“Including Sidnie’s men?”
Rendal nodded.
“Two thousand. Maybe more.”
“Exactly,” Rendal answered. “You don’t even know. This place is a mess, and the more I talk to you, the messier I think it is. I’m exhausting myself, Harold. I’m having to send my mind out almost constantly looking for this woman when we should already have her.”
Harold swallowed but said nothing.
Rendal worked to keep his anger in check. He knew that lashing out too harshly right now would hurt his overall goal.
“Something is... Something is growing, Harold,” the mage continued as he stared at his second-in-command. “Something is about to happen. I can feel it. I’m standing out here watching this cage, but for the first time, I’m not in control, Harold. I don’t know where she is. I can’t bring her to me. Do you understand?”
“What do you need me to do?” Harold asked. “Just tell me, and I’ll do it.”
“Find her,” Rendal whispered. “Find her and bring her to me.”
Harold nodded. “I won’t quit until it’s accomplished.”
“If it’s not accomplished soon, you won’t have to quit,” the mage told him. “Because I’m going to quit you, Harold. Now get out of my sight, and don’t return until you have actionable information. Don’t return until you can tell me where the hell she is.”
“Yes, sir,” Harold responded. He turned from the balcony and walked back inside, leaving Rendal to himself.
The mage went back to staring at the cage.
He wasn’t lying to Harold. Something was amiss, but he couldn’t understand what. They were still terrorizing the citizenry, pulling people out of their houses day and night, but that hadn’t brought Riley to him.
Now her Assistant Prefect hung in the middle of the kingdom, his body being drained of nanocytes.
And she still hadn’t come to him.
Rendal couldn’t find her, regardless of what he did.
Why?
There was no one to lash out at, either. Sidnie’s damn Prefect was the only one, but he was basically brain-dead. He stood in the tower drooling on himself all day long.
Focus, the mage told himself. Don’t get lost in your thoughts. Find her.
Rendal turned away from the balcony and walked back into the tower. He closed the door to the balcony and made his way to the couch.
Someone had discovered Artino’s laboratory. Perhaps he had dismissed that too quickly. Harold’s operation was like herding damn cats right now, and just because Harold hadn’t discovered what happened didn’t mean Rendal couldn’t.
If someone had gotten down there, they’d know what Rendal was building.
They’d know about the weapons.
Rendal didn’t close his eyes as he folded his legs beneath him.
Instead, he left them open while they flared red. The dark mage stared forward, his tired mind beginning to search again for the woman he desperately wanted.
Kris didn’t know if Worth was drunk or just pretending to be. She was beginning to wonder if he even knew.
His lips and mouth were purple, but that could be a permanent condition for the bald man.
Yet, somehow, they had made their way through the castle’s gates.
The guards didn’t know what to do with the bald drunk who claimed to have important business in the castle. Every time Kris thought a guard was going to crack his skull open with a club, another door opened for them.
At the moment, they were walking down a long cobblestone path toward the castle’s main doors.
Worth, wearing his goofy grin, looked down at Kris and winked at her. He had a canteen full of wine in his right hand, and he regularly brought it up to his mouth to drink.
Kris said nothing.
The deeper they moved into the castle, the less she wanted to be here. No one had noticed her yet, partly because Worth had said she was a boy and his protege and partly because her fucking head was bald.
Kris just wanted out of here. She’d seen that damn mage and his underling and been far too close to death to be fucking around inside here.
Yet Worth had said he needed her.
That was why she was here—because he said in his broken language that he couldn’t do it without her.
The man showed no fear at all, while she felt more like Brighten with each step.
They reached the castle’s main door. It was massive, meant to indicate the riches inside the building.
The guard who had led the two of them here stopped in front of his superior.
Kris and Worth stood about ten feet away, farther down the stairs that led to the door.
“That guy, the bald one, says they have business with the Economic Minister.” The guard sneered as he spoke, glancing down at Worth. Kris wanted to fold into herself.
“With the Economic Minister?” the superior asked. “This man here?”
He took a few steps toward them, ignoring the other guard. “What business do you have? The Economic Minister doesn’t have time for merchants off the street, and you look like a fuckin’ drunk anyway.” He turned back to the guard who led them here. “Why the hell did you bring them to me? The man’s mouth is purple because he’s been drinkin’ all damn day!”
The guard looked confused, like he couldn’t remember why he’d brought them here.
The drunk bastard is using magic, Kris thought. She hadn’t been staring at Worth the whole time so she didn’t know if his eyes had turned red, but... Well, it made no sense that they’d gotten this far, and that guard couldn’t give a good reason for it either.
“Answer me, man!” the superior yelled.
The underling looked at Worth. “Tell him what you told me. Tell him your business now, or I swear I’m going to beat you so hard the rest of your body will be the same color as your mouth!”
Kris wanted to bolt. She talked a lot of shit, and she could back up a lot, too, but this was getting absurd. They were inside the castle’s walls, and now about to be inside the castle, yet they needed to get to one of the corners on the outside.
