by CM Raymond
He wouldn’t let her stand alone.
“OK, then here’s what we are going to do,” Ezekiel said. “Karl, I need you to head back to the Heights and test the water with your people. They have a right to know that they’re in danger, too, but by the time the danger arrives at their doorstep, it will already be too late. I know it’s a longshot, but if your people are even a fraction as honorable as you are, there may be some who will heed our warning—and take up arms with us. Even a small number of rearick could make the difference.”
“Aye, I’ll bash their heads in myself if it’s needed,” the old rearick said. “They’ll get the message, sure enough.”
Ezekiel smiled. “I think you’ll make a perfect envoy. And while you’re there, stop by the Temple. One of our associates has offered us his services. I was already planning on bringing him down, but now that Julianne will be otherwise occupied, we will need a talented mystic in our midst.”
“Hadley!” Hannah shouted. “He’s coming here?”
Parker’s face soured at the man’s name. Since returning, Hannah had talked about the mystic enough to make the young man jealous.
Ezekiel nodded. “Yes. Hadley has agreed to join in the fight. Actually, I’m hoping that he will take your place working alongside Parker.”
“Why me?” he asked, face twisting.
“Hannah is too valuable in her position within the Academy. We can’t have her masquerading as a noble student and also risk her being found working with a rogue prophet. It’s just unwise. Plus, I believe that Hadley’s gifts will add a certain flair to your work.”
Parker nodded, although it was clear he wasn’t happy about his new partner.
Karl must have seen it, too. He grunted. “Why don’t you come with me to the Heights, Parker? I could use the hand. Don’t like being alone with those mystics much, no offense.” He gave Julianne a nod. “And it’ll give me a chance to focus on yer training. I’ll make a soldier out of you yet. Besides, the Boulevard can survive a few days without their preacher. It’ll whet their appetites.”
Parker opened his mouth to argue, but Ezekiel beat him to the punch. “Perfect! It’s settled then. Julianne, you’ll try your best to put off the Guard’s suspicions. We need you on the inside. Hannah and Amelia, keep looking for more allies amidst the nobility. I have faith in my people, even if you don’t. But be careful. One wrong word to the wrong person and we’re sunk. Gregory, figure out a way to get into your father’s office. We need to see those blueprints. And Parker and Karl will be our envoy to the rearick.”
Hannah grinned. “Aren’t you forgetting something, Zeke? What the hell will you be doing as we do all the work?”
A wicked smile spread across his face. “In case my plan fails, we’ll need a backup, so I’ll be following your plan, Hannah.”
She cocked her head to the side. “My plan?”
“Yes,” he said. “It’s as we discussed—the true purpose of all of this.”
Everyone leaned in.
“I’ll be figuring out a way to tear Adrien limb from limb.”
****
The billowing hood of a brown cloak covered Adrien’s face as he spun his way through the market. Each step brought him closer to the Boulevard and increased his unease. The Chancellor held the lower class with such disdain that he hated even walking along their streets.
If he could, he would wipe the entire quarter off the face of Irth.
Stepping into the Boulevard, his mind turned to the little bitch who grew up in the slums—Ezekiel’s newest student. None of the Guard could find her, but it was clear that she was back in town. It was clear that she and Ezekiel had everything to do with the attacks on Jed’s Disciples—everything to do with that punk Parker who was trying to prop himself up as a voice for justice.
Adrien needed to find her and take her down. It would be the quickest way for him to destroy his old mentor.
A few hundred yards into the Boulevard, Adrien turned down a narrow road and located the house he was looking for. It was a tiny place and run down—like most in the Boulevard. Stepping up on the front landing, he found the door ajar. The jamb was freshly shattered from a forced entry. Without announcing himself, Adrien stepped through and proceeded down a set of stairs to the dim and damp basement.
In the middle of the room, there was a portly man with a receding hairline and three days of scruff tied to a chair by his wrists and ankles. The man’s eyes were nearly swollen shut and surrounded by bruises. Dry blood crusted under his nose.
Three other bodies were tied up and scattered around the room. Adrien had no idea if they were dead or alive.
As Adrien entered the room, the man’s swollen eyes went wide, hopeful that a savior had finally come to rescue him. But those hopes were dashed to pieces as Adrien reached up and lowered his hood—and he recognized the cruel smile of the Chancellor. The poor soul lowered his face and began to sob.
“You better have some good news for me, Alexandra,” Adrien hissed.
