, shaking the wagon. “I knew it!” Then she scrunched up her face. “Did you use your magic?”
“Yup. And I need your help.”
Reema readily agreed to the plan. When she left by the main front entrance, Valek slipped out the back. He kept a light magical touch on the watchers. Otherwise he wouldn’t be able to see them. He didn’t want to risk using the null shields in case one of the men was a magician. They had taken up positions across the street.
As expected, one of them followed Reema, while the other remained in place. Once she and her invisible shadow were gone, Valek circled around. Then he pounced on the watcher who currently resembled a barrel, pressing his knife to the guy’s throat before the man could even draw a weapon. The cuts on Valek’s arm and back flared to life from the effort.
“Quiet now,” Valek whispered into his ear as he guided his captive inside the building, where he slammed his hilt into the man’s temple, knocking him unconscious.
Valek yanked off his cloak, revealing a young man. However, the cloak now blended in with the floor. A mirror illusion must have been woven into the fabric. Interesting. Who had the ability to do that? Rika Bloodgood was in Ixia with Owen. Or was she? He’d encountered two well-crafted illusions in one day.
Valek pushed those thoughts aside for now and wrapped the cloak around his shoulders. Valek hurried outside to take up the watcher’s position. A couple minutes later, Reema returned with a paper bag. She glanced up and down the street as if seeking a tail before entering the building.
Her shadow joined Valek.
“Candy run,” the man said dismissively. “I can’t believe the resistance is using children. They must be desperate. She had no clue I was following her.”
Valek focused on the location of the voice and lunged. The man fell back with an oomph. Sitting on his chest, Valek placed his blade on the man’s neck.
“She knows more than you think. Which is very bad luck for you.” Valek hauled the man to his feet and escorted him into the building.
Reema crouched next to the prone man on the floor, making a pile of his possessions, including an impressive collection of weapons.
“Hey!” Valek’s captive yelled.
She spun toward the noise, wielding a dagger. “Who’s there?”
Valek had forgotten about the cloaks. He yanked the one off his captive and shrugged his own off, as well. Reema relaxed, and Valek noted where her knife disappeared—up her sleeve. Smart.
“Find anything useful?” Valek asked her.
Opening her hand, she showed him a dozen darts. “These, but I don’t know what they’re filled with. They don’t smell familiar.”
“We can ask his friend.”
“I’m not saying a word.” The man clamped his lips together.
“In that case, we might as well let you go,” Valek said.
“Really?”
He gave the man his humorless smile. “No. But you said a word. The first of many.” Valek pricked him with goo-goo juice and hoped it worked.
Within a minute, the man relaxed. At least the Cartel hadn’t found a counter to the goo-goo juice yet. A small victory. Valek sat him down so he didn’t fall over.
“What’s your mission?” he asked.
“Follow you until...” He spread his arms wide as if that explained everything.
“Until what?” he prompted. Dealing with suspects under the influence of goo-goo juice had its challenges. And everyone reacted differently.
“You go to ground.” The man made digging motions with his hands. “Where all the other rats are hiding.”
Ah. No surprise the Cartel wished to learn the location of their headquarters. “And then what?”
“Come home, tell the boss, get a big bonus.” His grin lasted for a moment before he peered around in confusion.
“Are the soldiers in the garrison going to chase us?” he asked.
“Yeah. Make it big, but let the rats slip away.” He leaned forward and put a finger to his lips. “Shh...they don’t know we go, too.”
Which meant Valek would have to keep these guys under wraps until they escaped Fulgor. He switched topics. “How do you resist the sleeping potion?”
The man shrugged, but his gaze focused on the darts in Reema’s hands.
“Is that the antidote?” Valek asked.
“Yeah. But ya gotta take it before.”
“Before what?”
“Before ya think you’ll need it.”
“So if you’re pricked with sleeping potion, and you haven’t taken it...”
“Won’t work after. And if it’s been too long since you took it, it won’t work.”
“How long?”
“About a day. Guys on special missions get enough to last.”
Which explained why his partner had so many. “And your mission was so special you also received these illusion cloaks.”
“Yeah. Sweet things, blend right on in.”
“Who gave them to you?”
“Boss man. ’Cause we are his two best scouts.” He pounded on his chest.
“The best, eh? You were spotted by an eleven-year-old,” Reema said.
He growled at her and tried to stand up, but Valek pushed him back down. “Where did the boss get the cloaks?”
“From his boss, who got it from his boss...all the way to the top boss.”
“Who is?”
“His name is... Top. Boss.”
Which meant the man didn’t know. When Valek had extracted all the information from the man, he slammed the hilt of his dagger on the man’s temple, knocking him unconscious.
Reema placed the darts into a leather pouch. “Now what?” she asked.
“We need to find a place to stash these guys for a few days. Know anyone in Fulgor who can help us?”
“I might,” she hedged.
He waited.
“You can’t tell my parents. Promise.”
“Tell them what?”
She huffed. “I’ve made a few friends.”
“More street rats?”
“Yes.”
“Why is that a big secret?”
“They want me to have friends from school.”
“I see. Normally that would be ideal.”
“Yeah, but when is my life ever gonna be normal?”
True. With her enthusiasm for subterfuge and intrigue, he doubted she’d ever be far from the action.
“Plus those normal friends would have been useless for rescuing my father.”
“I agree. However, those normal friends can be useful from time to time.”
She cocked her head. “Like when?”
“Like when you need a cover or information. Their families might have ski
lls or resources you could tap into. You should cultivate as many friends as possible, because you never know when that one person might be vital to a mission.”
Her blue eyes practically glowed. “That’s a good reason.”
“Can you find us a couple babysitters for these guys?” he asked.
“No problem.” She headed toward the back door but paused next to the man she’d stripped of weapons. “Too bad we couldn’t take them on a wild Valmur chase.”
“Yes, too bad,” Valek said. “Maybe next time.”
“That would be fun!”
Oh boy, she’d really caught the bug.
* * *
Valek freed Onyx and Sunfire from the harness and groomed them before settling them next to Rusalka in the makeshift stable. Soon after, Reema returned with three grubby street rats—two girls and a boy. Valek explained what he needed them to do and paid them in advance. The older boy stared at the coins in his palm with a sly squint.
“Don’t even think about it, Mouse,” Reema said to the teen. “I know where you hang.”
“So? I ain’t gonna do nothin’.”
“Good, because I don’t want to tell Pickle about—”
“Yeah, I got it. We’ll be here every day.”
Valek watched in amusement as they glanced back at Reema as they left. “Pickle is scarier than me?”
“To Mouse, yes.”
“I do not know whether to be proud of Reema or petrified,” Devlen rasped from the wagon.
“Daddy!” Reema flew into his arms, transforming into a little girl.
Devlen hugged his daughter tight. Well aware of the physical aftereffects of being in a drugged sleep, Valek poured Devlen a cup of water.
The big man downed it. He scanned the room before his gaze settled on Valek. “Thanks for the rescue. How—?”
“Reema can explain it to you. I need to check along our escape route and ensure there’s not an ambush waiting for us.”
Reema toed one of the unconscious men. “They wanted us to escape. Why would they have an ambush?”
“To keep up appearances. Or there might be more watchers waiting.”
“Why—? Oh.”
“Oh?” Devlen asked.
“In case we spotted these two. They would be the backups,” Reema said, as if it was obvious.