by K V Deal
By the time that we had finished cleaning up, our team’s members were the only people left in the hallway.
At Gloria’s suggestion, Carah had cleaned my wound of whatever that white stuff had been, rather than me doing it myself. I was pretty thankful for that, since, when I actually tried to stand, I found that the usually heavy scar tissue a potion left behind had made my hip joint difficult to shift. It was almost impossible to stand from prone.
I could walk, but sitting or running? That…might be difficult.
Rachel had suggested I might need a cane and that prospect hadn’t helped my mood in the slightest.
“Hey, at least you’re alive,” Charlie pointed out as we followed Gloria toward the mayor’s office.
I just grunted in response, before directing a question at Gloria. “Why the hell are we headed to the office? There’s no way he’s still there.”
I’ll admit to being somewhat grumpy.
“I can’t imagine he actually had anything to do with The Chosen,” Gloria said, her shoulders climbing to her ears as her hands clenched. “If that’s the case, something happened to him, or they tricked him. If it’s the latter, then he should still be there. If it’s the former? Well, he could be anywhere.” I could hear the worry in her voice.
She must really care about him… Well, now I just feel like a dick.
“We’ll find him,” Carah said from beside me. She hadn’t left that position since I’d managed to get back on my feet.
We continued our march, though we slowed down when we had to take a set of stairs up a few levels.
Need to add stairs to my new list of things my hip doesn’t like.
As we walked, I couldn’t help but notice how quiet the building was. I don’t think I was the only one, either. Charlie and Axle were gripping their weapons tightly. Their eyes were continuously darting around. Carah was also on edge. A Chosen sword was in her hand, and my dagger was in its sheath, securely on her belt.
Personally, I wouldn’t have called the silence ominous, but having just come out of a battle, it was pretty unnerving.
“Where is everybody?” Rachel asked as she looked around.
Gloria shook her head. “Most of the staff from when I was in charge were with us in the dungeons. I don’t know how he was keeping things running without them.”
“I can think of a way,” I muttered.
“You’re thinking of The Chosen, aren’t ya?” Charlie's tone made me think she’d been thinking the same thing.
“It would give them control over our infrastructure,” Axle added.
“Aren’t they just supposed to be a gang? This seems way too big for just a bunch of hoodlums,” Rachel said dubiously.
“True enough,” Gloria nodded. “Hopefully, we can get more information from Cyrus.”
Gloria came to a stop in front of the door to the mayor’s office. Without even a pause, she reached up and knocked.
I blinked. “Really?”
“No reason not to be polite.” Gloria grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. The inside of the room was dark. Curtains were pulled across all of the windows.
I narrowed my eyes trying to make out the desk at the far end of the room, but all I could tell for sure was the large chair behind it had been turned around to face away from our position.
“Really? He knows pulling the drapes like that really lowers the mood,” Gloria muttered.
“Maybe one of us should go in—” Before Axle could finish, Gloria had already stepped inside.
Damn it!
I hurriedly limped in after her. This whole place had gone to shit when she left, and I wasn't going to let her get herself killed right after we got her back.
Charlie and Carah also hurried their way in, moving up to flank Gloria. They skirted around the twin couches heading toward the windows
I gritted my teeth in annoyance. This hip was going to be a problem. By the time the others had reached the far wall by the desk, I was only halfway across the room heading right up the center. As I walked, my tail was lashing like crazy, betraying my annoyance. While I was noticing that, I missed what was right beside me.
“How bout we let a little light in here?” Charlie said, grabbing the drapes and throwing them open.
“Well, I'll be damned. He isn’t here,” Gloria said in surprise as she stared at the chair.
That was when I noticed the figure on the couch. With the sudden light, Cyrus sat straight up, making me almost jump out of my scales.
“Can’t a man get any sleep!” Cyrus shouted, glaring at me. Then he blinked. “Jake?” He looked around the room, blinking as if still trying to wake up. Then he saw Gloria. Cyrus froze. I watched as his eyes went wide.
Slowly, he rose to his feet. “Gloria?” The name came out as almost a whisper. “They said…I thought…this isn’t a dream. Please tell me this isn’t a dream.”
Gloria took a moment to regard him. “This isn’t a dream?” She tilted her head to the side and crossed her arms. “Really? We haven’t seen each other in weeks, and your first thought is that you’re dreaming?”
“Gloria!” Cyrus strode across the room, a huge grin on his face.
The hell?
Never in a million years would I have expected to see that kind of expression on the half-golem’s face.
“Hold up there.” Gloria held up a hand, palm out. “Before we have any kind of happy reunion I have to ask, are you in league with The Chosen?”
Cyrus looked shocked. “Gloria! They’re the ones who put you in the hospital for so long! Why in the world would I side with them?” He clenched his fists as he seemed to stare out into space. “I even hired a mercenary force just for the purpose of hunting those bastards down. How long have you been out of the hospital? Where did you run into Axle’s team?”
I couldn’t see any sign that he was lying. In fact, he seemed way too flustered to even think about lying.