A beautiful woman slinked out of the shadows, her pale skin contrasting sharply with her tight black corset—an outfit that Adrien knew from personal experience.
She grabbed the man by his thinning ponytail and yanked it back, exposing his face to Adrien. The man screamed bloody murder as she leaned her face close to his.
“Darling, don’t be rude,” she whispered tenderly in the man’s ear. “Tell our guest what you told me.”
Tears streamed down the man’s face.
“No… please.”
She raised a hand and caressed his cheek before wrapping her fingers around his throat and squeezing. His eyes bulged as if they were going to pop out of his head. “Francis, honey,” she said in the same sultry tones. “Stop playing so hard to get. You know I like it rough, but there just isn’t the time for foreplay. If you don’t give me what I need, I’ll have to get it from someone else. Perhaps your young wife? She’s home alone waiting for you, right now. Maybe we should pay her a visit.”
She released her grip, and Francis whimpered like a child as he tried to suck in air. “OK… OK… I’ll tell you anything. Please, just don’t hurt her”
Alexandra stood and patted him on the head. “Good boy, Francis. Tell our guest your story now, before I get angry. You wouldn’t want to make me angry.”
She looked up at Adrien, lifted her eyebrows, and smiled. Adrien returned a grin. She was right, the man didn’t want to make her angry, and neither did Adrien.
“Parker,” Alexandra’s victim sobbed. “He’s one of us—from the Boulevard. I knew him when he was a kid. None of us knew where he went, but my aunt, she’s friends with Parker’s mother. A few weeks ago, Eleanor—Parker’s mom—disappeared from the quarter. No one thought anything about it, people come and go. Except my aunt, one day, she saw Eleanor shopping in the market, big basket of fine meats and ale under her arm.”
He stopped and stared at the ground, still as a statue. If there was one thing you did in the Boulevard, it was look out for your own. Francis was transgressing the code, but he was doing so for the sake of his family. Adrien was impressed by how effective Alexandra’s methods had become.
In a gentle voice, the Chancellor said, “Tell me more, Francis. Parker is a dangerous person—he must be found.”
The man looked up, his eyes softened. For a moment, he believed that Adrien was good, just looking for information that would, in the end, help the city. This is what he told himself. “Eleanor told my aunt that she had gotten a job with a nobleman—as his cook or something. Dunno anything else.”
Adrien’s face darkened. Alexandra had been scouring the Boulevard for weeks, looking for any sign of Parker and the bitch. It hadn’t occurred to Adrien that they could be connected with someone among the nobility. If it were true... it could mean Adrien had a serious problem on his hands.
It had been almost a decade since anyone of the upper crust gave him trouble. After Saul, Arcadia’s first Governor died, there were a few who blamed Adrie
n—who wanted vengeance. But Adrien dealt with them swiftly and severely, destroying not only the rebellious nobles, but their families as well—secretly of course. But it served to keep the rest of the nobility in line.
Perhaps it’s time I shed some more noble blood, he thought, to remind them who is in charge. The question is, who would be foolish enough to turn traitor on me?
Adrien looked down at the pitiful man and smiled. “Thank you, Francis. You have helped keep Arcadia safe. I will be forever grateful.”
The shadow of a smile washed across the man’s face. He looked up into the eyes of the Chancellor, believing he was a savior. “Thank you, sir. Thank you.” He exhaled, and the tension left his shoulders.
“Unfortunately, you have seen me here,” Adrien replied. “And now that I know how easily you talk under pressure... well, that’s just a risk I can’t take.”
Before the man could make sense of Adrien’s words, Alexandra had pulled her knife.
While blood pooled on the dirt floor, Adrien reached a conclusion. There was a traitor in his midst—aiding Ezekiel and his Unlawful scum. Adrien needed to find them, and when he did, he wouldn’t need Alexandra’s services to make them wish they had never been born.
CHAPTER SIX
“She lives,” Cassie said, as Hannah walked into the dorm room.
Hannah and Cassie had been roommates at the Academy for nearly a month, but they had spent precious little time together. Playing the role of a noblewoman, faking as a student, and trying to save the world had left Hannah with precious little time for slumber parties and late night gossip. Not to mention that she spent almost every night at the mansion.
Hannah crossed the room and dropped a pile of books on her desk. She sat and offered her roommate an enormous smile.
“Cassie! I know,” she said in her noble voice. “I must be the shittiest roommate anyone has ever had in the history of the Academy. I’ve just been so busy, you know, being new and all.”
Cassie crossed the room and dropped into a chair across from Hannah. She eyed the leather volumes Hannah had just placed there.