And now the guards were threatening to beat the hell out of them.
Kris’s face remained unchanged, showing nothing of the fear rolling through her.
“Worth tell you already,” the bald man scolded. “Have important information regarding pig health. Dangerous information.”
“Pig health?” The superior was incredulous. “You think you’re going to get inside the castle to speak with the Economic Minister over pig health?” Again he looked at the first guard. “You’re out of your damn mind, bringing him to me over nothing.”
Kris was staring at Worth now, and for the first time, she saw that his eyes were red. He was using magic, although she had no idea what he was doing.
“Your mother concerned with pig health,” Worth told them. “She pig-fucker.”
Kris was starting to understand.
He’d gotten this far, and now he was going to royally piss them off.
He’s either insane or a genius, she thought.
“What the fuck did you say?” The head guard turned to him. Worth’s eyes were still red, but Kris didn’t know if the guard could see it.
“Said your mother fuck pigs. She want know if there health issues.”
They were making sense now, his plans, and Kris held a certain respect for him. The bald man was about to catch a beating, but it would give her an excuse to run.
Right to the place she needed to be.
Worth’s eyes returned to their normal color. Kris still didn’t know for sure what he’d been doing, but from the looks of things, he’d been making the guards angrier.
“Welp,” the superior said, “looks like you want an ass-beating, and I’m just the man to do it.”
He unsheathed his club.
Worth looked at Kris and winked, then stared back at the two guards. “Worth look out for your mother. Why you mad?”
The guard swung his club, and Wort
h brought his arm up to block it.
Kris knew what to do. She wanted to help, to try to stop the ass-beating Worth was surely going to receive, but that wasn’t why he’d brought her. She had moves to make, and his sacrifice here was going to allow her to do it.
She turned and ran.
Kris looked over her shoulder only briefly. The second guard had joined the first, forgetting about the kid that the bald man had come with. He was going to have fun beating the hell out of that smart-mouthed merchant.
Kris turned back to the path in front of her.
Do your part, she thought. Make sure that beating he’s taking is worth it.
Chapter Twelve
“Holy fuck, man,” William admonished. “What the hell happened to you?”
Riley’s stomach rose into her throat as she looked at Worth.
William turned on Kris. “How the hell did this happen? Where the hell were you?”
Worth struggled into the room and practically fell into the first chair he saw.
His right eye had swollen shut, badly bruised to a deep purple. His lips—usually purple—were now split and red. Welts and more bruises covered his arms and legs. His usually tan skull was scraped nearly raw.
“Not her fault,” Worth managed to say. “She do fine.”
He slumped in the chair.
“Get him some water,” Riley commanded.
Lucie scampered from the room without another word.
“What happened?” Riley whispered.
Worth pointed to Kris, clearly not having the energy to give answers.
“I’m sorry,” Kris told the room. For the first time, the girl looked lost. “I had no idea it would be this bad.”
“Worth okay,” he assured everyone. A string of blood dripped from his lips to his chin.
“It’s fine.” Riley moved toward the girl, still standing at the room’s entrance. She put her arm around Kris and directed her to a chair.
Kris sat as Lucie entered the room, bringing two glasses of water.
She handed the first one to Worth and brought the other to Kris.
Worth drank greedily, then put the glass on the table. “No more water. Bring wine. Lots of wine.”
“Father save me,” Lucie murmured. She said nothing else though, only left the room to go find the alcohol.
Riley turned to Kris. “What happened?”
“I didn’t know it would be like this.” Kris stared at Worth as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Hey.” Riley squatted in front of her chair and placed a hand on her leg. “Hey, it’s okay. We just need to know what happened. No one is blaming you. Not William, not me, not anyone. Just talk to us, because Worth can’t right now.”
Kris swallowed and tried to meet Riley’s eyes. “We followed his plan. He got us inside the castle walls and up to the main entrance. I think he must have been using magic.”
She looked at Worth, and he nodded in agreement.
“Wine!” Worth hollered into the kitchen.
“Hold your damned horses!” Lucie shouted back.
Riley ignored them, turning back to Kris. “Keep going.”
“When we got to the entrance, he started talking shit to the guards. Before we got there, I mean, I was carrying the explosives. He didn’t have anything on him, and I thought it was just because he was scared.” Kris shook her head. “When he started talking shit, the guards didn’t waste any time. They lit into him. I didn’t have a choice; I had to run. That’s the whole reason I was holding the explosives, right, Worth?”
She glanced at the bald man. He nodded but quickly turned his attention to Lucie, who was walking into the room holding a jug of wine.
“Here, ya drunk. I hope ya gag on it,” Lucie murmured, although she was smiling slightly.
Worth took the jug, his usual grin on his face now.
“He definitely has a one-track mind,” William commented.
Riley redirected her attention to Kris. “Okay, that makes sense. You didn’t do anything wrong. Worth made the decision to get you in that way, and you followed his lead.” She looked at Worth. “He’s going to be okay, aren’t ya, Worth?”