Gloria was silent for a minute. “Well, that’s just awkward.” She sighed, gripped the large desk chair and, turning it around to face the room, sat down with a sigh. “I think it’s time that we all compare notes.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
Chapter 21
Cyrus sat on the couch, his head in his hands. Lines of moisture ran down his face from his eyes, making him look like one of those, so-called, weeping statues.
“How could I have missed it? It was too simple, too neat,” he said.
Gloria, who was sitting on the couch next to him, put a hand on the stone man's shoulder. “Same way it happens to most politicians. Stress, overwork, and desperation can cloud most people’s minds. The trick is to have a sounding board outside of the game,” she chuckled. “That’s what you are to me—well, and a friend.”
Cyrus nodded. “I shall endeavor to remember that. But still, do not go anywhere. I do not wish to be in that position again.”
“My job's not as easy as you thought, huh?” There was a grin in the living armor's voice.
Cyrus just nodded, wiping at his eyes with the grinding sound of stone on stone.
This was all starting to feel a bit too personal. I stood behind the far couch, separated from the two of them. In front of me, sat the rest of the group, doing their best not to make anything awkward.
Not that Gloria and Cyrus cared—they seemed to be off in their own little world.
Carah turned around to look at me. “Sure you don’t want to sit? I can stand,” she said quietly.
I shook my head and gave her a smile. “I’m fine.”
In all truth, I wasn’t fine. My hip was aching like crazy, but I really didn’t think sitting down was going to help. It was hard enough to bend it enough to walk, and, honestly, I was worried it would feel worse if I sat. I’d probably need help getting back up if I did.
Charlie coughed into her hand, just loudly enough to get the two lovebirds’ attention. “Sorry, I know ya both need some time, but we’re still in an emergency situation.”
“Ah. R
ight.” Gloria hammered a fist into her open palm. “I need to talk to Robert!” She gripped the top of her breastplate.
This time I knew what was coming and was able to turn away before she basically yanked her chest open. I heard Rachel make a smothered choking sound and Axle take in a gasp of air. I didn’t look back until I heard her close herself back up with a squelch. When I looked, she was holding another swallow.
“How many of those things do you have in there?” Carah asked. I couldn’t see her whole face, only a cheek, but what I could see had toned down from her usual red to a pretty pink color—probably how her skin handled going pale.
Gloria chuckled. “As many as I need. Government secret, but what I have in here,” she tapped her breastplate proudly, “isn’t just the birds. I have the whole roost!”
Cyrus smiled his familiar, tight-lipped smile. “I should have guessed.”
Wow! He really did need Gloria around, didn’t he? Even after her being back just this short amount of time, he was starting to act like his old self.
As Gloria muttered a few words to the clay bird, Cyrus turned to Carah and me.
“I believe I may owe you an apology,” he sighed. “Actually, I may owe quite a few of them considering the circumstances.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Carah waved a hand at him.
“Thank you. I must ask, though. What precisely were the two of you doing in a known Chosen hideout?”
Carah looked up at me, but all I did was shrug. I didn’t see any reason to hide anything at this point.
“My house got broken into.” Anger swelled as I thought back on it. “Again. Somebody stole my lamp, and we were hunting them down.”
There was a moment of silence.
“Remind me never to leave anything important at your place. People seem to just walk in whenever they want.” Gloria shook her head. “Give me the full story.”
It took a bit for Carah and me to go through everything. We ended with our short imprisonment.
Cyrus flinched at that last bit, literally flinched. “I don’t recall sending any such message for your capture...” He brought a hand up to touch the bandage on his head.
“Ya probably didn’t,” Charlie said, leaning forward and resting her chin on her fist. “This all seems big. Really big! If they had the means to pull all this off, ya can bet they have a way to fake your voice.”
“That's a given,” Gloria said with a wave of her hand as if brushing the thought away. “The thing I'm interested in is those papers you found. Let me see.”
Reaching into my ring, I pulled out the stack of documents.
Gloria grabbed it and walked over to her desk. She spread them out, so they covered its entire surface.
“So ends the clean desk,” I couldn't help but mutter softly. Pretty sure I head Carah smother a laugh. Cyrus, across from Gloria on the desk’s other side, just sighed. I was pretty sure, though, I saw the hint of a happy smile as he watched Gloria work.
“Alright. We need somebody who can break this code. That's the first thing. Nobody talks about these documents or acts on them till we know what they actually say.” She jabbed a finger down onto one of the papers. “Especially this list of names! God, if that got out—”
There was a loud rap at the door. I'm pretty sure that everyone in the room jumped a little.
Cyrus got up quickly, walked to the door and opened it smoothly. “Ah, Robert. Please come in.”
I could see the half-dwarf eyeing the golem suspiciously. “So. You’re still here?”
“He’s fine, Robert,” Gloria said. They were tricking him too. Come on in.”
Cyrus stepped back to let Robert in. “I suppose such reactions are to be expected for a time,” he commented glumly.
“Sounds about right,” Robert said coldly as he walked past. “Boss, good to see you back behind that desk.”
I'm not sure Robert noticed the momentary glare Gloria gave him when he said that to Cyrus. Then it was gone. “Thanks. So, what's the situation?” She had quickly scooped up the papers when the knock came. Now, she tapped the stack to straighten them.