“No problem, Deborah,” Cassie said. “I get it. And… truth be told, I kind of wanted a single anyway. Now, I get the best of both worlds.” She pointed at the desk. “It looks like somebody’s been busy.”
Hannah sighed. “You guys have grown up with this stuff. Growing up in the country, I kind of taught myself magic. Let’s just say I’m feeling a bit behind.”
Cassie smiled. “Doesn’t help that you got paired with that Gregory for lab. Damn fool wouldn’t even be here if his dad wasn’t chief engineer. And he is so mundane, if you know what I mean.”
Hannah forced a laugh. “Oh! I do.” But she didn’t.
“Half the reason I’m at the Academy is to meet a man. You know, ring by spring and all.” Cassie laughed and Hannah followed along, even though she had no freaking clue what the rich girl was talking about. “I have my eye on a few. I mean, a first year would be fine. And of course, there is Morgan, but we all know we’re better off finding an upperclassman.”
Hannah rolled her eyes and tossed her strawberry blond hair. “Way better off!”
“Right?”
The girls giggled, and Hannah thought she might be getting the hang of the noble gig.
Cassie leaned in and whispered, even though they were alone in the room. “How about you? Have your eye on someone?”
Hannah blushed—or at least to Cassie it looked like she did. A little extra push of mental magic could do wonders. “Well, there is one boy… I mean man. But I think he’s out of my league and might be spoken for.”
“What! You’ve got to tell me!”
“No,” Hannah said, “I can’t. It’s too embarrassing.”
“Come on. You have to!”
“OK, if you promise not to tell anyone.” Hannah covered her face with her hands. “I don’t believe I’m going to say this,” she squealed.
“Holy hell,” Cassie shouted. “Deborah, you’re killing me.”
Hannah dropped her hands from her face. Her face was now redder than her eyes were when she practiced magic. “OK. It’s Professor August.”
Cassie froze. Her face became sheet white. After what felt like an hour, her bottom lip shook. “Holy shit… You’re joking.”
Hannah pictured the rotund jolly professor and lost it laughing. “Yeah. I am.”
Cassie screamed. “I hate you!” The two girls doubled over laughing as the bells outside their room rang six o’clock.
“Shit. I’m late to meet Gregory.” She rolled her eyes. “Gross. I’ll see you later. Let’s find some time to catch up.”
“Def!” Cassie said as Hannah left the room.
****
The Wren was a little café that sat between the Academy and the Noble Quarter. Its patrons were students who should be cramming for exams and noblewomen trying to find some excuse to get out of their enormous homes. On the menu were overpriced pastries and teas, which were allegedly shipped in from far off lands, but Hannah swore they were weeds dug just outside of the city gates.
She slid into a chair at a table in the back corner. Gregory sat opposite her, finishing his tea.
“Hey, you’re late,” he said.
“Yeah, sorry. Had to play roommate for a little bit. Afraid Cassie is going to get suspicious that I’m hardly ever there. Might need to concoct a better story before too long.”
“You think she’s rebellion material?” Gregory asked.
Hannah laughed. “I can’t imagine her doing anything that would threaten her nails. But if we ever needed to know which Hunters had crushes on which Guards, I’m sure Cassie would have the intel.”
Hannah looked down at her tea and felt the porcelain cup.
“I’m sure it’s cold,” Gregory said. “Ordered it nearly an hour ago. Let me go get you another.”
Hannah grinned. “No need.” She wrapped her fingers around the mug. Her eyes flashed red, and in a second, the tea was piping hot and kicking off steam. Hannah wiggled her fingers. “You really should get the hang of this shit—incredibly helpful sometimes.”
He laughed. “It’s the little things, isn’t it?”
“As long as I can keep from lighting my roommate on fire… or any of those other douche nuggets. I mean honestly, Gregory, how did you grow up with these people. They are maddening.”
Gregory shrugged. “Maybe it’s why I never quite fit in. But they’re not all that bad.”
“Sure. I just haven’t met any of the good ones yet… Except for you, that is.”
The two sat for a while, enjoying their tea and talking about nothing of any consequence. They were supposed to be plotting their break in at Gregory’s home, but it felt good for Hannah to just be a person for once.
Unfortunately, normalcy could only reign for so long in her new reality. She finally asked, “So, what’s up? Why’d you need to see me so urgently?”
Gregory stared at an envelope that had sat on the table since Hannah had gotten there.
“Hello, Irth to Gregory, what’s going on?”