When he finished checking the obvious locations, he tried to think like Leif. The man was smart and had to know the Fulgor security forces would be keeping an eye out for him. But what about Leif’s horse? Valek visited every stable in town, seeking Rusalka. Hours after the sun set, he’d exhausted all his ideas and was starving. Valek entered the Pig Pen for a meal—and to see if Leif was stupid enough to be having supper at his favorite eatery in Fulgor.
The Pig Pen was crowded like usual; however, an undercurrent of tension buzzed through the place. Valek spotted the source of the apprehension. Four soldiers sat at the bar. The stools of Opal’s soldier friends, Nic and Eve, were empty, just like their apartments had been. Valek found a table away from the bar and ordered the beef stew and an ale from a server. Despite the name, the tavern was clean. The regulars kept giving Valek the once-over, but he ignored them.
When the server returned with his order, she slipped a note into his hand. Valek glanced up and met Ian’s gaze for a brief moment before Nic’s twin brother returned to tending the bar.
With a sick tightness ruining his appetite, Valek unfolded the parchment. The note informed him that Leif, Devlen and Reema had been captured and were in the garrison’s stockade. And that Nic, Eve and Opal were away on a mission.
Ah, hell.
Since he’d promised to rescue Leif, Valek considered his meager options. Fisk’s people had been recalled, and Valek hadn’t replaced his own agents. A few of Nic and Eve’s colleagues in the security forces might help him, but he doubted they would without Nic and Eve around to vouch for him. Guess it would a one-man operation for now.
Valek spent the next three days watching the garrison and learning the delivery schedule. Each night, handfuls of soldiers headed to town for a few hours before stumbling back. On the fourth night, Valek donned a stolen uniform and joined the group returning from the taverns. The guards at the gate waved them all through, and the magician stationed there barely scanned their thoughts before returning to sleep.
Since this was a reconnaissance mission, Valek stayed in the shadows and poked around, getting a feel for the place. In the morning, he entered the dining hall. He munched on apples to avoid the foods laced with Theobroma while he listened to the conversations around him. Scanning faces for Devlen or Leif, Valek wondered if they’d been here long enough to have been assimilated, or if they remained in the stockade.
Valek left with a small group of guys, but when they headed to the training yard, he peeled off and made a loop around the stockade. An impressive number of guards watched the single-story building, which meant someone important was inside.
He’d bet a dozen gold coins it was Leif, and that the Cartel planned to use him as bait to lure Yelena and Valek into attempting a rescue. Would they expect one so soon? Valek considered. Getting into the base wouldn’t be difficult. It would be leaving with Leif and Devlen, who might be brainwashed and reluctant to go, that would be almost impossible. Valek needed time to think and plan. He searched for a spot to hide for the rest of the day.
While checking out the stables for possible locations to wait, one of the kids running errands paused next to him.
“Your disguise sucks, and you’re going to get caught,” whispered the girl.
Valek glanced at her. Relief warred with concern. “Reema—”
“Not here. Follow me.”
He trailed her through a warren of buildings. She entered one of the smaller buildings. Closing the door, she lit a lantern and scowled at him. “Don’t you know they’ve set a trap for you? You need to leave.”
He made a stopping motion. “Slow down. Tell me what’s going on. Why are—”
“All right. I guess you can’t leave until dark anyway. Sit down.” Reema gestured to a couple barrels next to a small table. She pulled her cap off, and her blond corkscrew curls sprang free. Drawing in a breath, she said, “My dad and I were arrested a few days after my mom left. He was locked in the stockade, but they didn’t think I—” she held up her hands and curled her fingers in mock quotes “—posed a threat. They put me with the other street rats they had ’scripted from Fulgor to run errands.”
“Conscripted?”
“Yeah, that. I made friends with Fisk’s people and was helping them, but they left right before they dragged Uncle Leif in here.”
“Where’s your father?”
“Still in the stockade with Uncle Leif. They’re bait for you and Aunt Yelena and my mom when she comes home.”
“That explains the extra guards.”
“Yeah, and there are a couple you don’t see.”
“But you have?”
“Of course. What do you think I’ve been doing all this time?” she asked in an annoyed tone, sounding much older than eleven.
“You know this place pretty well?”
“Inside and out.” Her blue eyes gleamed. “Do you have a plan for rescuing my dad and uncle?”
Did he? Possibilities raced through his mind. “Where did your mother go?”
“To Tsavorite, in the Jewelrose lands.”
An odd destination. “Why?”
“She received a letter from Master Magician Zitora Cowan, asking for help.”
Did he dare believe there might be some good news? That they might have another powerful magician on their side? “Is it legit?”
“She seemed to think so. Nic and Eve went with her.”
“How long ago did they leave?”