The big man nodded, putting the jug down for a second. “Worth fine. You worry too much.”
“Now, Kris,” Riley continued. “Did you set the explosives? Are they where they need to be? Worth might look bad right now, but nothing is broken. Understand, with his magic, he could have easily wiped those guards out. But he didn’t because they couldn’t know his real intentions. The important thing here is, did you get the job done?”
Kris nodded. She wiped her eyes, brushing tears away. “They’re all in place. I hid them, too. You can’t see them. All we have to do is light the fuses.”
Riley nodded, placing both hands on the girl’s shoulders. “Good. That is good, good news. That’s what is most important. Worth will be just fine.”
“Just fine,” Worth agreed.
Verith walked into the room, halting as soon as he laid eyes on Worth. “This was your plan?”
“Shut up.” Worth grinned and turned the jug up again.
Verith only shook his head. “Did we at least complete the mission? Are all the explosives in place?”
Riley nodded. “They’re in place. We’re ready to bring the whole damned thing to the ground.”
“Okay.” Verith looked at William. “Let’s go ahead and get the word out. Tomorrow morning at dawn, that castle is falling. Anyone innocent needs to be far away.”
William turned to Kris. “All right, kid. We got another job to do. You up to it?”
Kris nodded although her eyes were still full of tears.
“Trust me, kid. Worth ain’t easy to break. His head is full of rocks, so nothing inside can even be damaged, ya understand?” William winked at the girl. “Now, let’s go spread the word that the mage who did it to him is about to die. Sound good?”
Kris nodded again, wiping her eyes a final time. She stood up and looked at Worth. “I’m sorry.”
“Hush!” Worth practically shouted. “Worth fine! You women worry too much! Go! Go! Leave Worth drink in peace!”
Kris laughed at the man’s frustration. “You’re a real dick, Worth.”
“Big dick, yes.” Worth nodded, grinning wildly. “Now go! Leave Worth in peace!”
The moon was high outside, the day’s work completed. It was past midnight, and Riley sat with William and Verith.
“Everything is ready? You were able to get the word out to everyone?” she asked William.
“Yeah. It wasn’t a problem. The castle’s staff is already terrified, so they’re looking for any reason to believe. I spoke to Erin and she spread the word among the military, at least those who aren’t gung-ho about killing New Perth.” He shrugged. “The ones who want to go to war with us will probably die, but there’s going to be casualties.”
Riley didn’t like it, but she couldn’t do anything about it. She turned to Verith. “And you—you’re ready to do your part?”
“Of course,” he answered.
“You’re going to make it out alive, right?”
Verith nodded. “Without a doubt. Everything is set up so I just have to light the fuses and keep moving. Nothing to it. I’ll be out of the destruction’s path.”
Riley nodded, then turned to William. “You know your job?”
“Yeah, I know my job. Make sure everyone we brought here is ready to go outside Sidnie’s walls.”
“Simple job for a simple man.” She grinned.
“Hell, I’d go get Mason myself if you weren’t trying to hog all the glory. I’d go blow the damn castle up, too. I’m basically giving you guys some glory because I’ve been taking it all since this whole thing started.” William looked up at the ceiling, a smile crossing his face. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what I want my statue to look like when I return. You know, whether it should be marble or maybe even gold? Should I be flexing in it? So many questions.”
“All right
, be quiet,” Riley told him good-naturedly. “Verith, I need to know the signal for when to grab Mason. How will I know when the explosions are about to go off?”
Verith smiled. “That’s something else I’ve set up. Right before it explodes, you’re going to see tiny explosions shooting into the sky. When you see them, get to work freeing Mason. The explosions will happen a few minutes after that.”
Riley nodded. “And how bad is the rubble going to be?”
Verith sighed. “That’s the tough part. The walls will hold some back, but it’s still going to be bad. You’ll have to guard yourself and Mason well.”
Riley stood up. That was what she had figured, and she was fine with it. She just needed to hear it from Verith. “Okay, gentlemen—and William—let’s go finish this.”
“I take issue with your characterization of me as anything less than a gentleman,” William responded. “For such an affront, I’m going to ensure that as part of my monument, you will bow in front of me forever. The Prefect will approve it, of course.”
Riley rolled her eyes. “Just make sure the people here are safe, chubby.”
“And you make sure Mason is safe, skinny.” William winked at her.
“How is he doing?” Rendal asked Harold.
“Mason?”
“Yes,” the mage answered. He was still sitting on the couch staring forward. His eyes blazed red.
“He’s weakening, but he’s stronger than most from what I can tell. I left him about an hour ago,” Harold told his master.
“How much time does he have left, do you think? Before we drain too much of him?”
“Four days at this pace. Maybe five.”
Rendal didn’t nod or move. He just kept staring.
Harold remained standing at the side of the couch. “Is there anything else you need of me, sir?”
“Still no word from Riley?”
“No, sir,” Harold responded.
“He will not need to last four days,” Rendal whispered. “They’re going to do something soon. Perhaps tonight, or perhaps tomorrow during the day.”
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