“A lot weaker resistance upstairs than down. I figure the ones we fought up top were a screen to keep us busy while the main body of their troops got away. I got people following the survivors, but I'm not hoping for much.” He sighed and hopped up onto the couch across from us. “They scattered as soon as they left the building.”
“Right. Any chance of following the main body?”
“We're trying, but who knows at this point. Just gotta wait for the trackers. Now that the sparrows are in such short supply, that means runners.” Robert shook his head in exasperation.
“Huh. Well, that might slow things down, but nothing we can do about it.” Gloria looked down at the papers in her hands. “Now don’t take this the wrong the way, but why are you here? I only messaged Axle, and you all got here really fast. Was something going on? Fill me in.”
Robert grunted. “It was a bad situation that worked out for the best. We all got called to come in get new orders here. Met up in the large hall and one of those silver-plated bastards showed up. Told us all to disarm, and then Cyrus was going to show up.”
“That was when the sparrow arrived,” Axle said, taking up the story. “Good thing it did, too.” He shook his head.
“Right. Well, when Axle passed on the message, that Chosen must have realized that their game was up. He called in his friends, who had been waiting in the wings. Rather than stay and fight like idiots, we broke out of the building and looped back around to the dungeon entrance. You know the rest.”
“I hadn’t even heard of you being gathered. Another thing that slipped past me,” Cyrus said with a pained expression.
“Not your fault. You’re one man, and you can’t be everywhere at once,” Gloria said. “Now stop beating yourself up. If for nothing other reason than I need you in top condition to handle things around here.”
I couldn’t wait any longer. “Did anybody find out where The Chosen were keeping the stuff they’d confiscated?” I had been itching to ask that question from the minute Robert had entered the room and had been good up till now. But I really wanted to get my stuff back!
“We haven’t found anything so far.” Robert wrinkled his nose and crossed his arms. “If I had to bet, they took all that stuff with them. I would have.”
There was a crack of wood breaking. I blinked and looked around. Everyone else was looking at me. Looking, down I saw my hand was clenched on the now-shattered back of the couch.
Oops.
“Jake, we'll work on getting everything back. Trust me.” Gloria raised her hands in a calming gesture.
“Right. Right...” I tried taking a deep breath. It didn't help.
“Ya know if they got Jake's stuff…” Charlie hesitated. “Dragon, how well can ya track magic? Ya remember back when we first met? In the swamp, when ya found that first dungeon?”
I nodded. I mean, it was kind of memorable. It was the first time our team fought together.
Charlie got out her large leather book, flipping to the pages where she kept notes on me and how I ticked. She read a portion and then nodded. “Well, ya were able to follow that magic a ways before ya actually found the dungeon. Ya almost tracked it like ya were hunting something’s trail. Could ya hunt your own magic items like that?”
I opened my mouth and then hesitated, shutting it again as I actually thought through the question. My first answer was going to be a big ‘no, it doesn’t work like that,’ but that wasn’t quite right. The actual answer, if I was being honest, was that I had never tried. “Guess I can give it a shot.”
“Alright. That sounds like a plan.” Gloria nodded, crossing her arms. “Robert, I need you to be in a central location for any runners from your scouts, so stick around here. Maybe set up a search team or two that can make sure that The Chosen didn’t leave us any surprises. Sound good?”
Robert nodded. “On it.”
Not that he actually left the room and got on it. Nope. He just kept sitting on the couch.
Gloria looked at him for a moment. “I still have a little I need to talk about with these guys—secret stuff. You understand?”
“Oh, right.” Robert stood up and stretched. “I’ll keep you in the loop, boss.”
As soon as he was gone, Gloria turned to us. “Think I’m gonna try to keep him close—at least until I know what this code says.” She tapped the papers on the desk. “As for you lot, I think that Charlie’s plan is a good one. Give it a shot.”
Gloria reached up and gripped the front of her chest plate.
I guessed what was about to happen and turned away, just as she yanked it open with a squelch.
“Damn it, Gloria!” Axle shouted, “You could at least warn a guy!”
“Sorry, sorry.” There was another rather disgusting sound as she closed herself back up. “Here.”
I looked up in time to see her hand one of the small, clay birds to Axle.
“If you find anything, let me know, and I’ll get you some backup.”
“Right.” Axle stowed the bird away in one of his pouches.
“And just in case...” Gloria walked over and held out her hand to me. A new sparrow sat in her palm.
I looked down at it and then up at the suit of living armor.
“You tend to find trouble. You might not need this today, but I think it’s for the best that we make sure you’re always carrying one of these.” There was that grin back in her voice.
I would have liked to argue, but, honestly, it would’ve been nice to have one of these any number of times in the last few weeks. Even if I had argued, I got the feeling that I really didn’t have a leg to stand on here. Instead, I would just have to settle for lashing my tail as I took the clay bird.
“Right. Now, off you go. I have a lot of catching up to do.” The mayor made shooing motions as she walked back around her desk.
Out in the hall, everyone turned to look at me.
Right. No pressure at all.
“Let’s get outside before I give this a try,” I said dejectedly.